2010 In Review!

What a great year--challenging year-but good. God is good!


I had the opportunity to travel to Greece and Turkey with my Dad in January.


Jeff and I graduated from Calvin!


We got Mom and Dad Christians a family photoshoot for their anniversary. 41 years of wedded bliss!


Trip to Mackinac Island for a long weekend.


Weima Week 2010-another success!


Happy 50th Birthday Dad!


Moved to South Bend, Indiana!


Jeff completed his first triathlon!


Started my first teaching job.


Jeff started Grad school at Notre Dame and I got to experience my first ND football game.


Tiffany Lynn DeMaagd was born in May and I have had lots of fun practicing photography--and hope to continue learning new things with it! :)


Enjoyed our 2nd Christmas as a married couple. :)

Happy 2011! May blessings flow for you and your families in this new year.

Wordless Wednesdays

(Someone got into a Burr Bush...)

Christmas without Christ? A Public School Teacher's Dilemma

This is the time of year decorations start to take over our houses, lights are strung outside, Christmas music consumes much of the radio, and the excitement of the holidays is growing. For Christians this time means much more than what the secular world thinks of as "Christmas". Today in church marked the start of Advent, a time of expectant waiting and preparation of the celebration of Christ's birth. As the saying goes, "Jesus is the reason for the season" and though a bit cheesy, it captures what is true. God's gift of Jesus to His people is what this holiday season is all about.

So as I think about Christmas in this start of the Advent season I face a dilemma: how to prepare for Christmas in my classroom without Christ? Growing up in Christian schools, this is the first Christmas I will spend without the luxury of being able to share the true reason for my excitement this holiday season. My "advent" rather, is wrapped up in candy canes, stockings, reindeer, presents, and Santa Claus. Though all exciting Christmas memories--ones that I too share--I am saddened at the thought that I cannot openly share the joy of Christ's birth with my students.

Though a bit discouraged at this thought, I was encouraged by the message at church this morning. Our pastor talked about the work of Holy Spirit in Christians to spread the love of God. Quite often I neglect to ask the Holy Spirit to work in my life. So as I prepare for this advent season in my classroom I will instead look for ways to spread this joy and love in ways I am allowed and I pray the Holy Spirit will move in me as I "share" the true reason for the season!

Thankfulness

While on one of our daily walks at night, Jeff and I were talking about my very bad day at school. I have a student who has been a lot of trouble-running away, screaming, hitting, defiantly refusing to work, and making me go crazy! I was telling Jeff how this teaching job is NOT what I expected and how it's not really what I want to do. I was having a hard time dealing with some leadership issues this week and was complaining how "life is just not fair all the time". My wise husband countered my remark with, "What does a 'fair' life mean? Everyone faces issues throughout life that challenge them making life seem fair over time. Jeff continued on to remind me that if life ISN'T fair, then I probably got the better end of the stick. Very true. I was thankful for that reminder.

So for the remainder of the week I tried to focus on all the things that I have to be thankful for and here my top 10:

1. My wonderful husband who loves and cares for me--and makes me a better person.
2. My job-though difficult, I have grown through this experience and have many great stories to share with Jeff every night when I come home.
3. My students-they give me great joy in their learning.
4. My family-I've got two great families :)
5. Health and strength of myself and my loved ones.
6. A home to live in and food to eat.
7. Longtime friends-I've realized how important they are now that I am living in a new city and trying to make new ones.
8. Ability to use my mind and my gifts to serve God.
9. Excitement of the holidays-I love this time of year!
10. The promise of eternal life and the comfort that brings.

What are YOU thankful for?

Classroom: Before and After

I came into this room with nothing in it--barely any furniture and nothing but a Smartboard on the wall. Needless to say, LOTS of hours were spent working to make this room "kid friendly" and here is what I did!

Becoming True ND Fans!

Today marked the day Jeff and I became true Notre Dame fans--we finally made it to a ND football game. With our Notre Dame gear on we cheered for the Irish! The game was lots of fun and we had a chance to catch up with Jeff's sister and brother-in-law, and the Louters! What a beautiful day! GO IRISH! :)



Where's Waldo? Can anyone spot Jeff's sister, Holly, and her husband, Steve? They are wearing navy blue, a blue striped button up, and are in the middle....

Baby Photoshoot, Wine Tasting, and Good Times with Friends

On Saturday, Lisa, Tiffany, and Kyleigh came down and visited me in South Bend! It was so good to see them! After a tour of our new place and some lunch we go ready to do a fun photoshoot with sweet baby Tiff. She was a doll as always and we got some great shots! She's getting so big!
We then headed out and toured my classroom and then met Stacy in New Buffalo for some wine tasting! We had a blast--a beautiful afternoon and lots to chat about. :)
Enjoy some pictures of the day!

Apple Picking!

Jeff and I spent our first weekend here in South Bend (finally!). We decided to check out an apple orchard about 30 minutes away and then visit St. Joseph. The day was a bit chilly--but lots of fun! Enjoy some pictures of our adventures :)











The woman you took our picture "blessed us with many children"--never been blessed like that before! Hopefully that blessing can hold off for a bit :)

Thoughts on Life So Far....

Well the past 5 weeks have flown by since we have arrived in South Bend. Every weekend so far we have been back in Grand Rapids for some reason or another. People at church often asked when we were moving and were surprised to hear us say we already had! But finally, after weekends of business, we are staying around here which will be a welcomed change.

Anyways, on to how life HERE has been! Jeff started graduate school about 4 weeks ago and so far he has been enjoying it! The work load has not seemed overwhelming and he enjoys meeting new people. (I enjoy that he has been free to help me with my classroom with all his free time!) Jeff has been the sweetest guy, helping with dinners, cleaning, laundry, running any errands I have, and working in my classroom--all things that help ease the stress of starting a new job! I'm VERY thankful for him! :)

My new job has been....well, challenging to say the least. God truly wanted to push me through this experience! I have a group of 12 students--some who stay with me 1/2 the day, some all day, some an hour or two, and some every other day. Needless to say, my first 2 weeks (and still now) all I was doing was trying to make a feasible schedule! It was very difficult and caused many tears as to what I was supposed to do with such a crazy, dynamic schedule.

The range of abilities in my classroom has also been a challenge. I have students who don't speak, students who are about to read, students who have a lot of behavior issues, and everybody in between. Difficult--enough said.

If I haven't convinced you to switch jobs yet, let me continue. I have had kids have accidents in their pants, students who refused to come in from recess (and had to be carried in, students who honestly cannnot stop talking--no matter what--students who love to just get up and leave the whole group to go "play", and students who are ALWAYS sick! I also have many adults that come in and out of my classroom for various reasons--never easy to teach or learn with all that going on!

Admist my tears, frustrations, and stess, however, God has opened my eyes and my heart to the work he has set forth for me to do this upcoming year. Today I was greatly encouraged by the prayer meeting set up for before school with my fellow staff members. It was a powerful way to start my day--and to see other Christian believers working amongst me.

So though I have "quit" many times in the past 3 weeks (and remain to show up every morning despite...) I have also been learning these things:
1. Life, work, school is not always in my control--I must go with the flow and accept imperfections.
2. I cannot fix the world--or my students. I can only teach them the best I can and pray daily on their behalf.
3. God works in ways unknown to us and I must remember that I glorify God through my attitude at work.
4. I cannot let my work overcome my life--I have a wonderful husband at home who needs me as well.
5. Love even when it comes difficult to do....my students need that the most.

I know I wrote about a lot of frustrations in the post, but know that I truly do love my students and am ready for the work this year has to bring!

Peace and Love,
Allie

Reeds Lake Tri 2010

Go Jeff! On Saturday, Jeff completed his first triathlon in East Grand Rapids. It was a ton of fun to watch (despite some chilly weather)--with a beautiful sunrise and lots of good company! I was a proud wife! :)