Greta

49ers won!!

2012-01-14T18:37:00.001-08:00

Wooot Woooot!!!! We took care of the Saints!

I can’t get enough of this song!

2011-02-24T06:58:00.001-08:00

"You are My Hope"

In Your Presence Here I bow, I am aching for you now

To touch you with Your love somehow, You are my hope.

And when my hands have gotten weak, from the empty things I seek

As I crumble here, You Speak, You are my Hope

And God most high, come and be near me now.

And Draw me nigh to your heart.

God of Life, fill me with your presence now

(Where I am humble, Where I am free)

When I'm hurting for a friend, I see the marks upon your skin

And they tell me once again, You are my hope.

Closer than a brother stays, the one who holds me in His grace

Forever, Yesterday, Today, You are my hope

Who have I have in heaven but you?

And beside thee I desire, nothing on earth.

Sunday

2010-09-12T23:12:00.001-07:00

Wanted and hoped to sleep in this morning….sleeping in for me is anywhere between 9 and 11am. I woke up at 7.30am! Boo.

So i spent it wisely, getting stuff done and having an extra long time with Jesus. I’m reading Deuteronomy.

The first half of the book just spoke and spoke and spoke to me in all new ways, I just loved every second. This morning i got into all the crazy laws and stuff, and all I have to say is that I’m happy we’re not under that law and there is grace when we do screw up.

I loved this morning’s message. Pastor Nate is so gifted in his ability to teach. I loved learning more about the thief on the cross that had too much pride. Never heard anyone talk about the guy on the cross next to Jesus who couldn’t humble himself enough to recognize that Jesus is God.

Makes me think about how some people wait to give their lives to the Lord. Lots of times trials bring repentance for people, but in some cases, trials can bring a more hardness of heart. Don’t wait for something to happen, give your life to the Lord today. What do you have to lose? Compare that to what you have to gain!

This week is a busy week with conferences and a full five days again of teaching. Also, a wedding to attend and then going to Grandma’s 90th birthday!

training

2010-09-09T10:48:00.001-07:00

Im at a PBIS training right now. PBIS stands for Positive Behavior Something Something. I’m the King Coach for PBIS.

I have a sub in my class and its a half day, but I get to be here a full day. Conferences are in full swing too. I scheduled one at 2:45 so I’d have to leave early….darn it….

Getting a bunch of teachers together is always a fun eventful time. Some teachers continue to be loving, caring wonderful teachers that are always that way, then you also get the cranky, “I’m too good for this” type of teacher who cannot stand the activities and conversations we are doing and having, even though they basically volunteered to be here.

hehe.

My principal was suppose to be here, but unfortunately my school was broken into for the 3rd time this last weekend. My poor principal’s laptop was stolen again. The cops called her right away this morning and thought they found the laptop, but she needed to go and identify it. Its too bad that someone would steal from an elementary school, especially one with poor students and poor teachers within a state that already has NO money that is given out to schools!!

Hopefully it was her laptop!!!

UK

2010-09-06T10:33:00.001-07:00

I bought my ticket to the UK last week. Super stoked to be heading out to my favorite place for a week. Everything about it just makes me smile!! :-) And with all the flights and jetlaggedness I will be sleeping a lot—so even though its such a long way to go….I will be able to rest on my week off quite a bit.

I told my students that I would be going to England over our Fall Break. Their first thing they said was…"You’re leaving us? Who will come and be with us if you aren’t here!” I love my students!

jeremiah 33:3

2010-08-07T10:42:00.000-07:00

Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.

just thinkin'

2010-08-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

just thinking about how God answers prayers.

Sometimes you pray for something with a very specific outcome in mind. You can pray and pray and pray for that specific outcome but it never comes.

I've been quite guilty of this and recently I've just been taking a step back and God has been every so gently showing me how HE has answered my prayers, just in completely different ways than the desired outcome I thought I desired. God has fulfilled desires and needs in my life, only in His way, not mine.

Isn't it funny that we (and we think we're so smart and know exactly what we need) ask God (creator of the universe, knows how many hairs are on our head, can see the entire picture) for something and then complain when its not answered the way we want it!

goodness!! Another example of why God calls us sheep. I'm so thankful God hears my prayers, answers them, and gives me so much better than I ever would have known to ask for.

Sometimes you just have to take a step back to see it all.

On another note, I went to see the David Crowder Band on Thursday night. I have a new favorite song called Shadow.

"When shadows fall on us....we will not fear...we will remember......when all seems lost, when we're thrown and we're tossed...We remember the cost....We rest in Him....the shadow of the cross."

a cuppa

2010-07-25T00:01:00.001-07:00

I had afternoon tea today at the Cypress Inn in Carmel. Doris Day's hotel, a very dog friendly place to visit.

We went there to celebrate Janet's "Baby #2" aka Isabel Grace. I was able to get caught up on all the exciting news with the girls. Nobody remembered their camera, except the guest of honor, so hopefully soon I'll get some photos of today!

Congrats Jaime and Janet!

another summer day

2010-07-21T12:56:00.001-07:00

Another Summer day at 51 degrees in Monterey. It has been so cold here! I am loving my summer more than ever before, and I am fully taking advantage of the fact that I am on vacation. Resting, reading, hanging out with friends. I can’t get enough!

My friend left last Thursday and I dropped her off at the airport and then continued to drive down to LA and then to San Bernadino County. I was able to meet with my dear friend Aaron for some lunch, catch up—and then continue on down to Rancho Cucamunga. My friend Hannah who lived with me a few summers ago came out with her family for a 3 day layover to visit Aunt Martha and Uncle Jeff. I had visited Aunt Martha and Uncle Jeff in Las Vegas, so when they invited me down, I had to go! It was a really fun time---swimming, hanging out and of course catching up! I hadn’t seen Hannah’s mom, dad or sisters since her little sister, Jess’s wedding 3 years ago!

From there I drove up to Costa Mesa and got to meet Gracie Moo. What a beautiful lovely little girl! Jaime had motherhood completely under control too! Congrats David and Jaime!

So now, after driving down to hot weather and then back up to cold, my sinuses didn’t really like that too much. I am fighting another sinus infection, but this time I am not going to do the antibiotic route! Should be slower but as long as its gone by the first day of school, I’ll be alright!

things that make you go hhmm

2010-06-25T23:21:00.001-07:00

1. talking with people who know ( aka think they get it) see your point of view, but really have no clue. You know those people who think they get what you are trying to communicate but have missed the boat by a mile? Those conversations go no where fast!

Summer Break

2010-06-23T11:10:00.001-07:00

People keep telling me to enjoy the season that I am in….so this summer I am doing just that! I’m being productive as well as enjoying my break, i.e., sleeping in until 10:30. But then the same people who keep telling me to enjoy the season I’m in right now—give me crap about sleeping in until 10:30. Seriously? :) Don’t be a hater. lol

I went to IKEA this week and bought a chair and a bookshelf and a lamp. I successfully put together the chair and lamp last night, but need to do the bookshelf. It should be a project but I’m ready to do it!!

Yesterday I took 3 former students to Jamba Juice and then to petsmart. All little boys who have such a difficult home life—so I gave one my number and told him to call me if he wanted to get out of his house this summer. He called on Monday night and said, “Miss Dobie can we go to Jamba Juice?”

We oooohh’d and aawww’d over every fish, snake, lizard, chinchilla and cat in the place at least 3 times before making it out the doors.

I just LOVE summer vacation! I feel like I’m on vacation every day living where I’m living!

$18

2010-06-03T07:34:00.001-07:00

Even with a washer and dryer, my electric bill is only 18 dollars!! YEAH!!!!

So much cheaper without quarters in my life!

once again for its beauty.

2010-06-02T00:00:00.001-07:00

"You are My Hope"

In Your Presence Here I bow, I am aching for you now

To touch you with Your love somehow, You are my hope.

And when my hands have gotten weak, from the empty things I seek

As I crumble here, You Speak, You are my Hope

And God most high, come and be near me now.

And Draw me nigh to your heart.

God of Life, fill me with your presence now

(Where I am humble, Where I am free)

When I'm hurting for a friend, I see the marks upon your skin

And they tell me once again, You are my hope.

Closer than a brother stays, the one who holds me in His grace

Forever, Yesterday, Today, You are my hope

Who have I have in heaven but you?

And beside thee I desire, nothing on earth.

sometimes it sucks!

2010-06-01T23:59:00.001-07:00

what a week.

I had to have a conversation with someone yesterday that I did not want to have, but needed to be had. I wanted to respond via email, but wanted to honor the person by going face to face.

it was really hard to do even though I knew God’s will needed be done—and His ways are higher than mine. I think they got it, we’ll see.

what to say!

2010-05-24T22:38:00.001-07:00

over this last week i’ve been thinking of all the things I needed to blog about but now that I am actually typing, I have lost all of those thoughts!

I have 7.5 days of school left….super excited!

We’re making piggy banks out of paper mache at school. I am so impressed at how well they are turning out. I will try and take some pictures. They all have little feet and ears and once we do our final layer of paper mache—the pigs will be painted and put the little googly eyes on them. I am so proud of my little monkeys.

I can’t believe summer break is so soon! I feel like it could be February. I don’t know how May got here sooo quickly.

Still waiting to hear about what grade I will be teaching next year. I will be at King! yea! Only 4 out of 13 of us are able to stay and they are letting me stay. I feel really blessed and honored!

Starting a new bible study on heaven on Thursday with my girls in Salinas. I’m excited to learn more about Heaven and although Heaven is such a huge inconceivable thought to even try and wrap my mind around it, so prayerfully after the study I will be able to long for heaven like I should. To be honest, although I’m learning more and more on Wednesday nights, the unknown is scary to me. I am a black and white person who likes to be in the know.

If wetting your pants is cool---I'm Miles Davis.

2010-05-10T22:03:00.000-07:00

A girl peed in my class today. It was so much and she just stood there. Her pants didn't even soak any of it up. I heard this flowing water sound and turned around and this little girl just was standing there and peeing. It was so much I told the kids she had a water bottle in her pants that she forgot to put the lid back on it. All the kids then shouted out--OH that's happened to me before! It was soo much. I asked her why she didn't ask to go to the bathroom, and she said that she didn't want to interrupt the class. The funny thing was that she wasn't even really embarrased. She was as shocked as I was.

Just like in Billy Madison---if wetting your pants is cool---I'm Miles Davis.

Hmm.

2010-05-09T21:58:00.000-07:00

Got to go to Shoreline CC in Morro Bay today. Pastor Jack taught from 2 Corinthians 5. "For we know that if our earthly house is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."

I'm not great at re-explaining things, but Pastor Jack also talked a lot about "Putting on vs. Putting Off" and the choice we have. As we "put on" the Lord and as we grow closer to Him, the more we want. It was awesome. It was my first time with Pastor Tonye (PT) gone--but everything was still in place that PT did---just with PJ spin on it.

We also got to sing one of my favorite worship songs that I sing regularly in the shower and in my car, so it was nice to hear it sung nicely. It's called

"You are My Hope"

In Your Presence Here I bow, I am aching for you now

To touch you with Your love somehow, You are my hope.

And when my hands have gotten weak, from the empty things I seek

As I crumble here, You Speak, You are my Hope

And God most high, come and be near me now.

And Draw me nigh to your heart.

God of Life, fill me with your presence now

(Where I am humble, Where I am free)

When I'm hurting for a friend, I see the marks upon your skin

And they tell me once again, You are my hope.

Closer than a brother stays, the one who holds me in His grace

Forever, Yesterday, Today, You are my hope

Who have I have in heaven but you?

And beside thee I desire, nothing on earth.

I was able to make it back up to CCMB for the downtown service to hear Pastor Nate teach on Marriage from Mark 10. Got tons of wonderful tips on keeping a marriage healthy--and hopefully I'll get to apply those to my life someday. As Nate said, "I'll prepare as I'm single to ready myself if I enter into marriage sometime in my life."

Good word, but truthfully, a little sick of hearing always about marriage. There are married people, but also lots of single people! I feel so strongly that it is so important to focus a lot of attention on marriage, and encourage the married folk--(because as i've seen and been told...marriage is HARD!) because of the statistics of divorce, but...

I wish some effort went into encouraging those who would not choose singleness but are trying to live their singleness in a Godly way. I think the married people forget about the time when they were single. My wish would be that they would remember.

Yes I am just being cranky and selfish. I feel like I'm prepared and ready to be a good wifey for a Godly man, but obviously God doesn't think so right now. So one day, hopefully, I will be able to put into practice the words from Mark 10.

And with that...I'm off to take the quiona (sp?) off the stovetop and head to bed! This single gal has 24 little monkeys to deal with tomorrow as well as a district walk-through, where 4 district level people walk through my classroom and grade me on my student's engagement, my direct instruction to the students, what I'm teaching/how I'm teaching it, what I'm using to use teach the kids! Thank you Jesus that summer break is in 19 days!

Please

2010-05-04T22:41:00.001-07:00

http://mabyssal.blogspot.com/2010/03/uniforms.html

Please click that link. This is my favorite European named Michael. I call her “Meeee Call”. I spent an entire summer in a TINY room not even big enough for us and our suitcases.

Needless to say….we laughed a lot. Watching this made me actually giggle outloud, so hoping to share some joy with you.

Michael is German—but has an american sense of humor.

Cian Vince

2010-05-04T22:18:00.001-07:00

I am the proud Godmama of Cian Vince Ramirez.

His older brother-Cyle was in my class last year, and I got to know the family. I think because of my travels to the Philippines, I fell in love with the people in the culture.

What an honor to be asked to be part of Cian's life! He does have like 8 Godparents, but the duty of the Godparent is to help Cian's parents, bring Cian up in the faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Heck yes! :)

Happiness

2010-05-04T22:16:00.001-07:00

Happiness…..like grace, enough for us and the whole human race. :)

New song by David Crowder. Love it!!

__________________________________________________________

I read this morning about God being the God of hope. Reading some notes from my study bible---I found this: Unlike the English word “hope” the NT word contains no uncertainty; it speaks of something that is certain, but not yet realized. Our hope will be realized because Christ himself secures it.

I would define ‘hope’ as: wanting something/desiring something and hoping that I get it, achieve it, see God work through it, etc. Obviously not too biblical.

This changes everything for me! The bible’s term for hope contains NO uncertainty—something that is CERTAIN.

We can hope in Christ with full assurance and no uncertainty.

May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him. So that we may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

cool huh?

Hawaii

2010-04-28T17:14:00.001-07:00

Hannah and I lived it up in Hawaii. I used free miles to get a hotel and my flight from Monterey round trip. Hannah lives there and came and vacationed with me. We snorkled, tried Spam grossness, witnessed to a cute old lady who was a JW and put the couch on the balcony. It doesn’t get much better than that!!

Santa came early

2010-04-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

I moved into a new sweet place in PG and Santa sent his little helpers and brought me a new LG washer and dryer. I'll be saving quarters in the long run---but it may take 10 years of quarters to pay for these sweet new machines, but oh is it worth it!!! Of course they were delivered during PG's busiest festival--The Good Ol' Days---so it even looks like they put up those "NO PARKING" just for me and my new washer/dryer.

These things are beautiful and white and clean. They even sing me a little song when the load is finished washing and drying. My trick is to wash in cold water as much as possible, because the new landlords pay the water---so I barely pay anything to wash the clothes....just paying for drying them! :-D And even then--a HUGE load takes only 33 minutes to dry! Thank you Jesus!

catching up

2010-04-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

Hiya friends. Long time no talk. I've been looking at my pictures from my recent adventures and thought I would share! Goodness! So much has happened in the last few months.

The Lord has brought me through two really difficult things recently. I then went to Hawaii on a honeymoon after the Lord delivered me through the tough crap, come home only to another difficult thing. So thankful the LORD knows just what our breaking point is.

I found this picture of Jo and Jess from Valentine's Day. I've spent the last 9 months with these beautiful ladies every other Thursday night. We've been studying Beth Moore's teaching of Daniel--which has been helpful lately as we've been going through Revelation on Wednesday Nights. As Beth says..."Can I get an Amen?"

Just a random cute little photo of my students. We went on our yearly adventure to the aquarium. Here is just a handful of my lovely 25 Kinder and 1st graders. Only 4 years under my belt, but these are the best little monkeys by far--and I have 5 more kids than normal and Kinders and 1st graders in the same class!

I was able to fly down to San Diego two days after getting back from Hawaii to go to Jason Krach's wedding. I finally got to meet his beautiful bride and was sooo excited to see that Jason's biggest dream of getting married was coming true! He was glowing more than the bride. :-D Yeah for Jason!!

waiting-copied from roger and janet’s blog.

2010-03-17T22:51:00.001-07:00

Blessed Is the One Who Waits"
It may seem an easy thing to wait, but it is one of the postures which a Christian soldier does not learn without years of teaching. Marching and quick-marching are much easier to God's warriors than standing still. There are hours of perplexity when the most willing spirit, anxiously desirous to serve the Lord, knows not what part to take. Then what shall it do? Vex itself by despair? Fly back in cowardice, turn to the right hand in fear, or rush forward in presumption? No, only simply wait.
Wait in prayer, however. Call on God, and spread the case before him; tell him your difficulty and plead his promise of aid. In dilemmas between one duty and another, it is sweet to be humble as a child and wait with simplicity of soul on the Lord. It is sure to be well with us when we feel and know our own folly, and are heartily willing to be guided by the will of God.
But wait in faith. Express your unstaggering confidence in him, for unfaithful, untrusting waiting is but an insult to the Lord. Believe that if he keeeps you tarrying even till midnight, yet he will come at the right time; the vision will come and will not tarry.
Amen. A very encouraging meditation for us, especially in a season of waiting. God is so very good. We are enjoying the beauty of the desert, hiking, and each other. There is so much to be in prayer for. And as the prophet Isaiah says, "There is joy in my house of prayer." (Isaiah: 56:7)

Sunday-Saturday Prayer

2010-03-16T22:22:00.001-07:00

If you are praying for someone who has gone astray in some way---the Lord gave me a way to remember to pray for that person Sun-Sat. My dear friend has been gone for over 3 months now, and I was getting discouraged praying the same thing.

This may be case specific-but it may work for you!

Sunday-Sorrow (Godly) will lead to repentance. (2 Corinthians 7:10-For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.)

Monday-Mom/Daughter

Tuesday-Tired (He will grow tired of his sin)

Wednesday-Weather and elements will bug ‘him’ the wrong way to just return home.

Thursday-Thoughts (That the enemy will have no reign over his thoughts and that he will remember scriptures and memories of the times he was clean.

Friday-Fears and Failures

Saturday-Sin that separates.

God loves His Stupid Sheep

2010-02-17T22:24:00.001-08:00

So tonight Pastor Geoff spoke on God being our Father, Shelter and Shepherd. The thing that stood out to me is God as my Shepherd. I learned that sheep refuse to drink from running water. He leads me beside still waters. He makes me lie down in green pastures. I love that God will make us be where we need to be. A shepherd sometimes needs to use his ROD to push the sheep down, even if the sheep fights, the Shepherd knows what's best for his sheep. A Shepherd spends 100% of his time staring at sheep. His job is to keep the sheep safe, even when the sheep think they know what's going on.

In high school, one summer at camp, we made up a song--and one of the verses was, "God loves his stupid sheep, even when we get no sleep."

Sheep are so stupid, but think they know everything!

The summer of 2005 was spent in Austria living at a Castle doing housekeeping. I almost despised every second of my time there. I met a few special people and I feel like that's why God had me go....but after tonight I can think of another reason. Sheep.

The weather at the Castle is nuts during the summer with the biggest thunder and lightening storms I had ever experienced. Lightening that flashed the entire sky and thunder that made the whole castle shake!

Well imagine a whole bunch of dumb sheep having to be outside during a thunder and lightening storm. This thunder shook the ground, and not just for a few seconds, but almost a minute at a time shaking! Those sheep cried like mad. I have never heard a group of animals complain about how miserable they were like those dumb sheep. They also stunk. After a hard rainfall, those sheep were soo stinky.

We were able to compare humans to sheep in so many ways that summer, and got a greater understanding of why God compares us to sheep. We deserve it. We think we know best. We try to fight our shepherd. We cry and get scared when we shouldn't be. We also are good at making ourselves stink. (not physically, but we can totally stink spiritually.)

He Walked Away-changed “She to He” By Barlow Girl

2010-01-19T20:18:00.001-08:00

"He Walked Away"
He couldn't take one more day
Home was more his prison now
Independence called out
He had to get it
A fight was all he needed
To give him reason
He slammed the door with no goodbye
And knew that it was time
Now he's driving too fast
He didn't care to glance behind
And through his tears he laughed
It's time to kiss the past goodbye
I'm finally on my own
Don't try to tell me no
There's so much more for me
Just watch what I will be
He walked away
Couldn't say why he was leaving
He walked away
He left all he had believed in
He walked away
Not a day goes by
For the one he's left behind
They're always asking why
And thoughts of him consume their mind
God please let him know
The love we tried to show
We'd promise anything
If you'd just bring him home
Tell him we love him
Tell him he's wanted
One more thing God
Tell him please come home
Please come home
The choice is yours alone now
Tell me how this story ends

[spoken:]
While the son was still a long way off
His father saw him, and felt compassion for him
and ran and embraced him and kissed him
"Let us celebrate for this child of mine was dead
and he has come back to life,
He was lost and now he is found"
and they began to celebrate
[Luke 15:20 and 24]

just a test

2010-01-17T23:23:00.001-08:00

just a test to see if this works! i’m setting a link from my computer directly to the blog!

2010-01-13T13:56:00.000-08:00

Don’t know where to begin, it’s like my world’s caving in

And I try but I can’t control my fear

Where do I go from here?

Sometimes it’s so hard to pray when You feel so far away

But I am willing to go where You want me to God, I trust You

There’s a raging sea right in front of me

Wants to pull me in, bring me to my knees

So let the waters rise if You want them to

I will follow You, I will follow YouI will follow You

I will swim in the deep ‘cause You’ll be next to me

You’re in the eye of the storm and the calm of the sea

You’ll never out of reach

God You know where I’ve been, You were there with me then

You were faithful before, You’ll be faithful again

I’m holding Your hand

God Your love is enough,

You will pull me throughI’m holding onto You

God Your love is enough, I will follow YouI will follow You

prayer

2010-01-11T23:42:00.000-08:00

Please pray for my friend who is making some really dumb choices right now.

I Believe

2010-01-10T23:18:00.000-08:00

I Believe in the Sun

Even when it's not shining

I Believe in Love

Even when I don't feel it

I Believe in God

Even when He is Silent

----Barlow Girl

Pretty Bad

2009-08-30T13:17:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated in ages, and its pretty bad when I can scroll down on the same page and find that there was a post from April! I went and saw Julie and Julia last night and was a little bit inspired to start blogging again. I just feel with the new school year beginning there is always something more important to do than sit down and blog. BUT! It pays off later when in a few years I can get online and remember all the different things that were going on in my life.

So for the updates:

I was laid off in June this year and got called a week before school started to get my job back! I was so blessed. I started teaching August 10th and I have 7 kinders and 18 1st graders in my K/1 combo class. Kindergarten sure scared the crap outta me at the beginning of the year, but it seems to get better day after day. They are all so adorable, so it makes up for their lack of skills! They will come up with the funniest things to say at the funniest time to say it.

During the time I teach reading I have 35 in my class! I have decided this year that I really LOVE teaching phonics and reading. It is a lot of fun, and it is soo rewarding to watch little ones who can't read develop into strong readers and writers. Getting to dissect the different sounds of our language and try to teach them to 35 different little minds is a great but fun challenge! I only had 20 last year but it was such a difficult class. Even though I have a bunch more students--this year is going great!

I also get to work closely with a strong christian who loves to talk about God all day long. Its a great encourgament for me. I thank God that not only I was able to come back to King (like I prayed so boldly) but I get to work with another believer!

Alright, maybe I'll get back on the bandwagon and post more each week. I'll try to find some pictures someday too.

Thanks for reading!

I've Got A Lot To Say!

2009-07-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

I know it has been forever since I've been on here to update the 2 people that read this blog about my uneventful happenings in my life. I last wrote all about my adventure in Barcelona. I had never been to Espana before and I am really happy I got to experience a bit of it! Barcelona was crazy but wonderful! There was so much to see and so much to do there was no waaay that we could do everything! We got to see a light show the last night underneath a beautiful sunset! For me, that was the highlight of my time in Spain!

We left Barcelona and got on a huge ship, where we set up house for the following 12 days. I think the best thing of the entire trip was that my sisters and I enjoyed each other's company for over two weeks! That alone was such a miracle and blessing! It was kind of a joke that one of us was going to take a side trip from our balcony to the ocean floor.

Our room was quite small, but we had a cute little balcony where we were able to open the sliding glass door in the evening to hear the ocean as we tried to go to sleep! Our room attendant was named Emerson and he was soo cool! A 30 something year old from Honduras who really missed his ten year old son. All the staff on the ship always had to greet us with a huge fake smile and ask how our day was going, so my sisters and I made it our mission to try to bless Emerson. Here is a picture of me and Emerson in Venice!

Our dining room man was named Joselito and he was from the great nation of the Philippines. He was really cool but you could tell that he was totally overworked and overstressed. Poor Guy!

We were assigned a dinner table with 3 other families-so they became our family away from home on the ship. We'd come together every night for two weeks to share all about our adventures for the day. Funny enough--we'd also run into them at almost every port somewhere out in the big city. For instance, in Rome--population 2,656,000--along with the millions of extra tourists that are around every day---it was amazing that we would run into someone we knew!Our first day we went to Cannes, France--and it was awesome! It was very hot, but we got the opportunity to tour a perfume factory!

Rome, Florence and Naples were OK, but super hot and sometimes stressful to make it back to the ship. In Rome we made it back to the ship with 18 minutes to spare before the boat left! Whew! We tried to catch a 3 o'clock train, but it was an hour and a half late, and the train ride was an hour and a half, and then we had to run 5 blocks in 106 degree weather with high humidity to catch a bus to take us to the ship. Talk about stressful.

Naples was gross--it reminded me of downtown Oakland. Blah.

Venice was my most favorite stop. Even though I had been there two other times, there was something so beautiful and magical about being in the city at night! St. Mark's square flooded and the reflections of the beautiful buildings on the water was awesome!

Dubrovnik was beautiful, but then it rained and turned into quite the adventure. We went to take my grandfather's ashes to Croatia---and we did that too---but that was quite the story getting the ashes into our suitcase and onto the boat. This is a photo of us before we got hit by the rain.This was after we walked the wall. It was really like we had been swimming in our clothes!

Corfu, Greece was beautiful with gorgeous blue water--but because we're only there for a day--we didn't get to see tons! There was lots of great shopping though, and after awhile I started to ask--"VISA?" I bought some beautiful pieces of jewelry and a really loud and obnoxious horn.

You couldn't leave Greece without trying some of this:

Overall it was an amazing trip--but there is nothing like being in the good ol' U S of A!

Journey part dos

2009-06-14T22:26:00.000-07:00

We haven't even been here 48 hours and I feel like our little vacation is coming to a close....it finally hit me that we will have two flippin' weeks on boat...and I'm not quite sure how I really feel about that--but excited for the journey ahead of us!

We spent yesterday exploring Barcelona. It is such a beautiful place with so much to see, as with any European city. There is something special about this place though. We slept in until about 8:30 and then took our dear sweet time getting out of our hotel. We were waken up by and old church's bells. Beautiful! I think of that newer coldplay song that came out? hehe

The funniest story from yesterday was when we had gotten off of our bus for a bite to eat and to walk around and explore parts of the city. We were walking through alley-like paths and were discovering all these cute little shops or cafes. We walked into one shop and the lady was so happy. She didn't really speak any english, but she was full of things to say in Espanol. I bought a magnet and she refused to give it to me for full price. She went on giggling and talking and told us about the Picasso museum that was "gratis" and sure enough we were able to get in for free! I think the lady had a little too much Sangria on her lunch break--but either way--she was great! I took my photo with her and she pinched my cheeks---and it hurt! She declared herself my Espana Mama. haha!

Also another one of Ellen-isms....We were deciding on a place to eat dinner and I said, Let's go to a Tappas Bar and Ellen replied, A topless bar? Ew Greta! It doesn't sound as funny typed out now, but it was funny at the time. :-)

We get on the ship today so I'm not sure how much internet there will be---so until then--adios! Ciao Bella!

The Adventure Begins!

2009-06-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

Emily, Ellen and I made it to Bacelona tonight! It has been such a fun adventure so far, and its also going pretty well considering. I guess its only been one day though, but a girl can hope!

We left Friday at 4pm from SFO and flew to LAX and then to Zurich, Switzerland. I've taken many overseas flights in the last few years, but I feel like this was one of the longest. LAX to Switzerland. At one point during the flight it seemed my butt might fall off if I didn't get up that instant. Ellen and I got a two-seater on the side of the plane and Emily had to sit next to a stranger who did not know about having an invisible personal space bubble. Poor guy also had dandruff that was snowing from his head onto my tray. Woo! We flew Swiss Air--a first--but I really loved it. They gave everyone, not just 1st class, warm wash clothes when they wanted us to wake up, they had little TVs for everyone and you could start and finish a movie whenever you wanted as well as the Captain of the plane was awesome! I had a few more fears than normal flying because of all the different airplane crashes in the last 6 months but our captain stood outside and greeted everyone as we got on the flight. He looked smart and experienced. The only downfall of the entire flight was the bathroom was right behind our heads, so we did have to hear a few people getting sick, and we heard the toilet SWWOOOOOOSSSSHHH too many times to count!

We flew into Zurich and I'm not a runner, but I just wanted to go run through the green fields and the beautiful old looking villages with the Swiss Cottages scattered across the countryside! It was like the airport didn't belong there. It was great because I got a Swiss stamp in the passport!!

On our flight there Ellen said, "Aren't we going to Zertec, like the name of the medicine?" Zurich, land of allergies? hehe.

About two hours later we boarded a flight to Barcelona where we got our luggage and braved taking a city bus to our hotel. It saved us so much money because a cab would have been so much!! We got Euros and got on that bus like we knew what we were doing! *We're such great fakers!!! We're staying in Plaza de Cantalunya and there is so much to see! Its right next to Las Ramblas where there is so much going on! Hundreds of men selling fake purses, but ready to run when the police come. Tapa Bars left and right. I even saw two starbucks--which is great news for me because that means I get to add Barcelona to my collection of mugs from around the world!

We are here all day tomorrow and then on Monday figure out a way to get to the port to get onto the ship!

Alright! I'll post pictures when I return! Please continue to pray for the safety of us and and our health!

Besos! Muah!

Koala Lou

2009-05-25T12:09:00.000-07:00

If you have not read Koala Lou, by Mem Fox, can I recommend it to you? It's such a cute story about a Koala who loves his mom. Over and over she would always say, "Koala Lou-I do love you!" After the mom has a whole bunch of other koalas, Koala Lou doesn't think that his mom loves him anymore, so he joins the Koala Olympics so his mom will say, "Koala Lou-I do love you!"

We had a long talk in class about how it may not seem like our mommies or daddies don't love us, but really they love us so much and sometimes they just don't know how to say it. We all shared stories of a time when we did something to upset our parents. One kid said he 'organized' his mom's boss' desk. He was in big trouble! Whoops! I told them that if their moms didn't love you, they wouldn't have had you.

To that, my Mary Kate raised her hand and said very sure of herself, "Having babies is hard work." She then started to make pushing sounds and get very dramatic. I tried to hold my laughs in.

I said, "Mary Kate-how do you know what having a baby is like?"

Mary Kate: "I know Miss Dobie. I've had a lot of baby......(long pause).....dolls."

To this she just started cracking herself up, which got me to laugh out loud too.

More Thoughts

2009-05-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

This last week at school was really difficult, but got easier as the days progressed. It was so hard dealing with Angel’s death. I went to the memorial for her on Thursday night. It was beautiful and simple. There was a priest that did the service, and he kept on saying that because we live in “Christian Culture” the service will be done with a Christian emphasis. The priest, who didn’t even know Angel nor had ever met her prayed many prayers with the “we will see you again” emphasis. Instead I wish he would had shared the gospel.

It saddens me that this man had the opportunity to share, and instead just went with the ‘christian culture’ mindset that heaven is the next step for everyone. I didn't know Angel enough to know whether or not she had a relationship with the Lord but generally speaking, the priest should have shared Jesus!

I also was getting cranky because of all the speakers. I don’t know the people who spoke at the service’s hearts, but I did know a few of them, and they too just read poems or spoke of Heaven and God in the ‘christian culture’ mindset.

These people really had no clue that they were talking about our Heavenly Father, all-knowing, all powerful, all merciful God. One speaker said that whatever your last job was on earth is what you’ll be doing in heaven, so Angel will be teaching the special needs children in Heaven and what better job in Heaven than a teacher!

I am so sad by this. Heaven is all about praising and worshiping God and nothing else!! We will not be teaching children, running businesses, acting as lawyers, etc. I’m trying to be sensitive but also stand up for the injustice the mindset of Heaven for non-believers. If you live in the christian culture, that does not guarantee you a golden ticket to heaven.

Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. Ask Him to be Lord of your life and when you die, you will be with him.

Its Been Forever...

2009-05-09T09:00:00.001-07:00

Gosh, I haven't blogged in ages, but my excuse will be that if its not one thing, its another. I feel like blogging is so great, because I record cool things that happen in my daily life and then will have the opportunity to go back and read about them, but at the end of the day, after a long day at work, the last thing I want to do is sit down and write about what happened.

So much has happened in the last month! I got really sick, had to go to a hearing to fight for my job, I tried to buy a house, reality sank in that I will be paying full rent by myself, and a co-worker and friend was tragically killed in an accident are just to name a few.

My students have been driving me up the wall for the last month. This last week seemed to go a lot better. It all started when I took a day off to go observe other first grade classes. BTSA (a school-payed class I had to take for two years) paid for me to go, and its important that I do that, but I didn't want to leave my babies all by themselves. For one, I just don't like to do that, and for two-I know they would turn into monsters once I stepped foot outside the classroom. I have to have them on such a tight leash that any loosening and the kids will go nuts!

The students turning into monsters is exactly what happened. My sub who was an ex-cop and an ex-teacher told me my class was the worst class he had EVER subbed for in his life. Woah! That makes me feel proud!

Now here I am...scared to take another day off. The following week though I had to take two days off to attend the hearing to fight for my job. It was very important I was there, so I asked my friend Eliza to sub. She did a better job, but it sounds like they wrote sentences and sat in time out the majority of the day. At least it was a safe environment for the kids.

I won't find anything out with my job until next week, but I have a feeling I will be getting the really, for real, the district isn't fooling around lay-off notice next week. Then I'll get another one in July that says: please come back, we layed off too many teachers and would be in big trouble if you don't come back.

So if that happens, I can get unemployment for two months during the summer. Sweet. Is that wrong? I really don't know. I know as Christians we should be self-sufficient and not need the support of the gov't, but what if I don't need it, but would love the extra cash. Is it wrong to take it anyway? HHmmm.

This last week I've been mourning the loss of a friend and fellow 4th grade teacher named Angel Arrellano. She was driving down south and was in a horrid accident and was killed instantly. My school community has been dealing with this, and helping the students to deal with the loss of a teacher. My school's students come from rough homes and for many of them-school is their constant in their life. I would go as far to say too that some teachers are the students' 'mothers' as the moms at home are not really present or involved in any way. The 4th grade class was a SPED (special ed) class. Not physical disabilities but the students are slower, and a lower level accademically then the rest of the students. These kids are already more troubled, and then to lose their teacher----it has been hard.

More on that later.

Right now I need to load up my car for my drive down to SLO to visit my grandma, Mommers, and celebrate Mother's Day and her Birthday! Woo!

Weekend Recap

2009-04-12T21:42:00.000-07:00

I had a busy but restful weekend and wanted to write all about it before I forget it all!

Friday was Good Friday and after a very stressful day at school a big group of people met at PF Changs and surprised my roommate for her 23rd birthday. We surprised Sara and the meal was wonderful. Even better than that, a stranger paid for our bill + tax & tip! An older single lady was sitting behind us, and I don't know what it was, but she picked up our bill! When someone from the table asked for the bill, the waiter said that the lady behind us had paid but she didn't want us to know until she had left. That NEVER happens! It was so cool!

We then went to church and had a Good Friday service at Calvary. There was a great turn-out, with great worship and communion and prayer.

Afterwards a bunch of people went over to Heather's to celebrate Sara just a little bit more. Heather baked a beautiful cake and it was a great time to get to know some people just a tad more. We then got to play the glorious game of Mafia! I am not a good liar, but was able to trick a few people.

It was fun to be able to celebrate with Sara her 23rd year. I have known Sara since 2004 and its been fun to be able to witness first hand how God has molded her into a woman who loves Jesus.

Saturday I woke up, went to Costco then was off to my mom's to visit with my Grandma. We hung out and made dinner together. Ellen and Emily arrived a few hours later and we watched The Sound of Music for the thousandth time and then said goodnight to Grandma!

Since 2003 I have made it my tradition to attend the community sunrise service at Lover's Point and was able to make it this morning.

I came home, picked up Emily and we headed out to my mom's again to hang out with my grandma for the day. We found Easter baskets, made dinner and even got my 88 year old grandma to play the Wii. (Pictures hopefully to follow...)

I got to hang out with good friends, my family, take a few naps and celebrate all the things Jesus did on the cross!

Families

2009-04-09T07:54:00.000-07:00

So when I was younger we had to say this prayer before every dinner we had together as a family:

We are a family

We need one another
We love one another
We forgive one another

We work together
We play together
We worship together

Together we use God's word
Together we grow in Christ
Together we love all men
Together we serve our God
Together we hope for heaven

These are our hopes and ideals
Help us to attain them,O God
Through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen

Last night's study totally reminded me of it again. God is so good and has given me a great family family, but has also blessed me with an incredible church family. I love em!

Victory!

2009-04-02T22:56:00.000-07:00

So tonight the city of Pacific Grove approved the growth of The Bridge in PG. They had to send out letters to 159 neighbors and put a big yellow sign in front of the big yellow house.

After all the letters were sent out, and the sign that was posted, there was only 1 letter of kind of disapproval, asking that the sign not be there. I think overall the people from The Bridge had the same complaint that they didn't want the big yellow sign in front of their house either. Nobody showed up this evening to dispute the growth, and in a year there has not been one complaint from the neighbors.

The president of the PG chamber of commerce came to the meeting tonight, sporting his Bridge t-shirt. This guy isn't a christian but just a community member who sees that without the guys from the Bridge many things would not be done in Pacific Grove. He went on to list all the things that have been done, including helping and clean up of the Feast of Lantern Festival, serving at the Feast of Salads, Highway 68 clean up, PG Triathalon set-up, help and clean up, PG Concourse, Yellow Brick Road Help, Monarch Sanctuary clean-up and removal of trees, and the list could go on and on.

It's true what the president said. With CA's fiscal situation, PG cannot afford NOT to have The Bridge around. Without them, many events that bring money to Pacific Grove would be waay understaffed.

Anyway... Woohoo! Congrats guys!

New Visa Info for UK

2009-04-02T22:43:00.000-07:00

This was taken from my UK pastor's prayer requests... He is a pastor/missionary in London, England. Would you pray with me?

At the turn of the year the British Home Office quietly changed the rules for people entering the country to do volunteer work. They are now considered as workers, even though they will not be paid. Therefore they are required to have the proper paperwork and pay for visas. They are no longer considered tourists.

This applies to individuals and groups of people. Small groups are now going to have to pay for visas along with their airfare and accommodation. And those planning to host these groups are required to advertise the positions in mainline newspapers, even though these so-called positions are voluntary and not remunerated.

There are two main options. Either groups will be forced to fill out reams of applications and comply with unreasonable financial demands, or some groups will simply not comply, and try to fly under the radar. Those that are discovered might harm the movement by their actions.

He is going to try to talk to his local Member of Parliament tomorrow night, to ask him to see if there is anything that can be done about this. Please pray that he would have the boldness to do this.

Meet....

2009-03-28T18:56:00.001-07:00

Fish Stick!

I went out on Thursday night to take some clothes back and Marshall's and drove past Pet Smart and for some ODD reason, I parked my car and went inside and came out with a fish. (I think I don't know what inspired me, but I am now the proud owner of Fish Stick, a female Beta.

Male Beta's were 5.99 and females only 2.99, so of course I went for the cheaper! Males are normally bigger with bigger fins and females are smaller and are produced more than males. The guy at Petsmart said that a Beta can live outside the water for 15 minutes! Interesting!

I read Marley and Me on the cruise and instantly became an animal lover. Marley and Me the movie was based on a non-fiction book and that book made me appreciate animals. Although I'm not going to go out and buy a cat or a dog anytime soon, the fish is bringing out the animal lover in me more and more everyday.

I found myself, the first night I got her, worrying about Fish Stick. My house is usually cooler than most homes and the living room gets really cool in the middle of the night. I actually woke up with that thought and brought her to my room where it was warmer. I even considered making her a class fish for my first graders, but then decided against that as I already love her and know my kids would destroy her within a few weeks!

Spring Break 2009

2009-03-28T18:11:00.000-07:00

My friend Stacy and I left last Monday morning at 6am to drive down to Long Beach to catch a Carnival Cruise to Catalina and Ensenada. It was a great time to get away. I slept, didn't think about teaching, read an entire book and hung out with Stacy.

It was a very uneventful drive, minus the time I got pulled over. A cop got behind me and stayed behind me for awhile, he pulled out next to me, and then slowed down, got behind me, turned on his lights and pulled me over. Stacy started praying hard-core and I kept my hands on the wheel. I rolled down the window and said, "What did I do wrong Officer?" He told me I did nothing wrong, he just wanted to let me know my gas tank was open. Cops aren't usually that nice. It sure scared the crap outta me, but thankfully no ticket only a helpful suggestion! Phew!

We got down to Long Beach by 11:30 and were able to meet up with Jaime and Andrea for lunch. I got to deliver their Christmas presents that I never sent!

Next we headed out to the boat, parked our car and went through the registration to get on the boat! Our room was small but we had a great window that allowed us to look at the ocean the entire trip. The first night we were pretty much passed out by 9:30-it was so nice to be away!

Alwyn was our cabin steward who made us cool towel animals every night. He was from India and is on the 4month/2month on the boat off the boat schedule. One of the best parts of being on the ship was that our entire cruise staff was international.

Tuesday morning we parked out in the ocean and we were able to visit Catalina Island. It was beautiful. It looked like Pacific Grove only on an island. We got some great photos, walked around and went back to the ship. There was a little boat that took us from the boat to the shore.

Wednesday morning we woke up in Mexico. Stacy and I took a $3 bus to the town centre where we took another bus to La Bufadora where we had hundreds of Mexican Natives attack us to buy things.

Stacy and I would begin to go into a shop and then about 5 different people would come at us in all directions offering us perscriptions, purses, wallets, clothes, churros and even boyfriends.

We would go into a shop and when people would attack us we'd leave. I really wanted to buy a purse, so we finally went into one shop and took matters into our own hands. We walked in and firmly (haha) told the poor guys that if they bothered us that we'd be outta there faster than we walked in, and if we had any questions we'd ask them. It worked and I got myself a real leather fake branded Dolce and Gabana purse! woo!

I then had some fish tacos, and we boarded back on the bus, went into town and walked around before getting back on the boat.

I was excited that there was a Starbucks and I was able to buy an Ensenada mug to add to my collection of mugs from around the world!

Thursday we had all day on the ship and arrived back in Long Beach at 6am where we drove home around 9.

Stacy had her camera with her more than I did, so when she sends me some I'll post them!

If you've never been on a cruise before, you should check them out! They are super cheap with all food and lodging free, because the cruise assumes that you'll spend at least $100 on drinks, a couple hundred on gambling, another hundred or so on excursions, $50 on photographs taken by a professional on ship, etc etc.

If you are cheap like me, you only pay gratuities and you're good to go!

On Friday morning the cruise people put our bills under our doors and some of the bills were half way in the hallway, so of course I looked! Thanks to the drunkards across the hall who spent $750 onboard and to others like them--cruises are cheap!

=)

Spring Break

2009-03-12T21:47:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is our last day before Spring Break, and I am stoked! My friend Stacy and I will be going on a cruise to Catalina and to Mexico. I am most looking forward to not having cell phone reception or internet access!

Pictures to come later. =)

Way Off Broadway and CPK

2009-03-12T21:43:00.001-07:00

On Friday evening I went to see Calvary Christian's Way Off Broadway production for Amanda Hill's 28th birthday. The students put on a great performance and afterwards we all went out for some cake to celebrate Amanda!

Pink Slip Friday

2009-03-12T21:28:00.001-07:00

So God had me totally prepared for my pink slip I got last Friday and I have such a peace about it. We sang a song at the Chris Tomlin concert called "God of this City" and I felt that God had really pressed on my heart the missionary call, but to reach out to my peninsula. God is bigger than pink slips or financial trouble of any kind. But more important than that is that God has so much work to do in my community and communities.

So yesterday I had to go to a meeting where I would be meeting with a lawyer that the Teacher's Union supplies us with. Before yesterday I wasn't too worried about the whole hearing process, but when the lawyer started throwing out judicial terms and talking about how we might have to testify, it finally hit me! This is kind-of a big deal, especially to those without hope of Jesus in their lives. Please pray for a peace with the teachers who received pink slips.

(I don't know why they call them pink slips because it was white!)

On April 16th and 17th there is a hearing planned where the district pays for a sub and I have to go to a hearing, possibly testify and wait to see if the district does anything wrong so the lawyer can ask the judge to dismiss the lay-offs. Basically, if you are going to get chopped, that's whats going to happen....and the lawyer mess is just a technicality that the union must follow to make sure they are doing their part to protect jobs.

For me, I'm thankful because its two days off! The day off won't be that fun, but at least I'll have a day to make lists, grade papers, etc.

Below is a picture from the meeting where about 85% of the teachers were present. The district's plan is to cut 113 total positions! Wow!

So along that point of politics....There will be an election May 19th where we the people will vote on whether or not the state needs to pay the districts the money that was promised to keep class-size reduction. (20 kids in a K-3 class instead of 30.)

So please VOTE YES on PROP 1B. If not...there will be 30 students in a classroom with an already overburdened teacher with no help.

Also, just pray if anything. I know the district hates doing this, but in some situations they are being faced with, there is nothing much more that can be done.

I heart Chris.

2009-03-12T21:14:00.000-07:00

I have so much to share, but I feel like there has been one thing after another, but if I wait too much longer I might forget all my fun details!

I'll start with last Thursday. I went to a Chris Tomlin concert and it was amazing! If you don't know who Chris is...you are missing out. He has written many of the songs people sing in churches these days and is soo stinkin' talented. He's also 36 and single. hehe.

The ride was so beautiful with a double rainbow and a few other single but FULL rainbows.

The most memorable part of this adventure was after we had stopped at In & Out where I got a large Ice Tea but before we got to the concert where we got stuck in some major traffic around SJSU where there were no McDonald's or Gas Stations but just residential homes.

I had to pee SO bad. I am NOT one of those people on road trips that has to go every mile and I am usually quite good at holding it, but that night was a different story. I had to take off my seatbelt, poor out the rest of the ice tea in the street so I wouldn't have to look at any liquid, but that still did not do me any justice.

My dear friends Mike and Eliza were with me along with two other friends. We had been stuck in traffic, barely moving past residential home after residential home. I got Eliza to come with me, we jumped out of that car as fast as we could and we were on a mission to find a bathroom. Too bad for me, like I said earlier...there were NO bathrooms around....

So after about two minutes of walking, Eliza and I found ourselves knocking on the door of a stranger's home asking to use the bathroom. Now I know this is not the safest thing to do, but there was really no other choice.

It was a really sweet family that barely spoke any english, but they were so gracious to me. I wanted to take a picture for my blog, but I think they really would had been freaked out. So I thanked them with a two dollar tip and ran out the door. Right as we were walking out of the door our ride pulled up along with the other traffic in front of the house....so we hopped back in and got to the concert together.

Chris put on a GREAT show. Words can't describe! He had put his Jesus Messiah words on the screen--here's a picture from a clip of it.

Prayer Request

2009-03-01T17:12:00.001-08:00

I was doing some math and counting teachers involved in the potential cuts for the 2009/2010 school year and there is a great chance that I am one of those that could be on the chopping block.

It's exciting because I've never been in a place where I would need to fully rely on God for my next step because although God guides my steps, I've pretty much been aware of the ride the entire time.

So...May 15th I'll know for sure so I just ask prayer that the Lord's will be done in my life and that I can keep His peace that passes understanding.

I love my school (even as difficult as it is--a kid tried to burn it down on Friday) and love my kids I serve, but maybe there is something else out there for me?

So please pray!

Cheers!

RED envelopes

2009-02-24T20:58:00.000-08:00

Thanks Morgan!

The Story...

Below is a letter that has been circulating with a great idea. The message began in silent prayer from a faithful follower who was spending quiet time with God.

Dear Friends and Intercessors:

This afternoon I was praying about a number of things, and my mind began to wander. I was deeply distressed at the symbolic actions that President Obama took as he began his presidency. Namely, that he signed executive orders releasing funds to pay for abortions, permission to fund human stem cell research, and federal funding for contraception. I have been involved in the pro-life movement for nearly 20 years, and it pained my heart to see a man and a political party committed to the shedding of innocent blood. This man, and this party lead our country, but they do not represent me or the 54% of Americans who believe that abortion is wrong and should no longer be legal.

As I was praying, I believe that God gave me an interesting idea. Out in the garage I have a box of red envelopes. Like the powerful image of the red LIFE tape, an empty red envelope will send a message to Barack Obama that there is moral outrage in this country over this issue. It will be quiet, but clear.

Here is what I would like you to do:

Get a red envelope. You can buy them at Kinkos, or at party supply stores. On the front, address it to:

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.
Washington , D.C. 20500

On the back, write the following message.

This envelope represents one child who died in abortion. It is empty because that life was unable to offer anything to the world. Responsibility begins with conception.

Put it in the mail, and send it. Then send this website to every one of your friends who you think would send one too. I wish we could send 50 million red envelopes, one for every child who died before having a a chance to live. Maybe it will change the heart of the president!!

Lost Vegas

2009-02-24T09:55:00.000-08:00

Mary Kate: Miss Dobie?

me: Yes, Mary Kate?

Mary Kate: Do they call Las Vegas "Las Vegas" because people get lost there?

Pink Slips

2009-02-19T16:23:00.000-08:00

So our state is in a financial crisis, which means our schools are in a financial crisis. Every teacher in my district that has taught 1,2,3,4,5 or 6 years will be getting a pink slip. If you have at least 7 years...you are safe.

My school is a very difficult one to work at, and the majority of teachers often move to other schools once they have been in the district long enough, because in all reality, other schools are easier to be a teacher at.

In April there is going to be a hearing for all the teachers that will get pink slips with a lawyer from the union representing us.

Here's where it makes me laugh a bit. The hearing will be during the day, which means teachers must leave their classrooms and get a sub. We NEVER have enough subs in our district and there have been numerous times I have had to take another class because of not enough subs.

I was just at my staff meeting and looking around the room, out of about 40 staff members (or so) there are about 7 that are safe.

King is a rough school and can be not the safest place if administration and teachers are not in charge.

Teachers are REQUIRED to go to this hearing in April.

This means that on a K-8 campus there is going to be about 30 subs? Probably not, because this is probably the case, or similiar, at many other schools in my district.

Movie day district wide?

Rufus

2009-02-18T21:07:00.000-08:00

Tonight Pastor Nate mentioned the name Rufus and referred it to the Rufus from the Bible for about 30 seconds, but any Rufus talk is always great. Rufus is the son of Simon, the man who carried the cross for Jesus. Some people say Rufus went onto become a missionary.

When I was in the UK I went to a church called Calvary Chapel Twickenham, and I was there for the second sunday in a row and asked God to really show me if that was where I was suppose to be. Low and Behold, Pastor Matt who was teaching talked a tiny bit about Rufus--but enough to know God has a sense of humor and was confirming me to be at the Twick--and man! I am so pleased that I was able to call that my place of worship.

Did you know Rufus means red? Pastor Tonye from Shoreline actually looked it up for me.

Did you know there is a little tiny no good no nothing town in Oregon called Rufus, where my love first began as I would make long treks back and forth from Walla Walla to CA and back.

Rufus is the name of my car and actually dream about getting __RUFUS__ on the license plate.

I also will consider Rufus as a name for my first male child.

(I am reading this and realize I do sound quite nutty. I probably am for loving Rufus that much.)

Go Rufus!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T10:53:00.001-08:00

YesterdayI got a card from one of my students that says: To the woman in my life xoxo. It did give me a few laughs.

Valentine's Day is great if you have a significant other, but for those who are single like me, here are a few great reasons to celebrate Valentine's Day by yourself!

We can make spur of the moment plans, and when we do, we don't have to call home and check with anyone to make sure its okay.

We can read in bed as late as we want without the light bothering anyone.

We can talk aloud to God while we do the dishes and no one looks at us funny.

We can hog the covers, closet, ice cream and the remote.

We can buy floral sheets and no one will complain.

We're free to invest all kinds of time and money and energy in missions trips, church stuff, us stuff without having to ask someone else first.

We can go weeks in the winter months without shaving our legs.

We can go where we want on Vacationi.

All the hairs in tub drain are ours.

The toilet seat is always down.

We don't have to justify any purchases big or small to anyone but God.

We're free to have undivided devotion to the Lord. (1 Cor. 7:33)

Any others?

Ultrasound Bill

2009-02-10T20:57:00.000-08:00

Found this online---its worth a read!

____________________________________

Lawmakers in 11 states are considering bills that would offer or require ultrasounds before a woman gets an abortion. The most stringent are proposed laws in Nebraska, Indiana and Texas, which would require a doctor show the ultrasound image of the fetus to the woman, despite legal challenges to a similar measure in Oklahoma.

A similar bill was proposed in Wyoming but it was defeated in a state House committee before reaching the floor.

"Many times, these are young mothers who are in vulnerable situations. And they are about to make a very grave choice." said Nebraska Sen. Tony Fulton of Lincoln, who introduced the ultrasound bill (LB675) there. "This is about informed consent."

Sixteen states already have laws related to abortion ultrasounds, some requiring they be performed and others requiring a woman be told where she can get a free ultrasound.

But Oklahoma's law, which is being challenged in court, is the only one that requires the image to be presented to the woman, even if she refuses to look at it. It also requires the doctor to describe the picture.

Indiana's proposal requires the mother to listen to the fetal heartbeat.

Oklahoma's law was supposed to go into effect Nov. 1, but a judge put it on hold after the Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit saying it intrudes on privacy, endangers health and assaults dignity.

"They really do not even veil their goal, which is to make a woman feel badly and to make her change her mind," said Celine Mizrahi, a lawyer for the New York-based center. "It really is a ridiculous position to put the doctor and patient in."

Most women who have decided to terminate a pregnancy have made the decision after considering facts and options, Mizrahi said. And the medical procedure, she said, is between a doctor and a patient.

Fulton, who said he opposes abortion, also introduced a less restrictive bill (LB676) in Nebraska. It requires the physician performing the abortion to tell a woman an ultrasound is available, but it doesn't require the ultrasound to be performed.

Sen. Heath Mello, a Democrat who said he opposes abortion, signed on as a co-sponsor, calling the measure a "positive first step to reducing the number of abortions in Nebraska."

"It seemed like a good compromise, without bringing in the constitutional issues seen in other states," he said.

A similar compromise was reached last year in South Carolina, after more than a year of debate over whether to require a woman to view the ultrasound.

The bill's sponsor settled for a law requiring that women be given the option of viewing an ultrasound at least one hour before getting an abortion.

This year, there's legislation in South Carolina to make the waiting period 24 hours.

But even these less restrictive ultrasound laws — which can "seem less scary to folks who are pro-choice" — are troublesome, Mizrahi said.

For instance, they may require a referral to a place that offers ultrasounds for free.

Most of those, Mizrahi said, are so-called "crisis pregnancy centers," run by anti-abortion groups and "set up specifically to discourage women from having abortions."

Fulton's not sure yet which of his two bills is the best option, but he said they have the same goal.

"We all want to see the number of abortions decrease," he said. "Let's give this information to a mother who's about to make a huge decision."

Lately

2009-02-07T15:30:00.000-08:00

This week was a long one, and I am so very thankful that it's Saturday on a 3-day weekend! Thanks to a dead president, some can have an extra day to reflect and rest. woo!

So I did the Denny's thing this week where I met a new friend. Tuesday Evening I went to Monterey Live where Erika Soto was playing. She was sick and still put on a great concert. There was another band that sounded great when they were doing sound check, but unfortunately it was way to late to be up on a school night. I told them that they sounded great but I had to work in the morning.

Then one guy came over to where I was and told him that I would feel less guilty for leaving if I bought something from his merchandise table. Nope. No Guilt.

This picture is kind of blurry...oops.

On Wednesday at school I had some difficulties with some of my students. One tried to bite me. This time he was not as successful as last time. I'm getting quicker. =) The student first threw a chair and climbed under some desks. I had to take a picture, because that's what good photographers do, take photos of things people wouldn't believe, but also to show the parent later on that their child really isn't as good as they think their little angel is.

He was yelling, "YOU can't see my face" as if to say, I've really outsmarted my teacher now...my mom will never be able to recognize me now.

So anyway, it doesn't have his face, so its legal to post it online I guess?

There's another little girl who just drives me nuts, but also has become very dear to my heart. She is a big trouble maker but full of laughs everyday.

On Wednesday afternoon after dealing with almost getting bit, I walked into my classroom where a few students were in for detention and this little girl was leading the kids in trouble in a little made-up prayer about ghosts and stuff and then taught the kids the sign of the cross from the Catholic church.

She is a clever one...actually getting the other students to buy into it, even though she was making it up on the spot. I wish you could have seen her smirk of pride.

Last night my mom came over for some Wii and dinner and then I went out to Alvarado in downtown Monterey for some street witnessing. I had three awesome conversations with random people and Jesus.

We use to the good person test (Take it Here-Are you a Good Person?) I stumbled over the words, but still had meaningful conversations. And even though it rained, it still was a great night!

David

2009-02-04T09:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning Denny's was giving away free Grand Slams, so Sara and I woke up at the buttcrack of dawn to hang out with eachother and get some grub before work. I looked it up after I got to work and it was a whopping 800 calories with 50 grams of fat. Sick.

Sara and I drove in our own cars so we could leave straightaway to work after. I parked, walked quickly to put our name down because thousands of people were also taking advantage of FREE.

As I was waiting to put our name down there was this cute old man in front of me, and he wrote his name on the sheet but then asked what to put in the column with a number. I told him to write how many people were with him. He wrote "1" so I feel a little sad for him. Was he homeless? Was he without money? My first thought wast to invite him to eat with us.

So I signed in for two, and then sat down next to the old man. He was cute. I guess I have a thing for older men. ha. He had a British accent and was full of stories that kept me laughing the entire time. He knew where Walla Walla is as he has family in Pasco. He has a british/texas girlfriend he met at the senior center.

Someone once told me that I never have met a stranger. I kinda like that idea.

Friends

2009-02-01T10:30:00.000-08:00

Last night I went out with a friend I've known for some time, but haven't seen in ages. But despite the fact that I hadn't seen her in awhile, we were able to pick up exactly where we left off!

I went to college with Julie. (I feel like I am too young to say, "I went to college with her.") She is now married with a cute 14 month old baby. She was back into town for a baby shower without her husband, so we went to a cute place for dinner and then just went to the house where she was crashing and enjoyed each other's company until late.

It was sweet.

Sunday

2009-01-25T19:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I drove down to Los Osos again to visit my sisters and my dad and grandma (Mommers).

Mommers decided that because it was my dad's birthday we needed to go out for a nice meal. She also decided that because my sister's boyfriend had never met Mommers that he needed to come too. What Mommers wants Mommers gets. There is NEVER arguing with Mommers.

Well....Ellen's boyfriend, surprisingly, didn't know this about Mommers. We went to a fancy place for dinner and boyfriend slipped the credit card to the waitress before the meal started. When it was time to pay for the bill there was a huge commotion of fighting for the bill and after an embarrasing 3 minutes of going back and forth, Mommers finally figured out boyfriend paid. This was not Mommer's plan, especially when boyfriend was invited out. Poor kid...He'll learn next time.

On a completely different subject, I was driving back up to Monterey and I saw 4 different rainbows, if you can believe it. I love rainbows because they remind me of the promises God has for us. I have a feeling God is wanting me to remember one He told me awhile back...that I just can't understand.

Anyway. So. Monday is tomorrow and I have a full 5 days in front of me. I'll be teaching the kids how to tell time to the hour, half-hour and quarter in math and the long a sound through 'ai' and 'ay' with words like rain or pay in Language Arts. Hopefully we'll get to some science. In writing we're working on great leads for our narratives and in ELD I'll be teaching the kids how to use before, after and when in sentences along with how to use er and est properly like (good, better best or bad, worse, worst). Prayerfully it won't be raining so we will actually be able to go outside for PE, otherwise Denise Richards has a kids workout DVD that I pop in, move the desks and let the kids sweat out their crazies a bit.

Gosh reading that, my job sounds so easy! I wish it would be as smooth and easy as it sounds above.

I need prayer to make it through until the end with these kids. I do love them so much. They are all so special and awesome but they are S---T---R---E---T---C---H---I---N---G me in every way, which is probably a good thing huh?

There's about 6 who aren't reading yet but NEED to be, so that's my goal to somehow break through whatever is going on in their little brains and make them remember the letter sounds and to teach them to blend words.

Well with all that said, I am going to try and get ready for bed but I am having this strong desire to move my furniture around in my room.....

Happy New Week!

Happy Birthday Martin Luther King Jr.

2009-01-19T00:27:00.000-08:00

This morning's message at church was about being one body but having different members and parts. Just like each part of our bodies are important, each part in the body of Christ is also important. Dr. Martin Luther King was a pastor and my guess was that he probably loved this bit of scripture.

Probably because I teach first grade and I teach my kids about Martin Luther King Jr, I remember every year how important it is for people to be accepted into our society.

I tried to teach my kids how awesome it is that black, filipino, mexican, white, vietnamese, and brazilian can be in one class, and that this was not always the case.

I tried then to take a picture to show all the different shades of colors represented in the classroom.

Of course they all fought to have their hand on top, (while my principal was observing) which defeats the purpose of the entire lesson, but hopefully the lesson will stick with them?

Beautiful

2009-01-18T22:46:00.001-08:00

I went for a walk on the beach yesterday to take advantage of the beautiful weather the central coast has been having lately.

I got to the beach, where God blessed me with a parking spot! Marina State Beach has a tiny parking lot and people were circling and circling for a spot-I pulled up and got one.

After getting the parking spot, I was reminded of a section of a book where the author was describing having some time with God and she asked God to show her that he was near. She was in a quiet spot on some water and a whale came out of no where and splashed his tail. I was thinking that would be so cool, but I didn't ask God for anything.

I started walking out on the coastline and once I was far away from people, I sat in the sand and looked out on the ocean. I saw a big group (about 20) of sea otters surfing the waves. I then looked out just past the waves and I kept on seeing the spray of water and a large black spot out on the ocean. I was convinved it was a whale, but then second guessed myself, justifying that a whale would not be visible from the shore.

About an hour later on the walk back to my car a couple approached me and asked me if I had seen the whale that was out there. They had binaculors, so I knew it had to be a whale!

It was so cool. God wants to do great things even when we don't ask. He brings us something, a gift, a word, and then brings someone along to confirm it sometimes.

My little sister is 24.

2009-01-18T22:35:00.001-08:00

My little sister isn't really little anymore. She turned 24 on Friday so last weekend I drove down to have a pre-birthday celebration. Happy 24th Ellen!

We went to visit the Elephant Seals where they had just given birth. The baby seals were so cute. Poor things though, the dumb seagulls were attacking the babies and their mommies because they wanted to eat the after-birth. (gross.)

On the way home I drove up the coast and the day was beautiful for a scenic drive. I saw a CA condor, which I guess, are endangered and there are only 25 left!

Portland

2009-01-18T22:17:00.000-08:00

I realized I never even let you know about my recent trip to Portland. I had gotten home from our Christmas celebration in St. Helena and Sacramento and was sitting restless for just two days. Over my breaks I feel like I really need to get on an airplane. Some people are addicted to alcohol or drugs, but for me-its travel.

My friend, Tai, called me on Monday afternoon and we caught up and she casually asked me what I was doing for New Years. I was on the phone and quickly looked up some flights to Portland while chatting. I said something about coming up there, and she said YES! So...I booked the flight. I had had this desire to go back to the Pacific Northwest for sometime, hoping it would be Walla Walla, but Portland filled the desire for awhile.

Tai is a dear friend from high school. The last time I saw her was five years ago while in London. She had spent 2 years in the peace corps and relocated to Portland where she teaches Kindergarten in Vancouver.

Portland was really cute with tons of little shops and places to go out for drinks or to eat. Tai took me to a Lebanese restaraunt and an African restaurant to name a few. We spent a lot of time in Powell's Book Shop, where I barely explored just a few sections. I could spend weeks in that place. We walked around the city and just enjoyed catching up.

The best part of all was that it snowed! It had been cold and we went to bed, and woke up with white ground! It was awesome.

I also was to see Klickitat Street in Portland. If anyone ever read any of the Ramona Books by Beverly Cleary you'll recognize it too. :-)

CheatSheets

2009-01-14T22:21:00.001-08:00

I am teaching my kids about pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. It is always difficult for them to get that a nickel is 5 cents or the same as 5 pennies, but the nickel is bigger in size than the dime that is worth more.

So last year I made cheat sheets for the kids. I did this cool thing with money on the board, took a picture of it, and made 20 copies of that picture at Costco, then laminated them for the kids to use this year.

So I sit my kids down and say, "Boys and girls....I've made a cheatsheet for you this year to help you remember how much a nickel is worth." Before I am even finished talking the entire class lets out a big "EEEWWWW." I get a confused look on my face.

My Mary Kate (Miss Thang who knows everything about everything) leans over, puts one hand next to her mouth, squeezes her chest with her other hand and says, "Miss Dobie-they think you mean these, Chi-Chi's."

I was shocked beyond belief and didn't know what to say other than to thank Mary Kate for helping translate for me.

much aka so much

2009-01-08T13:07:00.003-08:00

Miss Dobie I spelled a really hard word all by myself: I spelled much!

s-o-m-u-c-h.

cute.

Guess What?

2009-01-07T10:59:00.001-08:00

I was telling my students this morning about all the snow I saw in Portland. My CA kids dream of snow but rarely any of my students actually have ever seen it.

I set the stage, telling the students how cold it was and how it snows sometimes. I talked about my heavy jacket I had to wear and how I had to wear tennis shoes and not Birkenstocks. I then asked my students, "Guess what I got to see in Portland? It was very special.."

Mary Kate shouted out--a Leprechaun! The funny part was that she was serious!

I do enjoy having time off, but these moments make teaching fun too.

Portland Snow

2009-01-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

I'm in Portland and it snowed last night! I haven't seen snow in ages. I think the last time I saw snow was when I lived in London. It's beautiful! I can't post pictures now but I will when I return!

Portland is awesome. Very diverse--lots to do and see. Last night I went to Powell's book shop. It takes up an entire city block with both new and used books in different rooms. There are about 10 different rooms. I made out with 5 books last night and I only went to the Christian section. I got some great books about missionaries in Lebanon, Jim Elliot's entire set of journals among some others.

I better leave my credit card at home when I check out the travel section... =)

Wii-itis

2008-12-23T10:09:00.000-08:00

Up to ten people a week are being hospitalized with injuries caused by playing Nintendo Wii games, prompting doctors in Britain to issue warnings of the dangers associated with the video game system.

"There has been a 100 percent increase in patients complaining of Wii-itis," Dr. Dev Mukerjee of Broomfield Hospital, Essex, told The Sun newspaper.

Article from foxnews.com

Vacation

2008-12-20T10:38:00.000-08:00

I did it! We finished school yesterday until January 6th. I don't know how anyone else with a normal job can stand working 5 days/week with only a week off throughout the year.

It has been an interesting semester, but by God's grace I survived.

I'm excited about resting and also getting everything done that I haven't been able to this last month.

I'm off to drink my cuppa and listen to some Christmas Music. =)

Poor Mama

2008-12-15T22:21:00.001-08:00

My poor mom broke her elbow last week. I took some pictures but they didn't turn out so hot, and because she reads the blog, I better not post any! She's going tomorrow to get a cast of some kind.

I got bit

2008-12-15T22:19:00.001-08:00

I got bit last week by one of my students because I wouldn't let him eat ice cream during a writing lesson....in front of his mom. He ran away and then his mom found him, gave him the ice cream and said hurry before your teacher comes.

I bit him back.

Just kidding but can you believe that? If you remember...pray for me. I do need patience this year!

Brenten and Lena

2008-12-15T22:01:00.000-08:00

Check out these awesome missionaries to Latvia. They are home for Christmas but have been serving faithfully in Latvia church planting. The whole family is learning latvian and really have a gift for learning languages. It hasn't been even 2 years and they can speak so well! Please join me in keeping the Power Family in your prayers!

This is one of my favorite worship songs, and it was the first time hearing it in Latvian!

Rosa and Greta

2008-12-15T21:54:00.000-08:00

So get this: My dear friend Rosa lives in Oceanside. I felt this urge to call her last week and when I did she was shocked that I was calling her because she was in the same town as me! I had gotten home from school and was just resting on my couch in my cozy apartment and I gave her a call, and surprise surprise she was on the peninsula too! She had to take her daughter to Stanford for the day and so she was sleeping at her mom's house, which is in the same town on the peninsula as me! We got to hang out that evening. It was a great surprise!

She was my first teaching buddy and will always be my favorite. We both barely survived our first year as teachers at a diffcult school with some rough kids, together. I love you Rosa!

Glorious Sunset

2008-12-15T21:50:00.000-08:00

Isn't it beautiful? This was taken in Avila Beach the weekend before last when I drove down to celebrate my sister's birthday. God gave her a beautiful sunset as a present.

The Serrano Family

2008-12-04T21:11:00.000-08:00

This is a week and a half late but congratulations to Jaime and Janet and their beautiful new baby Cecilia Michelle Serrano. She was born 1 month early!

They didn't have a crib, a hospital bag, the room ready or anything! They weren't going to do all that until last weekend, after the holidays and craziness. But...Surprise...Celicia wanted to come early! Janet is a stud. She delivered Cecilia without any drugs. Go Janet!

Congratulations Serranos!

Im Alive

2008-12-04T20:27:00.000-08:00

Barely.

It has been a busy few weeks. The week of Thanksgiving I worked Monday, Tuesday and took Wednesday off from school to drive up and be with my grandma. Tuesday before I drove up I fell asleep at 8pm. Emily drove up and got to my house at 11pm-ish. I blindly opened the door, welcomed Emily in, locked it again and went back to bed.

We drove up to my grandma's in the Napa Valley the next morning and went straight to the hospital. Extra props go out to Eliza who 'babysat' my 'children,' even when it rained!

We got to the St. Helena Hopsital in Angwin and got a chance to sit with my grandma. My poor grandma has been in the hospital for 2.5 weeks. She got M.R.S.A (a mega-bug staph infection) from somewhere and only the strongest anti-biotics are used to kill it. M.R.S.A. is resistant to most anti-biotics. Along with M.R.S.A. my grandma has another infection in the groin that she has to go through a surgical procedure every three days to change. Her toe was so messed up that she had her tendens on her toe visible. Thankfully though her brain is with it--and she is as sharp as ever, even at 88!

It makes me want to start using only nyquil instead of antiobiotics and start eating only organic meats because of all the anti-biotics injected into the animals. I never want to have an immunity to anti-biotics!

This is my grandma sun-bathing on the patio.

Her nurse one evening was my friend Heather! I was her R.A. in college and she came to visit me in London. I am so proud of her! Heather the RN.

Check out the view from the hospital patio! Beautiful vineyards.

Some entertainment in the hospital was trying to move the eating cart, but they just couldn't figure it out! We also found an old TV/VCR on a cart and brought in the Sound of Music. :-)

Thanks for praying for her and keep praying for her. Please pray that she will be out of the hospital and that the MRSA will be healed from her body.

Football

2008-11-19T20:46:00.000-08:00

I heard something great this weekend. NFL is a different world compared to Pop Warner football. As you work your way up in the football world you acquire/need more coaches to win the game.

The NFL sees the need to intensify the number of coaches.The NFL just ruled there there can not be a cap on how many coaches a team could have.

Now comparing this to a christian walk....a few years into your walk is when everyone thinks the most attention is needed, but its so important that even when you get into the NFL ProBowl of Christian Living, you need that many more 'coaches' to help you get through.

adorn.

2008-11-16T21:23:00.000-08:00

I just got back from a wonderful weekend down south. I was able to attend 'adorn,' a conference put on by Reality LA and Reality Carpenteria. The weekend was full of solid teaching, solid worship and solid fellowship. I was really looking forward to hearing Britt Merrick teach, but because of the Santa Barbara fires he had to stay at home. I did get to here Tim Chadick preach it, Dominic Bali rock out, lead worship and preach it along with some other great teachers and worship leaders.

One of the best parts was being surrounded by 250+ twenty and thirty somethings. It was wonderful. We sang a song "Oh God let us be a generation that seeks Your face, Oh God of Jacob." My generation wants to seek God's will for our country and our lives.

It seems that there is a gap in reaching the age group I was with this weekend, although there is such a need! I have a vision of DLI people, young professionals, students, couples, singles and anyone and everyone else come together on the pennisula.

I went to a 'cool' church last week and it had great great worship but lacked any sort of substance in the teaching. My vision is a home group, a church, a study or something with solid worship and solid teaching where relationships can be formed, gifts can be used and God can work. I know He wants to use us to make an impact on this world and pennisula and wants to use this generation to seek His face!

It was crazy to get this view of the fires down south. Check out the smoke cloud! My friend's father's house almost was hit!! The sunset was glorious because of the fire, but it was so windy I couldn't get a still shot.

Reality Camp

2008-11-12T21:50:00.000-08:00

This weekend I am driving down to Green Valley Lake to go to Reality LA and Carpinteria's College Camp-"Adorn." It's great because its 18-30 and it sounds like a lot of people will be around my age! The Lord has blessed me with true fellowship the last weeks and it continues this weekend!

For my birthday present Jaime, Andrea and Aaron paid for me to go to Reality Camp. Its so cool because the Lord chose to use me to bring Jaime to the Lord. Then He used Jaime to bring Andrea to the Lord and used Me, Jaime and Andrea to bring Aaron to the Lord. Cool huh??!!

Britt Merrik and Tim Chaddick will be teaching and doing music! I can't wait!

Along with a glorious weekend where I really will 'go up to the mountains' to spend time alone with my maker, I get to skip school on Friday and my friend Eliza will be subbing for me, so I know that my kids will be in great hands!

I'll hopefully get some great photos this weekend! Please pray for the entire weekend!

It's Official.

2008-11-08T23:51:00.000-08:00

I am an adult. Today was my 26th birthday. My two things I love most in life are church things and travel things-and they both say I'm too old.

1. As of today I am 'too old' to attend the young adult fellowship at church.

2. STA travel, Rail Europe, Student Universe (just to name a few) all say that 26 is not youth anymore and so I do not qualify for youth rail passes, student fares, etc.

Bummer. Thankfully though I am still blessed and thankful for the life my maker has chosen for me-the adventures I have been able to have and the adventures yet to happen.

Here's to year 26.

Macaroni and Cheese

2008-11-06T21:12:00.001-08:00

I forgot to post this earlier, but here is my awesome Halloween costume fully complete. Last year I was looking and looking for my Macaroni, but this year I found her! I'm sure you could only imagine how hilarious our Kinder and first grade babies thought this was along with their parents! I wish you could see my feet. I had yellow socks and bright orange birks.

So yesterday as I was walking my students out front afterschool I ran into a 5th grader who was writing #1 Obama on many's faces with a marker. I took the marker away and let her know it was not appropriate. 5 minutes later I caught her again with another marker. I called her by name and let her know if she did not come with me to talk with her teacher that she would be in bigger trouble than she already was. After I talked to her teacher, this student (African-American 5th grader) called me a 'cracker' as I was walking away. I googled the term and it came up with: "Historically the word suggested poor, white rural Americans with little formal education."

So when the referral was written up and the principal was talking to her about her attitude, this 5th grader justified her name towards me by telling the principal that because I was a cheese for Halloween and crackers go nice with cheese that it was OK. I know its bad and disrespectful and horrible and rude.....but it definetly put a smile on my face. lol.

Proverbs 26:12 says

12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?

There is more hope for a fool than for him.

My King students have so much to learn and my prayer is that they do not continue to wise in their own eyes.

Politicians

2008-11-05T22:13:00.000-08:00

If I had to choose a political party I would have to side with the Republicans because of my conservative values. So because of that I somehow get Monterey Republican emails for different events and social activities. I was able to attend the VP debate this way and last night I attended the Republican Election Party at the Hyatt. It was sponsored by Abel Maldenado to celebrate his victory last night. If you have ever been to a wedding at the Hyatt or looked into weddings at the Hyatt you know that they can charge $100/person for a chicken or beef choice with a salad. Last night they had a huge chunk of prime rib they cut off of all evening, a salad bar with roasted veggies, homemade sliders with grilled onions and an open bar! I was able to network and speak to different people in different occupations and even smiled with Mr. Maldonado.

I kind of lied to him last night. I do not know what Abel stands for but know that he ran for Senator for the 15th District of California and won! So I went up to him when he was kind of free and introduced myself and told him I was a public school teacher and appreciated his educational values. I really don't know what his values are, but if the commercials are true I feel confident it wasn't completely a lie. Anyway, that got a smile and a picture! You never know....maybe he'll be our first Latino president who doesn't have a lot of experience other than being a Senator.

I also was schmoozing (sp?) with the Republican Women's Association and loving the Filipino Bartenders. lol.

(I'm pointing to my Abel pin) hehe

Grandma

2008-11-05T22:08:00.000-08:00

I put my camera on the automatic timer and had a photo shoot with my grandma. Check out the beautiful fall leaves and the vineyards behind us!

Exciting Weekend

2008-11-03T22:31:00.000-08:00

This weekend I drove up to my Grandma's house located in St. Helena in the beautiful Napa Valley. She is 88 and has had leg complications for awhile now. She still lives by herself but is one amazing lady. I was there and I told my Grandma to wake me up if she needed anything because I don't need that much sleep and I was there to help her.

Well at 1am I hear "GRETA, GRETA get me some orange juice. I am really dizzy and my blood pressure is low. I get her some OJ and then she says, "I think I should press the lifeline button just in case-I do pay $30/month for it."

Now my grandma is terrified of the hospital or 911 calls so I knew it was serious when my grandma suggested we call lifeline, which then called 911 for us.

Sooner than later I had a firetruck and an ambulance driving up and down the long road looking for my grandma's house. I did some morse code blinking the porch light on and off and finally they all arrived. They took the blood pressure, checked her heart with a cool machine and had her walk. They all decided she was fine and went off on their merry way. I told them to be thankful they got their hour back that evening.

So the next day I try to leave around 2pm and once I get on the Highway to travel out of town I notice my steering wheel is acting up. I pull over only to find out I have a flat! OH! I was annoyed. Thankfully Grandma had Triple A so I called and the man came, changed my tire and directed me to my owner's manuel about how much I can drive on the spare. It said I could drive speeds up to 55mph but try to stay at 50. So I had normally a 3 hour drive and so by the time I got home it had taken me about 4 hours.

Here is the bad news. It was dark and foggy after a certain point so I decided for safety reasons to drive with my hazard lights on. People were zooming past me and it was scary only being about to go 50 in a 65mph zone. A mile from my exit to home I get the wonderful signal that I need to pull over because a Highway Patrol is behind me. Thankfully he was really nice, but let me know that in CA it is illegal to drive with your hazards on. I told him I was scared and people were driving so fast and because it was dark and scary that I needed them on. He said he just wanted to make sure I was safe because the last time he pulled someone over with their hazard lights on, they were strung ou on lithium. I smiled politely and reassured him that I was not on drugs but a scaredy cat wanting to get home.

What a weekend!

Friends

2008-10-29T22:44:00.000-07:00

God has blessed me with more great fellowship last week.

Tuesday I went to Janet aka "Baby Mama" Serrano's house for some dinner and ooowwing and awwing over the fact that Janet is a Mama! Isn't she beautiful! I do miss my rooomate and even though she lives in Salinas I feel like its a whole 'nother world!

And on Wednesday I had Mike and Eliza over for some curry and naan from England. It wasn't Hampton Tandorri but the next best thing. I really love these guys. Mike is in the Military and studying in Monterey and Eliza just passed all the tests to become a substitute in the area. Before that she has been enjoying her time being a good wife. November 14th watch out! She's going to babysit for my class! Eliza is queen of baking and cooking glorious meals for Mike, so I was feeling a little competitive because everytime I go to their house I have such a home-cooked meal---its amazing. So I googled pumpkin dessert and found this great recipe and decided to make it with Eliza. We even made our own whipped cream!

I wish I could have shown you a finished project...but they came out nice!

Joanie

2008-10-27T22:13:00.000-07:00

I had a few agenda items when arriving on UK soil. My agenda went a little something like this:
1. buy Kinder Bueno Bars
2. buy boots chapstick
3. Deal with my NatWest Bank Account
4.Make a stop in Muji
5. Hear and record Joanie rocking out.

I asked her a few times but when she was 'warming up' her voice on Sunday morning before we went to church, she played me a few songs. Joanie is such a talented woman and sure has guitar skills!

Enjoy this!

Hampton Tandoori

2008-10-27T22:07:00.000-07:00

Although I was only in Surrey less than 48 hours, I made it to Hampton Tandoori. Just like Brian Broderson who shows up at the Dingmans and makes a stop at Twickenham Tandoori, I showed up at the Dingmans making sure to go to Curry too, but because of a lack of a rental car-I go to Hampton Tandoori. It's only a few blocks from the Dingman home. Its a great little place with glorious curries and Indian food. The girls and Joanie and I all got different kinds of Curry and we got some Naan (garlic and stuffed lamb) and had a mini-Thanksgiving. I love England.

CC Twickenham

2008-10-26T21:48:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to add this picture. People in america are so spoiled when they show up for church and everything is already done for them. We show up, sit in a chair, enjoy the service and go home. This is not the case for many churches abroad. Everyone in the church comes and sees it as their duty to help serve by setting up chairs, doing the sound board, leading worship, teaching Sunday School, etc. Here is a great photo of Sarah and Charlotte passing out the bulletin/words to the songs.

More Photos

2008-10-26T21:42:00.000-07:00

Here are some more photos of beautiful girls I got to hang out with in England. I wish I took a family picture!

Luncheon

2008-10-26T21:37:00.000-07:00

Joanie put together a beautiful luncheon for me so I could get a chance to visit with Jenny and the girls, Arlene and her new baby, Mickaela, Joanie, and Arlee. Pure fellowship is so sweet.

Pictured from left to right:

Charlotte, me, Arlee, Sarah, Arleen, Mickaela

Jenny, Joanie and Katie are in the front row.

111

2008-10-26T21:33:00.000-07:00

I love so many things about England. Here is one--the 111 bus. I love double deckers! While studying in Kingston the 111 was the bus we took every Tuesday to have dinner with the Browns and the bus we'd take to get to LHR.

England.

2008-10-26T15:24:00.000-07:00

After my adventure to Cologne I was able to spend Thursday night with Michal, enjoying every last moment with her! Friday morning we woke up, went to breakfast and then I crossed the street and caught a train to Frankfurt Flugenhafen (airport). Silly me got on the wrong train. When typing in the directions I put Frankfurt Main Station, and not the airport train station. I was a little stressed out (to say the least) when I realized that I was at the wrong station and somehow needed to figure out how to get to the airport. I decided to be brave and started asking people who looked like they were going to the airport for help. I would approach someone, smile really big and say, "Excuse me, do you speak English?" It turns out that everyone looked like they were going to the airport, but really where just catching a train. Ah! So God brought a really nice American guy into my path who was married to a german gal and could read some german and speak it. He was such a gentleman and let me basically follow him to the airport. It was about a 20 minute journey in all--trying to figure out which train to get on, figuring out the tickets and then the journey itself.

So anyway, I checked in and then waited about 20 minutes in the Syngapore Airlines line. (I was suppose to be on Luftansa.) Oops. I eventually got on my flight and 2 hours later landed at Heathrow. I was glowing. I don't know how to describe it. Getting off the plane and stepping onto England land was glorious, listening to the people's voices and hearing the beautiful accents was wonderful. God has given me such a love for that little country and it feels like home everytime I arrive. I went through customs and the officer asked me, "What is the purpose of your visit to England?" My answer: "I LOVE YOUR COUNTRY!"

He didn't ask me anything else and let me go on my merry way. I picked up my luggage and walked out to see Jenny and Sarah waiting for me! If you have seen the movie, Love Actually, theres a few scenes at Heathrow Airport where people are meeting family and friends who have just arrived. That's exactly what it was like.

Jenny drove me to her house where we had some tea and then went to pick up Charlotte from school. The Wilshers are such a cool family. When I first met Elliot and Jenny they had a little 2 year old-Charlotte. Both are servants in the small church. Elliot uses his technical skills to design websites for missionaries and churches while having his own business. Jenny uses her gifts to be a mom, and wife who supports the church. That little description isn't giving them justice, but its a good start. They also now have a cute little girl named Sarah. If you look up the word "Cheeky" in the dictionary there is a picture of Sarah.

So we went to Rob and Joanie Dingman's home where I would be sleeping. Rob was packing up to go to a Calvary South Africa Conference, so I got to see him for a few hours before he left. They also are so special to me. They are a missionary family from Seattle, Wa. They have two beautiful girlies--one is in 4th grade and one is in 7th.

They work so hard serving people day after day after day. They are so generous and give so much of themselves to people. They live so close to LHR (heathrow) that they get so many calls from strangers asking to stay at the Dingman's for a night, or a worried parents calls from America about their child-there was a complication with a flight and a young christian who is away from their parents needs a safe place to go for a week. People google Calvary Chapel London and somehow find the Dingman's phone number. So, I stayed at Hotel Dingman and literally went to sleep smiling. =)

I woke up Saturday morning and rode into Kingston-upon-Thames on the 111 where I did a quick shopping trip and sight seeing adventure. My original purpose was to cancel my bank account I have there, because its more of a hassel than help, but I couldn't. Closing it would have been closing a special part of my life--so I put some activity on it where I got out 5 pounds. Now the bank account is valid for at least another 3 years. I ran around like crazy enjoying everything before catching the bus back to the Dingmans for a luncheon.

Here's a short video that shows how beautiful Kingston is. Kingston is in Surrey and only 13 miles from central london but a world away. Sorry for the long blabbing.

Interruption of the Travel Blogging

2008-10-26T00:59:00.001-07:00

I just want to make sure everyone knows that YES I am a California teacher but no I do support support Prop. 8.

I just saw a commercial that says that California Teachers are against Prop 8 and will vote NO!

I voted already. I voted YES!

This is my way to be loud about the issue! I wonder if there is anything else I can do.

Cologne

2008-10-25T16:54:00.000-07:00

Michal had classes that I tried to get her to skip while I was visiting, but too bad its Bible College so she couldn't just say she wasn't feeling well....so....I had a 4-day rail pass and only had plans to use 3 days, so while Michal was in class all day on Thursday I hopped the train to Cologne. It is a beautiful city only 1.5 hours (by train) from Siegen. I had planned to get to Cologne around 10:15, but too bad everything is in German in Germany, so I got on a right train, got off at the wrong stop, rode the correct train back to where I started and tried again. I ended up in Cologne at 11:30 and hung out until 3:30. It was cold and rainy, but ohso beautiful! I also found a Starbucks where I bought a Germany coffeemug to add to my collection. I ended up sitting in the big Cathedral for awhile just spending some time with God. It was beautiful! The picture is me in the rain enjoying all the sights!

Birkenstocks

2008-10-25T16:47:00.000-07:00

While in Germany I laid to rest my pair of birkenstocks that I had for the last 4 years. They had reached their last days and as the germans would say, they were "Kaput." I bought them for $12 at the Birkenstock Outlet in Gilroy-one of the best shoe investments ever. Michael took me shopping to buy a new pair and once I got home we had a little funeral. Thankfully they were put to rest where they were born and raised.

Second Part of Journey

2008-10-21T21:33:00.000-07:00

After my night in Naumberg I caught a train to Siegen to visit my frieeend Michal. (isn't she beautiful!) I was roommates with Michal in a very small space big enough for only two bunk beds. We couldn't even close the door fully and we had a very small window that could only be opened part way. So living that close to someone for a long period of time really binds you together. I booked the ticket to Frankfurt unsure about where she would be back in August. She is studying at the CC Bible College Campus and I was able to visit with her, go to a few classes, and enjoy the beautiful area. It was like a mini-retreat. She took me shopping into town where I was able to have a funeral for my old pair of birkenstocks and buy a new pair. I also helped her write a few papers and taught her the art of taking a 600 word essay and stretching it to be a 750 word essay. (You can learn a lot in college these days.) I was also able to meet some wonderful and beautiful people! (Like Valentina from Argentina)

The train ride was about 2.5 hours and was thankful that when I stepped right off the train Michal was waiting for me! It was also wonderful that the station was directly across from the bible college living quarters. Its a big house that was transformed into a dorm. The ladies have the top floor, the guys have the middle floor and the bottom floor is a library/computer lab/common area and office. It's beautiful!

And I know its not the most appropriate, but I have to post this graphic sign that is posted on the walking path from the living quarters to where classes are held in Siegen. It literally translates: No Dog Toilet. Yuck.

Food in Germany

2008-10-21T21:22:00.000-07:00

Germans eat their big meal at lunch time and at dinner have a lighter snack. I arrived Hungry and tired from a 10 hour plane and 2 hour train ride and I ate this. It actually tasted OK, but it was looking not so OK. It is basically hot dog bits in some kind of mayo salad. You are suppose to put it on toast. They thought I was nuts for taking a picture. I think they are nuts they eat this at least a few times a week.

Helga also taught me how to make Schnitzel. When she was cooking it she told me to get out of the kitchen because the scent would get on my clothes. I said No No...its OK...but sure enough I smelled so wonderful for my train ride that day... So if you are curious about how to make Schnitzel--here it is!

Europe

2008-10-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

I am finally over jetlag (i think!) and am ready to post some photos of my adventures. Im not going to worry about posting too many photos because the internet is great in the fact that you can easily type in a new web address if you get bored looking at the webpage you are currently on. =)

My first adventure was arriving at Frankfurt Airport and taking a train to Kassel. Helga is my grandma's first cousin and Klaus is her husband. I had been there two other times visiting so Helga is basically my German Grandma. She has a daughter, Annetta, and her husband Yorgin. Annetta has two kids-Fabian who is 13 and Marina who is 18. Marina was in Berlin when I was visiting so I only got to visit with the rest.

Naumberg is a little village with not a lot happening in it. There isn't even police! The trees and scenery are beautiful though! My great-grandfather was born in this village.

Back in the US

2008-10-19T22:51:00.001-07:00

I'm back. I can't wait to show pictures and write about everything I did and saw. I was only gone a week, but I cannot express to you how perfect the week was! I barely got home tonight...our plane was delayed at Heathrow by 45 minutes which cut my time REALLY short in Denver. By God's Grace the plane to San Jose had been delayed too, so I made it.

Thanks Jenny for everything you did! It was so wonderful seeing the girls and really understanding the term "Cheeky." hehe.

Pictures to come later...now I have to try and get myself to sleep for school tomorrow morning!