Life Goes On...

Well, today I started my summer job. Since I will be teaching in the fall (notice the nice statement of faith in that statement), I needed to get a job to make a little money this summer. I called on the help of my friend Jami, and she set me up. I'm working with the same office I spent three and a half years in. Can't beat that, can I?

Today is my mom's birthday. She still recovering from her surgery, but she seems to be doing really well. Dad and I have had to get on to her so many times for bending over. You don't realize how much you bend over in a single day. It's kind of annoying to not be able to do it anymore.

Anyway, here are some pictures I took over the last few weeks. Some will make sense, others will not; kind of like me, I guess...

This is the new addition to my brother's family, a ten week old Papillion named "Baby Dog."

Landon and Meme Jonathan still likes his candy

Happy Baby

My Mother.

Some of you may know this, but last Friday my mom had to have emergency eye surgery. She had noticed something weird going on with her vision and at first thought it had to do with her new glasses. But as the week went on, she realized something was not right. She set up an appointment with her eye doctor for Friday morning, and dad went with her. As soon as the doctor looked into her eye, he stopped. He told her that her retina was detaching and that she needed to get to Little Rock as soon as possible.

So that's what my weekend consisted of. Friday was spent all day at the Eye Center in Little Rock. Saturday, we were at home, helping mom recooperate. Dad left Sunday for his banking school, so luckily I was available this week to stay with mom. She's not allowed to pick up anything over ten pounds (sorry, no Landon picking up for a while), nor is she allowed to stoop or do any sudden movements. Now, if anyone knows my mom, you know what a difficult task I have trying to corral her. I think she's as ADHD as some of her students!

Well, she's has been ordered to stay relaxed for another three weeks, which means her summer vacation started early this year. She's doing great too. We went to the doctor this morning, and he said the retina is back in place and everything looks like it's progressing as it should. Keep her in your prayers, though, because this life of leisure won't suit her for long.

GRADUATION PICTURES!

Here are some pictures from last weeks ceremony.

I was waiting in the tunnel with Sarah, Erin's sister, before the ceremony began.

Erin snapped this as I was walking to the stage.

See, I did get my "diploma" from Dean Bobbit. It's actually a letter, but it's in a cool folder!

And, here I am with the beautiful flag background...

A shout out to the fam...

My family loves me. And I love them too! Saturday, my grandmother, several aunts and uncles, quite a few cousins, and my mom, dad, and brother and his son all drove the four hour plus trek from Batesville to Fayetteville. I don't think they know how much I appreciated it and looked forward to having them visit.

Well, on Friday, I got home and there was a package from my Aunt Polly. She lives in Maryland, so I knew she wasn't going to be able to be here. In the package was this beautiful watch:


Polly doesn't know this, but I haven't worn a watch in almost two years, because my favorite watch broke and I never found another one I liked. I love this watch! I've worn it every day since I opened it up. Thanks Aunt Polly!


Now the "Most Tears Shed Over A Gift Award" goes to my Aunt Jean. My other grandmother died in January 2000, and since then we've all missed her terribly. Well, Jean handed me a gianormous bag and told me to look at the present before I read the card. I did, and inside was this beautiful quilt:And then I read the card. The quilt was pieced together by my grandmother for me before she had her first stroke, and when Jean found it, she held on to it for a special occasion. I guess my graduation was the incentive she needed. Needless to say, I cried like a baby for a few minutes and am shedding a few tears now as I type. Thank you Aunt Jean!

I LOVE MY FRIENDS!

Saturday I graduated from the University of Arkansas. Yeah me! Since my friends love me soooooo much, they all got together and gave me a great gift. Before I reveal what the gift was, let me give you a little back story.

One of my friends, Evan, works at a jewelry store and is constantly bringing Erin,his fiance, home these amazing free things. Well if anyone knows anything about diamonds, then you've heard the name Tacori. Tacori is a diamond company which tries to promote environmentally safe mining practices and has some of the most amazing diamonds in the world.

We were having a small get-together and Jamie and Rachel's to celebrate Rachel's and my graduation (Rachel just finished her master's), and Evan comes from work with this:

And then hands it to me! Everyone was all smiling, so I opened the card first because that's the polite thing to do (when all I really wanted to do was see what was in the bag!). I realize this gift is from all of my friends, so I started thinking "what in the world..."


Well, I reach in the bag and retrieve this:



Now I'm really starting to wonder what they've done. I think I had a nervous smile on my face. It's not every day you get to open a signature blue Tacori box! When I opened up the box, I found this:

It wasn't diamonds, but that's alright. This is even better! I've been wanting/needing and iPod for months now, and my friends love me enough to know this. Thank you so much guys!

OMG! It's Over!

I can't believe that this whole experience is over already. It seems like just yesterday, I was sitting in a freezing cold room with eleven people I really didn't know, learning skills that would "help" me be in front of a classroom. And now, here I am, about to be a college graduate! It's amazing in every aspect.

This last week at Farmington was so preciuos. All the kids were so cute, hugging me and saying they will miss me. I've gotten so many handmade goodbye cards, and I love every one of them. Here are a few of my favorite...

And for the graduation ceremony tomorrow, check out my new shoes...

Some people don't appreciate the fine art of Scrapbooking.

Today, I had my final class meeting with Dr. Misenhelter and the other interns. We filled out our surveys, talked about job postings, and turned in our portfolios. Ahh, the portfolio. The piece of the puzzle that has haunted my dreams over the last few weeks. I slaved over this giant piece of literature for almost a week, compiling personal thoughts and reflections and proof of my participation in the school system. On Monday night, I even added the perfect touches that make it so poignantly "G," creating a photo montage of the last five months. I didn't go to bed last night until almost 3:00 AM. Well, you can imagine what this thing looks like, especially when you know that I went through two black ink cartridges on my printer for this thing.

Anyway, I get to the meeting and Dr. Misenhelter asks for our portfolios. I pull mine out and anxiously wait for him to see it. I glance around and notice that some of these people are not into the "make it pretty" style of presentation that I like. Dr. Misenhelter takes all of our portfolios, some in binders as thick as mine and some in just a small presentation folder, and sets them on the piano. We then start to fill out our surveys (FOUR different surveys that all ask the EXACT same question, mind you) while Dr. Misenhelter begins to review our portfolios.

Now by review I mean he thumbs through each folder to make sure there is a section for all required elements of the portfolio. Does he read anything in the portfolio? No. Does he take the time to appreciate all the detailed work that I had put into this culmination of the last five months? Not really. Across the top of my evaluation page, there is a note jotted about it being an excellent model. When he hands them back to all TEN of us fifteen minutes later, he says that some of these were really good and makes the comment that he wishes he could keep a few of these for examples and raises his eyebrows in my direction. I guess that is my validation for all the work I put into this stupid thing.

Oh well, now I'm on to Kinko's to get it copied and bound. Maybe someone will hire me based on this portfolio...

A day at the park

Sunday was such a beautiful day, that all of us decided to get together at Gulley Park for some hot dogs and cute dogs! Jim and Emily brought Molly and George, and Evan and Erin brought Gucci. I was a great play date; one I'm sure that will be repeated in the near future. Jim grilled some great hot dogs, and the boys ran the puppies ragged. Enjoy the pics!

( Playing catch meant playing "keep away" for the puppies)

( Molly was ready to catch anything!)

( Gucci took a small breather with Rachel, but it was literally for just a second.)

(George finally collapsed. He was one worn out puppy! )