Fun Filled Weekend!!

My weekend began on a wonderful note - I was graduating with my Master's of Arts in Education!!! Friday sailed by quickly as I tried not to bust at the seems with excitement. The day only got better. As I was standing by the lunch tables on duty, I see our Jetta drive through the parking lot. Slightly confused I looked in the drivers seat to see Kyle and the passenger seat to see my MOM!!! I had to double take because my mom is, from what I thought, in Boston, not in California. I ran to the parking lot and sure enough my mom was getting out of the car and walking my direction. I couldn't believe it!! What an awesome surprise!! Apparently, she and Kyle had been planning this for months and I had no idea. For those who know me well, this is not an easy feat. I felt like the weekend festivities could finally begin. Mom wasn't sure she would be able to make the trip out and we're leaving for Boston next Friday for Christmas, so I had planned on taping graduation for her. Up until that Friday I hadn't really spoken about graduation because I didn't want her to feel bad that she could be there, or even that my dad couldn't be there. I knew that if they couldn't make it, they would be with me in my heart. They have sacrificed a lot of sweat, tears and finances in order to help me reach this goal. I'm sure if you ask my mom and dad they would tell you how big of an achievement this is for me since I was never into the "educational" aspect of school, but more the social. This weekend is definitely dedicated to all of my family and Kyle's family who have encouraged me along the way!!

Saturday morning we got up, made pancakes for breakfast (yummy!), got ready and headed up to Azusa for graduation. As soon as I got there my nerves and excitement really kicked in. I couldn't believe this day had finally arrived. Graduation came and went far to quickly, and soon we were on our way to dinner. It was so wonderful to have the whole family at graduation and at dinner. Kyle's Nana and Papa, Papa and Grandma, Mom, Dad and sister Leah, my Mom, and Kyle were all there to cheer me on. We had a wonderful dinner celebration and when we got up to leave 3 hours later we were all stuffed to the brim with good food. Here are some pictures from graduation.


Mom, Kyle and I after graduation

Mom and I

Kyle and I

Kyle and I with his Mom and Dad

The grandparents and I

It's only the beginning

Well, here's picture number one and I'm already showing a little. I am 13 weeks along and officially over the first trimester hump as they call it. It feels so good to have my taste buds back. While I didn't deal with any extreme sickness or nausea, for a while there I was only eating Mac and Cheese, Pasta, Rice and grilled cheese. I think Kyle's glad I'm feeling more myself because he's actually getting good home cooked meals again. I'm pretty sure he was going to rebel against another Mac and Cheese dinner. I feel blessed to feel as great as I do and overall, had a mild first trimester. Kyle and I had a doctor's appointment last Wednesday and we got to hear the babies heart beat. It felt like I had been waiting for so long for that moment and it was over far too quickly. The doctor says the babies heart beat sounds great and I'm healthy, so we were thankful for the good report. January 17 is our next appointment and we get to find out the sex of the baby. We can't wait!!

It's the little things...

Last night Kyle and I were supposed to go to the Switchfoot/Relient K show, but I wasn't feeling well so I ended up staying home. I was bummed that I missed seeing my favorite band, Switchfoot, play. We've been so busy lately we haven't had any time together and I was missing him as I laid in bed relaxing. At 10:30 I recieved a phone call from Kyle and I could hear the song, "Only Hope," playing in the background. When Kyle and I got married three years ago, I walked down the aisle to that song. As it played in the background, Kyle told me how he remembered our wedding day and how beautiful I looked as I walked down the aisle. And as I laid in bed, tears streaming down my face because he thought to call me when they played our song, I felt blessed to have such a wonderful husband. It's definitely all about the little things....

2+1=3

Well if you haven't figured it out yet by the title of my blog......I'm pregnant! Or is the pc term, we're pregnant? I'm not sure. Kyle and I found out five weeks ago that we are going to be expecting a little addition to our family. As of today, Thanksgiving Day, we are 10 weeks along in this adventure and growing more and more excited with each passing day. It's crazy to think that sometime around June 19 (as I know most little ones are hesitant to enter the world on their due date) Kyle and I are going to be a mommy and daddy. I guess I should add this to the list of things I'm grateful for this Thanksgiving. So far, I've been doing great. My only complaint is that I've been extremely tired a lot, which is one of the reasons I haven't blogged much lately. By the time I'm doing all my grading, planning, and cooking dinner, I'm ready to head to bed and go to sleep. They say that you sleep alot in the first trimester so I guess I'm doing something right. Kyle's been great! He has been helping me out so much, and doesn't even let me feel bad for a minute that I'm tired or not feeling well.

I recently signed up on a website called babycenter.com, which is a great website for all you future mothers out there. Each week they send me an update on what the baby looks like, how it's developing, and and gives me tips for overcoming queasyness and other undiscussable preganacy mysteries. So far here's what our little peanut, as we are calling our little one, looks like.....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving friends and family! It has been a wonderful, relaxing day for Kyle and I. I hope that you are all having a wonderful day, filled with millions of things to be grateful for. Kyle and I have felt so blessed this year, and have much to be thankful for.

1. Our families are all healthly
2. We have wonderful friends
3. We've made so many wonderful new friends this year
4. Teaching is going well
5. My mom got a promotion at work!
6. Kyle's ventures are all going incredibly well
7. We have been fortunate enough to travel several times this year
8. We get to spend Christmas with my family in Boston this year
9. Most of all I'm so thankful for Kyle and who his is in my life. He has been supportive, encouraging, compassionate, and reminds me constantly how much he loves me. Who could ask for more?!!!

Today, we spent Thanksgiving with Kyle's family, and instead of having our usual home cooked meal, we opted to head to a delicious restaurant known as the Orange County Minning Company. They serve a Thanksgiving buffet, filled with more food than you could possibly imagine. We all ate till we were stuffed and then headed to the beach house for a tour. It's hard to believe that it's almost done!!! Here are some recent pictures....

Big Bear

Kyle and I had the chance to take another weekend getaway to Big Bear with our cousins Jamie and Andrew. Saturday we had fun sleeping in, indulging in The Grizzly for breakfast and then walking it off around Big Bear's small, quaint town. Kyle and I love to walk around town when we visit Big Bear, not to shop, but to enjoy the fresh air. It was a beautiful weekend, sunny and in the high 60's! We didn't even need a jacket for most of the day.

Sunday we spent a good majority of the day cleaning out the garage at the cabin and getting rid of trash that had built up over the years. I guess I should be more honest and say that Kyle and Andrew worked hard cleaning out the garage. But when it was time to head over to the renal cabin on the Fawnskin side to replace the BBQ's, and put in a pool table, Jamie and I were able to pitch in and do our part. The game room at the rental cabin looks great! I'm jealous, now I want to be able to go over there and play pool when we head up there for weekend getaways.

Princeton Weekend

Last weekend Kyle and I headed to Princeton to watch Brendan's last home game. They played Yale, who has been undefeated all season long, and we knew it was going to be a tough game. There were 38 of us who flew out to New Jersey to support Brendan and the rest of his fellow Tigers. This was the first game in Brendan's 4 year career at Princeton that Kyle, his sister Leah, and I were all there - so we finally got to take a family picture! It was so great! Kyle and I flew out on the red eye Friday night, arriving at 5:10 am on Saturday morning, only to miss the 5:37 train to Princeton by 2 minutes. Grrr! This always happens to us! It was raining and cold at the train station as we waited an hour for the next train. But as we do everywhere we go, we made friends with the fellow travelers around us.

The game was at 1pm on Saturday, so Kyle and I had time for a quick breakfast, a short nap, and a shower before we headed to the pre-game tailgate. We love seeing everyone, and it was great to have so much of the family there. Princeton played hard in the first quarter holding Yale to a 3 point lead, but unfortunately Brendan was hit in the hip (a reoccuring injury) which took him out for the remainder of the game. Even after being given shots of every kind of cortizone shot known to man, he was still in too much pain to play. We were bummed, more for Brendan because he was unable to finish the last home game of his career at Princeton, and we knew he was feeling bad that we had all flown out to watch him play. We did get to see him ride the exercise bike though! =)

After three turn arounds at the Princeton 3 yard line, we lost the game 27-6. After the game we tailgated again and then all 38 of us went out to dinner together to celebrate Brendan's career as a football player. After dinner we headed back to the Jersey shore to get some rest. Then we hoped on a plane Sunday afternoon to head back to Orange County. It was such a fun trip! Here are some pictures from the game.


Kyle's Nana, Papa, Aunt Lindsey and his cousins Blaine, Trenton, and Grant

Brendan and some of his buddies from high school who flew out to the game

The Family Photo - YEAH!

Kyle and I at Princeton Stadium

My Mother-in-law, Sister-in-law, Janelle and I showing off Brendan's jersey number

So Sorry!

Sorry it's been so long since I last blogged. I know, I know, it's shocking that I've gone this long without having something to say. I've been knee deep in grading, as parent/teacher conferences are next week for the middle school - YIKES!! I have comfort knowing that 1. I did this last year and it wasn't so bad and 2. at least I have the support of the other 4 core middle school teachers sitting with me in each conference. Thankfully, this year, we have a new online system called Edline, where parents can check their students grades, so hopefully many of them won't be surprised by what we say in the conference.

This weekend Kyle and I are heading out, once again, to New Jersey for the Princeton v. Yale game. I'm so excited for the weekend getaway and hope that we win! Princeton lost last week 0-7(tough game) and Yale has gone undefeated, so the Tigers need to play hard. We fly out on Friday night on the red eye and arrive Saturday morning in time to shower, change and head to the tailgate party before the game. Then we spend the night in NJ on Saturday and head back to the airport Sunday for the trip home. I know, we're crazy, but we're young and you're only young once. Or so they say.

Please keep me in your prayers as I'm working hard to finish up my paper. My goal is to finish by the earlier date, January 10, which is totally feasible, providing I keep trucking along. It has been harder than I thought to juggle school, and my paper, but I'm confident it's going to be a good one.

I'll write again soon!
~ Alissa

I'm Exhausted!

1. I'm exhausted!

2. This has been a crazy week at school with Student Council elections, and the Harvest Celebration - and it's only Wednesday.

3. I finally finished the rough draft of my thesis paper, well everything except the findings and analysis part - it's 30 pages long! WOHOO!!! It has taken all my effort to sit down and focus on those last 12-15 pages. Some of you reading this already know. ;-)

4. Two more days left in the school week. I'd count down the days till Christmas, but I don't want to be one of those teachers.

Thanks for stopping by, I'm off to bed!

The Red Sox show they are a team to watch out for

Well the Red Sox pulled it out again tonight proving that they deserve to be in the World Series once again. Not having seen them in the series since 2004, I was excited to watch the line up perform. They began with a 13-1 win last night against the Rockies, and didn't hold back tonight, beating them 2-1. It was a tight game and although the Sox were having trouble hitting, their fielding remained impecable. Pitching tonight for the Red Sox was Schilling, Okie, and Papelbon. Schilling pitched 6 great innings, giving up only one run. He tipped his hat as he handed over the ball. Okie came out for 2 1/3 innings with 4 strikeouts, and no hits. Papelbon appeared in the 8th and 9th inning keeping the Rockies from scoring and helping the Sox deliver the win. Hopefully they can keep the momentum going as they head to Colorado for games 3 and 4.

One question remains for people as they watched Schilling tip his hat: Was this his last game or does he still have some magic left in him?

GO RED SOX!!!

The Fire Continues...

Well, the fires continue throughout Southern California. It's overwhelming to think about how many firefighter's are out there putting their lives on the line day after day, and all the homes and lives that have been lost because of the fires. May God bless those families and give them peace in this time of tragedy. They are now offering a $70,000 reward to the person who turns in the arson who started the fire closest to our home. If you have news coverage about the fires, our fire is called the Santiago Fire.

Meanwhile, here's how my week has looked due to poor air quality.
Monday - School was evacuated at 1p.m
Tuesday - School was cancelled
Wednesday - We had school, but the air quality was getting worse
Thursday - School cancelled (All districts in our area have no school)
Friday - School is cancelled and set to resume on Monday

While I have to admit being the worry wart that I am, I was feeling anxous about the amount of school being missed, while at the same time excited about the new found time to work on my thesis paper. It's hard to fall behind in the classroom, especially if you're like me, and your planner is already filled in till the end of the trimester. AAHHH!! I guess it doesn't always pay to be an over achiever. In between working on my thesis paper (20 pages and counting) I've takeb a few breaks. Today I went with my friend Chrissy and we fought the crowds at Mission Viejo Mall as we walked around. Some good sales happening. If you like Banana Republic, I have one word for you... SALE!!! Tomorrow Katie, Chrissy and I are heading over to try out the new Chipotle that opened at Irvine Spectrum.

Well that's all for me now. I'm watching the Red Sox game. Last night the Sox won 13-1, and I'm waiting for them to blow the gate open and slaughter them again tonight!

~Alissa

A Weekend of Memories!

Last Thursday night, Kyle and I packed our bags and headed for the Long Beach Airport for our red-eye flight to Boston. After getting to school at 6:45am (couldn't sleep), having a student council meeting at 7:30, teaching all day, and then rushing home so Kyle could take me to my Master's class; when they picked me up at 6:30pm, I was ready for bed. Getting through LB airport wasn't so bad, other than it's small and most of it is outdoors. It looks like several old modulars joined by cement walkways. Not very exciting.

We were heading to Reading, MA to visit my mom and grandparents, and of course to see the Princeton v. Harvard game. We arrived early Friday morning and my Mom and Papa picked us up. It was so much nicer than waiting an hour and a half for the bus, so we were grateful they were willing to come get us. Pulling up to my grandparents house brought back so many memories. The street they live on is beautiful and so is the house they have been living in for 45 years. The house was quiet when we arrived, it was still early, and Kyle, Mom, Papa, and I sat around the living room enjoying each others company till the other awoke. After saying hello to everyone, Kyle and I decided to take a nap for a couple of hours before we were going to take the train back into Boston to take a tour of the office my Mom works at.




After waking up from our nap, we headed into Boston. It was fun to take the train out there and be able to picture Mom heading to work everyday. If you love to people watch, there sure are some interesting people who ride the train. We arrived in Boston and headed towards Mom's office. Her building is right above a beautiful mall, I don't even know how she controls the temptation. I'd be down there every lunch time! The office was beautiful!!! We could see why she loved working there. Kyle especially enjoyed the snack closet in the kitchen.

On Saturday, Papa, Nana, Mom, Kyle and I packed in the car and headed towards Cambridge, where Harvard is located. We met up with my in-laws, some of our OC friends who flew out for the game, and other football players parents. Several of us wore Brendan's football jersey with his number during the game (they sell them at the PU store). I would give a recap of the game, but unfortunately we lost. It was sad, as we fought hard during the first half, but after going through 3 quarterbacks, we were unable to hold Harvard. We lost 27-10. Here are some pictures of the game:





On Sunday Kyle and I headed to church with Mom and Papa. After church Nana made us a delicious lunch and we were back in the car headed for the airport. Kyle and I had such a wonderful time, we can't wait to be there for Christmas!

Tragic Fires!

Well, school was cancelled today and we sent our students home at 1pm yesterday due to the really bad smoke blanket covering our area. We now have a total of 18 fires between Santa Barabara County to San Diego County, one of which is just about 10 miles from our house. While we are not in danger of our house buring down, we can see where the fire is located and can smell the smoke when we are outside. We were told to stay indoors and run our air conditioning during the day. It's hard to believe that we have so many fires burning, some out of control, so near to us. The fire near us was confirmed as arson, and I really hope they are able to catch the thoughtless person who started it So many people have lost their homes and Kyle and I know several people who have had to evacuate due to possible danger. Yesterday a fire broke out in Lake Arrowhead, which is a city we drive by on the way up to Big Bear. Kyle's aunt, uncle and three cousins had to evacuate and are now staying at the Big Bear cabin. Kyle spoke with them this morning and they still have no idea if they have a home to go back to. Thankfully Kyle's other aunt and uncle, who had a beautiful log cabin in Lake Arrowhead, just moved down the mountain because their home has been burned to the ground.

Please pray for all the people who have lost homes and had to evacuate over the last couple of days and are not sure when they can return home. This is a tragic time for Southern Californians and with the Santa Ana winds blowing at 40-50mph they are not sure they can contain some of these fires before Halloween.


This is a view of the fires that NASA took from space! The one lonely fire you seen in the middle of the areas that have multiple fires, is the fire closest to us.

There's Something About Being Surrounded by Nature...

This weekend Kyle and I headed up to Big Bear with several people from the church we've been attending in Long Beach, CA. It's a brand new church, less than a year old, and it's been so wonderful to be part of a church family where we feel we know everyone in the family. There are some wonderful people that attend this church and I feel God has truly blessed me with some new girl friends. Even though the church is a bit of a drive from our house, we have felt extremely blessed by the message and the people. There are about 13 of us who came up to the Circle cabin for a weekend of relaxation and "fellowship."

Today (Saturday), Kyle and I took our friends Lori and the Miller family around the lake, showing them both downtown Big Bear and the Fawnskin side. We stopped at a beautiful lake along the way and took tons of pictures. It's so BEAUTIFUL up here! The air is crisp, the sun is out, and it feels great to layer on our "winter" clothes and enjoy spending some time outdoors. While we were downtown, we ate at a great Mexican restaurant, where we enjoyed delicious chicken nachos and quesadillas, until poor Tyson laid himself down on the floor and exclaimed, "I need a nap." At that point we decided to head back to the house for a nap and an intense game of Monopoly.

Tonight is our Pastor's fiance's birthday so I'm off to make a cake. More from me later!

-Alissa


The Miller family and Lori ready to head out on a tour of Big Bear


The adorable son of the Millers, Tyson

Rachel, Lori and I down by the lake

Kyle and I on the dock of the Fawnskin house

Princeton Tigers!

Well fans, I wish I better news about todays game. Despite the excitement of a possible comeback and an extremely close game, the Tiger's lost. Kyle and I believe that we are going to be Brendan's good luck charm next weekend when we head to Boston to watch the Harvard/Princeton game. Here are the stats from todays game:

Tigers 24
Brown 33

Brendan's Stats
passes - 2
Yards - 48
TOUCHDOWN!! - 1

Aloha Olivia Ohana

Last night Kyle and I went to Olivia the bands farewells show. This is a band that Kyle and I have known for 3 years and that Kyle managed for more than a year. They put on a great show, and the crowd was filled with loyal fans who have loved them for years and will miss them dearly when they leave. At one point in the show several of the kids began crowd surfing. Now I have always found this to be an interesting activity and one that strikes me as an easy way to get hurt. Imagine going home from a concert and explaining to your parents that you think you broke your leg jumping off a 9 feet stage into a group of strangers hoping that they would catch you. I'm especially amused by crowd surfers who begin with a running start before jumping off the stage. So.... last night, I'm watching these kids jump off the stage into the crowd, who is barely absorbing the fall, when I see this teenage boy take a 10 feet running start toward the crowd. As he leaves the stage I watch as he pulls his legs up to his chest as if he's going to do a cannon ball into a swimming pool. I watch in horror/amusement as the crowd parted and watched him fall to the ground. Needless to say, he had to be carried out with help. Kyle and I laughed so hard, I was in tears. Who does that?!! To add to my amusement, the lead singer, Reed, at the end of the song said to the crowd, "be careful crowd surfing, make sure there's someone to fall on!" It was hilarous!

Olivia the Band is a great band and if you haven't hear them, click on my blog title and it will link you to their website. Let me know what you think. This band will be soarly missed. And to the band all I have to say is, "See you March 15!"

Tears Shed for the Tigers

Well.... I wish I had better news to report, but after an almost 4 hour long game, the Tiger's lost yesterday. They began the game strong, ahead 27-14 at the end of the first half. Unfortunately, the Tigers couldn't hold out during the second half and in the last quarter of the game, Hampton pulled out all the stops and won the game 48-27. Hampton is ranked quite high in the nation, but I'm not going to lie, at the end of the first half I thought for sure the game was ours. Brendan played well and was 3 passes for 30 rushing yards, and 1 recieve for 18 yards. Here's an update on the Tiger's stats so far.

Princeton Tigers
Wins - 2
Loses - 2

Brendan
Passes - 18
Yards - 322

Don't worry Tigers, next week is going to be a great game!!

A Taste of Fall

I can't believe that it is October already! This year has blown by so fast and before you know it, Christmas will be here. Kyle and I sat down to look over our schedule and realized we better get some play time in with friends because it's going to be getting busy in the Circle household. If you don't believe me, check out our calendar....

October 12-14: Big Bear Cabin

October 18-21: Boston for the Princeton/Harvard game (Go Tigers!)

October 26-28: Anniversary getaway

November 9-11: New Jersey for the Princeton/Yale Game

I'm excited for all the trips we're taking, but sometimes it's fun to kick back and relax. Yesterday Kyle and I ran to Target for toothpaste, and what should have been a quick trip turned into a trip down Halloween Lane. I'm going to start a poll, should Kyle be the chicken or the beer keg for Halloween? I'm leaning towards the chicken, but do I want to end up being the egg? Not so much....





Tonight, Kyle and I went to our favorite restaurant in Newport Beach called Ho Sum Bistro. It's considered a Californiental establishment and they are know for their chicken salad. It's amazing! We met up with one of Kyle's groomsmen, Justin (my favorite friend of Kyles) for dinner and drinks at a local bar afterwards. Don't they look cute together!?

Go Tigers!!

Princeton pulled out on top once again this week, proving that they are the team to beat this season. They played Columbia this weekend and beat them 42-32. It was a great game, and Brendan was 8 passes for 140 yards. Way to go B!!!

3 Years and Counting...

Yesterday, Kyle and I celebrated our three year anniversary. Even today as I'm writing, I'm amazed at how fast time goes by. It seems like just yesterday that I was slipping into my beautiful weddding dress and attempting to each granola and yogurt as I waited anxiously for the ceremony to begin. Like everything in my life, I was ready early and spent the last hour watching my bridesmaids scury around. It was a beautiful ceremony followed by a reception filled with laughter and loved ones. As Kyle and I got ready to go to dinner last night we reminised about the day.

Kyle is the most amazing man I know, and everyday that we've been married I fall more and more in love with him and can't imagine my life without him in it. He made yesterday so special! At 11:30 I recieved an email letting me know that he was going to pick up lunch and bring it to school. Not only did Kyle pick up food but he ate and laughed amongst the teachers during our lunch break. He has such an amazing personality, they loved him! Then at the end of period 7, Kyle brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers filled with gerbera daisies and a collection of other beautiful flowers all shaded with the colors of spring. Of course my students were excited to be witnesses of this thoughtful gesture. For dinner, Kyle took me to a restaurant called Opah, where we had an amazing meal that came with the best waiter we've ever had. He even treated us to a chocolate soufle for our anniversary!

It was a wonderful evening! I can't wait to spend the rest of my life continuing to fall in love with him over and over again!

An A+ Project!

My students did a fabulous job on the first project they had to complete for me. They were all required to read a book during the summer and then recieved a book report project when they returned to school. I'm so proud of them, I had to post pictures on my blog.


7th Grade

6th Grade

8th Grade

Go Tigers!!

After a rough start last week in their game against LeHigh, Princeton pulled out all the stops and beat Lafayette this week . Averaging over 48 yards after the first half, Tiger fans knew that we were off to a strong start. The Circle family has much to be excited about as Brendan was choosen captain of the team this year. So far he hasn't put many yards on the board, but the team is working hard to give everyone shot at the action. Being his sister-in-law though, I just want the ball to be thrown to him. This is his senior year and we want him to play as much as possible.

If you click on the blog title you, it will link you to the Princeton Tiger's football page where you can tune into their games every Saturday. Not going to lie, it's not as much fun to listen to the game, but I still find myself yelling and cheering at my computer. I'm working on trying to imagine I'm there, although, I don't know a great deal about football, so I get confused when the commentators talk about calls. Speaking of the commentators, I'm mesmorized by the fact that they are able to remember all the players names so they can give the listeners the play-by-play as it's happening. Talk about needing to be on the ball! So great!!!

Stats so far....
Game 1 - Princeton v. LeHigh (L) 32-21
Game 2 - Princeton v. Lafayete (W) 20-14

Brendan Circle
Passes - 5
Yards - 134


Brendan, #6, for the Princeton Tigers!!

Here's my Princeton game experience...


When Lafayette almost scored a touchdown in the first 15 seconds of the game but recieved a penalty!

First touchdown, way to go Kenny Gunter!

2nd touch down, way to go RC!

And the Tiger's WIN the game!!

On my way!!

Tonight I had my third class for my master's research paper. It's a little overwhelming when I look over all the samples and see people who have great ideas and have written 100-150 page papers. Will I be able to do that?! Do I have that much to say, and is it really going to be interesting for this mystery educator with years of teaching experience who is reading it? I know it sounds weird but it stresses me out that they give everyting to us in small chunks and then leave the rest a mystery. Being a language arts teacher for 6, 7, and 8th grades, I need to feel like I can work ahead when I have the extra time. However, I do realize that they have a system in place for a reason and it obviously works otherwise people would probably have anxiety attacks and then never finish their papers, thus resulting in them not recieving their masters. I do not want to be one of those people. Thankfully, I have supportive husband and theres NO WAY he'd let me quit on the home stretch. The good news is that I have chosen my topic, come up with my main research question and written my introduction.

Please keep me in your prayers as I'm working on balancing planning curriculum, grading tests, projects and homework, spending time with Kyle, and writing my thesis paper. If there was ever a time in my life when I needed to remind myself to take on day at a time and keep my eyes on Jesus, I'm sure this is one of them.

Blessings,
Alissa

Is it Christmas yet?

Just kidding! I don't wish that it was Christmas break already, but I'm going to lie, as the 106 student book report projects came in today, I did wish for a day off. It's days like these that I have to remind myself that I DON'T need to get their work graded and back to them in 24 hours, especially when it's a project. I'm tempted to hold onto the projects and head to the beach this weekend to do some grading. Don't you just wish you could spend a day relaxing here....

Circle Custom Creations

As many of you know I launched a children's party planning company in Orange County this summer. I would love your prayer support as I begin to market this business through referrals. I have some mothers who are already interested and am excited about any additional opportunities that might arise. Please check out my blog I'm using as a temporary website until the official one is up and running. All you need to do is click on the title of this blog and it will link you to the site. If you know anyone who might be in need of a party planner (yes, I can do more than children's parties) then please have them contact me.

Bees Mistake!

So, today we had our first field trip of the school year. We packed 106 students and 10 parents/teachers into three beautiful yellow school busses and headed for the beach. How many schools can say that they get to go to the beach for a field trip? While I was a little nervous about having so many middle school students in an open space, I mostly hoped to have some of my voice left at the end of the day. With all the groud rules set and a short devotional time with our homeroom class we let the kids loose. After an hour of free time, a couple of the teachers, a group of students and I are chatting about life and punking 6 graders when we hear ear piercing screams. All of a sudden a swarm of bees, and not just any a few bees, many ANGRY bees begin to attack our students. One by one, students begin crying because they've been stung, and the teachers are rapidly pulling out First Aid kits to help. Trying to figure out why we were being attacked, I asked a student what had happened, and this is where our day get's a little more exciting. Four boys were throwing rocks at a bees nest and managed to hit it dead on. Of course if someone was throwing rocks at you what you would you do? Exactly, they attacked. We had 6 students and 1 teacher get stung and thankfully all those who were allergic to bees, and would've needed an Epi pen, managed to avoid this dramatic scene. I felt bad for our young boys, who knew they had made a bad choice and had to watch all their classmates get stung. I explained to them that while it wasn't their best decision that after a weekend of rest and relaxation, all those who were stung would be over it by Monday.

The rest of the day went off without a hitch, although I think the teachers were more tired than the students by the time we departed at 2:00. I'm not blogging about this story because I am angry that it happened, more that it made for an interesting field day for me. Since it was my first field trip, I hope I don't always begin the day worrying about what could possibly go wrong, but rather look forward to enjoying the learning experience with my students.

Princeton has their first football game tomorrow! GO TIGERS!! and #6!

A Weekend Getaway!

After a very hectic first three days of school, Kyle and I packed up the car and headed for the hills. My cousin Jamie, her husband Andrew, and their puppy Lucy joined us for a relaxing weekend in Big Bear. If there is any spot where you feel completely surrounded by the wonders God has created, it's in Big Bear. The air is clean, the trees are green, and the fast pace life the the city is non-existent. Sometimes it's a good idea to take a break and gain a new perspective on the world around you. Saturday night we took a dip in the spa, and with all the lights out we could actually see the Milky Way!! Words cannot even begin to express the amazingness (is that a word, if not, it is now) layed out before us. Looking at the night sky, I'm not sure how anyone could dispute God's existence and His perfect plan when he created us. No matter what anyone says, we did not evolve into the "creatures" we are today.

With a weekend of basking in the warm sun, napping, spending time with family, bowling, and eating at our favorite local spot, The Grizzly, Kyle and I were refreshed and ready for a new week. We have several meetings this week, so last weekend was the perfect time to take a short vacation.

On a side note, the first three days of school went really well and I'm looking forward to a new year of teaching. I'm excited to try out new lesson plans I've created. We have over 100 students in the middle school this year, so I'm working hard to learn all our sixth graders, and new students names as quickly as possible. Last week we had three minimum days so it was a lot of talking and establishing the classroom environment and expecations for the year. Today we began our full day schedule and to be honest, I'm not as tired! I know that sounds strange, but we were able to dive into the curriculum and I didn't feel as rushed. Friday we are taking the middle schoolers to the beach on a field trip. I'm praying for nice weather in the 70's or 80's, otherwise we all know I will burn!! Thank you for all your prayers last week, please continue to pray for me and my students this year.


Kyle and I at our favorite bowling alley in Big Bear


Here we are being goofy for the camera


I know Kyle looks so serious in this picture, but I really like how it came out so I couldn't resist putting it on here.