Hall Party!

3rd Floor Field Side and Street Side unite! We had a combined hall party full of pizza and tie-dye!














The Lord blessed us with a gorgeous MS day!














I wasn't quite sure how to tie-dye and what to expect but it turned out so well! At least I think so, you never know with tie-dye and I haven't washed my socks yet so we'll see.














I didn't get a whole lot of pictures but if we have a tie-dye day and fashion show, I'll try to take more of us sporting our creativity!

How did I miss that?

Today is National Chocolate Day?! How did I miss that? Well, I did have a chocolate chip cookie-does that count? I think I celebrate this just about every day, so maybe that makes up for it?

Discoveries

I have discovered that...

walking up three flights of stairs to do laundry after getting over a cold really can wear you out, be a workout!

coughing can also be an unknown workout...i mean you have to cough when you're sick! I discovered abs I didn't know existed

you know you're an elementary education major when you are at the doctor's office writing a lesson plan rough draft (and no, this doc visit wasn't for me)

I am not the best person to do homework past 9pm unless it is due the next day and I haven't finished it and/or I'm studying with a friend

scientists discovered a new species: poisonous dart frog among other things

My life as I know it

In other news here's a short update of my life....



-Many friends are getting engaged: congrats to my roomate's brother, good friend Em Fray, Danny Bond, and the rest of the lovely couples who just tied the knot.

-If i was able to sleep a whole day...I think I just might be able to do it. After taking a nap in the sunshine it was very hard to wake up and it does not feel like fall just yet with this MS weather.

-Fall Break was quite the adventure as I got to see my Russian friend Liza. Home was full of HGTV and DIY projects. We painted the garage in five hours and enjoyed delicious meals of steak and stuffed shells, some of my favorites! After about two months we are finally planning to move all of our belongings to GA. Mom and I kept getting distracted when we would move boxes taking sneak peaks at all our fun items in storage.





-School decided to get busy. Somehow on Friday I realized I have a lot of projects to do and of course lesson plans to write.

-We watched a hs homecoming parade outside my friend's apartment and had a delicious international potluck supper with SMF. My coffee cake turned out ok.

-I really like pistachios and mountain dew.

-I miss friends and family.

Handwriting on a Sunday Afternoon

Quotes from Ms. Quinn's language arts class....

"If you want to tell someone you love them write them a note or carve it on a tree but don't write it on our desk."

"Once kids learn to write, they become a menace."

"A little learning is a dangerous thing."-Alexander Poe

If you write real small you are probably not a very open person and want to hide things but if your handwriting is big and open you may want to be an actor or movie star. Think of John Hancock he was so proud, he wanted his signature big enough for the Kind to see on the Declaration of Independence.

Your ability to write is not based on your size. There was a five year-old boy who was five feet tall but that didn't mean he was a better writer; he's still five and has to learn how to do it.

Manuscript Handwriting Evaluation: 1. neatness/smoothness 2. shape 3. size 4. legibility

Cursive Handwriting Evaluation 1. proper formation of the letter 2. uniform slant and spacing 3. width and height 4. line (to thick or thin) 5. alignment 6. connecting strokes 7. beginning and ending strokes 8. size

Zaner-Bloser-typical manuscript with four strokes of circles and sticks: - | \ o
D'Nealian- combination of cursive and manuscript, has 12 strokes very curvilinear

This is what I'm studying this Sunday afternoon. What are you studying?

When life throws you lemons....you make lemonade

This band had their instruments stolen but found a way around that....very innovative guys!



see the story

Special Prayers

In chapel today we sang this song and it really made me think. We are praising the Lord for the work He's doing on Earth in and through us. The President followed this song with a prayer that was so powerful and appreciated. He lifted up those who are stressed, hurting, dealing with relationships, about to go home to difficult family situations, sick, and other issues that are so prevalent on campus at the moment. I praise the Lord and am so blessed to go to a school where the President knows the needs of his students and covers them in prayer.

Hosanna by Hillsong

I see the king of glory
Coming on the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes
The whole earth shakes

I see his love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing
The people sing

Hosanna
Hosanna
Hosanna in the highest

I see a generation
Rising up to take their place
With selfless faith
With selfless faith

I see a near revival
Stirring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees
We're on our knees

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me

Break my heart from what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdoms cause
As I go from nothing to
Eternity

Hosanna in the highest

Homecoming

My family came up for the weekend and brought Bear. There were lots of Belhaven activities and delicious food. It was a quick trip but so worth it!


Junior Class of 2012 (well I might be here a little longer but that's ok)



Headed down the steps towards the field-our escorts were wonderful, thanks guys!



Pretty Ladies



We even got a picture with the President, and yes we are the first Homecoming Court for Belhaven University



Happy Birthday Ricky Howard-21!

Lesson Plans, Fall and Christmas

After working on creative writing lesson plans/activities I got really excited and wanted to do three of them!

1. (I liked the idea of a church bulletin board I saw) Write the things you love on a colorful paper heart...then hang them from the ceiling to remind kids to practice love.
-Kindergarten or First Grade

2. Write three to five sentences describing what you would be like as a scarecrow and draw a picture.
-Third Grade
*I would love to teach a fall lesson on the history of scarecrows

3. Create an acrostic with the letters of your name.
-Fourth or Fifth Grade

Here's mine (some of it is me dreaming what my life will look like in the future...)

Excited-to teach
Moon-i love to look at the sky and the moon at night
International Traveler
Laughter
Yap-I love my puppy who yaps

Fall break is only two weeks away-I can already imagine the goodies and fall treats
Also here's a very early preview for Christmas....

Lead Me by Sanctus Real is a big song in a lot of girls lives at the moment. So many are longing for a man who will be the leader in the family. I think Sanctus Real has a very good point that for the man to be the leader He has to have Christ lead him....

The Story Behind "Lead Me" - Sanctus Real from BrightBulb Entertainment on Vimeo.

Age 8-10

From an Article by Bill Adler entitled "You don't have to do homework in heaven!" Some little ones shared their views about death and dying.....

"You have to be old before you can die because God seems to love old people best."-Maggie W. age 9

"When I die, I want my dog, Fluff, to come with me. He can go to the dog heaven and I can go to the other place."-Karen M. age 9

"Only the good people go to heaven. The other people go where it's hot all the time like in Florida."-Judy P. age 9

"The hospital is the place where people go on their way to heaven."-Aaron F. age 8

"When you die, you don't have to do homework in heaven unless your teacher is there too."-Marsha W. age 9

"I'm not afraid to die because I'm a Boy Scout."-Kevin G. age 10

"Everyone cries when somebody dies because they don't want to be left behind."-Susan W. age 8

The Journey Home

Went to SMF or student mission fellowship last night and the speaker talked about Heaven. When you begin to think about Heaven you may have a lot of thoughts but the thoughts that struck me were that we should be living for Heaven and that Heaven is our home. Now that could mean a lot of things but I have just been thinking about how our life on Earth is only a pit stop. It's like the verse that says, "Since, then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God."-Colossians 3:1 If we think of 'things above' how would that trickle down to daily living? I think it would motivate us, all the more, to share the love of Christ to others in hopes that they would experience Christ to the fullest. The speaker shared with us how he spoke with an elderly lady in her 80's who is very ill and has been longing to go home (Heaven). I even remember my grandfather being so prepared and just waiting for that glorious day. They miss their home, yet they are thankful for the continued opportunities God gave them to be used and share the Gospel with the breath they have/had left.
How often do I forget that this is temporary. Are we making each day count?
Again, I was just reminded about how life is short and believers are called to live it out for Christ. To combine some of the speakers thoughts....life is a journey following Christ. How simple it seems and yet how complicated we make it. Follow me. It's the same call He gave to the disciples and boy did they have a life!!
If we simply gave it all to Christ and followed him each day what would that look like? Knowing you are not in charge and trusting your leader takes the pressure off of a lot of things. To be a follower of Christ is challenging, exciting, and nothing is sweeter than the love that we can not even begin to fathom, deserve, or repay.
All that to say, life is a journey, this is a pit stop, there is work still to be done, and this is only the beginning....
I will never forget the image/thought I had with my grandfathers passing in March as he fought the good fight and finished the race-He's now having the time of his life!

Mississippi

our friend in Language Arts Class

9th grade small group

Beautiful Sunsets

Psalm 62:5-8
Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him for God is our refuge

"I like most people..."

I was reading a church bulletin board about Love. They had John 3:16 in the middle and hearts with things the kids love or like all around. My favorite was: "I like most people." Gotta give them credit for being honest!

Did you know
-that ears grow your whole life?
-when writing the letter 'K', it is a stick with a broken stick
-the big teeth and eyes that kids have are due to the fact that they are all full grown when their head is still trying to catch up...eyes are fully developed at age 7
-to check your hearing-listen for the highest note of a violin and the lowest note on an organ
-26 year old drummers have 80 year old ears because part of their ear drum hardens
-there are 12 sounds with the same lip movements,like 'b' and 'p' or 's' and 'z'

We had our first hall party-Bake and Take (Potlock Style) Breakfast for Dinner!
Complete with delicious food (my first attempt at making our traditional Christmas egg casserole wasn't too bad! Thanks mom), apples to apples, pictures, and of course wonderful ladies!

Love this!

This is not my god daughter but I do believe we may be sisters in Christ!



I also love the sunshine that comes in my room on my bed in rays through the pine trees....I do live in the South! I think it was one of the best feelings and sights! The moon and sky were amazing this past week as well. Praise the Lord! From yellow full moons, to puffy theater background skies, is has been a joy and delight to witness! Also makes for some good breaks...just take a step outside and see what's out there

Something called Training Week

RA training was full of surprises....the training was a blessing and the competition well let's just say....bring it on! Our green team was victorious! even if I didn't understand the rules for the water game and may have given ourselves a slight advantage (sorry about that!) The scavenger hunt was another story-a whataburger napkin off the side of the road? yes we grabbed it only to realize it was not from whataburger but mcdonald's and thus would not suffice for this competitive race! I think we would've had a chance if we had a few less wrong turns but the memories were priceless! Full of pizza, crazy games, and wonderful instruction, we had a big week prior to move-in day!

Flip Flops and Language

It has been quite the start to the school year. I should be doing some homework but tonight...I did some and am now done for the night. Elementary Ed majors seem to have a lot of projects...the Braves might become my good friends in the next few days (they just tied it up against the Rookies by the way). Well I am taking math, even though I thought I was done-you can never get away from it, although it is kind of encouraging that I can do most of the problems we are assigned (to ensure mastery of the skill...I did pay attention in 5th grade so that's good...kids stay in school!). Anyway I have another Ms. Quinn class and I am very excited. She just cracks me up; she has a wealth of knowledge and stories after forty some years teaching I believe. This interesting class is Language Arts and Skills. A favorite quote from the first day: "Teachers are the guardians of language." (Quite the responsibility).
Some thoughts:
-language is culturally based so whatever is important to a culture has a lot of words. For example: there are 100 plus words for the sweet potato in one language/in Alaska, Eskimos have 12 words for snow/Arabic has 5,000 words related to the camel (for which Ms. Quinn proceeded to say that she thinks a majority of those are curse words because camels are just a pain)/Greeks have four words for love
As for America, we have a lot of names for cars.
It is interesting to note that though language changes overtime because certain words are simply not used...the two words that remained the same over the translation of Beowulf are 'father' and 'forgive'...as the Brits say, "Stick that one in your pipe and smoke it!" Translation: think about that one for a bit!
One's speech also says a lot about a person. Depending on whether or not someone says, 'icebox', 'refrigerator', or 'fridge' can place them in a decade but if you are good, like Ms. Quinn and you speak to college kids for years...you can fool people over the phone by relating like a college student.

Went to the soccer game and got burnt but made up for it when I discovered I had obtained a flip-flop tan. Balance was quite off in dance class which makes dancing quite hard but we are still getting back into the swing of things. I will have to make a math gameboard and write a short story/children's story this semester. Oh and tutor. And of course there are the wonderful 3rd floor street side girls!! Learning to trust God as He cares for His children in only ways that He can.

Life as an Education Major.

Discovering the joys of Sharpie pen...they don't really bleed through to the other side of the page!
Oh and the story of Robin Hood never gets old. Watched some of Robin Hood Men in Tights which...I'm a bit biased and my favorite are the BBC versions, but it had the basic story line and some funny sections.

Fall Semester begins

Good day!
Three of my favorite things in one day, last summer! Well school is in full swing after quite the week of training. Belhaven University has a very big new crop this year and as I start the courses in my major (first time I can take only my major and minor which is super exciting!) I'm realizing it is going to be a little busier than I expected...