Stationery card

Very Merry Moments Christmas Card

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Animaniacs - Multiplication [ENLGISH WITH VIDEO]

Christmas Card 2

Pine Cone Toile Christmas Card

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Christmas card from shutterfly.com. Love it! Can't wait to get them in the mail so I can send them out! It was fun to choose the perfect card to go with the photo I wanted to use of Ben. He's getting so big so quickly!

Not This Year...

Ever since I saw those two little pink lines (almost exactly a year ago)indicating that in nine short months, and probably even before that, I prayed earnestly that the birth of my first little one would mean I would be able to stay home with him or her and focus entirely on being a wife and mom.

You can imagine my disappointment when I realized this Fall that this was a dream that was going to be put on hold. I felt sad, and I felt angry. I couldn't help feeling that maybe God felt I wasn't a good enough mother to be home full-time with my baby, and that he needed someone else. Or maybe my prayers had been selfish and therefore left unanswered. I wondered if I had made a mistake, and had I chosen a more lucrative career I'd be in a better position to be able to leave it. I tried not to resent my husband's choice of a career that is almost entirely commission-based.

Sometimes, God's answer to prayer is not now. In a few short days I'll be starting a new school year with a classroom of 31 fourth graders. A friend of mine once said that you can think of God's plans like a tapestry. We can only see the back- a seemingly confusing mix of colors and threads that don't always make sense. God sees the front- he knows exactly what it looks like, and is weaving a perfect and beautiful design. Perhaps, there is something in His plan that I can't see. There's a chance that one or two or maybe more of those 31 children need me. Benjamin gets to have me every day for a good portion of the day. Some of those children in my classroom may be in situations in their lives where they need to have someone who can provide them with love and stability that they aren't currently getting at home. Maybe there is a child who needs a confidence boost that could change the course of his or her life which I am perfectly designed to be able to give them. And maybe it's about me. Perhaps God has a lesson or goal for me that I can only learn through the experiences I will have over the course of the next nine months of the school year.

I may never know why God has chosen for me to return to the classroom this year. I do know that I see Him working in my husband's career, and I can continue to hope and pray that He has plans for things to change after this school year. I'm also very proud of my husband who is extremely talented in his field and is working as hard as he can to make my dream come true for our family as soon as possible.

In the meantime, I will thank God that he has provided a wonderful sitter who will be a cheerful, loving, Godly example to my little Ben, and that if I must work it's at a job that I love and which allows me to have fewer hours and much more time off than many other careers would.

And you can bet that I'll be enjoying and loving every minute that I do get to have with my little one when I am home.

The Newest Member of the Wiens Family!

We are proud to welcome:

Benjamin Michael Wiens

Born May 17, 2010 at 10:38pm

Weighing 8 pounds, 9 ounces

and measuring 22 inches long

He is beautiful, and we are loving being parents!

Weekend Getaway to the Windy City!

This past weekend we took a three day trip to Chicago! We stayed downtown, and were able to do quite a few things, including the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Michigan Ave., Watertower Place, Navy Pier, and lots of walking around the city in general! We also ate at several great restaurants! I highly recommend E.leaven for breakfast! :-)

Summer Days

It's been an unbelievable busy summer! I've been working at Ann Taylor, teaching summer school, tutoring four children, completing the final class in my master's degree, keeping up the running schedule (most weeks), and continuing to stay active at church. I actually think the start of the school year might be a break for me!

Summer school and my class will be complete at the end of next week, so I'll look forward to a break then. We are hoping to maybe take a short trip somewhere in August, but we'll see how things go. Work has been very busy for Aaron too!

Wish I had some fun pictures to post, but not today. We've been too busy to do anything worth taking pictures of I'm afraid!

Toledo Botanical Gardens

I recently visited the Toledo Botanical Gardens with my second grade class. It went along with our plant unit, and was an inexpensive trip to do. I had never been there before, so I was delighted to see how great it was! The kids enjoyed themselves as well. Here are some photos of the gardens. I look forward to visiting again!

Updates

Wow! It's been far too long! There really isn't much to update, but here's the latest from the Wiens family:

Aaron has continued to be busy working in commercial real estate. He's really enjoying what he's doing. He has also, of course, gotten back into golf now that the warm weather is here, and is playing pretty well already! Unfortunately it doesn't really work for us to join the league we have played on the last two years (our church league) due to our schedules, but he is finding time to play nonetheless. We purchased tennis rackets this past weekend, and are looking forward to doing that together this summer. I think I will enjoy it more than golf. My attention span seems to run out after about seven holes of golf.

I've been back to running on a fairly regular basis! My friend Melissa and I are working on speeding up our 5k time. We've talked about working towards a mini-triathlon too, but we'll see how that turns out! It's been ages since I have done much of any swimming, so it would take me quite a while to be able to do it, I'm sure!

I have about four weeks left of school before I have a short break, and then start five weeks of summer school. I'm also continuing to work a day or two a week at Ann Taylor, and I'll pick up more hours there in the summer, along with tutoring a few students. Even though it sounds busy, it will be MUCH less busy than I've been all year, so I'm really looking forward to some down time!

Can you believe that our five year anniversary is in just a couple of weeks? I can't! It's hard to believe it's already been that long, and I couldn't be more thankful for every year!

West Palm Beach and Flat Stanley

We just returned from a short but fabulous trip to West Palm Beach! We flew down to look at a car Aaron was interested, decided to buy it, and drove it home! :-) It was such a great deal that it more than payed for our trip, and it's in wonderful shape having been in Florida without the snow and salt!

We stayed at the PGA National Resort and Spa. It was excellent, and I would highly recommend it to anyone! The rooms were slightly outdated, but extremely clean and you can get rooms in a wide variety of price ranges, so many are very reasonable. The food and services were defintely priced a little high, but the service was AMAZING! Best service I have had anywhere. The staff is top notch. I look forward to returning again in the future for a longer stay! The area is gorgeous, and we were able to enjoy 80 degree weather in January.

One of my students asked me to take his Flat Stanley along for a project we have been doing, so I happily took him with us and took some photos of him along the way.

Technology Training

Today the K-2 teachers in our building our in technology training. We are currently going over the Michigan Education Technology Standards for those grade levels.

Examples of second grade tech standards:

• Student identifies technology related tools. (e.g., computers, cameras, audio/video players, phones, televisions)
• Student understands that technology is a source of information, learning, and entertainment.
• Student understands that people use many types of technology in their daily lives (e.g., computers, cameras, audio/video players, phones, televisions)
• Student discusses the functions of the major hardware components in a computer system.
• Student identifies common uses of information and communication technologies.
• Student recognizes the functions of basic file menu commands; new, close, open, save, and print.
• Student discusses the consequences of irresponsible use of technology resources at home and school.
• Student recognizes a web browser (e.g., Internet Explorer) and can use it to access resources on the Internet
• Student interprets simple information from existing age-appropriate electronic databases (e.g., dictionaries, encyclopedias, spreadsheets, charts, graphs) with assistance from teachers, parents, or student partners.

Good idea: Have a conversation with your students about what you want to do, and what some of the possible programs to complete the task would be. (Engage students in that discussion so they can practice those problem solving skills. ("I have to do this- what would be the best thing to use to do it?) Student recognizes the best type of productivity software to use for a certain age-appropriate tasks. (e.g. word processing, drawing, web browsing)

Give students time to practice using the spell checker.

Giving credit to sources that you find on the internet and use in your own work- even photographs that you cut and paste.

Typing- getting kids to use the home row- this is a challenge! They have already been using the computer at home (at least many of them have) and have a tough time switchin how they type.

Some cool websites for resources:

MDE- Integrated lesson plans aligned to MI GLECs and framework and METS-
Scroll down the page to the RED title “Technology Enhanced Lesson Plans”
2005 workshop http://techplan.edzone.net/ci2005/

2006 workshop http://techplan.edzone.net/ci2006/

Internet4Classrooms- subject and grade level resources, integrated lesson plans—great place for K and Pre-K
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/k12links.htm

Rubric creator- pre-made categories and criteria. Can be copied and pasted to Word for further customizing.
http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/

Rubistar—online rubric creator-select from variety rubrics-categories can be chosen and criteria is pre-made but can easily be customized.
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

Christmas

Christmas is quickly approaching! It's hard to believe that we only have four days of school until break! (And yet, at the same time, not so hard to believe!)

Giving Thanks

With Thanksgiving this past week, I've been thinking of the many many things that I have to be thankful for. Here is a list of many of them, some serious, and some a little more light-hearted! I'm thankful for...
A God that loves me and wants to know me and for me to know him...
A God that loves me enough to provide a way for me to spend eternity with him, even though it cost greatly, and I don't deserve it.
A loving and thoughtful husband who is my best friend in the world.
Two wonderful brothers who are intelligent, kind, and love the Lord.
That God allowed our apartment and almost everything in it to be destroyed in a fire so that I could learn that I don't need anything outside of Him to be happy.
A church family that has been a blessing beyond anything I would ever have expected or imagined.
Many, many, wonderful friends.
A great dad who was super strict- which I will forever be grateful for.
The twenty-seven years I got to spend with my mom who stayed home to care for us, who encouraged me to do my best always, and was there for me no matter what.
A college education at a great school.
A job that I enjoy and where I am able to impact the lives of others.
A church with two pastors who are committed to preaching ALL of the Bible- not just the parts that make everyone feel good or are politically correct.
My Bible and the incredible truths it contains. It has every bit of advice and guidance I will ever need.
Many great students who have taught/teach ME every day!
My grandmother (dad's mom) who encouraged me in the Lord from a very young age.
My grandmother (mom's mom) who is incredibly supportive and one of the classiest people I know!
Aaron's family!
My health.
A beautiful place to live that I can use to minister to others and glorify God.
A great dog that makes me smile on a daily basis, and who is there to "lick" away the tears if ever they fall.
Patent leather shoes.
Sunshine and summer and all of the beauty in nature.
Whoever it is that invited dishwashers and washing machines and dryers, and that I finally have them! (With no collecting quarters required!)
Our cozy fireplace that makes grading papers and writing lesson plans at home a little more enjoyable.
My job at Ann Taylor with its flexiblilty and the change of pace it gives me, along with all of the girls I work with there!
English tea with cream and sugar.
Being a citizen of the United States where I have more freedom than I would in any other nation in the world.
Warm gloves and scarves!
Trees that blossom in the spring.
Italian food. Especially at great Italian restaurants.
Strawberries and blueberries.
Classical music.
Down comforters.
Cloudless summer nights, particularly up north, where I can look at the stars.
The many great books I have read.
God's provision for all of my basic necessities.

Officially Moved!

We are officially moved into our new home! There is still some unpacking and quite a bit of work to do, but I'm so glad to be getting settled in! Here are some photos of the latest progress.

Getting Closer!

Move-in day is quickly approaching! We have final inspections this week. Here is some of the current progress:

Kitchen Countertops

The house is really getting close to completion! Yesterday, they put in the kitchen countertops, and there is actually a funny story to go with them too!

Yesterday morning, I stopped at the house to do a little cleaning. I only stayed about an hour, and then had to leave to walk Sasha and take care of some other things. Now, when I chose the color for the countertops, I had narrowed it down to two choices. One was a black with some tan and white in it, and the other was a tan with some black and white in it. I was really having a hard time deciding which one I wanted, but I ended up going with the tan. While I was at the house, I was looking around the kitchen, and realized that now that I could see everything all together, that I thought the black would actually look better. I almost called our contractor to ask him if it was too late to change the color. I didn't because I knew that it had to be too late, and went on my way. Later that evening, Aaron and I stopped at the house again so he could see the updates. It really had been too late to change the color, because the countertops were in. The amazing part- they were the black countertops instead of the tan!

I have no idea if I wrote down the wrong color or if the building supply company ordered the wrong one, but thankfully it doesn't matter. Aaron told our builder at church this morning that it was the wrong one, and he totally thought it might be his fault and said they would take them out and put the correct color in at no cost. Aaron then of course told him that I love the color, and had actually decided before seeing what happened that I wanted the black.

We have black handles to put on the cabinets, which I think will really tie everything together. I am loving the kitchen!

Flooring and Open House!

Yesterday they started to put down some of the laminate flooring in the kitchen, dining area, and entryway. I really like it! It was hard to tell exactly what it would look like with the small samples at the flooring shop, but I do think that I made the right choice!

This evening we had open house at school, and I was able to meet 16 out of my 20 students! I really enjoyed talking to them and their families, and am looking forward to the start of the school year.

School Days

My classroom is starting to come together! I still have a long way to go, but I'll have most of today and some time tomorrow to have it look a little more polished and get my word wall up before school starts.

Kitchen Cabinets!

We now have some kitchen cabinets at the house!

Our Baby!

Some photos of Sasha taken by my brother, Rob.