Things that have made me smile.

1. Adam and I went to a Friday night high school football game and many of our youth kids came up and talked to us.
2. Being able to hang out with Megan and Malerie twice in three days.
3. The Brewers made it to the play-offs.
4. Going to Salisbury with Adam and Megan to spend a gift card at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.
5. Only 25 days until I get married!
6. Having Communion at church.
7. Finding out my brother and nephew can make it to my wedding all the way from Alaska!
8. My wonderful fiance letting me watch Amazing Race and Army Wives all in the same night when he could have been watching football!
9. Laughing with good friends at movie night. Touchdown! :)
10. Monday night family dinner at my parents.

My Time Away

For four weeks this summer, I had the privilege of once again traveling to Bangkok, Thailand. I was there in the summer of 2006 to start my master's degree. This time I went to finish my master's degree. Philadelphia Biblical University has an amazing education department that allows teachers living overseas to travel to either Bangkok, Thailand or Kanderam, Germany to work towards a master's degree in education. At the time I started I was teaching in Mongolia, and it was a great opportunity to start my degree and receive credits for renewing my teaching certification without having to travel all the way back to the States. This last year, I was in Delaware and was able to commute up to the main campus in Langhorne, PA (about 15min. north of Philly). The Lord blessed me and allowed me to go back to Bangkok this summer to graduate with my original class! It was so neat to catch up with them and to see Bangkok again! I'm including some pictures to allow you to catch a glimpse of my stay!

Thailand

The school

My classmates

The Floating Market

I was introduced to yummy Lebanese food!

The gardens are beautiful!

And of course rainy season!

The Big News!

Yes, two posts in the same day! Amazing isn't it! Well, I do have some news to share with everyone. I am engaged! Many know that I have been dating Adam since October. We meet last summer at church. He is originally from Wisconsin and moved to Delaware in May '07 to take the associate pastor position at my parent's church. I was in Mongolia teaching missionary kids and moved back to the States in July '07 to work on my master's degree. I started attending church with my parents. We met their and became friends. In October we began dating. I went to Wisconsin to meet his family the end of January. The week after Easter, he came down to North Carolina to meet my extended family and down to Toccoa, Georgia to meet some good friends of mine from college (I lived in Toccoa for five years going to college and teaching). While in Toccoa, he proposed and I accepted! We will be getting married on November 1 at our church here in Delaware. We are so excited and blessed! It's amazing to look back and see how the Lord brought us together at just the right moment!

At the moment we are here with the church. We work alot with the youth group and the 20's (college and career type group). We're open to going overseas at some point to work at a school or moving on to another church. We're waiting and seeing what the Lord has in store for us!

The Substitute

Okay, So maybe blogging wasn't the best thing for me to start up! It takes me months and months to write a single blog! These last few months have been pretty busy and I'll get into it all in the next few blogs--it's going to take a few!

One thing I have been doing over the last year is substitute teaching. Its much different then regular teaching. No lesson planning, no paper grading, no staff meetings, no parent/teacher conferences, etc. After four years of having to do everything, it was quite refreshing! Plus, you got to see many different classrooms and see how different teachers run their classrooms. You get to meet many different kids of all ages.

I did most of my substituting in the same district. I pretty much rotated between four elementary schools. One of the schools was a special education school. I was their ALOT because it's so hard for them to find substitutes. What a joy to work with these kids. Kids with all sorts of disabilities of all ages attend this school. I was a little nervous at the beginning, but once I got going and got to know the kids and staff, it really was a joy to go and be with these kids for a day. They are very loving and accepting of everyone. I enjoyed it alot and learned so much about disabilities and special education. This school also has off site classrooms around the district for kids who aren't as severe. Another school I was at quite a bit was for one of these off site classrooms. It was neat to see how the kids interacted with other kids and how they were mainstreamed into a "regular" classroom setting.

There were two other elementary schools I was at pretty regularly. It was neat to be able to get to know some of the kids. They have pretty good memories and it's neat to be able to talk to some of them in the hallway or the cafeteria after you've subbed in their classroom. There was one class that I became the regular sub. for. I was in there five or six times over the year and they became "my kids".

I will be subbing again next year. I would like to continue on in this same district, but I am moving and it will be a longer commute to the schools. With the gas prices as they are, I'm not sure it's the best thing. I'll have to see how it goes. I will be starting over in a new district and it's going to be a whole new system to learn. But, I'm sure the Lord will provide!

Seven Facts About Me

The Rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you (Amy) and post the rules on your blog.
2.Share 7 facts about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your blog and include links to their blogs.

Here Goes!

Fact #1: I LOVE chai tea!
Fact #2: I saw Phantom of the Opera (on stage) for the first time a week ago and loved it!
Fact #3: In August, I will have a new neice or nephew!
Fact #4: I can play the flute.
Fact #5: I HATE eggs!
Fact #6: I pull on my ears when I am tired.
Fact #7: I'd like to ride on a hot air balloon.

Lisa Who?

Wow! Has it really been three months since I've last blogged? It doesn't seem possible--life has just been flying by. Much has happened in such a seemingly short period of time. God has truly blessed me these last months and I am so grateful for His provision and care in my life!

First, I have finished my first semester of school and have done well. I had two classes this semester. The first one was Philosophy of Education, which I loved. The professor was amazing and we had some great talks about teaching and incorporating our faith into it. The second class was Intro. to Second Language Acquisition, which I didn't like quite as much but it was still enjoyable. It was a class about how people learn a second language and to teach a second language. It was a very busy semester with ALOT of reading, writing, and studying. But, I made it through and have gotten back in the swing of being a student again. My next class is a Winterium class starting January 3. It's Global Trends in Education and I'm looking forward to it very much--getting into my concentration and passion a little bit. :)

Second, I have been truly been blessed by my church up here. I was a little iffy about not having a Church "home" up here in the north. Well, the Lord has blessed me with an amazing church that has truly become home. The Lord has challenged me through the teaching and they have welcomed me in with open arms. I have made several very good friends that have made my life so much fuller and sweeter. I have gotten involved with the Pioneer kids club teaching first and second graders on Wednesday nights and helping with the youth here and there when they need me. It's been fun to get to know these kids and see how they are growing. It's been a little out of my comfort zone to jump right into it, but I'm glad I did. They are a joy to work with! I have also just started heading up the Alliance Women's group here. It's a group of women that get together once a month to pray and support our missionaries. I'm very excited about this because I know what an important ministry it is!

The third will come as a slight surprise for most, but it's a good one. I am dating someone! His name is Adam and is the assistant pastor at church (Yes, a pastor! I can just hear all the gasps!). We met at church back in July and became friends. Then about two months ago, we started dating. We've been enjoying getting to know each other and just waiting and seeing where the Lord leads.

One bittersweet thing has come about in all of this. Over the last few months, I've been praying about going back to Mongolia next summer. It's been a difficult decision, but the Lord has very clearly closed the door on Mongolia. He still is leading me overseas, but not back in Mongolia. It's a bit sad as I miss my kids ALOT!! To realize I won't be going back to them is hard. But, I know that the Lord has other things and will lead me when the time is right. Please pray that I will be able to truly trust God and seek His face!

For the moment I'm enjoying being home and with my family for the first time in four years! Yea God!

The Drive Through

Drive through windows are very common. They're everywhere. I have seen them at resturants, banks, dry cleaners, and pharmacys. Last night I saw a new one. I was dropping off a book at the Kent County Library via the book drop (it was after hours). Now, this is a library that I have just "discovered'. It has recently moved to a new building that is bigger and more easily accessible to the general public (meaning, closer to MY house). I also recently found out that I can use my Dover Library card at the Kent County Library. This makes me happy knowing I now have TWO libraries close by to explore. Well, as I was driving out, low and behold I found a drive through window on the back of the building!!! There was a sign that explained that you could use the window to drop off books, or to pick up books (call them in early or just show up and wait). Now, I do understand that if you know what book you want, it can be easier to call ahead and have it ready to zip right through to pick it up. My point is, WHAT FUN IS THAT? The fun of going to a library is to be able to explore. To be able to go around and study the books, see what is new, see what you have missed before, and just to be able to be surrounded by a million great books. I love going in and finding things I wasn't expecting. I always come out with more then I went in to find. Finding a drive through at a library is a little disappointing. Everyone should have the experience of walking through the rows of books and losing track of time because there is just too much to see. Try it, it would definitely be worth it!

Life is a Highway......

I have seen the highway much more then I prefer over the last eight weeks. In those eight weeks I have visited six different states--Delaware, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Washington, North Carolina, and Georgia, and have driven through countless other states. I thank the Lord for allowing me not to get lost, and for allowing my car to make it to each destination. I tend to worry about getting lost quite a bit as I'm not good with directions and maps (on my list of qualifications for a husband!) and my car is to the point of wanting to die at any moment.

Despite my directionally challenged, car encouraging (think, The Little Engine that Could) driving, it was a wonderful time of catching up with family and old friends. I was able to spend time with people I haven't seen in two, sometimes four years. I was able to meet my beautiful nephew, spend time with spouses and children of friends who I haven't met or known very well before, hang out with friends and family reminiscing about times past and catching up on their lives, worship in my own language, and just see what God has been doing in the last couple years! It's been wonderful and I thank the Lord for allowing me these weeks to play before having to settle down with school.