Plans are meant to be changed?

Final Requirement: a 600 hour internship, equally split between the elementary and secondary (MS/HS) levels

I began the summer excited to be done with my graduate classes and anticipating my last semester of school in the fall, in which my only requirement was an internship. My heart and mind were set on graduating in December and finally being able to put school behind me and find a steady, dependable job for the new year. We made the move to NoVa based on this plan. I submitted all of the paperwork for my internship by June 1 as directed and anxiously awaited my placement in the Arlington school district.

To make a long story much shorter I will say that for multiple reasons, Arlington was not able to give me the placements I needed to complete the internship in one semester as planned. So instead of graduating in December, it will be May. And instead of interning full-time each week, I will spend 2-3 days/week at my site. I will be at an elementary school in the fall and a high school in the spring. The good news is that I will be able to continue watching a baby 2 afternoons per week, a job that I started in July and which helps bring in a little money. The bad news is that I am 2 semesters away from graduating and getting a real job, rather than one. The good news is that God is sovereign and has already ordered my steps for the future. So while I was disappointed at first, and frustrated too I'll admit, who am I to say that God messed up in allowing it to happen this way? He loves me more than I can fathom. He knows what I need and what is best for Geoff & I. And so I will begin this school year with a determination to be thankful for the extra time during the week, the extra semester as a student, and the Lord who in His wisdom makes much better plans for my life than I ever could.

Friends in Wedded Bliss

This past weekend I had the privilege of being a bridesmaid in my friend’s wedding. She and I met in 8th grade and have been good friends ever since. We even roomed together for 2 years in college @ C’ville, which was great! There were 3 of us girls who were very close friends through youth group, and a youth leader who has remained a mentor and friend to us these past 12 years or so. Which means that this wedding was also a great excuse to spend time with these ladies who are so precious to me. My friend Laura was a bridesmaid with me, even though she came down with pnemonia right before the wedding! Ginger was the last of our little group to get married and so it makes me incredibly happy to see us all with great men who love us dearly. Knowing it would turn out like this could have saved us lots of worries and tears in high school, though, that’s for sure!

Even got to spend some time with my family, which meant Geoff had company while I was busy with bridesmaid things :)

CheeseHeads

Over the 4th of July holiday, we were able to get up to Wisconsin to visit Geoff’s family. We really enjoyed leaving the 95+ weather here in DC for the 70ish weather in Milwaukee (for most of the week, anyway). Here are some of the other things we enjoyed:

*toured Sprecher Brewery, where they make THE best root beer!

*went to a Brewer’s game…unfortunately, they lost but we still enjoyed great ballpark food and fun. I was even chilly sitting in the shade, which was such a nice change from sweating just walking to the car at home!

*ate at Milwaukee Brewer’s player Ryan Braun’s restaurant on the waterfront and enjoyed delicious sandwiches with a pretty view

*visited the botanical gardens, for free, as part of a free summer concert series

*played Sheepshead with Grandma and Tante (well, I watched… and Geoff lost a dollar)

*fireworks in downtown Menomonee Falls

*making scones with strawberries and cream for the Wimbledon final

*relaxing and laughing with family

Apt. 9

Well, it took about a month but we are finally all settled in to our new place in Arlington. Its beginning to feel like home. Here are a few pictures of our new place, as requested:

living room/kitchen our wonderfully huge kitchen counter that tends to collect junk throughout the day...

dining "area". sorry, all company must eat on the couch :)living room
yes, its true. pretty much everything you see is from Ikea.

does this really need a caption?

a poor picture of the bedroom

Bavarian retreat in… West Virginia?!

Geoff and I recently celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. Last week we were able to escape for a wonderful 24-hour getaway outside the Beltway. In the week or so leading up to our anniversary, I had done some research into inns or bed&breakfasts within a close proximity to DC, in hopes that we’d be able to take a short trip sometime this summer. In my research I came across the beautiful Hillbrook Inn in Charles Town, WV. I made the comment to Geoff that this place looked spectacular and had decent rates to boot, and suggested that we should go there sometime. Upon opening my card from him on the morning of our anniversary, I found a print-out of this very inn with the promise of going away for a night sometime within the next week. So, on Monday the 14th we left our little apartment in Arlington and headed west… enjoying a beautiful 1.5hr drive to our destination. As you can see from the pictures, this inn is a beautiful Bavarian style retreat (circa 1700) on 18 acres of grounds, land that once belonged to George Washington. We booked 1 of the 4 cottages they offer outside of the main house rooms, the Summer Cottage (see Geoff sitting on our porch). The grounds were beautiful and our first day there was rather humid but still bearable to be outside. I’m glad we enjoyed it while we could because the next day was rainy! We walked around the grounds, played a round or two of horseshoes and then played chess. They had a large chess board you could walk on, which is so much more fun than manipulating little pieces in front of you on a tiny board. I of course did not remember the rules or which piece did what since I’m not much of a strategy game kinda girl, but it was a lot of fun even though I lost quite grandly. Geoff was kind enough to give me lots of “help” that seemed to work to his advantage most times…. We later played backgammon, which I had never played before. I picked up the strategy fairly well and managed to beat Geoff the second time, so I’ve come to enjoy that game :) We had a wonderful time just relaxing and being together without the demands of everyday life. So thankful for chances like this to get away, and so thankful for the man God has given me as a caring, loving husband. For more pictures, check out Facebook.