Playing Catch Up.

I've fallen behind. go figure.

So, let me sum up what I'm thankful for.

November 13, 2010 I became an aunt!
Happy late birthday to my first ever most beautiful nephew Jacob Asher Keesling!

Isn't he just a munch?

Dreaded Tuesdays.

Tuesdays are my busiest days. Monday's are a cinch.

My day begins by downing some coffee and rushing off to Ben Franklin Elementary School to do my student observation of the fifth grade class. This is probably my favorite part of the day. I adore the students I work with and I might be biased but they are the smartest little buggers on the planet. And, they ask the funniest questions. Today one of them asked me if Tiger's go cross-eyed.

i don't know.

(and now that I read that it's not as funny as I thought in the moment)

From there i rush off to my Psych and Development of Children class. I LOVE THIS CLASS. Any class that begins with clips from Lord of the Rings for devotions is an A+ in my book.

Then American lit. We all know how I feel about this class. Who doesn't want to discuss Faulkner for two hours?!?!

From there I go to tutoring- this is what makes plain ol' Tuesday-DREADED TUESDAY. I tutoring an African refugee, Sarah, for two hours. Dont' get me wrong, I love Sarah. But she is a handful. She struggles with math facts to the point where she has to count on her fingers for simple math facts such as 7-7=0. She also is at a 1st grade reading level even though she is 10 years old. This alone I could work with, however, Sarah also struggles socially too. She will never look me in the eye, she's loses focus easily, is unresponsive, and can be very passive-aggressive. Today she even tried stabbing me with a pencil when I refused to let her skip over the words she couldn't pronounce in her reading assignment.

Again, I love her and my heart breaks for her. Sarah has never known her father and her two older brothers are no longer living at home with her mother and her. Sarah's mother works the night shift every day. So Sarah walks herself home (a good mile from the school), eats whatever her mother leaves out for her for dinner, and falls asleep watching TV every night. Even today when I asked her what she did over the weekend, she said, "Nothing." After more prodding she replied with, "I just watched TV". I continued to ask her if she spent any time with her mom to which she retorted saying that her mom was working all weekend and when she would come home during her breaks she would do housework.

What a strong woman. She is holding her family together the very best that she can, although, Sarah suffers greatly. I can't imagine the stress and the exhaustion this mother faces every day. It's wrong though. Sarah should not have to grow up in such a lonely and secluded world. When her social life is based off of what she watches on TV each day- it's no wonder she is struggling! Not to mention the neglect that her studies have taken due to the lack of strong parental figures and discipline.

Having to face this situation every Tuesday has literally been a heart-wrenching splash of cold water to the face. Wow. I am incredibly grateful for my parents. I can't put it into words. God could not have blessed me more. My father has ALWAYS been present in my life. Not only present but involved. He loves me and never fails to remind me of it each day. He's always tucked me into bed, told me bedtime stories, went to every single elementary Christmas Concert (even the recorders one), every single volleyball game, checked my math homework, pushed me to be the best that I can, provided for me, denied me when I needed to be denied, taught me and trained me, respected me, listened to me, hugged me, saved every single note, and every single cheesy craft that I have ever made him. He works his fingers to a bone so that i can go to college and live comfortably! Even today he still sends me text messages to wake up to in the morning that say "I love you sweetie! Have a great day!". You want to know who the world's greatest dad is- look at mine.

And my mom. Oh my mom. My fairy. She is the kind of woman that I hope to grow up to be. She is the smartest woman I know. If she wanted- she could be in a lab right now saving the world. Instead, she chose to stay at home and save 5 worlds instead. She has literally dedicated her life to me and my siblings. Any woman who has gone through labor five times deserves an award. She is self-less- to the extreme. She's a mom. She has that great smell too. Any time I smell my mom my mind immediately goes back to those days where she would craddle me in her arms when I was upset. She always picks me up and dusts me off when i faceplant (literally). She taught me an entire summer of geometry (pure torture- for her...math is not my strong suite). She pretty much carried me though my chemistry class too. In case you're curious at how to solve household problems using complex chemistry equations- my mom is the person to ask. She cooks, she cleans, she rushes, she's the band aid keeper, laundry extrodinair, and calmer queen. Have a problem? She sit down with a cup of tea and will listen and talk to you for hours. She teaches me to be selfless and self-sufficient. She encourages me to be creative, to be weird, to be nerdy, to be outgoing, and to find the beauty in myself and other people. She listens to me and takes me seriously. She's witty and makes me laugh. She's present and always answers no matter when I call. She has dedicated her life to caring for others- and it definitely does not go unnoticed.

I've never wanted to love, guidance, and comfort from my parents. For them- I am so, so thankful. I love you mom and dad.

Where did October go?!?

First day of November!

I decided since Thanksgiving is coming up I would post everyday discussing at least one thing I am very thankful for in my life- an easy task seeing as how the Lord has blessed me greatly. So today, November 1. I am thankful for the following;

big bear hugs that linger just a few seconds too long.

afternoon naps.

hand written letters from dear friends and family.

a perfectly placed indie tune.

a soft pashmina.

those moments when you laugh so hard you cry (or wheeze like an old man like I tend to).

a hot cup of coffee.

a beautifully bound piece of classic literature.

rainy days.

Happy Halloween!

I realize it's a day late, but I had such a fun weekend that I had to blog about all my last october festivities (official pictures will go up later after I sneak them off of my friends facebook...for now just enjoy these fall pictures instead).

So this weekend, yes, wonderful. I spent Friday night with my sassy asian friend, Grace. I just love her. We spent the night making puppy chow, watching a good three hours worth of 30 Rock, meandering through youtube, and stalking our friend Lauren on facebook. Perfect beginning to the weekend.

Saturday I had brunch with the beautiful Sarah Neff, pretended to do some homework to make myself feel better, and then spent the rest of the day with my sister Jen and her husband, Doug. Jen is currently preggo and TWO WEEKS UNTIL BABY JUGBUG IS HERE! Needless to say I am so.freaking.excited to be an aunt. I can't wait. I CAN'T WAIT. When I get the call that she is in labor- which could be any day now- I can guarantee that I will start screaming, then laughing, then crying within a span of a few minutes (that was pretty much my reaction when she told us she was pregnant). Expect a very long blog entry filled with pictures when I finally get to meet my beautiful niece or nephew. So we hung out and talked for a long time. I held her belly for a while while the baby was kicking- amazing. I just can't get over how amazing it is that she is growing a baby inside of her this very minute.

Anyway, off topic. Afterwards they dropped me back off at school and I went dress up bowling with a group of great friends (again, pics to come later). I wore a onesie so actually....pics may very well not be put up.

Sunday I went to church with my other sister, Jess, and her husband, Chris. Afterwards, we all (including Jen and Doug) went to Joy Yees. if you like chinese you'll LOVE Joy Yees. So good. Right now I'm thinking of the leftovers in my fridge that I get to eat later.


Also, last night a huge group of my friends and I went to a haunted corn maze about an hour away. I'm not going to lie- I was frightened at parts. We drove out to the boonies where there were literally no people around. We had to go through the maze 3 at a time. As much as I wanted to walk through with an entire football team, I went with my friends Brent and Tamara and it was a blast. We decided before hand to scream no matter what (although for me it wasn't a problem seeing as how I was scared of everything). The parts that freaked me out were just when the people would follow you! I would be so focused on what was ahead that when I glanced behind me and a creepy man was right in my face I would sprint forward (by sprint I mean stumble and trip over corn husks and plow through the field blindly) We eventually got to the point where we were sprinting through the maze. Oh yeah, did I mention that a man chased us with a chainsaw? Because that definitely happened. I don't think I've ever run as fast as I did at that point. It took a few hours for my adrenaline to subside. But it was a really great time. I couldn't ask for better friends or for a better weekend.

PumpkinIceCream

American Lit. Essay Status: Still not started.

However, Elise and Derek enlightened me upon probably the best thing ever to befall on the Wheaton Campus: Pumpkin Ice Cream. No joke- it's amazing. At first I was an unbeliever. As much as I love fall- pumpkin flavored things are not my favorite. I reluctantly tried and had a surreal life-as-a-cartoon-moment where you see sparks and stars and nearly melt away with happiness.

Needless to say, Elise Dan and I finished off the barrel and my mouth is kind of burning from the cinnamon.

Windstorm!

Apparently this is the strongest windstorm that Wheaton has seen in years. Go figure- we're in the Windy City and people are taking cover at thefirst signs of Fall weather.

Personally- I am loving it. Don't get me wrong, the summer weather has been a treat. Not very often do you you find yourself waking up to 75 degree weather in October (especially in Chicago). The downfall, however, is that the AC in the dorms have been turned off for a month. I'm fairly fed up with sweating- constantly- and waking up to the suffocatingly hot temperature of 100

defreakingrees. My roommate, Elise, and I have been dyyyyyyiiiiiinnnnnngggggg for weeks.

So this delightful breeze is more than welcome at the moment. The whole day I have been basking in the gloomy, overcast clouds, the random rain storms, the beautiful leaves that fly through the air and hit me in the face.

Oh you think i'm kidding? Nah man. I'm for realz. I love it. I literally have been watching the skies for Mary Poppins all day. Nothing makes this week of midterms, papers, RA applications, and elementary students who can not for the life of them remember that 10-6

=4 better than imagining Julie Andrew swooping down and scooping me up. We could float away from everything and linger over campus, dropping water balloons on unsuspecting students and giggling at the Wheaton Wierdos. We sing away our stress and how our problems melt away with just a spoonful of sugar.

Instead this is me---->a hot mess holding on by the threads. hair turned into a rat nest of tangles, leaves stuck to her face, and mud covering her shoes.

But a girl can hope- right?

3 months later.....

I knew this would happen. Predictable failure.

But I'm back for now! huzzah!

And truthfully just fiddling around to avoid writing an essay for American Lit.

I dread that class. Not because of the professor or the material, but because of my classmates. Who are great people- but brilliant. Which, truth be told, can be a buzzkill. I actually had a dream earlier in the year that one of these brilliant scholars came up to me and told me that I WAS BRILLIANT!

Contain your excitement because I woke up to reality. He most likely has no opinion of me whatsoever seeing as how I sit in the back of the class, frantically writing down everything he is saying so that I feel somewhat prepared for the midterm. I'm fine with that. I'm sure he'll go on to be a genius who changes the face of world somehow and then I can falsely say- "He called me brilliant....once. in a dream" *whispered so they actually couldn't hear the last part but so that I can be morally secure for not lying.