From my grandma:
You are in love now! Do you want to stay in love 10 or 100 years? Then today and forever----
1. Be as polite to each other as you are to your friends and others.
2. Tell each other "I love you" several times a day and before you go to sleep at night.
3. Don't be afraid to say "I'm sorry" and "Forgive me" when necessary.
4. Don't ever, ever criticize each other. It hurts! Instead, compliment and build each other up. Very important!
5. Be tender and loving from morning til night.
6. Don't go into a mood. No one likes a moody person. If you have moods, GET OVER IT! It's childish and not very grown up.
7. Keep bodily functions private. There's nothing romantic about it.
8. Go to church regularly. Find a BIBLE believing church and go. Pray together. There's nothing sweeter than to acknowledge and love the Lord together. After all, He brought you two together and gave you life first. He will guide you through life and its storms and happy times. He always hears you when you pray. Pray sincerely and pray, "In the name of Jesus."
9. Read the Bible every day. It is truth and be Blessed. Remember, there's only one way to heaven and that's through Jesus. If you've asked Him to come into your heart and live for him, you will be there some day!
10. Read II Corinthians 13:4-8 now and then, what love should be. If you love that way, the Scripture says, "Love goes on forever." (verse 8).
Perhaps this is how my grandma and grandpa have remained in love for 70 years? I love her words and will hold them dear to my heart and marriage.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Friday, September 20, 2013
More Stories
I have a student with autism. She is high-functioning, meaning she does quite well in a normal classroom setting, and academically, she can do the school work just like all her peers. What she struggles with, however, is social interactions. She doesn't communicate like her peers, and she has very few friends because her peers think she's weird.
One of the ways she is "weird" is she speaks her mind. If she's thinking something that she deems important to share, she will say it, even if I'm mid-sentence teaching. She always raises her hand, though, and when her hand shoots up, I always fear what she may have to say.
The other day, I mispoke. I don't remember quite what I said, but I think I was reading something and I skipped a word. She immediately raised her hand. "You forgot a word. Read it again." I read it again and made sure to include the word.
A few days ago after school, she was sitting by the front doors and it was obvious she was waiting for a ride. I was walking out, so I said, "Hey Kacie, are you waiting for a ride?" She replied her mom was on her way, so I told her to have a good night. I left for about 30 minutes to have dinner and then came back (to work a volleyball game). Kacie was still sitting there, so I said, "Kacie, you're still here? Is your mom still coming?" To which she replied, "She's coming, alright. Geesh. Stop asking me about my ride."
I could only chuckle as I walked away. Note to self, don't ask her the same question twice!
This week, we were talking about the floods to the North of Denver. I said, "The big concern now is the flood water is filled with...(I wasn't quite sure how to say it, so I said chose the first word that came to my mind)....poop. They are recommending that people not walk through the water because it's filled with sewage and is highly contaminated."
I sat down to take attendance, and within seconds, Kacie was standing in front of my desk. With a very serious look and a very direct tone she said, "I don't appreciate you talking about that word (she meant poop). It is very vulgar, and you really should be careful what you talk about. Some of us ate breakfast this morning, and now I feel like throwing up!"
It took everything in my power not to burst out laughing.
One of the ways she is "weird" is she speaks her mind. If she's thinking something that she deems important to share, she will say it, even if I'm mid-sentence teaching. She always raises her hand, though, and when her hand shoots up, I always fear what she may have to say.
The other day, I mispoke. I don't remember quite what I said, but I think I was reading something and I skipped a word. She immediately raised her hand. "You forgot a word. Read it again." I read it again and made sure to include the word.
A few days ago after school, she was sitting by the front doors and it was obvious she was waiting for a ride. I was walking out, so I said, "Hey Kacie, are you waiting for a ride?" She replied her mom was on her way, so I told her to have a good night. I left for about 30 minutes to have dinner and then came back (to work a volleyball game). Kacie was still sitting there, so I said, "Kacie, you're still here? Is your mom still coming?" To which she replied, "She's coming, alright. Geesh. Stop asking me about my ride."
I could only chuckle as I walked away. Note to self, don't ask her the same question twice!
This week, we were talking about the floods to the North of Denver. I said, "The big concern now is the flood water is filled with...(I wasn't quite sure how to say it, so I said chose the first word that came to my mind)....poop. They are recommending that people not walk through the water because it's filled with sewage and is highly contaminated."
I sat down to take attendance, and within seconds, Kacie was standing in front of my desk. With a very serious look and a very direct tone she said, "I don't appreciate you talking about that word (she meant poop). It is very vulgar, and you really should be careful what you talk about. Some of us ate breakfast this morning, and now I feel like throwing up!"
It took everything in my power not to burst out laughing.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Mr. Martinez
Josh has a new friend. This friend is 13, and he's a student where Josh is observing for his teaching classes. It's so cute to me: this young kid finding an interest in Josh and following him around the classroom. Josh has called me with two different stories that totally crack me up.
On Josh's first day at his school, he stood in front of the class and introduced himself to these 8th graders.
"Hi, my name is Josh Martinez. I am a former Marine who served for five years, and now I've gone back to school to become a teacher. This is my last year before I student-teach."
This boy immediately raised his hand. Josh called on him, and the boy said, "I want to be a police officer when I grow up. I have a question for you. Have you ever killed someone?"
The teacher stepped in, "That is inappropriate to ask." Josh chuckled and said, "No, I haven't killed anyone."
The boy took a liking to Josh on that day, even though Josh has never killed anyone. They have a bond, former Marine to future Police Officer.
A few days later, the students were doing a lab and Josh was walking around helping. This boy said, "Hey Josh, come here." Josh corrected him and said, "Call me Mr. Martinez." The boy apologized and said, "Mr. Martinez, I have a question. Do you get pimples?"
Josh, always brutally honest, said, "Sure, buddy. I still get pimples. Everyone has them, even when you get older." The boy nodded and thought this was pretty cool. I think he found comfort in that fact that even adults get pimples.
This boy still calls Josh "Josh" and Mr. Martinez always corrects him. He follows Josh around, and I just think it's the cutest thing ever. Josh is going to make a great teacher!
On Josh's first day at his school, he stood in front of the class and introduced himself to these 8th graders.
"Hi, my name is Josh Martinez. I am a former Marine who served for five years, and now I've gone back to school to become a teacher. This is my last year before I student-teach."
This boy immediately raised his hand. Josh called on him, and the boy said, "I want to be a police officer when I grow up. I have a question for you. Have you ever killed someone?"
The teacher stepped in, "That is inappropriate to ask." Josh chuckled and said, "No, I haven't killed anyone."
The boy took a liking to Josh on that day, even though Josh has never killed anyone. They have a bond, former Marine to future Police Officer.
A few days later, the students were doing a lab and Josh was walking around helping. This boy said, "Hey Josh, come here." Josh corrected him and said, "Call me Mr. Martinez." The boy apologized and said, "Mr. Martinez, I have a question. Do you get pimples?"
Josh, always brutally honest, said, "Sure, buddy. I still get pimples. Everyone has them, even when you get older." The boy nodded and thought this was pretty cool. I think he found comfort in that fact that even adults get pimples.
This boy still calls Josh "Josh" and Mr. Martinez always corrects him. He follows Josh around, and I just think it's the cutest thing ever. Josh is going to make a great teacher!
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Spiders
Last year around this same time, I wrote about snakes in our school. This year, we have spiders.
And not just spiders (which I'm not a fan of, but I can handle). These are human sized spiders. These are monsters. These are scary. These are the biggest spiders I have ever seen in my life.
No joke.
Last week, as Liz and I were leaving school, we walked into the hallway to find a boy pacing and talking to himself. "Oh my goodness, I cannot believe this. Biggest. Thing. Ever. Oh my goodness. I am going to faint." He was repeating this as he walked back and forth. His face was red, and he was sweating.
I said, "Are you okay?" He stopped and quickly replied, "There is the biggest spider I have ever seen in my life right there."
Let me first explain that Chatfield is known for its bugs (and mice-and snakes). Our school backs up to a huge golf course, the foothills of the Rockies, and open space. We get our share of nasty looking bugs, spiders, mice and snakes in our building. At this point, most of us are used to seeing spiders in the bathrooms, the hallways, the classrooms, the offices. They have become common place. And these spiders we see are not small. They average in size to be about the size of a quarter.
So, the boy pointed to what was the "biggest spider he had ever seen in his life," I rolled my eyes as I looked at Liz, thinking this boy was exaggerating the size of this sucker, and glanced to where he was pointing.
I gasped. Liz screamed. My heart stopped. Sitting in the corner was the biggest spider I have ever seen in my life. This spider was the size of a tennis ball. It was hairy. Its body was the size of a half dollar, and its legs were the length of my fingers.
(To make a long story short, a fellow male teacher came and rescued the spider by opening the outside door and guiding it outside).
The following day, I got to work around 6:30 a.m. There were only two other teachers in my hallway at that hour, so the school was quiet. I unlocked my door. I opened my door.
I screamed bloody murder.
From under my doorway came (I'm pretty sure the exact same) spider. He had been resting under my doorway, and I scared him awake. As I opened the door, he came crawling at me with such speed that he nearly crawled up my leg before I could even scream.
Then the scream came, and I went running. I knew the teacher next door would be wondering what I was screaming about, so I ran into his room to explain my scream.
I panted (as my hands shook uncontrollably), "I'm sorry to scare you. A spider. Huge. Massive. Come look." Kyle rolled his eyes, expecting me to be slightly exaggerating (or a lot exaggerating). He humored me, though, and came to look.
As he came into the hallway, he stopped dead in his tracks. "Holy moly, that is the biggest spider I have ever seen."
Within seconds, another teacher came running to my rescue. He'd heard my scream. "Are you okay?" he asked as he rounded the corner.
"I'm so sorry to alarm you. Look at that spider. Nearly crawled up my leg. Scared me." (As you can tell, I could barely speak full sentences).
Mark, who is the football coach and a big, burly man, also stopped in his tracks. "Yep, she's a big one."
"What should we do?" Mark had to think it through, but then decided he couldn't ruin his karma by killing the spider, so he decided to rescue to nasty thing. He came back with a cup and a piece of paper. He put the cup over the spider. He slid the paper under the cup. He picked up the monster and went to take him outside.
He came back a minute later. "Are you sure I got him? When I went to throw him outside, nothing came out of the cup. Is he still in your room?"
"Um, no, I'm pretty confident you got him. Are you sure he's not crawling on you? What if you turn around to teach and write on your board, and this massive spider is crawling up your back?"
Mark chuckled and went about his day.
I am forever scared. Now, I am scanning my room. Now, I slam my door with my fist before opening it. Now, I am on high alert.
(Since this incident, over a dozen tennis-ball sized spiders have been found in the building. According to Josh, I probably found one of the babies and the mama is hanging out in the ceiling (much larger than the one I found)).
The picture doesn't do justice to the size of this thing, but you get an idea of how large and ugly it is.
And not just spiders (which I'm not a fan of, but I can handle). These are human sized spiders. These are monsters. These are scary. These are the biggest spiders I have ever seen in my life.
No joke.
Last week, as Liz and I were leaving school, we walked into the hallway to find a boy pacing and talking to himself. "Oh my goodness, I cannot believe this. Biggest. Thing. Ever. Oh my goodness. I am going to faint." He was repeating this as he walked back and forth. His face was red, and he was sweating.
I said, "Are you okay?" He stopped and quickly replied, "There is the biggest spider I have ever seen in my life right there."
Let me first explain that Chatfield is known for its bugs (and mice-and snakes). Our school backs up to a huge golf course, the foothills of the Rockies, and open space. We get our share of nasty looking bugs, spiders, mice and snakes in our building. At this point, most of us are used to seeing spiders in the bathrooms, the hallways, the classrooms, the offices. They have become common place. And these spiders we see are not small. They average in size to be about the size of a quarter.
So, the boy pointed to what was the "biggest spider he had ever seen in his life," I rolled my eyes as I looked at Liz, thinking this boy was exaggerating the size of this sucker, and glanced to where he was pointing.
I gasped. Liz screamed. My heart stopped. Sitting in the corner was the biggest spider I have ever seen in my life. This spider was the size of a tennis ball. It was hairy. Its body was the size of a half dollar, and its legs were the length of my fingers.
(To make a long story short, a fellow male teacher came and rescued the spider by opening the outside door and guiding it outside).
The following day, I got to work around 6:30 a.m. There were only two other teachers in my hallway at that hour, so the school was quiet. I unlocked my door. I opened my door.
I screamed bloody murder.
From under my doorway came (I'm pretty sure the exact same) spider. He had been resting under my doorway, and I scared him awake. As I opened the door, he came crawling at me with such speed that he nearly crawled up my leg before I could even scream.
Then the scream came, and I went running. I knew the teacher next door would be wondering what I was screaming about, so I ran into his room to explain my scream.
I panted (as my hands shook uncontrollably), "I'm sorry to scare you. A spider. Huge. Massive. Come look." Kyle rolled his eyes, expecting me to be slightly exaggerating (or a lot exaggerating). He humored me, though, and came to look.
As he came into the hallway, he stopped dead in his tracks. "Holy moly, that is the biggest spider I have ever seen."
Within seconds, another teacher came running to my rescue. He'd heard my scream. "Are you okay?" he asked as he rounded the corner.
"I'm so sorry to alarm you. Look at that spider. Nearly crawled up my leg. Scared me." (As you can tell, I could barely speak full sentences).
Mark, who is the football coach and a big, burly man, also stopped in his tracks. "Yep, she's a big one."
"What should we do?" Mark had to think it through, but then decided he couldn't ruin his karma by killing the spider, so he decided to rescue to nasty thing. He came back with a cup and a piece of paper. He put the cup over the spider. He slid the paper under the cup. He picked up the monster and went to take him outside.
He came back a minute later. "Are you sure I got him? When I went to throw him outside, nothing came out of the cup. Is he still in your room?"
"Um, no, I'm pretty confident you got him. Are you sure he's not crawling on you? What if you turn around to teach and write on your board, and this massive spider is crawling up your back?"
Mark chuckled and went about his day.
I am forever scared. Now, I am scanning my room. Now, I slam my door with my fist before opening it. Now, I am on high alert.
(Since this incident, over a dozen tennis-ball sized spiders have been found in the building. According to Josh, I probably found one of the babies and the mama is hanging out in the ceiling (much larger than the one I found)).
The picture doesn't do justice to the size of this thing, but you get an idea of how large and ugly it is.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Wedding Laughs
I regretfully inform those of you who thought you may be getting an invite to our wedding....
My 6th period class has asked to attend (all 30 of them), and I said YES.
I just informed Josh that he must uninvite his family and friends, too, so you're not the only one who can't come.
They all cheered and clapped, and they are already picking out my wedding colors and menu!
(I'm only kidding, of course. No students will be attending my wedding, but it was fun to "plan" with them for a few moments. And then school stuff got in the way.)
_________________________
As I introduced myself to my 3rd hour class, I said, "Hi, welcome to English 11! My name is Ms. Nichols. I am excited to tell you that I will be getting married next June."
A kid raised his hand. "Yes, Jake?"
"Shouldn't we call you Mrs. Nichols? We should call you Mrs. instead of Ms., right?"
Bahahahaha.
These kids crack me up!
My 6th period class has asked to attend (all 30 of them), and I said YES.
I just informed Josh that he must uninvite his family and friends, too, so you're not the only one who can't come.
They all cheered and clapped, and they are already picking out my wedding colors and menu!
(I'm only kidding, of course. No students will be attending my wedding, but it was fun to "plan" with them for a few moments. And then school stuff got in the way.)
_________________________
As I introduced myself to my 3rd hour class, I said, "Hi, welcome to English 11! My name is Ms. Nichols. I am excited to tell you that I will be getting married next June."
A kid raised his hand. "Yes, Jake?"
"Shouldn't we call you Mrs. Nichols? We should call you Mrs. instead of Ms., right?"
Bahahahaha.
These kids crack me up!
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Grandma Van
My grandma is the cutest person you will ever meet. I hope you have the blessing and privilege to meet her someday if you have not already.
When she learned of my engagement, she had one very important question: "Did he ask your parents' permission before asking you?" I replied that he had taken them out to lunch and asked, and her reply was, "Well, then, I love him already." Josh followed the rules, so therefore she approves!
Also since learning of my engagement, she has started calling me about once a week to hear the latest plans. My grandma has always been great about keeping in touch. About once a month, I receive a letter in the mail from her, and also about once a month, she will call to chat. I always make it a point to write her a letter in reply because she LOVES getting mail and it's her only way of communication besides phone calls. Those monthly phone calls have now become weekly, and I cherish the time I get to speak to my grandmother.
Since she doesn't have access to the Internet, she hasn't been able to see any of my pictures, so she kindly asked me to draw a picture of my ring so she could see what it looked like. I printed a picture of it instead, and she proudly has the ring hanging on her bulletin board. I have no doubt she shows anyone who comes to visit.
I just sent her five pictures of a few wedding details, and I can only imagine her face when she checks her mail in the next day or two. She will be thrilled.
What has me chuckling the most is this: The last time I talked to grandma on the phone, she said she was going to send me a picture of a lady named Diana. I said, "Do you mean Princess Diana, grandma?"
"No, no. Her name is Diana and she lived in England. She died."
"Oh, then yes, you're speaking of Princess Diana. What is the picture of?"
"It's her in her beautiful wedding dress."
Sure enough, within a few days, grandma sent me a letter in which was enclosed a picture of Diana. She wrote, "Isn't it a beautiful dress?" She also wrote, "You don't have to purchase this dress, but I think it's the most beautiful dress ever made."
When she learned of my engagement, she had one very important question: "Did he ask your parents' permission before asking you?" I replied that he had taken them out to lunch and asked, and her reply was, "Well, then, I love him already." Josh followed the rules, so therefore she approves!
Also since learning of my engagement, she has started calling me about once a week to hear the latest plans. My grandma has always been great about keeping in touch. About once a month, I receive a letter in the mail from her, and also about once a month, she will call to chat. I always make it a point to write her a letter in reply because she LOVES getting mail and it's her only way of communication besides phone calls. Those monthly phone calls have now become weekly, and I cherish the time I get to speak to my grandmother.
Since she doesn't have access to the Internet, she hasn't been able to see any of my pictures, so she kindly asked me to draw a picture of my ring so she could see what it looked like. I printed a picture of it instead, and she proudly has the ring hanging on her bulletin board. I have no doubt she shows anyone who comes to visit.
I just sent her five pictures of a few wedding details, and I can only imagine her face when she checks her mail in the next day or two. She will be thrilled.
What has me chuckling the most is this: The last time I talked to grandma on the phone, she said she was going to send me a picture of a lady named Diana. I said, "Do you mean Princess Diana, grandma?"
"No, no. Her name is Diana and she lived in England. She died."
"Oh, then yes, you're speaking of Princess Diana. What is the picture of?"
"It's her in her beautiful wedding dress."
Sure enough, within a few days, grandma sent me a letter in which was enclosed a picture of Diana. She wrote, "Isn't it a beautiful dress?" She also wrote, "You don't have to purchase this dress, but I think it's the most beautiful dress ever made."
Here are a few other snippets from her sweet letter. Every ounce of it makes me giggle:
"Dearest Shiloh, I was thrilled to talk to you the other night and hear how much you've accomplished. I was thrilled to hear who you might have as the minister (my brother-in-law, Jeff). I just hope it will be legal! I'm sure Jeff is a Christian and he will be so good. He sings real good, too!!! (Music notes drawn in the margin). "I'll be loving you always." They sang that at our wedding, two girls in harmony, and it was so perfect. I don't meant you should use it though. I'm just making conversation. ha. I like your location, too! You "done" good!...(She wrote that on Thursday, and then stopped for the night. She picked back up on Friday). This is Friday and I quit writing so I'm beginning again. Hi! And how are you? I am fine....Your Aunt Evie would tell you to get married in the morning coz then you can enjoy your whole wedding day and you wouldn't be so tired by night....Love you a million or trillion."
She also added, "If you can't read this, let me know and I'll write another one just like it."
Isn't she the cutest, most adorable person you have ever met? My grandpa is also the greatest man you can ever meet, too. You should meet them.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
MS 150-2013
I finished my sixth year of riding in the MS 150, and it was by far my easiest, best year! My hard training really paid off this year (I've ridden 680 miles so far to date), and I rode like I've never ridden before. I felt great, which just makes the entire weekend so much fun and worth the cause (there have been a few years when I was terribly out of shape and just wanted to give up).
Thank you to some very generous donations, I hit my goal if raising over $1,000. Overall, Team Saddle Soar raised over $9,000, which is incredible. Here are a few pictures from that weekend.
Team Captains, Kari and me
My little bro, kicking my butt all 150 miles!
Team Saddle Soar 2013
Kari, Shiloh, Adam, Collin, Dean
Michelle, Sarah, Sonya
(from left to right, back row to front row)
Our sweet team jersey we had made a few years ago.
This is our team right before we started climbing Horsetooth Reservoir near Fort Collins. It's the hardest part of the entire ride.
It was raining at the start of day two, but the rain quickly stopped.
Isn't he cute?
My parents, who provide so much support throughout the weekend. I ride for my father, who was diagnosed with MS 8 years ago.
Six years of making it to the finish line!
We all rode in together! It was so neat.
Shannon, interested in joining us next year? :)
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