2009

Too much happened this year. I can't remember it all!

Here is a mixed-up list of what I remember from this year:

Student teaching: High school was good with fun kids and a great master teacher. Junior high was okay with funny kids and a not-so-good master teacher.

Weddings: Shane & Lindy, Garret & Kaydee, Sheri & Nick, Luke & Danielle, Kyle & Misty, Josh & Meredith, Thomas & Dany (Did I forget anyone??? Sorry if I did!)

Family: Luke, Lexi, and Gio were adopted this summer! They can't get away now! haha! They are cute, great, very human kids. I've learned a lot from interacting with them, watching them with Mom and Dad, and talking about them. Kaydee was added as an official member of the family, as recognized by God, man, and the State of California. ;) Also, Ross and Audra are going to have a baby in August! That baby is going to have a LOT of aunts and uncles.

Fun: I've had a lot of fun this year. I've gone hiking, gone on small adventures, gone on large adventures, gone kayaking (bleah!), gone to weddings, played with little kids, had hilarious times, made big messes, made small messes, learned to drive a stick shift, etc. :)

Funny: It is quite possible that I have laughed more this year than I have in other years. Looking back at my teaching jobs, at quotes from the little kids, at quotes from roommates, at pictures, at adventures, at blog posts, at conversations, at battles with insects, 2009 was a really funny year! haha! :)

Credentialing: I am a credentialed English teacher! I survived several state-mandated projects, early mornings, lesson planning sessions, classes, and meetings. I'm glad I have my credential. Now I have to find a job to actually use it!

Roommates: I said goodbye to Kat, Sherrie, and Danielle at the end of May and hello to Mom, Dad, Brenda, Luke, Lexi, and Gio for June and July. (Somehow those few weeks seem much longer.) I then said goodbye to my family and hello to Michelle, michelle, and Jen. Though apartment 1730 is not like Aptartment 29, it is still good.

Boyfriend: Amos is my handsome boyfriend. I like him A LOT. God keeps showing me things about him that surprise me. I am very blessed. :)

Work: I've had many different jobs this year. Interestingly enough, all of them have dealt with students. I guess it was planned this way; I want to have a good résumé when I actually apply for teaching jobs. I've been a private tutor, a regular tutor at a center, and a private tutor with a company. I've also been a substitute. I may have to look into getting another job next year, but that can wait for now.

Travel: I've been to NorCal. I've been to SoCal. I've been to Tahoe. I've been to Bowman. I've been to the beach. I've been to Pasadena. I've been to Yosemite. I have not left the state of California in quite a while. That should be remedied next year.

Faith: God has shown me a lot of things this year. I hope to continue to grow in Him in 2010 and for the rest of my life. He is the reason for my joy, perseverance, and indomitable spirit. May I be faithful both to follow where He leads and to wait while He works, not being helpless or lazy, but actively trusting Him that He knows what He is doing. Psalm 143

Happy New Year, blog readers! May you be faithful and persevering in 2010 as God guides and protects you by His mercy, grace, and love.

Love, Jennica-Ayelet

Carded

I am planning on writing a New Year's post, but I can't quite get it the way I want it yet (and I've worked on it more than once, too). However, I thought I'd tell you a funny story.

After church today, I stopped by the drug store to get some eye drops. I found the eye drops, looked at the discounted Christmas stuff, and got in line.

Ahead of me was a guy who was most likely a young father. He was buying a big bottle of apple juice and a bottle of children's Tylenol. Apparently they card people for Tylenol now. This is what was exchanged.

Cashier: "Do you have a CVS Extra Care card?"

Guy: "No."
Cashier: "Would you like a card?"

Guy: "No."
Cashier: "Okay. I'll need to see some ID, too."
Guy: "For the apple juice?!?!"

Oh dear. And he has a kid at home.

Haha!!

I suppose...

I should say something to you all out there.

Hello.

It's almost Christmas! I've had a good time with Amos home with me for a few days, but we both got a cold, so that put a little damper on things. Oh well. Amos has to go back to SoCal today, but we are going to check out some fun stuff in Sacramento first. :)

I think I had something else to say, but I forgot.

Ummmmmm, I'm trying to remember.

Oh! This last weekend, on the way home, Amos and I stopped and hung out with our friend Sara and her parents. We invited ourselves for breakfast, brought orange juice, hung out for about two and half hours, and laughed our heads off. It was awesome.

We then drove another two hours and went to a Master's wedding. It was really fun because I saw a few people I hadn't seen in a while. I also saw a few people I hadn't seen in seven years. Two of my friends from Awana camp were groomsmen at the wedding. It was really cool to see my friend after seven years.

We then drove another three and half hours home.

Fourteen hours after I left Santa Clarita, we drove into the driveway to be greeted by my dad and my dog.

We hung out with my family on Sunday, watched a movie and bought a phone charger yesterday, and are going to Sacramento today. It's been a good four days. :)

Trust and pray

Profusion

Hello.

1. Christmas is only 12 days away. Whoa.

2. My grandmother is coming out from Alabama for Christmas!

3. Amos and I went to a white elephant Christmas party on Friday. It was fun, to say the least.

4. The movie "The Blind Side" is very good. You should see it.

5. The showers in my apartment are terrible. They only stay hot for about two minutes.

6. Amos and I tried to fix the showers, but we only succeeded in finding out that we cannot fix them. Someone else has to, and it is going to take a lot of work.

7. I am not really inspired to write right now, but I thought I'd post something anyway.

8. That's all for now!

Looking back...

Tonight I am reading back through some old Facebook messages, and this is what I found:

I was making a Lego man try to eat Gio, and this is what he said:
"No no, he's a vegetarian!!!"

Service

I don't serve very much. It is sad. Really, it is. I should be out serving more.

However, I am thankful for two opportunities I have had recently. About two weeks ago, Amos and I headed to downtown L.A. to help the Los Angeles Mission prepare for their Thanksgiving dinner. We wrapped plastic ware, packed food boxes, and taped up Thanksgiving greetings around the building. It was a good day. We both really want to go down again, hopefully some time (or times) before Christmas.

Today I went with some friends from church to a toy wrap with Children's Hunger Fund. I saw several people I knew from Master's. Our table wrapped little white Beanie Baby bears. All of the gifts (100,000) are going to be given to kids from Southern California to Ensenada, Mexico.

It feels good to serve. I have not served in a while because of time, location, apathy, etc. I hope to make this a more regular part of my life as the opportunities continue to arise.

Where can you serve in your area???

Whoa.

It's already December! Crazy!

I haven't put up pictures in a while, so here are a few for you to enjoy!

This is Puppy the Man-Eating Duck. He came up and tasted Amos' arm while we were sitting at Bridgport, minding our own business. Apparently Amos didn't taste very good, 'cuz Puppy left after taking a few samples!

Happy Thanksgiving! Amos had to work on Thanksgiving, so I hung out with him for a few hours before I drove home. We took some pictures and played Phase 10. It was really fun, till I had to say goodbye and he had to go to work.

We made ornaments! Nanie and Aunt Cheryl are in the background. We had fun with "electric snow," glitter glue, ribbons, etc. And yes, at times we were cheesy.

It's Gio! Isn't he so cute! He turned six on Thanksgiving. Mom was calling him Conductor Bill.

The lizards in NorCal are talented! Brenda came in with this little lizard, then we took him outside for his photo op with a skateboard. Mom sent me a picture like this on my phone a while ago, so I wanted to recreate it to share with other people. Haha!

Okay, so I can't make cookies, but I CAN make lemon meringue pie! This is my brother Scott. I never thought we looked alike, but we kind of do in this picture. Scott looks like Mom's side of the family, and I look like Dad's side.

And here's Lexi! Isn't she so cute! She's holding one of the ornaments she made.

That's all for now! Happy December!