Christmas Blessings

My mom did something really special this year as a gift for all of us. My sister approached her with a World Vision catalogue and asked for my mom to bless some families in third world countries by purchasing some items instead if Christmas gifts for her. My mom went with the idea but included all of us, and I must say it truly blessed us as well.

In Brandon's name, 2 Bibles were sent to children that was translated in their language. In my name, safety was provided for a girl who was exploited by the sex slave trade in Cambodia.In Kevin's name, a fishing kit was sent to a family to provide a means for them for food.
Finally, in Kristi's name, a girl in a third world country was sent to school.

These were the last "gifts" we opened. We were all so thankful this was the note we ended our Christmas morning with. These gifts that were provided to these families by my mom's generosity are things that help with survival. It is overwhelming thinking what an "traditional" American Christmas looks like compared to some of these countries. We were left with burdened hearts and overwhelming thanks.

Thank you Mom!

Merry Christmas!

We have been blessed with a great Christmas this year! It often seems a bit overwhelming with all the different family gatherings, but what a blessing they have been!

This year we spent the night before Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve with Brandon's family. Christmas Eve day we went to Knotts Berry Farm. It was my first time there and I loved it. The Snoopy show on ice was definitely the highlight of my day. Then we took off about 7:30pm to drive to Clovis where we spent Christmas Day until today (Tuesday).

It has been relaxing and busy. We are so thankful for our families and this wonderful time of year that we get to celebrate the birth of our Savior, and get to spend such wonderful time with the people we love.

I always love our Christmas pictures. Enjoy. :)

Sitting at the Lord's Feet

“Mary…sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.” Luke 10:39

Sitting at the Lord’s feet doesn’t imply what position our body should be in; it represents what position our heart should be in. Where we sit has nothing to do with body posture and everything to do with the posture of our heart.

Mary approached her Lord with a posture of humility. She sat before her Lord as a hungry learner, an eager student. We should come to God’s Word in the same way.

So where’s your heart this holiday season? Is it running frantically through the mall? Is it gazing longingly at an unwrapped present? Is it mingling with guests at a holiday party?

It’s not enough just to sit. There’s a special place we must sit. We must sit at the Lord’s feet. We must come to God’s Word with a humble heart: eager to learn, ready to receive, and determined to obey.

I copied this right from this wonderful blog written by Carolyn Mahaney. This is exactly what I need to focus on this Christmas break. I am so thankful that I have two weeks to slow down, fellowship with people I love, and most importantly spend much needed alone time with the Lord. During the school week my priorities too often get tangeled. I am in desperate need for this time and can't wait to dive in.

Learning . . .

If I were to "title" this current season in our lives, I would call it Learning.

Lately I have been so overwhelmed by the many things I have been learning; at times this was joyful and other times this was quite frustrating. Amidst one of these frustrating evenings, my dear friend Stephanie said, "Isn't funny how we often ask God to use these new experiences to teach us something, and then when He does, we more often than not do not welcome it at the time." Yes! How this hit my heart that night.

Everyday I leave my classroom with my mind filled with all the events that occurred that day. My drive home is usually quiet as I reflect on my reactions to situation and how I handled myself in the classroom and with situations with students. I have been encouraged because I have just recently been pleased with the way I handled some situations. I love the fact that every day brings new occurrences and lessons to learn from, and yet that can be quite difficult as well-and draining might I add. I have learned so much about the power of my words. My goal is through every situation for my students to know how much I care for them, and I desire for them to see Christ through everything I do. I hate the days I come home feeling like I have failed, and failed my students. I am trying to do all I can to learn from these times and do it better the next time around. But I can not be more thankful for this job. As drained as I usually feel, I love going to work the next day.

This past year and 2 months of marriage have been amazing. I have been so thankful of how Brandon and I continue to learn how to communicate and serve one another. I have realized how much I am still learning how to submit to him. I am still needing to learn what it looks like, and how I can fulfill my role in that way. I hope to read more about this topic over my break, and I am so excited to do so. Any book suggestions?

It is an overwhelming thought that our lives will be filled with this learning process; there is just SO much to take it. What peace knowing that God is so faithful in it all, and He promises place us in these trials, and then also to sustain us through them.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet various trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete and lacking in nothing.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."

James 1:2-5

Just finished. . .

a wonderful bible study book that my dear friend Jennae gave me.

It is called "Becoming a Woman of Influence" by Carol Kent.

I would highly recommend it! One of the greatest parts about it was that it had a study guide in the back with in depth questions that challenged me even more. Carol walked us through 9 chapters of disciplines that paralleled Jesus' live on impacting others. We can summarize them into these 7 things:

1.) Spend alone time with God.

2.) Walk and talk with people so that we can influence them through impact moments.

3.) Tell stories and use word pictures to make spiritual truth come alive.

4.) Ask people questions, especially ones that don't have "yes" or "no" answers.

5.) Show compassion.

6.) Practice unconditional love.
7.) Cast the vision of what Jesus can do through the life of someone who is willing to give her potential to Him.

Surprisingly, some of the chapters that challenged me the most were the chapters on showing compassion and unconditional love. I say I was surprised because I have considered myself a compassionate person, but I was revealed big part of this trait that has been missing. One of the things I loved most about this book was that the majority of her examples were straight from the Word, and she pulled out example of how Jesus interacted with people. I have found that I love reading through the gospels and reading about how Jesus lived!

I learned that compassion is not just feeling someone's hurt or pain but also acting on it. She quoted Megiddo Message who says, "Compassion is understanding troubles of others, coupled with an urgent desire to help." Even in a time of mourning, Jesus stopped his need to be alone and helped other people-thousands of people to be exact. I realized how selfish I am. I am too often consumed with my busy life to spend time with others who need it.

I have noticed this most while at school with students. My head is too often wrapped around the million things I have to do, and I do not take the time needed to just stop and have a quality conversation with a student(s). This is why I am there. I want to get to know them and know how to be praying for them, but how can I do that if I do not just stop.

I am feeling overwhelmed and encouraged at the same time! There are so many lessons I could share. This book has been perfect for me, and gave me practical steps towards living a life like Jesus.

"Redhead"

Kristi and I took advantage of our Vetrans Day off and began our Christmas shopping in Ontario. We were pleased to see that Bass Pro has a brand just for us! Redhead!!

We thought it was exciting anyways. :o) But we truly had a wonderful day. I am so thankful that my sister is so close so we can enjoy days like this together.

"When must we leave you?"

"When must we leave you Mrs. Burns?" is a phrase I have taught my little students at school, hoping it would help teach them a little life lesson, but recently I have been wondering if maybe the lesson was more for me.

I stole this concept from one of my amazing high school English teachers. The typical high school/junior high student's request to leave the class usually sounds like this:

"When do we get out of here?"

"How much longer do we have to be in here?"

"When do we leave?"

Those are all negative questions and obviously bring a sense of annoyance and boredom. So, in trying to build up the learning atmosphere to be as positive as possible, having the students ask when they must leave, makes it more pleasant. I will then respond with:
(with a smile and looking them straight in the eye)
"in about ten minutes Brandon and I hate to see you leave."

The students know not to ask the time in any other way, and it has been fun to hear them correct one another when they try, but oh how hard has it been to respond that way lately!!

This phrase also forces me to stay positive by insinuating a student(s) that I want them to stay longer, and I hate for class to end, but oh how this is so often not the case! (And I realize teaching, especially first year is not always going to be honkey-dorey.)


There are those students a teacher will always have that makes them want to pull their hair out-and I have some of those. Sometimes I wonder if they ask me this question to actually see how I will respond. A couple times a student has even said, "You don't mean that!" And even when they might be right :o/ I never want a student to think I may think this way of him or her. I truly love my students and have had to stop lately and remember there are so many reasons why, underneath the surface, this student is the way he or she is.


I have been convicted to stop and pray, remembering that I have no idea what is going on at home or in his or her heart, and maybe I need to stop and ask some questions. Oh what the Lord is teaching me this year! How wonderful and hard and overwhelming it has been.


I am thankful for this question for I believe the Lord has used it to help keep my heart focused on loving my students even in the hardest times.

Here are some teachers and I on Superhero Day!

Overall, I love teaching!!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Love,

Brandon, Andrea, and Pumpkin

1 Year Wedding Anniversary!

We can not it has already been 1 year since we have been married!!! It has been the greatest year, and we have enjoyed every minute of being married. It was really neat being able to reflect this last week about all that God has taught us through the course of this year. We set some new goals for this next year, including loving God more than one another, and always keeping Him in front of all the decisions we make.

October 11, 2008

We were able to get away this weekend to San Diego to celebrate our anniversary and Kat's wedding!!

The wedding was so fun;Kat looked gorgeous, and it neat for us to be at a wedding when were were also there celebrating ours!

The next day we went to Balboa Park and enjoyed some neat museums and sights there.

My mom treated us to a wonderful breakfast in bed Sunday morning!

We happened to be at the park on a day where they were celebrating cultures from around the world, so we got to celebrate our own!

Then for our anniversary dinner we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Benihanas!! It was such a treat!

We were so blessed enjoy this much needed get away. Our schedules are crazy and we absolutely love the days where we do not have to leave each other's side!!

We can't wait for our next year!!

Birthday Celebration

I know this is a bit late, but I enjoyed such a great birthday(Sept. 22nd)!

My birthday was on a Tuesday, therefore I was at school. Well my students were the sweetest and totally made my day. I got sang "Happy Birthday" to every class and they wrote all over my board. I was so grateful for their kindness. I even got some treats!! Though it made for a crazy day, it was fun.



Brandon gave me specific instructions for when I got home from school. He set out 3 outfits and I was to pick one. :)

He took me out to Victoria Gardens and we enjoyed a great evening out and a fantastic dinner at P.F. Changs! One of my favorites!

Then we got to celebrate again on Sunday with my amazing in-laws. Paul made a fantastic dinner and Chase made me the sweetest cake!! It was very special and quite tasty!

Thank you for all your birthday wishes!

It finally happened!!

So the Hunt's, Holderman's and Rendel's and us Burns' have been talking about all going camping and getting to use all our camping stuff we got for our wedding since we have been married, so for about the past year now, and it finally happened!!

Labor Day weekend we went up by Big Bear and found a great camping spot at a campground called Barton Flatts. We only got to go Sunday through Monday but it was well worth it, and we can't wait to go again!!

Here are all our cute tents all lined up! Ours is the red one! (Thank you VanGroningen's!)

The guys being manly.

Ladder Ball was a hit! This is a game we borrowed from Brandon's family.

We had a tournament:

1st: Hunt's

2nd: Holderman's

3rd: Burns!!

4th: Rendel's


We went to the lake on Monday for just a little while. It was colder than we hoped, so we really just enjoyed the pretty view!!

We feel our camping trip was a success and we can't wait to go again. What a blessing it is to have these friends that we can share this time of life with. We are so thankful for them and all the fellowship we get to share with them!!

"I Believe"

One of the first writing activities I gave my students was to write at least 20 things that they believe. One of my very favorite English teachers in high school gave us this assignment and I really loved it so I thought my students might too and they seemed to. Through this assignment I was also able to find out more about them and some things they believe.

So here are some things they believe that I pulled from some of their papers that I thought were sweet or just made me laugh. :)
Enjoy:

I believe . . .

That girls should have long hair and boys short
That everyone should shave their legs
That flowers are the perfect way to get your mom not to be mad at you,
That it is essential to eat something sweet everyday,
That everyone should have a second chance,
That French toast is better than pancakes,
That old people should have to be healthy,
That monsters are real in your closet,
In going fishing at least 2 times a week,
That my sisters shouldn’t take so long to get ready to go places,
That everything God puts in my life is to make me stronger,
In diversity,
That Mrs. Burns looks like me,
That jamoca ice cream came from Heaven,
That boys can be as emotional as girls,
That being pure isn’t a fad but a life choice,
That when my parents tell me to do something it’s from God,
Nobody needs TV,
Mango are mangolicious.

I obviously have some silly students. :)

First Day of School!

Today was my first day of school and I had such a great day! My stomach was in knots all week and I was worried about today but I was so encouraged by all the people who were lifting me in prayer today. I can't thank you all enough. I woke up this morning, after actually getting some sleep last night, and felt very ready for my day. The awesome rolled up/Mickey Mouse pancakes that my husband got up and made me helped also! :-)

I am so happy to be teaching. It felt wonderful to be conducting class in my room room in my own way. I pray that the students and myself will learn much this year and that Jesus will be known by these students. My goal is that they leave 8th grade, feeling prepared for high school and feeling prepared to take on life with our Lord leading their way. I could use your prayers throughout the year for I know many bend in the road will come.

Here are some pictures of my classroom!

This is my COUGAR board-possibly one of my favorites! This is for my Journalism students to use to stay updated on the news.

Here are the perfectly arranged desks done by my awesome brother-in-law Chase! Thanks again! They were perfect!

My Fruit of the Spirit wall. My amazing husband helped me with this one.

Classroom rules :)

Love my Mary Engelbreight borders and calendar!


And the beautiful flowers that my mom sent to my classroom today! My mom came down about a month ago and helped me put all my fabric and borders up which was a huge help! I love how everything turned out!

Thank you again for all your prayers! I can't for the rest of the year!

GO COUGARS!!!

Our Adventure

Here is a story of 14 good friends who planned a hiking trip. . .
We all have been dying for some good mountain time since summer started. Let me tell you, trying to get this many people together all at the same time for a fun event is quite difficult but we finally made it happen this past Monday.

The plan: Meet at the Holderman's. Leave for Big Bear at 4:30pm sharp! Head up the mountain and experience an awesome hike while enjoying the beautiful sun set! Conclude our evening at the Holderman's with a BBQ and games. Sounds great right. . . Here is what actually happened. . .
Left the Holderman's at 5:00pm with 3 cars. 20 min up the mountain, one car realized they did not have enough gas to get to the hiking spot which was about a 1 hour drive from the Holderman's. While that car dealt with their gas situation the other 2 cars pulled over. 1 of the cars that pull over randomly begins spraying a green liquid all over!! 9 of us are now on the side of the road dealing with this situation. Us girls realize that we can drive back the working car back to the Holdreman's and bring back up another car to pick up the guys and reach the hiking spot. So we go get my car. We get there and realize that my car also needs gas. Great. Corie says she know if a place right up the mountain that has gas. We get there-gas station is broken!! Great! While we are stranded there we realize that the little red car next to us at the unusable gas station is our other friend's car. We call them. They crossed the street and began hiking up a random mountain side. The guys with Staci's broken car come and meet us and we join our friends up this trail!!

Wow! it was not at all what we had planned but we had a great laugh and still enjoyed a beautiful hike with a great view(even though it was not of Big Bear Lake) and had an amazing time. We were starved to say the least when we finally got back, all safe-thank you Lord!- and enjoyed an amazing dinner and fun games! I haven't laughed that hard in a while! We didn't leave till 1am.
We are so thankful for our amazing friends who love the Lord and are seeking to serve Him in all they do. It is because of them ans their great joy from God that situations like these are so memorable and fun! Thanks for a great adventure!!


Ready to go!!


Can you tell who is excited to be hiking in this picture?!

These are for you Laura Moore-how bout that lighting!! :)