A new era

Today marked a new era in American politics.  Voters elected Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States.  While people around Philadelphia were--for the most part--extremely excited about this event, I know not all the country is not as thrilled.  But regardless of if people voted for Obama or against him, today was a historical event.  Part of me really wishes I had gone to DC last night to watch the Inauguration, but another part was glad I got to experience it with my students in West Philadelphia.

At 11AM, grades 3-8 walked down the street to the University of the Sciences building.  They let us use one of their lecture halls for the ceremonies.  After some sound issues, they got the technology working.  I have to say that I felt a little emotional as I looked around the room at 100+ African American students, so enthused and passionate about our country's new leader...one that finally looked like them.  I thought back to four years ago when I was teaching in the rural farming community of Hudsonville, Michigan, and how much deeper this meaning is for my students here in Philadelphia.  With the Phillies winning the World Series, the Eagles/Steelers making it to the conference championships, and Obama getting elected, this is a great time to be in Philly!

It's pretty cool that just yesterday we celebrated Martin Luther King day, and today we swore in our country's first black president.  As I showed my class MLK's I Have A Dream speech on Friday, I got choked up as I thought about Inauguration Day.  In a way, Martin Luther King's dream was fulfilled today at the same mall he shared it with the world.

Parting is such sweet sorrow

One of the tough parts of Christmas break for me was the organization of my old room at my parents' house.  They had several boxes of stuff just taking up space in there.  As a teacher and self-proclaimed pack rat, I have a hard time throwing anything away.  My motto is, "you never know when you'll need it again!"  Fortunately, God paired me with a spouse who is good as speaking truth into situations such as these.  Sarah was a champ at helping me cleanse my room from clutter with dignity and a sensitivity for my nostalgia.  For example, do I really need four pairs of old watches?  Old ticket stubs?  (granted, if I had kept all of them, I'd want them all.  However, I only have a few random ones) Trophies?  Now, I was able to talk Sarah into letting me keep a few trophies, but I had to throw away most of them.  As a kid, I remember being so proud of those trophies.  They were proof that even though I was homeschooled, I could make it in the sporting arena. 

Probably the best trick Sarah brought with her into this process was to take pictures of objects with sacred value.  Here are a few of our snapshots:

In the end, we made a lot of progress.  It felt good to create more space in my room, even though it cost me a few memories.  Does this mean I'm actually growing up??

(For my non-Facebook friends, here's a link to some of the pictures we took over break.)

Food of the year, 2008

The last year or two, I've talked with Sarah about my "food of the year"--in other words, the food that I discovered I LOVED and consequently consumed mass quantities of during the calendar year.  In 2006, it was pita and hummus.  In 2007, it was guacamole.  This past year?  *cue drum roll*

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2008 was the year of smoothies. The original inspiration came from our friends Mike and Anna, who introduced us to easy smoothies with just frozen strawberries, a banana, and milk in a blender.  Other fruits/berries can be added to taste, but that simple concoction goes a long way!  So, congratulations to the smoothie, my official food of the year 2008!

Traveling update

I set my alarm for the first time this Christmas break this morning.  Sarah and I are packing our bags and making the 12-hour drive from VA to MI!  We've been at the Gardners' house for a week, and this is the first time I've been in the same place as her brothers.  We played a lot of Wii and ate tons of food.  =)

We should get to Michigan tonight and spend the next several days there.  Our goal is to get back to Philly with an extra day of vacation so we don't have to start school/work the morning after we return.  More pictures and details to come, but we've gotta hit the road!

Christmas break!

Tonight, our school Christmas concert signaled the beginning of Christmas vacation!!!  It feels really, really good to be here.  As my friend Jeremy said, teachers always have a goal to look forward to.  Well, here's a big one! 

The concert went well tonight.  The kids sang well...and the ones that didn't looked adorable.  I took a few videos of the kindergartners in the front row.  Pretty cute.

Sarah should arrive home at 2AM tonight.  (she was visiting two hospital residency programs in Michigan).  Tomorrow we leave to meet up with Jim, Teresa, Walter, and Lydia in DC for lunch and hanging out.  Later that afternoon, we'll pick up Elizabeth and make the voyage to Blacksburg to spend a week with the Gardner family.  Around the 27th, we'll pack our bags and head to Michigan to spend a few days with my family.  New Year's will be filled with Hope friends, which I'm pretty excited about too.  So, let the whirlwind begin! 

Thanksgiving with the Gardners

Last week Wednesday, Sarah and I drove to Blacksbug, VA to be with the Gardner side of our family for Thanksgiving.  After picking up Elizabeth in DC, we plowed through the Thanksgiving Eve Traffic better than expected.


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Our trip included listening to Josh Schicker and Brian Reagan, which made for an amusing and relaxing drive.  I was reminded again at how grateful I am for our Garmin GPS device.  When I purchased it used on Craigslist last year, I had no idea how much time, headaches, and relational tensions it would save.  Driving to a new destination is much less stressful than it was before.  How did those pioneers do it?!?

The Gardner family does Thanksgiving right: tons of home made food passed down from generations (including a roll recipe that is from dad's grandmother.  I learned this weekend that the batch they make every year is 1/3 of the regular recipe...except for the butter--we eat triple what the recipe calls for!).  Like years previous, Thanksgiving Day was filled with cooking and consuming vast amount of food.  We collapsed and watched the highly entertaining Kung-Fu Panda movie on their new HDTV/Blu-Ray system (and yes, I got drool all over the couch). 

Saturday, we implimented Elizabeth's idea to have a family Clue night.  So, we dressed up as various characters, found the murder weapons--including a real revolver, watched the movie, and played the board game.  A very memorable evening!  Check out the incredible costumes and props:

Friendly neighborhood flower store

Tonight Sarah returned from a four-day extended stay with her parents in Virginia. She had interviews at two hospitals there (Blacksburg and Charlottsville), and it worked out well for her to continue her Thanksgiving break down there with them. Unfortunately, that left me home alone...

I made it safely through the week, as I picked her up tonight. The house wasn't in shambles (although our bedroom wasn't the cleanest its been). I told Sarah that was intentional so that she would feel like I live like a shoddy bachelor whilst she's away.

Tonight, I went for my first run in a long time. The temperature was 52 this afternoon, and I realized that it might be my last chance to do so for a long time. (lower temperatures also lower my running motivation) To celebrate Sarah's return, I also wanted to pick up some flowers for her. So, I jogged with my key in one hand and credit card in the other. Our local florist (Plants, Etc.) is only three blocks down Fairmount from us, so I stopped in there on the way home.

After selecting the flowers I wanted--more precisely, what I thought Sarah might like--I held out my credit card to pay. She informed me that they don't accept credit cards for transactions under $25. I felt downtrodden...now I'd have to trudge home and return with money for the flowers! With the benevolence of a understanding mother from Pella, IA, she told me to just take the flowers and drop off the money someday in the future when I got the chance. I couldn't believe it! I thanked her and walked out the door--determined to spread the good cheer I had received.