Happy Birthday to Jonah..Happy Graduation to Me!

This past week has been very busy for our family. On Friday the 19th Jonah turned 2! I can't believe that my baby boy is two years old! I feel like I blinked and missed it all! He is such a happy, easy going little fellow (although the 2 year old tantrums are starting to take shape in the form of hitting, screaming and big crocodile tears!) He is finally starting to talk a lot, just a few months ago he said a few words but mainly just babbled. Now most of what he says is comprehensible so that's making mommy feel much better! He always has a smile on his face, and very quickly puts a smile on the face of others. I am so greatful that Heavenly Father sent me such a precious angel to help balance out the crazy dynamics in this family! Here are some pictures of my buddy!

Jonah at a week and a half old- New Year's Eve 2006

Jonah at 1

On Friday we had dinner and then cake and ice cream. Actually, it was a cookie and ice cream, but same difference! We were at Wal-Mart and Bri found this Elmo cookie, and Jonah went crazy! He loves Elmo and I knew I wasnt't going to get out of the store without it...so he had cookie and ice cream!

Doesn't he look so big?!?!? I can't believe it!

Saturday was another big day as I graduated (FINALLY!!!) from NKU! After 8 years of working on my degree I finally got to walk across that stage and recieve my degree! I was so excited, and it felt kind of surreal the whole time! I am so glad to be finished and get to spend some time at home with the kids. I've never been able to be home with them...I've been in school the whole time they've been alive so I'm looking forward to this time! After graduation we had an open house at Chez Nora's where dad works and celebrated my graduation and Jonah's birthday. We had a great turn out and it was nice to spend some time with our friends and family. Here are some pictures from Saturday.

My friend Lisa and I

My friend Megan and I

Dad, me and Mom

Me and family- Steven, Bri (4) and Jonah (2)

So, even though it's been wild and crazy, we've tried to enjoy the ride. Now we're getting ready for Christmas and I'll be posting lots of pictures as we have a ton of get togethers we'll be going to! We wish you and yours a very Merry and safe Christmas!

Brianna turns 4!

On Wednesday, November 19th, our princess turned 4 years old! I can't believe that it's been 4 years since she came to bless our family. The time has surely flown by, and I have to force myself to enjoy every little moment to make sure the next four years don't fly by as quckly as the first four! Here is a picture of Brianna at the hospital the day after she was born.

This is Bri at 1 year.

Here she is at 3! (Don't ask me where 2 went???? I think I'm blocking it out! LOL!)

And now here's my big 4 year old! Ooooo....stop growing!

Congratulations my sweet baby on another year in this wonderful world! I love to watch the wonder in your eyes as you discover new things, and enjoy your many favorite things! You are such a great big sister to Jonah, and a big helper to me! You have such a sweet spirit and I am so greatful that God saw fit to send you to me! I love your laugh, and your smile, and your amazing hugs and kisses. I am so excited to continue to watch you grow and I can't wait to see you accomplish all the amazing things that I know you will! Happy birthday my precious girl! I love you more than I could express!

Fall Fun

Since it's been a while since I last posted I will be posting a lot of pictures to show you what we've been up to. (I know that's what you all want to see anyways because I know I sure do!!!!) First I just wanted to let everyone know that things are going well with us. My second placement is going really well, and I've already finished 3 weeks as of tomorrow. That means only 5 weeks left until I'm done! (And about 2 months until graduation!!!!) I had to go on Wednesday to get my cap and tassel (I'm wearing mom's gown from she graduated from NKU) and it was so surreal to walk around with my friends and realize that in a matter of weeks we will be alumni of NKU instead of students! So wierd....so exciting!!!

Okay, so pictures. The first set of pictures are from the Fall Foliage Festival that we went to up in Indiana several weekends ago.

On the way home we stopped at this orchard that we started going to quite a few years ago. We got some apples to use for a pie, and extra to eat of course! The kids were literally fighting over the apple...I love it that they'll fight over fruit!

Last Saturday we went to the pumpkin patch. We love to go to the pumpkin patch, it is so much fun to watch the kids pick out a pumpkin and go on a hayride. This pumpkin patch is not very far from our home and they had a petting zoo where the kids could pet and feed some barnyard animals. Jonah loves animals and he particularly loved this part.
He loved the animals!!!

Bri in the haybale maze!

I love my brother!


Our family

Tonight Steven carved the pumpkin with the kids (while I took the pictures of course!!!) It turned out really good and it was so funny to watch them pull out all of the "guts" since he had never done it before. He kepts wiping his hands together and saying "EWWWW!" The only thing that was not so cool- Steven cut himself with the knife. I think he's gonna be alright, but Dr. Mom had to come to the rescue! So here's our cute jack-o-lantern.

Brianna- our "old" pro!

Ewwww!

Showing off their creation!

Posing with their pumpkin and their Nina!

Happy Fall everyone!

Last Day at St. Cecilia

Today was my last day at St. Cecilia. I promised myself this morning that I wasn't going to get all emotional, but they got me. I didn't start crying until I drove away from the school, but I felt on the edge all day. During 7th grade math, which was also the homeroom that I was in, they completed a quiz, took a few notes and then surprised me with a party. All of the sudden in walked room mothers bringing cookies and drinks and carrying presents. The presents kept coming and coming- I couldn't believe my eyes! I felt like a little kid at Christmas! My cooperating teacher, Mrs. Davis, explained that she had asked the students to bring in supplies that I could use to set up my first classroom. The bags, and the beautiful basket, were brimming with pens, pencils, post-it notes, paper clips, stickers, notebooks and notebook paper, you name it, it was there! Here is the picture of all of goodies they gave me!

I had to take 3 trips out to the car to carry all of it! The kindness of these students and parents touched me to the core- and I realized again why we do this. Teaching isn't a profession that offers a lot of money, and there are days that you are completely exhausted, but at the end of the day it's all about the students! And at a school like St. Cecilia where all of the parents are so supportive it's even better! I will forever remember these students and I will often wonder what they are doing with their lives. Who knows, maybe one day some of them may become teachers too! I would love to see that happen!

I also recieved a few gifts from Mrs. Davis, one of which is a new teacher survival kit. The poem that explained what everything inside was for goes like this:

Crayon- to color your world. Peanuts- to remind you to get a little nutty now and then. Band-Aid- to remind you to heal hurt feelings. Marbles-to replace the ones you may loose from time to time. Bath Salts-to take you away. Cup-for when yours is overflowing. Rubberband-to remind you to be flexible. Matches-for those days when you feel you need to light a fire under your students. Wiggle Eyes- for when you wish you really did have eyes in the back of your head. Animal Cookies-for when your classroom seems like a zoo. Penny-to remind you that you are priceless. Eraser-to remind you that everyone makes mistakes. That's okay, we learn by our errors. Pencil and notepad-to remind you to list your blessings every day. Angel-to remind you that you are the guardian angel for your students. Sweet & Sour candy- to remind you to appreciate your students' differences. Snowflake-when all else fails, PRAY FOR A SNOW DAY!

It was so cute, and I laughed as I read it. I plan on making a few of these for some of my friends for graduation- we could all use one! Another gift that made me chuckle was a bag of Hershey's Cacoa Reserves. They crossed out the Cacoa with a sticker that said Emergency so the bag read Emergency Reserves! So cleaver and funny! Every teacher needs their emergency stash of chocolate!

I recieved so many kind and thoughtful gifts and words and I will remember everyone with fondness. I learned a lot over these 8 weeks, and while it wasn't always easy I have learned that teaching is one of the most rewarding things that I will ever do! I know that I finally have found where I want to be when I grow up!!!! So thank you to all of the students, parents and faculty and staff at St. Cecilia! You made my time there so memorable and I pray that God will bless you and your school for many years to come! I will be back- I promise!

8 down, 8 to go

Well, I've done it! I've made it half way through student teaching! As of tomorrow my first placement is complete and I move on to my new placement on Monday! I can't believe how fast 8 weeks flew by. Some weeks definately went faster than others, and some weeks I was ready to throw up my hands and walk (actually run...run very fast!!!) away. But mom, and Steven, and everyone else reminded me how hard I had worked to get where I am, and that I can survive anything for a few more weeks. So I sucked it up, stuck it out...and Monday I'm ready to move on to round two!
I swear, this is the hardest thing I have ever done. Childbirth, 6 weeks of bedrest...this tops all of that! But it has been very rewarding. I have loved the kids that I have been working with. They make me laugh every day! That's one of the things that I love about middle schoolers...they are so funny! I will definately miss the students. I feel like I'm just now getting to know them...the slackers, the trouble makers, the underachievers, the overachievers. I'm finally learning what makes them tick, and now it's time to go learn the same thing about 100 something other students.
And just like I said before the semester started, they have taught me more than I ever could hope to teach them. And I know I will learn even more at my next placement. I just wanted to let you all know that I am still alive, they haven't killed me....YET! :) So here's to the next 8 weeks....may they go REALLY fast!!!!!

I'm From Cincitucky!

Photo by Joe Ruh (The NKU Northerner Newspaper)

According to Carrie Underwood that is! Wednesday night Mom, our friends Lynn and Melanie and I went to the Carrie Underwood concert at the new Bank of Kentucky Center at NKU. She was the opening act of the brand new arena and she was AMAZING!!!!! I am still on such a huge high! Our seats were fantastic and she put on such a great show. You think she's beautiful on the TV...she's even more stunning in person! (People like that make me ill, ya know!!!) But she seems so sweet and boy can she sing!!!!

At one point she was talking about how the concert is listed as a Cincinnati location, but she knew she was in Kentucky, although she had stayed in Cincinnati the night before. (And it only takes like 5 minutes to get from downtown Cincinnati to NKU!) So she had decided to give us a new name...we are now Cincituckians! (Think Cincy and Kentucky and put them together!) I love it! So I am embracing my new name and am proud to announce that I am from Cincitucky!

Photo by Joe Ruh (NKU's The Northerner Newspaper)

For her encore she came out wearing a NKU Norse jersey, which had been presented to her backstage as a gift. It even had her name on it. At first we were trying to figure out what she was wearing. Once we figured out that it was an NKU jersey we freaked out. Since all of us are NKU students or alumni we thought that was pretty awesome!

But really her show was phenominal and it was a great way to wrap up our summer concert experience. (Her opening act, bytheway, was Little Big Town and they were awesome! I went out yesterday to buy their CD because I liked them so much!)

At the begining of September we went to Riverbend to see Cheap Trick ("I want you to want me! I need you to need me..."), Heart and Journey. They were so amazing. The new lead singer for Journey, Arnel Pineda is from the Philipenes and he is unreal! He sounds just like Steve Perry...it's scary! And they claim he's 41 and has a 19 year old son....I'm not buying it! Look at him! He looks like he's in his 20's!This was probably one of the best concerts I've ever been to. ( I was horse for a week...partly because I was sick, but screaming my head off at the concert didn't help any!!!!) Heart was sooo good...they can still rock!

In June we got to see the Doobie Brothers and Chicago at Riverbend. The Doobie Brothers were one I had never seen before and they were really fun! I had seen Chicago a few other times, and I can definately say they've been better before, but it was still a good time! Their new lead singer is also very good. Although I think he's been with them for a while now. I think I've seen more concerts this year than I have in years and I have some great girls' night out memories to hold me off til next summer!

Memories

"Memories, all alone in the moonlight! I can dream of the old days! Life was beautiful then! I remember the time I knew what happiness was! Let the memories live again!" (Insert violins here!)

Okay so this post has nothing to do with "Cats". It's all about my memories. Or actually your memories of me. Several of my friends have done this and my friend Megan said if I'd post it she has a funny memory to share. So here are the rules:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! Since this is our family blog, feel free to leave a memory about any of the four of us.

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. :)

So that's it! It's pretty easy and pretty painless! Just tell me your memories and I'll tell you mine! (Okay I'm turning into a 7th grader again! Get me out of this school quick!)

And just because I've been wanting to share this picture forever and keep forgetting, here is a gorgeous picture of my baby. Our friend Lynn took this picture sometime this summer and we just can't get over how gorgeous his eyes are! (And yes, he does look just like his father! I know, I know!!! LOL!)

Family Day at Sawyer Point and Johnny Rockets

Yesterday was a perfectly gorgeous day! The weekend started off rocky with Friday being a wash out and mommy being sick all day (I even had to leave school after only 2 hours and go home! Boo!) but Saturday dawned sunny and just the right temp! After Steven cut grass and mom and I went to get haircuts we decided to take the kids and do something fun. We were headed to the zoo when we realized that they close at 5 pm (how stupid is that!!!!) so at the last minute we decided to take them to Sawyer Point. Sawyer Point is a great park that is built along the river. We used to go there all the time when we were kids and thought we'd go check it out. They had a great newer playground (that is fully handicap accessible!!) and they were hosting a Salsa festival. There was great music and lots of performers and it was a lot of fun. We walked across the bridge to Newport for dinner at Johnny Rockets and then walked back over to the park for a little bit longer. The kids had a blast and it was great to get out and enjoy time with each other! Here are some of our favorite pictures!

We're still here!

Hi all! I know it's been a long time since my last post, but we are still here- alive and well! We're just VERY busy people these days! Let me take a few minutes to give you an update on our crazy busy lives!

I'm sure you'll notice the new background. School is in full swing for Bri, mom and myself. I've been in school three weeks now and so has Bri. Mom started back on the 24th so we're all in school mode! I am absolutely loving my student teaching and my students! We went to the festival for the church that hosts the school where my placement is last night. I saw so many of my students and it was so fun to see them outside of the classroom! We were sitting at dinner and Steven said "I'm going to pick out all of your students okay?" I said, "How?" He answered, "They're all the kids that walk by and look at you and you can see it on their faces they're thinking should I say hi or just keep walking!" I got a lot of waves and a few "Hi, Mrs. Fischer!" (which is still really wierd to hear since Mrs. Fischer is my mother-in-law, but I'm getting used to it!) But we had a good time, and they had a GREAT turnout! I'm getting observed tomorrow by my university supervisor so send good thoughts and prayers my way!

I realized that I never posted pictures of Bri's first day of preschool! I finally got them off of my camera so here they are! She looks so grown up! It's killing me to think she's going to 4 in a few months!!!!

Over the long weekend we went up to Indiana for the last of the family reunions this year. This time it was my nana's side and it was at a park in the town where she and her siblings grew up. We had a very good turn out and it was fun to see everyone. We got to spend some time with my grandma and her boyfriend, Bob since we went up on Friday after work/school and the reunion wasn't until Sunday.

Mom and her Aunt Marie

Brianna enjoying yummy cake!

My Aunt Christina, Nana and her Bob

Daddy and Jonah

We came home Sunday evening and snuggled in to watch the Labor Day fireworks on TV. I'm not brave enough to take the kids down to the flood wall yet to see the fireworks, especially since Bri really doesn't like fireworks, so we watch them from home. I also had today off so I took Jonah to daycare and then came home to work on lesson plans and LOTS of laundry! I also got to go to the dry cleaners and the grocery store, so it was a very productive day!

So that's what we've been up to! We can't believe summer is officially over (although with the temps today you could have fooled me!!!) We're looking forward to fall, and all of the fun things to come: Fall Foliage Festival, pumpkin patch, Halloween, Bri's birthday and Thanksgiving! Oh, and mommy and daddy's 5 year anniversary! We've got an eventful fall coming up, and we hope you'll tune in for the ride!