Still at School at 6:00pm

So i'm still sitting in my classroom at 6:10 at night and school hasn't even started yet! This is not a good sign! I shouldn't be surprised though seeing as i spent a 4 hour lunch break buying cute sparkly white sunglasses at Macy's/Hecht's in Tysons and then the last hour reading all the posts i missed having been out of touch with the modern world in my no internet/phone/cable play house in the backyard all summer. Whatever though it's teacher work week who ACTually does work during teacher work week? My kids make fun of me that i have to go to school on teacher work days and they get a day off but i swear to you those are the best days ever you get 8 solid hours to be productive (or go shopping and read blogs, but whatever) and not be distracted by annoying things like students and teaching. Actually i have to say, sort of in response to Megan's comment about not wanting to have to direct kids around piles of vomit for the rest of her life. I LOVE my job. Some parts of it stink and it can be super stressful (last year teaching AP Environmental for the first time, i'd get half way through a lesson and realize i didn't even understand what i was trying to teach - THAT is a horrible feeling, especially when it's only 1st period and you've got 3 more classes to go!) seriously though the kids are my favority part. High school juniors and seniors, they are almost old enough to start caring about and talking about real things and they see a world beyond the four (rather crumbling) walls of Woodson high school (we're being renovated this year you should SEE the trailor park we've got going!) There are hugely frustrating days but then you get an email from your favorite kid who graduated last year and is all off at college and he's telling you how he's taking this geology class but it's soooo boring b/c he already learned everything with me the year before. Or the kid who would try so many pick up lines on me in a given day i had to limit him to one a day until he finished all his work - this would be the same kid that proceeded to write my evaluation at the end of the year in the form of a poem expressing is undying love for me. They really are hilarious and funny...most of the time. Watch, this time next week when i have to be mean and hard on them to get them whipped into shape at the beginning of the year and they're fighting me tooth and nail i'll be revising this post to say how miserable my job is. I'll just have to keep my lastest graduated student email at the top of my inbox ("well i was just checking in on ya. make sure you work those kids to death this year. do you have to be put into a trailor? because they can't do that to mrs.carroll or else i'll have to come back there and teach them a little lesson. :)") to remind myself how fun it can be. Time to go pick up my husband and head off to dance lessons (triple swing tonight i think!). Love you girls.

It could only happen to me!

So some of you may remember the morning of graduation in 2000 when I awoke and found a bug in my ear. Well, I've just arrived back from Puerto Rico (which was pretty cool by the way) and wanted to post a new little friend that I made that totally tops my bug in the ear story. It was 3:30am when I was awoken from a dead sleep by a big pinch on my arm. Imagine my surprise when I turn on the light and see this thing slithering across the floor under the dresser. I then proceed to FR-REAK out! I go and get my shoe from the front door and curl up sitting up on the other bed in my room. I finally say," this is ridiculous," and move to my original bed to start my research on what the heck had just bitten me. Fortunately my Palm actually was connecting to the internet for the first time in days, so I start my googling. I start with millipedes, but it doesn't quite look like my attacker. So I move on to centipedes and sure enough, there's a picture of my not so little nemesis. As I'm doing this, the thing slithers across the room from the bed I had just been curled up on! So I throw my shoe at it and stun it. I then throw it again and see some bug juice come out. It makes an awful crunching sound when crushed by the way. At this point I don't really know if that was the original culprit because the one that bit me had gone under a dresser originally...so I'm still freaking out that there could be more than one. I decide to continue my research about my little friend to see just how freaked I should be and if I needed to go wake my friends up and find a doctor. After all my research the answer was that if I was prone to anaphylatic (spelling?) shock, then I would be dead. Fortunately for me, I'm not, so it just mimicked a really really bad bee sting which sent radiating pain shooting up my arm for a few hours. It still wasn't that comforting to read the words "very small, extremely venomous front pinchers" as I was researching. Apparently this monstrosity can eat birds and mice and stuff! About 5am my friend's husband wakes up to go to the bathroom and sees my door wide open and my lights on. He goes to the bathroom (fortunately he had had the presence of mind to put some clothes on) and comes out to see why the heck I'm still awake. So I tell him my story as I'm sweating in bed covered by a sheet head to toe for protection. He goes to pick it up and put it in the toilet, but I sternly tell him to leave it there as a symbol to any other creatures that could be lurking that I am a force to be reckoned with! Yeah real scary I was as I lay in bed not wanting to move and definitely sleeping with the lights on. So I finally decide that I've got to get some sleep, so I start praying for no more centipedes to bite me that night. The next morning I of course have to recount the whole debacle to my friend Cheryl and then proceed to show her the thing. It was about 7" long and when we went to see it, it was still moving. Fortunately I had crushed it's back end, so it hadn't moved positions, but the front had definitely replumped and it was trying to move slowly. It was at that point we decided it was okay to flush it so we wouldn't have to freak out if we came back from snorkeling and it was gone. Unfortunately we didn't have the presence of mind to preserve the image for posterity, so I have done some research and found one myself. This one isn't nearly as big as my assailant, but you'll get the picture. Needless to say, I slept with the lights on the next night and had Seth check under all furniture and crevices before I even thought about sleeping. Again... it could only happen to me.

It's A Boy....Or So They Say

Well Seth and I got to watch the baby in action yesterday. It kept trying to kick and punch the ultrasound wand. The doc thought that was real funny. And (unless they were confused) it looks like its going to be a boy. How in the hell am I ever going to be able to raise a boy. All is know about is sisters and girls and mom time. But Seth did show his first real moment of excitement when he heard it was a boy. He blushed and just kept smiling.

Reunion Anyone?

With all of the people who have responded that they plan to visit Charlottesville - a lot of you have said this fall - and the vast number of you in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast - is anyone up for planning an informal reunion? The fall seems a bit soon to do anything that will be well-coordinated, but that doesn't have to stop us. Any takers for trying to choose a Fall weekend and planning to see who can make it for that time?

Picture...

From Katye.

Um, so hi. :) I'm finally figuring out how to post, not just "blog eavesdrop" as Megan put it. I figure if I don't get something out there, Courtney will keep asking me every time I see her - which is often, relatively, anyway, so there's only so much grace time with my "the government blocks blogs" excuse... Cause you and I both (all) know that she'll come over to my apt, fire up my computer and show me how to do it.

So - really, the litany of where I've lived and what jobs I've had is kind of long - but here's the easy version - I graduated in 2001, moved to Northern Virginia, got a job at the White House and worked as a Writer for President Bush for a year. In Oct 2002, I started working for Homeland Security - BEFORE there was a Department of Homeland Security - four months later, a lot of late nights and an Act of Congress, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was birthed and from January 2003 until February 2005 I worked for DHS. In Feb of 2005, I thought I'd leave the govt and try the private sector - bad idea, it lasted 3 months, so short that it's not worth talking about. So I went back to the White House for a year and in May was asked to come to the State Department, where I am now, to work for Karen Hughes. Basically, I do communcations for foreign policy. If you want more info: www.state.gov/r One of my jobs is to draft her speeches. If you want to know more about Karen, she's got a book, Ten Minutes from Normal... She was the President's Communications Director. And it's really quite humbling (read: DAUNTING) to work for one of the best communicators out there... I mean, let's all remember that my thesis 4th year didn't quite meet my advisor's expectations. That said, God is SO using this job to affirm His call on my life to write... I know that's what I'm called to, but I've been learning (lately) how crippled I've been by insecurity and lack of confidence in this area. In nearly 3 months, I've written or re-written several major speeches, and each time it's been so incredible to see Him build me up even as I'm humbled and know it's not b/c I'm so great - it's Him in me.

All that said - that's just work. It's like maybe 1/2 of me... if that. I'm also still SO stinkin' passionate about women's ministry. The Lord really re-established this in my heart after I lost Richard. (Side note on this coming...) Currently I'm on the team of women planning/running a young women's conference, After Eve - I'm the promotions director, so here's my shameless plug: www.aftereve.org Just click the link and check it out. And pray for me b/c someone thinks it's a good idea for me to teach a breakout seminar... Seriously, I can't talk them out of it, they even feel like it's a God thing. Sheesh. :) The seminar is called "I didn't sign up for this." The basic synopsis: "Break ups, Cancer, job loss, financial strain, losing someone you love. Sometimes our world turns upside down and sometimes we find ourselves disappointed with a turn of events… what then? Where is faith when you face disappointment, crisis, or suffering? How do you follow Christ when you feel like you have nothing to give?"

Which brings me to the short side note - today is August 21, 2006. Two years ago today I would have been married to the most incredible man, Richard Keplinger. Those of you who didn't meet him would have loved him - he was so 360... On June 17, 2004, he was killed in a freak accident cutting down a tree. The short version, b/c I think you all know this, is that God is incredibly faithful. I can't say it's been fun, or easy, or anything except hard. But a little over two years later, and on what would have been my 2nd anniversary, I can confidently tell you that I know Whom I have believed and He is able to guard what I have entrusted to him... I'll let one of the pastors wives remind me the reference there... 1 or 2 Timothy, I think, but I don't have my bible. Anyway, God is a big God. If you want more, I'll send the transcript of my breakout seminar... or just come to After Eve... :)

So, yeah, that's me. Single, sort of, living in DC/VA, working for the government (Leah, I've heard Seth has a theory on this?) and trusting God to show me what each day holds - I still have bad days (today isn't great) but I'm hopeful, and confident, and I'm not afraid to say that I pray big prayers - I want to see great harvest out of this great loss - not just in my life but in the lives around me and in the lives around those people. I don't know why a tree falls, but God does, and He's sovereign, and I'm content to trust that.

I've posted a pic of me and Richard below - I hope it's not too sad for y'all, but it just seems like my 360 girls should all have known him.

Much love and more prayers - kdb

take two

sorry, don't know why this didn't post last time.

okay okay

so i've been a blog eavesdropper for far too long now and just have to put in a few cents' worth.
i will start with the basics: graduated UVA 2001 (but all of 5th year spent in loudoun, doing student teaching and finishing up the MT program...remind me later and i'll post about how i spent my first day of student teaching directing traffic around a pile of vomit in the middle of the hallway at Loudoun Valley High School). never went into teaching...i guess i just decided back then that there was no amount of money that you could pay me to be someone else's parent. again, another blog thread for another time, as i'm sure that you teachers out there will have some insight to share on that one as well. got maried september 2002, after matt graduated, when we moved to warrenton and went on young life staff. intern program in warrenton was amazing, it was such a blessing to be in a tight-knit community like that during our first years of marriage and ministry. i still fight being bitter about not being there anymore (we moved to Winchester in august 05 when matt was given an area director job), especially after chris dove's death...i wanted to minister with and be ministered to those folks with whom i shared so much of my life. so now we're in winchester, ella is 2 1/2 (g0ing on 13, i feel sometimes), and we're pregnant with baby girl #2, due in december.
hmm...what else? i quit my job (doing marketing/admin stuff with a commercial real estate firm in DC--really good money-before ella was born, and then took a part time job as a bank teller when she was 18 months old. that said, i would agree wiht the other ladies that it is important to pour yourself into your kids--their well-being, spiritual and otherwise--but it came to a point with me that i needed to find something where i could pour into other folks as well. to be honest, i don't have the emotional energy i used to have to be able to deal wiht high school girls (so i have very little part with matt's "up front" ministry, just support in the background and admin help), so i felt that i needed to get out and try to do the work thing again. it probably sounds lame that i chose to go back to work in order to "take care of myself" and regain some sense of my adult identity, but circumstances, financial and otherwise, made that an easier decision.
so anyway...as far as what the lord has taught me through 4 years of marriage and 3 of motherhood is that i am too selfish to be a young life staff wife and way too selfish to be a mom. thankfully, though, his grace is new every day (as are matt's and ella's, for the most part).
okay sorry that was such a long post...p.s. sorry for the nudie of my daughthter, but that's pretty much par for the course in our house...

More from Hallie

If you haven’t read the comments section under the picture of Vern’s precious girls, the following won’t make much sense.
I've been thinking and writing more about motherhood. I'm gonna be posting some thoughts over the next few days over at my blog. I didn't put it here because it is more personal and not as much general 360 (also, I didn't want to bore you if you're not interested). But if you are, come join the conversation!

Try again

My Pic

Just one more little update. I started a new job yesterday and will be much less stressed. The Lord was amazing in how He provided this job. I really had no idea how I would last at my olf job du eto contractual obligations but someone from the hospital next door recruited me so I am now working with patients with spinal cord injury. Funniest part of the whole deal was 1: yesterday Healthsouth (my 50% company with UVA) announced that they are selling the outpatient division - my old division and 2: I was featured as an "excellent employee" for the outpatient division in the national newsletter yesterday. He he he...if they had only known. Here's a pic of me and Brian at Brad Pantuck's wedding this summer. Keep posting people!

3 birds with 1 stone

For you Hallie... This will give a year old picture of me, Megan and Megan. It was last summer at Elizabeth's wedding. Yes, that's really where her reception was!

uhhh...what the heck am I doing?

Okay, so my heart is just about beating out of my chest, bc I have no idea how to do this whole thingey - I mean, I JUST started to use Google for recipes last month and JUST started to use the phone book program on my cell a couple months ago, so blogging is HUGE- but I am SO excited after reading everyone's that I have to give it a try!!!!! If it doesn't work, I will cry (well not really-some of you know me better than that) and probably never try another blog again.
I get the idea there was a memo I didn't get on some questions we are supposed to answer, but I am going to try. Year graduated: 2000-ish (I actually finished Dec 99.) Course I wish I had taken: oh man, thousands of them, I actually can't wait to go back to school, but I think mostly all the econ classes I could have loaded up on to help in managing a household budget. Favorite 360 Memory: It feels wrong to single one out, but I will say two anyway-road trip to Florida/Tybee Island, and the EVER overflowing downstairs kitchen trashcan that I think I only ONCE emptied(very remorseful here now that I have to empty my own and I know how obnoxious it is to be the only one to do it.) How did anyone live with me at that time?! Places I have lived since graduation: Wake Forest, NC and Durham, NC (three places in Durham). Jobs I have had: high school teacher, family administrator, for which I get a clothing budget, personal budget, and food budget for "payment." But I, like Hallie, don't really count that, I count the number of times one of the girls RUNS to me when they see me unexpectedly as payment and proof of a job well-done:)
We just moved last weekend into the house I call my "die in house." If I have anything to say about it, this is my house FOREVER. I SUCK at organization, am mediocre at design, and moving requires a LOT of that with kids and everything and I HATE it. But it is GORGEOUS!! I can't believe it is mine. Of course, my two little bastards (seen above-Kharis (means grace in greek) on top and Alethia (pronounced a-lay-thia, means truth in greek) on the right, both about 8 months ago, now 3 and 1) will quickly demolish all the beautiful hardwood floors (Kharis already thinks her big-wheel is best ridden around the downstairs circle) and shiny black banisters and new paint and carpet I am sure...you know what they say, "You just can't have nice things with kids." It's God's way of ensuring I don't get too materialistic, and I appreciate it:) It is perfect for a die-in house -the master is already on the first floor, so when I am too old for steps it is all good!
Before I go, our church is phenomenal-beyond description for me. When I knew I wanted to be in ministry I never pictured this, but it is overwhelming in all the good (and bad) ways you can probably imagine on your own. JD is the best preacher I have ever heard in person, and that is saying something since I know all of his junk. *If you think about when you read this, pray for him bc he is in a foreign country for 2 weeks. He had tried to increase his life insurance before he left for other reasons, and NOONE would cover him bc of this trip! Which makes me feel super about it.
Okay, love to all of you girls, some of who I know I knew better than others, but all the same, once a 360 girl, always a 360 girl, and we love you all!
~Veronica (McPeters)

Posting pictures

Since I really want to see what you all look like now, I decided to figure out how to post pictures. Turns out, it is quite easy.

When you are writing a new post, there is a button to push on the toolbar in the post editor window that looks like a very small picture of some trees and the sky. When you push it, you will choose whether to upload a picture from your computer or from the web. Simply click browse and find the photo on your computer and it will post it for you in the new post.

As a courtesy for those of us that live in the country and only have dial-up because DSL lines don’t run this far out of town, try to post only a few pictures per new post.

Blogger also has very easy to follow directions (with pictures!), if mine don’t make sense.

And as it is only fair, I will post the first pic. This on is of me and my hubby on our 6^th anniversary just over a month ago. (Hmm….where was my trip to Europe, I wonder???) J

BTW, you can click on it to see us up close and personal.

Still in the 'Ville

Hope this works as I do not blog either. This will be short because we just flew in from England early this morning (to celebrate our 5th anniversary) and I just got home from a 10 hr workday - somehow that didn't seem like such a stupid idea when I booked the flight.

Anyhoo,

Year graduated: 2001

Places lived: Gainesville, FL and Charlottesville, VA since Spring 2005

Jobs since 360: substitute teacher, senior clerk and clerical supervisor (of which I am most proud) and research assistant at the dept of Physical Therapy at the University of Florida, and, finally, Staff Physical Therapist at UVA-Healthsouth

Course I wish I had taken: Spanish - because I could not communicate for the life of me with a patient today

360 Memories: Walking to 7-eleven and back with Big Gulps, always having someone to chat with (Meg W was always good at that), Shelley filling the dishwasher with dish-soap and watching it bubble into the kitchen, trying to keep up with Elizabeth driving to Ft. Lauderdale (the list could go on)

***side note: can we invite Shelley? I don't know how - but her email is ssr2m@virginia.edu***

Brian and I are so happy to be out of FL and back near fun people and places. Please let me know if you'll be in C-ville - we finally have another bedroom for the first time in 5 years. We bought a condo and love to have guests. Brian is getting his PhD as I stave off the family urges by putting in long hrs at work. I miss you all and wish I wasn't so bad at keeping in touch with people who were such a big part of my life. Can I redeem myself?

Martha

Ta DAAAAAA! Here I am! I know everyone was just waiting with baited breath for me to get my act together and post! Actually I live in the dark ages during the summertime (no computer or internet!) but as soon as school starts again I'll be chiming in with everyone complaining people don't post enough b/c reading notes from my favorite girls is way more fun than repeating directions on how to locate earthquake epicenters in africa for the 40th time in a given day. :) Anyways details details:

Year I graduated: 2003 ish (did the 5 year BA/MT program in 4 1/2 years and finished the last semester at home so i think the offical date was January 2004)

Places I've lived since graduation: My parents house in Oakton, Va and then in an apartment in Herndon, Va the 360 ex-boyfriend/husband everyone loved to hate and I finally got hitched (January 2005). The apartment though is really SO much more than an apartment though. Hally or Megan do either of you have one of those little playhouse in the backyard for your babies? Well i essentially live in a glorified one of those. This little old lady in Franklin Farms had a little guest house built in her 2 acre backyard and we rent it from her. It's great because it's an apartment but we get to live in a real person neighborhood with kids riding their bikes down the street and a mailbox and all that, plus the yard is huge so we've got this big old vegetable and flower garden which can however be a mixed blessing when it comes to weeding and planting but there are worse things in the world. But yeah our little house (think about 100 square feet larget than our two car carport!) is fantastic. And in case anyone ever gave that 360 a total fashoin fantasy poster/sign another thought, Liz Domalski/Tyree rescured it from disoposal at 360 the year after i graduated and it now resides in a proud position in the middle of my living room (which also doubles as the diningroom and part of the kitchen). :)

Jobs I've had since 360: I went straight into teaching after graduating. My first year I taught five sections Geosystems (like Earth Science w/ computers) to 11th and 12th graders, last year i taught 3 sections of AP Environmental Science and 2 Geosystems and next year will be four and one sections respectively. I love the kids, i love the topic and i love the fact that i haven't worked a day since June 26th but the paychecks still show up every month. :)

Course I wish I'd taken at UVA: Global Information Systems (really the only reason i say that is because i am presently on a lunch break from a summer training program i'm doing with GIS and i'd much rather have taken the class in college, know this stuff now and be at the pool instead.

360 memories: 1) Wearing prom dresses to the grocery store and downtown mall with Liz Domalski 2) When we almost lost 360 to fratty boys but Andrea's dad called and used his big lawyer voice to saved it! 3) Taking shots of Jack Daniels with Kelly before doing prayer partners. 4) Always having someone to cuddle with!

Other big things - i just bought my first new car yesterday! :) Actually Andrew bought it but i get to drive it. We went looking together on Saturday and he wouldn't let me go back with him to negotiate on Sunday b/c i got WAY to excited and he'd never be able to negotiate a deal. I'm not sure whether or not i should be offended by that but i got a pretty 2006 blue mazda 3 out of the deal so who am i to complain.

I love love LOVE you guys and i'm so excited we got this blog going! :)

technical support

another gorgeous summer day in seattle... sunny and hot and not humid. :) i went for a spontaneous swim with some friends in lake washington last night at 10pm + while swimming, a magnificent shooting star traversed the night sky. an amazing sight to see.

chelse, i know you were job-hunting in seattle... what's the scoop??? are you going to come play with me?????? we're desperately short on our night staff if you want to give up the travel gig and become permanent staff here! i could get you a job stat!!

i'll be away on vacation 8/9-8/19 w/ my family at a little cabin in idaho for several days and then in montana... can't wait to spend time with them :) elizabeth, i desperately hope it will work out to see you!! i'll call soon to see what your plans are while i'm in big sky country!

if anyone has questions about how to post, i'll do my best to help, but this is my first time blogging, so i am by no means a blogging genius! ;) but since i gave birth to it, i guess that makes me the '360 blog mom' in a way...

xo,
megs

Bitter Bus

Getting bitter that only 3 people have blogged. So I may be the only one that has the time to check this dang thing everyday... but still!