Merry Christmas

I know the title says "Merry Christmas," but I haven't written since before Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving once again this year. We were able to split our time between both of our families, and had very full bellies by the end of the day! We have so much to be thankful for: marriage, family, our four jobs (two each), our home, our freedom and our Savior. We may not have a lot, but what we do have, I know we would never want to trade in for anything.

We went to the Singing Christmas Tree this year with my family, Grandma Betty, Grandma's friends and Kinsey's roommate Cara. It was different than years past which was nice since we go every year. That is one tradition that I don't ever want to give up...it's a great way to transition into the Christmas holiday!

Black Friday I got to sleep in a little bit since I didn't have to be at Starbucks until 8:00am. I was surprised how much fun the day was, and although we were busy the whole eight hours I worked that day, it went smoothly. The customers were awesome, and so patient and kind while we rushed around making their drinks. Since that day my store has been busy no matter what day it is. It's fun that's for sure, but by the end of the shift I am just exhausted.

Speaking of working...Jason and I have been keeping busy with subbing and our other part-time jobs. This week and last week we each worked everyday, so last Thursday and this Friday we took the days off to spend some much needed time together. This week alone with my two jobs, I will have worked over 60 hours...so looking forward to the day when we each have ONE job each, and get to slow down somewhat.

Jason and I are enjoying every moment of this Christmas! We both love this time of the year, with all the traditions and fun memories that we get to make. This is the first Christmas we have with Calli and Hobbes, and so far they are "loving" the Christmas tree. :) We went out early in the morning last Saturday to select the perfect tree. When we first brought it home they were afraid of it, then it was a holder for new "toys" for them...which were our ornaments. Needless to say it took a couple of days for them to get used to the new decoration in our home. We are awaiting the snow that the weather stations are saying should hit sometime in the next 4-5 hours...I LOVE snow, so that would be very exciting. It has been so cold here...mornings of 11 degrees...we have been bundling up a lot around our house. :) Keep enjoying the season, and remember the true meaning:

It's not the gifts, it's not the time spent with friends and family...those are wonderful, but the true meaning is Christ's birth...He is the reason for the season.

Future Plans...and Present Life

I can't believe how busy this year is, and how fast it is going by! It's hard to imagine, although I am excited about the fact, that Christmas is just next month. I love this time of the year, and have officially started listening to Christmas music...which those that know me, know that starting this "late" is saying a lot :)

Jason and I are both subbing in the Salem-Keizer School District and the surrounding smaller districts. We have been getting requested at the same schools over and over, which is nice because we are getting to know the students. Jason has been fortunate enough to get a long term sub position at Hammond Elementary, where he is teaching 4th grade. Speaking of elementary school...this coming spring semester, I am going to begin taking classes to get my elementary endorsement. I never thought I would be teaching elementary, but since I have gotten to sub a lot at that level, I have grown to love it! I need to take three classes at the graduate level, write a work sample, and do a student teaching. I applied, and now am just waiting on the financial aide. Applying...that is something that both Jason and I are both getting pretty good at. We recently sent off our applications to the school in Indonesia, Sekolan Pelita Harapan (http://www.sph.edu/). Right now we are just waiting to hear back from the school to see if they have placements for both of us. The school is currently contacting the people on our reference lists we supplied them. Right now is hard though, since we are in a limbo of not knowing. We can't plan for the future, but at the same time it's hard to stop your brain from going to what might happen. We are praying a lot about what to do, and where we should go, but at this point we are both feeling good about the option of Indonesia. At the same time we are open to the possibility that there may not be a position for us...only time will tell, but we will keep you updated. :) The school that is located right outside of Jakarta is shown above. There is also a brand new school that is in Jakarta that will be opening up this coming school year that we could also be placed at.Even with our busy schedules, we have been working hard at making time for each other. Last Friday we had a whole "date day," where we woke up, after sleeping in :), got coffee and headed up to Portland for the day. We got to go to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner off a gift card my parents gave us, then we headed to the Blazer game. They won, and it was an exciting game! We were one row from the TOP of the whole stadium, but even sitting up that high we had an awesome time, I don't think there are any really bad seats. It was a great day!Our little kittens are awesome as well! They seem to get more and more sweet if that is even possible. When I am with them it is hard to believe that I was ever scared of cats. They have diffidently become part of the Bernard family. Oh, by the way Calli (shown below) loves water...

Fall is Here!

Jason and I are keeping busy subbing in many schools ranging from elementary to high school. Every job we get it sorta feels like we won the lottery or something since there are not many subs getting called from what we hear. Thankfully my parents have gotten our sub numbers out to many of the people they know, and we have landed some good jobs. Coming up in the next couple of weeks Jason will be the sub at Hammond Elementary where his aunt Rhonda also teaches. He will be there for 7 days...we are excited about that!! This coming week I will be subbing for my mom, which should go pretty good...hope I do a good job mom ;)
Speaking of teaching...Jason and I are currently in the process of applying to teach overseas at a school that Corban College partners with in.... INDONESIA! We are praying a lot about it, but with the lack of jobs for teachers here in Oregon, and the fact that we're only young teachers once...it's looking like we may be going. We still need to go through the whole applying process, but we are excited about the possibility. The school, Sekolah Pelita Harapan, is just outside Jakarta, Indonesia. We would have a paid salary, living allowance, paid housing, paid medical insurance, etc. One bonus we just heard about was that they will sponsor you financially if you want to get your master's while you are there...that was a pleasant surprise. The school has a 9:1 student to teacher ratio, and offers so many different things for the students to experience. There is an Olympic size swimming pool, family pool, 6 tennis courts, two indoor basketball courts, etc. I will tell you all more about this opportunity while we find out more about it too. I will try to include some pictures of the school soon...it's a pretty amazing school from what we have read and seen pictures of.

Jason and I have finally replaced his junker car!!! The old red neon was replaced by a maroon 2007 Ford Focus. We love it! It's so nice to have a car that you can count on to get you where you need to go! Now we just have the Jeep to keep working on...sadly the check engine light came on yesterday...o' car troubles. :)

That's all for now...but we are so thankful for the jobs that we have been given, and are excited to see where God will be taking us in the next few months :)

Starbucks

As of tomorrow I will officially have my ONE year anniversary at Starbucks...knowing that sure makes me feel like the year has gone by way too fast! Who would have thought that after I graduated from college...I would not be able to even get more than one interview in my job field, but would be continuing on in my carrier as a barista :) I must say though, that I am so thankful for my job, and love all the wonderful people I get to work with and serve coffee too :) Here is to another year? Here is to the future :)

As Summer Comes to an End...

It is so hard to believe that summer is almost over! The thought that has set in even more lately, is the fact that Jason and I will not be going back to school as the student, but as the teacher. No news yet on any possible teaching jobs...we are officially signed up to substitute in the Salem-Keizer School District, and are in the process of applying to other districts. There are few teaching jobs opening up, and from what I hear over 150 applicants per job posting. I did just apply to two more openings today, so who knows what the future will hold there. :)

Jason and I just got back from Tahoe for a family reunion for his mom's side of the family. I have never been there, and it was beautiful! I could tell his family was so excited to show me around the place that they all love visiting. Tahoe reminded me of a mix of Sunriver and the Metolius. We got to camp in our tent for the first official time, which was a lot of fun! One of the nights we were there Jason and I were awoke by a black bear...I actually saw it walk by our tent, and we could hear it breathing only feet from us! It was a great trip!

Then just this last weekend we were able to go to the beach with my family for the night, and stay in a yurt. It was a great getaway, and the weather was beautiful. It was over 70 degrees...something that doesn't happen all that much on the Oregon Coast.

Jason will be in his second wedding this summer this coming weekend. Two of his roommates from Corban got married this summer, Matt and Erin and then John and Rachael. Matt and Erin got married here in Salem and this weekend John and Rachael are getting married outside of Eugene. I really do love weddings, and because of that I will begin training to take over the wedding coordinator position at Salem Heights in the next year. That was something that was unexpected, and that I am so excited about. :)

Until next time...

Bernard Family Reunion

Well, I think that Jason and I have settled into the summer lifestyle. It is so nice to not have to student teach, go to school, work and try to make time for each other. Now we are just working, and get to have plenty of time together, which we love. :) We just got back from a family reunion with Jason's dad's side of the family. We went to Newport and stayed in a house with 25 of his uncles, aunts, grandparents and cousins. I met new family members that I hadn't met yet so it was fun to get to meet them. Jason's grandparents just recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, so the reunion was also a celebration for them.

On the fourth of July we had our own family celebration at the house, which turned out to be a good thing since the fireworks were cancelled at the harbor at Newport due to foggy weather. Even though that night was foggy, while we were there we had amazing weather. The first day was over 70 degrees on the beach! I even got sunburned...I can't remember the last time that happened to me being on the Oregon beach.

We are going to be working the next couple of weeks, and then we are going to Lake Tahoe to a family reunion for Jason's mom's side of the family. This is something that side of the family does every year, and since Jason has been working every summer since college, this will be the first time he will be able to go in years so he is really excited. It will be fun since we will be tent camping, and will get to use our tent for the first time. :)

Calli and Hobbes (our little kittens) are doing really good. They love to cuddle, and Hobbes is actually asleep on my lap right now while I am writing this. This coming Friday they are both going to get fixed, so hopefully that will all go smoothly and they will let each other rest and heal.

All in all, our summer is going really good. We are working hard, but we are also making time to enjoy our time together and spend a lot of time with family and friends. I LOVE summer time...

Graduation...Camping...and Kittens

Well...since I last wrote Jason and I have been very busy, but it has been a good kind of busy. We are both officially college graduates, and are looking forward to what this next part of our lives is going to look like. Currently we do not have any clear leads as to possible job openings, but we are sending out some resumes along with the applications to the few places we have found that know that they are going to be hiring for this next year. With the economy and how caught up many people have become with money, we are counting ourselves blessed and lucky considering that we both have jobs, even if they are part time. My job at Starbucks gets both of us great health care benefits, which thankfully we haven't had to use at all during the first year of our marriage. I really do hope that no matter where and what we end up doing in our lives that money will not be what our lives revolve around. There is so much more to life that we want to experience.

After graduation we got to have one last fun time with our best friends, Jordan and Katrina, before they moved up to Anchorage, AK. Katrina is from there, so we are really happy that they were able to go back and spend time with family, and from talking with her on the phone and sending letters, it is clear to me that they are really happy and content for the time being up there...but we still really miss them. Before they left though, we went yurting up at Beverly Beach for a couple nights. The first day was beautiful, and the boys even got a little sunburned. The second day was typical beach weather, very rainy and stormy. It was so much fun to create even more memories with them, and we know there will be many more.

We have now also been married for ONE year! We laugh at that since we have actually be dating for almost seven year total, so starting the count again is a little sad. We had a wonderful anniversary though. We drove up to Seattle and went to a Mariner game...some of you may have seen up on TV on FSN during the game. We sat in the Hit it Here Cafe for the whole game, which was a lot of fun. The food was great, and it was a great view of the game even if they lost. It was nice to get away after our busy year and see all that we did and made it though. This was a wonderful first year of marriage, but it sure was busy!

Here are some updated pictures of our kittens, "Calli" and "Hobbes." We found out when we took them to the vet that Calvin was not a boy so we changed her name to fit her a little better :) Calli is the black one, and Hobbes is the orange/blonde one. :) We love them a lot! Jason actually built that the cat tree, which they love to climb all over :)

Calvin and Hobbes

Here are the newest additions to our family....meet Calvin (Black) and Hobbes (Organge) :)

Final Countdown

This last couple weeks have seemed to fly by. Maybe that's because I am so excited and ready for graduation to get here. Jason and I are both working on getting all our requirements done to finish our student teaching. I am officially done with my teaching, but still have two more weeks that I will be showing up to observe and finish out. Jason has this next week left of his teaching. I know we are both ready to move on...who knows where we will be...we have been applying, but as of yet there is no word on where or what we will be doing this next year.

This last week we had to do a hard thing...our kitty, Mozzarella, is no longer with us...he was not doing good. In two days he had at least 10 seizures and stopped eating and drinking. We knew it was the right thing to do, but it was so hard. It amazes me that this little guy could come into our lives so suddenly and make us really love and care about him. He was a great little kitty, and I know both Jason and I miss him...I never would have thought I would love a cat, but I do.

Jason and I went to our senior banquet last week, where Jason introduced his dad as a speaker. It seems like just yesterday we were graduating from high school. College has been such a great experience, and I know I have learned so much about myself. I can't wait to see where God has our lives going. It just feels so good to have so many open opportunities, and to know that wherever we go we will be together. Graduation is May 2nd...so close!

Busy Time of Life!

** Jason and I have been SO BUSY!! **We are currently working through our second authorization student teaching. I am at Jefferson High School and Jason is at Stayton Middle School. We only have about four weeks left of student teaching, and then we are graduating! It has been just a whirlwind experience for both of us. I know that I have learned so much from my experiences teaching at both Parrish and Jefferson. Jason is pretty sure he wants to teach at the high school level, but I think I would be fine teaching at either level. The countdown to the end of the school year is here...May 2nd is graduation day, and it couldn't come soon enough.Jason took me to "Wicked," the Broadway play a couple of weeks ago for my birthday. It was amazing! It was so much fun getting to watch such talented people sing and sing so powerfully. That was something everyone should go and see!
We also took a day trip to Eugene. It was so much fun to go back to all the places we went on dates during our freshmen year when I went to the University of Oregon. Although it has been hard not getting to see each other very much, we have been trying our hardest to make the time we do have together the best that we can. With spring break coming up this next week, we are both looking forward to spending more time together.

I also celebrated my 22nd birthday since I last wrote. Since Jason was working on my actual birthday, my parents and Kinsey took me out to Claim Jumper for dinner. It was so nice to get to spend time with them, and celebrate. My mom and dad also had the Bernard's over to their house for birthday dessert. I love my family! Happy Birthday!

Jason is so happy to have a little kitty in our home...I am still not set on the idea...a cat in an apartment....Mozzarella is still doing good, not gaining any weight, but he is a sweet and loving cat, so I guess I don't have much to complain about. :)

Christmas...

Christmas was so good this year...we got to spend time with family...got to set up Jason's Christmas Village in our own place for the first time...got to be the Bernard's for the first time ever...got to see Jason's suprised face when he opened the HDTV I got him for Christmas :)...got to see what "Santa" got us for the first time as a married couple...but most importantly, we got to celebrate God's gift of His son to us...that is what Christmas is truely about...all the rest were just little blessings along the way.