Getting closer

Well, I am now one week away from my oral comprehensive exam...which has been looming over me for the past 2 terms. Naturally, I am nervous but I have been studying my heart out so I think I will do okay. I am getting closer and closer to June 12th. I cannot wait! But, sadly the next month and a half are going to be rough.

Not a lot has happened since our trip. We went to the Gerlt parent's house for Easter. We went to church service at Mt Carmel and said good bye to Pastor Ron (the Pastor who married us). It was pretty amazing how sad it was.





Steve has finally finished his cd but has yet to make enough copies for distribution. Soon.

We have also discovered a new favorite place, Sushi Mazi at 21st and Division. It is by far the best sushi we have ever had and are kind of obsessed lately. Steve even tried the grasshopper....I was happy to be the one taking pictures.

Our Spring Break

We had a lot of fun driving down the 101 this past week. Our first stop was in Corvallis to see my Grandma. Then off to Bandon for some sand and ocean time.





Then, drove down to Gold Beach, where we mostly just hung out at the hotel...some needed recoup time. However, Steve was VERY excited about ordering lobster for dinner.




Next stop, Ferndale, CA (a Victorian tourist town). We stopped in Ferndale as a jumping off point for a day trip to the Redwoods. Lots of picture but they do not do justice to the amazing things we saw. We went on a few hikes, one to Fern Canyon that had us walking (and driving) through streams.







Sadly, we are home now. Steve had today off but for me...back to the grind. I had two cavities filled and so I am stuck at home with a sour mouth...no fun.

School is going well. Mostly, I am just excited to be almost done! I start my new internship officially on Tuesday. I am excited to get back into the work, instead of shuffling around paperwork for the second time. We will see how it goes. I am hoping this will lead into a position with the county, or at least a good reference in the environmental health field.

Long Time

Sorry I haven't updated in so long. Things have been pretty hectic around here lately.

I finally got my computer back, 3 weeks later. I have been scrambling to get my school work done. At the same time, I have been trying to transfer my internship to Multnomah County Health Department. I am now working with the environmental health division conducting a needs assessment and gathering information about current knowledge about health concerns and practices in nail salons. I know it sounds weird but it is going to be a great experience.

Steve is in the process of decorating his classroom for rain forest week. He was making an elephant in our bedroom last Sunday (odd, I know) to go with his collection of paper mache rain forest animals. We now have a toucan, and leopard. We used to have a snake as well but Steve thought it was funny to hide it in the azaleas in front of our house to scare me and it rained.

We are also planning a trip to the Red Woods over spring break. Hopefully we will have lots of pictures to post in a few weeks.

Computer Crisis

Hello all. I have a request. My computer crashed on me this week. I guess my hard drive was "defective" and they couldn't save any of my files. Sadly, I lost a lot of my pictures. I still have our wedding disc but I lost a lot of pictures of the kids and family events, etc. If people could email me some of their pictures, I would really appreciate it. I lost a great one of Steve and Olivia at the park which I am not sure I emailed to anyone.

Beyond that, I am just playing catch up on all of the school work I lost. Steve is graciously letting me use his computer until mine gets back to me (about a week!). He is having a tough and long next couple of weeks with his IEP's and other random work stuff. We are, however, cooking again and we are both enjoying that a lot. Now, if we could just find a day or two to CLEAN THE HOUSE!!!

Super busy!

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. We have been super busy with the house, school, work, IEP's, interning, and watching the second season of Tudors on DVD.

The house is starting to come together. We now have an orange kitchen (still needs a lot of touch up and baseboards painted but really close!). In fact, Monday night I made chili and cornbread and it was SO nice to cook. It has been so long. We have been washing dishes like crazy to clean up all the dust...can't wait to see our water bill this month.





Lucas has just started his new "school." My boss recruited Lucas to be a typical peer in a social group with 3 boys on the spectrum. The clients are all high functioning and LOVE Lucas. Lucas really seems to like it as well but seems more interested in all the new toys at this point than all the kids. He wears his backpack to school everyday and brings home art he made at "school" for Daddy.

This weekend, the house work is all on Steve because I have completely let school slip this term and I have a huge paper due in a week that I have barely started. Hopefully, I can stay focused. I have discovered how hard it is for me to work in a dirty house. I keep getting distracted with tasks. So, I think I am coffee chop bound.

Crazy MLK Day

Yesterday was a crazy up and down day. My day started with a session with a client I never work with at home anymore (since I take him to school) and I realized how much I miss that relationship with him. Then I got to go to OMSI with another client which was super fun but ended in tears because he didn't want to leave.


Then I went to the zoo as a farewell session to a client I have worked with for a few years. It was very fun but pretty sad trip for me. He isn't the first client I have said good bye to but I feel like this is the first good bye of many as I transition into my new field. This is going to be a tough transition! But, I did get to see the new baby elephant.



Steve and I ended our day going to see the Bucks stay within a point range that they could pull ahead but never did. They ended up letting over 50 rebounds go to the Blazers! Kind of embarrassing.



One thing about the game that totally surprised me was the National Anthem. I realized that I haven't been proud of my country for quite some time and I was moved to tears. I am so excited that I am able to intern from home today and watch the inaugaration. I am anxious to see what we as a country can accomplish in the next four years.

Love them!!!

I was going to wait until we had the walls painted as well but I am too excited about our counters. Here they are...