Picture Movie, Take 2

Edits made to the last night's video, and added another couple sections. Still have two or three more sections to do, making the final version about 15 minutes long (WOW!)

Comments? Anything I need to FIX? Please indicate which slide (IE-names, section, etc) and I will fix it in the morning :)Thanks!!

Farewell, Grandpa Carpenter...

Two weeks ago, on November 16th, Grandpa Carpenter had a heart attack and stroke in his sleep. The next morning my Uncle Evan and cousin Dan found him still in bed at 10am. He was sent to the hospital and was recovering nicely. On Friday November 19th a second, more serious stroke occurred. Phil and I drove to Ithaca where I spent a good part of Saturday night and Sunday in the hospital with my mother sitting by his bed. The second stroke took away most of his speech and control of his body. He was able to move his right arm and leg and mumble a few words. With little hope of recovery and knowing he did not want to be hooked up to tubes and living on artificial nutrition or hydration, his four children decided to execute his living will and take him off everything except pain medication.

He was moved to Uncle Evan and Auntie Bren's house in Dryden on Monday, the 22nd. This is the home he grew up in and has always loved, so it was the perfect place to spend his last few days. With the help of Hospice, my mother and her three brothers spent many hours by his bedside, watching him fade away a bit more each day. On Thursday, November 25th, Thanksgiving Day, Grandpa passed away moments after Phil and I arrived in Dryden.

Services are this weekend, and I've been working on assembling this video of pictures that celebrate the man my Grandfather was and will always remain in our memories.

Rest in Peace, Grandpa. You will be missed.

(Missing music still, and this is only half the pictures!)

Cold feet

For as far back as i can remember, my grandma Carpenter had a cartoon on the left hand side her freezer door in the kitchen. She had clipped it out of the Sunday funnies and taped it there years ago. The cartoon consisted of a quarter page sized picture of an older couple getting ready for bed. The husband was sitting up under the covers and watching his wife pull on a pair of long, heavy woolen socks. I cannot remember what the caption said, which is sad because I grew up looking at that cartoon and saw it every day for over 2 years when i lived with my grandfather a few years back.

One day I remember asking my grandmother about the cartoon and why she had it taped to the freezer. Now, my grandmother loved to collect things and rarely threw anything away, but the fridge was covered with pictures of the family and magnets--this was the only newspaper clipping displayed. The conversation went something like this:

Grandma, why do you have this cartoon on here?

Well, because I like it.

Why? Why do you like it? It's just a picture of a lady putting socks on.

It reminds me of your grandfather and I. I have very cold feet and your grandfather hates it when I come to bed with cold feet.

That's not exactly how it went, but that's pretty close. This conversation took place over 12 years ago. I also remember her telling me that when I was married I would appreciate this cartoon more. I didn't understand it then and hadn't thought about it much since.

Tonight I was laying awake in bed because the burn on my leg was bothering me. Phil had just come to bed and he was very cold--adding extra blankets cold. He rolled over and was almost asleep when he brought his foot up and placed it on my leg--BRR!!!

What are you doing?

My feet are cold!

You're an evil man...put socks on.

Alas, he did not put socks on or move his foot. The cold slowly dissipated, but as I was laying there I found myself thinking back on the cartoon that is still taped to the door of the freezer in my grandparents house.

Grandma, if you were still here I think you would be happy to know that I do appreciate this cartoon now that I am married and my husband comes to bed with cold feet. I can picture her smiling in appreciation.

A month of events

Wow, has it really been a month since I last posted here?? sorry!!! Life gets crazy very fast and before you know it another day, week, month, and year have passed us by. I've been kept busy finishing my summer classes, getting my classroom ready, and preparing for a new semester at Roberts.

Classes ended the second week in August for the summer term. Since the second week in January I have been taking evening courses at Roberts without a break-ok, maybe a week off for Spring Break. But seriously, sitting in classes two to three nights a week since January gets a little weary. I finally have a 2 week break and it is WONDERFUL!! Ok, well more of a chance to catch up on things before starting all over again in a week. But the good news is that I still have a 4.0 GPA in grad school :) Something I was never able to achieve at TC3 because of that ::insert a few choice words:: chemistry class I took in high school with the 'Chem Nazi' who hated me and made sure I passed with a D that transfered to TC3. I had good grades all through undergrad (with the exception of the chemistry class), but never a 4.0. So a 4.0 at this stage of my educational career is a nice blessing :)

With a few weeks off I have been able to prepare for my new classroom at JLU child care. The center's new building opened up last week and I was able to see my new classroom for the first time. So far, I am the only preschool teacher that has been hired and accepted the position, so I have had full say in how to decorate the room, what toys I want, etc. I am on the far end of the building in a corner room that is bigger than the others. Most rooms in the center are rectangular in shape, but mine is more square. I love this because I can break up the room into different play centers without making it looked cramped or weird. I have a set of 3 windows along one side, another window next to the rug, and another on the outside wall. One wall is painted a light yellow and the opposite wall a soft yet happy lavender (the center's colors are purple and gold--every room has these walls). The tiled part of the floor is also yellow to match the walls. The room is bright and happy. I have it mostly set up with the exception of two pieces of furniture. One arrived broken and the other is on back order. Despite missing these two pieces, the room looks great!! I'll post some pictures soon. I have 6 students registered at the moment and more will be registered this week and next. We open for business on the 7th :)

In addition to preparing my classroom I have also returned to working on my Thesis. Yes, I worked on this all summer, but took a break for about a month while dealing with another class. I need to have my second chapter, the literary review, done and "near perfect" in a week. This may be a slight problem as I only have half of it written and it hasn't been edited yet. I took the first course this summer with the Initial program students--those who have their undergrad in something other than education and are doing their masters in education--and will be joining the Professional program students again this fall--those who have an undergrad in education already. I've been doing most of my courses with the professional program peers but they didn't offer the research course this summer. I've emailed my new professor and explained that while my peers had all summer off to work on perfecting their work, I have not having just completed the course. Hopefully he will give me some leeway on this. I hope that it will be about 80% perfect by next week??

Well, back to working on my thesis it is.

Enjoy the rest of the summer!!

Mrs. Bligh's Classroom

Friday afternoon I recieved an email officially offering me a position at JLU!! This morning I went in and filled out all the paperwork to be the Lead Teacher for the Preschool Classroom!!!

I am currently the only teacher for the preschool rooms and I have six children pre-enrolled. They are still looking for a second teacher in my room, which may take a while to find a qualified candidate.

My mind is filled with ideas and plans for my room and my students. Since I have a brand new room, I get to have a say in what furniture and which toys and supplies I would like to have, how many bulletin boards will be available and where they will be placed, and how the room is arranged. I also get to plan most of the lessons for September ahead of time since I currently do not have a co-teacher to plan with.

The center is open to staff starting the 16th of August and from that point on I will be able to go in and arrange my room and get ready for the first day. I am very excited and thankful for this position and look forward to all it will offer!

Weekend Adventures

Phil and I split up this weekend. Now, before you all start freaking out and try to figure out what's wrong, let me explain :) We only went separate ways geographically, not maritally.

Friday morning Phil dropped me off in Seneca Falls where I met up with my Mom and one of her good friends, Lori. From there, Phil went back to Appalachian and I spent the weekend in Ithaca.

Since the wedding Phil has had little opportunity to go home and spend time with his friends and family, with the exception of holidays. Phil was able to go spend time with his brother, brother-in-law, and Scott, one of our groomsmen and Phil's oldest friends.

Friday was supposed to be girls day at Sonnenburg Gardens in Canandaigua, but the rain and humidity changed our plans. Instead, we enjoyed shopping at the outlet mall in Waterloo; trying on clothes, shoes, and finding purses and sun dresses.

Saturday morning my grandfather took me to the mall on his motorcycle!! (I have a not-so-secret love for motorcycles. My mother had one when I was in high school and I took every opportunity to ride. When we have a garage Phil says I can get one of my own!)

I met up with my friend Christy and we enjoyed a long overdue date. Chirsty and I have been friends since 8th grade, but since our sophomore year in college we have been able to spend less and less time together. We ate lunch, drank coffee, and played with toys at Target while discussing life, marriage, and her upcoming wedding. We ended our afternoon sitting on the stage in the Boarders kids department reading children's books and watching adorable Italian and Asian children play with the toys and books. (this is a favorite pastime of ours)

After church on Sunday my parents and I headed to Whitney Point to my Aunt and Uncle's house, where Phil rejoined me that afternoon. Dan and Dar Thorp celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary a few weeks ago and her mom and their daughter Katie threw a party for them. Family and friends gathered together to celebrate over food, cake, and games. It was a wonderful afternoon. Perhaps the best part was the combining of families.

My dad's parents got divorced when he and his brother and one of his sisters were kids and the two sides of his family have rarely done anything together outside of my parent's invitations. Growing up we either got together with the "Thorps" or the "Wards" but rarely were both sets of families together except at graduation parties or my wedding. Through wedding related activities Auntie Dar and Aunt Mindy, each from a different side of the family, became acquainted and facebook friends. The Wards were invited to the anniversary party and it was great to see both sides together and making memories.

All in all it was a great weekend and full of memories.