New Miracles!

Contests Galore

2012-02-07T19:35:00.000-05:00

I never really realized how many contests Taylor and I have entered until I started blogging about them! A few weekends ago Taylor and I made cookies for a dorm baking contenst. We made some delicious chocolate brownieish cookies that we topped off with a cherry and powdered sugar. They were delicious. They were judged by the freshmen boys. The girl who ended up winning had offered milk to complement her cookies and the second place winner had just made pacaged cookies and then dumped peanuts and chocolate sauce on top. We got 3rd but I did learn a valuable lesson.

I do not understand the eating habits of college boys.

Teva-Beva

2012-02-06T18:30:00.001-05:00

A week ago when I went home for my doctors appointment so they could check out my teeth I picked up Teva. I just love having him, so if I'm home it's almost assured that I have/had/will have him. This particular day I picked him up at around noon. He was so excited to see me, it was just great! After I picked him up we met my mom and Patrick for lunch at my favorite place. I thought since I still had teeth I'd eat my favorite thing. Teva and I headed over to the library for a few hours after lunch to get some homework done before going to the appointment. I had a great time and certainly enjoyed having him. He's such a cutie :)

sunday morning news.

2012-02-05T09:00:00.001-05:00

First up, On Friday February 3rd I had all 4 wisdom teeth removed from my mouth. It did not go exactly as I expected but it was fine. Friday I took some medicine but felt great. Saturday I took less medicine and felt ok. Today I'm not feeling so great. I've been icing and taking medicine but my cheeks feel swollen and my gums hurt. Not a big fan. Thankfully my family and John have been taking great care of me. Bring me and making me food, and icing my face for me. So sweet :) I have a test tomorrow and so I'm hoping I can get some major studying done before 8am Monday. I am currently sitting in my bed with ice on my cheeks debating whether I want to go to church or watch church online. Both viable options. We'll see.

Secondly, I went and got Teva yesterday. My mom and I took Butler and Teva to play. Both dogs seem to thoroughly love their play dates and they are hilarious to watch. Both dogs are so silly and play just like each other. Those CCI dogs all play the same. Anyway we had fun and I just love having him. We dropped him off after a quick trip downtown to get me some soup :) (that I then proceeded to eat and swallow whole anything remotely hard and not souplike)

Thirdly, Taylor, John, and I won the play dough contest and school. We are now the proud owners of $30 of campus money. What will we be doing now that we won? Well going to Disneywo....I mean the Italian restaurant right across the street. Considering this campus money only works at 2 places, Italian it is!

Lastly, this morning I am eating some cream of wheat. It shall be delicious :)

I'd like you to meet someone.

2012-01-31T19:14:00.000-05:00

I would like you to meet my newest creation. At the DC tonight John, Taylor, and I made a Play-dough sandwich. It was a ham and cheddar cheese sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and mayonaise on wheat. As a side dish it had some blue berries, a bannana, and some carrots with ranch. All made out of play-dough. We were very dedicated and spent an hour and a half creating it, and even had a sandwich made to use as inspiration. I probably should feel bad that I wasted an entire sandwich, but I think that it's totally worth it for $30 Bethel Bucks.

Now if only I could get the smell of play-dough off my hands.

Happy 4th Birthday!

2012-01-31T16:56:00.000-05:00

Dear Andros,
Can you believe that 4 years ago you were born and I watched you week-by-week grow up in the safety of Jim & Jill through photos and videos. I made guesses almost every week about which pup I was going to get and had my share of preferences. Sadly you were not at the top of the list. You were 4th...out of 4. Never-the-less I am so happy that I got you. Not just because you were one of only two (out of 9) to graduate, but also because you were such a great dog. Me and you ventured through junior year together and trained hard to get you ready for advanced training. You were certainly that do that just picked up things quickly and easily. I barely even had to train you. You were confident in public and a pleasure to take places. I'm so glad I got the opportunity to raise you. I'm so happy that you grew into such a great dog and you are a great service dog to Barbara. I hope you had a great birthday doing what you like most, working. I cannot believe it's been four years.

Wowzers, I'm getting old.

Back to the beginning.

2012-01-24T18:42:00.002-05:00

My current studying makes me feel like I am back in elementary school. I am working on diagramming sentences, anyone miss that? Not me, well at least that's what I thought. Keep it quiet, but I'm actually enjoying diagramming these sentences.

You know you're gonna be an english teacher when you find diagramming sentences enjoyable.

love at first sight.

2012-01-21T09:07:00.001-05:00

With a subject like this you guys probably think I'm talking about this cute guy.

but I'm actually not. I have 100% fallen in love with an after school program I am involved with. It started last week and it is just as awesome oppourtunity for me to a)serve the community and b)hang out with kids. The organization teaches kids morals and values and encourages them to live the best life they can. It is geared for middle school students because middle school is a tough time in life. I am involved in the organization by being a coach. I get the joy of hanging out with 7 amazing girls for 2 hours every week. We play games, eat pizza, compete, and talk talk about challenging ourselves to live better. It is just so much fun and I feel so blessed to be a part of it. The fun continues this Thursday! I cannot wait....

Diversity's Symphony

2012-01-16T16:05:00.000-05:00

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He did such amazing things for this country. And yes, that is quite an understatement.

Love this video.

2012-01-12T20:19:00.000-05:00

thoughts.

2012-01-11T12:38:00.001-05:00

Strong is what happens when you run out of weak.

First Love.

2012-01-09T12:27:00.004-05:00

Everyone loves a good love song...my favorite are those about Jesus :) We sang this one at church and I just love it so I thought I'd share it. Hope you all enjoy :)

_____________________________________________

I am empty, thirsty, weary
Comin back to you with empty hands
You are waiting for me, you fill me, gently
Bring me back to you, once again

You are, You are, my first love, Jesus
I come, I come just as I am

You are, You are, my first love, Jesus
Let me fall in love again

I am tired, broken, helpless
Callin out to with all my heart
You are right here with me, steady, faithful
Callin out to me with open arms

I am desperatre, needy, hopless
Holdin on to you for every breath
You will be my fortress, strength in weakness
Holdin on to me you give me rest

___________________________________________

-Madison

how? how? how?

2012-01-06T13:04:00.004-05:00

Right now, as I sit in my room, I am wondering how it is that a professor can meet you one second and already assign you boatloads of homework the next second. Multiply that amount of homework by 6 classes and you have my weekend.

Isn't that just spiffy?

a work in progress

2012-01-03T18:00:00.001-05:00

My winter break sewing project is this felt winter wreath. I have gotten a lot of it done, but there is still do much to be done.
1. Cut flowers (Check!)
2. Cut background (Check!)
3. Sew background (Check!)
4. Arrange flowers (Check!)
5. Stitch flowers on
6. Embroider flowers

I'm so close and yet I still feel so far away!

so extremely tired.

2012-01-02T12:11:00.003-05:00

My mom, Teva, and I went to Chicago last Thursday to pick up my brother from the airport. We went to Orvis, William-sonoma, Tiffany & co., and noodles and company. It was a fun day filled with long car rides, long spans of time waiting for items to be returned, good new experiences for Teva, the loss of a set of car keys, and a security guard breaking into the car. Oh such fun times. By the time we got home I was tired and Teva was tired, yet somehow he always finds extra energy to play with Butler.

another new year.

2012-01-01T21:44:00.000-05:00

It blows my mind every year on January first. I think back over the past year and can't believe where time has gone. I feel like just yesterday I headed to Ohio to pick up Conover or met John. This past year has had it's fair share of excitement, frustration, and sadness. I learned so much and cannot wait to see what I learn in 2012. I thought for this new year post I would recap last year and impart some of my wisdom onto you regarding 2012. This past year marked the completion of 3/7 of my college education, my 2 year anniversary with John, and my 19th birthday. Over the past year two of my friends got engaged, I got to meet and work with Teva, I got closer with my family, I lost my sweet Ruby, I attended several CCI events, I worked at my church singing fun songs with some awesome kids, and I made some fabulous new friends at school. I really hope that this year I grow closer to old friends and meet some new ones, get to know my best friend John even better and most importantly, I hope that this year I learn more about my Lord.

happy new year y'all.

Fire Hazard?

2011-12-29T21:00:00.000-05:00

I thought Christmas 2011 would be a good time to try dog decorating instead of christmas tree decorating. I think it looks pretty fantastic :)

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T20:27:00.001-05:00

Today I celebrated Christmas with Family and Friends. My day started with looking at the stockings at 5 o'clock with my 12 year old brother but thankfully I went back to bed following that adventure. At 10 we went to church and I loved starting Christmas with church, it was very appropriate. We stopped by and picked up some bagels from Dunkin Donuts before heading home for presents. My family got me many wonderful things that I both needed and wanted. I got things that are super great now and some presents that will be helpful later on. The rest of the day was spent cleaning, cooking, and eating. John even stopped by again and we got to open presents together, which was nice. Dinner and dessert were fantastic and now I am spending the remainder of my evening cleaning and attempting to find places for all my new stuff.

Leis and Turkeys

2011-12-23T14:16:00.001-05:00

On Wednesday I had Teva for the last time before Christmas. We had quite the exciting time with lots of fun things to do. The first event in our time together was AWANA. Since I was home I decided to go and help at church with AWANA. Teva and I came and we listened to verses and observed games and the lesson. We also helped to soothe the frustrations of a little girl with Autism. That night at AWANA was haiwian night and Teva was decked out in a lei and I was decked out in both a lei and grass skirt. It was a fun evening and I found out how much I really missed AWANA. Teva handled AWANA beautifully and was complimented for his great manners.

Following AWANA Teva and I headed to Grandma's house for a fun craft time. My grandma and I started cutting out felt to make my newest creation, which shall be revealed soon enough. While my grandma and I cut out many, many felt shapes Teva lounged around and slept on his handcrafted bed. Last that night Teva and I snuggled up in the spare bedroom and did not wake up until probably 10. It is quite amazing how patient Teva is, at home he gets up very early and yet will patiently wait for me to get up. After getting up Teva and I gathered our stuff and headed back to my home and had some Butler play time before the annual turkey handout.

Every Christmas my family's company hands out turkeys to the employees. My family and Teva headed out and wished the employees a merry Christmas. Teva did his part by looking sad and pathetic, thus getting pets from many people. Again, Teva was a good boy and received compliments on his good behavior. Teva also enthusiastically posed for photos next to the turkeys and with his santa hat and the employee's Christmas turkey vouchers. Isn't he adorable?

Merry Christmas Teva. :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-20T12:04:00.000-05:00

Love, Madison & John

Pups, Books, and Nooks

2011-12-20T11:47:00.000-05:00

[Yes, indeed our dogs are under $5, in fact they are FREE!]

Last Saturday my mom and I headed to the local Barnes and Noble to do free gift wrapping and accepting donations for CCI. We stood in the check-out lines directing people toward the gift wrapping using the attention that puppies bring. We also managed to not only direct people over to the gift wrapping but also confuse people who thought we were in line. Yes people we have been in line for the past 4 hours. I arrived at around 1 and was greeted by a very very excited black pup named Teva. I then grabbed my boy and began working the crowd. I learned that I am really not a big fan of holding a can got people to put money in while directing them to the gift wrapping. Several hours into working Teva got very tired and was not a big fan of the public anymore, so he hid under the table. Thankfully there were other puppies to gain the audiences. We had 16 month old Tesla, 16 month old Neeves, 3 year old Facility dog Malia, Skilled Companion dog Roden, 12 week old Nance, and 3 month old King. The little ones gained the most attention from people (big surprise there). I worked there from 1-8:30 with a small break for dinner. Between Dee and I handling Teva he worked there for a little under 12 hours. He was one tired dog by the time we got home. So tired he just climbed into his crate and didn't want to play with Butler. It was crazy! It was a good day of puppies and gift wrapping and we managed to raise around $750 for CCI. Job well done.

Goughnut

2011-12-20T00:00:00.000-05:00

There is just nothing like waking up to the shining sun and a black lab shoving a hard, rubber Goughnut in your face. You wake up with the silly black pup shoving the toy in your face and the yellow struggling between his desire to go out and his desire to play with the black pup. I just love waking up to my pups, Goughnut and all.

"I'll be home for Christmas...."

2011-12-16T17:55:00.001-05:00

Christmas break officially started yesterday at 1:57pm. I finished that test and felt such relief. My 3rd semester is over and I think I have learned a lot. I am looking forward to my next few semesters and all of the things I will learn and all the people I will meet. I enjoy each semester because it presents new excitements and new challenges. This semester I learned that great friends can be made and old friends can become closer in only a few months, I really do love teaching with all my heart, I have a heart for 6th grade students, some classes are a 100% waste of time, I really love and miss my family, and I really love a certain silly and hard-working young man :) Overall, the first semester of my sophomore year was wonderful and I wouldn't have wanted it to be any different. Fall 2011 was a success. I am excited to be home, so welcome Christmas season 2011, I've been looking forward to you.

As Always,
Madison Louise

Merry Christmas...almost!

2011-12-15T09:46:00.001-05:00

It is 10 days until Christmas! Ten things I cannot wait for at home.
1. The Christmas Tree.
2. My family
3. Homemade food
4. My puppies: Butler and Teva
5. My bed and dark room.
6. My friend Marcie
7. The lack of textbooks ;)
8. The time to sew!
9. Not having to walk around all the time in the gross weather!
10. Simply the feeling of the Christmas season. With all the rain and finals it does not feel like Christmas. Even though we have a tree and lights in my dorm room!

Only a few more hours until I am half way through college. :) (Graduation: December 2013)

Day 3: Finals

2011-12-15T00:09:00.002-05:00

"On the third day of Finals, I had so much fun, with... four lovely friends, all studying hard, for 8 long, drawn out hours." But the night ended with a lovely episode of the Dick Van Dyke show. Only one final left. Yes.... I will be officially done by 2:00.

All covered up.

2011-12-13T18:38:00.002-05:00

My sewing machine is now officially all covered up in a snazzy new number. It will now reside in comfort under the protective cover of some flowery cotton. I am quite pleased, especially because I only paid $3 and got to enjoy some sewing.

Oh Christmas Tree...

2011-12-13T14:30:00.001-05:00

"Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, how lovely are your branches."Long ago in a dorm room far away, two people named John and Madison decorated a very small tree with a very large amount of decorations. A box was filled to the brim with decorations to decorate a tree that stood only 2 feet tall. The process started out a little rough, but in the end everyone lived happily ever after.

Surprise!

2011-12-13T14:04:00.000-05:00

Sometimes John is a fantastic listener. A few weeks ago I told John that I would really love a nice black bag that has a long strap. I wanted it to have more room than my clutch so that I can fit my phone, pen, retainer case, and keys all in one bag. I then forgot about this request. For my birthday John had been telling me he had a great present for me and I was really curious! Then on my birthday when he took me out dinner he gave me the present. I love my bag so much and I thought it was adorable that he remembered and got me just what I wanted. I have used on several occasions so far and I know it'll get more use over the Christmas season.

Freshmen Banquet

2011-12-13T11:29:00.001-05:00

Some fun with Tay at the freshmen banquet. Nothing says fun like facial hair.

Recent News

2011-12-12T08:45:00.002-05:00

Hello Blog People, I thought I would give you a nice recap of my life for the past few days. It's been fun and kinda crazy, but I love it. I finished all my classes for the semester and just have some finals left. This semester I have 5 finals and 1 project. Said project is done and being turn in today, with a breakfast date with Taylor to follow. I spent last weekend almost totally immersed in homework. Although this is true I did go to a basketball game with my brother, and another 2 with Taylor. I also attended midnight breakfast and laughed my head off with the hilarious costumes and some good blueberry pancakes. I sewed a fancy new sewing machine cover for my fancy new sewing machine. I did hours and hours of homework. I wrote a letter to a teacher thanking her for letting me tutor her students (I think SHE should be writing me a thank you card). I bought all my books and have them stuffed in my closet awaiting the time when they will be used. I sent a book to chegg that they then sent back to me because the publisher made a book where the back cover falls of and apparently that is considered "damaged". I have 1 project due today. 1.5 hrs of babysitting tomorrow, and 2 finals. Wednesday I have 2 finals. Thursday I have 1 final and an evening of babysitting. Friday I am headed home for Christmas. :)

Lets be green!

2011-12-10T09:12:00.001-05:00

Yesterday at the DC I was still very hungry because there was nothing to eat for lunch so I wanted to grab some cereal on my way out. I had planned to just grab a plastic bowl and head out, but Taylor wouldn't le me. She didn't want me to be wasteful and kill the earth. So what is a girl to do? Obviously I just filled my hands with cereal. It is the perfect green alternative. I had to leave the milk, but hey, it's ok :). On our way out there was a guy advertising a sports medicine place and he had candy. He asked if we wanted any and we said sure, so he loaded Taylor's hands with candy. Taylor and I left with hands full of food and some good laughs.

Gingerbread.

2011-12-08T21:12:00.001-05:00

Is anyone hungry for a gingerbread dorm? I know I was tonight :)

ps. sorry for the horrible pictures. That's what you get with an old iPhone.

The end is approaching

2011-12-08T11:36:00.001-05:00

Finals have officially started to loom over my head. There are just so many tests and projects and studying that needs to be done. I'm just not sure how I will keep my insanity and handle all this work. The answer: God, friends, and sewing :) The finals week sewing project that will serve as the "break" imbetween study sessions, is a cover for my new sewing machine that resides in my dorm room.
I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. Hopefully ???

A good day :)

2011-12-05T10:10:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was a great day: -Dinner with the family on Friday. -Lunch with mom and Patrick. -An afternoon of homework. -A streamer decorated room made possible by my friends. -Some pretty flowers from Grandma. -A new sewing machine. -A movie. -Lots of candy. -A joann fabrics gift card. -A beautiful bag from the boy. -A yummy Dee cake. -Fun with friends. -A fun dance party. and. -A yummy dinner with John and some shopping. =A great, wonderful, fantastic 19th birthday.

My life :)

2011-12-04T10:19:00.001-05:00

I want you to knowI've seen your wounded heartYou're looking for hopeBut it always feels so farI want you to knowThat I made you who you areAnd I can't wait for you to seeWhat tomorrow's gonna bringA beautiful lifeIs unfolding before my eyesJust like the sun you'll riseTo fill the empty sky, so shineI want you to seeThat you're the one I loveAnd I will completeThe work that I've begunOh, could you believeThat the best is yet to come?And I can't wait for you to holdWhat I already knowA beautiful lifeIs unfolding before my eyesJust like the sun you'll riseTo fill the empty sky, so shineIf you could see what I seeYou were made to riseIf you could see what I seeYou were made to shineA beautiful lifeIs unfolding before my eyesJust like the sun you'll riseTo fill the empty skies, so shinelife"A Beautiful Life" by Mikeschair

I'm so lucky....

2011-12-02T14:27:00.000-05:00

...that I got the opportunity to raise CCI dogs. These dogs are amazing, but the people are extraordinary. :)

Digging to the other side of the world

2011-12-01T09:51:00.001-05:00

Yesterday my Diversity in the Classroom class went to an intermediate school in the area and taught a lesson to five 6th grade classrooms. We read them a book about digging to the other side of the world and then instructed them to do some creative writing. I thought I'd share with you some of the creations that were turned in. [Note: These are the exact writing from the students stories. No changed spelling or punctuation.]______"I wonder what the center of the Earth looks like" That day Storm my friend came over hen I was packing for my trip. When she walked in She saw me packing, Storm said "What are you packing for" I told her I was planning on going to the center of the Earth. Storm was very saprised, she said "could I go with you?" I said "of course you can Storm". She asked me if I would scared I said yes because you would be in a tiny spaceship and your going through grass, mud, dirt, and lava. How would you feel? I would feel on top of the world when the ships going up. Would you feel exited? Yes because whoe mant people do you meet that get to go to the center of the world. Well we might just have to start going. Let's go. -K.K."..I would love to go that was I can tell everyone what it was like. Doing things others have is a good thing for you to try and accomplish" -X.O."...but for me, I wouldn't even go, maybe there can be spiders, especially makes eww... Never would step a foot or hand in that hole." -M.C."..No I would not like to go because it is scary" -K.C."...This is what I will need to get to do my job I will need a shavel lots of hard shavels, and like a torch." -J.C."When I was offered a billion dollars to go to the center of the earth I was ready to cry. It felt like butterflies were in my stomach flying around. As I went I found fossils from many animals and lots of precious riches. It was so hot outside of the submarine, but thank gosh it is super cold in the inside. I hope to find a piece of evidence to show I've digged to the center of the Earth. The one thing I hope I do not do is is float to outerspace If I dig through the whole earth. I brought plenty food. In the end I succeded my expedition and made history" -J."Carla!" "What Emral!!! Bring your dad's drill, your brothers hevy lava prof. shipe, and your submarin, two wet suits , and your mom's potato salad. "Ok, but what do we need all this for," ask Carla. "You'll see also bring the shuvels!" Ok I got these things now can you please tell me what this is for? "We are going to dig to the center of the earth, replies Emrald. What you have to be kidding me! No one can dig to the center of the Earth it's impossible! remarked Carla. "Let's start digging. grab the shuvels and lers go," said Emralk. "Hum Emerals, exactly hoe fardown are we," asked, Carla. Hold on let me check the GPS, we are exzacly 10 feet under ground so we better start using the power drill" replied Emreld. Ok! "Look there are jewls let's grab some!" Repid Carla in excitement. -K.W."I would need to bring....stuff to wash up with and shampoo and conditioner for my hair." -J.M."I'm worried that I might see cavemens, big bugs, and volcano." -C.T."It won't be possible because someone won't come with you and you'll die if you go far enough and get hungry and thirsty and you'll sizzle and turn crispy and fall out" -M.M."...We will have a little party in the hole.." -D.J."..I would be so excited to do this. It would be glorious." -T.L."I would feel bored if I reach the sinter of the earth. Only because I belve I will acomples something else. I don't like the hole thing about digging to the sinter of the earth. Because it is not possible. Diamons I wouldn't want to see. And some $100 bills. I wouldn't be scared I would walk in there like I own the place." -T.L.Hope you enjoy these creations :)

Oh Carl, you will be missed

2011-11-30T20:28:00.001-05:00

Carl. We are going to miss you. You were a great fish for Karli over these past 24hrs. Too bad she did not know that you needed bubbles. Alas, now Karli had to scoop you out of your bowl with a spoon and flush you down the toilet. Carl you will be missed...well at least until you are replaced lol.-Madison

Oh Lesson Plans...How I love thee.

2011-11-29T18:15:00.001-05:00

In education we have to write lesson plans. In essence they are long, drawn out explanations of what is going to happen in a class period. I make them sound immensely boring, but they are immensely helpful. I am learning to enjoy them more and seeing their importance. I have found that even when lesson plans are not required, I want to do them because they make all the difference when presenting a lesson. I take extra time to prepare for lessons because I want to do my best and teach an amazing lesson that will benefit my students. Teaching is not about me or my time, it's all about the kids and that's why I always do my best :)

Turquoise

2011-11-28T21:43:00.001-05:00

Today my friend Taylor dyed a turquoise stripe in her hair. Now her head is wrapped in cling wrap and people in the dorm are giving her dirty looks. Her mom thought she was dying her whole head teal. but she didn't. The end.-Madison[Can you guess who couldn't think of anything to blog about today??]

Teva, shall we ride the horse, zebra, or flamingo?

2011-11-27T14:39:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I got to have my favorite black pup for the day. We had many fun adventures and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. My mom, Jon, Teva and I all went to Jimmy Johns for some yummy lunch. After that my mom, Teva, and I just walked around town and shopped and talked. After that we headed over to the carousel and Teva and I had a spin on that. He did great, as usual. We then headed home for some relaxation on that cold, rainy day. It was a fun day. Now I'm off to college..yay :P

No scary faces here.

2011-11-26T11:40:00.001-05:00

A whole month ago John, Patrick, my Grandma and I decorated some pumpkins! It was really fun, really cold, and really messy. We all had fun and my pumpkin turned out adorable, and certainly not scary. Patrick's on the other hand was scary, but hey he's a 12 year old boy, what do you expect. I love fall.[The pumpkin carving process]

[The cute pictures]

[Butler and the happy pumpkin]

[The pumpkins]

[Lastly...my brother [who shall remane name-less]'s contribution to the evening's fun]

What is Thanksgiving all about?

2011-11-25T08:46:00.000-05:00

I believe that Thanksgiving is all about being thankful. I am not talking about flippantly saying "Um..I'm thankful for...". Thanksgiving is a reminder to live a life of thanks. A girl at school said something once that struck me. She said "What if tomorrow you only woke up with the things you had thanked God for today?". That really blew my mind, and reminded to be more thankful because you never know what tomorrow will hold. So although this year it seemed as though Thanksgiving was all about making food and deciding what clothes to wear, I still had thankfulness on my mind and heart. This year I am thankful for: -My wonderful mother who is always there for me. -My father who tries so hard to encourage me as a teacher. -My brother Jon who deep down loves me a lot and makes me laugh. -My brother Patrick, he loves me so much and shows me that practically everyday. -My best friend John because he takes care of me, I just love him so much. -My friend Taylor who makes me laugh on a daily basis and is always up for some silliness and homework (yes, the two can be mixed). -My roommate and friend Kendra but she is always there to help me and we totally rock all group presentations, we make a great team. -My friend Dee who loves CCI and graciously gives me her puppy whenever I ask. -Teva because he fills my puppy gap, is a total sweetheart, and makes me laugh. -Butler because, well he is Butler. -My grandma because she is always there and loves me. -My best friend Marcie who I've known forever. - A house to come home to. -The opportunity to come to college. -The privilege of getting to be a teacher. -The wonderfulness of having a family. -The grace given to me by my God and the joy that comes from it. Happy Thanksgiving y'all. -Madison

I love my mom :)

2011-11-24T19:19:00.001-05:00

I am a few days behind on my posts, but that is because I've had so many fun things to write about. Yesterday, November 23rd, was my mom's birthday. We celebrated her birthday by eating dinner at Grandma's on Tuesday night. She got a very yummy dinner and some very odd gluten free cake! It was a good try though :). I was very happy to get to celebrate my mom's birthday with her instead of having to just give her a call from school. I spent the day with her eating and going shopping to Joann Fabrics. We finished the evening by curling up on the couch with my mom and watching Super8. It was a great day and I loved spending time with my mom. Happy Birthday Mom, I love you so much! ...Like so so so so much :)Today I am especially thankful for my mom
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A scrappy day

2011-11-23T23:11:00.001-05:00

When you sew, there always ends up being a lot of scraps, that usually just get tossed in a closet or drawer somewhere. A month ago I decided to recover all those scraps and cut them into 5x5 squares. I then sewed all of those together and then used an old curtain for the back. Finally I stuffed a previously ordered insert inside and BAM, I had something new made from a whole bunch of nothing. I made a dog bed, and it's pretty nice. I'm quite proud :)Butler is a afraid of it, but I'm sure Teva will love it :)-Madisonps. I make such a mess sewing, I really need to work on it...

Life is like sewing.

2011-11-22T23:29:00.001-05:00

I have come to the conclusion this evening that life is like sewing. Sewing can go great for quite a while, but then something happens and messes everything up and it takes quite some time and with quite a bit of effort to fix the problem. The mistake is noticed within a moment but could have been messed up for quite some time. Once the problem is noticed either stitching needs to be removed or another step needs to be added to fix the problem. If the stitches need to be removed they can be ripped out by hand, but that is really hard and frustrating. The easiest way is to get some help and use a seam ripper. In life things get messed up. Sometimes it is your doing and sometimes it is not. It is just like sewing, sometimes you mess up the sewing by doing things wrong but sometimes it is the machine that just messes up. When these things happen sometimes you notice, but other times it goes on unnoticed resulting in a larger mess. The problem can be fixed by hand, you can just fix it yourself and not ask anyone for help. Although many choose this method, it takes so much time, causes so much frustration, and doesn't always lead to a very good end product. There is another method. This method requires one to submit the problem to God and ask for help. God takes the mess into his hands and fixes it in a way that is better than we ever could. I am a sinner, probably the worst. I mess up and make mistakes, sometimes mistakes that I'm not sure God can fix. I don't always rely on him to fix my problems, very often I think I can just fix it myself. Through it all I have learned that I do a horrible job ripping out stitches. I make a mess, get frustrated and waste lots of time and thread. It always turns out better to take a deep breathe and then ask for help to fix my problems. I make tons of mistakes, I wish I didn't, but thankfully I have a seam ripper to fix those mistakes and make things better.

Shhh....we were dancing....

2011-11-21T22:33:00.001-05:00

At my college they have a rule against organized dancing. So there are no organized dances. This rule does not prohibit dorm room dancing with friends (thankfully). It's just such great fun to be dancing with your friends in the hall. There were 8 of us dancing in my room to random songs. I never knew how much I missed out during high school in regards to dancing. Here in the female freshmen dorm dancing is THE dorm activity, seriously everyone loves to dance here. Even though this is true....I still feel like a rebel when I dance on campus :)-Madison

Find Your RA

2011-11-20T19:56:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Find you RA at the mall and it was super fun. My friend Alli did my makeup and she did such a good job, I really looked like an old man! My mom even brought me some clothes so that I could really play the part! After I was dressed in my old man best and my face and hair was caked in makeup, we headed to the mall! Kendra and I had to stay in the main areas of the mall, so pretty much we could not hide out in Macys. We got found by all the girls but I think we did a good job playing our role. We had quite a group of characters. We had our modern-mom with her sunglasses, shopping bags and baby stroller, we also had 2 punk guys, a pregnant teenager, 2 gangsters with a girlfriend, and an old married couple. It was all great fun. I can describe one of the downsides of being a girl dressed like an old man in one word. Restrooms.BEWARE: IN SOME OF THESE PHOTOS I LOOK EXCEPTIONALLY OLD.

Football

2011-11-19T20:33:00.001-05:00

This post is very old. I went to the Notre Dame Football game several weeks ago and just never got around posting about it, until now! As previously mentioned, a few weeks ago John and I went to the Notre Dame vs. Air Force game. It was very fun even though the afternoon could be descriced as very snug(we were practically sitting on top of each other), hot, sweaty and sticky and the game was a blow-out. Although I say all these things I had a great time at the game and really enjoyed it. I got myself a fun date with my wonderful boyfriend for $0 and best of all I got myself one over-priced pretzel. Thanks for the tickets Grandma and Grandpa! Sincerely, Madison

Exhausted

2011-11-18T19:36:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I actually get around to working out and I just love it. It makes me feel so tired and great all at the same time. I am about to get into some comfy clothes and crack down on my homework! Tomorrow's post is going to be amazing. In my dorm we are having an event called "find your RA" and in essence it is where the RA (and her roommate) dress up in a costume and head to the mall and girls attempt to find them. It will be very fun! Kendra and I have a very awesome costume planned but it's a secret. You can all find out tomorrow! Here is a countdown for you:4 days until I go home for Thanksgiving6 days until Thanksgiving16 days until my Birthday (I'll be 19!)27 days until I take my last final36 days until Christmas

Teach Like a Champion

2011-11-17T20:56:00.001-05:00

Last night I started reading the book "Teach like a Champion" and seriously I think it is more valuable than all of my education classes combined. This book is teaching me so much about teaching while also humbling me. I am absorbing all the information and getting excited for those moments when I can use it. I have tutoring on Monday and a lesson for a 6th grade class a week from Wednesday. I am excited to use these tips to strengthen my teaching. I have just enjoyed this book so much and the funny part is that I am just starting the main part of the book. So if you are a teacher read this book, regardless of whether you are a great teacher or a horrible one (actually if you are a horrible teacher just quit lol). Pretty much I love this book. <3

I'm committed...kinda :)

2011-11-16T20:16:00.001-05:00

I really am committed to this 30 for 30 thing. The only problem I'm having tonight is that I have a ton to do in terms of homework. What I would really love right now is some cookies though. Cookies just seem to make everything better. [So John if you reading my blog, this is a hint ;)]So I will leave you tonight with some "sweet" photos and a promise that tomorrow's post will be better.

[ps. Click here to see the post where I got these fabulous photos]

New Service Dog Titus

2011-11-15T16:44:00.001-05:00

During my senior year and during the summer before my freshman year of college I borrowed or watched CCI pup Titus occasionally. It was different than with Teva because I was still raising Butler but during those 2 weeks between turn in and move in I borrowed him quite a bit. I am so thankful for the fact that Dee is so willing to allow me to take her pups. Anyway, Titus turned into advanced training at CCI in May and just this past weekend he graduated as a service dog! Titus was placed with a woman who is in a manual wheelchair. She utilizes Titus is many ways and even has him "pull" her wheelchair. I've heard that they are a fabulous team and I wish I could have seen them working together. I think Titus is going to be a great service dog for her. I always thought Titus was a stellar dog who handled any situation with ease. Kids, loud noises, crowds, no problem. I knew he was going to graduate from the start :)Click here to see all Titus related posts. I'm so happy for Titus and his partner. -Madisonps. I can't wait for Thanksgiving to see family, eat yummy food, and....see Teva. :)

Graduation Photos from Saturday :)

One proud puppy raiser :)

2011-11-14T21:17:00.001-05:00

Today I was creeping on CCI puppy blogs (yes I'm lame) and I noticed a picture on the blog. This blog is written by a puppy raiser in my region. In this post she talked about going to the puppy raiser workshop in August. In the array of pictures I noticed a white dog with a very sloppy sit. Can anyone guess who this dog is?

Well for those of you who don't have dog identification skills, this is the fabulous Mr. Andros with his wonderful partner at the August graduate workshop.

Dinner for a special someone :)

2011-11-13T19:13:00.001-05:00

Today I surprised Mr. John with homemade dinner. To most American super moms this doesn't sound like a big deal, but I'll tell you that when you are a college student making dinner is hard, especially if you don't do it often. I devised this plan yesterday and headed to Meijer to get my ingredients. After what seemed like a million hours wandering through Meijer I finally had everything and I could leave. It was so crowded, apparently everyone goes shopping on Sunday. I began making dinner for John and finished just a tad bit after he came. I cannot believe that I actually kept my dinner a secret. I am the worst secret keeper and John is the best secret figure-out-er. It makes secrets super hard. Anyway I just finished my yummy dinner. John and I are nice and full and onto homework.An nice honey crisp apple is on the menu for desert :)Sincerely, Madison[Although my dinner did not look at all like this, it was still delish!]

Scripture 66

2011-11-12T10:19:00.001-05:00

Every year on campus the spiritual life team hosts an event called Scripture 66. Basically this event is where students, faculty, and safe sign up for slots and go to our gazebo on campus and read the bible out loud. We started on Friday at 3 and it'll end at 9 o'clock and it is a 24 hour thing. The goal is to make it through the entire bible. I signed up for the 5:00-6:00 shirt this morning and read many chapter of the book of Joshua during that time. Near the end I started yawning a lot, mispronouncing words horribly and having trouble talking because my voice was tired. It was a really fun event and the only downside was the fact that it was FREEZING! My fingers and nose felt like they were gonna fall off. None the less, I might sign up for another slot tonight but I'm not sure yet :)

Hope everyone has a great Saturday!
-Madison
Ps. Don't feel to bad for me or elevate me up as a great person for getting up at 4:45 to read the bible because after I finished my time slot I hopped back into bed :)

The only thing that would make this better....

2011-11-11T19:24:00.001-05:00

...is a fireplace and some family or John. I am spending my Friday night cozy in my dorm room, snuggled on my couch with my feet up and a warm blanket on my lap. The light is relaxed, the music is Christmas music, and the weather outside my window looks cold. Overall I am enjoying my relaxed evening even though I am doing homework. It is just nice to have a relaxing Friday night now that classes are over and I can look forward to the weekend. It's gonna be a good night :)

Snow Anyone?

2011-11-10T22:21:00.001-05:00

Today was just a fantastic day...well for the most part :)
The great parts were...
1. Having no classes
2. Waking up on my own
3. Getting to buy John some breakfast and bringing it to him in between his classes
4. Doing my laundry
5. Finishing some homework(doesn't it alway seem like when you have less to do you get less done?)
6. Getting to work with John
7. Having smart math majors help me with my homework
8. Seeing my dad and having him help me with my Kindle.
9. Getting the book "teach like a champion"
10. Having dinner with Kendra
11. Finishing my group music for teachers lesson.
12. Getting my math done
13. Chatting with Alli about "find your RA"
14. SNOW. Like legitimate large white snowflakes falling from the sky.
15. The possibility for going to bed early.

The parts I didn't like were:
1. Almost getting hit by a stupid, careless, reckless girl driving a red mustang. But it's ok, I'm gonna love her like Jesus would :)

My life is just plain spiffy. :)

Why I raise.

2011-11-09T14:38:00.000-05:00

I could make a hugely long list about all the reasons why I raise CCI dogs but it boils down to the fact that I just love the people that I meet through CCI. The people that touch my heart the most are those who have served our country and sacrificed some part of their independence for my freedom. These people did so much and I am so happy that the organization that I raise for provides the veterans with dogs free of charge and gives them their independence back. I am not sure that I could love any organization more than I love CCI. They do amazing things and I believe that they legitimately change lives. So in my opinion you should raise a puppy, donate your time, or donate your resources to help the people that come to CCI. Here is a website with videos of CCI's Wounded Veterans Initiative. Enjoy.

Veteran Stories - Canine Companions for Independence

Food & Football! [NEW UPDATE]

2011-11-08T19:08:00.000-05:00

[THIS JUST IN AS OF 11:07PM, BY A FLUKE OF NATURE OAKWOOD ACTUALLY WON. MANGES DEFINITELY PUT UP A FIGHT, BUT IN THE END EVEN WITH MUD-COATED, RIPPED SHIRTS AND A FEW BLOODY NOSES OAKWOOD WAS STILL VICTORIOUS. I GUESS THERE IS A FIRST FOR EVERYTHING][Here is the Promo Video for last years manges-oakwood game]Today is the Oakwood vs. Manges flag football game. It is one of the biggest rivalries on Bethel's campus. Oakwood is the freshmen only dorm and Manges is the older-but-not-too-much-older dorm. It is a rivalry that has been going on for years and Oakwood has never once won. This year I've heard that the Oakwood team is pretty good and actually has a shot at winning, but we'll see about that. I'm going to the game tonight and I'm super excited. I'm hoping good-ole' Manges wins because that is where John lives. :)I'll let you all know tomorrow if tradition continues and Manges wins the old tin jug or if by some miracle and fluke of nature Oakwood wins and breaks the tradition. It's gonna be intense.In other news tonight was Thanksgiving Dinner night at the Dining Commons (DC). We had turkey and all the dressings and it was actually good. I even got served my turkey by the president of the school. It was pretty exciting. My favorite parts of dinner were the bread and the fresh fruit & Chocolate combo. My least favorite part was the corn casserole, it was such a disappointment and a shame to all corn casseroles. Now I'm super excited for real Thanksgiving, you know the one with family, real food, and did I mention family!

Joy.

2011-11-07T16:29:00.000-05:00

Somedays I just can't help but smile. Today I had an instance where I knew I'm exactly where God wants me. I tutor 3 little third grade girls every Monday afternoon. I help the girls with anything ranging from reading to math. We work on whatever the teacher assigns and then usually use any extra time to read a book. Today after working on conversion problems and time elapsed problems I noticed how weak they are on their multiplication skills. So today I made a deal. I told the girls that if they knew the multiplication tables for 1-10 I would bake them some homemade cookies and they were pumped to say the least. I told them they could sing them, say them or anything else they can think of as long as their are no fingers used (They rely on their fingers too much).So today watching them get excited about learning their multiplication tables I found happiness amidst the frustrations of teaching. Today I felt joy. :)

Oh Marcie-moo

2011-11-06T23:35:00.000-05:00

There is just something wonderful about having friends visit you at college. It's great to sit and just talk. Talk about life now and the memories from the past. Today I had my best friend Marcie come visit me. We have been friends since we were about 2 years old, she we go way back. She goes to college a ways away but took the time to visit me. She came and we just talked and talked and talked. It was so great to catch up and spend time together. We decided some more talking over food would probably be good so we headed to a little breakfast place and ate a very greasy meal. It was just so great to spend time together and I look forward to having some more time to spend with her over Thanksgiving or Christmas. We'll see how that goes in actuality, but in theory it sounds like a fabulous idea.Anyway thanks for coming to visit me Marcie. It brightened my day! -As always...Madz

Long Drives

2011-11-05T23:20:00.000-04:00

I absolutely love Saturdays! Today I actually woke up thinking I had missed class, it was a very alarming way to wake up. Even though I was up I sat in my bed and just relaxed while I did some homework. I finally got out of bed at 11 and decided I should probably get ready for the day. I was very excited because my mom and I planned to be happy today and spend some time together and go to Noodles and Company. My mom, Patrick, and I all drove 1 hr and 15 minutes all for noodles and company, but I just love their Pad Thai. The extra special part of today was that my mom brought Teva. It made me really happy to see my mom and pat, eat some noodles, have some good chats, and see Teva. It was a nice happy day. Tomorrow is going to be great day because I am gaining an hour and seeing my friend Marcie who I've known for FOREVER. I'm so thankful for the things I have. Sincerely, Madison :)[Photos in no particular order: Teva getting stuck trying to get over the seat, a picture of how nice it is to have a pup at my feet, and my yummy Pad Thai from Noodles & Co.]

Ruby-Duby I'll Miss you...

2011-11-04T16:11:00.001-04:00

Today at around 11:20 I got the call that my lovely dog Ruby had to be put to sleep. This does sound sudden, as it should considering we didn't know for certain anything was wrong with her until yesterday. Ruby had been acting very strange for a few months now and even after 3 visits to the vet she was diagnosed as "healthy". I knew there was something wrong with her, but sometimes vets just don't listen to seemingly ignorant owners. Ruby had weighed between 36-37lbs her entire life and then in the past year she gained about 14 pounds, but that was attributed to age. She was not eating well in general but even more so in the last month (She never really ate well but in the past month it had dropped to 3/4 cup per day), drinking a lot of water, having difficulty breathing, very weak and lacking her usual energy (she would tire on a walk after about 5 minutes and even got out of the fence and didn't run away, it was crazy.) My mother took Ruby to the vet yesterday and even just palpating her abdomen he felt a large mass. After X-raying it he found a softball sized tumor on her spleen. I scheduled surgery for her to have the tumore removed today because somedays she is perky but most times she looks incredibly uncomfortable. I hoped it was benign but prepared myself that it was likely malignant. I visited with her on Skype last night and watched her attempt to take a banana peel from my dad and bark at my mom because she wanted some cheese. Today she went in for surgery and sadly didn't make it through. When he opened her up he found a small basket ball size tumor on her spleen that had spread and was affecting her kidneys. There was a substantial amount of blood and fluid in her abdomen and because of all these factors I had a easy yet hard choice to make. He told me that there was no way she would survive the operation because she had lost so much blood even before surgery began. Since the tumor was so large and affecting other organs meaning it was probably cancerous I made the choice to put her to sleep even before the tumor was dealt with. Even though it really was not a choice, it was still a hard thing to do. She was quite the quirky dog, but her quirks were what made her special. Here are some memories for you all.On my birthday Ruby ran away and found a dead turkey carcass and carried it around while she ran. Ruby was a husky who liked to swim and would retrieve sticks in the lake.Ruby was a world-class counter surfer.At one time Ruby actually climbed up ON the counter.One time Ruby actually took a sandwich right out of my hands. Ruby always seemed to play ignorant at fair and make me appear a horrible dog trainer, thanks girly.Ruby was fabulous at agility, she could jump so high and even spring straight up over the jump.Two years ago at fair Ruby ran out of the ring twice and tried to book it into the fair. Thankfully she was caught.When Ruby was younger she would pull me on a scooter like a legit sled dog.Ruby could jump our fence and thus we had to use an electric fence+our normal fence. Ruby loved to chase cats and squirrels and bunnies and moles.Ruby hated to eat her dog food.Ruby loved soft treats, especially cheese.When Ruby and I went on walks she would much rather walk in front than the heel she knew she should walk in.When Ruby and I went to obedience class the trainer apologized to me that my dog wasn't trained by the time she finished the 6 week class.I chose Ruby special from the litter, I tested all the puppies in the litter and she was my favorite.Ruby helped me raise 3 puppies and was always up for playing and correcting them.Ruby loved to lay on my bed back when I used to let her.Ruby loved to shred paper.Ruby loved stuffed animals.Ruby and me were perfect for each other because we were both too stubborn for our own good. We sure made an interesting team.Ruby never, ever, ever had a good recall.Overall Ruby was a very sweet but naughty dog. We knew something was wrong with her because she became obedient. :)I was 9 years old when I got Ruby and when I asked for a puppy and told my mom and dad that I'd take care of her and I actually did. I scheduled the vet appointments, I went to the appointments, I gave her heart-worm preventive and flea and tick medicine, I took her to obedience class and trained her, I showed her at the fair, I housebroke her, I kennel trained her, I fed her, and I loved her. I will say though that my family did help out, but she was my dog. I appreciate them so much for taking care of her for the past year and a half while I've been at school, they took such good care of her. Ruby thanks for being who you were. You taught me how to really train dogs. I trained you so now I'm pretty sure I can train any dog. I loved taking walks with you and telling you all about my sadness and joy. You were a friend to me for the past 9 years as I grew up and went through probably the roughest part of my life. Even when I felt like I had no friends I had you. I will miss your attitude filled howl, your hair all over my room, and your sneaky personality.Ruby I truly loved you and I will really miss you. Goodbye Ruby-Duby the past 9 years have been awesome.

Youth Fair 2011: Teva & Butler

2011-11-03T10:32:00.001-04:00

Way, way back in August I competed in the county youth fair with Butler and Teva in obedience. Butler competed in Novice B which has on leash and off leash exercises. In Novice B there is an on-leash heel, off-leash heel, off-leash sit and down stay, and an off-leash stand for exam. Teva competed in sub-novice B which is essentially the same as Novice but it is completed entirely on leash.When we got to fair in the morning I was really nervous because I had to juggle showing 2 dogs. Both dogs sat happily in the same crate and waited until their time in the spotlight came. Butler was in the ring first and did a great job but decided to walk excessively slow which was somewhat frustrating. Teva was in the ring second and he did a great job as well. I cannot actually remember what he lost points for, I think it was for slow sits. Teva and I actually tied another girl and had to do a tie breaker that was really easy. We had to walk in a line stop and see if the dog sat. Thankfully my dog sat :) Teva was actually quite amazing because he was the only dog in the long sits and downs that didn't get up. I think that is pretty good for a 9 month old pup :) The time for awards came and I was thrilled. Butler and I placed 2nd place in the class we competed in and Teva and I got 1st in the sub novice B class. Not only that but little Teva and I got Reserve Grand Champion which means we had the Second highest score out of any dog who competed in obedience. I was super excited because I had worked so hard each year training my dog and it finally paid off. I left the fair that day happy with the trophies and ribbons in my hand but even happier with the two fabulous dogs that I have :) They are both great at obedience but even better at their real jobs. Butler is a great pet for my family and Teva is a great CCI pup. I can't wait for next year :)

Powder Puff 2011

2011-11-02T23:56:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday was the 2011 PowderPuff Football game. I was again a linebacker and throughly enjoyed it, well I enjoyed the first 45 minutes. Sadly I was then injured and thought my ankle was going to fall off. It hurt so bad and I thought I was going to die. Thankfully John and my dad took care of me. My dad even brought me a HUGE Starbucks drink. It was delicious. Anyway I could not play the second game but the sophomore team won 2nd place and I was very proud of my team. Now I am left with a battle wound from my victorious fight in a powderpuff game. I have a beautiful bruise on my foot, gotta love pain. Now me and pain are good friends, but I'll be happy when the pain leaves.

The Start!

2011-11-01T23:55:00.000-04:00

Today is November 1st which means the first day of 30 posts in 30 days! Today I realized that since today is November 1st that means that yesterday was October 31st. Since yesterday was Halloween that makes today the day after Halloween which means that candy was cheap! Today Taylor and I went to Kroger and bought candy for dirt cheap. It was awesome and now I have enough candy to last me through probably senior year. Welcome November at this rate you are going to be a very "sweet" month.

30 for 30

2011-10-31T21:36:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow is November 1st. Something exciting is going to be happening on this blog.Any guesses?

Cuteness Alert

2011-10-27T11:22:00.000-04:00

Now isn't that the cutest thing you've every seen?

Fire Drill

2011-10-25T08:00:00.002-04:00

Nothing says good morning better than being woken up by a loud alarm, RA's pounding on your door and then standing outside in the cold.Good Morning All. :)

An ark may be needed.

2011-10-20T20:23:00.000-04:00

It is never going to stop raining. Literally every time I've gone outside for the past few days it has been raining. I have become very close friends with my pink raincoat and striped umbrella, we go practically everywhere together. It's even getting hard to walk around campus because there are large puddles everywhere and flooded grass. Pretty much if I want to go outside I just have to accept the fact that my shoes will be wet. If it doesn't stop raining soon we are going to need as ark. Anyone know someone around 500 years old who needs a hobby?Let me know, Madison[Enjoy this beautiful picture from when water wasn't being dumped from the sky]

Fall Photography: John, Madison & Teva

2011-10-16T00:29:00.002-04:00

Beautiful Fall weather[plus]1 girl[plus]1 boy[plus]1 fabulous CCI pup[equals]a wonderful day

Fall break sewing fun.

2011-10-14T21:30:00.001-04:00

Overall I feel that this has been a very accomplished break. Today not only did I eat lunch with grandma, Pat, and John, and see a movie with dad and Pat but I also finished my hobo bag. I like it a lot. I am very pleased. :)

This bag is practically the same as the previous one but this bag has ties instead of a button. I think it's an upgrade :)

The newest sewing project: Hobo Bags

2011-10-14T00:04:00.001-04:00

Today I finished my first or two hobo purse type bags that I have in the making. The bag is complete with a button for easy closure and an inside pocket. It's pretty fancy :) Bag #2 has cut fabric but needs to be sewn together and I'm hoping to get it finished tomorrow so I can bring it back to school with me :). The finished bag is for an 8th grade friend from church. I'm hoping she'll love it. If not I'd be happy to use it myself. :)

Diversity Poster Presentation

2011-10-12T21:13:00.001-04:00

On Monday in my Diversity in the Classroom class we have diversity poster presentations...and guess what? I'm already done with it and have been for a long time, like 3 minutes.

Fall break has officially begun. I'm spending my first fall break evening doing homework. Fun, right? It's good though because I'm hoping to leave all my school work safely secured in my dorm room. It needs a break too. ;)

Midterms.

2011-10-11T13:34:00.001-04:00

I have the perfect study break planned. Peanut butter and chocolate pie at 9 and then Steak 'n' Shake at 10:30. And the extra bonus is that I get to do those fun things with my hallmates.

It's gonna be fun :D

Didn't you hear?

2011-10-10T19:15:00.001-04:00

I am now a recorder playing master. I love elementary education. :)

Productivity is my middle name.

2011-10-09T20:34:00.001-04:00

I got so much done today.Homework CHECK!Studying CHECK!Laundry CHECK!Vacuuming CHECK!Washing Dishes CHECK!

Fun Fingers made possible by Tay :)

2011-10-09T16:36:00.000-04:00

Fall Break :)

2011-10-08T13:35:00.000-04:00

[Teva]Fall Break has almost arrived. It will be an amazing time full of many fabulous things such as....o Changing Leaveso Beautiful Lake Michigano No classeso Small doses of homeworko Awesome Brotherso Fun times with Familyo Corn Maze with John and Tevao Tradition of Coraline, Pumpkin carving, and Apple Cidero Lovely dogs Ruby and Butlero Home Sweet Home.

Service Day 2011

2011-10-04T15:58:00.001-04:00

Here at school we have one day of the year where we have no classes what-so-ever. That day is today and it is a beautiful thing especially because there is another activity going on during this day. Today we had service day. For my Service Day project I teamed up with about 16 other students and headed to the Logan Center to do some winter-prep gardening. It was especially fun because I had my friends John, Ben, and Taylor in my group so we got to all work together. It was a blast and I loved having one day to serve the community. :) In Christ, Madison

[So so so many bags of weeds]

I think I lost something...

2011-09-27T07:42:00.000-04:00

I'm pretty sure that I lost my free time somewhere. I had it before, I definitely remember having it just like a month or do ago, but now it's gone. Now all I seem to find is homework, projects, studying, and field experiences (yay for education). I'm really hoping that once I get some of those done that I will have more free time. This week has been pretty good. Lots to do with a test tomorrow. Those education profs love to assign projects, I think it may be their calling in life. I think they used to be elementary school teachers but realized you can't give huge projects to 1st graders and so they went back to school and now they teach us. Just spiffy right? :)Never-the-less, It's gonna be a good week :)

two years :)

2011-09-25T16:07:00.002-04:00

My two year anniversary with John was on the 20th. I got all dressed up and we headed out for a fun night of stir fry, ice cream and a movie. I even got two red roses. :) It was really fun and I'm just amazed that it's been two years already. I can't wait to see what God has planned for us. I love that boy :)

College=No Teva

2011-09-07T14:29:00.003-04:00

Oh Mr. Teva...He's such a cutie pie. I got him for a day during my labor day "break". It was very fun...I miss Mr. Wiggly, Silly, Teva.

Shupe Shopping

2011-08-28T00:27:00.003-04:00

Here at my college in the freshman girls dorm, Shupe, we have this term for when the boys enter our halls and try to meet some girls. That term is Shupe Shopping. It is a whole campus phenomenon that pretty much everyone knows about. But tonight, the first night of Open Dorms, the Shupe Shoppers were creative.

Today I see 3-4 guys walking the halls with a "waiver" (aka a piece of paper where you write your name and digits), and a Kroger shopping cart with a couch cushion in it. They offered (FAST) rides down the hall to the girls if they signed the "waiver". Overall it was a fun night and the guys were quite funny....but I will say they were total flirts. I'm thinking everyone had a fun time. The girl in the video is my suite-mate Brittney who got forced into the cart by John and I. It was fun...very fun indeed. :)

I got "picked" tonight during the Shupe Shopping. I'm pretty happy with it though :) Actually I couldn't be happier.

Oh Shupe Shopping.....

Picnic :)

2011-08-25T10:40:00.003-04:00

Yesterday John and I went on a date. It was all planned by Mr. John and I had a super fun time. We went on a picnic to The Riverwalk and then went to a movie at the dollar theater. We saw Pirates of the Caribbean 3 again, and it was pretty awesome the 2nd time around. It was a great start for our sophomore year.

I loved...
The cool shade when the temp was 95 degrees.
Sitting on my new handmade picnic blanket
Watching John scare away some very bold squirrels (3 to be exact)
How being outside can make a "blah" lunch taste spectacular.
Our luck of showing up at the theater at the exact time the move we wanted to see started.
Heading back to Bethel for a soccer game...(and yes we won in a double overtime)
Going to the back to school party and catching up with friends.

It was a great day. Today sophomore year begins, and I'm pumped. :)

Dr. Teva

2011-08-25T10:39:00.002-04:00

While Babysitting Teva went from being very sick to being the doctor. Oh how I love make-believe games :)

Welcome to College...

2011-08-22T09:17:00.004-04:00

...Let the fun begin!

The class of 2015 have moved into the residence halls and are about 1/2 way through orientation. On Saturday I was on the "move-in crew". Which pretty much means that we stood in the parking lot and helped the girls move all their stuff into their new rooms. It was really great to have that opportunity to serve the girls and their families. Spreading God's love through carrying boxes :) Yesterday the activity for orientation was a trip to Chicago, which actually has nothing to do with orientation but was fun none-the-less. I hung out with my friend Sara who is a sophomore just like me! We had a great time but got very very tired of walking. Once back on the bus I feel asleep in a very awkward position and totally hurt my neck, but I did feel a bit less tired. Later that night we had a hall meeting and then I just walked around and talked with the girls. It's so awesome to learn about them and hear their stories about why they came to Bethel or what they did that day. Plus I met an awesome girl named Alli who is gonna sew up my PJ pants. :)

Today all my "hall-mates" are at Orientation stuff until after dinner. My day will be spent reading some children's books, blogging about those books, and then Hannah and I are going to Jamba Juice.

It's gonna rock!

Single Digits

2011-08-13T12:00:00.000-04:00

The title of this post is misleading. This title is telling you that there are 9 days until some event. When in reality there are only 6 days now until the event. The cause of this is unreliable blogging. I wrote the title and uploaded the picture a whole 3 days ago and then forgot about it. Such a poor, poor, neglected blog.

In 6 days I am moving back into my dorm. I know I say this all the time, but didn't I just move out? I am really excited to get back into my dorm and get to know all the amazing freshman girls who I am going to meet. I am coming back to the freshman again and rooming with my friend and fellow Education major Kendra! I'm very excited! Actually yesterday Kendra moved in because she is an RA so I went and moved in a shelf, couch, carpet, and fridge so that the room would be less bare until I got there on Friday. The room is so cute. It is dramatically different from last year because we have 1) Color Scheme, 2) Legitimate decorative pieces, most importantly 3) Less people. I'm excited to get all packed up to move in on Friday and then help all the new freshman get moved in and attempt to help them figure out how to fit everything into a 3 person room. It'll be fun :)

So 6 days.
23.5 hours of work
4 more hours babysitting
2-3 hours of work for my church internship
One last day at church
2 beautiful labs to show at the fair on Thursday.
Lots of stuff to move in on Friday.

Sophomore year is going to be great. :)

Another Project

2011-08-12T23:04:00.001-04:00

My next project is a ruffle apron. It'll be really cute and make me feel even more like a lady, because what kind of real lady, like the ones in our country's past, didn't have an apron? Pretty much no one.
So I made a ruffle apron. The apron has 4 different patterened ruffles and it is then sewed all together and it is a cute, funky take on an apron. I actually finished it a while back but accidentally made it the wrong way so I ripped my stitches out and tried again. I love it so much more this time. I'm excited to wear it because it's really cute. It was so worth the effort. :)

I love sewing. :)

I've caught the sewing bug. I keep coming up with all sorts of fun things to ma

I didn't have a song...

2011-08-03T23:36:00.003-04:00

...until you came along.

Chicago IL.
Museum of Science and Industry.
Sunny day.
Lots of laughs.
Plain 'ole silliness.
Maggianos Restaurant.
Macy's Ten million escalators.
Getting lost.
Having tons of fun with my man.
Long car ride.
Silly singing.
My hopeless directions.
July 24th= A lovely day. :)

Wednesday Night Fun: Meatloaf

2011-08-03T23:23:00.000-04:00

A Real Lady

2011-07-28T00:01:00.000-04:00

There are those time when I feel like a real lady, not a college girl, but a real lady. I'm trying to learn certain skills that will make me the best wife and mother I can be when that time comes. I've been practicing cooking, cleaning, laundry, and more recently sewing. A wonderful lady from church taught me how to sew last Wednesday. She taught me how to use my machine and then we started working on a "green" grocery bag. It is green and brown with a pretty pattern on it. I'm a very big fan of my pretty bag that gave me some confidence in my sewing skills.

The day before, on Tuesday, I had gotten my new couch for my dorm room and was surprised to find it came with pillows! The couch is brown and so the pillows that came with it were the same brown. As much as I love the color brown, it was a little much. After learning how to sew I set my sights on making 2 pillow covers with zippers for those pillows. I watched YouTube videos and learned the techniques for zippers and then I went to Joanne Fabrics and bought my supplies. I bought myself 2 zippers, some off-white thread, and a beautiful patterened fabric. It is a blue, green, and light brown paisley pattern that will look great with the couch...and the best part? I made those two pillows for about $14. I feel creatively thrifty. :)

Today I expanded my sewing abilities to actual human clothing! I made my skirt using the tutorial by MADE for their "simple skirt". It was very simple indeed. I just love the idea of making skirts for a few reasons.
1) I feel confident in myself when I make things that are needed (ok we'll just say that a fun summer skirt is "needed")
2) I love getting to pick the pattern I want and with hundreds of choices at the fabric store I get pretty close to exactly what I want.
3) For a girl who is trying to be modest, it's nice to be able to make a pretty skirt that is a good, lady-like length.
4) Who doesn't love a nice skirt for around $11-$12?

I'm so proud of them. So take a look below!

Dogs and the Big Apple

2011-07-27T22:32:00.002-04:00

Topic #1:
I've had Teva so much lately. He's starting to feel like my dog!! Sadly he is not my #4 so he's gonna be one of my many "college pups". He's a sweet-heart and I'm gonna miss him once I'm back at school. He's the perfect mix of silly and serious. Gotta love Mr. Teva. :)

Topic #2:
I went to New York City earlier this summer and It was very fun. I also snapped some photos...So without further adieu...here are the photos. :)

[This is a 5 lb candy bar and it sells for $75! Wowzers :) ]

Topic #3:
Can anyone guess who this gray old man is?

For the answer click here...

Let the crazy begin...

2011-06-26T22:48:00.003-04:00

There is so much craziness beginning this week. I sure hope I can keep up
I am...
..Doing the music at a VBS every morning
...Continuing to work on my BigHouse (Sunday music program) stuff
...Starting my class at Bethel tomorrow=homework
...Working 31 hours at work

But thankfully I am also...
...picking up Teva tomorrow
...getting to hang out with John this week...hopefully multiple times this week :)

But even through all this...

I am...Attempting to Glorify God.

Teva Mondays

2011-06-21T10:15:00.002-04:00

I made a wonderful deal with a CCI friend of mine. Since I love puppy raising, and don't want my skills to get dusty, I now have "Teva Mondays". So every Monday at 7:20 I head over and pick up Teva for the day. He hops into the back of my Prius and we head to the marina for work. He snoozes all morning, and then wakes up to head to the car to go to lunch, then snoozes again. We leave work at around 2:00 and we both are pretty happy :). Teva then gets to head to my house to play with Butler and Ruby, which they all seem to enjoy. Usually after playing I would take him home....but starting next Monday I have a summer college class that Teva will be attending with me. It meets from 6:00-10:00 and hopefully it is going to be a good class. I've already started my homework and enjoyed it.

Teva is making this a great summer. So for the summer I am a co-raiser.

-Madison

A Favorite!

2011-06-21T00:19:00.001-04:00

So I think everyone and their brother should watch this video.

It's found on YouTube.

It's made my Julian Smith.

It's called Granny Games.

It's crazy funny!

Sam's Club

2011-06-01T23:04:00.004-04:00

I love doing CCI events, even if it means getting up early on a Saturday morning, driving 1 hr, and then sitting outside of Sam's club for several hours. It is so much fun to get to see everyone, have a CCI puppy with me, and raise some money for CCI. That day we actually raised about $400! John and I brought Teva with us and he was very good. For the baby of the group (7 months vs. 10 months) I think he did really well. He is such a pleasure to have and such a sweetie. I very much love that pup!

[John and Teva]

[This was funny....but now I don't remember why...]

[Teva and I]

[Yes, John and I did take some random pictures of each other]

Two Blogs!

2011-05-30T19:30:00.003-04:00

I am now officially the owner of another blog. Oh I'm so excited. My new blog is very different, but never-the-less I think it'll be fun! So hop on over and take a look:

CLICK HERE

So. Much. Stuff

2011-05-27T23:55:00.005-04:00

I just brought all my stuff back from college. Boy there is a lot. Thankfully I found a spot for everything in my room, but a certain little black pup was no help what-so-ever. (and yes he is using my clothes as a dog bed, even though there was one just a few feet away)

Oh Teva....

Ahhhh....

2011-05-25T13:06:00.004-04:00

May Term is almost over already. I cannot believe that in these three short weeks I earned 3 credits. Whoever thought of May Term was a genius.

DONE:
2 Papers
2 Tests
1 Reading Design (I read 115 Children's Books)

All that's left is 1 day of class, 1 day where we are watching a movie (Where the Red Fern Grows) and 1 final (which isn't even cumulative!).

My summer is approaching... It will be filled with Teva, working at a marina, working at church with the kids, swimming, the beach, friends, and a summer class. Can't wait :)