Some Late Night Random Updates on Life

As of last fall my mama, Mary lives in Portland! It has been good to have the family around.  In February my sister Lisa and her boyfriend Nate both moved up here. 

 

As of February I have been working at Sunshine School as a Pre-School/After School Program Teacher/Sub/Aide.  I essentially have filled in the blanks, working part time, but many weeks nearly full time as the flu season went around. I am learning a lot about small children, how wonderful they are, and how trying they are. I have had lots of potty accidents, things up noses, skinned knees to enjoy! Starting in June, I will be working full time as a Day Camp Teacher for K-5^th grade.  I’m looking forward to having a consistent role where I work with the same kids daily and get to build some relationship with them.

 

Also as of June I have started a three week intensive training to work with Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization in town.  They seek to offer assistance to refugees by providing resources for them to get on their feet in society (employment, documents, etc) in as healthy and painless way as possible.  I will be volunteering as an ESL tutor for women who are part of the Family Strengthening Program. Many of them have experienced trauma in their family life and are seeking ways to get out of that. So far our sessions have been held at the YWCA and have included topics such as oppression, racism, and Advocacy—start macro, move into the details!

 

I am running a half marathon on the fourth of July! Woohoo! I am considering a full marathon for the fall but am not making and promises to myself. We’ll see how the half goes!

 

 

We are both planning on enrolling at Portland State University and taking Arabic!

 

We had a pretty epic Mexico Trip to  over Spring Break, but more on that later. I'm getting tired!

 

Things we like to do in Portland:

            3 dollar theaters—our favorite recent movies include Gran Torino and Up J

            Walk/hike/sit at Mt Tabor Park

            Enjoy the roses at Washington Park

            Read at Northwest Coffee House

            Play Bocce Ball in any park

            Enjoy Cannon Beach

            Basically, our free times include Movies, Parks and Coffee Shops

           

Books we have read for fun:

            The Brothers Karamazov-dostoevsky

            East of Eden-steinbeck

            Lord of the Rings-Tolkien

            The Idiot-Dostoevsky

           

 

Wedding Ceremony Pictures

I'm Back!

Hi Friends and Family,

Months have passed now since we have been in Portland, and we would love to stay a bit more in touch!  This is our start! It's summer now, and we are coming out of winter hibernation :)