Mom eating breakfast in Chennai, India



Wanted to share with you a picture of my mom who arrived in Chennai, India this evening, which was 3:30 a.m. local time.

She is there on a mission trip for the next two weeks.  She will be visiting missionary friends who work with a local Bible College there as well as churches in several of the villages.

She'll also do some traveling and will fly home from Delhi. 

For those of you who are folks of faith and are prayers, I'd appreciate any prayers you might say for her safety and well being while she is away.  Prayers also that the group would bring encouragement to those with whom they will be visiting.

Thanks all!
Mrs. White

Ruby :)

This dog is the love of my life and is currently recovering from her second knee surgery in 1 week. which is absolutely heartbreaking to see her in so much pain. Its amazing how much of an affect a dog can have on your family and how devistating its loss can be. Ive had her since i was in the 6th grade when my parents made me transfer schools in the middle of the year, i was devistated and i just remember coming home everyday after school and holding her and crying about how i just wanted to go back to my old school, its amazing how much you go through with your pet. She will always have a huge part of my heart !

Maddie :)

Words cant even explain how much this little girl means to me! every summer i go live in atlanta to be her nanny. She was adopted and struggles with alot of emotional damage and since she has no siblings she thinks of me as her older sister and its had such a huge impact on my life. A ten year old girl has taught me so much about myself and just finding the good in any situation. She has the prettiest soul then any person i know and i wish i could spend more time with her.

My life the past month.

Well this first month of school has been a complete domino effect of stressors and one of my biggest by far was i got evicted from my house in only 10 days!!! i had a birthday party and my landlord ended up showing up and video taping the party and didnt even give us a second chance and there was no damage done or anything. I still havent talked to him physically since  the night of my party and hopefully never will. Now im happily in a 2 bedroom on shamrock and i couldnt be happier. It has been a struggle everyday but slowly but surely me and my roomie are getting it together!

The two reasons I chose my career path

Everyone has their certain reasons as to why they chose the career path that they did. I have two amazing reasons that I picked to be a Recreational Therapist with a minor in Special Education and their names are Michael and Jessie! Michael is a boy with Down's syndrome.  I met Michael when I was 10 and I still remember him like it was yesterday.  He was the first kid I ever taught to play soccer.  Jessie is my beautiful cousin.  I have loved her with all of my heart since forever! Jessie was born with Cerebral Palsy and is unable to walk, talk or feed herself.  She is very much responsive and she knows exactly what she wants.  You ask her a question and her face lights up.  Being around these two amazing individuals changed my life forever. These two helped me choose what I wanted to do and I can never tank them enough for the amazing impact they have had and continue to have on my life!

My Roommates!

The thing I have come to accept in the Special Education is everyone's learning styles, personalities and all around being is different.  Not one person is the exact same.  I have come to notice this even more not just in the classroom but also outside of the class room.  I live in a house with 3 other girls and we are all so different in so many ways.  The first one is Hillary.  Hillary is the most laid back person you will ever meet.  Nothing phases this girl besides sports.  The only time I see her worked up is when she is playing basketball or volleyball.  She is one of the smartest people I know. She was valedictorian at her high school and is now studying to be an Occupational Therapist.  The second one is Jenna.  Jenna is also extremely smart and works really hard.  She is involved in just about everything.  The girl never takes a break.  She also plays volleyball with Hill and is studying Criminal Justice.  Last but not least is Krista.  Krista is completely different.  She is very hard working, very involved and unbelievably clumsy! She is also crazy smart and loves school.  I have been best friends with her since high school and she has been the same since day one.  She is hopeless romantic with a range of emotions.  She is studying pre-med biology.  We are all so different but we have some of the same qualities.  We are all great friends and I couldn't have asked for better people in my life! :)

About me

Hey everyone! Sorry I'm behind on the blog but my name is Emily Lowe and I'm a senior majoring in speech therapy. I'm from Richmond and I'm super close with my family. In the picture above is me with my 11 year old sister Martha, she's my little baby! Speech therapy has been a passion of mine ever since my Dad was diagnosed with throat cancer my sophomore year of high school. He had to re learn how to swallow properly and talk. After getting to know the therapist that worked with him really made me want to work in the speech therapy field one day. So that's a little bit about me, I'm really enjoying the class so far!

 

My two favorite things :Fall and family. 

This was a unique communication setting for me because this was my cousin Ella's first real exposure to fall and Halloween. She was learning lots of new words at the pumpkin patch like "corn maze", "pumpkin patch", "apple cider", and "apple orchard". It was interesting to see how she said those words and her learning process through it. 

My Mom

My mom is my favorite person in the world is my Mom.  She is the person I always go to for advice and I tell her everything.  Some kids are embarrassed by their parents but I never have been.  She was always the "cool mom" as my friends would say and always gave me a great amount of freedom.  This is something I feel like is very key in parenting because if you are too strict on your kids, they will rebel.  I never really did any of that because she always trusted me and I never wanted to disappoint her.  She's the strongest person I know being a single parent and I know raising me hasn't been easy and for that, I admire her so much.

Music

As stated before I love music! Over the past years I have seen more than 30 bands in concert, and I keep adding to the list! I go to as many concerts as I can, and Just this year have been to warped tour, secondhand serenade,ZZ Top, Anberlin, Brand New, and next weekend A Day to Remember (who is my favorite,and will be my 5th time) who is also playing with All time low and pierce the veil. I'm not sure if any of you know any of these bands, but they are all great. I listen to almost every type of music and am slowly crossing off each band to see on my bucket list.

This summer..

I volunteered with the Madison County Special Olympics and I got to help train the track and field athletes to prepare them! I was stationed in Olympic town however, and did not get to watch all of them compete, but many of our athletes brought home gold and silver! It was a great experience. One my friends and I's favorite athletes was this young man. His mom is amazing and has him involved in almost every sport and activity! I volunteer with bowling now and other things when I do not have work (which unfortunately is not very often anymore).

Test1

What did you think of the first test?  I found some questions to be difficult.
A few I could not remember from class. Thought I'd see what everyone else thought.
Have a great week!

-B

AXL

This dog is by far one of the coolest dogs in the world. I've had him since he was a puppy and he literally loves anyone who he sees. I still wish he was just the little puppy he once was but he is still the man.

Fall

It is officially my favorite time of the year. You know the weather is perfect whenever you can wear shorts and a sweatshirt and be perfectly comfortable. The best part of this time of year is deer season and I look forward to bow season as much as Christmas. Heres one reason why...

Observations

During my time in the classroom so far this year, I have noticed many things and had the opportunity to see a diverse group of children. I am at Madison Middle in a 6th and 7th grade special education classroom, but I am in a collaboration setting for the majority of the day. All the students have a ton of personality and it's nice to see them develop everyday.

Coaching

This month I started as  an assistant coach on the Centre College softball team. I have played baseball since I was 5 years old and have been carrying a bat since I could walk. The transition from baseball to softball is taking me a little while to fully wrap my head around but I look forward to learning more about it.The head coach is someone I have gotten to know in the past year due to my younger sister moving to Boyle County where his daughter goes to school, and he is also a football coach and teacher. The minute he offered me the job I took it. It has been a blast.

Berea Parks and Rec Backyard Games!

This week I got the privilege to work with the Berea Parks and Recreation's event called Backyard Games! The Backyard Games were much like Special Olympics but on a much smaller scale.  This event was free to the public and was strictly for those with disabilities.  It was one of the most amazing things I have ever done. I had so much fun! We played parachute games, Frisbee, blew bubbles, played 4 square and sharks n' minnows all night.  It was such a rewarding activity.  I love my parks and rec major! I am so lucky to be able to work with such amazing people like these kids! :)

Iphone 5c

Last week, I upgraded from an iphone 4 to the new iphone 5C. Let me tell you, this was the best decision I have made in weeks. The iphone 5 is a little bigger than the 4 and produces a more clear screen. It is faster, connects to more effective 3g networking, has a camera that actually focuses. I don't know about you, but with my iphone 4 I could never take a clear picture. The photos always had some kind of blur to them. Not only are the actions better, but the look itself. I ordered the pink version, but it is really a more choral color. This was a great deal for only $100 with the upgrade. If there's one thing I like more than a new phone, it's saving money.

Changes in routine resulting in changes in behavior

I work for a school's after care program and pretty much kids stay the same in regards to behavior. The typical "bad" kids misbehave daily and the typical "good" kids rarely act up. On Thursday one of our regulars missed after care for a follow up surgery appointment which disrupted his whole schedule. On Friday when he came to aftercare he misbehaved greatly which is odd for him. He wasn't listening  or following directions. I think this is a good example of how changes in routine affect behavior and as educators we should be aware that sometimes there is more going on than meets the eye and we should be patient.

Life Proof Cases!

So, I finally was brave enough to actually try the LifeProof case with my iPhone and it worked!! I captured this awesome picture of my little cousin. How precious is he?!