A Week of Holiday Fun

And now I'm back to reality - just as Jess gets to leave on a nice little holiday retreat!

My parents and I spent this last week with our family in Minnesota. It was filled with snow, new experiences, and old memories. I can't believe it's already over - it feels like we were just counting down the days for our fun Christmas vacation to begin.

On Monday, the 21st, we celebrated Brenan's birthday with loved ones and Brenan's favorite - spice cake. We had people over at my cousin Cindy's from both the Eiler side and the LeRoy side of the family. We talked about our favorite memories of Brenan and toasted to the great life he led.

During our holiday week, we got to see several inches of snow fall (Not sure if they were categorized as "blizzard-sized" flakes but there sure were a lot of them! I learned from my cousin Jacob that only certain sized snow flakes actually "count."), plow and shovel snow, go sledding and snowmobiling, and have a snowball fight. This was our first white Christmas in a really long time and it was a great way to celebrate the holiday in a new way.

On Christmas day, most of the family (those who were able to get through the piles of snow!) headed to Lavonne and Fred's house for dinner and family fun. The family presented us with a gift they had been working on for a few weeks, which was amazing and truly represented the spirit of Brenan and Christmas. Many of the LeRoys contributed money and toys to donate to the Children's Hospital in Brenan's name. To document the occasion, they put all the correspondence with the hospital and with each other, pictures, and thoughts about Brenan in a scrapbook titled "The Life of Brenan." Each family member created a page for Brenan or wrote a letter to him to be compiled in his life book. Not only did they make a HUGE contribution, one of the biggest to the hospital in recent times, but they created a way for us all to remember Brenan and what he represented - selflessness and giving to those who are in need. My parents and I are overwhelmed with emotion when we think about what our family has done to support us and remember Brenan. We know how awful it is to have a loved one in the hospital, especially over the holidays, and we hope that the contribution brightened the children's day!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE GIFT, LeROYS!

My pictures from the trip will be posted soon! I hope everyone had as merry of a Christmas as we did and I can't wait to see my family in Minnesota again soon. Being surrounded by you all during this time has made it a bit easier to cope with the void of not having Brenan here with us.

Merry Christmas, Brenan. Your baseball cards are on the mantel just as they always have been and will continue to be year after year.

Merry Christmas to All!

Merry Christmas to everyone! Tomorrow I'm headed to Baltimore to see my BFF from high school (Kristy), her husband Robert and their son, Robert D. They are flying me out as birthday present. Hooray! So excited. Everyone have a good week! -jess-

Merry Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve to everyone! I'm excited to share a link to the webpage for the "Following the Master" series. About a year ago, the senior pastor at my church did an amazing series about Jesus, talking about who he really was and teaching a great deal about the time period when he lived. As I have said to many, it completely changed my faith, the way that I think about Jesus, and the pride I feel for being a Christian. It really made an impact on Brenan and I and gave us steadfast faith. Since I am always recommending this series to people and forwarding links--I was excited to find one place where the church has all the links posted together.

The web address is: http://vineyardnorthphoenix.com/section/339

From the depths of my heart, I hope that you take the time to listen to it. Start from the bottom link and work upward chronologically to listen in order. It just might change your life and faith, too. Peace and blessings to all. Merry Christmas! -jess-

Christmas "Eve" Services

Hey! If anyone is looking for a place to go for Christmas services, you all know by now how much I love my church! Best news is that there are services on both the 23rd or the 24th. So if your Christmas Eve plans prevent you from getting to church, take the time to go the night before.

Here's info for anyone who is interested. CLICK HERE.

Thankful for December 21st

Tomorrow, I will celebrate Brenan's birthday and thank God for the blessing that he was to my life. I am so touched by the impact that he made on us all, and I'm so proud to have been his girl.

As sad as I feel sometimes, I am often overcome by the happiest memories. There were so many amazing memories--the big memories like our wedding and the inbetween memories of daily life. Brenan's good nature and love for life enriched everything around him. Even without him here, that richness lasts on and blesses me daily.

I thought that this might be a good way for us all to celebrate as we remember his birthday. Post your happy memory of Brenan (by clicking "Comments" below) and let us all celebrate his life.

I'm Still Yours--Kutless (another great song by this band)

Escaping the Bait of Offense

Well, I am officially enjoying rest and relaxation. I turned in all my grades for my ASU job this morning (at like 4:30am!) and I'm kind of out of it today. Still, the euphoria of being deadline-free at the moment is something I haven't felt in a long time. Yesterday, I had some friends over to my house to celebrate graduation and catch up from the many months that I've been a recluse. What a treat...I had a great time!

I am so excited to share something that I think will make a big impact for many people. It is a rare occasion that Thora Anderson, my senior pastor's wife, speaks at church. Last weekend she gave an amazing message that really impacted me. She is a wise woman with much clarity. Her message is called: Escaping the Bait of Offense. It's about the importance of maintaining relationships by avoiding taking offense. It really freed me from some past things that I have been struggling to resolve. I honestly think that you will feel the same way if you take the time to listen. It is really terrific life advice--whether or not you go to church! (And if you do listen, post comments to encourage other people to do the same!)

Click here: Escaping the Bait of Offense
Click Here for the Notes
(The audio file takes about 60 seconds to load)

Here's some of the big points that I took away (But take the time to listen for yourself!):
*It is impossible that the opportunity to be offended will not come in life--it's all about how we choose to respond.
*When people pick up offense, they themselves stumble and fall.
*Proverbs 10:18 "When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable."
*Offense is like kryptonite to Superman: It drains us of our spiritual vitality.
*Offense causes us to miss the blessings of God in our life (especially relationships with others).

So, as Thora says: "Tis the season to have lots of opportunities to be offended." Take a minute to listen to this wise advice and consider how you will respond to others when given the opportunity to either get offended or respond in grace.

If you do not already have QuickTime, you may need to download it (free) HERE.

A few pics

Well, a lot of the pictures must be on my bro's camera, but here's a couple of cute ones until I get the rest! ;) Am I a lucky girl or what? So much love and support!

We went to dinner ahead of time at a fun restaurant called Boston's where I used to eat during my undergrad. They make great pizza and pasta. Mmmm... pizza. They used to have an amazing Chicken Thai pizza--but you'll just have to take my word for it because they don't have it on the menu anymore! Boo.

Me and Trav

Party party party!

One year from now...it will be Jamie in the gown, graduating with her M.Ed. in English!

WOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!

Well, I am so very happy to tell you that I just got home from graduation! I came straight home and updated my resume! Funny, right? It just seemed like an appropriate way to mark the occasion ;)

As the euphoria wears off, I have to stop and thank everyone who has supported me in love, faith, and prayers through this very difficult time. It doesn't seem possible that it is finally OVER!

It was a very special night. It meant so much to me that my mom, Travis and Jamie, Bruce, Elisa, Uncle Les, and Uncle Russ came out to celebrate. I will try to post some pics tomorrow. The excitement is starting to wear off and I think that I will finally be able to sleep...a good, long, long sleep. Thank goodness I am not working tomorrow! I turned in all my progress reports today and left school with a big "Winter Break" smile on my face.

I heard this great song on the radio on my way home. Kind of felt like it was the perfect song to describe the road to get here...and the road from here...and maybe the road of life in general. It has a great line that I am already holding close to heart: "Don't you give up now, the sun will soon be shining. You've gotta face the clouds to find the silver lining."

Love and thanks! Jess

Kutless-What Faith Can Do

Almost finished

Well, I just submitted the last assignment of my Masters degree program. I should officially be eligible for graduation starting....well, like 2 minutes ago. I am so overcome with exhaustion, euphoria, and disbelief. What a long road it has been.

Many thanks to all for the love, support, and encouraging messages. They have been much needed! I submitted my final Action Research Project on Tuesday night. I've spent the last 16 weeks looking at increasing comprehension of picture books for preschool children by acting out the book with simple props in order to bring the story to life. It has been an amazing project that my students just absolutely loved. I feel that they got so much out of these books and they continue to ask to read them aloud. I have even seen kids reading the books to themselves and to others in the book area. What a fun way to increase appreciation for reading! (And it gave me the opportunity to share two of my favorite books ;)

Well, it should get better from here. Graduation is one week from today. I think that I'll pinch myself when I get the diploma in the mail. Wow. But I'm trying to stay focused on the other stuff going on. All of the ASU students are in the process of submitting their final projects so I've been busy grading papers for the ASU job. Things continue to be crazy at the preschool. I have six IEP's to finish and hold in the next week. I've been there really late--and I'm actually up late working on one right now. Progress reports are due as well so I've been busy collecting data and getting those written up.

However...one week from today, I will be on winter break. I'm not planning to go to school on Friday since graduation gets out rather late that night. Come on, come on! Hope this week goes by fast and I get all my work done! ;) Love to all! Jess

Brenan would be proud!

I know there are a lot of Vikings fans who follow this blog... so apologize that it is updated by a CARDINALS FAN!!!! And you have to read while I boast about how well the Cardinals played last night. I wore my brother's Cardinals jersey and shared a high five with him for each successful play. Way to go, Cards!