graduation, part two

sorry this is taking so long-- it has been a whirlwind of a month! regardless of my busy schedule, i KNEW i had to finish my graduation blogs. so here we are!

on saturday morning, we went back to cassell coliseum to see the college of engineering graduation at 8am. (yipes!) i watched, screamed and cheered for john as the civil engineers were pronounced graduates! :) after the ceremony, both families went back to john's house in blacksburg for a yummy brunch. i took lots of pics, so i'll let the photos speak for me. enjoy!

kelly (john's sister), john, me and barbie (john's mom)

barbie (john's mom), jc (john's stepdad) and john after the ceremony

lynn (john's stepmom) and david (john's dad)

john's aunt debbie with baby avery!

sarah (john's step-brother's wife) and her daughter, jenna

i thought jenna was simply adorable! :)

jenna & chris (john's stepbrother/jenna's daddy)

kevin (john's brother in law), jenna & chris

barbie and avery were all smiles after brunch!

john and his sis, kelly

baby avery- so sweet! :)

in the front yard with my baby

with john's family

and john with my fam!

sarah, jenna and chris
(+ another baby-to-be!)

whew! that was a lot of folks! hope i got all the names and family labels right. love you guys! it was so much fun to hang out with you throughout all of the graduation festivities. thanks for making both john and i feel so special! :) we love you all!

graduation, round two!

after nearly two weeks since graduation, i am finally blogging again! the move back home was rushed and unpacking has taken nearly fifteen days! however, i think i'm finally back and settled. soo...it's back to the blogging world for me! :)

graduation was...well....graduation. i'm not going to lie and say that it was enjoyable, because it really wasn't. the 4 hour process was long and HOT (we were all stinky and sweaty afterwards!), emotional and upsetting, accompanied by a speaker nobody could understand. afterwards, my family and i rushed to grab a bite to eat on campus, then rushed back to meet john's family for his graduation. the undergraduate ceremony was beautiful. i was all tears throughout, listening to president steger express his love of virginia tech and the inspiring words of the speaker. here are some pictures to enjoy!

my girls!

melissa, kristie, me, abby, laura


with meredith, my fellow beach teacher!


more ece girls :)
susan, kristin, steph and cate


abby and laura

posing with the hokie bird

with kristie after the ceremony

my mom and daddy, the two people who have gotten me through my five years of college


view of the undergraduate ceremony, in lane stadium, later in the evening


president steger, college deans and honored guests sat atop a podium on the field


john and his sister, kelly


john with lots of extended family!
kevin, kelly, john, barbie, jc, baby jenna, sarah and chris


with my sweetie after a long, hot, sticky, emotional rollercoaster of a day!

the final days

tonight we had a cookout/bbq for all the pre-service teachers graduating on friday. FRIDAY! i still can't believe how quickly not only this semester, but my entire college career has passed by. they say "savor every moment" and i'm starting to feel the truth of this statement more and more. i read this quote on one of the VT memorial boards (large, wooden boards placed on campus for people to sign and share their thoughts) that stated...

"yesterday is a memory.
tomorrow is never promised.
but today is a gift,
that's why they call it the present."

our days are numbered and each day is a gift. i'm not sure why i was one of the lucky ones to be away from campus on that fateful day, but i was. and i was protected. and i was safe. this makes it even more important for me to pursue my dream and follow my passion. each day i have to be a teacher is a privilege. each life i have the privilege to touch is a gift. i praise God for the opportunity to be here today and surrounded by people that feel the same way.


these girls are amazing, each in their own, special way. some have the patience and energy to teach the youngest of ages while others have the capacities and desires to teach the older grades. everyone in our cohort has her own strengths and abilities. however we all have something in common: we desire to teach children, to touch our future, to make a difference in the world. whether the difference is in the form of learning the colors or learning the parts of a plant, we all desire to better our future by creating futures for our students.

Paige, Elizabeth & Heather

Kristie & Me

*NOTE: can you tell that i've spent my last two weeks off in the sun?!

playing taboo!
(such a fun game!)

Abby & Me

(this girl has gotten me through my student teaching;

i don't know what i would have done without her!)

and of course, emmy had to come along, too!

i know it's awful lighting, but this is the only shot i had of everyone at the bbq!

the end of the beginning

last friday i finished my student teaching internship in 5th grade in roanoke city. this semester was quite the learning experience. teaching the grade i wanted the least, in the area i dreaded the most, taught me more than i could have asked for. i learned:

• that children are children, regardless of where you are
• about the basic, human desire to be loved-- a feeling that transcends all barriers
  
• that many kids are robbed of their childhood for circumstances they can't control
• that many of my students' negative outlooks are not the child's fault, but a result of their unfortunate environment
• about expectations. my students will not have them unless i expect nothing but the best from every single one of my kids.

this experience also taught me worlds about myself. i learned that:

• i'm stronger than i thought. i'm a tough cookie when i need to be but still have a soft center that melts for children.
• my creative outlets allow my students to excel in ways i never imagined.
• i can actually teach social studies, although i hate the subject and never wish to teach virginia studies again! :o)
  
• i'm good at teaching. i can do this. i'm a teacher.
  

i pray for each of these special students. i pray for their safety and well-being. i pray for their continued success throughout their education. i pray that every single child would break the stereotype given to them and transcend even the highest expectations. these children are our hope, our future. praise God for their lives.

a "goofy" picture!

the whole group, even with my mentor teacher, mr. moss


this was the second class that i taught daily


mr. moss and me


some of the VT student teachers. there were 13 of us total!

a new renfrow!

matt and ali are pregnant again!!!

(note: this is ali & wyatt, 5/12/06)

that's right-- we have yet another addition coming to the renfrow family!
wyatt is getting a brother or sister!!
hooray!!!

matt called earlier this week to share the great news and i screamed for a minute straight! i am so excited to be an auntie ashwee to TWO sweet peas now. matt and ali figured out the due date to be december 25, 2007! however, we all know that God liked to keep us on our toes and patiently waiting on Him for wyatt's birth (he came late- really late!) so we'll see what God has in store this time! i'll share any ultrasound pictures that they share with me as soon as i can.

praise God for new life and the blessing of pregnancy!

we love you matt, ali & wyatt! :)