Saturday, December 31, 2011

A Year in Review

 
January
~ Raising $264,290.14 for Children's Miracle Network ~

February
~ Showing Mom my favorite bar and teaching her to dance ~


 March
~  Spring break in Centerville with friends... 
...and ORLANDO BLOOM! ~


April
~  Celebrating my grandmother's 91 years of life with family and friends ~

May
~  seeing all the sights in London ~

June
~  visiting Mike in Germany and touring the countryside ~


July
 ~ Another great year at Sharon Bluff Girl's Camp with "Out Of This World" ~


August



















~  Attending the Mississippi Valley Fair and two of the amazing artists, Miranda and Blake! ~


September
~ seeing my 1840's family, and forgetting the 21st century for a few days ~

October
~  ISU football with the fam ~

November
chaperoning the NCYC trip to Indianapolis ~
picking out the BIGGEST Christmas tree EVER ~
 
December
~  Christmas trees, Christmas morning outfits, and lots of visiting family! ~

Overall, 2011 was a year full of family, travel, and fun. I'm so blessed to have been the places I've been, done the things I've done, and to have the supportive family that I do. 

I'm looking forward to starting some exciting new things this new year, including student teaching, long distance conversing with my sister in France, and looking for a full time job. 

Wishing everyone a safe and happy New Year. Enjoy celebrating tonight!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

A Fairy Tale Christmas

One of the Christmas traditions in our family is to visit the Herbert Hoover Museum's Christmas Tree Display. Every year is a different theme, and each tree is decorated within the theme. 

This year's theme was "A Fairy Tale Christmas," and I LOVED the castle and drawbridge.

Childhood regression anyone? 
Who wouldn't like a drawbridge and a castle?!  Someone come decorate my classroom! 
 Emily enjoyed the Hansel and Gretel tree, which she so kindly demonstrated for us.

One of my favorite trees was the Snow White tree
(which may or may not be due to a certain tv show...)
 The ornaments were so diverse and helped to bring the story to life on each branch.
I also really liked the Robin Hood tree, especially with the hat as a tree topper. 
Emily tried to play the hero for Rapunzel, but she wouldn't give her the time of day.

We also managed to get a little shopping done in nearby Iowa City, and Emily got a few needed items for her France trip. I also found a few great things at Stuff! and will hopefully feature them in my new year wardrobe.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Christmas Time

This  past week at home with my family away from all things school related has been heavenly!  We had a wonderful Christmas, and since Santa was so kind to replace my CAMERA, I can finally show my own photos here! 

We enjoyed sleeping until 7:59, then jumping on Mom and Dad and all rushing downstairs to see Christmas magic under the tree. The opening of gifts, drinking of coffee, and a few tears rounded out the morning. The afternoon was spent relaxing on the couch, playing cards with Grandma, visiting, and a long skype conversation with family in Texas. Needless to say, a perfect day to celebrate the birth of Christ by basking in the love of my family. 

So truly thankful and blessed I have them. 
Some hightlights from the Fischer Christmas Day festivities include...

 Funny Faces while opening stockings...
 A new suitcase for the soon-to-be world traveler...
 a funny father who's not too old to wear a Santa Hat and bow (self placed, I kid you not!)...
 a new blender....
 Christmas brunch with coffeecake, eggs, and juice...
 skype conversations with the rest of the family in Texas...
And continually looking at my new Dutch Oven! 
I'm willing to cook in freezing cold weather in order to use it soon {thanks Emily!} 

In addition to our small Christmas on the 25th,  we also hosted the Caes Christmas at the house. 

My Mom's the youngest of 10 kids, 8 of whom are still living, so we had quite a houseful, even with a few families that couldn't make it. About 38 people made the trip to our house, from a close as Durant and as far away as Germany! We all laughed, ate lots of lasagna and french bread, and enjoyed catching up with everyone. Oh, and of course playing with lots of littles! 

 The guys quickly established a room solely for male discussions. 
 Games among first and second cousins Hannah, Owen, and Liam
 A little bit of George for his biggest fan Adam
 Cigars for the Uncles from Mike's abroad travels
 A printers drawer for Aunt Suzanne's small collection
And the induction of a newcomer to a Fischer house tradition.
I mean, who wouldn't want to sit on a furnace vent with lots of blankets!
We may have stranger traditions, but Carolin was certainly a trooper in a new country! 

We finished off the evening playing board games with those who were staying at the house, drinking hot chocolate and  realizing that most of us were not very artistic 
when it came to Pictionary.
But the laughter as a result was heartwarming.

With most of the Christmas festivities over, I'm a little late with my Christmas wishes,
but I hope each and every one of you had a wonderful Christmas full of love, laughter, and light, celebrating the birth of Christ with family and friends.


Thursday, December 1, 2011

The End is Nigh.....

These last three weeks in the semester always amaze me. First, because every semester, they are so full of projects, papers, and presentations. Second, because somehow I naively think that each subsequent semester will be different. Which it isn't. The Monday after Thanksgiving Break, I'm sprinting in a race that does not provide a break until at least Wednesday during finals weeks.

I am thankful, however, that I will be able to truly enjoy the break in Christmas Break (unlike the "break" of Thanksgiving Break). I'm also thankful a couple of days where I could take a break to spend time with my family, Thanksgiving Dinner, and Christmas Tree escapades with my Mom. Add on top of that coffee with friends, a night out with some more friends, and most of a HUGE unit project completed, and that's my break in a nutshell.

Of course, I can't forget about the National Catholic Youth Conference, which was technically a precursor to my break, since I skipped out on Thursday and Friday in order to go. This year the conference was in Indiana, so it wasn't a terrible long bus ride to get there.

Plus, we had a great group of kids...
We brought a bunch of attention to our group with our flashing Mohawks and glasses, but that made trading with other groups much more enjoyable!

See, much more diverse head ware! And this wasn't even the last night.

But it wasn't just about the hats and trading and meeting new people from all over the United States (even Hawaii had a group attend!). It was the fellowship and strength that came from knowing that you weren't alone. 

23, 000 Catholic teenagers in one place at one time is truly inspirational. All those times when faith seems to far away, when you feel like the only one who's ever struggled in life, seems so distant when you speak to any of the attendees. Everyone had a story to tell, and some were able to share their stories with the entire audience. 


We attended large group sessions in the morning, where phenomenal speakers talked to us about God, how we need to make room for him in our lives, the multitude of ways we can serve him, the promise of our eternal home in heaven. We attended small workshops, where even more amazing speakers continued to share the love of God through their respective ministries. Jason Evert and his wife Crystalina spoke to a packed hall about the important of valuing our sexuality and the gift God has given us in marriage. Pam Heil spoke about the dating game that many youth play today, and how we are denying ourselves the happiness God has in store. Comedian Judy McDonald made as laugh as she related her experiences living a Catholic Life. Steve Angrisano spoke about living our faith to the fullest. And those were just the workshops I attended! 

Besides workshops, there were hundreds of booths and activities available, including games and service projects.  Reconciliation was available throughout the entire conference, and some groups even got to explore a little of Indianapolis. 

Needless to say, it was a wonderful experience, one I feel blessed to have been able to experience for a third time. It's true, I saw the conference through different eyes as a chaperone this time instead of a student, but the experience still offered me a chance to look to myself and see where I needed to change my life, what I needed to do to include God. 

Given the opportunity, I'd go again....even if it means I get another enchilada on the rocks.

P.S. Special thanks to Stasia Nykoluk for the wonderful photos. This was another time I really wished I had a camera, but I'm so appreciative others captured the experience and shared them!