Randy's NAU Graduation!

Randy waiting to graduate. I absolutely loved this outfit on him! Next graduation in this little family won't be for a while. Eventually we plan to go on and get our Master's degrees, but not yet.

Eric and JoAn Ellsworth. Thanks Mom and Dad for driving down for Randy's big day. It was great to see you. We love you uber d duber amounts! As you can see, it was a tiring  day for Jolee and she napped before and during the graduation ceremony.

Sandy, Mikal, and Misty Swann. They braved the long drive and each other's constant company to celebrate with us! We are so glad each of you came. I have the best in-laws ever!!! It was super great to see and play with you. We can't wait for Sandy to move down (July 20th is the date!!!).

Here is me with my parents and Jolee. I am so proud of Randy and the hard work he has done!

Kelly and LeAnn Ryan. Super big thanks to both of you for making the very very long drive down. We love you both so much and are so glad you could be here. Thanks Mom for giving Randy such a good beginning and helping him to be the person he is!

 If you open this picture you can see Randy on the big screen during the graduation talks. I cried when Randy walked. He has worked so hard; he definitely deserved this day of celebration.

Jolee was so snugly with Randy after graduation. I think she was proud of him too! And I think she is glad to have her daddy out of school so that he can spend more time with her and spoil her all summer!

Our little family. We have changed so much since my graduation. It is so wonderful to have Jolee as a part of our family. She brings so much joy to our lives. 

Jolee looking on while Daddy and Mommy have a celebration kiss! I am so happy for Randy! It was a great day for the Swann family!

The Ryan/Swann family with Randy and Jolee. Mom looks proud too!

Thanks again to all of our family who made out of state drives to come and celebrate Randy's graduation with us!!!

AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

I think I just might go CRAZY! I am just glad that this week is winding down. This was AIMS week. Many of you may know of or remember the agony of AIMS. For me this was my first taste of how it works. Fortunately, I was on the administering end and not the testee end. What? Are laughing at me? Lets see you sit in a room filled with students that have ADD or ADHD and keep them sitting in their seats without talking to the person across the room for more than an hour. I can remember how hard that it was for me during testing time to sit for hours on end. I was lucky enough to enjoy reading and read my book when/if I finished my test before the time was up. These students despise reading. It bores them, they rather talk to the person next to them or to their friend across the room. I did make an excellent observation yesterday. I have a couple students that have done some tagging in the past so I told them to draw my name "Mr. Swann" graffiti style and I would then decide who was the best one. The room was completely silent for at least an hour. Today I asked my cooperating teacher if students could work on homework or draw once everybody in the room was finished with their AIMS. She called the site testing coordinator who thankfully gave consent as long as the test were removed from the room prior to the students working on anything else. So we handed out blank paper and some students got homework out that needed completion. I was rather amazed that they were able to keep somewhat quiet for two consecutive days, especially after sitting through the hours of testing.

The scores are in...

Well folks the scores are in and the un-official tallies have been distributed. The verdict.... I PASSED!!!! As some of you are aware I took two of the three certification tests need to teach using my full degree. This occured on the 21 of November. After a grueling 8 hours of testing and 200 multiple choice with 4 essays and a months wait, I passed the professional knowledge test and the subject knowledge for Special Education. I will be taking the elementary education test within the next couple of months. That is not important. The important thing is that when I graduate I will be able to start teaching immediately, well at least as soon as I get a job! YEA for me!!

Semester's End

Tis the end of Semester, YEA!!! That means that there are only three semester's left, YIPPEE!! I am so ready to be done. Do I really want to get my masters? I will but it is something that I should be able to do at a slower pace. Today is my last final and the rest of the week is my practicum ending on Thursday. Then it is all about getting things ready for baby (Cygnet).
I am starting to get more excited, the time has gone by so fast. It seems as though it was just yesterday when we found out. I am so proud of Sarah. She has done an excellent job and dealt well with the whole pregnancy. She is so awesome and I love her so much.

What we've been up to

Because it is late (hey I get up between 4 and 4:30am), this will be quick. I will post again soon with pictures okay:). Last weekend was our baby shower and it was a blast! One of the biggest and bestest surprises was my mom and sister driving down from Utah to surprise me and spend the day with me. I nearly cried I was so happy. I love my family!
Lately Randy and I have been spending a lot of time on Ebay buying cloth diapers. A surprisingly large group of people make all in one (meaning no cover or pins needed) diapers and sell them on Ebay. I have already purchased about 38 diapers (roughly 3-5 days worth). I am getting more used to and okay with the idea of cloth knowing that we will be using the all in ones rather than having to figure out how to fit a squirming baby into a folded diaper, secure the diaper and get a cover on.
In other baby news, the Amby Baby Hammock arrived today! It is what we are using for the baby to sleep for the first 9 months to year. Here is a link to the Amby Baby site if you don't know what it is.. http://www.ambybaby.com/. I put it together as soon as it got here. It only took me 15 minutes including the time to find the stupid wrench. Randy really needs to organize his shed (well it is partially my fault because I more or less threw all his tools out of the house because they were EVERYWHERE, okay so it is all my fault. Definately playing the hormonal because of pregnancy card to get out of that one). I love this hammock. I even practiced putting a baby in and getting a baby out of the hammock with George (my baby doll from when I was a two-year-old). Pictures to come.
Randy has been up to school school school. He only has 2 weeks left of this semester, whoo-hoo! Today he got the last of his homework, etc. done. All he has left to do is keep studying for and then take his finals.
Okay, I'm off to bed. Maybe Randy will get pictures up tomorrow.

Update on the Cygnet (baby Swann)

I have decided that the baby is already taking after it's father. It enjoys wiggling, kicking, wiggling, summersaulting, and wiggling all the time. The only time it is still is when I am moving, or if Randy really wants to feel the baby move. The moment he puts his hand on my belly, the baby calms down and falls asleep. It is quite funny how frustrated Randy gets. I just hope the baby will continue to calm so easily with his touch after it is born. Then, if the baby is screaming and upset, I will just hand it (I keep wanting to write her, but Randy says it is not fair to try to sway the votes) to dad and the baby will go to sleep. Oh the baby has also starting hiccuping. It is the weirdest feeling. I made the mistake of drinking sparkling cider with Valentine's Day dinner and oh my the baby just about went crazy with all the extra sugar. It was the one time that Randy hasn't been able to calm the baby. He was amazed and kept saying "it is bouncing of the walls, isn't it?" I think my insides are slightly bruised because of how tender I felt this morning. Pregnancy is so interesting.

Well, other than the baby, life is pretty much the same. Randy had me come to class with him 2 weeks ago and I got to be the story lady. I read my favorite children's book to his class. It is called "Itzy Bitzy House" by Christine Morton-Shaw. It is so much fun to read. The class he is with this semester is a preschool class and they are so adorable and so much fun. I enjoyed being Ms. Sarah for a day. Randy is doing well is school and getting rave reviews by the teacher he is shadowing. He is even doing so well that he got to teach the class when the teacher had to go to a meeting and the sub was his helper. He is definately going to be a great teacher. Less than 1 1/2 years until he graduates ( May 2010). I am so much more excited for his impending graduation that I was for my own. I am doing well at work. I am starting to wonder how long I will be able to keep working. I have the energy to do the job, but I am worried I won't be able to reach around my belly. I am growing at a speedy rate. We have a check up this week, so I will find out if I am still on target with everything. I will update again soon.

NAU

Randy started school last month. He is attending NAU here in town. He gets to be in the classroom with the students 4 days a week and then spends the afternoon/evening in class. He is learning and usually really enjoys working with the high school special education class. I am amazed at what a wonderful person he is and how much he cares for these very special children.

Update on NAU

So I forgot to mention one important bit of information about NAU. Randy is doing their distance learning program that is here is Tucson. The only time we will probably go to the NAU main campus is for graduation.  So we are not moving. Sorry all, you are stuck with us.

Future NAU grad

RANDY WAS ACCEPTED TO NAU TO WORK ON DUAL MAJORS IN SPECIAL AND ELEMENTARY EDUCATION!!!

Here are some tid-bits about NAU.

Established: 1899
Location: Flagstaff, AZ
Campus: 738 acres
Athletics: 11 varsity teams
Colors: Blue, sage, and gold
Nickname: Lumberjacks
Mascot: Louie the Lumberjack
Website: http://www.nau.edu/

The university's mission is to provide an outstanding undergraduate residential education strengthened by research, graduate and professional programs, and sophisticated methods of distance delivery. Northern Arizona University emphasizes hands-on experiential learning where students are encouraged to conduct research, author articles, participate in internships, study abroad, and volunteer in their areas of study.

History

Initially named the Northern Arizona Normal School, the institution was formed on September 11, 1899. In 1925, the State of Arizona recognized the school, allowing it to grant the Bachelor of Education degree. Following this change, the school renamed itself Northern Arizona State Teacher's College. In 1929, the name was changed to Arizona State Teacher's College at Flagstaff.
In 1945, its name changed once again to the Arizona State College at Flagstaff. A year later the college began offering Master of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees. On May 1, 1966, the school was granted full university status and changed its name to the current Northern Arizona University (or NAU).

College of Education
The College of Education is primarily responsible for preparing professional educators at the university: “Our vision is to prepare educational professionals who create tomorrow’s opportunities.” In addition to future teachers, the college prepares counselors, school psychologists, and administrators. The college draws on the best practices of the past, experimenting with and researching new ideas, and helps professionals becomeleaders in education. The college's mission is to prepare competent and committed professionals who will make positive differences for children, young adults, and others in schools.
Accredited by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the college was ranked seventh in the nation for providing degrees in education to all minorities.
Fields of study include teaching and learning (e.g., early childhood, elementary, secondary, and science education), educational leadership, educational psychology, and educational specialties(e.g., bilingual and multicultural education, career and technical education, educational technology, and special education).

Distance Learning
Northern Arizona University maintains campuses throughout Arizona that offer numerous alternatives to the traditional learning experience including evening, weekend and accelerated classes.
For more than 30 years, NAU has provided higher education opportunities to students through distance learning. As a result, students have access to high quality, flexible degree programs that meet the needs of today’s busy students—often in their own communities. Through distance learning, the university is helping Arizona meet its workforce development needs both in urban and rural areas.
The U.S. Distance Learning Association, the nation's premier distance learning organization, honored Northern Arizona University's Distance Learning with the 2007 21st Century Best Practice Distance Learning Award. The award goes to institutions with outstanding leadership, innovation, and technology in distance learning.
Northern Arizona University currently offers more than 123 degree, certificate, and endorsement programs in person and/or on the web. The majority of Distance Learning students are learning in-person in classrooms across the state at 38 different locations throughout Arizona. One-third of Northern Arizona University students are served through Distance Learning.