And So It Goes....

Here's a little update on me.
After freaking out about the price of my textbooks for this next semester ($600) I decided to look on Amazon.com and see what they had to offer. Turns outI found all my books on there for a total of $200.
I was also worried about having to pay what my financial aid would not cover, about $300. Well, I received a letter in the mail a few days ago. Turns out my school will cost $3,000 cheaper then they estimated. So, I will be getting a little over $2,000 back.How about that? Why was I even stressing. I should have known God had it in his hands. He always does and has never let me down yet.

Have a great Sunday!

♥ Melissa

Just something I found :)

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a great day! Unfortunately, I have been sick all day and night.
Even though I haven't felt the best, my Christmas has been great. I got some luggage for my trip, which I desperately needed. I was excited about that. I also got several pieces of warm clothing, including a furry rabbit hat thing. Haha. Of course, Makeup, every girls needs. Oh, and I can't forget to mention the Twilight Tee I got. Mainly I got money. That is what I was wanting. Besides that, I can't say much on the food since I haven't had much of an appetite. Usually that is one of my favorite parts about this time of the year. The amazing food. It's okay though. The rest of the family was in a great mood and everything went without flaw. 11 days and counting until my plane leaves. Time to start packing like crazy!

♥Melissa

Money Money Money Money..

Another wall that I will have to climb...

Turns out books at school are going to cost me $600. Plus my loans left me $300 to pay for still.
Still no placement letter....

I was thinking I was going to have a stress free Christmas this year. Turns out it may be the most stressful one ever. *sigh*


♥ Melissa

All Good Things Must Come to an End...

This past Friday was my last day with the 8th Grade Lady Spartans basketball team. Their head coach was nice enough to let me be the assistant coach for half the season. Here is the letter I wrote to the girls. They will not get it until after Christmas vacation. (Some of this wont make since if you weren't on the team.) :::::

Dear Lady Spartans 8^th Grade Basketball Team,

First and foremost, I know you are reading this after Christmas, but the message of the card rings true all year around. I want to thank you all Very much for the awesome letters, gifts, and the adorable basketball stocking. It means more then you know!

When I decided to help coach you, little did I know what I was signing up for. I had no clue that I would have death threats, be harassed, and assaulted almost daily (you know who you are). Most importantly, I had no clue that I would be accepted so easily. I thank you for that. It’s not easy having a 7^th grade manager as an assistant coach. Ha Ha.

Ladies, it has been an amazing few months in which I have learned a lot and I hope you have too. Although you are not my first or last team to coach, you will have a special place in my heart forever. Coach Converse recently asked me if I wished I could stay longer and finish the season. I told him no. What I really wish is that I could take you all with me! Unfortunately, that is not possible but I will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers. I know he will keep me updated on how you all are doing.

A wise, young, nearly bald, and very tall man once said: “H+H+D=W.” I’m sure you’ve heard it said that the Dictionary is the only place where success comes before work. Let me tell you, it is true. Sometimes it is hard to focus through all the drama, hectic schedules, and other distractions. Every season you play will have its struggles, as all teams good and bad do. What is most important is how you pull together to get past those issues. Respecting each other and keeping a positive attitude will help you be more successful, not only in Basketball but in Life. And remember, having a successful season doesn’t always reflect in your record.

Take care and stay warm!

Coach Peterson

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” - Michael Jordan

::::::::::::::::


And so now I begin my packing. Leaving on the 6th of January. Hopefully I will hear from UAS on a placement letter. I know that I have housing for sure but have not recieved the letter yet. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
♥ Melissa

A Great Weekend.

It seems like this year is flying by so fast. Seems like yesterday I started put in my application to UAS. This past weekend was great. It came up on me very quickly. I had prepared a song, as I wrote in my last entry. It went well. I always pray that people will forget it is me singing and just hear the words. At the same time I am always afraid I will mess up and people will forget about the song and focus on me. Anyways, it went very good and people seemed to like it.

Still have not heard from UAS housing. *taps fingers impatiently on desk*
Hoping that comes soon!

This week is a basketball game at Knob and Lexington. We should stomp lexington and knob will probably cream us, sadly. Knob seems to be good most years, and we are such a young, inexperienced team. I really love this age group. They can be a pain, but there is a special place in my heart for them. Plus, I feel like they are at a vulnerable age, just looking for a good role model. I am on my best behavior around them and have managed to get a few of them to come to church. It is a work in progress. We also pray before each game and sometimes the girls volunteer to pray instead of us coaches. It's cool.

Anyways, thats about al the update I have for now!

♥ Melissa

Onward and upward...

So we are into December now and it really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. We had a little bit of snow here in the midwest last weekend. Just a dusting, but it is always nice to see how pretty everything is in white. I have a busy busy month ahead of me. I started assistant coaching 8th grade girls basketball. It has been so different then I expected. I have coached for four years previous to now, but this age group is so much different. What I like to call the "know it all" stage. They think they know everything and are not afraid to tell you about it. Anyways, they obviously do not, because we are 0-3. My coaching record....I had not lost a regular season game until this year. Then again I am not the head coach and we have very different styles of coaching. I am learning a lot though, and I am thankful for that.
Besides teaching and coaching and I keeping myself busy. Getting ready for Christmas, all the plans are made and a schedule is lined out. This way I wont have to worry about how much time I'm spending with one family and not the other, etc. Sadly it has to be this way. And yes the family have been told about this time line and know that I will stick to it strictly.
I am preparing two songs to sing in church. I am singing Breathe of Heaven (mary's song) on the 14th. And I am singing Shout to the Lord on January the 4th. My brother and his Ex-wife are getting re-married on January 3rd, hoping to do it right this time and stay in church. *crosses fingers* Of course we have New Years in there and that following week I will pack like crazy, leaving for Alaska on January 6th.
It hasn't hit me yet, how quickly that is coming up. Oh, and a little update: I talked to Lynne from housing and she said that the floor plan for UAS is not finished yet. She thinks I will be getting a placement letter in the mail sometime next week. *crosses fingers again*

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

♥ Melissa

Everything Happens fro a Reason!

I hope Everyone had a great Thanksgiving! It is one of my favorite holidays. This year I managed to make it to all the family dinners. I have divorced parents and one is re-married making it difficult around holidays to make it to every family event. After the dinners I left town with my aunt and a friend and we drove 3 hours to the lake and prepared for Black Friday. We started shopping at a few stores already open at 10:00pm Thursday night and didn't stop shopping until 4:00AM Friday morning. We slept for three hours and got up to shop again, all day. Last night we slept from 10pm to 7:30am. That was nice and I slept soundly. Today we hit a few small shops on the way out of town and ended up getting home at about 5pm. What a crazy crazy shopping spree.

While away I received some awesome news. Turns out I made it in to housing at UAS and will be getting my placement letter in the mail some time soon. What a relief! I should have trusted God from the beginning, throughout this whole process. He always delivers! I cannot tell you how excited I was at the time and still am. Fretting about this whole trip and how I was going to get a job, work, get a car, AND find a place to live...well it was stressing me out to say the least. Now, I know that I have a place to stay that does not require rent. This gives me more time to find a good job. The car part...well I will worry about that later. I am in way too good of a mood to think about that now!

Hope everyone has a great weekend. If you live around here, Take time to enjoy the first snowfall! It is simply gorgeous!

♥Melissa

New classes!

So, I heard via phone that one of my classes had been changed to a later class time. I don't want classes after 2 because there is a good possibility that I will need to have a job. After dropping some classes and adding a few more, here is the result:

Previous Week

Week of Jan 12, 2009 (1 of 16)

Next Week

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
8am		GEOL S105-J01 48969 Class 8:00 am-9:30 am HB 113		GEOL S105-J01 48969 Class 8:00 am-9:30 am HB 113
9am
10am
11am
		MATH S206-J01 48982 Class 11:30 am-1:00 pm HB 205		MATH S206-J01 48982 Class 11:30 am-1:00 pm HB 205
12pm	HIST S106-J02 49186 Class 12:00 pm-1:00 pm EG 225		HIST S106-J02 49186 Class 12:00 pm-1:00 pm EG 225		HIST S106-J02 49186 Class 12:00 pm-1:00 pm EG 225
1pm
	THR S111-J01 49388 Class 1:10 pm-2:10 pm HB 113		THR S111-J01 49388 Class 1:10 pm-2:10 pm HB 113		THR S111-J01 49388 Class 1:10 pm-2:10 pm HB 113
2pm

Birthdays, School, and Parties...

After a lot of confusion, my classes are officially set. I didn't end up getting the PE (basketball, volleyball) class I wanted because it changed to Ballroom dancing. Haha. I decided to pass on the dancing class and take PE next semester. Oh well, I still have intermural sports I can participate in.

This past week I was so busy working. Monday was my 21st birthday. I really didn't celebrate it. We went out for dinner and that was about it. Friday, I ended up getting sick and sleeping the evening away. which brings me to this morning, where I have done nothing but sit under a fuzzy blanket and watch the first snow fall. Too bad it wont amount to anything. It is not falling hard enough.

Tomorrow is church and my mom is having a Signature styles party. They have some cute stuff, kind of like Home Interior, baskets and pictures and such. I have no home so I wont be buying anything. haha. But, you know, it's fun to look through the magazines and stuff. Plus, theres going to be a lot of people there. I'm sure it will be fun. Either way, there will be food! Hehe.

This next week I am meeting up with an old friend to go see the midnight showing of Twilight. I'm very excited to see her, as it has been over a year since I saw her last. Plus, the movie will be great.

As far as housing. Well, December 1st they will be emailing, calling, mailing information on who they have room for and who will need to use alternative housing. I am praying that somehow, someway, this will work out. Until then, I will be on pins and needles waiting.
I think thats about all that is happening with me!

<3melissa

Last Winter:

Good or Bad News First?

Good or bad news first? I usually choose the bad just to get it over with. So here goes.
I received a letter from housing in the mail yesterday. It basically said that housing is full there and I will be put on a waiting list until a vacancy becomes available. Another waiting game? Yup. The letter did say they have alternative housing and have a list of residence that are willing to rent to college students. My problem is that I am going there without a job. How can I afford rent or the deposit, etc? I emailed them just today and told them that if I do not have housing the chances of me attending are slim. It isn't really true. However, if they think they will loose money they may find an opening they missed. It is a small school, so who knows. It was worth a shot.
As for my class schedule, I still have not heard back from my adviser. It is really starting to annoy me. I emailed him not too long ago (week or two) and he said that he would be getting back to me soon. Ugh. I have no patience. I really just want everything to be finalized. This way I can get my plane tickets and start preparing. I feel like everything is just up in the air right now and doubt keeps creeping up in me and my family members around me.

Better news:

I have been working my tail off lately. The schools have needed me to cover several positions. This week was the first time I worked the entire week. I have to say, it feels good. Feels nice to know that a decent size check should be coming in this month. I have also started assistant coaching 8th grade girls basketball. For the most part, this is a great group of girls that have never played before. Ahh I love a challenge. The work and the basketball have me so worn out though. I am just getting used to the schedule. BUT it's a great kind of worn out. The kind where you know your making a difference in someones life. The kind where you can sit down at home at the end of the day and just sigh because it's over, but also because it was such a productive one. That is how my week has been. Productive but not necessarily positive.

Right now:
I am sitting in my house in the dark. Not a single light on. It is 8:30am and everyone is still asleep except me. The sun rose long ago but the winter clouds have hidden it well. The gray sky makes me happy for some unknown reason. Winter is on it's way and it shows in the 35 degree temperature. I can barely hear the wind chimes ringing outside. This is the perfect environment to write. These days are what keep me in a good mood, and remind me that everything is in God's hands. These days keep me at peace.

Today I was called a Jesus Freak. What they don't realize is it was the biggest compliment ever!

So I was on youtube today and I posted a comment on a video about being sad that McCain/Palin didn't win. I put in the comment how I loved that they both were Christians and not afraid to say how blessed they are by God and how much they thank him. Here was One response to my comment:
"oh, i get it. you are a jesus freak. dont worry, i wont point out your inability to grasp reality. i feel bad for all of you people with severe brain damage."

Wow. Is that what our time is coming too? I never thought I would see the day when Americans were afraid to have Christians in the White House. I never thought I would be personally attacked because I believe in God. While being called a Jesus Freak doesn't bother me one bit, what does bother me is the fact that this is becoming more common. I cannot tell you how many times people have looked down on me lately because I am a Christian. It's tough. It hurts to know that this is what our country is coming too. But what can you do?

GET OUT

GET OUT AND VOTE! VOTE McCain! VOTE Obama! Just VOTE AND VOTE NOW!!!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! Hope everyone got lots of candy and had lots of fun! I went out with my niece. She is one and dressed as the cutest skunk ever. I also carved a pumpkin just like this one. It turned out great AND no one smashed it over the night. :)
Have a great weekend!

Praying for patience and hoping for housing

I finally heard back from the housing dept at UAS. They said they did not realize they were supposed to send me housing information and that the paper work I need to fill out is all online. Also, they said I need to hurry to get the paperwork in because they don't have much room left. Great. Sigh. Well, I am currently waiting to get my immunization records from my previous school so that I can finish filling everything out. Once that is finished I have to come up with the $200 deposit. I had forgotten about that. Hopefully, I will get that all shipped to them by tomorrow or the beginning of next week. I really just want to have all of my school stuff taken care of.
The most recent update is that I will be flying there. I think the shortest amount of time it would take (by flight) is 14 hours counting layovers. Thats not horrible. However, I will be selling my car and shipping most of my belongings. Once I arrive there my first task will be to find a vehicle to buy. Sigh. I like my car that I have right now. Hopefully this will all work out okay.
On a lighter note, I chose my classes this past Monday. I was so excited when searching through the PE classes. They had mountain climbing, back packing and camping, Ice climbing, search and rescue, and thats just the beginning. I of course chose Team sports and activities because I love basketball and volleyball, two of the four sports that class focuses on. So here are the classes I have chosen and sent to my adviser to look over. I really hope they work out:

Team or Group Physical Activity -1 CR
Theatre Appreciation -3 CR
Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers II -3 CR
Biology and Society -4 CR
Geological History of Life -3 CR

Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle,
and the life of the candle will not be shortened.
Happiness never decreases by being shared.

One step at a time

Today was ridiculous. That is the only way to explain it. I substitute teach right now to earn extra cash while waiting for the next school semester to begin. They called me this morning and I was in such a deep sleep I never even heard the phone. Luckily, my parents picked it up and brought it in to me. High school needs a sub. I have never seen such unruly kids as these high schoolers. I sighed and got up to get ready for the day. Little did I know what was in store.
Sitting down at the teachers desk, everything seemed normal. I noticed I would be having a day of sophomores. It could be worse, I thought, I could have all freshmen. This first class was the worst. I had to continually tell them to sit down, to stop talking, and to get to work. This is what we call redirecting. This does not work with high schoolers. While I was walking around the room, as I was directed in college, some boys jumped up and started wrestling. These boys had been a pain all class. I told them to stop and sent hem to the office. It is not my job to deal with problem kids, I am just the fill in for the teacher. A temp to hand out the assignment and make sure the kids stay focused. Anyways, the boys basically said no they were not going. I had to raise my voice at them in order for them to actually leave. I hate doing that but sometimes it is called for. Next I went to intercom the office and let them know who was coming to see them but the seating chart was off and I was not sure of their names. I asked the kids and they refused to tell me who they were. Go Figure. At the end of class they told me their names. Next class period was my plan time and I went to talk to the principle about it. She had sent them to ISS for the class. I'm not sure what other disciplinary actions were taken. I did find out that the students in the class gave me the wrong names of the kids, which I was kind of expecting.
Question: When did kids start acting this way? When did parents stop making their kids respect their elders? NEVER would I have EVER pulled a stunt like this? Never would I have continued talking in class when asked not too. It saddens me that American schools are this way. I know that in foreign countries these sorts of things don't happen. Kids don't act this way because if they do they are kicked out of school and their only choice of a job from then on out is to join the countries army. Maybe that is not how we in America would want to go about it, but we have to do something to get our kids to focus. They need to take education seriously. As a future teacher, I am terrified of the way our schools are heading.
Of course another part of me compares myself, at their age, to them. I was raised in church. I knew better then to act up and I can't help but think that being raised with God had a great hand in that. If all the kids in school were brought up in church, would they still act out as they do? That would be a great study. Maybe one day I will get a chance to do a study or something on that.
Anyways, the rest of my day went fairly well. I still had several rude students, but it was manageable. Throughout this day I have had this song stuck in m head. I know that one of Gods was of communicating with me is through song. The lyrics I have had are from a pop song that has nothing to do with God, but the chorus can be applied to my life right now. Patience.

One Step At A Time by J. Sparks

One Step At A Time
There's No Need To Rush
It's Like Learning To Fly
Or Falling In Love
It's Gonna Happen And It's
Supposed To Happen
We Find The Reasons Why
On Step At A Time

Still playing the waiting game but trying to have patience!
<3Melissa

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ~Matt. 7:7

This past week I was offered several loans from school. I weeded through the ones I wanted and accepted the ones I needed. Next I let the school know of my lender and as the Financial Aid Lady told me, now I just sit tight and wait for the semester to begin. Obviously, I still need my class schedule and my housing assignment. I am hoping the housing info will come in the mail sometime this week. As for classes, I am supposed to set those up online, just like I did at my last school UCM. However, I think I will get in contact with my adviser and see if he would be willing to get it all together for me. I am not as comfortable setting it up from this distance.

Today, I went to the courthouse and filled out the paperwork for my passport. That was kind of exciting. After rushing around and getting my pictures taken for it then i rushed to the third floor of the courthouse all to fill out a little paperwork and send it in. Apparently, it takes four to six weeks to get the actual book in the mail. But it is good for ten years and who knows, maybe I will be able to afford to go to Italy or something by then. Who knows.
So yeah, I am waiting to get more info and paperwork in the mail from school and now i am waiting to get my passport back. Looks like it's basically a waiting game from here on out.

<3 Melissa

UPDATE!

Last week I received my letter of acceptance to the University of Alaska Southeast. It said that paperwork and other information would be on the way via mail. I was of course excited and have been checking the mail everyday since. Also last week, I received my transfer credit evaluation through email. I was told that only 33 of my 64 credits would transfer from UCM to UAS. This really had me worried because I hated to think that 31 of my credits were a waste of money and time. It was really a set back. I emailed back (thanks to my mom, who thought that sounded absurd) my concerns and questions as to why this was so. At the beginning of this week I received an email back. Turns out the evaluator had missed several of my classes and did a re-evaluation. Guess what? 59 of my 64 credits will transfer with no problems. That is great news! BUT thats not all. Also, delivered by mail today was my Financial aid evaluation. It is costly, with out of state tuition being twice that of UCM. However, I think the experience will be worth it. The school has approved me for loans to cover all the expenses. I don't plan on taking all the loans. UAS has a work study program, as do many universities, and I plan on signing up for that. This way I wont get too far in debt before getting out of school. So far, everything is falling into place fairly well. Keep praying please! I am far from ready to get up and leave. A lot is still up in the air. OH that reminds me! I need to get my passport started!! EEK

<3Melissa

As seen on Facebook and Myspace,

First I would just like to say that this note is For Real.

Over the last few months I have been praying constantly about a lot of hard decisions I have to make. Most of you know that I was planning on attending Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for the spring semester of this school year. However, my plans have changed A LOT.

A while back I stumbled across a small Baptist school out of state. Something about this school just feels right. I have spoken with many people from the school and this is where I feel that God is calling me to go.

Wayland Baptist University is a small Baptist school that has a great Christian ministry program, which is what my major will be. WBU is located in Fairbanks, and Anchorage Alaska. The school does not have on campus living. In other words I will have no place to stay. This almost made be pull away from the school until God opened another door. I received information on another school, University of Alaska Southeast, which is located in Juneau Alaska. Here I can live on campus and continue my education towards Elementary education and take online classes from WBU. Come to find out WBU has an exceptional “Virtual Campus” online program. On top of that, I have already checked into the schools located in Juneau and I plan to continue substitute teaching there if I am so allowed to do.

This is an amazing leap of faith, which has come with many ups and downs. I don’t think I have ever cried or smiled as much as I have these past few months. It is so scary to leap not knowing if there is a net below to catch you. However, knowing that God is taking this leap with me and I am preparing to do His good work makes me smile. I cannot wait to share his word and begin this journey.

I have set up a blog to track this Alaskan adventure. I would love to hear from you all and keep in touch! I will also be putting up videos on there of the journey and my ups and downs (as I am sure there will be plenty). Here is the link: Www.MelGoesNorth.blogspot.com

I will be moving on campus on January 8, 2009. Yes, that is just right around the corner.

Hopefully, I will be having a little goodbye get together. I want to see everyone before leaving. This will most likely be right after Christmas. I am not sure how long I will be gone. It could be anywhere from one semester to years. Of course I will try to come home for holidays and such if affordable.
And I will probably send out invites/ reminders in the mail when it comes closer to time.

I cannot possibly put into words how excited and nervous I am about this decision. A lot still has to fall into place in order to make this possible. Mostly the economy, lol. However, God has paved the way thus far and I am sure will be at my side for the rest of the trip.


<3 Melissa

"Carry your candle, Run to the darkness.
Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn.
Hold out your candle for all to see it.
Take your candle and go light your world."