playing tag

I've never been tagged before either, Roberta! Roberta has tagged me and now I am supposed to tell you all a little bit more about myself-- I figure it will be a good activity on this rainy day.



I am: the product of Godly men and women.

I think: that the smell of rain in the spring is peaceful.

I know: that there is a God and that He loves us more than we can even imagine! [leaving this the same]

I want: sunshine on June 7, 2008

I wish: I could eat whatever I want without worrying about fitting into my wedding dress!!! Yikes-- it was a little snug last time.

I miss: Brent.

I fear: DOGS!!! Yep, the secret is out.

I feel: goose-bumpy when I rub my hands against jean fabric.

I hear: The rain splatting outside

I smell: the rain mixed with Northwest Iowa...maybe not the best mixture.

I crave: pizza hut pizza and olive garden [almost always, really]

I search: for apartments in Louisville, KY

I wonder: what my future children will look like?

I regret: the many times I backmouthed my mother.

I love: thinking about my future with Brent, and my family, and cookie dough [not necessarily in that order :)]

I ache: because I have been doing Taebo [I think this is supposed to be a little deeper :)]

I care: about justice.

I always: smell books.

I am not:an independent woman.

I believe: that we are supposed to live in community as CHristians.

I dance: for my roommates... and they laugh at me.

I sing: too loudly, too off-key, and at all the wrong moments!

I cry: easily.

I don't always: take showers daily...yucky, but true.

I fight: rarely.

I write: not as much as I would like to, but more than the average person.

I win: because I am too competitive. :)

I lose: the game of being more patient than Brent.

I never: eat peas or mushrooms.

I confuse: very easily when it comes to math.

I listen: more intently now than I did before I met Brent.

I can usually be found: . Yep, I can ususually be found expect when hiding in front of the house at the age of 2.

I am scared:of losing my future children or my husband.

I need: June 7th.

I am happy about: the amazing friends I have made in college and the fact that my sister is coming up this weekend!

I hope: that others see the love of CHrist in my life.

catching up...

Well, I'm back at Northwestern and I think Spring has finally sprung! I had a wonderful time at home [and realized it had been awhile as my ears popped when I drove through some hills! darn Iowa will do that to ya! :)]

Instead of doing individual posts about the things I mentioned earlier I will just do a picture diary to catch everyone up :) Enjoy:


Although this is just one of my five classes of freshman, you can tell that I had my hands full of a lot of energy! What a wonderful student teaching experience I had...it went so fast but I really do feel like I learned a lot and that I am prepared to be in my own classroom. Now about finding a job....



I spent my first six weeks with the seniors, and this wonderful lady: Mrs. Wiese:

When I moved onto the freshman I worked with Mrs. Sandbulte-- who is able to work magic with the freshman! Both of these ladies were absolutely fantastic to work with and I hope to keep in touch [Mrs. Sandbulte, if you're reading this that means you have to write on your blog! :)]







I came home to a big surprise after my last day of student teaching-- My roommate, Renae, threw me a SURPRISE birthday party...and boy was I surprised. There were 20 + of my wonderful college friends who all pitched in and got me an impressive gift card to a bookstore so I can stock my teacher self with good books! How thoughtful. Here is Renae's brother Joel, on the lookout:
Do I look a little red? I was completely shocked! Behind me is Jenny, the decoy who had asked me to go out for coffee...little did I know ...
Here are some of them in the living room... I wish I would have got a good picture of everyone- oh well! Yep, the decorated and everything! It was a wonderful, wonderful surprise!


OH yes... and this is out of order, BUT my roommates won the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP! Renae [far left] is the manager, and Amy and Deb are the allstars. Deb is currently in Houston right now at Training camp for the WNBA Comets [Yeah, she's really good]. These are the girls I went to all the games with [since all of my roommates were typically busy on game nights :)] They were a fun group. For the championship game we made signs for all of them. We even made a sign for Renae!! Okay...I'm going to end it here. I have some picutres of Brent and me from this past weekend that I will post later.Thanks for being patient with me.

subbing fourth grade

It's a bit of a shift to go from high school to elementary but I'm enjoying my day so far... but ask me again at 3 oclock :) One girl during free writing time did, however, write a story about how cool/awesome/funny the substitute, Miss Carroll, is...so I suppose it's been a good day :)

The teacher I am sitting in for today is sick--stomach flu I believe-- and Mrs. Sandbulte, if you're reading this, I FORGOT HAND SANITIZER AT HOME!! I'm on her computer right now so if I wind up sick tomorrow, you all know what hit me.

This is short but I just wanted to update those of you on the edge of your seats waiting for the next post...I'm sure there are a few of you [at least, I have to think that in order to keep writing].

More will come but for now, I must pick up "my" students from lunch-- and choke down a sandwhich on the way! :)

coming soon to a blog near you...

I planned on doing a big update yesterday and I woke up feeling a little "soof" [it's a dutch word that I don't know how to spell meaning "not quite right...a little under the weater...etc." One of the things I've been able to pick up from going to school in a dutch community].

I am now at home for a little while as I finished up student teaching on Monday [one of the things that I will write about soon]. All my pictures are on my computer at school, so the images might come after the words-- sorry for those visual learners out there.

SO... a few things you have to look forward to:
- [already mentioned] the end of my student teaching experience: reflections, pictures, and the gift my students gave me!!
- a write up about living with the NAIA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS...and the future of one of my roommates...this one is EXCITING!
- a SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY my roommate, Renae, threw for me on Monday night! And another overwhelming and generous gift.
- a night of babysitting and wedding programs

-- and anything else I come up with. I have pictures with most of those, but as I mentioned, they are at school on my computer there-- so be patient with me as I try to accomplish all of this, and still get a lot of the "little" things done around here while I'm home [#1 being UNPACKING...I brought a CARLOAD home with me as this ist he last time I'll be home before graduation-- I thought my tires were gonna blow!]

-- one more thing: pray for me I have a cold :(

-- The timer is beeping...my noodles are done!

english bio

When the Seniors that are a part of the department of English graduate, they publish a little bio in the schools bi-yearly "Wordhord"-- here is my write up:

I can still remember my first English class as a freshman. Somehow I wound up in Dr. Lundberg’s Intro. to Lit. Studies, and feared that getting my English Teaching major was an unachievable task. By the end of that class, however, I realized I was going to be pushed and challenged, but also inspired and encouraged along the way (I would also have to figure out exactly what was meant by “too verbose”).
As time moved on I tried to take as many English classes as possible, and found my place sitting in circles in the classrooms of Grandberg. I’ll miss the beauty of reading each other’s poetry, and the emotion of listening to a classmate read a memoir piece she wrote. I will miss the safe place to create and express and discuss—the safe place to admit that you read and write for pleasure. Some of my best memories stem from these classes, whether it was Dr. Kensak telling us we would be “exploring with our tongues” in linguistics, or drinking some of Carl’s apple cider that had the potential to be almost illegal on campus grounds, or taking a field trip in Fynaardt’s Lit. of the West class that led us to three states in one day!
After getting married in June, my husband and I will be moving to Louisville, Kentucky, and as I make my way into the world as an English teacher, I hope that I can take many of the aspects I found within the English Department of Northwestern. I hope my students find the classroom a safe place to express and create. I hope that they can also see the power of the written word and the beauty of writing their own stories—or at least understand the difference between there and their, and maybe even someday, they’re.
And now, in an effort to prove that over my four years I have learned the art of being concise, I will end this bio. To all my professors here: Thank you for teaching me how beautiful and how haunting words can be, and for showing me that each empty notebook is endless with possibilities.

Kelsey Carroll
English Teaching

will you be done living?

Last night I was able to go to a concert put on by our school's IJM group [International Justice Mission... Kali did an internship for them when she was here. For more information about this group and what they stand for check out : http://www.ijm.org/]

The concert hosted singer/songwriter Justin McRoberts [who, don't worry, I had never heard of either]. The lyrics to a lot of his songs were phenomenal [and I'm sure Brent would have loved the beat/rhythm...another difference we've found between us: I listen to the words, he listens to the music... I digress]. One in particular really struck a chord with me:

The question isn't "Are you gonna die?" -- You're gonna die.
But "Will you be done living when you do?

It's one of those big topics that we don't really think about too often, or feel uncomfortable thinking about. But for some reason last night as I sat there and the music floated around me I really thought about the question: Will I truly be done living when I die...will I have put everything into life that I could? Whether that means dealing with bigger stuff like being a light for Christ, or being the best mother I can be, or speaking up for those who have no voice of their own-- or the smaller stuff: like eating chocolate and not caring about a few extra pounds, or laughing out loud in the movie theater, or splashing through puddles even if it means an extra load of laundry...????

The question isn't "Are you gonna die?-- You're gonna die.
But "Will you be done living when you do?"

I hope that as a Christian I can say "YES!"
I hope that as a wife I can say "YES!"
A mother, a daughter, a friend "YES!

Will you be done living when YOU die?

louisville bound

I just got a phone call from Brent, who was able to spend the day in Louisville. He sounded so excited [which was pretty impressive since he got up at 4 am!], and began filling me in with details about the day.

He really enjoyed the guys he will be working with--- and it sounds like they will have more play than work, which I suppose is a good thing. I'm sure I'll hear many a story about "the guys" around the supper table, but I think that it will be a good fit for him.

He was also able to see the facilities at the church, which he said are pretty impressive. They have three baseball diamonds that he will start working at right away when we move out there, with maintenance and grounds keeping, and also concessions work. Then in the fall months he'll do more with their indoor facilities, including a weight room, an indoor track, 4 basketball courts [or was it five], etc etc etc. Needless to say... I think I'll be a little shell-shocked when I see 'our new church.'

He also had the opportunity to check out an apartment we have been keeping our eye on. He really liked it, and the guys from the church say it is a great neighborhood [and it's only 4 miles from the church!]. Currently nothing is open, but the manager says that typically a lot opens up in April. Start praying :)

Well, that is about all I can update you on as of now. I sent off my application to a Christian School system in Louisville on Friday.... so pray about that before you pray about the apartment :)

I'll keep you updated if anything else transpires! Thanks for all your well wishes and prayers on this one...I know I will definitely keep needing them as I continue to trust that this is the move God has for us.