JEN, KARA, and PARKER JOHN

THE STORY OF TWO MAMAS, PARKER JOHN, and TWO CRAZY CRITTERS!







Tuesday, October 27, 2009

School and Work

We both went back to school in late August and Jen got a last minute job to pay for her schooling and provide a stipend. It was definitely a blessing! Kara has a very full class this year and she enjoys working with the kids. Some days are harder, but that's true in most jobs.

Jen is teaching a Diagnosis and Psychopharmacology class to first year masters students in the Counselor Education program. This and providing supervision (of their counseling) to the first year students is what is paying for her school. Of all the classes the department offers this is the one class Jen really wanted to teach so she is very excited. At times it is more work than expected, but it is very rewarding and will help with her future career goals of being an adjunct professor.

Jen is also still working on her dissertation. She has 3 of her 4 research participants and has interviewed each of them one time. She also has a lead on her 4th participant so things are looking great for her to be able to graduate in May 2010! Very exciting for both of us.

Jen is also a business owner now. She is co-owner of Alliance for Growth: Counseling & Consulting, LLC which is where she does her private practice counseling. The economy is hitting the business hard, but things should work out.

We are both enjoying our crafts and have been doing a lot of quilting and a little knitting. Both of us have finished projects in the last couple of weeks and are trying to finish up some quilts before we start new ones. The unfinished projects were starting to take over the room so they really needed to be finished!

Way Overdue Update

So, it's been forever since Kara or I (Jen) have posted an update to the blog. I'll start with the vacation we took with my mom and Dad to Yellowstone in late June/early July. We had a great time. Even saw a bear! Below are some of my favorite pictures.

This is the first elk my mom remembers seeing. We took a family vacation to Yellowstone the summer I turned 8, but she didn't remember much from the vacation. It was cool to see her reaction to seeing an elk. I took lots of pictures of this elk just for her!

Above is a really cool burned tree. My parents do Old West shooting competitions and Dad was with me when we saw this tree. It reminded both of us of a man holding his arms up saying "Don't shoot!"

Buffalo just amaze me. This is one of my favorite shots and I took lots of pics of buffalo! We did see a buffalo taking a dirt bath, but the pictures didn't turn out.





Upper Falls at Yellowstone. As most of you know water amazes me and it is one of my favorite things to take photos of. I could have stayed at the waterfall for hours just staring and listening!



Jen, Kate, Gerry, and Kara. We had a great time on this vacation. Thanks Mom and Dad!



Here is Old Faithful. A trip to Yellowstone wouldn't be complete without it. If it went off more frequently I could have stayed there and watched it a few more times.

Somewhere I also have pictures of a buffalo herd and a bear. When I find them I will post them.

Thanks for being patient. We will try to do a better job of updating the blog!