The Graduate

May 7th marked the culmination of a 10 year labor of love...and just plain labor, at times.  When I graduated with my BA in Psychology from UC Santa Barbara in 2001, I began studying for my MA in Marriage, Child, and Family Counseling that fall.  I began the program at the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary in Fresno.  I chose this school for a couple reasons.  The first was because I wanted to return to the Central Valley, so I was interested in a program local to here.  While there are other counseling programs in the area, I chose that one because I felt a need to study somewhere that could best equip me for clinical practice through teaching students how to be aware of their own faith backgrounds, while teaching students to practice counseling with high sensitivity and respect for the varied belief systems of those who enter the clinical setting for help.  I can say I was not disappointed!

I started the program strong, but after a year and a half, began to struggle with balancing all the parts of my life.  I also started working more hours, and got engaged and then married around that time.  Besides all that was on my plate, the coursework became more challenging.  In preparing to become a counselor or therapist, probably about as much time and energy spent on coursework is also spent on personal healing, growth and character development.  With everything I had going on, and through much reflection, many conversations, and lots of prayer, I decided to step away from the program after three years of taking classes.  I was not quite ready, and that was important to realize!  For those of you who have known me for some time, you already know that in the past I was used to being a high achiever and meeting goals and deadlines with excellence.  Stepping away from finishing school was very difficult for me, and humbling, but also a very important step in the right direction towards greater wholeness for me. 

Since leaving the program I have worked many years in the social services field, become a mom, and continued to serve and actively participate in our local church congregation.  There have been many changes, and ups and downs.  And throughout that time I have grown, and learned more and more to recognize and embrace my own limits.  This has been liberating!  Before I often put pressure on myself to be close to perfect...an impossible standard to maintain, I am now more able to relax, savor, and enjoy life.  I am more gracious to myself, and to others.  Most importantly I have a greater understanding of how beautiful our imperfections can be, and how it is only through recognizing our shortcomings that we can permit ourselves to dive into healthy interdependence with others who are strong where, and when, we are weak. 

Around three years ago I was at the Fresno airport with a teen girl I was sending to her family in Oklahoma, when I ran into one of my former professors from the counseling program.  She and her husband were waiting for a plane as well.  We got to talking and she urged me to consider coming back to complete my degree, and gave me the name of who I should talk to if I wanted to investigate that further.  About a month later I was enrolled in a class! 

Over the past year my school officially merged with Fresno Pacific University.  Eric is an alum there too, and my parents took some classes there back in the day...before becoming love struck.  But most importantly, I completed my degree!  It may have taken me five to six years of study over the course of ten years, but here I am now, done.  I have been amazed by the process.  Thanks to all of you who knew I could do this, and kept me going with your words, thoughts, presence and prayers.  Thanks for sharing parts of your stories along the way.  I imagine many of you. near and far away, as well as departed from this life, as my cloud of witnesses, my cheerleaders, and my strength when it could not be found within myself.  I could not have done this without you in my life.  Thank you!

And now for a few pictures:

The final copy of my senior paper, as well as copies of two years worth of clinical stats all ready for submission:

 There I am...ready for that hood!

My whole family is excited that I will no longer be grafted to books and my computer!

This is Delores, my professor, and advisor, who found me at the airport.  Our faculty took the grads from the program out to dinner at a brazialian steakhouse, yum!

And now...onward towards licensure!!!

Us Right Now

Life has been busy lately, but soon should get a little more mellow.  I am excited to say that I will be graduating May 7th!!!  No more papers, no more books!  I am also beginning a new position as supervisor of the Tulare Co. foster parent licensing program, relative assessment program, and the county investigators.  Wow!  Exicting and a little nerve-racking....that's a whole lot of responsibility!  But the people I work with are hard-working and solid..we will have quite an adventure together!

Eric has continued to love teaching "urban art" (aka graffiti art), break dancing and hip hop dance to the high school students of Riverdale High.  He also looks forward attending break dancing class once a week at our local dance studio.  His students will perfrom in May, and he will perform in June.  Speaking of performance, Eric competed in a talent show at FPU as an alum last month and won two tickets to Disneyland!  So in May we take the kids to the happiest place on earth for the first time. 

The kids continue to grow in so many ways.  We will be registering Cadence for kindergarten this fall very soon.  She continues to love preschool and love learning.  We are working on potty training with Sani, and are thinking about enrolling him in preschool in the fall. That would give daddy a break for a few hours during the week!

Now for something different!

Recently we made pizza from scratch, here are the toppings:

Cadence and Sani got to do thier own:

Finished product:

Sani and Cadence also have been helping daddy start the garden. These cups are ready for planting:

One per cup please!

Cadence sometimes like to "campout" on her bedroom floor.  Here she made a space just for her.  What you don't see is Sany shivering on his bed because she used his blankets to do this:

Last Friday Cadence had a Easter party at school.  Together we made these treats to share with her class:

The Happenings

This year we learned that fertilizer does make a difference!  We also learned we can only eat so many oranges so Eric decided to juice the rest by hand.  Kudos to him!

 

 This is Cadence's "spelling":

Right now the kid's room is under construction.  Eric has been busy patching, sanding and priming walls for a new paint job.  In the meantime Cadence and Sani have been bunking in our room.  Eric just took their mattresses and bedding off their beds and laid them on our floor. One night when Eric and I went to bed, this is what we found.  It's a little hard to see the angles, but Cadence is curled up in a ball with her body on the mattress, tilting down with her head on the floor.  Sani is almost completely on the floor, with only his legs on his mattress.  Silly kids!  Don't know how they can sleep that way!

Curly hair makes the best bed-head:

Priming in progress.  Eric and his helper hard at work:

Walking in his daddy's shoes:

Cadence had a Valentine's party at school, so Eric, Cadence and I put these together for her classmates using craft foam.  As you can see, Cadence got lots of practice writing her name....26 times total!

While Daddy and Sis paint the room, Sani gets to play with watercolors.  He told me he was done and wanted down, so I replied, "don't we need to wash your hands?"  Classic reply, "Ummm, no."  Life would be so dull without boys!

Last Christmas

The second part of Christmas Day was spent out at the Pisor house with lots of family and lots of food.  We started things off with a gift exchange game and snacks.  Eric made some delicious samosas that were a big hit.  The kids also opened a few special gifts.  Before people began leaving for other celebrations, we took some good group shots, which you will see below.  Next we sat down for a feast that included BBQed turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffed mushrooms.  To wrap things up we played some games together as a family before everyone headed home into the rainy evening. 

Sani received his very own trike:

 Cadence has been asking for a "boy angel doll" for Christmas.  When pressed for more details, all she could really add was that it was something she had "in her heart".  Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, Oma and Ompa were able to find the very thing:

 Cadence also received a trunk full of princess wear, and as you can see, she knows how to play the part:

 Extreme close up!!!!  Taken by Cadence:

And to finish things off, some nice pix of all who were there that day with almost a century covered by all the ages:

Christmas Morning

After a late night at Granny Mouse's house Christmas Eve, the kids were all tuckered out and didn't get up till well after 9!  I know this will change in a couple of years.  This was ok though as it gave Eric and I some time to start getting ready for the rest of the day.  Cadence got up first, walked out rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, then exclaimed, "It's Christmas!"  Sani got up shortly after and then the fun began:

The delight of children puts magic in Christmas:

 Cadence digging deep for all her loot:

 Sani doing the same:

The kids testing out some of their new things:

 Some of the carnage:

 Cadence was so excited to receive a pogo stick...she'd had her eye on it for a few weeks:

Granny Mouse's House

It's a strong tradition in my family to spend Christmas Eve in Fresno with the Welter Fam.  We had a good time, ate too much good food, and even had a special visitor!

 Cadence scarily excited after getting a gift from Santa:

 Sani pensive with his gift:

 Cadence helping Santa with a few more packages:

 The Aqua Doodle was big hit with "kids" of all ages:

 Ompa helped decorate Sani:

 Anyone who knows my dad knows that this sort of thing comes naturally:

It's hard to see, but one of my Aunt's tagged everyone with glittery pixy dust...Eric's share was mostly in his goatee:

Aunt B's

Our first Christmas celebration was with Eric's sis Brea and her son Gauge the Monday before Christmas.  We made a taco dinner, hung out and exchanged gifts.

Gauge tearing open a gift:

 Brea excited by what she received:

 Uncle Eric and the kids assemble Gauge's new toy:

 The best shot of the cousins I could get:

 Sani picking a winner...what he calls "nose bites"

 What he did with what he found:

A long day

December 17th brought the much anticipated "showtime" for Cadence as she and her preschool class had a special Christmas presentation.  Here she is excited as she exited the car for the show:

 Oma and Ompa joined us there and Ompa recorded the singing:

 Brother was into the singing and did his best to sing along:

 The grand finale was a visit from Santa himself:

 And of course candy canes:

Unfortunately right after this moment Cadence decided to make a run for some cookies, and saw the quickest path would be sliding between a row of chairs and a rather pear-shaped woman.  The woman however did not realize Cadence's plan and turned, hip-checking Cadence straight into the corner of the chair, and she finally landed with a thud on the tile floor.  The result was a gashed eyebrow and busted lip.

 After cleaning her up at the school I told her it was time to go home.  Through sniffles she stated, "but mom, I still want a cookie!".   After getting home I started getting a migraine so I laid down while the kids watched a movie, only to finally realize I should check out Cadence's eyebrow again.  A closer look at home revealed a good sized gash, so I herded the kids to the car as quickly as I could and got her to their clinic just before closing.  A quick look by the doctor confirmed that she would need to visit the hospital for a better exam and stitches.  I left Sani with Eric and then began the drive to Fresno, but stopped at the McD's drive through first for a Happy Meal.  Cadence did quite well waiting at the hospital for her turn, it's amazing what a couple books, some markers and coloring sheets will accomplish!  

 Because of her age, the doctor recommended we use the "papoose" to help Cadence while he cleaned the wound and sewed it up.  The papoose is a contraption she laid on then was wrapped up in it with strong velcro to hold her still.  The nurse and I helped her keep her head straight.  She whimpered throughout the procedure, but was as good as new just a few minutes after, and it didn't hurt that she got a juice box and some stickers from the nurse!

She needed 6 stitches, which came out on the 23rd.  She's healing quite nicely....and hopefully we won't have to go through again.  One set of stitches in 4 years is not too bad, but still one set too many!