hello again!

It's been so long! Yet again I've let time slip away from me. I have been pretty swamped however (read the last post if you don't believe me) so you can't blame me too much.

I still have one paper left to write before my spring semester is over. However, that doesn't mean much since summer session starts the following week.

Today Nathan started to crawl! It's still an army crawl, but today was the first day he was able to move forward quite a bit. I still can't believe how proud I am of him...here we have just a normal stage in development but I feel like my child has done something absolutely astounding. Amazing what being a parent does to you.

Other than that there isn't anything new going on. In two weeks we're flying to Colorado for my sister's college graduation. We're also going to go look at wedding dresses for her wedding which will be in May 2011. I'm sure it will be here before I know it!

The last day

Today is my last day of class for my weekend class. Three weekends consisting of Saturday and Sunday -- all day. It really has been a fabulous class, all about Library 2.0 and Social Networking. I have become heavily involved with Twitter because of it. Still trying to determine if that's a good or bad thing.

I have to admit I'm starting to feel the affects of my full-tilt run toward graduation. I'm exhausted. Especially this month. I have so much due and a lot of it are things that I just can't seem to sit down and focus on. I have a 12 page paper due in a week and a half and only have a paragraph written. I can't even work on it tonight because I have another assignment for my Exceptional Child class due on Tuesday. I can complete it Tuesday after I get off work, but I don't want to have to worry about the whole thing then. I'm definitely going to need to start it this evening.

On top of that though, we need to hit Sam's Club and the grocery store...not to mention that I need to find time to spend with my awesome husband and amazing little boy. I don't want to leave them in the dust with all of this. Poor Caleb is feeling the worst of it since my schedule is pretty much: Work, Homework, Spend time with Nathan, Homework, Bed. Our shows are way backed up on the DVR, we still haven't used our Christmas present gift cards for a night out (dinner and a movie).

I can't wait until work is out so I have one less thing to do. It is just going to get worse before it gets better of course. Once this semester is over I start summer classes before work is out. Summer classes are two nights a week for a month and half...so instead of only being home late on Mondays, I'll be home late on Tuesday and Thursday night. Joy. But at least it'll be over quickly and if I can get this done now I will be on schedule to graduate in December and do my student teaching next Spring.

Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel is what is really keeping me going here. That and when I talk to my workaholic friend Cathy, and see how much more stressful her life in Pharmacy School is...I realize it's not so bad!

Called To Peru

Called To Peru EASTER GIVEAWAY

Wednesday, March 24, 2010 At 05:42PM

Next week we will be celebrating Easter, in recognition of the Grace afforded to us all. We are so excited to do this for the first time in another culture and country. So, as a result of our excitement we wanted to do something fun! Hence the first “Called to Peru Easter Giveaway.”

There is nothing more exciting than searching for hidden eggs or candy filled baskets; (especially if you are Shaun). Our hope is that your eyes will gleam with anticipation over the goodies El Conejito de Pascua (The Easter Bunny) will be leaving you. We also hope that this will help spread the word about what God is doing in Peru. 

Please enjoy this contest because we have enjoyed putting it together. Who knows, it might become an annual thing?!

PRIZES:

There will be three prizes in total (Grand Prize, second prize and third prize) but before we purchase the gifts, we want to know who our winners will be. While we would love to provide pictures of the prizes, we also want to cater to YOU! (sizes, colors, tastes, etc...)

Examples of prizes include (but are not limited to):

Authentic Souvenirs 

Peruvian Candy

Peruvian Soda

T-Shirts

Jewelry

and who knows, maybe even a stuffed piranha...(If you’re a dude).

TO ENTER:

There are many ways to enter! You can complete one, or all but remember, the more times you enter, the better your chances of winning! Please read the contest rules on how to validate your entries.**

 1) Repost the contest

• Share this opportunity with your family and friends on Facebook, Twitter and/or yourblog(s)!

 2) Subscribe to our monthly E-Newsletter 

• CLICK HERE to subscribe
• If you are already subscribed, please indicate this in your entry email

3) Forward the March Newsletter

• If you have not received the March Newsletter, let us know so you can accomplish this entry
• You MUST CC (Carbon Copy) calledtoperu@gmail.com in your forwarded email for the entry to count
• For every 10 forwards you will receive an entry (Ex: If you forward to 100 people, you will receive 10 more entries)

4) Fill out the Called To Peru Survey 

5) Share our newest video

• Using this link, http://vimeo.com/10277019 repost the video “Called to Peru & SCRUBS” to your Facebook, Twitter and/or your blog(s)!

6) Become a Fan of Called To Peru on Facebook

• CLICK HERE to become a Fan!
• If you are already a fan, please indicate this in your entry email.

7) Follow Called To Peru on Twitter

• CLICK HERE to follow us on Twitter!
• If you are already a follower, please indicate this in your entry email.

CONTEST RULES:

We want to keep things simple. All are welcome to participate in this contest. If you’re old enough to have an email, Facebook, Twitter or blog then you are old enough to enter! 

**To make your entries valid you MUST email us at calledtoperu@gmail.com and include:

Your Full Name

The Email address you would like to be contacted at

A full list of completed entries

For Example:
Amanda Wissmann

calledtoperu@gmail.com

Reposted the contest on Facebook

Reposted the contest on Twitter

Subscribed to E-Newsletter

Became a Fan of Called to Peru on Facebook

The “Called To Peru Easter Giveaway” begins Wednesday, March 24, 2010. All emailed entries must be accepted by Friday, April 2, 2010 at 11:59pm CST.

If you have any questions regarding this contest, feel free to contact us atcalledtoperu@gmail.com and we will respond at our earliest convenience. 

LET THE CONTEST BEGIN!

Blessings,

Shaun and Amanda Wissmann

Spring Break

It's my spring break right now. We aren't doing anything special this week. Caleb's sister is coming in from Tulsa on Thursday to spend Easter with us, but other than that we're just lazing around the house!

Sunday night Nathan had his first fever so I had to reschedule some observation plans I had (I have to observe other school libraries for my teaching certification) so I could be home with him. Poor baby was pretty miserable yesterday morning. Today he's a little better...seems to have a low fever right now but nothing that is making him upset. His little cough is the worst though, I really wish there was some medicine I could give him for it.

I am observing tomorrow all day, that should be interesting. It's not really something I want to do on my spring break but I don't have much choice. I have no other time to get this done. I have 25 of 100 hours simply because I work in a school library. I'll be getting about 6 more hours tomorrow which I guess is progress but man, 75 more hours!? Crazy. I'm going to try to get most of it done this summer - we'll see how it goes.

Yesterday I was very lazy...only did the dishes and swept/mopped a small portion of the kitchen. Nathan is napping right now so I'm hoping I can get the cat boxes and guest bathroom cleaned. Our building had a horrible clog in one of the main sewage pipes. Causing sewage to back up in the laundry room as well as our guest bathroom's tub and toilet. It took FOREVER to get people in to fix...our maintenance guy is a joke (he must be family though because any normal company would have fired him by now) so I have to go through email with the secretary who is awesome and really helpful, but it still takes a while. Anyway, it's finally fixed but I still have to clean up the mess it left. Lots of bleach will be used today.

Caleb is on his way to IKEA to get our new mattress today. We have been needing one for a while but it wasn't until we flipped our mattress a few months ago and realized it smelled like mildew that we decided it couldn't wait any longer. So we waited for our tax return and did some shopping around and decide IKEA was the way to go. We want a memory foam but don't want to pay the $1300 that a Tempur Pedic would cost. At IKEA we can get a queen memory foam  w/ latex for $400 and it has a good warranty too! I wanted to go with but it would have been really cramped in the car and I have a lot to do around here today that I know wouldn't get done if I went.

Alright, time to get started. I have a lot of homework too...no time to waste!~

Snow, Naptime and Graduation...

Well look at that, another post within a week! I'm getting there :0)

Much of the same around here. Today it's snowing again after two weeks of good spring weather. Hopefully it wont last and honestly, I can't really complain that much since Colorado and Oklahoma are getting hit a lot harder.

Nathan is snoozing (finally) and I'm thinking about getting started on some homework. Nothing that's due for a few weeks but I figure I might as well. I also have a lot of reading that I need to do, that's actually for Monday so I had probably better get cracking on that.

In Nathan's world, he'll be 7mos next Thursday. Every month I wonder where the time went. He's sitting up very well by himself now and is just starting to get up on his knees. I think it'll be a bit before he crawls though. Hmm I probably mentioned all of that in my last post. I haven't read it since last week so I have no idea. Sorry about that.

Big stuff that's going on revolves around school and work. Nothing will really change until next year but I do need to make a decision soon regarding school. If I want to try to cram my observation hours into the next two semesters then I can do my student teaching next spring. Meaning, I'll be looking for a REAL teaching job this time next year. My other option is to extend it out another semester, do my student teaching in the Fall of 2011 and start looking for a job after that. Getting it done sooner would be preferable but also more stressful. I guess I'm just going to see how many hours I can get from now until September and if I can conceivably finish the hours over the fall semester I will. Otherwise I'll extend it out.

Caleb has also just found out his uncles are interested in having him work for them when we move back to Oklahoma. He's still deciding what he wants to do, but it would be a great opportunity. It's really going to depend a lot on my degree though and when I get it, etc. etc. etc. But - the future is looking bright and we can only thank God for that!

told you i'd be back...

I've been on Twitter a lot lately. A lot more than anything else actually. I've even been neglecting my Facebook status in favor of Twitter. You can all thank my Libraries 2.0 class for my new found obsession. Before this class I thought Twitter was pointless, now it is my text messaging, blogging and news source. It helps that I'm able to update from my phone, well I don't know that "helps" is the right word. Maybe, "fuels the obsession" is a better term for it.

Caleb's parents were in town for a few days this week. They got in really late Monday night after Nathan and I were asleep and because I had to work all week I only got to see them in the evenings. It didn't feel like I got to see them all that much so it seems weird that they're gone already. They left around 2 this afternoon. We wont see them again until May, but Caleb's sister is coming up for Easter.

The weather here is fabulous. The trees are already budding and this past Wednesday it was in the sixties! SPRING SPRING SPRING! It's also always about this time that I get nostalgic for high school. I work in a high school and usually don't miss being a high school student until spring starts rolling around and the seniors start getting excited for graduation. It just reminds me of my senior year and all the uneasy excitement in preparation for going off to college. It really makes me miss my old friends and the theatre crowd. I can't believe I've been out of high school for six years already. Where does the time go?

Speaking of time flying, Nathan is SIX AND A HALF MONTHS OLD!?!?!?! What!? He's sitting up on his own, eating solids like a pro and is even starting to maneuver into the crawling position every once in a while. I think it'll still be some time before he actually crawls (which I'm totally cool with...we still need to baby proof around here) but it's a new development and it's so neat to see him learn new things! His eating habits in the last month have really changed things around here, he's hardly drinking milk at all during the day anymore and I've actually cut down a pumping session at work. Hard to believe that in six months I wont be dealing with nursing at all anymore. Makes me kind of sad actually. I know it'll be nice to have my freedom back, but it'll be the official end to his babyhood -- why can't they be little for just a little longer? Why is it only one short short year? Boo.

Well, it's way past my bedtime. Perhaps if I find the time and am feeling exceptionally wordy, I'll update again tomorrow. Wouldn't that be something? Two posts in less than twenty-four hours!

Promises

One day I will update...one day. Still here, still doing well. Just very busy. Check back this weekend.