So, as of today Micheal and I have been engaged for 3 months! Some days I think, "Wow! 3 months already! October is coming fast!" and other times I think, "Only 3 months! It is taking forever!!". Ha Ha! I am trying to be patient and enjoy this time as a bride to be but it is hard because I am sooo excited! As far as the wedding planning goes everything is going smooth so far. We have the dress, church, preacher, photographer, bridesmaids dresses, colors, and some decorations... and we still have 7 months to go! I am not a professional by any means but I say that is pretty good! There are times when Mom and I look at each other and are like "Shouldn't we be doing something!". Ha Ha! We are pretty much figuring things out as we go!
I want to share an interesting story behind finding the photographer! You know how every bride has those certain things that she considers to be "non-negotiables" well one of those things for me was my photographer. I am not picky about most other things but I always knew from day one that I wanted a good anf fun photographer, however not one that was going to make my parent's and I go into debt! LOL! Well all of the ones we looked at in Lubbock were ridiculous! So my mom started calling around in Levelland to see what we could find there. Well the first lady to call her back was named Debbie Blackshear. My mom was talking to her and was totally impressed with the price and the package. So she gave her my name... well at this moment Debbie begins screaming, "Oh My Gosh, AMANDA MARTIN! You mean Campus Ambassador at SPC Amanda Martin!!!!" And my mom, who was totally shocked was like, "Yeah...". Debbie went on to say how much she enjoyed me when I was at S.P.C. and so on and so forth!
When my mom called to tell me I was shocked and excited! Everyone who was a campus ambassador with me at the time loved Debbie! We all called her Mama Deb because she was like a mother to all of us! However, I never would have dreamed she would have had that reaction to me getting married! Anyway, I am so excited that not only did we find a good photographer but we found someone who knows me and I know she will do a fabulous job! It is so fun to see how God's hand is in all things even when we least expect it!! :-)
That is pretty much all that is going on on the Wedding Front! I am so ready for summer and graduation because after that I plan on diving into wedding planning head first! I haven't been able to that so far because of school. My main time consumer right now is trying to get my 120 hours of practicum time in before the end of April. I mentioned my practicum in an earlier post and will go into more detail about what I am doing exactly. Basically, a practicum is part of the undergrad program and requires the student to get 120 hours of real life experience in a place that centers around their type of degree.
With my degree being Family Studies there were a lot of different avenues to take. Some places I could choose from included anything from working within schools to working with women protective services. I chose to do mine with Early Childhood Intervention (ECI).
Basically ECI is a program for children form birth to three years old. They come into the home and evaluate children whose parents are concerned might have developmental delays. The delay could come in any type of form imaginable it could be speech, OT, PT, nutritional, etc. and ECI will come in and provide different types of in-home therapies for the child. It is such a wonderful program because it is covered by insurance so most families don't have to pay a dime and the initial assessment to see if the child qualifies is always free. ECI staffs speech therapists, dieticians, occupational therapists, licensed professional counselors, physical therapists, and many more in order to provided one on one care for each family. I have been shadowing Stephanie Coffman, Early Intervention Specialist, since January and I have learned so much!
About 2 weeks after a started my practicum Stephanie allowed me to do some of the therapy sessions by myself. I was nervous and excited all at the same time. There are definatly some difficult moments when dealing with babies and toddlers. However, there are also those amazing moments where you feel yourself connecting with the child in an awesome way and you stop and think, "Wow! I am really helping him!". Mainly I have worked with kids who have speech delays. It is so rewarding to hear them start talking more and more as the weeks go by! I love it!
If you know anyone who might benefit from ECI's services please pass it on! I believe if more parents knew services like ECI were available to them they would definitely take advantage of them!
Happy Monday Everyone!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Catch Up!
I don't know about you guys but 2011 has just been an AMAZING year so far! I can see God's blessings pouring out on his people everywhere I look.
In late January our friends, Brian and Stacy adopted a beautiful brand new baby boy named Barrett Keinan Turpen. He is just perfect! God's hand was truly in this adoption because Brian and Stacy found out about this mother-to-be who was looking for someone to adopt her baby and less than 48 hours later the baby had been born and Barrett was with his new mommy and daddy! It is so neat watching God's blessings pour out on people you love!
There are several other babies who will be making their debut in 2011! My best friend Meghan will be having her 4th little blessing in August! She actually found out she was pregnant on the same day Micheal and I got engaged! :) My friend Kara is expecting her 2nd baby boy on Good Friday so that is just around the corner and we are all very excited! Also, Micheal's sister Miranda and her hubby are expecting their first baby in August! Micheal and I will be getting a new little neice or nephew! :) I am so excited because this is the first neice or nephew born on Micheal's side that I will officially be "aunt" to from birth! Micheal's oldest sister has 2 boys who I have known from birth but I wasn't officially Aunt Amanda! (I like the way that sounds!) I am so glad Micheal has older sisters otherwise I wouldn't be an aunt for a long time because Adam is only 15!
On February 14th Micheal and I got to spend our first Valentine's Day together as an engaged couple! We had a great time. I had a hair appointment in Levelland that afternoon so Micheal took me to that and then we headed to Lubbock! He took me to eat at Red Lobster which is one of my favorites! And then we went to see the new movie with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, "Just Go With It". We both thought it was really funny! I had told Micheal that the only thing I wanted for Valentine's was a date but he didn't listen! :) I got some beautiful roses delivered to work and he also got me a personalized keepsake box. I absolutely love it! :) He is so sweet!
So now I look up and we are already half way through March and Spring Break has already come and gone. I am so excited because that means graduation is less than 2 months away! I cannot wait! Everything on the school front is going great especially my practicum! I will share all about that in my next post! To end I will share some pictures of some of my favorite things! :)
In late January our friends, Brian and Stacy adopted a beautiful brand new baby boy named Barrett Keinan Turpen. He is just perfect! God's hand was truly in this adoption because Brian and Stacy found out about this mother-to-be who was looking for someone to adopt her baby and less than 48 hours later the baby had been born and Barrett was with his new mommy and daddy! It is so neat watching God's blessings pour out on people you love!
Stacy with her brand new baby boy!
There are several other babies who will be making their debut in 2011! My best friend Meghan will be having her 4th little blessing in August! She actually found out she was pregnant on the same day Micheal and I got engaged! :) My friend Kara is expecting her 2nd baby boy on Good Friday so that is just around the corner and we are all very excited! Also, Micheal's sister Miranda and her hubby are expecting their first baby in August! Micheal and I will be getting a new little neice or nephew! :) I am so excited because this is the first neice or nephew born on Micheal's side that I will officially be "aunt" to from birth! Micheal's oldest sister has 2 boys who I have known from birth but I wasn't officially Aunt Amanda! (I like the way that sounds!) I am so glad Micheal has older sisters otherwise I wouldn't be an aunt for a long time because Adam is only 15!
On February 14th Micheal and I got to spend our first Valentine's Day together as an engaged couple! We had a great time. I had a hair appointment in Levelland that afternoon so Micheal took me to that and then we headed to Lubbock! He took me to eat at Red Lobster which is one of my favorites! And then we went to see the new movie with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, "Just Go With It". We both thought it was really funny! I had told Micheal that the only thing I wanted for Valentine's was a date but he didn't listen! :) I got some beautiful roses delivered to work and he also got me a personalized keepsake box. I absolutely love it! :) He is so sweet!
Micheal got to pick out what was engraved on it.
The top says: Have I Told You Lately That I Love You (He tells me that all the time)
The bottom says: Micheal & Amanda
:)
Also in February Micheal and I traveled to Amarillo to participate in Disciple Now at South Georgia Baptist Church. We are always so blessed by our experience in Amarillo and this year was no different. We always leave with new friends and fun memories!
Sunday lunch with friends!!
Wedding shopping with my family!
Going to Adam's Play with the Family!
Me and Nanny
Me and Dad
Adam had to dress up like a girl! :)
Happy Sunday Everybody!!
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