Well, after a year and half of being out of school, I find myself hurled back into the swift current of studies. I say it like it's a bad thing, but it's not. It's just a little overwhelming at the moment.
Classes started a week ago today. I'm taking 5 classes this quarter: Life-Span Development, Abnormal Psychology, Medical Terminology, Intro to OT, and Women in American History. All of them have a LOT of reading involved. In 3 different classes, I walked into the classroom on the first day and the teacher expected us to have the first 2-3 chapters read already. Needless to say, I have been playing catch up most of the week. It's frustrating, because one of my goals this year was to stay ahead with the reading- pretty tough when they start you out behind!!
I didn't realize just how different classes would be here compared to Walla Walla. I knew there would be many more students on campus, and that there would be people from lots of different backgrounds. I did not anticipate, however, just how different the teaching would be. When I walked into my first class, the professor said, "Let's start off with...." and I'm used to hearing "a word of prayer," but she said, "taking a look at the syllabus." Okay, I thought. That's okay. I need to get used to this.
It became very difficult for me when in my Abnormal Psych book they blamed Christianity for many extreme treatments for abnormal behavior (such as Jesus casting out demons), and said that Christianity is responsible for the diverting the attention of people in finding "effective treatment" in these disorders. Furthermore, they had Joan of Arch and Christ as examples of individuals who had "disillusions of grandeur." It really bothers me to hear Christ and Christianity talked about in such a condescending way.
Another issue that I am currently dealing with is a book that is required for my Women in American History class. We are required to read a book called, "Talking to the Dead" about the Fox sisters who started a movement in spiritualism. I am very against reading this book, but it accounts for 20% of the overall grade in the class. I am going to speak with my professor and see if she will allow me to read a different book instead. If not, I am faced with the two options of either taking an 80% as the maximum grade I can receive, or withdrawing from the class.
Another challenge I'm facing right now is meeting the core requirements I need in order to apply to the Occupational Therapy program this next spring. I thought I had all the prereqs taken care of, but it turns out that I not only had the required OT classes, I also have the core classes for a bachelor's degree that I need to fulfill. It turns out that 3 classes I took at WWU (computer literacy, A&P, and Western Thought) may help fulfill some of these requirements. I need to meet with the department heads for each of these subjects and plead my case. If they all accept it, then it is possible for me to have everything ready for this spring. It will mean that this coming winter and spring quarter I will need to take 20 credits. If one of the department heads decides that they cannot accept my class credits, then it will mean staying on the main campus one more year, and graduating with my masters in 2012 instead of 2011.
After all these negatives, I must say that there are many positive things to talk about too. God blessed Bob and I greatly when I was awarded two grants that completely covered my tuition for the year. It was a HUGE answer to prayer, and I am very thankful. And even though I am not surrounded by other Adventists in my classes, I am blessed to have an amazing husband, close, loving in-laws, and a wonderful church family to support me here while I go to school. Not to mention all my family and friends who live elsewhere who are always there for me!
We used our entertainment center to divide the kitchen from the rest of the living area. We have a projector connected to the computer so we can watch movies our our "big screen". :)
Our walls may appear a bit sparse, but what can you do in a rental that doesn't put any holes in the wall??
Our kitchen. The front door is to the left. This last picture is of the hallway leading to the two bedrooms, the laundry closet, the bathroom, and the garage. But that's for another time. ;)
One of my favorite recipes I've found is for these burgers. It comes from a recipe book called The Candle Cafe Cookbook. These burgers are oat and veggie-meat free, so my poor tummy likes them. The could also be made to be gluten-free if you don't put in the flour/bread crumbs. 
After we had finished decorating our tree, we sat down and watched "It's a Wonderful Life" together next to the tree. It was so much fun!
These pictures are from our family's Thanksgiving meal on Thursday before the big family meal at Matt and Judy's house in McMinneville on Sabbath.
Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from church, but it was a very special Sabbath. The family went to Hopewell SDA Church. Mom, Laura, Bob, and I led the song service, and Laura gave a sermon on her mission trip last spring to the Philippines. Afterwards we went to Matt and Judy's and had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. Following the meal, we took a walk and then played charades. The following picture is from the charade that Grandpa, Laura, and I did when King Solomon threatened to divide the baby the two women were fighting over to see who the real mother was. 
Later today, I'll post a blog on our Christmas tree adventure. :)
Bob and his new power saw.
This is the morning of my big hair-cut that started out my stories on blogger. Wonderful self-portrait, eh? I was desperate, what can I say?
Here's the result of the haircut. You can also see our home behind me. We're in the duplex on the right side.
Off to my first day at Eastern Washington University.
Bob fixing the breaks on Bill's car. Bill's lending me his car while he's gone for a year in Yap as a student missionary.
First day trying to style my newest haircut. Just a little shorter and added some side bangs.
The next morning, we broke camp early and piled our gear into our boats and canoes. Bob and I (as adult chaperons) got to use one of the motor boats, while the kids paddled their canoes. It took about 2 hours for us to travel up to our campsite. Bob and I set up our tent near the beach, where we could hear the peaceful sound of the waves crashing on the shore. We were miles and miles away from our busy lives, and it was wonderful!
Friday night was so peaceful- it was amazing! I love welcoming the Sabbath while surrounded by God's beautiful creation- it's the way it was meant to be! We enjoyed a beautiful sunset while singing worship songs around the campfire. Afterward, we crawled into our tent for some much needed sleep.
That evening was filled with s'mores, hotdogs, and hot drinks as we all tried to stay warm by the fire. Later on, the kids played sardines and other games until bedtime. We woke up early the next morning and began the journey home.
