i think she really means it…

What’s New?

Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 | Random Thoughts

Well, it’s been a lot more than a few days, but I’m finally getting around to let you all in on the happenings in the Jones’ household… (sorry there are no pictures yet)

Nate and I are in the midst of training for the San Diego Rock N’ Roll Marathon. We run three mornings a week before work (that means our alarm goes off at 4:15, and we’re usually out running a little after 5:00). It’s quite something to cram a 7 mile run in before going to work, but it works for us. This past weekend we ran 21 miles. Whew! Since I’ve not ever had a baby, I wonder if it’s anything like training for a marathon. I mean, even though I’ve done it 4 times before, I’ve forgotten the pain, and it isn’t any easier this time around!

Speaking of babies, Nate’s sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on March 17th. Little Sophie is perfect in every little way, and we are thrilled to have a new niece to love! Sydney is turning out to be such a well-mannered, helpful young girl. I can’t believe she’ll be starting kindergarten this September! She is one smart cookie! I *love* being her “Auntie Sara.”

Speaking of school, my students just finished taking their California Standards Tests. Our regular school schedule was altered, and I found fun and interesting activities to keep my students busy during the minutes they were in my classroom. There was no need to teach them any lessons at that point as their brains were usually mush after the 2 hours of testing each morning. I made 100 little fabric bags on my new sewing machine and filled them with “test prep goodies.” It was just my way of encouraging them to do their best on their tests this year. Many of my kids have grown a great deal in their math understanding, and I know they can be successful.

In March we celebrated “Pi Day” (March 14–you know–3/14–3.14–yeah, it’s math nerd day). The students did all kinds of fun activities with the digits of pi including a pi chain (with each number represented by color), a pi bar graph, creating a picture out of the symbol for pi, creating a pi-mobile, and learning a little history about pi. We also enjoyed a few oatmeal creme “pi”s. It was a fun activity and definitely a celebration I plan to repeat in the years to come!

Nate and I have taken several more walks through L.A. using our “Walk L.A.” book. We’ve walked the canals of Venice (a mere 5 miles from our front door!) and explored some incredibly steep stairs in northwestern Santa Monica. We were blown away by the number of “local” running up and down the side of the mountain!

A few weeks ago, after reading an amazing story from a missionary’s blog in Kenya, God placed a mini project on my heart. A few months ago, this missionary was called in the middle of the night to rush to the clinic where a young woman was having a miscarriage. She was loosing a great deal of blood and the workers at the clinic used many towels to stop the bleeding. When they were finally able to keep her from loosing any more blood, they had her re-dress in the bloody clothes she arrived in for a drive to the hospital. As tears filled my eyes and my heart broke, I couldn’t help but think of the hemorrhaging woman in the gospel of Luke. My heart was stirred to compassion, and I just knew there was something I needed to do to provide dignity and modesty to a sister half a world away. With the help of some friends from our 2006 Kenya Missions team, we purchased 36 hospital gowns and several packs of women’s underwear to send to the ELI clinic in Kipkaren. I am so grateful for the work of our missionary friends in that small Kenyan village, and hope that even from so far away, we can still make a difference in the lives of the people they touch daily.

Finally, Nate and I made a new purchase recently. Our little 1997 Jetta was a faithful friend these past 5 years, but it was finally time to put her to rest. About a week and a half ago, Nate and I drove up to San Jose on a Thursday afternoon after work. We got up early Friday morning to run our “long” run for the week (19 miles) and then headed over to Capitol Honda, where Jeremy, Nate’s brother, works. We test-drove a fun 2005 Audi A4 and two different 2008 Honda Accords. A mere 5 hours later we decided to purchase a brand new car. Our black Accord is perfect and we feel like grown-ups with automatic doors and windows, cruise control, 6-disc CD change, and air-conditioning!

For those of you who have stayed with me through this extremely long update, thank you! My heart overflows with joy as I relive the many blessings God has given to use over these past couple of months.

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