Punched in the Thanksgiving Gullet!

 In short, Thanksgiving 2k12 absolutely slayed Thanksgiving 2k11.  We’re talking an Arnold-Schwarzenegger-as-Conan beat-down.  There was good food, friends, and glorious relaxation.

Em and I both had 9 days off for the holidays.  Not many school districts organize their years that way, and I’m so glad ours does.  One thing that I was not prepared for in transitioning from teaching high schoolers to teaching fourth graders was the holiday hysteria that apparently targets anyone younger than 10.

My last day before the break was a hurricane of hyped-up kids, food, and even a couple of parents.  My homeroom had a Thanksgiving Feast for lunch, which involved a couple platefuls of Turkey, mashed potatoes, and the fixings.  The mixture of unstructured holiday celebrations and vacation anticipation proved too much for most of my kids to handle.  There were tears, near-vomiting, more tears, and a game of jeopardy that resulted in a tiny riot.  Whew.  I was ready for the break.

Em and I went to Jim and JoAnn’s for Thanksgiving.  A couple of months ago, Em was overtaken by some serious Martha Stewart urges, and she has been knocking any and all meals she attempts out of the ballpark.  Thanksgiving was no different.  It was one of the best feasts I’ve ever had.  Mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, amazing stuffing, great turkey, butternut squash mixture, broccoli crisp, homemade bread…my plate looked like an episode of Hoarders.  To use a common Gasper phrase—“I packed it in.”

Other than eating, we did a whole bunch of TV watching, reading, biking, and relaxing.  That’s what being responsible for the daily well being of so many kids has done to us—we are relaxation junkies. 

Now it’s back to work for four weeks until Christmas in New York City!    

Travis and the Fall Festival

This past weekend we had two fun events.  One, my friend Jennie came to visit.  Houston was a stop along the way as she traveled to Monterrey, Mexico.  Jennie works with The Mission Society and will spend the next 5 years serving in a school.  Here is a picture of her petting a goat (I think it's a goat):

"Where did we come across a goat?" you ask.  At Austin Elementary, Trav's school.  Friday night we all drove out to Cut and Shoot for the festivities.  Here are a few:

 The Live Auction in the Cafeteria

 Bouncy Thing

 We couldn't ride...

 Travis's Favorite Activity

Karaoke- (The Song Firework about 8 Times)

 The Aftermath of the Silly String War

Yay for turning 29!

So I turned the big 29 on September 30, and Travis came up with some great ways to celebrate.  On Friday, my parents came over while Travis cooked out.  We enjoyed a delicious meal, and they surprised me with killer presents.  Quick backstory: my beloved camera was stolen a little less than a year ago, so I haven't been able to take pictures in a while.  My parents surprised me with a Nikon, and Travis got me an iPad.  I felt incredibly spoiled (and very techie).  I have already taken a bunch of pictures and posted video grammar tutorials for my students using the iPad (super exciting stuff).
On Saturday we saw the movie Pitch Perfect and ate dinner with friends at Olive Oil.  Here are some pictures of the festivities.

 Delicious birthday cupcake from Frost.

 Dana, Devi, me, Adriana

 You know us

 Trav and Katie

 Greek musicians...or musicians playing Greek music

 Adriana and Benji

 My mom and dad

Back in the Swing of Things

So Travis and I have survived the first few weeks of the new school year, and the best news is, we're loving it.  My first week was about a thousand times easier this semester than it was when I started in January.  There have been no major incidents thus far, and my kids are super entertaining.  A few told me that I remind them of Anne Hathaway while another told me that I could be Andy Sandberg's sister.  I'm not really sure what to do with that.
My kids from last year come by my room on a regular basis to tell me that they are failing physics and wish they were still in my class.  (They have such rose colored memories, but I'll take it).  I am trying some new teaching techniques this year, and I'm hoping to instill a love for Spanish is a few kids.

Trav's 4th graders are keeping him laughing as well.  They mostly stick to telling him that he reminds them of Edward Cullen.  I think it's the hair.  His goofy sense of humor and passion for reading and writing are a great fit for this position.  I'm excited to visit his school one day and meet all of his students.  

Please continue to pray for us as we spend time with all these kids.  We want to serve them well, and they come from such diverse backgrounds.  We need wisdom, patience and love.  

I listened to a speech given by a woman who won teacher of the year, and she said that what our kids need most is grace.  They come with extreme greatness and extreme weakness, but none come with perfection.  We need to let grace transform them just as it transforms us.  So with that in mind, please pray that we will be instruments of grace in people's lives.    

Trav's latest publication

Many of you have probably seen this link, but for those of you who haven't, I wanted to pass it along.  Travis was published in the Houston Chronicle, and it is a story worth reading.

A tribute to my father, a deceptively inept dad who raised three sons on his own

On the horizon

Hers:

It has been a solid 2 and a half months since we've written anything, so here's the scoop:

On May 30 the seniors of College Park High School graduated.  At the beginning of the ceremony all of teachers walked in wearing black gowns.  I tried mine on before heading to the event only to have my husband say, "You look like a child."  It was true, the gown was quite large, and I looked even more high schoolish than usual.  Thank God the staff gowns were a different color than the students'.

All that to say, I finished out the semester alive and excited to teach at College Park again next year.  Although, it is kind of crazy to think that my students were born in 1995, and when they reference Vanilla Ice they say things like, "Oh, Miss G, that was back in your time."  I didn't realize that my time was over, but apparently it is.  Thankfully I am still somewhat in touch with what my students are listening to, so when they start rapping things like, "99 Problems," I can put the kibosh on it.


His:

Here's the surprise, M. Night Shamalayan end twist to my last couple of months:  I am going to be a 4th grade language arts teacher.

Now, this was not something that I decided out-of-the-blue, by my own volition.  It began with a friend connecting me with an elementary school in Cut and Shoot, Texas (that's not a joke, it's really the name of the town).  The school needed help with tutoring for the approaching standardized test, and I arrived expecting to tutor in language arts.  Instead, I tutored first, second, third, and fourth graders in Math.  To my surprise, I loved helping with math.  To my bigger surprise, I loved working with elementary school kids.

In the endlessly creative minds of the little kids, I became "that vampire guy" (because of my spiked hair I think?), Math Yoda, "that most famous guy", and in one of the more interesting sentence constructions of a third grader I was helping with English: "Mr. G who lays frog eggs in the afternoon."  I was hooked.

A language arts position opened up at the school and I received the position.  So now I am elbows deep in learning how to teach 4th graders reading and writing.  I also have to think of some decorations for my new room.  I'm thinking Finn and Jake will need to make an appearance.

Spring Break 2012

The Friday before Spring Break probably should not exist. One of my more vocal students yelled in the middle of class, “Don’t you know we don’t want to be here!!!”

“Why yes I do,” I thought, “But that doesn’t change the fact that we’ve got 3 hours until you can leave.” So I smiled and invited him be quiet while I continued reviewing Spanish grammar with the other 28 kids that were less offended at being required to work while in school.

And then the bell rang a few hours later, and you would have thought they had all won a million dollars.

Spring Break 2012.

Travis and I welcomed the first few days of not waking up at 5am only to sit in the house while the torrential rain poured. We went to the Cheesecake Factory on Saturday night and planned on going to a movie, but by the time we made it to the car we were soaked and cranky. We skipped sitting in a theater and watched a movie at home.

On Monday we drove to San Antonio to spend a few days with Justin and Julie. The sun was shining, the Mexican food was excellent, and we even got to ride Segways.

Oh, High School

So we've been back in Texas for a little over three weeks now. My parents are graciously housing us for the time being, and I've jumped back into teaching Spanish. Most of my students are freshmen. There are a few sophomores and juniors interspersed, but the vast majority are 15 year-olds. Here are a few observations about the differences between teaching junior high and high school:

1) High School starts at 7:20. Junior High starts at 8:50. Freshmen try to sleep through first period.

2) Spanish 1 is not an honors class in HS, everyone gets to take it...over and over again until they pass.

3) Freshmen can be super moody and a little intense. Junior High kids are a lot goofier.

4) I blend in way more now than I did teaching at McCullough.

All in all, I am really enjoying my new job. I am thankful for the opportunity to be back in the classroom, although it does feel like my first year teaching all over again. A lot of the 7th graders that I taught 4 years ago are now in AP Spanish, and they come by my room to say hi.

Travis and I have been navigating this new season, and although we do not know what the future holds exactly, we are living into what's in front of us. Please pray for me as I figure out freshmen. I need all the wisdom I can get. So if you happen to have any insight, please share!

An Update!

So the last time we updated the blog was when we were about to fly from the blowdart-infested state of Wisconsin to a conference held by The Mission Society in Florida.  Well, the conference was great, and a ton has happened since then.  To make a long story short: We're back in the US (I keep wanting to add "SR" to the end of that, thanks a bunch Beatles).  Recently our mentor/friend/missions pastor John Hull crafted a letter to our support base, and it is much more succinct than either of us could be.  And it doesn't clutter up the point with a bunch of obscure movie references.  Here it is:

Dear Supporter, 

I am writing to share some news about Travis and Emily Gasper.  I am so proud of how they have answered God’s call to serve Him in Peru.  Their maturity and their commitment to this calling is solid and impressive.
 

As you know, Travis and Emily went to Peru last year to begin language training and ministry with children.  Prior to leaving, they interviewed with and were accepted as full-time missionaries by The Mission Society, a very effective and well established mission agency.
I applaud their decision, as The Mission Society will provide them with excellent training and ongoing guidance.  The time they spent this past fall with MCM International in Peru provided a good introduction into missions ministry and a foundation for what they will learn through The Mission Society. 

Emily and Travis attended an orientation and planning conference with The Mission Society earlier this month.  While there, the organization recommended that Emily and Travis return to the United States to begin its official training and development program stateside.  The Mission Society has learned through years of experience that missionaries who complete this process have a much higher probability of having an effective, healthy, and long-term missions ministry.  Usually, those who don’t will struggle and return after a year or two. 

 For this reason, they have chosen to return to the United States to begin the training process.
I believe that they made a great decision.  I have so much confidence in them and strongly feel that going through this process will better prepare them for a long and effective ministry.  Their training, development, and support raising will take at least one year before they return to Peru.  

I believe in Emily and Travis and respect them greatly.  As we put their financial support on hold, I encourage you to keep them in your prayers and to plan for their future support when the time comes for them to return to the mission field. 

In Him,   John K. HullMissions Pastor

There it is.  As short and to-the-point as a final knife battle between Steven Segal and Tommy Lee Jones.  (I couldn't help myself).  So we are currently back in The Woodlands.  Emily is working as a Spanish teacher at College Park High School, and I am currently on the job hunt while also working as a freelance copyeditor.  I am sure that Emily will post in the near-future about the discrepancies between teaching middle school and high school.  As a hint: high schoolers are more prone to vandalism.