A week of celebrations

We are celebrating two thanksgivings this year. It's not that unusual for us to do so since my parents are both from Canada and we have celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with them in October. However this is a special Thanksgiving year for us as we celebrated early with the visit of Alicia and her daughter Lorelai. (See photos) We will be spending our second Thanksgiving on Thursday with Holly's parents at Smith Mountain Lake.

This season I am thankful that God has allowed me to attend Liberty University and gain new teaching skills. Working toward certification and licensure is not an easy process. Under the new legislation, "No Child Left Behind Act", all school systems need to show that their teachers are "highly qualified". Although this term is not clearly defined, the state of Virginia demonstrates teacher skill through testing. Most teachers need to take the Virginia Communication and Literacy Assessment (VCLA) or the Praxis 1, AND the Praxis 2. Special educators take the Virginia Reading Assessment exam. Students like myself, (those seeking double certification) must take all three exams. On Monday I took the four hour VCLA test. Unofficial reports show that I scored 97% in the Reading subtest while scoring 85% in the Writing subtest. Of course official scores will be mailed to me. In January I will take the VRA (a much harder test) that examines a student's readiness for special education work.

Samuel celebrated his fifth birthday this week. In addition to a party with his family, Sammy is having fun with his new remote controlled car. We have the perfect basement for such toys. Steven can't wait for March when we celebrate his 7th birthday. He never had a party before. I wonder if anyone ever celebrated his birthday. This will also be the first year Steven celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.

The close of 2009 also marks the beginnning of an expensive but necessary readoption process for our two sons. Because Steven's official birthdate is inaccurate (by 2 years), we need to legally change the date and go through a readoption. So we will do it with both boys. This way, they will receive an official US birth certificate (which comes in very handy these days).

May your thanksgiving celebration focus your gratefulness upward as you praise God for his great goodness and grace.