10 days.

10 days. In 10 days I will be graduating. I will be handed lots of pieces of paper and sing with my class "The 12 weeks of nanny school" in front of a lot of people I don't know. I'll be packing my things and saying goodbye to people that I've grown to love. To people that I've spend so much time with, they are basically my sisters. There are girls here who I don't always get along with. There are girls here that I barely know, but each one has taught me something and for that I am very thankful. Even though I am excited to go home and see my parents, sleep in my bed, use my own shower, go to my own church, spend time with the children that I love, and see my cat, I am also dreading saying goodbye to people who I have become so close to. When you see someone 24/7 for three months, how do you just say goodbye? How do you pack up and fly over 2,000 miles away not knowing when you'll see them again? My roommate Haley and my friend Rose have been amazing friends through all of my time at ENGS. We are the three amigas. We have laughed together, cried together, encouraged each other, and had a lot of fun and eaten a very large amount of steak n' shake and buffalo wild wings. These are friends that I want to have for life, people that are genuine and kind hearted and loving. People who love you no matter what you do and love Jesus. I haven't had a lot of friends my age like this, and I am SO blessed to have made these friends. I am not looking forward to saying goodbye to them. I also am not looking forward to saying good bye to my practicum family. They have been such a blessing and have welcomed me into their home with open arms. Telling four young girls that you have to go home far away is heart breaking, for me and them.

When I think about everything I have learned here, I am so excited to share what I have learned. I've known that I love taking care of children for a long time, but I never thought I would be able to make a career out of it. Even when I'm not working in someone's home, hopefully I will have my own children and home and all of the things I have learned here have helped my grow in my knowledge and understanding of how to care for children physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I can also list a lot of random facts about the 10 types of diaper rashes and what the "4th trimester" is, if you want to know. I have found this experience to be difficult but worth every penny, and every minute of my time. I know I can use the skills I have learned here to honor God with everything that i do.

I have also grown SO much in my relationship with Christ. I have developed a craving for God's word and fellowship with other believers. I have grown in my loving of people who seem unlovable and my kindness and love towards others. I have grown in my selflessness and not thinking about myself all of the time. I have grown in prayer for my friends, family, my self, my future spouse, and even my enemies. I have had so much time to think about and re evaluate my life and I am excited to see the growth in me. I can finally take a joke without taking it personal and laugh at my self, I have learned to think before I speak, and I have learned to say what i feel and deal with my emotions, thoughts and sins. I have learned to be SO thankful for what God has given me. I could go on and on. I am so thankful that God allowed me to come here and has grown me SO much in all aspects of my life.

10 days.

What I am Thankful For

It's a long list, I have so many things and people to be thankful for! Don't be offended if you're name is not on here, I am thankful for you, too!

Jesus Christ, My Lord and Savior. He's given me everything.
The Bible, for being a light to my path.
My Mom, for all of her sacrifice, and for putting up with me.
Norm, for taking me in as his own, and teaching me how to function as a normal human.
My Sister, for loving me no matter what and being my friend.
 My extended Family
Trinity Evangel Church, for the amazing teaching, and the amazing love and fellowship.
Grace Bible Church
Grace Academy
ENGS
My home, good food, clean water, clothing, indoor plumbing, transportation, technology, etc.
Good Health
Living in the USA
The US military
Leila, Andy, Merian, + Lucy Bowers
Russ + Marie Hanley
Sean, Mo, Maggie, Calvin, Hallie, + Keelah Higgins
Dave + Gale Light
Ron, Jen, Abigail, Aaron, Isaiah Van Der Becken
Keri, Brian, Kenley, + Claire Ronk
Katie, Ben, Emmett, + Ammelia Hanson
Len + Susan Bone
Haley Douma
Autumn Huning
Chuck + Teresa Weinberg
Andi McAuliffe
Jolie + Ryan Hall
Ian + Kimmy Lugg
Jim, Gail, Jesse, + Esther Martin
Rose LaJoye
Cheryl Crane
Alicia, Katherine, Olivia, + Caroline Martin
Patti Frisk
Darrel Whitcomb
Timothy + Renee Lugg
Jonathan + Sonja Sarr
Marybeth Young
John + Helen Zimmer
Brenden, Diega, Sofia, Elena, Lydia, + Marisa Drage/Bravo
Dave, Brenda, Kaileigh, + Caleb Alford
Rick + Dawnell Holt

Oh Christmas tree...

Today at nanny school, we skipped classes. I know. Shocking. but it was for something REALLY cool. every year chagrin falls decorates the whole town for Christmas. Well this year...they got a HUGE christmas tree. It's 60 feet tall. and 40 feet wide. woah. that's kinda big. They brought it on a semi truck. it was a bit of a wide load. Then they used a crane to lift it into a hole. Here is the pictorial evidence.

We don't generally wear sweats and t shirts. But it was work out day and art day. sorry you had to witness the outfits. :)

more talking and less listening.

Generally listening is way better than talking when it comes to having a conversation with other people. But when it comes to what is going on in your mind, talking can be much better.  When I'm tired and emotional it's so easy to put myself down, to tell myself that I'm fat and ugly and no one likes me and I'm a failure. This is such a horrible mind set and I am working SO hard at telling myself the truth. I am loved and to God I am beautiful and I have family that loves me and friends that love me and I can do all things in life through Christ that strengthens me. I have to constantly tell myself these things, and being here in Ohio has been a huge challenge for me. I feel like I have made leaps and bounds in this area. I have learned that what people say to me and about me does not matter. These people have known me for a very short time. They do not care about me and what they say shouldn't matter. Who ever said "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" is such a liar. WORDS HURT. They hurt a lot. But i have learned that I don't need to over analyze what people say. I don't need to believe everything people say, but I also don't need to think that everyone is lying. If people talk bad about me, who cares? If people tell me they love me, they're not lying. This goes along with laughing to keep from crying. Sometimes I just have to blow things off. I just have to laugh and move on. because it's just not that important. These things might not seem important to you, but to me, these things are HUGE. Thank you for reading my word vomit :)

Halloween, Justin Beiber, and a few other things.

I know I haven't written in a while. The homework is really piling on, and not there isn't a lot of exciting stuff to talk about. Halloween was fun. In Chagrin Falls halloween is a big deal, anyone who's anyone comes here to trick or treat. The fire dept. makes a haunted house in their fire house. Which is terrifying, apparently. I didn't go in because I don't do chainsaws. But a few of my friends did and they all were scarred. There was also a guy running up and down the streets with a chainsaw. I didn't like him very much. Overall it was a good night, we had lots of fun, and everyone has fun costumes.

Of course once Halloween was over, everyone started listening to christmas music. You may be thinking, "So what?" But honestly it's horrible! Because every girl in this dorm loves the new Justin Beiber Christmas CD. HELP ME! My roommate subjects me to it almost everyday. Even on my birthday!

Speaking of birthdays, mine was good. My ride to my practicum family wasn't going to be able to take me, so I just sat around all day and watched Harry Potter. It was really strange not to be with my sister on our birthday. My parents took her out to lunch. and dinner. But I got Vera Bradley and a new iPod. I also got a few gifts from friends in WA, and they really made my day. My favorite was a video from my favorite fake children. I watch it almost every day. I love it! I also went out to dinner with my roommate at a nice little place called Yours Truly. It was a good day.

Other than those things, life is pretty boring here. We're learning a lot of good stuff. I'm ready for it to be over though, and I'm having to work really hard to be content and have joy. Only 35 days until my family gets here!

a tender heart and a humble mind

"Finally, all of you have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind" 1 Peter 3:8

A wise friend of mine suggested this week that I read 1 & 2 Peter when I was struggling with some things here at nanny school. Peter's letters are so encouraging and humbling. There has been so much drama here at the dorms, but I can honestly say that some of it is my fault. I am not the first person to have sympathy, or love others, or have a tender heart, or to be humble. This experience has been such a reveler to what my heart really looks like. Which hurts but I know will be so good in the future.  The past few days I have been so nasty. I immediately criticize people, even if it's not out loud. I think that I'm better than people because I don't swear all the time and I do my own dishes. How stupid and petty is that?! It's really easy for me to blame all of my problems on other people instead of seeing that lots of the drama and the sadness and the lack of joy is because of my ugly sin. If I was full of Christ's word and His love, people gossiping about me wouldn't matter, drama wouldn't matter, and I would only be able to give out love. Instead of gossip, slander, and hate. I know that I am one of the few christians here, and I can preach and preach about it but I don't know that I always live it. I would really appreciate prayer for that. "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it." 3:10-11

I have also been really struggling to wave my joy flag. I have fallen into a cloudy, eeyore Barbara, instead of a happy, joyful, Christ loving Barbara. I am homesick, I'm tired, my feelings have been hurt, blah blah blah. None of that matters, and I've just been really selfish. So I need to work on that, too. 

Other than that, I'm learning a lot. 

ohio is cold!

I'm not sure how many of you are wondering, but not a lot is going on here in Ohio. The weather is getting colder, the homework is getting harder, and everyone in the dorm is getting sick. Also, right now we have NO toilet paper and NO paper towels. TMI? sorry. but that's real life. haha This weekend only 7/15 girls were here. so we all had fun at bdubs and just hanging out. It's nice to be able to relax on the weekends. I am pretty homesick. I'm just ready for this to be over so i can go home. right now i don't have a clear idea of what i'm going to be doing when i graduate. i keep thinking i have a plan, but God has a different one. and a better one. So I would appreciate prayer for wisdom and just following where God leads and not just trying to do everything I want. Even though right now i can't imagine doing anything else. Other than that, everything is good and I'm staying busy and having fun and trying to stay warm. It's COLD here!

15 girls. 1 house. you know the rest.

The fun and thrills of Ohio and living with a bunch of girls is wearing off a little. or a lot. Everyone, including me, is tired and stressed. I am letting my emotions rule me and i'm having a really hard time escaping the drama. I feel really trapped by everything that is going on. I am to the point that i just can't even talk because i'm afraid of what i'll say. I also don't really have anyone to talk to. I'm so used to constantly being really close to people that i can talk to all of the time. about whatever. I just keep praying. a lot. There is nothing else I can do. I know that this is really growing me but it's really uncomfortable. I am finding all my peace and comfort in Christ and He really is my closest friend.

I'm also REALLY homesick. I miss my parents, I miss my sister, I miss my friends and my little babies and kids at home. I miss TEC and my bed and my own room and home cooked meals. The idea that i still have 66 days left here is scary. I have a thousand things that i have to do before I leave. I million decisions to make. What I really need is prayer. I'm not trying to complain. I really do love it here. There are a lot of girls that are sweet and funny and Chagrin is really fun. My roommate is amazing and I don't know what i would do if I didn't have her as a roommate. and I'm learning a lot. But I'm also struggling. But it's a good struggle. I'm stretching me and growing me and I really just have no where else to turn except Christ.

Nanny Life

It's been a very exciting week here at ENGS. We had a defensive driving class in Cleveland at AAA which was exciting and LONG, but i know a lot of things about how to drive safer and install carseats the right way and about the importance of carseats. Some of which i didn't know and which some people at home are doing wrong according to AAA. Also, In Ohio, double stops at stop signs are illegal. You are not supposed to stop at a stop sign until you are far enough up that you can see on coming cars, but if you hit a pedestrian in the cross walk, no big deal i guess. Ohioans have weird driving laws. Also, a producer from Zoo productions, which makes shows like Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? and different shows on MTV, CMT, etc came to take some video of our classes and dorm life and things like that. It was crazy. He wanted us to basically cause as much drama as possible. Just think of it as Jersey Shore + Nannies Gone Wild. Not good. Parts of the day were fun though, and we all got free dinner at Rick's. I've been really sick this week with a fever, stuffy nose, sore throat, stomach ache, fatigue, blanket of death etc. So when one of the girls came into our room last night at 11:30 saying the smoke alarms were going off and there was some sort of burning chemical smell coming from upstairs and we all need to get dressed, pack a bag, and go outside, I was not thrilled. Everyone was freaking out and causing drama and I just kept getting frustrated. Probably not the best response, but I was really drugged on Nyquill and Ibuprofen and I felt like death. I kept saying "there is nothing wrong, i just want to go to sleep." I was kinda whiny. Sorry guys. So anyway, Mr Gaylord, a guy from the School office who is like the head hancho, came over to check it out and ended up calling the fire dept. A few girls were throwing up or feeling sick and had a headache. There was also a strange smell. Well the CFFD and CFPD came (in a town like this, they don't have anything else to do anyway) and couldn't find anything that was going to kill us and we just aired out the house and finally got to go to bed around 1:30 am. And I slept in until 11 this morning. It was a very exciting night. In our Children's Lit class, we all are going to write a paper about our favorite children's author, and I picked Sandra Boynton. If you don't know who that is, you should google her. She's awesome. I never thought i would be writing a paper about her, though. Today, it was 85 degrees and SO nice and sunny and beautiful. My roommate Haley and I went downtown and ate at dave's and got quarters for laundry and went to the library. The library here has an AMAZING movie collection so i got a few to watch. It was REALLY hot so we went back to the dorms and watched movies and did laundry and cleaned a little. Then when is was cooler we went to town again and got ice cream at The Popcorn Shop. Which is amazing. We took pictures of the beautiful trees and sat by the falls. It was a good day. Tomorrow we're going to a church called Fellowship Bible Church. So we'll see how that goes. God has been so good to provide good friends. I'm really excited to see where He takes me after my time here and He is changing my heart a lot. Right now I'm still planning on coming back to Washington to get a job in the Seattle area, but I know that God has plans, too. So that could all change which is really scary but really exciting. I'm starting to think change isn't so bad.

nanny diaries

WOW! This week has been so crazy and SO fun. I moved into the dorms on Sunday and I love my roommate! She's from Chicago and she's so sweet! I'm really thankful that God gave me her as a roommate. He knew what i needed.

Classes started on monday and we jumped right in. I was a little overwhelmed but everything is SO interesting and things I actually want to learn. I love it! We have to read a lot but it's all really interesting. There was even an entire chapter on strollers. That's serious business! We also had a class on person safety by a guy named pat malon. Seriously, google him. He's creepy.

Every Friday we go to a practicum family and yesterday was the first day. I LOVE my family. They have four girls and they're are SO amazing. I'm really excited to get to know them better.

Dorm life is really weird, but really fun. We have 15 girls living in the dorm ages 18-40. so it's interesting at times. also, we have mice so that's fun. We have movie nights and study dates and dance parties. Tonight is Taco Night. I know you're jealous.

Today I bought a new MacBook Pro! My Macbook wasn't able to get fixed and was having issues :(

Tomorrow I'm going to parkside church and I'm really excited! Have a Nice Day!

i'm here

well, i'm in Ohio! Getting here was crazy and i haven't slept in a couple days...but it's been really fun, too! I didn't get the room or the roommate i thought i would have, but God new that I needed someone different! My roommate is totally a christian and she is so sweet! We get along great and have a lot of the same interests and likes. she LOVES spray butter! haha. She is also hopefully going to go to parkside church with me! When I get my Macbook I'll be able to update more

macbook is going to the doctor

Today, I'll be sending my macbook off to the apple doctor to give him a new motherboard and a new battery and to fix some of his boo boos. He'll be gone for five to seven days, so i won't be posting here much unless i can borrow someone's computer. Don't worry! I'll still be alive.

ohioans and fifers and mares

today I got asked multiple times where i got the name of my blog and if ohioan is actually a word, so i thought i would give you the inside scoop of where i got the name of my blog...

i'm sorry if anyone is offended by my use of veggie tales. you know who you are ;)

in case you were wondering!

If you want to send me mail in Ohio, which i would LOVE! My mailing address will be:

Barbara Moore

37 S. Franklin St.

Chagrin Falls, OH 44022

I really like writing letters and getting mail! My flight leaves on Saturday at 10:30 pm PST and I arrive in Ohio at 11:11 am EST so that's a lot of traveling! Sunday is move in day so that will be really fun. I'll get to meet my room mate and class mates and set up my room. Then Monday is orientation day so I'll get my schedule and find out everything we are going to do! I'm excited! Thanks for reading! I'll post pictures of the new dorm room and such when I have them.

Barbara

yes, i'm going to ohio.

Hello Everyone! I really am going to Ohio. For nanny school. I'm sure you're thinking. Nanny school? I've never heard of nanny school! Well, I hadn't heard of it either so it's okay. Here's some fun facts for you:

The school name is: English Nanny and Governess School. FANCY!

It's located in Chagrin Falls, OH

Chagrin Falls is about 30 minutes from cleveland.

Chagrin Falls is full of beautiful brick houses, brick roads, and Water falls. Two waterfalls, to be exact.

I'll be in ohio for a little less than 3 months. I come back Dec. 17

While I'm in Ohio, I'll be attending class from 9-5 Mon.-Thurs. and I'll have a practicum family on Fridays from 9-6. so i'll be really busy.

My room mates name is Autumn and we're in room #8. That could change, though.

The curriculum is really intensive and full of lots of different things, from martial arts to Early Childhood literature and language. here's a course list for ya

This is going to be a weird, new, scary, fun, exciting, growing experience and I'm really excited to get started! I know that God will use this time in my life to grow me in my dependence on Him and help me keep my joy flag flying. Please pray that I am able to be a light in the dark and that I am able to get to church on sunday.