Hello Everyone!
We are just barely beginning to thaw out here in the north east. The past few weeks have brought extremely cold temperatures with wind chills reaching negative 20 at times. The snow is still is here in mounds but this week has high's in the mid 30's, which is wonderful! Joshua and I have been doing well this semester. I am happy to say that this week I officially accepted a position as a teacher-in-residence at a local elementary charter school. I will be co-teaching a first or second grade. It is a very cool program and as time goes on I will be given more and more teaching responsibility in the classroom, all while being mentored by a senior teacher. I am nervous, as always, for a new position but excited to be in a classroom. I am certain I will learn an immense amount of skills and strategies while there. The focus of the school is to give the low-income students the opportunity to attend college and close the achievement gap of higher income vs lower income schools. Joshua has been doing very well in his studies and is enjoying his classes this semester. He was recently awarded a scholarship to go to Israel this summer on an archaeological dig! It will be a very exciting trip for him as he will get the chance to explore Jerusalem and maybe dig up some super old pottery as well! :) We are still working on training for the half marathon, though the frigid temperatures have hindered that at times. Tonight we are spending our evening working on a puzzle we bought this morning. We hope everyone is doing well and are missing our families greatly from here in Connecticut.
Joshua and Alissa
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Winter Time
Good Sunday Morning!
I hope everyone is enjoying the heart of winter in their warm homes. We have certainly had our share of winter storms thus far. Through most of January, Joshua and I were beginning to wonder if any snow was going to really come at all and we were both disappointed because Joshua had yet to experience his first real storm. Little did we know, we had no need to worry.Two weeks ago on Tuesday, the weather people were forecasting 20 to 30 inches of snow and high winds. Yale called off school the day before (which is something they hate to do; Yale prides themselves on always being open) because there was a driving ban. The whole city was basically shutting down. I had to go to work on Monday but spent my day calling patients to inform them we were closing early and would not be open the following day. It was an unexpected snow day! The next morning was enjoyable and Joshua and I began a tradition of "snow day cinnamon rolls". I have never made homemade cinnamon rolls before but they turned out pretty yummy. Sadly, we did not get 20 to 30 inches of snow but accumulated about 12-15 probably. It was still fun, however, and when we ventured outside all the neighborhood kids were sledding on the hill by the Divinity School. We had another storm the next Monday which made the roads worse than the first but because of the dud the week before, everyone was reluctant to close. I got stuck on a hill on my way home from work but Joshua came to my rescue and eventually made it out and got home safely. The temperatures have dropped very low at times as well and one morning the lock on our car was frozen and I had trouble getting to work. We are learning by experience what we need to make it; now we have a lighter :). They are predicting another storm coming tonight so we will see what is in store!
Joshua and I have begun training for a half marathon (I need your help Grandpa)! One of my friends asked if I would do it with her and thinking it would be good for my health and a good project I said yes. We have just finished our first week of training. The race date is May 30th. We will just keep pushing away and eventually make it. We are blessed to have a nice park near that has a river and is wooded so that is a nice area to run that is protected from the wind.
Joshua is having a good semester that is much more relaxed than last. The work load is different and he is settling into the Yale school demands. I am still working at the physical therapy office and getting more comfortable with the programs and the insurance. I am also working on starting my masters in Teaching, Elementary Education. I have a few pre reqs that I need to finish first but hopefully that will get underway soon. We have good friends and enjoy the times we get to spend together.
This was the beginning of the snow. The piles are much, much bigger now! We love all of you guys and will try to keep the blog updated a little more! Have a great week!!
Joshua and Alissa
I hope everyone is enjoying the heart of winter in their warm homes. We have certainly had our share of winter storms thus far. Through most of January, Joshua and I were beginning to wonder if any snow was going to really come at all and we were both disappointed because Joshua had yet to experience his first real storm. Little did we know, we had no need to worry.Two weeks ago on Tuesday, the weather people were forecasting 20 to 30 inches of snow and high winds. Yale called off school the day before (which is something they hate to do; Yale prides themselves on always being open) because there was a driving ban. The whole city was basically shutting down. I had to go to work on Monday but spent my day calling patients to inform them we were closing early and would not be open the following day. It was an unexpected snow day! The next morning was enjoyable and Joshua and I began a tradition of "snow day cinnamon rolls". I have never made homemade cinnamon rolls before but they turned out pretty yummy. Sadly, we did not get 20 to 30 inches of snow but accumulated about 12-15 probably. It was still fun, however, and when we ventured outside all the neighborhood kids were sledding on the hill by the Divinity School. We had another storm the next Monday which made the roads worse than the first but because of the dud the week before, everyone was reluctant to close. I got stuck on a hill on my way home from work but Joshua came to my rescue and eventually made it out and got home safely. The temperatures have dropped very low at times as well and one morning the lock on our car was frozen and I had trouble getting to work. We are learning by experience what we need to make it; now we have a lighter :). They are predicting another storm coming tonight so we will see what is in store!
Joshua and I have begun training for a half marathon (I need your help Grandpa)! One of my friends asked if I would do it with her and thinking it would be good for my health and a good project I said yes. We have just finished our first week of training. The race date is May 30th. We will just keep pushing away and eventually make it. We are blessed to have a nice park near that has a river and is wooded so that is a nice area to run that is protected from the wind.
Joshua is having a good semester that is much more relaxed than last. The work load is different and he is settling into the Yale school demands. I am still working at the physical therapy office and getting more comfortable with the programs and the insurance. I am also working on starting my masters in Teaching, Elementary Education. I have a few pre reqs that I need to finish first but hopefully that will get underway soon. We have good friends and enjoy the times we get to spend together.
This was the beginning of the snow. The piles are much, much bigger now! We love all of you guys and will try to keep the blog updated a little more! Have a great week!!Joshua and Alissa
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Happy Harris'
Happy Holidays everyone! I know it has been forever since the blog has been updated. Much has happened since last time. Joshua and I have traveled a lot and have gotten the opportunity to see both of our families. Thanksgiving was a wonderful time spent in Ohio at my(Alissa's) parents home. Having planned to leave Wednesday evening after I finished work, we were posed with quite a dilemma when the forecast called for quite a bit of snow on the busiest travel day of the year. We decided we would play it by ear and decide during the day. The physical therapy office I work for closed early because of the weather and we decided to begin our 10 ish hour drive to Ohio. Thankfully we were out of the snow very quickly and made it safely to Ohio early the next morning. We spent Thursday through Saturday with family and enjoying multiple Thanksgiving meals. It was a great refresher to be able to be with family and in a familiar area. We headed back home and Joshua had about two more weeks of school to push through. As the Christmas season was approaching we were able to attend a couple of celebrations here on Yale Campus. The Divinity school hosted an Advent service and nice meal afterward. Joshua and I headed back to our apartment pretty quickly because I had come straight from work and it was getting later. Later we heard the party continued until late into the night and there was some dancing involved. Joshua and I were not disappointed in hearing we missed that but got a laugh in imaging how that went. We were also blessed with the opportunity to take a trip to Battell Chapel to listen to the Advent Concert put on by the Institute of Sacred Music. Unfortunately, because we are still trying to figure out the shuttle schedule, we were a little late and the chapel was completely packed. We thought we were going to have to go back and celebrate Christmas in a different way but the usher informed us there was an empty row upstairs that was reserved but the people never came. To our delight we had gotten probably the best seats in the Chapel! It was a beautiful concert (mostly in German but we had our translation sheets :))
Joshua and I have had a fun time decorating for Christmas around our little apartment and even bought a mini tree and some ornaments to decorate. We put up some lights around our window and just took them down over New Years. It is fun to start with decorations of our own and to think we will be using these same ornaments for years to come.
The weekend of December 13, I flew down to Texas for my college roommates wedding while Joshua stayed home and worked on a paper for Old Testament. It was a really good time down there and I got to see my sister, Sara, who was not able to make it up to Ohio for Thanksgiving. The weather was perfect for the wedding and it was fun to see her as well as many college friends.
The next Monday after I came home from Texas Joshua went to California. It was a very busy time for us as we went to different airports multiple times within days of each other. I had to stay back in Connecticut to finish out work for the week. Joshua had worked tirelessly and finished his final paper so he would be able to relax in California with his family without having homework on his mind. On Friday I was able to fly out to California and join Joshua for the wedding of his cousin, Jarod. It was a beautiful wedding and a great time with family. We spent the following couple of days in California but unfortunately had to fly back to New Haven on Christmas day so I could work the next day. Joshua has been working hard this break to get a jump start on next semester which starts next week. Last night we enjoyed ourselves at the Yale ice hockey game. Tromping down through the snow, we managed to have soaking wet feet but had lot of fun as Yale beat Vermont 3-1.
Because Joshua is a student we had the option of sitting in the fist four rows which made it even more fun. We are enjoying each other and are already anxiously awaiting the next time we can see family. Our schedules are becoming regular again as we do not have much on the schedule for now. We love all of you and hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Years! Joshua and Alissa
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