Reason to Celebrate

This weekend Aaron and I celebrated our two year anniversary! I drove out to VA for the weekend and on Sunday we went to church and then visited two vineyards in the western part of the state on the edge of the Shenandoah Valley. The views were beautiful and the wine was fantastic. 

A really adorable dog that lived at the first vineyard we visited

Aaron sipping

Me sipping

Mountains! Oh how I've missed them.

Just the two of us.

We had a truly wonderful day. I'm so thankful to have Aaron in my life and for all that we've shared together. 


Many blessings,
Caitlin

So, many of you are probably wondering how work has been going. I know I haven’t said much about it lately. It is challenging, but the best kind of challenge that there is. It is certainly stressful at times but I have no complaints. I now have four clients, 3 of which I was doubling with other caseworkers for (but they are more or less considered my clients) and one that I was just assigned the other day as my first solo case! It is still sometimes hard to remember all of the different rules, requirements and programs, but I feel really comfortable and confident in my interactions with the clients which can be the hardest part.

Family Lit began this week. We had a big crowd, over 15 families came which ended up being about 45 people! First I introduced myself, the volunteers and the class. Then we decorated boxes that looked like books. On the outside, families wrote their names, and on the inside they cut and pasted pictures from magazines that represented themselves as individuals and a family. Several of the families told me how much they enjoyed the activity and one mother asked if she could bring the magazine home with her because she enjoyed reading the articles so much. Then we read stories and had snack. Many of the families expressed interest in playing games so I think we will do some of that this week.

I met with the founder of the organization Creating Communities that I mentioned a few weeks ago to talk about collaborating in family lit. We are both very excited about the opportunity. What’s great is that, I’ve come up with several general themes to work on and he has the lesson plans and materials to make them happen. We will probably do a few sessions together starting soon.

This was a great weekend of friends, family, rest and relaxation. On Friday, I drove out to Westminster to visit my best friend Anna. It was the first time I’ve seen her since I moved back to MD. She’s now teaching at the high school she graduated from in Westminster so we both had many stories to share about our first weeks on the job. I’m so thankful to have such an old friend that I can rely on.

On Saturday, I joined my cousin Erin to celebrate her 21^st birthday at the Howl at the Moon Saloon in the Inner Harbor. I got to see several of my aunts, uncles, and cousins and we had a great time! The “Saloon” is a piano bar where two guys trade off singing and playing covers of every song imaginable. It was very entertaining and wonderful company. Happy Birthday Erin!

Sunday was a day of some much needed R&R... slept, watched a movie, read and journaled. By the end of the day, I felt rejuvenated and ready to take on the week. Until next week...


Much love,
Caitlin

My Room!!!

The long awaited photos are finally here! We got our new beds this week, so I finally got to put everything in place and I LOVE MY ROOM!!!

This is the view from my door way. As you can see, the door streight back is the bathroom (my own bathroom!) The doorway next to that (with the curtains) leads to my closet and a back utility room that I use for storage. On the right side wall there is another doorway to the "bed room"

the desk area

the dressing area

the bathing area

This one is my favorite...

the sleeping area

I like it so much it gets 2 pictures. Thank you Gramma for the beautiful quilt. This is a great space- it is so pretty and peaceful. 

Last but not certainly not least... The Music Area! I have a music area!

I'm going to go sleep in my wonderful new bed now! Nighty night!

Love,

Caitlin

Stingrays, Sangria and Seafood

So this is primarily a picture blog, but I guess I'm making up for all the excessive words in the first few blogs. I promise I'll write some more next week. In the meantime... enjoy the photos!

Aaron came to visit again and we went to the Aquarium (it is only five dollars after five on fridays!) Aaron took most of the pictures on his iPhone but this one came out...

Stingray

On Saturday, Faith, Rebecca, Aaron and I went to the Fells Point Festival and volunteered at and organization's table selling Sangria-

Faith was in charge of ice and oranges

I filled the cups that Faith gave me

Rebecca handed the Sangria to the nice customers

Aaron was the bouncer (aka. he was checking ID's)

Then we made an amazing dinner of sushi and zucchini crab cakes (without the crab)