Love and Marriage

Hello blogosphere!

As of April 23rd, 2016 I am Mrs. Twaalfhoven!

What a crazy, amazing, easy, awesome month this has been!

A quick recap of our wedding day:

I was blessed to have the most supportive, loving bridal party ever. My girls went above and beyond to make the day just so special! Promptly at 2PM we were married at St James Church, to the sound of the most beautiful music ever. How nice to walk into the church and see all of our loved ones (some were missing ) cheering us on!

"Love and marriage, love and marriage

Go together like a horse and carriage

This I tell you brother

You can't have one without the other" 

Frank Sinatra

My last big accomplishment as Miss Peixoto

Hello world!!!!!


As I write this post, I am proud to say I have finished my student teaching internship two hours ago!

While this has been the most challenging time of my life (exhausting, to be completely honest), I will miss students, staff and the routine of a teacher. I will even miss waking up at 5AM and being so productive.

Now it's back to youth ministry, part-time mentoring work and planning a wedding!

Speaking of wedding planning, it has been going well, thank you!
Not without its challenges (just ask Nick), but we are getting there. All the big things are settled, now all that's left are the details!

As for Thanksgiving and Christmas, all went well, lots of time was spent with family and friends and the house is cozy and inviting! What more can a girl want?

Grace for everything

Hello friends!

Just stopping by to share some engagement pics. Life is so incredibly busy between student teaching, youth ministry (which I'm seriously stinking at right now), the behavioral health job and of course planning a wedding. I honestly cannot wait for April to come! 

News, news, news !!!!!!

Hello world!

Life has been absolutely insane between student teaching, two jobs and planning a wedding!

What?! A wedding?

Why yes, a wedding!

A certain handsome guy asked for my hand in marriage! 

                                                                                              Sept. 26th, 2016


Excitement isn't even the word as every day in bride territory turns out to be full of joys, surprises and even some frustrations (venue searching ehhhh). 

More details to come!!!

One Week into Student Teaching!

Yay!!!!!! What a wonderful week of learning, teaching and sharing! More on my classes and students later but for now, let's just celebrate a week of fun outfits! 

 

Arts and Crafts

As some of you may know, I work as a freelance therapeutic mentor/training specialist for a behavioral health organization. Here are some crafts and interventions I have learned and used:

Calming bottles

Calming bottles (or time-out bottles as they're sometimes referred to) are great for helping children to self-regulate. If a child is so upset he or she cannot be consoled or can't engage in another calming activity, calming bottles can serve as a great visual "anchor" to help bring focus into one place as their world seems to be spinning out of control. Holding the bottle and watching the glitter fall,  can slow her heart rate and respiration.

Here's the recipe:

16 oz water bottle (I used glass containers here but I normally use plastic ones, safety first!)

Glitter glue

 Glitter

 Glue gun or crazy glue (adult must handle this)

Begin by having the child pour glitter glue of various colors into the empty bottle. When they are done, fill out the bottle half way with hot water. Now have the child add more glitter (as much as they'd like!). Fill up the bottle with water at room temperature and seal the bottle with hot glue or crazy glue. Wait a few minutes for the glue to dry and shake shake shake the bottle. Now watch as the glitter particles fall, helping the mind and body to relax and focus.

Play dough stress balls  

Stress balls are great for kids (and adults) who need to manage daily stress (and who doesn't?). For this activity you will use a smiley face balloon, another balloon of any color to hold the play dough, and enough play dough to stuff the balloon (I normally use 1 1/2 - 2 tubs of Play Doh).

I begin this activity practicing deep breathing with kids by blowing the balloons. I then spend some time squeezing the play dough (great stress reliever!). Then, the tricky task is to stuff the solid balloons with play dough. Once that is done I stuff all that into the smiley face balloon. I like to use two balloons to prevent breakage. Squeeze away!

DIY Sachets

 While I am not an aromatherapist, I do love using essential oils and enjoying their benefits. I also enjoy seeing the kids' faces when I tell them smells can help them feel more calm! For these sachets I used about five cotton balls, a few drops of lavender oil and little organza bags I bought at Walmart.

Essential oils can be pricey so I purchased the diluted form at Walmart for about $2. I found a pack with 6 organza bags on sale for $1 and used some cotton balls I had lying around the house.

I began by explaining the concept of aroma therapy to my kiddos and proceeded by having them squeeze a few drops of lavender oil on each cotton ball. We then stuff each organza bag with four or five cotton balls and voilà!  

The Best of All Times

Time flies when you're having the time of your life! 

While traveling and sight seeing are great, nothing fills my love tank like time spent with friends (Can you guess my love language?)

So here are some highlights of our trip, although the beautiful faces are what really made it memorable.

1. Biking to the Golden Gate Bridge 

2. Driving down Big Sur

3. Kim and Brandon's wedding ceremony . The homily on hope deserves mentioning too!

4. Reception at the Serra Retreat House 

5. Horseback riding to the Hollywood sign

 

 

 

"There is nothing on this Earth more to be prized than true friendship."

St Thomas Aquinas