Moving to Wordpress

FYI - this blog has moved to http://www.missionadmission.wordpress.com/. There will be no further entries on this site, but I promise there will be more frequent entries on that site! Please be patient as I set it up - and thanks in advance for visiting! I promise great, useful information on college admissions, financial aid, and issues concerning college life. Hope to see you there!

I'm It!

OK - apparently I've been tagged by Craver VII and though I know absolutely nothing about any of this and I am usually reluctant to talk about myself, my husband likes this guy and all his online pals - they seem like good people. And I'm sure they are probably curious about this wife of his, so here ya go:


1. Post the rules of the game.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

Here are my eight facts, for better or worse:

1. I married my high school sweetheart - we met when we were 16 and 17 and have been married for 12 years this summer. Yes, that's Marcus.
2. I don't like ice cream, and contrary to what my husband says, this does not make me a Communist. I have sensitive teeth. I'd rather have a piece of cake.
3. I saw Beauty and the Beast 9 times in the theatre when I was in high school. Yeah, I really did. Imagine that much free time and disposable money.
4. I am playing Titania this summer in a local Kerrville community theatre production of Midsummer Night's Dream. "What! Jealous Oberon...."
5. I sing tenor in our church choir. I have been mistaken for a man on the phone.
6. I love to cook and bake, especially Rachel Ray's recipes, although they aren't the lowest in fat in the world. I am actually addicted to baking - sometimes I will make a cake just because I feel like it, then I'll send it to work with Marcus so I don't eat it (see the next fact).
7. Speaking of fat, I am a Lifetime Weight Watchers member, having lost 25 pounds two years ago after my son was born.
8. I can actually put my entire fist in my mouth. However, don't ask me to do it as I gave myself TMJ in high school by doing it to often and now I am too old.

OK, now that I fully embarassed myself, now it is these people's turn. I do not know 8 people who are online, so I will do my best:
Marcus Goodyear, Jessi Lane, Leah Rocha, Sarah Martin, Jenness Rouse, Will Garcia.

That's it - 6 is close enough. I apologize to those 6 but I would love to hear from you. Thanks, Craver VII. This was fun.

Make It Count with Making It Count

I just discovered another great resource for students and parents (and educators, too). It's called Making It Count. Not only do they have some great online articles and resources, including a blog from a first year college student called Year One, they also offer a free program to schools with various presentations designed for different age groups.

In fact, the Making Your College Search Count presentation will be offered at Tivy High School here in Kerrville this Friday morning at 8:50 a.m. Anyone in the area who might be able to attend would benefit. The info they present is not exclusive, but it is well organized and put together in an interactive, entertaining package (see videos on the site for examples). This presentation is designed especially for second semester juniors - the perfect time to get serious about college search.

You never know what you'll find when you browse around - the internet is your college info friend!

High Calling Site - Check it Out!

OK - so I finally figured out how to insert an image! So here is the new High Calling website. See what I mean about the pretty green!?

Enjoy.

High Calling Blog Tour

I am participating this week in the High Calling Blog Tour to help introduce the new website for The High Calling of Our Daily Work. I am doing this partly because my husband, Marcus Goodyear, is in charge of it, and partly because as a Christian in business for myself and as a work-at-home mom, the importance of remembering that my day to day activities can, and should, be glorifying to God cannot be overemphasized. From counseling students and speaking at schools to changing diapers and fixing lunches, I am demonstrating God's love for my students and my children with every action, every attitude, every word.

So check out the new site - besides being really attractive and in my absolute favorite shade of green, it's really easy to use and full of great stories and bible studies. I especially like the personal stories - if you're wondering how the truly mundane and sometimes gross activities of parenthood can glorify God, read John Poch's Changing Diapers for God. Since I'm still struggling with getting my almost three year old son out of diapers, that was a great word for me! If you join the High Calling you can get great emails with daily devotionals, notices when new material is posted, and access to the incredible collections of material from writers like Eugene Peterson, Earl Palmer, and many others.

This folks are also participating in this tour because they are great people, so check out their blogs, too:
Gordon Atkinson, L. L. Barkat, Gina Conroy, Craver VII, CREEations, Milton Brasher-Cunningham, Mary DeMuth, Karl Edwards, Emdashery, Every Square Inch, Green Inventions, Marcus Goodyear, Al Hsu, Jennwith2ns, Charles Foster Johnson, Mike McLoughlin, Eve Nielsen, Naked Pastor, Ramblin Dan, Charity Singleton, Stacy, Camy Tang, Writer… Interrupted

And, in admissions news, check out the April 16 issue of US News and World Report - great information on financial aid - how loans work, insider's view from aid offices, great last-minute resources for money. As always with most mass media, take it with a grain of salt, but read it as it is a good jumping off point.

Higher Education in Mourning

All of us who have ever worked with college students in a campus setting are in deep grief over what happened yesterday at Virginia Tech. No words are adequate to express it. College campuses are to be places of self-discovery, learning, fun - places to build the future. And they still are. My sincere hope is that as you navigate the process of college admissions as students and parents, you will realize the potential impact you may have on your fellow students, for good or ill. There is no explanation or excuse for what this young man did, but my question comes back to - how could things have been different for him? Who could have reached out? I don't know - maybe no one. But I still have hope.

Colleges are wonderful, safe, exciting places to live and learn. Let us do what we can to make them so for all. May the Lord reach out His divine hand of peace to the families in Virginia, and to the community of higher ed as a whole.

Thanks!

I apologize for the gap between posts here. Various illnesses among children, birthday parties, church things, etc. - life happens. I hope to be more regular in my posting from now on.

Thanks to all the local folks who made it out to the College Information Night last night at FBC in Kerrville. I hope the evening was interesting and informative. I was excited to see a few parents of 8th graders there last night! It is never too early (or too late for that matter) to prepare for college.

March is an important month for college planning. Here are the things you should be looking at this month:

Juniors - visit schools! Spring Break of your junior year is a great time to visit campuses and start narrowing down your choices. Find out when your colleges have open house days and attend those if you can - many are scheduled in the Spring.

Seniors - right now it's all about financial aid and scholarships. Get that FAFSA in TODAY!! Start checking scholarship deadlines closely and get those in before the last day. Acceptance letters will start coming in - respond accordingly. If you know where you are going, send that housing information in ASAP. You don't usually have to let the schools you are not going to know, but it is courteous and will keep them from continuing to check up with you.

Good luck - get to work!