Dave's work

This article is about a grant that the CSTEME program partnered with in Eagle, CO. Of course they quote someone who is not with CTEME, the program Dave is the director of.  Dave helped to write this and his oganization is the one that co-sponsored this and will do a ton of training and such with Eagle, they have already done much there. It is a replication program to take CSTEME to other regions, as mentioned at the very end of the article, the program here is Dave's. That is SUCCESS, in the world of Non-profits anyway. :) Good job Dave!

UCCS shares in $1 million grant to hype math in Eagle County

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November 02, 2009 5:25 PM

DEBBIE KELLEY

THE GAZETTE

A $1 million grant the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs will share with two other educational entities will teach 90 secondary school math teachers in Eagle County how to instruct kids how numbers can be fun.
UCCS’ Center for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Education will share the money with the Eagle County School District and the Consortium on Reading Excellence in Berkeley, Calif. The Colorado Department of Education provided the award using funds from the U.S. Department of Education.
The UCCS center focuses on enhancing the workforce of scientists and engineers through programs that target elementary through college students.
The three-year professional development program in Eagle County will be monitored by looking at student achievement and assessing how confident teachers are in using specific problem-solving strategies.
UCCS spokesman Tom Hutton said the Eagle County work is another step in the center’s effort to expand the model throughout Colorado.  A similar program has been going on in the Pikes Peak region for several years, he said.

Happy Reformation

Happy Reformation! Oh, I know you don't get that much do you.  Today we celebrate the historic and important event of Martin Luther nailing the 95 theses of Christian faith on the door of the Wittenburg church. The next day, All Saint's Day, would be a significant Mass and everyone would see his posting. Significant event for those of us in the protestant denominations of Christendom. We celebrated tonight by going to a local church and "going around the world" to peek into the lives and sacrifices of early reformers. Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Huss, William Tyndale, Wycliffe...... Fun time for all and educational too. :)

Oh, and the wearin' of the ORANGE. Yep, that too is reformation. William of Orange of Scottland the champion of the protestant faith in Ireland.

Well, I can't really help it. Dave is descended from French Huguenots (persecuted protestants) and I am descended from early English, German and Irish Protestants. It's sort of in the blood.
But, religion is not the aim, nor is it the primary focus here. While it holds my world view, it starts much deeper than that. The first reformer Jesus Christ is the author of it all and the base of my world view and faith. It's not about doing - it is about being, being God's. The great story of Redemption.

The basic tenants of the Protestant Reformation:
Scripture Alone- Sola Scriptura, Faith Alone-Sola Fide, Christ Alone-Sola Christus, Grace Alone-Sola Gratsia, Glory to God Alone-Soli Deo Gloria

In case you ever wondered, the 95 Theses of Martin Luther, ushering the Protestant Reformation can be read at this link.

Happy Reformation and Reformation Sunday or All Saint's Day.

Salad Bowl of America

 The Beauty of Diversity

 

by Chief MSgt. Ret. Bob Vasquez

                                                                                                                                               

When most people think of October they think of Fall and Halloween. They are forgetting something very important about this month: Hispanic Heritage. The following article was written by my father who teaches Character at the Air Force Academy. Take a moment to read and enjoy the diversity that surrounds us every day. - Elyse White                                                          

 

Every year around this time I'm approached by people with the same question. "Hey, Chief," they say, "why do we have to have Hispanic Heritage Month? Aren't we all Americans?" 

I never argue that a bit, but there's more to it. I'm sure you know we celebrate African-American/Black History Month in February, Women's History Month in March, Asian-Pacific Month in May, Hispanic Heritage Month in September and October, and Native American Month in November. The purpose of those observances is to educate those of us who don't know a lot about those cultures and to acknowledge the contributions that those groups of people have made to our own American heritage.

When you ask yourself what it is that makes America great, you'll find the answer is diversity. If you'll look around you (go ahead, no one's watching) you'll notice that what we call America is made up of people from all kinds of cultures, from different parts of the country or the world.

We're all different, yet we're all the same. We share the same basic values that make us Americans. We're invested in making our country and the world a better place for all of us to live. We believe in a democratic system of government where the people have a say in what and how we live.

What makes America great is that although we have different and diverse needs and desires, we've been able to combine all those differences to form one very diverse, but unified, family that allows us to be ourselves and expects us to accept each other.

We used to talk about the American melting pot. An honorable idea, but I'm not sure it's attainable. Why? Because there is very little, if any, chance that we'll all "melt", that we'll all assimilate, that we'll all be the same, and I'm not so sure we all want to be the same. I think it was Gen. George Patton who said, "If two of us are thinking the same thing, we don't need one of us." There's a marked difference between thinking the same thing and thinking with the same purpose in mind.

The concept of the American Salad Bowl comes closer to describing the culture we live in. The illustration of the salad bowl describes a dish that, as a whole, is its own entity, delicious and healthy. What gives that dish its flavor and wholesomeness is all of the different ingredients that make it one. Each ingredient adds its own contribution to the whole. Any part of it that's missing will affect the end result.

Dr. Stephen Covey has said, "Unity is not sameness, it's complementariness." If we are to be united, we have to be willing to accept, appreciate and celebrate one another's differences.

As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, join the fun. Get involved. You don't have to be of or know a lot about, the culture. You'll learn a lot and you'll find a kind of gratification you can't find elsewhere. The education you gain and the relationships you develop will make you better and they'll make America better.

Together, we can go forward.

Affording Adoption

 Few who desire to adopt can pay for it out of pocket. If you can not take a second loan or adoption loan here are some ideas for you. 


Many a church will be willing to donate from the deacons or mercy fund for orphans. More will be willing to allow you to hold a fund raising event at your church. Get with your Sunday School or small group and have a dinner or garage sale.

 

Here are some resources for funding an adoption. 

Financing Adoption:

Adoption Financing on Squidoo
Affording Adoption a list
Adoption Assistance - Cadman Foundation
adoption funding - adoption source mortgage adoption loans, credit based adoption loans
Adoption Fundraising - Raising Money to Pay for Adoption Costs and Expenses
Adoption Grant-Loan Application
Available Resources To Help Defray The Cost of Adoption
Gift of Adoption Fund
His Kids, Too! - A Christian Charity Impacting Ukrainian Orphans
Kingdom Kids Adoption Ministries - Home Page
Shaohannah's Hope
The Adoption Guide The Cost of Adoption
Ethiopia Adoption Blog, Ethiopia Adoption Blog - The cost of an adoption
Wiley, Morgan Parker Fund giving grants for international adoptions, out of date site but still funding.
Sea Of Faces Foundation grants for international adoptions
Both Hands Foundation
The ABBA fund
Lifesong for Orphans
Project Hopeful resources for families adopting HIV+ kids.
147 million

Surely Not

(This was on another blog I follow, written by someone else....yet, well worth the ponder. Copied by permission from her blog.)

______________________________

Imagine with me for a minute…

Right now, today…

you are small and alone.

You are hungry and lost.

You have no home, no parents, and seemingly no future.

You are scared, and weak, from days without food. You have nowhere to go, nowhere to be.

People walk by you but they don’t even look your way. It’s like you are invisible, nothing.

You keep walking, your feet are bleeding and sore… and yet still you manage to cling to the small bit of hope, the little voice inside your head that says maybe, just maybe, one day things will get better. Maybe one day -you will matter.

It is getting dark outside- inside your fear is growing. Where will you go?

Your heart is beating faster, and your fear becomes overwhelming, consuming your every thought. Then you see it, a dirty, broken cardboard box and you bow your head thanking God for His provision. For you have found it- shelter. Safety, if only for one night.

You slip underneath it, hugging yourself, vowing once again not to cry- because by now you know tears are a waste of your strength. Your eyes become heavy, despite the sweltering temperature. As you begin to drift off to sleep you pray, hoping, dreaming, of a family of your own one day...of a place where you will matter...to someone.

Somewhere else in the world is a family...

They are just sitting down to dinner together.They are smiling and their laughter fills the room.

Dinner is served and they bow their heads and they pray- thanking God for their many blessings… their home, their job, the food that is set before them.They lift their heads and go back to the laughter and the joy.

They talk of their upcoming vacation plans, the lunch date they shared with a friend today and the movie they plan to see this coming weekend.

More laughter, more excitement, more. As the leftovers are scraped into the garbage can and the table is cleaned up, hot bubble bathes are taken by all.

Evening settles in, and the family slips under their down comforters preparing for a good night's sleep.

Before turning out the lights, the husband leans over to kiss his wife good-night. She shyly smiles at him and begins to tell him that she has been feeling that perhaps God is calling them to adopt.

The room grows quiet as they are both lost in their own thoughts…

their minds are flooded with questions, concern, and then inevitably -fear.

How could they manage?
Another child?
Why, they already have two!
Where would they put the child?
Who would share a room?
How could they afford to adopt?
Would they be able to take that vacation?
What would people think?
What if the child, you know, caused ‘problems’?

As their eyelids become heavy, they begin to drift off to sleep...
and they think to themselves ‘surely not’.

Surely God knows this is not convenient.
Surely God wants them to take that vacation they deserve...
Surely he knows how busy they are.
They have plans and they have dreams.
As sleep overcomes them, the temperature in their master bedroom is perfect…
and their pillows are fluffed to perfection.

Life is good for them, just as they had planned...
Because after all, they matter...
Too much...

to themselves.

One Year Home--well a bit more than that really

ONE YEAR HOME:

The boys had a round of immunizations on Monday, (a delayed start due to snow and ice. :)
One of them is just the wimp of all wimps when it comes to these things. He screams and then limps around moaning for a few days. Ok, it hurts in the muscle after, but NOT THAT BAD.  And yes, I give them the pain killer for kids.

We are thrilled that K has gained in weight and height so that now he is in the middle upper of his range for his age! He came to us quite not even on the charts. N has gained also but did not have as much to catch up to and being younger is just smaller. However he is giardia free and both are ring worm free. These two things took about a year to clear up. We are so thankful for their health and beautiful attachment and bonding. WOW! What a blessing. Ok, I am not going to say perfect, because, after all, there is no such thing and no matter what we do all our kids will have some sort of issue...... that's life and we accept it. But, wow they are doing great. Look at their photos just above here when they were in ET, this was taken in July, only weeks before we picked them up. They are the boys in the middle K in pink and N in blue with stripes. This would have been about a year and a half ago.  And the photo just a few weeks ago proudly wearing Bronco style, K on the left and N on the right. K has had the most dramatic change on the outside, but N is not to be left behind, his inner change has been wonderfully dramatic as well!
Amazing.

Pumpkin time

Well all those pumpkins we got at Kauffman Farms have now been transformed into carvings for Fall. While we were having fun it was snowing outside. AGAIN. We have had something like 5 snows and are now expecting a two day extravaganza of snow fairy flurry's and blizzard.  Jack Frost is keeping busy. The Farmer's Almanac said regular winter, some snow and some no snow, average snowfall for the winter season...... hmmmm, usually right, but not looking that way, it is an El Nino year after all.