Jason Gfeller: my life

Sorry for the late post this month. October was a good month for the Gfellers. We started the month with the boy’s first hair cuts. Both Alex and Leo did great and sat still most of the time. We went home for my aunt’s birthday and the boys loved playing with their cousins. Pheasant season opened and I got to go hunting on some private land. Charlie is getting older but Ollie is getting better. For Halloween the twins were Clark Kent and SUPERMAN. They looked good. November will involve some traveling so wish us luck.

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We had a lot of fun this month. Early in the month we took Alex and Leo with a few friends to the Omaha Zoo. They seemed to enjoy the animals and aquarium. Each boy was awake at different times and it was interesting to see them notice the animals or plants. Megan’s parents came for a visit and it was nice to see them for about a week. The only downside was everyone was sick at some point that week. We also took the boys to the band day parade. They really seemed to enjoy the music and kids marching by. We ended the month by going to Alumni band day, although it was cold so we didn’t stay long, and a pumpkin patch.

In school we had Homecoming week last week. That was entertaining to say the least. We also took the boys to the football game Friday night. We haven’t been the best at getting to activities with them but we’ll try harder. Classes are going well. My seniors are doing great in dual credit and I’m getting more comfortable with religion. I’m also taking a graduate level theology course which I’m really starting to enjoy. That has already helped in class, I can only hope the next ones are as good.

That’s basically it for September. The next big challenge is figuring out Halloween costumes.

The biggest thing to happen in August was Megan and me going back to school and the boys going back to daycare. They were not too happy about that for a few days but they’re now liking it again. School started well, there was a bit of shuffling around with my schedule but it looks good now. My biggest adjustment is teaching Religion. I now teach sophomore and junior religion along with my dual credit biology class. It’s been interesting teaching religion, I’m really enjoying it and I hope the students are too. I also changed rooms. My new room is older but it has windows. I’ve taught for 9 years and this is my first time with windows. Being part of the religion department has been interesting also. I had some input on the dedication of the Chapel and got to read at it. We’ve made it to a softball game and a football game already so hopefully we can take the boys to more games this year. We went to the state fair to meet the Donlans and got to see their 4-H projects. We also saw some baby animals. The month ended with all 4 of us being sick but we’re on the mend now so that’s good.

July was a busier month than June but was fun all the same. We started the month by going to my mom’s for the fourth of July and saw some family. Their block has a large party and lights a lot of fireworks so that was fun to see. Alex and Leo also got to go swimming which they really enjoyed. After that Megan and I worked on the back to school packets so they could be mailed out while we were on vacation. After that we headed to Oregon for our family reunion. It was a great time and we saw lots of families we hadn’t seen for a long time. Our kids were only a few of the young ones there and they seemed to enjoy playing with their cousins. We also had the chance to take them tide-pooling and to the beach. Both kids picked up a crab and tried to eat it. They seamed pretty interested in the life in the pools. We also got to see whales and seals while tide-pooling. Alex and Leo also got to experience the ocean for the first time. The both seamed to like the soft sand but didn’t really love the ocean, it was pretty cold. They both did very well on the plane and car rides which made the trip a lot better. Now it’s time to get my classroom ready for the coming school year. Changing rooms means lots more work than normal in August.

Our big news for the month was that Alex and Leo became officially ours June 17th. We got to go to the Courthouse and answer some questions for a judge and now they’re ours. It’s a good feeling to have that taken care of. It has taken a long time to get here but Leo and Alex are worth it. We had some other fun in June as well. We went to a Mariners/Twins game up in Minneapolis. They kids did great even though it was really hot and the game was good even though the wrong team won. Since we got a van last month the drive up and back was significantly better as well. We also took the kids to the pool a few times. They really enjoy splashing and crawling around in the zero entry part of our city pool. We’ve taken some walks with them and the dogs as well, until it got too hot for the dogs. We went to Charlie Brown the musical in Yanney Park and the twins sat through it great and seamed to enjoy it. At the beginning of the month we had Alex and Leo’s one year pictures taken. We did it on a little league baseball park and they sat there great. I can’t wait to get the prints back. Lastly we moved them into their nursery. It’s across the hall from our room; they sleep in it well and it’s nice having our room back, at least until we put the dogs back in it.

It’s a good feeling to be done for the summer. May went well and our classes finished up nicely. It’s different each year to lose the seniors in early May and this class was the first class I taught for more than one year so that feeling was very different. We finished the year in bio and life science learning about the systems in the human body and the students did very well with that. The kids are doing well, most of the time. Leo went to the hospital a couple of times with pneumonia or asthma and now he’s on a new asthma medicine that will hopefully help him more. Alex is doing great health wise and is a nice calm kid. Leo is crawling all over the place and has to be moving. It’s been nice to be home with both of them the last week and their naps are making that more enjoyable. On a side note we bought a van to fit them and the dogs better. It’s been very convenient and make life easier. Here’s a couple pictures and a prayer for a nice summer.

April was a fun month for School. We’re wrapping up with Seniors and probably took the hardest test I give all semester in Chem II. Balancing redox reactions is never easy. The seniors are getting ready to be done and are pretty excited this is their last week. Well they’re excited and tired and stressed and can’t wait. In 7th we’re going over basic human anatomy. We’ve covered the bones, muscles and started the digestive tract. They seam to be enjoying it but it’s a fair amount of information. Biology is finishing our unit of reptiles, birds and mammals before we move on to anatomy as well. My student teacher finished up last week. He’s going to Ord and going to do a great job but it’s weird not having him. First I have to teach all day now and second when I get here I’m all alone. Neither of those is fun after having a student teacher all semester. We also had a chance to go the the last home game for Kearney’s new baseball team. It was good to see some of my students play. We also did another day of service. My high schoolers and I went to a retirement home to play bingo and be with the seniors. I have started to pack up for my move to a different classroom. Since I’m teaching religion next year I don’t get to stay in my nice science lab. On that not if you want a job teaching science, we want you.

At home things are going well with the twins. Megan’s family came for Easter. It was good to see them all and we had a great Easter meal. Alex and Leo continue to get better. Alex has no cough and Leo’s is almost gone now. They’re growing and getting their own personalities more each day. The dogs are doing well with them, in fact Alex seems to love petting them and they both take it well.

School went well this month. My student teacher is doing well in 6 of my 7 classes and I get to have fun with the seniors. The 7th graders made a map of the US listing endangered animals and are now learning about plants, the 10th graders are learning about phylums of animals and the seniors are struggling through equilibrium constants. As we get closer to May I get to write more recommendation letter but since I only have 14 seniors now it’s been less this year. We also had prom this month and Megan and I got to go to dinner together. It was a bit of a struggle finding sitters since our normal ones were at prom but one of our sitters worked real hard to find a partner and it worked out.

On the family front I got to be Andrew Donlan’s Confirmation sponsor. It was very neat and we made the trip to Lincoln and back one Tuesday night. The boys were very well behaved for both rides and during the long mass. The boys are doing better, they’re over the RSV but still have the small coughs they’ve had most winter. We’re looking forward to spring. They had their follow ups for the ASDs and that went okay, Alex’s is still there but they just want to check it again in a year and Leo’s is partially closed. Again they will recheck his next March. They’re eating “solids” well and we are switching to a normal (cheaper) formula. They seam to be taking it well. Both boys are getting teeth, Alex is wining that race which is good since Leo is rolling all over the place and Alex is content to just be for now. They both enjoy petting the dogs and the dogs seem to be okay with it for now.

The biggest event for February was our stay in the hospital with RSV. Alex got RSV one week and gave it to Leo a day or so later. We tried to keep them separated but that doesn’t really work with twins. When we got to the hospital Alex was pretty bad but turned around quickly. Leo on the other hand took a long time to get better. We spent about a week there with Leo and they are just now getting back to normal. Otherwise it was a good month for us, Alex is growing well and is already in 9 month clothes. Leo is usually in great spirits and loves to roll around.

School is going great, my student teacher has basically taken over and is doing a good job of planning and teaching so I really just have to worry about chem. I do have one major change coming next year, I’ll be teaching religion. One of our religion teachers is retiring and I offered to switch so I guess it’s time to go back to school.

We This month has been eventful at KCHS. Mr. Barnes joined as a student teacher and has been doing very well. In 7th grade we learned about the types of animals and dissected a grasshopper and a starfish. In 10th we studied evolution and in chemistry we’re studying acids and bases. They did a titration this week and all got it correct. As a school we’re finishing Catholic Schools Week. It’s a great time filled with lots of fun days and activities. We went to a movie as a school and today we have an “Olympic” competition between the classes.

Our boys are growing well. They’re 6 months old and started trying solid foods. Leo can roll over now and plays with his feet. Alex is doing better eating solids and likes to stand. All is going pretty well with them.

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In class we studied Mollusks and the students created a cookbook. Feel free to try any of the recipes and leave comments if you want. A few of the last pages were double sided so they second side is in the part 2 file.

Alex and Leo are making it harder and harder to get posts written but I’ll try to be more on top of it next month. The month started out with the wind down to semester finals. Overall our classes went well. I was very happy with how the seniors did in dual credit biology. It’s always nice to have a break so being done with this semester was a wonderful time. After school got out we went to Lincoln for a couple days for the Hanigan family Christmas. We saw lots of relatives and Santa even came and met the twins. He gave them their Christmas pajamas which they got to wear on Christmas Eve. From Lincoln we traveled all the way down to Kentucky. It was a much different drive with our two sons but we made it. Christmas time was very nice. Megan’s brother and sister came from Salt Lake City and Megan’s parents were very happy to see us all. We even got to see a couple of megan’s aunts, uncles, and cousins. The return trip home was much less fun but we still made it home. We spent New Year’s Eve at a friends house for our annual friends Christmas party. It was good to see all of them again. We had the last week off of school and I managed to get out hunting one day. Ollie is getting better and is even showing some tendencies to point. Still not sure what he will eventually become. I hope 2019 treats us all well and I’m ready to start the new semester Monday.