Welcome to my new blog!  I’ve discovered how to import my old blog from blogspot to here.  I liked the way I could be creative and do different things with wordpress so I moved. 

I’ve decided to move my blog………I need the ability to be creative. If you want the address, just ask. It’s a work in progress.

I have a new favorite website. Check out http://www.vistaprint.com/. They are always giving away free stuff. I ordered 250 business cards, 30 grad announcements, notecards, postcards, notepads, a tshirt, calendars and most of it was free. I just had to pay for shipping which happened to be about 10 bucks for it all. I paid for the calendars because they are a christmas present for my students. And I paid for the grad announcements because I figured why not, I need some anyways, and they were cheap. I got everything in the mail today and its just great. I’ll take a picture later for all to see. Check out the website! I’m sure you’ll get something for free.

Here is my only decoration for Christmas as of right now. I’m definitely not in the mood to decorate. Usually today is the day the tree would go up, but not this year. I’ve got some time…..the annual party isn’t until mid december so that gives me some time to get in the holiday spirit and get all my decorations out. I figured I’d go ahead and get the mistletoe out…why not? You never know when unexpected visitors will arrive

Me with my tablemates getting ready for graduation. You all know that the program I was in lasted 3 years. I went to school with the same people those 3 years. These are the people that I sat at the table with, got to know, got in trouble with (ha!), complained to, and told all my guy problems to. Of course there question each month that I saw them was, “Fill us in on the guy situation…whats up with it?” They got an earfull each month.

Before graduation….don’t I look smart?!?!
Standing in front of everyone being recognized.
I have a mission!

My most favorite thing about Thanksgiving……spending time with family! This is the best shot we could get since we spent our day in a room with a card table being our main furniture. Chase wanted us to come to his house for Thanksgiving so we did despite the fact that he had no furniture. We still had a good time!
Here’s our brother/sister shot. We were gonna use this for our Amazing Race application photo until Chase bailed out on me. Thanks Chase!
The next best thing about Thanksgiving this year was of course the food. I won’t take credit for this since I had nothing to do with this besides helping to eat it. It was absolutley delicious!

Saying goodbye….what a momma’s boy!

It’s that time of the year again….time to be thankful. Of course I’m thankful year round but this is the time of the year that people tend to share their thankfulness with others. I’ve got so many things to be thankful for.

1. I’m thankful for such loving and supportive parents. No matter what I want in life, they are constantly there for me. They want me to be happy and they do their best to support me dreams for life. I couldn’t have done all that I have without their constant love and support.

2. My brother puts up with me. He is more than I could have asked for in a brother. Of course as kids we fought like wild animals but now, I don’t know what I would do without him. He does things for me even when he doesn’t have to. He really is a pretty great person and I’m thankful that we have such a great sibling relationship even though he did bail out on me on auditioning for the amazing race….i’m pretty disappointed! (EDIT…..I’m still thankful for my brother, but he’s really disappointing me lately…..more details upon request)

3. I’m so thankful for my work friends. Without them, I would not be able to make it through each and every day at work. They keep me sane. They allow me to vent when I need to and even are there when I need a shoulder to cry on. They lift me up and tell me they appreciate me when I don’t hear it from others at school. They truly are a gift from God.

4. My incredible friends from college that I am so fortunate enough to keep in contact with mean the world to me. Even though I do not see them as often as I would like to, I still love them so very much. They have helped me become the person I am today. They have been the ones I go to with good news and the ones I’ve gone to when I need a shoulder to cry on. They have encouraged me along the way through many exciting times as well as rough times in life. They are so wise, such great prayer warriors, and I love them dearly.

5. I am so thankful for The Golden Girls, my best friends. They lift me up, even though they live hundreds of miles away. They pray for me, call me, make me laugh, and are there for me ALL of the time. They listen to my stories, help me face reality and have been a constant source of support for me every since I have known them. They are amazing women!

5. I’m thankful for my education. I have had the opportunity to meet some great teachers and professors along the way. They have taught me a lot about myself and about my capabilities. They have challenged me along the way and I’m thankful for their hard work and dedication.

6. I am thankful for a classroom full of children who have parents that want only the very best for their children. They care so very much about the most important thing in their life and they trust me with their children on a daily basis. I could not ask for more from someone than their trust. That is a blessing!

7. I am so thankful for all that has happened this year. I have had some rough times, exciting times, scary times, and then some really confusing times. I’ve laughed, cried, worried, and prayed about so many different things. At the time, I wondered why God was allowing certain things to happen. But now, I am so thankful that God brought certain people into my life and then took them right back out of my life. God is amazing and I am so thankful for all He did in my life this year, as hard as some of it was.

8. Most of all, I am thankful for my faith. I am thankful that I can worship a loving God, who loves me unconditionally, who knows my heart and my desires, who is always teaching me. I am amazed at how God has answered my prayers in the past few months, so specifically. I am thankful that I don’t have to hide what I believe in, and I am not ridiculed because I am a Christian. That makes life so much more refreshing when I am dealing with situations which lately I have been dealing with on a daily basis, to know that I am growing in my faith and learning to trust God is everything I do.

I’m sure I could make a list of things I am thankful for that is a mile long, but I won’t go that far. I am thankful for so much, yet deserve so little. God is great!

I have wonderful wise friends who have some encouraging things to say in times of need. It’s been a rough week, actually a rough year and I’ve been completely overwhelmed and feel completely withdrawn from everything besides my students while in my classroom. I love my students in our room, then we walk out the door and I have to face the others that I confront on the way to the gym or the cafeteria and I don’t like it. It’s a rough year and I’m at my wits end and don’t know if I can handle it much more. My environment is not a healthy one and it is not one that I need to put myself in. I’ve made a big decision and I’ll have to be making some changes here in the next few months. I think it will be for the best.

Tomorrow I graduate with my Masters in Education!!! How exciting!!! It seems like I just started my Masters.

I went to 2 of my students soccer game this weekend. They play better than i do and they are 5! It was fun to see them play and I got to practice my mad photography skills. I’ve picked up a part time job tutoring students. I’ll be working with this company that matches up students with tutors and hopefully making some good money. It’s not like I have the time to do that, but I need the money so I can go back to Europe next summer. If I stick to my budget then I think I will be able to afford to go back. As of right now I am planning to go back next summer. I am very excited!!! If anyone wants to join in the fun, let me know…there’s always room for another!

Feeling much better, that’s for sure! I feel so foolish though, but I realize it could happen to anyone. Moving on….

Today was such a good day at school. I had so much patience somehow. Maybe it’s because a few teachers asked me how I look so put together in the always and so calm. I guess maybe I decided to start acting like it in the room. I mean what good will it do me to get upset with little children, even when they do graffiti their clothes and tell me it’s because they wanted to put a new design on them. It’s there problem when they get home, I don’t have to deal with mom. Anyways, yeah it was a good day!