Almost August? Already?

Two vacations, a mission trip, and a week of babysitting have made for the quickest summer yet. And I am not happy about that. I have three weeks until school starts (one of those weeks being a trip home) and I haven't done anything school related. In fact, I picked up my school bag yesterday to find cobwebs. I was so proud for my ability to relax, but felt a tad guilty thinking about all the plans I had to get so much done this summer...

So here I am , at school.... kind of working. And I might add, IN MY VERY OWN CLASSROOM! Woo hoo! No more male coach that can't leave his room while I am teaching because he are working on basketball plans. No more of the same male coach carrying basketballs into the classroom and hitting the walls with the basketballs while I am trying to teach. No more having to move stuff out of the front of the classroom in order to be able to teach in the previously mentioned classroom, because he never gets out of his chair to teach. Oh wait, does he teach? OK, done ranting. Needless to say, I am so so so excited to have my own classroom. Bulletin boards are done, files are mostly organized, my desk looks how it will probably look all year: messy. Though I may keep it cleaner since students will see it all year.

Speech syllabus is done. Sophomore English is as done as it will be. I will be getting to teach freshmen this year. I am excited about that, but dreading having to prep for another class. I almost gave up last year, but hopefully I will be more confident this year. Literature for life is still a class I struggle with. It's hard to plan curriculum for these students because the state standards are not clear.

A few things I am super excited about this fall:

• Football (high school and college)
• Seeing my kids (old and new!)
• Student Council
• Homecoming
• Cooler Weather
• My first half marathon
• My best friends wedding!
• Softball hitting
• Teaching ( I complain, but I really do love it)
• Being busy again
• Pumpkin flavor in everything. :)
• FHS blood drive
• Black Friday. :)
• My brother coming to visit

There are so many more things I am looking forward to, and actually, this post makes me ready for school. Remind me of this in October.

Anniversary Trip

So, as I have said previously, my husband rocks. For our first anniversary he surprised me with a trip to Michigan City, The Indiana Dunes, and Chicago. Our first stop were The Dunes on Lake Michigan.

Our second stop was Chicago. In Chicago we went to see Billy Elliot at the Oriental Theatre. I have been there a few times to see Wicked (my favorite), so it was fun to see something different. Billy Elliot was definitely not Wicked, but it was good!

Chris took me to The Melting Pot for dinner. We have eaten here before, but it's so good we had to go again!

This is again at the Indiana Dunes. We stopped by before we went to the Outlet Malls at Michigan City. Chris hates to shop so the fact that the outlet mall was his idea was so sweet! He didn't complain at all.

Our First Year of Marriage

I was looking back at my previous blogs and realized that I don't blog much about my fantastic husband. So, here is a posting specifically about our first year of marriage!

Last year we got married on June 6, after dating for 7 years. I know. Ridiculous. But we were high school sweethearts and went to separate colleges, so we couldn't get married any earlier. And honestly, I am so thankful for my time in college to form a few friendships that I can't imagine my life without. Here is a picture of us on our wedding day.

We then spent the next week and a half in Colorado for our honeymoon. Quickly after getting married, we moved to the Midwest for Chris to attend graduate school- and our journey began!

Some of my favorite memories of our first year of marriage:

• -A surprise trip to Chicago for the weekend

-Learning how to cook together- always including a good glass of wine

• -Planting our first garden, and attempting to make it grow

- Riding our bikes to buy a car battery
- Walking to the farmers Market every Sat. morning (this is my favorite)

-Learning how to use the drier :)
-Painting our entire house together

-Movie and game nights
-Our day trip to Indy our first week here

-Picnics
I really could go on forever, but these are the memories that stand-out from our first year together.
Chris is an amazing husband who would do anything for me. I am spoiled, and I will be the first one to admit it. I could never make it out the door on time if Chris didn't make my coffee, have it in a cup by the door, help pack my lunch and softball bag, and in the winter, start my car to have it de-iced. He really is the greatest blessing in my life.
Chris constantly shows me what it means to be a servant of Christ. When I start to stray he pulls me back on track and pushed me to be better than I am. Chris supports my random new hobbies, my attempts at being a good wife, my attempts at cooking (which I need to take lessons on!), and all of the other activities I try and often fail to do. I knew I loved Chris when we got married- I have loved him since we were 15- but I never knew that I could love him so much more.
The changes that Chris and I have been through over the past year have been such a great experience for us. Getting married, moving hours from home, making new friends, joining a new church, beginning a new career, and learning how to take care of a house. It's been a blast! I can't wait to see what all the future holds...
Here is a picture of our Anniversary celebration on our anniversary:


This past weekend Chris took me to Michigan City and Chicago. It was a blast! I will do another post over it so the pictures are easier to post! :)

Summer break already?

Well, it's the last day of school, which means summer break! Woohoo! This year has been, well, a roller coaster. I have loved and hated it. I even doubted that I was cut out for it. But now, after my first full year, I would honestly recommend it to everyone. It is the best job out there. Stressful, frustrating, and sometimes downright awful- but awesome. I have met some of the most awesome kids and I can't wait to see where life takes them! I was a little sad today. I really will miss my kiddos. All 120 of them. Okay, maybe not ALL of them, but most. I have become quite fond of them. Throughout the school year I learned so many things about myself. Here are a few:

• I need to laugh at least once every hour to have a great day.
• I am not that patient.
• I have no self- confidence when it comes to teaching.
• I am able to adapt to all sorts of things.
• My talent is literature- not grammar.
• I don't encourage kids enough.
• I work too much. I need to learn how to take a break without feeling guilty.
• Staying out of the teacher's lounge is not always a good idea. It's nice to work with people I can call friends,
• Eating in the teacher's lounge is not always a good idea. Negative teachers tend to bring me down at times.
• I can't do everything. I need to delegate.
• I am not as organized as I thought. :)
• I wouldn't make it to school on time without my sweet husband helping to get all my stuff together.

I really could go on forever. I have never learned so much on one year. It was my first year of teaching, coaching, being a wife, and living ten hours from home. I have so much to say about coaching too, but that will come another day.
Now for the summer! I plan on learning how to sew. I know, weird. Coming from me at least. But I really would like to be able to hem my own pants, make my own curtains- ya' know- the important things in life. I already made a super cute wreath that I will post pics of next week. I need to finish my scrapbooks. I am about a year behind. I would love to read tons of books, too!

"Every girl needs a cute purse, red shoes, and a good place to be alone with God."

4 More Days!

Oh my, oh my

I have two bits of news. One is a complaint and the other is an announcement (and no, I am not pregnant).

Complaint: We have two teachers retiring this year and one leaving. Word on the street is the newbies will get rooms- not me. Stupid. That's all. It may not even be true, but still.

Announcement: No Peace Corps. I know, I know. The last time I wrote about this subject I was "ecstatic", and indeed I really was. It was very exciting at the time, and at the time I really did feel God leading me to apply. I still don't doubt that he was. However, the past few weeks I have felt unsure and very pessimistic about continuing the application process. In fact, I have put off and put off the second part of the application. I am usually on top of things like this. I really dislike irresponsible people who can't meet deadlines- but I was becoming one. I couldn't work up the desire to take some of my quality time and fill out another application. It wasn't that I had more important things to do- I just didn't want to fill out the second part. I didn't understand. I kept praying about it and really started to feel that this was not where God was leading me. I don't know why I felt led to apply before- maybe it was a trust thing- but I knew for sure that at this point God was leading me away. So the time came to where I had to tell Chris. (I hadn't talked to him about it yet, because this was his idea and I didn't want to disappoint him.)

Sunday night came and we got to eat dinner together- which is unusual for softball season apparently. I started crying (poor Chris)- and just kept saying this is the hardest decision I have ever made. He understood, and had actually been feeling the same way. It's great how God works in each person! Chris already thinking he didn't want to go was a huge blessing because I already felt like I was ruining his life dreams. I know it sounds like I am being completely dramatic- and think what you will- but this was a huge deal for us to even consider, finally apply, and then back out. We aren't usually ones to "quit".

So, after much MORE prayer, and many pro and con lists, we have withdrawn our Peace Corps application. It's not for us right now. Does this mean moving back to Arkansas? We don't know. It means moving wherever the jobs are. I just know that I have never felt such a burden lifted. It was truly amazing how confident I felt the next morning. Which was a wonderful reminder that we made the right decision.

Have a great day!

A Book Worth Talking About

As I have talked about before, state tests kind of suck, but I understand the necessity. On that note, Indiana has given the ISTEP test to high school students the past few years. Students are tested over English and Math, and have to pass the test in order to graduate without a waiver. Obviously, not every student passes the test. For those who don't, there is something called remediation. I teach a remediation class to Juniors and Seniors who have trouble passing the test. Side note- Indiana no longer does the ISTEP, but has joined many other stated in giving End Of Course exams for English, Math, and Science. So, my class is made up of wonderful students who struggle with English- making my job difficult. To get them interested in a book is hard, and when I find one, it's definitely worth sharing.

So here it is:

Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, hit home to my students for many reasons. Speak deals with depression, school, teachers, friends, boys, and rape.

Speak is told through the eyes of a freshman girl who is struggling with all of the above. She takes the reader on a journey of her first year of high school, allowing us to feel what she feels. The book is sarcastic, funny, sad, random at times, and frustrating. It stirs up emotions in the reader that any good book should.

My students connected to this book because they have all, at one time or another, felt like outcasts. They related to the story in many different ways. Though this book is not one I would teach in a regular class, it is one I will continue teaching in remediation.

And I recommend it in general. Very good. :)

It's that time of year!

Well, it's here- it's finally the end of the year! And let me tell you, it's busy! This week consists of 5 softball games, 1 awards assembly (with awards for student council as well as my classes), Senior Night for softball, one of our most important softball games, Student Council elections, and the school picnic of which I have been left in charge of (thanks to my StuCo responsibilities). Oh yeah- AND the End of Course Exams for my sophomores! I am biting my nails with worry. I wish they understood why this test is so important...

On the bright side I am making a wreath with help from a few sites and friends. I am excited to have time for a craft this weekend!

I am also having books and breakfast with my seniors on Friday- yum!

I am honestly getting sad about my last few weeks with my classes. I have grown to love their company, humor, and even moodiness. I never thought I would be sad to see the year coming to an end. It's interesting how I have learned to adapt to being a teacher. I think I will stick with it for at least a while longer. Hopefully next year I can remind myself of this. :)

"Don't hold back a kind word or a loving deed- they have God's blessings all over them."

"Anytime is a good time for a quiet prayer and chocolate."

Katie's engagement!

One of my very best friends, Katie, got engaged on April 10! Her fiance invited us to meet them in St. Louis so we could be a part of such a great event. He proposed at the same place he asked her to be his girlfriend- a bar! Also significant because that's where they met. I think a wedding in a bar would be a blast- but I guess it's not up to me. ;) It was a perfect proposal and her rind is beautiful! Here are a few pics from the weekend!