A weekend visit!

One of the great things about living here in Gallatin is being able to go and visit my nephew ANY TIME I WANT!!! So, this past weekend, I did! He seems to grow soooo fast! I took lots of pictures for your enjoyment. I went with the intention of staying one night and stayed the whole weekend. Imagine that. Shocking I know. Anyway, I came back Sunday night entirely too late but loved every minute of it. Aaron is smiling almost all the time now. He absolutely will steal your heart away in a second! Enjoy the pictures!

FURNITURE!!!

Today, I GOT MY FURNITURE!!!! I'm so excited. I acutally bought it last weekend with my friend Jana, but it got delivered today. I am no longer sitting on a camping chair or bean bags. YES! I now have plenty of places for people to come and sit, so come visit me!!!!

New Apartment and a New Job

I am now living in Gallatin, TN in my new apartment. I love it. My WHOLE family came down and helped me move in. Now that I'm only a little over and hour to both Mark and Diane and Matt and Lori they can come for just a visit! :) We got me all moved in on Saturday and I have been trying to decorate ever since. For those of you who know my skills in decorating...watch out! It seems like every day is a busy day for me. I had meetings at school yesterday and I have one again this Friday. I'm going to be working on my classroom a lot this week so maybe I can spend a few days at the trail ride this summer. We'll see. I have A LOT to do on my classroom. I think I'm going to go with the "survival" theme. I'm really looking for to the idea. Gotta reorient myself to the middle school mind again! I"m excited.

Gloria and I made it all the was across the U.S. in one piece. Really it wasn't a bad trip even with all the animals. We got to visit with the Pirtles for all of 24 hours. Which wasn't long enough for any of us but beggers can't be choosers. We actually did the trip in 4 days which is stinking amazing with 2 cats, a puppy, and a 10 month old baby.

I have included some new pictures of my nephew and niece. They met for the first time this weekend! I get to go to Lori's ultrasound today so I'll get to see my 2nd nephew today.....in the womb! :)

Deployed, Packed, Ready to Go...

Today marks a different kind of day. Ryan left early this morning. Gloria and I have the "container" all packed and ready for storage. We're finishing up some last minute things and then we're taking off in the morning. It seems like things are in slow motion right now - especially for Gloria. Acutally the day is going about like we thought it would. Very sad and full of emotion but she seems to be taking it in stride....as much as you can when your husband leaves for a year to go to "work". She is keeping herself busy with packing and taking care of her daughter. Elayna keeps saying "dada, dada, dada" over and over again. Which is probably a unconcious thing for her since she is just learning her sounds right now, but it is always followed up by Gloria saying, "Could we come up with a different word for right now". Very cute but gut-wrenching at the same time. I would say both are doing well and staying busy.

Last night, Ryan wanted to take Elayna swimming. It was her first time swimming and he didn't want to miss it. I have posted some pictures for your enjoyment. My next post will be while we are "on the road" so stayed tuned.

LONG overdue

I know, I know. It's way overdue for me to blog. You would not know how busy it's been - seriously! I technically live at my parents for the summer but I've probably only been there about 2 weeks total. Sad - I know. I guess you could say I live there because my stuff is there. I've been going back and forth between Mark and Diane's house and mom and dad's house. It's crazy but wondeful! Aaron was born ONE day after I got out of school, and I have been going ever since. He is absolutely wonderful! My sister-in-law and I actually sat there and stared at him for atleast 3 hours on Saturday. He just makes you smile! I couldn't be prouder!

I've also been helping my parents on their log cabin. Sadly my camera has been so busy taking pictures of Aaron that it took a break - so no pictures of the cabin. Sorry! Anyway, it's coming along nicely. The staining is finished on the inside and they are starting the walls this week. The outside is almost finished with stain and sealer. It is looking soo beautiful!

So, tomorrow at 6:55am I am getting on a flight and going to Seattle, WA to drive back with Gloria and Elayna. We are leaving on the 10th and heading toward Melber. We will be making "a few" pit stops along the way but hopefully making our way rather on the quickly side. Ryan will be deploying on the 9th. Please keep him and his family in your prayers while they are separated from eachother. Please also pray that we will have a safe trip. Me, Gloria, 10 month old baby, 2 cats, and 1 puppy - HERE WE COME!

Living in Transition

Wrapping up my time in Searcy is a bittersweet feeling. I am sad to be leaving everyone here. Yesterday at school we had a "reading slumber party". It was one of the most enjoyable days I've had at school since....ever. My kids did really great. I will miss them like crazy! I invited some people to come read to my kids at various times during the year. I asked the reading coaches to come read and I also read aloud to them throughout the day. One of my visitors was particularly memorable for me. One of my teachers and great friend from Harding, Cheri Smith, came and read a book to my kids. She and I have become very good friends since I was her GA during grad school and I dread saying "goodbye" to her...again! Anyway, I invited her to read a book to my kids. I had been in her class at Harding but I had never actually seen her "do" the things she taught. God never fails to teach me new lessons, the older I get. Or maybe I'm just now seeing the lessons. It seems like I always get the best lessons when I'm not expecting it. A rare thing in the education field is when you get to actually see your teacher teach the kids that she taught you to teach. (Clear as mud right?) Anyway, I got to sit with my kids while she read a book aloud to them. I think I learned more watching her for 20 minutes yesterday then I've learned about teaching children all year. It was such a privilage to be there, and I will cherish that for the rest of my life. First of all, it was a great learning experience for me as far as my career. Secondly, I got to see my mentor and friend do what she loves to do. I hope that one day people will be able to see my passion so evidently while I am doing something so simple as reading a book to some kids. I am so grateful to Cheri for teaching me in the classroom and more importantly in situations like yesterday. I will miss our talks, late nights at the office talking about...EVERYTHING, Tuesday evening dinners after class, and just being able to see you at a momence notice. She has become one of my closest friends!
The Sweet part about leavnig Searcy is the things I'm going to be moving toward. I'm about to have 2 brand new nephews, and I could not be more excited! I can't wait to hold them, love on them, and just be their aunt. I think the closest I've been to being an aunt (before Gloria's baby girl) is the Pirtle children. I cannot imagine loving any kids more than I love all 4 of them. I guess I'm about to find out. I know that being all the way across country from them is extremely hard. I don't want to try being even 7 hours away from Diane and Lori's baby. Gloria will be living in Melber for the next year so I will have the best of both worlds for atleast a year. Another sweet thing about moving is my new job. I have to admit - going to a new school with new people is a little scary but definitely exciting as well.
For your enjoyment, I've also included some pictures of mom and dad's cabin going up. The outside is done (minus the staining off the wood). It is beautiful. The staircase and fireplace are all put in (except the rock on the fire place). Come visit!

Finishing Up and Thinking Forward

My time in Searcy, AR are quickly coming to an end. AND - I'm about to the the aunt of a beautiful baby boy (in about 3 weeks). I also will be moving my stuff out of Searcy in 2 weeks and then living with Krista and her husband until school is over. I can't believe that I have finished my 2nd year of teaching already! Here I go, jumping into a new place full of people I don't know....what a great challange and adventure!

I am doing my best to cherish my time left with my wonderful 3rd graders! All 17 of them! :) Even now I"m learning more and more about their personalities and just what makes them tick. The recent lesson they have taught me is their amazing ability to be creative and just rise to the occasion. We have been studying about the history of Arkansas and about the Arkansas flag. I gave them the project of recreating the Arkansas flag in some unique and creative way. They could you use anything they had at home except poster board and markers. You would not believe how they rose to the occasion. I was so proud of their effort and creativity! I was blow away. It just proved to me that I have underestimated the abilities of my kids! They can be so much more if people will not put their expectations in a box and limit what they are capable of in their life! I have included some pictures of more of my kids projects! Enjoy :)