F.I.N.A.L.L.Y. Friday

It's our first full week of school, and I'm telling you - Friday seemed to be a long ways away.  Teachers, can I get an AMEN?

I feel like we're finally getting into the routine of things in our room and getting some things done.  Some.  Not a lot, but some.  I have a really sweet group of kids this year - so I'm really excited.

This weekend my aunt & uncle are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.  50 years.  That is insane to me.  In a world today when it's far more common (and a lot easier) to just quit, I love encountering couples who have successfully done this marriage thing.

In addition to the anniversary being celebrated, I'm excited to spend time with extended family that I don't get to see very often.  My dad's family is very close - but the extended part of that family lives all over the United States.  There aren't many events that bring them all back together anymore now that weddings are over and funerals have stopped for awhile (Thank God) - so when we get to celebrate happy events all together, I really look forward to that.

Hopefully I'll check in Monday with some pictures from our time this weekend.

Enjoy your weekend!

The Best is Yet to Come

This little picture has gotten me through lots and lots of days where the sadness I feel about our inability to have babies has just overtaken me.  I'm not really a pessimistic person, so the glass is almost always half full for me.

That little sprout growing out of that huge tree stump is so symbolic to me of so many things.  I think about the hope that can come in the most impossible of places.  I cannot tell you the amount of emails or conversations I've had with people since blogging about this journey that have gone something like this: "we had trouble getting pregnant too" or "you have no idea the strength I've gained from reading about your battle - THANK YOU FOR TALKING ABOUT IT".  These conversations humble me, but they also remind me that in the midst of this dark season in our lives, I might be providing hope for someone else.  It only takes ONE single light to lighten the dark.  Just one.

That little sprout also obviously symbolizes our future child(ren).  Growing out of the dark and hard time in our life.  But growing nonetheless.

And the thought that this is not our final destination is just such a remarkable reminder.  Although my present situation is certainly not what I would've chosen, it's exactly where I'm supposed to be - and for that, I will be thankful.

Be light today, friends.  :)

Monday Morning...again?

Welp, the first few days with kids is in the books and I have to say, I LOVE THEM.  They are fun, and eager to learn, and just great kids. However, I was BEAT by the end of Friday and I am wondering how on Earth I'm going to make it thru this week.  It'll be ok, right?

My nephew Aiden's 5th birthday party was this weekend.  I love that kid so much.  He is spunky and sassy and quite frankly hilarious.  It was an awesome way to spend part of my first weekend back.  :)

Yesterday, I spent about 4 hours writing lesson plans.  It's sort of like riding a bike - once I get back into the swing of things it won't take that long - but MY GOSH, that took forever.  It certainly doesn't help that I'm a bit of a perfectionist and that I rarely just "do what I did last year".  Yes, I certainly could just pull out my plans from last year and copy them - but there were things that weren't perfect and/or didn't work last year - so why on Earth wouldn't I change them this year?!  This is my 6th year teaching fifth grade and I am just now figuring things out - seriously.

I'm sad that this awesome cool summer weather is coming to an end tomorrow.  I hate hot weather, so this summer has been so awesome because we've been able to have windows open and take nice walks where it isn't so humid that I feel like I'm in the rain forest.

I have no idea where all of that just came from...but I guess it was floating around in my head somewhere.

Happy Week Friends -

Throwback Thursday

Christmas 2007

'Twas the Day Before School

I got the chance to meet my new class last night - I always LOVE the first time I get to put faces with names - but it is SO overwhelming.  Every single year feels like a whirlwind and before I know it, I'm sitting at my desk in my quiet room feeling awful that I didn't have more of a chance to meet and get to know the kids and their parents.  But, such is the schedule of Stash & Dash...it's fast and intended for them to just drop in, meet me, and drop off their supplies.  I work in a really fantastic district where parental support is abundant and I feel SO blessed.  This is going to be a great year.

I did take a few pictures of my room finished so I could share it with all of you.  :)

This is the door to my classroom.  I love, love, love the poster that's on that door.  The biggest life lesson I want my kids to leave 5th grade with is that they absolutely can change the world.

This is the view of my classroom from the front.

This is the new and improved reading corner.  Posters and a rug made a HUGE difference - I really love it, I can't wait to sit there and read to them every day.  :)

 Now that the physical space of my classroom is set up, I was able to sit at my desk today and really plan for the week's activities.  While the OCD side of me loves organizing and setting up my room, my favorite part of my job {and the real reason I'm there} is planning and interacting with my kids!  :)

I have to admit, on today - the day before school starts - I'm nervous.  The magnitude of the responsibility I feel is enormous.  25 lives are entrusted to me and whether I am one of their best or worst teachers, I am still responsible for changing them in big ways.  I want them to always look back on 5th grade and smile thinking about the fun we had and the things we learned together.  And the selfish part of me (or anyone I'd guess) wants my fifth-sters to like me.

So, here we go!  The 2013-2014 school year begins tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited!  :)

Can time just slow down?  Like, stop.  But, on the other hand - hurry on up.  I'm living such an anomaly right now because I really feel like in so many aspects of my life I want time to slow down, but in our journey towards parenthood, I desperately want time to hurry up!

I am typically a person who works VERY hard to enjoy the moment.  I try to savor each phase of my life because I know it will never come again.  I wasn't one of those brides who wished away their engagement.  I loved every moment of that phase of my life because I knew it was never coming again.  I enjoyed our first year or so of marriage before really beginning to worry about parenthood.  This infertility struggle has really challenged this for me however.  When parents smirk and say, "why are you rushing it?!  Enjoy your sleep while you can" I giggle with them, but inside it makes my stomach flip because I just cannot believe the insensitivity of some people.  Why don't you just enjoy a phase of your life that you never asked to be in in the first place?!  Anyone?  Yep, prolly not many takers on that one.

Anyway, time is a funny thing.  And I will continue to try to live on God's time and not my own.

I get to meet my new fifth-sters tonight and I am really excited.  I love the fresh start of a new school year.  I love that my room is all bright and ready for them.  I love that while many of them love their summers, they are for the most part ready to come back and have at least a little hint of excitement.  I do too.

That's about all for this Monday morning from me
Enjoy your week -

Glass

Amen.  I mean, seriously - I have nothing else to say today.  This image just speaks for itself and is precisely what I've been thinking.  The amount of complaining in our country is just plain ridiculous.  Three words to explain that: THIRD.WORLD.PROBLEMS.

The end.

Enjoy your glass today, Friends -