One week down.....fifteen to go!!

My first week of student teaching at Ardmore High School was fabulous! I love all of the people that work there as well as all of the students! I basically just served as an aide for the first week. I made a gazillion! copies. I also made all of the folders that will house the students' tests for the next few years. Just basic housekeeping duties. I also have almost learned ALL....yes ALL of the students' names. All 140 something of them! I was so overwhelmed the first day with all of those names, and now I know almost all of them! For example, after school Friday Robert and I went to get Brody at school, then stopped by McDonald's and two of the students who were in my class were there. It felt great to know their names and be able to say hey to them! (I think they liked it, too!) My Cooperating teacher is amazing! I love her and couldn't have picked a better one if I'd done it myself! She wants me to do as much as I'd like as slow or fast as I'd like!

I am looking so forward to the next fourteen weeks! I know that there will be so many exciting events! Even more than that, I can't wait to have my own classroom! I pray that I will be a great teacher, but I'm becoming more and more confident in that area each day!

We are LOVING living in Tennessee! Wow, I love it here! I could say that 5 million times and it still wouldn't do it justice! I am so grateful for Robert and everything he does for us. This is more than I could have ever asked for. Ever. I can't wait for the rest of our lives!

So, Jay & Cole got hitched Saturday! It was gorgeous! Absolutely beautiful! Definitely one of the prettiest weddings I've ever been to! We had so much fun getting ready for it, and Jay was so CALM! I don't know how she handled it so well. I know I will be a total mess! Speaking of which, we only have 68 days to go! YAY! I can't wait! Gotta get on the ball!

We Moved!

Well, we're officially Tennessee residents! It's been so relaxing so far. I mean, the house is a wreck from moving, but just the thought of being here makes me more relaxed! We got our building today :) Exciting! Brody started daycare today :( Sad. He cried a good bit this morning, but they said by lunch he was doing much better. I was a little sad, too! I don't like leaving my baby at all. But, I know I have to.

I begin student teaching at Ardmore High School tomorrow!! I'm pretty excited! I'm also nervous, too! I pray that it will be so beneficial, and not as stressful as I'm anticipating!

Sorry it's short, but I have a TON to do!! Early morning tomorrow, too! Have a fabulous day!

The Shed Blessing!

Thank the Lord, we have a shed!

Most of you are probably wondering what this rambling is all about. Here's the stitch......

Robert and I are getting married in October, and while I absolutely LOVE his house, it's not quite big enough for us and all of our JUNK! So for the past few months we have been looking around at outdoor buildings, just big enough for our stuff that we don't have room for inside our house, but doesn't need to be left out in the weather. For example, Robert has a ton of fishing 'junk', Brody's outdoor toys, and so on. Well, the only outdoor buildings that have really been in our price range have been the cheap little flimsy metal ones......you know, the ones that blow over or fall apart in the first year or two? So we continued to put off buying one. Hidden signals must have been sent, because usually we can be spontaneous buyers. Anyways.....the other night, with a broken A/C unit and fishing equiptment scattered across every inch of the living room, we we're whining about needing a building. Robert's phone goes off for a text, and I read it. It says, "Do you need an 8x10 wood building?'' I ran the phone to Robert, and he didn't recognize the number. I'm basically jumping up and down telling him to call it anyways, so he sends a text back asking who it was.

His friend, whom I won't name, then called him! He is having some issues and wanted to sell his wooden shed. DIRT CHEAP!! So, we jump in the Jeep and drive over. The building is GREAT! It is huge, well-made, and way more than we even wanted. And the price that he gave us was so cheap, I almost felt guilty about it. Needless to say, we wrote the check while we were there and it' supposed to be in our backyard on Thursday :)

I still can't absorb how perfectly that worked out for us. Wow! I think we are both learning every single day lately to let go and let God!

I've got shoes under my feet!

Well, this will probably be the busiest, most hectic week of my LIFE! Why? Several reasons actually. Number one, I am going to have to leave my baby...my teeny tiny 26 month old baby (haha) in daycare full-time :*( I am looking forward to it somewhat, because I know it will be good for him to play with other children that are the same age, but he is my little man, and I want to hog him all to myself. I know that's so selfish, but Brody and I have been through the storm together......he was my reason for waking up in the morning through the roughest waters.....and I just want him to be at home with his mommy. I am terrified that he will think that I have abandoned him with these strange people and worry that I'm never coming back. I'm so scared of that. (Sigh) I know we'll make it through.

The second reason that this is the most hectic week of my life is because I start student teaching on FRIDAY! I have been working so hard for this for years, and it's finally here. I am just a few short months away from possessing a college degree. ME! A college degree! Seems unreal. I got my placement at Ardmore High School.....Thank the Lord! I prayed so hard for that placement! I feel that I will gain so much comfort just being 2 mins from Brody's daycare. I wanted to cry because I was so relieved. All the more reason for my praying for Ardmore is that I will leave in the morning, drive Brody to school, go to the high school, back to get Brody, and back home in about 5 miles total. I am so excited!! A tank of gas should last me 3 weeks! Another relief there since I won't be working until after December, and hopefully I will find something then! For all of the people who thought I would never make it.....especially due to the few bumps and detours that I took over the years..............I ain't mad at ya!!!!

The biggest reason that I am sooo stressed this week is because this week I will be referring to "home" as a different location in a completely different state! Yep, Brody and I are moving to Ardmore "officially". Only a select few of you can relate to how extremely difficult a long-distance relationship can be. Very few of you can relate to how sick and tired to death I am of driving from Ardmore to New Hope, or the other way around. I have been living out of a suitcase (no joke) for too many months. I can't even imagine the relief I will feel when ALL of my stuff is in Ardmore and I don't have to throw a suitcase together and drive all over the southern states. I am SOOOOOO excited! Yay!! Robert has been so patient and so great with all of this moving mess. Even though the house is a disaster area (it really needs caution tape), we still had a fabulous weekend. My bed, dresser, and clothes are all that's left, which is still a lot, but we've also moved a good bit too! I am more than ready.

As you can see, life is pretty fast right about now! Sometimes the stress gets to me, but in the words of Darius Rucker, "I've got a roof over my head, the man I love laying in my bed, and it's ALRIGHT!! I've got shoes under my feet, forever in the eyes staring back at me, and it's alright! I've got all I need, and it's alright by me!"

Have a fabulous day :)