Where you lead me I will follow...

I remember singing the song "I have decided to follow Jesus" back in children's church. Those are powerful words that never really made sense to me until I got a little older. A few years ago when Duane went on CIY, Aaron Peslue came out with a new version of the song and I loved it. The words are simple, yet so meaningful. This song has been running through my head a lot the past few weeks as my teaching job at Danville was coming to an end and I began the job search all over again. As always, God took care of me and for that I am very thankful.

I have loved my time at Danville. I have learned so much and gotten to know some really great teachers and kids. I felt comfortable there. Danville is a lot like Plainfield and so it was definitely in my comfort zone. It was a great school to work at and I am grateful I had the opportunity to teach there. However, I still felt a calling to a different type of school. Ever since I went on a couple of mission trips in high school, I have desperately wanted to teach in a more urban school. It's a hard feeling to explain but I know that's where I belong. This dream came to life when I student taught in Perry. I had such a great experience there and felt like it was the type of environment I'd love to teach in. I love the diversity of students and how much they impacted me. Don't get me wrong..my students at Danville have greatly impacted me and I will miss them dearly. I just feel like I belong somewhere else..and not just because there was no job for me in Danville...ha! :)

So, about a month ago I started the job search again. I would check every school's website within a 30 mile radius for job postings. I did this every single night! It became a little game that I did NOT like to play! I applied for a fourth grade teaching position at Pitsborro elementary, another small school in Henricks county, and also a sixth grade teaching position at Creston Intermediate Academy in Warren Township. I prayed about it a lot. I asked God to lead me to the school he wanted me at. The school that I would hopefully stay at for a while.

Fast forward a few days and I got a call from Pitsborro to interview. Unfortunately I did not get an interview for the full time fourth grade position I had applied for, but instead a fifth grade maternity leave position at the same school. It had been a little over a week since I had applied at Warren, so I had pretty much given up on getting an interview. I agreed to interview for the maternity leave, knowing that it was not what I wanted. The morning of the interview I was feeling really discouraged. I just wanted a full time job. Little did I know, God was just wanting me to practice patience (I need LOTS of practice in this area). The day of my interview with Pittsboro I got a call from Warren and they asked me to interview the next day. I was SO excited I could hardly contain myself. I went ahead and went to my interview at Pittsboro and it went really well. They offered me the position and it sounded like a great school. Duane and I decided that if I did not get a full time teaching job, we would risk me taking the maternity leave and not having anything after it (I'm so lucky to have a supportive husband). After my interview I started preparing for my interview the next day.

My best friend, Carrie, teaches at Creston Middle School and she came over and helped me "prep" for my interview the night before. She was a big help! I was a nervous wreck the day of my interview. Luckily I was teaching all day so that helped take my mind off the interview. I headed to the interview right after school. I prayed the whole way there. I just had a feeling that I would love teaching at Warren. To my surprise, the interview went great! I loved the principal and assistant principal and thought the school sounded like the type of school I wanted to be at. I left the interview feeling pretty confident. After all, I did just teach sixth grade for 6 months so I think I should have a little idea of what I'm doing...right?! :) The principal said they would discuss their decision and call me in the middle of the next week. I was dreading the "wait" time, but felt like I had done the best I could in the interview and the rest was up to God. Little did I know, I'd only have to wait two days!

On Monday my current principal came to me and said he had just gotten off the phone with Creston's principal and that I needed to call him. I left my kids with another teacher and called him right away. And guess what....he offered me the job!!!!!! I was SO excited!!! So excited and so relieved. God had answered my prayer and where HE leads me, I will follow.

Today was my last day at Danville. It was a very bittersweet day. I was sad to be parting with my students especially since I won't see them again in the future. I was also sad to leave some of the amazing teachers I have met. However, I am so ready to move on to my new job. Am I nervous, of course! It wouldn't be normal if I wasn't! I know that this is where God wants me, and I find a lot of peace in that.

These last few weeks have been nothing short of crazy and I am so relieved to have a little break. In college we always learned about how stressful the beginning of school was, but no one ever told us how crazy the end of school was. Geez! I wouldn't have gotten everything done had it not been for Duane. He helped with lots of end of the year things while I was setting up my new room at the summer camp I work at. He's a keeper I guess....:)

So there you have it. I am so excited to start my second year (kind of) of teaching. I can't wait to blog more about it! I'm exhausted though, so I think it's time for me to relax! Have a great night!

Late Night Blog Post

It's 11:45 on Sunday night. I have to be up in approximately 6 hours for my last week of my first year of teaching. And of course...I can't sleep. It's not like I need any energy for this week. It's not like my sixth graders won't be out of control of anything. UGH! I'm pretty sure the reason I can't sleep has something to do with the fact that my mind is moving at about a million miles per hour. I have a to-do list the size of Texas and about 4 days to get it all done. Man, I will be so glad when this week is done and over with!

It seems like the last few days have just been non-stop. I'm ready for a break. Yesterday I had orientation for the summer camp I work at. Don't get me wrong, I am really excited for camp to start, but the stress of having to pack up my classroom, get grades done, get my camp classroom up and running, finish up end of the year gifts for my students, AND looking for a job is enough keep me up at night. So what do I do when I have such a gigantic to-do list...well blog of course!

I think i'll blog about something other than all the stress in my life. Maybe that will put my mind at ease and I will be able to fall asleep!

We have been landscaping fools around here! After 12 (yes, 12) straight days of rain we have finally had time to get the outside of our house in shape. I'm really impressed with the way it looks, minus the chipping white paint of course. I have been hard at work planting flowers and some yummy strawberries. Duane has been busy mulching and tearing out bushes to prepare for our fence install this Tuesday. Words can't describe how excited I am about this fence. Although obedience school is helping Kaia's listening skills, I will still feel much better knowing she can't take down the street after a rabbit.

Here are some pictures of some of the outside stuff that's been going on at 319....

Peonies are my favorite flowers and the finally bloomed last week!

I made my own hanging baskets this year. They are so expensive and I think this saved a little bit of money!

Flower pots courtesy of TJ Maxx!

Cute basket found at Lowes!

My favorite flower pot! Also from TJ Maxx.

Duane did an awesome job with the mulch! Next on the list after the fence is a much needed paint job!

Both of the above pictures are all of the bushes (or lack there of) that Duane and both of our dads tore out. The fence will be up in place of the bushes in just 2 short days!

Well there you have it. It's now 12:20 and my eyes are getting heavy. I guess blogging was the cure for my insomnia. Thanks for listening to me vent about the busy week ahead. There's a lot to do but I know it will get done. I just want to have a nice last few days with my kids at school. The end of the school year is starting to feel very bitter sweet. Sweet, because I am in need of a break from teaching and have always been a huge fan of summer. Bitter, because I will miss my kids, and am not sure of where I will be next year. On the flip side, I do have a few potentials for jobs next year. I've had a couple of interviews that have gone well. At this point, I am leaving up to God. He'll lead me where he wants me to go.

Have a great week everyone! :)

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to my sister Jill! She graduated college last weekend and today she turns 22 today! We are only 15 months a part and are great friends! Happy Birthday sis!

Jill's Graduation

Today was a big day for my sister! Jill graduated from Anderson University today. She graduated with a degree in nursing and we couldn't be more proud of her. Nursing school has been nothing short of a challenge, and she has conquered it! At the moment, Jill in a "graduate nurse" until she takes her NCLEX. Once that is over with, she will officially be a registered nurse. So exciting!

We drove to Anderson Friday night to try and make Jill's pinning ceremony. Unfortunately, the traffic prevented us from making it on time, so we just met the family for dinner at Olive Garden. Today we headed back up to AU for graduation. Don't worry, we didn't miss it! It was a long ceremony but a very proud moment for me and my family. It was FREEZING today so luckily the ceremony was indoors. I couldn't have imagined sitting outside for two whole hours.

I know I said it earlier, but we really are proud of Jill. She has accomplished so much and we can't wait to see what God has in store for her in the future. She is a very caring and compassionate person and will make a great nurse. I know that leaving AU is bittersweet for her, but I will definitely be glad to have her closer to home. Congratulations sis! We love you!

Now for the pictures....

Graduates making their way to the ceremony

Yay!

So I don't have great zoom, but that's Jill walking across the stage!

Stacey thought the ceremony was overly exciting!

So did Duane...

Class of 2010

She made it!

Jill's college roommates

With Aunt Lynn

Two college graduates...one is working on it!

My wonderful family!

Summer Nights

There are lots of things that make me happy. Warm weather is definitely at the tip top of the list. I love to head to the lake and lay on a boat soaking up the rays. I love to sit on our cute white porch on our cute white porch swing. I love to go to the pool and bask in the hot sun. I love it all! One of my favorite parts of spring/summer are the evenings. At around 8:00 p.m. the weather is perfect. It is not too hot and not too cold. The sun is beginning to make it's decent for the day. It's one of the best feelings. Everything looks better in the dim light. I love that time of night.

Last night was no different. It was a perfect spring evening. We decided to head to Dairy Queen with our good friends (Steve and Lauren) and the dogs (Kaia and Daisy). This is a little bit beside the point but on my list of happiness, having great friends that live close is also right at the top. All of our good friends (minus Chelsea and Aj of course) live within walking distance. It is the best thing! We can get together for cookouts on random nights, or just walk over to each others house to see what's going on. We all LOVE it! Anyways, last night we took the dogs and ventured to DQ. Daisy is Kaia's absolute best friend. Kaia literally pulls us all the way from our house to the White's house and runs to the fence to see Daisy. It's so cute! When we got Kaia she was a few pounds lighter than Daisy and now she is at least twice her size. We were a little worried they wouldn't like each other when Kaia got bigger, but that is certainly not the case. They love to play for hours and do on a regular basis.

Our walk went really well! The boys walked the dogs while Lauren and I trailled behind talking and snapping photos. Both dogs got a pup cup (a bowl of vanilla ice cream with a doggie treat) and were in Heaven! It was the prefect evening and I can't wait to experience many more "summer nights".

Of course we took pictures.....:)

The Dog Walkers! :)

Pretty flower on our walk

Lauren and I with our cute puppies. (Please excuse the hair...I'm trying to let it grow and it is wild! Yikes!) :)

Pretty creek

We love DQ!

Waiting for her pup cup!

Kaia's pup cup..she loves them!

Cute Daisy waiting patiently for her pup cup

And some random spring pictures...

I hope you are enjoying this wonderful weather and season! Have a wonderful night! :)

Journey to Obedience

Tonight was Kaia's first obedience class. We signed her up about a month ago. She really isn't a horrible dog, but we are still dealing with some puppy issues. The main problem we are having is the dreaded jumping habit. Kaia jumps on anyone that walks through our door and at 80 lbs, this is not the welcome we want our guests to receive. So, we decided it was time to do something about fixing these habits. I'm a teacher by nature, so I believe that we can truly "teach" Kaia anything. She is a smart dog, although she hides it quite well.

We enrolled in Indy K9 Kollege in Beech Grove. It is actually steps away from my Aunt and Uncle's house, and I never noticed it. Kaia's vet recommended this facility because they specialize in large breed dogs. Can you imagine Kaia in the same obedience class as a Chihuahua?? I mean come on, little annoying dogs are what we encourage Kaia to eat for breakfast! :) Going into the first class, Duane and I both had our reservations. If you know Kaia at all you know that she loves two things, people and dogs. Both of which we knew would be in her class. I have a very vivid imagination and had literally pictured all sorts of awful scenarios that would take place tonight. I pictured Marley going to obedience school and being the only dog in the class to ignore any sort of command. I pictured 20 dogs and Kaia dragging us all over as she jumped all over the other dogs. I pictured everyone being annoyed by Kaia's constant high-pitched bark. I thought of it all. All very negative thoughts might I add. Much to our surprise none of those scenarios were even CLOSE to what took place tonight. It was a very pleasant experience!

There are four other dog's in Kaia's class. All of them are under one year (although Kaia is by far the largest). There are two labs and two golden retrievers. Kaia was SO well behaved! She laid right next to us as the instructor gave us our "homework". This was a major accomplishment considering there were LOTS of distractions. Kaia obeyed us when we practiced different techniques to correct behavior. It was a great start! We both walked out smiling and thinking to ourselves..."We CAN do this!" She did bark a couple of times, but that was the worst of her behavior so we'll take it! I'm sure that all of our friends won't believe us when we tell them how well she did!

This week our homework (yes, we have two pages of homework) is to work on less jumping, pulling on the leash, and common commands such as sit, lay, and stand. Along with that we are supposed to work on the "wait" command. When we walk from room to room, out the door, or step out of the car we are supposed to go before Kaia. The leader of the pack is always supposed to lead. This might be difficult since I'm almost positive Kaia thinks she rules this roost. She doesn't know what she's got coming to her!

Well that's all for now. I'll be sure to keep you updated on our cute puppy's progress. Have a great night!