Many, Many Moons

After our precious nephew was born, life skyrocketed into madness. The following is what we have been up to since then.... with pictures!

October

October was a preciously fast and busy month! We made it through with a few pictures.

1. We quickly traveled to Tulsa to be with my brother and his darling family including this sweetheart who was quick to cuddle and love on us. I think someone was a little jealous of her new baby brother's attention stealing!

2. While in Tulsa, this sweet baby angel, our nephew James, came home from the hospital, and he was progressing wonderfully!

3. We came home, and not one day later, seriously, dad fractured is femur while at work. Never a full moment around here!

4. We still celebrated Halloween, albeit low-key, with this adorable cutie, our little pumpkin puppy.

(Starting in the top right corner going clockwise)

November

No pictures for November! It was fairly calm. We spent Thanksgiving with Josh's family while Mom and Dad traveled to Tulsa to be with my brother and his family.

December

Finished off my second semester of graduate school early in the month! It was a tough one but I learned a lot and was very glad to finish with good grades! We made a few trips and celebrated our one year anniversary! Of course, we celebrated a wonderful low-key Christmas with mom and dad, and then we moved! Not our first choice for winter break, but our heater quit working, and our landlord was just not willing to replace it quickly. December, cold, no heat. Enough said. And then December led us to the end of 2010!

1. My best friend taught me how to make delicious cookies with a cookie press. We also made rice krispies treats, fudge, and Santa cut-out cookies! And so began our annual tradition of baking together for Christmas!

2. A wonderful reminder of our special day! Our first anniversary was low-key, the "it" term of 2010, and we enjoyed some rest and alone time before the busy holidays!

3. We ended December with The Tumbleweed Fiasco of 2010. The high winds and overgrown fields led to a massive amount of tumbleweeds which strategically piled themselves around my parents house. We spent two days helping them remove and deal with the tumbleweeds (on ongoing battle, by the way).

4. We said goodbye to 2010 and hello to 2011 with prayers for peace, health, and happiness. We figured low-key was the way to go! We were all so tired from the tumbleweed fiasco, we ate dinner with my parents and some friends, watched the ball drop in Times Square...ha, on TV..., and then crashed pretty early for a New Years Eve!

January

January. Well January was a blur. School started back full swing, and in my insanity, I signed up for an 8-week class which made the first eight weeks of 2011 absolutely nuts, so not many pictures were taken!

February

1. A short and quick month, the one exciting thing we did was visit family and friends in Josh's home town. My best friends all got together for some much needed girl time. This picture is of my best friend Monica and myself at dinner.

2. My other two best friends, Tracy and Becky at the same dinner! I don't know why I don't have a picture of us all together. :(

3. We also visited this darling Sweetpea and her Momma CupKate since we had not yet met her. Aren't those the sweetest cheeks you have ever seen?

March

Three months into 2011, the year already one-fourth done!

1. (on the bottom) Spring Break was the first big highlight of the month. Josh worked quite a bit while I spent time with my parents. We did make a brief trip to Portales, but of course, no documentation! Mom made the best french toast using french bread instead of Texas Toast. So delicious!

2. (top right) These little angels and there family, my brother and his crew, came to visit! We celebrated my Camilla's second birthday! She is spitting image of me when I was little. All girl and all brat!

3. My darling nephew, James, is growing like a weed! He just hit 6 months and doing amazingly. He stuns all the doctors, charms all the ladies, and has some yummy cheeks to squeeze!

April

And so here we are. So far, Josh started a new job at a local hospital, I am finishing my third semester of Graduate school, I survived State testing at school, and it's already coming to an end!

I know I missed a lot that happened over the past six or so months, but these are the main highlights. Life is still chaotic, but we are so blessed to have family and friends.

I am not even going to promise to blog more. I plan to take a pretty heavy load of classes, attend a workshop, travel to Tulsa for James' baptism and to visit family, improve my teaching style and management for next year, and maybe, just maybe I might get some rest and relaxation this summer. So the next post might be another six month update. Bare with me friends! Eventually, I will become a regular blogger. Maybe.

Maybe, I will even rename this little ole blog. We shall see.

James Thomas Jr.

Around eleven o'clock last night, my brother took his wife to the hospital to deliver their fourth child. Shortly after three o'clock in the morning, my brother called to say the baby was breached. They tried to move him, but failed to do so because of his size, or so they thought. They were moving for an emergency Cesarean.

As four in the morning rolled around, I headed to help my mom pack and book a flight to get their as quickly as possible. We waited, and were worried when my brother hadn't called within the hour. My parents waited for time to take my mom to the hospital, and I left for home to try and get some rest.

I was driving down the road, I went through an intersection and immediately felt a flutter in my heart that let me know something was just not right. Prayers were pouring out me like

rain waiter overflows in a full bucket. For the next five or six blocks, I prayed and cried. I was just turning from the park when my mom called and told me to come back.

I flipped the car around and quickly called my husband to come quickly. My thoughts raced about our little precious boy and his dear momma and all the possibilities. As I arrived, I learned that James Thomas Jr., or little Jim, was born weighing a wonderful right pounds at 6:01am. Sadly, he was born with a hole in his back. They did not know much at the time, except that he would be seen by a neurologist and he could be handicapped. We all waited with baited breath, as my da

d would say, to hear more. We went ahead with plans, and my mom flew out just as the autumn sun was rising. Josh and I headed home, with a quick stop for some fast breakfast food at good old Mickey D's, and attempted sleep.

It was quiet from about the sunrise until about eleven. James Jr. would be having surgery less than twelve hours after he was born. Around the same time, my mom's plane landed, she grabbed a cab, and made it to the hospital quickly only thanks to the dear lady cab driver who helped my mo

m out tremendously.

Just as my mom arrived to the first hospital, she learned James Jr. was being moved to the Children's Hospital, but she was able to see my sister-in-law before heading to see James Jr. and my brother. Shortly after James Jr. was taken into surgery while his mommy was transferred to the same hospital so she could be near him and his daddy.

Three hours and some minutes later, little Jim was out of the operating room, and doing well. The hole was the size of a silver dollar, and it appeared he did have a sac of the spinal cords and such (not sure if this is the accurate explanation) but it was popped sometime before or during delivery. A lot of possibilities lay ahead of James Jr. including paralysis from the waist down, urinary or digestive problems, and possible fluid in the brain.

James Jr. is currently in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit where he is being closely monit

ored. If fluid does stay in his brain, they will move him to surgery for a shunt. If he does not, he could be home with in the week. James Jr. has his grandma, my mom, by his side tonight while his daddy stays with his momma. She said he has tiny ears like his Aunt Mimi, a tight grip, and is absolutely gorgeous. They are also closely watching for any movement.

We are so thankful for all the prayers and love being sent in the way of James Jr. and his family. We are so hopeful for him and know that God is listening to all everyone's prayers and deciding what is best for little Jim. Please continue to send positive thoughts, prayers, and love that way so it can surround him as he endures these trials.

James Thomas Jr.

October 3rd, 2010

6:01am

8 pounds

"A new baby is like the beginning of all things-wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities."

~ Eda J. Le Shan

Summer Lovin'

(Edit: I did update the blog following this post, and it is still under construction.)

I just realized I need a new layout for the blog. The background I was using is no longer supported. I will work on that...sometime.

This week is my last week of summer. It is very bittersweet. On one hand, I am so excited to return to my job- my students, my class, my school. On the other hand, school starting means less sleeping in and being lazy. I am proud of what I accomplished this summer.

• Painted majority of the house
• Shampooed all the carpets
• Did some organizing around the house
• Rearranged furniture
• Bought and received some very nice house items
• Attended the AP Summer Institute
• Helped with district curriculum mapping
• Spent time with family and friends
• Slept, slept, and slept some more
• Finished my first graduate class with an A
• Finishing my second graduate class this week
• Moved classrooms
• Organized classroom materials
• Shopped A LOT!
• Purchased a .22 bolt-action rifle and learned how to shoot it

I could probably think of many more things I feel are major accomplishments, but this post would get extremely boring. This summer was also a summer of trials. Between jobs, finances, illness, surgeries, cleaning, organizing, and tons of stress, I am somewhat surprised I made it out alive!

I owe the little amount of sanity I have left in my body to my amazing husband, parents, and friends. They are the gravity that brings my back down to earth when I take off into an orbit of crazy thoughts. I know they will continue to be my rock as I enter the school year with two Graduate classes and a whole new load of students. Thank you will never express the true gratitude I have for the people in my life.

A Moment of Silence

For Megan and Brent from In This Wonderful Life.

Our newest addition...

Introducing.....

Merlin Watson

A friend of ours found him on the streets and after a week, no one had claimed him. We decided to give him a loving home here with us. We know little about him, but we are slowly gathering information. We think he is about a year old and was probably abused. We took him to the groomers, and she felt he was probably part Chihuahua and part Poodle. He was very matted with dirt and stickers, plus it's summer, so we had to start fresh....

He acted pretty traumatized but changed his attitude pretty quickly. His week got worse because on Saturday, we took him to get neutered. He is already a better puppy and healing very nicely. The vet indicated he was also probably part Dachshund. So he is basically a DaChiPoo. Hehe!

He is absolutely adorable and I am so happy we took him. He loves to cuddle mommy! A plus- I am not allergic to him! We are so in love with our new little baby!

Tranquility

tranquility: a state of being free from agitation of mind or spirit, disturbance or turmoil

Tranquility is a place I really enjoy being these days. Between school/work, the uprooting of our life to move into a new house at the end of March, Josh's journey with a possible new job, and the every day experiences of newlyweds, my mind and spirit are often in a state of agitation, disturbance and turmoil.

I am learning to cherish the moments and places I can find tranquility in life and see the many blessings I have been given.

If I am caught up on grading, lesson plans are done, and I am completely prepared for a day of teaching young minds, I like to take a few minutes at my desk and take in my surroundings. The experiences of teaching are unlike any other and I can often find calm in the raging storm called education when I realize I have found my true calling and I love almost every second of my day.

We rarely set alarms on weekend mornings. And even though we both usually wake up early by habit, it is nice knowing we could sleep in if we wanted. If one of us is up before the other, we do stuff around the house, watch TV, read, do homework or whatever, but sometimes we wake up around the same time. On those occasions, it is nice to lay in bed and talk or just be together with nothing pressing us. It is one of the most tranquil times and I hope for it to happen at least once a weekend.

I could go on and on with ways to I find tranquility-taking a shower/bath, driving, watching a good movie, reading a good book, dinner with friends, weekend lunches with my husband...but the point is tranquility is a blessing. It must be welcomed, cherishes, and created when necessary. I am learning tranquility can come in even the worst situations if I just allow it to enter my mind. While we journey through our move, maybe a new job, starting my Master's in the fall, Josh continuing school and those lovely daily life lessons I know tranquility will be there if I allow for it.

On a last note, we have had crazy weather and while snow storms are usually a lot of hype in this town, a simple dusting or less, last Tuesday we had a monster storm that started as rain and ended up snowing almost four inches in a matter of hours. Everyone was amped up about a possible snow day and how bad the roads would be and all the hoopla that comes with a storm. I took a moment to admire the storm. This pictures makes me thing of many things. Peace during a war. Calm during a storm. Love during a fight. Tranquility during the turmoil of life.

Happy Holidays and such

Well, we made it down the isle, to a quick honeymoon escape and back to celebrate the holidays with our family. It snowed our last day in our fabulous honeymoon locale. but just enough to be pretty. We were rerouted about an hour around a major road due to an accident, but finally made it home to cloudy weather and wet surroundings. It started to hail as soon as we finished unloading and then quickly turned to snow. Josh lit a fire and I discovered left over wedding cake in our fridge (thanks to my mom and dad for taking care of the clean up and bringing home the goodies for us). We plopped down on the couch and have been there since we got home. While we thoroughly enjoyed the honeymoon, the get away, the rest, the eating out and all of the vacation, it was so nice to make it back to our fabulous home and we cannot express how excited we are to be back in our bed tonight!

We have an amazing photographer who took over 1200 pictures from rehearsal to the end of the reception. And the next day he had them posted on a website for our family and friends to see. Not all of them, but a substantial amount. While they are not edited, we were completely giddy to see them the day after and relive the most amazing day of our lives. I will leave this post with the address to view some of our wedding pictures and maybe I will blog again soon. Who knows? Maybe I will become a better blogger in 2010. No promises though!

Wedding Pictures

Going to the Chapel and....

We're gonna get married! 39 days to go!

Progress

I am working on a post to update the last couple months. Bare with me oh few readers.

Father's Day Weekend

This past Saturday was the 7th Annual Geocaching Event in Portales during Portales Heritage Days. We have gone for the past three years, since my dad started geocaching. He really enjoys caching, and he even always falls on Father's Day Weekend so it is fun to go and spend time together as family. This year, Josh even went with us.

We went up to Portales on Friday for the meet and greet. We met a few new people and visited with some we already knew. Saturday we woke up and got ready for the event at eleven. Between eleven and three we found 22 caches and the final cache for a total of 23 caches and 32 points. We did have a really good time.

So now it's tradition, and we even discussed a new team name for next year to include Josh. We are thining about J-Quad. Sounds good to me!

Things I Have Been Up To Lately

So I haven't even signed on to my blog in a while, and I am not even going to apologize. The month of May was entirely too crazy, June has shown it will probably be that way and let me show you why....

We decided to purchase a new car for me. Mine was older and putting more money into fixing minor problems seemed like it was a waste so we got a really good deal on a brand new Toyota Corolla and I am loving it. I have always wanted a brand new car!

On May 16th, I graduated from college. The week prior to graduation was extremely emotional and I spent most of my free time clinging to things that were common to my like Josh, my apartment, my friends and the little town I would soon be leaving behind. That brings me to the next adventure of May.....

I moved out of my apartment of three years. Things have changed completely from this previous post. After getting engaged, my brother having a baby, and visiting several times we decided to move back to my hometown. We are completely happy with this decision. It is a place where we are both happy, it's a good town, my parents are here, and Josh's family is close. So I moved back in with my parents while we look for a place and Josh will join me as soon as we have found a place to live.

In between buying a car, graduation, and moving I have also been searching a for a job as a teacher. It is harder than it would seem and the scary part is education is one of the more stable careers in this horrible time. However, I am not frightened as of yet because it is still early and schools often don't hire until August. 

We are also still planning the wedding. It is in almost 6 months and coming very fast. We are so excited, but still have a lot of work to do! 

So now I believe you are caught up with my life and since I am less busy now, I will try to update more frequently!

My next eight months....

Thursday marked exactly one month to graduation. I cannot believe how fast it has gone. I promised myself not to get nostalgic in this post and do the whole "I never thought I would be here..." business, so here are the facts on the next month are so.

• In two weeks I am done student teaching. 
  
• For the next month I need to clean out and pack up my apartment.
  
• In one month I graduate from college.
  
• In a little over a month I have to move out of my apartment.
  
• In a little over a month I am moving back in to my parents house, but not for long.
  
• In a little over a month I need to start a job of some kind for the summer.
  
• In about three months we need to find a place to live.
  
• For the next four months I will be looking for a job.
  
• For the next eight months we are planning a wedding.
  
• In eight months we are getting married.
  

So there is the next eight months laid out in terms of things that need to be done or will be happening. I have no idea where I will be working, but I do know that I can hardly contain my excitement for the next couple of months, even if it is going to be hectic and I can tell that I will probably be very stressed no matter how hard I try. Luckily, I have amazing people in my life to help me get through it!

Are you kidding me right now?

I had a long day of traveling on Friday and early in the morning when I talked to Josh, he told me he was making dinner. I was so relieved to not have to worry about that when I got home because I knew it would be 7 or later. After flight delays, waiting for take off, baggage claim, and driving home, I actually didn't get home until after 8pm.

I came home to a clean house and Josh making dinner. He told me to sit down, got me a glass of wine and said to relax. He wouldn't let me help him with dinner and told me I couldn't go in the kitchen. He acts this way anytime he makes dinner for me because he is just amazing.

I was starving because I had only eaten  a burrito really early that morning! While he was cooking, he told me he had two choices for dessert. He made one and then bought one in case the one he made didn't turn out! I was very excited for both! What can I say? I love to eat! Soon he brought out a plate of filet mignon with caramel brandy mushroom sauce and a side of potatoes and broccoli with cheese. It was so delicious! I completely devoured it. 

Josh asked if I wanted seconds and I declined so he asked if I wanted dessert and I said yes. He took the plates and soon returned with two plates of the biggest dessert I have ever seen. He set his down, handed me mine, and then.............

I realized there was something in the top of my dessert and Josh was down on one knee....

I asked him "Are you kidding right now?" And he said no. I started crying and hugging him. And I whispered "Yes!" 

We hugged and kissed for a long time and then he started telling me details....so here is where the post is going to get a little long.

The weekend before I left for Vegas, we had gone to visit my parents in Roswell. I was really sick and spent a lot of time in bed. The night we arrived he told me mom he needed to talk to them. I went to bed early and he asked my parents for their permission and blessing. They said yes and told him they couldn't ask for a better son-in-law. The whole weekend my parents knew he was going to propose and they didn't say one word to anyone! He also told them he was going to do it when I got back from Vegas. My mom told me later she wanted to scream from holding it in so long! He also told me parents he wanted me to be able to have my ring ceremony for Chi Omega. I was so impressed that he realized how important this was for me.

While I was in Vegas, he had called my friend and she told me he hadn't left a message. Really....he had left a message and told her so he could find out when I would be home so he could make the dessert because it took about three hours. It was two types of mousse, passion berry and raspberry with layers of cake in between and caramel drizzled on top.

He went through several different plans before he decided to stick with something he does really well, cooking. It was the perfect engagement. I was so shocked and so excited.

(It's a set. This is a picture of the ring and the wedding band. He picked it out completely by himself! He did so good!)

My parents came Saturday and we celebrated with lunch and champagne. It has been a world wind weekend and then we had to wait until after today to reveal everything so I could have my ring ceremony, but now it is out in the open and I couldn't be happier! 

And now every once in a while, like about every 5 minutes, I squeal "We're engaged!"

Vegas style!

We had an amazing time on our girls trip to Las Vegas! Laura had never been and so we did a lot of sight seeing which meant a whole lot of walking! It was a great time and I am so in love with Las Vegas. I can't wait to go back!

We stayed at Flamingo and this was the view from our room. It's a really good deal to stay there, it's right in the middle of the strip and it's a really nice hotel room. I would love to stay there again and it's really neat because it is all pink and Flamingos!

On Thursday night we went to The Bank at Bellagio. It is a newer club and it was really nice and very fancy. While we were there they took our picture for some website. I was kind of skeptical at first, but it actually is just a website that promotes clubs. So when I came home, I hopped online and checked for out picture! Low and behold it was definitely on there and the website was not shady or pornographic! Check it out! 

http://www.clubzone.com/photos/gallery14554_p662754.html

Overall it was an amazing trip. I was already ready to come home and our Friday traveling made me definitely ready to just come home. First our plane was running late and then we waited on the runway for twelve other planes to take off before us. The turbulence was horrible because of wind and rain and when we landed, it took forever for our luggage to be loaded at the claim site. After all of that, I still had to drive three hours home. 

When I got home, Josh had kept the house neat and clean and made an amazing dinner for us. I will tell more about that in a later post! In the meantime, I am so glad to be home, but not ready to go back to school tomorrow! Oh well!

It's a girl!

Even though the ultrasound looked like a boy and the doctor said it was a boy, today my sister-in-law gave birth to an 8 pounds, 5 ounce, little girl. Brown hair and blue eyes. My brother said she is beautiful and he is already very protective of her. As soon as he sends pictures I will post them! I am so excited and now I can buy cute little girl clothes for her. 

Otherwise, I am finishing packing and heading to Midland to meet up with my friend Tracy. Tomorrow we fly out for Vegas! Yay!

Pink, drinks, and fun!

This past June I went to Las Vegas with my parents and Joshua. We had a really great time! While I was there I signed up for Harrah's Total Rewards card and completely forgot about it until my friends Krista and Laura mentioned they were going to Las Vegas for Spring Break. Another friend, Tracy, and I decided we would love to go so we started planning. We started looking for hotels and I thought I would just take a look at what it the Total Rewards website had to offer. We ended up getting an amazing deal on a room at the Flamingo! And so....

On Tuesday we are flying to the fabulous city of Las Vegas for three nights and four days of fun girl time! I am so excited. We have been planning for so long, I can't believe it is finally here. It is my first actual Spring Break trip. I have always gone home, worked, or gone somewhere with the family. This will be a nice change and this break is definitely needed!

One of our dining experiences will be at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant at Paris. We made our reservations tonight. I am sure we will have other amazing experiences and I plan to take lots of pictures! I will be sharing stories and pictures when I get back!

Overflowing

More than one thing in my life is overflowing at the moment. No this isn't a touching, abstract post. Things are actually overflowing. 

1. Laundry

A never ending story in my apartment. Four full laundry bins, and I am waiting as long as possible to do them. Reason: Paying for laundry kills me and I am busy, tired, and frankly too lazy to wash them if I still have clean stuff to wear.

2. Closet

It takes a huge amount of strength to slide the clothes on the rod to put more in my closet. Reason: I love clothes and have a problem throwing things away, because I just might wear it someday. I promise myself I will get rid of some clothes before the move because I think it would be ridiculous to move clothes I have not worn and probably never will. Other closets in my house are just as full and for the same reason. I will make the same promise for them.

3. Camera

I would accompany this post with pictures of the overflowing parts of my life, but my camera has not been uploaded since before Christmas. Reason: I took tons of pictures of my parents house at Christmas to be organized into folders by room to assist in decorating next year. (Once they are loaded, I will post some and explain). I planned to upload them and organize while we drove to Tulsa after Christmas, but I forgot my camera cord. So I continued to take pictures on our trip, New Years and some other random stuff and never had time to upload them. A few weeks ago, I decided to sit down and at least upload so I could use my camera for other stuff and realized I lost the cord. Searched everywhere, called my parents to see if it was at their house, and stressed for a good number of days before ordering one from Ebay. It just came in the other day. I haven't had the time, energy, or patience to even think about it.

So maybe not that many things are overflowing, but to me, it's frustrating! Ahh...life.

Long time coming

Two blogs in one day. I'm on a roll. Haha. 

The big topic as of late has been what I like to call "The Big Move." To where you might ask. Well, that is the big question. I graduate May 16th and I have my mind set on one place I really am dying to move.

I have an A-type personality and not knowing where I will be and what I will be doing is driving my absolutely insane. I am also very practical. My original thinking was I would apply everywhere I could and then move when I was offered a job. This plan seems the most logical in my head. My mom, amazing lady she is, mentioned just moving to place I want to live. I completely shot it down because, well, it just doesn't seem practical to me. However, I have never been able to forget that possibility. 

As time as gone on, and we are now approaching midterms of my last semester, I cannot quit thinking about how much I want to live in this one particular place. It consumes my every thought. I think of where to live, the apartments, the shopping, the eating, the schools, and everything to do with this one place. I check the job listings so much if they could track who was checking, they would think I was crazy! 

So now, the question of the hour. Is it crazy to move somewhere with no job offer because it is where I really, really am dying to live? (And by dying I am almost sure I would not be as happy anywhere else)

I do not doubt my ability as a teacher, but I am unsure of the school district so I have a hard time saying "I will absolutely get a job right away." It has nothing to do with my ability, but more the worrier in my won't let me be 100 percent sure. I am not completely negative however because I believe two things: it's a big-ish city with many options, and my career has a built in fall back, substitute teaching, which almost every school district in the nation desperately needs.

And yes, I do obsess. At this time, I can see it all so clear in my head. I have a plan for everything. So am I crazy or what?

Halfway through...

Yep! Midterms are next week! I am half way done with my student teaching. Things are moving so fast, graduation will be here before I know it. I am really excited, but so nervous. Those two feelings seem to be a trend in life lately.

Other than teaching everyday and then being really lazy on the weekends, nothing exciting is really going on. I am going to try and be better at blogging when exciting things happen so maybe I will have more to blog about. 

For now the most exciting news is in three weeks I am going to Las Vegas with three of my friends! I will post more details soon!

Blogging in Bed

So I know I've been a very bad blogger, but I never said I was a pro. Truth be told, I am still trying to find a routine for this crazy semester. So for now, blogging will be done when I have time, or when I am laying bed and can't sleep.

It's been a while since I've updated, so I will just do a brief run through of life as I know it these days...

I mentioned in my previous blog that I started student teaching. I have since then been relieving myself of other responsibilities because student teaching is a critical time in my education and it requires about 90% of my time and energy. My term as an officer in Chi Omega finished and in January I passed all my duties to my amazing lil sis. While I will remain a Senator for ASENMU, I resigned my position as Director of Student Concerns. I knew I would not be able to do the best job possible because of the time constraints so I knew it was the best thing to do. 

I am sure many people who know me are thinking I must be crazy, but....in true Jamie fashion....out with one thing means in with another. I was really lucky to be given the opportunity to teach Extended School Day. I work with a small group of students after school for eight weeks, four days a week. In addition to gaining some amazing experience, I am getting paid! Talk about a small relief!

So along with the plethora of paperwork student teaching brings, I am working on my resume and job hunting! This is probably one of the scariest things I have ever thought about in my life. Again, those who know me can probably figure out why! For those who don't, here is a glimpse into the life of Jamie! I am a planner and organizer. I like to know what I am doing, when I am doing it, and how I need to do it. So the mystery of where I will live, where I will work, and oh, the rest of my life is driving my crazy. I do realize for some people this is exciting, exhilarating and whatever other emotions it may evoke in other people. However, for me, I am just ready to know! 

I also realize there is no better time to count my blessings than now. So I do. Everyday I thank God for the opportunities I have been given, the opportunities still to come, and the life I am living. 

Now, looking back on this blog, it is mostly a rant about how busy things have been lately. But I see it as a good rant. I did get sick this week (still getting better). I may be exhausted when I leave school at the end of the day. I may get frustrated when a lesson doesn't go just right or I have to type or copy another useless paper for my notebook. However, when it comes down to it all, I am truly happy with the choices I have made and the path ahead of me.

P.S. I will now promise to try and write at least one a week. The key word in that sentence is "try!"

Slowly progressing...

I know I haven't updated in a while. I had a very good and lazy vacation. We enjoyed visiting my brother and his family in Tulsa, but I was glad to come back to Portales. When I have more time, I will post pictures from Christmas.

I started student teaching today and it was one of the best days I have ever had. I am so lucky to have an amazing cooperating teacher. I am not going into to much detail tonight because it's late, but again when I have time I will post more about my first day probably with pictures!

In the meantime,  watch Twitter for my daily updates on student teaching and, of course, life in general!

Merry Christmas

It's funny how different Christmas is the older you get. Last year we opened gifts a little after midnight on Christmas Eve. This year we didn't even make it to midnight! Besides the fact that my dad is like a little boy, he has to work tomorrow so there is a chance he won't be home til later in the day. Waiting that long would be pure torture....for him. Even the way we buy gifts is different. My parents buy gifts for themselves and give them to each other to wrap. I picked out all my stocking stuffers. We had out big gifts weeks and weeks ago. Christmas still means the same thing to us and I love every minute of the holiday with my family, but it's definitely different as the years pass.

I have also never spent such a short time in Roswell. I came last Friday and the original plan was to be here until the 26th and then we would drive through Portales to leave my stuff and head to Tulsa to see my brother and his family. Well...not anymore.

This week away has been really hard this time around and I don't know why. I have spent more time away before and been fine. I know it's part of growing up, but I didn't expect it this year. So, I am going to Portales tomorrow and staying the night, and then my parents will pick me up on Friday morning. 

Who would have ever guessed? 

So, our Christmas presents are opened and breakfast is in the fridge, ready to be put in the oven. I should be sleeping, but I am too excited. I have enjoyed my time at home and I am excited to go to Tulsa, but tomorrow I get one of the best presents of all. I get to see Josh and spend Christmas night with him. 

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

After all the waiting

After checking the mail and waiting not so patiently, I learned our student teaching placements were being sent to our permanent address. So I called my mom and have had her checking the mail and calling me for the past few days.

Today, I was taking a nap when the phone rang. I looked at it and almost did not answer because I thought I would just call her back when I woke up. Then a thought came over me....PLACEMENTS! So I answered and she said "Are you ready?" And then....

She read the letter! Ms Smith's class at James! Third grade! It is exactly what I wanted.

A wave of relief came over me becasue I no longer had to worry about where I would be or getting a teacher I didn't like. Then came the excitement, and then the nervousness. I laid in bed for a while thinking about how nervous I am to actually student teach. I know it will be fun so for now I am going to enjoy the feeling of knowing that I get to work with amazing third graders and a really good teacher!

Finally...

Today is my last day of class for this semester! It felt like a year, but in reality it was less than 5 months. I would say this is my last actual class ever! Until Grad school at least...

It's been a great semester.I love school, but I am glad it's near the end because I am at the point where I just want to do my job already. I feel like I am practicing for a game that I will someday get to play....but not quite yet, I need more practice! It can be frustrating, yet I am very grateful for the education I've received. I have had some really great experiences and learned a lot!

So now student teaching is on the horizon and I am a ball of emotions. Excited, nervous, happy, anxious...you get the point. We are still waiting for our assignments. They should be here before the 13th, but hopefully it will be sooner, as in the next few days!

I know the post is random and jumbled, but I am waiting for a casserole to get out of the oven before class! I also felt I needed to express my excitement for today! Last day of class! Yay!