Thankful

There is the Saints preseason game playing on the NFL channel in the background, my husband's arm is plopped comfortably on my back, and he is sleeping quietly. I felt his body do the "I'm in deeper sleep jerk" as his arm jumped a little. I smiled at this. I am so blessed to have him to curl up to, I love him so much. I am still so thankful he came into my life because I know how dreadful some men can be. I've been there.I cringe stil hearing my friends horrific dating stories, trust me I could write a book on my negative experiences. The best advice I can give is to keep loving yourself and do not give up hope. This summer was amazing. I relaxed: a whole bunch. I enjoyed the break from school and work. Now gearing up to add 19 sweet little children to my life. I had a dream the other day that I was pregnant. I also found out it was with a girl. My sister and meg swears when I do have a baby it'll be a boy. I guess we shall see. I'm ready for this year, the fair, ball games, holidays, crawfish, wrapping up school. So excited. Anyways my hunnie is snoring. Time to accidentally wake him.

The Seasons of Life

Hello World: As I sit here listening to my $5 score of a Boyz II Men's greatest hits, I am feeling extra thankful to God. The lack of homework and lesson plans to make gives me time to ponder just how much my life has changed. As mentioned, this blog was once made where I was searching for my husband. We all know that this dream came true. The proof is snoring in our bedroom next to me. Travis is everything that I want in a man, best friend, life partner, confidant, and person in general. He knows when to be serious and he knows how to have fun. He also knows how to push me to keep going when I am ready to shut down due to stress. I owe so much to the happiness he has brought to my life. My eleven babies finish pre-k tomorrow. I am heart broken and happy all at the same time. I know many of you reading may not be teachers, but let me tell you that being with the same children 40 hours a week for 36 weeks is life changing. I have gained such love (in a non creeper way) for my students and their families. I care about how much they learn, but I also care about who they are as individuals. Although they are still such young children, I hope I have had a positive impact on them that they can carry with them all of their lives. After all, this is the reason I wanted to teach. I want to make a positive difference in the world. I may never get to know if any of my actions or words changed the child, but I can tell you the children I have taught have changed me for the better. My first school year ever of my career is OVER. WOW! My first year of grad school is OVER with a 4.0. I am married! I have a great family! My dreams have fallen together beautifully. Praise be to God. His plan was so much bigger than mine. Thank you Jesus. My first week at Fort Necessity Jr. High was TERRIFYING. Everyone knew each other (or so it felt) and I was the outsider who dressed up MUCH too much for my first day of meetings. Now these strangers are my work family and my friends. It's funny how 9 months how many friendships can be made. <3 I won't say that there were never bad days or days of frustration, but for every tough day there were three times the amount of good days to balance it. I love teaching. How awesome is it that I can say I love my job? I also love that I get a paid summer vacation. I am looking forward to taking the summer off from Tech (to clear my mind) and have time to spend with family this summer. I am starting my diet back, well I did today. Fighting off the chewy chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream is proving to be difficult, but I keep trying to think of the end results. I lost 20 lbs. last time I did this and I want to make sure it doesn't sneak up behind me lol. I am itching for a beach trip--I am about to go digging for a cheap condo. Travis and I are not poor (nor rich), but we prefer practical over pricey. I just need a place to sleep while visiting the beach. :) As I look at my life, I feel like I am going through the seasons just the way God wants me to. Happy Summer.

What I am searching for now!

There is officially 4 hours until the date of my birth and at 11:42 a.m. I will have roamed this earth for twenty six wonderful years. These years have been filled with lots of ups and downs and each has proven to have an ultimate meaning. God sends us on these adventures of life that seems to make NO sense at all, but always make perfect sense in the long run. I pondered while reading back on this blog how much my life has changed just since then and if I changed that much in a few years--imagine how much I've changed in 26 years. I am thankful for the positive changes that I have made, and always hoping to continue to be better. I will never be perfect, but I hope honestly to make the world a more positive place. I know that sounds cheese ball mcgraw, but that is my ultimate dream in life (or so I have realized). My dream once was to fall in love with someone God made for me (done that, Thanks God!) My second dream was to teach (doing that, Thanks God)! & my last dream is to make a positive difference in the world (Thanks, God..I know you will help me). I love my birthday, but the reason I love my birthday the most is the time of reflection I have. It is a day that I give special thanks to Our God for my life, because so many people do not get to live this long. I am blessed to see another sunrise, another piece or paper work, and even to be vomited on at work. I am blessed to be pushed to new limits and to be picked up by my family and friends. I am blessed because I was given an opportunity to make someone smile, laugh, and learn. If this is all that life offered me, I will be content, but I am convinced that God has big plans for mine and Trav's life together. I claim in Jesus name that it will be a beautiful one, faced with trials (no doubt), but the bumps in life is apart of the beauty. If there were not bad days, there would be no lesson to learn, no room for growth, no reason to appreciate a good one. This God of ours, He knows what he is doing. I keep thinking, "MAN! THIS YEAR WAS AWESOME!" and it was. I have a classroom full of little bits (who already started their birthday surprises). I received an "I love you" card from one child today and bouquets full of "flowers" (weeds) and they were the most beautiful ever. I also got to marry the love of my life. I now see how much God gave me. I prayed to Him for the perfect man for me, and it was delivered. I know that sounds silly, but if people really knew how much I love Travis and knew how I feel like my soul is complete with him. He and I were made for one another and I honestly believe he betters me. My family--oh man oh man, my family! I love them. They are my best friends and my support system and I cherish every memory with them and love them dearly. I can not begin to tell you how close I am with them. :) :) I was the last in our group of 5, but you know what they say about last ;). HAHA I kid, but seriously... I am BLESSED... and I have amazing friends (lots actually), but some who have proven to stick around after years and years. So thankful for that! Oh and work, I love them all. I was given a wonderful compliment today by Brandi Ross and Mrs. Jenna today about seeing that I gave love and affection to my students. This was the best compliment of all, because I do try to love. I do try to have compassion, and it's nice that someone can see that light in me. I pray that I continue to shine light on children and people around me. Anyways, to sum it up--my searching years is now just searching for ways to make other lives better. Wish me luck! I plan on doing random acts of kindness today--26 of them. I hope I can spread a little love for the love I've been given.