Moving!

We're in Ellis, Kansas right now. We drove the minivan out here and arrived last night sometime after eleven-this morning we loaded up our table, dresser, and desk. We're heading out soon. Then tonight, we are moving my sofa from my apartment to my parents storage shed. Then we will be loading all of the boxes in Cole's and in my apartment into the Penske truck. Tomorrow, Cole, his dad, and I will drive the Penske to Gardner after church. Then I'll come back to Manhattan and get ready for the week. Cole and his dad will drive back to Gardner to wait for our closing on Tuesday afternoon.

Craziness?

Yup!

Exciting?

Yes sir (or ma'am)!!

21 days until I am a married woman! counting the days...eager expectation...

Lovin' Life

i went fishing at Cole's mom and stepdad's house this weekend...i caught a fish, but he got away. for real-it's not just a fisher(wo)mans story.

we also sat in the hot tub for a very long time....wonderfulness!

thirty two days until my wedding!

my best friend from high school and my roommate got engaged this weekend! yay! they will be an awesome married couple!

my roommate Megan and I had a long talk about growing up. we're getting old-craziness!

i only have one more paper to write and a final to take till I am done with my distance education class-but i don't wanna work on it! it's boring.

i need to pack a lot! the closing on our house is next Thursday and we move all of our stuff to the house next Saturday! wahoo!

lovin' life!!

Countdown

I'm generally not one for change. But, for the first time in my life, I am excited about it! Moving has always been such a hard thing for me, as well as any life changes that were dramatic. But, I can't wait-I'm ready for the new challenge. A new town, a new school, driving in the city (because all who know me know-Manhattan is a town, not a city), new friends, a new house, new radio stations, new job/s, a new church, etc. Wahoo!

Days until the wedding: 39
Days until Zach inherits my car and I get a new one: 39
Days until I am done with my job: 26
Days left to work: 18 (all weekdays, with two days off-the fourth and the eighteenth)
Days until we close on the house: 18
Days until all my furniture goes to Gardner and I live out of a suitcase: 20
Days until I start school at KU: 46 (so sad, I'm not even done with all of my summer classes yet!)

on the brink of change

this is frustrating. on the brink of change. but not there yet. i'm just waiting here. not really sure where here is. in 65 days my whole life will change. but until then, what?

A lesson from elementary schoolers

To be perfectly honest, I learn so much more from the elementary schoolers I work with than I do just about anywhere else. Unlike my classes right now, they teach me things that are applicable to real life. Example.....

This morning there was a huge game of kickball going on. It was the little kids K-4 versus the big kids 5-6. The fifth and sixth graders played it cool. There was no need to get too excited to get excited about anything. However, the little kids were LOUD! When a friend was running the bases they were shouting encouragement-they screamed as loud as those little lungs could. When a teammate scored they all cheered loudly and gave high fives. When someone got an out, once again they were full of encouragement. If they were in the field and they got a big kid out-they cheered loudly again.

That is the way we are supposed to live. We were made to live with that kind of abandon!

A Little Bit of This and That

i should really update more often....not because i think anybody pays too much attention, but because I have a really bad memory and posts really help me to remember when abouts things happened.

i love my job at the elementary school. i used to worry that i might not have chosen the right career because i have known for so long that i wanted to be a teacher and most people change their mind/struggle with what they really want to do. but working with those kids everyday with them makes me more and more certain that i am exactly where God wants me to be-working with elementary school kids. i love to see the joy in their faces when they succeed at something they worked hard on. i love to be the one they can come to when they are upset about something. i love to sit and play cards, or board games, or color pictures with them. i love to see them run and play outdoors-living the life that mankind was created to live-one that is full of wonder and joy. i love how some of the things they say are so funny. and am always amazed at how profound they can be. i am fulfilled in this place-God has blessed me with a job where i can truly live out of the passion that he has put in my heart.

wedding planning is moving along at such a rapid pace. there is a counter on my webpage that says how many days until the wedding, and it's only 151 days away. which seems like a whole lot until you consider how much will be happening in our lives in the next 151 days. but i am excited to be hitched! i'm ready to take that step.

speaking of steps, the new pastor at ucc has started a new sermon series about "taking a few steps". i'm really enjoying his preaching style and learning a lot of practical ways to make strides in my faith. this past sunday he talked about leadership-many good things to think about: how am i leading? how am i following?

spring break is next week...no huge plans. going to hays for a few days to see cole's family-yay! and then a bunch of meetings, medical appointments, and work. but it will be nice to have a week without classes to play catch up. my sister is going with a group from our church to Mississippi to do clean up work from hurricane katrina-please be in prayer for them: for safe travel, strength, the ability to get lots of work done, and for opportunities to display Jesus to the people that they meet.

Skeptic

I’m beginning to think that “balance” is just a myth. I don’t know that it exists; but if it does, I can’t find it. The more I try, the more it seems my life spins out of control.

Why I Love My Job at the Elementary School

Every morning we do a "this day in history" with our kids. This day in history Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify the constitution. The kids were then able to ask teachers, etc. for the answer to the question "What was the first state to ratify the constitution?" One of my girls came up to me later this morning and said "What was the question we are supposed to figure out? Was it 'what was the first state to ratify the consummation?'"

Kids....gotta love 'em!

"I like to move it move it"

A little buddy of mine at school loves to sing this song in the morning. She's adorable and she dances like the do on the movie "Madagascar".

I am running, running, running, all the time right now. Ninety percent of the time, I love it.

I'm tutoring an adorable kindergartener who is struggling to figure out letters, their sounds, and how to put them together to read. He loves to sit on my lap and practice saying letters, take wiggle breaks, and read stories "by himself". He is adorable and time with him is so fulfilling.

Wedding planning is moving full-speed-ahead. I never knew that so much planning went into a wedding! I can't wait for that day-I think things will come together and make a really simple but cute wedding. And I've been practicing using my thriftiness skills. I love looking around to find the best deal-it should be an Olympic sport!

Cole and I made an offer on a build job for our house-and it was accepted! We are building a house in Gardener, Kansas. Just south of Olathe/Overland Park. If you want to see pictures check out Cole's blog at www.hoozh.net.

I have made driving arrangements, done the paperwork, and reserved the hotel room to present my honors research project at the Midwest Symposium for Leadership in Behavior Disorders later this month in Kansas City. I am excited to be presenting at a national conference and to get to learn so much by being surrounded by the best professionals in the field! Wahoo!

Here it is: we, the office girls, enjoyed this (perhaps too much!)

PARENTAL EXCUSES

These are actual excuse notes from parents excusing their children from missing school (includes original spelling):

~ My son is under a doctor's care and should not take P.E. today. Please execute him.

~ Please excuse Lisa for being absent. She was sick and I had her shot.

~ Dear School: Please ekscuse John being absent on Jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and also 33.

~ Please excuse Roland from P.E. for a few days. Yesterday he fell out of a tree and misplaced his hip.

~ John has been absent because he had two teeth taken out of his face.

~ Carlos was absent yesterday because he was playing football. He was hurt in the growing part.

~ Megan could not come to school today because she has been bothered by very close veins.

~ Chris will not be in school cus he has an acre in his side.

~ Please excuse Ray Friday from school. He has very loose vowels.

~ Please excuse Tommy for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea and his boots leak.

~ Irving was absent yesterday because he missed his bust.

~ Please excuse Jimmy for being. It was his father's fault.

~ I kept Billie home because she had to go Christmas shopping because I don't know what size she wear.

~ Please excuse Jennifer for missing school yesterday. We forgot to get the Sunday paper off the porch, and when we found it Monday, we thought it was Sunday.

~ Sally won't be in school a week from Friday. We have to attend her funeral.

~ Please excuse Jason for being absent yesterday. He had a cold and could not breed well.