Watching your best friend fall in love with a man whose career requires frequent periods of time on the road gives you serious perspective. This intimate look at David’s life on the road makes me ache for these two to be together and gives me an even deeper appreciation for him as a man. 

* take a minute to read their story as told by Betsy

How do you know that you’re a teacher?

1. You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line.

2. You get a secret thrill out of laminating something.

3. You walk into a store and hear the words “It’s Ms/Mr.> _________” and know you have been spotted.

4. You have 25 people that accidentally call you Mom/Dad at one time or another.

5. You can eat a multi-course meal in under twenty minutes.

6. You’ve trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times of the day: lunch and planning period.

7. You start saving other people’s trash, because most likely, you can use that toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the classroom.

8. You believe the teachers’ lounge should be equipped with a [soda fountain].

9. You want to slap the next person who says “Must be nice to work 8 to 3 and have summers off.”

10. You believe chocolate is a food group.

11. You can tell if it’s a full moon without ever looking outside.

12. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says “Boy, the kids sure are mellow today.”

13. You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public.

14. You believe in aerial spraying of Ritalin.

15. You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.

16. You spend more money on school stuff than you do on your own needs.

17. You can’t pass the school supply aisle without getting at least five items!

18. You ask your friends if the left hand turn he just made was a “good choice or a bad choice.”

19. You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils

20. You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer and finally,

21. You understand instantaneously why a child behaves a certain way after meeting his or her parents.

by Jeff Foxworthy

//

Pictured is a mini update on my classroom [!!!]

I picked up Mr. Fox while at Anthropolige this past week and am pretty much obsessed with him. I can’t wait to figure out exactly what role he’ll play in our classroom community this year. 

Thanks to the help of my sister and best friend, progress is being made! My classroom is actually being cleaned as we speak so I’ll be able to move furniture and really start getting settled for the school year in a few short days. 

Remember Josh & Lyndsie’s engagement video from awhile back? Well, I had the amazing opportunity to edit 3 more videos that Betsy shot during her engagement shoots.

This one is special to me. I met Summer my sophomore year at Tech in our biology of plants class. It was during this semester that I heard about this guy named Jacob who was then doing mission work in Asia. Oh the joy Summer had when he finally returned. 

And now, as of this weekend, these two are married!!!

Can we take a minute to talk about how amazing this music is, too? That’s all thanks to Mr. David Ramirez, aka the most genuine and humble man you’ll ever meet. 

Though I fell off the blogging train for a few months I haven’t lost my deep love for video. Funny story, I actually forgot to post this video that I made about 4 months ago. I filmed this footage the same day I shot and edited my Valentine’s Day video. 

This video documents one of my favorite things to do on a lazy Saturday morning. French pressed coffee, farm fresh eggs and good company make for the perfect Saturday morning breakfast. 

What is your favorite part of Saturday mornings? 

Graduation Pictures

It feels really weird that I just posted 3 pictures of myself but I just can’t help myself. I simply love the images that Betsy took of me for my graduation/22nd birthday shoot. Thanks, lady :)

She actually shot our family portraits when I was a wee lassie & college freshman 4 years ago. 

I sure am going to miss this girl when she moves to Austin next month. If you’re in the Austin area make sure you hit this girl up, grab coffee with her and embrace her with open arms. Oh and don’t forget to remind her to come visit me once in awhile ;) 

I’m backkkkkkkkkkk.

Woah. It’s been awhile.

So, in no particular order, here’s a recap of the last few months …

- I’ve been spending lots of time with this girl and her family. 
- I presented at the National Science Teacher Association conference in San Antonio, TX and got to visit the Alamo again. Feeling very Texan and loving it. 
- I enjoyed an amazingggg view when I was a leader at our church’s youth girls retreat. 
- My sister is a SENIOR citizen now.

- I hosted this girl’s wedding shower.
- I celebrated my 22nd birthday.
- I took my 3rd graders on a field trip to see the butterfly exhibit.
- I hung out with my favorite Floridian [and I get to HUG her in REAL LIFE in only 24 days]. 

- Betsy took my senior pictures on my birthday [and I’m still obsessed with them].

- I graduated from college [!!!].
- My kids painted me a plate with all of their thumbprints + names on the back. 
- I said goodbye to my favorite TechTeach & Centennial peeps. 
- My sister is hilarious and I love her. 

- Ice cream is my summer dessert of choice. 
- My home to work [that’s right… I got a JOB!!!!!] commute is only 8 minutes. 
- I traded my student teaching ID for my classroom keys. 
- My room is FULL of teacher stuff and teacher DIYs [will show soon!].

- And hereeeeee’s my classroom. Nice and bare. Ready for some major lovin’. 

Whew. How’s that for a several month recap? I vow to not go entire months without blogging again. 

In the coming weeks I’ll share more about my journey to get my job, keep you updated on my classroom progress, and show you some projects I’ve been working on for my first room :) 

So now that I’m back, how have YOU been? 

I have been a little MIA this semester and I semi-apologize. 

Life is crazy and completely up in the air. Yet Jesus has been reminding me daily how he is THE provider and just plain has everything under control. And that, my friends, has been completely freeing. Yes, I’m still job hunting and praying that I’ll find a job sooner rather than later, but I’m content.

For the first time in my life I literally have no idea what my life is going to look like after I walk at graduation on May 18th. But isn’t that supposed to be a thing? You graduate from college and then what? The possibilities are literally endless and the only way I could truly mess it up is if I just never leave my house and forget to live life. 

All I do know is that this summer is going to be great. I have two weddings of close friends, our annual road trip with my family to Iowa, a visit to Kansas City to meet baby Lincoln [and HUG my Melton family], a week in Jacksonville crashing the Brantley home, plenty of visits to Austin to see my best friends, and hopefully moving into my new apartment. Oh and READING, lots of reading. 

And really because this post is more of a catch-all at this point, here is a list: 

• My 22nd birthday is on Thursday
• I will finally have an excuse to sing TSwift’s 22 every day 
• Graduation regalia is expensive
• I am not ever going to be ready to leave my first class of 3rd graders
• I am not looking forward to saying goodbye to my teaching cohort
• I am looking forward to saying goodbye to college assignments
• I wish all of my close friends lived in the same place
• I really am a big fan of my little sister 
• I still have my flannel sheets on my bed because I can’t figure out what big kid sheets I want. [I’m thinking these right now]
• I miss blogging frequently

Hope this caught you up a smidge on my life. I really do love you all for sticking with me in the craziness of life. [Or really, I should probably thank RSS readers ha. It’s the only way I stay up to date with my favorite blogs]

How are YOU? I miss you. I hope April is treating you well. 

image by me. 

I know you’ve probably seen this, but I just couldn’t NOT share. 

Amazing. Absolutely amazing. 

Totally worth the 6 minutes. 

[Insert what’s going on in my life here]

Well, welcome back to my life. I’ve been a little MIA lately due to finishing up school/student teaching, applying for jobs, and most recently spring break.

This last week (my spring break) I served as a leader for our middle school mission trip. Let’s just sum it up to say that I will never doubt what the Lord can do through 6th, 7th and 8th graders again. 

This was the first mission trip that I’ve been a part of or lead that 99% of the “leading” came from the students we brought with us. We [aka our students] lead VBS style gatherings at apartment complexes in the morning and afternoons. 

Throughout the course of the week I watched my students who were shy, didn’t really have friends, and were very unsure of what we were asking them to do at these apartment complexes become completely equipped to share the love of Christ with those around them. I cannot brag enough on who our God is and what he can do. He seriously has rocked my world through these 42 middle school students and the 11 other amazing and God-honoring leaders. 

Now I’m shifting my focus on continuing to prepare. I was telling my sister the other day that I feel like my life stage right now should be titled “Preparation.”

I’m preparing lesson plans, preparing for mission trips, preparing to get a job, preparing to graduate, preparing for disciple nows, preparing for friends to move, preparing to be in a relationship, preparing for my whole life to change. 

This preparation is simultaneously exhausting, emotional, joyful, and bittersweet. But, hey, it’s where I am right now and the Lord is still faithful. He has never or will ever abandon me and he has provided me with abundantly more than I can comprehend. 

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” Ephesians 3:20

One of the most endearing parts about living in Texas is the weather. Yesterday it was a warm and sunny 70 degrees; people were wearing shorts and spring felt like it was almost here. And today, schools across the area were canceled due to a blizzard that had swept through our town overnight.

However, I’m definitely not complaining. I love me some snow, especially when I don’t have to drive in it. And it didn’t hurt that we didn’t have to go to school today. 

One of my favorite parts of our snow day was spending some quality time with my sister watching 1.5 of Lord of the Rings movies, playing in the snow and making soup for the rest of the family. 

How was your Monday? 

image source. 

If there’s one thing I know for sure about myself, it’s that I’m a book hoarder. 

Oh and also that once I find an author I love, I try to read everything they write. [i.e. Francine Rivers]

This is where Follow Me comes from. I had head of a pastor in Birmingham, Alabama a few years ago named David Platt when I became immersed in his Secret Church gatherings. This also lead me to his book, Radical [a must read]. And now I most recently picked up his newest book, Follow Me while I was out shopping with my sister this weekend. 

Friends, I’m only 10 pages in and the Lord is convicting my complacent heart like no other. Pick it up! 

Guys, I’m obsessed with video. I seriously cannot get enough. It’s so immersive, moving, fun, and the possibilities are endless. Whew. 

My dear friend, Betsy, is an international wedding photographer. She’s amazingly talented and has never ceased to knock my socks off. Well, I begged her to take some video during one of her engagement shoots so I could pull together a mini video for her couples. She said yes [!!!]

She handed me the footage Sunday night and a few hours later, with some quick edits and a gracious musical offering from her boy David, we had a video! 

So, what do you think? Love it? 

P.S. Isn’t her branding from Breanna Rose killer? Major design jealously pulsing through my veins. 

A specially made valentine for [YOU]

enjoy!

It’sssssssss Valentine’s Week!

Oh I love this week. 

I’m giving valentines to my students, mailing valentines to dear friends, hand-delivering valentines to some of my favorite people, telling my people how much I love them and, of course, enjoying lots of candy. 

And don’t worry, blog friends, I’ve got a special valentine made especially for YOU comin’ at ya on monday [!!!].  

Do tell, what are your Valentine’s Day plans? 

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