I graduated.

 I am a graduate of Northern Kentucky University with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education. I started my undergraduate degree at the University of Kentucky as a kinesiology major with hopes of pursuing Physical Therapy. I also started my undergraduate degree having never dated anyone. Fast-forward four years and I am married, a graduate of NKU, and an elementary teacher. What a difference four years can make…

It’s hard to believe that it has already been a month since walking across the stage at NKU and accepting my (fake) diploma. That was such a sweet day as it was the culmination of so many hours spent studying, reading, planning, learning, and working. I was so thankful to have my sweet family there to celebrate and so appreciate the boredom they suffered through on my behalf. Ha!

The Night Before Graduation, Gabi, Abbey, and I

Decided to Decorate Our Caps because, Why Not?

I Couldn't Have Done this Without These Two

After the LONG ceremony, we had a little family celebration at Mom and Dad's house, which was SO sweet. We  celebrated Mother's Day, Birthday's, and my graduation all rolled into one and I loved that. Anytime my family is all together is a happy time for me!

It This Not THE Best Gift?

This semester was unlike any other because I was working full time as a student teacher. Phew, talk about a change of pace…I went from being single and taking classes twice a week to being a newlywed working 8+ hours a day. It was EXHAUSTING. I laugh now thinking back to how completely overwhelmed, exhausted, and SORE I was after the first week. My head, my legs, and my feet ached so badly after the first week that my sweet husband bought me a foot massager. Ha! He knows the way to my heart  ;)

Throughout the semester I spent 9 (because of the ridiculous amount of snow we had this winter) in fourth grade and 7 weeks in second grade. To put it gently, the first half of the semester was TOUGH. It was emotionally draining, physically demanding, and just flat out difficult. There were many nights that I came home and cried and cried, wondering if I had pursued the wrong degree, wondering if I was cut out to be a teacher. I felt very real spiritual warfare and had to rely on the Lord’s strength to get me through each day. And you know what? He did! God gave me the mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical strength I needed to get through that trying season AND put people in my path to speak truth and encouragement into my life at just the right time. I would be lying if I didn't say I did a little happy dance on my last day, BUT I would also be lying if I didn't say that by the end of those 9 weeks, I had developed a deep appreciation for my students and looked forward to passing and hugging them in the halls...

THEN I went to second grade and it was like a breath of fresh air. That first week in second grade I cried tears of JOY because I was reminded of why I wanted to teach. I LOVED my time in second grade and grew so much as a teacher during that time. The Lord blessed me with an amazing mentor and friend during that time who affirmed me, valued me, and gave me the freedom to teach and learn in her classroom in a way I never had experienced before. I cannot even begin to express my gratitude for Mrs. Anderson or fully describe how much of an impact she had on my life and my career. She reawakened my love for teaching and for that I am so thankful. I loved collaborating with her in such a natural way and laughing about the cute and silly things the kids would do.

Speaking of silly...one of the most hilarious (and disgusting) things that happened all semester was an incident I’ll refer to as, “The Sneaky Pooper.” After math one day, Mrs. Anderson and I kept catching whiffs of what we assumed was really bad gas. This wasn’t too uncommon with over 20 kids in one classroom, but the smell kept getting worse and worse even after the kids had gone to specials. After narrowing down where the smell was coming from, Mrs. Anderson discovered a pile of “used” (if you know what I mean) tissues in the trashcan! Oh my goodness, we both gagged and laughed so hard at the fact that we had both somehow missed someone going to the bathroom IN class, wiping IN class, and throwing dirty tissues in the trash can IN class. Oh my goodness, we died laughing…and then quickly took the trash out. Oh the adventures of an elementary teacher…

In a matter of only a few days, I fell in love with my second grade kiddos and looked forward to coming in each day and seeing their sweet faces. I loved their little hugs and curious questions. I loved listening to them read and laughed at their silly stories. I LOVED second grade. I also loved the hilarious things they said like…

·      “I was born big, but grew up small.”

·      “My shoes are sort of fast and sort of slow.”

·      “You smell like my mom.”

·      When talking about Dairy products in the food groups… “Well, mom’s make milk, but in the wrong spot.”

My last day with them was SUPER emotional and was not a day I was looking forward to at all. I am completely sincere when I say I LOVED these kids and loved my time with them and did not want to see it end. As the last day crept closer and closer, I panicked, afraid that I hadn’t adequately expressed how much I cared about each of my students and how special and amazing I thought they were. I knew in my heart that I had, but I still wanted to do something special for them to remind them, just in case. Ha! I started working on their goodies two weeks before the end of the semester and it may or may not have spiraled a little out of control. By the last day of school, I had made every kid a Super Hero Tootsie Pop with their initials on the cape, a bookmark with a little note from me, and a Super Hero Certificate with a personalized letter telling every child what I loved about them (these were my favorite!). As the end of the day drew closer and closer, I hoped I would be able to present their gifts without crying. I did…but just barely.  The kids weren’t so lucky though. Ha! After passing out all of the gifts, we had precious little puddles of tears scattered throughout the room. It was pitiful and precious all at the same time. It was a super sweet day that made me fall even more in love with those kiddos.

My Sweet Love and Constant Encourager

We Celebrated with $0.75 Ice Cream Cones

I was OVERWHELMED with the Generosity and Love
after my Last Day of Student Teaching

Now, a month later I lay on my couch reminiscing about that sweet time, wondering what God has in store for my future. This month I have cried a lot of tears with the uncertainty of my future. I am a planner and I like to know what’s coming, so this has been a really HARD season of trusting that God will lead me where I am supposed to be. I have only applied in Boone County, which I was feeling convicted and confident about at the beginning of the summer, but after seeing other counties hiring and friends getting jobs, I struggle with doubt, anxiety, and fear that I have “shot myself in the foot.” I have not had any interviews or any signs of an interview and that is discouraging on most days for me. Although in my mind I know that it’s not time to panic yet, the achiever in me feels like a loser for not already having something lined up. INSERT me really trying to be better at trusting God and His plans for my life. I realized I am really not very good at this. It’s easy to “trust” God when you know (or think you know) what’s coming, but it’s certainly not so easy when you have NO clue what’s ahead and TRUST is all you can do. So that is where I am today. I am fervently praying, actively preparing to have a classroom in the fall by buying books, reading articles, Pinteresting like crazy (you know, all the important things. Ha!), struggling with doubt and fear of the unknown, and really working on TRUSTING that God will use me for His glory in the months to come, wherever doing whatever.