Thanksgiving...

Aahh...Thanksgiving. One of my favorite holidays! My first Thanksgiving as a married woman! We are successfully navigating the holiday with spending time with both families, a feat that is not always easy, but well worth it.
There is so much that I am thankful for this year. I'm thankful for the big events that happened this year: graduating from college, getting married, setting up my own home, and beginning my career. I'm so grateful for the way that God has worked in my life, how He's shown me where to go, what job to take, etc. I've grown in so many ways as a person this year, especially since starting my teaching career. I've become a more assertive, confident, and creative person. None of this would be possible without the man that I have beside me all the time, full of support and love for me. I could not have asked for a better husband to spend my life with.
Today I think of all the areas of my life that are blessings to me. At school, I'm grateful for the staff I work with who support me, share with me, and inspire me. The kids I get the chance to teach are also such a blessing to me, their sweet comments and creativity inspire and warm my heart. At home I have a comfortable place to live, adequate funds for living and providing for our simple life, and a man who is fun, sweet, and admirable. My family keeps me grounded and remind me of my identity and that I will always be loved. I'm grateful that I only live a couple hours away from both of our parents so that we can visit frequently. I have some amazing friends who are always willing to listen, laugh, and give of their time.
This next year I hope to not take for granted all these blessings in my life. I hope to pass on a feeling of thankfulness to my students. I want to give back to all those people in my life who have blessed me with so much.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! May your day be filled with warmth, comfort, love, and good company.

Updates...

It's been about a month since I've had time to post anything. Life has been extremely busy!
Here's a glimpse of the things that have consumed my time the last month.

The last weekend in September my parents came to stay for the first time, to help celebrate my birthday. It was wonderful to have them visiting and to have them meet the people I work with and am getting to know here. We had the most amazing ice cream from Brock's Ice Cream Palace here in Yuba City. Single scoop = 2 scoops of amazing-ness. It's definitely become one of my favorite places for ice cream.
The next weekend we went to Angwin to spend time with my brother for his birthday and to see Carignane, a good friend who was visiting from Loma Linda with his girlfriend. It was fun to see the three boys together again. :)

There have been a couple field trips with the school. 1st we went to the Earthworm Soil Factory to show the kids how they use worm poop to make good soil. It was an ok field trip - exhausting though because of trying to corral the kids the whole time and getting them to listen to the presenter. Just two weeks ago we went to the Sacramento airport to tour the new Southwest Terminal. There is a family at school who both parents work for Southwest and were able to set up the tour. It was neat to go behind the scenes and see how everything works. The kids were pretty good, though again I was exhausted from keeping the kids where they were supposed to be, etc.

School has been going well, students are becoming more and more respectful and making progress in all subjects. I'm still tweaking how I structure certain subjects and working on curriculum, but things seem to be going well. I have one more week of this 1st quarter, and then I have to get grades ready and prepare for my 1st parent-teacher conferences. A little scary but I think it'll be fine once I have everything prepared.

Last weekend I had Monday and Tuesday off for Fall Break, so we were able to take advantage and have a trip. We drove to Fresno to visit Tyler's Nana for a couple days. Then up to Los Banos on Sunday to celebrate Sophia's 2nd birthday. Sunday night we decided to drive over to Santa Cruz to spend a night and Monday. It was a dream come true to just spur-of-the moment go somewhere unexpected for just the two of us. It was beautiful weather in Santa Cruz and we were able to stroll on the beach, play mini-golf at the board walk, and explore Capitola. That evening we drove over to Santa Clara to have dinner with Brent and Carol for Sophia's birthday. On Tuesday we drove home, stopping in Sacramento for some shopping. It was a packed weekend but it was such a great trip!

Yesterday the kids sang at church with the choir, and they did so well! I was a proud teacher!
Last night was the school's fall festival. That means the two to three days leading up to it were packed with preparations. It was slightly stressful to get everything ready but it really came together and went well. I did face painting while a parent ran my food booth (desserts and drinks) for me and a student ran my bowling game. Tyler ran one of the bounce houses. There were a lot of people there so I'm hoping we made a good amount of money for our classrooms.

I got to do my 1st presentation at school board meeting last week, telling the board how my class is doing. It was a little intimidating but went well.

I've also tried to be a part of the sabbath school here at church. We're trying to start a young adult sabbath school, I 'taught' it 2 weeks ago, but to only myself, no one came. So we'll see where it goes from here but I'm not counting on it yet.

God has been good....life is amazing. Busy? Yes, definitely. Fulfilling? Very much. Definitely still in love with my amazing husband...marriage just keeps getting better and better! :)

Laying a Foundation

As of today school has been in session for 3 weeks. It has been a packed 3 weeks of life. So many new things! So much to learn and practice and get used to. I'll list a few highlights from each section of my life...
School -
  I love my students. They are very sweet and really do try their best in their school work and in their relationships with their peers. I've had to really rely on my patience to work with a few of my students though, they can be so stubborn and unmotivated which can honestly drive me nuts. I've had to work on figuring out new ways to deal with a couple of my boys to keep them engaged with my lessons and to get them back on track when they get upset. It's a great learning experience. I'm learning more and more what things are ok to just let go, and what needs to be addressed.
  Last week was Back to School Night, my 1st one as a teacher! I got to talk to all of my parents about my behavior plan, homework requirements, and communication plan. The parents were very sweet and are willing to help me have a wonderful 1st year of teaching. I'm learning how to manage my time at school so I'm not there the entire day and come home with no energy left. I am getting better at creating boundaries for myself, making me a healthier person I believe.

Family-
   Tyler and I got to visit Angwin for a weekend, staying at his parents house because our niece Sophia was visiting so we wanted to spend time with her. It was great to spend time with Tyler's family, but definitely interesting to explain to my family why we were spending more time at his house than at my family's house. Just a tricking rope to walk on explaining it and being ok if someone has hurt feelings. It was nice to be in familiar surroundings and not be meeting new people, not that I am not enjoying getting to know people but it is just nice to be around people I already know for a few days.
We're getting ready for Tyler's brother and wife and daughter to visit us this weekend. We're very excited to have them visit us in our house and to show them around where we're living. It's a great feeling to be able to open up your home (yes, my home!) to family. I love it! :)

Home:
 This long weekend Tyler and I were able to get some things done at the house that have been really needed to be done. Boxes were finally unpacked, closet organized, and guest room getting set up. It was a great feeling to unpack each box and see the house get even more put together. 
Tyler and I joined a gym, which is great to help us both get into shape and have fun together. We've played raquetball several times in the last week. I'm enjoying married life so much! Tyler is so helpful and sweet, and just fun. We laugh a lot and yet can be there for the serious talks and discussions about work and family. I couldn't have asked for a better husband, everyday I'm blown away by what a great husband he is.

I'm definitely experiencing the tired evenings of a teacher, but am so thrilled that I have the job that I do and am extremely lucky to be able to come home to Tyler. God, thank you for the blessings you've given me. Help me to show your light each day.

Teacher meetings and Family Visits

This last week has been full of new things both teaching and family related.
Tuesday we went to Angwin, surprising my parents with a quick visit, and visiting with Tyler's dad. Wednesday I headed to Pleasant Hill for meetings, but was able to meet up with Tauva and Janae for lunch, a much needed visit.
The meetings for the day were new teacher orientation and meeting with my mentor. Both were interesting meetings, fun people involved. I have to admit though that there are some teachers that surprise me- not in a good way. Simply put....some of them are just strange. Sitting in that meeting thinking about it, made me hope no one thinks that of me. :)
Wednesday night Tyler stayed in Angwin again, while I was in Concord - our first night apart since getting married. I roomed with a lady teaching in Nevada City, CA who happened to know my good friend Jenn Ariza from Vegas. What a small world!
Thursday was my first teacher in-service meeting. It was so strange, yet really neat, to be in the same room, for the same purpose, as teachers who taught me in elementary or high school. It was an odd feeling to be on the same level as they are now, but yet a good feeling too because I know what great teachers are in this conference and I can turn to for advice, support, and encouragement. It was also a great way to get to know my 2 fellow teachers a little better as well. The seminar was all about differentiated instruction (jargon, I know!) - basically it was dealing with how to meet the varied needs of the students in your classroom. There were many strategies and things that the presenter showed us that I feel I can actually implement into my own classroom. I'm looking forward to more seminars.
This weekend Tyler's parents came to visit. This was the first time they have seen our humble abode. There's something about having in-laws visit that is different than your own family. I wanted things to be done a little better than if it was just my family. Especially cooking - I think there is something about wanting to impress your mother-in-law that you can cook for her son, take care of him, etc. I have the greatest mother-in-law in the world who is not intimidating or demanding, but somehow there was still that desire in me to prove myself. Human nature I guess?
It's been a good week, I'm prepared to start my 1st day of school tomorrow. Don't quite feel nervous yet, but am very anxious to get to know my students. It's a little surreal to think that I am actually a teacher, my professional goal is actually coming to life. It's amazing.
Pray for me - that I'll be a blessing to my class and to my school. Pray also that I'll be able to keep a balance between school (work) and family (my marriage).

Busy, busy, busy...

The last few days have been full of lots of time at the school, in my classroom. It's been great to get things organized, and make the space feel like mine. Each day I feel a little less overwhelmed as I get more of my curriculum organized and planned.
I made it through registration on Thursday. Most of the families were coming to meet me because I'm the new teacher, which really made me feel strange because I felt like I really need to make a good 1st impression, otherwise it might affect the decision to send their children to ACS. It seemed like everything went well, the families I met were very nice, children were very sweet. Glad it's over though.
I met the school board members Thursday night, first time meeting the whole group that was responsible for bringing me to this school. 
Today was the work bee at the school and it was neat to see the support of the school by members in the church. Though the turnout was smaller that I expected, a lot was accomplished. My husband even joined for a few hours which made me proud.

Sabbath Tyler and I went to church for the first time here in Yuba City. We met several families in the church and Pastor Surridge introduced Tyler and I to the church family. We even stayed for potluck! Seems like it'll be a fine church to join, everyone was welcoming and genuinely seemed happy that we're here. I'll have to get used to joining a new church, but for now am happy to be here.

Thanks to some friends of ours (Ryan and Heidi Veness) we have lots of canned foods, sans labels. Each time we open one it is a surprise, and the last few days we got to expand our (or my) culinary skills by using the ingredients from the mystery cans. 1st we opened a can of garbanzo beans, which we made hummus out of. It's pretty good, may have to continue making our own instead of buying hummus. We also made pumpkin pie because of the mystery can. It's definitely not the right season for pumkpin pie, but it was delicious none the less. One thing I've really enjoyed about marriage is cooking together. Tyler is very helpful and sweet.

Another first....this weekend was the first time I've felt twinges of homesickness...missing our families. Wouldn't trade being here in Yuba City with my husband, I think it's a great start for us, but I do miss the family too.

Reporting for Duty

Today was my 1st day of reporting for duty at the school. Started out with staff meeting with the two other teachers and the secretary I'll be working with this year at Adventist Christian School of Yuba City. Great meeting, looking to working with these two this year. There's still so much for me to learn and figure out before school actually starts in two weeks, but I'm feeling pretty good right now.

Another first for me is creating a supplies list for my students to pick up at registration tomorrow. I remember getting those lists every year, but it is a little strange to think about what exactly you want your students to come into your classroom with and how to articulate that into a list that they will understand.

On to tomorrow...another day of planning and organizing my classroom, and more importantly, registration day. Because I'm the new teacher all the parents want to come and meet me, which is slightly intimidating but I just hope to give a good 1st impression so that they'll be confident in sending their children to ACS, to my classroom.

Thanks God, for bringing me to this school and into this profession. I love it so far!

The beginning...

Tomorrow is the first day I report to the school for duty in my first year of teaching. I will admit that I am a little bit nervous, ok maybe very scared!, but also really excited. I will be teaching 1st through 4th grade at the Adventist Christian School in Yuba City, CA.

This next year of life is a year of firsts - first year of marriage, first year of teaching, and first year leaving out of my parents home. They are all exciting things, but I also know that they will each bring their own set of challenging times and that through this next year I will grow as a person, a wife, and a daughter.

With this blog I plan to log some of the ups and downs of this year. I want to share some of the things that make me love being married, things that make me laugh at work, and things that challenge me in both areas as well. I want to share the things that I learn in hopes that it will brighten someone else's day, challenge them to think of things differently, or give them a story to relate to. Together we'll laugh, sigh, and possibly cry.

Tomorrow is the first day of my career, and I am so excited to be at this point. Wish me luck!