The . of No Return

I've officially passed the point of no return with catching up on my blogging. 5 months is waaaaay too long for me to have abandoned this place. Summer in a word was good, and in a second word refreshing. But fast forward to the past 3 months - which have been the more crucial. After landing a job just days after graduation (HAL-LE-LU-JAH) summer started to revolve around planning for the move. My first post-college goal was to land a K-2 teaching job in Tennessee, and God's faithful hand provided! Check that off the list! In the planning and preparations for the move, He continued in his faithfulness through lots of little blessings and mini-miracles (i.e. finding an apartment, buying a couch, a bed, and a table, and my fantastic 1st grade co-workers) each with their own little miraculous-aspects. All contributing to the feeling of confirmation that starting over in a random city picked by hand wasn't random - but was following the path the Lord had set before me.

My first months of teaching has been a conglomerate of highs and lows. Somedays it seems so natural, and some days it seems overwhelming. Singleness has been an unexpected blessing in this season of life - I can bring my work home with me and work through the evening and not feel guilty about it. Which for the first year of teaching, is a necessity. First grade was my goal-grade before I started my student teaching, and I honestly kind of forgot about it. I love how He brought be back around to 1st grade and dropped it in my lap. The school I'm working at is a wonderful, tight knit community, and the perfect balance of demographics that I was hoping for. When I first visited the building, it just felt good walking through its halls. It's an old school (like 100 years old) which gives it so much character. Yes, there are some things that would be nice to have in a brand new, state of the art school, but I've always been drawn to old with character above new and shiny. And just as it was a joy to orchestrate the coming together of my apartment, it was a joy to pour so much time in to building my classroom. Heavens knows it's still not finished, but I love how far it's come!

when I first visited my classroom and they were in the midst of installing new hardwood floors

the "finished" room - back in August, a lot has been added even since then!

Of course setting up a classroom and running a classroom are two incredibly different things. My students have been both a beautiful blessing and a insane new level of challenging. Hopefully I'll post again soon with more details about the actual teaching side of my life. A lot has changed in my life in the past smattering of months, it really is hard to believe that 5 months ago I was in college, so much has changed!

And as a last note, I'm immensely happy that we're hurdling head first into the holiday season. My heart is itching for decorations and Christmas carols all ready!

Ciao!