Spring Break 2010

Spring break was warmly welcomed into my life this year! It had been long awaited...spring break needed to come about two weeks prior to its actual arrival - the kids knew it, and I knew it...I'm still not sure what we were waiting for! :)

Our vacation started out great! Steve and I left for Houston on the first Saturday to visit the Granhaugs! We hadn't seen Amanda and Eric since December, and it was so nice to reunite with good friends. We were escorted to the Houston rodeo, where we listened to some Blake Shelton and ate yummy carnival food. On Sunday, Amanda and I had lunch with my old roommate, Valerie. It was SO good to catch up with her! We did a little shopping, while the boys went to the shooting range, and then Amanda had a bunco party at her house with teacher friends. FUN game - I need to find some ladies to play with! We really enjoyed our weekend and headed home on Monday.

Once back in town, we took Monday afternoon and night easy. On Tuesday, I had a doctor's appointment, got a pedicure with my mom, did some spring cleaning, and had dinner with our good friends Janelle and Michael at Babe's. It was nice to catch up with them and eat some of the best comfort food around!

Wednesday was Sherri's day off, so we took full advantage of that! It was a beautiful day, so Steve took the boat out to the lake to make sure it was geared up for fishing season. Sherri and I hit up the Allen outlets - had to see the new Coach stock! We ended up in Frisco, eating lunch at The Cheesecake Factory (oh my word - YUM!) and browsing through Barnes and Noble. We spent the last couple of hours of our afternoon driving through new housing developments just east of Denton, trying to cure (but only making worse) my house fever. Steve and I ended up eating dinner with the family and then came home to start on our new work out routine.

Thursday was shopping day with Mom! We went back to the Allen outlets...I got a couple of new tops, jeans, sandals, and a dress - all for school or just the spring/summer season coming up. It was a nice day out with Mom. Steve and I went back to his parents' house that evening to make a new dinner dish we really love and share it with the rest of the family.

Friday was a lazy morning, followed by a trip to the grocery store. After a short nap and relaxing afternoon, Steve and I went to Lewisville for me to do a little shopping with Ryann. Steve ran some errands, and then we all met back up for dinner at Abuelo's. (See - more good eating!) We came home and ended the evening with a movie night, that was long over-due.

Saturday was another lazy morning, but while Steve had to go help his dad install a new sink and paint a bathroom, I went shopping with his mom and Sherri. (I had to get my NEW MOON movie!) I hung out with Sherri at the house for the rest of the night - ust in time to see it SNOW! Yes, on our last day of spring break - it snowed! It was beautiful, but I'm ready for the spring weather to stay around.

Sunday was church, lunch at the Libicks' house, and relaxing at home - like normal. :)

Great break...ready for summer - and, now, just getting through the week back in reality.

Springtime Snow Day

Welcome, springtime. Welcome to Texas.

Yesterday, it was a beautiful, sunny day, with temperatures in the mid 70s, and I was finally able to bust out the flip flops.

Today, I have dug (back) out my scarves, gloves, jackets, and boots...because it's snowing!

What a way to end spring break of 2010!

Update on Life

Hello, blogging world! I am back and hope to be much better about sharing stories and news than I have been in recent months. My last blog post was from November of 2009. Allow me to (briefly) catch you up on the happenings since then!

November 2009 - I celebrated my 23rd birthday, and the very next day, Steve and I flew to Orlando to visit Sherri at Disney World. This was my first time to Mickey's hometown, and we hadn't seen Sherri in over three months! We had a WONDERFUL time, seeing Disney World decorated for the holidays and getting a very personalized tour from our favorite Disney CP! We, then, celebrated Thanksgiving with my family in east Texas, and decorated for our very first Christmas together!

December 2009 - I completed my first semester of teaching, had a Christmas celebration with my family, and then took off to Virginia Beach, VA to have Christmas with Steve's grandparents. It was not our first Christmas together that I imagined, and was my first away from home, but it was a nice visit. From there, we left and headed back to Orlando to spend some family time before they packed Sherri up and brought her home! We, once again, enjoyed the parks and holiday decorations. Steve and I flew back to Texas to ring in our first new year together on the 31st.

January 2010 - Sherri arrived back in Texas on the 2nd, and we were (and still are) THRILLED to have her near us again! We celebrated a belated Christmas with the Libick side of the family, and on the 4th, I started back to work. In this month, Steve and I hit the six month mark of being married, and he had his 23rd birthday.

February 2010 - Our life finally started to slow down and re-adjust to normalcy during this month. We did spend a lot of quality time together and have a date night for our first married Valentine's Day. We also experienced a solid 12+ inches of SNOW in the middle of the month and thoroughly enjoyed the winter olympics.

All of this brings us to March. Spring break finally arrived, after a long awaiting. It's been so nice to have time off from school (and with Steve). And, with (a very sad) three days left of spring break, I shall be back soon to update you on our week full of spring break fun!

New Look

I'm trying to get back into blogging and make my site snazzy, so check back soon for a better look and new posts! :)

Home is Where the Heart Is

Today, we locked the door to the house I grew up in. My parents had been wanting to sell our house for a few years now. They had the new house picked out for over a year. And, finally - the right offer came along. It is hard not to trust God, when he let so many people see the house and not bite and when he had already fixed the issue of the house selling once before. But, saying good-bye to the house you've known for 18 years is hard. The new house is great, lots of space for our growing family, but it'll take adjustment of not being able to just drop by to see Mom and Daddy or grab dinner with them when Steve's working overnight.

As my mom and I sat in the floor of the dining room, while Daddy and Evan took the last couple of boxes to the truck, there was no denying that it was a moment of reflection. That house looked so HUGE when I was 5 years old, and we moved in. I remember not even being able to reach the light in my closet and wasn't strong enough to reach and pull on the faucet handle to turn on the sink water. It's the only house I remember living in, the house I grew up in. It was the house where we brought my baby brother home to, where we both experienced our first days of school, where birthday parties, baby showers, one of my wedding showers, and two of my graduation parties were held. It's the house where Santa came to visit, where family and friends gathered, and where we overcame so many of life's surprises. It's the house where I studied, applied to college, planned my wedding, and where Steve and I had our first kiss - on the front porch. So many arguments with Evan, so many tears, and so many laughs. Simply put - there are just so many memories from our past 18 years of living there.

My dad has always reminded me that a house does not make a home - the family inside it does. It's true. But, I feel like a part of me is missing right now, knowing my family isn't right down just a few roads and 5 minutes away. This weekend has been a whirlwind and emotional. I look forward to the new memories we'll make, but it is such a weird feeling to walk out of that house for the last time.

Teaching to a Wall

That is exactly what I felt like I did today. I felt like I was teaching to a classroom full of 14 bricks today. Don't get me wrong - I love my job, love my co-workers, and love my kiddos. But, today, I came home feeling defeated. I feel like I don't even know if my kids are learning anything. I have parent conferences next week. I literally don't know what "positive comment" I'll start one of my conferences out with about one particular kid. My kids just didn't reach my expectations today. I have high, but not unrealistic expectations. I want to mold my little babies into intelligent, respectful students. I have a set of parents who don't really seem too concerned about their child, the notes I send home, or the fact that I'm going to break the news to them next week that their kid is one of the lowest in my class. Yes, today, I just felt defeated by school. Teaching can really kick your butt sometimes. Mom says it's okay to have days like this, so I won't dwell on it too much. And, tomorrow - I must find something to laugh about and know it'll be a better day.

I'm a very bad...

...blogger. I'm just sad that I haven't updated this in over a month! And, it sure hasn't been because nothing has been going on! Maybe it's because soooooo much has been going on; blogging just hasn't been the first thought on my mind.

Life is moving right along. Steve and I have been married for almost 3 months! And, we're still loving (and adjusting to) married life! Sherri is still at Disney World, and we have tickets to go see her right inbetween Christmas and New Year's! We miss her so much and can't wait for her to come home! Annnnnd, the big news?! I got a job!!!! Twice! Haha - about two weeks into the school year, I got hired as an inclusion aide in Aubrey ISD. I was helping out in the special education room, doing some co-teaching, and then going into general classrooms as a supplemental aide. Eight days into that job, I got a call for an interview for a kindergarten position in another nearby district. Less than 3 hours after the interview, they were calling me and offering me to be their new kindergarten teacher! So, I worked nine days in Aubrey, "resigned," and spent a week setting up my very own classroom...finally!!! I've been with my kiddos for 11 days, and I do love it. My team is amazing, my school is great, and my kids are sweet (and very much 5 year olds)! I still don't know why I had to search so long and so hard for this position, but all I need to know and all I do know is that God is faithful and providing. And, I learned so much by looking for a job. Steve and I feel to be in a much better place, all around, right now. :) I will post pictures of my classroom soon!

Off for now - have to get ready for the day with Mom, but I promise I'll post again much sooner than last time!