A LOT of Catching Up to Do!

I can't believe it has been over a year since my last post! What can I say? It is just so much easier to post pictures and update my status on Facebook! A lot has happened in the past year; more than I could ever write in one post! I remember being so excited going into my 26th birthday! 26 is my favorite number, so I just knew it was going to be my year! In many ways, it was! To begin with, I became more involved at WAVE church, even becoming a member. It was about time since Mom and I have been going there for over 4 years now! I attended WAVE conference for the first time this year. It was moved from October in previous years to August this year, making it perfect for me to go while on summer vacation! It was awesome and life-changing! There were amazing guest speakers, my favorite being Jentezen Franklin. He preached on waiting on the Lord, something I truly needed to hear at the time and still need to be reminded of from time to time. The truth of the matter is that God's timing is perfect, and if we wait on Him, His promises will come to fruition! Patience isn't always a strength of mine, but I am working on it!

As for work, I had the most amazing class last year! They were very hard-working, funny, loving, and just about as close to perfect as a teacher can imagine! There were several students in the class with special needs, and it never mattered to any of them. They banded together and stuck up for each other. They never questioned why anyone looked or acted differently than anyone else. It was just one of those special situations. Truth be told, while I know that they learned some SOL information from me, we all learned so much more than that! I know that I learned a ton about myself! Going into the school year, I was extremely worried about my ability to meet the varied needs of the students in my charge. Going through those huge accordion files can be rather scary! In addition, you always hear stories about nightmare parents and unreachable students from other teachers and community members. Still, while I made my fair share of mistakes, things ran rather smoothly! I learned not to listen to naysayers and to really stand up for myself and for my students. When it comes down to it, you really do have to go with your gut, stand up for what you believe in, and put your faith in God!

As you can see, 26 was a darn good year! That being said, 27 has been amazing so far! Recently, I was named teacher of the year for the 2009-2010 school year! It was an unexpected honor, but I am so very proud to represent GBI! I feel a lot of pressure to live up to this title, and it has been a challenge so far! While I am still trying to adjust to my new class, they have grown on me, and I can see the charm in each and every student! Who knows what the rest of the year holds, personally or professionally? Each day is an adventure! Some will be good, and some will be bad. But through them all, I know that I am moving in the right direction, that I am surrounded by amazing family and friends, and that God has my back! The best is yet to come!