Thankful #3

This week I met up with some of my old co-workers from my old school and it just reconfirmed how truly thankful and appreciative I am of the door that was opened to me to be able to transfer to the school I now work at.  My new school and administrators have just been such a refreshing change as I've stated before and I truly do not have a single complaint about my new situation.  I am thankful to have a job I enjoy, I am thankful that it is in a pleasant environment, and I am thankful to be appreciated here!  After almost completely losing all hope and sense of purpose and passion, I have had the chance to be re-invigorated at just the right time and place!  I am thankful I don't have to be miserable at the place I spend a good portion of my life....I am thankful that I now answer to a supervisor who genuinely cares about these kids and about her staff.  I am thankful to feel supported and to be allowed to make a difference.  I know teacher morale is at an all-time low across the district this year...so I feel extra lucky to be one of the very, very few who actually is ecstatic about her job right now!  :) 

Thankful #2

Tonight I am thankful for Romans 8:28.  I am thankful that God works ALL things together for good for those who are called according to His purpose.  One good thing about getting older is that you have more years to look back over and realize all the ways that God has worked things out.  All the worries, all the disappointments, all the times of uncertainty...all woven together in a way you might never have imagined or planned but that ultimately you can't help being thankful for.  I don't know why I still struggle sometimes with having faith in certain situations when He has proven a million times over not just in my life but in the lives of so many around me that the above verse/promise is more than true.  Even when my faith is weak and even when I'm not living according to His purpose as I should, it seems He continues to "have my back" and continues to take such good care of me!  It is comforting to know that no matter how badly I may mess things up at times that there is no mess that He can't turn into something good.  So yeah...just really, really, thankful for that hope and assurance that we have to cling to in this roller coaster called life!!

Thankful #1

On Halloween night I was in Target trying to get a last-minute costume for Dezeray's little brother but the Halloween department was pretty much decimated.  Already, the orange and black stuff was being cleared out and workers were busily stocking Christmas items.  Christmas?!?! Wait!  Isn't there another holiday in there somewhere?  Thanksgiving, remember that?  Kinda sad that society wants to skip from one "gimme" holiday to another....first it's "gimme gimme candy" and then it's "gimme gimme presents"...but we kinda just skim over the holiday that's all about saying thank you for what we have instead of asking for more. However, I know there are many people who love Thanksgiving, who love the fact that our entire country sets aside a time just to be thankful and grateful for how good God has been to us.  I have seen several people on Facebook and blogs commit to sharing something every day in November that they are thankful for and I think that's a great idea.  I don't know that I can promise to post every day but I am going to try to make an effort to share some of the things I am personally appreciative of during this season of giving thanks.  The things I share may not be that creative or unusual but they are things that I am eternally grateful for regardless.

It is not a surprise that one of the things I am most thankful for is my family.  The older I get and the more of the world I see and experience, the more I admire and appreciate my family.  I was so fortunate and so blessed to grow up with all my grandparents close by and parents who were faithful and committed to each other.  My brothers and I had a very stable and healthy home environment and we never lacked anything we needed. My dad was a great provider and he and my mom knew just the right balance of allowing us to be kids while teaching us the value of hard work and responsibility and most of all the importance of putting God first above all else.  They knew just how to help us transition into being self-sufficient adults while still providing us the support and guidance we needed.  My dad is such a great example of honesty and integrity and character in every way while my mom exemplifies generosity, thoughtfulness, and servanthood.  My grandparents are all loving, generous, gentle, kind-hearted, God-fearing people.  I have the most awesome aunt, uncles, and cousins.  And of course there are my two brothers who I love to death...and the sister-in-law, niece, and nephews that one of them brought into our family who have just added so much joy to all our lives. Everyone in my family has such a good, kind, generous spirit...I just love that I am surrounded by people I can look up to, respect, and learn from. I know everyone thinks their family is the best but I just really do think I have an especially great one and I could never thank God enough for choosing them for me!! 

Getting My Groove Back

As I type this my body feels completely exhausted of all energy, yet it is the good kind of exhaustion...the kind where you have given your best and at the end of the day can reflect that there's not much more you could have done in that 15-16 hour time frame to make a difference. Such are my days since I have started my new job as an elementary librarian....they are busy, fast-paced, demanding, and action-packed but I find myself loving every second! Every now and then the grass IS greener on the other side! This has been such a refreshing change in my life and now that the first six weeks are almost gone, I really find myself settling into my "groove." My creative juices are flowing again, my excitement for what I do is back after a long hiatus. For four years I thought I didn't like being a librarian...why didn't I switch to elementary years ago?? It is so FUN!! I am bursting with ideas and plans and projects to make this library a truly wonderful place for kids to visit and the best part is...I feel supported! My administrators let me actually be a librarian! It makes a world of difference when your hard work is appreciated and received warmly by your peers and colleagues as well as kids...and I must add that my principal is just awesome. She has revived my hope for education again. I am just so thankful that this door was opened to me...I needed this and I do believe they needed me. Word on the street is that they have had a series of terrible librarians. It is amazing how much that feeling of being where you are supposed to be can energize a person. I used to go to the Boys and Girls Club for my after school tutoring job and have to force myself to go through the motions with the kids. Now, even though I've had a much more tiring day at school, it's like I can find the energy and a second wind to enjoy those kids too and give them the attention they deserve. So in short...I LOVE MY JOB! :) Life is just really good right now...I am enjoying what I do again, I'm finally really getting to know people and get more involved at church, I'm going to be blessed with a wonderful living situation in a couple of months (I have the opportunity to purchase a beautiful, brand-spanking new townhouse for a very affordable price---so excited!), my favorite time of year with absolutely awesome weather has arrived...what more could a girl want or need? God truly gives us more than we can ask or think. I know my blog posting is sporadic but I just wanted to share a positive update!

Our Future??

Well, Duh!

Texas’ standardized tests a poor measure of what students learned, UT-Austin professor says

Um, they really didn't need an expensive study for this discovery to be made!  Teachers in schools have been saying this for years!!!  

Summer 2012