Thank you, God!!!! :)

So, big news, my wonderful fiance got a job!!!!! God has definitely answered our prayers on this one, like He always does. It's difficult sometimes to be patient and wait to see what He is going to do, but He always provides and takes care of us, even if it's not on our watch. All day I have been watching HGTV and planning what I want to do to our first apartment. I'm thinking I would absolutely love to go to the thrift store or to an estate sale or something and repaint and reupholster things so that it has a really vintage, eclectic feel. Yep, HGTV definitely has me in the funky, creative mood. :)
Only 43 days until the wedding, 37 days until college graduation. Wow. Can't wait!!!! I am so excited/nervous about really starting to be a grown up. In a way, I guess things won't really change because I've sort of been living on my own since I came to college, but the big difference about the future will be that my parents won't be supporting me anymore. And, even though it's a tad scary, I know that me and Spencer are about to embark on a wonderful adventure together. I couldn't be more thrilled. Well, I guess I could be a little more thrilled if I had my own job set up, but that will come with time :) I can't wait to start that process, applying and interviewing, and hopefully ending up with my very own teaching job! I think I would die from happiness. Not really, but you get the idea :) Also, throughout my applying process, I'm trying to always remember that if God wants me to have a classroom this year, He is going to open the door and I am going to get it, if not, then I will do some long/short term subbing until I get that chance! Just a word of wisdom for others in the same boat as me, don't get complacent. Don't just sit around waiting for God to open a door for you. That can be a trick of the enemy. I think that God will provide for us, but that doesn't mean we can sit around and do nothing, waiting for Him to provide an opportunity for us. We have to be active searchers and ministers, and along the way, God will show us our path and show us where we need to go. So, if you're sitting around and waiting, stop. Get up, and GO do something!!! Don't waste the only life you have waiting for something to happen :)

Peace out, homies :)

Life is beautiful, even when it's crazy.

2011. It's going to be a big year. Graduating in May, getting married the same week, and hopefully (Lord willing) finding a teaching job somewhere. My mind has been in shambles the past few days. I know that the Lord will provide for me and Spencer, but the idea that we will be married in 2 months and neither one of us has a job, is sort of unsettling. Yes, I'll admit it's a bit exciting and a bit of an adventure in itself wondering where where God will put us and what we will be doing, but I sort of want to know what's going on. The wedding planning is done, I'm taking easy-peasy classes (like tumbling and tennis) and now I feel like I'm just waiting for something to happen. It can be a bit unsettling.
This past week I interviewed with seven different school districts, and that's when this whole "Wow, I'm growing up" thing really hit me. I'm really looking for a big girl job now. I'm getting married. I'm not going to be going home every break to see my parents. I'm becoming an... adult. I am so excited about everything, and I have to say, I'm READY to graduate and test the waters of the "real world." But at the same time, I feel like I'm still clinging to my childhood and all of the security my parents have always provided for me. It's all very confusing and scary, but as I have already said a few times, I'm excited about it.
I'm looking forward to starting my grown up life with Spencer. I'm glad that he will be there with me every step of the way to take care of me and to discover things with.
Lately I have been really convicted by the Lord about my anxiety about the future. I've been questioning, if everything was taken away from me and I had nothing, would I be satisfied with the Lord's love only? I know the right answer is yes. I might have to work my way towards that satisfaction, but I know it would happen. The Lord always provides and He always comes through for me, even if it isn't on my watch.
When it comes down to it, I know the Lord is going to take care of me. He is going to bless my marriage to Spencer and I know that He has AMAZING plans for me. I can't wait to see what those plans are :) I am looking forward to the rest of my beautiful, crazy life.

Love your life :)

Wow! It's been such a long time since I've gotten on here :)
Lots of things are the same, but some things are different! For example, the fact that I'm engaged now!! The proposal was absolutely perfect! Spencer took me stargazing (something we used to do a lot, because I'm absolutely fascinated with stars!) and popped the question :D Of course I said yes! Can't wait to marry the man of my dreams on May 15th, 2011! Through the engagement so far, I have learned that there is a lot of planning that goes into having a beautiful wedding, so hopefully I will remember to do everything. Also, I am hopefully going to start looking for dresses soon. I'm trying on my mom's dress first, just to see how it looks :) Who knows? It might get it's 3rd wear! (It was my mom's and my granny's!)

On a slightly different note, I'm still interning with a sweet (but insane) first grade class. I'm in the middle of my two weeks of just me teaching, and I'm actually really enjoying it! Even though my internship has been crazy, I have learned so much and I love those crazy little kids! Everyday I feel more and more that teaching is what I'm supposed to do with my life, even though it absolutely exhausts me :) I always leave that school with a very happy and content heart.

I hope that you're having a terrific day and thanks for reading my short and simple blog/life update!
God Bless :)
Nighty night!

Changes.

Well, I can certainly say that this has been a very different semester than any I have experienced before. I am learning so much about how to be a teacher, and I can say that I love each one of those little first graders (even though they sometimes make me want to pull all of my hair out). Kids really do say the most random, funniest things, and that's one of the things that makes teaching so enjoyable. I learned last week that I have to start applying for teaching jobs in October. That's next month. I'm sort of freaking out at this point because I just can't believe that I am that close to applying for my job. My REAL teaching job. I really hope I can get something... I don't feel old enough to be doing this, and it's just nerve racking because at this point, I have no idea where my life is going to take me. Next May, after graduation, who knows what's going to be happening? This has really been testing me lately and I know that I need to put all of my faith in God and understand that he has a marvelous plan for my life. If He wants me to get a teaching job, He will provide one for me. I just wish I could get a sneak peak of what's going to happen so that I would be a little less nervous. I know more than ever that I want to be a teacher, and I also have a newfound appreciation for teachers. It is such hard work. I seriously want to fall asleep by 9 every night, which is very uncharacteristic of me. But, despite everything, it is my passion and I can't imagine doing anything else with my future.

That's all.
Peace out homeskillets ;)

Peace out, Summertime.

Hey everyone! Long time, no blog. So I was just sitting here thinking about my life at this point in time. My band prayers were finally answered and I am marching this fall! Although, on that note (haha, punny)I really don't want to go to band camp. It isn't that I'm not looking forward to another wonderful year of marching and seeing all of my homies, I am just not looking forward to the indescribable HEAT that has seem to taken over Alabama. It's going to be a scorcher, and probably a lot like my freshman year.
Last night I met my internship teacher and all of my sweet little first graders and their parents. One word to describe my teacher: AMAZING. (That goes for the students too!) I am so excited about this fall now! I really think that she is going to teach me so much about being a good teacher and can't wait to get some more experience under my belt. I can't believe I'm about to start my internship... I can't believe I'm about to do my last year of band... I can't believe I'm about to do my last fall semester at Auburn before I graduate in May... I can't believe I'm turning 21 next week! Wowsers. Where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday I was a scared little college freshman, not knowing what was going on. I'm watching my sister go through that right now because she's starting at AU this fall! Yay! I'm so excited for her because I know that she is going to love it just as much as I do. We get to move her into her dorm tomorrow and then she is going to start sorority rush :) I know she's going to love it, even though I thought rush was torture. She won't be doing it at the same time as band camp like I did, though ;)
Well, I have had my time to write my thoughts out. Thanks for reading!
Peace out, Summertime. It's been real. Next time I see you, I will hopefully be getting ready for my first teaching job! AAAHHH! :)

Life in the fast lane.

Wow, it's been about a month since I've done one of these. I suppose I'm a little "jetlagged" because I have been going to bed at around 3 a.m. for the past 2 nights. Today I got back from the KKPsi officer's retreat, which was in Orange Beach, FL at Richard's beach house thing. It was a lot of fun. We got a lot of planning for the upcoming year done, and got to ride around in his boat. Despite the oil spill, we even did a little swimming! Unfortunately, we did encounter some oil. Going down there was such a reality check. You hear and see all of this news about the oil spill on TV, but it is soooo crazy to see it all in person. This oil spill sort of breaks my hear and makes me angry at the same time. It breaks my heart that so many animals and forms of sea life are dying and losing their homes over this. It breaks my heart that so many families are having to move from their homes because they no longer have a way to support themselves. It makes me angry that BP could be so careless and not have like, 5 gazillion backup plans if something like this were to happen!! Really, people?? I guess when it comes down to it, I sort of wonder what God is thinking while he is watching all of this happen. I'm not mad at him for letting it happen, just sort of curious about the lesson he is trying to teach us. I genuinely believe that God does everything to teach us something. He gave us free will and we have to deal with the consequences of that sometimes. If he wanted this oil spill to be fixed already, it would be, but I think there is something bigger to all of this. I think part of it is that He wants us to realize that we can't control everything like we think we can. Our society seems to have fallen away from our dependency on God and has for some reason started to think that we can do everything by ourselves. Maybe this is God's way of showing us that this is simply not the case. It kind of stinks, though. This sort of reminds me of the phrase, "one person can ruin it for everyone." Because a company with an oil rig decided to be careless, everyone on the southeastern coast has to suffer. I promise this isn't a ranting type of blog, I'm just thinking. Maybe you agree, maybe you don't.
On another note, my mom and Kenzie flew in from Belgium today! Kenzie is going to Camp War Eagle this week and I am so excited for her. I can't wait for her to start her Auburn journey because I know that she will come to love it as much as I do. We drove past her dorm tonight and she got so excited and I just thought it was really cute and sort of refreshing. It's weird to think that I am one of the old people on Auburn's campus now. I'm a senior. Wow. That feels really weird to type. I really wonder where the time went. It feels like I'm still a freshman... still learning the ropes around here.. I've been taking classes this summer and even watching this summer makes me realize how fast time goes by. Every time I just sit still and realize how much time has gone by. Days, weeks, months just seem to melt away these days and remind me that my time here is limited. Thank goodness we have something to look forward to--- eternity :)


This has to be one of the spazziest blogs I've written yet, so congratulations if you made it through! I need to head to bed now. I have a pretty early morning ahead of me, and another super crazy week!

Nighty night, folks :)

Stop focusing on the wrong things.

Do you ever just wish you knew what was going to happen with your life? What God's plan is for your life? I wonder that all the time. This summer is moving so fast, and next thing you know, it's going to be Fall, then Spring, then... Graduation.. I don't know if I'm ready to be an adult. What if I don't get a teaching job? They're kind of hard to come by right now.. Or so I hear. I'm worried that I am going to end up in some town by myself. I know that God has amazing plans for me, but why can't I have a little sneak preview of what that's going to be? I guess that would ruin the surprise. Sorry if none of this makes sense. I don't want to be a waitress, or work in retail, or even be a substitute for a year (have you seen how kids treat subs?). I just want my own class. I want to teach. I want to do what I'm working so hard towards right now. I feel confident that this is the direction God wants me to go in. Especially since a fortunate series of events happened to cause me to turn away from my long-lived hopes of becoming a veterinarian. I actually was planning on being a vet until my second semester at Auburn. I did NOT want to be a teacher when I was growing up. Then I got placed in classrooms and it just felt.. right. Like that was where I was supposed to be. Now I love it and it has become what I'm passionate about. I'm just thinking about it, and what if my hopes that I have had for next year don't happen? If I don't get a job, if I somehow wind up alone.. I don't know. I guess none of it matters right now, but since time seems to be going by at a supersonic rate lately, I couldn't help but think these things through, maybe a little too much. I wish I would stop focusing on the wrong things. I know that we need to focus on what is unseen-- eternity. That's what really matters. But for some reason, what happens during my time on Earth still means a lot to me. Is that wrong? I don't think so..

Anyway, I'm starting to ramble. Congratulations if you made it through all of that mumbo jumbo.

Nighty night.