Joining the blogging world take 2

I wish I could say this was my first time blogging, but that would be a lie. All of my friends and I were avid bloggers in college. For some reason or another, we quit, but now I'm ready to jump back in.

Blogging has been sitting heavy on me for a while now. I am a blog reading addict-as in most of my conversations begin with, "This blog I was reading..." My googlereader brings me joy when it updates and I have something new to read. I subscribe to maybe 40 or 50 blogs about all sorts of things: design, homes, lives, babies, photography, gossip...the list goes on.

I don't live a particularly glamorous or exciting life. If you had caught me two years ago, it would have been a different story. I was recently engaged, planning a wedding, buying a house, remodeling a house, and graduating from college. All at the same time. Intense. Since then, well, life has settled down. I'm an old married lady now (joking, today we've been married for 5 months) with an incredible husband, our perfect little house, and adorable lab puppy, Chapstick. Life is good. I've been blessed to know my husband for the last 10-ish years and to grow up together. We now look forward to growing old together.

This blog will be about nothing in particular. I'll talk about life, our house, Chapstick (a lot, she's my baby!), my job (which I hope I will get to keep...getting worried though), our travels, my crazy students, and whatever else comes to mind...

On the topic of jobs. I was so blessed last year to get a job right out of school. With the economy being as it is and educational funding taking a nosedive, I was worried I would be unemployed. But, the good Lord blessed me with an incredible opportunity at the school where I wanted to be. I interviewed a year ago today (how corny for me to remember). I spent an agonizing summer waiting to find out if the funding for my position would come through and at the end of July, I happily signed my contract. Since then, I have dove headfirst into the lovely land of sophomore high school English. Sometimes I love what I do; some days I'm not so crazy about it. I work in a Title 1 school with students from challenging home lives and backgrounds; I felt a huge calling to be at my school for this reason. I wanted to have the opportunity to change lives and impact students in a way that they might not get elsewhere. I wanted to give them stability and something to look forward to (Ha! What kid looks forward to school? Nerds like me, that's who). I have learned more in the last 7 months than I did spending 4 years in college. My eyes and heart have been opened to a world that I knew existed, but had no true understanding of. I stand to believe that these kids have taught me more about the world and myself, than I will ever be able to teach them. I have struggled with issues that arise in my classroom everyday, but then I remember why I am here. I remember what I was put here to do. I am here to give them my heart, my love, my ear, my attention, and my spirit foremost, and secondly, I am here to give them the greatest education I can. I forget that a lot. I have to remind myself when I start complaining that I am not here for me, I am here for all 60-something of my babies.

All that to say, I may not have a job next year. The funding for my school district has been cut gradually over the last several years and it looks like this coming year, we are going to be hit hard. I worry for myself, of course, because I have bills to pay! A lot of bills to pay. I have complained a lot about my job. It is hard; harder than I ever realized it would be. I am great at finding fault in things, and I fall prey of that almost nightly on the phone with Mommie, but honestly, I love what I do. Sure there are a million glamorous and fancy things I would rather do, but I really enjoy working with these kids everyday. I feel blessed to hang out with 60 of my friends, on a daily basis; I'm a lucky girl! So pray from me, for my school, my students, and for our school district as we begin to pare down the unnecessaries (hoping I am not one of them).

On the upside, Matt, Chapstick, and I are doing fabulous. I think to myself every night as I cook supper, "How lucky we are to have such a sweet little family." Matt and I have been lucky to start our lives together with such incredible blessings from both of our families. We have a cute little house (Thanks Pottery Barn and Uncle Sam-we love the new homeowner tax credit), a new kitchen (thank you Daddy), no student loans to be paid back (thank you Mommie, Daddy, Barry, and Patti), one car payment, and one absolutely-precious-adorable-too-cute-for-words-I-just-want-to-love-all-over-her puppy, Chapstick. She joined us a month ago today (for some reason the 17 of the month in general, is big for us. We were engaged on the 17, married on the 17, got puppy on the 17...must be our "lucky" number).

So that's our life right now in a nut shell. I am excited to be blogging again, and I look forward to sharing our little life with you in the time to come...