2010 in pictures

Just a highlight or 2 from each month.

January - My year started out in boxes. I moved from Austin to Houston for a new job.

February - February was so crazy adjusting to new job/new place to live/etc that I can't find any pictures...

March - I took a long weekend to visit my friend, Krystal, in California. She was working on her Masters at Pepperdine University in Malibu and living in Santa Monica. It was so fun!
April - April was TAKS-crazy.

May - I finished my spring semester working with some awesome kids to help them with TAKS.

June - Celebrating Krystal's birthday in Houston with some bingo and fun girls at Sawyer Park in Houston.
July - I finally had a free summer to go to South Padre Island for the annual family trip. (I had to miss a few years for work) Andie loved going on the boat in her life jacket!

August - I decorated my first classroom, met 120 sixth graders and began my first year of teaching and coaching!
*I also found out I was going to be an AUNT in August!! (there's no picture of that.)

September - I spent most of August, September and October like this... coaching my 8th grade volleyball team.
October - Claudia and Daniel got married!
We also pulled off a huge surprise retirement party for my dad! After 37 years in the Houston Fire Department, he deserved a night to reunite with his old friends and all the family that came.
AND, I got a new car!!
whew.... October was BUSY!

November - My parents and I drove to Austin to meet my sister and brother-in-law for a day they were in town. I loved spending time at The Oasis and walking around campus.

My dad's parents, my uncle and brothers all came into town for Thanksgiving.

December 2010 - I survived my first semester of teaching!

My family went on a Christmas cruise to celebrate my dad's retirement. We went to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize and Roatan.

And I finished off the year with some amazing girls for my first New Years Eve out in Houston.

if they only knew me

Several times during our teacher inservice days last week and this week, we have been read If She Only Knew Me by Jeff Gray and Heather Thomas. It is a short book written from the eyes of a young, poverty-stricken child in the classroom. (Check it out on Amazon here.)

It was read specifically to my campus today because of our student population. We have the highest percentage of economically disadvantaged students in the intermediate schools of our district. Our kids face bigger challenges before even getting to school that we have to learn how to accommodate their immediate basic needs before we can ever hope to impart new knowledge and skills. My favorite page in this book says something like, "If she only knew my daddy left me and my mom when I was 2, she'd stop threatening to call my daddy and have a conference." What an incredible way to teach teachers to get to know their kiddos individually.

Today after listening to it, we were asked to write down a reflection. This is mine:

"It surprises me, as a graduate of Clear Creek ISD, that there are these tough life situations happening here- in the place I grew up only knowing of it as safe and loving. It shocks my friends to hear some of the stories about our school. It may seem daunting and overwhelming some days to work with kids like ours, but it gives me great purpose and meaning. Each day, I get to wake up with the privilege of giving my kids more to hope for than what they left home with that morning. Each day, I want them to know they have the same potential and opportunities that I had as a kid here, no matter what obstacles face them outside our doors."

If my students only knew me:
-They would know I'm not just a white lady that feels sorry for them.
-They would know that I do understand heartache and pain even if our situations are different.
-They would know that I made it out of the schools they're going to alright and that I fully believe they can do it too.
-They would know I'm scared of failing them everyday by not being able to maintain a safe and welcoming environment for everyone.
-They would know that math is NOT the most important lesson I want to teach in my classroom.

so long sweet summer

summer is over. such a sad, sad day. tomorrow is my first day to get back and work in my classroom and monday starts inservice days and workshops. yay!

its a good thing i have a fun-filled weekend planned!

time to reminisce on the fun things i got to do this summer:
-actually go on family vacation for the first time in 4 years (who cares if i was the only child who could go this year?! or the fact that we had to evacuate after 2 days of vacationing because of Hurricane Alex...)
-spend almost a full week with my sister and brother-in-law in florida
-hang out with my favorite 12 year old... watching the bachelorette, swimming, burning in the sun on 'smoothie stand day'
-READ!! i read 12 books this summer! i'm trying to finish #13 but i'm not sure if it will happen by school.
-work at a crazy camp at A&M and meet some cool people
-take a day trip to austin full of old friends and delicious food that i miss
-spend quality time with my best friends all over texas

now THAT sounds like an amazing summer to me! guess its time to get back to school and grown-up life (house hunting and lesson planning, oh my!), but not before one last summer fling with schlitterbahn and a back-to-school party (teacher-style) this weekend!

i got a job!

i can finally officially talk about it! i have a job for next school year!

i will be teaching 6th grade math and coaching 7th grade girls volleyball and basketball.

AND i get to stay at my school- Clear Creek Intermediate!

i'm so excited that i will be at my school still. those kids give me purpose everyday and make going to work worth it. i know they're a tough group, but i'm looking forward to it.

i was really nervous about being the "new kid" on the 6th grade team. after one year, our school only had 2 teachers leave: one teacher had a baby this summer (this is the position i got) and another moved up to the high school level (it was filled in the district). its really rare to only have 2 openings and the teachers had created close bonds in their first year. however, i got a call this last week inviting me to lunch with the 6th grade team and it was so great. they were so welcoming and friendly and calmed a lot of my concerns about being the new one. it makes me really excited about august.

summer reading list

Summer is here and I'm loving it! One of my favorite things to do is grab a good book and head to the pool.

I've been reading Jodi Picoult NONSTOP so far! Seriously, I read 3 of hers in the first week of summer. I love that her books are about real life.. about the hard things- rape, bullying, dysfunctional families, illnesses, imperfections, etc. But there's always a story about caring about others in it whether it be about family, or friends, or just people we meet. We never know someone's whole story until we care to ask.

She has 18 books out and I plan to finish them all!
Songs of the Humpback Whale
Harvesting the Heart
Picture Perfect
Mercy
The Pact
Keeping Faith
Plain Truth *currently reading
Salem Falls
Perfect Match
Second Glance
My Sister's Keeper
Vanishing Acts
The Tenth Circle
Nineteen Minutes
Wonder Woman: Love and Murder
Change of Heart
Handle with Care
House Rules

I just recently bought a kindle and am SO excited about it. I think it will save me a lot of money in the long run on books and it will save me a ton of room on my bookshelves!

365 days.

i can't believe i have been out of college for a year! i graduated a year ago! whoa.

what a crazy year too.

i have moved twice (including major cities), started two different jobs, taken some fun trips, seen some incredible concerts, said goodbye to hurt, made some good friends, learned to like sushi and laughed with some crazy kiddos.

the last year has only pushed me to love people harder and show the people i care just how much i do. i had a ton of fun being with the people important to me and enjoyed it all... even when it was hard.

i have seen hurt and betrayal in the last year. i have walked through things i would never wish upon anyone. and i made it.

i can only hope the next year is a hundred times calmer. however, i will most likely move again. and i will semi-start a new job too (same job, different school). and i will probably make a very grown-up purchase. can i go back to college yet? yikes.

forcing myself to finish

a real post, that is.

my 7th graders survived TAKS testing two weeks ago. last week started 8th grade Remediation for the kiddos needing a second try at it. they've been working SO hard. i hate that their promotion to high school depends on a test and some of them missed it the first time by just one question, but most of them are really motivated to get it this time so its be pretty cool to see them remain optimistic instead of defeated.

on the same note, their optimism has been a little contagious in the job hunt for me. as the school year draws near to an end, i'm still looking for a full-time teaching position for the 2010-2011 school year. aaaaand, as of this morning, i have an interview for one on thursday! a lot of small pieces have fallen into place so well for this interview that its hard not to have my hopes up, but i know it will work out either way.

that's about all i've got... my summer plans are a little up in the air as of now. mostly just waiting to see about the fall.