We're Engaged!

One week ago today was the best day of my life so far. Kevin surprised me and proposed while we were at the beach! I have promised that I would put the story up on the blog since I didn't get a chance to call/text or talk to everyone. So here goes!

A little background first: We went to Ocean Isle Beach for a week with Kevin's family for a little vacation. We left Nashville on Friday to go to Atlanta. He dropped me off with Oma and Opa while he went to his grandmothers. We met back up on Saturday morning and headed to Spartanburg. Now, if I had known what was to come, I would not have been quite so insistent about seeing my parents that morning. But he couldn't tell me that we would have a cook out at the end of the week with them so I got to see my parents for a few minutes while the cars got packed. We drove all day and got to the beach Saturday evening. A wonderful week was to follow but I'll get to the special part!

Every day we would try to go for a walk on the beach. I had told him before we left that I wanted to get some good pictures; it had been a while since we took any. He kept assuring me that we would get some. Our nightly walks on the beach were my favorite part of the day. Listening to the water and being out in "nature" were wonderful. 

Skip to Friday: Friday morning it was raining. It hadn't rained all week so of course it was raining on our last day! I checked the weather to see if we'd be able to go to the beach that day and it said it was supposed to rain all day. I decided to go to the gym to work out a little since the boys were still sleeping anyways. Kevin's mom and I headed off to the gym. When we got back, the boys (by boys I mean Kevin, his brother , and his dad) had gone down to walk on the beach since it had momentarily stopped raining. I took a shower and they were back when I got out. Kevin said we should go down to the beach to take the pictures since it wasn't raining at the moment. (Earlier in the week, I told him I had brought 2 dresses in case we went out somewhere that I needed to dress up.) He also said I should put on one of my pretty dresses for the pictures. I thought nothing of it. I was just glad we were finally going to get some pictures! It made sense that we would go then, at 1 pm b/c at that moment, it wasn't raining. 

We got ready and headed out. As we were leaving, he said he had to get his phone. I thought that was odd for a brief second quickly justified it. (He later told me he actually got the ring instead!)  We walked down to the beach and of course it was windy! It had been unbelievably windy all week. I was kinda bummed because I had on a dress and it was blowing around; my hair was also blowing around like crazy. He swore it wasn't windy when they were down there earlier. But it was now so we trudged along the beach. As we walked and talked, I tied my dress in a knot so I didn't have to hold it :)  I also spotted a dead jellyfish and begged him to take a picture of it. I'm not sure why I asked him to use his phone when my camera was in my hand but apparently that caused some ripple effects that I didn't even pick up on. You see, he had to reach in his pocket and kneel down to take the picture. Keith, his brother, was following us (but I didn't know that) and apparently this made him panic. The fact that I almost turned around could have contributed haha. So the jellyfish almost ruined the surprise!  We continued on down the beach. There was an island type place at the end that we had walked to before. However, because the tide was coming in so rapidly, we couldn't get to it. We would have had to swim to get to it! There was a little cove that we walked into though. This little cove had big docks on each side of it. There were giant sand bags to keep the waves off the shore and it was perfect! 

We decided to take the pictures there quickly b/c the tide was coming in. I sat down on one of the sand bags and when I looked up, Kevin wasn't beside me like I had expected. Instead he was still standing up. I asked what he was doing b/c it was going to be very hard to take pictures like that! He grinned and said, "So you know how you didn't know if we were going to get engaged at the beach or not?" I said, unsure of where this was going, "Yes.... Why?" "He said that he had a surprise for me. I got excited but still didn't believe this was really happening. He said a lot of really sweet things and asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes! We shared an unbelievable moment that I'll always treasure and remember. 

Then it got even better. Keith, Kevin's brother, stepped out from behind the dock with a camera. He laughed and said that he hadn't gotten any of it and we'd have to do it again. I died laughing. It was perfect. The actual moment is only recorded in our memories and the pictures hold the re-enactment. However, the pictures are very accurate and a very good portrayal of the emotions. I love that the camera hadn't worked! It seems like something always go differently than we plan and this proposal was no exception.

Kevin had planned to propose Friday night but the rain had caused him to have to change it to the afternoon. It was cloudy and windy and the tide almost washed us out of the cove. Keith didn't get the pictures so we had to re-do them. All of the pictures have the wind-blown look. We took a picture in shallow water and got hit by a wave and were soaked from the waste down. But it was perfect. I wouldn't change a thing. I love every detail and everything about his proposal. I'll cherish it forever. 

Oh, and the ring is perfect :)  We took some pictures with his family and I spent the rest of the afternoon on the phone. Both of our phones blew up with emails from facebook, texts, and calls. We are so loved and blessed. Saturday we went home and had a cook out with our families to celebrate. All in all, it was a perfect weekend and I wouldn't trade it for anything!!

I know this is really really long, but hopefully I've been able to share a little bit of this special moment with you.

Before the Traveling Starts

Hola amigos! Summer is almost gone! Tomorrow, July begins. How crazy is that? It's already July. The countdown to school beginning is on. I'm a nerd, so yes, I am excited about this countdown :) I love buying school supplies and this year will be unlike any other start of school for me. This year, for the first time ever, I will be starting school as a teacher and not as a student. I was pretty good at being a student. I hope I'm half as good at being a teacher! (Thankfully, it's Kindergarten and they don't have anything to compare me to yet :) )
To celebrate the start of teaching and the end of summer, I get to go to the beach with Kevin and his family. We are leaving Nashville tomorrow to go to Atlanta for the night, go to Spartanburg on Saturday morning, and then be at the beach Saturday night! I'm so excited to get away for a while. I like my apartment but since the babysitting business has been slow this week, I'm ready to get away and have some fun! I'm hoping to see Oma and Opa Friday night and my parents for a few minutes Saturday morning but plans are still in the works.
On that note, one thing I'm learning to be very good at is not being able to plan ahead. I have to be patient and let things come as they may. The control freak in me is fighting this lesson every step of the way :) But since waiting has now taken over in absolutely every area of my life, I think God is trying to drive the point home. He's telling me to take a step back and quit trying to rush things; everything will work out the way He has planned. Fortunately for me, His planning trumps my feeble attempts and will always work out better. So I say, "Go ahead please! I will be patient."
I'm sure there are others of you who are dealing with the same issue of having to wait around for something and I encourage you to be patient. Yes, it is no fun when you want to know how and when things will work out, but it's better to let go and let God. :)
Enjoy the holiday weekend and I'll write more after our trip to the beach!

A little school work this week

Well it's officially been 1 week since I was hired as a Kindergarten Teacher and I'm still excited :) I'm also a little more frustrated than I was a week ago because I want to know more information about when I get into my room, see the rest of the school, do paperwork to become official, etc, but no one really seems to have the answers to my questions. Nonetheless, I'm still doing little bits here and there. I have a 2nd bedroom in my apartment filled with boxes of books and supplies for crafts and projects (like light bulbs, jars, pipe cleaners, etc.). I need to get this stuff out so I can actually do something with this room! And I want to see my classroom! I'm so excited about getting things ready for my Kindergarten babies :)
I worked in itunes yesterday to start making some playlists. We got to sit in on some Quantum Learning training during Student Teaching and the one thing that really stuck with me was the impact of music in the classroom. She mentioned 3 specific categories: Energizers, Focusers, and Soothers. Energizers are exactly what they sound like: songs that get you up and moving and wake you up! I'm trying to find some good dance type songs. Here's how I choose: I listen to the song and close my eyes; if I can picture 5 year olds jumping up and down to it, laughing, and playing around, then it's an energizer! For Focusers, I'm using a lot of instrumental, classical musical. Research shows that classical music stimulates the brain and instrumental means there are no words to distract you (or at least that's my thinking.)  Soothers are calmer, "chill" type songs. I actually tested this out with my student teaching class and it worked wonderfully! For 3 days, I had them on my own. The 1st day, they came in at 7:45 like wild people! The noise and energy was shocking. So the 2nd day, about 5 minutes before they came in, I turned out a low-key song and played it quietly in the background. The difference was amazing! At 8:00, they were all sitting quietly in their seats working and talking softly. It was so quiet that other teachers were coming in to see what I had done :)  Needless to say, I will definitely be implementing soothers into our daily playlists!
I am thinking that if I don't hear from Metro soon about getting paper work done, that I'll be heading to the beach with Kevin and his family. It'll be a nice way to celebrate having a job and a last hoo-ra (sp?) before school starts in full swing! I'm still working the details out, so Mom, Dad, and Oma- I will call you as soon as we have a definite plan! :)
Adios!

I have a job!!!

Starting in August, I will be teaching a Kindergarten ELL class and I could not be more excited! I had no idea when I woke up this morning just how great today would be. I got up early to work out since I had to babysit all day. 30 seconds after I got out of the shower, my phone was ringing. Normally I would just let it ring and check it later but for some reason today, (and by that I mean- by the grace of God), I answered a number I didn't recognize. On the other end, was the principal I interviewed with 2 weeks ago. She simply asked if I had been hired anywhere yet and said that she was just checking. I was encouraged by this phone call and began to be much more optimistic about this whole job situation. The freeze is supposed to be lifted this coming Saturday so I was beginning to be hopeful!
I went on to babysit and thought in the back of my mind about how much I'd like teaching better than babysitting :) About 12:30, I checked my phone and happened to have an email from the HR Elementary Director saying that she'd like to offer me a position with this school. I was elated! I responded and called to give my acceptance. Over the next few hours, I tried to get in touch with the HR office to find out more details. The only response I got was that the principal would determine the position and an orientation email would be sent soon. Needless to say, I didn't feel like this was very official. I tried to call the school and the principal but didn't get answers at either. So I just sent her an email and asked my questions.
At 4:30, I was about ready to give up and just wait til tomorrow to find out. I figured she must have left for the day. Thankfully, she hadn't and I got an email saying that I would be teaching Kindergarten and she was very excited to have me on board. Now up to this point, I hadn't told a soul that I had been given the position. I was ready to explode with excitement though! I was sitting in the car at the bank and trying to figure out if I could get to Kevin's office before traffic got too bad to try. I wanted to tell him in person and I was about to bust! I got an email from him at that moment saying he was leaving to go to the studio. I think I yelled at the phone because I didn't know where the studio was :) 
I decided to head home and figure something out. I called my parents on the way and shared the good news. They were very excited and proud, as was I. I made Mom promise not to put anything on Facebook before I had a chance to tell Kevin and several other people :) When I got home I started the chaotic process of trying to figure out where this studio was. Of course, I didn't have the office number and it wasn't on the website. I finally figured it out and called. I was able to find someone eventually who knew where the studio was and put the address in the Gps. I should mention that while I was doing this, Kevin called. I had to be careful not to sound too happy or give away the surprise. Generally I'm not the best liar but I think I did ok this time :)
Once the address was in and I was on my way, I couldn't find the building. It's an old house and I drove around for about 10 minutes or so trying to find it. I finally found the right house, figured out how to get to the back, found the cars, and parked. Of course when I parked, a man told me that I couldn't park there. Later, he said he was kidding because I think I looked panicked! He pointed me in the right direction and I ran into 3 other men who kindly helped me get where I was going. I eventually found Kevin and he knew exactly why I was there :) (I had told him several times that I was going to have to come find him whenever I got a job b/c I would be so excited!) He was very excited and proud too :)
I think I have sent more texts and had more phone calls today than I have in a single day in a very long time. It's wonderful though. I'll gladly keep draining the battery on my phone spreading the good news! This is such an answer to prayer and I could not be more grateful, thankful, and excited about this opportunity.
I told mom that the day will come soon when I realize that I'm on my own with a 18  5-year olds and I'm responsible for the beginning of their school experience and learning, but for now, I'm just excited about it. I'll panic later; probably the week before school starts :)  I cannot wait to begin this journey. Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and support!

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.- Walt Disney

Just thinking

 I know I should be enjoying this stage of life- just graduated, living on my own, babysitting, etc, but it seems like everyone around me is skipping over this straight to marriage. Not that that is a bad thing. I'm happy for them but at the same time, a little jealous. I want something so bad that I can't have right now. Granted, there are a lot of factors playing into the whole situation and there are times when I think rationally with my brain, but tonight I'm thinking with me heart and I'm a little bummed. I also miss my family terribly and that isn't helping.


Life is short, too short to not make the most of it. I wonder why we spend all our time working away from the ones who mean the most of us? Why do we do it? I know we have to in order to make a living and actually be able to live, but it stinks. I don't see the point right now in working our lives away and always pining for more time; more time away from work; more time to spend with the ones we love; more time to relax; I guess that's just how life is.

So I ask, are you happy with what you have now? Or are you missing now because you're too busy looking ahead or behind you? Sorry if it slaps you in the face. It slapped me in the face too. If you find yourself in the same boat I do, I challenge you to make a concerted effort every day to ask the Lord to help you make the most of the day; to help you see the value of today and why He's blessed you with another day. I sure do intend to try much harder to remember that each day is a gift. Everything will come in His timing and one day, reality will in fact be better than my dreams.

    *The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.
          -Henry David Thoreau

Life Post-Graduation

Well since the last time I posted, lots has happened. In the past month, I have graduated from college, moved into my 1st apartment, and gotten a babysitting job. The babysitting job starts June 25 and will continue until I get a teaching job.
Graduation weekend was wonderful! It was great to have my family here for a short time and have them help me set up the apartment. The ceremony was unbelievably long but my family stuck it out! I graduated summa cum laude and one of 7 valedictorians. My parents make a much bigger deal of this honor than I do. I just hope it helps me get a job!
God has been teaching me lots of lessons in the past month. He has been faithful to provide and I have been amazed to see his provision. I babysat or subbed every day in May. For someone who doesn't have a steady job starting til June 25, I was beyond grateful for God's provision! I love seeing him provide and take care of me.
This weekend I also got to go home and spend a few days with Taylor and my parents. There are no words to express how nice is it to go home and get recharged.
I'll post some pictures from the past month but that's all for words for now! :)

My parents at graduation

Mi familia!

Love my Opa!

He worked hard for this degree too!

Graduation number 4 for us

Kevin's parents came too! :)

I'm beyond blessed :)

Mis hermanas :)

I have internet again :)

I have internet again and a few minutes so it's time to update! I don't know what day I last updated but I'm guessing it was the end of student teaching. A lot happened in the week and a half after that!
Once student teaching was over, I had to focus on finding an apartment. Kevin and I spent a Saturday driving around and looking at places. We also discussed several times how ridiculous it is that we aren't able to find one place together. It would make life so much easier if we could just get married soon. Plus we want to :) Anyways, while we were driving around I asked if he would call his landlord to see if anything was going to be available. He did.  On Tuesday, I found out that I would get an apartment in the same complex! We weren't sure if it would be ready by the 1st, which was Sunday, but amazingly it was! I found all this out on Tuesday, a week ago.
Immediately I started packing things up and quickly ran out of room. I couldn't finish packing until some of that stuff was gone. Saturday, April 30 was our 6 year anniversary. Yes, 6 years we have been dating. Crazy! That was a crazy day to say the least. We had to get more boxes, look for furniture,finish packing, and I had a babysitting interview. I didn't find out until after 5 or so that everything was done with apartment and I could sign the lease and get the keys. So I did all that and we started moving things in! Of course, we had to make a walmart trip before we moved anything in because I knew there were certain things I would need that I couldn't wait until the end of the week for my mom to bring. So we ran to walmart and then went back to my house to start loading up what was already packed. We knew we could move that and then I would finish packing Sunday after church. I have to say, Kevin is an amazing packer! He got everything I had already packed into his car and mine. This was a lot of stuff! And he's very strong. Some of those boxes were super heavy and he was carrying 2 or 3 of them from the car, up the stairs, and into the apartment! I was impressed with how good he is at moving!!
About 8:30 Saturday night, we stopped for the night and went to subway for dinner :)  I thought it was pretty funny that we were all sweaty and gross in basketball clothes going out to Subway for our anniversary. But you do what you have to do! Like I said, this is an anniversary neither of us will forget any time soon!
Sunday after church I finished packing and we had everything in the new place by about 3:30 or 4 despite the rainy weather! Then I had the fun task of figuring out where things needed to go. That task will be one that continues for a while haha. There isn't much in here now. Mom is bringing a trailer with furniture, pots and pans, linens, a bed, etc. Hopefully that will help make it a little more cozy! Right now I'm on an air mattress for a bed, have crates with my clothes, the tv is on the floor, and there is stuff everywhere! It's adventure living I guess haha.  I'll be glad when they get here with that stuff!!
So in the past week, I have: gotten and moved into my first apartment, gotten the power turned on, tv and internet connected, received my first mail here, and finished everything for school! It's been a big week!! I will pick up my cap and gown sometime before Friday. Mom and Taylor will be here Thursday. Kevin's parents are coming Friday. My dad and Oma and Opa and Kellie will all get here Saturday morning. I'm not sure who else is coming but I'll be excited to find out! And Saturday at 2 pm, graduation will begin!! I'm excited to be graduating, excited to see my family, and thankful that things are working out and God is providing!!