Let's start from the beginning!
After Drew and I got married we drove cross country- starting in New Mexico and stopped at the bottom of Florida to jump on a cruise ship to take us to three wonderful destinations (Panama, Belize, and Costa Rica). Our honeymoon was lovely and just what we needed to relax and wind down from the wedding.
Once we returned from the honeymoon the real world was waiting for us. No home and no jobs....yowzaas!
We spent the summer living with Drew's amazing family who so graciously took us in under their wing. It was a great opportunity for me to get to know them. Drew and I applied for jobs every minute of everyday and our faith was tested. After two months of applying for teaching positions I had two phone interviews- one in Huntsville, TX (the small town I grew up in) and the other in Anchorage, AK. Two interviews, two worlds apart! I got a call back from Stacy Bennett and Samuel W. Houston Elementary School in Huntsville, TX and she informed me she was willing to take a chance and give me a job- hallelujah!
We packed up our car full of belongings and drove to our future- good ol Huntsvegas! We found an apartment in Conroe, TX 30 minutes south of Huntsville to call home. Drew started working at Academy Sports and Outdoors and started his Master's degree and Sam Houston State University and studied Sports Management.
Drew took the bull by the horns and was busy as a bee. While working at Academy he somehow found time to volunteer with the athletic department at SHSU, took on a ticketing internship, and became the President of the Sports Management club. All his hard work paid off when he earned a internship with the NFL team the Houston Texans! All his hard work paid off and I couldn't be more proud of him. He graduates with his Masters this upcoming May and has accepted a job with Greenstar Recycling who is the jersey sponsor of the MLS team the Houston Dynamo. Yes, he will have to go to all the home games and no he is NOT upset about that...haha!
I started my first year of teaching and realized how little you learn in college about how to manage a classroom. Teaching the kiddos is easy- getting them to sit down and be quiet is the real trick. I taught 3rd grade Math and had a team teacher who taught ELA.
I learned all the lessons their are to be learned from my first year and was glad to put the chapter behind me. I decided to teach summer school which turned out to be a fabulous idea. I was able to gain my confidence back as a teacher and apply what I learned from the previous year. I drew up a game plan for my 2nd year teaching and it has been a huge success! This year I am teaching all subjects to my 3rd grade class and I love it- it allows you to build the essential relationships with the students. I have truly fallen in love with the class I have this year and it brings tears to my eyes to have to say bye to them at the end of the year. I have 92% of my students passing the district testing and I'm hoping for 100% for the state standardized testing that will be given in a few short weeks. Wish me luck!
We both survived our first year in the married and in the real world- lots of lessons learned and glad to put it behind us. Our second year has gone smoothly and we are continuing to learn many lessons.
If we have learned anything the past two years it has been this:
1. Patients
2. God has a plan
3. God's plan might not match up to my plans
4. I shouldn't make plans
We are continuing to trust in God and that he has a plan for us. He has provided us with everything that we need and we are so thankful.
We are so blessed!
