That Lovey Dovey Day

So I promised an update on the Valentines day surprises and Jonathan definitely impressed me today. This morning I randomly saw a card and a little box sitting on the table. The card was beautiful and so sweet! The box was the most beautiful set of pearl earrings! I was so excited!! They are my first real pair of pearls! We then headed to church with my parents and then lunch afterwards. When we finally got home there was a note on my door from a florist... I was so surprised! I can't even begin to tell you how in love I am.....

I am constantly empowered by how great our God is! He has a way of sending us the most perfect person. My grandparents always prove to me that love can take you through life and leave you with the best memories.

Can you believe that the picture is of my grandparents on their wedding day?! This picture hangs in my apartment and makes me smile every time I look at it. When I was single it reminded me each day that there was love out there and I would find it someday and now that I have found the love of my life it reminds me about all the great memories that Jonathan and I will have in our future together.

So in love!

In love....

...with life... Sunday is going to be Valentines day.. I had to devote a blog to it! :)

Love (luv), n., v., 1. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. 2. a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection. amour

Each day I teach and continue to live life I become more in love with who I am and my path that I have traveled down. Many people continuously look back and say "oh I shouldn't have done that," and yes sometimes thats okay, but we really should learn from each up and down. I know I have. I am not really sure how my next sentence is going to tie into this "love" thing but each night I try and read from a nightly devotional book (trust me... it doesn't happen every night). The other night I read something so striking... the author was talking about being yourself and pleasing God and you will still be loved (YES I TIED IT IN!!) by the people who matter the most. This is the Jess-quote from the devotion.... (Jess-quote being how I remember it).... "Live life as if God is the only one to please, then God will give you the supernatural power to attract the people that are perfect for you." How amazing is that? Love God, please God, and then people will still love you?! Again.. how amazing. I think that pleasing my God would be much more simple than pleasing this world where we live. Though I do believe that the outdoors and simple, pleasing things in this life were meant to be enjoyed and loved by us... they make me smile...

Soooo speaking of love my best friend Stephanie is engaged and I am so excited. The other day we were talking about how crazy fast life is moving! Every second is just passing us by! I am so excited for her and Jasper (the groom)!! I can't wait!!

Last, but not least by any means...

....I am in love with Jonathan. : )

I picked out the perfect Valentines day card today and it didn't take me two hours like it normally does!! I am very curious of what he is planning for Valentines day.... he has been really secretive about it.... I have absolutely NO idea and it is killing me!! I am sooo nosy, but I guess I will have to wait till Sunday for this one! I will definitely give out an update of what this secret is!

amour.

Always smiling...

Recently I find myself always smiling no matter what has happened... today I read this verse and it made me smile.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4: 4,6

God is so amazing.

Tonight Jonathan and I were talking about if he actually read this blog at all... because I was excited that I am learning how to revamp it and everything haha... and can you believe he actually does read it!! How that made me smile, even though he said he just wanted to see what I said about him. He should be assured that it will never be anything bad. ;) I have never been more happy than now. I can't believe we are going on 9 months; I feel like we are an old married couple that couldn't be happier. I think I have found my true love.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13

On another note.... Does anyone hate New Year's resolutions besides me? I feel as if we only set ourselves up to fail when we make them... or well I set myself up to fail. I am so bad a following through on things that I decide unless it is apart of my usual everyday routine... maybe thats why I haven't loss that 10 pounds... hummm... haha. My Aunt Mollie gives the children's sermon at my church every Sunday and the one today was so special. She read the Serenity Prayer and then told the kids what her New Year's resolution was and I actually think I could handle this one... she said that everyday when she looked in the mirror she was going to ask herself what type of person she was going to be that day sooo I think I am going to try this out, but usually I am pretty happy in the morning and usually pretty happy on the way home. I have come to realize that the more we fuss and argue about things its not going to change. I am always telling my students that they will get more with sugar than vinegar and it is so true.

I think I am rambiling so I will stop....

Now what this blog is really about.. school..... (on to things that made me a little sad this week..) I am really struggling with having to teach EOC classes. My students overall did not do that well and it upsets me so much because I feel like I have poured my heart into them. Oh well I guess I will learn from it and move on... I can't do much now I guess.

Sweet dreams,

Sleepy Kitties

I hope you had a great Christmas...

Now that Christmas is over... New Years is coming quickly and the kitties and I are sleepy. :)

This Christmas was very normal like usual except for Jonathan being added to the mix which was awesome. On Christmas night I went to his mom's house to meet his grandparents which was exciting. I am enjoying every moment we have together. Wednesday will be eight months!! How wonderful! We are actually heading out to Memphis, TN for the Liberty Bowl game!! Jonathan is so so so excited. I really believe his blood is purple. I have never seen someone so into ECU tailgating and football!

As far as teaching goes I am a bit nervous about my kiddies taking the EOC. I am scared that they are not as concerned about it as I am, which I know they are not. I have no idea how they will be when they get back from that Christmas break. I am hoping that they will be well rested and ready, but I will probably report back that they were tired and un-ready. I am beginning to get very excited about next semester though because I am going to attempt the well talked about... "Mastery Learning" I have no idea how this is going to go but it will not hurt to try it. Mastery Learning is based upon the idea that you don't move on to a different topic until the students "master" the previous topic. Mastery is defined as 85% or better on the quiz for that topic. It makes sense in my head, but I am sure when I start it is going to flop horribly.... oh well.

Lately I feel I am in a creative slump... I have not been creative in a while and it is driving me crazy! I feel as if I need to find a tiny little room to rent to have all my craft stuff everywhere and just make things.... thats my goal when I retire in 25+ years. I will craft and craft and craft and then sell stuff at little stores and on etsy.com... which is one of the problems with my bank account balance... that and iTunes... ugh haha :)

Well until next time,

Topsy Turvy...

Life right now is constantly lived on a day to day basis. The only way I can think about the future is if I pull out my pink calendar and plan something in advance. It's amazing how your life leads you through many different walks of life.. it is so interesting. First you start out as a tiny itty bitty baby in your parents arms... eventually you learn to walk, talk, play.. then you start school and it sorta rushes by from there (here comes my montage of pictures from the past... and present)

I have been the same since birth...

it's very evident in this picture... haha

Here I am in with my granddaddy.... What a cute picture!

I don't have any pictures from high school on the computer. Below is me with some of my sorority sisters. How I love these girls! They definitely got me through every hard time in college. They helped me keep my walk with God on the right path and I am so thankful for each of them.

God definitely blessed me with 30+ sisters that I never had growing up.

This picture is about a year ago when life was slowly changing and great things were happening. These are some of my closest friends..... My best friend Stephanie on the left has been the hardest to be away from. She recently moved to Atlantic Beach and it has been a struggle not having her around as much :(

Ahh.. this picture brings back memories of my internship during college. Wow little did I know what I was getting myself into :)

And... this is by far one of my favorites. Jonathan has definitely blessed my life in so many ways. I am so thankful that God brought us together. I believe to this day that God put each of us through different paths so that he could put us together at the perfect time. God definitely knows his timing much better than me. If it was up to me I would have asked to meet Jonathan much earlier... but God is all-knowing and his timing is priceless...

....its so unique how each of us survive every moment that we thought we would never get through. I feel like I am always telling my students that high school will only be a tiny breeze in a few years, but most of them still don't believe me and worry about everyone and anything they can. (But what teacher wouldn't admit that they were exactly like many of the students.....) I always hear my coworkers say... "I was just like that in school... I should go apologize to my teachers..." haha...

I do know that I do find myself questioning why I didn't do better in high school. I could have easily made a 100 in every math class if I had only listened better.... oh well.. can't go back now!

I am so thankful of the life God has given me. I find myself always praising him because of how wonderful he is. He has blessed me so much more than I ever deserve. Through the years I have learned to be so thankful for everything he has given me.... I hope you feel the same way too...

Be thankful... Jess

And the days keep going...

I am such a bad blogger. I struggle with keeping up on my blogs; it has been more than a month!!! This month has actually been okay. There have been ups and downs each and everyday. This past week was very stressful because I had a very upset student and a very upset mentor. My mentor issue was absolutely the worst.

So here is the story... One of my classes is a little crazy at times. They are not rude or disrespectful, just hyper. Which does not bother me because I am hyper too! :) Well my mentor came in for a SURPRISE visit.. oh lucky me. Well needless to say she didn't really enjoy my class and only had negative things to say about it. It was absolutely awful. I have never had anyone be so negative and not say a single positive thing that I did. She basically made me feel like a worthless teacher, but through the support of amazing students and coworkers I got through the day and continued on the next day. The class that she came and visited knew that I had been upset so they wanted to know why. Well I told them exactly what happened. They became very upset that someone had upset me so much because of something they did. They promised they would be perfect boring angels next time... haha I thought the boring part was funny. So that was definitely the lowest of low that I have felt since teaching. I have learned from it and now I am moving on and I have come to know that even if someone is called your "mentor" that doesn't necessarily mean that they embody everything that means.

On a positive note my AFM class made some pretty awesome pinwheels the other week!

Until Next Time... Jess

Welcome to my classroom!!

Welcome to my classroom!!  I love the entry way!  It looks so exciting!

This is my tree and my ECU corner!  I have to support those Pirates!!

This is my desk area with my beautiful tree!! :)

"Get Hooked on Math" bulletin board!  This is where I recognize good grades!!!

The back of the room!  Yes I love that yellow wall!! haha

This is the "Function Family!"  Not my favorite bulletin board, but it will do...

This is some of my student work that I have displayed!

Oh I love the flowers in the window!!! :)

Oh Albert!!  He keeps me thinking and thinking!!

This is what my kids look at everyday hahaha

The front table area!

Hope you like it!

Jess

One Week Down...

So today finished my first week of really teaching.  Wow... what an interesting experience....

By the way... I don't feel in the best mood today because of some things that happened at school today so this may not be the happiest blog entry.. but it will suffice...

First off in general (this is not about school) I really struggle holding my own.  If I get criticized for any tiny thing that is wrong with my appearance or something I did by mistake it hurts me so bad.  I can't help it.  I have tired to fix this forever and it doesn't work I promise, its just who I am.  Today I guess I just felt like I couldn't do anything right.  I couldn't put my hair up right I couldn't say the right things... I just couldn't do what ever it was I was suppose to... I guess basically I am just having a down in the dumbs day and its a horrible way to start my blog entry about the first week of my every quickly approaching life.

On a good note I love the way my classroom looks, though I am always picked on constantly about how elementary it looks, once again I am criticized.  I have tried to make my room look as inviting as possible, but I think it only works on a small number of people.  This week has been tough.  I have been pushed and pulled in so many directions.  I have constantly read e-mails that ask me to fill this out, do this, it will only take a second.... sometimes I don't think some people realize how important that second is to me.

I have grown to love one of my classes though.  I know most of the kids from last year and they are just hilarious.  They make me smile! :)  Recently we have been doing hands on projects and they are doing so great with them.  Yes I have to do the occasionally "don't get to loud" speech, but overall they are great.  The project that I was so impressed with was called "Graph a Story," the students had to read a paragraph about a bucket of water where the water level was constantly changing and draw a graph to go with it.  I was so amazed at how well they did.  One group even drew a bucket and then put the graph on it, how clever!  I think it is things like this that keep me going each day.  I have already wanted to retire once or twice... I e-mailed my mom the first day to tell her that.. haha.  Teaching is definitely the hardest thing I have done in my life.  Going to college classes is so tiny compared to the challenges and tasks that are thrown at me everyday in my classroom.

I don't know what you are feeling or what you are thinking about this blog entry, but I think I have things under control it will just take time and God's guidance.  I constantly think of my favorite verses to get me through...

"If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." Psalm 139: 9-10

Until next time... Jess