the end of an era...

today is my last day at north chatham. i started here in 2003, just 1 month after moving to NC. i was young, scared, didn't know anyone and really didn't now much about myself. over the past 5 years i've grown SO MUCH and a lot of my growth has happened here at ncs. i've worked with some wonderful people who've inspired me to be a great teacher, i've worked with some not so wonderful people that have taught me how to love "unconditionally" and to accept things despite how i may feel about them, and i've made life long friends here too. leaving here is bittersweet. i'm obviously excited about going back to school to get my masters, but leaving this school is hard. so if you see me or talk to me over the next few days i may seem out of sorts. my emotions are all over the place as the end of an era in my life comes, and a new one begins...

randomness

-the past few days have been great. i had a nice, relaxing and fun weekend. last night i got to spend some true quality time with my brother and we had a great time. we went to carrboritos for dinner and sat outside and then we went for a stroll through the gimgoughl (spelling?) road historical district. the houses are so gorgeous and everything was blooming! then we went to lickity split for some yummy ice cream. what a great night!
-ryan got another very cool tattoo yesterday and i got to go with him. it's on his forearm and says "take courage". i love it!
-my mom is coming to town tomorrow for the long weekend. i'm excited to see her and spend some quality time with her.
-kim is being induced tomorrow. baby jeager should be here sometime tomorrow! i can't wait to meet him!!!
-fireworks are one of my favorite things. i went to a durham bulls game on friday night and after the game they did fireworks. i sat through them with an ear-to-ear grin. i feel like a kid in a candy store every time i see fireworks! i hope, i mean dream, to have them at my wedding someday :)
-my best friend has gone m.i.a. kelley-if you read this please call me!!!!!!!!!
-there are only 14 school days left! i'm so ready for this school year to be OVER! i'm not looking forward to packing up my classroom though :/
-i'm going to africa in less than a month! i'm so excited that i can't really put words to my feelings! go team swazi.
-i started walking/jogging again. i've only been 3 times in the past week-but its a start. slow and steady runs the race, right?!?!
-i've truly enjoyed the wonderful smells of spring while on my walks/jogs. honeysuckle is my favorite smell in the whole world. love it!

wisdom

we had kindergarten screening yesterday for next year's class. i was working with a little boy and he was doing a great job. i asked him, "how did you get so smart?" and in a very matter-of-fact way he said "oh, god told me how to do it." and he continued working.

i love the innocence and honesty of children.

my tattoo!!!

I finally got my first tattoo! I've been thinking about it for a long time now and I always knew what I wanted to get. It was just a matter of getting the nerve up to do it. I got the Ichthus-better known as the "Christian fish". Here is some history on it:
" Ichthus is the Greek word for fish and it represents the first letters in the words of the Greek phrase meaning "Jesus Christ Son of God. Savior." This earliest Christian symbol was based on many of the disciplines being fishermen. Since Christianity was an underground movement for the first 300 years. The Ichthus was a secret sign that allowed followers to identify themselves to one another. Upon meeting someone, a Christian would quietly make a single arced mark in the earth. If the stranger were Christian he would complete the sign of the fish by adding a reverse arc. Today this simple outline of the fish of the letters IXOYC can be seen worldwide as symbol of one's faith in Jesus Christ, Son of God and Savior. "

I love it!

all blogging aside...

no, seriously...how has it been a month since my last post?!?! wow. let me tell you my life is at the beginning of a new chapter and i'm so excited about it. as many of you well know by now, i got the scholarship i've been praying for, hoping for, dreaming for. sometimes i still can't believe it! the life that i have grown very use to is about to be completely changed. i'm sooooo use to teaching kindergarten. i know i've only been doing it five years-but in this phase of my life that feels like a lifetime. five years ago i still had no idea who i really was and what i really wanted. in five years time i have learned so much about who i am, what i want and who i want to be. however i always thought that the "who i want to be" was out of reach or too big of a dream. but now the dream, the prayer, is coming true. i can't wrap my mind around the fact that i'm only teaching for about thirty more days and then i'm done! no more "nine to five" for me. i'll be a full time student again with a backpack and some classes that won't require me to get out of bed till noon (insert HUGE smiley face) crazy right?!?! of course the whole "nine to five" deal will return when i complete school, but it will be the "nine to five" that i always wanted. aside from all that my trip to africa is right around the corner! despite all the busyness of school, registering for classes, finding a summer job, etc. i'm going to africa! i still can hardly believe it. i feel as if i've walked into god's favor. like he has been at work behind the scenes of my life and just now, this month, i walked through the curtains to see all that he has done. it is amazing and i'm in awe of his goodness to me. i sometimes question how deserving i am of all this. but god quickly reminds me that because of his grace and mercy and unfailing love-i deserve it all.

point of view

it's official!

my flight to swaziland is booked! i'm so excited! it has already been an amazing journey, and i'm not even there yet! god is working in amazing ways. we needed to pay for our plane tickets by march 31st and i do not have enough support money to buy my tickets yet. however, god provided and one of the other team members was able to use her credit card for my ticket. as soon as i have enough support money she will get paid back for the ticket. i've known for a while now about the march 31st deadline-but every time i started to worry about it god said "no, no, no." as in-don't worry about it...i've got it covered. the past 48 hours i started to freak because the deadline was fast approaching and the money was still not here. i should have known better though-i should have listened to god and not worried. lesson learned. i guess i'm just still in awe of how amazing god can be. so i've got my plane ticket (actually SEVEN!) for africa. i'm going, and its all because i serve an amazing god. thanks to all of you for your prayers and support :)