Mrs. P's Wise Owls

1,000+ prayers prayed.
(1,001+ tears cried).
100+ applications sent.
9 months waited.
4 interviews.
3 rejections.
1 HUGE answered prayer!!

Last Monday was called J-Day (named by Justin). J-Day meant job day and we spent the entire day searching and applying for jobs. I even started applying to non-teaching jobs. The whole day I was praying for a job to be opened for me and that my prayers would be answered. At that point, I was praying for any job. As the day passed, and as I was thinking about the possibility of not having a teaching job, I started to feel that I would be unfulfilled and not really doing what my passion and ultimate career goal was. Around 4:30 in the afternoon, Justin noticed that a school district had posted 4 new jobs- 3 first grade positions and 1 fourth grade. I applied to all 3. After I sent in the third resume, not even 2 minutes later, I got a call from the principal asking if I could come in for an interview on Tuesday. (I should mention that this was the third time I applied to this school).

I went in for my interview on Tuesday and the interview went great! Afterward, I went to hang out with my mom and Jessica. Since school was starting on Thursday, the principal told me that she would let me know by the end of the day. 5:00 pm, my phone rang.... I answered it and it was the principal saying that I interviewed great and they really appreciated me coming in. I was waiting for the, but..... This time, however, there was no but, there was an and.... AND WE WOULD LIKE TO OFFER YOU THE JOB!! Yay!!

I have been looking for a teaching job for 9 months! The whole time I had been praying that I would have a job on the first day of school. It is pretty amazing and remarkable how God works, because I got the job 2 days before school started. And in first grade!! That was the grade I was wanting!!

I went in on Wednesday at 7:30 in the morning and began to set up my classroom. Meet the teacher was at 11:00 and all my students and parents would be coming in.

My classroom at first sight.

Meet the teacher and first 2 days of school set-up

Meet the teacher went very smoothly, despite having a very empty classroom. I working in my classroom until 9:00 pm that night. My sweet husband came and kept me company and helped tape down name tags and get things together. The next day was the first day of school! Since I work 45 minutes away, I have been waking up at 5:30 am and going to bed around 12:00/12:30. The first day was great! My kids are very sweet and I am so excited to be their teacher.

Yesterday, my mom, Steph and Jess came and helped my in my classroom for about 6 hours. They were a HUGE help. We reorganized the room and made everything I need. This is what my classroom looks like now!!

Hallway display outside the door.
Mrs. P's Wise Owls

Walking in the door. First half of the room.
My mom in the reading/circle time corner. Picture a rug by her feet.

Second half of the room.

Another view.

Whooo's being a good helper? Job chart.

Whoooo was caught making WISE choices?

Owl Eyes on Me!

Thank you all for your prayers!! I am feeling very thankful, blessed and fulfilled. I love being in the classroom and when I think of everything that happened, it brings a HUGE smile to my face. I have a great class and I am looking forward to this year.

Please keep praying for me! I am feeling very overwhelmed by everything I have to do. The curriculum used in this county is different than what I am used to, so I am currently feeling very lost and not sure what to do. I am also very exhausted. I have been pulling 12+ hour days on very little sleep and my body is feeling very tired. Pray that the Lord will give me wisdom to teach these kids. I want to be a great teacher that actually teachers reading, writing and math the right way. I want the kids to love coming to school.

Thanks!!

2nd Anniversary x2!

A Two-Year Anniversary calls for 2 celebrations, right?!?
This weekend Justin and I were able to get away and celebrate our Anniversary the way we really wanted to celebrate it (sort of!) Originally we were planning on going to St. Augustine, Florida, but due to time and money constraints, we decided to go somewhere closer. On Saturday we drove down to Beaufort, South Carolina and checked out Hunting Island.

Whaaat?!?

Making our way to the beach.

Yay beach!

The day started off cloudy and really overcast. After many prayers for the Lord to break open the clouds and let it be sunny, He answered our prayers and we had beautiful weather! Hunting Island is a state park that is filled with lush forests. The forest comes right up to the shore line, leaving a really beautiful view. We had a great time strolling along the beach, seeing dolphins in the distance, watching pelicans fly overhead, playing with the sand crabs and lounging in our beach chairs.

I would love to see sea turtles hatch and make their way to the ocean!

Krabby. He fetched the stick when Justin threw it.

Digging to find Krabby. Or killing him....

Yay! Blue skies!

Double Whaaaat?
Lots of unusual signs here.

Hey stud.

After spending several hours at the beach, we packed up the car and made our way to the hotel to get cleaned up. We went into the historical part of Beaufort and ate a very nice dinner in town. After dinner we strolled through the town, checking out the historical homes and bed & breakfasts.

Beaufort at sunset. Gorgeous.

Look at what made an appearance ;)

The river walk was lined with these swinging benches. So cute!

It was so wonderful to get away with my husband. Life has been pretty busy lately and I just needed that one-on-one alone time with him. We were able to go to the beach one last time this summer, and some mosquitoes had a feast on me because the next day I woke up with 15 bites (no joke! I counted 8 on one leg!)

Floating, Flip & Fanciness

Two weekends ago, I took Stephanie and Jessica on their first trip down to Atlanta! We arrived Saturday morning and right away Jen whisked us away on our first activity. We drove about an hour to Northern Georgia to the very interesting town of Helen. In Helen we decided to "Shoot the Hooch" or whatever craziness Jen and those Georgians like to call it. Essentially, we floated down the river. The river was PACKED with inner tubes. Pictures a lazy river at a water park, only in a natural river. He had a lot of fun floating, or more like paddling/kicking down the river. Me and Jen did most of the work, while Steph and Jess enjoyed the work of our labor.





After our trip down the river, we walked around the town of Helen. This is a very touristy town that is in the style of a German town. Picture Epcott's version of Germany and you have Helen. There are lots of candy and souvenir shops. While walking around the town, we thought it would be fun to take one of those old time pictures. I know that Jen has been wanting do one of these for a while, so we all strapped on some old, overly warn, dirty, scabie-infested dresses, hats and guns to take the picture.

Heading into the Old Time Pictures shop!

Welcome to Buracho, Honey!

Helen, GA

We made it back to Atlanta, got all prettied up and went to Flip Burger! If you remember, Jen and I went there in January. Steph and Jess were wanting to check it out- and it did not disappoint again. We had so much fun relaxing in our very comfy booth, sipping on 4 different kinds of milkshakes and munching away on our burgers.

Milkshakes: Krispy Kreme, Turtle with Candied Pecans, Captain Crunch with Peanut Butter Foam and Nutella with Roasted Marshmallow

After church on Sunday, we helped Jen load up her car to throw one of her co-workers the most amazing baby shower ever. Then Emmy, Hannah, Stephanie, Jessica and myself were off to tea at the St. Regis. Going to tea is a common outing that we do with Emmy and this was our first time at the St. Regis! Wow! This place was nice!!! The chandeliers, flower arrangements and afternoon tea were amazing. After tea we got an employee to show us around the hotel, including the ballrooms. We may have found Jen's wedding venue for her ;)

Tea at the St. Regis Hotel

LOVED the floral arrangements!

Lobby

We love Emmy :)

Jessica posing in the hotel :)

It was such a fun trip to Atlanta! Now that we live much closer to it, we will for sure be taking a lot more trips down! Thanks for a great weekend Jen and the L'Heureuxs!!

08.08.11

Ok, I know I have been slacking, but I have good reason. My parents moved down last week and I have been crazy busy helping them unpack and get their apartment in order. Tonight was the first night that Justin and I had dinner together, just the two of us since 19 days ago! Two nights ago when we came home from eating at my parent's house he said, "It feels so empty, just the two of us!" Now that I am starting to get my normal routine back, I will catch you up on our anniversary and what we have been up to with my sisters.

Last Monday we celebrated our second anniversary! We were originally hoping to take a weekend getaway to St. Augustine, Florida, but with our move and having my sisters stay with us, we weren't able to pull that off. The weekend before our anniversary I was in Atlanta (another post) and actually didn't come back until the morning of our anniversary.

We celebrated our special day by going to get lunch at the location of our 'first' official date together in July of 2006- The Tupelo Honey Cafe. The Tupelo Honey Cafe is Justin's all time favorite restaurant, as well as a very popular hot spot in Asheville. After lunch we went back home, where Justin gave me my little anniversary present. He got me a beautiful book about Costa Rica, to remind us of our Honeymoon.

Looking a little tired after sleeping for only 4 hours and driving early in the morning.

His

Hers

In the evening we decided to be spontaneous and check out Hot Springs. Hot Springs are these bungalow jacuzzi tubs filled with natural hot mineral water that overlook the French Broad River. It was a very relaxing and romantic way to spend the evening.

The tub- Don't worry they disinfect and refill the tub with fresh water after each use!

View from the tub.

Afterward, we called up my brother and his wife to congratulate them on the exciting news that their little bundle of joy arriving in December is a GIRL!! We then went back into downtown and ate some appetizers and dessert at a cute restaurant. We are hoping to maybe take our little getaway trip this weekend!

I am so blessed and thankful to be married to such an amazing, gentle, patient, caring, and loving husband. To think that the Lord knew to put the two of us together, with our two different personalities and characters continues to amaze me. Justin is one of the most gracious men that I have ever met. I always tell him that there is really no man on earth who could put up with my emotions and hypochondriac spells and treat me in such a loving manner. He understands me and accepts me for who I am. I love him more and more with each day and I cannot wait to see what the next 50+ years of marriage will bring us.