I am thankful for:

13. My faith and that my parents raised me in a loving, Christian home.

14. Books!! I love reading. There are so many books that make me happy reading: Harry Potter and Twilight are just a few of my favorites I could read over and over again.

15. Having a Thanksgiving and Christmas Break!

Things I am Thankful for:

10.)I am thankful for my family and David's family- I am fortunate to have a close family and a close relationship with my in-laws. I am looking forward to spending more time with my family over the holidays!

11.) The men and women who serve our country to protect our freedom! I am thankful to live in a land where we can say the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school, can vote, and have the freedom of religion.

12.) I am thankful for sleeping in on Saturday's. Even if I only slept until 8am, that is still 3 more hours of sleep than what I get on the weekdays!

Positives

This past week was very stressful for me and I know I bring some (a lot) of the stress on myself. On Sunday I realized that life is way to precious to squander away my time worrying so..... I am trying different things to calm myself down- one of which is thinking about the positives. I like that people are posting things they are thankful for on Facebook, but I am not much of a Facebook poster so I will use my blog to post what I am thankful for, which will help me focus on the positives.

I am thankful for (1 for each day):

1.) My husband who cleans the house so I don't have to do it when I come home and makes me laugh when I am stressed. We balance each other.

2.) My mom who picks up things for me she thinks I will like just because!

3.) My dog, Callie, for always getting so excited when I come home from work and snuggling with me. She makes me so happy!

4.) My fabulous friends who make me laugh and keep me sane! I have the best friends in the world!

5.) Pinterest! I love this website which has given me some fabulous ideas!

6.) Sleepy pants- they make sitting on the couch so much better!

7.) The kids in my class- I love the students in my class and how they make me smile. I know that I am making an impact in their life and they are impacting mine.

8.) The Big Bang Theory TV Show- it makes me laugh so hard!

9.) Bible verses that pop into my head at just the opportune moment.

Exciting Times and Big Changes

There have been some big changes for David and I, which is why it has been so long since I have posted anything. I am teaching a new grade this year. I have taught 2nd grade for four years and this year moved to 3rd grade. I love the age group of 3rd graders and am enjoying teaching this new grade. It can be challenging because I don't know what is coming up like in the past. I
t helps because the content has changed for everyone so we are all, in a way, starting from the beginning. My school is under renovation and I am in a portable, so again we are all adjusting to life in the village. It is nice that everyone is experiencing these changes and not just me. I don't handle change well so having the support of others experiencing it with you is nice. I am also working on getting my National Board Certification. It is time consuming and many times through this process I have asked myself "Why am I doing this again?" but my hope is that after it is done I can say it was worth it. I have been working on one of my entries this morning, on my day off, and needed a break, which is why I am writing.

The actual exciting part of all this is that David passed the Bar!!! I am so proud of him. I took a personal day and went with David and his parents to see him being sworn in. Here is a picture of us after he became an official attorney. We are entering a new stage of our life!