Week One in Retrospect.

“If a child can't learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.”

Ignacio Estada

The room at Kennedy Middle School that has been designated as mine is beginning to take shape into the form of a classroom. Well, I guess it has always looked like a classroom..but not the classroom I have always imagined. Last  week I spent the majority of my time organizing the closet space, shelves, desk, and file cabinets. After logging about 57 hours (including working on a Saturday) my room was  presentable for the students to come...but I was not nearly prepared enough...or so I thought.

Monday morning, August 16 I woke up at 5:45am, put on my brand new "first day of teaching career" outfit and made the mistake of asking Justin how I looked. He decided it was probably a little too colorful for a bunch of "behavior problemed" middle schoolers, so I changed. (Probably for the best.) The lime green pants and the swirl-y brown shirt probably would not have made the impressions I was hoping to make (INTIMIDATING). I arrived at school at 6:35am and did more neurotic planning and hanging of last minute posters getting a more than a little anxious to meet my students.

But the time did come....my class consists of 20 boys. 5'8-6'0 tall boys. I teach one girl all day. She is such a delight, however she is boy crazy. I can see this becoming an issue in the near future....oh middle schoolers.

Monday went well.  I intimidated the smaller boys and made the larger ones smile, which is all I could really do with them...so Monday went well enough. After dodging "how old are you" questions and "you look like a student" comments, by the end of the day I was exhausted.

After a long day, I was confident I would sleep excellent that night but MAN I was wrong. I began tossing and turning around 3am with a stomach ache and feeling a little nauseous. Not something that I wanted to start the morning before the second day of school. I went to school and attempted to just suck it up, but I didn't even make it to 8:00am. I had officially been attacked by the stomach bug...but this wasn't just the 24 hour bug, NO SIR, it lasted 48 hours. For these two days I couldn't keep anything down, I was weak, and my stomach hurt. Poor Justin was a trooper. He put up with my wimpering, complaining and begging for more gatorade to keep hydrated. Good Husband!  

Thursday was spent emphasizing procedures that I attempted to establish on Monday that the sub had kind of overlooked. Friday was definitely rewarding, though.

!

Friday reminded me of why I went into teaching in the first place. I have a class full of signifacantly below grade level students who are never interest in work or anything most teachers teach because they usually don't know how to do it. But today was fun. The students actually said "MAN!" (in disappointment) when the 3rd period bell rang for them to leave my classroom. All the way down the hall I could hear them talking about how fun Math was today and how glad they were that I was back! Oh it made me feel good!

Week one is now complete. It is far more stressful than I had originally anticipated, but completely worth every minute.

God is Good.

"My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

Exodus 33:14

A few weeks ago I told Justin I wanted to take a trip. Anywhere was fine, I just needed to get out of the house before I started teaching (which is next Monday!) We talked about it and decided...the beach! Then we were left with several more decisions..like which one?

We finally decided on the Outer Banks, made our reservations a couple weeks in advance, and were excited!

After some unforeseen disagreeable vehicular events we thought about cancelling (and actually did) but immediately rebooked. We realized, now more than ever, we needed a vacation!

Saturday morning we left early with a kayak on our roof and a long day's drive ahead of us. We arrived at Cedar Island Ferry right at 11:30am in order to catch the 12 o' clock ferry to Okracoke. Thankfully we were the second car in the 'Cars without Reservations' line because we didn't know you could make reservations and the ferry was completely booked for that time. The guard said two or three cars with reservations usually don't show up, so we should be able to catch it. And we did! We were the last car they let on the ferry!

The ferry ride was 2 hours and 15 minutes--which I must say surely beat being in a car for that long!

Once we got off of the ferry we found our campsite and headed for the beach! (For some reason, I didn't take any pictures of the beach itself...so sorry!)  The temperature was fabulous the entire weekend. It stayed around 75 degrees F, which is a much needed break from the 100+ degree temperatures we have been getting in Augusta.

Sunday morning we woke up to rain. Heavy rain. (Which my dad always says is going to come anytime you pitch a tent.) So, we got up, got in the car, and explored as much of the island as we could (by car) while we waited for the rain to stop. It finally did around 9:30am and we found a spot to put in the kayak.

(This picture is for Tyson and Ben.)

Strategically placed (or not?) in the Pamlico Sound were duck blinds. Lots and lots of them. We could see them from the shore but couldn't quite make out what they were, so we decided that's where we would kayak.  Some were simple (comparatively speaking, this is a simple one), and others were not so simple. Some had glass windows, gas stoves, and a paint color-- not to mention the branches on the sides. We found this very interesting.

The sun never peaked through the clouds all day and it rained again while we were cooking dinner. We had been a little disappointed in the weather but it was still a vacation! After dinner we decided to walk down to the Pamlico Sound with our chairs just to sit by the water. We were wanting to see the sunset but it was so overcast we weren't hopeful. As we rounded the corner and saw water, it appeared as if we had just missed the sunset....however, after a brief moment we realized the sun was still above the clouds...and there was an opening just for us! With glowing excitement we set up our chairs and almost immediately afterwards the sun began to set! What a glorious sight! This view made everything worth it!

(This is God's way of saying He loves us!)

After a week of stress and down-heartedness, we found rest.  We had a fabulous time and couldn't be more thankful for God's beautiful creations!

Man that's a hot truck!

Imagine waking up at 6am Friday morning to roofers clanking ladders, cussing like sailors, and banging on your roof (without you knowing they were even coming.) What a way to wake up, right?

Now, imagine Monday morning waking up at 5:45 to a strange noise. Thinking it sounded a little different than the usual clank and clatter of the roofers, I get up to check.  I get up out of bed and peer out of our kitchen window and see....

...Justin's truck on fire.

As soon as I saw it I ran back in the bedroom and started yelling, "Justin, your truck is on fire. Your truck...fire....flames..." (Clearly not being able to form sentences at this time.) Thinking I was having a nightmare and hesitant to believe me, he slowly got up to check. Needless to say- he now accompanied me in this nightmare.

He hurriedly called 911, and after 30 minutes of waiting, they arrived. Apparently, dispatch had given them the right street, wrong city. Instead of our Verdery Drive, they gave them N. Augusta's. (I forgot to mention, the roofers showed up 5 minutes after we discovered the flames. Thankfully they were there with us because they called 911 again for us after 10 minutes of no sirens just to confirm they were on their way- they weren't.)

The truck was radiating heat and was (as usual) parked close to the house. It wasn't until the roof started steaming that we realized...the house could be next. Justin ran to the neighbor's and stole their water hose. He immediately began spraying the side of the house and roof with water trying to cool it off. While doing so, the battery exploded and the fire hit the gas tank. A few explosions happened while Justin was within feet of the truck....not a good feeling.

The firemen finally arrived and began spraying a very powerful stream of water towards the truck. After working at it for around 5 minutes or so, they realize...water wasn't going to do the trick. Since we filled up with gas a few minutes away from home last night, the truck had about 20 gallons of fuel in it. They had to resort to using a foam substance to put out the fire, which worked, but they say is very costly (and our dogs shouldn't drink it...).  Hopefully that can all be billed to our insurance agencies, also.

Since so much foam was used and so much gas leaked out, DHEC had to be called because our yard is now an environmental hazard. The DOT had to come and dump a load of sand to cover up the foam and we  (by we, I mean Justin) had to take a shovel and try and get as much of black, burnt sand out of the yard.

Yes...we are still wondering the exact same question you are wondering...how did it happen?

The firemen seem to think it was faulty wiring or either a cell phone charger that was left plugged in. Other than those two suggestions, they are stumped also!

Since we are in the process of moving from our GA home to N. Augusta, we had A LOT of stuff in the truck. We were too tired last night to unpack it, so we decided that I would do that while Justin was at work today. (I guess that's one thing on my to-do list that took care of itself.)  Among the things in the truck were: 2 paint sprayers, a push lawnmower, a dog box, LOTS of clothes, new door hinges we were supposed to use on our new cabinet doors, and a coleman grill. Many other small things were in there, but I won't list them all. The total cost of all of the items on our list so far is at $2417 (not including the truck, of course.).

 A few items remained...like the driver's manual.  We especially like bullet number 2: Things to know before starting your vehicle.  I guess we won't be needing this anytime soon.

Please pray for us during this stressful time. We're trying to get everything settled with our homeowner's insurance and our car insurance agencies. Maybe this was God's way of giving us permission to buy a new car! ;)

Living the Simple Life (Sort of)

   July 1st was our official move in day, and my mom, grandma, and aunt came across the state to help clean up the house. After 7 hours of dusting, mopping, scrubbing, bleaching, and many other -ing words that are related to cleaning, the house was spotless! Our first night we had a bed, a dresser, a coffee table, three lamps and a well stocked kitchen, but that was it.  

   After a fun weekend celebrating the 4th with the Tysons, we borrowed Mr. Tony's massive truck and trailor and headed to Clayton, Ga. We returned to North Augusta with a dining room table and chairs, recliner, rocking chair, guest bed, another dresser,  TV and stand, the dog kennel, and even more kitchen stuff.  

   While Justin worked, I put the house together.  I am now beginning to realize how much work a stay at home mom really has to do...and we don't even have kids! After being in a constant state of cooking, cleaning, and washing clothes, I can't imagine throwing kids into the mix. (Go Moms!)

   I'm not saying I haven't had a little fun, too! :) During the first couple of days I went shopping!! Guilt free shopping! Thankfully, Justin and I had saved all of our Target and Bed, Bath, & Beyond gift cards and had a few returns and exchanges...I was able to buy several things for the house that we had accidentally left off the list or just were waiting on getting (like a rug for the living room and a new set of cutlery!).

Until you come to visit, here's a sneak peak of our house (which we are quickly making into a home.):

 

Our kitchen.

Our bedroom.

Our living room.

Our guest bedroom! (Come visit!!)

We do have our favorites about each room (To be honest, I guess these are mostly my favorites):  

My favorite part of the dining room is the plates! The table is set with square green dinner plates accompanied by paisley salad plates (which Justin prefers to call dessert plates.)

 

The most sentimental part of our bedroom is the love birds. They are now used as decoration but were once atop our wedding cake! I love duel purpose items!

   The original glass door knobs give the home a vintage vibe. I love it.

And in the kitchen: I'm sure it goes without saying, my favorite appliance is my KitchenAid!

What's a plant if it's not edible? We have hanging baskets, but these personalized pots are my favorite!

As we settle into our new home - and our new lives - we are trying to keep in mind the advice given to us by a very wise doormat: Live life simply! :)

What? More changes?

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.

Walt Disney

We have been anticipating this, however we did not expect it to come so early...Justin and I would like to announce that we are officially....MOVING!!! :)

It's not Clayton, it doesn't have a view of the mountains, but it is really close to both of our jobs! yay!! Since Justin has been communting an hour and a half to work every morning and leaving at 5:15am, we decided we could spend an extra month's rent and go ahead a move closer!

Last Monday we went to Augusta, Aiken, and North Augusta in search of rental houses. We found several online we would like to look at but when we saw them we immediately found that real estate agents can take pretty darn good pictures of awful houses to make them look attractive. So after searching for a while we found one we really liked-- Nothing fancy, very small, but hey, we don't need anything big...it's just the two of us!

It was once used a parsonage for the church across the street, but since the previous pastor wanted to buy his own house, our house went up for rent!

After waiting an entire week to hear back from the real estate agent, we were getting a little anxious. I had been in contact with her everyday and each day she told me, "should hear something tomorrow!" So, I was getting frustrated... until I got a text that said, "I emailed you Friday saying the owners approved of the contract, are you still interested?" It was from the Real Estate agent...

How had I missed her email, I was checking it all weekend. Turns out, all of my important emails go directly to junk... Thankfully she make telephone contact with me!

We found a 2 bedroom, one bathroom house with a big fenced in backyard for the dogs! A year ago we had no clue that so many changes would be occuring at once, we knew we were getting married, but had no clue Justin would be finding a new job, new house, new city....and although it is not where we thought we would be starting our life together, we couldn't be happier!

We plan to start moving a few things in on July 1st then take a break for the weekend to see the Ziesers!

Mr. and Mrs. Justin Tyson

“This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, Love to complete your life.”

-Jeanette Winterson

 Justin and I would like to thank everyone who helped us celebrate our wedding, rain and shine!! We have been married 18 days and are already loving each other more than we thought possible.

 Thanks to our photograher, Sarah Mudder (www.bestgalphotography.com) and her assistant, Tia Williams (www.lifethroughtiaslens.blogspot.com), I am happy to be able to offer you a glimpse of our wonderful day and their beautiful talent!

"You can never be happily married to another until you get a divorce from yourself. Successful marriage demands a certain death to self."

Jerry McCant

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather is one of those things that give value to survival."

C. S. Lewis

"There are three things that last: faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love."
I Corinthians 13:13

"Newlyweds become oldyweds, and oldyweds are the reasons that families work."

 Author Unknown

"We come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly."

Sam Keen

"Is not a kiss the very autograph of love? "

Henry Finck

"Happiness is like a kiss - it feels best when you give it to someone else. "

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."

Buddha

"It is the passion that is in a kiss that gives to it its sweetness; it is the affection in a kiss that sanctifies it. "

Christian Nevell Bovee

"A happy marriage is a new beginning of life, a new starting point for happiness and usefulness."

Dean Stanley

"Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination. "

Roy Goodman

To view more: click here!

Honeymoonin' in Yosemite!

Well, we're back and the real world has already begun for Justin. While he is at work, I reminisce about our the beautiful views, friendly wildlife, and cozy cabin--all put together for our amazing time in Yosemite National Park.

As we entered the park, Justin began to squeal  and he didn't stop until we left that next Saturday! We had arrived! We quickly realized that those individuals who marked the territory of Yosemite knew exactly where to place the boundaries! Right past the entrance to the park we were welcomed with a large granite faces on either side of us!  Spectacular.

Of course our first stop was the grove of giant Sequoias! It was amazing! The largest tree in the park was 1800 years old and about 1.5 meters above the base the tree's diameter is 25.5 feet.

Check it out!

Well, earlier I mentioned the 'friendly wildlife.' On our hike to Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls, we stopped for a gorp and water break. Not a minute after we stopped, we had a little visitor!  This California Ground squirrel would climb in our laps and even grab and eat peanuts out of our hands! When we made it to the top of Nevada Falls we stopped for lunch. We were eating our sandwiches and our oatmeal cream pies were still in their wrappers out in front of us. All of a sudden, another squirrel snuck up and stole Justin's snack, wrapper and all! :)

Here are a few more pictures:

 Justin and I found a nice, secluded spot on a fallen pine tree in the middle of a meadow in Yosemite valley for lunch two days! This was our view! :)

Our trip felt complete because we saw two bears!!

When we were hiking at Hetch Hetchy, we saw dozens of these little newts!

It SNOWED!

Glacier Point Lookout!  Best view in the park!

Us at Glacier Point!

Mirror Lake!

Our cozy little cabin!

California poppies!

Our honeymoon may be over, but we are still happily married and loving more than we ever thought possible!