The end of summer...

Well, believe it or not, I've started this new blog. After much prompting from my sister, and talking to Stacey about her liking blogspot or whatever this is called, I decided to move to this one. So I'll be deleting the old one, that's why I copied my last blog entry here. I figured, why not?? I had just blogged not too long ago, so I'll actually have two new posts--Wow!!!

Anyway, my summer's over, and school has begun. I went on a trip to Ocean City, MD right before school began to visit my friend Débora and the Fagers (the family she's staying with). I couldn't decide if I wanted to blog about that or about work, but I guess I'll do a little of both, and we'll get the whole thing covered...

Well, there were a lot of "firsts" on this trip, starting with the fact that I drove by myself for the first time on a long trip like this. I've gone on trips by myself before, but never driving. But, that was okay, not that bad, except for the crazy traffic on the GW Bridge on the way there. But, between listening to podcasts, music, and talking on the phone, the time passed by rather quickly. Anyway, besides that, there were several other "firsts", including riding on a jetski. That was truly amazing! I've always wanted to go on one, and I not only got to ride in the back, I also got to drive! Other than that, there were a lot of great times, between staying home, going to the pool, the beach, the boardwalk, eating out, kid's church (making a fool of myself in front of people I didn't know) and regular church, the school where Débora works--that's right--I even went to "work" before I officially started working! But while there (what a great place, btw, filled with great people), I volunteered in the Pre-K room, where I had to hold a caterpillar (another "first" for me, believe it or not), actually several caterpillars. For some reason, I had never held one. I had to do it on the spot, which was interesting, with a bunch of kids staring at me! They sure were sticky!!!

The whole time there was a lot of just plain hanging out in different places, which I just love to do... it's kind of hard to describe my experience there because so much happened! I feel like I can't really express it all. (Maybe I'm just too tired right now to do it!) We said we felt like it was much longer than it was, even though it was only like 4 days or so. It really was the perfect way to end my vacation. I loved every minute of it, I wouldn't change a single thing about it, and I guess I can't do it justice describing every moment. Some things are best kept in the heart...

Moving right along, as soon as I got back, of course, I had to go in to work. I went in on Tuesday, and the kids started on Thursday. For some reason, I agreed to work this year from 8:15 to 5:15. Actually, I did feel that it was God's will for me to do that. Yesterday, I started thinking I was crazy for agreeing to that crazy schedule!! Those kids were wild! Most of them already knew each other, and they were loud, and did not want to hear a word!! But, somehow, I survived the day, tried to be tough on them from the beginning, and sure enough, today was another day... a completely different day! The kids had improved already, I couldn't believe it! I saw a difference in several of the kids, so I'm starting to really look forward to the year. I was teling Ms. Lupe that I think we're gonna have a good year, and she was like, yeah, I think so, but the kids talk too much. Isn't it funny that my feeling was the exact opposite? I thought, it's great that we have talkers!!! I love when the kids talk a lot! (I wonder why...) Amazingly enough, they can even pronounce my name correctly, which is pretty good! I've been called all sorts of things in years past, and these kids all say my name exactly as it should be.

So, what can I say? I've been feeling that God really wants me to pray for the kids and to make a real difference. I did pray in the summer for the kids whenever I thought of them, even by name, since I knew most of them would be in my class. So, as always, God is faithful, and I'm sure that as long as I do my part, He will continue to bless me and my class. I just want to do what God wants me to do, and I want to show the kids and their families that there's a bigger reason why I teach. I want them to see Jesus reflected in me. There's been a few curve balls already thrown my way, but hopefully it will all work out... So, even though it's a crazy schedule, and they're crazy kids, and I'm a crazy teacher, I AM looking forward to another great year. God willing, it will be!!!!!