2014 in Review

2014 was a big year. So many fun things happened this year, and I loved getting to look back and re-live many of these moments. So here's to bringing 2014 to a close...

January

On the 19th, my mom and I ran the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon. This was my third half-marathon and by far my favorite one I've ever run. I loved sharing this experience with my mom.

February

 Our Family Fitness Challenge ended with a bang and a Brennan's Dinner Celebration. 

Matt and I enjoyed a mini Texas road trip and vacation. We went to my favorite resort, The Hill Country Hyatt and celebrated Valentine's Day there and then in Austin.

March

On the 14th, we celebrated Pi Day at school. Being a 7th Grade math teacher definitely has its fun days! And this was one of them.

 For Spring Break, we took our first trip to the East Coast. We visited Thomas Jefferson's house, Monticello while we were there. 

March also brought Rodeo season! One of my closest friends joined our Mutton Bustin' committee this year which made it even more fun. 

April

We took a little weekend vacation to Boston to celebrate our 2nd Anniversary. It was Matt's first time there, so we did all things Boston tourist- Freedom Trail, cannolis, Red Sox game, etc.

May

Bayhouse trips galore! I feel like we were in Galveston pretty much every weekend in May. Mom's birthday, Mother's Day, Memorial Day...

June

Summer Softball. Matt and my brother, Chase, have been playing in a summer league for at least three years. Avery loves watching her daddy play ball.

July

 We spent the Fourth of July at the bayhouse in Galveston. Matt and I took on a little project to help celebrate the 4th!

We participated in Mission 1:8 with our Sunday School class. We helped put on a small Vacation Bible School for some refugees, most of which had never heard about Jesus before.

My roommates from college and I had a reunion weekend. It is so rare that we are all together, so we took advantage of the time we had together. 

August

 On the 1st, we celebrated the wedding of our friends, the Debayles, and we got to spend time with some of our favorite people.

The weekend before school started, we visited Matt's family in Fort Worth.

On the 26th, I started my third year of teaching middle school.

September

On the 24th, many of our students gathered for See You at the Pole. I will never forget listening to their sweet voices singing songs of praise to our Heavenly Father at the flag pole of our public middle school.

October

 The fall brought Aggie football season, so we traveled to College Station for tailgates quite a bit throughout October and November.

Since I can't post pictures of my sweet athletes, here's a selfie of me before our big volleyball tournament, in which my team won 1st place!

November

 On the 4th, we made our voices heard by voting in the midterm election.

In the week before Thanksgiving, we took advantage of my time off of school, and we traveled to Washington D. C. for the first time. We loved it!

December

 On the 21st, my grandparents got baptized in the same church I grew up in.

We spent Christmas traveling around Texas and visiting all of our family :)

It was such a great year. I cannot believe it is now over. We learned so many things this year, especially me. I am constantly working on trying to be the best wife I can be to Matt. I have learned to be patient with God, that things are perfect in His time. I have been continually reminded of how abundantly blessed we are. God is so good! I know He has really big plans for 2015. I can just feel it. I pray that we continue to keep Him at the center of our marriage and trust Him in all things, and I pray that we cherish time we get to spend with family and friends.

Here's to 2015!

Ahh... Fall!

Hello October. With one week left before the end of the first nine-week grading period at school, and three more weeks of volleyball, it seems as if I am finally getting the hang of everything. Better late than never--am I right? Even with everything going on this fall and all the talking (in class) and yelling/talking loudly (in volleyball), I am still healthy and have a voice, praise the Lord! Not sure how else I would keep functioning without Him. So many fun things have been happening in October. I had Back-to-School-Night, we joined a new Sunday school class, lots of Aggie Football, and I have cooked a lot and crafted a lot because my husband is amazing and let's me do those things at home. Here are a few highlights:

Back-to-School Night
I loved getting to meet so many of my students' parents. I was so anxious before the night began, but I had so much fun and was reminded again why I do what I do and why I love it so much. 

My [surprise] Birthday Party

Matt planned a 70's-themed birthday party for me at the Roller Rink. I was completely surprised and overwhelmed by how much he had done to keep it a secret from me. It was perfect.

Texas A&M Aggie Football
First of all, being in the SEC is so much fun! We have loved getting to cheer on our Aggies this fall while tailgating in Spence Park. I don't think it will ever get old. We are ready for some more home games!

Decorating and Crafting for the Fall

I am loving the burlap placemats I made for our breakfast table to go along with our fall decor. So simple, so easy, but so cute! (if I do say so myself)

Sunday School Class Picnic
When we first joined our church, we joined the Newlyweds or Close class, and we graduated from that class after a year. We have recently joined a new class, called Journey, which is a perfect name for it. We are making new friends that are also on this 'journey' called marriage.

My 8th grade volleyball teams had their District Tournament this weekend. One of my team's came in 2nd place! It was a very exciting day. I have learned a lot about being a person of impact, a coach, this fall. I am so proud of the way these young girls can want something so badly and try so hard for it. I have loved coaching, and I am looking forward to our last two games and then on to the next sport--cross country. It has been a very busy and very fun fall so far, and it has only begun! Our home is ready with decor, I am ready with my wardrobe, and now I am just ready for the weather to turn cold. I hope you are enjoying the beginning of fall as much as I am! 

Leave an Impression: Tips for Teachers

After almost three weeks off from writing a post, I am not even really sure where to start, so I'll start here and see where it takes me...

 I am reminded every day that I am doing exactly what the Lord has planned for me to do- teach. I absolutely love it. Unfortunately, not all teachers can say that, but I can say it very proudly and very truthfully. The kids I teach are between 12 and 13 years old. They are hysterical, outspoken, overly confident, quirky, mature, impressionable. God also added being a volleyball coach to my plan this year, and that is where my challenge has been and the reason for the three-week-no-post. I have been given the opportunity to coach girls that I taught last year when they were in 7th grade, and now as 8th graders I love that I have been able to get to know them in a different environment. Yes, coaching is a different environment from the classroom, but no less impressionable.

When people think of "coaching," so often winning and losing comes to mind. I played volleyball when I was in 8th grade, too, and I remember that being important to me. But now, as a coach, it really doesn't seem like the deciding factor. Of course I want my teams to do well, but recently I have felt other priorities being placed on my heart. These kids, my classroom students included, need a place in which they feel safe, they need to feel cared for, and they need to be encouraged. Those are my priorities. I want them to succeed, but winning the game, or making a 100 on a test may not be attainable for some, so I want them to succeed at something that is attainable. I love nothing more than the face of an athlete who has worked so tremendously hard at trying to over-hand serve in practice, and she makes it over the net for the first time in her life. My goodness, God is so good! What a success! That's a "win" in my book. I love seeing a student practically jumping out of his seat because he couldn't wait to show me that he did all of his homework the night before, and then when he realizes he didn't miss a single question! To me, another "win."

Without intending to do this, I guess I just want to give a couple of tips to new teachers. I am a new teacher myself, so by no means am I saying that I have it all together. These are just my thoughts typed out:

Encourage. Be your students' greatest advocate. They need your support. Set goals for them, or help them set goals, and give them reminders of the fact that you are confident in them and in their abilities. Encourage them to do their best and be their best. One wall of my classroom is devoted solely to this...

Celebrate the small victories. Just like I stated above, a victory does not have to be perfection, but a small goal that gets accomplished. Remembering his/her spiral every day for a week. Being the first one ready to work one day. Finding his/her own mistake rather than being told. There are so many small victories that you can celebrate in your classroom if you will just take the time to notice.

Talk to your students. I mean like REALLY talk to them. There are so many students that will walk the halls all day long without ever being greeted or talked to by an adult. They want to be talked to. They want to be noticed. You get them on your side when you talk to them. When they walk into your classroom, greet them. It is easy to sit behind your desk between passing periods, but try not to. When the bell rings for the end of class, I tell all of my students to "have a great day!" and mean it. I now have it posted above my door (as suggested by a student last year).

Establish routine. Kids work better and do better when they know exactly what is expected of them (and let's be honest, so do you). When they have down time, you can lose them. Every day when my kids walk into class, they have the same routine--put their cell phone in its assigned holder on their way to their desk, then they write in their agenda, get out homework from the night before prepared with questions, and then "Title and Date" their notes for the day. This is every single day.

Have I mentioned that I love what I do? Here is a picture from the first day of school that I never had the chance to post. Go Eagles! I hope you are having a great week, and remember that in everything you do, you are leaving an impression. Make it a good one.