The little things

Yesterday I had one of the best/craziest days! Besides the fact I had a student freak out, like literally throw objects, curse me and the other teacher out, and more...I was reminded why I do what I do and how precious life is.

I have a student in the program with special needs. I know I am not suppose to have favorites, but I can't help it with him. He brings a smile to my face every single day. Last week he approached me with a challenge to play basketball at recess with him. Yesterday was the day! 

I have never had so much fun playing basketball! I don't think I have laughed as much, smiled as much, and truly enjoyed the time! I also think that he had more fun than I did (since he went to tell everyone else at recess about the game we had played). 

My favorite part is that after our one on one match, in which I lost, I pretended to interview him as if he was an NBA player. You would have thought he was actually on TV! He told me in his "fake" interview that playing basketball was his "dream come true," and that Miss Erica was a "tough opponent but just couldn't keep up with him on defense" :) He told me was now a "house hold name" and that he was "thrilled to have won." 

I have never met anyone that is happy about life or that loves everyone as much as he does. He brings a smile to my face every single day and is truly a special kid. I am blessed for my job, but more importantly blessed for what they teach me :) 

Dads, cousins, friends, and weekends

This weekend was a CRAZY! Bare with me for this post, but I promise lots of pics! 

Friday:

 I got to spend the day with my best friend Erin prepping for her wedding in two weeks :) I can't WAIT for the day to get here because she will make the most BEAUTIFUL bride! I got a sneak peak at the reception hall, which I am so obsessed with I feel the need to get engaged ASAP to reserve a date! (maybe I should find a boyfriend first ;) ) But in all reality it was such a perfect day of wedding planning, steak dinner, and watching Perks of Being a Wallflower (which was soooo good!) Two weeks Erin and you will finally be Mrs. A and enjoying a nice long vacation! 

Saturday:

My cousin had his open house! Apparently Michigan might be one of the few states that do an open house, so let me explain what it means because its not a way to sell your house ;). An open house is a graduation party for high school grads where they celebrate with friends and family. The family puts on a huge party with lots of food, pictures, and cake! 

My cousin has decided to go to GVSU in fall! I am so excited seeing as I have been going there for 5 1/2 years now! I know I need to graduate! But I am so excited for him to start his journey as a Laker! L-A, K-E, R U a LAKER? HELL YA! 

GVSU cousins

 Cake and Pics

mommy and me :)

My mom and the cousins! 

I also was able to re-unite with my best friends from high school! I love that no matter how long it has been, we are always able to pick up just as we left off! I love these ladies! 

Sunday:

So Saturday was crazy, but Sunday was a lot more relaxing! I was able to spend time with my dad for fathers day! I am so lucky to have such a great relationship with my dad! He is seriously my best friend and someone I go to for advice. He is the example of a godly man, husband, and father, and I hope that I am lucky enough to meet a man like him someday! I am defiantly a daddies girl :) But also on fathers day, I am even more lucky to have the father of heaven on my side. It amazes me the love he has for his children. So whether you have an earthly father or not, you will always have your heavenly father, loving you more than anyone or anything can on this earth 

phewww, happy monday all! 

Friday's and weddings!

Cue wedding season! I am getting so excited to see all my friends get married in the next few weeks! 

Dear Friday, seriously you could have come sooner! Week one of summer school was the most chaotic thing ever (I could vent about this for days), its not the students fault, but they are giving me a run for my money this summer! 

Dear Boy Meets World, your cast is on Good Morning America this morning! I hear your coming out with a spin off called "Girl Meets World" which features Cory and Topanga's daughter. I seriously was obsessed with you when I was younger, but more importantly, will Shawn Hunter be on your show? How can you not love this long flowy hair and bad boy persona? #childhoodcrush

Dear Porch, You are so fun for me to sit on when I go to my littles apartment, but a drunk drive ran into you and took you right off! He also hit all the cars parked in front (where mine normally is) but luckily I pulled in 5 min after it happened! Thank goodness no one was hurt! 

Dear Weddings, I am getting so excited for you! I can't wait to celebrate with you all on your special days! 

Dear field trips, We had to cancel our field trips due to rain, but rescheduled for next week! Which means 2 field trips next week! To the sand dunes and to SkyZone! I do love my job :) 

Dear Cousin, Your open house is tomorrow! I seriously can't believe you graduated high school already! I am so excited you chose to go to college at GVSU! Laker for a lifetime! 

Dear Rookie Blue, Where are you!?! I look forward to watch you every thursday and you are no where to be found! Come back! 

Have a great weekend all! 

                                               

I can't believe

I can't believe how busy I am! Seriously, this whole summer school things is not only super fun, but super tiring! I am writing this post in bed by 9:30...ugh! I forgot how exhausting fifth and sixth graders are! 

I can't believe how crazy the next two weeks will be! From graduations, two weddings, and a bachlorette party I am hosting! I am so excited for all the events to come and I can't wait to celebrate with everyone! Bare with me on the blog post because I am sure they will be far and few in between! 

I can't believe the life decisions I am having to make. God works in such mysterious ways and its funny because I was just getting into a good secure comfort zone with my life. I had it all planned out, what I was going to do, who I was going to be and slowly but surely I see him opening up doors and trying to figure out my next move is becoming stressful. Luckily this move doesn't need to be decided ASAP, but prayers and patience is what I need! 

I can't believe I am taking a field trip to the sand dunes today! WAHOO!! I am so excited! I am also excited to show my students Lake Michigan (which a lot of them have never seen before!)

Well I better get a good night sleep before I adventure out into the world with 90 kids under the age of 12 tomorrow! Wish me luck! And happy Wednesday! 

Weekend Recap

What a weekend! I can't wait till I don't have any homework to do over the weekend though (which should be at the end of this week since its my last week of classes!!) 

This weekend was a fun/homework filled weekend! 

Friday I attempted to work on my homework, but an SVU marathon came on....so my productivity was limited. Oooops!

Saturday I had such a fun day! My sunday school class put on an amazing race challenge! We were split into groups of three and had to run around our home town finding clues and participating in challenges! We had to go to a farmers market and sell four items for a vendor, find hidden letters on a playground and figure out a word it spells, head to the high school and find hidden clues through out the football stadium (our stadium seats 10,000! it took my group over thirty minutes for this challenge) :/ go to a farm and plan crops, and dig through and rebuild sand castles. My team came back from last and got 4th! It was a blast, and exhausting! 

exhausted from running!

I also had to take a break from studying to make this wonderful dinner. Vodka Parmesan Crab Pasta! Why am I still single? I don't know! 

Other than that my weekend consisted of finishing my final projects and all my homework :/ ugh! Thank goodness its all over soon! 

P.s. Happy B-day to my little sister! She is a camp counselor this summer so I didn't get to celebrate with her :( 

How was your weekend?!?

Leibster Award

Have I mentioned how happy I am I joined the blogging world? I have met some awesome people and love to exchange thoughts, ideas, jokes, and just get to know them through their blogs. Well, I received an email for Micael that he nominated me for the Leibster Award! So let me tell you a little bit how this works and make sure to check Micael's blog out! I love reading his blog and have had some wonderful conversations with him! 

The award is for bloggers who have less than 200 followers. It is a German term, look it up, I had to! But it is a pretty cool way to get new bloggers involved in the blog world! So the rules are listed below, and there is no tag backs! So as much as I would love to nominate Micael, I will just have you check out the link below :) 

Thanks Micael!



The Rules:

1.  When you receive the award, thank the person that gave it you and post a link to their blog in your post.
2.  Post eleven random facts about yourself.
3.  Answer the eleven questions set for you.
4.  Choose eleven blogs that inspire you with under 200 followers and link their pages to your post. Create eleven questions for them.
5.  Go to your nominees pages and let them know you have nominated them.

Eleven Facts:
1) I am a christian :) And still can't believe the love Jesus Christ had to die for me!
2) I have an obsession with reading Nicholas Sparks books, I love them all!
3) My favorite food is Mexican food, but I hate anything really spicy lol I realize that kind of defeats the purpose of Mexican food so I just get everything mild.
4) I played many sports in high school. I rowed for our crew team, played soccer, basketball, and ran track. 
5) If I don't get a cup of coffee in the morning, don't talk to me! I am a morning person, but if this crucial step is missed....good luck to those who have to be around me for the day!
6) I am only 5'1" and 1/2...and when your this short the 1/2 matters! 
7) I don't like pasta. Weird, I know! But I could live the rest of my life and never eat a pasta dish again! 
8) I am running a half marathon in October (it sounded better when I signed up for it, now I am not so sure anymore).
9) I love country music, but have a secret love for rap.
10) I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE my career choice and I can't wait to have my own classroom soon! 
11) I use way to ! when I blog. Sorry, I just get excited!

Eleven Questions From Micael:

1.  Apple, Android or land-line for your phone? Apple!! I have not had a land-line phone for six or seven years and I made the switch to an apple two years ago! I will never go back!

2.  What would you consider to be your favorite book? oooo like I said, I love Nicholas Sparks. However, I recently read the book "Unbroken" about a WW2 POW from the Pacific. It is honestly the best book I have EVER read. I high recommend it and I can guarantee you won't regret it. It is amazing the things he had to go through!

3.  If you could have longevity in life or unlimited wealth, what would you choose? Longevity! Obviously wealth would be great, but I know there is so much more to life than money. Which is why I ended up changing my profession from Law to Teaching. I just felt that I could serve more as a teacher and make a greater impact. Although I was two months from graduation and turned down an incredible stable job, I never regret my decision to change professions. Money can not buy you happiness! 

4.  What is your favorite color? Pink! I am growing to love Teal :)

5.  Which season of the year do you enjoy the most? I love summer because I like to tan, but I would say fall! I love the colors, football, and the cute fall clothes that you can wear. I also love apple orchards :) So many great things in fall!

6.  Which came first the chicken or the egg? ugh. I don't even know and believe me, I have had multiple conversations trying to figure it out!

7.  What is something the world is lacking? MORALS! Seriously, I could give multiple examples of many ways the world lacks morals but my recent example is the show Mistresses. REALLY? This show is literally about having affairs while married! What is our world coming to? It sickens me!

8.  Are you an early riser or prefer to sleep in, if given the chance? I am an early riser. As much as I try to sleep in I am always up early..even when I don't want to be!

9.  If you drink coffee, who makes the best blends? For a chain I love to go to Starbucks. But there is this local coffee place by my house that makes their own blends. One called Heavenly delight which is Mocha, carmel, and toasted coconut blend. Its name says it all! 

10.  Do you prefer Apple, Microsoft or other for your computing needs? Apple! I just think they are easier to use and I can sync my phone and everything to it! 

11.  If you could live anywhere in the world, where would that be? I actually would want to live where I am but I would vacation all the time! I really want to travel everywhere! Bora Bora is at the top of my list! Along with multiple places in Europe, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand. I just want to travel! 

My Eleven Nominees....or 4

1) Rachel at Dwn In Lndn

2) Erin at Erin Elizabeth 

3) Amber at My Life in High Heels 

4) Melanie at Life's Sweet Words

A lot of my other blogs have more than 200 followers! 

Here are my 11 Questions for you all! 

1) Favorite Movie?

2) What is your ultimate life goal?

3) What is the present you have ever received? 

4) What is one of life's lessons that you have learned and would like to pass on a piece of advice?

5) Cats or Dogs?

6) If you had $1,000,000 what would you do with it?

7) Favorite TV Show or movie?

8) What song would you use to describe your life right now?

9) If you could live anywhere where would it be?

10) Dream vacation spot?

11) Favorite piece of advice you have ever recieved 

Im Back!

It has been such a strange week not blogging with the Everyday in May Challenge! 

Dear Friday, what a week! First week back to work full time, while taking two summer classes, and planning for summer school to start was BUSY! But I do enjoy being back in the swing of things :) Dear 5th and 6th Graders, Summer school starts next week! We have so many fun things planned for you! A trip to sand dunes, sky zone, ice skating! And thats only in the first three weeks! I can't wait to see you all again! Dear Weeds I had to Pull, I didn't enjoy you. I can't believe that I am 23 and had never pulled a weed before until yesterday when I helped clean the garden at school for the kids to use! My arms feel as if they will fall off my body at any moment..ouch! 

Picture of how high the weeds were! Not fun!

Dear Roommates Dog, Every time I spend the night out at my friends apartment I get excited to see you! You are the funniest, cutest, puppy ever! However, nothing tops off this face of yours, sound a sleep, and looking like this! 

Dear Readers, I have a somewhat controversial topic that I would love to hear your opinion on. THis week in class, we discussed the role of parents in their child's life. We discussed that children are at a disadvantage in society these days because both parents are more likely to be out of the home and no one is there to stay at home with them. Now, I understand the benefits of at least one parent, mom or dad, being at home with a child all day. But with today's society, I think it is more difficult to do so. My argument is that it is possible to have both parents working and raise a successful family if the parent chooses to leave work at work and come home to actually be with the family not on the computer, or watching tv, but quality time spent with the child. Another person in my class disagreed and said it is a detriment to society to have both parents work and that a family with a stay at home parent is at an advantage compared to the family where both parents are working. I would love to hear your thoughts!! 

P.S. Check out Rachel at Dwn In Lndn!! She is now doing blog designs and revamped my entire blog! Check her out! 

Have a Great Weekend! 

Weekend Fun!

I don't know what to blog about since the challenge is up! I honestly really enjoyed linking up everyday! I have decided to make it a personal goal to try to link up with other blogs as much as possible. Any cool link ups I should check out?

This weekend was on the relaxing side! Friday night Erin came over and we watched "The Bachelorette" and "Broken City" both were pretty good movies, nothing thrilling, but I enjoyed them! 

Sunday was my moms birthday! I am so lucky to have such a wonderful mother. We definitely have a much better relationship now that I am 5 years out of high school and have matured since the "my mom is ruining my life" days! I am so lucky to have her as a best friend :) 

It was so fun to celebrate with her and my family! My grandparents came into town and after church we headed to the local restaurant for some gluten free Pizza :) Yumm! We bought my mom a do it at home shellac nail kit that I proudly tried out for her (as you can see below) just in case it didn't work well :) I know, I am such a nice daughter for making sure her birthday present worked well! 

Also, I am up to 4 miles a day running now for my half marathon training! Whoo! This past month I ran 60 miles total! Lets see what happens in the month of June?!? 

Happy Monday all!