Teaching from the Heart

This morning, as I was getting ready for church, I had a thought occur to me out of nowhere.  Since I have started teaching, I have had the chance to make an impact on around 320 young lives!!  When this thought occurred to me, it literally brought tears to my eyes.

I decided in the 3rd grade (thanks to my awesome teacher, Mrs. Hearne) that I wanted to be a teacher.  Most days, I can say that I made the right decision, but if I am completely honest, there are also days when I question if I made the right choice.  I have days when I know my patience ran thin with my students.  Anytime we have another test or standard pushed on us, and I know it isn't necessarily what is best for my students, I question whether I can stick it out and continue.  When I am at school AGAIN late in the evening or on the weekend instead of spending time with my family, I sometimes wonder if it is all worth it.  With all of the emphasis on testing and the bad things in the news about education, I was definitely starting to lose my passion for teaching!

Recently, however, I feel like my love for teaching is back!!  For the most part, I enjoy going to school and seeing my students every day!!  I look forward to hearing their stories and watching them grow and learn throughout the year.  I can't really say what the difference is, but I think my mindset has been a huge part of it.  I am focusing on building strong relationships with my students and have focused much more on the positive things happening in my classroom and school whether than dwelling on the negatives.  I still have to teach the standards, give the mandated tests, and follow certain guidelines, but I have decided to just do it and not dwell on and complain about the things I can't change.

In a perfect world, we would be able to teach at each student's level and not have to force rigorous standards on them that we know they are not developmentally ready for.  Teachers would be respected again and trusted to know what is best for our students since we are the ones in the trenches with them every day.  Instead of worrying about making sure they can pass a test, we would be able to focus on helping them become respectful, responsible, and kind human beings!

I will teach the standards and give the test because that is what I know I have to do to be able to keep my job.  However, I am also going to strive to build relationships and make sure that all of my students know that they are capable of anything that they set their minds to!  We are going to learn, but we are also going to have fun while doing so! At the end of our school year together, I not only want them to have grown academically but more importantly, I want them to become kind, respectful, and confident individuals.  

To my fellow teachers, the best advice I can give you is to keep doing what is best for your students!  Remember what helped fuel your passion for teaching in the beginning, and find that fire again!  Our kiddos need us, and they deserve nothing but our best!

Roll Away Financial Stress with the Debt Snowball Method

What are the factors that cause you the most stress in your everyday life and relationships?  I am guessing that, if you are being honest with yourself, most of you would say that money is toward the top of your list!  I know for me as an individual and for my husband and me as a couple, money has always been one of the most stressful things that we have to deal with as adults.  

Like most people, we have a lot of debt built up from student loans, credit cards, auto loans, etc., which means that we have struggled with living paycheck to paycheck.  Each payday, I would sit down and pay our monthly bills, and it always ended with feelings of frustration and helplessness because the money seemed to disappear just as fast as we earned it!  I started talking to friends and researching the best methods for paying off debt, and I came across Dave Ramsey's Debt Snowball Method.  After looking some information up online, we put this plan into action, and the results so far have been amazing!  I wanted to share how this method works in case anyone is not familiar with it.

Step 1:

The first step that is recommended is to build a $1000 emergency fund.  This will let you have a cushion for emergencies, such as auto or home repairs, unexpected illness or injuries, etc.  

Step 2:

After you build your emergency fund to $1000, you will need to organize all of your debt (except your mortgage) from the smallest to largest dollar amount owed.  In this case, interest rates do not matter.  This part was hard for me because I had always tried to pay the largest interest rates off first.  However, if you start with your smallest dollar amount, regardless of interest rates, you will see results quicker and therefore stay motivated to keep the snowball rolling!

Step 3:

Your next step is to start putting all of your extra money each month toward the smallest loan while you pay only the minimum payment toward all of your other debts.  You will keep repeating this each month until the smallest debt is paid off.

Step 4:

After your smallest debt is paid off, you will take the amount you were applying each month to that loan and apply that amount plus the minimum payment to the next largest debt on your list.  Keep paying minimum payments on all of the other debts.  

Step 5:

Repeat steps 2-4 until all of your debt besides your mortgage is paid in full!!

Since starting this method less than 2 years ago, my husband and I have paid off ten of our monthly loans, and it is such an awesome feeling!!  Once your snowball amount begins to build, you gain a lot of momentum and the results happen quicker and quicker each time you pay off the next loan.  We are beginning to see light at the end of what was a very long tunnel not too long ago, and it is such a huge relief!  Our dream is to be completely debt-free and to be able to pay cash for anything we need from then on.  Then, we will be able to enjoy freedoms like traveling and saving for our and our daughters' futures!  

Making Memories in Maine

One of the dreams that I write in my Start Today Journal every day is to travel to all 50 states, so we decided that Maine was a great place to start!  It was an awesome trip full of memories that will last a lifetime. The drive to get there was long, but it was definitely worth it!

Prospect Harbor

On our first day, we set out for our destination around 7:00 in the morning. We drove through Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut.  We saw lots of beautiful scenery and didn't have to drive through any major cities.  There was very little traffic, so it was a very relaxed and enjoyable drive.  We ended up driving on the outskirts of New York City, and the girls were amazed to see all of the big buildings!  My youngest daughter even exclaimed, "This is the best day ever!"  It was a very cool experience!  We drove just north of the city and found a place to stay in Fairfield, Connecticut. 

Beautiful views in Pennsylvania

New York City

The next day, we woke early for our second leg of the trip. We traveled through Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and then into Maine.  Some friends from home were in Portland, ME at the same time, so we ended up meeting them at the Portland Head Light, which I would say is a must-see if you love lighthouses as much as we do!  After walking around and taking some pictures, we drove to Elsmere BBQ & Wood Grill for lunch.  The food was delicious, and it was great to have lunch with good friends!  After lunch, we got back on the road to finish our journey to Prospect Harbor, ME.  We arrived that evening and instantly fell in love with the little cabin we had found on VRBO.  After settling in, we ate supper at Fisherman's Galley in Winter Harbor.

Portland Head Light

Our home away from home for the week!

From our cabin, it was about a 10-minute drive to Schoodic Peninsula, so we decided this would be where we would explore the next day.  A small part of Acadia National Park is located here, and there is a 6-mile loop road that takes you around the peninsula with several pull-offs and places to park and explore.  This part of Acadia is much less congested than Mt. Desert Island.  Frazer Point is one of the first places we stopped, and it was a beautiful location with picnic tables, a dock to walk out on, and a rocky beach area.  We got some great pictures and built a couple of cairns here.  My favorite stop on Schoodic Loop Road was Schoodic Point.  It is a rocky point where you can relax and listen to the waves crashing in while enjoying spectacular views of Mt. Desert Island.  Next, we parked at Blueberry Hill and decided to hike on the Anvil Trail.  We ended up hiking all the way up to Schoodic Head (we may have gotten a little lost for a while) and enjoyed some breathtaking views along the way!  After we finished hiking, we stopped just outside of the park to eat at The Pickled Wrinkle in Birch Harbor.

Schoodic Point

Hiking on the Anvil Trail

Our next adventure was to travel to Mt. Desert Island to explore the rest of Acadia National Park.  First, we drove up Cadillac Mountain and enjoyed some awesome views from the summit.  Our next stop was Jordan Pond, where we decided to hike on the trail around the pond.  It was a fairly easy trail with beautiful scenery.  We then made a stop at Sand Beach, which is one of the few sandy beaches in Maine.  My youngest daughter was thrilled to get to build a small sand castle!  She also tested out the water, which was really cold.  After some time on the beach, we stopped at Thunder Hole, which is a small cavern in an inlet where, when the rush of the waves arrives, air and water is forced out and makes a loud noise that sounds like thunder.  We were there during low tide, so we didn't get to experience the full effect, but we could still hear the gurgle of the air and water as it flowed in and out of the cavern.  After we were finished exploring Acadia, we stopped at The Log Cabin Restaurant just outside of Bar Harbor for supper.

Summit of Cadillac Mountain

Jordan Pond

The next day we had reservations to go on a Nature and Sight-Seeing Cruise at the Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company.  We made a stop at Choco-Latte for a snack, hot chocolate, and coffee.  The girls especially loved the animals drawn into the foam of their hot cocoa!  Then we walked down to the waterfront and got our tickets for the cruise.  We then had a quick snack at Stewman's, which was a restaurant right on the water.  We then boarded the boat and departed to explore Frenchman Bay.  We saw many of the same spots we had explored in Acadia, only from a different point of view this time.  We then made our way out to Egg Rock Island, where we saw a lighthouse, lots of seals, and some bald eagles.  The girls loved seeing the wildlife!  After our cruise, we explored the shops at Bar Harbor.  We highly recommend the Bar Harbor Popcorn Shop...the blueberry popcorn was awesome!  We ate supper at The Thirsty Whale, which was good but we don't recommend it for kids.

Egg Rock Island Lighthouse and Seals

Bald Eagles on Egg Rock Island

The weather was rainy and dreary when we woke up the next morning, so we decided to travel about an hour southwest to Bangor for bowling and a movie.  Along the way, we stopped at the Sullivan Harbor Farm Smokehouse and sampled some salmon pate.  It was delicious, so we got some to eat for a snack on our trip.  We all had a blast bowling, and we ended up watching Toy Story 4, which was great!  On the way back to our cabin that evening, we stopped at Ruth & Wimpy's in Hancock and ate supper.  We thought the food was OK, but the blueberry pie was very good!

Bowling Fun!

Wilbur the Lobster outside of Ruth & Wimpy's Restaurant

The following day we decided to find a couple more lighthouses south of where we were staying.  We drove to Castine to see the Dice Head Lighthouse.  We couldn't get up close to the lighthouse because the house next to it was a private residence, but there was a short trail along the back of their property, so we were able to get a few pictures.  We then drove a little north to the Bass Harbor Lighthouse near Tremont.  There was a paved walkway to the back side of the lighthouse, but if you want the best views we highly recommend taking the short trail through the woods and down on the rocks along the coast.  We then decided to go back to Bar Harbor for some more shopping and had supper at Geddy's.  This was definitely one of our best meals and it was very kid-friendly.  None of our family vacations are complete without at least one round of mini golf, so we stopped at Pirate's Cove just outside of Bar Harbor for a quick game.  

Dice Head Lighthouse

Bass Harbor Lighthouse

For our last day in Maine, we decided to travel north up the coast.  Our first stop was in Corea for a quick lunch at the Wharf Gallery & Grill.  We then made a quick stop at the Bartlett Estate Winery in Gouldsboro for a quick tasting.  Our next stop was Wild Blueberry Land, which was a neat little shop near Columbia Falls.  We had some of the best blueberry pie I've ever tasted and a delicious blueberry milkshake.  The man we met at the winery suggested that we visit the Roque Bluffs State Park, so we took his advice and found a nice beach to explore for a while.  As we were heading north through the small town of Machias, the girls spotted some cool waterfalls under a bridge we crossed over, so we stopped to check it out.  We found that it was a little park called Bad Little Falls Park with some cool views of the river.  Our next stop was Quoddy Head State Park near the town of Lubec, which is the easternmost town in the US.  There was a cool lighthouse, and we even got to see a porcupine and her baby while we were getting some pictures.  Near the lighthouse, we saw the Coast Guard Trail and decided to go on a hike.  The views were amazing, and the trail was very well maintained and easy to walk on.  The girls were especially excited when we told them that the land they could see across the harbor was Canada!!  We stopped in Milbridge at Vasquez Mexican Food for supper and then headed back to our cabin to pack up to leave the next morning.  

Quoddy Head Lighthouse

Awesome views from the Coast Guard Trail

 The next morning, as we were getting everything ready to leave, we saw a deer and a turkey right outside of our cabin, which the girls thought was very cool!  We left Maine around 7:30 that morning and traveled through New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and stopped that evening in Victor, New York for supper and to stay the night.  The girls FINALLY got to swim at the hotel, so they were pretty pumped about that! 

Deer right outside our cabin!

We woke early the next morning and drove about an hour and a half to Niagara Falls.  We all did the Cave of the Winds, which was really cool.  You ride an elevator down into the Niagara Gorge and then go out onto wooden walkways that take you right to the bottom of Bridal Veil Falls.  We also did the Maid of the Mist boat ride, which takes you right to the middle of Horseshoe Falls.  It was a great experience, and the views of the falls were breathtaking!  After we finished seeing everything at Niagara Falls, we were back on the road for our last leg of the trip home.  We arrived safely home that night and were definitely happy to get to sleep in our own beds!

Cave of the Winds

Beautiful Niagara Falls

This vacation was definitely one of my favorite trips that I have been on!  Maine was beautiful, and I am so glad that we took the time to stop by Niagara Falls on our way home.  Our family made lots of wonderful memories that we will treasure forever!  

We are already coming up with ideas for our next family adventure and would love to hear any suggestions that you have or fun places you have been!  

My Favorite Love Story

Boogie and I met in high school.  He was 16, and I was 14.  He was in show choir, and I was in the marching and jazz bands.  He was a football player and wrestler, and I played volleyball and basketball.  Basically, our paths were bound to cross at some time.  We knew of each other, but we were formally introduced by a friend about halfway through my freshman and his junior year.

After that, we flirted and hung out some at school and sporting events.  I developed a pretty major crush on him and secretly hoped that he would ask me to prom that year.  He didn't (long story, and I still say he was chicken), but I did get invited by another friend.  Boogie also went with a friend as well.  He did ask me to dance that night, and little did we know that Jewel's "You Were Meant for Me" would become our first dance of many and just how meaningful those words were!  At after-prom, we hung out the whole time and had a blast together! 

At one point in time, while I must have been talking a lot about Boogie, I remember my dad saying, "I wish you would just go out on a date with this boy and get it over with," and I responded, "This one is different."  I guess I knew even then that he was special!

On May 19, 1997, Boogie had a choir concert, and he asked if I would want to go with a group of friends to get pizza afterward.  We went to Pizza Hut and hung out and had a great time.  Then, he drove my friend and me home.  After we dropped my friend off at her house, before he backed out of her driveway, he turned to me and said, "I should have done this a long time ago, but will you go out with me?"  He says that I answered, "Yes!" before he could even finish the question.

We dated throughout his senior year (we broke up once but I will let him tell that story), and I began to wonder what would happen when he went off to college the next year.  He was going to Franklin College, so he was close but it seemed so far away to me.  We survived the 2-year long-distance relationship through lots of phone calls, internet chats, e-mails, and visits back and forth.  It wasn't easy, and I'm sure it was hard for him to have an insecure high school girl constantly needing reassurance that we were going to make it, but we survived.

The next year, I went to Franklin College. I won't say that Boogie being there was the deciding factor in where I went to school, but it was definitely a huge part of my decision.  College was a challenging time for us.  He was often busy with football and had his group of friends to hang out with, and I was much more introverted so I expected a lot of his time because I didn't have many friends of my own.  He broke up with me during my freshman year, and I was devastated.  He said that he needed to figure out if I was "the one" and make sure it was what he really wanted.  This crushed me because, in my mind, I couldn't understand his reasoning, but looking back now, I realize it probably was for the best. We were apart for a couple of months, and then we ended up getting back together.  

During the summer before my senior year of college, Boogie had moved back home and was renting a house from my parents.  We had decided to have a family cookout but little did I know, he had other plans during that evening as well. While we were running around getting the food ready, I went outside to tell him something. When I turned to go back inside, he grabbed my hand and turned me back toward him. When I turned around, he was getting down on one knee, and I didn't know what to think!  He proposed similar to the way he had asked me out 6 years before by saying, "I should have done this a long time ago, but will you marry me?" 

We were married the following summer on June 19, 2004.  It was a beautiful wedding, and one of the happiest days of my life!  

We have now been together for 22 years (give or take a few months) and married for 15 years, and I could not imagine my life without Boogie by my side.  We have built a wonderful life together.  We both have careers that we love, we have 2 healthy and beautiful girls, and we worked to make our dreams of building our own home a reality.  We have been so blessed, and I am so thankful that our paths crossed when we were just young kids who didn't know any better!  Our journey together has had its ups and downs, and while it hasn't always been easy....I will most definitely say it has been so worth it!  

My Summer Must-Haves

Summer break is officially in full swing here!!  I love all things summer...sunshine, warm weather, flowers, hummingbirds, lightning bugs, campfires, swimming, late nights, sleeping in...I could go on and on!  The girls have been staying up late, sleeping on the couch, swimming with friends, and making memories that I hope will last forever. I have been reading A LOT, taking naps, and getting a lot done around the house that I don't always have time for when we are in school.  

I want to share some of my must-haves that help us make the most of our summertime:

• Bug Spray: Mosquitoes and other pesky insects are definitely my least favorite part of summer, and they especially seem to love both of my girls and my husband.  I am not a fan of store-bought bug sprays because of the smell, but I found a recipe for a DIY spray that seems to work very well for all of us.  In a 4 oz. spray bottle, add 5 drops each of Thieves, Purification, Peppermint, Lemongrass, Citronella, Cedarwood, Lavender, and Eucalyptus essential oils. Then, add 2 oz. of witch hazel and fill the rest of the way with distilled water. Shake well, and you are good to go! Not only does it keep the bugs away, but it also smells great!

• Sunscreen:  I am very fair-skinned and burn very easily, so sunscreen is definitely a must-have anytime I am outside.  I have two favorites that work well for us and are less greasy than most of the store-bought brands I have tried.  The Mary Kay Sun Care Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 50 is one of our favorites for sun protection.  If you are interested in trying a more natural alternative, I love the Young Living Mineral Sunscreen Lotion.  It does a great job of preventing sunburn without all of the harmful ingredients found in a lot of other sunscreens.

• Itch Stick: For those times when we forget to apply our bug spray, we love to use our homemade itch relief roller.  There are several different recipes, but I will share the one that we like best.  In a 5 ml roller bottle, add 5 drops each of Lavender and Purification essential oils, 3 drops each of Lemongrass and Tea Tree essential oils, and fill the rest of the way with a carrier oil (grapeseed oil, extra virgin olive oil, etc.).  We apply to any bug bites or other skin irritations as needed.

• Sunburn Relief:  For the times when I forget to bring the sunscreen or don't reapply soon enough, we love the Mary Kay After-Sun Replenishing Gel.  It provides instant relief, and it also seems to help prevent a lot of peeling.  I have also found a DIY recipe that works well.  In a 4 oz. spray bottle, add 20 drops of Lavender and 10 drops of Peppermint (or Frankincense if you are going to be using on very small children).  Fill the bottle halfway with Aloe Vera Gel. Then, fill 1/4 with witch hazel and 1/4 with fractionated coconut oil (or other carrier oil of your choice). Shake well and use as needed.

• Spark:  I'm not much of a coffee drinker, especially during the summer, so I depend on Advocare Spark to give me my morning pick-me-up.  It helps give me the energy I need to keep up with the girls and get all the things on my never-ending to-do list done each day! 

 I would love to hear about some of the summer must-haves that help you make the most of your summer months! 

Small Town

"Well, I was born in a small town,
And I can breathe in a small town.
Gonna die in a small town,
And that's probably where they'll bury me."

As most of you probably know, these lyrics are from the song "Small Town" by John Mellencamp.  This has always been one of my favorite songs because I can relate to it in so many ways.  I was born and raised in a small town, and my dream was always to come back to this community to work and raise my family.

I know a lot of people say that they cannot wait to get out of the community where they live.  They argue that there are no opportunities here or that there is nothing to do.  Some people thrive in larger communities or even huge cities, but that is just not the case for me. 

I have been thinking a lot lately about why I am so blessed to live in this place I call home.  Within just the past few weeks, I can think of numerous examples that have made me proud to be from this small town.

The elementary school where I teach puts on a musical every spring, and it is one of my favorite parts of the school year.  So many people put in so much time to ensure that the show is a success.  This year, just as in years past, people donated their time and money to make costumes, painted backdrops, ran sound equipment, and much more.  Many of these people do not even have children who were involved in the musical, but they live in the community and some attended the same school when they were younger.  To me, this community support for our small school is invaluable!

The church I attend is also in the community where I was born and raised.  It is a very small church, and it is the same church that I have attended since I was a baby.  I would say that most people who go to our church would agree that we are a very strong church family, and the members are always there for one another and the community in times of need.  One of our elder members is having some health problems, and he could not lay in bed to sleep because of breathing problems. His lift chair was broken, and his neighbor put out a call for help.  Within hours, members of our church ensured that he had a new lift chair to use until his chair could be repaired.  This type of support and love for one another happen all the time in our little country church, and this is just one more reason why I love where I am from.

The last story I want to share happened just a few weeks ago.  One of the former principals of our elementary school passed away.  Her funeral took place at the church in town, and she was buried in the cemetery which is also in the same town.  The funeral procession went past the elementary school, and as it went past, all of the students and staff members were standing along the road with their hands over their hearts.  Every time I think of this, I get emotional.  This support and respect are what makes our community such an awesome place to live!

I think we often lose sight of the blessings around us that we sometimes take for granted.  We always think that "the grass is greener on the other side," but I have learned that this is not usually the case.  I am proud of where I am from, and I am happy to be raising my girls here also.  I would love to hear what makes your community special!