New Adventures

Once Ryan came home from the trail, life became a blur. We were so blissfully happy to be back together again. Then we began planning our future.

August - We discuss building a tiny home. Yes, one of the ones you now see in three different TV shows. I turn 24. I get the best class ever. :-)

September - We begin preparing to build the house. Ryan joins the National Guard. Grad school is hard.

October - The house is in building mode. We almost get crushed by panels. Ryan finds out he is going to basic and then AIT for 6 MONTHS beginning in February (for those of you who've kept up, that's only a year after hiking the trail) in Oklahoma and then Texas. I began doing Beachbody workouts that changed my body forever.

November - It gets so cold outside, but we keep on building the house. Ryan comes to my house for Thanksgiving. Alabama wins the Iron Bowl! We reserve our reception venue: Tannehill State Park. We choose a date: October 17, 2015.

December - Work and school and dance are crazy! Ryan completes the outside of the house. We argue over the color of the front door (red or yellow). Red won. HAHA. Christmas is wonderful as always. I checked seeing Kelly Clarkson in concert off my bucket list.

January - Ryan prepares to leave. He begins working heavily on the inside of the house. Fixes up power. I start my third graduate school semester.

February - Ryan goes to Ft. Sill for Basic Training for National Guard. I can only write letters. I don't hear from him on the phone until later in March.

April - Ryan graduates from Basic Training. He moves onward to Ft. Sam Houston for AIT.

May - I complete my third year of teaching and receive tenure in my school district.

June - I visit Ryan in Ft. Sam Houston and begin wedding planning like crazy!

And that's just the highlights!

Patience

My mother always told me to never pray for patience. She told me that it would only lead to situations where I'd have to have a lot of patience. Well, I hate to say it but moms are pretty much always right. I don't remember the initial situation I prayed for patience. It could have been when I had to wait on my ACT results in high school or when I had a lot of school work in college, but I do remember the time I prayed for patience the most. It was back in 2012 right after I graduated from college. Like most college graduates, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with myself. I had a degree in elementary education, but I had no idea if I was going to be given the chance to use my degree. Would I be chosen to teach at a school or would I have to find something else to do? Should I be like all the other kids and run off to a foreign country to do who knows what? I wasn't sure. My fiance (boyfriend at the time) and I were in a hard spot as well. While he had a semester left in college, I had no idea what he was going to do once he graduated in December. It was a very unpredictable time and being the analytical person I am, I enjoy having a definite plan. So I prayed for patience....

If you can't tell from this blog, I've had to wait on a lot of things. Many of these waiting periods are due to my long distance relationship with my fiance; however, he's not the only reason I need patience. No, when I think back on the last three years I realize now that God wanted me to pray for patience. He knew that I was in a boat without a paddle. My crazy planner brain couldn't think my way out of any of these upcoming situations. I'd have to sit back, relax, and wait. It was going to be tough for me.

First of all, God wanted me to be a teacher. Not just any teacher. He wanted me to teach kindergarten. I realize that there are difficulties when working with all types of children, but kindergarten is by far one of the hardest age levels to work with. I didn't get this job right off the bat either. I had to wait and use my patience until the middle of August. I was initially called as a substitute teacher. Finally, I was given the job. The class was rough. My principal watched me like a hawk. If it hadn't been for this patience, I have no idea how I would have made it through the year. At this point in my life, the patience I had was weak. It needed to be strengthened.

Second of all, God wanted me to marry Ryan. He knew I needed him and than he needed me. God also knew that in order to be with him, I was going to need to become calm and gentle. 2013 had its own surprises though. Ryan announced that he was moving to Gatlinburg. What began as 6 months stretched into a whole entire year. Needless to say, my patience was wearing thin. It was very hard to be tested in so many angles of life.

In the midst of our 7 hour long distance relationship, I got pink slipped from teaching job. Crazy I know. Another summer of no plans. At that time I had no idea when Ryan would be ending his time in the mountains. I took about 3 weeks of time to not think about any of it. We went to Myrtle Beach and Charleston. I went to Destin with my family. At the culmination of these events I prayed for the patience to weather out anything that would come my way.

Well, I was asked to return to my teaching position later that summer. What a relief that was. I went into the interview with a plan. At least that part of myself comes in handy sometimes. I nailed it and got my job back fair and square. It was such a high! Kindergarten again. Year two, I was ready to do it well. August-October flew by seamlessly. I missed Ryan hopelessly, but my classroom was great. And then...I got my first student who did no know a lick of English. Oh my. Here it was. My patience being tested. Being strengthened. If at the time I had sat back and taken this as a gift, I would have done a much better job. This was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do in teaching. Little did I know, to date it would be my most rewarding experience so far.

And then the second reason for this blog happened. Ryan announced that he was going to hike the Appalachian Trail. I really don't remember when he officially said he would hike the trail. He talked about doing it for so long. I just gradually became more and more real. I won't lie to you. I fought long and hard about this. Ryan and I did not agree on him hiking the trail. I did not understand it mostly because I was scared. I wanted to be with Ryan, but I was beginning to wear out. He'd moved away and was now going to hike a trail for four months. When was this ever going to end? I was unaware of any plans being made for our future. I probably was not the most pleasant person to be around in the fall of 2013.

And somehow, Ryan still loved me despite all of that. This is the time when I needed him. I needed him to show me that he was serious. That he cared about me and wanted me to be a part of his life. But he was here to teach me how to enjoy the waiting. He gave me something to do. He proposed to me. I am very glad for the timing of this........

Home

Hello! Ryan came home from Maine via Greyhound bus on July 4th! I picked him up and we headed straight for the beach! It was so great to see him. I was glad for him to be back...but it's been a little interesting! Ryan has had to readjust to regular life. I've had to be a little less intense about school and make time to see him. Ryan is about to embark on another adventure that I don't think he wants me to share yet. Completing the entire AT in 4 months is an amazing feat! Now we are aiming to put our lives together into one!
As far as me, I'm almost done with my first graduate school semester! Then I'll get to teach a whole new group of kindergartners. I know that this is going to be a whirlwind of a year, but I'll make it with a little help from the good Lord!

Lucky

I haven't posted in a while for several reasons. It was the end of the school year and life seems to always speed up at that point. So much paperwork to do and a room to pack up. Luckily, this year I knew off the bat that I'd be coming back and in kindergarten again. :-) I literally love my job! I started graduate school! It's amazing to me that I'm even doing this...but there's so much more work than I realized. I'm taking three online classes right now. I've done well keeping up with the work so far and the teachers are very easy to work with. I will have to do observation hours again since I can't do them in my own classroom right now. It should be fun. I rarely want to blog due to staring at a computer screen all afternoon. Since my last post, I've gotten to see Ryan! We met up in Washington, D.C. I got to ride on an airplane for the first time. I couldn't believe how fast I was able to get there. When I saw Ryan, I was super happy. So was he! Except for the fact that we were both sick. We ended up ordering pizza and crashing at the hotel until later that afternoon. We later visited the National Mall. The next day was full of touring beautiful Alexandria. I could seriously live there. I got to tour the National Archives on my last full day. It just like National Treasure!! We even visited Ford Theatre where Lincoln was shot. I enjoyed D.C. so much! It was a relatively cheap place to visit. Taking the metro everywhere was such a time and money saver. I can't wait to go back and explore the many things we did not get to see. Maybe we'll have some kids next time so Ryan will have to go to the zoo. ;-)

Ryan texted me yesterday before my family left Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, to go home from vacation that he was "still alive." Lately, I've gotten to where I don't worry about him as much. In the beginning, I was freaking out after a day. Okay...I still do! Anyway, I was a little suspicious of why he had emphasized on being "alive." It just so happens that he was on Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. It apparently has the most erratic weather ever. He was caught in a storm yesterday and developed hypothermia. Fortunately, he was able to make an emergency stop and get a hotel. God was sure looking out for him. He was very lucky. I love that Ryan is doing the trail and having the time of his life, but I'm super ready for him to come home now. The reality is that it's not all fun and games when your fiance is out hiking in places you don't know. Yes, I know there are a million things he could be doing in Alabama on a daily basis that are dangerous, but not hearing from him for days is hard to take. All I can do is trust in God that he is keeping his hand on him. I know He is. Keep him in your prayers!

Ohhh we're halfway there!

I know it has been quite sone time since my last post!! Not too much has happened on my end, but Ryan has made a huge accomplishment...he is basically halfway! On April 23rd, Ryan made it into Harper's Fairy, VA.

Today, I am leaving to go see him for a few days. We are meeting in DC. This will br my first time to fly so please send me your prayers!! I love y'all! 

4/5/6

SPRING IS HERE!!!!! A good bit has gone on since I last posted. Week 4 for me was not too eventful here in Alabama, but Ryan experienced more snow. Ugh! He was still on the NC/TN border then.  Work was so hectic that I ended up looking like this....(blonde, top left)

Just kidding! This was for the faculty variety show routine. It was priceless. We danced to "Thriller." At the end, I had the bright idea of walking straight into the crowd of children. I actually think the 2-4th graders were more scared than the K-1st graders. I had to go back to class dressed like this! My poor little ones were so worried about me! They thought something was wrong. I sure do love them. 

Week 5 was SPRING BREAK!! I did almost absolutely nothing except Zumba, watch TV, go shopping, and PICK UP MY WEDDING DRESS!!! I am so excited to have my dress. It is even more beautiful than I remembered. Oh happy day!!

I learned a few things about cooking...well how to make a good chicken salad and how to bake homemade cookies. I made these with friends, but I made some yesterday that are on their way to Ryan as we speak!

Two days of shopping and I still could not make myself buy these, but I do believe these are my wedding shoes!! What do you think? They are totally my color! I love Betsey Johnson. :-)

Below is a little insight into another one of my jobs! Teaching dance!! These are my 3/4 year olds showing me how to dance to "Let it Go." Frozen is amazing by tge way. Everyone can relate whether you have a crazy sister or sometimes get a little angry or pretend your pets talk or have irrational obsessions with something that might cause you to "melt" or you are five at heart like me!

Tomorrow I'm taking my siblings + friend to Six Flags! Wish me luck!

Here they are goofing off in Wal-Mart. Silly girls.

Ryan update: Our tenacious hiker is making his way through Virginia very nicely. He is over the moon that his fiance is flying to meet him in DC! Get excited! I couldn't not see him for 5 whole crazy months! 

Anyone who is in a LDR have any advice on timing? I feel like Ryan and I never get to talk because our timing is off. :-/

Week 2/3

These last two weeks have been busy, busy, busy! There has been absolutely no wedding planning going on. :-) I ain't got time for that! 

Last week, I had dance or zumba every afternoon. I missed work on Friday to go down to the beach with my family. My sister Alyssa was playing a softball tournament. We had a lot of fun. Terilyn and I did flips in the sand because it was too cold to swim. 

This week I was just as busy. My class has finally been in school regularly enough to get back into the procedures. I had a good week with them. Friday, we got to have a day off from them to test the new class of kindergarteners. I met some sweethearts.

Ryan is in Hot Springs, North Carolina. He's a trooper!