1446.17 miles later...

Did I mention those 1446.17 miles were covered in 2.5 days????

College Station--> Abilene--> Seminole--> Amarillo-->Hereford--> Dalhart--> Alvardo--> College Station.

...5 interviews and approximately 25 hours of driving later...I HAVE A JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But before all that important stuff, here are some interesting lessons I learned:
-Texas is big...HUGE actually.
- the world is not awake at 5:15 am, therefore Jessica cannot get Dr. Pepper to be awake either.
-who needs trees when you have wind turbines?
-"west Texas" is synonymous with "nothing"
-you should have stopped at that last gas station because apparently people in west Texas do not need a lot of gas, so there will not be another one for 100 miles
-you could pass 6 cars at a time on a west Texas highway, if there were 6 cars in the whole region
-the sky is significantly larger up there
-wind turbines are hypnotizing
-these people spend more money on a courthouse than on the whole rest of the town
-Hereford, TX smells like cows...a lot...makes sense
-yes, the sunset/sunrise is gorgeous, but if you stare at it you will have to pull over and let your eyes recover
-if you are not driving a work truck or an 18-wheeler, you are obviously out of place
-driving 1.5 hours between two towns is normal...and feels like 5 hours.
-if I am ever again in Clarendon, TX, I will be staying at the "It'll Do Motel" after dinner at the "Nuttin' Fancy Cafe"
-44 ounces of Dr. Pepper makes your bladder feel like it's going to explode
-you probably cannot stop at Ft. Hood to use their restrooms even if your taxes pay for them
-singing and dancing to loud music in your car (completely making a fool of yourself) is pretty much the only way to survive 25 hours of driving
-watching a thunderstorm in that much sky is a little scarier, yet beautiful all at the same time
-I hate driving.
-cows and more cows.
-If you walk into small town Texas in a business suit where regulars are having coffee in the morning, you're probably going to hear a couple of comments. haha.
-I love kids...ALL kids. Everytime I interviewed and had a glimpse of the kids in the school, I just fell in love..they are so precious.
-There are people in the school business for the right reasons, and people in it for the wrong reasons. It's blatantly obvious who would be great to work for and who would not...
-Being an Aggie and living all over the state of Texas have proved very helpful in this job hunt. While waiting for one interview, I introduced myself to the elementary counselor who is the aunt of one of my best friends from junior high. A few seconds later, the wife of my junior high Youth Director walked through the office and recognized me! After mentioning this to the principal I was interviewing with, I find out that he is the recent father-in-law of one of my good friends from the same town!!! God is good!
-I called my mom overwhelmingly blessed by my Savior. In the course of that afternoon I lined up two more interviews...all just happened to be in the Pandhandle and none of them interfered with the others...and then read the daily Bible verse on my phone...

"So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or

‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans
run after all these things, and your heavenly Father

knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom

and his righteousness, and all these things will be

given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,

for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Each day has enough trouble of its own."

-Matt. 6:31-34

...and then I burst into tears of joy...wow! what a wake-up call...

-I have applied, interviewed, and traveled all over the state in theis job hunt. When you're within the will of God, you know it....I walked out of the interview at Dalhart Elementary (with a panel of 10 INTERVIEWERS!!!!) knowing in my heart they would offer me a job....also knowing it would be an ESL position. And the next day? a job offer from Dalhart for an ESL position...hm. :)

So while it's not my ideal position...it's where I want to be. And maybe that position is where God wants me! There are possible 3rd and 2nd grade positions that I was told I could choose from if they become available, so who knows. I am just beyond thrilled to have signed a contract as a teacher...I've been waiting 22 years for this!!! It's going to be a looooong summer, haha.

Since finding out I got the job, the number 1 most annoying question I've been asked..."Why in the world Dalhart?!" Why not Dalhart??? Yes, it's 10 hours from my family and friends, but there are these things called airplanes...and they have them in Amarillo. Yes, the landscape and weather are a little different from anywhere else I've lived in Texas, but change is good. Yes, I know probably three people in the entire Pandhandle, but I've lived in several places and never have trouble building relationships. Yes, Dalhart happens to be about 15 minutes from a very important man in my life, so look at my past and call me crazy, but sometimes it's too risky not to take the chance. It's a one year contract...at the end of a year if it all falls apart...count my losses and gains. I will have loved, gained a year of teaching experience, new friends, and lived in a new and different part of my beloved state. And if you are taking the result of my past serious relationship into account, you should definitely realize this is not a decision I have taken lightly in any way. Those who know me best should know I have spent plenty of time on my knees seeking only the will of God...everything happened to fall into place and I don't believe in coincidences...

So no, I am not moving for him. I am moving for God.

“I want you to stop planning—stop wishing—

and allow Me to give you the most thrilling,

exciting plan you can imagine!!! I want you to have the best!

Please allow Me to give it to you.

You must keep watching Me, expecting the greatest things.

Keep experiencing the satisfaction that I am!

Keep listening and learning the things that I tell you.

And then, when you are ready,

I’ll surprise you with a love far more wonderful

than anyone would ever dream of.

“Know that I love you utterly.

I am God. Believe and be satisfied.”

and love like crazy...

Keep me in your prayers...I still have to find a place to live and enter into the real world...which should be pretty entertaining, so keep reading :) HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

Her children rise up and call her blessed...

Many people are much better expressing their emotions and feelings through writing than through speech, and I happen to be one of those people..



It's a mostly thankless, selfless job...and more important than any other.

From skinned knees, to brushing my teeth with hydrocortizone cream (yes it happened, and I just publicly admitted it, and yes she did call poison control), to my years of ER visits and concussions, to a shattered heart not so easily mended with medication and bandaids...she held me through every moment...enveloped not only by her arms, but by her unconditional love.


So here's to you... my mentor, my prayer warrior, my friend, my confidante, my nurturer...and always and forever...my Mom....

Mom is truly the essence of beauty inside and out. Beautiful blue eyes, amazing hair, a smile that demands reciprocation, a laugh that is so genuine and so contagious, and the voice of an angel used for praising the One who blessed her with it. She definitely knows how to enjoy life, but is one of the most selfless people I know. She loves her family (pets included, haha) whole-heartedly, and she dies to self daily to make herself available to meet our needs and make our lives easier...something that I daily take for granted.



Prov. 22:6 "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."
This Bible verse hung crocheted in my room for years...and like many other things, I never really understood the meaning of it until recent years. Apparently the term 'mother' is synonymous with 'teacher' because she has taught me so much more than she even realizes. Much of it she tried to teach me growing up, but it wasn't until I was on my own at college that I realized I probably should have listened...those were things I now really needed to know. Cooking, laundry and sewing for example...she even created a cookbook for me from her favorite recipes and the meals that reminded me of home. I'm still convinced that birthday cake tastes better from a bowl, yellow roses are the most beautiful flowers in existence, and I've recently discovered that an obsession with making lists is apparently hereditary. However, I will never follow the 'white hanger code' or believe that 'push mowing is more fun than using a riding mower' :) But more important than these tangible lessons are the lessons that are woven into my very being...

to be compassionate - Mom has a no tolerance policy for teasing...and rightly so. No matter how innocent it seems, chances are it cuts much deeper than you realize. We are all blessed in different ways...In the words of my sister who is wise beyond her years "When you find yourself wanting to be like someone else think about this...If everyone was like everyone else God would technically need only one of us and that one of us would be awfully lonely..."

to be strong - If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything. Mom is not afraid to express her opinion, and quick to admit she's wrong on the off chance that she is actually wrong. This includes facing strong persecution for making it known that her daughter would not be attending cheerleading practice on Sundays to honor the Sabbath as God intended us to. It is evidently (which I have learned from her and through experience) much wiser to make your beliefs known up front rather than having to justify your actions later. It also helps you keep yourself accountable. I always say "I don't know what my parents did, but they did it right" when it came to raising us... there are beliefs, principles, and standards we possess that are unwaivering...that have probably saved my parents several gray hairs and heartaches.

to glorify God- in every single thing. Along with obvious physical traits, she also passed her beautiful voice to all of her daughters... She always says that "you are blessed with these gifts to glorify God, and if you don't use it...you lose it." Anyone would agree that our voices are never stronger, or more beautiful than when we are praising our Savior. Not only in singing, but in prayer. Mom, through years of learning I'm sure, is quick to immediately take it to God before another thought crosses her mind. That is also the first piece of advice she has always given me when dealing with things...and there is no better advice than that.



Matthew 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world.... it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
What an example of a Godly woman...

devoted daughter of the King

advice from mom? step 1: always approach the throne...she has always been deeply involved in our churches from Vacation Bible School director to choir member to Nominating Committee member to Mission Trip sponsor and on and on and on...she knows her gifts and selflessly offers them as a sacrifice to her King. And she can testify to the power of a praying woman...if she tells you she's praying for you, you better believe she's petitioning to God on your behalf whole-heartedly....

daughter

My mom was born in my grandparents later years of life. My Papa has gone Home, but my Nanny is still with us. I am amazed by the years of selfless care my mother has given to her. She has lived with or near us for the marjority of the time since my Papa was called Home. I think the grace with which she handles my Nanny comes from her realization of the years of selflessness Nanny gave to her...

wife

Not there yet, obviously...but I'd like to think I'm somewhat well-prepared from watching my parents love relationship so grounded in Christ. My dad would be lost and incomplete without her...he knows it, we all know it. They still date realizing that they need time specifically for their relationship and lay down their lives daily for one another. My family has been through quite a bit, definitely not as much as other people, but definitely our fair share of persecution. She looked at each life change as a challenge and a new beginning. Every time his heart was breaking, hers was too, probably more so...they are the essence of "the two shall become one"....and I pray that God blesses me with the forever love that they have found in each other through Him...the kind that withstands the tests of time, persecution, and struggle.

mother

Very obviously not to this stage of life either, and probably won't be for several more years. But I like to think I helped raise my sisters...being a 'second mom' with knowledge that I could have only gained through my mom. I could not have asked for a better mother...she stayed home with us through most of our school years because she was called to be a mother first and foremost. My sisters and I are all overachievers and participated in every possible event throughout our school years, and I'm not sure she ever missed one...neither did the video camera. I have also seen her love students like a mother while she was a teacher...part of what has instilled a passion in me for teaching. I look forward to the day I need her advice in that amazing journey...the day I become a mother and she gets to spoil her grandkids ;) For now, I'm satisfied with giving that attention to my students!

"Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
'Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.'
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate."

Proverbs 31:28-31

I love you, Mom...thanks for everything...Happy Mother's Day everyday....