After my last blog post, I decided I should add some pictures of my Kindergarten experience. Enjoy!
We learned about fire safety!
Kindergarten
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With approximately 63 days left until spring break, I am well on my way to having my first year of teaching under my belt. What a journey it has been! I was hired at the end of July and was told that I would be teaching a first/second grade combination class. I was so thankful to have a job, but at the same time I was quite intimidated. The thought of having to teach two separate curriculums at the same time terrified me. The week school was starting I had not yet been assigned a class. I had a classroom and I had worked very diligently to get it set up and ready for my first class full of students. However, there were no students' names on my roster. The first week of school I did not even darken the door of my classroom. I spent those three days testing incoming Kindergartners. At the end of that week I was exhausted. I was anxiously awaiting to hear if I would be getting my class that following week. That did not happen. The second week of school I was put in a Kindergarten classroom to co-teach with another teacher. At first, I wasn't too happy about this. I was so ready to be in my classroom teaching my kids. But God obviously had something else in mind. Those two weeks really turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I was given the privilege of working with one of the nicest, most caring women I think I have ever met. Co-teaching with Mrs. Nemser (Kim) was the beginning of a not only a relationship with one of my co-workers, but to a friendship. At the end of those two weeks I was told that I was going to be added as the 9th Kindergarten teacher at our school. And so it began. That first month or so was very difficult for me. Adjusting to teaching Kindergarten and feeling like I didn't know what I was doing kept me anxious and emotionally drained. However, God provided, just like He always does. I am not over half way through with my first year and I am in love with each of my children. I don't always love getting up and going to work, but once I'm there God gives me the strength and the motivation I need to get through the day. I have been blessed with great friends who have helped me so much throughout this process. The other eight women I work with are phenomenal and I couldn't have asked for a better team! Seriously, these women ROCK! Today I was able to spend the majority of the day with two of my team members, Kim and Katie. Both of these girls mean a lot to me and I am so thankful for them. We spent the day having lunch and scrapbooking (something we all love!) and talking about school, life, love, etc. For months I have been thinking about asking if anyone on my team would be interested in starting a prayer time and/or Bible study one morning a week before school. Today, I finally asked. Kim said she has been thinking about this since the beginning of the year. She, Katie, and I are going to start this week!! I am beyond excited about this. I am so thankful for God for always having a plan and being on my side no matter what may be thrown at me. Anyway, I just needed to get some of this out in the open. I hope you'll be encouraged.
In other news, Justin and his clotheCharlotte team distributed coats and clothes to a local homeless ministry! He has been working so hard to get all of this together and I am so proud of him! He is also doing an amazing job with Kinetic's student ministry. Some great things are going to be happening this year!!
Well, it's time for some Will & Grace and more lesson plan writing. Yep, folks this is my Saturday night. But I wouldn't trade it for anything!
Hugs,
Meredith
New Year
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A few things I'd like to do during the coming year (in no particular order)...
- BLOG more
- Visit the Biltmore house
- Buy a house
- Become extremely good at yoga
- Run a 5K and a 10K
- Find joy in everyday things
- Be the best aunt I can be to my new niece or nephew
- Keep in touch with family and friends that I don't see very often
- Drink less COKE (my absolute favorite drink)
- Read the Bible more
I'm sure the list could go on and on, but this is just to get me started. Each of these things I want to work on continuously throughout the year. Some will be more difficult than others, but all are very doable. I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and has started the new year off with a bang!
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My Personal Web Log
Tribute
Posted in on byRecently I have been thinking a lot about the value of a good friend and what exactly that means. I have had many friends come and go over the past several years as I'm sure most people have. When I think of a true friend I think of my family and the friendships that I have with each of them. I also think of people who have been a part of my life during the greatest of times and the not so great times. I think of a friend as someone who loves me for who I am and not what I have. One of the sweetest friends I have to date is definitely my definition of a true, genuine friend.
I met her a few years ago and since then have grown to love her more and more. We have shared great heart to heart conversations and many laughs over the past few years. This woman is strong and sincere. She is tender hearted and loving. And it just so happens that her husband and my husband share a special friendship as well.
Justin and I love Joe and Michelle McGrew more than they will ever know. Their family has been such a blessing to us over the past few years and with heavy hearts we will soon be seeing them off as they prepare for the next chapter in their lives. God is going to do some amazing things through their family as they journey to St. Louis to plant themselves there for a while.
Publicly, we just want them to know how special they are and how much we love them. I can't wait to see what God does with them! Below are some photos will help make this update a little more special...
Joe, Michelle, Justin and I at Chad and Kim's wedding. (Michelle was there in spirit).
Joe, Michelle, Herrison and Kate,
Please never forget how much you are loved. Your friendship to us means more than you will ever know. We are praying for you and we cannot wait to see what this upcoming journey holds for you.
Love Always,
Justin, Mere and Minnie
Summerness
Posted in on byI cannot believe that July is nearly halfway over. A lot has happened over the past few months.
May
. I finished student teaching and graduated from UNCC
. We celebrated our one year anniversary
. I had a job interview
June
. I started my summer nanny job
. Justin quit his valet job (it wasn't worth the time/money)
. We went to the beach for family week
. I celebrated my 24th bday
July
. I applied for 13 different positions within CMS
. Nothing too exciting has happened so far this month
Here are some pictures from the past few months....
Update
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It has been far too long since I've updated our blog. These past few months have been filled with running around like crazy and hardly having time to catch our breath. We have been living at Circle at Southend for a little over a month now. We finally feel settled and our new apartment feels like home. The location of our new home is perfect. We are not too far from anything really since all we have to do it hop onto the interstate to get to our destination. There are so many things within walking distance and we live right on the light rail. I am so happy we made the decision to move when we did. God has really provided for us.
Onto other news, I am graduating THIS coming Saturday!! I cannot wait! My student teaching duties are complete and I am happy to announce that my overall grade is an A! The student teaching experience was really great and it was hard to say goodbye to my class. But, I know that soon enough I will have a class of my own to love and teach. Justin has been working two jobs for about a month now. Along with working at Hook Tire (he was able to transfer to the South Blvd. store), he is also valet parking cars 3-4 nights a week. He has really enjoyed this job so far, but he is also very tired from going, going, going all day/all night long. I am so proud of him and thankful for all of the hard work he does to provide for me. I am still looking for a teaching position for next fall, but I do have a summer nanny job lined up that I am excited about. Minnie is still as cute and as rotten as ever!
Here are some pictures that have been taken over the past few months. Enjoy!!
Weekend trip to Charleston, SC.
David Cox Student Teachers 2009-2010.
Celebrating Gabby's birthday.
Circle @ Southend
Posted in on byIt's official! We are moving! In 22 days to be exact. Justin and I will be calling Circle @ Southend our new home as of March 26. We are so excited about this change in our lives and really believe that this is where God wants us to be. We have been praying and looking for a new place to live for about a month now and God has provided us with the perfect place. The next few weeks are going to be crazy with me still student teaching, Justin still working full time, and trying to pack up all of the "stuff" we have accumulated over these last 9 months of being married. Here are a few pictures of what our new place looks like. Enjoy!
Hugs,
Meredith
Our City
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Today has been an exciting day already and it's only lunchtime. This morning Justin and I met my mom and dad at a condo in the downtown area. My dad is a real estate agent so he was able to get us the key to go in an look at this place. We liked what we saw, but are going to keep looking and see what other condos/houses we might like in that same area. We took a little drive through Charlotte after finishing up at the condo and it was so beautiful. I love driving through the busy streets of the city on a bright and sunny day. After those adventures we came home and took a little family walk in this amazing weather. This weather is really making me crave summertime like you wouldn't believe! I am getting very excited about this transition to a new home that is going to be happening in mine and Justin's lives in the next month or so. We appreciate all of your prayers for God's guidance during this time. Also, the condo we looked at today is right around the corner from Area 15 in Charlotte. This is a really neat prayer house that Justin and I have been to. Check out their website for more info. Well folks, just wanted to give a little update to let you know what's going on. I must return to lesson planning now before we're off to Emma's big 4 year old birthday bash! :)Hugs,
Meredith
Nut-Shell Update
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I really cannot believe that I have not updated our family blog since the Christmas. WoW! Things must have gotten pretty busy for me to have neglected writing for nearly two months. So, here is the nut-shell version of what has been going on in our lives.
Meredith-On January 2nd I began my full time student teaching at David Cox Road Elementary. For those who don't know what that means, I will share. I am at David Cox in a first grade class all day everyday. I began picking up one subject a time to take over teaching until last week when I picked up the final one. I am now on the second week of full time teaching. Meaning, I teach all subjects everyday for the next two and a half weeks. As student teachers at UNCC we have to have 20 full days of full time teaching. After I have taught for 4 weeks straight I will begin releasing one subject at a time back to my CT (cooperating teacher) Patti Eagleburger. I cannot tell you how much fun I have been having being back at D.C. (I was a student there from 2nd-5th grade) and getting to be apart of this experience. I have told several people this, and I know it to be true: I was born to teach. When I am in my classroom I just feel so confident in what I am doing. Yes! There are very stressful days, and I just want to go home and go to sleep. But, I will keep pushing forward and keep thanking God for placing me at such an amazing school with wonderful people to work with and precious children. I absolutely love my CT! She is the best! I feel so fortunate that she and I have built such a great relationship over the past several months. So, needless to say this has been much of my life for the past month and a half and it will continue to be until May.
Justin-First of all I just want everyone to know how much I love my husband! He is absolutely amazing. Two weeks ago I was having a crappy day, and when he came home he handed me an envelope and said, "This is from me to you, and it's your student teaching survival kit." It was a YEAR long membership to Massage Envy!! If you know me at all you know how much I love massages! And it gets even better! (I know-how could it!?) He handed it to me and said, "Oh, and they are waiting for you right now so you'd better get ready and go." So I left right then and there and received a solid hour of stress relief and relaxation. Next on the list of updates, is that Justin and I have decided that Charlotte is our city and we are going to plant ourselves here for a long while. We have decided not to renew our current lease and we are beginning the process of looking for a home to rent in the downtown Charlotte area. We are extremely excited about this change in our lives. Justin is really working hard at his current job and also with our student ministry at Kinetic. He really has a passion for working with these kids and I am so proud of him for all of the effort he has put forth. He is also beginning to pray about starting a ministry here in Charlotte, called Charlotte Missions. He is still thinking, praying, and working through this so I will update you a later time.
Minnie-Of course I must include my sweet Minnie. She is still adorable and as cute as ever! She just had surgery last week to get fixed. YAY! No more doggie diapers! We love playing with Minnie and I especially enjoy snuggling with her by the fire. I am excited for warmer weather so we can go on walks together and take a little family outing to the park.
Well, I think that's all of the updating I can muster up right now. My fingers are starting to cramp up since I have been typing for almost three hours. I think I will call it a night and go cuddle up with my hubby and my puppy.
Hugs,
Meredith
Our First Christmas as a Little Family
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This Christmas is very special for us because it is the first Christmas that Justin and I get to spend together and with our families as husband and wife. It has been so exciting already to do fun Christmas things as a married couple. We decorated our apartment the weekend after Thanksgiving and I must say I think it looks pretty cute. All of our presents have been bought and about half of them are all wrapped up and are looking so pretty underneath our real Christmas tree. (Note the emphasis on REAL tree). Anyway, this past weekend we spent Saturday afternoon with my mom's extended family as we do every year about two weeks before Christmas. We enjoyed some yummy food and good family conversation. This coming Saturday we will be going to my Grandad and Judy's house to celebrate Christmas with my dad's side of the family. Thus, the Christmas train ride has begun. Christmas eve we will be with my family all day/evening. I am so excited that me, Justin, and Minnie are all going to be spending the night at my mom and dad's house that night!! I can't wait to wake up Christmas morning with my whole family together under one roof!! (We will miss you Copper). Christmas morning will consist of festivities at Maw-Maw Soup's house and then Justin, Minnie, and me are off to Topsail Island to be with his family for the rest of the weekend. I really can't wait! Oh...and then the weekend after all of that MY SISTER IS GETTING MARRIED!!! Wow! Things are about to get crazy folks!! But throughout all of the craziness and the hustle and bustle of this time of year, I am trying hard to stay focused on Christ and the true reason that I celebrate. And not just at Christmas time, but throughout every other day of the year.
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