Yogurt, Guns, and a Happy Easter!

I just returned from my spring/Easter break, which was also a much needed and wonderfully appreciated break! I am also learning to very much appreciate the fact that I am a teacher and still get to take these delightful breaks. Don't even get me started on the thought of summer break! I digress. I am sharing with you a few of my favorite pictures from my week in an attempt to give you a brief overview of my break. Enjoy! 

Frozen Yogurt...that makes it healthier right?

Erika Voskuil and Kim Ingelse are pretty much my adopted sisters. We mock each other mercilessly, quote movies and TV shows, and talk about anything under the sun.  We ventured around Milwaukee Thursday, laughing and being ridiculous in pretty much every store. These are 2 girls who I can pretty much guarantee will make you pee your pants when you hang out with them. I love these 2 a whole bunch, so anytime spent with them is time well spent.

The Flying Onion

Seeing as this past weekend was Easter weekend, I was blessed to be able to spend lots of time with family. I wasn't able to get any pictures from my Jensema gathering on Saturday because I was too busy holding my ADORABLE new 2nd cousin Joshua! I pretty much consider him a pseudo nephew since I don't have any yet. It was great to see them all, especially the precious new addition to our fam jam.

These pictures I do have are a collection that my cousin Lindsey and I took during the Ongna festivities on Easter Sunday. We Ongna's have a little tradition of shooting guns. Strange? Perhaps. Although in Wisconsin, not so much. I snagged the picture above when one of my cousins was chucking an onion in the air while another cousin shot at it. It. Was. Awesome.

Lindsey also got this winner shot of me shooting my first real gun, a 20 gauge. It was my younger cousin Joshua's gun. He told me I could handle it, so I felt relatively confident. It was loud and had a smidge of a kick, but I totally held my own! I didn't hit the target, but that's not what its always about right? So I tell myself...

Tamarah, Lindsey, and I enjoying the very windy outdoors.

The best photo from the 20 we took, believe it or not! 

 And now we come to this picture of awesomeness. These 2 are two of my nearest and dearest friends. I have also known them for my entire life and we get together anytime we can. Anna and Sam met up with me for lunch which resulted in some crazy Wisconsin accents, water being spilled across the table, and some snort filled laughter. We always manage to have a great time! Its like someone hits a refresh button when I meet up with them. They are simply wonderful :)

I end with a picture of my puppy, Pepper. By puppy I mean a 9 year old beagle, but a puppy at heart. No matter how long I've been gone from Wisconsin, I am always greeted by an enthusiastic Pepper, waiting and ready to lick me. I love WI, which I've said like 25 zillion times before. I know, I am getting redundant. Let me just end by saying that I had a great break, I love my family and friends, and I LOVE WISCONSIN.

There. Was that a little too much?

Just the ordinary...

This past week I had nothing super special going on. No one was visiting for the weekend, there were no days off. Nothing absolutely crazy happened at school, there were no special plans for the weekend. It was an ordinary week.

While in the past years of my life, I may have labeled this past week as boring or dull. At this stage in my life, I would like to label it as lovely.

Yes, I said lovely.

Amidst the busy and crazy of adult life, I have come to greatly appreciate a rather uneventful week. I can simply work hard at my job and come home to enjoy my evenings, then do it all again! My students thrive under this kind of week, when we have our normal routine, they know exactly what is coming, and they know exactly what to do throughout the day. I have discovered just how delightful these weeks really are.

I took special notice on Friday of the classroom atmosphere I've worked on creating and the systems I had established. At the beginning of the year, I had to instruct my students on everything. Where to put papers, where to get this or that from, what to do when they were done with an assignment before anyone else, and so on and so forth. Friday I simply watched and enjoyed as I moved from one subject to another and my students simply did what they needed to. Put away certain books, grabbed out other ones, took out pencils, put assignments in the appropriate place, and waited quietly to begin.

It was LOVELY!

This progress isnt simply in their behaviors, but in their school work as well. I have moments like that when I think back to the beginning of the year and how far my students have come. It makes me so ecstatic to see their progress! This is especially evident in my students' reading.

We do a lot of reading throughout the day, whether it be in another subject, me reading out loud, the students reading from the basil reader, or silently to themselves. Well, as of the past few weeks, some of my students have been asking me to make a reading list of great chapters books for them to read for their own personal reading time. I've been pulling books for them, such as "The Mouse and the Motorcycle", "Pippi Longstocking" and "The Littles". I have students running up to me saying  "I just read this part and it is so good!" or "Can't I just read a little bit more, please?!" I love that!

A classic! SO good! And one of my personal favorites.

One of the most rewarding parts of being a 2nd grade teacher specifically is to be able to watch students develop in their reading. My students have grown from reading mostly children's books at the beginning of the year to reading pretty substantial chapter books such as the ones mentioned above. Their excitement for the stories and the characters is phenomenal! To have a role in perking children's interest in reading is unbelievably rewarding and is another one of the million reasons I love this job.

It's Official!

I am now a for real resident of Pennsylvania! Friday I had a day off of school and I took full advantage of it by getting my Pennsylvania license and license plate. I finally got a different car and I now am rocking PA plates. Finally!

Lenny rocking the new license plate... I'm still trying out names. 

It was a strange feeling, changing in my license and plate. I have been living here for 8 months and feel like this is now home. However, Wisconsin has been and always will be home-home. Not familiar with the term home-home? That's because I just sort of made it up. I do that sometimes, just ask my students! Anyways, I consider Wisconsin my home-home, which is the place I grew up, where I will go back to for holidays, where my family lives, the place I can always go to and feel familiar, cozy, and all warm and fuzzy.

With that said, my home is now Pittsburgh. It is still strange to say that, but it really does feel like it. I am establishing a life here, making great friends, loving my job, and really feeling like I have a place where I belong. It is amazing to see how much life has changed since August, when I was still hesitant if moving someplace new was the right choice.

It was definitely the right choice and after making it "official" with my license and license plate, I feel so...at peace. God chose to place me here and now I definitely know why. He knew the people I needed in my life and knew the place where I was needed. It feels so wonderful to have life somewhat figured out, at least for the moment! These past few weeks I have made myself pause to take time to look back and see how faithful God has been. When I am feeling worried or anxious about something, I simply look back to see how God has carried me through time and time again.

Now I know I have said this several times before, but I have to constantly remind myself and those who may be in need of reminding as well. Times may get tough and the waters may be rough, but God WILL get us through it. It is astounding to me just how amazing our God truly is, how patient He is with us, and how much He loves us.

So, Pittsburgh, I hope you are ready for me to stay for a little while! Although I must admit, I like the Wisconsin plates better! No offense PA! :)