BIG news::

 It all started two weeks ago...

I attended 4 consecutive days of classes - a total of 32 hours of listening 

to the same instructor talk about Property & Casualty Insurance.

I learned a lot, and came away with two quotes from my entertaining mentor:

You can't unscramble scrambled eggs.

&

Good, better, best.

Never let it rest.

Til your good gets better,

and

your better gets best.

Anyways...

I poured over books,

listened to over 10 hours of audio reviews,

studied every spare waking moment...

{I am not stretching the truth one little bit-

my family can vouch for me}

And last Saturday it paid off when I took the 160 question, 3 hour exam and passed by 4 points!

I was soooo pumped; I could hardly contain my excitement.  

The next step was to apply for my resident producer license,

which I received this past Thursday.

{I WILL be framing that up in my room! :)}

Now I can dive into these two books that I have been saving to reward myself! ;)

Come see some of my photography over at Serendipity-Images.

Goodbye, Pre-school...

Tuesday ended 3 1/2 years of working at a Pre-School. 

 It was the longest I had ever worked at one place, and it was a place that held many many memories.

  I will never forget the first time I walked into Wee Care.  I wondered how I would ever learn all the kids' names and I wondered if working 40 hours a week with them would prove too stressful.

  Well, over the last few years I watched kids come into my room from the two's room and then saw them get onto the school bus for their first day of school.  I developed relationships with several of the kids and felt almost as though I was parenting.  

I hope that I was able to influence these children as much as they influenced me.  They truly molded me into the person I have become.  The memories I made are ones I will always carry with me in my heart.

Smile :)

It's the simple things in life that make me smile...

Like this little boy who never ceases to make me double

over in laughter on a daily basis.

This dramatic bundle of a three year old makes

my job so much more enjoyable,

and so today I am thankful for the simpler things:::

October Ends

October is ending, tomorrow starts a new month. A new page in

the journey of life. A month full of great things planned. A month full of

exciting things that will happen that I am not even aware of yet.

And so I let go of this month of October, one full of great memories, captured with photos to remember them by, and reach ahead to embrace a new month...November.

{ Moments from October...}

Sharing a fun moment with my kiddies

Madeline has been with us for two years and just moved to

Indy. This pic was taken on her last day.

I was able to take some photos of the Hodges.

I had such a great time with them...a great fun-loving family!

Apple Orchards: a "must do" for the fall season!

Absolutely love this barn!

Developed a taste of apple cider...delicious!

[Halloween Party at work]

Creating a jack-o-lantern

Drawing

Carving

and displaying!

Happy Halloween

and

Welcome November!

The Difference

One hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was,

the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...

But the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.

Children...oh, how I love them!

I have so many opportunities to work with so many different kids.

First of all, there is my bus route.

And then, there is the 5th-6th grade girl's Sunday School (which

I truly enjoy being a part of)

And lastly, the ones I am with the most..the kiddies at my work...

The ornery,

dramatic,

personable,

and the lovable stinkers.

I work with these kids day in, and day out; 40 hours a week. Sometimes I admit, I feel stressed, annoyed, and at my wit's end. They won't listen, I am raising my voice way too much, I have overused the "be by myself" chair, and I just want to throw in the towel. But then I remember...I was a child once too...and I pretty stubborn one, I have been told! ;)

However, I was raised by godly parents and attended the same Baptist church since I was a newborn in the nursery. I had the privilege to attend a Christian Academy, High school, and College. I was not dropped off at a day care to be raised by someone else. I was disciplined and nurtured by parents who spent the much needed time with me.

Recently alot has been going on in a little child's life at my day care. Stuff that a 3 year old should not have to witness, nor be subject to; something he will remember for years to come. My heart aches for him and his siblings; I found myself thinking...

Why isn't that me?

What is so different about me?

Why did God spare me and see fit to put me in a Christian home?

That could have been me, if it weren't for the Lord's mercy...

I want so badly to take all the hurt out of that little boy.

Instead I put my focus into giving him more love, increasing my prayers, and not letting my patience run thin. After all, I am different, because of Christ; and, I hope someday when he is older and understands he remembers...the teacher who was different.

"Do not go where the path may lead..."

"...go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Graduation...that time in one's life where they accomplish a period of schooling and are ready to embrace the next! The last two weeks I have been able to attend and be a part of four graduations: Fairhaven Baptist College and Academy, Fairhaven Kindergarten, and two Pre-School Graduations at my work. I can't believe that it has already been a year since my college graduation, and five years since high school.

I remember my senior year of high school like it was yesterday; I remember how excited and nervous I was about entering college. I remember the first day of College orientation; my classmates and I had practiced what we would say when we got up and introduced ourselves. Boy, was I scared! It seemed like I blinked my eyes and four years had went by and I was graduating from college.

Recently I was looking at a picture I had taken with all my college graduates. It was exciting to see just how much has happened in all of our lives in just one short year. Quite a few have been married, several have went on to other schools to teach, some to churches to assist the Pastor, and then some who are like me and are serving in their home churches and waiting for next step or place God may lead them to. Another "school year" has ended and I am anxious to see what God has in store for me and those hopeful graduates in the next!

Fairhaven College & Academy Graduation

My baby sister with some of her senior friends...

I can't believe this is gonna be her senior year!

Me and my sweet friend Liz!

Fairhaven Kindergarten Graduation

I was asked take some photographs of the k-5 class, the morning of their ceremony. I had lots of fun and was able to get a lot of cute shots of the little graduates!

Future graduating class of 2022!

These little boys were too much fun!

Preschool Graduations at my Work

And...last but not least, I got to sit with my kiddies as they did a singing program and graduated from preschool!

Some were hardly interested...:)

And...others just came for the food!

So, as you can see it has been quite busy around here, but I have thoroughly enjoyed each one of these graduations!