little white house and lots of prayer.

There's this little white house I drive by every day to and from work. There are no other houses that surround it. I have never seen anyone outside of it and I have always wondered who lives in it. The house is beaten up. The walls look like they may fall down any day now. The grass is dirt. There is a metal swing set in front...with no swings. There is one tree. And I think that is about it. I drive so fast past that house and always, I mean always, wonder who lives there.....

....a few weeks ago....I discovered it was one of my student's. He lives there.

.....a few weeks ago.......I began to pray. I began to ask myself why I went to work everyday and why I drove past that beaten up white house everyday. I was drifting from the idea that I am at this school for my students and falling into the trap of getting my job done...almost feeling as though I am teaching in an empty room. I forgot these kids are MY students and they are REAL and I am there for THEM.

Teaching has been tiring. I feel like a failure everyday I leave that campus and drive the long trek home. I was mad at myself because I felt like I was not working on my relationship with my students. But then I began to pray that God would put a desire on my heart to love these kids with a love they have never received before. I asked Him to give me certain kids who had lives that you only see in awful, made up movies. I asked Him to give me patience. I asked Him to remind me everyday why I drive that long trek past that beat up white house.

My prayers have been answered. This past week has been incredible. I can't describe the love I have for my students and how I got it. There is no description but the Holy Spirit inside of me, guiding me, giving me the words to say, and ultimately loving these kids. He's answered those prayers. I drive past that house each day, pray for my day, pray for my students, and pray for that little one living in the house.

Just yesterday, one of my toughest students, who I do not get along with to say the LEAST, approached me with this statement: "School is cool, but even cooler because you are my teacher."

That's why I drive that long drive past that white house everyday. But thank GOD tomorrow is Friday. :-)

up again.

I'm up and running again. We'll see how long this lasts.

A few weeks ago, I decided to once again start blogging. Mostly because I wanted to have a safe place to share my experiences in my first year of teaching. By safe, I mean a place that I know my thoughts will be there when I sign back in. The few weeks went by and I did nothing to make my dreams become a reality...

...it wasn't until I began to read the book, Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist. I was given the book by a good friend who had also given me another one of her books awhile back that I could not put down. To no one's surprise, I can't put this one down either. I love it. I love the way Shauna shares her experiences. It is literally like reading someone's blog and not wanting to stop. As I read each chapter, I kept telling myself that I have got to start blogging again. So finally...I sit in my bed, the new Phil Wickham CD softly playing in the background (very good, but just like his others FYI), the window open with the cool Fall breeze running into my room, and the thought running through my head that I need to close my computer and go to bed. I have an early morning tomorrow. And a busy week. Lord knows my students do not want to see me grumpy. We've already discussed it.

Tomorrow begins Week 8 (or 9, I'm not sure) of school. I cannot believe how quickly these first two months have flown by. The weeks have been fun, exciting, tiring, stressful, overwhelming, rewarding, tough, and worth it all. I love my students, love the people I work with, and love the place I am at...which makes up for all the stress pimples I get on a weekly basis. Here's to another week full of surprises and many learning experiences. Not just for my students. Mostly for me.

call me an intellectual nerd.

I am totally okay with that.

Lately, I have been reading books. And lots of them. It is most likely due to the fact that since Borders is going out of business, I spend lots of time and money there buying these incredible books that I can't wait to read. The last one I just read was Prodigal God by Tim Keller, a must read if you want to know all about the "other" brother. It's a short read, small book with big letters and lots of spaces. That is my kind of book.

Before that book, I read Radical by (I forget) while I was in Mexico. I highly do not recommend that book if you are on vacation at an all inclusive resort. You will leave feeling very spoiled and guilty for the vacation you thought you would greatly enjoy. Read it and you will competely understand.

Currently, I am reading Letters to a Young Teacher, which is just okay, but very encouraging as I begin a brand new year next year. This is the kind of book you can just pick up and read little bits at a time when you feel like it. I really like those kinds of books.

Along with that book, my true nerdiness is beginning to shine. Teach Like a Champ is what I read when I bask in the sun on a warm, bright day. The title says it all. Most girls read these Karen Kingsbury novels, books that make them cry...the list can go on, but I am not that kind of girl right now. I am the kind of nerdy girl who is reading lots of books, constantly writing intriguing quotes in my journal, and beginning to watch the Real Hosewives less and less.

Who knows how long this will last, but for now, I will continue to read these books, make frequent stops to Borders as they lower prices everyday, and watch the crazy moms on Real Housewives every so often when I get a chance. Like I said, I am totally okay with that.

my sweet bargains.

I am all about the bargains these days. I have always wanted to be a true bargain shopper, but never took the time to educate myself, set aside a good part of my day, and actually bargain. But those days are over and I have an empty classroom with not much dinero to fill it with.

And that is okay...because I am now a certified bargain shopper.

Today, I went to a "Junkster" sale...so it was called. It happened to be at my old elementary down the street from my house. My sister and I trotted down to the school in our "workout" clothes only to be asked by my dad on the way out, "You're wearing that? You are representing the Pierce family now, you know." Oh please Pop. I said no more and headed for the door.

This "Junkster" sale gave me three filled grocery bags of BOOKS. I was thrilled. I immediately began grabbing as many books as I could see in sight. I figured the seller would sale them for a dollar or so. Not too bad. When I asked her how much they cost....a quarter. That is IT. Just a quarter. 25 cents for chapter books that will work perfectly in my classroom.

I walked away with 40 books today. Not bad.

Another bargain came last week when GW School Supply held a yard sale. Can't be any more perfect than that. Teachers selling their old things to me, a brand new teacher who has no idea what she is doing. I once again grabbed as much as I could and thought would be useful in my classroom. Although I did find many bargains, some of those teachers were STINGY. And by that I mean, when I tried to bargain, they would not budge. Please, their stuff wasn't THAT great.

That is my hunt this summer. Find yard sales and great deals at local stores. I want to be able to say that everything I found for my classroom was bought at a very inexpensive price.

....let the hunt begin...

Three tacos, a margarita on the rocks, and a bowl of ice cream later....

......I'm full and ready to blog.

These past few weeks have been...whoooo....hoooo.....CRAZY. As I look back at the past years, April and May seem to always be the craziest months out of the year. These past two months of this year have been nothing but crazy. So the trend continues on.

With all that said, what attributes to this crazy time is the fact that God answered my prayers in a way that I can do nothing but thank Him, praise Him, and fear Him more and more each day.

My one prayer request this past year has been answered. I was offered a teaching job.

Beginning in August 2011, I will open my classroom door to 24 fourth and fifth grade students. Man, am I excited!! I have never been more excited actually. When I got the phone call, I screamed, could not stop shaking, and yes, I began to cry. It truly is an answer to prayer and I can do nothing but give the glory to God.

Now the fun begins. I have a blank slate for a classroom, no money to fill that space up.......but I do have lots of energy! Let the fun times, the hard work (the very hard work), and the chance to be a light in little ones lives begin....

pray.

I think prayer is such a simple task, yet hard to accomplish...for me at least. I can pray. I will pray. But I don't always believe what I pray. I am like the father in Mark with the sick daughter and Jesus tells him to believe. The father replies...."I do believe, but help my unbelief." I am that Father. I can sit and pray. That's easy, but I don't always believe that what I pray will transpire.

This leads me to the prayer that I have been praying for over a year now. I want a teaching job. I am ready for one. I feel prepared. I am excited. I am willing. I know God has this specific place for me. A specific classroom with the name "Miss Pierce" inscribed on a wooden block placed perfectly in the center of my old, antique looking wooden desk right next to the apple a student brought me last week. So I not only pray for the opportunity to have that teaching job this year, but I pray for His Will to be done.

Now it's time to believe all that I pray. I have an interview this coming Monday at a school I would LOVE to teach at. It is exactly the kind of place I want to be. I pray for it and I ask you to pray for it as well. I want the job...I get the chills just thinking that I may possibly have this opportunity.

God plainly tells us that He answers our prayers when we ask. So why I don't believe that, who knows. But it is time to start believing what I pray. Sit back and watch the Lord provide.

"To the faithful, He shows Himself faithful..." -Psalm 18:25

me gusta Cancun.

I have decided to stop posting albums on Facebook. It may be because I don't feel like I need to share so much of my personal life with the facebook world. Or it could be because I already spend too much time on there as it is. Making an album would just add to that. Or it may even be because I am getting more mature, more wise, more sophisticated and I want to save all the cool pictures for my blog. Who knows what the case may be, but with all that said, I sit here writing with itchy, peeling skin because I just got home from Cancun. It was a trip with the family to celebrate some major met goals, and boy, did we celebrate. We celebrated so much that we all came home with Montezuma's Revenge. For those of you who do not know what that is, look it up. It's real. Trust me.

The trip began with an early morning flight. We arrived at our resort to be handed glasses of champagne while our bags were personally delivered to our room. That's when the trip began....

The lobby.

After we settled in, we went to the first meal of the trip. A delicious meal overlooking the ocean. And after that, we found out that room service will give you anything you want. In that case, we took them up on the offer. Midnight rolled around. Teddi and I made a phone call. A cheeseburger, french fries, and delicious taquitos were delivered to our room.

A typical day in the life of a Pierce on vacation looked like this: Wake up, take a short run on the beach, either order room service or go to a restaurant for breakfast, lay out, lay out, get a drink, lay out, read, lay out, take a nap, each lunch, take a nap, lay out, get a drink, maybe take another nap while laying out and then finally head inside. Boy, did the days wear me out.

Nights were always fun. We would dress up and head to one of the six restaurants they had at the resort. Every place would serve at least a four course meal that was to DIE FOR. A few times I really thought I died and gone to heaven.

A few excursions were penciled in...if you count snorkeling, traveling to a town, and going to the spa. But when we weren't doing those things, we were either eating, sleeping, or tanning. It was great.

Thanks to Megan for getting her Master's. Thanks to Doug for passing his CPA exams, and thanks to me for graduating college (in four years with my credential thank you very much). Without these accomplishments and of course, my parents for giving us this vacation, it would not be possible. As they always say, "This trip deserves to be in a photo book."

His will.

I have to say that this is the year in which I have learned that God's will is not only the best for me, but it will be done. I can't begin to think of all the things I tried to do, whether that be moving away, finding a full time teaching job, and even the little things....when they were not in God's will, they did not get done.

At first, I was frustrated and kept asking God, "why, why why?" Then my mindset began to change. I really began to learn about God's will. I threw my hands back and said, "Alright God, you know what is best for me. I will do my part. I will do what I am called to do and let You work everything else out."

And that is exactly what He has done. When I sat back and actually let Him guide my life, I began to see all He is doing and all the good that comes from it. He really does know what is best. And when we sit back and let Him actually work, man, He does a lot. The best part of it all....it is good.

When I begin to feel discouraged, overwhelmed, or discontent I remind myself that...

-His Will will be done in my life.

-His Will is what is best for me.

-He is sovereign.

-He is faithful.

I will sit back and let Him be the driver of me and not the other way around. Because Lord knows I am one horrible driver who never pays attention, never follows rules, and believes I can text and drive at the same time.

"Our Father in heaven

hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,

Your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven...."

..........

...some interesting things I have either been learning,

discovering, or thinking about lately....

1. Hulu now charges $7.99 a month to watch their shows! So much for trying to watch Teen Mom 2.

2. Redbox has an app. You can find the closest Redbox to you and even see what movies that box has. Are we in the 21st century or what!

3. Tupman, CA is really a town. Smallest town I have ever seen.

4. When I was in Kenya, we had to hand wash all our clothes which was a difficult and time consuming process. Apparently, we weren't very good at it......... if we were, the kids would not have taken over and given us dirty looks. So anyways, I think it is so crazy that all I do here in America is literally throw my clothes into this huge metal machine, pour some soap in a dispenser, push some buttons and an hour later, my clothes are fresh and clean.

5. 89,000 avocadors are used on a daily basis at Chipotle.

6. CSUB is in fact run by the state...according to the police officer who pulled me over at 6:30am.

7. Starbucks offers ceramic mugs to those who are drinking their coffee in the store. Now I don't have to feel so bad about throwing away my paper sleeve. I do wonder how many people sink out of the store with their mugs....

8. Kids are getting worse and worse these days. It really makes me so sad...for a few reasons. One: I signed up to be their teacher. Two: My own children will be home schooled, sheltered, loners because I will not allow them out into the crazy real world. And I told myself I would never home school my kids.

9. April is right around the corner and I will be gone 13 days out of the 30. Ohhh my. I literally just realized that.

things.

....things I do....and things I don't do....

-I pick my split ends. Way too much. My mom tells me my hair is going to completely fall out one of these days.

-I press snooze too many times. They say that if you place your alarm on the other side of the room, it will force you to get up. Not that I have ever done that, but one of my old roommates did and it never worked for her. If it didn't work for her, it ain't gonna work for me.

-I pick my nails when I am nervous. That's why I keep them short.

-I cook. And I've been getting pretty good at it if I do say so myself. My mom recently began cooking these crazy meals...she told my dad she has a tough competitor.

-I comment about EVERYTHING. Sometimes funny. Sometimes honest. Sometimes dumb. But I always have a comment. I am a woman of many words.

-I look at expensive clothing store websites and try to mimic the model's clothing. The only difference is that my clothes come from Target, Old Navy and TJ Maxx and theirs is expensive.

-I drive fast. I have always wanted to be a race car driver so I pretend like I am one.

-I do not sit on public toilet seats. Although research has shown that the toilet seat is the cleanest part of the bathroom, that's just gross. I don't want someone else's butt to come into contact with my own.

-I do not touch cats. No comment.

-I do not bake. Too many times have I messed up recipes and ruined what could have been a little piece of heaven. I have given up on all baking. Plus Panera Bread's anything is amazing.

-I do not like to read instructions. Of any kind. This is the part of my personality...I do not like to be told what to do. I want to figure it out on my own.

-I do not drive more than 5 miles when my empty light is on. I give everyone a hard time for running out of gas so I can never be the one to do it.

-I do not leave the house without my Aquafor. For you non-aquafor users out there, Aquafor is a vasaline like chapstick but 100 times better than vasaline.

-I do not like to sharpen pencils. As a teacher, I feel like sometimes that is all I do and I hate it. The sharpeners always ruin the pencil and I stand there for 5 minutes trying to fix it.

Of course I have more things I like to do and more things I do not like to do. I just can't think of them right now.

time to...

start blogging again!

I can't believe I let it go so many months without updating something I really love. Really, it's something I really love to do.

I was re-inspired to start writing again when I began reading this book, Bittersweet. The author writes about her life and the struggles she faced during a time of transition. She is such a creative writer in sharing her thoughts, and I said to myself, "It's time. It's time to start this blog up again." I was inspired.

So here goes nothing. I'll write my thoughts, whether they be funny, sad, profound, insightful, silly, crazy, boring, or anything. I'll write them down and you can read 'em. Hope you enjoy.