Family Road/Flying Trips

This weekend was a fun-filled Family Road/Flying Trip to the Midwest. 

On Thursday evening, I drove down to Littleton from Boulder, to find my brother packing for college, and everyone preparing for our early flight the next morning.
Friday morning dawned bright and early at 3:30am and we were off to a 6:30am flight! What a rush. We flew into Minneapolis, and made the five hour drive up to Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Hello Twin Cities!!

It was truly wonderful to be back in the Midwest, knowing that so many of my dear friends were nearby.

Friday was spent gathering more necessary supplies for Steven and his year. We toured around campus, and prepared to get ready for move-in the next day!

It was a privilege to spend time with my brother as he lead me through some of the aviation buildings on Friday night. His wealth of knowledge about flight amazes me. He is so passionate about flight, and I know he will do well!

Saying I'm proud of my brother is an understatement. I feel blessed to be his sister. I know he will do so well! That much was evident as he was moving in all of his things on Saturday and we were making multiple trips to Target as well as every single other UND student.

Inside the hockey arena

I couldn't imagine not being there for Steven that day and with my parents. It was a pretty exciting day! I feel fortunate that I was able to spend time with my family this weekend.

 

In the afternoon we said goodbye, and headed back to Minnesota for the night.

On Sunday morning, we packed up early and drove to Decorah to surprise some people at Luther!! It was a much-needed trip, and I am so grateful my parents were willing to drive the additional seven hours down to Luther from Grand Forks.

Our drive down to Luther included a stop in Fargo.

It was so good to be back on campus and see some dear friends!!

Amazing how large of an impact a place and it's people can have on you. I am so grateful to call Luther home. I dearly miss it, and cannot wait to be there in October to visit.

We rounded out our trip with one last drive back to the Twin Cities, and headed home that night.
It was certainly one blessing of a trip.
With our trip home, it was a strange hollow feeling to leave so many people that I loved behind. My brother, and friends at school.

Distance does have a way of proving how much people and places mean to you. 
To everyone at school, I wish you all the best!

Student Teaching

Well, here begins a new chapter...Student Teaching!

I am currently in a first grade classroom in Erie, Colorado and living with dear family up here as well. It is exciting to be at this point in life.

Last week I was in the building for three days for the teacher contract days. It was full of prep for the school year, meetings, and lots of name-labelling.
I plan to blog all about my experiences on my education blog which can be found at this link: Educational Musings.
Let's just say that although I have only been in the building for five days, I have certainly learned alot! Teachers do so incredibly much and deserve the heartiest pat on the back for what they do. I think this semester will definitely help me to build up my stamina being in the classroom, and it will require quite a bit of reflection, lots of writing, and lesson planning! It is exciting.

Freshman year of college, I definitely didn't forsee all of this (student teaching), but that goes for most of college. Amazing how many good plans God has for your life. Many of them unforseen. Changes that turn out to be the best.

For instance, I never thought that I would be going to a small, private, Lutheran school fourteen hours from home in high school. But Luther has turned out to be the best possible place for me. And I am so grateful for all of the experiences I have had at Luther and the opportunities that have come because of Luther.

I am very grateful for the many places that I have come to call "home" in life. And truly, home has become a place where the dearest of people are. Being in such a place of transition in life, I have definitely come to appreciate so much more, the people that I spend time with. I count it a blessing that I want to be in so many places at once so that I could spend time with every wonderful person!

My new playlist for the end of this summer and the beginning of this year has been the "Safe Haven" soundtrack. Yes, back to a soundtrack. But I absolutely love the music. It's acoustic and upbeat. It's good reflective music. (The movie is wonderful as well!)

As I have gotten more and more in to student teaching, I know and feel that teaching is the right place for me. I love working with kids and knowing that I can pass on a love for learning to so many littles. I am grateful for this time in life, even as crazy, and busy, and tired as I may be!

So here is an ode to every teacher in the world...thank you for all you do. You have such a profound influence upon so many people. My highest respect is given to you!

If, Then, Therefore...The season of transitions

The summer is coming to a close. It has speedily passed by in a blur of laughter, memories, tears, and sunshine. It was a summer filled with a great deal of events.

So this post has pretty much all of the events from this summer!

Camp ended well for me! I ended camp early to come home and spend time with family and prepare for student teaching. The weeks at camp really flew by. I feel lucky to have spent my weeks with some really wonderful people in an incredible place in the Colorado Rockies.
Sky Ranch was a wonderful home for me this summer. I can't thank the people there enough for all the laughter, smiles, and dedication that each and every person put forth in order to make camp a success.

It really takes incredible people to make a place like this possible, and I feel blessed to have worked with so many wonderful people.

 I feel incredibly blessed to have spent 9 weeks with these terrific leaders, learning, growing, and joining together in worship up in the mountains!


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Amongst those wonderful moments, there have also been some tough times. The passing of loved ones always leaves a mark on you. I am sorry to say that my Grandmother passed away several weeks ago. She lived a very long, incredibly joyful, and positive life. I feel so blessed to have been apart of her life, as she has left a very long lasting mark on my heart. I owe my positivity to what she has taught me over the years. Her love was given so fully to everyone she met, taking time to remember people's names the first time she met them, as well as taking time to converse with you on a deeper level. She cared so much for others, never dwelling for a moment on herself. I miss her dearly, as does everyone else who was touched by her life. Her legacy will be wide and long-lasting.
One of our traditions was to say, "Bye, Love you too" at the end of every conversation. Even our emails would end with, "BLYT :-)".
So for now, it is simply BLYT, Nanna Pat. Thank you for giving me and so many others, so much life and love on this earth.

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As this is my last day at home before beginning my journey of student teaching, it has brought a great deal of packing and preparations for teaching. This past week, a wonderful person visited me from Minnesota. It was so great to see him! We went to a Rockies Game, hiked Roxborough Park, and journeyed to Breckenridge.
I'm looking forward to seeing him in October!!
It was a terrific week. 



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Steven got his pilot's license this week!! After a huge amount of work on his part, and many hours spent in simulators, flying with an instructor, and flying solo, he passed the tests to gain his license. He had roughly 60 hours logged in a plane before he got his pilot's license. I am so incredibly proud of you Steven!!
He even took us up in the plane to fly over the Front Range this past week. What an awesome ride it was!!

He is going to do great at school this year as he starts attending the University of North Dakota to study Electrical Engineering and Flight this year. 





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This summer has been full of ups and downs. But through it all, I am so very grateful to have been able to spend time with family. I dearly miss and remember Nanna Pat, and her desire to always live life to its fullest, and live without complaint. As this next year begins, I hope I can live the same way in her honor.

The busyness of summer is coming to a close. As I prepare to student teach this week, and Steven heads up to North Dakota, life seems so full and rich with possibility. There is so much to look forward to. There are moments that take you by surprise, and moments that turn out to be the sweetest.

If you are also starting a new season of life at this time, I wish you nothing but happiness. Enjoy every moment! And cherish the sweet times with friends and family.

Wishing you a wonderful day!