We're getting married in THREE DAYS. I'm speechless.

"Pizza has changed my life because of its deliciousness."

An actual thesis statement from my seventh grade student for his autobiography.

the stars lean down to kiss you. and i lie awake and miss you. pour me a heavy dose of atmosphere. cuz i'll doze off safe and soundly. but i'll miss your arms around me. i'd send a postcard to ya dear cuz i wish you were here. i'll watch the night turn light blue. but it's not the same without you. because it take two to whisper quietly. the silence isn't so bad til i look at my hands and feel sad. cuz the spaces between my fingers are right where yours fit perfectly.

- owl city. love this band.

i have finally and officially finished moving into our apartment!

now i'm just waiting for tyler to get here...

Today I'm missing...

Tyler.

A lot.

It starts the same with a boy and a girl...

and a huh and a game

my hope of not having a child for years has been shattered...i just got 200 of them!!!

the first day of my teaching career was...surprisingly enjoyable.

7th grade is really awesome. there are kids that look like they're still in sixth grade and of course there are some girls that look older than i. there are kids that are scared out of their mind and almost in tears; there are some that are too cool for school and definitely too cool for you; there are some that have a question/comment for EVERYTHING; there are some that have better answers than i even thought of. but they're all really great.

my two favorite moments of the day were...in fourth period when my cute cute cute student in the front row sat there staring at me with the biggest puppy dog eyes, focused with the greatest intent, and nodding to everything i said. i just wanted to squeeze him; he was so cute! second was in seventh period when one of the boys raises his hand in the middle of my instruction and asks,

"are we allowed to have relationships at this school?"

uh...i don't even remember my response.

my favorite advice from this past week of training before school started was, "keep the kids moving. don't let them sit for more than fifteen minutes. it only takes fifteen minutes for all the blood in a thirteen year old boy's body to settle in the groan."

now that school's up and running i can once again focus my attention to my wedding, which, hmmm, is in TEN DAYS!

Today I've spent two hours so far on one lesson plan...

And I'm only half way through it...

I'm looking forward to teaching junior high, starting in one week! But WOW lesson planning takes sooooo long!!! Yesterday I was very impressed with myself with getting five lesson plans finished in only FIVE hours.

Teachers are largely under appreciated in my opinion. I got in a slightly heated debate a few months ago with some co-workers who were trying to tell me that education majors are just learning how to play with kids all day long. Hmmm...

I believe that good education can solve most all of the nation's problems. Of course, nothing replaces the family. But education is second in my book for creating good citizens.

Click here to see a preview of our guest book

our guest book is complete! it was actually a lot of fun to make. i used blurb.com which was quite user friendly. i like the book a lot because it's filled with pictures of US! every time i see tyler, whether in life, in picture, or even on skype, i am reminded of the best thing that's ever happened to me.

After hours and hours and hours and hours and hours of tying ribbon, putting in pictures, stuffing envelopes, sealing envelopes, and sticking on stamps, the invitations are done and out!!!!

I have the most adorable niece and nephew in the whole world!!! Really. Adorable. Really. My niece, Aubrie, was baptized today. She looked like an eight year-old going on twenty. What a heartbreaker! The program was beautiful. We started singing the opening song about rainbows, birds, and pretty things and I lost it. Whew. I was a mess for the rest of the program. I love my family so much and seeing this not-so-little-anymore girl grow up is just so tender. It's also been two years since I got home from serving my mission in Armenia. I haven't been to a baptism since. Wow. I forgot what the Spirit feels like when it resides at a baptism. There is nothing like seeing someone humble themself and take upon them the name of Christ. I came to take that for granted in Armenia. People were getting baptized all the time. But being home and attending the baptism of my very own precious niece was more wonderful than I can find words to describe.

Congratulations Aubrie!

My great friend Christine Olson took our engagement pictures and I just got them back today! Check out her photography at http://christineolsonphotography.blogspot.com/. She's fabulous.


One of the greatest things I love about Tyler is how much he makes me laugh...















And what a babe he is...













And how much he loves me.