Happy graduation to me!

So, as referenced in my previous post, I am happy to report that I have graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelor's of Science in Education. Happy I survived. Thankful for all of the many people who supported me. Now I am just trusting Jesus to provide a teaching job in H-town!

My lovely family at my graduation. (Minus my brother who had to go to his senior prom instead.)

Real world, here I come!

Since there are professional photographers here...

A couple weeks ago before the whirlwind of graduation (another blog post to come on that), my bestie Elyse and I headed to Sher-town (Sherman, Texas) for a friend's sister's wedding. Catch all that? Anyway, since we were basically going to the wedding to see and spend time with Sarah (not her sister who got married) and barely got a wedding invite as it was, we were given a job. And that job was Photo Booth Photographers. In case you haven't caught wind of the new wedding trend, I'll explain it to you. Basically, you buy a bunch of dress-up clothes and props and your guests take pictures photo-booth style. Sometimes people get a real photo booth or a real photographer, but it really just makes the most sense to DIY. Especially when you have such "totes profesh" photographers such as Elyse and myself. Yes folks, if you are planning a wedding, you may hire us to man the photo booth as we are completely professional and experienced. (Elyse, if you're reading this, I hope that's okay that I just hired you out. Seeing as we are both currently unemployed and seeking teaching jobs in a crisis market, perhaps we are more serious than you think about this photographer thing.)

Anyway, in the midst of photographing the wedding guests, we (with Stephen, who mercifully tagged along) took some beauties of ourselves as well. As I said before, we maintained professionalism at all times.

This is why we are Elementary Teachers:

Prop Usage Demonstrated:

Royal Wedding Reenactment:

How Stephen was feeling by this point:

We really are normal:

My lovely husband who puts up with all my antics:

Amazingly enough, after all of that, one of Sarah's relatives actually got the impression that we are professionals. She pulled Elyse aside and asked if they could take a serious picture of all the generations of the family "...without props, if that's alright. It's not often the whole family is together, especially when professional photographers are here." Yes, it really happened.

Updates

Updates on our life:

My 22nd Birthday (April 7th) was amazing. It started with my sweet husband making me breakfast, complete with beautiful pink roses. (Let me just take this time to say that Stephen is the best at Birthdays, and gift-giving in general. I have to plan his birthday/anniversary/Christmas presents months in advance in order to keep up with how good my birthdays are. If that makes sense...)

My lovely third graders also made my day so sweet, complete with a Justin Bieber poster and these adorable flowers. One sweet child, Maria, who gave me the poster, felt the need to share her secret. Apparently she has dreams about Justin Bieber, complete with kissing. Eight-year-olds these days!

My lovely friends also made the day wonderful, complete with delicious Italian food, a surprise visit from Sarah, and Kinect playing at home.

Easter was wonderful with lots of family time in Austin as well as a little Peep-jousting in the microwave. Don't ask, just try it.

In the final days of my Internship, I got to take a Flat Stanley around town for my kiddos. It was fun and sentimental since I did Flat Stanley as a third grader. Mia and Stanley also had some great bonding time.

We also had a bit of crazy weather here in Waco with tornados around campus. The tornado sirens led to everyone in our apartment peering out of their doors to look outside at the rain and winds. I wanted to keep watching since I kind of have a thing for severe weather, but Stephen made us go sit in the bathroom. This happy picture was taken to commemorate the occasion.

Other than my wonderful birthday, Easter festivities, and tornados, I have since finished my internship. Hooray! I will graduate this Saturday, which is so surreal. Still no word on the job front. Prayerfully submitting this to God and trusting in his provision. On that note, I have been recently convicted of feelings of entitlement. It's crazy how we subconsciously develop feelings of entitlement regardless of God's will. I am seeking to give these things over to Him, trusting that He made me with my desires and goals and has the best in mind for me. Whew! How's that for an update?

Our new home!

Well folks, we did it! We signed a lease for our apartment in Houston. We are about 60 days away from our anticipated move, and there wasn't one of this unit available. We had also been hoping for a first floor location because they have renovated appliances, wood flooring, and easy access to the grass for Mia. Amazingly, we got a call about an hour ago from the Apartment leaser saying they had a first floor unit available (with a pool view, no less!), and we said we'll take it!

I am just so excited to move into this beautiful apartment and make it ours! For those of you who know our ghetto-Waco apartments, I'm sure you'd agree this is a step up! Also, it is a 5 minute walk from a shuttle to BCM, which is perfect for Stephen. Since it is located next to Reliant Stadium, it is very easy to get on and off the highway, which will be great if I have a commute to make. Also, it is in walking distance from a Super Target, Chipotle, Sonic, and a Chase Bank, all advantages we considered, of course.

Now all we need is our friends to promise to visit us in H-town.

Things Heard 'Round the Elementary School

Yes, it is time for another installment of elementary school anecdotes. I have been slacking on my blogging, yes, but it is really because I spend most of my time A. At the elementary school, B. cooking/eating, C. sleeping, or D. being a boring married person who doesn't really do anything exciting enough for the blogosphere. So, A. will have to do for blogging material.

A few one liners to start....

"Guess what Mrs. Pickett? I'm wearing a training bra today!"

Thank you, Cieara. Slash since when do third graders wear training bras?

In keeping with that theme, a story we read featured a Jewish grandmother affectionately called Bubbe. My students' response: "Um... Miss... what does this say.... b-boobie?" Cue snickers and embarrassed faces. "No, it's BUB-EE. It's his grandmother's name."

"Girls! Put the highlighters down and stop sniffing them!!" - My "Mentor" Teacher

One day, Dulce comes up to me and says, "Miss, my mom is going to have her baby soon." I respond with some sort of congratulatory statement and ask for more information, to which she responds, "Well, she's been having a lot of contractions..." I certainly didn't know what those were as an 8-year-old. I pretty much forgot about this odd conversation until one day a few weeks later (Dulce's mother still hadn't had her baby yet) I began a grammar lesson on contractions. Dulce raises her hand and says, "Miss, what kind of contractions." To which I respond bluntly, "NOT those kind," and move on quickly.

This one is without words...

We walked into our computer lab a couple weeks ago to find poop on the floor. Yes, human poop. Only at an elementary school. I mean, let's be serious.

I think I'll leave you with that.

Spring

I think spring may be my new favorite season. For some reason, despite new stresses and crazy transitions, this Spring has brought me so much joy. It's such an amazing feeling when you step outside and feel the natural warmth of the sun, and you just want to soak it up (as opposed to getting straight from air conditioning A to air conditioning B or from air conditioning to pool as fast as possible). It feels like spring is just this great medium between the annoyingly impossible-to-dress-for Texas winter (30 degrees at 8 am, 50 degrees at noon, and 70 by afternoon) and the unbearably hot summer. It's those few rare months when things are actually green, sprinklers are allowed to run, and it actually feels good to be outside. People are out walking their dogs, picnic-ing, running (without looking on the brink of heat stroke), gardening, sitting outside at restaurants. I've had non-stop sweet tea cravings, recently joined by iced coffee cravings. Snow cone places re-open, spring break revitalizes (most of us), and everything just feels fresh. I always feel more aglow and healthy when my skin emerges from its winter pallor and gains a little color. I guess what I'm trying to say is, it just plain feels good.

Summer will still be my favorite season, even as I dread the humidity of Houston. I love swimming and being tan and going to the beach and eating light summery food. But right now, I'd give anything to have more days like today. Sunny, barely 80 degrees, slight breeze. The perfect spring day. Actually, as I read my own descriptions, I have a sneaking suspicion that springtime here is similar to summer in most places north of Texas, which means my favorite season is right no matter what. Either way, spring this year is just making me feel so content and thankful for God's amazing creation.

Some of my favorite spring sitings:

- Mia playing in the puddles

- A friend's newly planted garden

- Dandelions popping up out of green grass

- Shorts and flip-flops

- People lounging on a blanket in an open field

- Baylor campus (always looks so pretty in the spring when the red brick contrasts with all the new green life)

I'm not always one for quotes, but this one sums it up nicely.

The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.

Harriet Ann Jacobs

SB 2011!

Spring Break. My last Spring Break as a college student, or student in general I suppose. Being that I want to teach, it probably (hopefully) won't be my last spring break ever, but last as a student. As I said.

Anyway, it has been rather... interesting. Highs and lows really. Stephen and I went on a short camping trip just north of Waco to Lake Whitney, which was a lot of fun. Brought little Mia, grilled veggies and sausage wraps, and roasted marshmallows by the fire. Downside, you ask? We got poison ivy. BAD. As in, it's all over our faces and bodies. So terrible. That was Monday. We got meds, but it is still spreading and still itchy. No fun at all.

Now we've been in Austin visiting family, which has been fun but also kind of a downer because all our siblings have different spring breaks than us weird Baylor kids. Pretty unfortunate. We got to meet Grant's new girlfriend yesterday, which was fun. Also, my little baby sister just got her first car--a 2009 white mustang. She is crazy and I love her.

Really, I just feel like life is moving faster than I can right now. I can't believe it's mid-march and that I'm about to graduate and move to a new city. I just wish I could slow things down for once! Anyone got that feeling?