My Newest Addition

Ok, so those of you who know me know that I am BY NO MEANS a pet person. That being said, I have a confession to make...I now own a cat. Some of you have heard the story through my Facebook posts, but I'll repeat it just in case there's some random person following this who hasn't heard.

Last Friday night, we had a middle school event called Mad Mad Nights (the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders all get together for pizza and a fun activity). A few of my 7th graders found a kitten wandering around the school. It was soooo skinny that you could feel every one of its vertebrae. I asked to hold it and it immediately burrowed its head into the crook of my arm. I held it the entire time. When it was time to go home, none of the other teachers would take her. I told my coworker/best friend up here in MT that I would take her for now if she would come with me to pick out some cat "crap" from Walmart. I thought she would back down and offer to just take it home with her (since she already has 2 dogs and a cat)...but, she didn't. So...I have a cat.
At first I was going to name her Annie after Little Orphan Annie from the movie. That name just didn't seem to fit her, though. Annie seems like a name for a playful or spunky kitten. Mine just likes to eat and sleep--which is fine with me! So, with the help of some friends and family, I finally decided on Kali. Where did that come from, you may ask? Well, I moved from CALIfornia to KALIspell. Her full name is Kali Jo. It fits her perfectly.

She's kind of temperamental. She gets mad at me when I have to leave her in her "house" while I'm at work. She punishes me by hiding under the couch for at least 30 minutes when I let her out. Then she eventually peeks her head out and decides to forgive me. Last night, I came home for a little over an hour, but then had to head back out to a volleyball game. She freaked out when I put her back in her house! She knocked her food and water bowls over trying to claw her way out. It was soooo sad.

My friend's husband said I might as well name her Sfen--meaning Single ForEver Now. He thinks that I have sealed my single fate by getting a cat. I tried to tell him that I would happily give this cat up for a man, but he didn't seem convinced. I may not even keep her...we'll see. I have to pay more for rent every month if I keep her. I could probably get away with just keeping her inside and not saying anything to my landlady, but I just feel like that's dishonest, ya know? So, we'll see.

Hope you're all doing well! I'll try to upload several videos I've got in the works (first snow, first fishing trip, Kali, family reunion, and more). I've just been swamped at work...
Oh! I almost forgot! My very first California visitor is coming up on Thursday!! I'm so excited! My good friend Michelle is coming up until Sunday and I cannot wait to see her! And, I'm hoping to show her off to my peeps up here to prove that I actually had friends down in CA :)

Single's Toast

So I know that I created this blog to share with you my adventure of moving to Montana.  I had no intention of turning it into a personal journal, but I'm starting to change my mind.  I thought I'd maybe share something with you that has become very special to me. 

You see, over a year ago, I had a best friend named Gina.  She and I were both single and loved to go out together.  We would almost always order a glass of wine (or a girly, fruity drink in my case).  One night, we decided that we should have a specific thing to toast to every time we got together.  I volunteered to write the toast.  I took it very seriously  :).  I went to a park, sat down for about an hour, and came up with the following.  I know that it's mushy and girly, but deal with it!  Although God has answered this prayer/toast in Gina's life by bringing her an amazing man with whom to share her life, it is still a prayer for my own life that I hope to one day see answered.  Be gracious when you read this...it had been awhile since I'd accessed my poetic side :).

A Toast 

To surrendering our hearts to their ultimate Lover

To giving up our dreams to their original Author

To working faithfully on what our God has set before us

To our continued pursuit of righteousness and faith

To living this life we have been given listening to the voice of our loving Father and not that of the Enemy

To not letting our hopes for tomorrow speak louder than our divine calling for today

To building our character to that of Biblical proportions

To the sovereignty of the Creator’s hand and the perfection of His timing

To finding men like Timothy—passionate, mature in faith

and obedient to the Spirit’s leading

To men who are courageous in heart, adventurous in spirit, solid in faith

and strong in Godly character

To one day seeing the goodness of the Lord in the smiles of our children

and the embrace of our soul mate 

And, finally, to having fun and faith while we wait.

To fun and faith!

My Pocahontas Rant

So today in 7th grade History, we discussed the differences between the real Pocahontas and the Disney version. One of the differences we discussed was her physical appearance. We looked at a picture from the Disney movie next to a painting done of her when she actually lived. This took me on a rabbit trail about "real beauty." I gave them a whole schpeel (sp?) about how girls don't really have waists that a guy can put his hands fully around and still have their thumbs touching (real scene from Aladdin). I also talked about how tough it is as girls to grow up with those movies because it shows us a false view of beauty. We talked about how a girl/woman's heart is so much more precious to God--and therefore, should be to everyone else--than what she looks like.

Not sure if that was an appropriate conversation or not, but I thought it was important to address. Think I'll get any parent calls about it?

I was very passionate in my speech. It's a personal pet peeve of mine...for obvious reasons...

Amazing Community

Ok, so I just have to brag on my co-workers and a few others for a moment here.

First of all, my room is in the basement. The basement flooded a few weeks ago, and so my classroom was thrashed. While everyone else was working on getting their classrooms set up, I wasn't even able to get into mine (carpet was being put in, paint was going on the walls, baseboards were being glued on). Therefore, I was WAY far behind. The day that my bulletin boards were put on the walls, five elementary teachers showed up in my room to cover the boards and put up borders. I didn't do anything and it was all done within an hour. Alone, it would have taken me at least 3 hours. Later that same day, a sweet lady who teaches here part time came and asked if she could treat all of the new middle school teachers to lunch at a local restaurant.

Second, I was feeling very overwhelmed by the novel I was supposed to start with the 6th graders. It's a horrible book and I was so overwhelmed. I went to one of the teachers here who used to teach my subjects. She was so supportive and said that she would back me if the superintendent asked her opinion. I talked to my boss about my struggles with this book. He talked through several options with me, none of which I thought would work. So, he and I went up to this teacher's room to ask her opinion. She said that she agreed with me that a different book should be chosen. My superintendent said, "Ok. I trust you both. Do whatever works for your kids." This means that I have to do a lot of last minute planning, but I still felt so supported.

Third, yesterday I visited a baptist church up here. There I met a sweet young girl (23 years old, married with a one-year old) who asked me to come sit with her during the service. She had to leave early because her daughter was making a ton of noise trying to fight off sleep :). Before she left, she got my name and number. At the time, I thought, "Well, that was nice of her. Maybe I'll hear from her and we could do coffee or something." Fast forward 24 hours to today. I get a call from her asking if she can bring the baby and help me in my classroom. She even offered to bring lunch and/or any supplies I might need. She stayed for a few hours and helped me sooo much! She's even going to find a table they have stored away for me to use up in the front of my classroom! Oh, and she said that she and her husband would be happy to store my tires for me when I have to switch to studded tires for the winter.

Lastly, out of the four teachers at the middle school level, three of us are brand new. I just met Matt and Rachel--the other two new teachers--a week ago. Already, we are so tight and they are going to be amazing friends. Matt invited me to dinner at his house last week and Rachel and I did pedicures and dinner on Saturday. They are absolutely amazing. God has truly had His hand in the three of us being placed here. They are fun, sweet, helpful and just absolutely precious. Matt's family has practically adopted me (inviting me to dinner anytime I want a home cooked meal, coming with me to Costco to find the best deal for a TV and wireless router, etc.). And even Rachel's husband has made it a point to try to introduce me to new people.

Overall, I honestly feel like this town/school has made the conscious decision to adopt me! I haven't felt homesick at all yet and I just feel like the people here are absolutely incredible. They are so sweet and supportive. Hopefully that won't wear off once I'm no longer considered the "new teacher." God is so good and the community of believers up here has definitely been an amazing reflection of Him. Thank you Kalispell and Stillwater Christian School!!

I'm Drowning!!

So here I am beginning my second full week here in Montana. It was great at first, but now that the real lesson planning has begun, I feel like I'm drowning. I have two grade levels, two subjects each. Plus a 7th grade skills class (geography, vocab, spelling, maybe some math facts...not sure yet) and an activity period every Friday for the whole middle school. Oh, and did I mention that my school doesn't believe in using textbooks? So I am having to do all of my own research on everything from the fall of Rome to exploration of the western hemisphere!

How in the world am I supposed to get all of this done and ready for the kids? Not to mention figuring out homework assignments, quizzes, tests, projects, fun activities. I don't know what the heck I am doing and I'm not sure that I'll be ready for the kids on the first few days of school--let alone the first quarter!!

AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

The Walking Trail

Montana Photo Slideshow!