Tales of #MOMLIFE: July 2016

Since moving back to the mainland we have been close enough to visit family frequently. Many of you who know me personally, know that I am a small town girl at heart. I love my hometown and the people in it. I love where I come from and I am very close to my family. There is just something about going home.

Week 3 of my gratitude challenge is Family. There are so many things to be grateful for when it comes to my family. All of my family. But while thinking about what I wanted to post about I decided I would write about why I'm grateful for my immediate family just the way it is. You will see what I mean by this.

I am child of a "broken" home. At first, I hated this term. I don't think most people would like to define themselves, or their situations as being broken. It was a harsh word for a harsh situation. I will not go in to details about the situations surrounding my parents divorce because that is something I typically only share with those close to me. But I want to share some of my story with you so that you can understand fully why I am now very grateful for my "broken" home.

I was 12 when my parents got divorced and my sister was 9. I've always been a pretty mature person and so I took this situation as time for me to grow up. It was time, in my eyes, to step up for my little sister and to help out as much as I could. But as mature as I was at the age of 12, I could still hold a grudge. And it took a very long time for me to get over the hurt I felt during this huge life shaking event. My relationship with my mom really suffered. I wasn't the nicest of people to her and I sure wasn't forgiving.

Over the next couple of years I learned to get up early and get ready for school and help my little sister. I learned to take on responsibility and I learned to forgive. I learned to let go of what I could, and to work on what I couldn't. New people came and went in my new life, but there were some that stuck by us and helped us and cared for Ariana and I, which was something my dad really needed. Everything was different and I started to realize that we weren't "broken" anymore.

One of the things that I most love about our heavenly father is that He takes things that are broken and He makes them new again. Everything that I knew fell apart when I was 12. Going through that situation and looking back, I realize that my family needed to "break" for us to be what we are today. I cannot tell you what life would have been like if my parents had stayed together or if the situations surrounding their divorce never happened. I can tell you though that I believe with my whole heart that I would not be who I am today. I don't believe I would be as strong as I am now. I do not believe my mom and I would have a close relationship like we do now. I do not believe that I would be as good of a mom as I am now if I hadn't gone through those things.

Today, I am still a daddy's girl. I love going to my childhood home and reminiscing about all of my memories there. I have a great friendship with my sister and a bond that was made so deep because she needed me more than most sisters need each other. I have a great relationship with my mom and our past has been forgiven though never forgotten. Because to forget would not be fair to who we are and how far we have come. We are not all together, but we are not broken. We are a family. A family of very strong individuals that don't give up. A family that drops everything the moment we are needed. A family that God foresaw even when we could not see past our pain.

We were once broken, but in His timing and in His own special way we were made a new family. A different family sure, but still a family. I am so grateful for the family I have today. I am grateful for the situations that taught me how to be strong and how to forgive. I am grateful for the opportunities to be responsible and helpful. To love when it was hard to and to let go of what I couldn't change.

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Photo by Ashley Sue Photography

52 Weeks of Gratitude: Week 2

To say I am grateful for my husband is a huge understatement. I think that most married couples would say that they go through periods where they forget to truly be grateful for their spouse. Life gets hectic and kids come along and your focus gets pulled. But it's always a great feeling to sit back and really reflect on how much we depend on and love our spouse and all that they do. So here I am on week 2 of the gratitude challenge, very grateful for Ethan.

If you don't know the story of Ethan and Kristin, I'll give you a quick run down.

The Story of Us

Ethan and I really met at a Band Luau my freshman year of college, but he will tell you he doesn't remember meeting me. I will never let him forget that I obviously didn't make much of an impression. haha After friend requesting him on Facebook, he started messaging me and we made plans to meet up at one of my dorm functions. We sat and talked for a couple of hours about music and our likes. A few days later he asked me out and we went on our first date. He was sweet and a total gentleman but I wasn't looking to really date anyone.

Over the next few months I gave Ethan a hard time as we got closer. I was torn between not wanting to get serious and actually really liking him and so I pulled away. A lot. But he stuck in there and I fell. Hard. The rest is history.

My Best Friend

There is no one in this world who knows me better or challenges me more than Ethan does. We can have fun just sitting at home binge watching Netflix or out playing games at Dave and Busters. He's just fun to be around. I am so grateful for someone that I can always be myself with. It's hard to just stop and have fun with all that life throws at us daily. He knows how to get me up and out when stress has just taken over.

He's smart, (too smart), talented, funny and hard working. He is an amazing husband and the best father. I am so blessed to call him mine and grateful doesn't even begin to cover it.

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I am so grateful to everyone who has taken the time to stop and read this post. I hope that you will consider partnering with me to make a difference in the lives of my students.

As some of you know, I currently have two fundraising projects open for my kindergarten class. One is through Donor's Choose to purchase a class library for my classroom and the other is through GoFundMe to purchase supplies for alternative seating and Daily 5. Let me give you a little background into my classroom and the research that I have done.

Kindergarten is the foundation for students' academic career. A lot of students come to us at the beginning of the year with no idea how to hold a pencil, use scissors, sit in a desk or play well with others. For some, this is their first social experience.With common core and the push for more rigor in Kindergarten, play is no longer a large part of our students' day. I try hard to implement play as much as I can, but the demand is so high that it proves to be very difficult.

Last year was my first year in kindergarten, and I learned a lot about those little minds and bodies. A handful of my students had already been diagnosed with ADHD and were on medication. Their little minds and bodies must be actively engaged all of the time, and this becomes trying when there is work that must be done that is less than exciting. I also saw that some of my students were not independent in many areas and were not willing to venture to try things on their own.

Alternative Seating

I try to instill in my students a sense of confidence and exploration. I strive to make them independent learners (yes, in Kindergarten) and to have them experience things for themselves. With alternative seating, my students will have a choice of where they sit to work each time they are sent from the carpet. I am hoping to have seating options such as yoga balls and cushions, crate seats and yoga mats, as well as lap desks and clipboards. Students will be able to stand or lie down. However best they learn and work is what I will teach them to choose. Students who are constantly squirming won't be required to sit rigidly in a seat and students who like to curl up with their books will have the opportunity to do so. There has been research that says alternative seating can help to keep students focused for longer as well as combat restlessness.

Daily 5

Daily 5 is something that I implemented in Hawaii with my second grade class. I will not go into great detail here, but I swear by this system. Daily 5 is a rotation of 5 stations that the students go to each day: Read to Self, Read to Someone, Listen to Reading, Word Work, and Work on Writing. Students learn what is expected of them during these stations as well as what the teacher will be doing. They are introduced to the materials and are taught to independently run these stations themselves, freeing the teacher to meet with students in small groups or one-to-one. This system creates independent learners and thinkers as well as builds teamwork. I love it! It takes a lot of prep and materials to implement but well worth it all!

I hope that you will pray about this opportunity to partner with me this year by donating. Every dollar will help me be able to buy the materials I need to make a difference this year. With all that is happening in our world today we need to invest in the future of our children and I will do my very best to help shape and mold great leaders, mothers and fathers, and hard workers. Thank you in advance for your help and prayers!

Click here to donate to our classroom library: Give the Gift of Reading

Click here to donate funds for alternative seating and Daily 5: An Engaging Classroom