two weeks later.....

hi friends! i know it has been what seems like ages since i last made a post to my blog. things have been absolute madness since i last updated things in the blog world. the first week since has been a blur and looking back at the calendar cound not really recall anything super duper exciting to report. sad i know. week #2 brought me back to work as the full faculty orientation began on august 13th. pretty much since then it has been full on school. paul has been such great husband putting up with my overly tired, whiney self. he has made dinner on more than one occasion. he is really into experimenting in the kitchen. :) he makes me so proud.

i made it through the first two days of school which is a good sign. i do have to say that this year feels MUCH better than the beginning of last. what a difference a year can make. this time it did not feel like the blind leading the blind. i actually felt quite on top of things which was refreshing although even when you feel that way there is still a to do list a million miles long floating in the back of the mind. the life of a teacher. my class seems really sweet so far, but i am sure i have to yet to see their "true colors". i definitely have some unique personalities, but i think it will make for a good mix. we have spent the first two days getting to know each other and creating our community constitution. i am excited about this year and have many mini goals set for myself about how i would like to do things, handle things, and teach.

the nicest surprise on day one was the amount of my formerr students that really did come by to see me. many offered hugs, others offered smiles. it really warmed my heart and made my day. they all have seemed to grow a bit over the summer and look more like 5th graders than my sweeties from the 4th grade. so fun! i even had two of them come by after school to hang out for a little while. it was nice to see them. even today i have to make several stops in the hallway for hugs and conversation. gosh, i love kids!

miss foster, mrs. f, mrs. falgout----the many names that i hear all day long. i know that technically my name has changed, but i do think it may take a bit longer for the kids to adjust. i still hear miss foster in the hall often. then my new kids call me mrs. f or mrs. falgout......which is really unusual still. it was weird feeling at new students orientation to introduce myself as mandy falgout. i did hear that there was quite the buzz in the lobby because they wanted to know where miss foster had gone. many kids were confused and thought mrs. falgout was a new teacher. it all came clear when they saw me. so fun to be the talk of the halls!

i am glad it is friday and hope to get some rest. it has been a hard week and i am sure next week will be killer since it is the first full week with kiddos. pray that i can manage to not worry too much, not be anxious, and to relieve my frustrations and burdens to God. it definitely has been a time of blessing to be back at school. i have realized how blessed that paul and i are to have each other and to continue to share our lives together. i am thankful each morning that i am alive and healthy.