Time passes so quickly... even when we try to stand still

Myself and my wonderful teaching partners during Dr. Suess Week

Well.... it has been quite awhile since I last put my thoughts down at all! Our life has been so crazy busy ( in a good way) that I actually forgot that we created this blog!! Now that I look at the date... it's been exactly one year and 7 months since you last heard from us.

Now... how do I sum up all that has happened since then???

Well, just when all hope was lost for me starting my teaching career..... an amazing opportunity arose. Since September of 2009, I have been teaching in a small town 40 minutes away from Lawton called Duncan, Oklahoma. Mark Twain Elementary has become my second family and I can't imagine NOT being there. I started teaching the 19 most amazing second graders last year and now I am teaching 83 fourth and fifth graders. Yes... you read that number right!!! 83. But I have 2 amazing teaching partners, who I like to call my Everyday Heroes, that I work with. Along with our teaching assistant (AKA Our Lifesaver), we are quite the team. I don't know what I would do without these 3 wonderful woman who make a difference everyday!

Although teaching has been exhausting... and when I say exhausting... I mean mind. body. soul.... it has been the most rewarding, fulfilling, inspiring experience of my life. It's wonderful how the little ones of our society can teach you more than you ever imagined about life.

Check out our webpage:http://teacherweb.com/OK/DuncanMarkTwainES/5thGrade/t.aspx

As for Rory, the Army has kept him very busy. His unit has been training many different groups, from the British Army to the Australian Army! The great thing about him doing the training is that he stays stateside! Rory has also made a huge decision that will soon make a huge change in our lives.... he has decided that his time serving our country has come to an end. In two years, his contract will be up and he will be getting out of the Army. This is a decision he has wrestled with for quite some time and has finally come to terms with. The great thing is he already has many job offers for when he makes this transition. As always, I support whatever will make him happy!

2010 was a year full of many celebrations:

1. a new addition arrived in our family. I became an aunt once again as Ava Christina Saman came into the world on June 2!
2. My best friend since I was 15, Jessica, tied the knot and I got to stand by her side as her Matron of Honor in a beautiful ceremony back home in Myrtle Beach.
3. I also got to spend time with my college girls and take a walk down memory lane... literally. We took a walk together on our college campus USC and reminisced about all the amazing memories we shared together.
4. We got to travel back east to Pittsburgh for Rory's cousin's wedding and spend a great time with the Keating family
5. We took my nephew to Disney World...but I was more excited about the part when we went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!!
6. We spent Christmas in Florida with my family, including my aunt, cousins and my grandmother. It has been so many years since we all have been together for the holidays.

2010 was quite good to us. Hoping for even more amazement this year! Okay... so now that I have caught you up to the Keating Speed.... let's hope I can keep this blog going this year! :)