Combining Goals

I'm finally in school full-time, on campus, and working my way towards that degree. 

It.

Is.

So.

HARD!!!!

These weeks have flown by, but it's been spent trying to find a balance between everything.  Music is a skill you have to acquire.  Then, you just keep building on it.  There's never any down time.  You are constantly practicing or memorizing.  When the next semester begins, it's going to pick up right where you left off this semester.  The first couple weeks were really tough and I was on the verge of tears all the time.  I'm actually surprised I didn't have a meltdown at one point. 

However, I kept praying and praying and praying for God to help me on this journey.  I needed to feel some peace and calm.  I needed to feel like I can move forward in this journey and know deep within my heart I was headed in the right direction.

Then, God showed me everything He has already done to pave the way for me. 

Only a few months after, by faith, I made the decision to leave my job and attend school, Craig received a promotion.  Along with his promotion came a raise in pay.  And that raise covered everything I would no longer be earning at my job.

Just over a month before school was to start, Craig's car died.  It was old and lived many years, but it meant we had to have another car payment again with a car purchase.  A couple weeks after Craig bought his car, he received another raise, covering the amount of the car payment.

When God reminded me of what He had already done, it eased my spirit.  God was not going to bring me this far and then leave me.  I am continuously on a spiritual journey and this would simply be a new part of it.  I pray every morning, dedicating each day to God.  I pray for peace in all of my classes and for my anxiety to disappear (anxiety comes upon me very easily).  If I think about any part of school in the future and everything that needs to be accomplished, my heart immediately starts racing.  I have to take it one day at a time.

Just recently, God showed me something else.  He showed me that I can be a light in my school.  I can still be a positive influence on my classmates and I can still show God's love through my actions and words.  This journey is not just about me.

I love my classmates and new friends.  We speak a language that is foreign to others.  Since I literally spend all day in the same building, I see the same people over and over.  We all have the same struggles with the same end goal.  I make it a point to say hi to them or smile each time I see them.  I hope they don't see me as just an "older" student, but rather as a peer that they can count on.  I will say I've already had a few come to me and just spill their guts.  All I can do is listen and give them an encouraging word.

So, as my spiritual and school goals are combined, all I can do is trust God, give each day to God, and let Him continue to guide me through this new stage of life.

School Goals

The new school year is in full swing for the 3 of us.  We are already super busy and tired!!!!  In fact, I have to write out our daily schedules and keep it where everyone can see to help keep track of our comings and goings.  Oh, how we are missing those lazy summer days already.  But, we are ready to take on this school year and the new changes it will bring.

This is currently written on the chalkboard

in our kitchen-it's a great daily reminder!

Preston started 5th grade at a new school this year.  Intermediate schools house 5th and 6th grades in our school district.  He transfers to three different teachers which gives him a taste of what's to come in middle school.  He officially has his own locker and hopefully will never come home and say he had to get his lock cut off because he forgot the combination!  I think the new responsibilities of this year will be good for him.  Preston is actually enjoying school so far.

First Day of 5th Grade

We have a middle schooler!!!  Kaitlyn is also at a new school and is busy, busy.  She has 8 classes, including 2 pre-AP classes.  She is in Athletics and comes home all the time complaining of sore muscles.  Hehe!  She was also accepted into the AVID program which helps prepare for college, even at this age.  She's quickly learning homework will take a little bit more time than before, but she still loves it.

First Day of 7th Grade

I left these notes in the kids' lunchboxes on the first day of school. 

Then, they came home to special gifts and some pumpkin pie (per request) for their special after school treat.

I started a week later and am officially a full-time college student carrying a full load (13 credit hours).  I am taking 9 classes and they're strictly all music classes of some sort.  Studying music is a whole different type of studying.  You can't just read something in a book, memorize it, test on it, and then forget about it.  You have to learn it, let it be engrained in you, constantly practice, and keep it in your brain forever.  Then, keep adding to it.  It is HARD!!!  

My new home away from home

Let me just say my first day was awful.  AWFUL!!!!  Between course changes, classroom changes, textbook issues, etc., it just left me so frustrated and ready to cry.  It gradually got better as the week went on, but I am so, so thankful for the weekend.  And I am beyond exhausted.  Only 15 more weeks to go of the semester!  I cannot say how much it means to have the support of my husband.  He was very encouraging when it came time to quit working and he wants me to solely concentrate on school and just do what I need to do to graduate (however long that takes).

First day of full-time college (again!)

We will take this school year a week at a time, sometimes a day at a time, and just let God continue to guide us through this new journey.