It's Schooltime!

I have been so blessed to be able to work at a wonderful school this year. The Lord truly had a hand in allowing me to teach. I had so much fun setting up my classroom! I was able to put up bulletin boards and decide how I wanted to decorate. It was great to figure out how I wanted to run the class. I am basically going to post a ton of pictures for you to see what it looks like! :)

I hope you enjoy these photos! :) Pray for me and my class this year! I know the Lord is going to do amazing things!

1st Anniversary

Has it really been a year since our wedding? I cannot believe how fast time has flown by. Over the past year a lot has happened. There have been many adjustments, new beginnings, and a lot of chaos that has become part of our lives. I  am pretty sure that out of this whole year I have seen Jonathan for about half of it, if you count the time he spent away training and of course the deployment. Do you think that is how I pictured our first year of marriage to be? Absolutely not, but isn't the first year suppose to be the hardest? ;) Over this past year I have learned so much about being an Army wife (which is something I told the Lord I never wanted to be!) I guess He showed me who was in charge! :) I have been so blessed by this past year because even though it has been one of the hardest years of my life, I have also been able to experience the true power and faithfulness of my Lord and Saviour. Let's first start off with our church. The Lord led us to a wonderful church here in Fayetteville. There are so many wonderful people that we have met and people who have really been my support system through this deployment. There is no better company to be in than a group of believers who truly can encourage you and lift your spirits in prayer and love. Ok, switching gears: When we moved here I knew that I needed to get a job (I have loans to pay off!). I applied to every school that you can imagine. Only one school got back to me and they put me on their sub list. I have to say that I was a little disappointed  because I was so eager to teach but I felt the Lord telling me to be patient. Well let me tell you that I subbed A LOT! It was wonderful! I was able to really dive right in and felt like part of the school family! :) Through this entire time the Lord had a plan. He knew exactly what He was doing and He opened up a full time position for the end of the year which I absolutely enjoyed. I am also so excited to start teaching next year. I am anxious to see what the Lord will do as I take on my first full year of teaching. There is no doubt in my mind that I am going to be challenged and blessed at the same time. This past year has seen many tears, fears, and doubts but I have grown so much in the Lord. He has taught me how to be independent and how to fully trust in Him. Without the Lord, I don't know how I would have made it through this year. He has given me strength to do things I never would have thought I could do. I had to deal with things that I never thought would happen to me and yet the Lord was with me each step of the way. Have I always had a positive attitude? No. Do I ever question the Lord on why He allows these stressful situations to happen? Of Course! But Looking back on every situation He has put me through especially since my husband has been gone (everything seems to happen when they leave!) has made me realize just how much I need Him. I never imagined that my husband would be deployed for our first anniversary and it is really hard to be away from him but I know the Lord has a reason for the timing. I often think that maybe I needed this time on my own to become closer to the Lord so that I could be a better wife to my husband. I have learned so much and I am so thankful for what the lord is doing in my life and I pray that He will continue to grow me and Jonathan so that when we are reunited (hopefully soon!) we can be more focused on Christ and have Him even more front and center of our life together. Although this has not been my "ideal" first year, I wouldn't trade any part of it because I know the Lord has used it to grow me more spiritually and I hope this next year I can focus more and more on Christ!

First Day

Today was quite a day! :) I was a little nervous about this morning but quickly fell into a routine by the time the bell rang. I expected the students to be crazy, coming back from break and all but they were better than I expected. I got a few "Mrs. McNeill, oops I mean Mrs. Woods" or "That's not what Mrs. McNeill usually does", but I expected that the first week or two. At lunch time I got a delivery. Jonathan sent me flowers ad almost made me cry! They were beautiful! :) I am so excited to finally be doing what I went to school for. The Lord has blessed me so much the timing could not be more perfect. (The Lord's timing is always perfect!) There were a few things I would change about today but I will hopefully be completely in the routine by the end of the week. What a great first day! :)

Busy, Busy

Well this week is our Spring Break but it hasn't been much of a break for me! I have been looking over teacher manuals, school handbooks, grading systems, and all of the things I learned about while in college! :) It has been fun to think that I have my own class now. I am excited to start teaching on Monday! This is going to be such a great learning experience. I can now use what I spent four years learning at ABC! The Lord has been so good to me and I am very thankful. I have been so busy that these next few months should fly by! :)

Trusting

Every day is so different on this journey. Deployment is a new experience for me. I didn't know what to expect or how to handle it. I feel like an emotional roller coaster! Some days I feel great! I come home, make dinner and am able to sleep soundly at night without a care in the world. There are other days that I am just so down and often cry myself to sleep (if I can sleep at all). I re-read e-mails from Jonathan so many times because it makes me feel closer to him. I do all of these insane things to keep myself sane! I have to remember that so many women have gone through this before and I have so many resources and people around me for support. I also have an awesome God who I can talk to about my struggles and I know that He is in control. Although, I believe it is perfectly normal to be an emotional basket case during this time, I know that everything will work out according to God's perfect plan.  He has already helped me by providing me with many things to do so that I can keep myself busy. The only thing left to do is trust.


"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3: 5 & 6

Top 5 Reasons I Miss My Husband

There are many reasons that I miss Jonathan, but I have learned that there are many things he does that I just do not like to do! :) Here are my top five:

1. Driving home from church in the dark.
2. Driving in general!
3. Putting gas in the car.
4. Making three or four trips bringing groceries from the car to our third floor apartment.
5. Taking the trash out.

Of course these are the lesser important reasons of why I miss him! :) I of course just miss him being here with me!

Shopping!

I heard from Jonathan yesterday. He was able to call and it was nice to hear his voice! I also went shopping today with a friend at the mall. I am usually a window shopper. When I go shopping, I hardly ever buy anything. I would just assume look at things and get exercise walking around. Today, I wanted to spend money lol! I did buy mostly all "teacher" clothes though! I also pretty much got everything on sale. I may have to explain to my husband why I spent so much money at the mall but I think he will understand! :) Anyway, it was a gorgeous day outside and I had a really good time with my friend Mary, whose husband is also deployed. It was a great girls day! :)