So, it’s been exactly 4 months since I’ve updated my blog. Many people warned me when I started my blog that this would happen and I confidently told them that that wouldn’t happen to me. Well, here I am. Lessons in humility right? :)
If I tried to tell you everything about my family’s visit here it would take me forever so if you want to know more about that vacation you can check out my pictures on facebook or talk to my family about it. Some words to sum it up would be “amazing adventures, awesome family time, and hilarious moments with Spanish.” After an amazing 10 day vacation with my family here, I spent over a month at home celebrating Christmas, New Years and enjoying some much needed time off. By the end of my time at home I was getting a little fidgety though. 
I hadn’t had that much time off from work and school in probably 6 or 7 years. It was great time to relax but with most of my friends either working or in school I started getting a little bored which made it easier to return to work by the end of January. I left Seattle on the day that we had 19 inches of snow at my parent’s house. After spending several days in California with some of my best girl friends from Whitworth I headed back down south arriving 24 hours late due to flight delays and missed connections.
The day after I got back I was told that instead of teaching 5th and 6th grade English I would be teaching 3rd and 5th grade English, Spelling, Phonics, and Science. Five different preps! I was pretty frustrated because not only did this mean that I would have more planning and grading to do but it also meant I wouldn’t get to work with any of my kids from last year. So, I prayed about it a lot and I cried about it a little too and I spent about 2 weeks prepping and sitting in training with the rest of the staff trying to get excited about the year. Then about 5 days before school started my boss told me that I should stop planning because they weren’t sure if 
I’d be teaching 2nd, 3rd, 5th or 8th grade. The following day I had a meeting with my new boss and she asked me if I’d be ok with teaching 6th grade English, literature, and science. Huge answer to prayer! A week into the school year, they added 5th grade spelling to my work load which had made life a little crazier but God is faithful and I am learning to manage my work load and still have some social time too. I have also been very blessed to be given my own classroom this year which is equipped with a projector. So now I get to use Powerpoints and videos in my lessons. :)
Another change that kind of surprised me when I got back was that Leslie got an opportunity to move into an apartment with a friend in a town about a 15 minute drive from here so a couple weeks after school started she moved out of the “Casa Ingles.” I knew she had been thinking about moving for a long time but if kind of surprised me how fast things happened. At first I was really worried about having to live alone but even though it has been more quiet around here since she moved out I feel like God is teaching me how to enjoy the silence and use it to seek Him more. I have also been blessed with a circle of amazing friends from church that I love spending time with.
One of those friends has become more than a friend. :) Everyone made jokes before I moved here about how I was going to meet a Tico boy and fall in love. I just laughed those comments off knowing everyone was just teasing me, but never expected it to find myself in a relationship with an amazing guy named Diego. We met at church back in September and got to know each other through our young adults group. He joined my family on our white water rafting adventure in December and for dinner the night before we all flew home for Christmas. We kept in contact during the mo
nth I was home but were very excited to see each other again when I got back the end of January. We’ve been going out for about a month and we’re praying that God’s direction is very clear in how we should proceed with the relationship. It is a little frightening for me to think ahead because I don’t know how long I will be here but for the time being I am trusting God and am grateful for the awesome man he’s put in my life.
