Postion change at work

So, the last few weeks have been crazy with my job. If you didn't know I was informed that I was being moved to a different building 3 weeks before school was supposed to start. I was so frustrated and disappointed....I loved my school and the thought of being taken away from it was very difficult to bear.

Well, school started August 24th, and I began at my new school. I was not happy about it at all, but I was grateful it was still a job...especially in a time when so many people are without jobs. Although the teachers were very nice...it just wasn't the same.

Wednesday, September 2nd, I was eating lunch and the principal from my new building called me out and asked if she could talk to me. I was then greeted by my principal from my old building. They proceeded to tell me that they had an issue and they thought I could be of assistance. They needed to open up a new section of 1st grade. What had happened was that last year there were 4 sections of 1st grade, but since one teacher looped to 2nd grade with her same class...that left only 3 classes....there were about 27 kids in each class (which is way too many for 1st grade). I was asked to take the position, since it would be the easiest transition for the students being that I worked with most of them in Kindergarten last year.

So, Wednesday (that same day) was my last day at Avon, and Thursday and Friday were spent setting up my classroom. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful class at Prairieview!!! They are seriously like family. I was greeted and welcomed back by so many people!!!

I never could have gotten my room ready if it weren't for the help of my wonderful friends Vanessa, Mary, Ester, Rae Ann, Sue and of course my 1st grade team (Amy, Steph, and Cayla).

Tuesday was my first day with the kids. It was a little overwhelming, but I'm so excited!!! I have 17 students, of those 7 are my ELL students from last year...I only didn't know 5 of them, since they are new to the district this year.

It is so amazing how God works...because I had prayed and prayed that something would change so that I would be able to go back to Prairieview, but still the first day of school came and nothing. Tuesday, the day before I went back to PV was the first day that I finally let go of my anger regarding the situation, and they next day God moved and I was able to go back to my HOME!!!!

God is so good!!!

1 year anniversary!!

Today, Ryan and I are celebrating our one year anniversary!!! It's so crazy to think that this time a year ago we were having the wedding. Time goes by so fast. It has been a great year. I am so grateful to God for bringing us together. It is very interesting to see that people who in some ways are quite different, are actually JUST RIGHT for each other. I definitely see that we compliment each other in so many ways.

To celebrate our anniversary we started out by seeing Gateway (High school group from our church) off as they left for their mission trip to Queens, NY. Then we went to breakfast at Egg Harbor in Libertyville...the food there was so yummy. I had an omelet that had meat, veggies, and avocado in it, I had never tried avocado in an omelet before...it was delicious!!! Then we enjoyed a nice round of disc golf at Alder Park...I hadn't been in a while, but I didn't do half bad. It was so much fun....then we came back and hung out at home for a while...I left to get a haircut...it's a little shorter than I was planning on going...but I think it looks cute!!!

Now, we are getting ready to go to dinner at Claim Jumper...I'm so excited, I haven't been there in a LONG time, and Ryan has never been there. Then we will top the night off with seeing Transformers in IMAX!!!


I couldn't have asked for a better husband!!!

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!

It's so crazy that another school year has flown by. There were times when it felt like school was never going to come to an end....but it's HERE!!!! Yesterday was actually the last day for Kindergarten...today was just 1 hour for students 1-4 grades.

I had so many fun memories with the Kindergartners! There are those who will always have a special place in my heart! Like little James, always ready with hugs at any time, "I love you Mrs. Johnson, you're the best teacher in the wide world," he would say! Then there are those who you aren't too disappointed to pass along to another teacher for the following year.

Having completed my 2nd year at Prairieview, I have really enjoyed and loved it! I am very sad to be losing some AMAZING coworkers. I think I will miss the wonderful office ladies the most! You know, you can really tell a lot about a school when you walk in and are greeted by the secretaries. They have all been so wondeful and it is not going to be the same next year. I will also miss Melissa, who I have had the pleasure working with for the past 2 years. She is so sweet, thoughtful, and very creative! We have not only built a relationship as co-workers, but also as friends. Who am I going to walk out of the building with everday now????

Although I'm super excited the school year is over, I will be teaching summer school this year. It's only 18 days though...which is NOT too bad! I'll be teaching 1-2 grade Spanish, 1-2 grade Reading, and 3-4 grade Beginning Acting! I'm very excited to have this oppportunity! It's only from 8:30-11:30, so I will still have the rest of the day to do the things I want to anyway!

Well, it's almost time to leave the school...I better finish getting together the things I want for the next couple months.

Tata for now!
Kryssia

Baseball Baseball Baseball!!!!!

Holly, Ryan's sister came down last Monday to hangout with us and go to a Twins game vs. the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago on Wednesday. The seats we had were GREAT! We were so close to the field, it's definitely the closest I've ever been at a baseball game. 1st base line, 14 rows up! We seriously could have walked straight onto the field...it was awesome. Then the game started. Of course we went to the game to cheer for the Twins because we were definitely not gonna cheer for the Sox anyway. It was fun until the 4th inning when the Twin's gave up 7 runs. In one of the following innings the Twins scored, so we stood to cheer...and some stupid Sox fans threw peanuts at us (like three times). Granted I have always heard Sox fans to be Jerks, but seriously... Then, the game ended and Twins lost (which was definitely sad), so as we were walking back to our car to go home, people continued to give us crap and use choice words against the Twins. This is what put me over the edge to "Absolutely Despise " the Sox. If the Sox would have lost, I think I could have taken the crap...but come on...they won the game and still felt the need to be royal jerks. It will be my life goal to cheer for whichever team is playing against the Sox.

Although we weren't able to go to the game on Thursday, it was AMAZING to listen to. If you didn't hear...the Twin's beat the Sox 20-1. Holly, Ryan and I said it would have been so much fun to be at that game, but with the way Sox fans are when they win, I'm not sure we would have made it out alive! I for sure would have been scared for my life. Even though I am a Seattle Mariners fan, it was so satisfying for the Twins to beat the Sox!

You might ask, "how can you cheer for the Twins if you are a Mariner fan?" well since my husband and his entire family are Twins fans, I came to the decision that I can cheer for the Twins so long as they are not playing against the Mariners. So if by chance it comes down to the Mariners vs. Twins in the AL playoffs, Ryan and I won't be on speaking terms during the duration of the series.

We came up to Minnesota for Memorial Day weekend, and today we are going to go to the Metrodome to see the Twins play again. This time we will be surrounded by fans that like us...that will be NICE!!! Hopefully the Twins can pull out a win again!!!

P90X

So...this weekend Ryan and I started the P90X program. If you don't know what the program is you should check this out. P90X program Wow is it intense! I know quite a few people who either have done it or are doing it as well. Even though the next 3 months are going to be difficult...I'm really excited though because I can afford to lose quite a bit of weight. Not only is the workout hard, the other tough part is the fact that since I don't have time after school most days to workout, I'm attempting to wake up at 5:30am to workout before school. And those of you who know me....I am NOT a morning person. I survived the first 5:30am wake up and workout today...I guess this means that I need to start going to bed much earlier than before.

It is great to have Ryan doing it with me too, even though he is doing the classic and I'm doing the lean, because it should help to keep the motivation up. We can definitely encourage one another to keep going! Another reason why I KNOW I will complete this is because we paid for it....I'm not one of those people who can buy something (especially when it ain't too cheap) and just let it sit.

Well, I'm writing this on my lunch break at work, so I better go eat lunch now! Look forward to more updates about how the workout is going!!!

time flies by...

Well, I can't believe how fast this year has gone...in less than 2 months Ryan and I will have been married for a year already. It has been awesome so far! I feel that we are exactly were God wants us right now...although I do not care to live in Illinois the rest of my life. It's such a fun journey waiting on God to lead us and guide us through every stage of life. I would love to be able to live closer to family, but the tough part is if we live closer to my family...it's far from Ryan's family and the same the other way around. Family is such an important part of both of our lives and it would be great to live close to both families!

Here at school we counted up the number of school days until summer and we only have 28 days left...that's nuts! This school year has gone by pretty fast when I think about it, but sometimes I feel that it doesn't go fast enough. Well, as of right now, I'm signed up to teach summer school, as long as my classes fill up (which hopefully they will) ...so technically my summer won't start until July 8th.

Is it just me...or does time go much faster the older you get?

Weekend with Family!

So, this weekend I got to hang out with my aunt Karen, uncle Don, and cousin's Janelle and Michelle. Janelle was here at Great Lake doing Navy bootcamp. She just graduated on Friday, way to go Janelle!! The family came in for the graduation, so it has been nice getting to see them! Yesterday we had a late breakfast at Elly's...yummy...that place is so good!!! Then, we were going to go to the city but because Janelle had an 8 o'clock curfew we decided against it, instead we toured the 'wonderful' Gurnee Mills, that place is so packed...and honestly I don't think it is all that it is cracked up to be! The most important thing was getting to spend time with family! After that we ended up at McCarthy's for dinner...yummy yummy!

Today, the family went into Chicago, and Ryan and I went to church! When I got home from church I felt like I hit a wall (like nobody's business). I was chatting with my friend Michelle on facebook chat...and I was seriously falling asleep...it was CRAZY...so I decided to take a little nap. After about an hour nap on the SofaSak, Ryan suggested I go to sleep upstairs in bed...so I did....oh my goodness...it ended up being a 4 1/2 hour nap....longest nap in a LONG time. I musta really been exhausted. Well, hopefully I can wake up for school tomorrow!

I found my new addiction, Facebook top 5's...it's pretty sad how many I did today...they tend to be a little addictive...seriously. Well, I'm super proud of myself because I remembered to make another post! It helps to make your blog a bookmark on your toolbar!!! Well, I'm gonna go find something to do...maybe I should go read my Bible...I need to get better at that!

Tata for now!

2 days in a row!!!!

So, this is officially a record!! Two blogs back to back! Well, today is Friday, and boy have I ever been more happy for a Friday to come! The week seemed to go by kinda fast, all except for today.

We took the kids out to the big playground!!! You would think that would be exciting...but we had 2 potty accidents...oh boy! At least it was a nice sunny day today!

I went to Portillo's for dinner with Ryan, my Aunt Karen, Uncle Don, and cousin's Michelle and Janelle. Janelle just graduated today from Navy bootcamp. It was nice to get to see her! I look forward to getting to spend some time tomorrow with the family checking out the sight of Chicago!!! Hopefully I'll have some pictures and stories to post....but for now, I'm super tired!

P.J. Day at school!

Today was P.J. Day at school...so much fun! You would think that when the staff is given the chance to wear pj's or comfy clothes that most would jump at the offer...but surprisingly there were many people who didn't. This is my proof that I went to work in pj's. Although I wore pj's, I did shower this morning and put on clean ones...just for clarification....haha!

Well, yesterday was Ryan's birthday, he's 24 now. I wish I could say that he had the best birthday of his life, but that is just not the case this year. Since he is going to grad school, he had 3 presentations to prepare for this week, and two of them were today. So, his birthday was pretty much spent putting the final touches to his presentations. We did, however, cook a pork shoulder roast and made pulled pork sandwiches which was pretty tasty!

His dream present would have been a puppy, but since we cannot have a puppy where we live (nor do we really have the money for one), we watched Marley & Me instead. It was such a cute movie...I really enjoyed it.

Tonight is youth group...and afterwards my aunt, uncle, and cousin are coming in from Washington to spend the weekend with us. My cousin Janelle, is graduating from Navy bootcamp tomorrow, so they came for the graduation! I wish I could go to the graduation, but since it is during the day I can't because I have to work. I do look forward to visiting and hanging out this weekend with them.

Let's see if I can actually keep up with this blog thing...I'm trying...I also am trying to use my Twitter more. Facebook is a piece of cake for me...it's almost like it's an IV....I'm on it all the time....it's almost sad.

Well, until next time!

This one is for Erica...

So, I have been really bad about writing in my blog...I always forget that I have it. So, as a start to a new year I'm gonna try and update it at least once a week.

So you might ask, what has happened since August 2008 (which was my last post)...well actually a lot has happened. Ryan and I went to Washington for my brother's wedding. It was a ton of fun, I still have yet to get pictures from it though.

After that, well I started teaching again, it's crazy to think that half the year is over already, time goes by so fast. I love the teachers I work with, but man sometimes those kindergarteners really get to me...lol.

For Thanksgiving we spent it with The Hirts, a wonderful family at church (for the second year in a row). We had so much fun with them. This was Ryan and my first Thanksgiving as a married couple, it was really fun. I definitely have a lot to be thankful for. God has truly blessed me with a wonderful husband.

Well, Christmas came and went really fast. We spent it in Minnesota with Ryan's family. We definitely had a great time with family. I missed not being with my family for Christmas, but we were able to Skype with them and still open presents together, which was so much fun! Technology really can help make families feel closer.

After Christmas we came back home and relaxed. I was able to catch up with some good friends! I went down to see Erica and the kids...boy it is seriously crazy how much time has gone by since I've seen them. I also got to spend some time with Andrea and Kristen...it's is great to have girlfriends!!!

Well, New Year's was quite interesting. Ryan and I decided we would host a get together with some friends from small group at our place to bring in the New Year. We all got together and began playing games waiting for midnight. We had the tv on and watched the Times Square ball drop...then (NO JOKE) the electricity went out no more than 3 minutes later. It was crazy. Ryan said, "just imagine if this would have happened in Y2K...people would have totally been freaking out". So, I had to go and gather up all the candles I could find in my house...thank goodness I had bought a few. So the electricity was still out at 11:45...so we figured we'd bring in the New Year by candlelight. Brennan brought champagne so we all got glasses and ran upstairs to the Atomic Clock and did the countdown...it was the first New Year's I spent not watching tv...it was one New Year I will remember.

So, as I sit here writing, I am enjoying my last day before going back to school...Tomorrow is the day! 2008 was a great year and I am looking forward to 2009 being even better!!! I must go now because I really need to get to bed so I can be rested for tomorrow!