Gosh, it's been a while since I posted. Here are pics from my Birthday. Gosh, people talked about not liking turning 30. I don't mind it one bit! What an amazing day it was. It first started with a wonderful time with God. I'm so thankful for the 29 years he has taken care of me, guided me, and loved me.
I've been wanting to go camping for a long time and am thankful for my good friend Mandy who also enjoys the outdoors. Emily, my new friend, walked up to Devils Hill Road (2 miles) to our camping spot. The pack was a bit too long for my body, but it worked. I loved feeling the burn in my legs and glutes! We started a fire when we got there, Mandy set up her awesome tent, and Berry roamed to keep bears away! Poor Emily chased our principal's dog with a musk ox bone. We had hotdogs, salad, and hot cocoa, trailmix, and soy nuts. I love camping because you can eat junk food. I didn't feel guilty one bit after hiking up a steep hill with a pack! It got pretty chilly and fog started rolling in. It was the craziest thing ever! The fog was swirling all around. It was getting really wet, so we headed for bed. Loved sleeping outside! Berry did so well camping until she decided she wanted out to get drenched with all the rain. Then she thought she could snuggle up in my down sleeping bag. She thinks she is spoiled...oh wait she is! I of course did not sleep at all during the night so I was exhausted when I came home Sunday. It was a beautiful hike home to view the fall colors. This year was the first time I actually enjoyed the fall colors. I've always liked the WI colors better, but it's so beautiful here. I'm blessed to live in such a great village.
Berry has been enjoying her new running buddy Emily and I've been blessed by her too! God has answered prayer and sent a Christian friend who loves God, the Bible. I enjoy our times of encouragement and fellowship. She is the preschool teacher and is doing a fabulous job! While running with Emily, Berry killed her 2nd rabbit. If she keeps this up, I will not have to go hunting for them!
The cranberries and blackberries are ripe and I went out picking on the ski trail last weekend and got a ton. They are huge. Unfortunately, there were hardly any blueberries this year. We usually have a ton!
School has been good. I'm seeing tremendous emotional growth with one of my students and it is only 4th week of school! She is doing amazing and I am so proud of her! Now, I have another challenging kid to mold! He's a sweetie but real spoiled! I love them all! It's been really hard for me to balance school and work this year. My body is telling me I need more rest but don't have enough time during the week to plan for the next week, so I end up going in for 5-7 hours on Saturday. It's wearing me out! I'm getting sick and completely exhausted! I've tried a different plan, but it got me home later in the evenings and neglected my prayer time. So Saturday work days may work best for me.
Please keep me in your prayers for wisdom, direction, clarity, discernment, and that God would comfort me. It's been a challenging week, but am thankful that God is pulling me closer to himself through it all.
Until next week! I'm off to MN for five days for my best friends Wedding! It will be exciting to see Betty, meet her family, and spend time with Johanna, Peter, and lil' man Gabe.
