Yay!!

Well, its official. I got a job in Phoenix! So I'm still headed to Arizona, but to a city that I have family in, and that has an airport for me to frequently visit home!! Yuma wouldn't have been the worst place in the world to live, and when I thought about JUST TEACHING there, I was okay with it. But when I thought about the big picture: moving there, living there, working there, spending every day there, shopping there, having free time there, etc...I would get this really sad, sick feeling in my stomach. I prayed so hard for God to give me a sign that I could go elsewhere for my career, and God provided.

I will be teaching 8th grade social studies at a school district in central phoenix. And I must say, I have never been more excited. There's something about knowing you will have your own classroom - for a whole year. Something about knowing you will have your own students - not students you share during student teaching, or just simply sub for. Something about knowing the job will provide more opportunities for you to grow in the education industry. Something that makes me excited :)

As soon as something is set in stone, I am in GO mode. I have already gotten a good chunk of packing done (classroom supplies/decoration, clothes I won't need the next few weeks in IL, shoes, purses, books, dvds, picture frames, kitchen utensils...) and I feel I need to stop now. I won't be able to stop, but I should. I could probably be packed within a few days, but I still have a few weeks here. And although I'm excited, I'm not in ANY rush to leave. I just know when I have a list of things to get done, I feel like I need to get them done pronto.

Phoenix is going to be a new chapter. New beginnings. New people. New adventures. New memories.

I have a lot to say "goodbye" here too - although I don't mean any of the goodbyes to be permanent AT ALL! But they are temporary goodbyes. And goodbyes are hard. But when I told my loved ones that I got the job in Phoenix, and won't be going to Yuma, I could feel the love in the air. I knew they were happy for me - parents, brother, aunts/uncles, cousins, friends, coworkers. That was the sign I needed. I am so thankful for that sign. It puts these mixture of emotions at ease.

I already have a friend planning to come visit me as soon as I get settled, and my mom is coming down a week before Thanksgiving, just a few days before my dad and brother - to have some girls time.

Beyond thrilled for this opportunity in my life. Can't wait to share a ton of stories from The Grand Canyon State!!!

xoxo