Hola from Arizona!!!

I'm HERE!!!!! Crazy!!! We arrived about 11:30 am on Saturday...signed our lease at 11:40 am...started unloading the uhaul and cars...finished that around 3:30 (soooooooo hot unloading!)...got everything arranged in the apartment by about 4:00 on Sunday (we are very task oriented and organized people if you can't tell:)...started training Monday morning at 7:30 for my first REAL LIVE TEACHING JOB...and now it is Tuesday night and I sit at Starbucks writing this, and it all feels like a whirlwind!

The apartment is great! I love it! It's nice and new and big, and you can ask Tyler about the pool as it is where he spent most of his time when he was here for the past few days! I love Casa Grande! It as everything I could want, and way more restaurants then I will ever eat at! Starbucks is a block away from the apartment, and everything else I will need is within a mile!! SO GREAT!

Training has been a little long, but it has been fun too! We have Spalding training for 4.5 hours every morning, and I honestly thought I was going to die today! I didn't learn phonics growing up, so it is all kind of foreign to me, but all the 37 other people in the class seem to be in the same boat so I don't feel so bad! :) The rest of training has been a lot of fun! It has been awesome to meet all the other teachers from the three campuses! Between all three there is about a total of 165 teachers, so lots of new faces! Everyone is super nice, and probably about 75% of all of us are all new to Legacy, or first year teachers! It is a comforting feeling to know you are in the same boat as a lot of people!

One cool thing is that Becky got switched to first grade, so now we even teach the same grade! So fun! There are two other first grade teachers at the Casa Grande campus, and they are both really nice! I think the four of us will have a lot of fun! We have learned a lot about the school, curriculum, and mission which has been really cool! Training goes for the rest of this week, and all of next week. Then we have a week to decorate and set up or classroom :), meet the teacher night is the 13th, and school starts on the 16th! I am soooo excited!

Life still feels a little crazy, and it still feels surreal that I am actual a teacher in Arizona, and I have my own apartment, but God is good, and I know he is with me every step of the way! I have felt his comfort many times over the last few days when saying goodbye to my mom in MN, starting Spalding training and feeling really overwhelmed, and then saying goodbye to my dad and brother last night when they headed back to MN! I know this is where God wants me right now, and I feel a definite peace about! I appreciate all your prayers as I continue on the journey he has planned for me!

Adios Amigos!

The countdown is on...

So it's four days until moving day, and I think it is hitting me more and more that I am actually moving across the country. Today was my last day at my church in Wadena, it was the last time I'll see my grandparents until Christmas, and the last time I will see my very bestest friend Krystal for awhile! I've decided I don't like to think about all the "lasts". Instead, I am going to think about all the "firsts". Like my first night in my new apartment, and my first day with my students! Those thing make me really excited in the midst of the sadness of the "lasts".

On another note, my and my dad watched "The Book of Eli" tonight, and it really made me think! (if you haven't seen it yet, you should! It's an AWESOME movie!) Anyway, I kind of feel a bit like Eli, I am definitely walking by faith, not by sight in this "big move". I have no idea what God has in store for me, but I know Casa Grande is where he wants me, so that is where I am going! Crazy stuff! I am a planner, and this is definitley not the way I saw my life going even just 6 short months ago...scratch that...1 month ago. But God works in mysterious ways, and I know that his hand is working in all of this!

Well, that's all for tonight! Whew, feels good to get those thoughts out on "paper"! As moving day approaches, I find my mind just whirling and whirling with nervousness, excitement, any other emotion that you can think of!

Signing off,
Ashley

So here's the story...

Hi friends!
So life has gotten a little crazy this summer, and I feel like I have been horrible at keeping in contact with all of you! Hence why I created this blog...to keep you all informed! This summer, I have been living down in Waconia with Becky Parkinson and her family! It has been so much fun living with them, and I am sad to leave them! I have been nannying for a family in EP with three little boys! They are little balls of energy, and I love every minute with them (most of the time)! Most of my summer has also been spent in Wadena helping my family clean up our house after it was hit by a tornado on June 17. It has been a very draining summer, but God has taught us all immense amounts through it!

And now to tell you all what this whole blog is all about! So as most of you know, I graduated from Crown in May with a BS in Elementary Education! I have been searching all spring and summer for a teaching job, and the results were rather fruitless for awhile. I then decided to start looking outside the state of Minnesota, and this is where the adventure begins! I ended up being offered and accepting a 1st grade teaching position at Legacy Traditional School in Casa Grande, AZ! It's a charter school, and has a lot to offer! I am so super excited about this opportunity, and I know God has big plans for me! The other exciting part is that Becky Parkinson also got a position at the same school and she is moving down with me! We are going to rent an apartment, and join in on this new adventure together! I am a little nervous...and there is still a lot of stuff to figure out, but I know God has big plans for me, and I can't wait to see how He uses this adventure to shape and mold me for his purpose!!!

I will try to keep you all updated about life and let you know how everything is going! I would appreciate your prayers, and I hope to stay in contact with everyone! If you ever want to come visit just let me know! We will have an extra bedroom in our apartment, and come January, unlike MN, we will have no snow!! :)