I am currently wrapping up my SEVENTH year as a special education teacher. How is this even possible?! I can still picture my first year of teaching…it was such a blur. Thankfully I survived to tell about it and so did the students! At the time, I had created a blog to share my struggles, sagas (God know’s there were plenty) and little victories, however few and far between they seemed at the time. By nature I am an overanalyzer…it won’t take you long to discover this about me and those who already know me are likely laughing and nodding their heads already. Writing has always been a way for me to process my thoughts and ideas. I suppose that selfishly, it has been as much for me as for anyone else; but as life grew busier, I wrote less and less.

I blinked and here I am, married (Ryan), with a house, a rambunctious Labradoodle (Mr. Feeny), a soon-to- be-one-year-old (Quinn), a Master’s degree and seven years of wild adventures (any many, many dirty diapers) later! I wouldn’t trade this crazy life for anything.

If I’m being honest here, I have toyed with the idea of starting a lifestyle blog for quite some time. As usual, I am my toughest critic and my own worst enemy. Who will read it? How will it stand apart? Am I funny enough? Do I know enough about this or that? Is my writing good enough? The more I research, the more terrified and excited I become. But, I finally decided to put on my big girl panties and dive in! So here goes nothing…

When it came time to determine a name for this blog, I put pen to paper and made a list. Lists are my favorite. The teacher in me will always get a bit of a thrill out of the old pen (well not just any old pen, Paper Mate Flair Pens) and paper list. It was fascinating to see the range of words that filled the page. You see, this last year has served up some of life’s highest of highs and lowest of lows for me and my family. I am thankful that there is beauty even in the darkest of days and that Jesus allows the sun to rise and a new day to dawn. It can be easy to miss the “little victories” as I like to call them. I am determined not to “blink” and miss the life that is sure to happen in the hardships, the mundane, the everyday. Thanks for coming alongside of me in this journey!

Shannon

 

Photo Cred: Thanks to the lovely, gracious and kind Larisa Radcliffe of White Tree Photography for her quick thinking which led to a spontaneous photo shoot of sweet Quinn and her first encounter with balloons at a friend’s baby shower! Make sure to check her out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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