Colton Dixon Concert

Having such a long commute to and from my student teaching placement allows plenty of time to listen to the radio, and a few weeks ago I overheard K-Love announce that Colton Dixon would be touring in our town on Halloween night.  Seeing as my husband and I didn't have plans for that evening, we decided that I could take a few girl friends to the concert...those girl friends being my two awesome sister-in-laws.

We originally had balcony tickets because they were more affordable than floor seats, but Colton Dixon surprised us after he performed the first three songs; he personally invited the balcony people down to the floor!  We actually ended up in the second row, almost an arms-length or so away from the stage!

The entire concert was absolutely amazing, filled with great talent, musicianship, and most of all God's presence.  Colton gave a small talk in the middle of the concert, about faith and how as the church we need to stop just talking about it and actually live it out.  I was almost in tears because that has been something I've been struggling with for a long time now.

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I'm so glad I was able to spend the night with my sisters at such a wonderful event, it was greatly needed.  Being Halloween, Colton and the band gave the crowd a pleasing encore as well; they went off stage and came back out dressed up in Halloween mask, then continued to perform two more songs to end the night.

Batman of course!

New Placement, New Experiences

I'm three weeks into my second placement for Student Teaching and I LOVE IT!!!  My first placement was at the middle school and I'm now at the elementary school.  I have never been in an elementary setting as a teacher, so I had no idea what to expect.  Would it be crazy, non-stop, tiring, exciting, entertaining, fall-and-get-back-up-learning-experiences, or something else entirely?  To sum it all up I would say it has been all of those so far.

Within the first week there I was able to co-teach a little bit alongside my cooperating teacher.  Thus far I have been able to teach kindergarten, first grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade, with plans to teach second and third grade in the future.  For the most part the students are very well behaved and seem eager to learn each day they come to class.  I haven't really been upset or frustrated with any of these experiences, which is good!

The cooperating teacher I am with is amazing as well!  She has been teaching music at this specific school since it opened back in 1994, so she has plenty of experience.  She has been nothing but kind and helpful everyday I'm with her.  Most of all I have been learning quite a lot about elementary music, how to teach it, and how to make the classroom a fun and encouraging learning environment for all.

Even better news:

The teacher fair was this past Friday on campus at Murray State University, and most of the local and surrounding school districts were there and represented.  The first booth I went to was the district I live in and there was great news to be announced; there will be two elementary music positions opening up/created in the fall of 2015!  It makes me ecstatic to think about possibly working in the same district I reside in, teaching alongside great educators, and being a part of the community the students are a part of as well.

Fall Break Realization

This past week marks the last fall break I'll have as a college student.  It's hard to believe that four and a half years have come and gone.  So much has happened in a blink of an eye that I can barely fathom what God has planned for mine and the hubby's future.  There are only sixty-one more days until I graduate with my degree, and hopefully this time next year I will be a full-time teacher.

Starting tomorrow I will begin my second student teaching placement, which is at an elementary school.  I'm excited and nervous but I know that I'll learn a lot at this school.  

August & September Update

The past two months have been so chaotic, causing me to take a hiatus from blogging.  In order to keep this post from being a mile long I will condense it to bullet points and pictures!

August:

• I started student teaching/last semester of my undergrad degree.  My first placement has been at a middle school in the mornings, and the high school in the afternoons.  It's been an experience,... more to come later...
• My afternoons and evenings have been spent leading and working with the high school marching band.  This marching band has been awarded 4A State Champions in Kentucky for the past nine years!

• Michael and I decided to get a puppy around the middle of August.  We named her Arya after one of our favorite characters from Game of Thrones.

Arya, 12 weeks old.

September:

• We didn't realize how difficult it would be to train a puppy.  It's been frustrating, but I wouldn't change it at all; Arya has been a joy to have and raise.
• Student teaching is much busier then I thought it would be.  It's much different then any other semester has ever been, I don't even feel like a college student anymore.  Living two hours away from campus and teaching all day without any other course work has been eye-opening in many ways.
• We moved up to the smart phone world!  I've never owned a smart phone until this month,...
• I'm one week away from fall break and my second student teaching placement, which will be at an elementary school.  I've never experienced teaching elementary students, so I am very eager to see what it will be like.
• Graduate school has made it's way onto my to-do list; I've been brainstorming possible degrees and paths I could take.  Although this is an adventure I do not want to begin for at least another year.
• I received my first gift from a student!  It will be going on the refrigerator soon.

Now that the first half of student teaching is over and commencement is less than three months away, blogging will move back towards the top of my priority list!

Band Camp Mayhem

It's been over a month of non-blogging and there is actually a good reason why; marching band.  Near the beginning of July I started preparing for three weeks (two and a half actually) of teaching the percussion section during band camp.  I didn't plan on going so long without blogging, but the only access I had to wi-fi was at McDonald's, so now it's catch-up time.

Percussion camp was first in the band camp series and it went great.  The line I worked with is very young but has so much potential.  Within the first few days I could tell that they were all very determined to learn and practice.  The entire band had pre-camp the following week, in which I was able to get to know more students in the program and help out with fundamentals.  The last week was actual band camp where the band had the opportunity to stay at a campsite and learn the show in a unique environment.

The percussion section alongside me and the other percussion instructor.  (faces are blurred for protection)

This was the second summer I was able to work with this program and I'm still amazed at the wonderful attitudes and discipline the students have.  Each day was a learning experience that challenged me to look at my teaching abilities in a different way.  The student's outlook on marching band began to change as the days passed, they where always striving to become better marchers, musicians, and people.

The awesome band directors and instructors.

I could go on and on about how great the program is, how much enjoyment I get from teaching the students, how fun staying at the campsite was, and just how memorable the entire experience was, but instead I will leave you with some bullet points to sum up the experience.

• Great people to teach alongside.
• Wonderful students.
• The one thing I look forward to each summer.
• Beautiful campsite.
• Great housing.
• Not-so-great cafeteria food.
• 6:00am-9:30pm days!
• New friendships.
• Expanding teaching skills.
• Teaching experience to remember for a life-time.
• #wannagoback (I love teaching so much that I used a hash tag...I despise hash tags)

This summer may or may not be my last summer with this specific band program because of possible career options I may have next year.  If all goes well with future career aspects then I'll be back next summer to work with this band program along with having my own teaching job next fall.

"Creepy" Content Continued

It has been found!  The evil source of our spider, flea, and other pests problems!  All morning our cat Gracie couldn't be found and I would have to coax her out of wherever she was hiding.  Tired of coaxing her I finally decided to try and find her secret hiding spot.  A quick look throughout the apartment led me to our bedroom closet where she was snuggled up in the back corner on a box.  As I went to get her from the corner I heard the faint sound of wind.  Moving the hubby's trombone and a cooler revealed the source; the hole where the dryer hose is suppose to connect, leading directly outside where there is a small field.

I quickly covered it up so no more pests could take shelter in our apartment and went to the office to fill out a maintenance request.  I was so thankful I found it before Gracie could squeeze through it or any more bugs could come inside.  Also because pest control is coming at the end of the week to spray outside, which definitely would have attracted more insects inside.

I'm guessing this was overlooked when we moved in because it was pouring rain that day and we were all trying to get things inside as fast as possible

"Creepy" Content Included:

Rant time.  I've mentioned in previous posts before how much I love our new apartment and town.... What I haven't mentioned is how much I hate the arachnids that have come to greet us and say hello.  We've lived here a little over a month now and I've noticed an uncanny number of creepy-crawlies, everywhere!  I've told myself time and time again that I'm not that afraid of spiders, but this has started to get out of hand.

Today alone, Earlier this night I've found three, let me repeat, three spiders; all of which were different in size and shape.  I'm done! My subconscious is screaming "RUN!", but sadly I keep finding them.  I've noticed probably around fifteen spiders all together since we lived here, but they've typically been spread out over a few days or so, which isn't as bad.  This is ridiculous!

All these sredips, (I don't even like typing the word) are driving me insane, haha.  I know they help with other pests, and I respect that, but I don't like finding numerous ones in a period of a few hours.  This overwhelming occurrence could be caused from the pest exterminator who came by this morning yesterday morning and sprayed insecticide in certain areas of each room... Now it's going on 3am and I'm wide awake because all I can think about is spiders under the bed...End rant.

Anyone else have an deathly fear of arachnids?  I definitely know I am now.

Surprise Visit

Sunday night I received a phone call from one of my best friends, Ashley, asking if she could come visit for a few days.  I hadn't seen her in over a month so the answer was obviously yes!  Within a few hours she was at our apartment and the excitement and fun began.

Blue is mine, yellow is hers.

A brief history of our friendship.  I met Ashley back in high school in our Music Theory class.  She was the "new girl" in the class and no one was courageous enough to go up and introduce themselves, so Ms. Outgoing me skipped over to her and welcomed her to CHHS and the band room.  Our friendship quickly blossomed and grew as we continued to know each other more and more.  Come to find out we were both huge nerds and goofy as could be!  As the years passed by she went from being the friend I knew from music theory to the little sister I never had.

Early week fun.  Back to the main focus of this post... Sunday night was spent playing Mario Kart 8 (ridiculously fun on the WiiU), shopping at Walmart, and catching up on all of the mishaps that have occurred over the past month.  Monday was the only full day we had to spend together, so we spent it like most friends would...doing laundry all day, swimming, walking down the riverfront and having fun!  We read most of the historical signs, took a lot of selfies (I despise that word) photos to capture the memories, and continued to catch up on everything.

Unfortunately our time together was short and she had to go home for their family vacation.  I"m very blessed to have a friend like her in my life.  She has always been there for me, she's been my shoulder to cry on, a friend when times are good and when times get tough, and an overall great person to be around.  It may seem like ages pass between our visits with one another I know our friendship will always remain.

She just started a blog and I'm wanting to help her get some followers!

Her blog is Summer Come True.

She is taking a trip to Arizona in a few days so there will be some great stories posted on there!

New Beginnings

It has been three weeks since we moved to our new town and I love it!  To be honest, I didn't think I would enjoy living here at first, but once we got settled in and adjusted it began to feel like home.  It feels like my hometown but on a smaller scale, and there is a river front!.  Some of my favorite things about this new apartment are: there is a small yard in the front, a pool, a tree, and no parkway right outside!  Yes, I said parkway... Our last apartment was right off a parkway and there was always traffic.  We never heard the birds chirping because of the traffic noise 24/7.  Now we have some peace and quiet and can hear nature.

Along with enjoying the new town and apartment, we have also began seeking a new church.  We really want to find a church that is similar to our old one (The Journey Church), one that is contemporary and geared towards unchurched people.  One that welcomes everyone no matter what background they have, where they come from, how they dress, etc...

For me, trying out a new church can be intimidating, scary, exciting, and so many other emotions all tied together.  That's exactly how I've felt during this transition, but I know God is going to lead us in the right direction.  If you've known me for any amount of time you know that I'm a go-getter and always want to get involved and invested right away.  The downside to this attribute is I don't give myself enough time to fully understand certain situations and get "comfortable" with surroundings.  The past few Sunday's have had me nostalgic about being involved in music ministry, but I realize that I need to take baby steps in getting involved.  You have to walk before you can run, right?

Does anyone else feel like this when trying a new church, or organization?

What are some of the feelings you experience with transitions in life?

Nashville Getaway

Over the weekend Michael, Sara, Kiefer and I all took a trip to Nashville together.  The special occasion was in celebration of our friend Craig's wedding that Saturday.  The weather was beautiful the entire time, and to make it better we were able to hang out in a different town as two married couples!  We celebrated our friend's marriage, caught up with some old friends, and spent the evening in downtown.  It wasn't a long get away, but it was fun and memorable which is what counts!

Moving Day

The move to Henderson went very well!  We were able to load the truck up in under a few hours, the drive was safe, and the unloading... well the unloading was not so fun.  The rain held off just long enough for us to travel to Henderson, but as soon as we started to unload it decided to pour rain the entire time.  As a matter of fact it stopped raining as soon as we dropped the U-Haul off.  Other than that we were able to transition to the new apartment fairly well.

Loading up the U-Haul

Moving on a Wednesday was some what unconventional because Michael had to go back to work the following day, but that allowed me to spend the next few days unpacking and settling in.  We've been in this new apartment for a few weeks now and love it!  Even though it is a tad smaller in square footage, it feels so at home!  Everything about this new place is wonderful and I'm glad to know that we are staying in the same town whenever we decide to move again.

Happy One Year Anniversary!

One year ago today I walked down the aisle and said "I do" to my other half.  I had no idea what God had in store for us, nor all the blessings that would come from this amazing relationship.  In a blink of an eye our wedding day was over and a year has already passed.  Michael and I have been together for over three years now, yet it seems like we've known each other our entire lives.

We celebrated this special occasion a day early by going on a great date that was topped with dinner at Red Lobster (my first time eating there and it was fantastic).  The night was spent with some family and friends sitting around a fire pit, cooking smores, and hanging out.  I couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate the day.

God definitely knew what He was doing when He put us together, we really are made for each other!  Through thick and thin we've been there for one another, and I know that no matter what comes our way we'll be able to overcome.

Good News Comes in Twos

Short, sweet, and to the point is tonight's post.  As the title says, Good News Comes in Twos, and that is exactly what happened today!  I received an email a few days ago stating I needed to go to the music office to pick up an award; I would have known this if I was in Recital Assembly, but thankfully do not have to take that class again.  I swung by the office before leaving campus and found out that I'd received the Charles E. Simons Alumni Scholarship for musicianship/excellence!  I now have enough scholarships to afford the majority, if not all of my last semester of college.

The second good news was finding out my first Student Teaching placement.  I've been patiently waiting to hear from Teacher Ed. Services about this for weeks, and this evening I actually got a voice mail from the band director himself!  The placement is a little drive away from Henderson, but I'm not complaining because the program I'll be working with is amazing and one of the top band programs in the state of Kentucky!  This particular director also worked with my high school band program multiple times when I was in it.

God is so good and his blessings are bountiful!

One more thing - two more days until our one year wedding anniversary!  Time flies by when you're having fun!

Right Around the Corner

The date for our move is right around the corner and I can't wait!  It's bitter sweet to be moving but I'm very excited to start a new leaf near family.  We'll be moving to our new apartment on May 14th, then spending the next few weeks unpacking (which is always fun).  I kind of know how to get around this new town from all of the visits to see Michael when we were dating, but figuring out all of the back roads through town will be an adventure.  Leaving a place you call home is always tough even when it seems easy to pack up; making a new place your home always takes time.

Moving Onward!

I was planning on posting this yesterday before I realized how long that post was getting, so here is some more good news today!  As mentioned previously, there have been some ups and downs over the past year; one of those "downs" being that me and my husband have been stuck where we're at.  What I mean is we've been stuck in this small town with nothing to do, thirty minutes away from anything "fun" other than a Wal-Mart, hours away from family, and unable to do anything about the situation because of my classes on campus.  Over the past few months we started thinking of the future and what we could do to change it for the better; let me just say that God is good!

Everything has seemed to line up in place and all in good timing!  We decided that once I finish up my classes on campus and can start Student Teaching that we'd move closer to his family.  I was able to request my student teaching placements for the area near his family and will hopefully find out those placements within the next month.  We were also praying that he would be able to find a job in the new area soon so we could start looking for a place to live; God answered those prayers as well!  Just recently we got the phone call that he received a job in the area his parents reside, and that he would be able to start in a matter of three weeks.  This works out great because we also have the opportunity to go look at an apartment in that area this weekend.

Change is around the corner and I'm eager to see what the future holds.  I'm sad to be moving away from our current apartment because it finally feels like a "home" and we're close to my sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and friends at MSU, but I'm ecstatic to start this new adventure in our lives and to see what happenings will come.

A Crazy Fun Spring

What a wonderful and crazy year it has been so far!  There have been so many things that have happened since my last post, which is why I haven't been able to post much.  I'll try to keep this post short, but I'm not making any promises, haha.

Western Kentucky had a snow/ice storm at the beginning of March, which we didn't think would be that bad until Michael's car decided to be cruel and fall apart.  The weather made it difficult to get our cars out of the parking lot, so we played it safe and stayed at home the first couple of days.  Side note - the last ice storm we had back in January was harsh on Mike's car...it took both front door handles.  We thought it would be a "great" idea to save money and just use a wire coat hanger to open the driver side door... Not a good idea.

What we didn't know was the hanger was putting stress on the lock mechanism for the door.  Well by the middle of the week Michael decided to take my car into work (hoo-rah for front wheel drive!) and I was going to take his to school later that day.  Long story short, I was able to get into his car, but when I tried to shut the door it wouldn't stay shut.  The lock mechanism had completely broke, causing his car to be in the shop for three weeks getting fixed while we borrowed his sister's car.  I'm so thankful for amazing family!  Without Sara I wouldn't have been able to go to class and run errands.

That was just one of the recent crazy happenings, there is more :).  I finished all of my hours for Extended Practicum a few weeks ago, which was bitter sweet.  I had such a great time at my last placement and learned so much.  I'm very thankful to have had the opportunity to learn and teach under such a great band director and music teacher, and I hope to be as good as he is someday!  Middle school is definitely my favorite age group to teach.

I performed my senior recital this past Saturday, it was by far one of the most fun moments of my music career.  I didn't realize how fast college would pass by and now that it's almost over it's actually kind of sad.  The past four years have been a roller coaster of ups and downs; from struggling in certain areas of life to meeting the man of my dreams and starting a whole new life together with him.  I always thought it was going to be great to be done with the heavy practice schedule I adhered to, but now that it's over I'm actually sad that I won't be able to play wonderful music on a daily basis.  I am very happy that I was able to give one last great performance for my family and friends

Unlike most instrumentalist and vocalist, I am a percussionist (best instruments ever).  You may ask, so what?  Being a percussionist is amazing, but unfortunately I have never had the privilege of owning my own mallet instrument like a marimba (the instrument shown above) or vibraphone.  Not owning one of those instruments makes it very difficult to actually practice and play one of the major instruments in the percussion family.  When I first came to college I could barely play a mallet instrument, and over the past four years I've been able to become a better musician on almost every percussion instrument.  Now that summer is right around the corner and graduation is at the end of the year, I will only have the opportunity to play drum-set and other battery percussion because they are  more accessible than mallet instruments.

I'm so thankful for the opportunity to have studied under a great percussion professor and to have performed along side some of the best musicians and friends!  Without all of these wonderful people I wouldn't have come as far as I have.  Thank you everyone who has supported me throughout this amazing musical journey!

Along with my senior recital, I also donated over ten inches of hair to Locks of Love!  I haven't done this in a few years and decided that someone else could benefit from the mess of hair I didn't want anymore.

Well, that is all I have to say in this post without making it drag on.  It's good to be back in the blogging world!  With all of these events finished I'll finally have time to sit down and put effort into creating some good posts.

God is good!

Winter, Winter, Go Away

It's the beginning of March and winter had to have one last go around.  The weather last week felt amazing and there were a few days where I was able to go outside without a jacket; I honestly thought I was going to be putting our winter coats up.  The forecast changed near the end of last week, predicting snow and ice.  I'm a optimist and like to look for the good in things, so I was hoping that the forecast would be wrong.  Unfortunately the forecast was actually right, and we ended up getting around five inches of snow on top of a quarter inch of ice.

The roads were so bad that Murray State closed campus for not only one day, but two.  Campus hasn't been closed for weather since my freshman year (four years ago), and even then it was only closed for one day.  My senior recital hearing is less than ten days away and I'm stuck at home because of the fluffy white powder that fell from the sky.  I'm keeping my hopes up that campus will reopen on Wednesday so I can get some much needed practice time in!

After about twenty minutes of brushing and scraping, I was able to clear off the majority of snow and ice from the cars; but as you can see there is still a bit of ice left over.  It was way to cold to stay outside any longer.

Not much longer until Spring arrives and warmer days are here to stay!  Until then, I plan on staying inside where it's warm and safe!

Kentucky Intercollegiate Band 2014

Every year around December the MSU Wind Ensemble is informed of the Kentucky Intercollegiate Band, and how we should sign up because it would be a good experience.  Every year I would just pass the sign-up sheet to the person next to me because my thought process was, "I don't have the time...I can't miss any classes to do this."  I was so wrong!  This year I finally put my name on the sheet and was blessed to have been selected to go.

The drive to E-town was one of the worst driving experiences I've ever had.  Earlier that morning it had started to rain, but within a few hours the rain had turned to sleet and a wintry mix.  A drive that normally takes three hours turned into about five.  I couldn't drive faster than 45-50 mph the entire way, and actually had to stop once to calm my nerves.  Luckily I arrived safe and sound at my parents place!

The next few days were spent practicing in preparation of a concert that was to be given in the spectacular Whitney Hall at the Kentucky Center for the Arts.  The guest conductor was fantastic and the ensemble did amazing.  I don't think I've ever been in an ensemble setting that performed as well as that specific ensemble did.  We performed a wide array of pieces from Olypmic Fanfare and Theme by John Williams as the opener, and To Tame the Perilous Skies by David Holsinger as the finale.

I won't go into too much detail, but the overall experience was well worth the horrible drive, early mornings and late nights.  The performance was one I'll remember for years to come!  I wish I'd have given KIB a chance in the past, but I'm glad I had the chance to experience it at least once.

PASIC 2013

This post is way past due.  I've been meaning to write about my experience and adventures at PASIC shortly after the trip, but with the crazy schedule last semester I never found adequate time to do so.  Almost three months later, here it is!

PASIC stands for Percussive Arts Society International Convention; which essentially means a percussionists heaven for four days straight.  Early last semester I was asked if I wanted to go to Indianapolis with a group of percussionist from my college, in which we would compete in the college small group division.  Of course I said yes, I had been wanting to go to PASIC since I was in high school.  After the group was formed, a practice schedule was set and we started working towards an end goal.

A few months of hard work and determination paid off as we traveled to Indy for performance and fun times.  The first night was spent settling in to our hotel rooms and catching up on some much needed rest.  The following  morning was our own time to walk around and get acquainted with the area and the convention center, and that night was our performance.  The last performance in competition was the best we had done; we left the room in excitement, not caring what we placed because we knew we had given our best and that was what mattered.

We didn't place as well as we thought we did, but we where proud of ourselves and how we did.  We had raised our score a considerable amount compared to previous years competing at PASIC.  The last few days were spent celebrating and enjoying the convention and guest speakers/performers.

To keep this post a reasonable length and not full of unneeded details, I'll just bullet a list of everything else we experienced:

• We stayed in a five star hotel in downtown Indianapolis, fully paid for by the university.  I have never stayed in a hotel that was that nice.
• Explored the city and all of it's beauty.  I'm not a city person to say the least, but Indianapolis is one of my favorites!  If I had to chose a city to visit, it would be this one.
• Walked around the expo center and visited over a hundred percussion booths that were selling and advertising some of the best instruments, equipment, and accessories.
• Played on multiple different drum sets, marimbas, and other percussion instruments I could get my hands on.
• Spent too much money on mallets and other percussion goodies, but came away with every set of mallets I've been wanting for the past few years.
• Bought two solos that I'll be playing this semester on my Senior Recital.
• The concerts and clinics I experienced:
• Chad Smith, the drummer from the Red Hot Chili Peppers gave a drum set clinic.
• The Chain Marimba Trio in concert.
• Saw an amazing Tabla concert by a group from an Indian Drumming School.
• The Eastman Percussion Ensemble from the Eastman School of Music.  I didn't know this until I sat through the concert, but the director of this group is Michael Burritt, who is one of my favorite marimba composers and soloist.
• I later got to meet Mr. Michael Burritt in person, shake his hand, and watch him solo on a marimba up close.
• Indiana University Percussion Ensemble in concert.  (This is where the awesome Dr. Hill attended school.)
• Bob Becker and Yurika Kimura in concert.
• And the highlight concert that all of us attended the last night there, Dave Weckl!  I had never heard of him until that week, but was enlightened at how great his musicianship skills were on the drum set.  I had attended his drum set clinic earlier that day and learned quite a bit on soloing across the entire set, and have been trying to apply what I learned then to my playing now.

Overall this was a great experience for me and I hope to go back someday.

Two Weeks Too Long

It seems like it's been forever since I posted last, and quite a bit has happened.  I wont drag this post out too long but I do want to have a post for today!

Shortly after posting my last entry I visited my hometown to see my family and two best friends.  It was a great visit with some fun happenings and good laughs.  My grandpa had no idea that I was coming home, so I decided to surprise him; I picked him up from work on Saturday morning after staying the night with my friend Ashley.  I'd parked my car in front of the main entrance to his work and had the sun visor down to cover my face when he'd walk out.  This normally wouldn't have tricked him, but the best part was that me and my mom have the same make and model of cars, just slightly different colors.  He walked out of work and looked at my car questionably, not recognizing who it was behind the wheel.  I slowly raised the visor up and he got the biggest smile I haven't seen since my wedding.  He then walked took off in a brisk walk to the passenger side and got in, saying "I didn't know you were coming home, I thought you were you mom!!!".  What a great surprise!  I love visiting family and friends, I always come back refreshed and relaxed.

Next to vising home, I've transitioned into my new practicum placement very well.  It's a great school with great teachers and students, and I'm glad to spend this semester there.  One of the best things about it is it's only a few miles down the road from where we live, so me and Michael are saving on fuel money.

Last but least, a few days ago one of my best set of mallets, A. Putnams, broke.  I wasn't expecting one of them to snap so soon seeing as I just bought them at PASIC, but it did.  I tried to get just one replacement mallet through the company I bought them from, but unfortunately they only sell them in a set of four.  After a few phone calls and emails I was finally able to get the situation settled.  The best part is, Amy Putnam herself replied to all of my emails and is setting me up with a replacement mallet for the broken one, and the other three to be re-wrapped for a cheaper price the a brand new set. (Amy Putnam is the creator of these mallets by the way).

Hopefully it won't be this long between posts next time...but it's hard to tell with a ridiculously busy schedule.  Here's to a great weekend and even more productivity!

When Schedules Fail

Happy Friday everyone!  This week was officially the last first week of college I spent on campus.  Being a new year and new goals, I attempted to make a rigorous schedule and follow it; but life decided to throw a few wrenches into the gears.  It wasn't a bad week at all, just one that had a few surprises.

With my senior recital just a few months away I decided to crack down on practicing more than usual.  This was successful on Monday, but then surprises started happening.  I found out my Practicum placement on Monday, but by Wednesday morning it had been changed.  The new placement was 30 minutes away from where we live, and another 30 minutes from campus (which is 30 minutes from home as well).  I liked the placement, but the commute wasn't ideal.

I just want to say that God is good!  I was worried about fuel expenses because of all of the extra driving I was going to have to do this semester...and fuel isn't cheap.  Yesterday morning I received yet another email with a new placement; this newest placement is wonderful!  It is at a school which is right down the road from where we live, which won't be a problem at all when it comes to driving and fuel expenses!

When schedules fail, don't fret!  That rigorous schedule I had created at the beginning of the week may not have worked out the way I had planned, but God had different plans in place.  Instead of practicing, I had enough time to run all of the errands that are required in getting a background check for Practicum, and had enough time to layout a new and improved schedule for next week :).

To top off the week, I'll be traveling to my parents this weekend to spend some quality time with family and my two best friends back home!

Last Week of Break

The last week of Christmas break has finally arrived, and it is the last for my college undergrad years.  Yesterday started off kind of crappy, which is no way for the week to begin.  If you turned on the Weather Channel or radio recently, you've probably heard of the arctic cold that hit the north and north east part of the country.  Kentucky was in the path of that arctic cold, and we were hit with a rain/wintery mix that fell throughout Sunday night.  With temperatures falling near zero and the wind chill below zero, everything froze at a quick pace.

Monday morning came around and I was woken up by Michael, who had both of the front door handles from his car in his hands.  It was literally so cold and icy outside that the door handles completely broke off.  After calling up a dealership, I discovered that it is ridiculously expensive to get these replaced.  Luckily we are penny pinchers and found out later that day that we can open up the doors with a wire coat hanger!  It isn't ideal, but it works and currently saves us some money, haha.

Anyway, with classes starting next week it means that my senior recital is just a few short months away.  The cold didn't hold me back from getting into Fine Arts to practice some, which was much needed.  I'm really looking forward to this semester because it seems less stressful than last; it probably won't be, but it doesn't hurt to hope!

Here's to a great week, and even better semester!

"You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water."

Psalm 63:1

The Beatitudes...What to do?

The fire for Christ has certainly started to burn in my life again!  As stated in the previous post, I didn't do so well in my walk of faith last semester due to numerous situations; and I'm making it a top priority to put God first and foremost this year and years to come.  I've started a new devotional called Coffee With God by Sarah Arthur, and have also started a one year plan of reading the whole Bible, which is in the back of my Bible.

During my quiet time earlier, I was reading about the Beatitudes.  The Beatitudes, what exactly are they?  They are the principles and standards by which God expects all Christians to live by.  I've read and heard about the beatitudes quite a bit throughout the years I've attended church, but never took the time to break each one down and study a little of each.

One of them really stuck out to me, and that was Matthew 5:6;

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

Many Christians typically go through their day-to-day lives without giving a second thought to what it means to be "filled with Christ".  The Holy Spirit fills you when you except Jesus as your Lord, but then what?  We sometimes, more than often find ourselves feeling empty.  It's during these empty situations that most people try to find happiness in earthly things such as entertainment, money, relationships, and more.  It's up to us to continue filling that empty gap in our lives...the gap that can only be filled by Jesus.

That's where this beatitude comes into effect.  "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness..."  We should continuously be hungry and thirsty for Christ; in other words, we need to have a longing for righteousness, and chase that longing with perseverance.  Jesus clearly states in this verse that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled!  Simple as day, we can fill that "emptiness" with so much more than "earthly happiness" if we earnestly seek out Christ in our daily lives; by doing this we will be filled with God's love, peace, mercy, and all things Holy.

I hope this verse brings as much joy to you as it does me!  I pray that this year also brings each and everyone of you blessings and happiness!

New Year, New Goals!

Confession time!  Over the past few months it seems as if my faith has been gradually fading.  I've become selfish in a way, and have put it on the bottom of my to-do list.  At first I didn't really notice a difference in how my days were going, other than minor situations would turn into major problems quicker than normal.  This was very evident throughout this past semester of college; everything seemed twice as difficult as normal (not including it was one of my last semesters).  I continued to tell myself that things would be alright if I just say a little prayer here and there, and in a sense it was somewhat true; but it was no where near what I should have been doing to grow my faith.  Reflecting on this past year I know I made some mistakes and hurt some people, my sinful side definitely showed itself quite a bit.  Thankfully it's a new year, and God is merciful!

I intentionally didn't make any New Year's Resolutions, especially the typical cliche' kind.  Every time I try and do them, they always fail a few months into the year.  Instead, I've come up with a few goals that I'm going to continuously remind myself to do, in hopes to become a better person, a better friend, and a better follower of Jesus.

1. Put God at the top of my priority list. This seems to be a goal for me every year, but this year it is going to be different.  God isn't going to be a "thing" on my to-do list any more.  He is going to be the person I meet with on a daily basis, to talk with, pray with, and live with.  It's three days into the new year and so far I've been doing well with this goal, now it's time to continue what God has started in my life....for good!
2. Let go and don't hold grudges.  I was much to blame on doing the opposite of this last year.  Being hurt emotionally left my mind to wonder, accuse, and hold grudges that I should have never let happen.  I heard a quote a while back that went something like this, "Holding a grudge against someone is essentially allowing them to live rent free in your mind."  Who wants to let someone live rent free?  I don't, and I'm sure tired of letting things like grudges tear my mind apart.  Holding on to grudges is only going to haunt and bother me.  For this year, I'm setting a goal of letting go and not holding grudges.
3. Forgive,...Always.  Many people think that forgiveness is a one-time deal and then things go back to the way they were.  I know first hand that this is not true.  I failed this goal last year, and even though I'd tell myself I had forgiven, deep in my heart I still held anger and pain.  This year will be different, and very full of forgiveness, even when it's hard to do.  My church did a sermon on forgiveness back in July of 2012, and I'm glad I took notes.  Here are some of the points that I wrote down from the sermon:
• Ephesians 4:25-31
• When you forgive you don't get even, you get ahead.
• It is foolish to hold a grudge, it'll hurt you more than you know.
• Forgiveness isn't a one time shot.  It's a repeated act of not getting even.
• Forgiveness is what you have to do, restoring trust is what the other person has to do.

This year is going to be full of changes and happiness, I can tell already.  I'm not going to hold onto my old self any long.  It's time to truly shine and not let anyone or anything tell me otherwise, because God has a plan and I'm going to let Him take control!  Here's to a a new year, a better self, and better choices!

2013 Highlights

2013 has come and gone, and it was one of the most busiest years to date.  Looking back, I think I've grown as a person in many ways, and am looking forward to growing more this year.  Friendships have been made, musicianship has grown, and relationships with people have been strengthened.  There were many highs and lows throughout the year, but overall it was a huge growing experience for me!  I'll skip the lows and get straight to the great things that happened :).

Planned a wedding.  As stressful as it seems, it wasn't that stressful at all...not until the week before.  Shortly after Michael popped the question (7/3/12) we started planning.  We knew roughly when we wanted to have the wedding and began planning accordingly.  With the help of great friends and family, everything fell into place and the stress disappeared.

Moved to a new place.  This seemed stressful at first, but God blessed us with the perfect place that sits smack dab between the two towns we commute to on a daily basis.  With me finishing up my degree, we couldn't move too far away from campus.  And with Michael's job being an hour away from campus, that left very few places in which we could live that wouldn't be a terrible commute for either of us.  We now have an equal commute in opposite directions and it couldn't have worked out any better!

Married the man of my dreams.  The best highlight of 2013!  May 4th was one of the happiest days of my life to date!  (There will be a post about the wedding coming soon.)  God blessed me well when He put Michael in my life, and I'm glad I get to spend the rest of my days with him!

Taught band camp with a great band program.

Started my last year of college.  Commencement is right around the corner!  A year from now I will have my Bachelors degree in Music Education, and be on my way to becoming a full time educator.

Had a great practicum experience.

Started a blog.  This was something I never thought I would get around to doing.  After following my friend Bailey's blog  for a while I started to get the urge to create my own.  Right now I don't have a specific "goal" for this blog, other than to record events in my life and to reflect on them.  I'm hoping to keep this blog running for quite some time and hope it becomes more than what it is.

Went to PASIC.  This has been on my bucket list for a few years now, and I not only had the opportunity to go, but to also perform/compete with a group of amazing percussionist. (There will also be a post about this coming soon!) 

Celebrated the holidays as a married couple.  We've celebrated many holidays in the past, but this was by far the best year to celebrate them!  Both Michael and I agree that it had to have been one of the best Christmases we've had in a long time.  What a great way to send off a year than with family and friends!

With 2013 in the past, I'm looking forward to 2014 and all of the blessings and surprises that await!  May God bless you all and have a Happy New Year!!!