things i'm loving

our agreement of i cook, he cleans!

my brand spankin' new ipad 2. husband sure does spoil me:)

lazy sundays in bed with bailey and husand<3

tanning

relaxing days at the parentals

since i've been gone

i am now a mrs.<3
wedding planning kept me very busy so blogging fell off the radar for me.
although i loved every minute of my wedding, part of me is glad it's over. i don't have to plan or stress about it anymore.
now i just get to relax and enjoy my summer break with my dear husband:)

ladies and gents i now present to you, mr. and mrs. valle

happy heart day

i know it's a tad bit late but i had a fantastic valentine's day and i just had to share.

first future husband had 2 dozen chocolate covered strawberries sent to my classroom...

and with balloons!!!! my favorite:)

but i think my favorite part of the day was eating at barton's g. the food was yummy and their presentation is amazing and super fun.

some people may call it a hallmark holiday but i think it's fun to just take some time to celebrate love<3

"when God made you he must've been thinking about me"

happy birthday to the most amazing man, my future husband<3

i'm so incredibly blessed to have him in my life.

even though he doesn't care to make a big deal about his birthday, i sure think it's a big deal and deserves a big celebration. since it's a weekday he got his wish today, but this weekend it's on!

{photo}

resolution #1, get back into blogging

i can't believe it's a new year.  i remember at the end of 2009 i said 2010 will be my year, and it was.

2009 was not a good year for me. i worked at dead end jobs because i couldn't get into the teaching field for a long time. when i finally did find a teaching job it was the worst experience anyone could have. i also experienced the most painful betrayal that no one should ever have to go through. it was just a rough, stressful, and lonely year. 

but then 2010, you came along. i got a job at a great new school and although that fell through another great school came and picked me up. relationships were mended. most importantly i met and fell in love with my future husband. completely unexpected but he was exactly what i needed. 

all along, through the good and bad, i just trusted in God and his plan for my life and like always he showed up and showed off in my life. 

i am so looking forward to what God has in store for me in 2011. my life will be completely changing this year and a whole new chapter will begin in my life and it's exciting, scary, beautiful, wonderful, unnerving, and all these crazy emotions in one. but it's so nice to know that i'll have this amazingly wonderful man by my side to get through the rest of the years of my life.

here's to 2011...

christmas in july

my darling fiance surprised me with these today. our first christmas ornaments<3

i thought it was the sweetest thing ever.

sometimes the little random things are the best ever.

my little lovies

last month my nieces and nephew came down to visit. i absolutely love spending time with them and since it happens only about once a year i treasure the time with them. it was also meagan's 3rd birthday. meagan is so special, she is the most lovable little girl i've ever met! even if she doesnt know you she'll give you the biggest hug like she's known you all her life.

 won't they make the cutest flower girls and ring bearer:)

just saying

my dad is the goofiest man you will ever meet.

he bought this hat with the craziest hair and he LOVES wearing it around to see people's reactions (not going to lie it's pretty funny). 

you gotta love this man:)

back from new york

and i have some fabulous news...

:D

no more pencils, no more books

wow i sure have neglected my poor little blog. i've just had a lot on my plate these days but thankfully my plate is about to get really empty. yes sir summer vacation is 1 day away from me. my head is about to explode from excitement and happiness. this past school year has been one of the hardest years of my life but i won't get in to all the details of why the school i work at completely sucks. i just want to think about having a wonderful summer and going on a well deserved vacation in 1 day to NYC with my guy<3

but i won't lie i sure will miss my kiddos. their last day in school was yesterday and it was bittersweet. one of my little ones said "i'm going to miss you, can i hug you?" and i literally had to fight back the tears. those kids were the only thing keeping me going at that school, thank God for those kids:)

my kiddos on field day. of course they kicked butt and got 1st place!!!!!

take me to the place i love

the beach is one of my favorite places to be.

i love the water, the sun, and the relaxation.

i had a great idea to run on the beach and then have a picnic and relax. 

it was a great idea and it felt so good to get in the ocean after my run.

i also got to play with some new apps on my phone.

just saying

all girls should receive surprise flowers

can't help but smile:)

the fair, be there

a few things i loved at the fair this year...

robots on scooters

my dad finding the silliest things to do

eating a ton and sister actually eating more than me (thats a rarity!)

newborn chicks


p.s. in case you were wondering about the outcome of my last post, crist actually vetoed the bill, thank God!

nix six

if you don't live in florida or know a teacher then you probably don't know about the madness surrounding teachers and public education. there is a bill that has been passed that will base teacher's pay on how their students do on the fcat, which is a standardized test in florida. this is the craziest thing i've ever heard. one thing that i have learned this year as a teacher is that if the parents don't care about how their kid is doing there is a 99% chance that the kid won't care, no matter how amazing of a teacher you may be. i can't tell you how many letters and phone calls i've made to certain parents and they just don't care and neither does their child, so is it fair for me to be penalized? not only that but teachers in low income schools don't get nearly enough resources like a teacher in a high income school would get. a teacher can seriously only do so much on their own. 

for a kid to have the best chance at being successful they need a good teacher, caring parents, and a good school that is providing the child with the appropriate resources to learn. if one of those components are missing it's going to be rough. sometimes you do get those kids that come from horrible parents and horrible schools and they do amazing things but come one, thats the exception, not the rule.

i think the main factor is parenting, i know i did well in school because my parents demanded it. i remember getting a "c" for the first time and i was terrified to come home.

people don't realize how hard it is and unless you're a teacher you never will. this year has changed my whole view on teaching. i came in with that idealistic view of changing kids' lives and although i still believe that to a certain degree, it's not as easy as i envisioned it.

i think i am a very positive influence in my student's lives but i do see that no matter how hard i try some kids just don't care. and i get it, i work in a very poor neighborhood and some of these kids have it very rough, so school is at the bottom of their list of worries.

 i can't tell you how many days i've come home crying. but even so i still love teaching. i love my students and every now and then you have moments with them that make everything worth it.

but will most of these kids kick ass on the fcat, probably not. not only do i have to deal with uncaring parents but i get no support from my school. anything i need for my classroom or for my students for lessons i have to buy it with my money. i still don't have basic things like dictionaries and math manipualtives so lets not even talk about technology, like a class computer.

and now the state wants to punish teachers like me instead of help us.

another bad thing is that they will not be paying teachers more for higher education degrees. which is so dumb to me. shouldn't you be encouraging educators to be the most educated! 

well i will not be one of those people who complains and does nothing about it so monday i attended a protest which other teachers from dade county. it was nice to see so much support and so many people standing up for what they believe in.

kill the bill!

this is what my master's degree will be worth, garbage!

thank God for good co-workers!

there is still hope though, governor crist has until friday to veto this bill.
pray hard.

see, told you i was back!

slowly but surely easing my way back into blogging.

i really want to share a little bit about my easter weekend.

easter might be my favorite holiday and not because of chocolate bunnies and easter eggs but because of what it represents. it always reminds me and blows my mind how much God loves us. it is so humbling and words can not express how thankful i am to serve such a wonderful savior. 

my mother got me the best easter gift...

 this beautiful cross necklace. but thats not even the greatest part....

the message on the back is so beautiful and has a double meaning for me. it'll always remind me of my mom's eternal love for me as well as God's:)