Quick Catch Up!

Well it probably won’t be so quick.

In December I finished up my final semester in classes at VSu leaving student teaching between me and that diploma!

Here are some of my fellow future educator friends at The Mix. It’s a frozen yogurt shop and if you are ever in Valdosta I’d HIGHLY recommend it! We are regulars there!!

Here is the rest of our class with our favorite teacher, Dr. Hedgy. His real name is Dr. Hedgepeth.

Two more of my lovelies are Maggie and Emma. This was at a baby shower hosted by our class for Maggie on our last week of school. Isn’t she GLOWING!?

After third block I got to spend some time in Ashburn before heading back south to start student teaching. January was a whirlwind month with student teaching orientation, my GACE(which is a fancy way of saying my Georgia teacher certification test), and starting student teaching.

I PASSED MY GACE!

I got the privilege of being a Cook County Hornet during student teaching. I was placed at Cook Elementary in Sparks in a 5th grade Social Studies classroom with 5 AMAZING teachers and 110 wonderful students. I had a GREAT experience and will forever cherish our memories. My final day was very bittersweet. I was so glad to be done because that meant I was one step closer to graduation and getting my own classroom, but I hated to leave my darlings.

Whew! It’s be a long time coming but I am proud to say as of Saturday, May 5, 2012 I am FINALLY an alumni of Valdosta State University! Here are some pictures commemorating that day!

My sweet family! (L-R) Wyatt(more on him to come), Justin, Sarah, Mama, Me, Sami, and Daddy

Meet David, the new beau. I cannot mention him without introducing you to his sweet son, Liam. He has won over my heart so quickly! Liam wasn’t able to come to my graduation but here are some pictures of us.

This is one of my very best friends, Tammy. We have been through a lot together at VSU and I am so thankful to have met her!

My roommate, Ashlyn, also graduated with her Bachelors in CSD. She had a less than a weeks break and jumped right back into grad school the following Wednesday. She will be graduated for good December 2013!

Aunt Terri and Uncle Louie came to support me as well as Uncle Vic(not pictured).

My pride and joy came to see his favorite aunt graduate! You might remember this little cutie from this post many, many moons ago(He was 6 weeks old then!).

After graduation we held a joint party in honor of my graduation but mostly in honor of Wyatt’s FIRST (yes, you read that right!) birthday! Below are some pictures of that sweet boy and some candids from his party.

He liked the icing! His Aunt Amanda made his cake for him and the theme was Radio Flyer wagons. My little sister, Sami, restored a vintage Radio Flyer for Wyatt for Christmas and she did a great job!

(There’s our elf in his restored wagon!)

I have applied to several jobs and heard nothing back yet. I am sticking to my thought that it is still a little early for them to hire, although most places in South Georgia are doing cutbacks rather than hiring. I am trying to stay positive and in the mean time I have decided to take my GACE in Middle Grades Education Math and Science. I’m hoping this provides more job opportunities and to be honest, I am hoping that this is where I get my job. Don’t get me wrong, stick me in a classroom with any students and I would be more than happy to teach them, but I like the older kids especially after student teaching.

The most exciting news of all, even after all of those things(and the reason for the longgggg blog post updating you on my life), is that I decided to use my summer off to spend some time with Nate and Julia again in Marietta! I had such a great time with them last summer and was so excited to use my blog as a portal for friends and family across the country to communicate and keep up with our fast growing little Nate. I will be headed North Sunday and cannot wait to see how much he has grown and how smart he has gotten. I know we will have a blast and learn so much from each other this summer! I am so excited about this opportunity!

Seriously, how could I turn down this face?!

That’s enough for you to digest for now. Check back soon for more updates as I get to Marietta and start making memories with Julia and Nate!

-xoxo, Suzi