About Me

Here is a glimpse into our crazy lives. I won’t even tell you how many photos we had to take to get one good family photo (especially when dealing with two boys). So we promised them at the end that we could take one just for fun.

Howdy! So, you’re wondering about me? Well, here’s a small glimpse into my life.

I’ll start with my amazing family. I have parents who have been married for half a century. Wow! That’s hard to fathom. I also have a twin brother who is also an educator and has a Master’s of Education in Administration. He’s a great guy and passionate for teaching children!

Here’s my awesome twin brother. Funny story…we moved our 9th grade year in the middle of the year so my father could pastor a church. The girls at my school thought he was my boyfriend and that I lived with him. They apparently thought that was “so cool” when I was like “Uh…that’s my brother”. Yeah, we look nothing alike! PS…I think we got our Santa hats mixed up:)

Along with coming from an amazing family, God has allowed me the opportunity to create my own amazing family. My husband, Greg, and I have been married for almost 20 years. Marriage is not easy, but God has walked with us the entire way and showed us how to work through our rainy days to find those beautiful rainbows.

Also, God granted us the opportunity to teach Financial Peace University which we did for 10 years which enabled us to meet so many great people in our community. Becoming debt-free ourselves has enabled us to take the financial stress out of our marriage and grow our relationship at a deeper level. I am learning to love this guy more and more every year!

Greg and I went to Waco to celebrate an anniversary. If you’re a parent, then you know it’s very rare for you to be able to get out of town. So, you can bet we enjoyed this moment of having a nice, quiet dinner and then heading to Magnolia to see the work of Chip and Joanna Gaines.

In 2006, I found out that I was going to have a sweet baby boy. I am not going to say that I was the best mother by any means, especially considering the fact that I went back to work when Eli was only 4 weeks old, but we all survived.

In 2008, I found out that I was pregnant with my second baby boy. I always tell Drew that I just knew our family was complete as soon as I saw his face in the hospital. Eli and Drew are pretty inseparable and watching them grow up together makes my heart so happy. I hope they stay close their entire life.

Maybe you can relate to this next comment, but I always swore I would never be a teacher. I remember being in college when I said this, and then God gave me the opportunity to play the piano for a middle school and high school choir. Naturally, I fell in love with the kids and realized that I just had to a teacher. I couldn’t get enough of it.

Fortunately one of our bilingual students informed me that I wore the wrong pair of shoes one day to school. She was laughing thinking I did this on purpose. This was much better than the day I forgot to wear my bra (no pictures included).

So, I decided to major in Education with a specialization in Math. I also earned an Associates Degree in Music which proved helpful because when we moved to College Station the only job available was a music position (K-5). I didn’t realize this then but now I see how being a music teacher has helped me in the regular education classroom in so many ways. The most important skills I learned in music were how to be highly organized and run a tight ship when it came to classroom management because the kids were with me for such a short amount of time.

I would do anything for my students (just like you would do as well). We used to have Fun Fridays and I would let my kids spray paint my hair if they made it into Fun Friday. Notice the bags under my eyes. YIKES!

I went on to teach 4th grade self-contained and departmentalized. I took off a couple of years to stay home with Drew which allowed me the opportunity to work part-time at a Boys Ranch in our town. This was a nice break and helped me to grow spiritually and see God working in so many ways.

I went back to teaching K-5 music at another elementary campus and then taught 3rd grade at this same campus. This is by far one of my favorite grade levels because of 3rd grade reading. It feels amazing when you know you are helping to close the gaps in reading and helping students to not just become another statistic.

Last year I started a scrapbook and put in all the notes and pictures given to me over the last 16 years. This is in the front of my scrapbook. Definitely one of my faves.

I did move to another district but am still teaching 3rd grade. God will not leave me here. I know that He is preparing something else for me. The last statement I remember saying is “I would never become an administrator in a school” and now I am working towards this goal.

On this particular day, I thought I would take a selfie while at school and send me to my husband (which I rarely do). Along with the photo I said “I love you more than you’ll ever know”. What I didn’t know was that I sent this photo to our church pianist instead of my husband which she sweetly responded “I love you, too”.

One thing I have learned in life is that our way is not usually His way. This is just the beginning of my story. I have been in education for a little more than decade but know that my career is just starting. I can’t wait to see what the next chapter will behold.