Mountain Spaniel

No offense to all 100 or so roommates I've previously had, but Copper is my favorite.  We don't have chairs yet, or a lot of dishes, so pretty much all our meal times look like this.

Usually He wins.  

     Now that I live so close to Parmelee, it's a lot easier to go visit friends, provided I'm not at school till 9 at night.  On some of the best days of my life, I get to walk around town, share my longboard, and watch as Copper makes lots of friends, mostly under the age of 12.  Who are all amazing.  Those times often look like this.

   I'm super stoked and feel super blessed that I've gotten to have sweet conversations with a bunch of kids at school too.  I don't remember having a lot of really real talks with my teachers in school, but I've been able to have some with my students here.  I love it so much.  What helps is, a bunch of the kids at our school are legitimately super cool.  Last weekend I got to go camping with a few friends from school, and rock climbing out in the Black Hills.  That was really really fun.  This South Dakota is growing on me.  That looked like this.

  Three super great friends.  So lucky to have them.  And we climbed some gnarly spots at Falling Rock Canyon!  On this trip I realized that Copper isn't a springer spaniel.... He's a Mountain Spaniel.




Mountain Spaniel at rest.



If today was a snow day I would write more.... but its just a late start, so I got to go.  Today, if he braved the snow, an Army recruiter is talking to my classes.  Really glad I could connect that for my students.  Hoping a lot will be inspired.


Love you guys!
See ya!

Blessed.

  So, it's been awhile haha.... and there have been very many happenings since I last wrote you guys.

Work -  Teaching is still great.  I have had really good opportunities to connect with kids one on one, and have very solid conversations about things that matter.  I am blessed.

Home -  About 2 weeks ago, I found a note on the trailer I was staying (squatting) in, from the owner.  She politely told me that my home was actually her home and it was going to be pulled away soon.  So, me and Copper packed up our stuff in the Outback and headed over to our good friends' house, where we couch surfed for about a week.  It was actually really nice, and Copper had some friends to hang with all day.

  Long story short, we now have a really sweet house in HeDog, about 5 minutes from Parm and 25 from school.  It's awesome to finally be able to unpack haha... and my awesome friend Emily gave me a whole bunch of sweet furniture.  Bam.

  Having a house so close to Parmelee is great, mostly because I can go there more often, but also mostly because I can have friends from town over to my place.  Last weekend kids were over every day, which was super cool.

  Last weekend I also had some very special visitors, Charlotte and Irena- two of the greatest girls ever. Super great to see both of them, and really nice of them to make the trip.  Irena even helped me with grading.  I'm pretty blessed.

 Learning -  I have been learning things.  For one, about contentment.  This realization came not so much through learning, but through realizing how bad I am at being content (getting frustrated too easily).  For example, say your home gets pulled away and you're homeless- it's not worth getting worked up over.  There are other places.  Or, if a school district, say, sort of reverses what they have been telling you all along about helping you become a full teacher, and decides they might rather just have you work as a much lesser paid sub and let you go whenever they want (but I still have a job for awhile, maybe all year) - not really a big deal.   I am so far away, but I so much desire to learn to take things in perspective and remember what's important.  And what's important is faith, grace, and love in action.

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.        - I Timothy 6

 So Parmelee is still one of my most favorite places on earth.  I will end with a really happy story.  A couple weeks  ago I had a free Saturday.  First off I got to go to Parmelee and help a really sweet girl who has been sick make up some of her homework from the middle school.  Great start to the day.  After that I was able to load Copper, Elliot his dog friend, and three awesome boys from 7 to about 11 years old into the wagon and head south to Merritt Dam, this sweet place with big sandy beaches.  We ate Mcdonalds, swam, played fetch, and got buried in the sand.  Two of them told me it was the greatest day ever.  Fulfilled :)


You guys are the best.   I will try to blog more.  I know at least someone will read them all (thanks mom).

Cheers everyone.