Only a Few More Days

Well said the next round of goodbyes...family. I'm one of those lucky people that consider my family as my best friends. I know some may find that odd, but I was truly blessed with the best family.

We enjoyed another round of Christmas. It was nice to see everyone. Hard to believe we won't see many of these people for a year and a half.

It does have a bittersweet feeling, because how amazing is it that we get to experience living overseas. I need to hold onto the positive. I am very excited to soon announce the first trip...
...but you'll have to wait. ;)

Here are the final pictures of our house in Indy and the storage unit. So funny that it all fit (classroom items included!). It still makes me want to get rid of things, but I keep telling myself that the furniture is taking up all the room!

Final Goodbye At Work

This wasn't my favorite day, but definitely one I will remember my entire life. Saying goodbye to my students and coworkers was rough. I really tried hard all day to be strong for my 23 third graders. I made it though the day and let loose the river after mostly everyone was gone. Not sure what I would do without my support system at school. They truly are not only the best educators, but amazing people and friends. 

It is so crazy how things happen for a reason. I remember having trouble getting a job when I first graduated. I remember not understanding why I was not getting the jobs, and then I was hired. I was so excited to have a job, to experience this new school, and to begin my new professional life as well. I know I was meant to be at that school, and learned so many different things while being there. 

I learned to never take life for granted. 
I learned to be strong and stand up for myself. 
I learned how truly blessed I was a child. 
I learned to be open and honest.  
I learned that you have to take the long To-Do list one day at a time.
I learned how hard teachers work for so little recognition. 
I learned that teachers make the best friends. 
I learned how to become a great educator. 
I learned to listen. 
I learned to take a stand on my own beliefs.  
I learned to step out of my comfort zone. 
I learned to find the answer and find the help needed for any situation.
I learned the only way to get through the stress is to just laugh and smile.
I learned to give. 
I learned new technology. 
I learned teachers are not only role models, but support systems.
I learned it's okay to be a little crazy.
I learned to believe in myself. 
I learned to go above and beyond to help out. 
I learned that teaching is absolutely an amazing profession, and I learned I'll truly miss it.  

Flat.....Check!

I feel comfortable posting now that we have a house (or flat) to live in while living in the UK. With the help of our relocation advisor, we found a two bed, two bath place in Nottingham. We had some great choices, but this one was close to the city center (downtown)...a 2 minute walk which will be wonderful. It is fully furnished, which is great. Great view of the park from our living room window. We will post pictures once we get over there!!

We have done a lot of packing both for storage and for the movers. The house is starting to look sad and bare. The movers come on Monday. Girl Problem #35: which clothes do I bring? :)

Sad Day....

So on Monday I sadly had to sit my 23 little 8 year olds down to tell them the difficult news that I was not returning after winter break. I didn't expect to get so emotional. I pride myself in not showing too much emotion, but I completely broke down. I told them the news, and the whole room broke down in tears. We continued to pass tissues around as I told them more about the experience and answered questions from "Are you going to come visit us?" all the way to "What do you eat on a plane?"

Now a few days later they have been asking more procedural questions. They are curious about how their education might change. I'm extremely happy that one of my best friends will be taking my position. She is not only an amazing friend, but a phenomenal educator. I'm happy for her to have this opportunity in her career.

Now...onto packing!

Man at Work

Least Jeff is getting things done around here. I don't know how he has all this energy. He is always good about making sure things like this get done...maybe a little too early for me. Such a go getter!

This storage unit is going to be full!

Try #2....Housing

Well, bad news bears....our first place we found in Nottingham fell through. They went back on what they originally said with having a cat in the place. We are basically going to pick our second place or look for a whole new place. Decisions. Decisions. Poor Jeff has received about 35+ emails from me "suggesting properties". There have been a couple pop up that were just listed within the last 16 hours. I always say "things happen for a reason"---I'm taking this stressful situation as one of those moments in life.

We have looked through some more houses via the internet (a site we used previously). We've selected two new houses, so someone from the UK is supposed to be checking those out for us on Monday. We hope they're in a nice area. It is a little scarier now that we're basically picking a place we've never been to before...and then living there for the next 18 months. AHHH!  I know it will all work out. Things always do. :)


I just had to post a picture of Mackey just to prove how cute he is. I am definitely glad he'll be joining us overseas. It's totally worth being considered a crazy cat lady. Have you ever seen a cat play fetch? Mackey does!

Packing

As you can tell, Mackey is loving all the extra "toys" around our house to play in. He has been jumping in, hitting, and eating each one. Lucky us!
We have started putting things in storage. It is hard deciding what we should and shouldn't take.I think we're making some progress, so that's all that matters for now.

Keep crossing your fingers that someone will rent our current house while we're away in the UK.

Nottingham:Our New Home Sweet Home

Well after much deliberation we have decided to rent a flat in Nottingham. It'll be a bit of a commute for Jeff (30 min) via the train or car. I think he is going to pick the train.

We went to Nottingham just to do some sight seeing. We walked around the city center (downtown), saw some beautiful churches, and saw the Nottingham Castle. It was fun hearing about Robin Hood, and there are still more sights to see with him.

Our flat is really cute. It's a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment. It is a lot more modern than I expected: leather couch, bar stools, modern lighting fixtures, and nice storage. I think there are about 4 flats total in the large house.

We are really excited, but still nervous for the trip. Enjoy the first few of many pictures below!

Our (well my) first trip to Derby

What a week! We just got back from our day long trip full of sitting on an airplane. I'm glad to be back home...if only Mackey was here.

Now to the interesting stuff...Derby!

We began our trip by exploring Derby, England. What a cute little town. This will be the town Jeff will work in daily. We visited the giant mall...and I mean giant! We ate at done great local restaurants. A few really stand out, which was The Kitchen and The Slug & Lettuce. The Kitchen was a smaller place, mostly sandwiches, coffee, tea, and sweets. The Slug appeared to be a popular place...almost looked as if it turned into a club atmosphere.

We met up with some of Jeff's future coworkers at an Indian restaurant. Great food and company. It was nice to feel like apart of something over there and to know people.

I'm looking forward to exploring this town more!

Airport Time

Sitting here at the airport, waiting to head out to England so we can find a home for the next 18 months! This trip is filled with many different emotions. It's all becoming so real! Hope to update soon with pictures!

The Resignation

It was extremely hard telling "The Mac" that December 20th was going to be my last day. It was a week filled with many different emotions (including turning the big 2-7). My supportive school was so excited, jealous, and saddened by the news. Hoping to rejoin the family upon my move back one day.

Well it is official...

It's pretty crazy news, but we're moving to the United Kingdom for 18 months! It's been a wild ride in deciding whether this was the right move for us or not. We knew I'd have to quit my teaching job, in which I love my students and the people I work with. This did not make the decision easy for us. We are also finally settled in our townhouse, and it's pretty sad to be leaving our beautiful downtown home.

What a great adventure this is going to be! Not many people can say that they lived abroad for any length of time, let alone a year and a half. We are already planning our big trips like Paris, Amsterdam, Italy, Greece, and exploring all what the United Kingdom has to offer. 

Jeff is really excited about this great leap in his career. This will open many new windows for him...he's so driven. As for me...my path in the UK is TBD. :)

England...here we come!