A Conference and a Cool Town

Kevin and I are at our first homeschool conference this weekend, taking place in Schaumburg, IL.  In other words, hello Chicago!  It has been quite fun so far, and the hotel we are staying in, where the conference is taking place, (special rates for attendees!), is absolutely gorgeous!  It is the Renaissance Hotel, and here is a picture of the crazy cool fireplace from where Kevin and I are sitting:

And here is my view of my sweet and handsome hubby:

Aren't these the cutest chairs??  (Hello blog world, please show me how to make these pillows! :) )

(Isn't this a fabulous lobby??)

We attended some fascinating workshops today, and my excitement about my new job continues to increase.  The whole homeschool world is quite foreign to most of us, including those of us who are trained teachers.  As it turns out, it is an amazingly collaborative and creative community, with a wealth of fabulous resources and solid mentors to learn from.  I am pouring my heart and soul into this new opportunity, and I am really enjoying feeling passionate about my job. 

I do have to say, I stopped by my old school the other day and had the opportunity to chat with some of my teacher friends from last year, while also getting to see their classrooms all ready to welcome the new students.  It was a bit bittersweet, as I will always have a special place in my heart for those sweet students who made up my first class.  And there is something about preparing a room for that first day of school.  But I trust God's plans so much more than my own, and I truly believe he has provided me with the best opportunity possible.  This is truly turning out to be an experience like no other teaching position could be.  I too have the opportunity to prepare my dream classroom, and I get to invest my heart for teaching into the life of one child in a unique and creative way.  What an awesome way God has demonstrated his great love and faithfulness!

It is also fun for me to think about how I might be able to encourage and invest in the teachers I worked with last year, as I know what a tough role working in a public school can be.  I will truly miss the opportunity to interact with them on a daily basis.  If you have a child in school, please make sure to celebrate and pray for his or her teacher as much as possible this coming year.  Remember that while you might not always understand or agree with everything, most teachers are working their hearts out and truly want the best for your child!  And it is a tough role to be a great teacher.

Tonight, after a long day of learning, we drove down the street to one of my favorite spots, IKEA!  The Chicago one is my favorite of any I've been to.  The apartment might be getting a little sprucing up here very soon...

Our last stop before hanging out in the lobby was enjoying dinner at one of my favorite places, Sweet Tomatoes.  Yum.  It's a salad and soup buffet that I've only ever been to here and in Atlanta, but am a huge fan of.  It is certainly not the place for meat lovers though!

 I look forward to sharing more about this weekend when we get home.  I have also have other fun happenings from my summer to share with you...I am having to pep talk myself into getting back into the habit of blogging...the summer sun has just been too good to me!  (That's a clever cover up for being lazy!!)  Besides, the big 3-0 is exactly 5 months away from today!!!  Yikes...the countdown has certainly begun!  :)