an end of year letter

 

january. 

there i was. living in lakin teaching a wonderful little class of 5th & 6th grade students. at this point it was clear that my students were realy teaching me, more then i was teaching them :) i really was learning alot. no longer was i living alone in the basement for cheyenne weaver had joined to teach kindergarten. life in the basement was no longer dull but instead a great lot of laughter echoed through the "haunted" bedroom. it was the most frigid month. it brought snow. & wind. & sickness. 

on the snowiest of days i slowly made my way to copeland to sit & drink tea with haleigh. & to ride horse in the snow.  

at school we played fox & geese 

& then there was the time that jake & nita came to lakin. 

they came to deliver my little car. it just so happened that my car (betsy) did indeed give up the ghost & had to be replaced. the time was filled with late night driving lessons for i had to learn manual. a lot of laughter. a walk in the zoo & a trip to wichita where they left me & my car to navigate the city full of stop lights. that was interesting. the next time it was my turn to drive i do think the co teachers had to pray for fear of dying but i promise it improved quickly:)

february 

100th day of school. i unloaded my walker, re-adjusted my baggy socks, tied a knot in my bulky ole sketchers, & pulled on my sweatshirt that read "my grandchildren are the apple of my eye". i practiced my shuffle down the halls & prepared for a day of laugher. as the buses unloaded we greated students that appeared to be 100 & those that appeared to have come right out of the 1923 fashion cataloge. this was a grand day. 

one day this month us teachers also hosted the school board in our basement for a meal. a gift to them. brisket, twice baked potatoes, salads & some delicious cheesecake. we had fun preparing for this evening.

the last weekend of the month i drove over to goltry to attend the wedding of clark & jami. a nice weekend indeed. sunday afternoon i became very frantic when made aware that a large storm was moving in from the west. i had to drive west meaning at some point i would come upon said storm. i don't appreciate the word tornado & hearing it made me very anxious. i think i prayed almost the whole way back to western. i did indeed find the storm. the rain, the wind & visiblity that had me wondering why i was still driving. i slept well that night. 

march

springbreak. 

some people travel to islands in the carribean or to new york city. i found myself on the road that led me back to goltry. & i was very excited to just exist in a place of comfort. checking pens, working cattle, paddle boarding& catching up with all the goltry people. 

the rest of march was un eventful. except for contracts & raising hope ranch emails. 

april. 

& it was a nice month for walks. & drives 

easter break. one morning i awoke early. drove to find haleigh at her home & we drove to wichita. we spent an incredible amount of time at an antique mall. had some unique experiences with eccentric people.laughed & made memories. 

near the end of the month i a very nervous human left after school & drove towards gentry. i stopped that night in goltry. & the next morning in hopes of calming my nerves i joined a round up with my cousins. i left shortly after lunch & arrived at raising hope ranch a little later then planned due to a forgotten wallet. my interview days were good & not as scary as i had predicted. so good that i agreed to join the team come summer. 

may 

cheyenne leaves to go back to her home. sadness. i was once again alone in the basement of my home. 

program practice. field trips happen. farewells. all signs that my time here in this place were coming to an end. the classroom begins to look bare. final tests are given. & then the students of rolling hills christian school do the most fantastic job a sharing the story of Apollo 13. play day had candy falling from the sky. & then it was goodbye. mom & dad journeyed home with me. they had the honours of hauling ole betsy back home to her resting place. amy & dawson were picked up in spokane and i was no longer alone in my car. 

back in the okanagan. 

june 

at a very early hour on a sunday morning jake's, johny's, jasper & i found ourselves struck with the inspiration to climb the enderby cliffs. so we hiked. at a pace too quick for any normal human to keep up with. but at last we reached the top. 

& doyle's arrived home. they walked down the arrival ramp  "tiffany !" & alex was there giving me the greatest hug. o it was good to have them this side of the pond. it was chaos. but it was lovely. to soon we were off to idaho/oregan to help them move into their new home.

july

the 6 weeks of home were drawing swiftly to a close. quickly i tried to stuff in time at the lake, strolls up mountains, & sitting around fires. it was time for good byes. again.  july 5 was here.

  

. now i feel as though the last few months have been highlighted here on this blog. so why would i bore you with repeating myself. so as strange as it may be i am going to jump to december. 

december. 

the calender was full. 

one evening all the ranchers & authorities loaded up & went caroling to some neighbours. 

another evening we attended a candle light service at john brown university in siloam springs. 

we practiced our christmas program. 

& continued on with all the other normal ranch things. 

i was in charge of trading post a few times for ms brooke was home in california. 

we attended ms lora's graduation ceremony at JBU 

december 16th was program night. 

"the Christmas Story Through Shadows" 

it was just that. a shadow play of the Christmas Story. the barn was dark. a bright light lit up the drop cloth & our shadows told the story. a few songs were sung. some carols all together & then goodies. the  ranchers parents were there to watch & pick up their girls for home visit. grandpa & grandma koehn journeyed here for this evening as well which was super special to me :) 

a few low key days followed. lots of lazing around. ms. katie, ms. sam & i did a few things together like i-hop breakfast, painting our bathroom, ice skating & a trip to the emergency room. ms. katies wrist was not broken. thankfully :) 

i left on tuesday & flew to boise. my flight from XNA was delayed therefore i ran through the denver airport to catch my next flight. i was very grateful for those moving walk ways. mom & dad. i was so very happy to find them. & erin. driving to doyle's from boese erin fell asleep on my shoulder. i was taken back to malawi days. i smiled. this makes me happy. after yummy tacos we attended alex's christmas program. 

wednesday we left & drove to the valley i call home. o i was happy. we made it for supper at jake & nita's. i like being with these people. & charlie . i like seeing my dog. i think he liked seeing me too. johnys arrived at midnight. doyles arrived on thursday. 

my time was short here at home but was filled right up. snowman building & snowboarding. gift exchanges & puzzle setting. laughter & home friends. family . 

i was so grateful for this time to be with family. 

the 26th i flew away once again. back to the ranch. 

the last few days of 2023 have been days of getting back into life at the ranch. all our ranchers are returning from home visit & our next session begins. ready or not. 

& just like that it is good bye to 2023. 

this year has been filled with highs & lows. 

new people & old. 

& God has been so good. 

we welcome 2024. 

we know not what it will hold. 

but God has given us a place to fill for this very moment

so lets just do that. 

please continue to pray 

till next time 

miss tif.