Until the next adventure!

Two weeks ago, I visited my friends one last time here in Columbus before they moved on to their next adventure near Nashville, Tennessee. They just finished up a year of serving as houseparents at New Song Mission, and now Zayde has accepted a job as a new Dual Language teacher at a school not far from where her daughter and new son-in-law live. 

We met over e-mail shortly before heading to Colombia for the second time when we arranged to work/volunteer at El Camino Academy in Bogotá while we spent a whole month with Julian. Zayde was in charge of the English summer school program at the school, so she and I exchanged several e-mails ahead of our arrival. 

Little did I know that we'd be staying in the same apartment complex where she and her husband and daughter lived and that we'd basically be doing life together that entire month. They got to be part of our adoption journey, meeting and getting to know Julian and being so very present in our fight to reopen Juan David's adoption that summer. 

The adventures of the Alspaugh/Lopez family had only just begun. Now looking back over the last 13 years, we've built quite a few memories that have bonded us together like family.

• Bogotá
• Los Cipreses (the apartment complex)
• ECA (the school)
• Julian
• Juan David
• An afternoon together at a picnic in a park with both Julian and Juan David
• The Salt Cathedral in Bogotá
• Human hamster balls
• A dinosaur tour
• Teaching English as a Second Language
• Renacer (the Baptist Church in Bogotá)
• Merceditas (a lady from that church who knew and loved Juan David and Julian as children)
• Apulo (a weekend in paradise)
• Villa de Leyva
• Pozos Azules
• The emergency clinic in Paipa
• Swimming in Bogotá
• Juan David's adoption
• Staying with them our last week in Colombia
• Crepes and Waffles
• Santa Fe mall
• Ayuelos mall
• Church picnic
• COVID (Zayde got stuck in the U.S. while visiting her daughter)
• Colombia Adoptions Group where Zayde gained a lot of clients for her online Spanish/English tutoring business
• Spanish book club
• Columbus, IN
• Our first overnight guests in our new home
• New Song Mission (school and summer camp)
• Occasional lunches after church
• Fiesta Latina
• Teaching kids how to make arepas
• Terrace Lake Church
• Desserts and Decaf with the ladies at Terrace Lake Church
• Christmas lights in Madison, IN
• 4th of July celebration at our house
• Bilingual teaching
• And many more!

Sometimes it's just pretty crazy to see how God weaves our stories together and connects us in ways we never could have imagined. So although I felt a tug of sadness in my heart giving them that last hug, I knew it wasn't really goodbye. So I wrote in a card, "Until the next adventure!"

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New Year, New Theme, New Enthusiasm

We're only a week out until classes begin! I hit the classroom for the last two days, and now I am really looking forward to the year ahead. I'm not new, so I am not just along for the ride this year. I have a solid grip on the steering wheel, have my maps out, and am ready to be back in the driver's seat as a teacher who feels confident in what she's doing. I still have a few new things to navigate this year, like teaching more subjects--but I'm so glad to be more than just a reading/writing teacher! I can't tell you how much I missed teaching Math last year and just having some variety in my day (and a longer time period with the students in front of me). I have a Legado teammate this year (my sweet friend from church), and we have created a unique schedule that allows us to teach our own homeroom students for half the day and then each other's students for the rest of the day (but in the opposite language).

I ditched my old Alspaugh's Army theme finally and decided to create an atmosphere that felt inviting to me (and also to my students, of course). Since I would love to. own my own coffee shop someday (previous post), why not turn my classroom into one? I'm thinking for rewards, I might just have to offer cups of hot cocoa or something. I had a lot of fun playing around with new programs on the computer to create the graphics I wanted for the walls, along with some hands-on craftiness that I like to dabble in a little bit every summer. 

Got my flags and my pink lights up!

I have my own bathroom with a magnetic door, so I had fun putting up a few magnets to decorate it. The students don't use the classroom bathroom, so it's mostly just for me and for storage. I do keep extra sanitary supplies in there for girls who get a surprise "visitor" during the day and extra shirts, sweaters, and pants for kids who are cold, who break dress code, or who have an accident of some type at school. 

My classroom ended up last on the list for the floors to be waxed, so I couldn't get in to work as early as I would have liked to. But yesterday I worked one very long day and made a lot of great progress! It really helped clear my mind (and the growing piles of "things for school" in my house) so I can focus on the littler, more tedious things to be ready for school on Wednesday. 

My main color themes are blue/green for English/Spanish, purple for bilingual time, and pink, well, because it's just a necessity. 

The door so far (The language sign flips for English time)

The entrance

The front of the room

The Reading "Café for Spanish reading with lots of menus for learning throughout the year. 

I also put a Colombia scarf on that giant bear to show that he's bilingual and likes to travel, too. :) Plus he takes up so much space on the bench that I won't have to worry about kids sitting too close together. There's just room for one kid. I was shocked last year to see so many 11 year old boys flock to sit with the bear (who was on the floor last year). Those are all coffee cups on the bulletin board that I still need to write all of the kids names on.

The flag wall, where we'll add a new flag and study a new country each week. 

We're starting Week 1 with Argentina because it's first in the alphabet. I had a vision for this last year that I never did implement well, so I'm looking forward to a second chance to see the kids engage in this cross-cultural learning. I can't wait till we get to Puerto Rico since several kids are already signed up to go and have even started their fundraising!

Small group area with a travel wall and a Math wall. 

I purposely left these bulletin boards pretty bare because this is where I will keep a lot of my anchor charts and resources for whatever we're learning at the moment. 

The area behind my desk. 

Last year my desk was up front in the corner of the room, and it just felt so cramped and crowded. Then at the end of the year, I decided to move my desk to the back of the room by the windows, and what a difference it made!! I had space to move and breathe, windows and sunlight to cheer me up, and easy access to the bathroom. And I had a better view of those mischievous sixth graders who weren't always on task. 

My personal space to put pictures, etc. 

My little zebra board holds pictures of my very first bilingual students that I taught as first graders in Warsaw, my Pre-K students that I taught in Colombia, two high school age girls that I met in Guatemala (one who had to drop out of school because she couldn't afford books), and two cousins from my first fourth grade class in Garland, one who was killed a year or so ago. I even taught his daughter in Pre-K. Those pictures represent my WHY. 

The English reading area 

Spanish books are in the front of the room, English books in the back--hopefully they won't get so mixed up this year. The turtle has a Colombia hat on to show that he's also bilingual and loves to travel. 

The "coffee shop" area.

So, its a new year, I have a new theme, and I have renewed enthusiasm and excitement. When I was in the Dominican Republic on spring break, one of the missionaries prayed with us on our last night as we prepared to return to our own mission fields. Often times I've struggled to leave a mission trip because I felt like I was just getting started. But I remember feeling so clear that night about the mission field God has put me on, the American public school, specifically working with bilingual children and families. I mean, I had just found out that my friend from church decided to move up to sixth grade and be my teammate, specifically talking about how we could pray for our students together.  Meanwhile my other new coworker who started going to my church had just visited me at Freedom Christian School right there in the Dominican. It was pretty obvious that I'm directly where God has placed me. It's not at all the mission field I had envisioned when He so strongly called me to make the move to Columbus, as I truly thought I'd settle in at New Song and stay for a long time. But it's beautiful to see how He's woven things together to put me where I am, to draw me to my church here that would continue to connect me with the people He intended me to work alongside. 

So here's to stepping in to Year #23 on the mission field, AKA the American public school! I love looking at these pictures and seeing so many artifacts/gifts that bring back memories of other years. That's what makes teaching feel so rewarding. Students touch your heart and stay with you wherever you go. 

 

Building Memories with my Sisters in Christ

I just love quaint little tea shops and coffee shops and cafes. I love the intimate, cozy vibes they give off and the sweet invitation to just sit and share time with a friend or small group of friends. Someone once asked an icebreaker question about something you would do if time or money were not a factor. I said I'd love to have my own little tea/coffee shop someday. :) I had a friend who owned one in Texas that I just loved to visit. 

We also have found an adorable little tea place here in Nashville, IN that one of Chrissy's friends owns, and Mike and Matt's business has done a ton of work for her. So I invited my Discipleship group to go there last week while I'm still off for the summer. Unfortunately she was closed when we got there, but we also had plans to visit a new bakery near there. So we walked to the bakery and found this treasure of a place to sit and enjoy each other's company that morning. :)

I love the sweet friendships that I have been slowly building with these three ladies. It's so nice to have friends who enjoy meeting up for coffee (or Chick Fil-A occasionally) just to talk and share time together. Through our simple chats over coffee and tea, we've gotten to know each other and have become a system of support, prayer and encouragement through life's daily challenges. I've loved the flexibility to meet on different days and at different times and locations during the summer, and I'm so thankful for their flexibility to work around my teacher hours during the school year. I never had a sister, and I'm not a big group kind of girl, so maybe that's why my sisters-in-Christ and the coffee shop atmosphere is so inviting to me. 

Hannah is in a different Discipleship Group, but she's like my soulmate sister here, one of my closest friends. We've met up at a lot of coffee shops over the last three years, but my favorite time was when she came over to have coffee with me out on my own patio (my own little coffee shop!). We are in very different stages of life, so our schedules aren't always easy to coincide, but I'm so thankful God crossed our paths and brought us together as friends/sisters-in-Christ. 

 

Summer Reading 2025

I always have several books that I'm reading at one time, but they're usually some kind of devotional book, Bible study, or something related to either church or teaching. But I've never really considered myself much of an avid reader, partially because I mostly read non-fiction (books that can be read in sections over a long period of time). Gifting myself time to read a novel just for the pleasure of reading isn't something I do often. Somehow I always feel guilty for not being more productive with my time. (Don't ever tell my students I said that since I'm always hounding them to read their library books!)

But now that my summers aren't centered around quality time and experiences with my own children, I don't feel so guilty in making time to pleasure read. I'm also getting better at reading a wider variety of subjects and genres that I haven't explored before. Over this last year, I read my friend's science fiction novels that she wrote. And as soon as school got out, I read two books that taught me quite a bit of history.

So here's what I found the time to read this summer:

• Child of the Dream (a historical novel about Jackie Robinson's daughter)
• Leadership Journeys (a book about the childhoods of four different presidents--Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson-- and what personal traits and circumstances led them to the Presidency)
• Elevating Educational Design with AI (a book that I did for a book study with my district over how to use AI as a thought partner to create more choices for student engagement). 
• Pretense (just a fun novel about two sisters who found Christ as young adults and watched him redeem some painful experiences of their lives)
• Dark Clouds, Deep Mercies (a book about the process and purpose of lament that I bought for a friend who recently experienced a tragic loss in her life, so I bought myself a copy to read along with her)
• Good Boundaries and Goodbyes (a book that explains how appropriate boundaries can enhance relationships and keep you from giving up the best of yourself in order to keep people happy)
• When You Pray (a 6 week in-depth Bible study by several authors over the concept of prayer)

Child of the Dream really enlightened me about what it would be like to grow up in the shadow of someone famous, especially if you don't share the same ability that led to their fame. I learned a lot about certain events in history while reading the book, too. A friend gifted it to me during Teacher Appreciation Week, so I wanted to read it before putting it in my classroom library. 

Leadership Journeys  actually fascinated me to learn about each President's childhood and the challenges they had to persevere through as children and as young adults,  though it wasn't quite as quick of a read. I chose it as my free book at the Mobile Book Fair at school after the lady running it told me I should get it for my sixth graders to read. I don't know that many will take the challenge to read such a thick history book, but I will definitely reference it in class now that I've read it. 

Elevating Educational Design with AI gave me a lot to chew on and also became an incredible resource to help me see where I was a bit too stuck in my ways this last year, holding on to my Texas teacher mentality when the midwest education mentality differs so much. It opened my eyes to a lot of things I can do differently just by adding an element of choice so students will take more ownership of their learning. In addition to all that, I'm not so afraid of tapping into AI and using it as a thought partner to create more meaningful choices for students to demonstrate their level of learning. 

Pretense did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed giving myself the gift of time to pleasure read through all 700+ pages of this novel that led two sisters through their childhood up through their late 20's, highlighting their personalities, their educational goals, their careers, their successes and their failures, their heavy losses, their relationship (or lack of relationship) with God, and  their romantic interests. I bought it at Goodwill specifically to have something to read while in Michigan, so I made it my goal to read as much of it on that trip as possible. I may or may not be guilty of closing myself off to my family because I had my nose buried in that book. 

Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy helped me to see how lamenting sets us apart as a Christian during a time of suffering. Everyone complains, but only Christians lament because our lament turns our focus and trust back to God who is in complete control and never abandons us in our pain. It took me back to a dark time in my life and made me see that much of my poetry at that time mimicked psalms of lament even when I didn't know it, which explains why writing poetry always feels so therapeutic to me. It's a wonderful resource to go back to during any time of loss or to guide a friend who is hurting. 

Good Boundaries and Goodbyes gave me permission to use my voice more often to express my own needs rather than constantly trying to make sure the other person is happy (or at least not disappointed). This actually enhances relationships. God gave boundaries to be in fellowship with Him, so it's obviously something He models for us. A friend from my Discipleship group mentioned the book to me several times, and I finally just decided to order it and read it. I'm glad I did. 

When You Pray took me deep into the study of different prayers in the Scriptures and of the purpose of prayer in our lives. I appreciated learning more specifically about the Lord's Prayer, about prayers of lament, and about Jesus' prayer for the disciples (and for us) the very night before He gave His life on our behalf. This study helped me understand how Jesus knows what is coming in our lives and prepares us ahead of time, whether we realize it or not. It taught me to look back at what He was teaching me before hard times came, confirming His hand and His presence especially when I feel abandoned or let down. My Texas' friends had recommended the study to me a year ago when I was in town, so I bought it and then let it sit on my shelf. It made me feel extra close to them again as I went through it this summer. 

So that's my summer reading list for this year. I don't have a lot of time to read in the school year, although I always have a book or two on hand that I'm slowly getting through by reading maybe 5-10 minutes at a time. Wonder what new books I'll hear about or just stumble across over the next year??

 

A mid-July encouragement for teachers

As teachers, we all know what mid-July means. School is literally right around the corner. We have to get back into a routine of earlier bedtimes, earlier alarms, etc., and get our brains back into work mode. We start to mentally scramble, wondering if we got everything done and used our "time off" as productively as we could (and, of course, we often then cower in shame over all the time we "wasted"). 

I love summer time more than anything. I'm an introvert who loves silence and soaks up the opportunity to just spend time alone. My creative juices flow when it's quiet and no one is around. Now that I no longer have children to tend to at home, summer looks a lot different and gives me plenty of time on my own or time to just catch up with a friend or two. Teaching bilingual students is very rewarding and enjoyable to me, but it definitely takes a lot out of me. What I hate about summer is the guilt I always start to feel around this time, guilt that I didn't use the time as wisely as I could have. 

So today I forced myself to just go sit out on my porch and spill my thoughts onto paper to make them rhyme. A habit/hobby I haven't dabbled with nearly as much as I used to, but a habit that has always been very therapeutic and meaningful to me. 

Was It Enough?

Midway through July,

summer break nears its end.

How many more times

can I schedule coffee with a friend?

Random lunch dates,

appointments any time,

to live with so much flexibility

makes the summer life sublime!

I curled up with books,

went for long walks outside.

I breathed in the silence,

let nature be my guide.

I traveled out of the country

and took a family trip to the beach.

I took a lot of pictures

to keep the memories within reach.

I cleaned out the closets,

reorganized several rooms,

tackled time-consuming projects,

left the smell of fresh paint fumes. 

Now August quickly approaches,

and my mind is back on school.

I ask if I did enough,

my question proving me the fool.

Summer's not about accomplishments

or a time to get it all done.

It's about a mental reset,

time to relax and have some fun. 

A chance to step out of the classroom,

to stop assuming so many roles,

to take off our many hats,

to recharge and refill our souls. 

With all the weight a teacher carries, 

A full battery is required.

A summer break will be necessary

until we are retired.

Teachers operate on full-speed,

endlessly giving from a heart so large.

Taking guiltless time for yourself

is a perfect way to recharge. 

Silver Lake Dunes 2025

After weeks of working on trucks to get them ready to go, we had Mike's rock crawler loaded up to head to Michigan, our 3rd annual camping trip with the other Alspaugh family. Last year we had a lot bigger trailer to haul both Mike's fun truck and Matt's, as well, so Matt could pull a camper. This year we both did cabins so Matt and Mike could each haul their own truck. 

Our first meal at our little cabin--hot dogs and potato chips and carrots. 

The first of many corn hole games between David and his cousins (and aunt and uncle)

Wes sure loved playing with his RC cars whenever he could, or at least whenever the batteries weren't dead. 

Looks like a pretty serious game of corn hole going on!

It rained Friday morning, so

 Mike and I took advantage of a chance to slip out for a nice date together. We were headed to a coffee shop, but we stopped here instead. 

After that we just drove around to see what we could find. We happened upon a very quiet, secluded beach area where we could breathe in the beauty of nature and just sit and talk. It was one of the highlights of the trip to me since driving trucks in the dunes really isn't all that appealing to me. 

After we left the beach, we found a few quaint little places around, like this cute little cherry farm that also grew their own lavender. 

Once the skies cleared for the day, we finally made it out to the dunes with the trucks and had some family beach time. We also visited our favorite eating place, Frickin Chicken! Definitely the best wings I've ever tasted. It's something we look forward to every year now. 

We set up "camp" on the beach by a teepee that someone built, so Chrissy and I had fun adding a few more sticks to it. Wonder how long it will stay there? 

And this time it was Kase who thoroughly enjoyed driving his RC car in the sand. 

Looks like Mike may have gotten a bit adventurous! I'm just glad I was nice and comfortable at the beach rather than riding in that truck!

Reading a good book on the beach? Can't complain. 

Saturday was Matt's birthday, so we kept it full of lots of fun activity the entire day. 

They enjoyed meeting other people who enjoy doing what they do. This "bug" parked beside us was pretty cool! 

Mike's truck is on the bottom of this pic, and Matt's is the one closer to the top. 

Mike and David and I had a lot of fun playing Putt Putt till late at night. 

Sunday we took a guided Dune Ride Tour where we learned more about the dunes. The guide was a lot of fun and cracked jokes the whole time. 

And, of course, we found another ice cream stand that we couldn't resist. 

I stayed behind that afternoon and got in some good reading time. 

Monday morning we got up early and immediately started packing up and loading trucks to go home. 

We stopped at our annual stop at a blueberry farm so I could get blueberry coffee for my friend at home who checked in on my cats. We got ten pounds of fresh blueberries (that I freeze and use all year long), got some fresh blueberry donuts, and we got to try these amazing blueberry cookies!

And we excitedly stopped at one of our favorite restaurants on the way home for lunch, Raising Canes. We sadly don't have one close to us in Columbus, so that's what made this stop so exciting. 

Soon enough, we made it back home to our kitties, who were super happy to see us. 

Till next time, Michigan! The boys look forward to this trip all year long! Though I'm not into the truck part, I don't mind a trip to the beach where it's actually cooler than it is here.