Dragonflies are NOT extinct... contrary to popular belief....

No... this isn't a hoax. I'm not dead. The "dragonfly" is simply re-emerging from her cocoon of grad-school and finding her voice is still present. Yep... it HAS been a while. Sorry? To the few of you who were actually following this, I really am sorry I let it go- I enjoy blogging, much to my own surprise. So for this first foray back into the land of cyberspace diaries, I think I might just "fill in the blanks"... yeah?

Grad school: Yep. I'm done. Officially a "Master" and I must admit, I loved every minute of it... well, okay, maybe not "every minute" but at least most of them. I don't know that it has made me a more highly qualified teacher as the state of Oregon thought it would, but it certainly has made me a better, happier human. I dropped off blogging when it became clear I was in over my head- but I'm done, and now am back to torture the Internet universe.

Family: So much has changed in the last couple of years... Halli has just finished her sophomore year of college, and is going strong. She made it into the highly competitive strain of the SOU theater department and is a BFA candidate in Acting. Darby just graduated high school as a class Valedictorian and will be on her way to UofO in the fall to study Human Physiology as a pre-med student. Kobie finished middle school and is the star softballer of the family. My mom is doing amazing well after the very sudden loss of my step-father last year- she continues to teach us how to live with grace...

Work: Yep. Still love it. I know... ridiculous, but true. Really tough year for teachers in the state of Oregon: new Common Core standards and proficiency grading essentially meant, for me, 16 years of teaching and lessons had to be thrown out the window for the "new way"... oi. Some good in the new ideas, but even the state is backing off of their mandates so that districts can pick and choose from policies to create systems that *hopefully* work better... it's always a crapshoot... seems to just come down to A. ability of teacher to connect and inspire B. desire of student to connect and be inspired... yep. That's it. Wish there was a magic formula, but I honestly don't believe there is.

Life: Good. Dirty, messy, broken, uplifting, funny, inspiring and so much more. Three years of grad school have meant three years of no real progress on home upkeep, or even touching the yards (and mind you, we live on 3 acres in the forest... and the forest has something to say about that and is WINNING). Marriage and children, friends and community... can't imagine life differently right now- messy but beautiful.

Oh... and we got a couple new additions to the family... after the loss of our canine babies Abu and Charlie, we decided we needed a few more... welcome Calvin and Hobbes to the family!