Piano teacher? :)

Today was my last day of teaching piano!  Like every other "last" in my life happening, it is very bittersweet to know that I will no longer be teaching my piano students.  However, today was a cool day of reflecting on how my piano teaching career came about as I said goodbye to my last student.

How DID I start teaching piano?  Believe it or not, I actually never sought to be a piano teacher.  It all started when a neighbor friend asked me if I taught piano.  My first response was "Oh..uh...well I stopped taking piano lessons about three years ago, but I do still love to play for fun.  I don't know how good I would be, but I could give it a shot!".  After that, I began teaching that neighbor's daughter.  Once people heard that I was teaching that one student, I began receiving calls from other neighbors asking if I could teach their kids.  Who would've thought?!  I certainly never imagined myself to be a piano teacher!  The rest is history.  I began a small "piano studio" on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.  Funny thing is, it turned into such a normal after school activity that I never really stopped to think about how much of a God thing it was that I became a piano teacher!  Why?  First of all: being a piano teacher was never an intention of mine... it just came to me.  Second of all: it gave me an opportunity to build relationships with my students and tell them about my love for God.  Third of all: I never would have known how much I love teaching if I wasn't a piano teacher!  Fourth of all: my love for kids and teaching them grew so much through being able to teach and build those relationships.  Fifth of all(and of course, the least important): it was a little way to make some money! ;)  

Looking back, I see God written all over my piano teaching career.  It seems like He gave me this opportunity to provide for me a learning experience, a way to use my gifts in playing piano, discover my gift of teaching and a way to be used by Him in my student's lives.  For that, I am forever grateful!  

It's so cool for me to close my piano studio in FC by looking back and seeing how God literally blessed me with this wonderful opportunity.  I hope and pray that God will bless me with other piano teaching opportunities wherever I go next, if it is His will!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

Here is a picture of one of my dear piano students and I after our last lesson.  I'm going to miss her!

Maroon Ct.

 This is a drawing that an old neighbor, Brenton Cooper drew that so perfectly portrays life on Maroon Ct. 

     It is May 13th, which means my family is exactly one month away from the day we will move out of our house on 2725 Maroon Ct. What a bittersweet thought!  This is the house that my siblings and I have grown up in,  the place that I've called home for so many years.  I don't think I ever thought that my family would actually move out of this house.  But now it's happening.  In one month.  

    As I write this, I can't help but think about how amazing of a street Maroon Ct. is.  Not because of the houses but simply because of the people.  My family has been incredibly blessed to have such wonderful neighbors all these years.  Some have come and some have gone, but each one remains dear to my heart because of the special memories we've shared on Maroon Ct.  One of the big plus's of living on Maroon Ct. has always been having dozens and dozens of kids living on the street.  During the summer, our entire days would consist of this: Water wars with the neighbor kids, lemonade stands with the neighbor kids (always competing for business with the kids who lived one street over ;D), picnic lunches at the park (it was a big deal when our moms let us all be independent by going to the park by ourselves), imaginary games, the neighbor girls playing for hours with our American girl dolls, "Maroon Ct. Olympics" and last but most certainly not least, our beloved games of "capture the flag".  "Capture the flag" is a Maroon Ct. classic among the neighbor kids.  Although it caused arguments about who would be on who's team or who didn't play fairly, it was always the core game that brought all of the neighbor kids on our street together.  

    Not only would we spend nearly every day out of the summer with our neighbors, but during Fall us neighbor kids would walk around the neighborhood with rakes and giant garbage bags asking people if they needed us to rake their leaves.  Or in the Winter time the neighbor kids would build snowmen and snow forts together or pull each other on sleds down the Demmer's super looong driveway.  Ahh.. the memories could go on and on.  

     All this to say, we have many dear memories with our neighbors on Maroon Ct.  Memories that I will never ever forget and always hold close to my heart.  It is so sad to know that we will not be living on the same street as each of these wonderful people anymore.  But my heart is filled with complete thankfulness for these many years that God has blessed us with these amazing neighbors.  Each of them made my childhood all the more memorable and exciting.  

     I'm going to miss all you Maroon Ct friends more than I can say.  I remember when the Cooper family moved to Texas, a big hole was left on our street.  But I know that change has to happen, and people have to come and go.  So I rejoice in the memories that we all have had with one another and the strong friendships that have come out of them.  I pray that whoever continues to live on Maroon Ct. will carry on the legacy of it being an unforgettable street.