40 Things to Do Before I Turn 40

Ten years ago I created a list of 40 things I wanted to try before I turned 40. I’m using this blog post to update my progress as I begin Year 39. It’s interesting to think about what my perspective on life was at 30 and to take time to purposefully look back over the […]

70 Days of Self-Isolation

What a weird school year it has been for The Beam Bunch! Never, did I ever, think that the strangest thing that happened to us this year would not be living in Europe for part of that time. Instead, it has definitely been this “unprecedented” time of COVID-19. When we flew home from Kosovo in […]

12.30.19

Most everyone knows, but I wanted to make an official post saying that our family is back in Ohio. It has been a very difficult few weeks while we crunched numbers, prayed, and thought about what was best for our family. When CCU announced the decision to close in December it meant several changes for […]

12.10.19

We have been trying to get in the Kosovo Christmas spirit. The malls and businesses are beautifully decorated. We went down to the walking street which is covered in lights! So very pretty 🌲🇽🇰 It was a good evening. Unfortunately, the air pollution levels were high, as they have been since the temperature has gotten […]

Fall Break – LONDON!

We just wrapped up our week in London. It was everything we hoped for. The best part was getting hugs from Nana and Papa after not being able to for almost four months! We were all thrilled to spend this special week together. Here are just a few highlights! Harry Potter studio tour where the […]

11.23.19

We’ve made it to Fall Break! We leave for London on Monday. We are very excited for the trip and for the special meet up with Nana and Papa! Here’s an update about what has been going on here. The kids have been going out with friends and doing fun things. Xander and Lucy did […]

11.06.19

I feel like I can now say I have officially visited Prishtina. We made it to see the two most famous statues. The Newborn statue represents the day that Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. This modern statue includes the letters for the English word “NEWBORN.” Every year on the anniversary of the country’s independence, a […]

Halloween Happenings

Halloween 2019 has come and gone. I’m not sure I’ve ever worked in a school where they let the kids dress up in costume, but we did at PHS. My little first graders really did love wearing their costumes and sharing in fun activities throughout the day. And since PHS posted these pics on their […]

11.01.19

I’ve been pretty quiet on our blog lately. We continue to do well and experience new things in Kosovo, but once I heard CCU would be announcing it’s closing, that is pretty much all I have been able to focus on. My heart is broken. I completed my undergraduate degree at CCU while learning from […]

10.17.19

October is already halfway over! The month started out rough as I had strep throat (my nemesis). I spent an entire weekend in bed and missed some school. Boo! Derek was a champ and took the kids on lots of adventures while I was sick, but he doesn’t remember to take pictures, so I can’t […]