Look Who's in First Grade!: TPT Seller Challenge Week 2: Dare to Dream

Hello again! I'm joining in for the second week of the TPT Seller Challenge: Dare to Dream. Get ready...it's a long story with lots of pictures.

This week's challenge has been just that...a challenge for me. My dreams/goals have been changing during my TPT journey. As our lives evolve and change, I guess our dreams have to also. My Dare to Dream board includes what I dreamed at the beginning of my journey...and my current dreams and goals for the future.

This picture is the reason I became a TPT seller. I wanted to build an "Empty Nest Dream Home." My husband is a small business owner. With our combined income, we did not see how this was going to be possible. Add to that college expenses for our two children...it seemed nearly impossible. I printed this picture and hung it by my desk to remind me of my goal.

We have not built our dream home yet...it may never happen. My husband and I are constantly going back and forth with our decision. It's a big step at this point in our life...one we're not sure we want to take. My husband is all about living debt free and this would seriously compromise his goals. :) On Pinterest, I added a board called "Love It or List It" (don't you love that show!?) where I've pinned ideas for either possibility. Right now, for various reasons, we've decided to stay in our current home so I'm tackling some "Love It" projects. The wonderful thing is that because of TPT, I have the freedom to do this without going into debt!

These are my two sweet babies, Abby and Justin. Not really babies anymore, but I will always think of them in this way-even when we are toasting Justin's 22nd birthday. Ack! Never pictured having wine/cocktails with my kids, but it's kind of nice establishing a relationship with my kids as adults. :)

Abby completed her bachelor's degree and is working as a nurse. She graduated with very little debt. I wasn't a TPT seller while she was in school, but I was still able to pay for most of her college expenses so she wouldn't be saddled with student loan debt. Justin is still in school so TPT has enabled me to pay for most of his expenses. He is responsible for some of his expenses-he wants to be "invested" in his education. :)

When Justin was in high school, he told me he wanted o try out for drum corps. I had no idea what this involved at the time, but agreed to drive him to an audition camp weekend four hours from our home. I told him I would pay for one summer of drum corps, but after his first "family day" performance with the Glassmen, I was hooked! It has been an incredible experience for him and I'm glad I was able to fund his adventure.

Justin had the opportunity to travel to Japan with Carolina Crown.

Teaching is my second career. My first "career" was as a stay at home mom. When Justin, my youngest started first grade, I started thinking about what I wanted to be when I grew up. ;) I asked myself what I would choose to do if I had to work for free. Becoming a teacher immediately came to mind. It scared me though, because I had such admiration for my kids' teachers. I prayed about it, talked with my pastor, and finally decided to take a leap of faith and go back to school for my Master of Arts in Teaching. It was the best decision I've ever made. I love teaching!

Sooooo, long story short ;), because I started teacher later in life my retirement fund will be a bit lacking. Also, as I mentioned before, my husband is self-employed, so he is responsible for his retirement fund. My goal is that my income from TPT will provide a comfortable retirement for us-if we ever decide to retire. ;)

Finally, my last dream/goal! I'm not a huge philanthropist, but I like to live generously every day in little ways. These little ways may include buying extras for my classroom and students with a happy heart, contributing to the two drum corps that had such an impact on my son's life, or buying resources to share with my teacher friends. Having the extra resources to share my blessings is a wonderful thing!

Whew!! Who knew I had so much to say about my TPT dreams! If you've made it this far, you deserve a prize...or at least a freebie! I'm sharing this on google drive. I'll keep the freebie active for a week. Grab it if you'd like.