Remodeling Begins!!

So as you can see above.... Remodeling is under way. The picture with the yellow wall is the Toddler Classroom. The other three pictures are the Primary Classroom. The walls are out and the plumbing is in! The classrooms are filled with natural light and free open space. It is very exciting to see this progress.... I cannot wait for more to come! The painting of the classrooms will begin this weekend, with the Primary class being painted a natural, sand color. The Toddler room is being painted a soft, sage green color. The classrooms are beautiful and will only become more beautiful as the shelving and materials arrive. I look forward to sharing this beautiful space with each of you! I will attach more pictures later this week so everyone can see the progress. Thank you for all the support and excitement about the school, I feel the wonderful energy with each step! 

And the story continues...

So, the story continues.... I shared in my last two posts about the signs. The signs I could not ignore, but what about all the people that have come into my life since October. The people who I have met at Holy Trinity Lutheran would be the first to mention. The people of  HT Lutheran have been amazing and very supportive. In October, when I presented to the church council I was greeted with joy, excitement and enthusiasm. I could not believe as I sat presenting to this open minded group of people, not only did a number of the church members know about Montessori but their own children had attended Montessori schools as children. This is unheard of in Nashville, other parts of the country have large, strong pockets of Montessori Education, but Nashville is different. There are a growing number of schools, but not until recently when Belmont opened their teacher training program did Montessori grow and gain more community support. So, to have members of the church excited about the program was one step... but they were equally excited about Montessori. What dream was I in? or maybe What reality show was filming me? When would this fall apart? Could this be REAL? Could this be the place I had been waiting for all these years....?

 At this point in my journey, I was shocked!! We moved from council meetings to congregational presentations to more meetings to forming a Montessori planning team to more meetings to the final day, March 29th.  (And, yes for all that know, the day after my sister Laura's wedding. everyone knew but Laura and Brandon.. did not want the weekend to be about HT, but about Laura & Brandon!! ) So, on March 29th at 9:30 am ... my world changed. Mike and I arrived for the congregational presentation and vote. After the team presented and I answered questions, it was time to vote.  The council called for the vote, my heart sank and then it happened .... "All in favor, say (I)" ....all I heard were loud voices chiming in.  And then I knew it had to be next, " All opposed, ................... Nothing !!! SILENCE.... Did he say all opposed??? where were they? it was silent!! No opposition?? Could this be true. And it was .... a UNANIMOUS vote !!!!  Loud cheering and clapping began ,followed by many members of the congregation hugging each other and then many of them hugging and shaking hands with me. I was overwhelmed with joy!!!  I did not believe this day could happen. With so many other broken roads to here, I could not believe where I was standing and with the wonderful task before me! A dear friend of mine from years past, Marcus Hummon wrote an amazing song, many of you know, saying, " ...and God bless the broken road that led me straight to you. "  I believe we are all on a journey with many roads and paths, but this day, March 29th was a day that started a new path for me... and God has truly blessed this road. 

So I said there was a sign...

So, in my last post, I talked about a sign. For all of those who wanted to know what kind of a sign I was referring to .. here it is!! This sign has changed my life, the life of my girls and the life of my family. I have so much to be thankful for and so many people who have helped me to this point in my life. To name them all, I am not sure where to begin. Would it be the woman, who I do not even know her name, from Xavier who introduced me to Montessori Education? Would it be all the wonderful people at Abintra Montessori who allowed me to be all that I could be in my classroom and in the school? Would it be my wonderful and supportive husband, Mike, who has always encouraged me to believe in my dream, no matter what? Would it be my mom, dad and sisters who have always heard by Montessori lecture and jargon and still believed in me? Would it be Dr. Merrie King at Belmont University who encouraged me always to follow my heart? Would it be all the amazing family friends, especially, Ken and Mary Jo who have listened, dreamed and acted on my passion for Montessori? Like I said the list is long and no where near complete... they are many who I have left out. Many who have helped, encouraged and believed in me.... friends, families and strangers. 

So, to see a sign.... it is much more. There have been many signs, but just one stood out more than all the others, it just happened to be a red/white sign with the words... need a place to meet!!

A Sign.... ?

To begin the story.. I must start back in October or maybe it all began years ago as I was graduating from Xavier University and returning to Nashville. After teaching for 10 years at a local Montessori school and working part time as adjunct faculty at Belmont University, I knew that I wanted to open a school of my own.  A Montessori school that served children Toddler age through Kindergarten. But not just any Montessori School, I wanted to add the Christian component which I had learned so much about in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Curriculum. 

So, in mid-October, my mom was driving here in Nashville just a half mile from our home when she passed a small Lutheran church (Holy Trinity Lutheran Church) with a sign stating...

" Looking for a place to meet." At once, my mom called me and asked if I had seen the sign, and as a matter of fact, I had seen it earlier that week on my way to church.  I called the church asking what does this sign mean? I was eagerly invited to a "town hall meeting" from the pastor, John Stirewalt.  When no one else showed up, a wonderful couple, the Millers, that were leading the meeting decided that we would go ahead.... in looking back, I know they had NO IDEA what I was about to say, "I am here to see if you have space to open a school."

Silence.....................followed by smiles!!! We all starting talking a mile a minute and before long, I was walking down the "unused" Sunday school wing (photo above). I was shocked at the beauty of the space, it was beautiful and built as though it was waiting for a school, not any school - a Montessori school, with natural wood beams and concrete floors. The natural light was clear and crisp, beaming through the hallway of windows. I could not believe this space much less the welcoming spirit of all the people I would meet next.