TpT Seller Challenge Week 2: Dare to Dream

Just about everything we do has some sort of motivating factor behind it.  When I listed my very first product on TpT, my thought was that I could possibly make a little extra money on the side selling stuff I was making anyway for my own class.  Never could I have imagined that my store would grow the way it did, and even more so, I never would have imagined that I would grow the way I have.  TpT has almost become a new form of professional development for me.  I'm researching new strategies and activities to use in the classroom and make products for.  I'm working on building my social network knowledge, and have learned so much just over the past few weeks in reading blogs of other incredible teachers out there.

This week's TpT Seller Challenge was Dare to Dream.  What are my dreams for my Teachers Pay Teachers store?  I'm a dreamer, so this definitely was not hard for me.  So, here they are!

1. IVF- Payoff:  While growing up, I went through an assortment of things that I was going to be when I grew up.  It was an ever-changing list of doctor, fashion designer, teacher, etc.  One thing that always stayed constant though was my desire to be a mom.  I have always known that I wanted to have children and be a mommy.  I have PCOS though, and that dream was not an easy thing to make a reality.  It took us 3 years to have our first sweet baby girl.  It only took us about a year to have our 2nd baby girl, but it was a tougher journey.  To have baby #2 we had to undergo IVF.  This was one of the most spiritually and emotionally challenging times of our lives.  We were very blessed that this treatment worked though and now have a very spirited 2nd baby girl.  With that, we also had about $20,000 of debt for all my treatments that I'd like to get paid off sooner rather than later.

Here are my two baby girls!  Tenley just turned 5 last week, and Miss Beckett is almost 17 months!  They are my heart!!!

Aren't they precious?!  You can read more about my journey
with IVF on my personal blog: Choosing to Count.  I need to start blogging there again soon! :)


2. Student Loans/Debt Free: Like almost every other post college graduate, I have oodles of student loans.  I have my Bachelor's, Master's, and Specialist's and have loans for them all....I would LOVE to not be retired and still paying student loans! :)  We also have some other debt from moving, and extra expenses from when things got tight (money wise) through IVF and moving.  I'd love to have all debt other than our house and car loan paid off! :)

3. Networking: Another dream I have with doing the whole TpT thing is continued networking.  Unfortunately, I have not been able to attend the TpT conference(s) (including the upcoming one in July). I hope to next year.  I learn more and better myself so much more by working along phenomenal teachers than I could by any class or book.

4. Travel: If there is one thing I'm very passionate about, it's traveling.  I rarely get to travel due to lack of funds, but I desperately want to be a world traveler.  I believe that God made a big, beautiful world, and I want to see it all!  A few travel wishes on the top of my list include: an African Safari, Italy, Greece (I want to see where all my ancestors are from), London, Paris, and Australia!  I'm hoping and dreaming that'll all happen one day! :)

5. Bless Others as I have been blessed: Last, but certainly not least, I want to be able to bless others as I have been richly blessed.  I don't know what all God has in store for my family, but I want us to always be faithful and willing to do whatever He brings our way, including giving back.

Those are a few of my many TpT dreams!

~Kristyn