Hi-Ho Hi-Ho It's Off to Work I Go!

Well I officially started working in my classroom this week and I am so glad I had a week and a half in advance to work on it before my contract "work days" start. Work days usually consist of lots of meetings and proffessional development stuff. No time to work in the class. So I have rounded up any available family member to come and help me put this class into order.

You know how when you move into an old house there are all sorts of "fixes" that have been done over the years? Well the same is true for a school that is 100 years old. But this school has charm and I love it! It smells like I remember school smelling. A mixture of paper and pencils and something else...anyway, it's a good smell. I have also had a lot of fun ordering supplies for my room and since it's kindergarten, I get to order all the really cute stuff! For all you teachers out there, I really like the DJ Inkers stuff. Very cute!

The only downside is that I am in a frenzy to have everything absolutely organized and ready to go so that when I go on maternity leave I am not so stressed out about it. Especially since I just found out I don't get paid maternity leave...ouch! I am hoping my principal will let my wonderful aide, Lucy, be my sub. I would feel so much better knowing that my class is keeping its continuity and that they are still getting appropriate education in my absence. I plan to stop in every once in a while so that my kids don't forget me. I also am going to do parent teacher conferences. So it isn't really a complete leave.

I would appreciate your prayers in all of this. I am worried about the money part mostly. I am now the primary provider since my husband is going back to school full time. I am frustrated that although we are very responsible with our money and we have planned everything out, or thought we had, we still are going to be behind and really really tight for the next few months. I know God will provide, just like he provided me the perfect job. Sometimes though I need reminding:).

God Bless You All!!!

Life Update

Well, it has been like 6 months since I have posted anything on my blog. Partly because I am lazy and forget about doing it but mostly because I just now figured out my password again!!! This is why I only have one password for everything, because as soon as I do another one, I forget ALL of them!! So I am making an effort to catch up on everything I have missed.

First off, I graduated! This was a huge blessing/relief/achievement... Whatever you want to call it, I am just so glad I am done. I am not a good student. Maybe I shouldn't admit that since I am going to be a teacher, but I am not. I struggle a lot with taking tests. I can write a paper no problem but when it comes to taking a test, it doesn't matter how long I study for it, I usually get a 'c'. That doesn't do a lot of good for one's GPA. But it is done now and one day I will think about getting my master's in reading, but not for a while:).

After graduation I started working at the summer school program in Homedale. I taught kindergarten this year and I just LOVED it!! The kids were so precious and I fell in love with them. They all were so curious about my roundish belly and when we were at recess they all loved to ask about the baby. My favorite question of the year came from a little guy named Oscar. He has a pretty heavy spanish accent for a little guy. He came up to me and asked if I "was having a man or a woman, eh?" Totally serious. He wasn't very happy when I laughed but it was so funny I couldn't help it. I told him I was having a girl. He was happy with that and went on with whatever he was doing:).

During this time I was starting to get rather anxious about not having a job. Because of the economy there has been no growth in the area and because of this, there are hardly any teaching positions anywhere. There was one certified teaching position in the 13 elementary schools in Nampa. One. In years passed they have hired around one hundred new teachers. This did not bolster my confidence in the possibility of me getting a job. I really do appreciate the wait though because it really made me rely on God and trust in Him to supply our needs. I have to have a job this year if Jayson is going to be able to go to school full time. Since this has been the agreement from the beginning, I really wanted to follow through with that. Besides Jayson is a much better student than I could ever hope to be. He was so wonderful to let me finish first and so patient with me through all the stress of my time in school, that I really was frustrated at the thought that I might not be able to do that for him. When I got a call for an interview for a 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade interview, I jumped on it. I wasn't sure that this would be the best fit for me but I figured I might as well get my foot in the door. I also told them I was pregnant at the end of this interview, I felt that since it was quite obvious I was pregnant I should be honest:). I figured that this sealed the deal, if the didn't hire me for one of these positions, they probably wouldn't call me back for any other interview because I was pregnant and would need a maternity leave like 5 weeks into the school year. But God had other plans in mind. When they called me to let me know that I didn't get one of those positions, the principle asked if I would want to come back to interview for a kindergarten position that had recently opened up. I am not going to lie, I was a little frustrated. I had already done like 6 interviews and I wasn't sure I could get myself pepped up for yet another. But I went and they called me two hours later and offered me the position!!! God is SOOOO GOOD! It goes before the board on Monday and after that it is all paperwork! I am so excited to be teaching kindergarten. I lOVE this age. They are so fun and excited about everything!! I can't wait to meet my kids!!

Since then I have just been finishing up the nursery for my sweet baby girl who will be in my arms in ten weeks or less!! I must admit I am a bit apprehensive about the whole delivery but God created me to do this and I have had such an easy pregnancy that there is no reason to think the delivery will be any different. I feel like I already know her. She loves warm water. When I get in the shower, she pushes up as close to my skin as she can get. She loves her daddy. Anytime Jayson is around and she hears his voice, she starts to move. He was gone for a week and I was a little worried because she hardly moved at all. But when he hugged me at the airport and started talking to me, she started right back up again. She also responds to her cousin Tyler. When I went with Tyler and MIchelle to get Tyler's shots, she started rolling when Tyler started screaming and didn't stop until he stopped. I think they are going to be the best of friends! I am anxious to meet her and get to hold her and nurse her and kiss her. She is going to be the most spoiled little girl ever.

Well I think that about does it:). Hopefully I will be a little more consistent in posting so that I don't have these monster posts anymore:). God bless you all!!

We are having BABY!!!!

Yay we are pregnant! I am in my seventh week and I am so excited! We are due in October which I am a little worried about since I will have just started teaching my first year. I am trying to figure out if I should tell my prospective boss before or after being hired. I am in such a moral dilemma! So if anyone has an opinion about how this should work feel free to let me know!

Graduation Countdown!!!

Yay for me I only have like 2ish months left before I graduate!! I am so excited! I have started a graduation countdown on my binder. Although I am not excited for the graduation ceremony itself, I am only going for my mom, I am excited for finally being done with this last four years! I am excited about the job interviews and all of those kinds of things that I will be doing in the next couple of weeks.
On an entirely different note, I think I am going to paint my room. I have been living in this house almost three years and the colors have been the same! Anyone that knows me knows that I hate to have the same colors all the time. So the time has come again to paint. Needless to say Jayson isn't overly thrilled about this. He hates to paint. I think I am going to go with a flat tope color!
Well, now I have posted so no one can complain! :)

Life Right Now

I have learned the meaning of living life day by day. This wasn't an easy lesson and I think that I would rather not have to learn this lesson. In a previous post i wrote about my husband's grandma and her failing battle with emphysema. Well, I am sad to report that the battle is not going well. After a five day visit to the hospital, we returned home with grandma literally. The family is now trading shifts and an agency has even been hired to help out with some of the nights as we have to be here for 24 hours a day. This would not be so hard if Grandma would even consider cooperating! The doctor said that she could have up to six months left if she chose to take her medications, go to bed at a decent hour, cut back on the cigarettes, wear her oxygen, and eat regularly. For some reason she is choosing not to do these things. I think that I would be okay with this if she accepted how sick she really is and was just ready to go and be with Jesus. But she insists that she is "just fine" and that she is in fact getting better every day. She consistently lies to us and her health care providers about us and her actions. I am worried that her doctors are going to begin to think that we are abusing her since everything the doctor disagrees with, somehow becomes our fault. I am really trying to treat her as I know that Jesus would, but I can't help but think that His heart would be breaking just as mine is. It is so hard to watch someone abuse themselves to the point of death. This is not going to be an easy death either. It will be slow and scary. The doctor told us to expect her to make all sorts of nasty noises as time goes on and her disease progresses. She has also gotten to be pretty mean. It is really hard to remain loving when someone is snapping your head off for something that she had asked for ten minutes before. Jesus is constantly reminding me that even though we are not saving her, we are caring for her in the same way He cares for us. He lets us make our decisions, right or wrong, good or bad, and then when we have nowhere else to turn to, He takes us back and loves us. I find myself being short with God about things that are not His fault and pushing him away, but then when I am too weak to get back on my feet, He helps be back up and loves me anyway. Please pray that this is the kind of love and care that I will show to Caroline. Because there is no one else that will really do this, the brunt of the burden falls to Linda (my mother-in-law) and I. It is not an easy burden to carry. It is a painful one. Please pray that God will grant us the same mercy that he shows us. Please pray that God will protect us from the feelings of depression and apathy. Please pray that we will be filled with the love and gentleness of our Savior. Please pray. I know that this post is sort of confusing as I rambled quite a bit, but the smoke drifting in from the other room seems to be clogging my brains:). Hey, if you can't laugh, you cry. I choose to laugh!

It's Beginning to Look alot like Christmas!!

I love Christmas. I love the excitement of the kids, I love the smells, and I love getting together with family. Sounds cheesy I know. What can I say, I am a cheese ball! I don't really like those though. Except once my grandma made one that was pretty good. But I digress...A new love that I have during the Christmas time is decorating my home! I live in a very old house and it has arched doorways and I love it! I will post pictures of some of my decorations.


This is the picture of Jayson proposing to me. We had the guests at our wedding sign it instead of a guest book. I love showcasing it!


This is one of the archways that I love. Obviously this is the red wall. I love the red wall:).


This is the other archway.


This is our tree. I love the ornaments because they were made by my mom...except the ones that were bought and given to my husband by his mom:). She is just like me it's great! I somehow missed the incredibly crafty gene my mom has.

Anyway, just thought I would share. I love this part of being married...Cooking on the other hand...not so good at that.

Something Beautiful

I was on my way to the school where I student teach at on Monday morning and I was listening to my radio. A song came on and I don't know what it was called or who it was sung by but it really struck me. Some of the lyrics were "a kiss where there's no shame," "a child on her wedding day," "and the daddy that gives her away, something beautiful." And I realized that it is so easy to be grumpy and out of sorts on Mondays. After all that is the day that is doomed from the start right? So then I began thinking of the the something beautiful's in my life.
1. I have a husband who, despite my quirky habits and annoying traits, loves me unconditionally and makes a point of showing and telling me every day.

2. I have a family filled with love! My parents have done everything in their power to love us and get us started on the right foot. They are such a great example of God's love in my life.

3. My sisters...I have realized that they are my closest friends and three of the most beautiful women that God has created. Their talents and personalities are all SO different but so amazingly wonderful. They are each an inspiration to me. Michelle is so strong. She could conquer anything. Tara is so inspiring to me because she is so brave. She just goes out and does what she wants. Move to Boston? No biggie, Tara does it! Jessie is so funny and so strong in her beliefs. There is not gray in Jessie's mind, everything falls into the black or white category.

4. All of my aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents are also amazingly wonderful. Sometimes our family can feel overwhelming because of how many of us there are, but they are each so loving and caring.

5. My in-laws. Many people wouldn't put this on their list of Something Beautiful's, but my husband's family really is. They all take care of each other no matter the cost. Especially his grandma Caroline who is the matriarch of the family. She is one who is stubborn to a fault, but her generousity outweighs any other trait. She is in the last stages of her emphasema and this is something that has been dreadfully hard to watch. She most likely won't survive her next cold/flu. I love her and I pray over her that God will bless her last days and take her to be with Him as easily as possible when the time comes.

6. My puppies. This is also one of those things that most people wouldn't put on their list. But I feel that God made them for our enjoyment and I do enjoy them. They make me laugh when I am totally stressed out.

7. My church family. My church is the most fabulous church ever. They have never been anything more than welcoming, loving, accepting, and encouraging to me and my family. They are a blessing from God.

These are my Something Beautiful's. I will probably add more later as I think of them.