Thank you guys!

Ya know, when we first came to Rose Heights, one of the first people we met was Melody.  (I won't post your last name girlie, so don't sweat it!)  She was the most sincere, on fire lady.  I knew right away that she & I clicked.  We loved her immediately & she felt like part of our family right off the bat.  She was one of the wonderful people who helped us paint & ready our house when we bought it 5 months later, too!  What a girl!  And her daughter has been great with my kids too.  Nine months into our time at Rose Heights, Melody found Mr. Right & got married.  Larry was able to do the ceremony.  We love him, too!  He was our builder last summer when we added on the bathroom.  Together, they were the family who got Bibles for Andrew & Kourtney when they first moved in and who helped us with a lot of things along that road.  She is now the receptionist at the church & so Larry gets to hang out with her more often than I do.  I'm so jealous!

Anyway, along this path of job hunting, every time I felt frustrated with a job rejection, Melody gently reminded me that "every NO leads to a greater YES".  Of course I heard that & tucked it away in my mind....but was still discouraged at the time.  Throughout the last 6 weeks, though, I kept hearing her telling me that & have held tight to that phrase all this time becuase I knew that God really was up to something great & He had the big YES waiting for me somewhere.  When I got the word today that I will definately be working at Oak Tree in the Fall, it was like I could hear God saying "YES!  This is the one I wanted you to wait for!".  Truely, this job is PERFECT in every way & I'm so excited.

Today when I emailed her that I had gotten the job, she wrote me back & ever so lovingly said "SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!"

LOL!!!!!!!!  That's why I love ya girl!

Seriously, thanks to all of you who have encouraged me to keep plugging forward in this job search.  I knew it would all work out somehow, but having a whole crew of girlfriends patting me on the back, praying for the right thing to come through, telling me to keep going......what a difference that makes!  Thanks to all my wonderful girlfriends!  (& to the guys, too!!!)  You are such a blessing to me!

YAHOO! JOB!!

I called Oak Tree Academy a little while ago to make sure they got my application packet & reference letters.  The director said that they had & they had already received several phone calls & references for me before they ever sent out the letters (thank you ladies!).  She said they'd still send out my reference letters, but that she was confident that she could go ahead & tell me now "We can definately use you this Fall, so go ahead & count on us using you."  She said I'd have a class of kids who are all turning 3 in the Fall, so they'll be new 3's, which is perfect since I've worked w/ 3's & 4's the past couple of years.

 

She said she'd email me with a list of inservice days.  And since that is the last week of August, it'll be after the kids start school, so they'll be covered while I work.  Everything is falling into place, and I know it's wholely the hand of God!!!

 

Hallelujah!

June 2007

I realized the other day that I haven't said too much about all the activity around here this month, so here's a quick update.

The first week of June, Savannah went to her friends' house in the DFW area.  She had a ball, but then again I knew she would!  That same week, Samuel attended Cub Scout Day Camp at TJC.  He wasn't too sure about going at first, but after the first day, he couldn't wait to go back!!  The got overheated/dehydrated one day mid-week because they spent so much time out in the heat (& it was reallyyyy hot that week!), but he recovered from that just fine.

The second week of June, Samuel went to Basketball day camp at the high school.  He loved it & was so happy to get a TROPHY at the end of the week!  I've got a copy of the pic the newspaper printed of his group at camp if you want to see!  (email me!)

The third week of June was a nice, relaxing week.  ha ha!  While no one had a camp to go to or loads of busy plans, we did stay busy going to the library & park & such.

This last week of June, Samuel is in his 3rd (& final!) week of day camp for the summer.  This one is at the local kids' science museum.  He's having a lot of fun & really enjoying being a "Lab Rat".  Today he brought home some new 'pet worms'.  Oh boy!

It's hard to believe that June is already almost over!!  July, here we come!

just a quick update

Last night, I talked to one of the neighborhood teenagers.  She says that they saw a truckload of "drunk boys" circling the neighborhood Friday night.  Later, the group of them looked down toward our house & saw all the TP in our trees & came running to see what happened.  She said that as they approached our house, this same truckful of kids jumped in their truck & took off.

I don't know if that's true or not....don't know if it was actually the teens in our neighborhood.....but I made sure to tell her we were NOT happy & that we'd called the police & filed a report & that they'd be coming by several times during the night to check on things for us....so at least she knows & can pass on the news that the cops are watching!!

update on the TP'd yard

This morning, things became a little more disturbing than just having some toilet paper in the yard/trees.  I guess there were things we couldn't really see at 12:40am when we were surveying the damage.  Ya know, Larry & I did this as kids and while it's a pain to clean up, we weren't really mad about it this morning...just ready to get it cleaned up & forgotten about.  But....

As it turns out, the for sale sign that they left in our yard was owned by a man who sold a house 3 weeks ago & threw away that sign at the same time.  And that house is in another town.  I figured that they had grabbed it out of some yard in our neighborhood, but apparently they stole it somewhere else weeks ago!

Also, it looks like the kids who did this were pretty brave!  They went inside our fenced backyard to do part of their littering/irritating business.  That's pretty bold.

But really, the worst part is that they were burning things out there.  We found several strips of charred toilet paper in the grass where they had layed it out & lit one end to watch it burn.  The strips of paper led up to our wood-mulched flower beds, trees, etc.  Then we discovered where they made torches out of small branches wrapped with toilet paper & lit them.  That really bothers me because that could have quickly gotten out of hand & burned up some trees or worse, our house!  Littering is one thing, but arson is quite another!

We called the police & made a report this morning.  They agreed to come by & check the house in the next few days, watching the house & yard at night especially.  I just hope this was a random thing by kids who had too much time on their hands.  I hope they will not be coming back!

good grief

I thought we were still a few years away from having to deal with kids wrapping (toilet papering) our yard.  Front yard, back yard, side yard....it's a huge mess.  If I find out who's responsible, they will be coming to clean this up.

I took a shower & was headed to the living room to read my book for a while when I noticed something white through the blinds.  I peeked out to find that my yard has been wrapped.

Ya know, when I was a kid, we typically only got the yards of people we knew.  So if this is someone one of my kids know, grrrrr....

And to top it off, there is a for sale sign in my yard.  Don't know where it came from....but the owners of that house will be called in the morning (there's a phone number on it).

So sorry, male readers!

Hope you guys find this as humorous as I did!  :)

 

THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES

 

Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks.

 

Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.

 

There is no fast food.

 

Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of "pretend" bills with not enough money.

 

In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.

 

Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time.

 

Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment. He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care
(weekend, evening, on a holiday or right when they're about to leave for vacation).

 

He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.

 

Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times.

 

The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done. There is only one TV between them, and a remote with dead batteries.

 

Each father will be required to know all of the words to every stupid song that comes on TV and the name of each and every character on cartoons.

 

The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, which they will apply to themselves either while driving or making three lunches.

 

Each man will have to make an Indian hut model with six toothpicks, a tortilla and one marker; and get a 4 year old to eat a serving of peas.

 

Each man must adorn himself with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep their nails polished and eyebrows groomed.

 

The men must try to get through each day without snot, spit-up or barf on their clothing.

 

During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings, but never once complain or slow down from other duties. They must try to explain what a tampon is for when the 6-yr old boy finds it in the purse.

 

They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.

 

He will need to read a book and then pray with the children each night without falling asleep, and then feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair each morning by 7:00.

 

They must leave the home with no food on their face or clothes.

 

A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child's birthday, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size and doctor's name.

 

Also the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labour, each child's favourite colour, middle name, favourite snack, favourite song, favourite drink, favourite toy, biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up.

 

They must clean up after their sick children at 2:00 a.m. and then spend the remainder of the day tending to that child and waiting on them hand and foot until they are better.

 

They must have a loving, age appropriate reply to, "You're not the boss of me."

 

The kids vote them off the island based on performance.

 

The last man wins only if...he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice.

 

If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years...eventually earning the right to be called Mother!

 

After you get done laughing, send this to as many females as you think will get a kick out of it and as many men as you think can handle it.

Fri 6/22 2:30pm

As I type this, Larry is sitting in a stranger's boat in the middle of Lake Tyler....waiting for his boat to run out of gas or hit something.

The cool thing is......God was really watching out for us today.  This morning he took Samuel & Savannah out fishing.  Sarah went to VBS with a friend & I did some grocery shopping @ Brookshire's.  I decided, on a fluke, to go meet Larry & the kids at the marina restaurant for lunch.  When we got done eating, Savannah & Samuel both said they were tired & wanted to go home w/ me.  Larry went back to the boat & drove off as we were pulling out of the parking lot.  Before we got out of the driveway, Savannah realized that her book was in Larry's truck, so we went back & got it.  As we left the parking lot the 2nd time, I looked back toward where Larry had been heading & that's when I spotted it.  His boat----without him in it---circling out of control in the middle of the lake.  Well, I THOUGHT it was his boat, but I wasn't certain.  I looked around it & didn't see anyone in the water, so I couldn't figure out where he was if that was indeed our boat.

A few months ago, a friend worked on the boat for us & this same thing happened to him---he got thrown out of the boat & while the motor was still running (the kill switch hadn't worked), he was stuck in the middle of the lake, swimming for dear life, trying to not get hit (& killed) by the circling boat.  So I realized the danger & pulled over in the parking lot to wait & see what happened.  About that time, another boat headed out toward our (?) boat & I saw it---they rescued a man with a red life jacket out of the water.  Yes...it was Larry.  A wave of relief rushed over me.  The boat can be torn up, broken, sunk, whatever.........but Larry can't be.

And what's more...if Samuel & Savannah had gone with him, they would've been in the water in what ended up being grave danger as well!!!!!

We sat & watched for a long time and finally saw one of the boats that had been out near him come to shore.  As soon as we spotted that boat, we ran to it & inquired as to what we already knew---that it was indeed Larry & that was our boat.  The man in the boat was very kind, offering to drive us out into the lake to see Larry for ourselves--to know he was ok.  However, since his boat was small & there weren't lifejackets for all of us, I declined.  We stood there at the shoreline with him & his family (a wonderful sweet Christian family!) for nearly an hour, watching the boat circle.  All this time, Larry is sitting in the middle of the lake with some strangers.

Eventually, the kind man went back out to where Larry was to tell him we were on the shore watching & to offer him his cell phone to call me.  He did call, said he was ok.  The game warden (lake warden?) showed up & was trying to figure out a way to stop the boat by then.  Several more boats were out there trying to jump in front of the circling disaster boat by then, everyone trying to figure out a way to get it stopped.  The game warden actually let the boat hit him a couple of times, thinking that would make it stop, but it just turned 1/2 way over, flipped back upright & kept going both times.  He tried to lasso the motor w/ a rope but couldn't get it.  Larry said to go ahead & take the kids and just go home.  From the shore, there was nothing we could do anyway, and really is he's safe & there are plenty of people there to help, it was the best choice.  And so....here we are, at home, wondering how long it'll take for the boat to run out of gas & finally stop....or how long it'll be before it reaches the shore & runs up the bank & dies.  Ugh.............anyone want a boat?

 

UPDATE:  

Ok, he's home.  The game warden was finally able to flip the boat over to get it stopped.  Of course, that means he lost all the stuff that was in the boat....but they did get it stopped.

 

He's embarassed about the whole thing & says he doesn't want anyone to know....so don't mention it to him.  I feel bad that I posted about it now b/c she just wants to try to forget it happened.  Let him bring it up if you do talk to him about it.  The thing is, he didn't do anything wrong, it was just a fluke accident.

 

He's taking the boat back to his dad.  Too many accidents for this one little boat.

Thurs June 21

I've got the resume & letter ready.  I will pick up Larry at noon today & take him with me (so he can sit in the car & entertain the kids).  I'm going to go to Oak Tree Academy & turn in my resume and letter and pick up an application.  I feel really good about this.  If it works out, the hours will be IDEAL for me!  Can't wait to see what God has in store.

job update

Sorry that I haven't posted anything about the job stuff...hang on, why is this in bold?

Shoot...I can't get it to go off!

Anyway, I haven't posted anything b/c I really don't know anything!  I suspect that, between my girlfriend & I who were both applying for the job, she will get it.  If I get it, I really will be surprised.  She has more experience w/ special ed kids & so, if she does get it, I know she'll be great at it!  And if that's the case, I am ok with it, too, because clearly if I don't get it, God has some other place in store for me.

I already have a "Plan B" in mind, too!

There is a smallish private Preschool/Kindergarten in town that I keep hearing rave reviews about.  I'm going to go put in a resume/application there later this week.

all beef hotdogs

Tonight, the kids & I took Larry out to eat for Father's Day.  He wanted to go to Texas Roadhouse, so that's what we did.  The kids love it b/c there are buckets of peanuts on the table & you can throw the shells on the floor.  Come on...what kid (or grown man!) wouldn't love that?  ha ha!

Anyway, so we sit down to eat & Samuel pulls out his menu to read the kid's meal choices.  At the top, he saw "All Beef Hotdog".  Hotdogs are just about his favorite food in the world, so I knew that's what he'd get.  He reads over it several times & then finally says "what is an ALL BEEF hotdog?".  That "beef" part really had him hung up.  We tell him that it's just the kind of hotdog they make...the weenie is all beef.  He wrinkles up his nose & acts like that sounds gross, but we tell him that he's had that kind before.  He's still acting like it sounds gross when the waiter walks up.  The waiter heard the end of the "all beef" hotdog conversation & is grinning when he asks if we're ready to order.  It starts with Samuel who says he wants a hotdog, but he wants them to hold the beef.  LOL!!  The waiter just giggles & says "So you just want a plain hotdog, huh?  I can do that.  I'll make sure the chef doesn't put any beef on it."  (he winked at Larry as he said that, so we knew that he knew what was going on)

So the food comes out & this waitress is helping the waiter carry it all.  He starts naming off the foods & handing them out.  When he gets to Samuel's, the waitress girl holds it up & says "who had a hotdog?".  Samuel raised his hand but quickly said "there's no beef on it, right?".  The waiter jumps in & assures him that he had them make it with no beef.  LOL!

It was the funniest thing because the poor waitress has no idea what we're talking about and Larry & I and the waiter are giggling til we were nearly crying through the whole thing.  Samuel of course still doesn't "get" it & happily ate the whole hotdog without a gripe.  I still haven't told him that he did indeed eat an "all beef" hotdog tonight.  The goober!

Great day!

No, I didn't hear any positive news today about jobs....but it was great for a thousand other reasons!

Today was Samuel's last day of Basketball day camp.  He's gone to the high school every morning this week & learned how to (properly anyway!) play basketball.  I'm not sure how many baskets he got this week, but he had a blast!  Today they had a little awards ceremony where everyone got trophies & ribbons for attending & doing various things.  He was grinning ear to ear when he left w/ a trophy!

We came home from that & ate lunch & then here's the kicker.......I took a NAP.  I real live NAP.  Not just a doze off in the chair watching TV w/ the kids sort of thing, but a NAP!  You know how happy that makes me?  I love to sleep!

When we got up, I decided to get the kids out of the house.  We've been at home most of this week & my stress level has been about eyeball deep.  It was time to get out & relax a little.  We went to Applebee's for supper.  We enjoyed a nice meal & then when it got time to pay the bill, the waiter said someone in the restaurant had already covered our meal!  I suspect that I know who it was (some friends from church came in while we were waiting for our food!), but of course, maybe there was some other sneaky generous person there!  If it was who I think it was.... THANK YOU DAVID & ROBIN!

We left there & went to pick up Savannah's little girlfriend (M) who is spending the night.  We went to the video store to pick out movies for the night & got the kids some candy.  I told the M's mom that my plan was to bring them home, lock them in the room with a bunch of junk food & sugar & let them stay up until they passed out from the sugar high.  LOL!  Seriously, they did get some candy, but I heard them brushing their teeth a few minutes ago, so they were good girls!  :)

The most entertaining part of the day came after we got back from the video store.  This 20-ish year old girl knocked on the door while it was pouring rain.  She was dripping wet.  When I opened the door, she handed me a bottle of Kirby stain remover & asked if she could come in & vacuum my carpet.  I told her immediately that I appreciated the offer, but we couldn't afford a Kirby vacuum.  She assured me that was fine, but that the salesman was trying to win a trip to San Antonio & he had to make so many stops per day to qualify for the trip.  I again told her "we can't afford a Kirby & I won't be buying anything.....but my living room does need to be vacuumed".  She let out a little "hooray!" & flagged down the passing van full of salesmen.  The kids & I then sat through 2 hours (yes, TWO HOURS!!!!!!!!!) worth of watching the man clean our living room.  He cleaned the ceiling fan, the curtains, all the upholstery on the couches & Larry's recliner, dusted everything in the room AND shampooed & vacuumed the carpet.  He vacuumed Samuel's mattress too.  It was highly entertaining & I will tell ya......if I had the money, I would've totally bought the machine.  Definately looks like it's worth the money....but alas, I can't afford the $2100 machine, so I had to let him leave with it packed up in its little box.  It was pretty amazing all the things this one machine can do & it certainly did out-do any vacuum cleaner I've ever seen, but it's just too expensive for me to even consider!  PLUS the fact that Larry's out of the country at the moment......no way would I ever make a purchase of that size without him here!!!  Anyway...a little after 10:30, he had the last of his stuff packed up & he left.  It was fun to have an adult here for a while, though.  I mean, I love the kids, but after nearly a week without another adult in the house....whew....

Oh, and speaking of that.....I don't think I've mentioned it on here yet...  Larry left on a mission trip last Saturday morning at 7am.  He'll be home tomorrow night.  I can hardly wait!!!!!  My sweetie is my best friend & I miss him!  I'm not really scared or worried when he's gone like I've heard some wives talk about feeling.....but I sure do miss having him around toward the end of the week.  Love my baby!  He'll leave Mexico bright & early tomorrow morning & head home.  It'll likely be 9-10pm tomorrow night before they get home.  I can't wait!

Sigh....and so ends another eventful day at my house.  It's nearly midnight.  Looks like it's bedtime.  :)

Today's interview

When asked this afternoon about how today's interview went, I just had to shrug my shoulders & say "I have no idea".  It was a strange interview....very casual, but at the same time very informational.  I was asked 1 question.  That was your basic "tell us about yourself & why you think you'd like to do this job".  After that, the entire thing was info about the job itself & how it works.  No long list of questions, nothing about whether or not I have experience in this field.  That's why I had to say I have no idea how it went.  It wasn't horrible, but at the same time, I didn't walk out feeling like I got the job either.

God's got a plan....I'm just anxious to find out WHAT that is!

What a difference 24 hours make!

Around this time last night, I was discovering the email from Mr. S stating that I was not hired for the ISS job.  I was majorly disappointed & just could hardly believe that things turned out like they did.

But what a difference 24 hours make.

Today I had an interview for the Title One job at the elementary school.  It went well.  I am cautious in saying that it went 'great' because well....really, who knows!!  I thought the other interviews went "great" & that didn't happen.....so who knows!  An interview that just goes "so-so" may end up being the job I get.

The thing is... I'd love to work in any of these positions, but I am not hanging my hat on anything except the peace of God & the truth that He is in charge and will figure out all the details of my future!   He has my life in the palm of His hand & has counted every hair on my head.  He knows every detail of my days.  He spins the planets in orbit & places the stars in the sky.....so if He can handle all that, He can surely find me the perfect job for the Fall!

Who knows where I will end up landing in all this....but I am resting on the assurance that He's got it all figured out.

Tomorrow's interview is at 2:45.  I'll let ya know how that goes.

whew!

Last night, I got brave.  I emailed the assistant principal @ the school where I interviewed for the ISS job.  I figured I didn't have anything to lose at that point, so I asked if there had been anything I did wrong during the interview...if there was anything I could do different/better or whatever.  See, I could deal with hearing that the other person was better suited for the job or had more experience or something like that.... but if I had done something that jinxed myself, I wanted to know what it was so that I can tweak it for the other interviews.

I heard back from him this morning.  I have the utmost respect for him because he's handled this with both professionalism and kindness, not to mention respect.  He told me that the decision was very hard & took a ton of time because even with finding out that the other person actually had ISS experience, he still leaned toward me.  Ultimately, he had to let the principal make the decision to hire the other person, but it was only because she had experience in our district working in an ISS room.

And so, whew....at least I don't feel like I did something to mess things up!  That really is a huge load off my shoulders.  I can handle disappointment if I don't feel like I brought it on myself!  LOL!

I will press on.....interview at 1:35 today!

Mon PM--bummed yet hopeful

How's that for a weird title?

This morning before the interview...and last night....I was reading Scriptures looking for some hope/encouragement about all this job search stuff.  Everything I read was something along the lines of "not my will but yours Lord".....or "and lo they went into the valley and were crushed"...... not exactly the most hopeful things as far as what I was hoping to get from it!  But I kept thinking "that's either God trying to tell me that this isn't the right one.....or it's Satan trying to discourage me before I ever get started".  I guess I had it set in my mind that I was going to get this job, so I was just determined it was Satan trying to discourage me & I put it out of my mind.

So this morning I had the 2nd interview for the ISS job.  It was a very short interview & I left feeling like it had been one of those "formality" sort things (as in, it just seemed like a box to check off the paperwork...ya know?).  Half way through the day, my most recent boss (it feels weird to call her an ex-boss!) called me to tell me they'd just called her to check my reference.  That gave me even more confidence that I was bound to be hired!  During the interview, I told them that I had 2 more interviews in the next 2 days and that I'd like to be able to cancel those interviews (grin).  They seemed to understand that & assured me that they'd call me & let me know one way or the other "within the next day or two".  I left feeling really confident and so, I wouldn't let Savannah on the computer (nor did I get on it) all day because I "just knew" they'd be calling to tell me I got the job.

Late this afternoon I got an email telling me that they'd selected the other candidate for the job.

I guess it just goes to show that you can't get your hopes up or your heart set on something before it happens....and that you must listen to God when He speaks through Scripture!  While I've said all along that I want to be where God wants me (& I really do!!!), I'm still disappointed.

And so now I embark on 2 more interviews in the next couple of days.  I am grateful that God has given me these two opportunities.  I am anxious to see how these two go and will let you know after they're done what comes of them.  I have decided that I will NOT get excited about either position until I am handed paperwork to sign to start the job!  I can't afford to let myself get excited & then face another possible let down.  I realize it's "just an aide job", but we're talking about my future here & the uncertainty is just well.....yucky!  I know that when God shuts one door, He opens another one.  I know a better job is out there...the one where God wants me.  I know that....but I'm still a little bummed.

Anyway.......that's where I am now.....  disappointed, but hopeful that one of the other jobs will work out.  :::sigh:::

getting ready for a crazy week....

Tomorrow begins a new week.  Samuel will go to Basketball day camp Mon-Thur.  He's excited about it.  I know he'll have fun, but I'm not all that thrilled about having to get up so early.  Oh well....we'll survive!  We'll certainly be getting up early in the Fall when school starts!

Tomorrow begins my three day stretch of interviews.  I'm reallyyyy pumped & anxious to get to the one in the morning.  10am just can't get here quick enough!  I feel pretty confident about it, and I want to believe that I'll get the job... but until I get that phone call or sign the papers, I'm not going to get too worked up about it.  I honestly want whatever job God has in store for me & if this one is not it, then I don't want to be there.  If it's not what God wants, it'll just be a big disaster & I don't want that.  I want the right place for me so that I can walk in peace & security of knowing God worked out all the details for me.   Please pray for God's will to be done tomorrow.

This morning I kept praying about this in church & asking God to do His will, to remove my agenda & replace it with His.  And then of course, our (brand new!) worship pastor was singing about that very thing---'not my will but yours, Lord'.  I don't want to get overly pumped up & excited about something that hasn't happened and yet I find myself feeling a tiny bit over-confident about this.  However, I don't want to walk in feeling discouraged & powerless when I know that God is my power, God is my strength, God is my provision, God will guide my tongue & put the words on my heart.  So there is a balance to strike there & I'm trying to determine how to feel tonight.  I guess it's not about what I'm feeling, though, huh....I just need to go dig into the Word & spend more time in prayer in preparation for the interview.  And therefore, when I do, God will determine the outcome & I can quit thinking about it.  I'm not worried...but I can't stop thinking about it all!  So many possibilities, so many outcomes....come on Monday morning!  Hurry up & get here!  :)

Praying for God's discernment

As of this morning, I have THREE interviews next week.  I am overwhelmed by God's goodness (or maybe it's His sense of humor).

On Monday morning at 10:00, I go in for the 2nd interview for the ISS job @ the middle school.  This is the In-School Suspension classroom.  I would LOVE to do this job.  A few years ago, I would've never thought I'd like it, but I really think it would be an awesome job!  After having lived with Andrew for the past year, I know I could handle it without a problem and being able to do a little one on one with the kids who really NEED more supervision and help than the others would be cool.  Sure there are some stinkers who I'll want to pinch, but overall, I think that even those kids are the ones that just need a little something 'extra' that maybe they're not getting at home.  I watched Andrew thrive (at least part of the time) on knowing that there was someone who cared even if that meant lots of boundaries.  I think that's generally what most kids need & why they'd end up in the ISS room at all.  Anyway... I'm really stoked that I'm in the running for this at all!  I felt like the 1st interview went really well, so even if I don't get the job, I feel like an Oscar winner saying "It was a privelege just to be nominated."  Seriously, I'm tickled to have even made it this far!  I have mostly worked with younger kids and I think it would be really fun to work with older ones....without going so far as to work w/ High School kids.  (They're still a little scary to me!!)  These kids would all be Savannah's age & younger, so I know I could totally do the job & do it well!  The staff at this school seems very friendly & laid back & 'comfortable'.  I know a couple of teachers on this campus & it's where Savannah will be this Fall.  It's also only about 2 minutes from our house.  When you pull out of our street onto the Highway, you can see the driveway to this school.  It's that close.

On Tuesday at 1:35, I go in for an interview for a Title 1 job @ the elementary school.  I would really like this one, too!  In this one, I'd work one on one with kids who are getting behind.  They are not quite bad enough to fall into the special ed umbrella, but falling behind enough to need some help.  It's sort of like an on campus tutoring program.  I wouldlove to do it.  The only downside is that this job is a government funded thing & every year the funding changes, meaning that every Fall there is a chance that the job won't still be there.  That is a little nerve-wracking to think that I might be back in this same position next Fall.  However, I THINK that {IF I were to get this one}, it's guaranteed for at least this year & if the funding changes next Fall, I'd be "in" already & would have first dibs at whatever jobs come open in the school system.  It would be a great job, plus it would get my foot in the door for the possibility of doing something else later.  One upside to this one is that I'd be on the same campus with Sarah, so the opportunity to run down the hall & check on her would be there if I needed to do that.  She is absolutely my most "attached" child, so she'd probably enjoy knowing that I'm there even if I wasn't in the same room with her all the time.  This school isn't quite as close to the house as the other one, but it's still only like 5-6 minutes away.

On Wednesday at 2:45, I go in for an interview for the PPCD job @ the intermediate school.  This one would be very rewarding emotionally & spiritually.  PPCD is the Preschool Program for Children w/ Disabilities.  There is a mix of physical & mental disabilities in the room.  It's a very physical job (lifting kids into wheelchairs, changing diapers, helping to feed the kids, etc.)  This class is taught by a friend of mine & one of the other aides in the room is a friend I've known for 10 years.  So it would be both rewarding & fun to work with friends.  This campus is well known for the great staff & 'friendly' atmosphere.  It's in between the 2 other schools as far as distance goes, so it's still real close.

Boy am I torn!  If I'm offered more than one job (I know...I'm about 5 steps ahead--I might not be offered ANY of them!!), I will need some serious prayers of discernment.  I know that I could enjoy all three jobs.  I guess in the end, it will boil down to which one will work out best for my family.  I don't really know where the various principals/staff stand on that, so I guess that is something I need to figure out before I consider any of the jobs.  I need to know that they understand my family comes first and I still want to be involved, to some degree, with my kids' classes.  I know that none of them are going to let me off for EVERY little party & EVERY ceremony/musical, etc.....but knowing that I could count on being able to at least once in a while would be good.  I just don't want to walk into a job where the staff/principal is dead-set against me ever taking off for things like that.  Ya know?

Ugh......prayers, ok???  I'm gonna need them this coming week!  Decisions, decisions!

 

today's interview

The interview with Mr. S (asst. principal) this morning went great.  I felt really comfortable going in, wasn't nervous.  Since I already knew him it wasn't awkward & weird like some interviews might be.  We talked about our kids, family stuff, etc.  It was comfortable....that's the best word I could use to describe it.

 

He told me that the final decision would be in the hands of Mr. W (the principal).  He will narrow it down to the top 2 or 3 & then give those names to Mr. W who would in turn call & schedule a 2nd interview w/ those people so he could meet them and decide who he wants to do the job.  He told me that he'll let me know one way or the other.

 

Anyway, all went well!!!  Yahoo!  Now I just get to sit & wait and wonder.  He didn't give me a timeframe on the 2nd interview part of the discussion so I don't know when/how that will work out.  Keep praying!!  :)

Mass turtle suicide on I-20

Today we took Savannah to meet her buddies in Terrell.  It's sort of the 1/2 way point between our house & theirs.  She will stay with them for a week.  She was soooo excited about going!!  I know they'll all have a blast!

It was irritating, though.  We drove 45 min to Lindale to get on I-20, then 2 minutes after we got on the road, traffic slowed to a complete stop.  Ugh.  We figured there was a wreck up ahead.  After a while, things started creeping along, so we assumed it was getting cleared out.  25 minutes later, we're still creeping along & we kept wondering when we'd come upon this giant wreck that must be up there SOMEWHERE.  I checked the mile marker 25 minutes into this & we'd travelled a whopping 5 miles.  Oh my gosh....very frustrating!  On top of that, I had cramps today that were killer.  Worse than they've been for me in YEARS & so I'm driving, stuck in this horrible traffic, and trying to apply counter-pressure to my lower back.  I'm telling you....being stuck in traffic this morning was nottttt my favorite part of the day!  Finally...finally....we reached an exit & everyone needed to go potty.  By this time it had been 45 minutes.  We were all of 10 miles down the road from where we got on the highway.  Did I mention I was a little frustrated?  I got a drink, took a handful of Advil, went potty & climbed back in behind the wheel.  What should've taken 45 minutes ended up taking almost 2 hours.  Thankfully, though, we made it there in 1 piece and united the kids with their long-lost pals.  There were plenty of smiles & giggles to soothe away the bad traffic nerves!  Totally worth it.  :)

On the way home, we noticed a dead turtle on the side of the road....and then another.....and another......and another.  In an effort to get around the area we got caught in this morning, we took a different route home, and wouldn't ya know it....there were dead turtles everywhere.  Larry & I were spectulating about why this is.  Sure, there's probably some intelligent, scientific reason why so many turtles were out on the roadways (likely due to the massive rain lately, I guess), but we had fun coming up with funny reasons.  Maybe they were part of a turtle cult that called for a mass suicide by vehicles.  Perhaps they were all trying to answer the age old turtle joke "Why did the turtle cross the road?".  Maybe they were doing research about those "highway turtles" we all like to drive across & make the bump-bump sound.  Whatever the cause, there were mass casualties of the turtle variety all the way from here to Terrell & back....no matter what route we took!  :::pausing for a moment of silence for all the innocent turtles that lost their lives today:::

Seriously, though, a friend of mine who interviewed today (for the same job I'm interviewing for Tuesday!!!) called to let me know how her interview went.  I am fairly confident about this.  She told me a few of the questions they asked her & I think I will do really well w/ the interview.  Of course, there is no certainty about my future in this job, but I was glad to hear from my friend about her interview.  It sort of gave me something to think on & be prepared for Tuesday.  Now I'm anxious to go do it!

This coming week is Samuel's Cub Scout day camp.  I know he will have fun!  Sarah & I will hang out together on Monday.  Mom will take care of her while I go to my interview Tuesday morning.  Wednesday I have a prayer meeting/lunch with the other staff wives at the church, so we'll go do that & Sarah will get to play with the other pastors' kids.  Thurs we'll hang out some more & then on Friday we'll go back & get Savannah.  It'll be a fun, full week!

Take care & have a good Saturday!