Caught In A Whirlwind

This past month has been a whirlwind of chaos, survival, tears, loneliness, and anticipation.

We put our house up on the market on Friday, October 9th and got an offer on our house on the 12th. Yes, it took us only one weekend to sell our house. There's no doubting God's plan here. I still have to pinch myself to see if we actually sold our house that fast. Especially in this market. We aren't making any money on our house, but God has definitely made it easy for us to walk away from our house with no extra expenses.

For the past few weeks Jason has been in Colorado Springs with the girls and I have been home alone. It has been quite the adjustment for us all, but we have managed to get by with weekend visits. I hate being the weekend parent. I know Jason hasn't exactly enjoyed being the single parent either. The girls have had their moments of acting out, but that can be expected due to not having mom and dad together and not living in your own house. Living with Jason's aunt and uncle has helped out a lot with the transition. They are such wonderful people and I am grateful to call them family.

Due to getting a contract on our house so quickly, I felt it was necessary for me to make preparations towards quitting my job. Telling my students I was leaving ended up being one of the hardest things I have had to do. There were quite a few students who were pretty upset about my leaving. I guess that can be a good thing. I wouldn't want anyone to be pleased with my departure. Part of me was glad and relieved to be leaving because this year has been so stressful for me. The other part of me was being dragged out kicking and screaming because I felt so bad for leaving my dear friends I had made at my work, and ultimately I was leaving my class. What a great group of kids I was blessed with over the years.

I put in my two week notice on the 20th, and yes, I am now unemployed. Yesterday ended up being my last day due to two snow days last week. I did not have to put in an extra day, but I did. I needed to say goodbye to my kids and my co-workers. I needed that closure, and I'm sure everyone else needed it too. Being there yesterday probably helped the kids with the transition between me and their new teacher, too.

Yesterday was a hard day for me. Although I have had moments where I have been so frustrated and upset with situations and specific people, overall my school had been good to me. There are amazing kids with amazing families in a community that truly did care about what I did as a teacher. This was my first teaching job. I guess every teacher holds a special place in their heart for their first class as well as the first school they taught at. If you haven't guessed it already, I am a very sentimental person.

My dear friend, Erin, had purchased a beautiful scrapbook and put together pictures of each of my students along with wonderful notes from every kid. I nearly cried right then, but I knew that if I were to begin reading the messages, I would most definitely cry. I did eventually cry when I read all the wonderful messages from my students. It amazed me (I don't know why) to see how many students wrote about how I had impacted them and their attitude towards school. I know I am in a position to influence my students in a positive manner, but I never really think about it. Being a teacher is often a thankless job which can be hard for someone like me who needs words of affirmation every once in a while.

Now that this chapter of my life is officially over, I am ready to move on to this new phase in my life. The moving truck arrives on Friday and we are packing up this weekend. That should be interesting. Leaving our first house. I had just found out I was pregnant with Meghan when we bought this house. This is the only home my girls know. Again, I am a very sentimental person and there are TONS of happy memories in this house. This house has suited us very well, but we always knew that it wouldn't last too long. There will most definitely be tears of sadness, but they will also be accompanied with tears of joy and anticipation for when we eventually buy our next new home. Whenever that will be. Hopefully our new house will be better suited to fit us long-term. I don't want to move around often.

Now all I need is a job.

Trusting God

Okay, so I know it's been a while since I last blogged. There has been a TON of new developments in my life recently that have consumed me like no other.

Here's the big news: we are moving. Yes, we are moving. This whole situation seems quite insane, but Jason and I have resolved ourselves to the idea that the crazier it sounds, the more confident we are that we are doing the right thing.

This all started a month ago (yikes! Yes, only a month ago) when we went to Colorado Springs over Labor Day weekend. While there, both Jason and I had gotten a strong sense that we needed to leave Greeley and move back to Colorado Springs. We had kicked around this idea off and on over the years but never felt that it was our time. I remember while on our visit one day I was praying and asking God to give me some sort of sign to let me know that the feelings I was having about moving back to the Springs were real and true and from Him and not just some fabrication of my own.

A couple days later Jason had come to the conclusion that it wouldn't hurt if he were to begin perusing the ads looking for a new job. He soon called my mom to get some advice on updating his resume as my mom is definitely the queen of writing good resumes. Not feeling that it was safe to share with her all the information yet, Jason just informed her that he was feeling bored at his job (which he was) and felt that he needed something a little more challenging for him. After offering some suggestions to his resume, my mom then asked Jason if he had ever considered looking in Colorado Springs. Yeah, it still gives me goosebumps just to think about it. This was the sign I was praying for.

My mom said that while she was visiting some friends over Labor Day weekend, she too felt that my little trip to the Springs was going to be pivotal and that we are needed back in Colorado Springs. God is so cool. When I had learned of this, I was overcome with tears and the realization that God had answered my prayer. I know He answers prayers all the time, but I can't recall a time where He had answered it so quickly.

Needless to say, Jason found a job posting and applied for the job just four days after our trip over Labor Day weekend. Within 10 minutes of sending his letter of interest and resume, Jason got a response. This company had been looking for someone for months and were ecstatic at the thought of Jason's qualifications and his willingness to relocate in such a short period of time.

After a lot of phone conversations back and forth with Jason, the company eventually called Jason in for an interview. What made this process so exciting was that once this company heard of Jason and his qualifications, they immediately took the job advertisement off the listing. They only wanted to speak with Jason. Very cool. I know he's a pretty cool guy to work with, but it's neat to hear that others are feeling the same way. Jason went in for his interview, and got offered the job that same evening. God was definitely working here. It sounds like a neat company that has great benefits and are willing to train Jason with the possibility of making him not just the Payroll Director, but eventually the Human Resources Director. Too cool. I am so proud of him. Jason starts his new job next Monday. I know. This has been very quick. He is starting his new job about a month after he applied for the job. The thing that makes this whole situation so amazing is that this position was THE ONLY one open at this time.

These next few weeks are going to be crazy. Jason is taking the girls with him when he starts his new job next week. We are grateful to Jason's aunt and uncle who have graciously opened up their house to us and are allowing us to use their basement temporarily until we find a place of our own.

Jason had taken it upon himself to help me out and find a daycare. I drove down to the Springs yesterday and took a look at the daycare which will work wonderfully. The nice thing is that it is only about 5 minutes away from Jason's new job. WAY better than the 45-minute drive we have been dealing with lately. The reason why Jason has to take the girls with him is because my daycare opens at 6 and I have to leave my house around 6 to get to work by 7. This was not going to work out for me.

Unfortunately, I have to stay in an empty house all by myself. I am going to be so lonely. Thankfully I have gotten offers from a great friend and co-worker as well as my parents to let me stay with them occasionally so I don't get too lonely. The other thing is that we are putting our house on the market soon (today) and the emptier the house, the better. I know that the market isn't looking all that great right now, but Jason and I are both confident that this is our time now and God will take care of it. One thing we have going for us is those last-minute first time home buyers who want to get in on that tax credit which expires December 1st. This house will sell. We have improved on it since the last time we tried to sell the house.

As for me, I am staying at my job until something opens up. Although there are days that I want to just get up and leave out of frustration with my boss, it isn't wise to do so. I have a feeling it won't be much longer for me though. I wouldn't be surprised if I get something that gets me started after Christmas break. That isn't too horrible. That's just 10 weeks of school left. I can handle it...hopefully. I know that there really isn't that much open for me as a teacher, but God is taking care of it. I am hopeful with the only prospect that is out there right now and that means I could possibly be working at the school for the Deaf there in the Springs. I don't know if this is where I will end up, but I am trusting God and doing my part in this crazy puzzle.

The thought of that terrifies me. Not that Deaf people are scary, but I feel so inadequate sometimes. I know I was an interpreter for about 5 years, but for some reason I don't feel good enough. I know I have a lot to offer as someone who grew up with a sibling who had a profound hearing loss. Jason reminds me that it is the times where we feel the most inadequate that God takes us and uses us for His glory. Okay God. I'm ready.

Here we go on this amazing new journey in our lives that has stretched us, grew us in faith, and trusting in God and His plan for our lives.

Audrey

Today is Audrey's 3rd birthday. It's funny how quickly I am able to remember the exact details of the day she entered this world. From the exact time my water broke, to the clothes I wore that day, to the last moments before she was born. She has touched me in such a way that only a parent could understand how a child can affect their life. Forever. I am truly blessed to be her mother. Audrey is such a sweet little girl. I remember what life was like before she was born, and I remember wondering how she would fit into our existing family. It's funny because now I can't imagine what life would be like without her. She is such an important piece in our lives that there would be an Audrey-sized hole in our lives if she were not here with us. There are so many things I love about her, but here are some of the main things that melt my heart:

1. Audrey will melt your heart no matter what she does. It doesn't matter what she is doing--she puts her own flair into the things she does that amaze you and leave you in a puddle of mush on the floor. Like when she takes off her shirt only to the point where the head hole is stuck around the top of her head so that it looks as though her shirt is her new hair. She is then often found prancing around showing off her new hair while flipping it around. It doesn't matter how angry you may be with her at a particular moment because she will just look at you with those big blue eyes and your heart will be hers. Thankfully, she is unaware of this power she has over us because I can definitely see her using it for evil if the situation presents itself. One of my favorite things she does is when she clacks around the tile floor in my heels. Yes, I do get annoyed sometimes at the noise, but it's just so cute how her little feet are swallowed up by my size-10 heels.
   
2. Audrey is super lovable. She is such a bundle of energy and so full of love that you can't help but to fall in love with her. She is ALWAYS willing to give hugs to anyone even if you don't ask for one. I know that after a long day at work, I can always depend on her to make me feel better with an Audrey hug. She just has that way about her that you can't help but to be drawn to her. Another thing she does that just melts my heart is when she calls me "sweetie". She will mimic what I do and how I talk, and then she will talk to me as if our roles had switched and then I am the sweetie. Too cute.
   
3. Audrey is a girlie-girl. She LOVES anything that is deemed "girlie". She is a princess--that is in her own opinion. Audrey will wear a dress everyday if they don't all get dirty first. She will take all her baby dolls everywhere she goes if allowed. Her favorite game to play with Meghan is mommy and baby where Audrey is the mommy most often. She is often found sleeping with her dress-up dresses over her PJ's. She would wear her play heels to daycare if she were allowed to do so. Audrey loves to sit next to me on my bed while I put on my makeup. She likes to play with all my brushes and to "put on" makeup of her own. Audrey got three different types of dress-up clothes for her birthday and couldn't be happier. If only there was a way she could wear everything at once.

Here's some of my favorite pictures of Audrey:

Audrey was born a week early and she was so tiny compared to her sister.

Audrey's first Independence Day Parade. I had too much playing with her to care about the parade.

Audrey's first daycare photo. I just love the look on her face in this picture.

Audrey absolutely LOVED this giraffe costume. She would wear it all day for several days if I let her. She was so upset when she grew out of it.

I adore this picture of Audrey. I took it while on our vacation this past summer. She just looks so grown up here.

Meghan and Audrey will always be the best of friends. It makes me so happy listening to them play together. I hope Audrey knows how lucky she is to have a sister who is her best friend. It's pretty special.

I love my Audrey so much. My birthday prayer for her is that she will continue to grow and learn more about the love God has for each and every one of us. May she continue to be blessed with good health and that she will one day hear God's calling in her life and that she will willingly follow His plan. I love you, Audrey. Happy Birthday, sweetie.

Fastest Isn't Always The Best

One of my favorite activities to do with my students is to give them a particular sentence structure (Adjective, Adjective, Subject Noun, Verb, Adverb, Adverb) and ask them to come up with a certain number of sentences with this structure in the shortest amount of time. I know that to any normal person who doesn't care about grammatical structure in sentences, this might seem like a stupid exercise, but it isn't. I'm not going to go into it too much so as not to bore you non-grammatically minded people.

Anyways, I split the class into small groups and gave the class the labels. I told the class that the group to finish the fastest with all their sentences in this particular structure would get a prize. Well, one group was trying so hard to go so quickly that the quality of their work was compromised...with quite a hilarious result. Take a look for yourself:

I tried to add the part at the bottom where it said that the student who wrote that sentence was trying to write "hungry" instead of what had actually occurred.

Needless to say, I was quite shocked and definitely hunched over laughing to tears. I couldn't contain it. I couldn't even get the words out to share with the kids that I was not laughing at the quality of their work as much as I was laughing at their unintended mistake. Once they discovered what they had said, they too were laughing pretty hard. We didn't discuss much further the remaining questions as that would have been pretty awkward as well as inappropriate.

I'm just wondering one thing: why does it matter how "hung" the hobos were while eating their hamburgers?

There's just some things you should leave alone.

Family Vacation

Here it is. After about two weeks being home, I have finally put together a little video of our trip.

We took a pretty big trip last year, but for some reason this year seemed like a bigger trip. Maybe it was because the girls are one year older and can do more. I think that was because we drove instead of flying. Last year we were able to take advantage of getting two kids on a plane for free. Looks like that isn't going to be happening anymore.

After our trip last year, Jason was desperately wanting to go visit his sister, Kelly, in Appleton, Wisconsin. It was then that I realized that Jason and I have not been out to Minnesota to visit my oldest brother, Ted in almost 10 years. I am pretty sure we had figured out this year's vacation about a year in advance. Luckily Kelly lived only about 5 hours away from Ted, so that made the trip very feasible for us. We also decided to do much of the driving through the night with hopes that the girls would sleep in the car. The longest ride we had been on with the girls had only been about 5 hours long, so we had no clue how they would handle a 16-hour drive to Wisconsin.

On Friday afternoon, I packed up the car and the kids and went to pick up Jason from his work. We left around 4:00pm and didn't arrive at Kelly's house until about 10:30 the next morning. With having to stop for both dinner and breakfast, and stops for gas, it took us about 18 hours to get there. It was a long haul, but we survived. I was impressed with how the girls did.

On the drive out, we ended following this huge thunderstorm all the way from Jason's work to Omaha, Nebraska. For that entire time, the girls were awake. They then woke up again around 3:00am and were wide awake for a few hours. We were concerned with how they would handle it, but they surprised us once again. Jason and I took turns driving while the other napped on the back seat in the van.

We spent our first day in Wisconsin walking around like zombies. The girls were fine; they slept in the car. Kelly and her husband, Jason, took us to Bay Beach in Green Bay on Sunday. That was a blast. It is a small amusement park that is designed for families with VERY reasonable prices. The girls had a lot of fun too. Meghan's favorite ride was the Ferris Wheel. A girl after my own heart.

On Monday, we were on our own. Both Kelly and Jason had to work, so we decided to take the girls to a movie. This was Jason's first experience taking the girls to a movie theater, and it was great. We went to see "Monsters vs. Aliens". We quickly realized that we weren't in Colorado anymore when we went to the concession stand where alcohol was for sale there in addition to the standard concessions. I had never heard of that before.

Tuesday we went to the Children's Museum in Appleton as Kelly and Jason both had to work again. We had a great time. I never had the opportunity to take the girls to a place like this before. I loved how they offered kids rain coats for the kids to wear when playing in the water room. We could have spent all day there if we wanted to.

Kelly was off on Wednesday, and although the weather wasn't cooperating, we decided to go ahead and drive to Lake Michigan anyway. It took us just over an hour to get there, and it sure was beautiful! I wish the weather was nice enough for us to swim! The sand was wonderful and the girls still had fun playing in the sand. We even managed to gather some shells for Nana.

We really enjoyed our time with Kelly and Jason. We ended up playing games nearly every night we were there. My Jason was so excited about the games we played there that he went ahead and ordered a ton of new games for us to play together. Kelly and Jason had a ton of great games that were good for two players. After dinner on Wednesday, we packed up the kids and the car, and we headed off to visit my brother.

It was wonderful visiting my brother and his family. They have come out to Colorado to visit several times, but we never had the opportunity to go visit them until now. What a memorable time it was. The girls LOVED playing with their cousins, Ella and Simon.

On Thursday we took the kids on a little hike before lunch, and then they got to swim after naps. The girls loved swimming in the pool! It was much better than our pool which is a little wading pool. Audrey sat on the ladder for much of the time as she wasn't used to how rough Simon and Ella were playing, but she eventually got over it and jumped around just like everyone else. Jason even got to play softball with Ted and his team that evening.

The cool thing about this trip is that we were able to share Simon's 5th birthday with them. How cool. On Friday we got to go to the Mall of America where Simon and Ella both got to bring a friend with them to share their birthdays with. Ella and her friend went on the rides and Simon took his friend to the underwater adventure. We took that opportunity to take the girls on the giant Ferris Wheel and to Build-A-Bear. The girls each got their own little puppies and named them Charlie and Ruby. After TONS of walking, we took the girls out for some ice cream. I was so proud of how the girls did in the mall. We told them ahead of time that we were not going to bring the stroller, so they had to walk the entire time. And they did.

We were having so much fun that we decided to go with my brother to the fireworks show being held at the High School by their house. Again, the girls did wonderfully. With Minnesota being much further North than Colorado, the sun sets much later than it does here. That meant that the fireworks show didn't start at least until 10:00pm.

I had found some glow sticks at the dollar store earlier that week, so I thought it would be perfect for the kids for the fireworks show. Each kid got a necklace and a bracelet and I only spent $3. Very cool. The fireworks were right in front of us and bigger than ever. The girls had never been to a show before, and I don't think we can ever skip one again. They loved it. There's nothing like being able to feel the pound in your chest as you watch the colors flash across the sky. It totally reminded me of all the years I would go to shows like this as a kid. Especially after being there with my brother. I had forgotten how much I miss being around him. Even though he manages to tease me frequently, I still miss him. That's his way of telling me he loves me.

Saturday we got to spend the 4th of July with my brother's small group from his church at a BBQ. These people totally lived in our dream house. Still within minutes from town, nestled off the road, surrounded by wonderfully large trees, nice large yard, and a beautiful house. Some day we will have something like that. That night my brother and Carolyn grilled some great ribs and put on a fireworks show of our own. That was fun.

It reminded me of "the good ol' days" when my dad and his brother used to put on shows for us when I was little. We could hear the "oohs" and "aahs" from my Nana the entire time. It didn't matter if she had already seen that sort of firecracker before, she would still "ooh" and "aah".

Sunday we went to Ted and Carolyn's church where we got to meet some more of their friends and support group as Ted and Carolyn go off and plant a church of their own. Congratulations guys! We savored our last moments with Ted, Carolyn, and the kids before we had to head home. What a great time we had. It made me miss them so much.

It's not that I didn't enjoy my time with Kelly and Jason, it's just different spending time with someone you grew up with. I know Jason would say he really enjoyed spending time with Kelly. Both parts of our trip were so wonderful and so fun. We had a great time.

We left my brother's house around 6:45pm and arrived home at 7:30am. Again, we were zombies that entire day, but we sure were glad to be sleeping in our own bed again. The cats were glad to see us home too. What a great time we had. There's just one problem...where do we go next year?

Audrey's Turn For Curiousity

I was upstairs on the computer yesterday with Jason researching information for our upcoming family camping trip.

After a few minutes being upstairs, Meghan informed me and Jason of something that had occurred that needed our attention. I quickly ran downstairs to find this:

Audrey had found some scissors that were left on the table and cut her hair. I was definitely less than pleased, but what do you expect? Thankfully she just cut some hair in the front that didn't look TOO horrible and not some hair near the top or the back of her head. The funny thing is that I can't exactly pull more hair from the top to hide it and make it look like she has bangs. Then she would be the only 2-year-old I know with a comb-over. I had a feeling it was going to happen eventually with one of my girls. I just didn't think it would be now. Oh well. At least it will grow back.

Job Update

I got a call back yesterday from Windsor Charter Academy regarding the job teaching sample. I didn't get the job.

It wasn't much of a surprise considering how things went last time. The principal called to tell me that "After viewing the lesson samples, we decided to go with someone who had actually taught 5th grade before." I was totally okay with it. It's amazing to think how far I had come. I did get an opportunity to share with her how I felt about things which was good for me.

I told her that I really appreciated the opportunity they gave me, but I also apologized because I felt like I didn't represent the best "me" there is. She said that they did have some concerns with my classroom management (not a surprise considering I already knew how they felt), but they did appreciate me coming out there. I then shared with her that I may have a more relaxed way I manage my classroom, but it doesn't mean I don't know what is going on. I just address certain things at different times. Some people may have a problem with that. I just do what works for me.

I then continued to explain to her that I didn't appreciate how the Dean was sitting in the back of the class and talking to the lady next to her. I said that it was very rude and quite distracting to both me and the students who were seated by her. The principal told me that the would address that issue, but who knows if it will be addressed. I am just proud that I had stood up for myself. It is something I struggle with from time to time.

So for the time being, I still haven't heard from my first choice school, but I still have a job to go back to in case nothing pans out for this summer. I'm just enjoying my time off with the girls. They are taking swimming lessons and having a blast. That is our big excitement of the day lately.

We are leaving for our big vacation on Friday. We are going to drive overnight to see Jason's sister, Kelly in Wisconsin for about four days, then we are driving to Minnesota to visit my brother, Ted for another four days or so. It should be a great time. We are excited. I will be sure to post bunches of pictures when we get back.