The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. - MLK, Jr.
Things have been crazy around here. As a first year teacher, there's that time crunch to get your classroom ready with limited time and resources. She gave Fred TONS of stuff which helped tremendously!!! You could litterally spend a small fortune getting your classroom together! Fred was at the school working on it from 7am-10pm Friday night. Then we got up Saturday and slept in a little and left around noon to do some more. We then went to grab a bunch of stuff for his room and had some laminating to do as well. We finally got home after 9pm and stayed up until 3 am working on stuff. Sunday, we got up early to clean the building and after services went and worked on it again until they locked up, went to services and came home and worked on more stuff. By Monday we were wiped out! Monday morning Kayden slept until 10am! We were all exhausted. His 1st day went great and he still was exhausted from not sleeping well the night before. After he came home and crashed for a bit, he still had more work to do.
K and I drove out with my sister and her husband to a funeral in east Texas. We had to leave by 6:30 this morning and I didn't get in bed until late last night as I was trying to get the kitchen cleaned up and our stuff packed for the trip today. The hardest part about a Christian's funeral is seeing the family in pain. It is better to be in a house of mourning but it's even better when you know they aren't suffering anymore and are in the hands of the Savior.
So, after we got home, K and I played for a while and she went down for a nap. She did pretty good on the trip. She LOVES tortillas!!! She is a Texan after all. I think she got more in her seat at lunch than in her mouth. She is really starting to use all of the signs pretty well. I think "more" is also synonymous for "I want". She goes for her 1 yr check up tomorrow. We had to push it back as we were switching insurance carriers. The school's insurance is crazy expensive! Our days of fabulous insurance are GONE!
We've had bad problems with sugar ants for over a month now- UGH!!!!!!! We've tried everything! Any ideas? I finally got 4 ant traps yesterday. We'll see if those work.
A MAJOR shout out to all of the teachers on here! (I'm sorry if I forgot anyone) I hope you all have a great week and remember who we're serving.
I didn't get to go to that funeral, but we have been praying so hard around here for the Johnsons (who many of our number know VERY well since they have lived in MP for years). I hope they can find a little peace soon.
Lauren loves tortillas too! She always asks "can we eat at a tortilla place" She hasn't learned yet to ask for Mexican food but we are working on it! :)
tell your husband to hang in there. it gets easier. i used to teach kinder in the houston area. the start of school was always crazy, especially your first year. it will continue to get better each year.
We're enjoying a cool front here. Highs are only in the 80s! It's weird when that actually FEELS cooler. We've also been getting rain which we needed. I love when it rains for a few days in the summer. It's a nice break from the scorching sun.
K's birthday went well. She surprised us in that she wasn't all that interested in smashing her cake. She did enjoy licking the icing off her fingers though. We requested books instead of toys and that everyone write a note in each book so that she'll know who gave it to her in the years to come.
She's been feeling yucky today and yesterday. She's running a low grade fever and teething. AGAIN?!?! She just got done cutting 6 in 7 weeks - how many more is she going to get now?!?! Poor thing. So I'm taking advantage of her nap time and trying to finish up some things.
Fred's doing well, just VERY overwhelmed with all that he still has to do. He has plenty of time to get it done if they weren't in meetings all day. I think in a month, he's going to feel much better about things. I keep reminding him that from what I've heard all 1st year teachers feel this way. I'm sure he'd appreciate some prayers on his behalf.
Isn't amazing how God blesses us abundantly beyond what would could ever imagine?
Today, my baby girl turns one. UNBELIEVABLE!!! Everyone tells you that time goes by fast with them but during those 1st few months with little to no sleep, it seems to drag on and on. We have been so abundantly blessed with such a wonderful, sweet girl. I really can't remember much of our lives before her. She was born on August 15th, 2007 and weighed in at 6lbs 6 oz and 19.5 in. I had some pre-eclampsia a couple weeks before I delivered so they started inducing on the 14th. 4 hours after they started inducing I went into labor. I guess she was ready! I ended up having her by c-section after she didn't respond well to the contractions. After the next day with no wet or dirty diapers, our pediatrician thought it was best that she go to the NICU to get a little better. She spent 4 days there. Seeing her hooked up to all of those tubes was so hard but we knew she was getting the best care possible.
God was certainly watching over her!
This past year has been a crazy one to say the least. My original plan was to work part-time from home for my former boss. We needed the income and had planned on it for several months. That didn't quite work out as planned.
After that, Fred's dad had a 2nd heart attack and was put in ICU. We drove 22 hours one way to Las Vegas to be with them. Kayden had her 1st plane ride on that trip.
After that trip, we decided to put our house on the market and move closer to Fred's work. He was driving 110 miles a day.
Trying to sell a house while taking care of a newborn is no fun.
In November, I began working for Starbucks again. I had worked there about 6 years ago and I worked the overnight shift. Physically, with a small baby and all of those demands, it took it's toll on me. I got Mono (again) even though you're not supposed to be able to get it twice. Lucky me! I also had been struggling with some other health issues.
We had a contract on the house. Thanks be to God that it fell through. If everything would have kept going with the sale of our house, we would have been scheduled to move out on Thursday.
That Wednesday, Fred was laid off after 8 years with the company. There were so many blessings that came out of it. At that time, I was still battling with the Mono and other health issues so having him home full-time was a WONDERFUL help! He got to spend so much more time with Kayden than he would have otherwise.
The path that we started down (job hunt wise) from then till now is like night and day. Now he's going to teach 4th grade, he only has a 20 min drive to work and he gets lots of holidays off to spend with us.
There have been hundreds of little struggles, doubts, discouragements and tears shed during this past year. I go through all of that because making it to Kayden's 1st birthday, having gone through all of those things seems like such a milestone for us. All of those trials were meant to (as James says) "perfect us" so that we would be lacking in nothing.
Through Kayden, we have witnessed God's power, majesty, glory and wonderful goodness. What a wonderful blessing he has given us!!! I can't say enough about how much she brings joy and light to our lives. Happy Birthday Kayden!!!
Here are some pictures from the past year :-) Enjoy!
The day she was born----------------------------------1 month old
2 months old ----------------------------------------3 months old
4 months old-----------------------------------------5 months old
6 months old-----------------------------------------7 months old
8 months old-----------------------------------------9 months old
10 months old---------------------------------------11 months old
And this one is for all of you Hoosiers on here :-)
12-ish months old
Alicia...you have come through struggles and come out the better. God knew all along, but wanted you to know. I grow daily in my faith and when the "nasties" come along..I go back and remember that HE got me through before...HE can do it again. So glad you and Fred are finding peace. Love you all.
My favorite is the Hoosier one of course. I love the pictures. It seem like you just had her! In fact, it seems like I just had abby and she is 2 years onl now. Where does time go?
what blessings:) enjoyed today with you guys, so sorry I was late but glad I made it just before the fun began:) wouldn't have missed it for the world. praise god for his greatest little blessings:)
Fred started work on Monday. He's in new teacher/new hire meetings all week and this includes Friday which is a VERY special day! This means that Mommy is on duty all day. It was soooo nice to have him here for the past 5 or so months. I could take a nap or have time to fix dinner, surf on pleo or run to the store. It's taken me a little bit to adjust but I think I'm liking it. I told him that I get more done when he's gone and it's true. Today, I got up and almost got in the bath tub when K woke up. By 11 or so I got some accomplished but not as much as had wanted. I had a ladies luncheon to go to and after that, K fell asleep almost as we got home. I was able to give her a bottle and she was OUT! She slept for 3 hours! I got TONS of things done then! I think she's going through a growth spurt.
I LOVE the Olympics!!!! When I was 4 I remember lining up pillows or couch cushions or something like that on the floor, diving off a chair and "swimming" on them. I'm pretty sure that my love for the Olympics began then. I love the stories of people and how hard they've worked to succeed and the obstacles they've overcome. I also love to see such wonderful talent that just blows my mind. The only bad part is when there's something on that I don't enjoy watching like Volleyball or Cycling. I'm sorry if you play volleyball or cycle but it's boring for me to watch these.
During the day, now that Fred's gone to work, K will look around and say "dada?" She's still getting used to him not being here and has become VERY attached to mommy. I'm enjoying it while I can. ;-)
When Nathan and I first got married he did not start working until about a month later. So I loved having him home to help around the house esp. at that time unpacking, hanging pictures and curtains! So I understand how you feel not having him there all the time now. We also are loving the olympics. There lots of members of the US team from Indiana. One even from our town.......so COOL!
The crashes on cycling are pretty cool to watch :) I'm not a big fan of synchronized diving- I like watching a couple of them, but then it all starts looking like the same thing. And I'm SO happy for y'all!
I love the olympics too! I enjoy watching volleyball though. I watch it so much during the day that we were eating at McDonalds and they had it on the tv there and Christopher said "look mommy, that's like our tv". Maybe I should cut down on it a little bit:)
Sometimes the answer is wait. That one is especially hard to deal with. Today however, he answered it YES!!! Fred got a job as a 4th grade teacher. Praise God!!! We are thrilled and still in shock :-) What a difference a day makes!!! I know he will do great in impacting these children's lives :-)
Wow! And you really didn't even have to wait that long from start of application process to "you're hired!" I know that Ken being without a job was the hardest time we've ever had to go through, and the moment he got the job at Old Navy will forever stick out in my mind as total bliss. We're excited for you guys!
Woooooohoooooo!! What school (and district) is he going to be at? That's super exciting! Y'all can come look through my teaching closet- unfortunately for now I'd have to say that many of the items would be "on loan," but I have lots of stuff that would work for fourth graders. Congratulations to y'all!
I taught 4th grade my first year back after being a stay-at-home mom and I loved that age. The TAKS pressure is hardest at that level than any other, thus all the openings for 4th grade teachers, but Fred can do it. If he has any questions, send them my way!
that is GREAT news!!!!!!! so excited for you guys and how things have progressed. God truly works in His own way and we should always remember to praise Him for everything in our lives.
