Cancer

During this past week, Stuart's best friend and Stuart's father were both diagnosed with cancer. Needless to say, it has been an emotionally draining week for Stuart.

Please pray for them, as their doctors decide the best course of treatment. We are praying that both of them can have a full recovery from this disease. I can't believe how many people that I am close to have been affected by this disease in just the past few years. My own father died of cancer two years ago, and my mother has battled cancer this year. One of my childhood friends lost her mother to breast cancer at the same time that I lost my dad, and now her brother-in-law has pancreatic cancer that is terminal. Stuart has also had another close friend who was in our wedding be diagnosed with cancer and have surgery and chemo this past year. I feel that I am constantly hearing of new cases, and it is so sad. Ironically, both Owen's and Hudson's namesakes were Stuart's two friends who have both been diagnosed this year.

Please pray for Stuart's dad and our close friend, as well as any other people that you know who are battling this disease.

Adapting

I have now finished one more week with students, and it completed my first full month back at work (with inservices and meetings for many days prior to students). The boys have had 1 1/2 weeks in their new school, and Arden has finished two weeks in daycare. It is amazing that every single one of us was beginning a new school adventure at the same time! Now we just need Stuart to go back to school, ha!

This week had its ups and downs with Arden, but the rest of the family is adjusting well. The boys love their new school and teachers, and they are coming home with stories about fun things they are learning and new friends that they are meeting. Both of them like the after-school program which they attend for 1 hour until my school releases, and I can drive over to pick them up. They have made friends, and both of them think it's fun to have an extra 30 minutes on the playground and a snack in the cafeteria after school. Thankfully, they don't have to stay there very long. I think they are adjusting well to the school routine.

Arden has had a cold this week, and her regular teacher at her preschool was out sick for three days this week. That made for a rough time for her since she didn't feel great and had different caregivers as subs each day. We had some issues with her being bitten several times this week, but I have talked to the director every day, and it appears to be under more careful supervision now. I have been inspecting her from head-to-toe before I leave with her, since her bites had not been noticed by the teachers. Luckily, yesterday was a good day with no problems. Arden seems to slowly be adjusting to her routine, and she had two good days with waking up without melting down on Thursday and Friday (she's like her mama and is NOT a morning person!). She was happier and less cranky in the evenings during the last two days also, so I am praying that she will soon feel comfortable in the schedule. I am on a waiting list for another preschool that is highly rated and seems like it might be the best one in this area. I actually know someone from church whose son is Arden's exact age and in the class she would be in, and they love it. The mom is also on the board of directors, too. However, she is #31 on the waiting list for her age, and it looks like 12-18 months to get in! It is like that with many childcare centers here.

I do like my job, so that is a blessing. My students are getting in a routine and are very friendly and obedient. I don't have any students that seem to be a handful, and only a few have some academic deficiencies. I am teaching mainly pre-AP (honors) students, and I really enjoy that. I still feel a bit overwhelmed with all the new curriculum, but my lessons are going well. I'd just like to get a few weeks ahead in my planning, so I am not planning day-to-day. I know that will come in time, and if I continue in this job, that would be much easier after the first year. This year, I am teaching all new literature titles that I've never taught before, so I knew it would be a lot more preparation. I'm thankful that I like my time while I am at the school, and the time flies by since I am so busy that I can barely chew for lunch!

We are going to enjoy a calm and quiet weekend at home with the kids, and I don't even think I'll do any cleaning!

Mistake?

It's been a rough couple of days. To be honest, I've spent a lot of time thinking that I just made a big mistake by trying to go back to work. And not only that, but I also let my online teaching job go, and since they have never spoken to me after my resignation, it isn't looking too likely that I can get it back. Tensions are running high in the household at this point.

I don't know if I can keep this up. I keep telling myself that it will get easier, but it's hard right now. I love the teaching part. I have a very manageable schedule and only three classes. My students have been attentive and wonderful, and I think the teaching part would be easy next year once I've gone though planning all the new curriculum once. I'm fine when I'm at school, but it's balancing it with home and family. When do working parents find time to cook, clean, go to Walmart, run errands? I spent all day Saturday doing errands and cleaning, so I haven't had any time to rest this weekend. I was cleaning bathrooms at 10 p.m.!

To top it off, Arden got sick on Friday afternoon and came home from daycare with a runny nose and red-rimmed eyes. By that night, she was running a low fever, and she officially has her first cold. Only one week in daycare and already sick! My mind is racing to how often she will get sick and how I only have 9 sick days to take off work to stay home, and we're not even into the winter flu season yet.

I knew these things when I decided to teach, but it has been a hard reality check when Arden has been crying and cranky for pretty much every waking hour since Friday afternoon. I am home from church with her this morning, and she won't let me out of her sight without going into hysterics. I'm thinking that drop-off at her school tomorrow morning will not be a pretty sight.

I'm discouraged. I'm tired. I'm overwhelmed.

I thought I was following God's leading, and I prayed so hard for Him to close this door if it would be a mistake. I thought it was a sign when the job description was changed exactly to how I prayed. Maybe this will get easier after a month or two.

Please pray for my family and this adjustment. I am committed by contract now to the entire school year, and I'm praying this gets easier on all of us.

First Day of School

Okay . . . I am alive.

I haven't had much time to post lately with starting my new teaching job.

My brother visited us last weekend from the Denver area, and it had been one year since his last visit. Arden had changed so much since then, and it was fun to see her interact with him. Asher, Owen, and I went to Eureka Springs last Saturday. Stuart stayed home with Hudson and Arden since Hudson got a quick stomach flu and had gotten sick early Saturday morning. It was fun to walk the same streets that Stuart and I went on for our honeymoon 19 years ago! I hadn't been back there since then! We ate some fudge and lemonade ices, and Owen had to pick out a few treasures from a gift shop. Owen got carsick on the winding roads back home, and we almost had a mess in Asher's rental car, but luckily we got pulled over to the roadside in time!

I have officially survived my first week back to work! Overall, it was a good week. I like the job better than I expected considering it is 7th grade. I haven't taught 7th graders in 14 years, but the three classes I have are pre-AP students and more mature than the 7th graders of 14 years ago. They have been extremely well-behaved and respectful, and I think it will be a good year. I am learning the ropes of the school procedures, and my teaching rhythm is coming back to me.

The balance of work and home will be a challenge with three kids, and I hope I can get used to the physically demanding schedule. So far, I haven't been able to cook or clean during the work week, and I am so exhausted when I get home. My feet are killing me from standing all day, and I can barely stay awake past 9 p.m.!

The boys both like their new school and seem to have good teachers. I met Owen's teacher at the new teacher orientation meetings, as she is returning back to Bentonville schools after staying home with kids for the past seven years. She previously taught at this same school in 3rd grade for many years before, and I really like her. Hudson's teacher has taught kindergarten for 15 years, and she is great too. The boys stay in an afterschool program for about an hour while I finish my day since the junior high dismissal is later than their school.

Arden has had the hardest adjustment since she has been home with me until this year. She is doing well for her first week in daycare, but she is extremely tired since she has to be woken up almost two hours earlier each morning and is only napping for one hour at school. She is tired and crying by 7 p.m. every night, and I hope the pace of her schedule gets easier on her after time. She seems happy at school and only cries a little when I leave. She is social and enjoys the facilities for outside play and the indoor climbing room.

Continue to pray for all of us in this adjustment. It will be a few months before I will feel like there is a routine or if I can determine if this will work for our family long-term. I do know that I still love teaching, but I don't know if I can keep up this pace indefinitely. Time will tell.

Out with the old, and in with the new

I resigned from the college almost two weeks ago. Now, fourteen days later, I haven't heard a word from anyone there. I emailed in my resignation letter and expected to hear from my department head or dean that they wished me well. But, nothing. So, I emailed the administrative secretary to make sure someone knew about my situation. No response. I then checked the online enrollment that shows live numbers for sections. Sure enough, my news had been processed because my name had been taken off the schedule, and my four sections had been reassigned for this fall to other people.

It was a bit hurtful that after six years of employment with the college, they didn't even recognize my departure. I know they got the information because the schedule was changed. I'm not sure if they are upset that I gave two week's notice and resigned, or if they just don't care. I felt that I had a good experience there, and I thought that I was on friendly terms with everyone. Now, I'm not sure where I stand. I don't know if I should make more contact with them in the future, and I don't know if they would consider me for future employment, if my situation in Bentonville were to change.

It's all sort of confusing. Six years, and no goodbye.

I think I've done the right thing by moving on to Bentonville schools. My college enrollment has remained low, and it appears that I would have only gotten two out of four of my sections to teach online. That would have beeen a 50% drop in my expected part-time income, and it would have really caused a financial strain in our budget.

God has been faithful to provide. Out with the old, and in with the new!

Hi ho, hi ho, It's off to work I go

I have five days of work behind me for this school year . . . only 188 left to go!

I will post pictures and more details later, but I do want to let you know that I am into the swing of inservice days and surviving! Yes, I'm tired. I haven't had this many days in a row of being up so early in six years! I'm not a morning person. However, once I get up and going, it's fine.

Last week, Roy and Bea Cearley came and graciously agreed to take care of the children on Tuesday through Thursday. Stuart took off a half day of work on Friday while I had meetings until noon. Last week was "new teacher" orientation meetings with all the new faculty from K-12 throughout the district. Most of it was pretty interesting, although I got a bit overloaded by Bloom's taxonomy and brain research. There was quite a bit of theory in some parts. The best day was Thursday when we sat in a real classroom and had a former "teacher of the year" give us all sorts of real-life tips for classroom management and organization. I took away a lot of concrete things to try with this age group, and the teacher was very inspiring.

Today and tomorrow I am meeting with my English team on my campus. I got a lot of useful curriculum information today, and I now know what my focus should be for the first semester. I am still working on decorating my room, although Stuart helped me get all my boxes up there this weekend. Owen tried to help me unpack on Saturday afternoon, but it was really a time when he tried to put all my money in the hall vending machine until it jammed!

Arden's mother's day out teacher from church is keeping the kids this week through Thursday, then Stuart is taking Friday off again. I think everything went well today, and the boys really enjoyed playing with Kristi's girls who are a bit older than Owen. It also helps that Arden knows Kristi as her former teacher, and I'm thankful that the boys can stay in their own home for these two weeks.

Arden begins daycare at Pinecrest Private School next Monday. I am really praying for that transition, and I hope she likes it and does well. Monday will also be Hudson's kindergarten open house! I can't believe he is off to real school already!

So, overall, I think things are going well. It will take a few weeks with students before I feel like I am in a routine, and it will take some adjustment for my energy level to match my schedule. However, I'm not nervous or overwhelmed at this point which is completely amazing considering that I was only hired 2 weeks ago! God has been very good in providing great support with coworkers and new friends, so I feel like I am learning the ropes pretty quickly.

Birthday Party

Today was the boys' joint birthday party. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate with us, and it started pouring down rain at 8:30 a.m. Due to that, we decided to move our 10:00 a.m. party indoors at our house since the temperature had cooled too much to swim comfortably, and the playground was all muddy from the recent downpour. When I planned a pool party a few weeks ago, I never expected all this rain and low temps in early August in Arkansas!

We had three families attend the boys' party, so it was a nice size group for an indoor gathering. I really didn't have a free weekend to reschedule the party now that I have to start my new teaching job this next week, plus we already had some existing plans over upcoming weekends. We emailed everyone that it was going to be moved indoors, and I did some last minute internet searches for indoor party games! I hadn't cleaned my house recently, so I hope that was overlooked by my guests.

We played a few rounds of musical statues, Doggie Doggie, Who's got the Bone, and hot potato. Then, we attempted a contest to wrap partners in toilet paper like mummies to see who could finish first. That game was harder than it sounded, as the toilet paper kept tearing every few squares.

The boys chose a "Cars" theme from the Disney movie for the cake, and we had chips, cheese balls, Doritos, and pretzels, along with the cake and ice cream. The boys opened their gifts, and then the kids spent a bit more time playing and chasing each other around the house with foam swords.

The boys still stated that they had a great party, so that is all that matters. I'm sure that playing musical statues wasn't as fun as splashing outside in the pool on a warm, sunny day; however, you have to take the weather as it comes! So for this August party, we made the best of Plan B.

Happy birthday, Owen and Hudson! I hope the day was lots of fun.