Wow. A year long break from blogging. A lot has happened in a year. Where to begin?!
Well...For starters, the kids and I moved into our own house. We actually got to move into my grandma's house. This is the same house that she lived in for more than half her life. This is the house that my sister and i spent summer vacations in. Now I get to raise my kids here. My parents and a couple of their friends spent all last spring and summer remodeling it, cleaning it, etc. We moved into our new home the second weekend in September. It has been perfect for us and we love it. I have even overcome my fear and dislike of gardening...yeah, I know. I have a thriving container garden and pots of flowers that I have grown from seeds. I am very proud!
Along with a shiny new house, we got two goldfish and two adorable cats that we all love. We got Belle in November. She was a complete surprise for the kids. I planned for two weeks to get her without them knowing. It was so fun to surprise them when we went to pick her up. She quickly became the spoiled princess of the house and we wouldn't have it any other way. We recently added Mavis kitty to our clan. We have had her for about a month now and she is something else. A little spitfire. Belle did not like her at all for about 4 days. Then suddenly they were best friends. It is so fun to watch them play together. And yes, they do try to get the goldfish. About those fish...the kids won them at the school carnival. yay. I have always hated the idea of fish because they are so dirty. But the night the kids won them, I was a changed woman. Watching their excited faces as they watched the fish swim around made me change my mind about fish. The very next day we drove down to the pet store and bought up all the supplies we need for the long haul of being fish owners. Fish One and Fish Two are now big, fat, happy goldfish. And, it deserves mention, we are now owners of a baby praying mantis that Zane named Mr. Greenwald. He found them last night at the pool.
I have now completed a full school year at the primary school and I love it. I love the staff and I love the kids. Doing a whole school year was so much better than joining mid year and feeling awkwardly out of place. Half way through the school year, I got offered a job at the Christian school and I accepted. I am now the secretary of that school as well as working my two hours at the primary school. I am officially employed full time with summers off! How can it get better than that?!
Speaking of school...Zane is starting second grade this year and is so excited! He got the teacher he really wanted, which makes it so much cooler. He is a reading maniac and is super excited to have his own Kindle to read on. I can't believe he is in second grade now. Crazy. Miss Claire will be in Pre-K this year. She finished her second year at Headstart in May and then transferred to the Christian school where she will stay for all of next year. She has blossomed even more in a smaller class and has really come out her shell. So with one kid at each of the schools I work at, I get to see them both throughout the day. I love it!
I am really looking forward to this coming school year. Last year was a crazy roller coaster of fun but busy days and months. I signed on as secretary of the PTO last year and that kept me busy. I also volunteered at Awana full time and did games and secretary there. I also tried to volunteer at both Headstart and the primary school as much as I could. It was a crazy time. This coming school year is already significantly less busy. I won't be doing PTO as an officer, I won't be running games at Awana, but I will try to volunteer when I can. Working full time is tricky when it comes to volunteering, even with working where I want to volunteer. But I have been greatly blessed with wonderful, understanding and supportive employers in each school. I'm telling you, you can't dream up a better deal than this, folks.
So what else is there? I'm still single. I did meet someone who I had hopes of getting to know better, but we ended up parting ways due to some pretty major lifestyle differences. I have tried online dating websites but I always end up feeling really discouraged. I just know God will bring someone into my life when it's His timing and not mine. So...I wait as patiently as I can and pray a lot. I would love to meet someone who could share this amazing life with me and the kids. I would love for the kids to have someone in their lives who could encourage and love them. I know he is out there...so I wait, I pray and I trust God.
But on a different note, I have a super awesome group of friends here. I am so lucky to have so many amazingly fun people in my life. I am so grateful for each one of them. It's wonderful to be part of such a small, mostly close knit community.
It's amazing what happens when you just let go and trust God. I can't even tell you the countless ways I have seen His provision, guidance, and love poured out on me and my family in this past year. It never ceases to amaze me just how mighty He really is.
