New Year 2018

As my winter break comes to an end, I'm trying to put the new year into perspective and gain some momentum for my life in this new year. 

Here are a couple of things that are sticking out to me as I think of the new year:

1. Just recently, I read that "you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with - choose wisely".
• For me, the people I spend the most time with are:  Nick, Ali, Adrienne, Tracy, and Michelle.  That's not a bad group of people.  If I had to be an average of those 5 people, I would say I'm in pretty good shape.
2. Another thing that I read was from my Bible Study on 1 Peter.  The author of the study, Jen Wilkin, said that Christians should live their lives in such a way that their actions make them stand out from others.  That way, when non-believers see us, they can plainly see that something is different about us.
• When I think of my girls, I want them to "STICK OUT" and in many ways, I think they do.  They are different than the other kids in their classes.  And I believe that a big part of that difference is that they have Jesus in their hearts.  Sometimes it can just take my breath away with the simplicity of their faith.  It is not something they ever question or hesitate to talk about.  It is something I aspire to emulate.
• I also apply that to my school. I want us to be so amazing to our kids that we "STICK OUT" and are plainly different than every other school out there. That difference will attract others to us and want them to be part of our "TEAM".
3. Honor our leaders.  I need to do a better job of this.  My Bible Study of 1 Peter discussed how we are to honor and respect our leaders and people of authority.  We are to honor them in thoughts, actions, and speech.  Man, that was something I definitely needed to take to heart.  My study said that we are to disagree honorably and not to question out loud.  I really need to work on that! 

So, as I think of the New Year and things that I want to work on for 2018, I kind of have a laundry list.  I plan to try to whittle it down over the next few days and really focus in on just a few.  Here are the things I'm throwing around in my brain:

• Healthy Mind:  find joy and peace in this life.  Do the things that bring me joy:  craft, write, read, play piano, etc.
• Healthy Body:  exercise daily, eat well, have energy for life.
• Healthy Spirit:  continue to apply the wisdom of my Bible Study to my life & strengthen my relationship with God.
• Healthy Finances:  pay off credit card and become debt-free.
• Healthy Family:  savor every moment with my family.  Spend more quality time with the people I love the most.  Dinners together, less TV, more present!
• Healthy Organization:  get my home organized and clean.  De-clutter, de-stress, de-JUNK.
• Healthy Projects:  get my painting and furniture projects completed.
• paint trim, farmhouse table, paint table, etc.

For now, that is what I am thinking.  I guess I have decided on a "ONE LITTLE WORD" without even realizing it.......HEALTHY.  So, going back to work tomorrow, I would like to focus on being healthy and happy and having a great start to 2018!

Happy New Year everyone!!!

CHANGES

I'm a creature of habit.  I'm not a big fan of change.  God has really been challenging me with that lately.  Seems like anything that could possibly change HAS!  I can actually say that these changes are very exciting for me and I am trying my best to happily go about my days of change.  I am trying very hard NOT to take my normal, control-freakish stance and be anxious about every step of these changes.  I am trying to just let them evolve and let God's plan for my family work out however He best sees fit.  Some of the changes that are going on right now are:

• Starting a new, very different job!
• Leaving behind an old workplace & tying up all loose ends there.
• Saying goodbye to some very dear co-workers.
• Finalizing a new mortgage agreement.
• Moving to a new house!
• Renting out (or selling) our old house.
• Enrolling Ali in school for the fall.
• Figuring out a new schedule for our time with Jake & his school.
• Nick finishing his Associate's Degree this Winter.
• And just adjusting to all of these changes!

I have realized that there is no possible way I could do all of these things on my own (or even with my amazing hubby taking care of 85% of them!).  I am a woman of faith, but right now, in this trying time, I am laying this all on the big guy & letting the chips fall as they may.  My friends have asked me if I'm just "so stressed out" about all these changes.  And, while it is overwhelming when I sit and think about it (or list it out), I can honestly say that I am at peace with all of this and that I know God will provide the solutions we need, when we need them.

This mind set is a pretty huge deal for me.  I'm a perfectionist.  I am known to be anxious.  I like things done my way and on my schedule.  I like to have a plan & stick to that plan.  (My oldest daughter, Ali, was the beginning of ruining that little false-hope that I had clung to........she came 5 weeks early & all I could say when my water broke at work was "But it's FEBRUARY.  I'm having an APRIL baby".  Remember, Tina?)  I would even say that I am a control freak.  Yes.  I admit it.

With all of that being said, here's also what I know.....
I know that God is good (actually VERY good) to my family.  We are blessed beyond what I can even fathom.  We have 3 beautiful, healthy, intelligent, funny, loving, & simply wonderful children.  We have a marriage that gives me strength, love, joy, and confidence every day.   We have a steady income and $ is never an issue for us.  Just when I start to worry about bills or $ in accounts, something comes through and we're fine!  We have wonderful extended families that are supportive, loving, and generous in so many ways.  And we have our church.  Our wonderful family of fellow believers who inspire us to be better Christians and to have a real relationship with God.  


I also know that God will meet all my needs according to His plan.  I know that He has made my path and that He is guiding me in the ways He wants me to become.  


Before my interview for my new job (which I felt very under-qualified for), I prayed that God would give me the words to speak during the interview and that I could be His tool for whatever plan He wanted to come of this.  The next evening, I received a phone call that I was the top candidate out of 23 applicants (4 of which were interviewed).  I was astounded.  I had applied on a whim, never thinking I'd be offered such a great opportunity, and here I am, about to embark on a crazy new adventure.  So now, one of my next hurdles will be to lay my struggles in my new job on Him and seek His guidance through all of those trials.  


But 1 question remains:
Do you think He has much experience with teacher unions???
 

Coincidence???

There is a job that I really want at Macomb ISD: science consultant for K-12.

The position was posted in November 2010. I applied back at the beginning of January. I emailed the HR director and they received my materials. The position is still posted on the site. I've contemplated emailing again to show I'm still interested, but I'm worried I'll be on the border of annoying rather than interested.

I found out a few days ago that I won the Region 9 Director Position for the Michigan Science Teacher's Association (MSTA). It's a 3-year term and I'm very excited to have gotten it.

Our first meeting is April 8th-9th. When asking for more details on the meeting, I was put in touch with another director, Mike Klein. He's the CURRENT Macomb ISD science consultant & is retiring. He has the job I want!!!!!!!!!!!

Is it coincidence that I've just been put into contact with the guy whose job I desperately want or is it God's way of opening an opportunity for me?! When I realized who he is & that he works for Macomb ISD and that I'll be meeting him in a few weeks, I seriously thought about emailing him and asking about his replacement! I'm going to try to keep my crazy desire for his job under control, but I might have to scope out the situation when I'm in Lansing meeting him!

So crazy!!!

A Wonderful Lunch Date!

Thursday, Nick & I went out for lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. Nick heard they had $.55 wings on Thursdays so we thought we'd try it out. (We've only eaten there once or twice, so we thought we'd give it another go...)

It was a nice afternoon. We took Adrienne with us but Ali went to Gma Richmond's to "play" and Jakers was in school, so it was pretty relaxing just having one tot to handle. We actually had a calm, peaceful meal and were able to talk and relax. That hasn't happened in a while! Usually our meals out (if we even venture out) consist of rushing to order & eat before Ali turns into a monster! (or pumpkin, whichever she's feeling at the moment.)

While enjoying our peaceful lunch out, we started talking about the past few weeks in our lives and we started thinking ahead to our future together. Here are some of the highlights of our conversation:

• We talked about how happy we were that Adrienne stayed in a bit longer than she originally planned. A 38-week old baby is something COMPLETELY different than a 34-week old baby! Ali's 35-weeks was scary enough!

• We talked about how blessed we were by our church family, these past 2 weeks especially. Not only did they provide meals to us, but they were so generous in their giving that we didn't even have to grocery shop for 2 weeks! We had SO much food (and goodies, too)! So, not only did they bless us with keeping us fed and not having to cook, but they also blessed us financially in a BIG way.

• On that note, I started to get weepy. (These mommy-hormones can do a number on me!) I just started to think of how lucky we are and how God has provided for us in so many ways in our lives together. We are living pretty strictly in terms of money, especially with my maternity pay being only 66% of my normal pay. And, Nick's unemployment pay had ended in January. He finally was able to contact someone about it and it was extended for another period of time! Thursday we got a large sum of money from the back pay of months he wasn't paid directly deposited in our bank account. We were definitely not expecting that! Now we are able to put tires on our van and pay off all of our debt that we've been working to pay off since we got married. We are now debt-free (aside from our mortgage & my student loan)! No car payments, no credit card debt, NOTHING! It's such a relief and so wonderful to think about not having all of that money to pay out each month! Now we can save, save, save for a new house someday!!! So, thinking of all of that, I just kept tearing up when trying to talk with Nick about how great our God is. He provides for us and takes care of us even when we don't ask for it. He truly DOES know what is on our hearts and minds and knows what we need most even before we know and think to ask for it. Amazing!

• We also discussed Nick's future career and what he hopes to do with his degree.

• We talked about our family & how we love our babies so much! I talked about how much I love the infant / baby stage and Nick talked about how he loves the toddler stage for their independence. We also talked about how blessed Nick is to have been able to be home with Ali for a whole year. And I confessed to my insane jealousy of him for that. I wish, with all my heart, that I could be the stay-at-home parent and that I could be the one to be with our loveys all day, every day. I even told Nick that if I could be the one who was at home, I wouldn't be opposed to having another baby...........I must be INSANE!!!
  

• We laughed about how Adrienne was sleeping in her car seat. She looked like Nick after a Thanksgiving Day meal: passed out with her mouth hanging wide open......trademark Nick! :)

After our lunch, we headed to Meijer to get some items for the baby & other projects we are working on around our house. It was just a fun afternoon of being out & about, just the 2 of us (well, plus Adrienne, but she didn't make a peep the whole time!), almost like when we were dating, back 10 years ago!

This was a great little trip out & it was just what Nick & I needed to re-charge our mommy & daddy batteries. A stress-free lunch, good conversation, and a bit of shopping tossed in. It made me remember how much I love my husband!