C'mon Gabe! We're ready!

I am now 37 weeks and 4 days pregnant, which means I'm full term!  Yay!  With the showers and gift cards and money, we now have everything we need for the Gabe!  We are ready for him to come now!  (Tim's been ready for a while, but I feel much better about it now that we are prepared.  I even cleaned all the toys and pacifiers today!).  I don't know that I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions...I've been feeling different things but I don't know what it means!  That's what I think about most right now (besides the extreme pain that is coming my way, which I don't know if I will be able to handle or not): when is labor going to start and will I know it's starting??  :-)  I've been told that I'll know, but it's just not knowing when it's coming that bothers me.  I want to KNOW what to expect and when to expect it, but of course that is not possible.
At the doctor's office last week she said that he feels like he's about 6 pounds, and they typically gain half a pound a week, so if I go all the way to my due date, he'll probably be around 8 pounds.  I go back to the doctor every week now until I have the baby.
One thing we do lack is a house.  We had decided that our living expenses were too high in the townhome we're in now, so we put in our notice and will be moving when our lease is up on December 31st.  There is a couple at church who had been looking for a house to buy and rent out, and they have been looking for one for us to rent from them.  We got close to getting one a couple of months ago, but it didn't work out.  We've looked at a couple more and are going this afternoon to look at one that seems like the best one so far, as long as there's no structural problems, so hopefully something will work out soon.
For now, we're anxiously waiting for Gabriel to grace us with his presence!  :-)

Third Trimester, Here I Come!

Today marks 28 weeks!!  I can't believe I'm in my third trimester already!  I've really had an easy pregnancy so far (hopefully it stays that way through the delivery!).  I felt sick and tired during my first trimester, but never actually vomited, and besides the one day of REALLY wanting a Bic Mac, I haven't had any strong or strange cravings.  I went for a Glucose screening test a couple of weeks ago and it came back a little high, so I have to go next weekend to do a 3-hour glucose tolerance test to see if I have gestational diabetes.  I feel Gabe move all the time, and see my stomach jump when he kicks.  Tim has felt it once, but usually misses it.  :-)  Hopefully he'll get to feel it more as he grows.  It usually happens really quick, and when I tell Tim and he puts his hand on my belly, he doesn't move again.  Here is a picture of Tim and me from VBS where I dressed as "Pandamania Penny".  This was the 2nd week in August, and the next picture was taken today.

On Wednesday night, Tim and I had our first of many pre-natal education classes at the hospital.  It was C-Section night and we got to hear all about why they do C-sections and what the process is if you have to have one, and about the recovery process.  We also watched a video of a C-Section being performed.  It was pretty interesting, but made NOT want a C-Section!  But it made me feel better to hear the nurse say that they only do a C-Section if something is wrong with the baby and it's not just something you do because you're tired of pushing or you want to be done quickly.  I've heard a lot from people who are for natural childbirth that some doctors push for C-Sections because it's quicker and they get to go home faster, and it's more expensive.  We also got to tour the Beginnings Maternity Center and see all the different places we'll go: triage, labor and delivery, and if we have to have a C-section, where that happens, and the NICU and regular nursery.  Each woman gets a private room to labor and deliver and recover and they measure/weight/test the baby in the room and let you nurse the baby as soon as possible.  There is also a bassinet in the private postpartum room and the baby only goes to the nursery if you want to get a couple of hours of sleep or if the nurses need to check something out.  Otherwise, the baby is in your room at all times, which is really good.

School started on Monday, and we're off today and Monday for Labor Day.  It is very exhausting traveling with my student all day in that big middle school.  There is no air conditioning and we're constantly going up and down stairs to get from class to class.  But on Wednesday I had a voicemail from the district saying that they wanted me to come in for an interview on Friday for a math position at the Citadel, which is for 9th and 10th grade.  I went to that interview today and found out that there are actually 3 positions available at 3 different schools; 2 are contract positions and 1 is a long-term substitute position with the possibility of becoming permanent.  The 3 principals were there: from the middle school, Citadel, and High School.  The middle school position is for Pre-Algebra and Algebra 1, the Citadel is Algebra and Algebra 2, and the high school, which I think is the substitute job, is Algebra, Geometry and possibly some Trig.  I think it went well, and they have to submit the names to the school board for them to approve them when they meet on Wednesday, and then I would start.  I'm not sure if they offer the job before the names are approved...I'm assuming they call once the people are approved so I'm not expecting a call until next Thursday.  I'm still waiting to hear from Agora Cyber School to see if they want me to come in for another interview.  I emailed the person who had been emailing me throughout the process and let him know my situation and asked if they could tell me if Agora is still interested in me or not, but they are out of office until Tuesday.  

2 Posts In One Day??? Wow! :-)

Well, I just got home from my interview.  I think it went well.  It's always hard for me to know for sure and I don't like saying, "It went really well!" and then not get the job.  She asked A LOT of questions pertaining to my past experiences: "Tell me about a time when..." which I wasn't expecting, and she also said that if they are interested in me, I would have to come in for another interview with the director of the high school.  And she said that she was told today that it could take a couple of weeks before I hear anything because they have to look at their numbers again and decided how many openings they actually have.
So, I didn't get a feeling one way or the other of which way she was leaning.  But I did talk to her about being pregnant and it didn't seem to be a big deal, so that is good!
I will be sure to keep everyone posted on what happens next!

News, News, and More News

Yes, I know it's been a VERY long time since I've updated my blog.  I'm not sure why...haha.
Well, here's the latest:
I'll be 27 weeks pregnant tomorrow!  The second trimester has gone really smoothly.  Besides some lower back pain, I've been feeling great.  We had two ultrasounds and they both showed that he is a boy!  Tim is very excited (I am too, but he was dead set on having a boy), and we have enjoyed all the clothes and items that we have been getting in the mail!
Tim has started a new job at Michael's, unloading trucks from 3am-8am for a little extra money.  He only works on Wednesdays and every other Monday.  But the good news:  I have an interview with Agora Cyber Charter School tonight and I've already answered a questionnaire, taken an assessment, and presented a 20-minute lesson online to them, and this is the last step!  The process has gone pretty quickly (they called me 30 minutes after I finished my lesson yesterday to set up the interview!) and it seems like they are interested in me.  Hopefully I'll know something very soon and can start teaching for them!  I would work mostly from home.  I think they do activities for the kids to get together and I would be at those, but I'll find out how that works at my interview tonight.  But for the most part, I will be home, which is awesome!  Tim said that if I get this job, he will probably stay with Michael's until after Christmas, and then quit.
We had decided that if I didn't get a teaching job this fall, we would need to move to a more affordable place, but after thinking about it some more, we decided that we should move no matter what.  People at the church have been very helpful and are looking for cheap places for us to live.  One couple is looking for a place to buy and rent to us (this is something they already do), and another couple is considering moving into the house next door to them (the husband's mother's house), and letting us live in their house and split their mortgage payments!!  We are overwhelmed by the generosity we are being shown here and are so thankful for these people and have full confidence that we will be taken care of.  :-)  Moving won't be fun, but I'm sure we'll have a lot of help when the time comes.
Our first pre-natal education class is on August 31st at the hospital.  It is Cesarean Birth Night and Tour, where we learn about why women have C-sections and everything that goes with that and then we get a tour of the maternity ward.  We have three birthing classes in September and then a couple on breastfeeding and a doctor's night where we get to talk to an anesthesiologist, an obstetrician, and one other type of doctor that I can't remember right now, and then a newborn baby class.  I'm excited for these classes and to learn everything I can.  I've been reading a lot on these subjects, and have a book on the Bradley Method of natural child-birth.  I'm going to try to use his techniques to have a medication-free birth, but we'll see how reality works.  :-)  I'm not against epidurals and doing what is medically necessary for a safe delivery but according to Dr. Bradley, the more natural it is, the quicker it goes (and if you can totally relax during contractions it's less painful), so I'm all for that!
Ok, well that is all for now and I have to get ready for me interview!  I'll be sure to update with the results as soon as I know them!
P.S.  We got to experience an earthquake that was centered in Virginia on Tuesday, and will experience the effects of Hurricane Irene on Saturday night/Sunday!  It'll be a fun week on natural disasters! :-)

12 Weeks!!

Wow!  12 weeks pregnant!  I can't believe it!  Here is a picture of me taken yesterday (Sunday) at 12 weeks and 2 days!  Several of the girls at school today were rubbing my belly.  :-)  And the kids keep asking if it's a boy or girl.  I wish I knew!

In other news, GO MAVS!!!!  We're not afraid of no Thunder!  Shame on my brother for rooting for OKC, but he's always been fidgety when it comes to what sports team he roots for. (As far as college sports and basketball is concerned).  I just wish the games didn't start so late.  Game One is at 9 pm here, which is my bedtime.  I should be able to see the games online, but I don't know how long I'll be able to stay up to watch them. 

Tonight I am going to our church's Women's Fellowship picnic.  We are supposed to bring a side dish, and I made my grandma's Mexican Salad.  This is the third time I've attempted it, and it actually worked (before I always butchered the tomatoes, and then just gave up).  I bought canned diced tomatoes this time.  :-)  Hopefully it tastes good!

Toby has recently forgotten where he is supposed to poop.  He's been doing it on the carpet...coming in after his walk and doing it on the carpet!!  He'll do it overnight/early in the morning before we get up too, so we are putting him back in his crate.  Two nights ago he wouldn't stop barking, and I heard our neighbor man yelling very loudly, so I let him out.  I didn't know if he was yelling because of the dog, but I didn't want to take any chances of having an angry man at our door, so I just let Toby out of the crate.  Last night we moved his crate into our bedroom (from the kitchen) hoping it would prevent the barking and it did!  He whined a little, and scratched at the gate, but it was nothing that a few squirts from the water bottle wouldn't take care of.  :-)  And he pooped OUTSIDE this morning and this afternoon!  :-)  Although, he did pee on the carpet this morning before I got a chance to take him out...tomorrow I'll just leave him in the crate until the minute I'm ready to take him outside.

Only 18 more days of school!!!  I got a call from the Pennsylvania Dept. of Education today saying that I am being granted the 7-9 Math Certification because my degree program was middle level.  Even though I passed the 7-12 Math Praxis test, I have to fill out another form and give them another $100 to "add on" the 7-12 endorsement.  Stupid.  The lady even said that I don't have to take another test because I've already taken the 7-12 test...so WHY DON'T YOU GIVE ME THE 7-12 CERTIFICATION?  Answer: Because they want to get as much money as they can.  It wouldn't be that big of a deal except the two math jobs to which I've applied require 7-12 certification!  :-/  So annoying.

Well, on that note, I hope everyone has a marvelous Monday (what's left of it!).

Update

So you know how I said my doctor didn't do an ultrasound or listen to the heart beat or anything which I thought was weird?  Well, after reading online about it, turns out that's normal.  Most doctors don't do an ultrasound until 20 weeks (which is what my doctor is doing) and that's the only one they do unless there are problems.  I go back in 2 weeks and we'll hear the heartbeat.  Since there is a history of twins in my family I am anxious to find out just how many babies we're having.  :-)  Tim even said what if we have triplets because my family has fraternal and identical twins so I could drop two eggs, and then one could split?  Haha.  That would be crazy!  Highly unlikely, of course. 

First Dr's Appointment A Success...I guess...

Well, Tim and I went to our first doctor's appointment on Monday.  It was kind of a let down actually.  The doctor just did an exam and talked to us a little to answer my questions.  They didn't even confirm the pregnancy!  They told me I was 11 weeks and 3 days along, which I already knew, and confirmed my due date as November 25th soley based on the calendar, nothing medical.  No ultrasound, no listening to the heartbeat to make sure he/she is alive.  She said they do ultrasounds at 20 weeks, and I'll come back in 2 weeks and we'll listen to the heartbeat.  My friend Kristen, who is also pregnant, has had an ultrasound at every doctor's visit, starting at 6 weeks I think.  The last one she had showed that she is a little more farther along than originally thought based on the size of the baby.  So she's 12 weeks, and I'll be 12 weeks on Friday.  I did fill out a medical history form, but no one talked to me about it, and I didn't think to mention the history of twins in my family.  I guess at our next appointment we'll know if it's twins or not based on the heartbeat.  I will mention it and maybe get an early ultrasound.  They supposedly have state-of-the-art ultrasound equipment so why can't we use it??  I was really looking forward to at least hearing the baby.  How do they know that it's growing at the correct rate?  Maybe I'm farther along than I thought?  What if there is more than one baby?  It is frustrating, but the doctor was really nice so I didn't think of these things until we left.  There are 4 doctors in this practice so I may see a different one next time.  The one we saw on Monday doesn't do deliveries anymore, so whichever one of the other three is on call when I go into labor will deliver the baby.  I did get a bag full of information that I've been reading, including the 2011 Target Baby Catelog, which is awesome because that is where I want to register.  Babies 'R Us is just too expensive, and there's not a good Walmart close to us.  Target has lots of cute stuff and is kind of middle ground, price-wise.
So, hopefully we'll have more exciting news to share after our next appointment which is on May 24th.

Happy Friday!

I am now 11 weeks along today!  Here is what babycenter.com has to say about my baby's development:

Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.
She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

This picture is a 3-D ultrasound of an 11-week old fetus. It is also from babycenter.com.  Hopefully I will have a similar picture after my appointment on Monday!! :-)

Last Sunday was "Youth Sunday" and the youth praise band led worship, and some of the guys led the prayer time, communion, and offering prayers and passed the trays, which was a first for most of them, and they did a very good job.  Tim preached on baptism, and did an excellent job, as usual.  This coming week, he is going to be leading the worship with Brenda, the piano player.  We are slowly transitioning to having more live instruments during worship.  Right now, it's just Brenda playing the piano, no one leading with a microphone and for half the songs, we sing along with a recording.  My preference is still a capella, but most of the members here do not have that type of backgroud and don't know how to sing in parts.

Only 25 more days of school left!!!  I'm really looking forward to the summer!  Our friend Angie's mom has a pool and Angie has said we can hang out with her there anytime we want and I fully intend on taking her up on that offer as much as possible!  I have applied to work summer school, which is only 6 weeks, half-days Monday - Thursday, but I haven't heard anything yet.  I don't know when they will be making their decisions about staffing.  I will be gone the first two weeks of summer school because I am going to Florida!!  My grandparents and aunt Mitzi are coming up June 18 and then they are going down to visit Jason and Melody the next week, and I decided to go with them! I will be there a week and a half, flying back on July 2.  Then, Tim and I will be in Ohio the next week with Shelley and Sally for the North American Christian Convention.  I am excited about this because one of the speakers is going to be Francis Chan!   It should be awesome!

There are two math teacher positions open in two other districts that I will be applying for.  It's a little confusing trying to get all the paperwork together because they both require proof of all the clearances from the state (child abuse, background check, etc.).  I haven't been having any "morning" sickness lately but I am still pretty tired when I get home, and haven't had the energy to figure everything out.  Hopefully  I can get it done today or tomorrow and get the applications in.  I found out after I applied to the last one that they actually don't have any vacancies right now; they are just accepting applications. 

The Mavs have apparently been doing well, up 2-0.  I haven't been able to see any of the games yet, but I should be able to watch tonight's game on ESPN 3 online, so that is exciting!

Gotta go...so hope everyone has a great weekend!

Spring Finally Arrived!

The weather finally got nice, and I am so happy!  :-D It just puts me in a good mood.  Work is going better too.  Also, I applied to a math teaching position in the Exeter School District last Wednesday, so we'll see if anything comes of that.  Tim decided to start up our tutoring services again for extra money, and he got his first client today.  They bought a "package" of sessions so it's $250 up front.  That is good news too.  :-)
I have a cold, and I talked to the OB doctor at church about what is safe for me to take and she suggested Clariten first.  So, I started taking that today so hopefully it will work.  I pretty much have seasonal allergies, and was told when we moved here that your allergies get worse from living here, so that is wonderful. :-) 
My first doctor's appointment is two weeks from yesterday!  I'm very excited to go and see my baby!  Hopefully it is healthy and normal!  I don't think we'll be able to find out the sex, but somewhere around 17-20 weeks we can.  I really want to know what it is so I can decide on a nursery theme.  I have some ideas, but I don't know for sure what I want to do.
One last thing, on Hillside's new website, http://www.hillsidepa.org/, you can WATCH videos of the sermons now.   Tim has one up from a few weeks ago, and he is preaching this coming Sunday, May 1st, so look for that one to be up next week!
Hope everyone has a great rest of the week!

8 Weeks!

I made it to the two-month mark!  Here is how my baby is developing according to http://www.babycenter.com/:
New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.
Yesterday I had a bazzar experience.  Tim and I were putting groceries in our car at the store and a man drove up asking directions to a restaurant.  I walked away to put the cart away as Tim was talking to him.  On my way back to the car I see the man jerk his head and make some kind of loud noise, and then drive off.  When we got in the car Tim told me that after he gave the directions the man started to say thank you, but sneezed, so it went something like, "A CHOOOO! Thank you!" and for some reason, the situation and the way Tim said it just struck me as hillarious and I started laughing and couldn't stop.  I was laughing for a good 5 minutes or so, and then all of a sudden started bawling.  Now, I have laughed so hard I cried before, but this felt different.  I was leaning forward, laughing then all this emotion just started pouring out, and I'm making sobbing noises and I look at Tim and say, "I don't think I'm laughing anymore."  But as soon as I said that, I did start laughing and then I was laughing and crying at the same time.  Talk about mood swing!  That was a really strange one!!  On the way home from school earlier that afternoon I was thinking about my dad for some reason and just reliving everything that happened, and I think that kind of slipped in my brain when I was laughing which could have triggered the crying but I'm not sure.  It was a weird feeling though!
And then this morning when I was bending over to get something, a nerve in my lower back spasmed and it's been hurting all day.  I can barely get out of a chair, and walking is a chore.  This is not good since Tim and I have a 6 hour car ride tonight to Boston.  The only thing I can take is Tylenol, and it hasn't helped.
Well, those are my crazy pregnancy stories!  Hope you have a great weekend!

Happy Hump Day!

Well, I've had my first major craving.  Monday night I was really wanting a Big Mac from McDonald's.  Don't ask me why because I've never had one!  But it was bed time so I just ignored it and went to bed, and decided I could have one the next day.  On Tuesday morning, I packed a can of soup for lunch, but when lunch time came around, I REALLY wanted that Big Mac.  I texted Tim, who was home, and asked if he could bring me one.  Because he is such a wonderful, caring, compassionate, husband, he did!  It took a while, and I only had 4 minutes to eat once he got there, but don't you know I finished the burger and fries with time to spare! :-)  I have to say I wasn't that impressed with the famous Big Mac.  It was good, but I think I still prefer the Quarter Pounder with Cheese.
I haven't been really craving anything else specific, except I've been eating a lot of cheese.  I'll just grab a couple of slices from the fridge a couple of times a day.
I was looking online the other day for teaching jobs, and actually found one!  A district nearby has an opening for a secondary math teacher, so I've been trying to get everything I need to apply online. (Just waiting on my letters of recommendation)  If I could teach for a few years it would really help pull us out of debt quickly and we won't have to move.  Our townhome is pretty expensive, and if I stay as an assistant we will probably have to move after our lease is up in December to help cut costs.
Well, the cat has done it.  He attacked me again yesterday.  He didn't actually bite me, but he tried, so I moved all of his things to the basement and locked him in there.  He's allowed to be out during the day when Tim is home and I'm not, and I haven't locked him up today, but his stuff is not coming back up so hopefully he'll be down there more often, and especially when the baby is here, Max will be kept in the basement with the door closed.
So I'll be 7 weeks pregnant on Friday.  Here is a picture from babycenter.com of what the embryo looks like and here is what they said about his/her development this week:

The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.
If you could see inside your womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body.

Baby On Board

Well, I don't know if there is anyone who reads this who doesn't know, but I am pregnant, or "preggers" as kids say these days.  This will be my 6th week, and my first doctor's appointment is on May 9th, which will be the beginning of my 12th week.  Before I got pregnant, Tim and I had talked about when we would tell people.  I said I wanted to tell right away because I didn't think I would be able to wait, and he wanted to wait until after the first trimester, when the risk of miscarriage goes down.  But on Monday of this week, Tim decided it would be okay to tell people and have them be praying for it.  Last weekend we went to a lab to get a urinalysis and blood test, and the results were emailed to me on Monday, and silly me, I misread it, and thought the blood test results were not listed, and thought it was the urine test that said "positive", so I told everyone that the urine test was positive, but we were still waiting on the blood test.  But in reality, the "positive" was from the blood test!  So, it is official, and I'm excited to go to the doctor and get an ultrasound.  If I get a picture, I will be sure to post it!!  :-)
Yes, Tim and I want to know the sex of the baby and we do have names picked out: if it's a girl, Chloe Grace; if it's a boy, Gabriel Keith, who will be called "Gabe."  I'm tending to lean towards wanting a girl, and Tim is sure that is going to be a boy, but we'd be happy with either, of course. 
So far, this week has been my hardest week as far as sickness.  I usually feel nauseated in the late afternoon, and I have a cold/cough so that doesn't help things.  But no vomiting so that's a good thing!
Tim and I are very excited and happy for this new blessing in our lives, and I will update everyone with events as they happen!!

Ready for the Weekend!

Where is the spring weather???  It snowed the last two nights!  I'm ready for 70-degree weather!

My FriendSpeak meeting went well on Sunday.  9 people came, which is more than I was expecting!  I called the FriendSpeak office to find out how they can all get trained.  There is an online training for individuals that costs $45, but I was hoping I could use my account and show it to the whole group and train together, and the lady said I could!  After our meeting I was talking to a lady that meets with the Spanish speaking group on Sundays, and was telling her about the program, and she was very interested to start.  I will be reading with her on Sundays after the service.  I'm excited to see what God does through this ministry.

Last week I found out about a Christian school that is about 30 minutes away, in Pottstown, and I emailed them asking if they had any math teacher openings.  The principal wrote back and said they don't have anything right now, but they are looking to expand in the near future and requested my resume and references.  I think teaching at a Christian school would be the best place for me.  I just don't handle urban kids very well.  I would like to teach at a school that teaches Christian values, and has smaller class sizes.  :-)  We'll see what happens. 

Well, Tim did it.  He canceled our cable.  At least most of it.  Because of the promotion we were under with our internet and cable combo, it was cheaper to keep basic cable and not have our internet charges go up than to get rid of it all together.  That will be saving us over $100 a month!  And we still get Fox and NBC for House, American Idol, Glee, and The Office.  (Tim is only happy about two of those.)

I have officially disowned Max.  The other night he attacked me for no reason; I was just walking to the bed, and he left two huge marks on my arm, plus two smaller ones, and I already had a scratch that was healing on my hand from when he bit me a couple of days earlier.  I told Tim that I have had it.  We can either put him down, give him to the shelter, or he can live in the basement.  None of those have happened yet, but he has left me alone, so until it happens again, he is on very thin ice with me.  And I will put my foot down and send him downstairs to live alone if he does it again.  I am tired of getting bitten and having ugly marks all over my arms.

Well, on that happy note, hope everyone has a great Friday tomorrow!  Woo hoo!!  It's the weekend!!! :-)

It's Been a While!

Sorry for the lack of posts!  I tried to do a couple of video blogs, but couldn't get them uploaded.  I tried doing it directly to YouTube but my Mac was having issues.  Hopefully I'll figure out how to get it to work and can start putting videos of myself up instead of writing.

Anyway, a couple of things that have been happening are one, I'm trying to start a FriendSpeak ministry at Hillside.  When I went to Brazil and Panama for Let's Start Talking, it was the FriendSpeak material that we used.  FriendSpeak is the local version of Let's Start Talking.  We would advertise lessons in town, and have people from our church read with whoever came.  I am having a meeting on Sunday to see who's interested and hopefully it will be a success!

Also, I took my 7-12 Math Praxis test last Saturday.  I was really nervous going into it because I didn't feel as prepared as I should have been, and the official practice test from the company was really hard.  But my test was actually easy!  I couldn't believe it!  Most of the questions were pretty straight forward and I knew what to do.  I only had to blindly guess on one problem, and there were probably about 5 or so that I had to make an educated guess on.  But I'm pretty confident I got at least half of them right, which is what I needed to pass.  My score will be up on their website four weeks from the test date.  Once I pass that test, I can apply for teacher certification.  In the mean time, I will be requesting transcripts, and info from LCU and get all my paperwork in order so it's ready to go when I get my score.

My mom also came to town last Saturday (in the afternoon after my test) and stayed until Wednesday afternoon.  She flew into Philadelphia and had always wanted to see the city, so we saw all the historical sites there, including Independence Hall, Ben Franklin's burial site, Betsy Ross's house, and we saw the Liberty Bell from the outside because the line was too long to go inside and see it up close.  Since I am still in my probationary period for my job, I couldn't get off work, so she hung out with Tim during the day, and he took her on a tour of an Amish farm, which is something else she really wanted to see, and she got several jars of jams and syrup, and a couple of Amish cookbooks.  It was really good to see her, and I'm excited to see G-ma, G-pa, and Mitzi this summer!

Well, that's all the news I have right now, so until next time (whenever that is! ;-p)....TTFN! 

I'm a Working Woman!

Well, I finally had orientation yesterday morning, and then we were told to go to our schools, but it was an early release day, so by the time I got there, the kids were gone and I got to sit through most of a faculty meeting that had nothing to do with me. :-) 
Today I actually "worked".  My job is to sit with my student and make sure he stays focused on what he's doing and doesn't touch anyone (Or just tell him, "Don't touch" when he does).  It was pretty funny though, because he said he didn't like my last name so he was trying to come up with a different one, and was just going through the last names of other students and saying my first name with their last name, but I don't think he actually decided on one.
I had to take a nap this afternoon because I was so tired from sitting all day. :-)  But I guess it's better to have too little to do than too much? 
Tim and I hosted the youth group for the Super Bowl, and we had a good time.  Yay for the Packers!!  We didn't know how Toby would react to having so many people in the house, so we let everyone give him a piece of a dog treat so he would be friendly.  It seemed to work.  We didn't have any problems with him until toward the end of the game.  I was holding him in my lap in the kitchen (we put chairs and our TV from the bedroom in the kitchen for overflow from the living room, which ended up being the adults and me), and a kid was standing next to me, swinging his leg back and forth, and it apparently upset Toby, because he jumped from my lap to attack the kid!  I don't know that he bit him hard, if at all but he jumped on him and started barking at him.  And then he would grow at anyone who came up to pet him.  After most people had left, and there were three boys left, one came up to pet him when he was in Tim's lap, and he leaped at him and tried to bite his arm!  I don't know what is up with that dog.
On another note, (no pun intended) Glee is new tonight after having a new episode Sunday after the Super Bowl!  :-)  Yay!  But I have to study before it comes on because I haven't studied in a couple of days! *Gasp*  But I did better on the last practice test I took than I did on the first one.  I was four questions away from passing on the first test, and I passed the second, so hopefully that means I'll do well on the real thing. 
I hope everyone has a great week!! :-)

No More Snow! No More Snow!

That is me protesting against the snow that is coming!  The school district has moved my orientation AGAIN to NEXT Monday because we are supposed to get lots of snow Tuesday night and all day Wednesday and it's supposed to be icy as well.  Am I ever going to get to work???  Not that I mind having free time, but it would be nice to be earning a paycheck!  Although, God has really provided for us, and we're doing ok, but this is a little ridiculous.  Is He trying to teach me patience or something??? :-)  And what about the student I'm supposed to be working with?  Is he/she just without an aide?  Poor kid.  I'm so glad we moved out of Anchorage and all the snow...
I guess I have more time to study now!  Yay!  :-/  I took an official practice test on Friday after studying for several hours, trying to grasp, again, what a derivative is and I was 4 questions short of passing.  Tim was helping me with some of the questions I missed and helped me realize that I actually could have solved some of the ones I didn't think I knew because I just got overwhelmed with the question and thought I had no idea how to do it.  So, even though I didn't score nearly high enough for my liking, it did help my confidence to see that I wasn't as far off on the scoring part as I thought I would be. 
Well, Tim and I did have fun in the snow last week when we went sledding on the big hill at the church building.  The snow was so high, that we sunk down when we sat on it, so we had to drag ourselves down a couple of times to make a track smooth enough to slide down.  But once we did, it was fun!  (Climbing up after going down was not as fun, but what goes down, must come up, right? ;-p).  We brought Toby too, and after I went down the first time, he really wanted to come save me, so Tim let him go and he ran down the hill to me, and then I let him go back up to Tim, thinking he would stop when he got to the top, but he didn't.  He ran into the parking lot, made a huge circle around it to the back of the church building, where the snow was really deep, and that slowed him down enough for Tim to catch up to him and grab him.  It was HILARIOUS.  I wish I had gotten it on tape, but Tim had the camera.  :-) 
One last thing, GO PACKERS!!!  We're having the youth group over at our house for the Super Bowl.  It should be fun.  You may think I'm crazy for rooting for the Packers against the Steelers in Pennsylvania, but first, I have a family member on the Packers!  What's his name again?  Something Wells...  :-)  And there are more Eagles fans here than Steelers because we're much closer to Philadelphia.  I did find out last night at youth group that one of the girls is a big Steelers fans.  Oh well.
Have a good week everyone! :-)

Good Things!

Well, the soda maker makes pretty good soda!  It's not exactly the same as the name brands, but it's pretty good! 
This past weekend was a good one.  Ruth, Tim's mom, came in on Saturday for Tim's ordination on Sunday.  It was the first time Toby had met anyone else in our home, and he didn't give the best impression, I'm sorry to say.  He growled at her when she came in and showed his teeth.  She had brought two toys for him, so she got them out, hoping to win him over.  It worked!  He loved his new toys: a green frog and a plush hamburger, then she called him and turned to walk to the couch, and he ran after her, jumped up, and bit her!!  I thought he was playing at first, because he likes to jump up on us to say "hello" and get patted, but he was not being nice!!  We scolded him and he knew right away that he did a bad thing, and went into the kitchen.  Later that night, we let Ruth give him a treat, and then he was her friend, although he did growl a couple of other times before she left, but he cuddled with her.  So, we learned that strangers need to be cautious with him, and maybe we'll have everyone who comes over give him a treat so he'll like them! :-)
Sunday was a special day.  Tim preached, was officially installed as the Associate Minister of Hillside, (they wanted to wait until after the holidays when everyone was back in town), and was ordained by the congregation.  I am so proud of him!  He is so smart, and is such a good man of God, and I am so lucky to be married to him.

Well, the snow just won't stop!  We are supposed to get 8 inches today, and the receptionist at the school district administration building called and said because of the weather, the board meeting which was supposed to be today, was moved to Monday, which means my orientation has been pushed to February 2nd.   Will I ever be able to work?  Haha...just kidding.  It just gives me more time to study!!!  I have less than two months until my math test, and I studied for several hours last night, going over some Pre-Calculus concepts that I haven't seen in a while, and today I'm going to start going through my Calculus book.  Yay!  :-/  When I was taking Calculus in high school, my motto for this subject was, "Calculus is from the devil!"  But I am ready to take it on again, and I was thinking yesterday when I took a break from studying to cook dinner that I don't like studying, but at least it's math, which is something I do enjoy!  I like doing practice problems, the reading and trying to understand how to do them is the hard part, but once I get it, it's fun! :-)  I know I'm a math nerd, and I'm proud of it!!
Hope everyone has a good rest of the week!

Awesomeness!

Tim and I are hanging out with another couple from church tomorrow night and she said she will make hot cocoa from scratch for us, and I was like, "Wow, I've never had hot cocoa from scratch before, I didn't even know that was possible!"  And Tim was like, "Yeah, you ground up your own cocoa, and you don't have all the preservatives and you can use whatever kind of organic sweetener you want." (I've been on this thing recently about not consuming aspartame and high fructose corn syrup, except that it's in EVERYTHING and I don't make anything from scratch.  So this randomly gets me thinking this morning about soda and how we would ever make it from scratch, (Not that I would actually do it if we knew how.) so today when I was going through boxes in the guest room I found two Bed, Bath and Beyond gift cards, $150 worth, so Tim and I just went and guess what we found!!!  A home soda maker!!!  And the best part is for the diet soda there is no aspartame, and for the regular, no high fructose corn syrup!!!!  You buy a machine that carbonates the water, and then you get different mixes.  They have their own mixes for Coke, Diet Coke, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Orange soda, Pink Grapefruit Fresca, even Red Bull and some others.  It's called SodaStream, and it's supposed to save money in the long run with the cost of buying soda.  The mixes are 5 bucks, and make 6 liters and the carbonator, which is $15 to replace, is supposed to last for 60 liters.  So now I won't have to worry about Tim drinking so much diet soda, and I won't feel as guilty for drinking it when I do.  (I've been trying to cut back!)
Just wanted to share my excitement over our new purchase!!  I hope everyone has a lovely evening!

Meet Toby

Toby is a one- to one and a half- (the shelter wasn't sure) year-old Lhasa Apso mix.  We got him from a shelter here and he was a stray and had only been there for about 2 weeks.  Tim had a Lhasa when he was younger and said it was the best dog, so he immediately fell in love with him.  I have to admit, when I first saw his picture, I wasn't impressed, but when we saw him in person at the shelter, he was so cute and lovable I couldn't resist.  He has long hair so he doesn't shed, but will need to be brushed and groomed.  He really needs a bath, but he was just "fixed" on Friday so we'll have to wait until he heals.  Tim and I were both worried about how he was going to get along with Evil Cat Max.  At the shelter when one of the employees asked if we had any other pets, and we told her we had a cat, she took Toby (then "Richard") through the cat room, and he was fine, wasn't really interested in the cats, although they all were behind bars, so we still weren't sure what would happen once we got home.  We both agreed that we wouldn't force them to meet but let Max do his own thing and interact as he felt comfortable.  Of course, Max was not happy with him, but he didn't run and hide either.  Toby wanted to play a few times, but once he saw Max getting upset, he left him alone, so it's been really good.  Max still is unsure about him, but is actually trying to get closer, without Toby noticing.  But once Toby sees him and tries to make contact, Max runs away.  And if we pick Max up anywhere near Toby, Max gets really upset and starts hissing and growling.  I think the key is to not let Max feel trapped and just let him adjust in his own way.  He'll get comfortable with his new little brother eventually and maybe one day even LIKE him! :-)  And for those who have never hear of the Lhasa Apso breed before (I hadn't, when we found him), here are a couple of pictures of pure bred Lhasas and what they can look like.  I kind of want to grow his hair out and see what it looks like.  We don't know what breed he is mixed with.

In other news, I got a job!  I will be a teacher's assistant for Autistic support, one-on-one.  I don't even remember what school the lady said on the phone, so I'll have to figure that out, but I think it's an elementary school.  I had to get a drug test, physical, and TB test.  Everything's done except I have to go back tomorrow to get my TB test read, and then take the paperwork to the school district, and then I can start.  I'm very excited!  It sounds like something I will enjoy.  And it's full-time with benefits which is what I needed.  And on top of that, the church is going to pay for the cost for Tim to be covered by the school district on my plan!  We were not expecting that at all, so we are very thankful for that!  God has really provided for us since we've moved here.  We'll just randomly get money in the mail, or someone will just say, "Hey I want to give you money," and every time it reminds us how good God is, and if you just live for Him, he will provide everything you need! :-)

Interview Went Well!

I had my interview with Reading School District today and it went really well.  They were not specific about what position is actually available, but made a note that I would enjoy Emotional Support or Austism Support (since that is the kind of work I did in Anchorage).  There are full-time and part-time positions available, and I told her I would prefer full-time, so hopefully that's what happens.  I will have to get my CPR and First Aid certification if I get the job, which the school district offers.
I should hear back from them in a week or two, so I'll let everyone know what happens.
Well, not too much to say besides that.  I knew people were wanting to hear about the interview, so I thought I'd do a post for it.  :-)

Well this has been a pretty good week.  I got all my clearances I need to be employed by the school district, applied to Reading School District for their education assistant positions on Wednesday and they called me to schedule an interview on Friday.  It should be full-time, according to the ones that are listed on their website, which is awesome because I had called the district before I applied and I was told that the full-time assistants do get benefits.  And talking to a teacher from church who teaches in this district, she said that their benefits are really good.  This is pretty much an urban district, and I have been warned that it's not the easiest district to teach in, but if you stay with it a year or two, you become very employable by other districts if you want to leave.  So, my interview is on Wednesday at 11:40 Eastern Time.  It won't be much money, but it will be enough for now, and depending on what kind of students I will be working with, I think I will enjoy it because I loved being the teacher assistant in Anchorage.  I am still working toward my certification though.  I even bought a book yesterday (after spending almost 5 hours at Barnes and Noble) called "Your First Year as a High School Teacher" because it has a lot of good information, and reminders for me about how to set up your classroom, organization ideas, how to set up rules, and lessons, etc.  All of these things will be helpful for me if/whenever I go back to teaching.  It also is helping me get excited about teaching again.  I have really learned from my first two experiences in middle school and high school and feel like I'm ready and in a better place that I could succeed if I tried again. (Third time's a charm, right?)  I have much more realistic expectations of my student's behavior, and I know now how important it is to be firm and consistent from the beginning because you easily lose control if you make empty threats and don't have any consequences to go with them.
Today we had our first rehearsal with the youth/adult contemporary praise band.  With the exception of the drummers not always keeping the tempo steady and not knowing how to end the songs, it went pretty well! :-)  Tonight is our big "kick off" night for youth group at someone's house and Tim's going to just have the kids fill out info cards and we're going to eat and play games.  Hopefully the play-off game won't keep kids from showing up.  The Eagles play two hours before it starts.
We also went to the young adult Bible study on Friday night.  The leader, Dan, was telling us about a leap of faith he's making this coming week.  He's quitting his job for another job that pays half as much as he's making now.  He said that they guys he works with now are not Christians and not good influences, and the guy he's going to work for is a good Christian man, and it's just a better environment.  And what struck me most is that he said he was inspired by Tim and me to do it!  Because of the sacrifice we've made to come here, it helped him to make this decision.  Wow!  I inspired someone??  Who'da thunk it!  :-)  I'm just glad God can work like that.  Use a decision we made as an encouragement to someone else.  I know it was a leap of faith for us to come here, take the pay cut, and trust that we would survive, but it didn't feel too difficult because I wanted to come, and the people have made us feel so welcome, it's been a blessing!!
I hope everyone has a great week!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2011!  I hope everyone had a fun and safe New Year's Eve.  Tim and I went over to Shelley's house (the preacher at Hillside) and ate some really good enchiladas and played Hand and Foot, Speed Scrabble (which I very much prefer over regular Scrabble), and Win, Lose, or Draw.  It was a lot of fun.
Yesterday afternoon Tim and I went exploring.  We were told of a market called Green Dragon that is open every Friday, so we went to check it out yesterday.  It is a huge flea market with all kinds of things for sale, including food made by the Amish.  It was pretty neat.  Definitely somewhere we'll want to go back to when we actually have money to spend. 

I don't particularly like to make official new year resolutions because I typically don't fulfill them.  A few years ago I made the resolution to become ambidextrous, and I actually worked at it for several weeks, trying to do things with my left hand, but eventually gave up.  I do have one goal (besides of course losing weight and reading my Bible) of growing out my hair and donating it to Locks of Love.  I would like to be more generous and not so focused on myself but make a better effort to give to others.  I think it's good to reflect on your life and think about what you need to change.  We are told by God to examine ourselves, but we need to remember that we should be doing that on a regular basis, not just on the first day of each year.
So, happy new year, and I hope everyone takes time to think about how you can improve yourself, and maybe help others.  God bless!