3 weeks of guests

Working at Logos Prep has its perks but it also has some obstacles we have to work through.  LP starts 3 weeks earlier than public schools so we had to find childcare for the kids for 3 weeks in August.  We asked our parents and they all graciously agreed to come help us out (1 week each) and keep the kids while I had to work.

The first set of grand-parents were my dad and Ella.  Nana & Tata don't get to make it to Houston much because they both have very busy schedules.  They drove over on a Monday night (August 7) and arrived around midnight.  Tuesday I had a workday so they made it just in time.  The took care of the kids during the day while I was at work and then we would hang out in the evenings.  They also ventured out and took the kids to meet Lorenzo for lunch one day and went to IKEA for lunch on another day.  It was really nice having them for the week because we don't spend a lot of time with them.  They stayed through Thursday night and we ate breakfast Friday before they left to drive back to MS.

fun times with Tata & Nana

eating at Pei Wei one night

Saturday August 12th was when our next pair arrived, Gran & Papaw. They drove down from OK on Saturday and made it to our house Saturday evening, after the kids were in bed.  The kids were not yet asleep, so when they arrived, they got to go in and kiss the kids.  We went to church on Sunday and hung out, I guess.  I don't really remember (yikes).  This was my first week of work at LP so I had to work MWF from 9:15-1:15 but I needed to be there early.  Mr. Paul brought me to work and picked me up at 1:30.  For dinner that night, we ate at the Empanada House in Houston and B met us there after work.  After dinner, B took his parents back to UHD with him to show them around.  I'm glad they had that time with him and it was after hours.  I was home Tuesday  with everyone so we met Anna in Katy and jumped at the Trampoline place because she had free passes.  Then we went back to her house and the kids swam for a while before heading back home to Richmond.  Wednesday I had to work again so we repeated the same process from Monday to Wednesday.  Thursday I was home, but I can't remember what we even did, and then Friday I had to work again.  Friday night Vicki made mac & cheese for us and that's exactly what I wanted because we had CG Prelims the following day.  P/V were going to stay and watch us compete and then drive back to OK.  They changed their minds though and stayed an extra night so they could hear B teach at church.  Saturday night we had a family meal with P/V and M/M family in Houston.  It was at a really nice hotel restaurant in downtown Houston.  Our time with P/V is always nice and we look forward to when they retire and move closer.

Our last pair of sitters were Gram & Granddad.  They arrived Sunday afternoon just in time for us to unpack their car and then head to Awana.  While the kids were at Awana, the adults went to Wendy's for a quick meal.  We weren't terribly hungry, but wanted something light.  Since it was a Sunday night, I had school the next morning so we did not stay up too late.  I worked Monday and Wednesday and the kids stayed with Gram & Granddad.  We hung out together on Tuesday & Thursday because I was off.  Our plans changed at the end of the week because of Hurricane Harvey.  Since the storm was projected to hit Friday, school was cancelled and Gram & Granddad left Friday morning instead of Saturday.  It's a good thing they did because the storm did hit Friday and it ended up wrecking havoc on our city for weeks and weeks. 

SACSCOC Conference

We've enjoyed tagging along with B in July when he attends the SACSCOC conference.  We've been to Orlando, FL with him, and this summer it was in Grapevine, TX at the Gaylord Texan Resort.  We were a little bummed that W had his broken arm so he couldn't swim, but we made the most of it.  We left MS on Saturday and got to Grapevine in time for dinner.  We met up with Joe and the kids later that night in the hotel lobby for the laser light show.

The hotel theme for the summer was Alice in Wonderland.  Every day there was a movie shown and we watched one of those one afternoon.  They also had big, life size checkers we could play.

One night for dinner, we met Uncle Waldon and Sandra for dinner at Rain Forest Cafe at the Grapevine Mills Mall.  It was really nice to see them and we appreciated them making the trip to see us. The conference ended Wednesday, so we packed up and drove home as soon as B was finished.  We were ready to be home since we'd been gone for almost 2 weeks.  Plus, W had a doctor appointment to get his hard cast on.

Summer of 2017, the conference is in Austin, and we are looking forward to that since we haven't been to Austin yet. 

the water park with 3 water slides

Gaylord Texan pool

My New Job

Well it's not my "new" job anymore.  I've been working at Logos Prep for 10 weeks now and I love it.  I have missed teaching so much and didn't realize it until getting back in the classroom.

Last spring (April), B and I talked about me getting a job at a public school now that W was going into Kindergarten and E would be the only one at home.  I applied at LCISD and had an interview at Reading Jr. High.  I met with the principal there and the interview went great.  He did not have any math openings and I consider that a good thing when all the math teachers are returning to the school.  At least I took the time to meet him and I'll be on his radar for future openings.  After my interview at Reading, I had two interviews at The Saint Constantine School, in Houston.  It's a new private school opening up and they are renting space from CBS.  After the second interview, I heard from them that their enrollment was not at as high as they were expecting so they were pausing all hiring for the time being.  I didn't get a great feeling from those interviews, plus, it was a classical education and I have no experience with that.  I was sharing at my MOPs table about my prayer request for job searching and praying for guidance to follow God's will of staying home again for another year or going back to work.  Denise, my mentor mom, suggested I apply online at Logo's.  She said it wouldn't hurt and if they had a position open, someone would contact me. So I did.  I filled out the application online and then didn't really think about it until late in April I got an email about an interview.  I went in and had the first interview with Tammy (head of school) and Carol (math department chair).  The interview went very well and before I got home after the interview, I had an email for a second interview.  The second interview was scheduled for the following week (while Ashley K and Jonathan were visiting) and I met with Coach Pennye (athletic director) and Jason (AP and 8th grade teacher).  The position was for the 8th grade math teacher and it was part time and consisted of 3 classes per day for 3 days a week.  I learned the history of Logos and their mission and model.  They are a University Model School  which was a new concept for me.  I found it very interesting and the more I learned, the more I felt like a flipped classroom would work great with a UMS.  Plus, the job was only part time and I could still get the kids to school and I'd be home before they got off the bus.  The only question was what would Ell do while I taught.  They emailed me and offered me the job after 2 days and also wanted me to coach soccer.  I politely declined a coaching job this year simply because of the kids and not wanting to over commit.  I do enjoy coaching and hope to coach again, but just not now.  We called around a found 1 spot open at Sugar Creek's preschool for MWF.  The times didn't work out perfectly but we stepped out in faith and I accepted the job.  I was excited and nervous.  After not working for 2 years I had gotten comfortable with my stay at home job.  My gut feeling was that staying home with only Ell might not fulfill either of us in the way the previous 2 years had been.  I feel bad saying that, but she likes to play with others and I missed teaching.  God answered my prayers and I got a job at Logos Prep Academy. 

So now that it's October, I've been working there for 12 weeks and I really like it.  It took me a good 3 weeks to adjust but once I got the groove of things, I've really liked it.  There are some differences than public school, starting with I only work 3 days a week, but many others too.  I'll have to blog again about my experiences, but for now, this has been a great blessing for me and our family.  Thanks be to God.

Our Special Marine

Our favorite Marine came to visit us for the weekend.  Josh flew in Saturday March 5th at noon into Hobby Airport.  We all went to pick him up after a YMCA workout.  After picking him up, we were all very hungry so we took him to Spring Creek for lunch.  Lunch was yummy and I think it's been over a year since we've eaten at Spring Creek.  Josh said it was good, but wasn't enthusiastic about the thick tomato based bbq that is here in Texas.  He said he would rather have the NC vinegar based bbq like at Holden's BBQ.  After getting home, the kids rested and B had a conference call.  Josh came with me to the grocery store.  After shopping and getting home, the kids played with the train set and we tried to find the UNC/Duke game on TV but we could not.  It wasn't on a network channel and our ESPN app wasn't playing it either.  Since we couldn't get the game, we decided to go outside and play for a while.  We threw the football and the kids played jackpot with Josh.  We've made our kids call him Mr. Josh, and he's gotten used to it.  He's only 23, so I doubt he hears Mr. Josh very often.  I think the kids were the only ones who ate dinner because us adults were still full from lunch, but Josh was tired so he went to bed earlier than the rest of us.  We watched a little of Pirates of the Caribbean before putting the kids to bed.  

lunch after church

Sunday we left the house at 7:50 for church and we were at church ALL morning.  We usually go to the 8:15 service and then 9:30 ABF which gets us out of church around 11:20.  Well we had an Emmaus ABF Leadership meeting after class that lasted until 12:20.  I think we picked up our last kid at 12:32 and E was the last one in her class.  I felt so bad about them being at church that long but it usually doesn't happen this way.  Pastor Mark preached on character and how to train ourselves to display integrity and good character.  Houston Rodeo.

playing uno attack after lunch

It was a great sermon for all of us to hear and I'm glad Josh was with us.  B grilled out for lunch and we scarfed down hamburgers and hotdogs.  I had some fruit and chips as well.  Shortly after lunch, B and Josh left to pick up Julian and head to the

The Concert at the rodeo

I know they had a great time, but I don't even know what they did or what they saw.  I took the kids to Awana and walked with Jo at HBU.  The guys got home around 9 and looked tired. 
B and Josh went to McDonald's for breakfast at 6:00 am Monday morning to spend some time together before B had to head into work.  I know that it's important for them to have some guy time and usually Josh helps B fix things or work on household things.  Since we haven't seen him in a LONG time, we just wanted to have good quality time with Josh.  B had his time with Josh and next was my turn.  Josh came with me to bring the kids to school and then I brought him with me to the YMCA for my HIIT class.  Before class we ran a couple of miles together and then went to Jennifer's HIIT class at 8:30.  It was a killer as usual and Josh did great because he's in great shape.  It was fun working out together.  I never thought in a million years that I would be working out with a former student....a former student that used to be so bad in class but has turned out to be a respectable young man.....a former student that took time to fly down and visit us when he only had 2 weeks of post deployment leave.....a former student that we love and consider part of our family.  Sadly, after the YMCA, I had to say goodbye.  We met Josh's brother Daniel at the Buc-ee's in Waller because Daniel lives in Fort Hood.  Josh was going to spend a few days with Daniel before flying back to NC.  Even W almost cried when I told him that Josh was leaving us.  We had a good time but it was too short.  We are so proud of the man Josh is today and give God the glory.

I'll miss him!

A month we want to forget!

I mentioned in the Easter post about hitting a deer in Cherry, but there's more to the series of unfortunate events that took place between March 29th and April 27th.  We call it the month we want to forget.

Thursday, March 26, we closed on our new home in Richmond, TX.  This was the perfect home in a great neighborhood in a cul-de-sac, with a pool.  It was a bit earlier than we initially thought we would buy a house, but God knew what was in store and knew we needed this house before "we" were ready.

Sunday night, March 29th, Cooper started barking at the front bay window (like normal) but this time, he jumped up and broke a window.  This wasn't the first time he had broken a window but this was the first time he sliced his foot open.  He had a 4 inch long cut along the top of his left paw that was bleeding out everywhere.  So between cleaning up the glass, the blood, and wrapping his foot, it was an eventful hour.  At least the kids were in bed asleep.  B had to take Cooper to a 24 hour emergency clinic where he got about 10 stitches and a cone around his neck.

Poor guy was limping around the house for a few days and didn't get much sleep with his cone, but it eventually healed.  4 days after the foot slice, is when we hit the deer with Cherry. 

We were able to drive it back to TX and we took it into the collision center so they could assess the damages.  Our insurance paid $30/day for a rental car so we had most of it covered.  We were given a Toyota Sienna that was great except it didn't have a DVD player. We found out Friday April 10th that Cherry was totaled (tear) and we had 30 days to find another vehicle to replace our beloved Cherry.
Fast forward to April 13th when we have AC for the week  AC and Jennie drove to Beaumont with A/W after the boys spent the week in MS with the grandparents.  Monday, R was in school like normal and we decided we would eat lunch with B at CBS.  While driving on Fondren, I start to hear sirens, so I pull over a little on the side, but I'm in the left most lane, so I can't really go far.  Then I see this black SUV screaming up the passenger side of us, and then cut across in front of us, go over the median, and continue driving against that side of traffic.  Right behind the black SUV, like 5 police cars came up and I was completely stopped, but one of the police cars bumped me.  It was a big enough bump that we all felt it, but I figured it wasn't going to be a lot of damage...however, we were in the rental.  So I just went straight to B's office because I wasn't really sure what else to do.  Now, I realize I should have pulled over and called the police, but they were dealing with a much bigger problem than me at the moment.  After getting Bryce, it turns out that we were not the only cars damaged in this high speed chase, and we were directed to the group of police officers where they finally caught the bad guy. 

They wrote up a report and we were home in time to get R from school.  In addition to the high speed police chase, our air conditioning wasn't working in the rental house, so we had all the windows down, trying to get a breeze.  It was hot though, and were dealing with the beginnings of pollen.
So Wednesday of that week, while at Bible Study at SCBS, we find out that B's mom (Gran) is in the hospital (we knew she was sick) and had some pre-diabetic test results.  She had double pneumonia  and diagnosed with congestive heart failure.  All the "cool kids" were very concerned, so Thursday morning, B told me that we needed to go to OK to be with his parents.

I totally agreed and AC was leaving anyways, so our plan was to pack up the family and drive to Edmond.  Anna made a good point though and offered to watch our kids so we wouldn't have them as a distraction.  I was so glad she did that, because it was better that they stayed back.  So Thursday morning, I drove AC to Beaumont to meet Jennie, then back to Houston to pack.  When I arrived home, just in time for R to get out of school, our toilets started to back flow again all in the guest bathroom (the second time it's done that).  I didn't have time to deal with that, so I just put towels on the floor and turned the water off.  Lorenzo was going to dog sit for us, so we let him know he couldn't flush or shower...yuck.  It was just not high on the priority list at the moment.  We dropped our kids off with Anna at Beck Jr. High because Avery was having her dress rehearsal for Legally Blonde.  I think we arrived in Edmond at 2:00 am Friday morning and it was just in time because Vicki was discharged from the hospital Friday at 10:00.  We got her home and settled in her chair.  We had to do breathing treatments every hour and she was supposed to get up and walk too.  Once we got into a routine, she was comfortable with, B and I went to the grocery store so I could get things to make some meal for them.  I was able to cook 5-6 meals, but in small portions that filled their freezer.  There's no way I could've gotten all that cooking done with the 4 kids with us.  So, again, I'm thankful that Aunt Mo kept them for the weekend.  Unfortunately, while she had them, R and A both had puke episodes, so Paul M did quite a bit of cleaning around their house.  We missed our kids, B had to work, and we needed to get our kids out of Anna's house, so we drove home Sunday night and got our kids from Anna's around 2:15 am and back to our rental at 3:00 am.  I let R sleep in a little before taking her to school Monday morning (April 20) and to make sure she didn't puke, and poor B ended up taking a sick day because 2 kids were puking, he hadn't had enough sleep, and he wasn't feeling good either.  Just 2 days later, April 22, the 3 kids and myself arrived back to our hose after playing with some friends, and our front door was wide open and Cooper was walking around outside.  I thought maybe I had not shut the door all the way when leaving, but it turns out, that our house was broken in to while we were gone. Thank the Lord, it didn't happen while we were home, but I feel confident that whoever it was, knew we would be leaving.  Cooper is officially the worst guard dog ever.  The only things taken were my jewelry box, earring box, and our fireproof safe.  Oh, and my pillow case.  Once I realized what had happened, I called B and the police.  B rushed home and then we waited an hour before the police showed up.  He walked through the house and then took some notes about what was taken.  The likelihood that the bad guys would be caught was low, but we still had to file a police report and then work on our renters insurance.  The front door had been kicked in, so the lock was broken. The dead bolt still worked, but not from the outside, so every-time I wanted to leave the house, we had to go out the back door and around the side gate.  Our renters insurance replaced our personal belongings, but not the door.  B was very upset (obviously) so he was ready to move into our new house like yesterday.  I asked him to give me a week and I could pack up the house...so that's exactly what we did.  We spent the last weekend in April van shopping and then we bought Storm on April 27th.  We named her Storm

to remind us of the month of storms and how God provides and gives us strength and never leaves us during our storms.  It's a 2006 Honda Odyssey, just like Cherry except with a navigation system.  I'm loving Storm.  Then we packed up our house, and moved out of the rental on May 2nd.  Yep, May 2nd, we spent our first night in our new house, and have loved every night since. 

God knew we would want to move earlier than June 30th, and it only took a few bumps in the road, before we knew it too.

Life Changing

This journey we are on has been very smooth, peaceful and comfortable.  I love everything about our life right now.  God's blessed us with a great church home, small group, jobs, house, neighbors, family, babysitter, etc...I could go on.  Our life is about to change in a drastic way and I wish I could say I'm excited about it.  B says I should look at it as a new adventure.  I'm trying.  I'm trying hard.  I'm reading scripture passages that I find in the back of my Bible where it says "what to read when...".  I'm at peace and I accept it, but I'm sad.  I'm more than sad.  I have an achy heart. My life is here.  My mommy support group, my job, & my friends.  Tears swell up just when I think about leaving this place.  But a new adventure is waiting and Hantla's Handle Business (B's new motto).  A new adventure...

B sent out about 50 'feelers' is what he calls them for jobs.  I think he said of those 50, he sent out 25 resumes and CV's.  He's heard back from only a handful that he did not get the job.  He's had a few interviews and one was in Houston at CBS.  B had a phone interview first a several Thursdays ago, and it went well.  Then they called back and wanted to fly him to Houston so he flew out Sunday morning (April 6th) and flew home Tuesday night (April 8th).  He stayed with Anna while there and had 2 days jammed pack of meetings, meals, and interviews.  Before B left, we had a serious talk about what price we could move for.  Realistically what was he worth in salary terms.  The goal was to have an amount that would allow me to stay home since putting 3 kids into public daycare is unreasonable.  Before he left, we had reached a solid number and prayed that either the offer would be too low to consider or way above that we couldn't pass on it.

But the amount was spot on (unfortunately).  B flew home Tuesday night but we really didn't talk until Wednesday night after AWANA.  We both just cried.  Me more than him, but we both did knowing what the future holds.  Knowing that we would have to move.  God lined up everything to work out and we know God is faithful.  We know God has plans for us; plans for us to prosper.  B said CBS is great and I would love it there too.  It's hard for me to just get on board because I feel like I'm just following him down there.  In a sense, that's what I'm doing, but I knew this was a possibility when I said Yes on December 10th 8 years ago. B has always wanted to teach/work at the college level and now he has the chance.  I'm so happy for him and very proud of his accomplishments.  I guess I just thought it would be here in Wake Forest at SEBTS.  It's not and I'm trying to come to grips with it.

Will I just cry for the next 2 months?  I can't even think about leaving here without crying.  How am I going to tell people.  We haven't told small group yet.  I think on Tuesday at our next meeting.  There's just not a good time/place.  The guys are at a guys night right now in Fayetteville shooting.  Sara just had Baby Savannah this morning at 1am.  Our life is here and I'm crying now as I type.  I'm not even going to see Baby Caldwell #4 be born.  I'm not going to the beach with the O'Janpas in September.  I'm not going to watch fireworks at the Daniel house on Andrew's new deck.  I'm not going to sleep over at J/K's house anymore and stay up til 3 am watching who knows what on TV.  A new adventure...I want to stay on the old one!

I'm trying to be supportive and B is great.  He lets me cry and he comforts me.  I know he's sad too, but isn't as emotional as me about it.  I don't even know how to tell my principal without breaking down in her office.  I love my job and I love teaching.  Even the thought of packing up my classroom and saying goodbye to Michael is heart-breaking.  I might not even see his twins be born.  I wonder how many more births I'm going to miss???  God has a mighty work to complete in me.

We were at Red Lobster the other night and we tried to talk about the move.  I teared up there so we stopped.  MOVE?  And we'd have to sell our house...which means we have A LOT of work to do.  The front yard, the front porch, the kitchen cabinets, and other stuff around.  How would we find a house down there?  When would we move?  Where would we live?  Too much to think about and too over-whelming.

Enough with all the negatives (there are many more), so lets try and focus on this new adventure.  We will be around family for the first time.  Anna and Paul live in Houston 30 minutes away from CBS.  Marcus & Mandy live in College Station about an hour and a half away.  B's parents are in Oklahoma so 9 hours north I think.  My family in LA and MS is about 9-10 hours away.  We can maybe attend Saints game in the Superdome and see home games throughout the season. Texas has higher paid teachers than NC right now, so when/if I wanted to go back to work, I'll get paid more.    It doesn't really snow in Texas so I guess that might be a plus (that's a stretch and I know it).  As I type, I'm having a hard time coming up with positives to this new adventure, but I know God is faithful and will reveal his perfect plan as time moves forward.  If he's calling us to take this faith leap, then I will obey with my husband and jump....but I'll leave a trail of tears behind me.

Spring Break '14

I was quite surprised we even had a spring break this year with 9 snow days.   The school year was extended but our spring break preserved.  I was very excited about spring break for two reasons: 1) staying home with my kids the entire week and 2) LASIK eye surgery.

The beginning of my spring break started with a Team Cobra dinner at Chris B's house.  He invited us over for BBQ pork and sides along with chips and dessert.  He said he cooked the pork in the oven first then shredded it before mixing with BBQ sauce.  Everything tasted great.  I always enjoy spending time with my team outside of school.  M & M were there and Michelle's pregnant belly is so cute.  She's about 27 weeks with twins but is measuring 31 weeks as just 1 baby.  She's still coaching lacrosse and Michael helps her.  Linda brought Sebastian with her because she waited at his house for his furniture to be delivered.  Chris, Mike, Linda and I get along so well and this has probably been my second favorite teaching year (the first being with Rachel, Mike and Anne M).  Saturday dinner was fun and then lead into Sunday with church and afternoon rest time.  

My spring break consisted of hanging out with friends during the days, the parks/playgrounds, my eye consultation and lasik surgery, and small group/awana like normal. I tried to take pictures to document, but I didn't catch everything.  Bree turned 3 on Thursday and I got to keep her for a few house and celebrate her birthday.  I also had my eye surgery on Friday.  B drove me up there and worked in the waiting room.  I finished around 2:30 pm and he drove home.  I was pretty useless the rest of the day/night.  I took a sleeping pill around 6 and I didn't wake up until Saturday morning.

day 1 of spring break

day 2 of spring break: summer hair cuts

 Each morning before we started our schedule, I took the time to read the Bible to the kids at the breakfast table.  I really enjoyed it and I think by the end of the week, they liked it too.  They wanted me to read their story book Bible with pictures and kid-friendly language.  I just wanted to ready my Bible to them for a change.  I had the idea of trying to start having Bible Study with my kids when we actually take a passage and study it.  I think R & A are old enough to do that except A can't read yet.  But the story they learned in church about Mary and Martha grabbed their interest so I read it to them again.  They really liked it.  For the rest of the day, they would say to me (and each other), are you being a Martha or Mary?  Very cute.

Day 3 of spring break: back yard time

Day 4 of spring break: Bree Bree's 3rd birthday

Last day of spring break: enjoying an Oreo treat!

 One thing I'm particular proud of is that we didn't eat out ANY during the week of spring break accept Friday.  B and I picked up something on our way to Greensboro for the surgery and then Friday evening, B picked up a hot n ready pizza because I was knocked out and he was exhausted too.  I think in years past, we would have eaten out almost every day during spring break, but this year we didn't.  I think we have Dave Ramsey to thank for that and is saves us money.