Crazy Week, Calm Weekend

It has been one crazy week!  I applied for a teaching job but wasn't called for a first round interview.  I was extremely disappointed and moped around all last weekend feeling sorry for myself.  My small group at church was praying for me and the teachers I have worked with were disappointed as well.  After school last Monday I was talking to a couple of teachers that I am close to when my phone rang and it was the district office offering me an interview.  I couldn't believe it!  Turns out that a student teacher from our school accepted a position in another district and that left a spot open for someone else to interview and the principal from our school (well technically my kids school) recommended me for an interview!  I was extremely nervous and only had a day to prepare for it and the soccer party that I was in charge of.  Thankfully my friend had pushed me to buy a suit a while ago in case something like this happened.  I knew ahead of time that 14 principals would be interviewing me all at the same time.  I was definitely intimidated by that.  Nothing could prepare me for how I would feel walking into that conference room with all those people watching me.  I knew about 4 of them which was nice because 2 of them gave me encouraging looks.  I found out later that as soon as I left 5 schools said they wanted to hire me.  Definitely boosted my confidence a little.  I got a call that night and missed it so had to wait until the next day to find out that I was offered a position at my kids school! We are all beyond excited!!!  Starting in August I will have my own classroom and will be teaching 3rd grade!  It is all perfect.  I'm excited for 3rd grade.  It is such a good age.  I can still do cute, yet they are becoming more and more independent.

Today David and the kids went to meet up with his brother and his family to go camping overnight.  I decided to stay home for a few reasons but ultimately I'm exhausted from this crazy week.  My adrenaline has been keeping me going but now I just need to process everything, sleep, and clean my house.  I have neglected it way too long with working and all the activities we have going on.  Soccer is over for a while, school will be out on Thursday, and I'm excited for my new job!

Looking back I know that God had his hand in this all along.  I turned down an interview last fall because it didn't feel right along with several long term subbing positions and then ended up teaching almost the whole year anyway.  We decided this year that we would take anything I was offered and deal with it.  If we were faithful, God would be faithful and we would figure out a way to make it all work out if I was working at another school.  In the end, I get to be with my kids at their school, I already know all the teachers and staff, it's an ideal situation for everyone.  This year I got to prove myself to the principal when I took over a difficult position and my hard work paid off.  I go on June 3rd to sign my contract and I am already thinking about how to make my classroom perfect.  I have a million ideas running through my mind and trying to figure out how to make it happen.

There have been a lot of ups and downs for us but through it all we remain faithful.  It is so hard for me to sit back and wait to see the big picture.  I know this isn't it but it's another piece of God's plan for us. I've been trying to explain that to the kids lately.  They weren't thrilled that I was trying to get a job, especially if that meant another school.

I attended a Beth Moore study this spring at my church called Breaking Free.  It was a wonderful study and while I didn't do all of it or attend every session I feel like God opened my eyes to some things this year.  I have held onto the pain of my miscarriages for a long time now and just couldn't seem to let it go.  There was a time recently when the kids were talking about wanting a baby and kept asking and asking and I finally told them what had happened and that we weren't able to keep trying to have more.  We are going to be content with our little family.  They were very sad to find out that happened but I feel like in the end it was a huge weight lifted off my chest.  I feel like we have become closer since that conversation because there is no longer that wall that I have up.  If you have any strongholds in your life, I encourage you to read her book or do the study.  We all have strongholds and bondage. They may not be obvious to us but once you start digging into the study, you will find things that you need to deal with or let go of.

Have a wonderful weekend friends!  I am going to relax in the quiet house!