It's Been a Long Time

So, I am a bum and quit posting on this for awhile. I have been reading blogs, just not writing. Let's see what have we been up to...

Well, we moved and are all settled in there. The apartment is smaller than I would like but it works for now. It is in a great location and there are no major problems so I will count my blessings. Jake is still at Wal-Mart. He is still hoping for a new job but he realized that it may be awhile. His managers are starting to realize that he is a hard worker and give him better hours.

I am working at Jane Addams Elementary School. I am doing a long term sub job (the teacher is out on maternity). I have already been there two weeks and I will be there at least 4 more. I am kind of hoping she just decided to stay at home with her new baby. I am teaching 5th grade. Which I am not certified for (but I guess that is ok since it is just a sub job). I feel qualified to do it, it is just way out of my box. It is definitely a challenge. These older kids can be mean! This is a little school way out in west Tulsa. There are only two fifth grade classes (36 kids total). I have each class for half a day and teach social studies and reading. It has been a challenge for the kids to respect me and listen. I feel like we are almost there. As a sub, I have found it's hard for the kids to respect you as much as their real teacher. You have to really show who is boss. I don't like being all mean and demanding but these kids are requiring me to in order to have order in the classroom.

It is a little more stressful than I thought it would be. The kids are about to take state tests and I am responsible for getting them ready. So, I did some assessment to see what I needed to refresh them on and it seems like these kids are no where near ready. I feel like I would be looked upon badly if they do not do well. I want to impress the principal so she will hire me and I really just want the kids to succeed. So, I am really just stressing about it. Jake made a good point. He said, "will you be given the credit if they succeed?" I said, "probably not" and he replied, "then you probably won't be if they do poorly either." But really no matter who gets the credit, as their current educator I just want them to do well and I don't know if I have the time to get them to where they need to be! Boo on state tests! I am so glad that as a teacher in my own classroom, I won't have to deal with them! Yay for early childhood!

Jake and I joined First Baptist Tulsa this morning. We visited with Jared and Sierra several times and really felt comfortable with everyone. I have never gotten comfortable with a group so quickly! It is nice to have a church home now. I think the big church scene will be good for me. I think it is important to be involved in a church and serve. But sometimes, I think I do it to get noticed and feel important. In a church this size, it will be hard to be noticed. So, it will give me a check on the reasons I do what I do. I love the pastor, he does amazing sermons with great truths. He presents the information in a way that can apply to everyone. I am already signed up to work the day camp this summer as a job and go on the spring break trip with the 5th and 6th graders to San Antonio.

That is pretty much it so far! I am going to try and keep this up better.

In other news: Alisha is doing well. She had a shower a few weekends ago. She is definitely ready to have Katelynn here. Last weekend she had regular contractions so she went to the hospital but they said they weren't strong enough to dilate her so they sent her home. I haven't heard anything else since. Her official due date is March 5th but they said she is fully developed so there would be no harm in her coming early. Alisha said to me on her way home from the hospital, "If anything else happens, Chris will probably be the one to call you. If these pains get 10x worse like they say, I will be too busy screaming." Pray that everything goes well!