I am a REAL Teacher!

So, my first day with my kids was on Monday. The day went much better than I thought it would. I only had 2 criers! It was much harder to get them to sit and listen than I thought it would be. I also blanked several times throughout the day and would completely forget to do certain activities or not explain something well. It is definitely a learning process. I am still trying to get my classroom in a working order that works for my students, assistant and me.

I have already fallen in love with my kids! I have a few handfuls. C likes to think the schedule should go as she wants it. She will cry and pout if she can't have a turn on the computer or it isn't her day to be the leader. D is something else. I am pretty sure he has ADHD. He won't sit still for more than 1.5 minutes. No joke! And I am not trying to making them sit for long or anything crazy like that. I just want him to listen to one picture book or sit long enough to finish his snack! He definitely keeps me on my toes. S is a special little girl. She had brain trauma as a baby and is definitely behind. She is such a sweet heart though. This week has been a lot of playing games, singing songs and doing free centers (blocks, pretend center, puzzles, etc.) We will start with the heavy stuff next week. Hopefully we will have procedures down a lot better by then.

I never really realized just how hard this job is. Especially when you are just trying to get them to walk in a line! How in the world do you teach that? I just thought everyone was born knowing it. LOL. Oh the fun I am having. I am enjoying it and if it stays this crazy, I will lose some weight. I haven't had time to finish my meal all week.

In other news: I went to a Hillsong concert last night with Sierra. Jake knew we wanted to go and entered to win us tickets on Air 1 (a national Christian radio station). And he won! That was a major blessing. We wanted to go but the tickets were $45. We had such a great time. I was fantastic to be in a room of believers all singing to Dad! I enjoyed just watching the raised hands and people praising with all their hearts! Not to mention how great it felt to be in true worship again. It is hard for me to feel that in my Sunday services here. Sierra and I talked about how we didn't realize how great the BCM worship was until we didn't have it anymore. We were "lost in worship" as Sierra put it.

Sorry it took me so long to update. My life seems so crazy these days. To close here are a few pics of my kids

Lies!

So, in my quest to have a relationship with Dad again, The Enemy is at his usual antics. In the back of my head I can hear things like:

• This is only going to last a few weeks and then you will quit again, so why even try?
• You haven't even done the right thing to get back to Dad yet anyway. So why are you wasting your time?
• But that other book you are reading is so much more interesting.
• Going to sleep instead of reading the Word would make you feel better.
• Is learning about Him really going to help you?

Now, I know all of the answers and replies to these things. I know that they aren't true and they are silly tries to bring me down. But I just wish they would go away. My thoughts are that they are proof of how childlike my relationship is at this point. I think that as I continue you in that those will go away. Of course, then his attempts might get worse. But Dad won't give me any more than I can handle!

Trying to Get Back

First, let me show you some pictures of how our house building is going...

I took these yesterday. It looks like they are about to pour the foundation. Here is the front.

Here it is close up. I can only tell you a little about what is going on. The wood is the frame for the concrete. The white you see is a tarp that is covering lots of dirt. The black lines that make a grid are cables that help make sure the foundation is good and sturdy. And the black things standing up are the pipes for plumbing and electrical.

This is our backyard. It dips off into a creek.

Last week we went and picked out things for our home. We picked out: carpet color, stained concrete color, the brick (black and reds), the siding color (a light yellow), the front door color (red), cabinets style and color, and indoor paint and trim. All we have left is lighting and appliances. Picking out things for a house is very tricky. You have to pick it out so fast and you are hoping the whole time that it all goes together. I never realized how many choices there are in building a home! I can't wait to see it all done.

The school year is fast approaching. I only have one week left of daycamp and then I have a week free until I have to report to the school. I will spend that free week, working on my classroom and getting as much done as I can to make it look nice, organized and functional. I am getting nervous and excited all at once. We have our first faculty meeting tomorrow from 9-2pm. It will be nice to see everyone again and plan for the year. I hope I am a good pre-k teacher!

Ok, down to business. Since, I have graduated and left the BCM and supportive Bob and Deb behind, I have been finding myself drifting from God. Not in any horrible way, I was still going to church and making the major decisions that I should. But not the little decisions, like truly trying to learn from the service and our Sunday school lessons, or spending time with him daily, or showing His love to others in as many ways as possible. (Ok, so those are horrible things to miss.) I was in what you call a 'rut'. It was starting to show in my attitude and in my marriage. Again, not in any major way, just little things. I have been quick to think of myself first, be snappy towards him, and just not feel so close to my husband. Before we got married, I never realized how much my relationship with God would reflect in my marriage. Our marriage is at its best when we are putting God first. I have known for awhile that I needed to get back on my feet but I was waiting. Waiting for what you ask? I dunno, some major break down or sign from God, some major problem in my life to bring me spiraling back to him, some great speaker or song that snaps me back in place. But after some prodding from God and watching my best friend get back on her feet, I realized that all I was waiting on was myself. I needed to make a decision to live for God on a daily basis because I want to and for no other reason. As I type this, I realize how simple that all is. Why did it take me so long?

So, in short, please pray that I will begin to live for God as an adult married woman, not some college girl with people to make sure she is doing her quiet times.

Jaclyn: I hope you enjoy your time with him. :)

Darla: I am glad you are settling in well. I hope you figure out the bus systems soon. You are so brave for traveling in a foreign place like that.