Update on selling/buying

Wow, it is so much more difficult to get a loan than it was three years ago when I bought this house.  I can't believe all of the new rules and regulations! My goodness!  It doesn't surprise me now why houses are not selling.  It has proven to be a challenge, but it is one that I am ready to take on full charge like a bull and a red flag!! I have had to change course on the type of loan I get, and my switching of jobs has also been another bump in the road!  All of my paperwork has been sent in, and I am now playing the waiting game.  I will here from my loan officer tomorrow, or on Monday!  I am praying for the best!  She seems rather positive that it will all work out! Either way, God has a plan! He won't forsake me!  I may just have to be patient through this whole process.  I have heard it can be a long drawn out process at times with all of the new rules!  We will see what news I receive in the next day or so! Please join me in prayer for a smooth process!  Let the entire selling and buying process begin! The game is on! Ha! 

Caleb was so funny the other day.  I was delivering the joyful news of our home selling this past week, and Caleb was so excited!  He immediately began going around the house with a pad of sticky notes and pen labeling everything!  Our belongings were marked with sell at garage sale, or comes with us!  He even drew pictures of the new house on several different sticky notes!  He is very excited that his new house will still have a fire pit, and he is super thrilled to know he will have his own clubhouse!!  The clubhouse is a small wooden shed in the backyard that is used by the current owners to hold their lawn mower and a few yard tools.  This new house has a rather large garage with plenty of storage for my yard needs.  Let's be honest here, I don't have many yard tools, or tools in general! LOL! I am confident that I will have PLENTY of room for my so called tools! Anyways, I told the boys that we would turn the shed into their very own clubhouse.  He has all sorts of plans for it, and what he wants to put in there!  It will be fun to help him develop the clubhouse! 

In the future I hope to have lots of pictures with my blog!  I need to be better about taking them and posting them.  Would make it so much more fun to read!!  : ) 

Haiti.. Here I come!

I can't believe I am really doing this... traveling to Haiti with giant spiders, interesting creatures, and thousands of mosquitoes!  Yikes!!  This is definitely a step outside of my comfort zone.  Tomorrow my parents are dropping me off at school to travel with 8 students and 8 staff members of my former school to travel to Chambrun, Haiti.  My boys will be along to say good-bye.  I have never left my boys for more than four days, and this will prove to be a challenge in many different aspects.  It will be even harder knowing I can't have any communication with them other than email.  We are leaving the school at 11:00 a.m. and will travel to Detroit, MI to catch a plane at 7:35.  Once leaving Detroit, we will have an overnight layover at the Ft. Lauderdale airport.  I have never spent the night in an airport... could prove to be interesting.  Nevertheless, it will be filled with laughter, stories, and sleepless hours! ha!  (Thank goodness for cards, ipods, and my nook!)  If you have any good books I should download, let me know!  We are set to arrive at the Port a Prince Saturday morning around 8 a.m.  I believe from there  we will have a good, joyful, HOT, bumpy, curvy bus ride to campus at Nehemiah Vision Ministries (NVM)!  I have seen pictures of where we are staying, and I must say it isn't that bad!  We will be in a dorm with bunk beds that is blessed with air condition! woo hooo!  It is also fogged every night for the pesty disease filled mosquitoes!  We are also provided with clean running water throughout the facility!  There is a bath house with nice showers, toilets, and sinks with air condition too!  Sounds rather cushy compared to some mission trips! : )  I do not know exactly what awaits us or our itinerary once we are there, but I know God will oversee it for His plan!  I take my first malaria pill tomorrow morning.. on travel day.  I pray that I tolerate it well, and it doesn't upset my tummy!  I will update my blog as much as I can while there! (with lots of pictures) Be sure to stay posted to facebook as well!  I will be able to get on that almost every single night!  I have posted a link that will lead you to NVM website.  It will have an updated blog from our team as often as possible, and you can take a look at some of the photos of campus.  I am also following a few new blogs from families and staff at NVM.  Check them out! They are very interesting and have LOTS of pictures with great stories!  You can also follow our trip on facebook by looking for dots in blue water.  Thank you to all of you who have supported me with funds and/or prayers!  It is very appreciative! 
http://blog.nehemiahvisionministries.org/default.aspx


My boys have been giving me extra kisses, hugs, and cuddles!! Loving it!!  They haven't wanted to leave my side much this week.  It is so sweet, and it makes me feel loved!  I am one special mom!  My youngest one even made me a heart flower to take with me!  So precious! 

SOLD!

I have accepted an offer on my house and will be closing on it in the next couple of weeks!  God has perfect timing!!  He never disappoints... even when it isn't in the time frame we have in mind.  I leave for Haiti on Friday, and it is such a relief to know that my house is sold before I depart the U.S.!  I came to the realization today that my summer is completely booked, and I will be begin teaching at my new school before I know it.  I leave this Friday the 17th for Haiti!  Once I return from Haiti, I will be busy cleaning, packing, and preparing for a garage sale before I have to be out of my house... which is about July 15th!  I must say I have two little eager helpers who are ready to help at the garage sale.  For some strange reason... my two cuties LOVE garage sales!  After that I will be taking a much needed vacation with my family to Disney World (thanks to my wonderful parents)!!!  My boys are beyond excited!  It is ALL I have been hearing about for the last month!  I can't wait to see their reaction to all the Disney excitement!  When we return from FL, I will be moving into my new home, unpacking, and settling in before school starts in August! Oh my..... I am tired already! : )   Stay posted for updates from Haiti in the coming week! 

Packing, Moving, and Preparing

Wow! Time has gotten away from me in the last month.  It has been a while since I have posted, and I thought it was about time to fill everyone in!  In the past two weeks I have completed my last day at my public school, boxed up my classroom, and finished vaccines for Haiti!  It has been a whirlwind of activity that has kept me spinning from one thing to the next.  Tomorrow my father and brother are helping me move all of my boxes to my new classroom.  I never knew someone could collect so many things from only six years of teaching!  Goodness....I hate to see how much stuff I have after 30 years of teaching!  While I am having to sacrifice many things to follow God's plan, I am very excited for my new journey at the private christian school!  Yes, it will mean less money, Hoosier healthwise, selling my comfortable roomy house, and no benefits... BUT the rewards will out weight all of that!  It will be so nice to spend more time with both of my boys.  I will get to eat breakfast with them every single morning, see glimpses of them throughout the day, and even be there for school activities!  For the first time ever I took a field trip with my oldest son.  It was such a joy to be a PARENT on a field trip rather than a teacher.  Much more enjoyable and pleasant for sure!

As for my house, it has not sold yet.  However, today there was another showing!  This was the 2nd time the couple had gone through the house.  My realtor told me that it was an excellent showing, and he got calls with lots of questions regarding the house.  The couple told my realtor that they would get back to him in a day or two.  So... if you are reading this, please pray for an offer!  I am calling all prayer warriors!!  

My trip to Haiti will be here in one week.  I will take off for a life changing adventure that is making me step out of my comfort zone!  Earlier this week I was having moments of panic!  I kept asking myself why in the world did I sign up to do this!  I hate spiders, the unknown, and taking strange medicine for diseases I never want to experience!  I am more at peace today with the trip, and I pray that peace continues to surround me until I step foot back on American Soil with familiar surroundings that don't involve tarantulas!!!!  Eww!  I definitely don't want to share a bed or shower with those lovely creatures!!!  Please pray for me and my team as we depart on Friday.  Stay posted to the blog as I will be blogging my trip!!  I will post pictures as well! 

Even with all of the busyness surrounding me, I have had the chance to enjoy the start of summer!  My oldest son finished school this week, and we have already enjoyed many swims, games, late nights, and lazy mornings!!  Tonight we were watching So you think you can dance, and my youngest one was so funny!  Every time they would do a dance he would attempt to mimic them on the living room floor!  He LOVES to dance!  He is so dramatic at times... add that to his personality and you have one entertaining child! 

School is winding down!

The countdown has officially started in my classroom.  We are counting down the days until summer break.  I have been extremely blessed with the students who made up my current classroom this year.  They are a WONDERFUL group of children.  I have never had a class that is as well behaved as this year.  I will miss them dearly.  It will be hard to say good-bye.  I am very excited to give them their special gift on the last day of school!  I have made them an imovie full of memories from the entire year!  It will be a delight to watch their faces light up with smiles and laughter as they watch the movie.  As the year continues to wind down, I continue to collect boxes.  I will take the week after school is out to box up my whole classroom and prepare for my new journey at the private school!  I am still very excited about this opportunity, and I am looking forward to spending more time with my boys in the coming years.  It will be a blessing to see them so much every, and I will have the blessing of teaching them for two full years.  OR.. perhaps a HUGE challenge. Ha!  Speaking of challenges.... my youngest son is a very strong willed child.  Today during our walk he decided he was done.  He got off his trike, planted himself on the ground, and crossed his arms declaring his legs were tired.  I did my best to encourage him to continue on, and he wanted nothing to do with it.  He was done, and ended up throwing a fit.  We are talking about an all out screaming fit.  I ended up picking him up kicking and screaming walking down the street towards home.  It was extremely frustrating.  I kept thinking the neighbors are probably peering out their windows having a good chuckle! Thankfully, I was able to clam him down and get him back on his trike to continue home.  He pushes my buttons every single day, and I have to ask God to send me BUCKETS of patience.  I love him dearly, and he does many things that make me laugh.  He such an ornery child and full of life!  Regardless of the fits, I am happy to take on the challenge of teaching my two children in the classroom!!! Not many mothers are blessed with that opportunity!

Recently I have been working on finding a way to incorporate technology into my new classroom at the private school.  I believe that technology is a great way to  motivate learning in children, and I want to be able to utilize it in my classroom.  I started out with one computer, my own personal computer that I bought this past Thanksgiving on black Friday.  I am pleased to say, I now have TWO more computers to take to my new classroom!! I was able to refurbish my old laptop, and my parents helped me purchase a used laptop this week!!!  I am so excited to know that I have three working computers for my new room!!! I also have an ipod to add to my classroom!  Things are moving right along, and I will soon find myself unpacking boxes in a new room full of opportunities!!  God is big, and He is faithful.  I give Him all the glory, and I am excited to see what He has in store for me and my boys. 

As for my house, it has not sold.  In fact, it hasn't even had a showing for three weeks.  However, I am at peace and know that God will provide in His time.  Have a blessed week!!

A Quiet Week

It has been a rather quiet, but peaceful week.  I have not had much action on my house, and hoping for more in the coming two weeks!  Today is mother's day, and I have been blessed with a wonderful mother.  She truly cares for me and helps me out every single day with my two children.  This day can sometimes be a little difficult for me.  I didn't plan to raise children on my own, and it has proved to be challenging.  As I sat in the pew today at church, I noticed all the "happy" families together.  I sat there alone pondering what those families would be doing together today to celebrate mothers.  Did she "the mom" get breakfast in bed, wake up to beautiful flowers, or a day of pampering from her significant other.  I sat there finding myself feeling rather blue knowing I didn't have a significant other to make sure my day was special.  I did my best to quickly snap out of the blues and be thankful for the day.  I know my boys love me very much, and I understand they are just a bit too young to fully understand the concept of mother's day.  I am truly blessed to have a mother who goes out of her way to know I am loved, and that I am a great mom!  I did enjoy a sunny day, laughter with the boys, and even had a chance to get in a run! 

Happy Mother's Day and remember you are loved by your heavenly Father!

Safey Net

This past week my father and I had a discussion about my letter of resignation.  He was worried about his one and only daughter.  (with good reason.. as any WONDERFUL father would!) He didn't want me to turn in my letter of resignation until I was secure in my new position, had a contract, and had time to see what would happen to my house.  In other words, my safety net would be gone, and I wouldn't have a backup plan.  I didn't see how it would be fair to either school system to not turn in my letter of resignation and communicated this with my father.  I also thought, how am I putting my faith in God, if I have a back up plan or safety net.  Then it dawned on me... I wasn't putting my COMPLETE faith in God until I turned in that official letter of resignation.  Perhaps.. God wouldn't move further or move mountains (my house) until I showed Him that I trusted Him COMPLETELY!  On Friday I turned in my official letter of resignation to both the principal and the superintendent.  WOW.. huge step!  However, after turning in my letter, I remained at complete peace.  A peace that is not of this world, but only from the one and only Heavenly Father! 

My house didn't have any action this week, but I do have a showing today.  I also have an open house tomorrow!  I am no longer worried about selling my home, and I have put it in God's hands.  After talking with my brother he reminded me of God's timing.  He said, "If God allowed my house to not sell in the time that I think it should, it does not mean that He didn't come through."  What a great reminder for all of us.  God does have a perfect will and perfect timing.  Our plans and time may not line up with His! BUT, His plans and timing are always better even when we don't agree!!! 

I must say it has been such a blessing to hear my boys' prayers this week.  They have been taking turns praying each night for the house to sell and mommy's new job!  What sweet little hearts they have and faith in God!  We all need to have childlike faith!  I thank God for my two loving, but WILD boys!!  On a side note... they were so cute this week when I cut my finger.  We were reading our bedtime story when I got a little paper cut.  The boys saw a little blood and quickly got up to get me toilet paper and a bandaide.  The oldest one even put it on!  I didn't need it, or ask for it, but their eagerness to take care of their precious mommy was sweet.