Life

I haven't updated for awhile, because there really hasn't been much to update. My birthday came and went, pretty uneventfully, which I was happy about. We went to Laurel Lake to go fishing for the day. It was very nice and relaxing and made me want to live on a boat in the middle of the lake! The job situation has been dire....and after a short breakdown, I am ok with not working right now, and am really enjoying my time with Jonathan. I start subbing in a few weeks. Because of the job situation, we are still temporarily staying in a small apartment at the church, which at first was difficult, but we have adjusted, and are very thankful to have a place to live until everything gets settled.
The church is another matter entirely, and we didn't really know what we were getting into before we came. It is very small, and very old fashioned. We weren't prepared for how much of an extreme of either. We are again, adjusting and looking forward to continuing to help move this church into the "new millenium!"
That's pretty much it, in a nutshell. I've started scrapbooking again, which brings me a little bit of a creative outlet. It's been fun! Next week, Jason is taking me to Cincinnati to meet up with my grandma and Jonathan and I are going to spend a week up North with my family and go to our family reunion, which I haven't been to in over 12 years! My mom and her husband are also coming into Ohio from Arizona the same week, so it will be a nice visit with them as well.

Seriously, that's about it....everything is good, and there is much more to report :) I can't wait to go catch up on all of the blogs I usually read...it's been a long time....

Rushing Waters

(Cumberland Falls 7/26/09)

Ever since we got to Barbourville, I feel like I've been caught up in rushing waters. I guess I should say nothing is what was expected. The town, the people, the area is exactly what I expected, probably even better really. The job situation and the church situation have been somewhat frustrating. First off, there are still jobs open. It seems as though the jobs go to people who are local though. School starts next week, and I'm still waiting to get a phone call. I'm trying to be patient, but it's so frustrating when I see jobs getting filled, knowing that I'm qualified and not even being given a chance to interview. I have been calling and going to schools, but just seem to be getting the run around....seems like it must be time to just sit back and wait on God.

Part of the reason we felt called here too, was to help bring younger families into the church. We both have experience working in the ministry, and planning outreach events, so we were very excited to start this aspect of the ministry we feel God has for us here. Sunday, however, was a horrible blow. Jason and I sat there with 17 other people (no joke) the only people under 50 (most were in their' 70's or 80's) and that was it for Sunday morning. I cried...I literally cried. "God, you want us to bring young people into THIS?!" That's the only thing that continued to go through my head. As the congregation sat there and barely made it through singing three hymns, while the piano player was yelling the chords across the stage to the 79 year old electric guitar player....I cried and begged God to tell me why He took me across the country, away from my family...to a place where I had no job, and to what seemed a dead church...

So, I feel as though I'm drowning. At least, I was on Sunday. I'm better now and over my initial "shock" and am ready to press on to whatever is next. They definitely need young people at this church...and maybe Jason and I are just the one's to rock the boat in this rushing water...

Last

Today we are taking the last leg of our move, from the West side of Kentucky, to where we will be living on the East side of Kentucky. The trip will take about 6 hours, and we will get to yet another time zone. I have no clue when I'll have internet again, so until then....

Back in the Saddle

I am back at it, today at least. Our move so far has gone well. There was a little bit of stress and heartache as we were loading up the Uhaul and realized that there wouldn't be enough space. It is hard combining two homes and then moving it across the country! We had to make some tough calls on what to give away, or throw away, or have shipped out. Because of this bump in the road, we left a day later. We had planned to leave bright and early Thursday, July 16th, but ended up leaving the Friday instead. I was fine with this, because I was able to spend a few more minutes with my mom and brother before I left, which I didn't really get a chance to do before since we were so busy.

The road trip across the country went fine. My husband and I decided to break it up into shifts of 3 hours driving, that way, neither of us would get tired. After driving though, Jason realized he didn't want me to drive because the trailer was so shaky, sometimes he was having problems controlling it. So, we made an alternate plan that we would break it up into three days instead of cramming it into two. This put us even more behind schedule, but it was a good decision, we were able to drive shorter days, and rest more. Which made for a happy three year old, and happy parents! Jonathan did great on the road, we loaded up a MP3 player with his favorite songs, had toys, and books....he was set. Not once did he complain! The only time we had a bathroom emergency, was about 15 minutes after our "scheduled" stopping time, and we realized that neither of us had taken the poor kid to the bathroom. I assumed Jason took him, he assumed I took him...oops.

When we made it to Sikeston, Missouri, we met up with Jason's brother and his family at a restaurant we absolutely love called Lambert's. It's about an hour or so away from Paducah, where Jason's family is from, and it was a nice treat after a long trip. We finally made it to Kentucky later that night and had fun visiting Jason's dad and his family.

We are officially leaving tomorrow morning for Barbourville, Kentucky, which is where we are going to live. It is on the complete East side of the state, about 6 hours from where we are now. I'm not looking forward to getting on the road again but I'm excited to get to where we are going. I'm ready to get out of the Uhaul and unpacked!! We have had fun here visiting family and places though. The picture above is from across the river in a very small town in Illinois called "Metropolis" they claim to be the home of Superman. Since Jonathan is a huge fan of anything superhero...we knew we had to take a trip there....and he loved it! For the rest of the night, he was "flying" around.

As far as the job situation in Kentucky goes, I'm trying not to be discouraged. There are still a very few openings left (3...I think.) I know something will work out, it's just frustrating. I really want to teach at least one more year!

Well, I think that is about it. I'm sitting outside, in a lawn chair, enjoying a nice, cloudy day. Seeing how almost every day in Phoenix is sunny, I am really enjoying this cool weather! Oh...and I'm wrapped up in a blanket! I am actually quite giddy about it....

Road Trip

Well, I'm connected again (sort of) and in Kentucky (kind of)

We made it to Paducah, Kentucky (on the complete Western side of Ky) and we are visiting my husband's family for a few days, then we will make our way to the Eastern side of Ky in a few days.

The move went ok...a few bumps in the road...I'll blog about that later...

I found out most of the 6 teaching jobs have been filled...I'm disappointed, but know that things will work out..it hasn't been for my lack of trying...it's hard to nail down a job in a place across the country, that doesn't use voice mail, email, or fax machines! ha ha!

More later...

32 Hours Away

I haven't had the chance to blog, and I promise I will soon...but our big move is about 32 hours away now...

We are packing the last of the last things, and spending time with family and friends...

Our internet will be turned off soon, so I'm not sure when you will be getting an update...Just know, we're on the road!

Still no word on the teaching jobs, say a prayer, I'm starting to get nervous...

Busy Up in Here

Ok, I know I can't pull off "up in here" the same way I can't pull of things like "girlfriend" or "holla" but...you get my point....

Thank you all so much for your comments and encouragement the past few days, it's really been fun hearing back from people, and reading your blogs too!

I am so busy with our move just days away...not sure how much I will be online, but know that I appreciate your comments and feedback....I'll be checking in when I get a chance, but probably not as frequently as I have been...

So, keep in mind, our move takes place July 16th...if I'm not back here before then, you'll know why..I'm frantically and hysterically packing...keep my hubs in your thoughts and prayers that I don't accidentally kill him with my nagging and bossing around.....

Thanks everyone!


By the way...GUESS WHAT I RECEIVED IN THE MAIL TODAY?????????

......My Kentucky teaching certificate!!!!!!!

Civilization as we know it...

So, lastnight I couldn't sleep, and wanted to do some more "research" about where we are moving, I was sad when I found out these statistics. Some of my favorite places, and how far away they now will be...(in no particular order)

1. Costco: 135 miles away

2. Target: 106 miles away

3. Ross: 56 miles away

4. Staples: 62 miles away

5. JoAnn's: 106 miles away (do you hear my heart breaking?)

6. Michael's: 67 miles away

7. Olive Garden: 66 miles away

8. Chevy's: None in KY or TN (we will be about a little over an hour from Knoxville, TN)

9. Bass Pro: 121 miles away

10. REI: 121 miles away

And here is the funny one:

Starbucks? In the middle of nowhere? Yep: in the next town over, about 15-20 minutes.

One week.....

Yay!

After much anticipation, I found out today that my Kentucky teaching certificate application was approved! No testing or additional courses needed! It was so much easier than the Arizona Department of Education, who gave me the run-around for two years. It's a relief to know that I am now officially able to get hired...so...someone, give me a job!

I'm Unemployed Today

I resigned from my job today. It was kind of unexpected, and last minute, yet something that I had been thinking about for awhile. I spoke with my principal and we cried and hugged, it was very emotional. In the words of Julie Andrews: Let's start at the very beginning:

A few months back, Jason and I started talking about the pull towards ministry. We didn't know what would be appropriate, or what we would do, but we both felt the need to help somewhere. After talking with Jason's grandfather, he mentioned his ministry in Barbourville, Kentucky. Out of his small church of 40 or so members, he serves over 3,000 hot meals a week. He drives all over Kentucky to pick up donated food, and brings it back to the church's small pantry. After talking about it, and finding more details, we found out the need there is tremendous. Many of the areas that the food pantry serves doesn't have running water, or electricity. The pantry is thriving, but could be so much better, with more resources. For instance, one day, the church has to call people in to eat ice cream, because they didn't have enough freezer space to store it! Simple needs, yet with the resources, they are not accessible. We felt what they needed, we have the experience necessary to help and serve.

We felt the call to go. (Ok, so I argued with it a bit...but it soon became very clear we needed to go!)

There are many reason ultimately why this is a better "fit" for us. After our divorce, we both struggled financially, and the results of a divorce are devasting on one's credit. We have made goals to have our loans paid off in five years. A goal we can only accomplish by moving to a place where we aren't "working to survive" and we will actually have that extra money to pay off debts. It's a good feeling to have a plan.

As far as teaching goes, there aren't very many job opportunities ever available in this area. We struggled with knowing what I would do...we prayed about starting a daycare, doing in home daycare, doing at home data entry...all things that would work, but maybe logistics of it all would take some time. Within two days of us deciding we would definitely be going, the job openings in the school district there went from "zero" to about seven available positions! It turns out that a lot of teachers retired this year after 30-35 years of service! It seems as though doors are being open for us. I have applied, and sent my resume...just praying for some results. Would you mind praying for me?

In the next few weeks, our lives will be changing drastically. We are moving to Barbourville, Kentucky on July 16th. I am both scared and excited. I'm sad about leaving my mom and brother here in Phoenix, but know it's what I'm supposed to do. Well, I should say, we know it's what we are supposed to be doing. For the first time, we have goals, and we see a way of accomplishing them. We see a way to serve others in their time of need, which is something we both have always had the desire to do.

It's all happening so fast, and there is so much to share about it all, there are so many opportunities for all aspects of our lives, and we are excited to step out in faith and see what is in store for us.

Thank you all in advance for your prayers and encouragement! Stay tuned for more updates regarding the "big move."

Love you all~