Honest to Blog.....

Not snow......it's hail from our storm!!!!!

A BIG thanks to those of you who called to check up on us when you saw the big black dot over our heads on the weather radar. I think we realized that we might be in trouble when the sound of the rush of the wind drowned out all other noise and the lights went out. By the time the hail started flying at our windows at a million miles per hour, Steve had grabbed the kids and I and tucked us safely away under a mattress tent in the hallway. The hail sounded like BBs hitting the windows and it seemed very likely that they would break any minute showering the rooms with splinters of glass. I was reading my Bible when it all started, so I finished my daily reading out loud to the kids while Steve tried to keep up with the phone calls. It was out of Psalms about how God is our rock and our fortress. Finally Nathan asked if we could stop reading and just pray. Seeing how scared he was, I took him in my arms and realized that we were both shaking. I can't say if we were shaking out of fear or cold or both, but we began to pray together, and as we prayed the winds died down and the hail turned to rain and we became safe once again. In the mist of all the drama, we only had minor damage from hail. The trees around us were stripped bare and the leaves covered the sides of our cars and houses, but thankfully, it could have been a million times worse. God is good.

Prayer Request

I lost my social security card!!! EEEK! So if you have a chance, please send a prayer up to God for me. It would be 'sweeeettttt' (said in the way Crush would say it on Finding Nemo).

A VERY Thankful Thursday

I have had the great honor and privilege to stay home with Kalea since the last half of December. At first I was worried about not being able to find a job, but after a good quiet time, I realized that God would get me a job on His timing. So I've waited, prayed, and really enjoyed spending time with my beautiful daughter. April has come quickly and we are just about out of savings and wisdom has come knocking at my door telling me that the time has come to finish out the school year working. I tried to become a substitute, but alas it's too late. I tried to become a Teaching Assistant, but alas all the positions have been filled. I tried everything on my own, so when my options ran out, I tried God. (Another duh moment in the history of Sarah. :o) ) It was a Sunday morning and I asked God to reveal to me at church what I should be doing. God works very quickly, because before I realized it, I was being asked by my future principal to teach a small class of 4-5 children with another teacher. I tried to be excited because I knew that this was God's will for me, but the desires of being a mommy clouded the blessing. Kalea and I had looked at Preschools back in December and they all looked bad. How could any mom leave her child in the places I've seen? I spent Monday cleaning and praying and cleaning and praying, and I found an advertisement for a preschool that looked super fun. I showed Steve and his first reaction was, 'we can't afford that place. They offer computers, Spanish, a library, music, yoga, and hot meals." I didn't want to be discouraged, so I e-mailed the director and the school not only withheld the super crazy high standards that I have, but they fit into our budget. Kalea and I went in early the next day for a tour. Kalea was super excited. The school looked like I was leaving my child at the Houston Children's Museum and to my surprise, I even saw happy kids! Everything fell into place and I was ready to work.
This morning, I talked to the principal and found out about the pay periods and when we were done with our conversation it hit me that I would be paying for $900 worth of daycare before I even saw my first paycheck. I was shocked and slightly queasy. I packed Kalea in the car and we drove to my school to talk with the principal. I explained our situation and thanked her for the job offer. She said that we would try to work things out, but I could tell that even she was doubtful. I drove Kalea to the preschool to see if I could at least reserve a spot for Kalea in the fall, and to my shock they said that everything was taken care of for the supply fee and the first week. I was confused and pretty sure that they were talking to the wrong person, but I gratefully thanked them, turned in my paperwork and fled. Later that afternoon my principal called to tell me that everything was taken care of and not to worry about the daycare situation. I was so shocked that I cried. She said that she really wanted me to take this opportunity to get to know the campus before I got my own class next year and that she was really excited to have me on board. I am soooo very thankful that God, once again, has answered my prayers far beyond anything that I imagined. I am thankful for my new principal and that she has a child at the same preschool. I am thankful that Kalea will get to play with her new friends for 7 weeks before she gets three more months of mommy time and I am thankful that I get to share this with you guys. God is good.

....the Rest of the Story

The train ride that changed our lives...

PRE-JOB INTERVIEW-

LAST MONTH- After Steve told me that he wasn't going to teach ever again, I went into Bible Hibernation. I stopped watching my afternoon soaps/playing on the Internet/cleaning and started writing in a prayer journal and studying the Word every afternoon (in addition to my regularly scheduled nightly quiet time). I prayed every day that Steve would find his place where he could honor God and shine. I prayed for our hearts to match and that we wouldn't end up moving again with no real direction. I prayed for wisdom on how to be a Godly wife. One day I found myself in the library and got Steve several books by Billy Graham, Max Lucado and other Christian authors who focused on helping people find direction. To my surprise, Steve read every word of those books and his heart began to change.



SPRING BREAK- Steve began reading "Purpose Driven Youth Ministry" on his own. I became increasingly curious......

We went to Houston for Easter and I walked in on a very quiet, very serious conversation between Steve and his dad. On the way back home, Steve announces that we are moving back to BCS and at first I am thrilled, but then uneasiness sets back in and I knew that is not what God had in store for us.

When we got home, Steve went into our bedroom for some God time and came back out the most excited I've seen him in a very, very, very, very, very long time. He said that he's made some changes to his classroom and was super excited about going back to school. (This was beyond weird because Steve had been dreading school and had come home every day broken for the last few months.)

POST SPRING BREAK

THE LAST WEEK IN MARCH- I could see a renewed sense of joy in Steve. He came home every day from work happy, relaxed, and a totally different person. He was actually as excited as I am about teaching.

BUILDING RESERVATIONS- As I was working on my certification, I began to realize that the only way that I was going to get a job was through God. Everyone in our program said that if you were certified in EC-4 then you would not get hired. They said that they had people who went through the program last year who refused to get certified in other areas who were still looking for jobs. I tried to study for the Special Education and 4-8 exams, but knew deep inside that those were not the jobs for me....so I waited and prayed.....

THE MYSTERY DATE- Our new Sunday School class goes on Mystery Dates every few months. Steve earned some extra money while in Houston, so we decided that this would be a good thing for us to do. At 6PM on a Saturday night we boarded a train with 13 other couples and headed for a mystery destination. Because we had just joined the class, we knew no one and quickly found ourselves struggling to keep up with who was who and found ourselves on the outside of every one's conversations. We were not having fun..... At dinner we were assigned seats with other couples and ended up sitting with some very nice people. They were nothing like us, but how many couples do you know that play in a punk rawk band? After supper we boarded the train again and ended up with another set of couples who we didn't know. They ended up being the fun group. While we were laughing the train ride away, the other couples sat and talked quietly. Somewhere in conversation we ended up discussing careers and discovered that one of our funny new friends was actually a principal at a school that needed a First grade and a Fifth grade teacher. We jokingly said, "hey, hire us!" and she jokingly said back, "well... you passed the pre-interview." We ended up with her number and e-mail address and agreed to call her sometime that week.

THE FOLLOWING TUESDAY- I walked into Steve's classroom and he announced that we had an interview on Thursday. I was partially mortified that Steve had contacted her that fast (they had been writing since Monday) and partially thrilled at the idea that we could be at the same school next year. (I found out after the interview that the principal had actually contacted Steve first.)

TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY and THURSDAY- Steve and I worked like crazy gathering information for our portfolios. We are immensely competitive so we kept trying to outdo the other one. He ended up doing cover page at midnight on Wednesday night that put mine to shame..... I was so mad. :o)

THURSDAY- I am rarely nervous about interviews but this one made me all twittery. Steve ended up working late and we found ourselves racing to our interview. He didn't put the school's address into the computer when he googled it so we found ourselves at the dead end of a street that was SUPPOSED to lead us to the school. We nervously drove aimlessly around until we found ourselves at another elementary. Steve ran in to ask for directions. I've never seen him run so fast. It turned out that the school was right around the corner and we walked through the door right on time. By this time, I was a mess. I was sweating from the stress of potentially being late, nervous about the interview, and extremely hot from wearing my dress suit on a hot day. The principal greeted us and asked us which one of us would like to go first. Not knowing whether I would get more nervous or calm, I volunteered just to get it over with. The only way I could describe it would be for you to imagine being a squirrel walking into a room full of bunnies trying to explain that you have all the characteristics that would make you a good bunny. I couldn't even fake the answers to some of the questions they asked me and my brain was all fuzzy for the ones I did know. I kept a sense of humor about it all and we ended up laughing and joking through most of the interview. One of the teachers told me she loved me and practically tried to hire me half way through the interview! I was finished after the fastest and slowest 45 minutes of my life and then I had to wait for Steve to interview. It took forever. After both of our interviews, we were shown around the school and then offered the jobs. We are both thrilled because God not only answered all of my prayers but He blessed us beyond that. We are super excited about starting school next year and are even more excited that we have been given 4 months to plan. Steve's teacher friends have already started giving me supplies to start my new classroom with and Steve's mom offered to take me shopping for 'cutsie' things to hang up. I have three more classes and a Harry Wong seminar in July then I am done with certification school. YEA!!!!!

This past weekend.....

This past weekend we......
Saw Alvin and the Chipmunks Live in Concert
Ate a cowboy lunch on haystacks while 'real cowboys' sang to us. A kid Nathan's age sang to us and played the guitar. I looked at Nathan and said, "Wasn't that cool?!" Nathan said, "YEAH, his guns were HUGE!"
Rode horses!

ALL FOR FREE!!!!! We love free.

God really answered our prayers this week by giving us both jobs for next year at the same school. I'll write more about that later when it's not bedtime. :o)