YES!

I got the JOB!!!!!! The Principal called me Wednesday evening to tell me about the great news!! I get to see my classroom on Monday and then I start working on Tuesday!!! We are SO very excited. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support. I am so very thankful that the Lord has placed me in this particular school. It is not the type of school that I thought I would start teaching at, but I knew the minute I walked through the doors that this was the place for me. I could feel it in my bones. I am so thankful that the Lord sends us little whispers to let us know to be patient and trust in His plan. I can't wait to get lost in the halls of a school again and fight with the xerox machines, and give myself 5 paper cuts in one day, and accrue stains on my shirts because of the white board markers, and say out loud, "okay, let's get quite" five hundred times!!! I am so very thrilled. I will fill you in on more details as they come my way. By the way, I was so excited about the fact that Mrs. Alexander had called to tell me that they were extending the position to me, that I have no clue what grades I will be teaching! It will either be 6 and 7 grade language arts or 7 and 8 grade language arts. Oh, I can't wait!! Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers.

Just an Update

The interview was held on Monday morning with the principal, assistant principal, guidance counselor, and the head of the English department. I don't think I could have asked for a better interview. I had no clue I would be interviewing with a group of people, so I didn't have time to work myself up about it and become nervous. It was great to just walk into blindly. The principal told me that they would be interviewing candidates all day long and that they would make a decision by the afternoon. Well, 5:00 p.m. rolled around and I hadn't heard anything. I was very disappointed because I thought they really enjoyed what I had to offer as a teacher.(I even brought visual aids and examples of lessons.) I lost sleep Monday evening. Thankfully, the principal called in the morning to let me know that they had to interview two more people, which is required from the system office, and that they should reach a decision by Tuesday afternoon. I felt pretty positive that there could still be a chance...considering she told me that they still were interested in me filling the position. Again, the evening came and went and I hadn't heard anything. This morning, still hopeful, I called the school and the secretary informed me that the principal will be in a workshop until Friday and I should call back then. So, please keep those prayers coming! There is still a chance!!
On a mommy note, I have started to make Jack's baby food in order to pinch a few pennies. So far, he has loved the corn and sweet potato mixture, as well as, the banana and peach combo! It is a lot of fun and so easy to do! If anyone has any good baby food ideas, let me know!!

Prayer Request

I have an interview tomorrow morning at Ed White Middle School. Brian and I are in a sink or swim position and this job is much needed. Unfortunately, Brian lost his job at Cook's due to a wreck that he had the other week. Due to the fact that the insurance determined it was his fault, Brian was declared too much of a liability for the company and was terminated. It is odd that it was ruled his fault, because normally drivers that hit a person from behind have to take responsibility...not in our case. Anyhow, we believe that God is working in our lives and we have complete faith that he will see us through this tough time. The call from this school is a blessing. Please pray for me during my interview. I hope that everyone enjoys their week!

Oh No!

The first traumatic experience with Jack and the scariest moment of my life happened this morning. I am being a little dramatic in that first sentence. It might not have been the scariest moment of my life, but it defiantly ranks number one on the list for the worst things that can happen to Jack. Bless his sweet heart…
Jack and I had a wonderful morning. Brian was able to stay home from work on Friday, and this always makes Jack so happy and is an extra bonus for us all. As Brian was getting into the shower, I laid Jack down for his morning nap. I began to make up the bed, plug up cell phones to charge, and clean up the morning’s mess. I was standing in the bedroom, pulling the sheet to the head of the bed when all of a sudden, THUD! It sounded like an iron had been dropped on our floor. I knew instantly what had happened. There was no sound from Jack’s room.
Now, let me just say that Jack has learned, in the past week, how to pull himself up to his knees. He isn’t quite sure how to get to his feet yet, but he relentlessly tries to stand. I noticed this morning, when I came in to get him up, that he was squatted on his knees and holding on to the crib railing and rocking back and forth. He was just doing his thing and having a good time. I should have known then…
I quickly run to Jack’s room and open the door to find my baby sprawled out on the floor trying to catch his breath. I walked in and Jack let out the biggest scream I have ever heard his little lungs produce. Jack had fallen out of his crib. My first reaction was to sooth him, because I knew he had no clue what had happened, so I gathered his little baby body up and we rocked in our favorite chair. He screamed. It took about thirty seconds of us rocking before I busted out into tears. As I said before, Brian was in the shower at the time and had no clue the ordeal Jack had just experienced. Oh, his fall broke my heart. It crumbled my heart. It is such a long fall for such a little person; I just can not imagine how scary it must have been for him. Within five or six minutes, the child was fine. I on the other hand, was still trying to gather my emotions, wipe tears, and catch my breathe. I felt like a terrible mother. The railing to the crib was up too. Of course, I played it over and over in my head what could have happened and came to the conclusion that he pulled himself up to his knees and noticed that Mr. Bear’s leg was hanging out the side of the crib. Jack, trying to rescue the bear, must have bent over the crib to grab Mr. Bear’s foot and toppled over the side of the crib. I think he landed on his back and had the wind knocked out of him. (Hence the silence after the thud) By the time I arrived, my sweet baby was finally able to scream. It was terrifying. He is tough though and doing just fine. He probably doesn’t even remember his big fall. I will not forget it. The crib mattress is now safely resting on the lowest level. I made Brian take care of that right away. We are so thankful that he did not get hurt.

Just a quick update

Jack is doing a lot better! His fever continued well into Friday and just a low temp to report for Saturday. He is still so fussy and irritable. He has now developed what looks like a heat rash or Roseolo. I am pretty sure I will take him to the doctor on Monday just to make sure! I know I mentioned early about those "motherly instincts" well, those instincts started to sound the alarm when Jack's temperature reached 103.5 on Thursday. It was a scary ten or so minutes. The fever dropped quickly after I stripped him naked and then placed a damp rag on his neck. It was pretty scary. So, after talking to a lot of people, I have come to the conclusion that Jack is just cutting his first tooth. Or maybe it is just a virus...who knows!
I will send a BIG thank you for all of you that calmed my fears while I panicked during Jack's first real sick time!! I know that it was pretty stressful for me today in church! Luckily, we had dear, dear friends to calm both Brian and I down! (Brooke and Debbie!)
I hope everyone enjoys their week!

My Sick Baby

So, I had to take Jackson to the doctor today. The poor angel had a fever all day yesterday and woke up with it this morning! His highest temperature has been 102...yikes! The doctor did not seem too concerned with his state of health. He said that it looks like a small virus. Remember I told you what Jack has been dealing with the first two days of this week? Well, that has settled and the fever has set in. The doc was pretty sure that continuing to give him infant's Motrin and Tylenol, with plenty of fluids, will help him to get better! Brian did not like the doctor's reaction one bit and demanded that I call another pediatrician to look at Jack. I'm pretty sure Brian would like for the doctor to do special blood work, followed by monitoring vital signs, and he probably wouldn't mind if Jack were to be given an IV!! It's pretty cute how protective he is being about Jack's fever! So, if he is not better in the morning or by this afternoon, I will rush him to another doctor's office. I will say that I am so thankful for a mother's instincts. Because I have no internal alarms ringing right now, I feel pretty good about him making a full recovery!! Thank goodness! This situation could be a lot worse if it weren't for my maternal instincts!!

A little bit of this and that

This job search stuff is really wearing me out! I think every school from Madison County to Marshall County has received resumes from me! I am finding out that it is all about who you know around here. Columbia did not call me back, which is never a good sign. The principal said she would call on Monday with a decision. Monday has come and gone and I am pretty sure someone else filled my position. The search continues. I am now applying for instructional assistant and even preschool positions. Y'all I have to get a job! I know that I can substitute and may even get lucky to fill a maternity leave, but you do not get the benefits or the salary that you would receive as a full time teacher. I don't mean to sound negative in this post...but it really is tough out there!! I still find hope in knowing that God will place me in the right school at the right time for how ever many students I need to impact!
On a different note, my Jack has not been feeling all that well this week. Let's just say that I am going through diapers and pedialyte like it is going out of style! Poor angel. He is a trooper though!
He had a wonderful Fourth of July! I was so proud to find out that the fireworks did not scare him one bit! Oh, and we all should have seen them! I am talking about the largest firework display anyone has ever put on in a backyard before in their life! I tried to upload a video of the first 10 minutes of the show, which contained nonstop explosions, but it took entirely too long. I will upload some photos!
Please keep Brian and I in your prayers as we try and figure out how to budget our money!!!

Jack and Bronson

These two little boys loved playing with one another! They had a blast! I did too!

I had the wonderful pleasure of watching Jack's cousin, Bronson, yesterday and we had sooo much fun! It is so neat to see what Jack will be accomplishing in just about a month's time! Bronson is the sweetest Little 8 month old that you will ever meet!! He is really on the move; Jack could hardly keep up with him! It was fun to watch them steal toys away from one another, try and put one toy in their mouths at the same time, hit one another with the toys, and crawl all over each other! I can't wait to have another little baby! (give us a year or two though!) I will post pictures of the days activities soon!
On a different note, I had a second interview at Columbia High School. I was extremely shocked to get a call back from them, but relieved at the same time. I hope they like me!
Have a great 4th!