My Valentine

Terry and I met wen I was 19. We had mutual "mentors" and when we were introduced we knew right away that...we did not like each other. After one single conversation about some political issue we both agreed on one thing...we would be just fine if we never talked to eachother again. Due to our mutual friends we still saw quite a bit of eachother. He started attending the same youth group I was at and then we started having the same friends. We still couldn't stand eachother...but strangly we became close friends, like brother and sister, like the ones really close in age and you bicker ALL the time. Soon we were teased that we would end up married. Do you know that the thought of that truly repulsed me as it did Terry??? But one rainy night in March of 1998 Terry and I began to look at each other in a different light, and that is where it all began.

Terry is nothing I pictured at 16 of marrying. I did not dream of a man who counted every penny he spent. I did not picture our "dates" would take place at local burger joints to save money. I did not think that I would be spending my lazy saturday's cleaning. I did not think he would be better at Laundry. But all the things I thought I wanted was not what God knew I would want andneed later.

Boy am I glad that what I wanted at 16 is not what God gave me! My husband, the funniest man on earth, has shown his love and dedication to not only me, but to God in his self sacrifice that includes cheaper meals so I could have a home, disciplined weekends so our bills get paid and side jobs to bring in extra money. He toughs it out for his family. He is one of the most courageous person I have known, willing to face any difficult situation for me and anyone he calls friend. He will help you move all weekend after a long week at work. He cares for people who might not even remember his name. He never looks for glory. He reminds me of the wwII generation and he is the "good man that is hard to find".

God is taking care of me

Thank-you Robyn for your reminder :) In the world of school-age child care it goes something like this. The center opens at 7am and closes again when everyone is off to school. Since we don't have kinders that come BEFORE their session at 10 we are closed from 8:30- until 11:30 hen we pick up the "early birds" kinders who have been in school since 8:30. We run a Kindergarten Plus program that is meant to be an extension of Kindergarten. We work with the Kider teachers to make sure that we are hitting the same components at the same time. Then at 2:45 the 1st-5th graders get out. We close at 6 pm. The state ratio is 14 children to ONE qualified "teacher". We see 20 in the morning, and then we see 20 kinders from 11:30-2:30 and then we see oh...about 50 fron 2:45-6. We should have 4 staff members in the afternoon to cover our center. At his point on the payroll we have myself and my assistant Director (she is sent from God...really). We have been getting subs in daily to help us and even my supervisors have come so that we stay in state ratio. We have the highest enrollment in this area but the least amount of staff. also I leave and pump two times a day but thank-God for Tricia, a substitute teacher for Santa Ana unified that comes in just for me to pump and to close my center from 4:30-6 (another one sent from God).

So...with all that said, the morning shift the one that runs before school is the hardest to cover. Who wants to come in the morning. Well...one of the subs that was sent from another center to coover in the afternoon...out of the GOODNESS of her heart (no idea she is beng used by God) does not want to work the morning and declined the offer of the position but said...drum roll please...that she will work each and every morning until we hire somone, no mtatter how long it takes!

So there is my story of how God is taking care of me.