A Sad Sad Day

I have the stomach flu and Brett Farve retired.

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.

pray, pray please pray

ok...if you are reading this please pray for my work situation. Currently I arrive at work at about 11:30 after spending the morning with presley. Terry usually picks her up and has her home by the time I get home around 6:15. A lot of times I get off early and pick her up myself. well...we are greatly understaffed with not a whole of applicants coming in. As of the 11th I will be convering ALL shifts. 7-8:30 and 11:00-6 with no flexibility. I know God will make a way...but that doesn't mean we escape hard times. I need to trust Him that he knows what he is doing and he certainly knows how this will affect me, and our family.

Same old

When people ask "How are you?" we always say good, great or something like...hanging in there. But I usually answer, "same old, same old". I really want to answer a detailed thorough answer that explains how amazing my daughter is, how precious my husband is to me, how grateful and happy our cozy home welcomes us each evening, how my work situation has worked out nothing short of a miracle, how I love nursing still (and pumping) and how incredible God is to hold this all together. But I usually answer, "same old, same old". Who wants to hear all that??

My life does not need to be action filled to be fullfilling...I am grateful for the way it is.

Apparently she doesn't like applesauce...

Co Sleeping

Well...Presley has successfully stayed in dream land in her crib for 9 to 11 hours for the past 3 nights (One of which I turned the monitor down when I was half asleep). Don't worry, we can hear her without it if she wants us to.

I think that with all the people around kinda threw her off, but mostly I think that she was starting to realize that where does mommy and daddy go at night, and wherever they are I want to be there!

At first she resisted, crying out every hour! We thought we had died and gone back to the first two weeks of her life. Then, one night after a while of this, I went in picked her up, changed her diaper and began to rock her. I told her that we were here for her, to protect and love her. I told her we loved her and that she needed to sleep in her crib. I prayed for her that she would feel safe and secure and that His presence would fill her room...and...that was 3 nights ago.

Thank-you Lord for caring about the sleep of little ones, and their parents :)