NeedtoBreathe!

My friend, Tiffany and I, went to the FREE concert at Hanes Mall today and saw NeedtoBreathe! It was awesome! They saved the best for last and sang my favorite, "Washed by the Water." Here's some pics of the WBFJ morning show hosts and of the band! I took a little video clip, but I can't get it to load right now so I'll try again later. Anyway, you're already listening to the song!

GREAT NEWS!

I'M BACK AT SILVER VALLEY NEXT YEAR! There's no other way to explain that one except that God worked it out for me once again! Along with, of course, my 2 wonderful superiors, Gail and Sonja! They said that Heather and I worked so well together that they didn't want to break that up! Thanks for your prayers! God is so good!

I'm the happiest person on earth right now, minus the fact that Cooper is on his 4th pair of undies today because he won't poop in the potty and our garage door just went BOOM today, which cost us an unexpected $100! But, isn't this the cutest thing?!?

Happy Father's Day!

SURPRISE! I couldn't post these photos the other day because they were a Father's Day treat! Those who know him know that David is a HUGE Wolfpack fan, so this is our tribute to him. Happy Father's Day!

Sunday School Cookout

On Saturday, we had a Sunday school cookout at the Driggs' home. They have a TON of land out in the country! It was so much fun! We enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs, all the trimmings, and banana pudding!


Carter, Mason, & Colton in the pool!


Cooper eating an icee!


Angel and Cooper playing frisbee


Mason and Carter playing badminton


Hayride

Picture Time!

The boys and I had a fun day out on Friday. I took them to Portrait Innovations to have their pictures made, then we ate lunch at Moe's, and went to the pool. We had an awesome photographer! She had great ideas for poses and she did an excellent job making them smile! Her name is Ashley, so if you go to the one on Wendover anytime soon, make sure you request her! I am so pleased! Enjoy!

Pool Fun!

We went to the pool today and I thought these pics of the boys were cute! It looks like Cooper is crying in this photo, but it's actually an action shot of him jumping and splashing in the water. We were planning on joining a pool this year and this is how it all played out: There's a pool here in T'ville, but the waiting list is huge! We've been on it since January and were told that it wouldn't be this year and probably not next year. So, we were exploring other options and trying to decide between another pool or season passes to Emerald Pointe. On our last payday, which is when we were going to do one or the other, the Toyota broke down on David (on Hwy 85!) on his way to work! That was an unexpected $350 for a new alternator and battery! But, on the same day, the YMCA purchased a private pool in High Point, which we're able to go to for FREE! Once again, God is so good to bless us with this!

Snakes Alive!

Carter holding a snake!


Carter and his friend, Mason, helping hold Penelope the Python!


Our pastor, Michael Bowers, with 200+ lbs. of Penelope Python around his neck!

Our VBS theme this year is "Dino-Detectives." We had a special registration program on Sunday afternoon. Since dinosaurs were thought to be sort of reptilian, Ron Comer from "Snakes Alive" presented all of his creatures. The kids were able to hold snakes and lizards. We're all excited about what's to come!

Summer is HERE!

I know that summer officially starts next week, but for me, it starts TODAY...my last day of work! I am looking forward to a break, however, I do not have the relief that most teachers have for a couple of reasons:

1. I still do not know if I'll have a job or not and if so, where.
2. It was EXTREMELY sad leaving Silver Valley today.

There were many tears shed, mostly by me, but also by the friends that I've made. I never thought I'd ever say, "I love my job" until this year. But, I do and I love Silver Valley. I will miss that place and the people there SO much!

I am excited about lots of other things, though: sleeping in, spending lots of time with my boys, and all of the fun things we plan to do together this summer!

Interview

Well, I had my interview this morning and I think it went very well. At least, I hope it did! I should know something by the end of this week or the beginning of next week. The problem is that as of right now, there are only 4 part-time positions available and LOTS of people who want them! 2 of the schools are very close to home and the other is not. You can make requests, but again, there are no guarantees. The good thing is that with Title I, new money will be released in October and more positions will be available at that time.

So, on the way there AND on the way home, this song by Meredith Andrews was playing on the Christian radio station:

You're not alone
For I am here
Let me wipe away your every fear
My love I've never left your side
I have seen you through the darkest night
and I'm the one who's loved you all your life
All of your life

Was God with me or what?!? No matter what happens, I know He was, is, and always will be! Just pray for the administrators as they make the tough decision of choosing only 4 people out of many. Thanks so much for your prayers! Now, I'll play the waiting game and will relay the news as soon as I hear!

Prayer Request

If you aren't familiar with how public education works, let me fill you in: it's all about the MONEY! As you know, for this past school year, I've been a Part-Time Title I Reading Specialist after being a stay-at-home mom for about 6 1/2 years. The budgets are in for next year and as it stands right now, Silver Valley, the school where I now work, has enough money for 2 full-time Title I teachers as opposed to 1 full-time and 1 part-time. That's great for the school, but NOT for me for I DO NOT want to be full-time. Where does this leave me? Of that, I'm not sure. As it is with Title I, there are no guarantees. I may or may not have a job and if so, it may very well be at a different school and possibly different grade levels. In this profession, things are constantly changing. Therefore, I've been crying, depressed, and moping around for days!

Then, my friend and co-worker, Heather, reminded me who is really in charge. I've had to remind myself that God is the author of life and He's not finished writing this book about me. For this, I am blessed. I've learned that life is made up of seasons and in this season, I have had the wonderful opportunity of coming back into public education on an extremely positive note. I have had the privilege of working at a tremendously supportive school and with Heather, who has been not only my mentor, but also my friend. I have learned so much from her about work and about life! I have once again been allowed to see the beauty in teaching and to see the "lightbulbs" come on! It has been good for my soul to be able to work only 20 hours a week while Carter is at school and to be able to pick Cooper up from preschool and to be at home with my precious boys from lunchtime on. We have been blessed with having "extra" money instead of "just enough." God has allowed me to update my "stay-at-home mom" wardrobe and to get things done to the house that we've been wanting to do. We've enjoyed going out to eat more and extra-curricular activities. So, you see, as the song goes: "I'm drinking from my saucer because my cup is overflowing."

Now, to get to the point, my prayer request is this: I have my re-interview on Monday at 9:30am because that's what we have to do each year. Please pray for God's will to be done. I'll go where He sends me. If it's meant for me to keep doing this job, I will! If not, pray that God leads me to whatever is next! Thanks for your prayers!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29:11-13

Big Boy!

Cooper is so proud of his "Big Boy" bed! We changed his crib over to a full and he is so excited to have sports stuff all over it!





Carter also got new bedding! When we moved here, he wanted a Wolfpack room, but I couldn't find bedding for him except for actual NC State bedding, which costs way too much. So, we settled on a solid black comforter with his wolfpack afghan on top. I never really liked it, though. Finally, I found something perfect the other day! It's black, white, red, and gray plaid! I love it!



***I'm behind on my posts, so check out the next few in case you missed them!

Miss N.C.

Being a Title I Reading Teacher, we must have 4 parent meetings each year. Our last meeting was a summer reading celebration with Miss North Carolina! She has a "Read to Me" Literacy program. She is actually from right here in Davidson County! She went to Ledford High School, and of all things...went to Chapel Hill for her Bachelor's and is now at N.C. State getting her Master's! She came in 4th in the Miss USA pageant! David had to work so I had to take the boys with me, which wasn't so bad considering they got the probably once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to listen to Miss N.C. read a story to them AND take their picture with her!

Happy B/D, Raleigh!

I am behind on things that I want to post, but I guess late is better than never!

Raleigh celebrated his 8th birthday on April 22nd! He got a fancy homebaked bone (which I ordered on-line) and it was gone in seconds! I actually took pictures of the boys giving it to him, but I accidentally deleted them in a crunch when my photo card was full at Carter's program and I had to do something quick! So, I thought I would share this photo I took the other day. Isn't he beautiful?