Off Track!

YES!!! FREEDOM!!!!!!

That's right, I am officially "off-track!"

I've been thinking a lot about what to do while I'm off track. The past couple times I've been off track, I haven't gotten much done between graduating and Natty being born. With a productive mindset in place, I've made a list of things I'd like to get done during July.

1. Have a garage sale and get rid of junk! (and make $$$ while doing it!)
2. Finish baby proofing the apartment.
3. Go through our storage and get rid of stuff we don't need.
4. Organize the apartment more.
5. Catch up on laundry and dishes.
6. Send stuff in for APLE Grant.
7. Turn in credential to the D.O.
8. Meet with Century 21 and start house hunting.
9. And, of course, bond more with Natty!
10. Possibly squeeze in a couple date nights with Tim too! :)
    

Exhasuted

Our poor little princess is not feeling good today. This evening we made our like "trillionth" trip to urgent care because she was throwing up. This time, thank goodness, we got a good doctor who was thorough. It looks like, for now, she has a bacterial infection that is making her get sick. Please pray for our little angel. She is resting now, so we're waiting for her to wake up to start her round of antibiotics. Tip to parents to be: Setup a "hospital" fund for your child BEFORE you deliver. Seriously. Natty is a great and happy-healthy girl, but this month has really been a trial. Between urgent care and medicine, we've spent close to $200. That's nuts.

Bittersweet

I've been struggling with this for quite some time now. Today we said goodbye to our 8th grades, wishing them well on their future journeys. I have quite a few students whom I've grown attached to, and goodbyes will always be hard. I will also have to say goodbye tomorrow to my two WONDERFUL assistants who have worked and put up with me this year. Last year (my first year of teaching) was quite challenging. I really did not have much support and/or encouragement. I was basically in "survival" mode the entire yet. Needless to say, it was truly a relief it was over. At the same time I felt I had did the kids an injustice. This year, however, I was truly blessed to have 2 great Christian women in my life everyday for the past school year. I have never felt so loved, cared for, and prayed over. I am truly, TRULY going to miss our fellowship desperately. I know the Lord brings certain people in our lives for special reasons, and this year was just that. We may have only spent one year getting to know each other, but I'm certain our friendship is going to last years.

So, today was bittersweet. Bitter for saying goodbyes to people I've grown close to, but sweet to be proud of how much the Lord's accomplished in the lives of these young "adults."

$6,000

Well, with our house-hunt move, I think we've come to a stalemate. We really did not want to do 100% financing, because then the interest would be higher, and also we'd had to get mortgage insurance - meaning more $$$ per month. However, with an FHA loan I learned that you have to have the down payment (at least 3%) before being able to move forward with the loan process. I guess we just have to keep to keep praying to see if this is the direction we are supposed to be going.

Our apartment situation has been rough this month. With the soaring gas prices (I paid $4.45 the last time I fueled up), people around our apartment complex have been stealing gas out of the cars that park outside. Luckily, no one has taken ours, but it really just does not make us feel safe. It seems every other month, we are getting notices about people's apartments being broken into and people being robbed while walking back. It's scary stuff!!! I'm especially paranoid when I'm home along with Natty - not good!

However, I have been trying to be better about being in God's word. There's this nifty application on Facebook that is like a tracker of how much of the Bible you've read. At first I thought it was silly, but it kinda motivates me to see the percentage go up each time I finish day's reading. Sometimes I get so into it, I'll read an extra day. From doing that though, it's kept me in God's word on a fairly consistent basis. I recently finished the whole book of Job (always started it but never read it all the way through until now), and I am encouraged. I know God's always going to provide what Tim and I need to take care of Natty, and that He is going to protect us. I have realized thought that once I do take my eyes off Him and am not in God's work, I do tend to focus on simply my own strength, and then am reminded of how weak I am.

Even though we are kinda in a stalemate with our house hunt, sometime will turn up...eventually. Maybe it's not a good time to move now. All I know is that God sees the big picture, while I really have no clue what's in front of me.

Hoping everyone is staying cool here in CA.

Weekend's Here!

Hip-Hip Hooray!!! It's Friday evening, and that means the weekend is here. I look forward to 3 PM every Friday. It's not just looking forward to being done with work, but coming home to Tim and Natty. Check out the latest:




Check out her two front teeth!!!! Today I found that she's ALSO getting a third tooth on top!!! We're so amazed at how fast she's been growing and developing. You cannot say that there is no God when you have Natty to marvel at every single day.


Over here, Natty has sit herself up (all on her own) in her crib. Yes, it's time to lower her mattress. She absolutely loves her crib. She loves her friends (animals), but I've recently had to take out her mobile.






Natty loves bath time. She especially loves her water toys. She also loves getting her washcloth soaked with bath water and suck on it (Yuck!). Check out her blue yes. =)

"Ma-Ma!"

Yes!!! Natty has started saying "Ma-Ma!" Going to work has been especially hard now. If she happens to be awake when I leave (like today...), she'll call out "Ma-ma!!!" and starts to cry. Makes me feel terrible leaving, BUT one more week and I'm home for a month. Thank goodness for "Year-Round" scheduling. We are the last junior high school still following a Year Round schedule, mainly due to numbers of students. In other news, YES, I have "started" baby proofing our apartment, which really consisted of just getting plug covers for our electrical sockets. That's really been the only thing Natty has shown interest in getting into. Natty is FULL OUT crawling now. She is still a very happy and delightful girl. Tim and I can only dream of what kind of young lady God is going to develop her into.

Switching gears, Tim and I are still in the home-loan process. I think it's very daunting, but people are going to steal gasoline from our cars around our complex, I say "see ya!" In CA, gas is quickly reaching the $5.00 mark. I actually tried to fill up my car yesterday, and I had to stop at $40. Seriously, that did not even get me 3/4 of a tank, and my car is actually pretty good on gas. The upside of this is that Tim and I are getting more exercise walking to the grocery store now. We're right across the street from Vons and Walmart, however, it is VERY hot. We are in triple digits, and summer is still "officially" 2 days away.

Anyway, I'm going off track in a week. I am very exciting, and have lots of plans. We'll see what gets accomplished. Some of it includes, having a garage sale with my mom, cleaning the apartment, getting rid of stuff in the storage room we don't really need, go house shopping, and....play with Natty and catch up on my soap.

Hope you guys have had a good week. Happy Friday!

Natty Update!

Alrighty! So, our little "monkey" if officially 7 months old TODAY! She is the love of our lives! We absolutely adore and treasure every moment we get with her. Each day she is doing something new now. So far, she's waved, sat herself up, crawl, and gets into "everything" that's on the floor - stuff that I don't even realize is there. Well, I didn't "baby-proof" this weekend. It just didn't happen. It was too hot, and I was too tired to go out, so I didn't. Here's my favorite picture of Natty so far. I think she has the most gorgeous blue eyes ever...

It's been really H-O-T here in CA. We've had to be a lot more careful with Natty. We have been discovering that the heat is really bothering her. We were watching Game 5 of Lakes vs Celtics and she all at once started throwing up - like projectile vomiting. It's happened a couple times before and each time she's just nursed and was hot and sweaty, so we have been trying to keep her tiny body cool. It's strange that so much can come out of such a small, fragile body. Poor Natty.... =(

In other news, I've finally filed for my "clear credential." According to CA, I guess I'm a "highly qualified" teacher - whatever that means. My credential is in the mail, and for the rest of my teaching career - every 5 years - I get to keep paying the District, so I can keep my job. Yay for me!

We are still house-hunting. We're pre-approved, so now we are saving up for a down-payment. Did I mention we're taking donations? =P

Well, hope everyone else is staying cool and off to a great week. Happy Monday!

It's the Weekend

So it's been a rough week. One of my students, especially one that my assistant and I have been trying to mentor, got caught with weed at school. My husband found it humorous that I did not know that pot and weed were the same thing. I suppose it's a good thing I didn't. I found this incident with my student very discouraging. Everyday I go to work, I pour myself into what I do. Honestly, I do not think they could pay teachers enough for what they do. To me, teaching isn't just another job. The pay is fine, but really, it's not worth what teachers put up with and go through. I mean, seriously, where is the compensation for a broken heart, a weary soul, dried up tears, and sleepless nights? I sometimes feel if I'm the only one that looses sleep over her students. I sure hope not and I doubt I'm the only one. The reason I make such a big deal out of this is because I truly believe my class is a mission field. These kids don't really need a teacher; they need someone that cares. Most of my students come from broken homes, one or both parents are in jail or had served time, can't afford lunch, can't afford school supplies, etc. What does one do with all of this? I can't save the world, but I want to make a difference. So, when I heard that this young man (8th Grader) was caught with weed, I was discouraged. He's suspended for 5 school days and placed in opportunity the rest of the school year. I understand he needs consequences for his mistakes. For me, that means I may not see him again. It's hard. My assistant shared that you never know when your seed is going to sprout. Some of us plant, some of us water, and some of us sow. I ache for the day that I sow because I sure don't see fruit yet. It's times like these that makes it hard to believe there will be fruit. I just want to know that my efforts aren't futile.

Needless to say, I'm glad it's a weekend. I need recharging. I feel like I've pour myself into my work and I've been running empty. I'm glad I get to stay home with Natty ALL DAY tomorrow. We're going to be "baby-proofing" the apartment - THAT'S going to be fun!

New Favorite Verse

Job 23:12 -
12 I have not departed from his commands,
but have treasured his words more than daily food.

This is my new favorite Bible verse. I've tried this new thing. I'm on FB and I found this application through a friend. It's basically a "read your Bible in a year" type deal. However, you can customize it - read from beginning to end, chronologically, etc. I've chosen to read chronologically, and right now I am in Job.

Even though I've read Job before, different things have popped out of me more thing time around. It just goes to show that God's Word ALWAYS has something for you, no matter where you are.

Job 23:12 really touched me because this is the woman that I want to aspire to be. Having Natty has really opened my eyes to a lot of things. One of those things is how to set a godly example for her. I have realized more than ever now that I need to be THE role model for her - how to be a godly wife, mother, and woman. It is my desire that when Natty is older and looks back on what she may have learned from me, that she can confidently say that her mother was someone who treasured God's word and followed His commandments. That I was someone who lived off of God's Word.

Getting Creative

So, we're really trying to make our food stretch in efforts of saying up money for a down payment on a house. Here is a creative I made that Tim found was a pretty good hit.

Guacamole-Salsa Burgers (Time to make, 20 mins)

Ingredients:

• 1 Chicken Breast
• 3 slices of cheese
• 3 sets of hamburger buns
• 3 tbs. of olive oil
• black pepper
• Butter
• Zaschilla sauce (Food 4 Less)
  

*Makes about 3 burgers.

Slice chicken breast about 1/8 in. thick pieces. Set aside.
Heat up 3 tbs. of olive oil in a skillet. Cook chicken until light brown. Season to taste with black peper. Set aside.
Butter each side of buns and cook over medium heat until golden brown.
Top 3 of the bun halves with cheese and let it melt.
Spoon cooked chicken into the remaining halves. Top with zaschilla sauce.
Serve with some yummy chips!

This was a perfect serving for Tim and I. Pretty good lunch on a budget.

Natty News

Quick blog, guess who's waving now?!? I am in AWE of all Natty does and is learning. It is just unbelievable!!!

Here's some of her milestones:

• Rolls over EVERYWHERE
• Sits up
• Eats fruit/veggies
• Smiles constantly
• Laughs
• Knows her name
• Crawls
• Waves
  

I WON!!!

Ok, totally silly, but I get so excited when I win stuff, just because I never really win stuff! Anyhow, our mortgage company sends out monthly newsletters, and there's trivia questions in it each month. Anyhow, I always enter contests and never win, but I thought, hey it's worth a shot. So I entered, and I won!!!! I get free Starbucks!!!!

Ok, the funny thing about Starbucks is, if you know me really know, you know that I DO NOT drink coffee. Can't stand the stuff. Well, I've never EVER purchased a coffee beverage. I mostly get the cream frappuccinoes, hot chocolate, and yummy ice-teas. Silly I know, but hey, it makes me happy.

In other news, we are still looking for a house. We've started the very "daunting" process of getting our pre-approval letter, which tells realtors what we are good for. We're excited though. We recently found a 4 bd/ 2 bath about 20 minutes from my work, which would be PERFECT for us. It's at the end of a culdesac and is still within CNUSD. We drove out to see it the other day and it looks like a very nice starter home. We're really not extravagant people. We're just looking for a place to raise a family, and a yard for Natty. Keep us in prayer for that if you think of it.

Natty is growing very well. She's got a tooth and a half, rolls over EVERYWHERE, and has learned to sit up. We are so blessed to have her as our daughter. She is a wonderful child. She really lights up my life. I think the favorite time of day is when I get home from work, and she hears me unlock our apartment door. She doesn't see me, because she's in front of our couch player, but she'll turn herself around and wait. I'll get on the floor and crawl around the corner of her couch and I'll smile real big and call her name. She gets the HUGEST smile and giggles when she sees me. It makes me feel so loved and content.

Well, that's it for now. Happy Weekend Everybody!