Radio Flyer

Today we had a photo shoot with a couple of Michael's birthday presents. He got this Radio Flyer wagon from my mom (Grandma) and the cute Osh-Kosh overalls from Sam's mom (Go-Go).

I love the way the red wagon stands out against the green grass. But of course, the handsome little boy in all the pictures is what really makes them fabulous!

Michael let me know when it was time to go inside. Too many mosquitos outside...

Party Time!!

This past Saturday was Michael's first birthday party. Sam's parents were in Africa and some of our friends were out of town in July. We wanted all the people we love to be together to celebrate his first year of life, so we waited a while to have his party.

We didn't go with a theme party this year. I figured that we will have many years ahead of us when Michael can choose his own party theme. We just went with the color scheme of green and blue and hosted the party in our carport. Our house is plenty big enough for our little family, but it can get quite crowded with 20-30 people! Being outside was our best option, but the carport provided nice shade. We also set up the baby pool for the kids.

Michael made a bigger mess with his cake this time! Daddy taught him how to shove the whole thing in his face...great! Afterward, Michael just got in the pool to rinse off. He enjoyed every minute of making a mess, though!

Here are some pictures from the party...

This last picture is of Michael with all of his presents! Notice the wagon with the little train INSIDE and all the other presents around him. He got some great things from grandparents and friends!

Back to School

That's right...summer's officially over for us! Sam and I both went back to school today. We have four days of pre-planning this week. We recently were told that we have Friday off (one of the three furlough days we're having to take this year).

Sam is back in his same position as a high school Spanish teacher and coach.  He's so great at what he does and has such a God-given ministry with his students. He also heads up FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) and the school's Youth Leadership program. Last year, Sam got voted Teacher of the Year by his colleagues and gets to hold that title for this school year. He also gets his own parking spot! The students at his school look up to Sam for so many reasons. He's so great at making Spanish fun to learn as well as being a role model for the kids and his fellow teachers!

As for me, this will be my fourth year teaching and I'll be at my third school.For those of you who don't know, I started teaching at a great school, but I wanted to teach part-time once Michael was born. God blessed me with a position teaching ESOL at another school. I loved being able to do the two things I love...being a mommy and a teacher. However, God had other plans for me this year. Our county had to cut some teaching positions (100 to be exact) due to budget cuts. I was one of the teachers who was told I wasn't going to have a job this year. My job was easy to cut since I was part-time and not teaching in a regular classroom. I was sad and confused when all this happened last year. I thought I was doing what God wanted me to, but I also wanted to hear His voice and follow His will for me.

I decided that I was going to try to look for another job, but I also prayed that God would not allow anything to happen that He didn't want me to do. For a long time, things were not looking good on the job front. Our county and surrounding counties were on a hiring freeze for teachers. So, I came to terms that I was going to be a stay-at-home-mom. I was excited about the opportunity, but most importantly I wanted to make sure that I was doing the right thing.

That's when I got word that a teacher at another school was looking for someone to job-share with. We e-mailed each other, called each other, and met with each other. We got along great and decided that we would work really well together. Things really came together for us with our county office and administrators and we got the approval to job-share together.

Now, I'm teaching 5th grade at a brand new school. My co-teacher, Katie, and I will be alternating work weeks, so I will work one week and have the next week to be a stay-at-home-mom! I'm back to doing my two favorite things! However, Katie is having a baby this week, so I will be doing her maternity leave and working for the first 6 weeks of school.

I thought that I would dread going into my classroom today, but I got so excited! I have really missed teaching in the regular classroom and all the excitement and anticipation came back to me once I started putting things together and decorating and organizing! I'm ready to meet those 5th graders (no matter how big they might be) and I'm pumped about this school year.