Welcome Home, Almost....

Well, the last time I wrote we had made a bid on a house...since then, we have been moving right along the path toward a new home...

After the inspection, it was discovered that we needed a new roof and some tuck pointing....and some other simple things inside the house.

We made a counter-offer, and guess what...they accepted it with no argument--so we are in! :)

While we were waiting to see if they'd accept our counter-offer, we prayed and prayed....we prayed specifically for no other offer to be returned...we were ready to get the thing moving.

God was faithful--no argument, a garden blooming in the back yard...and an estimate for a new roof, which will be created in July (when it gets dry here). God is so good to us--we are so thankful that He is allowing us to buy this new home...a home where we can invite over lots of friends...a home we can decorate for Christmas....a home where I can make delicious preserves and roll-out cookies without hassle. :)

This week, we are waiting for an appraisal...then just waiting for the sellers to move out of the house! Our closing date when we GET THE KEYS will be on May 1--very exciting times!

Until then, I will be faithfully packing up all of our things a little at a time...glad that I have a month to do this so I can do it slowly!

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This week at work was pretty stressful.

I hate seizures.

On Monday, we started out the week with one of my students with NO history of seizures collapsing in the lunchroom. For a minute and a half, I prayed over this kid, MY KID, asking God to make it go away. It was the longest grand mal/tonic-clonic seizure I'd experienced to date...not a fun time. Thank the Lord that my aide and I were there to get him to the ground and that I am certified in first aid. No blocked airways!

I am so thankful that the Lord was in this situation and that the kid was okay after all of that...they are following up to see if this is a new disorder or what the deal is...but I am praying against regular seizures in my classroom. Too scary.

In other news, I am soon going to be coaching Special Olympics soccer--and we will be trained by the Sounders coaches! I am so excited to see that Special Olympics are here in WA--I was really missing going to the games and seeing my kids have the opportunity to succeed and be overjoyed while playing sports.

Amidst all the drama and exhaustion I feel at work, I am thankful to be certain that God can use me here at this job.

Yes, it's stressful.

But would anyone else be here to advocate for these kids if I weren't?

Probably not.

Whether or not my worldly bosses are pleased with my constant complaints/requests on behalf of my kids, I gotta keep it up. I gotta keep going. I have to look past my own discomfort and focus what is ahead...kids who feel better about themselves. Kids who feel success. Kids who (hopefully) experience God's love because I am there.

God, please help me to be a good example. Please help me to be patient. Please help me to love.

Waiting...we meet again

So lots of crazy events over the past 24 hours. :)

Last night we signed our very first house bid. We went and checked out houses all morning and afternoon and when we were done, we knew that the time was right. So we met for a couple of hours w/ our awesome real estate agent last night and signed all the lovely paperwork to send off to the sellers.

Now we are just waiting. The bid expires tonight at 9pm. The sellers were supposed to meet at 4:30 pm with their real estate listing agent to decide on whether or not to accept our bid and reach mutual acceptance on the offer.

It's 50 minutes later, I've been making jewelry and doing laundry, and I am again waiting to see if the Lord has this in our plan or not. I also had a delectable bagel.

In general, I'm very excited to be at this point in my life, as well as this stage in the house search project. We love to have people over. We love to have room for us to invite people with kids and know we actually have the space to contain them and the outdoor area for them to play. We love to host and delight and fellowship with friends.

So now we wait and pray that we can make the next step in making this a reality. God has been so faithful in meeting our needs thus far, and I trust that He will continue to fill our cups with just the right "beverage." God knows just what we need to be able to make an impact whilst we are here. We hope and pray that this house is "The One" house just for us...but if not, we are speaking in faith when we say "We are okay." God makes me content. God is what I need.

Yes, I would love to make this house into a home.

But do I have to have it? No. God has my life under control just the way it is right now. If He so chooses to entrust us with more by giving us this home, then I pray that we will be diligent in serving and worshipping Him there. I pray that our home will be a safe place for people when they need it, and a wonderful place for our posterity to grow up.

So now I am off to put our loan info. in order...it'll be interesting to see what the final verdict is!

A "battle" won...but almost lost

This week flew by so fast I am still thinking...."It's gotta be only Tuesday!" But I woke up bright and early and am still tying to convince my body that yes, it really is already Sunday and I am going to have to get ready for another week! :)

Last week definitely improved--way less drama than I had been a part of in the past few weeks, but don't worry--it's not drama free...leaving me with something to write about!

First, I have recently started teaching Sunday school again at our new church. I get to teach some kids and work with a friend--what more could you ask for?? Not much, by my standards. It is really a blessing to me more than to the church because teaching SPED sometimes means "forgetting what normal really is." Many morns and moons in the classroom often leads me to think, "Wow, so and so is REALLY smart!" or "Wow, he understands humor, putting him on a whole new plane!" But the truth of the matter is, my students are in high school SPED. Their lives will continue to be lived out in the frame of mind they currently have. When they are 50, they will STILL be talking about METRO buses and garbage trucks. I love them, and I want to help them have the best quality of life I can by training them in job skills, but at the same time, I also need to be around kids who are normally developing. This is a great blessing and a reminder of how to stay well-rounded. The way I share Christ with my students is through actions and love, words would not cross the barrier of mental capacity by giving a Sunday school lesson for those guys. I do speak to them about biblical truths like telling the truth, working hard, etc. in the classroom, but I do not speak to the extent that you could explain in a SS classroom.

So overall, I am thankful for a new outlet to be with younger kids (I love my high schoolers, but it really is AWESOME to work around younger kids....I have missed them!) and to experience a picture of what "normal" really looks like.

In other news, I have really been cooking/baking my brains out lately. Faculty meetings, birthdays, sick folks, parish group, supper club, my husband, etc.--all are great opportunities to cook, which is the thing that I probably enjoy most. I love cooking--you get immediate reactions, you are able to meet basic needs (whether that be hunger or just a "chocolate deficit" as one of my co-workers said!) as well as give something to someone that they will (hopefully!) really enjoy.

When we pass by empty store fronts in great neighborhoods, I think to myself, "That would be perfect for my place!" I have this passing dream of having a coffee shop/pastry place/southern casseroles place...who knows if it will ever become a reality, but I am sure that all of this practice is helping to get me closer!

So about my title--the BATTLE that I actually WON commenced on Friday, right after a very interesting phone call. For many months now, I have been battling and seeking assistance for one particular student who often becomes violent and needs to be removed from the room....problem was....I have no "time out" room and literally no where to take him aside from having his aide just remove him to the hall. A hall might not be so bad in some cases, but ours had lockers that could hurt the student, and he also was not contained so it was quite difficult to calm him in a place that simply wasn't calm.

Directly beside my classroom has been a counselor's office--poor guy! He has been counseling and holding meetings throughout all of my kids YELLS and the overall cacophony that IS my classroom.

It was suggested that his office become a time out room. The first issue was that it had a window, then it was an administrative decision, then it went on and on into drama.....

But you know what?

On Friday, I moved a huge desk where I wanted it in that very same office. My friend, the counselor, moved to his new office in a new building and I helped him carry all his goodies to his new "office with the view!"

So my SLP and I decided that overall this year, that is the third "big battle" I have won.

I moved things around and put up pictures and school work from my kids on Friday, pushing me to leave after 7pm! What a week!

I am so thrilled to be the new "owner" of the safe place. It is going to be such a great gift--if needed, I can have IEP meetings there....I can pull-out for small groups....I can pull out for testing!

All I can say is THANK YOU to God. I had experienced so many hurtful words about this Safe Place that I almost wanted to give up.

But God reminded me of His promises and my promise to Him--when the going is tough, I will lean on Him and do what should be done. I had to persevere. If I would've given up and stopping approaching the people that needed to be approached for this action to take place, then it may not have happened.

God, thank you for hearing my cry.