I just realized with the craziness of moving, unpacking, getting settled, the new school year, etc... that I forgot to update my bloggy friends with... "the rest of the story".

Back in May we came to visit TN, looked at houses and picked one out. We did not have a #2 choice. We saw over 35 houses in 3 days of hunting and they were all starting to look the same. The house we chose was nearly perfect for our family and it seemed like it was in a great neighborhood with lots of kids nearby! Well, we got back to PA and began to pack and waited for the contract negotiations to finish up.  They didnt. The sellers would not agree to our terms and we fell out of contract over $3500. Seriously.

Well... I was starting to get a little nervous - thinking I would not be able to find a house and we started talking about our options. A week later my sweet, darling southern belle realtor and my wonderful Mom went out on a Saturday for some SERIOUS house hunting!! My Mom has an I-Phone so she was able to visually walk me through houses with photos and her words - describing things like I would be able to see them. "This one has brick the same color as our house back in Wilmington when you were little...".  There were 7 houses that I had narrowed down the search to include. They went into the first 4 and were not impressed with any of them. Then, they drove up to the 5th house and my mom's words were "Chrissy.... THIS is your house." She and the realtor fell in love, and we wrote a contract! It was accepted, and 20 days later we were going to closing!

July 2nd I got to see my house in person for the first time, and July 3rd - we signed papers! We are new home owners! I do love this house and I absolutely ADORE the neighborhood for all of the new friends my kids have made! There are 44 children between my house and the next cul-de-sac down! WHEW!

The next big change came in our decision to put the kids in school this year. We chose our location based on proximity to my mom's new house and the school district. Its the best in the state - consistently - for over a decade now. That does not cancel out the effects of being in a public school vs. at home....  but in this season of our life... it was necessary. We had talked a lot about our options and decided that I would need to get a job - at least temporarily - to help make ends meet while my husband starts a business. School started for them August 11th and they are all pretty happy there! There were some initial complaints (its toooooo earrrrrlllllyyyyyy for school....) but its nice to have someone else be the one demanding all of the completed work and for me to be the moral and emotional support person in the house again! I loved home schooling, but I think that was the hardest part for me - being the teacher AND the mom when my teacher skills were drill-seargent like at best.

So on the job front... when I was registering the kids for school I was talking with the principal and the secretary about the new building, the teachers, the rules, the curriculum, etc. I asked "you all really seem to love your jobs! How hard is it to work for this district?" The principal asked what I wanted to do... I said I didnt really know yet! He mentioned that there was an opening for a full-time Special Needs Teacher Assistant and that they were interviewing the next day! Yikes! Well, I set up an interview knowing full well that I have ZERO qualifications for that type of position. I went on the interview and BOMBED it. She asked me what I would do if a child spit on or kicked me... I said "honestly, I have no idea. I have never had a child spit on me... I know what I would do if it were my OWN child..." She asked about my experience - "I taught Sunday school class with a boy with Autism... I just changed the curriculum around to suit what he needed." She said, "Well, in school, you just support the student in the classroom - we cant always change to classroom to fit the child." At the end of the interview she gave me the "dont call us, we will call you" spiel and told me about how many candidates they had to interview - some wanting to transfer in from another school in the same position (read: lots of more experienced people want this job.). She said I should hear back by the following Thursday (like 9 days away!!!).

Well.... guess who got a phone call 2 days later?  The principal called me and said "I just wanted to call you regarding your interview here the other day." (Im thinking... wow, I must have REALLY messed that up if he is calling me personally to say I dont get the job!!) "We would like to offer you the full time position." My husband was sitting next to me and saw the caller ID and knew why they must be calling... He kept looking at me for some sign of how the conversation was going. My incredibly eloquent response was "REALLY?!?! WOW!" LOL.....

So..... that was the end of July.. and now we are beginning our 5th week of school! I really like my new job. I like that I get to be at the school with the kids all day. I love that we have the same schedule. I like that I know what is going on at the building and I know all the teachers personally now outside of the twice a year conferences. I get to see them for the loving, caring people they are and I know the ones I dont want my kids to have next year. Working there makes me want to consider becoming a teacher... but I doubt I could teach someone elses curriculum methods.

HS moms will appreciate this... last week in 1st grade math they were teaching some early adding/subtracting skills using a 10-mat and counters. My kiddos just were not getting it. What is a former-hs mom to do? Well... I dug through my stuff at home and the next day I brought in my color-coded abacus, two egg cartons cut down to only have 10 compartments, and some counters with faces drawn on them. We had a conversation about how many seats were on the 10-bus, how many kids fit in each seat (one), and how the bus driver's only rule is that you MUST fill in the row behind him before anyone sits in the next row.

Guess what?

They got it.

Two children with autism understood how to "make a ten" with counters. They were adding by sight, subtracting in their heads and doing word problems.

I know it sounds like a pat on my own back... but honestly... each morning during the moment of silence following the pledge to the flag, I pray that the Lord would use me that day. That He would let me see these special-needs kids like HE sees them, that he would show me the best way I can reach them TODAY, and tomorrow too.  Yes, there are rough days - like when I came home from a week of tough cases only to realize I had not thawed dinner for Friday night and the laundry was piling up. Those days I wonder if I am doing what is best, but overall... I think things are going well. And don't think I dont check in on my own kids all day long! LOL.... the teachers must think the principal hired a spy!!

Blessings to all....

I will try to check in every once and awhile.

In Him,

Chrissy