A world turned upside down!

Hard to believe, but now neither Richard nor I are employed as teachers. He's working as a driver for Givens Estates, and I'm working on unemployment. We're expecting a baby boy, Nolan Richard, in November. He'll most likely arrive Thanksgiving week, via c-section.
I've always wanted to be a SAHM (stay-at-home mom), but never like this. Praying that I get unemployment so we can stay afloat till at least January. Also not sure how exactly I can say I'll be physically able to work during the week Nolan is born! Should be interesting. Have to take that up with ESC. Well, with the extra down-time, I'll hopefully be able to keep up with this blog more often!
Mom was planning on permanent retirement, but with my joblessness, she's heading back to Harnett County to interview for a couple of translator positions. I'm going to miss the help after I deliver!
Kiersten is as hyper and clever as ever. She can now open all the doors in the house - no more privacy!! She's constantly expanding her vocabulary and saying things that crack us all up. She never fails to amaze me with her constant learning and intelligence. I hope Nolan is as smart and beautiful!

Kiersten, Baptized

We knew baptizing a 2-year-old would be different. Interesting. She didn't disappoint. We called her on everything that happened. The clinging to daddy, not wanting to go to Pastor Rob, the dislike of the water on her head. What we didn't count on was her calling out for Elmo during the prayer. She always manages to surprise us.

The Season is Fast Approaching

Settling into my job at OMS. I should find out within a few weeks if I'll be there next semester. My biggest wish is that if I AM back, they'll make the position a permanent one, rather than an interim. Benefits, sick/personal/annual leave would be a nice thing to have. I've basically had mandatory perfect attendance!
We had our last nice, sunny, warm weekend last weekend. I took advantage of it & snapped a pic of Kiersten in the church garden. Unfortunately, the camera battery died before Susan could get a family pic. D'oh! Next weekend she'll be baptized, so I'll make sure the battery is full-up for lots and lots of pics!
My little girl is growing in every way except size. Her vocabulary is expanding, her curiousity is blooming, and her imagination is really kicking in. The other day she was even using different pitch-leveled voices, speaking for a frog on her keychain. The conversation went something like this: (deep-voiced Kiersten):"Hi, I'm a frog." (high-pitched Kiersten): "Hi, frog, I'm Kiersten". I almost fell out of my chair. Hilarious! I cannot wait till she really gets into make-believe play. I just wish we had a bigger house so we could set up a play room for her.

Halloween!

What a nasty day, weather-wise! Had a nice afternoon with Dean & Phyllis. She went straight to Phyllis without a fuss - awesome! Then we headed to Jonesborough for their storefront Halloween candy giveaway. We had to wake Kiersten from her car nap, so she was groggy for the first few minutes & still didn't want to walk. We hit a few stores for candy (the sidewalk was CROWDED!), then headed back home. Next year she'll pick out her own costume & will, I'm sure, be a lot more excited about walking around!

Labor Day Weekend/Kiersten's Bday

Well, it came & went with a wimper. We were so busy still unpacking that, unfortunately, we almost forgot it was her birthday weekend. She seemed to really like the cake & the Elmo & Big Bird toys that were on it. And of course, chocolate is her favorite flavor!
The house is starting to look like a home, and it has actually FELT like a home since we got here. We're so happy to be here! So looking forward to spending lots of time on our porch, watching leaves change color and getting Kiersten into the culture here. LOVE THIS AREA!!

What a week!

I am TIRED! We started the loading of boxes & "stuff" last Friday. Hard to believe today makes a week. We've been in the house since Sunday, and I've been working since Monday. Must say, it's wearing me down.
I have, at the moment, 3 85-minute classes. I start with 8th graders, have a 40 minute break that will become a duty next 9 weeks, then I have 2 classes back-to-back, 7th graders, then 6th graders. Then I have planning beginning at 1:45. Planning! I've not had a planning period in 3 years! It's nice! On September 14th, the regular schedule starts, and I'll have 6 40-minute classes, plus a reading class. Not sure what exactly I have to do in there, but it begins at 7:45.
Kiersten's birthday is Sunday. So hard to believe she's going to be 2. Seems like we just celebrated her first birthday! We're having her party tomorrow, complete with a Sesame Street cake. I'll hopefully remember to post about it Saturday night or Sunday afternoon. Looking forward to seeing mom. It'll be a while before she comes back up, so we're going to make the most of her time.
Off to class now!

Summer's ending...new life is beginning!

It's going to be an interesting year. Instead of getting a classroom ready and picking out a back-to-school outfit, we'll be moving boxes and setting up house. We've finally made an official decision to move to the Asheville area. While we don't have teaching jobs yet, we're going to be subbing full-time in Henderson County, and will also be offering our services as sub bus drivers for the county. It's going to take some creative budgeting, but I think we can do it. Hopefully we'll have a divine hand in helping us settle and find jobs within the year.
We went to Susan's house last weekend to begin our job-search. We thought it would serve us better to actually be IN Asheville to look around for available jobs and housing. We were offered positions as brass instructors at a local music school. While at the moment there is no pay, we'll be actively recruiting, and will hopefully pick up a few students to supplement whatever we make subbing. I've included the pic Susan took of us before we went to see the owner & the guitar teacher. We don't often get pics of just the 2 of us, so it was nice.
We'll be going back to Asheville/Fletcher next week to visit some houses properly, not just driving almost aimlessly as we did last week. Mom's going with us this time, since she'll have a stake in where we live. We're very lucky to have her joining us! Absolutely no way she'll live that far from her grandbaby!