My first week...

Well, I finished my first week at my new job and I am so happy to say I LOVE IT!!!  Of course, right now I am in the honeymoon phase and everything is new, exciting, and challenging.  I know that there will be tough days (everyone has warned me) but in spite of all that, I really think I am going to love my job.  I'm not going to lie right now it is very overwhelming and there is so much information to remember and learn but I know this will take time.

I have enjoyed getting out of the house in the mornings.  I have enjoyed dressing up and feeling pretty.  I have enjoyed meeting new people and talking with adults.  LOL

On to other news:

My in laws and Dave's Aunt and Uncle flew back to England on Thursday it was a wonderful visit.  I think they really enjoyed themselves.  I know we enjoyed having them.  We were treated to (among other things) a brand new rubber maid shed. (our last metal one had rotted and fell apart after so many years and we had been storing the lawn mower and accessories and the kids bikes and other shed type items on the lanai so it was nice to be able to move those to the shed again.  THANKS so much Mum and Dad.

 It was so nice having them here because all those little jobs that you put off  forever get done because Dave has the help and guidance to finish things up.

Sydnee has only one more week and a day of school and then she will be home for the summer.  She also managed to sublet her room at her apt to her best friends sister for the month of July so that will be so nice to not have to pay for a month of rent while she's not there.

  If only she could find someone for May and June. lol

 Of course, in her situation that will be almost impossible because quite honestly it has to be someone they all know.  I wouldn't feel comfortable having someone none of the girls knew moving in with the other two while one was away.  Not to mention the fact, this way Sydnee doesn't have to move her bedroom furniture Tori will just use hers.  It's the perfect situation it's just to bad Tori didn't need the room longer than just one month.  :)

Softball is in full swing and McKenlee is enjoying it.  So far the team hasn't won a single game but they have improved so much I am hopeful that a win is on the horizon.  Either way McKenlee is having fun and playing with a great group of girls.  Her coach is awesome too and that always helps.

Natalie has been driving us all over town and I am proud to say is a really good driver.  She takes her test in her driver's ed class this week and is really nervous.  I know she will do just fine.  Even though she will not be able to drive by herself until she turns 16 in September she won't have to take the test again, she will just take her certificate showing she passed the test to the DMV and they will issue her the license.

This is a relief to me because I am not sure if I ever mentioned (because I am sure at the time she was mortified and made me promise not to tell a soul) Sydnee failed her driving test the first time she took it and was devastated.  That car ride home with her crying was tough, I'm hoping that whole situation will be avoided this time around with this certificate.

 Two days after she failed, Sydnee took her test again and passed with flying colors.  I think it was just nerves, but my girl was just broken hearted and swore us all to secrecy.  Of course, almost 4 years later I hope she's ok that I just shared it with um, lets see the 5 people who read my blog.  LOL

Well, that's about all that is new around here.  Hope you have a fantastic weekend....

My next chapter...

Tomorrow is my last day as a home day care provider.  I have a new job.

 I can't believe I just typed that.

 I have a new job outside my home, talking with adults, where I will dress up, and wear make up, and take a shower before nap time.  (I realize I could of done three of these five things in my current job but I didn't, please don't judge. LOL )

Starting Monday April 15th I will be an Admissions Coordinator for a rehabilitation center.  I am so excited about this opportunity.  I cannot wait to start my next chapter.  I can't believe how everything has fallen into  place.  I always said I wanted to get a job when McKenlee started high school.  McKenlee will start high school in four months.  I was able to find wonderful day care homes for my three full timers and even my part timer.  That was so important to me I wanted to make sure that my littles were well taken care of.

I'm excited and looking forward to these new challenges.  I am excited about all the new things I am going to learn.  I'm excited that I will be working with families helping them find the right fit for their loved ones.

This is going to be fantastic, yay me!!!!!

Compassion is more important than fear...

This made me cry today.  I think we all have an Adam in our past.  It's important that we all teach our children to be accepting and compassionate towards others.  Every child should read the letter that Glennon Melton wrote to her son.


For Adam
By Glennon Melton

Dear Chase,


Hey, baby.

Tomorrow is a big day. Third Grade – wow.

Chase – When I was in third grade, there was a little boy in my class named Adam.

Adam looked a little different and he wore funny clothes and sometimes he even smelled a little bit. Adam didn’t smile. He hung his head low and he never looked at anyone at all. Adam never did his homework. I don’t think his parents reminded him like yours do. The other kids teased Adam a lot. Whenever they did, his head hung lower and lower and lower. I never teased him, but I never told the other kids to stop, either.

And I never talked to Adam, not once. I never invited him to sit next to me at lunch, or to play with me at recess. Instead, he sat and played by himself. He must have been very lonely.

I still think about Adam every day. I wonder if Adam remembers me? Probably not. I bet if I’d asked him to play, just once, he’d still remember me.

I think that God puts people in our lives as gifts to us. The children in your class this year, they are some of God’s gifts to you.
So please treat each one like a gift from God. Every single one.

Baby, if you see a child being left out, or hurt, or teased, a part of your heart will hurt a little. Your daddy and I want you to trust that heart-ache. Your whole life, we want you to notice and trust your heart-ache. That heart ache is called compassion, and it is God’s signal to you to do something. It is God saying, Chase! Wake up! One of my babies is hurting! Do something to help! Whenever you feel compassion – be thrilled! It means God is speaking to you, and that is magic. It means He trusts you and needs you.

Sometimes the magic of compassion will make you step into the middle of a bad situation right away.

Compassion might lead you to tell a teaser to stop it and then ask the teased kid to play. You might invite a left-out kid to sit next to you at lunch. You might choose a kid for your team first who usually gets chosen last. These things will be hard to do, but you can do hard things.

Sometimes you will feel compassion but you won’t step in right away. That’s okay, too. You might choose instead to tell your teacher and then tell us. We are on your team – we are on your whole class’s team. Asking for help for someone who is hurting is not tattling, it is doing the right thing. If someone in your class needs help, please tell me, baby. We will make a plan to help together.

When God speaks to you by making your heart hurt for another, by giving you compassion, just do something. Please do not ignore God whispering to you. I so wish I had not ignored God when He spoke to me about Adam. I remember Him trying, I remember feeling compassion, but I chose fear over compassion. I wish I hadn’t. Adam could have used a friend and I could have, too.

Chase – We do not care if you are the smartest or fastest or coolest or funniest. There will be lots of contests at school, and we don’t care if you win a single one of them. We don’t care if you get straight As. We don’t care if the girls think you’re cute or whether you’re picked first or last for kickball at recess. We don’t care if you are your teacher’s favorite or not. We don’t care if you have the best clothes or most Pokemon cards or coolest gadgets. We just don’t care.

We don’t send you to school to become the best at anything at all. We already love you as much as we possibly could. You do not have to earn our love or pride and you can’t lose it. That’s done.

We send you to school to practice being brave and kind.

Kind people are brave people. Brave is not a feeling that you should wait for. It is a decision. It is a decision that compassion is more important than fear, than fitting in, than following the crowd.

Trust me, baby, it is. It is more important.

Don’t try to be the best this year, honey.

Just be grateful and kind and brave. That’s all you ever need to be.

Take care of those classmates of yours, and your teacher, too. You Belong to Each Other. You are one lucky boy . . . with all of these new gifts to unwrap this year.

I love you so much that my heart might explode.

Enjoy and cherish your gifts.

And thank you for being my favorite gift of all time.

Love,

Mama

*****

To read more of Glennon's words, check out -http://momastery.com/blog/-where all are welcomed.

Emily...

Natalie is taking a child development class at school.  This is sure to be an easy A considering that she has been raised around babies.  With me being a home daycare provider I can honestly tell you that with the exception of patience (not that she lacks it just that she doesn't have as much as I do and overwhelms quickly) she easily could take care of my little's as well as I can.  I would trust that girl with even the tiniest of new borns.  That being said this week she has to bring home a doll that mimics a real baby and take care of it for 48 hrs.  Apparently, the doll will wake several times during the night and cry until it's needs are met.  I have already heard it 's first crying spell and I can tell you it is very true to life.  It's very loud and the cry is very demanding.  Tonight ought to be interesting.  She is required to name her baby and she has chosen the name Emily.  So without further ado let me introduce you to my granddaughter Emily.  LOL

Isn't she precious!!!

Bullet Points...

• My in laws have been here a little over a week and have managed to keep pretty busy.  They have been to Tarpon Springs to see the sponge docks and walk around the shops.  They have been to Safety Harbor and went to the Thursday morning fresh market and walked around main street and had lunch in a quaint little pub.  They have been down to John's Pass and walked the boardwalk.  They have gone down to the St. Pete pier and walked around and had lunch at the pier rooftop restaurant.  The girls and I joined them there on good Friday it was a gorgeous day.  Dave is off this week so they are currently at Fort Desoto Park (one of our famous beaches and also the place where Sydnee lifeguards all summer)  I am really hoping that after they spend a week at the beach next week they make the trip over to St. Augustine.  I love that Dave's Aunt and Uncle have joined them this trip it keeps my Father in law busy showing them around, otherwise he tends to get very bored when they are here for more than two weeks.

• Easter was spent at my Mom 's by the pool.  Although it was to chilly to swim this year it was beautiful to sit next to and enjoy the sunshine.  My Mom pulled off her usual delicious Ham dinner with all the fixings.  Just disappointing my Grandmother couldn't join us.  She has caught the "crud" that is going around everywhere right now.  Hopefully, she makes a speedy recovery as we have dinner plans on Friday night which include a sunset cruise down the Manatee river and dinner at the fantastic place we had brunch  at a few months ago.  A large group of us are going and it should be a really good time.  

•  Tomorrow I will be booking Natalie's flight to France.  We have been working toward this for awhile trying to get everything to fall into place and to make sure my girl had the courage to navigate the plane ride back by herself.  (She will be flying over with our exchange student Chloe and Chloe's cousin Charlotte who will be staying with us for three weeks this summer)  We have gone over every aspect of the flight and all the steps she will need to take so I am pretty confident that this will go smoothly for her.  I am so excited for her.  Chloe's family have plans to take her to Paris for 4 days where Chloe's grandparents live in Versailles and then to visit her Aunts, one who lives in the south of France and the other who if I understand correctly lives near the coast in a large home in the country.  Can I just say right here and now that I AM SO JEALOUS!!!  LOL  I'm so excited that my children are getting to experience so much traveling this year.  Yes, they are lucky girls!!!  Our hope is to be able to make a quick visit to France to see our new French friends in August of 2014 when we are back in England for a wedding.  Or perhaps Chloe's family could meet us in London for a visit.  We have really enjoyed getting to know these wonderful friends.  We are so blessed to of had the opportunity for ourselves and our girls to have made these international friends.  Please if you ever get the chance to host an exchange student do not hesitate,  it is a wonderful experience.

•  I have completely fallen off the wagon with my 20 miles a week.  I'm blaming it on all this company of course and the fact that McKenlee is playing softball and has games two nights a week.  I always have excuses when really it is just lack of self discipline.  I really have to get it together again though and soon because very shortly it is going to be really hot and that in itself makes it hard for me to motivate myself if I am not already in my groove.  Wish me luck for getting it together I will definitely need it!!!

•   That is all I have for today.  Hope this week treats you well and the sun shines down on you!!!