Changes...

Thanks to those of you who were praying for me and encouraging me last week... If you haven't read my comment from the other day, the interview with the school district went very well. I was basically offered the job immediately following the interview, although i wasn't called with the official offer until the following day. My interview was on Wednesday and I went with an open mind, not at all sure if the job would be a good match or if it would be a possibility that would open up for me. But as the interview went on I found out that there were many positive features. The job would be in one school (unlike many speech therapists in the schools who split their time at two or even three or more schools), and it is the school that houses the preschool program. One of my favorite parts of my current job is working with the little ones who have not yet reached school age, so i was hesitant to switch if i would have to give that up. It just seemed to be set up perfectly - they were looking for someone who would be excited to work in the preschool. The other bonus of this school is that I would not be the only speech pathologist there. Due to the large size of the elementary school (770 students) , and the special education programs housed there, there are a combination of 4 speech pathologists who will be at the school either part time or full time. The district was also willing to go the extra mile to find a way to give me experience credit for my 3 years that i've been working outside of public education and were able to offer me a slightly higher pay rate than they initially stated (still a pay cut from my current job... but i'll have a lot more time off!!!). So all in all, it seemed to be an excellent fit. The people were great and I've heard nothing but good things about the district. So i decided to take a leap and accept the new job!

Since deciding to accept the job i've been kind of a mix of emotions! I've never quit a job before that i hadn't planned in advance would be for a specified amount of time. It is hard to leave my current job. Well at least to leave the people. I'm thinking of lots of the positive things right now and know i'll miss a lot... but sometimes change can be good. And this one brings with it many postive things as well... Oh, and one more thing i though of that kind of sealed the deal..... snow days!!! Yeah yeah, there won't be that many in this area, but i'm sure we'll at least get a few delayed starts... :)

Exploring possiblities...

Well, I've been working as a speech pathologist for 3 years now... and have been at one job for that whole time- at the Children's Therapy Unit at a hospital in Puyallup. It's a good job overall, but it definately has its ups and downs, as most jobs do.... Lately i've been thinking a lot about the potential of changing jobs... but hadn't really followed through with anything until a week or so ago. I got an e-mail from the director of special services in the Tahoma school district (in Maple Valley). She was asking me if i would be interested in interviewing for a job in an elementary school. This time i decided to take the plunge. I have an interview this afternoon at 4:00. Part of me still thinks i'm crazy for considering this - interviewing for another job when i like my current job overall, and where i'd even be taking a pay cut! But then there's part of me that would love to be closer to home and able to work shorter days with a new job. Not to mention the appealling school schedule with about 12 weeks off per year :) I think that in itself is worth the difference in pay. We'll see!!! It's been three years since i last interviewed, which I know isn't that long but feels like ages to me right now! I'm trying to remind myself that there's no need to be nervous - i'm just exploring possibilities to see what else is out there. Of course i spent an hour and a half last night trying on all the clothes in my closet and then ironing half of them because nothing seemed to be just right and i couldn't decide what i'd feel most comfortable in today! Girls can be so funny... But i managed to find something to wear this morning... so i think i'll make it! Well, if nothing else, this will be a good opportunitiy to brush up on my interviewing skills. I just pray that I will have clear direction in the decisions to make during and following the interview! A new job would be challenging, a bit scary, but also a bit fun... It's always good to push on the door to see if it's going to open for you, right? :)

The beginning of the story...

Doug & Carol at Mt Erie

So i just finished reading Doug's blog and he had a great entry about swing dancing. I just have to vouch for him and say that he has picked up dancing very quickly! For those who haven't read his blog yet, we are taking east coast swing lessons for the next five weeks, and our first lesson was last night. As Doug stated, we first went swing dancing last November, just a week after we started 'hanging out'... and i was excited but surprised that he wanted to go with me at that time. Of course if you'd heard previous conversations wtih my friend Meredith, you'd realize how much i wanted to meet a guy who would be willing to try new things with me and most importantly, who would be willing to at least attempt dancing. So imagine my surprise when Doug not only volunteered to go so soon after meeting, but he picked up the basic steps quickly and was happy to go a second time. And seven months later, he's even willing to take lessons with me - and is enjoying it! See guys - it really is a good way to win a girl's heart! :) Well okay, i guess there were a few other factors involved there too!

Since i'm talking about Doug, I can tell you about how we met... Leah asked for it, so here it is! Well last November I was leaving church where i had been working with the kids on a wednesday night, and going to my friend (and new roommate) Sarah's house to practice playing guitar when i checked my phone messages. To my surprise i had a voicemail from my old roommate Mindy's cousin Doug (did you follow that?!?!?) Mindy and I were roommates for just under a year before she was married last summer. I had met Doug a few times through Mindy - he had come over to our place once and I had gone with Mindy to a couple family things which Doug had been at. However, we never really talked much any of those times. I'm pretty sure that the first time he came over, I was feeling incredibly unsociable (which is highly unusual for me by the way!) and so i said hello to Mindy's cousins and then spent the rest of the evening in my room. Apparently that was the right thing to do, although i didn't know it at the time! Doug has told me since then that I intruiged him from that first meeting. Over a year later Doug saw me when he was looking through some wedding pictures from Mindy's wedding, and was reminded that he hadn't had a chance to get to know me. So he decided to remedy that! I admire Doug for calling up his cousins to get my phone number and then calling me out of the blue! I'll admit that i was a bit skeptical at first - i mean we hadn't even talked when we had met before... but I was totally willing to go out for coffee with him - as friends of course! Well from there the rest is history... he treated me like a princess from the very begining and was willing to go swing dancing with me a week later :) We have had lots of adventures to this point and i'm sure we'll have many more to tell you about in the future...

Praying for Miracles from our capable God...

Timmy, originally uploaded by Carebear26.

Well tonight i have a request for prayer for a wonderful family... I met the Rixmann's at Westgate Chapel in Edmonds a few years ago. They were serving in the college/20s ministry at that church and were very involved in worship and missions with the group. Leah and Robert now have four beautiful boys (the youngest is less than a month old!). Their eldest - Timmy - is five years old and had been battling a rare form of cancer on his brainstem for the last year and a half. This family is so amazing - they have the best outlook on life and are able, with peaceful hearts, to withstand situations that we all pray we'll never have to face. I have been amazed at their ability to trust God and leave everything at his feet, knowing with complete faith that He will work everything out according to His plan. Timmy has beaten the odds to this point, and we are all praying that he will continue to do so. Timmy has been undergoing times of intensive chemotherapy over the last several months, attempting to shrink the tumor as much as possible before undergoing his second surgery to remove the tumor. This surgery is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. He was admitted to the hospital Friday to begin preparations for the surgery. I'm asking any of you who read this post before or on Tuesday (June 14th) that you would pray for Timmy, his family, and the doctors and nurses who are working with him. This little boy is so precious and is truely a treasure who i know will do amazing things in his life. To read more about his story, click here and if asked to enter a password type in... Patient ID:Rixmann password:5drumsplease

Friends reunited...

Carol and Hannah at Alki, originally uploaded by Carebear26.

Yeay! My bestest friend Hannah is back in Washington!!! I got a phone call from her a couple days ago and finally was able to see her today!!! I'm so excited to have her back!!! Hannah and I became great friends a couple years ago - we were both fairly new to Washington and neither of us had much family out here. So we met at a church in Edmonds although we were both living on the southside at that time. And we ended up having lots of adventures together that bonded us quite closely. However, she decided to move back to the Chicago area to be close to her family about a year and a half ago... so needless to say i was rather bummed, but knew she had to go. Well, obviously things worked out good for me because she moved back! Hannah will be the Children's pastor at the church we attend - Renton Christian Center - a smaller Foursquare church in Fairwood. She'll be living close by and i'll actually get to see her more than twice a year again!!! A lot more than twice a year!!! So we can have even more adventures together - the adventures of Hannah Banana and Carebear! I'm sure we'll go and frolic somewhere soon - as that's one of our favorite activities :)

It's also fun that she'll be at the church that we both attended while she lived here and i've been attending since that time. I've been working with the precious kids for the past school year and am excited for them to meet Hannah and her to meet them. Actually Wednesday was our last night of Faith Weaver Friends (for grades K - 3) and we had a carnival type night. The kids went through several realy-style games and then at the end they were each able to throw a pie in the face of one of the adult friends... Hmmm... that was quite a mess! Actually the 'pie' ended up being mostly melted whipped cream so it was like throwing a plate of sweet milk at us! I came home with pie in my hair and all over my clothes and smelling quite milky-sweet... But it was worth it! The kids had a great time. It's sad to say bye to them though - some of the ones who showed the most growth in their understanding of Christ are those who don't attend the church on Sundays. So i may not get to see them again until the fall. I was just glad to be a part of it this year!!!

Going public...

So I guess my blog is going public today. I hadn't shared this with anyone yet, as i wasn't quite sure if i really wanted to keep this up... but i let Doug read my blog tonight and he insisted on sharing it with all of his friends. After looking at the network you guys have i know it's all over for me now - i have no choice but to keep it up!!! But really it's going to be fun... i think i like to write more than i admit to myself. It's just hard to come up with starter topics at times :) I do get some great ideas by looking through other people's blogs... that's not against nettiquite is it???? :) I really am looking forward to using this as a tool to keep people updated on my life. And if i'm really lucky i can get some of my east coast friends to join the trend! They aren't quite as techy back there though... so we'll see! One thing you have to know about me... i love to punctuate with exclamation points!!! So hopefully that won't make you too crazy!!! And one is never enough!!! If you just use one you may as well just use a period. :) Smileys are fun too... i guess that's fitting seeing as i do smile a lot!! Now that you know all the important stuff (or i should say the random not so important stuff) i guess i can sign off. I look forward to sharing my story with you all...