Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Project Life - Week 42

Maddie developed hives all over her face this week.  She kept waking up in the night and after naps with hives on her face.  I had some Benadryl cream, and when I put that on her face, the hives went away pretty quickly, but we were still concerned.
 I took Maddie to see her doctor on Tuesday.  The doctor said that it was probably just a reaction to some kind of virus.  She told us to switch to liquid Benadryl.  The hives stopped a few days later, and she didn't really end up having any other symptoms.
 Our church preschool group had a Harvest party.  Maddie got to try out her monkey costume for the first time at the party.
 She enjoyed the games
 and the food!
 She had lots of fun!
 Jim spent the day on Friday with Drew at Drew's farm field trip.  I had planned to go, but Jim had the day off, so we made a last-minute switch.  It ended up being good because Jim said that there was quite a bit of hiking around the farm, and with my post-thyroid surgery energy issues, I would have probably been pretty exhausted.  They saw animals, took a hay ride, and picked pumpkins.  They had a lot of fun together!
We went out for dinner at Qdoba that evening.
 We all love their quesadillas!
 Saturday was Sweetest Day, and Jim had to work, so he told me to take the kids for a little McDonald's date that night.
 We ended up bringing it home and eating it there.
 Here's what I did for Project Life this week.  I am planning to add a field trip insert, but I am trying to get another picture or two from Drew's teacher or another parent first.
I am linking up at The Mom Creative.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Grateful for Change

We said goodbye to the golf course last week.
The clubhouse at Jim's course
After about 14 years of working there in different capacities, Jim is moving on from the course, and actually going back to a previous workplace - our church's Christian school.
Jim and I met at that school - not as students, but as teachers!
A scrapbook page I made about how Jim and I met
After finishing college with an undergrad degree in Bible and a master's degree in school administration, Jim moved home to teach at the little Christian school he had attended as a child.  A few years later, I was hired to teach first grade at the school, and after a year as co-workers and friends, we started dating.  That summer, we got engaged, and the following summer, we got married.  We taught together for two more years before Jim left the school to find a job that would allow us to have children and for me to be a stay-at-home mom.
Jim's decision to leave the school after nine years of teaching was an extremely difficult one, and one that involved a lot of thought and prayer.  He loved teaching, and he hated to leave, but there were no opportunities for advancement there.  We felt that God was leading us to start a family, and we both wanted me to be able to stay home with our children.  Jim tried to find an administrator position in another Christian school, but all the openings we found at that time involved moving out of state, and none of them would have paid enough to provide for our family.  He ended up being hired on as the assistant manager at the golf course where he had been working during summer vacations, and through the years, he has worked his way up to the position of general manager of that course.
Drew playing golf at Jim's course
Though we have been so grateful for the way the Lord has provided for our family through Jim's job at the golf course, we have been praying for the last couple of years for a change of employment for him.  The schedule of the course was not always family-friendly, and dependence upon the weather for time off and revenue can be difficult.  We were content for Jim to remain at the course for as long as God wanted him there, but we were praying that God would open up another opportunity.  We were praying for a job that would allow Jim to have a more traditional work schedule (5-day work weeks, with weekends off) to give him more time with our family and allow him to be at church each Sunday.
About a month and a half ago, our pastor called Jim and told him that the administrator of our church's school (the school where we met and taught, and where Drew goes to school) was suddenly and unexpectedly leaving mid-semester, and our pastor was wondering if Jim would be willing to put his name in for the job.  We were surprised by this news and concerned about the possible reasons the previous principal would have for leaving at this point in the school year, but we were excited for the opportunity and saw it as a possible answer to our prayers.
Jim spent the next few days updating his resume and getting answers to some of our questions.  After a good interview with our pastor, Jim's information was passed on to the school board, which unanimously recommended him to the rest of the deacon board.  Jim met with the deacon board a couple weeks ago, and they offered him the job.  He has accepted it, and he starts today as the new administrator at the school!
Our school
We are thrilled for this opportunity and are excited to see how God will use Jim in this new position.  His return to full-time Christian ministry is not something we saw coming, but God has brought us to this place, and we feel that with Jim's education and his experience as a teacher and as a business manager, he is uniquely qualified for this position.  It has taken some time, but in bringing Jim back to the school, God has given Jim the desire of his heart, and we are grateful!
Jim will miss the golf course.  He worked with some wonderful people there, and he will miss them.
Employee entrance at the course
However, Jim has a fantastic staff at the school, and he is excited to begin working with them.  It has been a difficult few months for our school and church, with the previous principal and several other teachers and families leaving, and though we know this transition might not be easy, we are looking forward to seeing how God will work.  We are rejoicing, in this week of Thanksgiving, for God's working in our school and His provision for our family, and we are praying for His help in the weeks ahead.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Project Life - Week 41

This was an exciting week for our family!   Maddie got into everything - as usual!  She looked so cute in Jim's shoes.
 The Tigers were in the play-offs, and the Monday game was moved to the afternoon at the last minute.  Since many ticket-holders had to work, they were selling their tickets at extremely low prices on-line.  Jim bought a couple of tickets, and we took Drew out of school at lunch-time, so the guys could go to the game together.
 They had a great time!
 Drew was pretty tired on the way home from the game.
 We started car-pooling with friends this week.  I love not having to make that drive quite as often now!
 Drew had ABC Day at school.  He had to wear an item of clothing for each letter of the alphabet.
 We picked some of the last veggies from our garden box this week.  We got a banana pepper, and Drew decided to try it.  He wasn't quite sure what to think about it!
 Our pastor called Jim this week to tell him that the principal at our school had resigned and to ask if Jim would be interested in trying for the job.  Jim spent a lot of time updating his resume and filling out a questionnaire for the administrator position at the school.  This was quite unexpected, and we spent a lot of time in prayer about this opportunity this week!
 I dressed Maddie in her Michigan cheerleader outfit on Saturday.  She looked so cute in it!
 Drew decided to wear his Michigan jersey, so I did my best to get a picture of the two of them together.
 Here's what I did for Project Life this week.
I am linking up again at The Mom Creative.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Butterfinger Bars

I pinned the recipe for Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Butterfinger Bars a few weeks ago on Pinterest.  I'd been hoarding all the Butterfingers from Halloween and had been looking for a reason to make these bars.
We got some good news this week, which I am planning to blog about next week, and I made these bars to celebrate!  The whole family loved them, and I highly recommend them!

Friday, November 8, 2013

Halloween 2013

We had a fun time celebrating Halloween last week!  We started by carving our pumpkin on Tuesday night.  We had watched a Curious George Halloween special on PBS earlier in the week that showed a pumpkin with Curious George's face carved in it, and I thought it would be so cute to try to do that ourselves.  The guys Jim cleaned out the pumpkin.
 Drew made one small attempt at scooping out the insides of the pumpkin, and then he was done!
 I drew George's face on the pumpkin, and Jim carved it.  We bought a little carving kit on clearance after Halloween last year, and it worked very well.  The tiny serrated knife was great!
 Here's our little George pumpkin.
 Halloween was a half-day at school - not because of Halloween, but because of Parent/Teacher conferences.  I dropped off the kids at Jim's mom's house for the afternoon and went back to school for Drew's conference.  Jim and I met back at his mom's house later that afternoon, and we got the kids dressed in their costumes there.
 Jim's mom gave them some candy in their buckets.
 Drew was Robin this year.  He loved his costume!
 Maddie was a monkey, and she wore Drew's old monkey costume that he wore when he was her age.  I loved the little tail!
 So heroic!
 We drove over to Jim's sister and brother-in-law's house next.  The kids both fell asleep on our way there.
 The kids both got more candy (and some money!) there, and they had a fun time playing there for a little while .

 It is always fun to see Aunt Sharon and Uncle Larry!
 Our last stop was trick-or-treating with friends in their neighborhood.  My biggest regret of Halloween was not getting a very good picture of my friend, Kristen.  Her family dressed up as the characters from Scooby Doo, and she was Velma.  She looked just like her, and I am so sad that I didn't get a good picture of her!
 It rained pretty steadily the whole time we were out trick-or-treating, but the kids did very well in spite of the rain.  They got tons of candy and had a great time.
 Maddie walked most of the way and carried her own bucket as she walked!
 Some of the people in the neighborhood really got into decorating for Halloween!  Drew got a little nervous about a few of the decorations, but overall, he loved it.  This was his first door-to-door trick-or-treating experience (in the past we've done Zoo Boo or just drove around to see different relatives), and he had so much fun!
We had a great Halloween, and we are still enjoying all the candy!  :)

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Project Life - Week 40

The repaving project on our street finally finished up this week.  We are thankful for a nice, smooth street, but we are also very glad to have all the construction barrels and trucks gone!
 This week was Missions Conference at our church.  Drew had lots of fun at his class each night.  The kids did a big group craft on Wednesday evening (the last night of the conference).  I managed to get this blurry shot of him with a hand covered in paint.
 Drew has discovered the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and he and Jim have been having "turtle fights."
 They get very creative with their ninja weapons!
 Maddie tries to get into the action too!

 I gave Maddie a pillow in her crib for the first time this week, and she seemed to really like it.
 Drew has been working hard to memorize his speech for American Heritage Day at school.  He is being Lou Gehrig, the baseball player.  He will be dressing up and participating in a special program at school in a few weeks.
 Maddie loves to stuff herself into any and all boxes and containers!
 I tried a new recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip bread, and we all loved it.  It makes three big loaves, so there is plenty to freeze or share.
 Here's what I did for Project Life this week.
I am linking up again at The Mom Creative.