Well, this past week has been kind of hairy. Even though I'm technically part time this year, I've gotten home past four every day so far. That's pretty much how the beginning of the school year is, though. School's in! Let's have a retreat! School's in! Let's have a service project day! School's in! We have to have parent night, preceded by back to school night in addition to 8th grade trip meeting night. It's crazy busy, but it's good. Anna and Noah have had a great start back. Anna is part of the chapel band this year, which leads worship at school every Tuesday morning. She's one of three singers, but hasn't quite got used to standing in front of a crowd and leading. This morning we had a special event, See You at the Pole, and I and one of the chapel band leaders were standing behind the crowd practically standing on our heads to get the girls to sing LOUDER! Anna is also loving youth group, (which her dad leads), as you can see from the food-fight photo taken at the weekend campout. Noah is having a lot of fun getting to know his 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Elzinga. She's a lot of fun and a good fit for Noah who, you know, can be "energetic." Noah and I have been playing some one-on-one basketball in the evenings and his three pointers have done me in more than once. He also likes to cook, hence the experimental fried pickle we tried recently. I have to say, I had my doubts, but I guess anything fried in butter is a winner. John is still looking for a job, but we are hopeful he'll get a call for an interview this week. It's for a position with Boys and Girls Town, which is a residential children's facility, as a daytime therapist. It's in St. James, an hour-and-a-half away, but we are not in a position to be picky! He got the unofficial word that the vice president was planning on having her assistant contact him within the next couple of days, but that was Monday and still no call. We passionately believe God has a purpose for everything he allows to happen in our lives, so we pray for the patience to wait on His perfect timing. My mom is here visiting through Friday afternoon so she could participate in Grandparents' Day at school tomorrow. She's taking us out to dinner tomorrow night which is REALLY exciting for me since eating out hasn't been on the menu - no pun intended - since about February. Unless you count the 20 free meals I won from Qdoba for singing karaoke over the summer, but that's a different story . . .
P.S. Okay, I haven't figured out how to put captions under my pictures yet, so the first one is the aftermath of Anna's youth group food fight, the second is, obviously, my pickle frier, and the one beneath is a picture of me and my boss, Cathy at the 7th grade retreat.
