A New School Year

Well, here I am...One week in! It's been an okay start to the year. It's too early to make any predictions. I'm wondering why I wanted to switch subjects. While Science is not my area of expertise, all my lessons were prepared. I'm back to square one with Language arts, but I do love the subject more, so I guess that's a good thing. I have a big bag of work with me tonight.

To be honest, I'm having a hard time even writing. My heart is just sad and heavy for my friends the Osbornes and Hummels. I know most everyone who reads my blog is also connected to them as well, so I won't retell the story, but if you are unaware, you can go to http://hummelnest.blogspot.com/ for the updates on Bryson. It really just breaks my heart. It seems like I've known more people who've experienced tragedy in their lives in the last few years, than in my whole life leading up to it. I wonder why that is? One thing I would like to share is about a book I read called The Shack. It's about where tragedy meets eternity. The book is fiction and can only be purchased online from the website http://www.theshackbook.com/ but it was incredible. As a matter of fact, I feel the need to read it again to help myself wrap my brain around this situation with Bryson. I know God has an amazing plan for this little boy. I pray for peace and comfort for his family and for him as he deals with the loss of his leg.

Well, I hope everyone is having a good start to the week.

Kelley

Catching Up

This post will probably seem like it's all over the place, but it's been a while and I have lots to say. First let me explain this photo. While Holly had Emmy in St. Louis visiting friends, Jason gave me the opportunity to have the boys for a few days. We had just arrived home and Elijah went straight to the bathroom for a, shall we say, longer bathroom experience. Zeke had to go in a bad way also, so I shouted the first thing that came to my mind..."Go out by the tree!" He literally ran for the tree and dropped his drawers. I...ran for the camera! Doesn't he just have the cutest little bum?

Holly likes to call him quirky...I think she knows what she's talking about. He asked me to take his picture while he made funny faces. We took about 10 shots, but he kept getting closer to the camera and the pictures kept getting scarier so I'm only posting a few. What a nut!

At the end of the week, Holly and Emmy came to my house to pick up the boys on their way home. They spent the night which gave me some time with my sweet Emmy too. When they arrived, Emmy jumped in my arms, wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist and hugged me for a long time. She's definitly Aunt Kelley's little buddy. While that was happening, I was thinking that there is nothing that brings me greater joy than being with my neice and nephews...now if only I could have more....OH WAIT! Andrea called last night and she's going to have a BABY!!!! Aunt Kelley was a blubbering mess. I was so emotional. To say I'm excited would be a major understatement! Zeke's 3 1/2 and it's definitly time for another baby in the Grate family. Andrea and Jon have also bought a house so the timing is perfect. The should be moving at the end of Sept. Andrea's excited about the timing because she won't be able to do any heavy lifting...Dad just wants to know if she can still golf! Priorities, you know.

Well, now that I've caught everyone up on my family, what have I been up to? Well, I have literally become obsessed with my flower gardening. It's a little frightful and my friends and family are wondering what happened to the real Kelley. I'm out watering, weeding, pruning and deadheading by 7:00 each morning. While I'm thrilled with my progress, my visions just keep growing. I'm reading gardening magazines constantly and am wondering if I shouldn't have gotten my masters in business so I could start my own gift and garden center. That would be my dream job. I envision it in my huge backyard where it's probably not even possible, but it's fun to dream. Maybe I'll take early retirement and open a small shop with the millions I've saved. Oh, guess, I would have to quit spending for the to happen. Which leads me to my next adventure.

Wed. Missy, Sue and I headed to Shipshewana. Now I know what you're thinking...95 degrees and you go to an outdoor flea market in the Amish country. Well, we were there by 8:00 and there was next to nobody there. We were able to cruise right along. It was cloudy until 11:30 so it wasn't too awfully hot. The river running down my back kept me cool. We were able to finish up by 12:30 and head for home. Sounds simple right? The only problem is I bought a cabinet for my kitchen that fit, but only by putting both seats down in Missy's car. So, that left 2 seats and 3 people for the trip home. There was a small wedge next to the cabinet so I molded my soft pliable body in there, hiked the other bun in the air while Sue slammed the door..twice. Needless to say, the trip home was long. We stopped in Wabash about a 1/2 hour from home at a couple of shops and then Sue rode the rest of the way in the back. I was very thankful. All my treasures look great so it was a worthwhile day, however, I'm putting my application in at wal-mart because I'm gonna need a second job to cover the expense. I went a little nuts. Which leads me to....

No, I didn't find a principal's job. I had 2 good interviews that felt like real possibilities, but neither panned out. So, it's back to HCMS as a language arts teacher next Tuesday. The disappointment has faded some. I went through some pretty depressed times this summer, but have come through it. I don't know what the plan is. I don't know what the Lord is trying to tell me. Maybe the perfect job is just around the corner. Maybe I'm not supposed to be a principal. I sure hope that's not it since I spent A-LOT of time and money on that degree. I would sure be bummed if that were the case. I just don't know. But, I'll keep looking and praying for direction. That's all I can do. One cute story about this. Zeke and Elijah were here when I got the call that I didn't get the 2nd job. I was pretty much devestated. I really thought this was the one. So, I put my head down on my desk and just sobbed. Zeke was in the kitchen playing and he heard me crying. He came over to me and started rubbing my back. He very quietly said, "I like your back." Then later when I asked for a hug, he looked at me and said, " I think you need some sugars first." So, with lots of sugars and hugs from my little man, I made it through that disappointing day. Don't think I haven't realized that God probably sent them to me for those few days for that very reason.

So, that's it. Summer is over. I start school on Tuesday and can't believe it. It's always interesting to wonder what this year will hold.