Big changes ahead!

How to begin? You faithful readers and friends know that Dick's good job as an auto mechanic was terminated in September, and he has been job-searching ever since. At some point over the winter months Anthony asked if Dick would consider looking in State College for employment. Our immediate reaction was that it would be impossible! What about my job at school, at church, what about, what about, what about???? We felt very indispensable!

Then Austin came into their lives, and ours. They reminded us that in September when Lori returns to her position at Penn State they will be needing to hire a nanny, hint, hint, hint.

As we got into the Spring months and still no job was forthcoming for Dick, we decided it could not hurt for him to do some cold calling at car repair businesses in State College, and see what would come of it. A number of places gave him applications to fill out. It seemed they were not crying the blues about work being slow like most places in Lancaster County have been.

But April and half of May passed with no positive response from any of the places. How was I feeling throughout all this process? CONFUSED!!! One day I just knew I could never leave every relationship and responsibility we have here. The next day I felt like I was trapped by our sorry situation and I would probably have to work this hard until I'm 75. One day I hoped Dick would get a job offer in State College, the next day I hoped he would not. We chose not to talk about this with anyone but Anthony and Lori, because we weren't that sure anything would come of it anyway, and I didn't want to stir any waters if they didn't need to be stirred. But carrying around such a big idea with no one but Dick and Anthony and Lori to share it with felt like a burden sometimes. Looking back, perhaps that was the wrong way to handle it, but it seemed to be the only way at the time.

Over and over I would sing the Robin Mark song, Jesus, All for Jesus.

Jesus, all for Jesus, all I am and have
And ever hope to be.
All of my ambitions, hopes, and plans,
I surrender these into Your hands.
For it's only in Your will that I am free.
Jesus, all for Jesus, all I am and have
And ever hope to be.

By the week of my Spring program on May 15th we had all pretty much come to the conclusion that the timing for this idea was wrong. Perhaps it would be God's plan some day, but not now. My program went really well and I felt a new energy for my job. I was glad I would be coming back next year.

Then the phone calls started coming for interviews. At first I was annoyed. I was tired of being on the teeter totter - I just wanted to know for sure what I was doing. But Dick DID still need a full time job, so on Tuesday, May 19th I took a personal day from school and we went to State College for the day for Dick's interviews. To our amazement he received a good offer from Pep Boys. Wow! Now what?

Thus began more praying in earnest, the careful process of talking to strategic people, making the call to accept the offer, then revealing it to my co-workers, Dick's boss at his part time job at Advance Auto Parts, our siblings, the school patron body and students, and our church family. And now you.

There are many uncertainties ahead, but we do know that Dick will start his new position the beginning of July and will live with Anthony and Lori. I will stay here at home to clean out and organize my classroom, spend time with the person who would replace me there, to organize all the church music and mentor the person/persons who would eventually take on the worship leading responsibilities there, to deep clean and organize my house, get rid of more stuff, etc. By the end of summer I would also move in with Anthony and Lori, probably returning home several weekends a month to be with Destiny, to see our parents, and to continue leading worship at church as we go through the transition.

At this point we are not making any moves to get rid of our house, but eventually we would want to.

So this will not be a sudden, once-and-done kind of move, which takes a lot of the stress out of it. As I share this news bit by bit with others and they are excited for me, I am starting to be able to move beyond the feelings of guilt over disappointing people to feelings of excitement, relief, peace, joy, and thankfulness.

I honestly feel like Anthony and Lori are extending a lifeline to us. It is a joke to think of me moving to a place that is even snowier than here, knowing how much I hate cold weather. But we're doing this moving thing gradually. Step one was leaving our big farmhouse four years ago and downsizing to this one. Step two is leaving my jobs and moving to State College for a slower pace of life. Step three will be Florida, I hope. And step four will be heaven!

Do you think I'm a little bit excited about being Austin's nanny? I still can hardly believe it is actually happening!!

Stay tuned

I had hoped to do a big post this evening, but too many things went wrong today and took up too much of my time. And now it's very late, especially considering that I will be meeting my school worship team at 6:45 AM to travel to a program in Juniata County.

So until I have time to do that big post (hopefully tomorrow evening), I will just say this much:

1. Dick was offered, and accepted, a full time job as an auto mechanic at Pep Boys.

2. It is not in Lancaster County.

Stay tuned.

8th Grade Graduation

Yes, I'm still here! There's been a whole lot going on this week - more about that later today. Yesterday I got finished with my last report card grades -yipee! And last evening was 8th grade graduation. Of course I forgot my camera, but here are a few from my trusty cell phone.

I realized that two of the guys were not hanging around by the time I took those pictures, but here they are - all smiles after filling their bellies at the restaurant Tuesday morning!

I've had most of these kids since kindergarten, some since Pre-K. A number of them have been on my worship team for several years and I feel almost like a parent to them. We do have one more worship team program on Sunday, so that takes the bite out of graduation for just a few more days.

All-you-can-eat (and then some)

The beautiful weather we had this past Memorial Day weekend has taken flight. Yesterday was completely miserable - rainy and very cool. But not inside the country restaurant where I took the kids to reward them for participating in the Jr. High Choir Festival. We had their breakfast buffet. Oh my word!! It was every breakfast you've ever had combined into one. Here are pictures of each table, just in case the kids want to see themselves on my blog!

How do you like that wall paper? Only in Lancaster County!!

For the past few weeks I have had increasingly itchy legs. Just my legs, from my knees to my ankles - no other part of my body. I can hardly keep from scratching them sometimes, and in fact, I have scratched them open a few places. Isn't that weird? I've been rubbing Caladryl on them. Any ideas what would be causing this?

Our weekend

What beautiful weather we have had this Memorial Day weekend. (I feel like I'm rubbing it in, because I know some of you in the South are getting so much rain.) On Sunday after church Sam and Ashley and her kids came to our place and we had a yummy cookout. Afterward we went to Lititz Springs Park and had a great time. First they fed the ducks, but apparently they had already been well fed, because they didn't seem a bit interested in the duck feed we paid a quarter for.

Ashley's little Giyonna is a spectator sport all by herself. She just cracks me up!

Frank met us at the park and picked Destiny up to take her miniature golfing. She loved that!

Today Destiny and I went to the pool for the first time. The water was FREEZING cold, but the kids didn't seem to mind. This picture was taken when we first got there; it got much more crowded later on. I sat and graded papers almost the whole time. Fun, fun!

Now I'm ready for a nap.

Oh, yes, I almost forgot - I have one observation after being at the pool today:

Extremely overweight men and boys who have breasts the size of a developing girl, should be required to wear a tee shirt.

Saturday activities and observations

Today Dick was busy all day, first of all finishing the transmission job he did yesterday, then working at Advance Auto Parts the rest of the day. I was busy with my regular Saturday work, plus I arranged two songs for our church worship team. (I've been too busy with school lately to pay much attention to our church music.)

So Destiny had to find things to do by herself, something she's not as used to doing anymore. But she did great - played out on her swing, put several puzzles together, worked on her paint-by-number, got wet with the garden hose sprayer, and washed her sea shells that she got yesterday when she went to the beach with her mom. I'm still fascinated by sea shells.

This evening we went to the local park and she played a long time. There were lots of people there on this beautiful evening. (Sorry, cell phone pic does not do it justice.)

Some observations I made while there:

1. Lititz Springs Park is one of the most beautiful parks I have ever been to.
2. Women who wear low rise pants and belly length shirts should squat backwards in front of a full length mirror and look at themselves with a hand mirror.
3. Men with long, pointy goatees should look at their side profile in a mirror. I think they would laugh.
4. It must be hard to play sand volley ball in an ankle length dress. Only in Lancaster County!
5. All the grandmas in the park had the same shape (big, broad rear ends), and I was one of them.

It's Friday!

This morning my school worship team did our program for the whole school. Of course I forgot my camera. Not that I could have taken any, but I could have asked someone else to do it for me.

During intermediate chorus (grades 3 - 5) period this morning we watched a program video from three years ago. Oh, how they love to see themselves (and others) when they were younger!

We had a hot day for our field day. I wimped out and stayed in my air conditioned room to get some work done. Don't tell the classroom teachers, though! Of course they probably have tans now, and I don't!

Early this evening I went to pick up Destiny and we stopped at a McDonald's on the way home. Destiny ordered an M & M McFlurry, but the girl mistakenly gave her an Oreo one instead. The girl immediately started making the right one when she discovered her mistake. Of course, I hated to see that poor Oreo thing go to "waste", so decided I would eat it and let it go to MY "waist!" Stupid mistake.

Dick came to school this morning to run the sound system for my worship team program. Then he started working on some guy's transmission and he is just now getting home at 10:13 PM. That's a looooong day.

Good day ahead

What a difference a week makes.

The biggest thing on my agenda at school right now is finding an 8th grade graduation song that all 14 graduates can agree upon. Believe me, it ain't easy!

Tomorrow morning my worship team will do our program for the whole school, then we're having track and field day the rest of the day. The weather promises to be just perfect for such a day.

Pictures from our trip to State College today

I know Austin doesn't look a bit thrilled to see me on this picture, but trust me, he was, ha, ha! Anthony got a lot of very smiley pictures with his camera, so I'll have to steal some from him.

Fun day ahead

This day will be unlike any I have had for months. I am taking a personal day from school, Dick does not work at Advance today, and we are taking a day trip to State College to see and hear this. Yea!!!

Our Sunday

This morning my school worship team had a very early program at Lititz Church of the Brethren - their 8:30 AM contemporary service. So the kids and I arrived at 7:30! Boy, were they dead when they got there. Our practice was pathetic. But we went to the prayer room and tried to pray through the blah's. Then we entered the service and there were quite a number of teachers from school, as well as the administrator and secretary and a former middle school teacher sitting in the audience. The kids perked right up, and they did a great job.

Afterward Dick and I and Destiny went to the home of Peter, one of my guitar players, for brunch. We had such a good time visiting with Peter's family, including both sets of his grandparents. Peter's mom, Danelle, is our much-loved first grade teacher. Destiny had the most wonderful time playing with a big tub of Peter's childhood toys (pictured above) and was not at all ready to go home when I was. So Danelle said we could take some of them home for the day, and I'll return them to her tomorrow. Destiny played with them for HOURS this afternoon.

I thought she looked so pretty today in the new shirt her mommy got for her, so I tried to get a picture of her, and again she decided to act like a clown for every shot I took.

For the first time in weeks Dick was not scheduled to work at Advance Auto Parts today. It was WONDERFUL! We went together to take Destiny home this evening and had our grocery date on the way home! I feel so relaxed with the program over.

Pictures from Spring Program day

I have been trying to catch up with necessary things today, but finally here are some pictures from yesterday. These (and many more) were taken by my coworker Lib at the afternoon program. I don't have any from the evening.

Here I am, ready to go, with the instrumental prelude.

I will really miss Laura, a graduating 8th grader, and such an excellent musician. Kevin, also an excellent musician, will still be here with his trombone another year.

These three 8th grade guitar players have been my buddies for three years. I hope they don't stop playing guitar after they leave here.

Here are the next guitar players, current sixth graders. That's a ukelele that Lane (in the middle) is playing.

There are quite a number of kids taking lessons on various instruments in the younger grades - flutes, violins, saxes, and of course, piano.

The second grade students also provided prelude music with their color-coded bells - a truly amazing sound.

The final prelude piece was done by the worship team, first of all kneeling during a soft instrumental introduction to Awesome God.

Caleb steps to the microphone and recites some scripture verses from Psalms, and then we enter into the song full force, complete with flags and a processional.

And here's a good picture of my trusty sound man! He said on his Facebook status update yesterday morning that he has to make his wife look and sound good today, ha, ha! I truly could not do my job without his help.

Mass Chorus - grade Pre-K to 8, sang several praise and worship songs to open the program.

Then Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades wowed the audience with their incredible sound and enthusiasm. We have a lot of AMAZING soloists in this age group.

Middle School Chorus did a fine job presenting several songs from last week's Jr. High Choir Festival.

Here's my nephew's son Josh Witmer singing the lead in "God Is Great." He has what I call the "Witmer pipes."