New house, new job

Okay, here's the post I promised about the new things happening in the lives of our Florida family.  

Last November when Lisa, George, and Sophie came up for Thanksgiving week, the very first evening we were together over at Anthony and Lori's we heard that they might be selling the lake house and moving.  Of course our first reaction was "WHAT????"  Then we listened and heard about the school change that Sophie wanted to make for high school and that the athletic director at Calvary Christian High School in Clearwater, where Sophie wanted to go, had been following and was interested in Lisa's track coaching success.  Of course he was interested in Sophie as an athlete too.  

Things continued to develop after Christmas, their little lake house sold, they found one to buy that was closer to Calvary Christian, and the very weekend that the rest of us were at Bjorn and Jess's wedding, they were moving!  

Lisa did not make a public announcement on FB about it until this past weekend when I was down, because she didn't want it to take away from the track and field season at their current school, Carrollwood Day School.  She knew I would be chomping at the bit to post pictures of their house, and since track season had officially ended the weekend prior, she made a public post on Saturday.  

Sophie will be a 9th grader at Calvary Christian next year and Lisa was offered a full-time position teaching health and personal fitness and coaching cross country and track and field.  So it's a whole new phase for their family!

So here are the pictures I took of the house.  It doesn't take long for Lisa to give a house her signature touch.  It is so beautiful and very comfortable.

The view from the street.

Inside the front door. 

The living room.

The huge fireplace and TV wall.

Views of the living room from the upstairs hallway.

View of the living room from the lanai.  The sliders completely open, I guess like pocket doors, so that the lanai becomes an extension of the living room. 

The kitchen.

The dining room.  Lisa hopes to someday take out the wall between the kitchen and dining room for a more open space.  

George's office.  He's happy to have an office that doesn't double as a guest room!

Sophie's bedroom, which opens to the lanai.

Across the hall is another bedroom that is Sophie's study area and hangout room when friends come over.  I did not get a picture of the side of the room where her desk and keyboard and TV are. 

The guest room where I slept. 

The upstairs hallway.  Lisa's office is at one end and their bedroom is at the other end.  (She won't let me show any pictures of her office, lol!)

The outside view from the hallway windows.

Lisa and George's bedroom.  That door leads to their absolutely amazing master bathroom.  There are also two walk-in closets!

And now downstairs and out to the screened-in lanai, which is across the entire back of the house.  They own about two acres of woods and wetland behind their house, so they will not need to worry about having neighbors behind them.  Just the deer, which they have often seen!

Needless to say, they are very happy here, and I totally look forward to our next visit.  

Icing on the cake after my visit was when Lisa was officially introduced and welcomed in Calvary Christian's newsletter this week.  It's so amazing how this job uses the certifications and degrees she has accumulated since high school.  Her college major was in nutrition, and she'll be teaching health classes.  She is a certified yoga instructor, and she'll be teaching girls' personal fitness.   And she has taken many workshops and trainings in strength and mobility and speed for runners, which she'll continue to use in her coaching.  As with any new job it feels a bit intimidating, and I'm sure the first year will have plenty of learning curves.  But she has what it takes and I'm so very proud of her.  Here's the article in the school newsletter.

Calvary Hires Lisa Haag as Head Coach for Cross Country and Track & Field

Clearwater, FL (May 15, 2019) Calvary Christian High School is pleased to announce the hiring of Lisa Haag as head coach for the school’s cross country and track and field programs. Haag takes the leadership of these programs which have been led by staff members who will remain with the programs as assistants, including Stacey Simmons, who has led the track and field program for the past six years.

Coach Haag has served as the Head Track and Field Coach at Carrollwood Day School for the past three years, and has been a part of their program for four years. Coach Haag brings a lot of experience and success in garnering student enthusiasm and participation in the sport. Her work to increase the student athlete participation in track and field at CDS by 300% caught the attention of Athletic Director Darrell Don. Don said, “CDS quickly became a quality program under Haag’s leadership. People were taking notice of the success of their teams. Head of School, Mr. David Kilgore, met Haag at an event and noticed her love and concern for the students on her teams and believed she would be a great fit at CCHS. Kilgore said, “With Calvary’s enrollment being over 600 students in 2019, I am confident Coach Haag’s passion for the sport and her interest in seeing students participate will greatly increase our track and field and cross country numbers. We have been blessed with an outstanding facility on campus. We were ready to have a coach for these sports on campus full-time to build the programs with more student participation.”

Coach Haag stated, “I’m honored to be a part of the Calvary Track & Field & Cross Country teams. I look forward to continuing to build on the strong foundation that has been laid for both of the programs by the previous and current coaching staffs. My goal is for Calvary’s individuals and teams to consistently be in competition for state championships each year.” Calvary has had success in cross country and track and field competing in the FHSAA 1A assignments. The school has had individual state champions, as well as athletes earning medals at the state level in both cross country and track and field.  

The school will host a “greet and meet” gathering for Coach Haag on Monday, May 20th, 6:00 PM at the new Anderson Athletic Center. Students and parents are encouraged drop-in between 6:00 and 7:00 PM to meet Coach Haag and welcome her to the Calvary family. Coach Haag will begin on June 3rd by overseeing the summer strength and conditioning program for girls. 

Calvary Christian High School is a 9th – 12th grade high school with over 600 students enrolled from Pinellas, Pasco, and Hillsborough Counties. The school offers an outstanding college-preparatory academic program that is accredited by SACS, FCIS, and ACSI. For more information, please visit the school’s website at www.cchs.us, or contact the Director of Admissions, Mrs. Donella Woodbury.