HAPPY FRIDAY! It's almost the weekend!!! Well, for me and the girls it is the weekend, we have no school today! This week has flown for me. On M & T we had early dismissals at 2:00 b/c of Parent Teacher conferences and Wednesday was 1/2 day for the same reason and then today we have the day off. The other teachers deserve it after their crazy week of conferences! For me it it was a great week to EASE back into the classroom routine. Things have gone well for the most part, the students are adjusting and so am I, but teaching Math is STILL a HUGE weakness for me! It might just take a while to get my brain back to that level...the older we get the harder it is to adapt! I am feeling great, just a little tired and I have a little back ache, but still PRAISING the LORD for a great week! The teacher did all of my LP's for me and so that has made things sun a lot smoother for me. Last night, I graded 3 stacks of papers and that was it for the week. She only takes 1-2 grades per subject per week...I wish I would have thought of that when I was teaching...sure saves a TON of time! The teachers at G-view have been very welcoming and they check in on me often. The principal only stopped by once & so I feel like she trusts me in the classroom....that is a HUGE HELP! I may have to go over to my room on Sunday afternoon to do a few things...not more than and hour or so...and then I will be ready for Monday! Praise the LORD for the gifts he has given me in this area! What a blessing from HIM!

Today we are planning to just lay low at home. I am making a double batch of banana chocolate chip muffins (we had a good amount of dark bananas) b/c we LOVE them so much around here and when I make a single batch they just seem to disappear. This morning the girls are playing and hanging out in their pjs! Also, we are enjoying a cool & rainy spring morning and the smell of the muffins and the coffee brewing make me feel GREAT! It gives me the feeling like we are on vacation or something! Today we are running one errand to Target to pick up a b-day present for a cousin b/c her party is tomorrow @ Stoney Creek Inn. The girls are looking forward to swimming at the hotel after the PARTY! Good thing their Uncle works there!!!

It has also been a BIG week for my hubby! Here is a post from his own words from what happened at his work last Friday....

I wanted to share with you the events of yesterday and how God was so good to my family. Yesterday morning I was at work and our district manager stopped in for a routine visit. He and my boss had a meeting and then my boss came out and told me that they needed to talk to me. He quickly assured me that everything was fine, because I had a obvious "freaked out" look on my face.

The district manager informed me that some bigwigs up in corporate had decided to scale back the number of loan officers in Des Moines. Again, the "freaked out" looked appeared on my face. The district manager apologized for not letting me know immediately that I was in good standing with the company and was not being let go. There is a branch in the suburbs of Des Moines that had been trying to hire a new loan officer for several months. They had not been able to find someone qualified to take the position.

The branch that I currently work at is only large enough for four loan officers, but last year the company allowed the branch to hire a fifth loan officer, me. Suddenly, they had to lose one and that was again, me. Long story short, the district manager offered me the position at the other branch. I immediately agreed and will start on Monday. The change was immediate and I quickly cleaned out my desk and said goodbye to my co-workers.

The district manager took me to lunch and I was very humbled by his kind words. He was very complimentary of my performance and the new branch manager, Ben, was so excited when he heard that I was being added to his staff.

I want to reassure everyone that this was not a demotion or a negative in any way. My pay is the same, health benefits are unchanged, vacation time stays the same, pretty much, same company, different office.

Anyway, that was my whirlwind day yesterday. Jonna has been very supportive of this and has peace also about the change. God is so good. In this corporate age, jobs are eliminated very quickly. God is continuing to provide and I wanted to share this praise with you.

He has had an AMAZING week at work and God has really blessed in the transition to the new office! Tim thoroughly enjoys his new co-workers and things are so GREAT! Praise the Lord for how much HE LOVES US and CARES for us!