News....

So I have some news.......

on Tuesday.....about four days after my interview with the fourth grade teachers I found out that (more than likely)....


I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!! 

You're probably reading a blog of a brand spankin' new FOURTH GRADE TEACHER!!!! AHH!

I'm. so. excited.

Now, I say "more than likely" and "probably"....because we are still in the process of moving things forward. There are a lot of steps to take in this big-girl-job process, but we're getting there. So while it's not officially official, we're basically on the last step and once the principal catches one more of my references she'll give me the go ahead to hand in my two weeks notice.

On that Tuesday she emailed me and told me that the fourth grade teachers thought I would be a good fit with the students and we briefly talked on the phone. She let me know that she would start calling my references and then submit for board approval.

I asked a few days later about time frame, and she informed me that we would not be waiting for board approval....so in other words she just wanted to touch base with my references.
I spoke with her last night and she said she's feeling very good about it...but also that she was only able to talk with one of my references and has been playing phone tag with the other. She wants to have at least one more but also said she doesn't think she'll hear anything that isn't positive.

SO....that's where we're at.

I am so excited that I got a job. Moving to a new place however, gives me a little bit of nerves. It's obviously really scary and I'm not sure how I will cope with that.

I know God led me here though, and so I'm trying my hardest to trust in Him and not get too ahead of myself with worries. (especially about the not-knowing) If I'm upset, I can cope with those feelings when they come, IF they come.

God has given me little glimpses of His hand in this. Things that might be coincidences to the non-believer but ones that I KNOW are from God.

Like.....
*One of the fourth grade teachers is from New York and her Grandma LIVES in a town 10 MINUTES FROM WHERE I AM RIGHT NOW! (....sayyy whattt??) ((and it's no big town, people))

*I have this thing with cardinals and God...it's kind of personal so I won't explain more than that, but the state bird of NC is a Cardinal! (and I've seen some dash in front of my car the past few days)

*My best friend's cousin lives near where I'll be moving.

*I was emailing back and forth with someone of the apartment building I am looking into and came to find out SHE JUST MOVED FROM PENNSYLVANIA TOO! Lives in Bloomsburg....going to school in NC. Can you say....whhaaattt

*There are at least TWO teachers at the school where I'm going that are from PA.

*I've been in a position of computer teacher for the past year and a half. Dealing with technology errrday....and this school (while being a public school) is also a school of TECHNOLOGY! How awesome is that?

There are just so many pieces that are fitting together that click and I know it's God. When things happen so smoothly like this, and doors just keep opening....it's gives an added peace and comfort that God is behind it.
:) He's just so faithful.

More on this later. (obviously) ha

Time for church!

Interview Update

Soooo..... last time I updated this I had already had my 15 minute skype interview.

I felt that it went well. The school principal who interviewed me was very nice and made me feel very relaxed. They were very basic questions that I didn't have any issues with and I felt good about it.

Well, I DID hear back from them the next day that I got a SECOND interview.

It was on... Tuesday the 5th. It was more like a "traditional" interview I suppose. It was a half-hour long (on skype once again) and was with the principal and also the assistant principal.

After it was over I just sat there in my interview spot for a minute (aka: my kitchen table) because it was hard. I didn't feel like it went really well or anything, I didn't know WHAT to think. ha. except that "Man that was hard..."
( they asked me a handful of questions and also scenarios)

I was a tad frustrated because the bulk of the questions they asked me were not questions that I practiced.
Meaning, I really had to THINK about some of them before I answered.
It felt like the longest times ever that I was sitting awkwardly thoughtfully  in silence trying to piece together my answers before I spoke. And even after thinking I still felt like they came out a little garbled because I hadn't practiced saying them out loud.

BUT regardless, I heard back again! (to my delight and surprise...)

I had a THIRD round of interview that same week- Thursday, Feb 7th. This time it was with the 4th grade teachers.
(The positions available are for K and 4th. ) I was feeling so sick about it before my interview.

Thoughts running through my head like:
Should I even practice again..?? (I really didn't much)
Holy POOP, can I reallyy move away if I get this?
and ...God, wait. Are you SURE about this? Because I don't think I am.

It was very laid back. and I felt surprisingly calm and very at peace throughout the interview and also afterwards.
There were three women (the three who I would be teaching with). One talked way more than the others, but they each asked me at least a couple of questions. They were very nice and I felt like I had good answers to each of their questions (Whether I did in reality or not, who knows) The whole thing lasted about 20 minutes and at the end they told me..."Okay, we'll talk to our principal and she'll talk to you...as soon as we talk to her."

That was on Thursday. I was hoping that I would hear back on Friday, if we were following the normal pattern that had begun, but no such luck. So...it's Sunday and I'm still waiting to hear.

I would love to hear just ANYthing. Whether I got it or not. So hopefully they will be kind enough to let me know either way.

I'm praying that whichever way it goes, that it will be God's leading and that I will be okay with it.

I'll possibly post more details about the job later. Or news if I hear any.

If nothing else at least I can say I'm a skpe interview expert now. Or veteran, if you will.
;)

Skype interviews

My skype interview on Thursday went pretty well.

Let me just say though, skype interviews are so unnatural and awkward..!
I was looking up "Skype interview etiquette" online before I had mine on Thurs and getting a whole lot more nervous just about the fact of it being on skype.
You are supposed to look INto the camera, so as to make it seem like you're making eye contact.(try it, it's really unnatural). Also I learned that you should in fact wear what you'd normally wear to an interview (top AND bottom), just in case you're computer should fall or something else...wouldn't want to be caught in sweatpants. That would be sad, not to mention embarrassing. 
Also learned that lighting is really important as is the background.

All that to say, I got really nervous and it turned out way better than I thought it might. The woman was super nice and we didn't have any technical difficulties like I was worried about. It was a 15 minute timed interview and I had two minutes to answer each question (which for me was more than enough time). It was just her interviewing.

The next day I heard back that I DO have a second interview.
This will be with more people and more like a traditional interview (so I was told).
It will be early in the week perhaps Tuesday.
I'm excited!
But I also don't want to get my hopes up. Really trying heard not to get my hopes up, because I know how these things can go...

In other news, I got  a violin. I'm renting to own and trying to teach myself. We'll see if that actually works out for me or not. ha.
It's fun! But hard. But I didn't exactly expect it to be easy.

We will see........

Have I lost it?

Hi friendly, friend, friends.

For the past couple of weeks I have developed a new "addiction" or "hobby" if you will of applying to jobs all over the USA. Am I crazy? Have I lost it?

I think so.......maybe a little.

The strange part about it is that it's something I don't think I would normally ever do. (seeing as I am basically a homebody and tend towards the anxious side of things.) But the fact that I'm pursuing, and feeling good about it, and feeling like I SHOULD do it...leads me to believe it is God tugging my heart to another place.

Don't get me wrong....thinking about actually picking up and moving away scares the living you-know-whats out of me. and then I think to myself....eh. God you know...I'm good here. I told you I'd go wherever you lead but....I'm good here. Really. See? 
Because when it really comes down to it, I want to be in control. I want to know what will happen. I want to be comfortable.

BUT. I need to trust.

I've prayed for God to open doors and close them.
I've gotten a couple of call backs (out of literally THIRTY OR MORE applications people). I have a Skype interview tomorrow with a school in North Carolina.
Whether it's just more practice or something else, I'm feeling confident that God led me to it for some reason.

I'm prepping for the interview and I just told Harper hamster that maybe she'll be a new classroom pet.
She doesn't like the idea much. Maybe We'll stick to PA....

New stuffs

hellooooooo gorgeous.

It's the weekend woooooweeee!

This past week was my first week working all my three jobs...(and technically it hasn't ended yet because I have to work this weekend). *New story of my life.

I started working at a private preschool, that (for the purposes of social media) I'll just refer to as Carter's Kids. No, that's not it's real name. But. just.

go

with

it.

K?

So I'm at Carter's Kids, for only two hours a day from 4-6 after school, and let me just say, it is the perfect amount of time. After two hours I'm totally ready to go and have had my fill of 1-2-3 yr olds, thannkyouverymuch.

I ALMOST took a full time position there and I am SO GLAD. so glad. I didn't. (I think I'd lose my mind there all day. )
But OH these little 1/2 year olds kill me.

I don't know if it's a new face coming in to their room at the end of the day or what, but they flock around me, bring me books to read, show me toys, give me hugs, touch my shoes, stare at my face.... it's all quite amusing. and welcoming. (can you imagine if adults acted this way)

and when I say flock. I mean flock, people.
Imagine a little heard standing around one person in a large toddler like group. and that is my 4-6pm everyday.

errrday.

I have recently gotten a new hamster friend.

I thought this hamster friend was a  boy so I have been affectionately referring to ...erm it...as Sheldon, but it turns out that Sheldon is in fact a girl hamster. So her new name is Harper. :)

I've been trying to tame her (get her used to human touch). The way I do this is by bringing her upstairs and sticking her in the (dry) bathtub with me. :) (We are all fully clothed, don't worry)
She likes to walk up my arm, sit on my shoulder and chew on my shirt.

....which can't mean good things for my Carter's kids uniform. Can you say holes?

In other news....I've eaten a whole lot of fast food this 2013 and made myself one healthy meal. (but in all fairness I have eaten that healthy meal all week longgg.) notcomplaining.

Still looking for my adventure.

Life Updates and the like

Hey there friendsss :)

Figured it's time for some good, solid life updates. Yeah?

Started at my second job this past week. I really think I'm going to like it there. It's at a children's clothing store and (besides the clothing being melt-your-heart ADORABLE)I really love and appreciate working with people and the interaction with the customers. Also, organizing the clothes in the order they should be on the rack. (which is most of what I did last week) Call me OCD, but it's actually a little fun.

It is overwhelming though. Just a little. It's a longgg long, day working at school and then working there in the evening. Phew.. the second evening I wised up and wore more comfortable pants and shoes and it wasn't so bad! ha It's a crazy concept how much comfort makes a difference! I like the co-workers I've met so far too. :)

As far as the whole confusion post about God goes, I'm feeling pretty much better. Thanks to awesome comments.. and just because of spending time in prayer and the word.

God's been speaking in amazing ways and reassuring that salvation comes by believing in Him alone.

For instance in that book "Radical" the author states that we, the church have made up the idea of a prayer to let Jesus in and then we believe we're saved. He made it seem like that's not enough...but this verse is THE word of the Lord, mister!

9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

So, that was a comfort, I heard that one read on the radio on my way to school, and I was like OHH YEAH!

Then, while at Panera, I was killing time before my job (I don't have time to travel home before hand-it just wouldn't make sense) I was reading my Bible and journaling. Awhile in, I heard the women behind me reading the Bible together! I heard Psalm 103 clear as day as though God was reading it right to me.

⁸ The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
⁹ He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³ As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

How awesome is that?!

There have been other ways, God's been speaking... in personal things while I spend quiet time in prayer. It's the best. There is nothing like it!

Photo image can be found here

Good news :D

I wanted to write about something...but for lack of more time right now...

I just want to update to say that

I GOT THE SECOND JOB!!! :D :D

No...it's not yet a teaching job, just a second job at the outlets for some supplement to my other income.

I found out this morning and I'm so very excited.

It is difficult to find a second job. Way more difficult than I ever really thought until I started looking.

It's a frustrating process but it counts to stick with it. :)

(and I'm not taking credit, this was so smooth, it was only God.)

More later!

Gobble gobble gobble

I'm hooomee. :)

Currently sitting on my bed and listening to the new Justin Bieber Christmas cd. It's rather good.

I don't know about you, but I am SO excited that it's time for Thanksgiving!!! It's one of my favorite Holidays. I love the chance to come home, and to have off for a few days from school.

This morning Amanda and I went and got massages at a place in Millersville because we had coupons. It was glorious. It felt amazing, but it also kind of hurt... I have a bunch of knots and I guess I'm really sore in some spots... but..it was great, none the less. :)

This is a picture of me as a turkey...:) haha. At school yesterday I was helping out, sort of,...in a 3rd grade classroom, and they were making these turkeys in disguise, so I made one too...I made it look like myself. HA. I'm aware that it is pretty ridiculous, but the kids said it was REALLY good. Gotta love 3rd grade ;)

I've been a little more occupied at school... I helped some teachers grade some papers on Monday, and then Tues morning I walked around a little bit. People didn't really need help though since it was such a low-key morning. (I had a couple kinder classes in the PM)

Thanks for saying prayers about the job, I feel better when I keep God at the forefront. (duh...probably because that's the way God intended it..;)

some randoms..

-I'm addicted to words with friends again...(thank you Amanda.)

-Every time I see someone who's hair is even remotely long, I find myself judging whether or not it is long enough to donate. haa And if it is, I think to myself, they could donate that... yeah. weird.

-I'm trying to turn myself into a runner. I want to stay fit...and I think I could stand to lose a few pounds..

-I have SUCH a longing for my own classroom...!! ahhh I cant. wait.

-The whole concept of a library just makes me feel so happy inside. Does that make me a nerd?..ha. I love to read! Yeah...I'm a nerd.

I'm so thankful for my God who has saved me and calls me His own.

Thankful for my friends and family.

A place to call home. (more than one place I can call home, at that)

A job. with benefits.

Warmth.

soo...much to be thankful for. I'm still writing out my 1000 thankfuls in a journal. I think I'm up to about 70 something... but I know it goes way beyond that even!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Listening

I wanted to update this forever ago, I've been so busy... and then Saturday THIS past Saturday, I WAS going to get to sit down and actually blog, but then we lost power! gahh.

We lost power for about 30 hours. We had a very strange October snow storm here in PA. No fun... it was no fun at all.

So lot's has happened since my last post.

I had my interview with LD school district and it went really well! I got the job. I am now a computer aide at an elementary school!

It's just amazing really, how it all worked out and I'm comforted by the fact that I know this is where God wants me. (although I don't know why)

I had applied for it because my friend who works in the district mentioned it to me. Otherwise I wouldn't have thought twice about applying for an aide position.

I didn't here anything for about a week or so, and had started to think nothing would come out of it. Then, one Monday I was subbing in the district (for only like the second time) and the lady who does the sub calls just happened to work at THIS specific elementary school. She came into the room when the students had technology and asked me if I am "good with this stuff" because SH needed a sub to fill in until they found a new computer aide. So I of course, was like Yes! I applied for that! So...that's how I got to be subbing there for about a week-ish.

They called one day and asked me to interview, and the rest is history.

I was very unsure about it all. I prayed about it a lot. Where I once had feelings of uneasiness and frustration, I started to feel peace and excitement about the position. My mind became much more open to it, and that's how I just knew it was God's little push because I had been praying.

I have days where I really like it. (today I just feel all out of sorts for some reason...probably unrelated to the job)

Today I didn't have any classes in the lab so I spent the day decorating and stuff. I feel like I didn't get THAT much accomplished for how much time I put in, which is frustrating.

I'll post pictures once I finish the big bulletin board. I'm hoping it will look as awesome as I'm picturing in my head. I have a bunch of ideas but it takes a lot of time to make stuff from scratch!

Remember how I applied to about a million places at the mall?? Well I finally heard back from one! I was starting to think I wouldn't hear back from anyone since it had been a couple of weeks...but Christmas Tree Hill called, and I had an interview there Tuesday night. It went really well. I think I might get it.. I'm nervous about all the driving b/t school and the mall though, which I didn't really put too much thought into until recently. We'll see.

On another note, I just feel kind of crappy right now. I don't know why... I feel so tired and lethargic, and just a little depressed? weird.. I guess I could be pmsing... sorry TMI hah

Sometimes I think I really have a need/want to be needed... and when I don't feel needed it makes me feel a little sad. I don't know why...I'm just trying to figure myself out. Do you ever do that?

I'm pretty sure I'm chopping my hair this weekend. It's really long. Longer than I've had it since I was like 15. I'm donating it and I'm really excited to get it cut. Long hair is hard to take care of!

Well now that I have successfully rambled... I'll stop. ;)

Hope you've had a grand week friends.

Trust in the Lord with all your understanding...

Do you ever have those moments when you hear something that is exactly what you needed to hear?

Those are the best. Usually....

I've been racking my brain about a job "dilemma" that I'm sure I am making out to be much, much bigger of a "decision" than it actually is.

Let me give you more detail.

Do you remember how I said in my last post how I had been subbing for a computer person the rest of this week? Well, yes. I did it. Andd.... I feel way less excited about the actual job than I thought I would. =/ I just really didn't care for it too much..

I was really bored, and felt like I didn't really have any purpose in being there. I basically "watched" the children while they were on the computers... and that was it. And I also had a crazy amount of prep time when there weren't even any students in the lab. So...needless to say I got a lot of "fun" reading done..haha..but that's not really something you want to happen when you're supposed to be working.

So I prayed for God to open or close doors and show me what I should do about this position. (because I applied for it) Well, yesterday I got called to interview for it.

I said that I was still interested in interviewing and then I was SUPER confused.

My brain feels SO conflicted. It's something I had been feeling that I didn't want to do...and now I have an interview and so I'm thinking, maybe it's where God wants me to be right now?

I've been trying to get advice from so many people I know, and with each person I talk to, I still keep going back and forth in my head about it.

It would be GREAT to get in the district and connect with a whole school, faculty and all.... but at the same time, will I be able to get a teaching job after being an aide? (that's the ultimate goal here)

For the time being, I've decided that there is no harm in interviewing and that maybe afterwards, I will have a better idea of what I am supposed to do.

What I meant about hearing something at exactly the right time, was R&R this morning, and also the video post on the she seeks website.

R&R was all about following where God leads, and making sure that you are in agreement with His way, not that He is in agreement with your way. Sometimes God tells us to do things that we don't really want to do, or calls us to things that we're not sure about (I'm not saying God is for sure calling me to this, bc I don't know that). It was about how "His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts".

It really just made me realize that I need to stop trying to control things and let God do what He will do...whatever that looks like.

She seeks was about trusting and following the plan that God has. Sometimes we get NO's from God about things...

We need to seek out God for different decisions in out lives and listen so that we can follow His plan and path. He will make clear what He wants us to do, or what we shouldn't do.

So, I'm hoping to spend a lot of time in prayer about this until my interview on Tuesday morning. I would appreciate prayers from others as well! :)

New things

I wish I would have updated this at least once this past week but somehow my nights just got away from me.

Spring break for students was this past week so my roommates were both home while I was still around going to 1st grade everyday. It was weird being by myself all week, but not as bad as I thought it would be. (the nights go quick) I am glad they will be back though this week!

1st grade is now over. :( I'm pretty sad about it. It was the best placement ever. I won't ever forget those kiddos or my coop. They were all SO wonderful.
Yesterday they had a little party for me and they surprised me with cards and a basket full of children's books, professional books, and other things like markers, hand sanitizer, paper clips..etc. It was so nice! My coop also let me photo copy anything of hers that I wanted =) So needless to say, after school (it was a crazy day and the only time was after school) I spent some time in the copy room. ;) I copied a lot, but I decided it was time to leave when it was getting dark and mine was one of 3 cars left in the parking lot. haha.

Here's a picture of me with the class! Best class EVER!


Here's also a picture of me with my goodbye gifts from the kids/teacher..!


I came home for the weekend so that I could pretend I got a spring break too. ;)
This morning I was feeling pretty overwhelmed and stressed. There are just SO many unknowns in my life right now. I have so many thoughts going through my head and I sort of feel like I'm spinning around and around in circles. It's just so much change all at once.
I'm still trying to reflect on my last day and 1st grade time, thinking about all the new changes of 6th grade, where I will live next year, finding a job, working on interviews..etc. It feels like a lot.

I'm so scared of all of this stuff that is so unknown. I'm so confused as to why I'm graduating at a time like this. It's SO bad for teachers right now. Especially in Pennsylvania where I live. Teachers are getting furloughed left and right and here I am newly graduating. Of course I want a job, but it's starting to seem less and less realistic and it's really confusing. Why NOW? Right now when I'm graduating is the time when public education is becoming a state of chaos..? I want to say how come God? Why now? It doesn't make sense?

As I was praying this morning I heard God reassuring me to TRUST Him. He knows the way. It doesn't make sense to me, but He is still the one leading. I heard Him reminding me to rely on His strength. As I spent more and more time praying and paging through my Bible I started to feel better and less overwhelmed. It's so neat how God puts things in perspective when we bring them to Him.
He filled me with peace and made the "room stand still". :)

"Great the Lord and highly to be praised; and His greatness is so vast and deep as to be unsearchable." Psalm 145:3

"Great is our Lord and of great power. His understanding is inexhaustible and boundless." Psalm 147:5

Also- I'm really loving this memorizing scripture verses idea. It's amazing how breaking down the verses really helps to understand the verse even more. I'm posted my march verses today. :)

Happy weekend!

(Ps. How do you feel about my blog redesign? I was experimenting with wordle for a way to introduce myself in 6th grade and found that I could make one from the words in my blog! How neat?! So I made a new header and then revamped the whole thing because nothing else matched!)

Luke 1 con.. and grown up talk.

Today I read the last half of Luke chapter 1.(v. 56-80) I'm kind of ashamed of how long it took me to finish chapter 1, but I have definitely been side tracked.

I got a lot out of the reading.
In the beginning part of what I read, John was born and the people (neighbors and relatives) thought Elizabeth would name the baby Zachariah after his father. She told them she would name him John. (bc that is what God told them to do) but the people seemed so confused and just didn't understand.
This reminded me of how sometimes things God calls us to seem out of the ordinary, or not what we are used to. People might look at us, or question us, but we need to follow through with what we hear God calling us to, regardless. This is what Elizabeth and Zachariah did and Zachariah's mouth was opened again as a result!!

I really especially loved the last few verses.

78Because of and through the heart of tender mercy and loving-kindness of our God, a Light from on high will dawn upon us and visit [us](D)

79To shine upon and give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct and guide our feet in a straight line into the way of peace.(E)

=)

Other than that I wrote up my "letter of interest" today!

I've been wanting to get everything set to go on PA-educator (an online application for teachers) before student teaching starts up, that way I won't have to worry about it later.

So..letter of interest, check. It was very difficult to know what to write! It's one thing to just write it, but I want to impress them so they want to interview me. I also want to be myself, so I tried to do both.

I still need to write up my essay. That will hopefully happen later this week.

It's an exciting time but also scary, and I'm having a hard time believing I'm old enough to be at this place right now..! It's crazy, I tell you.

Bring on the SNOW!!!

=)