Three Day Weekends Rock!

Happy President's Day Weekend!

We enjoyed having Monday off from work and being able to get outside and enjoy the beautiful sunshine!

Sister, a friend, and I all enjoyed walking the trails at the Eagle River Nature Center.  The trails were more like ice skating rinks - but we still had a great afternoon!

 

Our friend found an ice shaped piece of ice and we decided to leave it inside the hollowed out tree. 

Even Dessa enjoyed the afternoon walk and was all tuckered out for the rest of the evening.

 

Brother wasn't able to make the adventure with us as he is recovering from being super sick last week. I missed school Monday and Tuesday last week taking care of this guy.  His asthma kicked in quick and it took us a few days to get it back under control.  Happy to say that he is doing much better and was able to go to his first dental appointment this weekend.

He totally rocked his appointment and fluoride treatment.  The staff kept commenting how great both the kids did!  I'm so proud of them both and glad they have healthy teeth. Momma on the other hand has to miss student led conferences this week to have her root canal redone. Ugh... I think I'd rather be at conferences!

One other appointment this long weekend was to get Sister's eyes checked. Its been a year since she got her glasses.  Doctor was happy to report that the glasses are helping her and she's ready for a new prescription, which also means new frames (so thankful for awesome vision insurance!) 

She's so excited and can't wait for her new glasses to arrive. When trying on frames she said, "Mom, these don't help me see better." Ha, ha - had to explain the lenses were just pretend ones.  

We hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day weekend!  

Until next time - we love and miss you all!

A new kind of adventure

With our lack of snow in my neck of the woods, my friend Anna and I decided to get a winter hike in. We headed up Baldy and had a blast! As you can see in the back - bare rock is showing on top of this mountain - sigh... it should be covered with snow by this time of year.  It was great to get out and enjoy the fresh air.  A bit slick in a few spots but we found joy in acting like kids and just sitting on our bottoms to slide down parts of the mountain.  

Otherwise, our little family hasn't been too adventurous lately.  The ice every where makes it a little challenging for the kids as they get easily frustrated with falling when trying to play outside. 

Sister had a revelation this past week. She just noticed that her baby had a matching pajama shirt that she was given at Christmas time.   She was beyond delighted to see that she could match her baby doll.

Even though we haven't been too adventurous outdoors, there will be a new adventure this spring for Momma.

After 14 years in the classroom, I've decided that a career change is needed.  This past fall was extremely difficult for me.  I love that Papa is involved with coaching and would never ask him to give that up.  However, the added commitment to his coaching left me solo parenting more times than not. Teaching is a very demanding profession and working with students with special needs can be even more challenging.  As the first semester went on, I found myself being very negative with my own kiddos, in my marriage and in the classroom.  I was tired. I was overwhelmed. I needed a break. 

 After a particularly difficult day at school, I said a silent prayer of "I can't do this anymore but what would I do instead?"  That very evening in my email was a job posting for the office manager position at the church I attend.  I knew the woman who was leaving was going on maternity leave and I thought there would be no way I would be considered since I would have to finish my school year out first.  About three days later, I couldn't shake the feeling that I needed to submit my resume for the position. So, I did and still had a sense of doubt about the timing of everything.  To my great surprise, I was given the opportunity to interview and then offered the position.  

The church has found an amazing person willing to fill in while I finish up the school year.  I'm so excited for this new adventure.  I think being an office manager will allow me to use my strengths on a daily basis - organization and customer service are two of my favorite things to do.  I'm also excited that I will be right in Eagle River with the kids.  I'm excited that our morning will be a little more relaxed as I won't have to commute into Anchorage. I'm hoping I will have more energy to pour into my kids and marriage.   I'm also nervous about the change (no more summers off, a pay difference, will I like the behind the scenes of a church I love...) but my excitement out weighs the nerves.  I think I will always be a teacher at heart, but my classroom is shifting - to what, I'm not sure yet, but I look forward to this new adventure as well.  I hope that I will still be able to volunteer with our children's services so I can get my 'teaching kids' fix met. 

Until next time - lower 48 friends and family - please send some snow our way!

Be kind to yourself - do what you enjoy!

Love and miss you all