Fourth Grade

At our church, there's a program called "Relievers," where couples or individuals from the church can volunteer to teach a Sunday School class for one Sunday (or however many they want) a summer to give the regular S.S. teachers a break. Stephen and I signed up way back in June for today, to teach the 4th grade class. It was a good experience for us, I think. It was our first experience together as a couple with children, and we got a vague idea of what our roles are like when we are with kids.

We were told that this group was probably the worst one. I kind of wish I'd never been told that, though, because it made me SO nervous, until I was dreading the experience. :/ But it really wasn't that bad. The worst of it was that the kids couldn't stop talking--mostly the boys. There were about 6 or 7 boys and 4 girls. But they weren't disrespectful at all, which I suppose is what I was expecting with a report of "the worst group."

We were told we would have to "be firm" with the boys who were the troublemakers. Stephen did his best, bless his heart, but I think he might have a softer heart than I do when it comes to working with kids. :D I also learn names faster, and could call out individual kids' names when they were being too noisy. The boys still did an awful lot of talking and competing with one another. But it gave me an idea of what to expect next time we're in a situation like this, which is a springboard for learning how to respond.

I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I felt... Maybe not "in my element," per se, but not too terrified, which is an improvement from college, LOL. (I didn't teach Sunday School in college, but I did have to do field experience while I was an Education major.)

The kids have really good curriculum. It's from a program called Grapple. It allows for a lot of interaction and asks good questions, and uses a variety of ways to drive home the same point. Today's point was that we might give up on God sometimes, but God never gives up on us. Unfortunately, some communication lines got crossed and it turned out that the children had already had that lesson 2 weeks ago. :/ So Stephen and I improvised and just had the children talk about what they learned in that lesson. That was a little difficult with all the children wanting to talk at the same time... Stephen finally brought out a Dixie cup and made a game that whoever was holding the Dixie cup could talk, but everyone else had to stay quiet. That worked okay, but then the boys started fighting over who got the cup! I tell you, they wanted nothing more than be in the spotlight. Stephen told me later that they were probably competing for "top dog" or the Alpha male position in the group. This is going to sound silly coming from my mouth, but Stephen will be an invaluable resource if we have boys! :) I have no idea if I will have boys or girls, but I know God has a sense of humor and it would be a perfect execution of it if we have all boys, LOL. And it will be so good to have Stephen around then. I'm learning very much why a home should have two parents in it.

Anyway--what a good experience! With just one encounter with children, I feel like maybe I'm not quite as clueless about raising them as I thought. I am so glad Stephen and I did this. Maybe in our next year of marriage (42 days 'til our anniversary!) we'll make a point of getting more experience with children in. I'm beginning to think I wouldn't even mind teaching a Sunday School class on a regular basis... Kind of exciting! :)

Trips, Trips, Trips!

Wow, our life got busy! Our small group has been keeping us on our toes, always out on new adventures. We love it. Our newest members, Ethan and Rachel, are quickly becoming good friends as they invite us out on hikes all over the area and we have them over for dinner and movie nights. A friend of mine from college recently moved over here with her husband, so Stephen and I are planning on dinner together with them sometime soon. The volunteer work I do is increasing now that the school year is coming closer. Our refugees will be needing our help with not only homework, but with graduating high school and deciding what comes next. Fortunately a friend of theirs who speaks their language and has been in the United States for a good 13-15 years will be helping them out a lot as well.

The latest busyness that has come up is trips, trips, trips! We just got back from a short jaunt to the coast to visit Stephen's sister, who is working at a conference center there for the summer, and we're planning to go again for our own enjoyment this weekend. We are also planning on another visit in September to my hometown to see my grandparents, go to a wedding, and also visit a theme park, so Stephen can have his first experience on a roller coaster. :) On the way back from there we hope to pop up to Stephen's parents' place, since his brother and sister-in-law will be in town visiting. It's been difficult to arrange a visit with them, since we are rarely all in the same place at the same time.

October will be our 1-year anniversary and we will be traveling to cross-state to stay at a bed & breakfast and visit a harvest festival. I am also planning on taking a trip, or two trips (I haven't quite figured it out yet!), to visit my friends back where I went to college. And the holidays will be upon us shortly, which is the scariest thought. I told Stephen the other day, "Wow, October was a dumb month to get married in! No sooner are we finished with our anniversary plans than we are trying to figure out how to visit our families for the holidays!"

I decided the month to get married in, of course. ;)

Those are the trips we are taking, but we also have trips that we might take. Stephen and I have earned a couple nights of hotel stays by visiting presentations about Wyndham Worldwide. We have the opportunity right now to go to either Hawaii, Las Vegas, Los Cabos or Florida. We have also talked about wanting to travel around the southwestern United States to visit family we have living down there. And finally, we have talked about taking a mission trip together at some point. None of these plans have become concrete, as we don't currently have the means, but we know we want to take them. So our heads have been full of plans and maybe-plans lately. But I am trying to focus on the plans for trips we will be taking for now. :) That's exhausting enough to figure out!

At least we have our bed and breakfast booked for October, and my grandparents know we're coming in September. Now, to address the trips to visit my college friends.... Back to planning! Pray for me/us as we try to figure out how to accomplish these financially, logistically, etc.

In other news, we finally got our settlement money from the accident Stephen was in in November. Stephen now has a new camera and I have a new computer. We've also made some extra payments on our loans and replaced Stephen's back tires, which were uncomfortably close to bald! We are so thankful for God's provision.

Please continue praying that God will provide me with a job, and with the stamina to persevere through the "job-hunting game," as Stephen so wisely put words to it. I am tentatively searching for a floristry job, as floristry is something both Stephen and I know I would enjoy. Unfortunately, I don't have the experience. I am hoping to take a class at the local community college on floral arranging which will hopefully provide me with knowledge, if not experience, that I need to get a job in that field. We have the money and are working on finding the time in between the church commitments, the volunteer work, the trips!

Thank you for your prayers and support. Lord willing, we will see a lot of you in the near future, and make it through the last part of this year with our sanity intact. :)