The New Chapter begins...

By day three of the first week of school I was making lists and plans for the days ahead of me...I had submitted my applications to a few school districts to be a substitute teacher and had been told by several friends who sub to enjoy the first month or so cause by October I would be busier than I could imagine.  Well...imagine my surprise when the phone rang after only three days of school!!! I got my first subbing job for Thursday and Friday at Vista Academy, a charter school just a few miles from two of the kids schools.  I was asked to sub in the first grade for a teacher who had a death in the family and I said "Yes."  I was super excited and super scared all at the same time.  I had not been in a classroom in nearly 20 years and I was not so sure I wanted to leave being a full time mom behind me.  I had been praying and asking God to reveal to me the path I was to be taking as I entered this new phase in our life and this new season for me as a mom with all 5 kids in school full time.  Bill and I had talked and talked about the possibilities but we kept coming back to the fact that I would need to go back to work full time to help replace some of the income that Bill had lost over the past 4 years and that we had lost in some of our investments that were no longer going to pay for our kids to go to college. Honestly, I had thought I would never go back to work...my plan was to be a great stay at home mom forever...God's plan was different and I knew that I needed to be obedient to his clear direction in my life.  So, with a heavy heart and a call to several friends to please pray for me, I headed to my first subbing job...I cried most of the way there and had to take several minutes in the parking lot to get myself together.  Thankfully, the teacher left behind fabulous lesson plans and the students were still a bit timid since it was only day four and five of school.  The first day went quickly but I was pretty excited to get home to my own kids. The second day I was looking forward to seeing the students again and by lunch the fire within me to be a teacher was beginning to be fanned...I saw a light bulb go off in one of the students I was helping and it was at that point that I felt God say to me..."You are right where I want you".  I ended that day in the directors office signing my time sheet and being asked back for two more days the following week!  At that point I had no idea how much my life was about to change...

I was back the next week in the fifth grade one day and in several classes the other day.  I quickly decided that Kindergarten was way more work than I ever imagined and Fifth graders were not nearly as scary as I had thought.  I went home telling myself that I needed to get more organized at the house... just in case I started working more.  I had Weds. off so I ran errands all day long.  It was the strangest thing but I had this feeling that I was going to get busy so I stocked up on several of the staples we needed such as paper towels, lunch bags, toilet paper, laundry soap etc.  I found myself wondering when my next call would come and if the other school district was going to call me. I sent the kids off to school on Thursday morning and Makenna asked me if I would be working that day...I answered that I did not think so since it was already 7 am.  I had just started tidying up the house and the phone rang...yep, I was asked to come in as quick as possible cause the 5th grade teacher who is pregnant had to go to the ER!  I was there within thirty minutes and then worked for the next two days while she was in the hospital.  About this time the director inquired about my status and my teaching certificates....I admitted that I needed to get to work on them but that I had not anticipated subbing so soon after school started.  She recommended that I get on it as it could take a while to get all the details figured out and then once they were I would need to take the TEXes Test so I might want to study up! I joked with her that if they would let me have a few days off I might be able to get to it since it was going to require phone calls and faxes and who knows what else.  She laughed and said she would do her best...but as things would work out...I was called in the very next day for a teacher who had food poisoning! Two of the kids and I headed to Houston that afternoon for my nephew Baird's baptism so I let the work fall by the wayside and sort of forgot to put it on my list. I even had a long talk with Cowboy about the possibilities of working full time and a possible new career at this point in my life.

Monday morning I was once again tidying up the house and I got a call to come in for a teacher who was not feeling well...I grabbed my files with all the phone numbers in them to get started on figuring out how to get my certificate current.  On the way to the school I got one phone done to the state of Texas and things did not look good for me...the lady was not very helpful and in fact she was rude!  During a planning period that day I called the State of Illinois and found out that my certificate had indeed lapsed and that I could get a replacement certificate in about three weeks that the State of Texas could use to evaluate.  I paid the overnight fees and waited.  In the meantime, the other 5th grade teacher was having health challenges and I was called in to work for her a few times.  It looked like she was going to have to step down but she might be able to make it all work for a while longer. Things started to get worse for her and before I knew it the director called me and asked me how things were going with my certificate as she might need me as a long term sub.  My stuff from the state of IL arrived in record time and I got it all sent off to Austin for review...but was told it could take three weeks for it even to make it to the right person's desk!  I kept asking God to close the door if this was not the path he had for me and for my family and the entire time I had COMPLETE peace that God was indeed working things out according to his plan. God took care of so many details and it all happened so swiftly that there is only one thing to say....ONLY GOD!  The whole process could have taken up to 6 weeks and it ended up taking two and a half!!!  The state of Texas accepted everything that I had in Illinois (which I might add was way more than I remembered...I am so thankful for a good college education!) but I needed to take the required tests for the state. I found all this out right about the time the 5th grade teacher stepped down and I was asked to step in! I was in shock when I was offered the job and in even more shock when my family totally supported me taking a full time job!

SO... on September 20,2011 I became a 5th grade teacher!!!  It has been nothing short of unbelievable at every turn....it has been one of the hardest things I have done and it has been wonderful all along the way.  I see God's hand so clearly that there are days that I am in awe of Him and then there have been lots of days that I have questioned Him as I muddle through the process of being teacher to 16 students!  I am so grateful for this opportunity and love being back in the classroom. Life has been crazy for all of us as I leave early and get home late.  Bill has been AMAZING...taking on all kinds of duties that I am not able to attend to and my in laws have literally saved us time and time again. The kids have been helpful and understanding and also big cheerleaders and helpers with all kinds of projects.  I am blessed that's for sure.

***Update*** I passed the TEXes test with flying colors!!!! Thank You Lord!