Back to the Chalkboards (errrr...white boards)

If you remember from this post, I did not set out on this mom journey with the overwhelming desire to stay home. As a teacher I always thought that I really could kind of get the best of both worlds as I would have decent hours as well as some breaks and summers off to be with my kids. But, God had other plans when Mr. Van Dyke landed a new job in a new city, and I left mine in the middle of a wheat field in Kansas.
Job opportunities came up, but I never felt a huge desire to leave staying home with Little Belle in order to pursue that particular job until there was a 7th grade L.A. opening in a district that really is where I wanted to be. After subbing in a couple districts I knew this is where I wanted to be, and after teaching 7th grade I knew this was an age that I loved. I got a call to come interview, and my stomach instantly turned in to knots. What would I do about my little girl?
I started to pray, and seek some wisdom from friends and family. One of those people sent me this:
In thinking about your decision, I reviewed some notes I had from a book called Let Your Life Speak. The title is an old Quaker saying that means that we should listen to our life and what it is telling us about who we are. We wonder, "what am I meant to do?" He mentions Frederick Buechner who defines vocation as "the place where your deep gladness meets the world's deep need." We should start with our true nature, what brings us joy, and move toward the needs of the world. For guidance we should pay attention to the way that seems open and the way that seems closed. God asks us to honor our created nature, our limits as well as potentials. "One dwells with God by being faithful to ones nature. One crosses God by trying to be something one is not."

While I AM a mom, I really don't think God created me to be a stay-at-home mom. Don't get me wrong. The time spent with Little Belle over the course of this past couple of years has been beyond precious. I've learned all of these things and the list goes on, but God was opening a door for me and closing another. One thing I believe God was teaching our family was definitely that money doesn't buy happiness. When we first moved back I felt pressure to get a job in order to stay on top of our finances, but the longer I stayed home wanting to teach was not at all about money. Sure it's nice, and now we'll be able to afford to do things with Little Belle that we weren't able to do before, but that wasn't a factor in the decision at all.

My stomach was in knots at the beginning of last week, but as the days progressed and the interview came closer, I had made up my mind. If I was offered the job, I would accept it. Other factors helped like knowing where Olivia would go while I was teaching and having a supportive husband who truly wants me to be happy.

So, with all of this said, I was offered a 7th/8th grade Language Arts position in the city that we live, and I accepted without hesitation.. All of the puzzle pieces have now come together, and I couldn't be more excited about this new challenge.

This means that come August my blogging will be quite infrequent and maybe a little different, but I do plan to continue to craft and sew, discipline and love my daughter, and read books, but I may have one or two funny stories about my students to throw in there as well.