Changes

This has been quite the year around here! We've had so many changes in such a short period of time that sometimes I feel like my head is spinning.

Going back to work full-time after being home for the past 9 years, moving, having a car die, realizing that our children will have to go to a different school district next year. There were days when it felt like we could not take one more thing. Yet, we tried to handle these things with a positive attitude.

I took the job as a teacher's aide last August to solve an immediate problem of needing benefits for our family. Our church was not able to pay them and given our children and their many health issues, we felt it would be crazy not to have it. So, I began working a full-time job.

Even though I like the people I work with, it was difficult for me many times because I felt like I was giving up something I loved doing - caring for my husband and children, as well as being there for our church family. Yet, it was what I needed to do in order to help out.

I worked 35 hours a week, but only brought home about $500 per month because it all went to pay for the benefits. So many times I would feel discouraged because I was exhausted at the end of the day and yet we were no further ahead financially. In fact, I often felt like we spent more money because I would be too tired to cook or plan ahead.

However, Dan has recently been offered more hours with benefits at his current part time job. Because the children will be in a different district and Dan has a much less flexible schedule than he did last year, I was feeling more and more unsettled about going back to work.

Nathan struggles with change of any kind and this is a tremendous change. He will be in a huge school system compared to the one he came out of. Yet, if he has a difficult time neither Dan nor I would be available to deal with it during the day.

So, after praying and wrestling with it and talking it over with Dan, I have decided to stay home next year. I will be doing some private tutoring as well as developing some preschool enrichment weekly programs in our church which is right next door. I'm also watching a friend's child a couple of hours a week so I will be bringing in some income.

So, another change is coming but this time it is a positive change. One that I'm excited about. I feel like I can begin to do those things that I loved most again. I can support my husband by making his money stretch. I can be there when my children need me. I can focus again on supporting my church family.



May I just say.............................




YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!