A Growing Year

I'm a teacher.  I tend to measure years by the school calendar.  So, here is our year in review...

April 2012 - Accepted a teaching position closer to where I grew up and my family lives.  

May 2012 - Packed up the classroom that had been mine for 10 years.  Said goodbye to students and some of my best friends.  Prepped our house to sell.

June 2012 - Listed our house with a real estate agent.  Began looking for a new house.

July 2012 - Keeping a spotless house for showings and open houses eventually led to a good offer.  Packing.  Looking for a new home with no success

August 2012 - Said goodbye to the home we had lived in for the last 9 years.  Moved into a temporary rental and started my new job the SAME day.  Littles started their fourth daycare in four years.  Little Mister started half day preschool four mornings a week.  Celebrated Little Miss' third birthday.  Began the school year teaching out of boxes in my storage closet.  Left Hubs behind to close on our house and keep looking for a new job.

September 2012 - Hubs joined us in the new house without a job.  God was faithful and provided plenty of temporary work.  Began attending (and loving) a new church.  The sale of our previous home allowed us to pay off tens of thousands of dollars in adoption loan debt.  Still no permanent house. 

October 2012 - Little Mister turned five.  Hubs was offered a full-time job with a decent wage and plenty of overtime.  Cried in the bathroom several times after a certain afternoon nightmarish 9th grade class.   Spent a lot of time researching classroom management trying to deal with my nightmarish freshmen.   Began looking at a foreclosure property to renovate.

November 2012 - Celebrated Thanksgiving.  Even though both of us struggled with missing all that was familiar, we felt very blessed for all that God provided and was teaching us.  I'll admit that I had my fair share of meltdowns this fall, but I never doubted or regretted our decision.  Walked away from the foreclosure property...just too many unknowns.

December 2012 - Ended first semester.  Celebrated Christmas and extended time off from school.   Temporary rental sold.  Put an offer on a home in the town where I teach.  

January 2013 - Moved for the second time in five months.  Second semester started, so all new classes.

February 2013 - The daycare squeeze began.  We pay almost as much for daycare as we do for our mortgage.  We had a cushion saved up, but it began to run out.  God provided every single week.  We didn't miss one tuition payment.

March 2013 - Spring break and another welcome break from school full of quality time with the littles.  Hubs started working second shift Sunday - Thursday.  Loneliness sets in as now I have 0 adults to talk to.  I haven't really made any friends here yet.  I am friendly with people at school and in our church, but haven't met any BFFs yet.  

April 2013 - Went to a women's retreat sponsored by my church.  This was an overnight gig and I wasn't sure I knew anyone who was going.  I almost chickened out (even the day of), but I ended up going and getting to know some people better.  Still super lonely at night.

May 2013 - Little Mister graduated from preschool and started losing baby teeth - two this month.  I finalized grades, packed up my classroom, and said goodbye to school year #11.  I'm ready for opportunities to meet my neighbors, go on fun outings with my littles, get caught up on house projects (hello painting over all the dark orange and yellow), and tweaking things for next school year.