Still Here

Deacon and I are still doing TOT School. I didn't know what our theme should be after we were done with dogs. Derek thought it should be a fruit so we had settled on oranges...random I know. Then on the Sunday night before we were going to introduce orange on Wednesday-Derek took Deacon outside with him to set the trash out and pointed up to the moon and said moon...which Deacon repeated again and again. So we changed themes! I made him 4 moons on the cricut since the moon was created on the 4th day. We read Goodnight Moon and went outside and pointed at the moon every night. As the moon changed Deacon started calling it a ball but now he knows it's the moon. He also has a turtle that projects stars on the ceiling and we turn it on as he goes to bed and he shows us the moon. I love having a theme we focus on for a couple of weeks because I feel it helps expand his language and knowledge. We are now going to move on to a Halloween theme for the month of October. I would love for him to learn the word Pumpkin.

As many of you know God has led our lives down a new path. I have accepted a position with the Marshall County Board of Education. It will be different in that I will work 5 days a week but I will be home with Deacon in bigger chunks of time several times throughout the year. It is a decision that we prayed over for several months. We knew that if a school position opened I needed to apply but we didn't expect one to open up this year. God had other plans and we are excited to start this new journey.

For the past 3 years I've been blessed to work with an amazing team. They were there through some tough times in my life and celebrated the anticipation and birth of Deacon with me. For girls and now guys with such varied ages and interests we bonded together and got along like a family. I will forever be grateful for the therapy team at Bradford Heights. They supported me my first 3 years as a Speech Pathologist and were happy for me when I made the decision to leave. Though I won't see them as often I will for sure keep in touch. I've worked with a unique population the last several years. My patients have been much older than me and I've admired and respected each one I've had the privilege to treat. They have all left a lasting impression on my heart. They've made me a more faithful, compassionate, caring, sensitive person and that is truly a blessing.

Derek and I decided before having Deacon that we would do whatever it took to ensure his best interest was always put first. We are both the type of people who put our whole hearts into anything we do and child rearing is no different. We struggled with knowing whether or not it would be in Deacon's best interest for me to work the school schedule or to work 3 days a week until he got in school. We knew hands down I needed to be in the schools before he got there. We decided to let go of that decision and let God and he provided all the answers and things just fell into place. We would appreciate your prayers as our family embarks on this new and exciting journey. I love love love kids...not just my own but all kids as if they were my own. I hope God uses me as an instrument in these sweet children's lives.