Well I really need to write more often! It ends up my blogs get so long no one reads them the whole way (I never see any comments!) :( I can't believe I didn't post that Kjell got a job! He was interviewed in Minneola KS a job he only applied for because it was close to Meade (he wouldn't have applied because it said English/Social Studies teacher) got the interview and then a day and a half later was offered the job! We were very happy but Kjell is still nervous because he will only be teaching one SS class and 3 english classes plus a reading class thrown in there. He hopes he can be as good at teaching English as he feels he is with SS. He will also be head coach of jr high girls basketball and track. We went to Minneola to look at houses TWICE now. We found one we really liked but didn't have any of the money issues covered yet so the day we went back to look at it found out it was under contract. :( very sad after the rest of the houses we saw. Very overpriced for the house we would get. And we really wanted something move in ready, the only one that appeared that way was about 10 feet from the highway and with how much Justus ends up in the street, not a good idea.
Then we found out about a little three bedroom house in Meade. It's the cutest little thing but that was what worried me it was so TINY. I don't know where I could go in that house to hide from my kids! lol but it's very cute. It looks like a mexico adobe house on the outside and on the inside it is very nice. But probably around 900 sq feet is my guess. But we were going to try to make it work for at least the next six months. Then we found out about two more houses. LARGE three bedroom two story houses in our price range (still to rent) and today we get the joy of driving back down to Meade to look at them. Never thought I'd say this but I'm TIRED of going to Meade! :) so I hope this trip we figure out what we want. I'm so excited and can see God's hand in all of this as we will be renting. At first all Kjell and I thought of as a possibility was buying but renting at this point is such a better option for us. Why? because our house in Atwood is still on the market and probably will be for between 1-3 years just the atwood way. Luckily for us it is VERY close to being paid off so yes we will have some expenses while it sits empty but not too many. Hopefully once we can get everything out of here it will be a fast sell. Another reason is we have NO money of any sort at this time to put on a down payment but once the house in Atwood would sell we would have a very good sized down payment. And lastly we never know how Kjell's job will fit him. We hope and pray it is a good fit, the last thing I want to have to do with my children is move them all over I want them to have a fairly stable growing up time. So we hope this all works out.
Update on baby, she is getting huge... or I am I feel like my skin is already stretched as far as it can go but I still have between 6-8 weeks. She likes to move all the time mostly around 11 oclock at night that's when she decides it's time to dance. My ribs hurt like crazy she hasn't kicked them but every time I've been pregnant they have hurt (thanks to Kiah who DID kick them HARD for a very long time) I don't know if there is a fracture in there or what but it only hurts while pregnant I remember after Justus was born the instant relief in that area so I'm just holding out for that. All these trips in cars sure doesn't help, laying down makes the pain go away for the most part.
Kiah is keeping us busy this summer, she is involved in T-ball, swim lessons (for two weeks) a story time and playgroup. We would be home a lot more if it wasn't for her activities! She has been to one tball game and I had to keep telling her to stand up, she was playing in the dirt. When we got home I asked her why she kept playing in the dirt and she told me she had to "it was the best mudpie dirt she had ever found" She also looks like mommy when she bats but it was her first time ever to bat. I guess we need to get a tee at home. As for swim lessons she is taking after both her parents and seems to be a natural in the water (as far as a natural 3 year old can be!) she has been the first one in at lessons every day and loves to go under now. Last year she was terrified of the water so we didn't do lessons. So I'm glad she loves it so much she wants to go everyday.
Justus is getting so big! He loves to "kiss the baby" and show people where the baby is. He also likes to poke my belly button in so I have to be careful because that hurts. He is all boy. And totally enjoying summer. He has learned how to get out of the house and can be gone in nothing flat so we have to keep the door locked. He is learning more words and also loves to swim. His hair went from blonde to beach blonde again this summer.
Kjell and I are busy packing up trying to get this house ready we have already moved two trailers and a pickup load south so that our house would look more sell ready. We won't be moving however until after the baby is born. Right now looks like baby here July 30 move Aug 1st .... yeah we will see how that works out :) We are also watching the world cup. Justus loves to lift his hands over his head and yell goal with us. Kiah wants to know why she isn't on a soccer team... I dont' think we need any more busyness!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Lord where am I going part two
Well I just haven't had time to write this update but finally will, so much has changed in the last week I'd really like to put that but for now. I have to finish my story! Let's see January 2004. I move in with a couple from the board of our Young Life group. I was totally scared of them in the beginning (before I moved in) however they were the perfect fit. They had three grown children and their youngest had just started college so they had a bit of an empty nest thing going on. We got along great and they loved Kjell too really became like another set of parents to us.
Then Kjell and I got married and I still had one more year on my internship so he went to find a job, he was either overqualified for things or unqualified so finally he found a job at a warehouse. WORSE JOB he ever had. He had to deal with a pretty disgusting coworker but it paid the bills and we worked on getting rid of Kjell's student loans. All 19,000 dollars of them. Then came the bad news Oct 2005 after things were going so good with our fit with Young Life and it seemed I may be able to stay on as full time staff the top donor and top getter of money for our Urban Young Life died suddenly of a heart attack. He was in his 60s. And money had already started to get tight for the organization. He was the CEO of Helzburgh diamonds. Now left to try to talk to "fellow CEOs" was a black man from the hood and this white girl from the sticks." Not really the kind of people those kind of people like to rub elbows with. And money problems got worse. Young life has a policy that if you are in debt for a month you get one month grace then 75% salary then 50% the next month then 25% the next month then NOTHING the next month. However we were in such financial trouble that our regional director decided a week before payday that we would get NOTHING no warning this was to be our month of grace..... but we were told we would get nothing. Talk about freaking out, (if only I knew then what I know now!) Well I had a very strong supporter or called our RD and talked to him and we ended up getting part of our salary that month, and the following month and then the paychecks stopped. People found out, and people started giving and giving and giving. And when we finally added up the total of what God had blessed us with after no paychecks. It was to the penny the amount that I should have been paid by Young Life. No doubt who was in charge there!
The sad news is we never did fully recover from our losses at YL so I wasn't asked to stay on. Kjell and I decided to be a Biblical marriage I really needed to follow him and his career rather than him continuing to follow mine so we started pursuing other areas. Kjell applied for a job in Meade for KDOT and did not get the job but then we put in more aps for KDOT and he ended up hired in Lousiburg KS. After trying to find a place to live we ended up in Spring Hill KS. A town I still miss with people in it I still love dearly. But Kjell wasn't happy in KDOT. I could tell his self esteem wasn't high and he thought he could be doing more with his life (as did some other people as well) we found out about a program called Transition to Teaching and after about a year of living in spring hill started the process of applying for school teaching jobs.
He got a phone interview (which he didn't realize was an interview) and two face to face interviews one in Atwood KS and one in Argonia KS . He was offered the job at both places. We chose Atwood because we thought the people were friendly we thought we liked the town and it seemed a good fit (I didn't go to the argonia interview so I've never been there) Then came the next adventure we end up buying a house. When I walked into this house I wanted to walk back out I nicely nicknamed it the "trash house" or "the house that threw up on itself" I cringed with my open toed shoes as we walked through it. A couple weeks later Kjell and his dad came back out and Kjell's dad convinced us the "trash house" was the house for us (obviously he saw what it would look like down the road not what it looked like THEN) so we bought it. and it actually worked out for the best it was the cheapest house in town but the night I finally got there to see it I bawled it was the most ugly house I had ever seen. I hated it and what had we done. Remember the folks I talked about from Spring Hill well they all came down to help us get our house in order. They vacuumed, they painted, they tore down walls they put new ones up they laid a floating floor almost while Kjell and I walked around in a daze thinking WHAT IN THE WORLD have we gotten ourselves into? the coolest thing about our move to Atwood was my 5th grade teacher and his wife lived in Atwood. Really and right down the street? That was so awesome we had a little 13 month old girl and no carpet for a couple days and much more painting and fixing to do and they allowed us to stay in their basement for two weeks. It was awesome
So now move forward three years. Kjell knows he is on the chopping block, the only third year (non tenured) teacher not already leaving and the board really wants to make a cut. But his evaluation is great no problems told he's a great teacher but should know he's probably not going to be rehired. We wait and we wait and then the wonderful legislature gives the school board more time to make us wait and wait and wait. Finally (they have to tell us by the 21st of May) on the 19th of May I am at Kiah's preschool program and people keep looking at me funny and whispering and I KNOW something is up. So when I get home (Justus had a fever so Kjell stayed home with him) I told Kjell to run to the grocery store and buy a paper. In the paper it says that Kjell's position has been terminated. Wow let me tell you THAT was fun. Something no pregnant woman should have to go through. But we held fast to the fact that God does not allow anything to pass through His sovereign loving hand that He doesn't want to happen. But it hurt... and it still hurts. Kjell loved his job, he loved his kids, and so many of them loved him too. He had a girl who had been sexually abused and totally shut out any man tell Kjell he was the first guy she let back into her life and she hugged him the last day of school. He made an impact more than the school board will ever know and he was a GUY teaching jr high. Sorry but Jr high boys totally need at least one male teacher in their lives to help understand them.
And then starts the wait and we wait and trust and we pray. And that's what we tell people we are waiting and trusting and praying.... and then God decides He needs to remind us just how cool He is and we get an unexpected check in the mail for 1000 dollars.... isn't' God fun!
Then Kjell and I got married and I still had one more year on my internship so he went to find a job, he was either overqualified for things or unqualified so finally he found a job at a warehouse. WORSE JOB he ever had. He had to deal with a pretty disgusting coworker but it paid the bills and we worked on getting rid of Kjell's student loans. All 19,000 dollars of them. Then came the bad news Oct 2005 after things were going so good with our fit with Young Life and it seemed I may be able to stay on as full time staff the top donor and top getter of money for our Urban Young Life died suddenly of a heart attack. He was in his 60s. And money had already started to get tight for the organization. He was the CEO of Helzburgh diamonds. Now left to try to talk to "fellow CEOs" was a black man from the hood and this white girl from the sticks." Not really the kind of people those kind of people like to rub elbows with. And money problems got worse. Young life has a policy that if you are in debt for a month you get one month grace then 75% salary then 50% the next month then 25% the next month then NOTHING the next month. However we were in such financial trouble that our regional director decided a week before payday that we would get NOTHING no warning this was to be our month of grace..... but we were told we would get nothing. Talk about freaking out, (if only I knew then what I know now!) Well I had a very strong supporter or called our RD and talked to him and we ended up getting part of our salary that month, and the following month and then the paychecks stopped. People found out, and people started giving and giving and giving. And when we finally added up the total of what God had blessed us with after no paychecks. It was to the penny the amount that I should have been paid by Young Life. No doubt who was in charge there!
The sad news is we never did fully recover from our losses at YL so I wasn't asked to stay on. Kjell and I decided to be a Biblical marriage I really needed to follow him and his career rather than him continuing to follow mine so we started pursuing other areas. Kjell applied for a job in Meade for KDOT and did not get the job but then we put in more aps for KDOT and he ended up hired in Lousiburg KS. After trying to find a place to live we ended up in Spring Hill KS. A town I still miss with people in it I still love dearly. But Kjell wasn't happy in KDOT. I could tell his self esteem wasn't high and he thought he could be doing more with his life (as did some other people as well) we found out about a program called Transition to Teaching and after about a year of living in spring hill started the process of applying for school teaching jobs.
He got a phone interview (which he didn't realize was an interview) and two face to face interviews one in Atwood KS and one in Argonia KS . He was offered the job at both places. We chose Atwood because we thought the people were friendly we thought we liked the town and it seemed a good fit (I didn't go to the argonia interview so I've never been there) Then came the next adventure we end up buying a house. When I walked into this house I wanted to walk back out I nicely nicknamed it the "trash house" or "the house that threw up on itself" I cringed with my open toed shoes as we walked through it. A couple weeks later Kjell and his dad came back out and Kjell's dad convinced us the "trash house" was the house for us (obviously he saw what it would look like down the road not what it looked like THEN) so we bought it. and it actually worked out for the best it was the cheapest house in town but the night I finally got there to see it I bawled it was the most ugly house I had ever seen. I hated it and what had we done. Remember the folks I talked about from Spring Hill well they all came down to help us get our house in order. They vacuumed, they painted, they tore down walls they put new ones up they laid a floating floor almost while Kjell and I walked around in a daze thinking WHAT IN THE WORLD have we gotten ourselves into? the coolest thing about our move to Atwood was my 5th grade teacher and his wife lived in Atwood. Really and right down the street? That was so awesome we had a little 13 month old girl and no carpet for a couple days and much more painting and fixing to do and they allowed us to stay in their basement for two weeks. It was awesome
So now move forward three years. Kjell knows he is on the chopping block, the only third year (non tenured) teacher not already leaving and the board really wants to make a cut. But his evaluation is great no problems told he's a great teacher but should know he's probably not going to be rehired. We wait and we wait and then the wonderful legislature gives the school board more time to make us wait and wait and wait. Finally (they have to tell us by the 21st of May) on the 19th of May I am at Kiah's preschool program and people keep looking at me funny and whispering and I KNOW something is up. So when I get home (Justus had a fever so Kjell stayed home with him) I told Kjell to run to the grocery store and buy a paper. In the paper it says that Kjell's position has been terminated. Wow let me tell you THAT was fun. Something no pregnant woman should have to go through. But we held fast to the fact that God does not allow anything to pass through His sovereign loving hand that He doesn't want to happen. But it hurt... and it still hurts. Kjell loved his job, he loved his kids, and so many of them loved him too. He had a girl who had been sexually abused and totally shut out any man tell Kjell he was the first guy she let back into her life and she hugged him the last day of school. He made an impact more than the school board will ever know and he was a GUY teaching jr high. Sorry but Jr high boys totally need at least one male teacher in their lives to help understand them.
And then starts the wait and we wait and trust and we pray. And that's what we tell people we are waiting and trusting and praying.... and then God decides He needs to remind us just how cool He is and we get an unexpected check in the mail for 1000 dollars.... isn't' God fun!
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