"Those are gonna be my kids"!

I signed a contract yesterday for a long term sub position at a great Christian School. It was a strange feeling standing in what will be my third grade classroom for the last 3+ months of the school year. I have been out of the field for eight years, but somehow felt right at home in the classroom.

Perhaps the greatest part of this news is that Sophia will get to go to preschool free of charge, and the preschool seems to be run very well. I could tell right off that she is going to thrive. She was so excited as she looked around.

Surprisingly after my blog about being worried about her learning, a light clicked on in her. She all of a sudden has a huge desire to learn. She points out letters that she knows all of the time now. In her soon to be classroom, she saw much of what she has been learning, and that excited her! Right when we got to the campus, she saw kids playing and she said, "MOM, those are gonna be my kids"!!!

The Lord has really blessed our little family. It is important to me to be close to the kids as they grow up, and second to being a stay at home mom, I think being a teacher will benefit them most. I find great value in being able to be with my kids after school and to be able to get them to practice and things of the sort.

I'm hoping this position stretches out through next year, and it looks like it will. This will give me plenty of time to complete my credential should I ever need to begin teaching at a public school. As far as long term goals, I'd like to work towards becoming a principal within the next 5 - 8 years. That will begin with my getting my Masters in Educational Leadership. Fortunately, this schooling can be done almost entirely online so it won't take me from the kids too much.

Sometimes life is so unpredictable isn't it? My number one goal in life was to have a great big house so I could give as many "unwanted" kids a home as I could. This goal may be a little out there for me at this point. My next goal was to be a teacher who would infuse kids with excitement for life and learning. The third clear goal I always held close to my heart was to adopt kids who needed a home.

At 37, sometimes I feel like my life is what it is and will be. Then I look at my mom and many other friends who are in the next stages of life and realize that their lives are completely different than when they were 37!

One more thing - I have decided that for two reasons, I am making a serious goal of dropping the weight!!!! First, heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure run in my family. My aunt died at 42 from a heart attack (how scary is that?)! Secondly, I want my kids to have pictures of me having fun with them. I hate having my pic taken because of my weight so this needs to change!

Keep me in your prayers as I seek to tackle this. I have succeeded at losing the weight before so I know I can do it. I just need to put my mind to it and get out there and exercise! I figure I can run/jog while Sophia rides her bike!

Anyone need an outdoor exercise partner?