a new journey

not everyone can say they work at the place that inspired them when they were five years old...but I can.
not everyone can say their career has come full circle to include the job they've always dreamed of doing...but I can.

welcome to my new office:

just last week I accepted the position of Director of Environmental Education at Shetek Lutheran Ministries.  happy beyond words to take our lives on a direction of better hours, more time with the ones who sustain me daily, working in faith and love on a team of wonderful people, leading and learning through guided environmental activities...the ways that this new journey will create more opportunities for growth in our family are endless.

putting my two-week's notice in at Prairie View was tough.  like I told my co-workers, I wish I were leaving on bad terms so it'd be easier to let go of the memories and relationships I have had the pleasure of building over the last two years. I will miss everyone with a heavy heart. my life will be different not knowing how the consumers are doing on a daily basis.  though the hours were impossibly difficult to feel good about with a little one at home, it truly was a wonderful place to work and I enjoyed my tenure there.

for lack of a better way to put it, I am taking a substantial pay cut...this is not a choice for the money!  but with Charlie having a new position in a field [ha, punny] that he likes with way more paid hours than his previous job, we'll do alright.  the sacrifices he's made to make happiness for all of us a reality are innumerable, and appreciated beyond words...even though he comes home smelling like high heaven, the feelings of having been hard at work and productive are evident from the tired smile on his handsome face...ooh goodness, I love me some Charlie! 

with this new journey we have hope and faith in many things: maybe having another baby soon, more peace to our home with more time on meals and homekeeping, not so many irons in the fire, not so many late nights and weekends away from my home and family.  I am so grateful for the turning of our path in this direction--each day gets better, sunnier, happier!

Charlie and I spent the weekend nestled in with five other couples on a marriage retreat.  we learned about our marriage in many ways: things we're doing right, things we can work on, new ideas to be more closely connected.  with the teachings from Andy Stanley and the ensuing discussion we became excited to talk more about our relationship and especially the example we're setting for Lydia for creating her own relationships. fast learning that loving marriages require making love a verb! kind of tongue in cheek, but so true in that we choose to love our partner every day in our actions and words...respecting, believing the best, loving, and empowering are all verbs we use every day!

and I went for a nice, long ski with another couple...it felt great then, but I woke up with Jell-O legs! my skis are stashed at camp for another impromptu session when the winter weather warms up just a bit.  hard to ski out on the ice when it's so blasted cold!