Uncreative title here

It's been a hard week and one I wouldn't want to relive again. Dinner and housework was somewhat abandoned this week, but Jesse picked up the slack and knew I had to grieve the death of my precious Tiggy. He constantly sent me texts and emails making sure I was ok and wanted to know if I needed anything. Friends sent me their condolences, which made me feel loved. But no one truly knew the pain besides our family, which brought the greatest comfort. Sharing memories, looking at pictures, watching videos. It still stings and the tears continue to fall. Moments of sadness come and go, but it only takes one little reminder to set me off again. Seeing a commercial for his flea medicine. Reading an article in the newspaper about pets. Ugh, it's no fun saying goodbye to someone/something you truly love....

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On a totally different topic, I promised some pictures of our new place. They are on facebook and I assume most people who read this are friends with me on facebook, but oh well.

This is our foyer, looking from the living room.


Standing in the foyer, looking at the living room. One of my favorite things about our condo are the big windows in the living room!

So, that at least gives you a feel for our place. We feel so blessed to live here and love our neighborhood. God has also blessed me with a job, which I will be starting on Monday! :) I will be a K-4 teacher at Summerville Baptist Church. I sent my resume to probably a dozen church preschools since we moved here and I hadn't heard about any openings for the first couple of weeks. I was getting discouraged and bored at home all day, looking for jobs. We moved at a bad time, as far as the school year goes, because schools/preschools had already hired all their teachers. I really wanted to work at a church preschool, with a flexible holiday schedule. I got a voicemail two weeks ago saying they had received my resume and they had an opening. I was scheduled for an interview a few days later, not really knowing anything about the position (hours, age group, etc.). I told Jesse, "I just hope this isn't a huge waste of time or something I know, within minutes, I won't want."

As I got ready for the interview that morning, I was nervous but also felt at ease. It was strange and I thought, "ok, God is either preparing me to feel this way because it's going to work out or it's so wrong that there's no need to feel anxious." :) I arrived ten minutes early and sat in the parking lot and watched the kids and teachers on the playground. No red flags yet, this is good. I went in for the interview and felt comfortable right away. Phew, good sign. I talked with the director and assistant director and I felt it went really well. I was hopeful, but I knew they had more interviews too. I waited for a few days and heard nothing. I was going to call back on Friday afternoon but they beat me to it. They offered me the position and I was so relieved and excited! :) God answered my desires for a church preschool with a flexible holiday schedule. Thank you Lord for your continued faithfulness in our lives!!

Another awesome and unexpected blessing we received this week came in the mail. We have been waiting for our deposit from our apartment in VA Beach for the past several weeks. We were really hoping for the whole thing back, but knew they were really strict. Regardless, we just needed that money! Haha. :) Well, I went to get the mail on Wednesday and see an envelope from them. Sweet! I ripped it open and read,

Dear Mr. and Mrs. ____,
"Thank you for taking care of your September rent prior to your departure from C.S. on 8-14-2010. Due to your early departure, we were able to turn your apartment earlier than anticipated and because of such, we were able to move a new resident in on 9-3-2010.

Lucky you, as this means you're entitled to a refund from the third of September to the end of September. That total equates to $______ plus $______ of your original deposit........."

How awesome is that?!?! I called Jesse immediately and told him the great news. We were not expecting this at all. This was a huge break for us because we had been paying rent for August and September in Va Bach and our condo. That is 4 months worth of rent over 2 months time. Plus the deposit on the condo. Plus the very, very expensive moving truck and gas. The list goes on and on. The expenses were outrageous. We gladly accept any refunds that want to jump back in our bank account. :) Another example of God providing for our needs.

So, I've been trying to enjoy these last couple of days of freedom before I start working full time again. 6:15am is going to come reeeeeeeally early for this girl. :) Throughout this job hunting time, Jesse has been very supportive. He always said, "I want you to find something you really like, so don't just settle because you think you need a job" or "I don't want you to come home every night stressed and exhausted, so just wait for the right job to come along." It's pretty much impossible NOT to come home exhausted after being with kids all day, but I don't think this will be stressful. And I do think it's the right job for me right now so I'm looking forward to it. I had a day of orientation this week and the staff was friendly and the kids were adorable. I'm sure I'll have more to share next week!

Well, I haven't showered and it's noon so I better get my day going. :) Happy weekend!