Sweet Life in the City

It has been a busy week. I napped on Sunday and when I woke up my throat was hurting pretty bad. I felt like it was sinus drainage and treated it like sinus issues. Monday night we went to Samuel's 8th grade banquet. It was a nice evening despite the fact that there were people there that we didn't really want to see. There were no issues. We sat at a table with parents and teachers that love us and support us. I sat and watched my son interact with his friends and it made my heart happy to see him laugh and have a good time. Samuel got several awards at the banquet. He got a math award, physical education award, and the Christian character award. The character award made me so proud considering the year we have had. I cannot even imagine the conversations he heard at the beginning of the year considering the events that transpired before school started. I am thankful that he kept his integrity and character and that it was recognized. We got home Monday night and I needed to g...

Words cannot adequately describe how loved and encouraged I felt after my last post. So many reached out to me sharing their own struggles and giving words of encouragement. So many calls, texts, and messages crying with us and lifting us up during these difficult days. Many have asked how Chloe is doing. She is doing okay. She has made a few friends at her new school, but she has also run into a few difficulties. It is a daily struggle to make sure she is making good choices. It takes a complete change of mindset that there will probably always be struggles. Many have asked how she is doing, but it is a hard question to answer. Her struggles did not magically disappear because one situation has been resolved. We are waiting for insurance to be sorted before we take the next step, so I would ask that you continue to pray for us. We had a pretty busy week. I am trying to get the last minute lessons in for my class, making sure we have covered all they need for Kindergarten. I am gettin...

The last thirty-six hours or so have been rough. I have shared for the last 9 years about the struggles we have with Chloe. It is no secret that we have seen some dark days in regards to her behavior. We go through spurts were we do not have any major issues and then we have weeks were we are broken over how to help our daughter. We have been vigilant about Chloe these last few months, but I guess not vigilant enough. Our lives have been turned upside down. The atmosphere in our home has been one filled with heaviness and sadness. I knew it was effecting her. There were things at the house that revealed to me that she has slipped into some habits and compulsions. I started hearing about hostile relationships in the classroom and escalated behavior problems at school. Everything came to a head yesterday when I was informed that something happened that involved her and I was crushed. As I was dealing with that issue, Jeremy texted me that someone saw on FB that a parent posted something ...

For the first time in a long time I can finally blog a post that has good news in it! For the first time in a long time the weight on my heart and spirit has been lifted. It is finally May and Spring has finally decided to arrive here in Chicago. The actual Spring in the air has ushered in with it Spring to my heart. I had posted last week that I had two job interviews and had received offers to teach at both of those schools. I had also mentioned that I had hoped to maybe have one more interview. I got an email asking me to come in Wednesday to have that interview. I have to tell you that I had convinced myself that this probably wasn't going to go well. I mean I had had two successful interviews and 3 for 3 was pretty far fetching. This particular school is pretty big. It's fairly new compared to most Christian schools in the city and its teaching methods would be considered a little more cutting edge than other places I have taught. I loved the idea of working there because ...