Good News, but.... Scary?

So, I am excited to announce that I have a job.



I had interviewed 2 different places; this is not the one I planned to take. I don't know why God wants me here, but I am sure that this is where I need to be right now. I was waiting for over an hour before my interview (the Director of Housing was dealing with "a situation"). The Director of Nursing, who did the initial interview, finally came by and got things going.



She started out by saying, "We'd like to hire you." I felt such peace, such confirmation that it was the right thing. She didn't mention that she wanted me for night shift until later. By then it was too late for me to back out; I already had my answer. I try not to argue with God too much; even if I win... well it's usually much more difficult than if I had just listened in the first place, so here we are.

This is a very good thing for our family financially right now. I am entering the health care field which I am excited about (at the bottom of the food chain, of course, but that's OK). It's close to home. It pays well. It's got good benefits and a 401K. I don't have to wear scrubs. The facility is beautiful. The management team seems really great; the head of the facility is actually a good friend of a good friend, which is reassuring. All this is good, but I am still majorly stressed and aprehensive.

What makes me really nervous is that I am going to be working the NOC shift... which means, I put my kids to bed, snuggle with my sweetie a bit, then head off to work, and work 11 p.m. until 7:30 a.m. Then I come home, kiss my kiddos good-bye before school, maybe drive the older ones to school, and then come home, have breakfast, and try to go to sleep til they get home and wake me up.



Now, I know that lots and lots of people work third shift. It's not that I think I'm too good for that or anything; in fact, I offered to work nights. I'm absolutely petrified of failure, and I'm worried that I won't be able to handle this. I LOVE SLEEP! I'm not sure 6 or 7 hours is going to cut it. And what about the weekends? What if I fall asleep in the middle of the shift? (There's a workout room in the lower level and I may go get my blood pumping before my shift and on my lunch break to help me stay awake.)



I have also not been married long enough that I don't care whether or not I sleep with my husband. And frankly, I don't plan to ever become that way. I love snuggling with my hubby. I love that we still sleep tangled and roll over to find each other even in sleep, even if it's just with fingers or toes. I'm going to miss that 5 nights a week.



I'm not sure when I start at this point, but it will be soon, probably within the next week. I know God has a purpose in this new adventure far from my comfort zone. Wish He would clue me in on what it was...

My Sweetie

Now, I acknowledge that he's quite a bit older than I am... a self-described dinosaur-type, grumpy old curmudgeon at times...

But look at that grin!

I think he's just so cute... gray hair and all.

This is My Sweetie, Tom, with Ben and our friend Drew at an antique car show that Tom's Model T club puts on every year. The club has a guy that brings his antique, steam-powered tractor and steams sweet corn. It is awesomely good corn!
I had to miss it this year due to a scheduling conflict...
and I really missed it!

(Notice that Drew has a gun. His main love in life is anything army related; guns definitely qualify... Gotta love boys!)

Tom with one of his best buds for the last 40+ years, Steve.

Just a couple of good ol' boys, sittin' in the sun enjoyin some fresh sweet corn. Life is good!

(Drew belongs to Steve.... I thought DREW was totally over-the-top into army stuff, until I met Steve's older brother... holy pajamas!)


Tom's contribution to the car show... his 1924 Model T...

it's old, but cute too!

Innocence Lost, Part II and a bit of "Mom"ism

The boy involved in this incident confessed to police last night. Not only did he confess to the incident with one girl, but also "numerous other girls." He is now facing multiple felony counts of sexual assault to a child. He will be 18 very soon; what a way to start your adulthood.

How do our young people become SO LOST that they lose all sense of right and wrong?

I am pretty right-wing conservative. I take some flack for that in the contemporary world, but I make no apologies for it.

I absolutely do not support homosexuality as a birthright, but consider it absolutely A CHOICE. This boy's mother made the choice to become involved with a live-in same-sex partner after being divorced from his father. What kind of example does that set for an adolescent boy... anything goes? How can we possibly expect children to grow up with any sense of appropriate sexual behavior when adults in their lives model deviancy?

I would also guarantee that this boy was exposed to/familiar with pornography. You don't go from A to Z without steps in between... or a "slippery slope," to coin my husbands favorite phrase in regards to all those little gray areas: r-rated movies, TV shows with raunchy humor, magazine covers that idolize that party-girl image... even Disney cartoons are full of inuendo and exceptionally skinny women in skimpy costumes.

I think that as the mother of a teenage boy, I am more conscious of these things than I have ever been. He thinks he needs a girlfriend to fit in. I guess he's a lot like me at that age... which scares me, because I was really messed up, and nobody realized it.

By the way, to all you not-yet moms or young moms...

the 2 curses of your mother's really do work...

1) I hope you have a child just like you...

It works because you find little bits or big bits of yourself in all your kids

&

2) As a kid you say, "I'm never going to do blah-blah-blah like my mom....

but you find her words coming out of your mouth...

and then you slap your hand over your mouth in astonishment and think

I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST SAID THAT!!!

Innocence Lost

I am so sad, and so angry this morning. I am also exceptionally proud.

We found out this weekend a 13-year-old girl that I know is a victim of a statutory rape and sexual harrassment. Her step-bother inadvertantly discovered the harrassment, and then the rest came out.

I am so,so sad for her... because society told her that her worth was gauged by her ability to be "sexy" ... and she's just a little girl. She has been acting strangely since this happened, very emotional and snippy with people. Now we understand; she is so lost and confused and hurting... and so ashamed.

She. Didn't. Tell. Anyone.

I am angry with her mom, whose views are that of a catty 15-year-old cheerleader... that her daughter got what she wanted, she should just buck-up, get on some birth control, and move on. So what that kids now call her a slut and a whore. Deal with it. Oh, and what's wrong with her sister's boyfriend sneaking in and spending the night; she's 16, and they only got down to their underwear... no big deal.

I am so proud of her dad and her step-mom, who are dealing with this situation with love and compassion to their daughter, and yet still taking the legal steps to protect her. Prosecuting the boy, getting the girl and her sister out of a situation where their mother is not acting in her daughters' best interests. I am proud that they have used the struggles they have faced to do what is right for their daughter. They have a long road ahead of them, but I applaud them every step of the way.

And I pray for them. I pray especially for this girl. That she will realized that she is so loved, by her parents and by God.

I Guess I'm One of The Stupid Parents...

My friend Will had this posted on his facebook page. I guess I'm one of those parents this guy is talking about, who is not smart enough to effectively raise my children for the left-wingers...




Then again... our current administration really doesn't think that having children is all that important; they are trying really hard to sneak in public funding of abortions as health care "reform," according to this article.

And last, but not least, at least someone knows how to make a little light of this situation....

It's Hard For Congressmen to Apologize

because you know that politicians rarely apologize for anything...

As my wise friend Will also said, It's good to know that God is in control, because there seems to be no room for him in the US anymore.

Blogging Slackeritis

I have some guilt over my summer case of Blogging Slackeritis. I have friends and family who have moved and had babies and other ambitious stuff and still managed to keep their blogs somewhat updated. And while I read everyone else's lives on a regular basis, I just haven't managed to update mine. But with my children back in school, and the fact that I am not working a paying job yet, I really have no excuse.

So... a few updates for those of you who actually read this... I am absolutely horrible about remembering to take pictures, but I did find a few.

Summer is church camp season around our house, and this year was no exception.

This was our Vacation Bible School group in the end of June. The front scene was supposed to be an oasis with palm trees (put it together for $4...pretty proud of that). It was a fun week with the kids, and all the adults that helped were really great to work with. Ben is upfront in the yellow (his t-ball shirt); Alex is on the middle-right in the stripes; and Jake is in the middle-back in the light-colored tie-dye.


A couple weeks later was Camp Tenderfoot, which is a 4-day camp for kids ages 8-11. The couple I'm standing with brought this insane 3-D puzzle which we worked on during our down time. Since they did the programming and I did the cooking, I had more down time. I seem to have inhereited my mother's addiction to jigsaw puzzles, becasue I was determined to have it done before the end of the camp. I think we got it done the last night, about 11:30.


And now for the boys...



No, this is not a mugshot, this is the first baby I birthed. It's often hard for me to believe that he is starting to look like such a man. Rob's stats... 6'2" tall, about 190 lbs, size 15 (or 13 EE) shoes. He started out as this... well, this was about 4 months old... isn't he cute!!


Jake is a budding teenager, and I'm sure within a year or so I will be lamenting him growing up (literally). Our friend had a costume party in June right after school got out. Since the boys had their mohawks, we let them be punk rockers.


Jake added our spare dog collar and a chain leash (from when Zeke was a pup and used to chew on the cloth ones). Someone at the party dubbed his costume "Freak On A Leash" whick Jake thought was very cool.

Ben's was different colored on each side. He did wear a shirt.

Alex's photo op actually came on the first day of school. He got home to find this huge toad outside in our carport.
He enjoyed holding it for awhile until he realized it had pee'd all over his hand... and I really mean ALL over (who knew toads had bladders that big?) which I totally laughed at. Is frog pee still considered wart-inducing? Hee Hee

And, of course, because I'm a sap for my puppy... I had to include one of my puppy.


The Babe is my friend's Lovey who incidentally shares Zeke's birthday. Lovey is 1; Zeke is 3. So the Babe and his big sis Flower were hanging out at my house one day. Zeke found a toy of the Babe's that he thought was really fun. The Babe thought Zeke was really fun and he kept following the pup around the living room. Zeke finally retreated to the top of the couch where the Babe could just holler at him, but couldn't reach him to smack him in the face and pull on his ears. It was pretty funny.

I am immensely grateful to Grandma Sandy for the few days respite when she took the kids on a sight-seeing trip to St. Louis and stuff. She came home very ready to give them back; she doesn't miss long car trips with kids (and the constant squabbling that goes on in the back seat).