Change #1: A new job. I'm going to be honest, last year I had my mind set that I wasn't going to teach another year because we wanted to start our family. Well, that didn't work out the way WE had planned (but someone else had a different plan for us) so I decided that I needed to work for at least one more year. At the beginning of May, Mark had applied for a masters program at Midwestern University in Arizona, but we had not heard anything yet. I decided that I would apply for jobs and if I got a job, we would move down to Arizona whether Mark got in or not. There would be more job opportunities for Mark in Arizona and we decided that things would work out the way they were supposed to. We did what we thought would be best and left the rest up to the Lord. So I did what I could and sent my resume to every single school in the Peoria USD in Arizona that had a first grade job opening (there were 8!). I got 4 phone interviews and got offered 2 jobs! I accepted a first grade position at Murphy Elementary and was also asked to coach their 7th/8th grade volleyball team. So far, we have been in school a month and I just want to cry all the time. There are 25 kids in my class, my feet hurt at the end of the day, and I feel like I have no idea what I am doing. This is my 4th year teaching first grade, but moving to a completely different state with hardly any curriculum is really difficult. My kids in my class are great and adorable and I love them! I'm just having a hard time adjusting to the school district. It's been a hard month, but I think I am starting to get things down and figured out. Volleyball has been my release. We had tryouts the 2nd week of school and have been having practice ever since. It is SO much fun and the girls are so great! It will be a lot of fun and I can't wait for our first game in a week. :)
Change #2: Masters Program. A week after I got offered a job in Arizona, Mark got accepted into the 9 month masters program at Midwestern University. WOO! It was the beginning of June and we finally new where we were going to end up for at least a year! He just started school last week and so far, I think he is liking it. We don't know what the plan is for next year. Mark is applying for medical schools all over the place, including here at Midwestern University. We are hoping to stay here, but at the same time, it would be a LOT cheaper to go somewhere else. We will just have to see where HE wants us to go. :)
Change #3: Homeowners. When Mark got in to Midwestern, he said, "We should look in to buying a house there." At first, I was totally opposed to it. What? No way. We don't know how long we will be there it makes no sense. No. Well, he talked me in to it. We can rent it out to another med student if we end up leaving and we would make about $400 a month by renting it out. Our mortgage would be quite a bit cheaper than renting from anywhere else, plus we get a lot more room and no neighbors upstairs or downstairs. Mark has been saving money for a really long time to put down on a house at the right time. I guess this was it. I do have to say, it has been nice having our own place. We bought a lot of new furniture to go with it and we are loving our new house so far...no scorpions found here(knock on wood).
Change #4: HEAT. Just moving to Arizona at all has been a HUGE change. It is SO hot...all the time. We have kind of gotten used to it and it's not horrible, but we aren't outside for a super long time so I don't really know what to say about it. But even after it gets dark, it is still in the 100's. WHAT? So hot. And swimming during the day is just silly because you would be swimming in a warm bathtub. And, there is NO green here! I mean really. The grass that they do have, they have to irrigate every 2 weeks or so and it stinks like rotten fish. I love it here, but it really is very hot and if there were more trees and grass, this place would be perfect.
Change #5: New Car. The car I've had since my sophmore year in college was 10 years old. I new it was going to break sometime soon. We were hoping later than sooner, but apparently it was a little too sick for that. We were on our way to IKEA on the highway, and it just stopped working! What? Freaking out. So hot outside, broken car...ugh. Well, we were able to make it work to turn around and go back home and take it to the shop. Turns out it was something that would cost between $600 and $1,000. We figured that it was not worth it and we would just buy a new car. And it was the right choice! We bought a 2013 Honda CR-V and love it!
Change #6: BABY! The biggest change of them all. We are SO excited for our family to grow! I am almost 16 weeks along and we were finally ready to tell the world. I haven't been too sick, mostly just tired. I am so excited that he/she will have his/her own nursery! We don't know yet what the sex is, but either way we are thrilled. We don't care if it's a boy or a girl, we just want the baby to be healthy. We are excited and are so grateful to our friends and family and their love and support! Thank you so much! We love you!
It's a lot, but they are all good changes and we are happy with every single one of those decisions. Sometimes, change can be a good thing! :)
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