We Have Employment

YEAH!!!!! We have a job!

Brian got a call last week and accepted a P.E. job at Paris Elementary School. We are thrilled about this and are praising God!!! I wanted to wait and post until I talked with some important people in person. Brian actually moves down on Thursday to begin his new teacher orientation. School does not begin until the 17th. Friday he is going to hang out with Forrest and try to get things together in the gym. Then I am going down for the weekend so we can look for places to live. After that he has a meet the students day on Monday. So... it will be exciting for him to get going, but he will be hitting the ground running.

I on the other hand will continue to live in Jellico until the first of October. That should give us plenty of time to find a place to live and get moved. I have some commitments I need to keep here in Jellico and try to make the transition a little easier since I have a time frame. We have really been blessed to have such a warm, loving 2nd family here in Jellico who have been so supportive and encouraging along the way. It will be difficult to say "goodbye", but I really feel like it's a "see ya later". We are blessed in more ways than we realize!

Slacker

I have really been slacking in regard to this blog. Things have been so crazy and fast this summer that I have had little time to blog. And to be honest... I don't really have much to say. Lists work best for me....

1. We have been to three weddings this summer. One co-worker, one cousin, and one college friend. We have another in Nov that I am really looking forward to.
2. I had a "staycation" last week instead of a vacation. I took the whole week off and stayed home expect for a couple of days. One day I went to Knoxville with an awesome friend, Jesse. One day Brian and I went to Mammoth Cave. If you have not been, you totally need to go. The other day we visited my parents and checked out their new kitchen.
3. Job hunting is still underway for Brian. He has had about 4 interviews this summer, but nothing has come of them. We are still waiting for the Lord to show us our next step... I feel like this statement is on repeat in my life.

Well... that's about it. I am so not exciting!

New Challenge... maybe!

Well we have been home from San Francisco for a while now. It is such a beautiful city. Some of my pictures from the trip are on Facebook under Brian's profile, so if you have not had the opportunity to look at them, please do. I seriously recommend that everyone go there at least one time in your life. The bay is beautiful and the scenery is to die for. We had such a wonderful time in the city by the bay. Brian's favorite part was riding on the side of a Cable Car. I think he would have done it more if we had the opportunity. We really would love to visit again!

Also... the title of this post is "New Challenge". You may be wondering what this is about?!? Well frequently I browse the John's Run Walk Shop Race Calendar and last night I was doing this because I was looking up stuff about the Bluegrass 10K on July 4th. I have wanted to do this race for about 2 years and have never done it, so this year I am doing it!!! While I was browsing, I came upon a new race that takes place on October 30th. It's called the Home Run Half Marathon. It's in Louisville and it's the inaugural race. I am really thinking about running it because I want to do a 1/2 before this year is over and I think that is a good time frame for me to get prepared. Plus by then it may be a little cooler. Anyway... it runs past all of Louisville's iconic places, the Mu hammed Ali Museum, Churchill Downs, etc... and then you end on home plate of the Louisville Slugger baseball field. I'm thinking about it, but really I just need to commit and then start training. Any thoughts?

We leave for San Francisco in 2 days! I can't believe how soon it will be here. It seems just like yesterday when I was blogging about booking our tickets. Now it's right under our noses. I am so excited to get away with my wonderful husband. He needs the time away almost as much as I do.

I also want to share what we are doing in church the next few weeks. We are doing an Andy Stanley 3 week video series on Marriage. It's titled "Little i, Big Marriage". We watched our first session on Sunday and I am excited to see how this is going to pan out. We have only been married for 3 years, and we have learned a lot along the way and most of the time it has come with many tears. I have learned about the things that Brian needs from me and he has learned about the things I need from him, and in the process we have hurt each other's feelings to get to these "revelations". In the first session Andy discussed before we get married we have these desires. We desire to have a nice house, nice car, money, that our wife will wear sexy things to bed, etc... After we are married, some time in our marriage these things turn to expectations. Andy asked us to challenge each other and discuss what we feel our expectations have become of each other, so we can get them back in the desire category. This question had me thinking all day. And to be honest, we have not had this discussion, and I don't want to have this discussion with Brian because we will probley cry and have hurt feelings... but isn't that what marriage is about? Don't get me wrong, I hate when I hurt Brian's feelings, but we are supposed to challenge each other and grow along side each other. And sometimes that requires us to have the truth spoken to us and to have our feelings hurt. I realize I put a lot of pressure on Brian regarding certain things and this lesson brought that to life within me. I am trying to analyze my answer to the dreaded question of "what do you expect of me?" I know he is going to ask me sometime this week and to be honest I am nervous. I can honestly say I dread him asking and I dread what he will say when I ask him the same question.

Uggg.... well, now that I have shared my rant, I challenge you to have the same discussion with your own husband/wife. And to even watch the series together. It's only 3 session about 35 minutes each. Here is the first video. I found it on UTube broken into 2 different sessions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ9BLRygWuU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk-XgJlr_mU

Steal of a Deal

I was so happy to finally see this weekend. Friday night Brian and I lounged around and had some great dinner together. It has been a while since we have had a weekend to rest together. We were in bed by 9:30 and it was FABULOUS!!! It sounds bad that we go to bed so early on a Friday. On Saturday Brian had his spring football game with the University, which went really well even though it rained. I woke up and went to Knoxville with some awesome girls from work. Natalie, one of my friends, goes to church there. Today her church had a huge yard sale and everything they sold went to Missions, which really made me want to go. They had some really great stuff. Since Brian is in full swing of applying for jobs and interviews and he only has one suit, I decided what better place to look for a suit than at a church yard sale. Needless to say, I found a really nice Nautica two-piece suit for $3. I was floored and since Brian was not with me, I found a helpless soul who was about the same size as Brian to try it on. I also got him 2 ties and a brown leather belt (he asked for one for Christmas and didn't get one). I got all of that for $5!!! I was so excited to get home for him to try it on. When I walked in the door I showed him my bag of goodies, which I was so proud of, and he tried the suit on along with one of the ties. It fit him perfectly and it looks so nice!!! He may need to have the coat taken in a little, but I was so excited. Now he has two suits for interviews and even Easter if he wants to wear one. I felt great about my purchases. They have the sale once a year and I just think it's such a great idea! I would love to know how much money they make toward missions. The youth group also had a bake sale going on and when I was checking out people were donating more money then they owed for their purchases. It was such a humbling experience. So that's my STEAL OF A DEAL.

Today...

Today Brian and I got a lot accomplished. 1. Went for a short 30 minute run. 2. We took a lot of stuff to the new apt and are starting to make it feel more like a home than stinky newly painted walls. 3. Finished my 25 page paper for my research methods class. 4. Made an awesome dinner! All in all, we had a really great day together and I'm looking forward to only working 3 days next week. :O)

March Brings New Beginnings

With March has come many changes for the Schaad Household. With them I have been challenged, stretched, and angry at times. With these feelings, I have felt more distant from God than I ever have. I know it's because my heart was not in the right place, and I admit that. I also admit that I tend to be very selfish at times and that is where my anger came into play. To make light of a very long story that I am still trying to figure out, we are moving to Jellico Tennessee. Since Brian is no longer working for the University, and since our home is owned by the University, we need to move so others that work for the University can move in. With that being said, we are moving to an apt in Jellico. I have fought with God about this for multiple reasons, and the main one is WHERE ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BE? I feel like we have really always had some path that God has shown us to take... until now. I'm really learning a lot about patience and gratitude. I am very grateful that God provided a place for us in Jellico. I am just searching for God to show us if this is where we are supposed to be long term, or if he wants us to go somewhere else. God has not shown us for sure stay or for sure go, and that is what I find myself struggling with.

Until we get an answer, I am reminded of the Israelites when God didn't promise them they would not have to move every 2 years.

Until we get an answer, we will continue to serve Him.

Until we get an answer, we will continue to be grateful and wait upon the Lord.

Until we get an answer, we will be still.