Job Update (Kristine)

We've talked a lot about the pros and cons of the online teaching job versus the paraeducator job. We've also prayed about it some and we feel that at this time in our life, the job that works best with where we are at now is the paraeducator job. Kristine feels a peace about the para job, and hasn't felt a peace about the online opportunity. Kristine hasn't gotten a call for an in-person interview yet, but we felt we needed to talk about it and decide before the call did or did not come. Now that might seem like a step back to some people that know that Kristine's been applying for an actual teaching job for a while, but we feel this is where God wants Kristine to be.

This fall we are focusing strongly on getting the house ready for the move and finding a new place to live in Hillsboro, Oregon. Kristine's paraeducator schedule would allow her more time to work on the house during these critical months. It also allows us to visit friends and family and to go to the fly-ins and other events we want to do this year. So really it's perfect for where we are right now, and God knew that all along!

Maybe in the future God will present the opportunity again for Kristine to teach online, but right now she's excited to learn more about autistic children, to work with some fabulous co-workers and to trust God with our future and finances.

More updates to come! The next update will be our newsletter. We are waiting until after this weekend to send it out so we can update you on how Eric's flight test went. Thanks for all your love and support!

Eric's Commercial flight test update

I (Kristine) realized that I haven't updated some of you on Eric's progress so you can know how to pray.

Eric is retaking part of his commercial flight rating test on August 3rd. With this retake he'll be allowed to use his own plane. This is wonderful because he knows his plane and is very familiar with it. I won't go into any detail other than ask that you join with us in prayer on August 3rd that Eric be comfortable with the examiner, his plane perform well, the weather cooperate and that he remember everything that he's learned for the test.

Thanks so much for your love and support!

Another job opportunity.... (Kristine)

So I got a call today from K12, an online teaching job! I haven't signed contracts yet for the para job... so there's still hope.

I did a phone interview with them and they'll call next week if they want to do an in-person interview. I should find out either way in two weeks.

I figure that's enough time to hold out on signing a contract. If I got this k12 job then I would be able to teach from home, save tons of money on commuting, and even raise my children from home. Which is a BIG plus! It would also give me valuable training that could be used in future missions.

We'll see what God wants... I am pretty open!

Better about Blogging

We plan to use this site more and more to give periodic updates about our lives and about our progress towards serving God in missions with MAF (Missions Aviation Fellowship) Sometime we'll register a domain name for it, but we aren't that far yet. :) The above picture is from a visit with our friends Alex and Lael. They left a week after that visit to go to Hawaii for just over two years for a Navy assignment.

Moving!

Yes that's right...because of Kristine's job, Eric's schooling and Servant Wings we will be moving further North most likely to Hillsboro, OR. We are pretty excited about this, but we need to sell our house first. To do that... we have a little work left to do. Here are some things we are working on:

-Finishing the hardwood flooring in the hallway
-Replacing the old bathroom flooring in the main bathroom
-Painting the Bathroom
-Finishing to paint the bedroom
-Replacing the kitchen flooring
-Jacking up the post in the back to level the roof
-Fixing up the back deck
-Replacing the shake roof with a new contemporary one.
(If you have any suggestions for roofers let us know!)
- Fixing up the back shed
-Cleaning up the yard. (We have many overgrown bushes that need to be pruned)
-Replacing the garage door (Maybe)
-Painting the house (Maybe, the color is UGLY!)
-Painting and placing moulding around the floor and doors

Those are some things we are working on. If you would like to help in a certain area, please let us know! We'd love help to get these things done ASAP so we can list the house and move to Hillsboro by January or soon after.

Kristine got a job! Praise God!

God works in mysterious ways that's for certain. I've (Kristine) been trying for a year and a half to get a "normal" teaching job because I have my Masters in Teaching. For some odd reason things continually weren't working out. I had great interviews, the principals loved me, yet no one was hiring me. This was VERY depressing and I got very discouraged. So much so that I was applying to retail jobs.

Well I was certain that God wanted me working with children, I just didn't know where. These past few months I branched out and applied to several paraeducator (teacher assistant) positions around Washington and Oregon to help me get a "foot in the door". Most haven't contacted me, but one did and I had a great interview!

I got a job working as a paraeducator with the Northwest Regional Education Service District. I will work full-time as a teacher's assistant in an early intervention program for autistic children. I am super excited because the hours are great and it's right by the college in Hillsboro that Eric is going to go to in January. I will also learn a lot about autistic children and how to help them succeed in education. I've always wanted to learn about this and other specialized education things so I am super excited!

Yes... it's not a licensed teaching job, and it pays less...but for me it's not about the money. It's about impacting children's lives. Someday I would love to use my teaching license, and maybe I am supposed to out on the mission's field. But right now I am perfectly content working at a job that pays $14 and hour and full benefits so I can learn and grow in my knowledge. Who knows...maybe they will decide that they want me as a teacher elsewhere in the district? The schedule for this program is GREAT! It's year round and I love it.

Now I haven't signed any contracts yet...because she just offered me the employment. So it's not totally official yet. Next week I should be able to go up and sign some papers. I also contacted a Sylvan Learning Center in the area and it seems that they are hiring. Depending on the pay this could be a good side job to supplement income while Eric is in school. We'll see!

I plan on including a snippet of this in the new newsletter... I thought I would just blog it on here so people could see more information!