Saying Goodbye to September

Well, I'm about to head out the door to go take the last series of tests to get my Minnesota Teaching License. Unfortunately for me, the state changed their standards and testing company at the beginning of the month, which means that the tests I'd previously taken for my PA license that used to overlap... they're no good now. So, this afternoon--8-9 hours of tests and a few hundred dollars later--I'll be done with the last set. I'm praying I pass. I definitely felt less good about taking these tests than when I took my PA tests before. I just didn't have any time to study, and I wasn't as prepared as I thought I would be. Bummer.

On to better things though. Neal and I have the house to ourselves now!!! It's fantastic! He just scheduled us off for five nights at the Grille (which mean about 10 for me with my schedule) so we could re-open all of our wedding presents and actually move into our house. The kitchen is finally functional (and beautiful, in my opinion), and the living room and dining room are doing pretty well also. The guest bedroom on the otherhand... well... Guess where all of Nikki's things went when they came down from her parent's house? Yep. You guessed it. Thankfully I have at least gone through every box now, and all that's left is figuring out where everything that's left goes. That and organizing the activity room (which requires the guest bedroom being a little more ship-shape) are the two big things left for us. It's really starting to feel like home, and that's great.


In other news, school is going pretty well. I think I'm mostly getting Music figured out, and teaching Math and Reading has been going pretty well. I feel like there's never enough time, but I suppose that's always been my problem. And we had our first frost last Sunday morning, which meant Neal and I spent the afternoon picking apples from a tree we've been checking every week for a month or so. It also meant that rosehips were ready to be picked as well, so we've gathered a few of those also.

Lastly, our adult Sunday School class has been going for a few weeks now. I like the group of people a lot, and I think it will be really fun to see how things progress over the winter. Neal and I invited everyone over this coming Sunday, so we'll see how many make the trek down here to Tofte.

Well, time to go.

Settling In and Starting Up

It feels good to be getting settled into a home and a lifestyle. Complete moving in and unpacking won't be done for a few more weeks yet, when the house guests leave, but it's nice to go home every night and know where I'm sleeping and who I'm sleeping next to. :o)

I've been serving at the Bluefin for a few weeks now, and so far so good. A few expected bumps along the way, but the people I work with are a pretty fun group, and I enjoy my job so far. I also started my new job at Birch Grove last week. I'll be working as the grades 2/3 paraprofessional, which basically means I'm a part time teacher in the morning to help with Math and Reading. I'll also be helping out with the Morning Meeting a few days a week, and recess duties, but that's about the extent of it. The other part of my job there will be teaching Music to grades K-5. Good grief, who thought I was qualified for that? Well, my hope is that they'll learning something, and have a good time. If I accomplish that, I'll be happy.

In other news, Pastor Dave from the church Neal and I attend has asked us to lead an adult Bible study through the upcoming year (meaning the school year, more or less). We'll be heading up the 20-35 ish category. Neal and I are both pretty interested to see how it goes. Any prayer for us is more than appreciated!

I think that's it for now. I'm outside, it's getting to be evening, and my hands are cold. Plus, I still have some research to do for planning my first week of Music!

~Nikki