Update!

It's been a while since I've written a blog so I thought I'd update my fellow bloggers with what has been going on in our lives. I am officially teaching again in a first grade classroom and will start my first day back in January as classes resume. I am ecstatic to be back in the classroom and have been working diligently to get my room the way I want it. Noah, Gracie, and Jaden have been helping me clean, organize, and get things set up in the class and they will transfer from St. Marys to Waynesville in January as well so that we are all at the same school. Eve started daycare close to the school and she loves going and spending time with her little peeps. She's perpetually surrounded by "big" kids so this is a nice change for her to "talk" with other toddlers and play.

Jon just had surgery to repair some bothersome problems he has been having and Eve is still struggling with her chronic sinus infection. She has been to the allergist twice and goes to the ENT to see if she needs sinus surgery to get her back to normal. My oldest and youngest "Hattenites" have seen better days, physically speaking.

Our Christmas was wonderful as all of the kids were in our home on Christmas morning to see all that Santa had brought. Jon's parents, Sally and Richard, were with us and they enjoyed watching the kids open their presents and play with all of their goodies. Santa brought me a new Suburban (well, that was a present to myself to haul the critters around) and Jon surprised me with exactly what I wanted--a Kitchen Aid mixer so that I can make my homemade pizza crust without kneading by hand. Yea!

I am halfway through my Master's program and have a 4.0 GPA thus far. I will graduate in October of 2009 and can't wait to get that pay increase (to help pay for that Suburban, no doubt!) As always, we have been really busy and have had another wonderful year together. All of us have grown, learned, and have gained a new found appreciation for each other. We are looking forward to a fabulous 2009 and can't wait to see what God has in store for us.

Have a wonderful New Year!

Happy Birthday, Jaden!

Jaden's 6th birthday was yesterday and we celebrated by roller skating, eating Jaden's favorite meal (chicken tenders), and having a party. Here are a few pics of the family enjoying the day!

Have You Ever...

Have you ever went somewhere and you knew that was the place where you were meant to be? I've had this experience occur a few times, mostly on a spiritual basis in regards to finding a church home. More recently, this happened to me when I went to a job interview a couple of weeks ago. I have been searching for a teaching job for a few months now and since the school year is in full swing, teaching jobs are scarce. I have been substituting in two schools locally and although I've been thankful for the work, things just haven't "clicked." You know what I'm talking about, that special feeling that makes you know that you were destined to be at that particular location at that particular time for some specific purpose. Well, I just haven't felt that. I was getting discouraged and I applied for several jobs in my county and surrounding counties but had not heard back from anyone. A couple of weeks ago, I got a call for an interview for a position I applied for in Brantley County, which is about 45 minutes away from my home. I went to the interview with the attitude that I was going to just go to the interview for the sake of going, but when I got there I KNEW without a shadow of a doubt that God was leading me to this school. I have NEVER, EVER interviewed with a panel of educators in which I felt so comfortable and that my views, style, and outlook on education meshed so well with the principal. She is a dynamic educator and I felt that she sees in me the value, desire, and passion that I have for teaching. When I left that interview, I was hoping that the interview team felt the same about me. About an hour after I got home, the principal called me and wanted me to come in the next morning for a second interview. After arranging daycare for all four of the kids (they were out of school that day), I accepted the interview and was asked many of the same questions. Feeling quite disheartened, I went home and mulled over the whole situation. An hour later, the principal called me to tell me that she was submitting my name to the board of education as her applicant for the position! Pending the results of the board meeting, I'll know on December 8th if I "officially" have the job! Pray that it all works out!

Happy Halloween!

A Letter to Me

The older I get the more and more I find myself listening to country music. It could be that handsome country man I live with, but whatever the influence is, I like it. Brad Paisley has a song out entitled, “Letter to Me” which I have heard a hundred times before, but today when I was driving I began thinking what I advice would I give myself if I could go back in time to when I was seventeen. Although I know this is cliché to say, I would not change anything in my life because I would not be where I am today. With that being said, if I could write a letter offering advice to myself, this is what I would say:


Dear Heather,

This is your senior year in high school and although you think that you know what you want in this life, you don’t. Take your time and enjoy your youth. You are so responsible…live a little on the wild side! Return a library book a day late or better yet, skip school on senior skip day like the rest of the class. Go away to college, meet new people, build strong friendships, become confident in yourself, and realize what a jewel you are going to be for that lucky man one day. Give yourself time to find out who you are before you try to decide what you want. You are a strong woman and have so much to offer—never forget that!

You are going to deal with a lot of heartache in your life, but God will get you through it all. There will be times when you will be fortunate enough to see the big picture, but many more times you will ask yourself, “Why?” Try not to focus on the “why,” but rather the “what now?” You will be a voice for the voiceless and there are times when you are going to feel like you have lost your mind. Don’t worry—your faculties will remain intact and through it all you will grow, love, weep, break, and rebuild.

Love your family with reckless abandon and don’t be ashamed to cry in front of your mother—she bore you and she knows you are human. Let your daddy call you “Gookie Baby” because when you get older there are going to be many, many, many times that you wish you could hear his voice calling out those words. Build a relationship with your brother even if he pushes you away. Remember to say, “I’m sorry” and realize that you, too, aren’t the easiest person to live with.

Cherish those shopping trips with your granny and mom and don’t make fun of them when they say, “Ah, look at the pretty trees,” when driving down Beulah Lane in the autumn. You are going to wish you could hear the rustling of the leaves, smell the aroma of the freshly cooked apple butter, and taste your dad’s pinto beans and cornbread every fall for the rest of your life.

Finally, let God work in your life and always listen for His voice. There are going to be many times when your own voice will drown out His, but it is always there. Learn when to be quiet, when to listen, and when you need to just “be.” If you do this, everything else will be okay.

I love you, even though you missed being in the National Honor Society because you got a D+ in geometry.


Sincerely,


Yourself at 33

Head and Shoulders?

The other night I was tucking the kids in bed and after saying prayers with Noah I kissed him on the forehead like I always do. His hair smelled particularly nice and I said, "Noah, your hair smells really good. What shampoo did you use?" His response was, "I used Mr. Jon's Head and Shoulders shampoo. I like to wash my hair with it, but I never put it on my shoulders." I couldn't help but chuckle...

Always Low Prices...

Lately, I have been talking to my children about saving money and being responsible when spending money. Each week the children get an allowance for doing "extra" jobs above and beyond their usual chores. When they get this money, they usually like to spend it when we go to Wal*Mart. On our trip to Wal*Mart this week, Gracie said that she had $5.00 not counting her usual allowance. She had not spent $2.00 from the previous week and had $3.00 from the tooth fairy. I knew my talks were doing some good because Gracie told Jaden that she was going to save her money so that she could buy something big that she really wanted instead of wasting the money on a couple of small items that, in reality, she really didn't want. After hearing that, I thought that what I had said had really begun to set in and I felt quite proud of my parenting accomplishments...that is, until she said, "I want to do just like Wal*Mart--'Save money. Live better.' " Oh well, all least she gets it!