While I'm a little late on the New Year wishes, I'm going on the sliding scale of New Year being the entire month of January. Here's a snapshot of what I've been doing/thinking lately.
Things that have made me smile:
A new printer/copier/scanner/fax machine & blu ray player - very much appreciated gifts from Ray. The printer especially since my old one decided to die right at the end of last semester and I have A TON of printing to do for this semester.
Making my mom smile with the gift of fresh baked fattigman (Norwegian Christmas cookie). I had never attempted to make these before but I remember them being so good. The dough itself isn't hard to make, it's the rolling it out, cutting out diamond shapes, and frying them in oil that is time consuming....but oh so worth all the effort!
The start of a migraine free year! While I've been dealing with low-grade headaches this month, they have blessedly gone away with 2 Aleve and a heat pad on my neck.
New super warm gloves which has made dealing with the "polar vortex" cold so much easier on my hands.
Snow days which have given me time to get ahead on my assignments (I'm taking 3 courses this semester).
Catching up with Steph! The older I get the harder it seems to catch up with friends because of everyone's busy schedule.
J's behavior improvement and academic gains which has been a great reminder about why I teach and that God's ways are definitely higher than my ways in the classroom He chose to place me in.
Things I'm looking forward to:
Camping in Bar Harbor! Ok, so...maybe I'm not as excited about that as you may think because I'm really not the camping type of girl - especially when there won't be any showers on the campgrounds. What I AM looking forward to is getting to spend some time with Errin and her family before getting to the campgrounds, seeing the beauty of Bar Harbor and getting away from New York for a while, being with Ray, getting to know the friends we're going with even better, and just enjoying the beauty of the area and the adventure I'm going on. I'm setting some money aside to get a new hiking backpack just for the occasion!
What God has for me in the future. So much in my life right now is very uncertain, but I'm looking forward to seeing God move.
Finishing up my Special Education degree in May and being certified. Maybe after 3 certifications someone may hire me for a lead teaching job.
Things I'd like prayer for:
Jekyll has been FIV positive for over a year now and since then he's battled one sickness after the other. Currently he's on 2 medicines that need to be administered 2-3 times a day. The medicines are expensive and it's getting harder and harder to make sure I'm home in time to administer them. Plus, the constant changes in my schedule stresses him out. Cats in late stages of FIV generally only live 5 years at most. I'm asking God for wisdom in when it'll be time to let Jekyll go. I don't want him to suffer and I certainly am not looking forward to finding him if he dies at home, but at the same time he really doesn't like the vet and so I'm reluctant to bring him in for a last time because it'll be overly stressful for both of us.
Ray's job isn't going well. The company has been making many unwise decisions which has resulted in lots of layoffs, not enough money in the accounts for payroll, and a move to a smaller office building in Hackensack. Ray believes that after the company moves and he sets up the internet and other networks that they will let him go, believing that they can run the network without him and hire a consultant IT guy as necessary. Both of us want him to be able to make it at this job at least a year. Although I'm nervous about what these changes may mean I'm trying to trust in God's provision and wisdom in finding Ray another job - one hopefully even better than his current job.
