Monday morning, I return to work. Hopefully, anyway. My paperwork is in, and I am officially back in the employ of the Travis Unified School District. Mixed feelings about that really. On the one hand, I am excited to see how the new and improved Susie will do with classrooms full of students. The truth is that I am not the same person that hated teaching 5 1/2 years ago. My life has been filled and enriched by other people's children lately, and I am looking forward to putting into play all that I have learned from them. (You totally know who you are!)
I've learned that patience really IS a virtue, and compassion goes a long way. Pick your battles? You bet.
On the other hand, my two month season of slow is coming to an end. Who would have ever thought that out of the blue, God would just bless Mark and I with two months off at the same time? I guess it would be different if it had been planned or something, but the fact that it wasn't, makes it even more of a gift. The time that I have had to simply relax has been good on so many levels. There's been time to build and maintain relationships. I've re-acquainted myself with reading just for the pleasure of reading. A system for paying bills and balancing checkbooks is in place, dinner is being enjoyed once more as a family, and the afternoon nap is definitely back in play. It will be hard to give up the naps, but hopefully everything else can be maintained!
I return to work filled with gratitude for the time I've been given and anticipation for what the future holds. God is good always, and as long as I walk with Him and He with me, life is worth the living!
So...I've got THAT going for me...which is nice!
Jessi and Alex had their first Cross Country meet on Tuesday. They rocked! They prevailed by one point. They have another meet today around 3:30. Come watch them run (and possibly spew as well..."If you're gonna spew, spew in this!") There was much spewing and falling out on Tuesday. Of course it is not quite as hot, and they will be over the first meet jitters as well. 
We spent an awesome day today squiring our niece, Katie, around California. We managed to do the Napa Valley, the Old Faithful geyser (cheesy but still very cool), the Redwoods, and the Pacific Ocean. It's a full day, but worth it. Mark is trying to convince Katie to transfer to UC Davis, and after today, I think she' s considering it! She begins her training with Youth with a Mission (YWAM) on Monday. She will train in the Tenderloin District in S.F. for 3 months and then head to Asia, either Thailand or Vietnam. God has a hold of her right now, and we are praying she will be used mightily. Her opportunity for personal growth is huge as well. Please keep her in prayer over the next 6 months! I've linked Katie's trip blog in my links. Feel free to check it out, she's an awesome writer!
You know what I'm talking about. Those completely IRRITATING, bone jarring, drink spilling bumps that are in front of every store now. There is no way around them. You can try to take a huge detour, but then you just confuse and tick off the driver who was not expecting you to cross there. I have developed an almost neurotic, physical aversion to these things. I literally have to take my hands OFF the cart and push it across by itself, or it just completely freaks me out. I initially thought they were invented to shake the raindrops off the carts as they are pushed back into the store. Then I found out that they were actually placed there so that blind folks would not step blindly (sorry) into traffic. Okay, I can understand that. But did the inventor also realize that they would cause all manner of things to fall out of cart, purse, and hands (if you leave your hands on the cart) too? I have spilled at least 6 drinks to date. Now I just grab my drink, give the cart a mighty shove, and hope that I can catch it on the other side. Anybody else freaking on this?
