Keep your fingers crossed! I think I have something worked out for housing. When all the details are final, I'll share more info and pics.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
I think I found it.
Keep your fingers crossed! I think I have something worked out for housing. When all the details are final, I'll share more info and pics.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Memories!
I was honored to speak at the service for Mrs. Frances Partida today. I'm posting my comments here because I know that several people from Procter, who now live far away, read this blog. It was a lovely service and a great celebration of her life. She was such a blessing in my life and I know I will see her again.
++++++++++++++++++++
Remembering Ms. P
When I think about Mrs. Partida, I think of her as the Matriarch of the Procter Family. She was certainly someone we all loved and respected for many years. One might consider her a legend amongst out church family. In the same way some celebrities are known by their initials or just a first name - You only needed to call her, Ms. P. There are several people in this church with the last initial P, but everyone knew Ms. P – was the one and only Mrs. Partida. When I was thinking about what I wanted to share today, the letter “P” stood out in my mind. I’d like to tell you a few things I’ll remember about her.
First, she was practical.
Ms. P didn’t wear designer clothes or care much about worldly wealth. Instead, she worked tirelessly, building up the kingdom of God. She served in many formal capacities at Procter through the years, but I think I’ll best remember her best for being a hard worker. You could always find her in the kitchen, cleaning up after a church dinner or helping with work around the church office. She and Mr. Conrad would visit those who were sick or offer a ride to the church for those who needed it. She saw value in the work of the Lord, not in material things, a good lesson for all of us.
Next, she was persistent.
I’ve been told that before we came to Procter in the late 80s, Mrs. Partida was best known for keeping the choir kids on Wednesday nights. She was notorious for her no nonsense attitude and stern discipline. However, in the Early 90s the Partidas began to travel to Alpine, Texas, for our church wide mission project and things changed. All though the mission trips were open to all church members, a large number of participants came from our youth group, many of which had previously been part of the choir kids who knew her so well. It was during those Alpine trips that I believe the reason for Ms. P’s notoriety changed forever. I like to think that it was my generation, our youth group that softened her a little. I do believe we were the ones to start calling her Ms. P, instead of Partida. I will never forget her and Mr. P walking around the outside of the dorms in the morning, serenading us as our wake up call. She was always the first one up and dressed. She would hurry all of us along and having a genuine smile on her face about the work we would be doing that day. During those trips, she really got to know us as young adults, not just children. She invested in us. She invested her time and energy and most of all her love. Even though the choir kids were growing up, she was still persistent about some things. Whether it was cleaning the church bus after a trip, or helping set up for a church fellowship, she wanted things done right and she would persist until the task was done correctly. She would check over our work personally and call us by name to correct anything not done to her satisfaction. We liked to give her a hard time about it, but she taught us the value of hard work and how it’s important to do things right the first time. Just as she could be persistent and sometimes hard on us, she was also persistent in her love and encouragement toward us.
Lastly, she was petite, yet powerful.
I almost said in my introduction, “we all looked up to her.” That would have been a figure of speech of course. She was a tiny little lady – but her prayer life was powerful. I loved to hear her pray, with such a humble and sensitive spirit. She prayed for my dad, her pastor, every day. She prayed for this church and its leadership. She was a prayer warrior and she truly understood the power of prayer. What a blessing in all of our lives to have someone lifting us up to the Father. Again, it’s a great lesson to all of us. Pray without ceasing.
I’ll close by saying that I know Ms. P was special to all of us, but I always considered her and honorary grandmother. She and I were always very close. She and Mr. P have been a tremendous influence on my life. They have been present for all the big events in my life over the last 20 years, even traveling to Waco to attend my graduation from Baylor. She always considered me her own and for that I am grateful.
Your loves has given me great joy, because you, sister, have refreshed the hearts of the saints. Philemon 1:7
++++++++++++++++++++
I would also like to mention that 11 years ago today, My grandfather, Daddy Red, went home to be with the Lord. He was the only grandfather I really remember, seeing as my paternal grandfather died when I was only 4. I think about Daddy Red everyday. I see things everywhere that remind me of him. He was an amazing grandfather. He was an electrician, a builder, a runner, a pancake maker, a camper, and eagle scout, a hiker, a swimmer and so much more. Mostly he was a Godly man and a great Christian example in my life.
Also, yesterday marked the one year anniversary of my dad's cancer surgery. We have so much to be thankful for. He has been cancer free for one year, and has survived a deadly infection numerous times now. God's just not done with him yet.
I'd like to post some pictures of Daddy Red and Mrs. P. Maybe I'll find some later and add to this post.
I head back to Dallas tomorrow and will go through Tyler to look for housing once more. I'm praying I find something soon. God has worked out every other detail of this move and I have faith this will work out too.
++++++++++++++++++++
Remembering Ms. P
When I think about Mrs. Partida, I think of her as the Matriarch of the Procter Family. She was certainly someone we all loved and respected for many years. One might consider her a legend amongst out church family. In the same way some celebrities are known by their initials or just a first name - You only needed to call her, Ms. P. There are several people in this church with the last initial P, but everyone knew Ms. P – was the one and only Mrs. Partida. When I was thinking about what I wanted to share today, the letter “P” stood out in my mind. I’d like to tell you a few things I’ll remember about her.
First, she was practical.
Ms. P didn’t wear designer clothes or care much about worldly wealth. Instead, she worked tirelessly, building up the kingdom of God. She served in many formal capacities at Procter through the years, but I think I’ll best remember her best for being a hard worker. You could always find her in the kitchen, cleaning up after a church dinner or helping with work around the church office. She and Mr. Conrad would visit those who were sick or offer a ride to the church for those who needed it. She saw value in the work of the Lord, not in material things, a good lesson for all of us.
Next, she was persistent.
I’ve been told that before we came to Procter in the late 80s, Mrs. Partida was best known for keeping the choir kids on Wednesday nights. She was notorious for her no nonsense attitude and stern discipline. However, in the Early 90s the Partidas began to travel to Alpine, Texas, for our church wide mission project and things changed. All though the mission trips were open to all church members, a large number of participants came from our youth group, many of which had previously been part of the choir kids who knew her so well. It was during those Alpine trips that I believe the reason for Ms. P’s notoriety changed forever. I like to think that it was my generation, our youth group that softened her a little. I do believe we were the ones to start calling her Ms. P, instead of Partida. I will never forget her and Mr. P walking around the outside of the dorms in the morning, serenading us as our wake up call. She was always the first one up and dressed. She would hurry all of us along and having a genuine smile on her face about the work we would be doing that day. During those trips, she really got to know us as young adults, not just children. She invested in us. She invested her time and energy and most of all her love. Even though the choir kids were growing up, she was still persistent about some things. Whether it was cleaning the church bus after a trip, or helping set up for a church fellowship, she wanted things done right and she would persist until the task was done correctly. She would check over our work personally and call us by name to correct anything not done to her satisfaction. We liked to give her a hard time about it, but she taught us the value of hard work and how it’s important to do things right the first time. Just as she could be persistent and sometimes hard on us, she was also persistent in her love and encouragement toward us.
Lastly, she was petite, yet powerful.
I almost said in my introduction, “we all looked up to her.” That would have been a figure of speech of course. She was a tiny little lady – but her prayer life was powerful. I loved to hear her pray, with such a humble and sensitive spirit. She prayed for my dad, her pastor, every day. She prayed for this church and its leadership. She was a prayer warrior and she truly understood the power of prayer. What a blessing in all of our lives to have someone lifting us up to the Father. Again, it’s a great lesson to all of us. Pray without ceasing.
I’ll close by saying that I know Ms. P was special to all of us, but I always considered her and honorary grandmother. She and I were always very close. She and Mr. P have been a tremendous influence on my life. They have been present for all the big events in my life over the last 20 years, even traveling to Waco to attend my graduation from Baylor. She always considered me her own and for that I am grateful.
Your loves has given me great joy, because you, sister, have refreshed the hearts of the saints. Philemon 1:7
++++++++++++++++++++
I would also like to mention that 11 years ago today, My grandfather, Daddy Red, went home to be with the Lord. He was the only grandfather I really remember, seeing as my paternal grandfather died when I was only 4. I think about Daddy Red everyday. I see things everywhere that remind me of him. He was an amazing grandfather. He was an electrician, a builder, a runner, a pancake maker, a camper, and eagle scout, a hiker, a swimmer and so much more. Mostly he was a Godly man and a great Christian example in my life.
Also, yesterday marked the one year anniversary of my dad's cancer surgery. We have so much to be thankful for. He has been cancer free for one year, and has survived a deadly infection numerous times now. God's just not done with him yet.
I'd like to post some pictures of Daddy Red and Mrs. P. Maybe I'll find some later and add to this post.
I head back to Dallas tomorrow and will go through Tyler to look for housing once more. I'm praying I find something soon. God has worked out every other detail of this move and I have faith this will work out too.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Looking Forward
I feel like it's too late to turn back now - So I'll look ahead and march on.
I told my boss today that I'm not coming back next school year.
I've signed the contract with my new school.
I called to give my current landlord notice.
It's all seeming a little more real. I still don't have a place to live yet, but I hope to get that settled soon. I should start cleaning out closets so it will be easier to pack. I guess for now I'm just trying to get through with school.
On a sad note: Mrs. Partida passed away this afternoon.
We consider the Partidas family. She will be missed. Just this past weekend I was talking with the Rents about all the good times we had on mission trips to Alpine. There really is no way to describe her, she was one of a kind. We'll all be praying for Mr. P. He'll be lost without her. We all will.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Crazy Weekend!
This weekend was kind of wild. I already feel like I need another one just to rest up. On Friday, I met the Rents to look at some rentals and a couple of houses. I think I've decided to rent for now, at least until I know the area better. Now I just have to find a rental that will work for me. It seemed that everything I saw had at least one deal breaker: no washer/dryer hookups, no pets allowed, upstairs (this would not work with Zoe) or it was a nice place in a bad location. Ugh! I know something will work out. I just wish I had it all settled.
Then I had to work on Saturday - Make up Teacher work day because of the snow days.
Saturday night around 9pm, Steffi called and said they were taking Beau to ER with severe pain in his knee and hip. They went to Children's Hospital in downtown Dallas, and were there all night. Tad sent me updates via text through out the night. They were admitted and put in a room By 6:30am So Beau could get some good pain meds and relief. If you follow Steffi on Facebook, you saw the diagnosis. He is home and better now, but will have to follow up with a specialist at Scottish Rite. I got up early and went to Children's. I stayed at Steffi and Tad's a little while after Beau got home so they could get some sleep.
Here are some pics of Beau from this morning- Medicated and feeling better!
I just gave Zoe one of her travel pills, because I need her to chill so I can sleep. Does that make me a bad person?
Then I had to work on Saturday - Make up Teacher work day because of the snow days.
Saturday night around 9pm, Steffi called and said they were taking Beau to ER with severe pain in his knee and hip. They went to Children's Hospital in downtown Dallas, and were there all night. Tad sent me updates via text through out the night. They were admitted and put in a room By 6:30am So Beau could get some good pain meds and relief. If you follow Steffi on Facebook, you saw the diagnosis. He is home and better now, but will have to follow up with a specialist at Scottish Rite. I got up early and went to Children's. I stayed at Steffi and Tad's a little while after Beau got home so they could get some sleep.
Here are some pics of Beau from this morning- Medicated and feeling better!
I just gave Zoe one of her travel pills, because I need her to chill so I can sleep. Does that make me a bad person?
Thursday, May 19, 2011
On the Move. . . .
A couple of weeks ago I had two interviews. One was in my current district. My district is very big and has a "pool" system. This means that your first interview is to be chosen for a pool of applicants who can be selected by principals for campus interviews. So, if you make the pool, it doesn't mean you have a job; it means a principal can consider you for a job. Why make things easy - right?
Anyway, the pool process is very competitive. Around 50 people apply each year and only 5-10 people get in. This year was my 3rd year to apply and interview for the pool. Once you are in, you stay in the pool for 3 years. There were two openings in my district for next school year - one high school and one elementary. I was mainly interested in the elementary opening. In fact, it was at the school where I have don't some counseling this year on my conference time.
The other interview was in the district where I'll be going. It's a smaller district and I interviewed with the principal and staff directly. Last week on Wednesday, the principal called to offer me the job. They gave me a few days to think about it, knowing I would want to scope out some housing options first. I told them I would get back with them early this week.
Around the same time last week, I found out that I did make the pool in my district. I felt torn - should I take the job that had been offered, or hold out for a chance to interview with a principal in my district? I prayed for clarity. I was worried I would make the wrong choice and regret it later. I asked God to make it perfectly clear. That same day I found out that my district had decided not to fill the elementary job after all, because of budget cuts. Now the only opening in my district was at a high school. This made my decision easy. I asked God to make it clear and He did. I called the new district on Monday and accepted. My new contract should arrive in the mail any day now. Of course I'm still kind of nervous about moving and I know there will be some hard days ahead - lonely days in a new place where I don't know anyone - but feel confident it's the right move.
I plan on moving sometime in late June or early July. I've looked at a few rent properties and plan to see more this weekend. I'll also meet with a realtor and see a couple of houses. I'm not really sure I'm ready to buy my first home right now with all of the other changes in my life?? We'll see what works out. God has opened the doors for all of this to fall in place and I trust that housing will work out too. The Rents are meeting me to check out some housing options this weekend - Please pray for safe travel for all of us.
Local friends: I'll be having some packing parties soon. I hope you'll join in the Fun - See how I just made packing sound fun :)
Side note: The movers asked me to estimate the number of boxes I would have - Seriously, how does one estimate how many boxes it will take to hold everything you own?
Side note: The movers asked me to estimate the number of boxes I would have - Seriously, how does one estimate how many boxes it will take to hold everything you own?
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Good Times - This is for you Sara!
One of my favorite baby sitters growing up was Sara Lewis. We lived in Olney, Texas when I was a toddler. I think we moved there before my 2nd birthday and moved to Arkansas the summer I turned 5. Sara went to our church and she often kept Steffi and me when the Rents were busy. I have a few memories of Sara, and to be honest, I'm not sure they are accurate. I was very young and I could be mixing things up in my mind????
I remember she would let me brush her hair. I also remember eating raw spaghetti with her? I was her flower girl when she married Freddie. I loved the hat that came with my dress. I think I kept it in my dress up box for years to come. I think she and Freddie had a pink bath tub in their first apartment?? She reads this blog, so maybe she can confirm some of these odd memories.
She posted this picture on Facebook today and it got me thinking about all of this. Thanks Sara. I also got your note recently - your so sweet.
Another favorite sitter was Julie Johnson from Dumas, Arkansas. Unfortunately I don't have in groovy pictures of us from back in the day.
Dad and the group from Procter are still on their way back. Thanks for your prayers.
I promise I will post more about the job situation later this week.
She posted this picture on Facebook today and it got me thinking about all of this. Thanks Sara. I also got your note recently - your so sweet.
Another favorite sitter was Julie Johnson from Dumas, Arkansas. Unfortunately I don't have in groovy pictures of us from back in the day.
Dad and the group from Procter are still on their way back. Thanks for your prayers.
I promise I will post more about the job situation later this week.
Say A Little Prayer!
Please say a little prayer this morning for the crew from my home church (Procter) who are on the road. A group, including my dad left Port Arthur around 6 pm yesterday evening with 3 trailers full of food and supplies for Alabama tornado victims. The plan was to drive through the night, unload sometime this morning and head back today. They have enough drivers to rotate of course, but I'm sure they will all be tired today. Please pray for their safe travel.
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