A bit of news...

It seems that God has opened a new door for me, as far as work goes...

As you know, a "Neighbor" family (they live 12 miles away, but we still call them neighbors) has asked me to watch their 2 little girls. What I didn't tell you is that they'd like me to watch/care for them 3 to 4 days a week. I enjoy spending time with children so much! I do like working with the elderly too, but the job I have now as a CNA keeps me hopping so much that I don't really have time to spend one on one with the residents for very long at all and the job is rather stressful.

SO, I gave my notice at the nursing home today, that I'd like to go to PRN status (which means I'll work as needed) and will finish out our current schedule which goes into the middle of April, then I'll go over to our neighbors, Tracy and Paula M's every week instead. Some of my coworkers are a little mad at me for leaving, but they can see where I'd enjoy my new work more. :) On April 8th, it will be 2 years since I started working at the Napoleon Care Center (nursing home) and I have learned a lot in that time and have met a lot of people/friends. I'll still be working there a few times every month (more so in the Winter months) so can stay in touch with people that way. I'm so much happier though, thinking about spending my days with little ones, teaching them, working with them, and playing with them.~

I did have a special moment at the nursing home this evening that I thought I'd tell about here... A friendly gentleman resident insisted on giving me a chocolate bar again tonight. He's done this a couple times before... This time, he said,
"Do you know why I want to give it to you?"
When I replied that I did not know but was curious, he answered,
"Because I like how you dress like a lady and how respectful and humble you are."
That put a smile on my face, and I accepted his candy bar and brought it home to share with my family. :)

SO, I will miss several parts of my work at NCC, but will also love the new work God has in store for me. I'll probably also still be working at Helen's Daycare some. She actually asked me this week if I'd come more regularly (3+ days a week) there in a couple months when she's going to have 3 new babies to care for, but I can not be in 2 places at one time, and I'd already committed to caring for Tracy and Paula's little girls---plus they live closer and I really, really like them (and they are very generous....). ;) I think, for the time being, this is best. Paula requested, after the first time I cared for her girls,
"Now please don't run off and get married next week or anything, as I'd like you to stick around here for years to come." :) We'll see what God has planned, but for the time being, I feel that this is where I belong.

So, dear friends, life changes...

One exciting change is the wet weather we had this morning----not only is the wetness very welcome for the moisture it brings to the land, but it also allows our guys some time to work on things like, say, my car! :) Andrew got it taken apart down to the water pump this morning. That was definitely broken. Now he said he just needs to find a new one, plus some other parts, then reassemble it all, and then my car should run, hopefully. Wouldn't that be loverly? :)

My van now has a new home...

The man from Driscoll came and picked it up tonight (and paid for it too). I was so glad Andrew had taken the time to clean everything out of it for me while I was away for most of the day at the Daycare. Speaking of which, I just have one more day there (on Monday) before Helen returns. I think this was the best day so far, as everyone got along with everyone else pretty well and most everybody took naps when they were supposed to.... :) 4 days down, 1 more to go.

This day started out on an extremely sad note when I read about a friend of mines' siblings being in a car accident yesterday----4 of them being in the hospital, and 1 more sister died as a result of injuries!! I can not imagine what they're going through right now. Please pray for the L. family from ND. They're also planning a wedding for their oldest (my friend) for March 3rd. What a difficult time this must be for them............ I just can't imagine.........................

Helping out--and a prayer request...

Before I write about my time with our friends, I would like to ask for prayer for my dad, as he got poked in the eye with some wire while working on the grain cleaner today and his eye is, obviously, hurting tonight. I hope it's not real serious, but it is definitely uncomfortable and Dad's eye is watering a lot, so please pray for that to heal quickly! Thank you so much.


The weather was mostly decent yesterday morning at 7:30AM, so I ventured out on the road, driving the 60+ miles to the K. family's home. The following day and a half found me busy, helping Lane and Sarah (mostly Sarah, I should say) and their young children with different projects that needed doing around the house...

You see, not so long ago (3+ weeks it is now,) the K. family received a sweet, new bundle of joy, but with that bundle came some sleepless nights, and with those sleepless nights came some tired parents, and when a person's tired, it's hard to get all the things done that need doing...... And so the story goes.

~Sarah and baby Arianwyn~

With Spring coming on, there are always many things to do! These 3 were great helpers in the kitchen, plus they helped me shovel away snow that was in the way and then set up Sarah's greenhouse in the back yard. Oh yes, they also were very eager to help with filling peat-pots with potting soil and then picking and planting their own special flowers. Sarah also planted some vegetables and I planted a tray full of Impatiens for her...

~Ila, James and Edmund, building a large train-track~
In between meals and washing dishes, Sarah and I made bread and buns; dough for pizza crusts; beef enchiladas to put in the freezer (first, we made stock to use in the sauce for the enchiladas, and shredded a bunch of cheese...); banana bread; and apricot bars. Oh yes, and Sarah made some sour cream too! I learned several cooking tips and tricks from Sarah, and want to try her bread recipe here soon to see how my family likes it.

Last night after supper, Lane read a story to the children and then read some in Proverbs. I got to hold the baby for a while and relax while Lane and Sarah tucked the other children in bed. When they returned, we played a fun word game (it's called Quiddler) that Lane had just bought that day when he was in town. We had fun thinking up possible words and then looking through dictionaries... :) How many of you have played "Quiddler" and did you enjoy it?

Before crawling into the K's guest-bed last night, I called my family to say goodnight (even though it was late....) and learned then that I had had my first calf of the year that day. :)

After our noon meal today, Lane and I headed for the music room for a lesson in piano and voice, he being the teacher, and I the student... It's been a long time since I've taken lessons from Lane, probably 5 or 6 years have passed, so it was hard to know where to pick up at, but he gave me some new pieces to work on for next time, whenever that works out to be... Then he played some of his favorite songs that he's been working on or writing-----very hard songs, ones that I only dream of ever being able to play. He certainly is very talented in that area! Sadly, he's the only K. I didn't get a picture of, as I only thought to dig out my camera way at the end of my time there, when Sarah said she was going to get out hers... By that time, Lane was back at the church, studying and preparing his next sermon I imagine.

Sarah did snap this picture of me holding their sweet baby girl. She is wearing the jumper that I sewed and gave to her as my baby gift... :) (You may remember seeing pictures of this little dress when I made it a while back.)

After saying goodbye to one and all, I headed for the Linton grocery store to get some supplies, and then I high-tailed it home. Once I got all of my things in the house and took my snow boots off, I made tortilla shells and helped assemble Chicken Enchiladas for supper and made some quick dessert. Mom and Jacob did some major rearranging of the bookcases today, so the living room looks much more organized tonight.

Work is so rewarding, isn't it? Of course, it is always nice to be at the end of a busy week and to just rest from your labors too. ;)