So this Sunday is once again Mother's Day... it's been a year since I last posted. I'm usually on FB if anyone wants to find me there.

So the 'special friend' I mentioned last year who bought my lunch and made my dinner on Mother's Day is in this picture... it was taken a few weeks later on Memorial Day last year.

I have TONS more pics... but you'll have to find me on FB to see more. We've been together for a year now and very much in love... he's already met my brother and daddy (who came up from Florida just to meet him). Men can be so funny wanting to be sure to give their 'approval'... But they did indeed give their approval and my daddy even 'walked me outside' after meeting Nevado so he could 'talk with me'... like I said, men can be so funny like that. And for anyone wondering... we met at church.

My daughter will be 20 in November... now THAT makes me feel old! Keon, my grandson, will be 2 in November.  He is almost 18 months old and he's already wearing 3T & 4T clothing! He is just getting so big... running around everywhere, climbing up and down the stairs by himself, trying to be a 'big boy' and do things himself all the time... I'm still his favorite person (hehe... proud smiling Grammy!). He spends a ton of time with his daddy and his daddy's family since he lives there now while Sarah is trying to grow up and mature some more... but she's working on that and has a full-time job and a nice place now, she 's just young and has some growing up to do. Here's some pics.

Taken in October 2009 at 10-Months Old.

Keon helping Grammy make Chocolate Chip Cookies at our Pastor's house... he insisted on actually helping... and he's wearing his great-great grandpop's apron that my grandmom gave me.

Sarah & Keon in the summer of 2009 at Uncle Ray's 'Stickney Beach'.

This is Nevado running at a Track Meet at Morehouse College... he was running Open Unattached... in other words he was running with college kids 15-years younger than him. I have videos on FB. lol

Keon at 6-months-old in 2009.

 

 

Keon & Nevado on 4th of July 2009... watching fireworks.

 

Well that's the update... :--)

Okay so I just had to write about what has happened since my company layoff... I know this is long but it is WORTH reading. Trust me on this.

First of all, the layoff came as a complete surprise... it was very unexpected and I honestly felt as I had been punched in the stomach, left unable to breathe, and as though my legs had been knocked out from under me.  Since I am the sole financial provider in my home (yes all single parents or one-income families understand this situation) plus having my daughter's baby on the way, I was counting on job security and my company insurance.  It had not even been a week since I signed my contract for my salary and vacation increases, so all of it came as a very unwanted surprise... but here's the thing...

When I signed my contract for the increases in my salary, I was praying to the Lord about how it was that I would have an increase in salary great enough to care for the new addition to my family.  Even though I was given the greatest percentage increase allowed by the company, it still wasn't enough to cover the increase in bills that comes with having a new baby in the house... so I started praying and seeking the Lord's Will and wisdom... I started feeling that I needed to seek out other options, but due to my desire for stability with in my job, I didn't actually seek anything out... I thought about it but didn't actually do anything... then comes the layoff a week later...

The day of the layoff I hung around the office after work feeling numb... I couldn't believe what had just happened.  I know that God works everything out for His Glory... but I was just numb and overwhelmed and felt like I couldn't breathe... I kept wondering just how I was going to provide for my family.  My company had offered me a transfer to another school OR severance pay... but the school was so far away... nearly on the Alabama border... and I would have either had to commute or move... neither of which was something I was wanting to do with one week's notice... and it would have cost so much to do either (and there was no increase in salary or any moving expenses if I took the job)... so I left that night in utter confusion and went straight to church.  I just couldn't go home feeling the way I did and face my child knowing that I was unsure of how I could support her... so I went to church and I was thanking God that it was Wednesday night worship service...

As soon as I walked into the church the song that was on was talking about living life more abundantly... that line of the song was the first thing I heard when I walked in... and the first thing I did was walk up to the front with some of the many worshipers and sang and worshiped and praised the Lord and prayed... and I felt peace.  While up there I knew that had the layoff not happened, I would not have stepped out of my comfort zone of job security and I would not have the opportunity to make the money that I needed to not only support my daughter and I, but also the new baby.  While worshiping I truly felt that I would be able to live my life more abundantly and that there was a reason for the rug being pulled out from under me... then next day came the call...

I received a call from a school after we sent out an announcement regarding our school's closure.  The woman from the school, Kellie, talked with me for a good hour and she was looking for a teacher.  Now I am not a certified teacher and I don't even hold a bachelors degree in anything since I had to drop out of college when my parents divorced to help my daddy with things in my family.  So I am talking to this woman about where everyone else is going and what my position has been (I'm in an office and not directly teaching and haven't really taught much since FL)... so I tell her that I'll give her info to a couple of teachers who had applied to our school and I set up a time the next week for her to come talk with us since she wanted to come visit before the school was shut down...

Well in the mean time I decline my company's offer of a transfer and take the severance package instead... she comes in on a Wednesday and we get to talking about what I do (mostly administrative, business, and marketing... along with some teaching when needed)... and she asks me to call her to come in to talk about her school and to talk about their mission and possible employment, etc... I call her the next day (the last day that our school is open) and she wants me to come in right away... Friday.  I come in and talk w/ her and another person at the school for more than two hours!!! I talk with her again the next week several times and (she has not even seen my resume!!!) so she asks me to fill out a background check since she "can't officially offer me a job until that is back" and then on Friday (yesterday!!!) she calls and offers me a job!!! 

So the HUGE thing about this is I'll be making the exact amount that I need to be making to support the unexpected growth of my family (that is a 33% increase in my former salary!!!) AND I'll start out with 3-weeks paid vacation (from the first day!!!) AND benefits (from the first day!!!)... so I just have to say that the Lord has truly blessed me and I am so excited... and this is all perfect timing because with my severance pay from my former company and with starting this new job on Monday, I've had two weeks off and I've been paid the entire time and I'll not miss even one paycheck!  This is clearly the Hand of the Lord in my life and I am so happy and so blessed!

~Shelly~

Well I've been off of here for a little while... things have been crazy so here's a quick update:

July 31 was my last day at the school.  They closed it down for financial reasons... they offered me a transfer to another school, but the commute would have been VERY far and I would have had to get a second job to pay for the gas, not to mention the extra time that I would have on the road... at least two extra hours a DAY for the commute time.   So now I'm looking for a job.

Sunday my daughter who is 6 months prego decided it would be wise for her to go back to school... so now I'm scrambling to get everything together to make this happen... she is a special education student with various services that she needs so it is not as easy as walking in to register her... and it is made more difficult by the need to place her in a school out of our zone as the father of the baby attends the school we're zoned for and he has been the exact opposite of supportive... and if she attends there both of them will be caught up in this drama rather than academics... so now the school social worker and I are trying to come up with a place for Sarah to attend school since she even suggested that two different schools for them would be better.

Trying to do all of this and updating my resume and marketing portfolio has been difficult and time consuming... especially since my home computer isn't working... I spent about five hours at Computer Arena in Alpharetta (suburb of Atlanta) so that I could work on this... they were the only place with the 2007 version of Office that I needed to use. 

So yeah... things have been hectic... praying that everything goes well with some job opportunities though.

~Michelle~