I'm so sitting in the sun this afternoon. :)

I do a little day by day, only because I have the attention span of a nine-year-old on sugar, so the thought of devoting an entire day to unpacking just about kills me. And it is getting better, but I still have a hard time believing how much stuff I have.

One of my friends who was helping me move asked me, "How many books do you have?" Too many, my dear...I teach school...Books tend to accumulate. Books, periodicals, files, posters...you name it...it's there.

I suppose I can call myself a "recovering pack-rat," in that I can get rid of stuff, but it still pains me to do it. The one thought that keeps crawling around in the back of my brain is "I may be able to use it sometime." And of course, I never do. Who does?

So friends, the goal for the day is to sit down and throw away all things that I know I will not use. It'll take a while, but I think things will be better because of it. So, it's 9:30...let's say I report back to the blog tomorrow morning at 9:30 and give an update on the pitching of the junk. See you tomorrow!

But the one thing that stuck out to me the most was a conversation. Not a gut feeling, not a circumstance...just a simple conversation that I had with my dad. Daddy and I are very close. I can talk to him about almost anything, and it doesn't matter what it is, Daddy always has a piece of Daddy-wisdom to share with me. We were driving back from the hospital (Dad has to get his blood checked every couple of weeks because of the medicine he takes) and as we were driving, we spoke about my apartment and my job and what I wanted to do next year. At the time, I really wanted to go home, and I still do...but as we were conversing about my current job, Daddy made a good point...Tenure is not easy to come by on your first teaching job out of college. When they handed me my tenure letter, it was their way of telling me, "We value you as a teacher and as a person and we want to keep you." I am someone of value. Someone of worth in the teaching profession. Mama re-enforced that last night when she said, "They see your value...you just need to see it in yourself. Give yourself a little credit. God puts the brightest lights in the darkest places, and He has a reason for you to be there."

Isn't that the way God works sometimes? We have such a vast amount of value as an heir to the kingdom of Heaven, and He sees us in that way! So why can't we see that in ourselves? Why can't we see that in each other?

I had a hard time with that last year, I'll admit that. Sometimes, when little Johnny keeps beating rhythms on his desk just to annoy you, it's hard to see how much worth he has...because he's doing something that you don't like. But when we goof up, God still sees us as His children. He doesn't like what we do if we've made a mistake, but that doesn't lessen our worth to Him.

The more I think about this, the more I want to find the worth in these children with whom I work. I want to find out what they can do. I want to find out who they can be. I want to know how I can help them find that worth that they have in themselves, even when they can't recognize it because so many people in their lives tell them that they aren't worth anything. In all actuality, they are precious in the sight of the Lord and treasures to everyone who will seek to look for that worth that lies within them. They are remarkable, and if you teach school, your job is to bring that out in them. Last year, I didn't do so good at that. I'll admit it. I was struggling with things going on, such as my dad being sick and my grandparents being in a bad way. But like I told Mama last night, the more that I rest and reflect, I see ways to do things better and bring out the abilities that these children have.

So, I'm going to stay put, and work with these people and these children that I really have grown to love.

Besides, I hate moving. It's a pain.

Still working on getting back home to Kentucky. No news yet on Murray State, and no news yet on a job. But I will let you know if and when things do happen.

I did receive tenure at my current job and have moved up to a professional license, which is a very good thing. I'm still playing piano at my church, and loving every minute of it.

I'm currently spending some time at my parents' house, relaxing and playing with the puppies. They're loads of fun. I hear them chasing each other...

Well, let me hear from ya'll now and then...take care of yourselves...

First things first--my roommate skipped out on me last Sunday while I was gone to church. That leaves me with some extremely hurt feelings, as well as full responsibility for rent and utilities. No notice, no nothing...there wasn't even an indication that anything was wrong. The last conversation that we'd had was on Saturday night on the wonders and merits of hot chocolate. So I have my space back, and despite the crummy way that whole deal went down, I like having my space...it's been helping me to think.

For a while now, I've been feeling a stirring in my spirit...like God is preparing me for some kind of change. It's that stirring in my spirit that says that God has something really huge and really wonderful for me. Ever since Sunday, I'd been looking around for apartments and I've hated every one of them. I've also been looking at graduate school programs in the area and I've not been satisfied with the requirements for any of them, either. And the more that I pray about this, the more that I have a peace about this following decision.

I have decided to send in my application to Murray State University in Murray, KY for the fall of 2007. While I am at Murray, I will be doing my Master of Music Education degree, as well as taking some classes to add an endorsement to my teaching license for teaching English/language arts. Murray State has the best music program in the area. Their one master's degree in music is the Master of Music Education. That means that the graduate faculty in charge of that degree are specifically teaching to the education facet of music. That's what I need. Of course, this also means that if I do get accepted to Murray, I will have to resign my teaching position that I currently hold. And while I would hate to leave my colleagues, friends, and students there, I feel like if I stay, there will be no opportunity to grow. Also, I would have to live with my parents for a while, probably the whole time I am doing my degree, but I think that will be okay. Between work and school, I won't be in my mother's house long enough to be under her feet, anyway.

It was a huge step of faith for me to leave for Tennessee three years ago. It will be an equally huge step of faith for me to go back home. I said that I was going home last year, but that was more due to my emotions ruling my brain at the time due to my dad's cancer. Right now, I am making informed decisions and exploring all of my options for jobs. I am also in the process of making arrangements to have my stuff stored and cleaning up the apartment. My plan at this point is to move out of my apartment at the end of April, that way I don't have to pay rent for May when I would only be there for two weeks. I will store my belongings in KY and stay with friends for the remaining two weeks of the school year, then once my classroom is taken down and cleaned out, and all my business is wrapped up with school, I will move back home.

I know that a few of my friends who are reading this blog are a bit surprised by my decision, but I would hope that they would understand that this is what will make me happy. And I know that my parents will be a bit confused by this, but I also know that they want me to be happy, too.

To all of you who are reading this blog, I would ask that you pray for me for the following:

1. That God will have His will.

2. That if it is His will for me to go home, that He will open those doors for me, not only as far as school goes, but also for a teaching job, as well.

3. That God will lay understanding upon the hearts of my parents, because it is of their opinion that TN is where all the opportunity is, and that's bogus, because TN will cut a music program quicker than KY ever will, simply because KY has arts and humanities on their state testing and TN does not.

I know this has been a long blog entry, but I also know that this helps me organize my thoughts a bit better. And of course, to my close friends with whom I keep regular contact by e-mail and by phone, let me hear from you. I need to know that I have your support. This is going to be one wild ride, but I know that God is there right along with me.

So that's what's happening in Stephanie's World. You guys have a great rest of the weekend. :)

My eyes are doing fabulously, thanks to the care of a wonderful eye doctor, who is also a wonderful friend and a great blessing to me...you know who you are, and I appreciate you. You truly are fabulous. (And maybe next time, we'll have a non-wierd waitress...) :)

My students are preparing for a test, to be taken on Monday. I've been going through the grades and, well, they need a good run on this test. A few need to do a little less socializing and a little more studying, but hey, we were all in junior high once, right? We know how we were then. (At least I speak for myself...I could pass notes with the best of them.)

Daddy is currently back on the river, due home on the 21st. He's so happy to be back at work after 8 1/2 months on land, fighting the cancer. Our family has come through a lot this past year, and I just want to thank all those people who prayed for us and interceded for us. I feel so blessed today, knowing that my dad is truly okay, and that he and Mama are doing better.

The new dog is adjusting to life at the Sandage abode rather nicely. She's gotten attached to Mama pretty well, so that's happy. I got to hold her last Saturday when Mama stopped by from Mississippi after picking her up. Bless her heart, she just shook like a little leaf the whole time. Reminded me a lot of Baby when we first got her...hmmmmmmm...still thinking that this new dog might be one of Baby's puppies...the timing is right...

WeightWatchers is going well...I've lost a pound. Woo-hoo! :) I hope to keep that going.

And that's all for life in Stephanie's World...Have a wonderful weekend! :)

We are about to have another addition to the family...Mama is going to MS tomorrow to get a new puppy! She is so excited. We're going to call her Bitsy. So now we'll have two dogs: Baby and Bitsy. How precious is that! I'm excited that I'll get to see her tomorrow! Of course, Baby might not be that into her...or she could be. We have a sneaking suspicion that Bitsy might actually be one of Baby's puppies that she had a couple of years ago. Just from the way she looks and from the timeline, there's a pretty good chance that she could be. Wouldn't that be neat? So that will be something to look forward to.

I'm just happy she's not bringing home a cat. There aren't that many people at Mama's house that are much into cats, myself included. To all my cat-loving friends out there, sorry, but cats have a whole bunch of unneccessary attitude. Plus I'm allergic to cats, so bringing home a cat might not be such a smart move on the part of Mama. Oh, well...what can you do?

That's all the news from Stephanie's World...and a fine world it has been. :)