Exhausted!

Some of you have asked how the teaching is going. All I have to say is that 16 5 year olds WEAR ME OUT! This was only my 2nd day and I am still adjusting to their schedule. Today was more quiet and less confusing. I think we will do well. I really like the kids and the other kindergarten teachers. I just hope we continue to do well and that they get what they need academically. In the mean time, I have not slept as well as I did last night in a long time! So, if you can't sleep, go ask to sub for kindergarten!

Faith Beasley

We received the news from our genetic testing. We were expecting a little girl. They found nothing irregular in the testing. That was a tough phone call. One, they saw nothing wrong so why did she not make it? Two, I really wanted a little girl. I just knew that Todd would love a little sister and protect her to the end.

So, after some thought, we will always remember my little Faith Leeanne Beasley. This was not what we would have named her on Earth, but since God called her home before we ever met, we will call her Faith because that is all I have left in me after this trial. I have to know that God is good and that His plan is the only right plan not matter what I feel or how bad it hurts right now. So, Baby Faith will be waiting for me and what a happy meeting I will have one day. I love you, Faith but more importantly, I love you Lord!

Mrs. Beasley

Those are some words I have not heard on a regular basis since May of 2002. However, starting next Monday, I will hear them daily over and over again. I have agreed to take an interim teaching position at the school that Todd attends. Here is the good part, it is Kindergarten. I will be around 5 year olds all day and all night for 4 weeks. I am excited about it, though. I considered going back into teaching this year but decided to see how Todd did in school. He is doing well and since Brad still has not found a job, I could not pass it up. Also, with the latest happenings in our life, I need to make a change and do something to help me move on. On top of all of that, if I am not pregnant by next August, I will go back into teaching next year. I hope that this will get my foot in the door. I would love to be able to teach at the same school that Todd attends. It would make it less hectic. We will see how this goes. I always taught middle school but this is what I chose for my original degree. I am always up for new challenges. I just pray for LOTS of energy!

Self Control

Self control is hard enough for an adult , but can be nearly impossible for children. Todd has difficulty with sugar and certain dyes in food. We have worked hard to limit his sugar content so that he would do well in school. Sugars and dye can make him wild instantly. It is like we injected him with pure hyperactivity. Last year, he got in some trouble at preschool for being too active. For school this year, we had discussed having him bring his own snack instead of eating what was brought by others because of the sugar. We decided to let him try eating what was brought but if it did not work, he understood our plan. Well, a few weeks ago, he had been doing perfect in school, so I put a fruit roll-up in his lunch. It has a smaller amount of sugar than a lot of things. As I put it in, I stressed to him to not let it get him in trouble. I also told him if he had something sweet for snack, he probably should not eat it. That day, he ate it because they had been given crackers for a snack. Yesterday, I had given him another fruit roll-up. I did not "preach" to him. As a matter of fact, I did not even mention the sugar issue or not eating the treat. When he got home yesterday, he had not eaten the fruit roll-up. I asked him why and he said, "Because our snack was something sweet". It had been 2 weeks since we had that discussion and he remembered it and followed through with it. I was so proud of him. I was wanting him to learn to control it on his own and he had! That takes a lot of self control! I'm not sure I would have been able to do it if it was something I liked as much as he likes fruit roll-ups. So after a big praise, we opened up the fruit roll-up and ate it. He is growing up fast!

Young Families

What does a policeman, a vet, an architech, 2 accountants, a preschool teacher, and a businessman have in common? Not too much normally, but in our small group we all have the desire to reach out to the community and become stronger in faith. We have small groups at our church that meet once a month. Most people are in a group that is geographically close. A group of young families got together and decided close to home was not the important thing. We wanted to be in a group where our kids enjoyed meeting as well. We started with a group of 13 total. As of this weekend, we have grown to 38 people! We all have very different backgrounds. We have some single moms, some people with 4 kids and others with no kids. We are a very diverse group. From the outside, you would think we could not create a deep relationship. However, these families are very important to Brad and I. We laugh with them, we shed tears with them, we love them. I often think that this is what the early church would have been like. We have varying strengths and weaknesses but together, we are a vibrant group that wants to reach the lost.

Brad and I have had it on our hearts for some time to head up a young families ministry. We have decided that is what the Lord is leading us to at this point on our lives. Please be in prayer that we will know God's desire as we begin this endeaver.

Are any of you part of a young families ministry? What is your favorite part about it? Why is is successful or why does it not do too well. We would like to have other people's feedback.