So, every once in a while you may see a post from me on Facebook that confuses you.
"Wait, they are living where?" "Wait, they have how many kids?"
Yeah, it's been a crazy couple of years. Let me explain:
Most of you probably know that when Joshua and I got married, I moved up to Norfolk, VA where he was working on his doctorate in chemistry at ODU. Almost two years later, the twins were born. They weren't exactly expected, so our 5-10 year plan changed a bit. Joshua decided to take a masters instead of the doctorate so that we could start living above a typical graduate student level income.
Joshua got a temporary job in Tennessee with one of his undergraduate professors. She was wonderful and offered him a job immediately, but he was only an adjunct faculty member and was looking for a more permanent solution. This same wonderful professor passed along an opportunity she ran across for him.
This opportunity took us from Johnson City, TN to Louisville, KY. For the last year, Joshua has been student teaching through a program called GSKYTeach (Graduate Southern Kentucky Teach). This program is through Western Kentucky University. Basically, he was a graduate student again! This time, it took him one year to earn a master's degree in education. The deal with this program is that they pay you to student teach and take classes for a year, and when you are finished, you are asked to teach in Jefferson County Public Schools for at least 3 years. He is now certified to teach science at the high school level. What was nice about this program is that he is guaranteed a job for the next three years. He got a contract with JCPS this summer, so he knew he would have a job either way, but he still hadn't been placed into a school.
It's been a frustrating summer watching all of his other friends from the program getting jobs. I know how hard he worked this year, and I've witnessed what a great teacher he is. He rarely came home before the kids went to bed during the week. He poured hours into lesson plans and grading. It was hard to see him work so hard and then not even get a call until late in the summer. His interviews would seem to go well, but he still wasn't getting any call-backs. I knew that God's timing was perfect and that He had a school picked out just for Joshua, but it was still pretty stressful.
Turns out, on the day school actually started, Joshua was offered a job at Ballard High School, which is actually a very high-performing school in the district. I'm excited for him to be there. The administration seems to appreciate the faculty and the students and parents have said NOTHING negative on all the reviews I have found online. I also like the area, so when we do decide to buy a house, I know we'll be able to find something nice nearby.
I know Joshua is frustrated now because he has to jump right into school without being able to set up him classroom and I know lesson planning will make him crazy. He'll catch up, though, and I know he is thankful to be at a great school, no matter how long it took to get there. God is good all the time!
Oh, and the kids thing... we're workin' on a 3rd now in case you missed that. I know, I'm going to have 3 kids under 2.5 years old. I know, I'm crazy. Again, He's got it under control.
