Looking into the past and forward into the future

Hello blog... haven't seen you in a while.

It's been about 7 months since my last post on this old blog and I thought I'd give posting another go. Would this be happening if I hadn't given up FBing for the month of January? Maybe not but here it is.

So here's a look at what has been happening in 2010 and a look into the year ahead.

2010 started with two joyous events! Meeting our niece Bridget who was born on Christmas Day 2009 and soon after the birth of our nephew Rylan who was born 51 weeks ago today. Watching them in the last year has been such an amazing joy. While Bridget doesn't live very close to us we have enjoyed watching her grow and watching her personality develop in the past year when we see her on holidays and when Sarah and her visited for night in October. Christmas was a great day as she turned one and both Rylan and her experienced their first Christmas. Craziness.

Rylan on the other hand I have seen at least once a week for the past 51 weeks and being able to be so close to him has been outstanding for both Steve and myself. I know if I looked back at my status' for the last year that many would be about him. He is a great little almost one year old. Not easily excitable but so wonderful and his own little character. We have this great picture from the family pictures we had done for Steve's parents for Christmas with both Bridget and Rylan and in it both Rylan and Bridget's personalities shine through. The mischief in his eyes is so evident. This mischief has led to some baby-proofing and quite often in finding my Tupperware cupboard fully emptied on the floor. Uncle Steve and him are quite fond of each other and Steve even babysat him by himself this week while Rachel and I went out for breakfast. We came back to see them both in front of the TV, with one of them fast asleep. It wasn't Steve... We are looking forward to his first birthday next week and getting to see what he will learn in the year ahead.

But as much joy as those little people have brought to our lives in the past year we have had our share of struggles and challenges. Just before Spring Break I found out that I wasn't going to be hired permanent in the position I was in last year due to many different things one of them being that after two full year terms, under MTS regulations, a teacher hired into that division again needs to be hired permanent. Because of some struggles that I had during the first half of the school year and many other factors they chose not to hire me permanently. This was hugely discouraging and then with nothing else coming up last spring for this current school year also dealt a large dose of struggles and feeling like being rejected. But despite this reality I had a great end of the school year. I fell in love with my students more every day and finished strong. During the summer I was hopeful that a position would open up and I would get a call... but that too didn't happen.

So since the beginning of the school year I have been a substitute teacher which has been challenging and humbling. But it has also been so much fun and in many ways I have fallen more in love with teaching. I have subbed everything from Kindergarten to High School Foods and Cosmetology. I have met amazing students, teachers, principals and other staff in this division. I have kept pursing positions (after the start of the school year I could be hired term again) that come available but so far I am still a substitute. One of the best joys that this has provided is that I have been able to continue some of the relationships with students and staff at the school that I worked at last year. I have been able to see and received so many hugs from my students from last year. It has been truly life changing actually. The first time I was back there in this school year I was overwhelmed with the joy that I saw in my students eyes when they saw me. I felt as if I had not just been a passing wind but that I had made some difference in their lives and that was really a huge answer to prayer and so exciting.

The end of 2010 also brought a new job for Steve. He is now working at Furniture Plus and is loving his new role and the new challenges that it brings him. He has moved from quite a small company to a bigger company and the change has definitely been good for him.

The other major thing that has happened in my life in 2010 is that through the struggles and the changes and all that happened that both Steve and I have grown in leaps and bounds in our relationships with God. The struggles have grown us closer to Him but also to each other. We have learned so much from the teaching at our church, from the people that we have met and from our cells (Bible study). We started the year in a large worship cell that was led by one of the pastors of our church. It was great but we had initially wanted a smaller young couples' cell and in May one was starting and we jumped in. We actually offered to host the cell (while another couple leads) and it has been great. Along with the young couples cell I also go to a Teacher's Cell (which also includes EAs, substitutes and others) Wednesday mornings before school. Through the struggles we have learned to trust God because He is good. Not sometimes but ALL THE TIME. We know that through our struggles and through choosing to walk closer with Him instead of walking away that He has a plan for our lives that is so much more than we can do with our own strength. He has brought us so much joy in following Him in the past year and I am excited to see what He has in store for this upcoming year.


So yes... looking into 2011 as I see it right now.

This month we have not only Rylan's big birthday but it is also Prayer and Fasting month at our church. Not that every month shouldn't include prayer and fasting but this is a fresh start to a new year. I felt God was asking me to give up Facebook (currently just for the month) so I did. It's been 5 days and the urges to go on have been less but then there's also been times like when I heard about my cousin's engagement and I wanted to go quickly congratulate them, or the excitement that I felt the other day with my cousin having a huge game in the outdoor Penguins/Caps game, or wanting to contact people for whom I don't have email addresses or that I still think of FB status' throughout the day. I also have been struggling with not filling the time that I would spend on FB with other online things. In addition to all these things I'm hoping that I will work yet this week as I feel like I've had enough time at home and would love to get "back" to school and into the world.

In February I will be turning 28 and we will be celebrating being home owners for 2 years. Yikes. Time has flown but we love it here in Steinbach 98% of the time. I say 98% because sometimes I wish I was closer to the city, or that I could go shopping on Sunday but the pro's definitely outweigh the cons and one of the big pros is living so close to our gorgeous nephew (and his parents too). We will also finish the month with a retreat with our cell group to an Encounter God retreat.

As for the rest of the year. Looking ahead I don't know what is going to happen. I guess I have hopes and dreams. One of them being that we are hoping to become parents in 2011. Another being hired for a teaching position. While I do enjoy subbing I would love to be in a classroom of my own, if only for a couple of months now at the end of the school year. We would also love to keep working at paying off our student loans so that we can be debt-free ASAP but we'll see how that goes. My goals don't necessarily all "fit" together. Other than that it feels like my life is open to whatever possibilities come my way. The title of my blog still seems to work as we are still in the unknown, but the great thing is that God knows and that's okay with me!

My heart's goal for 2011 is that all who I encounter will be encouraged. I hope to be a positive beacon and that will take some work but I will work on it!

So... that is my reflection of 2010. Longer than a status update but if nothing else it will be something for me to look back on next year and see where we were and where we were hoping to go and where we actually got to. Life truly is good!

Cheers!

Krista