Flowers in the Budget?

Steph and I were going through our bank statements - trying to figure out how we were spending our money. Somehow, she came across the one time in recent memory that I gave her flowers...
"You spent $32 on those flowers!" she said.
"THAT'S WHY I never get you flowe- ah - rs vry ofn..." said I.

You'll notice that after being very excited to say THAT'S WHY, my brain clicked in and made me slow my voice as I said "never get you" and my brain finally made my tongue mask what I was saying by the time I got to "flowers" and my voice became higher as I mumbled "very often"...

Romance. Should it be included in the budget?

Interesting Compliments

Okay, our lives are just crazy. But every once in a while, we're getting "breaths of fresh air" (for lack of a better description). Maybe I'll start at the end of last week - when I was supposed to be finished my placement.
Turns out that my teacher didn't come to school the last two days, and left me in charge (when I really wasn't supposed to be teaching much anymore...), so I didn't get my marking finished (yes, I still didn't have my marking finished), which I took along with us to Stevin and Katrina's, where we looked for rental appartments, and houses, and saws. We only bought saws.
We returned to Jarvis on Sunday afternoon, I desperately finished my marking, (Yes, I spent most of the weekend avoiding my marking), and prepared for my last two days of school at Redeemer.
Turns out that there were some assignments due on Monday and Tuesday which I had NOT done. So I spent Monday night finishing my last school assignments ever.
I was also asked to do morning devotions on Tuesday morning. So I spent Monday night also preparing a devotional for my class of 70 peers.
Tuesday morning I led the student teachers of Redeemer through a devotional, with a lot of success. They were actually laughing, and REALLY enjoying my devotional, which was all me.
So I recieved a number of compliments, but very few compared to this one:
"I could just close my eyes, and it was like Mark was talking."
huh?
Apparently, we Geertsema's are storytellers. And good ones. But I was clueless about this, because most of the Geertsema's I know are really a quiet bunch.
So when someone says, "You tell a story like a Geertsema," and says it in a complimentary fashion, it makes you think.

Anyways. I finished school. I don't know that I'll go to my graduation ceremony because, quite frankly, I'm just so glad to be done with school that there would be no greater joy than not returning for a dull graduation ceremony.

NOW, at this very moment, Steph and I are relishing the fact that we have survived creating a baseball tournament and leading a huge youth service at our church (complete with guitars, drums, and electric violin) at a fairly conservative church!

AND we recieved a ton of compliments. Yep. I was doing dishes after the service while Steph attempted to cross the fellowship hall, and it took her a very long time to get across because every time she stopped talking to one person, another person would want to compliment our service. So that was refreshing. For her. I was doing dishes though.

My Head is Swimming!

I guess it's about time I make another entry on this blog....I can only sum up everything that I'm feeling and doing right now as CRAZY!!

I have been running non-stop for the past few weeks and am way behind in everything that I should be ahead in! We've been planning a youth service, going to Barrie, looking at apartments/houses, going to bank appointments, trying to get all Dave's placement stuff finished, trying to decide what we're going to do and how, and through all that I've been trying to teach and keep my class under control!

Not surprising I'm sure to many, through all this I have gotten run-down and am yet again sick with a cold. This is (seriously) the eighth cold that I have had since November. I'm not sure how much more I can take!

Thankfully Dave's placement is done and he's back at work! We've made one decision, to move to my parents June 1st to save a couple months rent before we head up to Barrie. The Youth Service will be finished Sunday night around eight, which will be an enormous relief. And everything else on the list we're still working on.

I spring weather, but it's making my class insane! They are doing inexplicably mean things that have never been acceptable and thinking that they're just fine. Not to mention it's Christian Education week, during which they dress up as something different everyday and they're loaded up with sugar from the bake sale. Combine all these factors and I'm becoming more and more thankful that I'm going down to only 50% in just a week and a half.....

Barrie

Steph and I are debating the question of whether to buy or rent when we move to Barrie this summer... We've been told by the bank that we can 'afford' a pretty sizable mortgage (that can at least get us into a first-time buyer's home in Barrie). The question is still whether or not we can 'really afford' it. Steph and I are hesitant about buying - knowing that we have a sizable portion of debt from school to pay off as well.

This weekend we travelled to Barrie, and visited with Stevin and Katrina, and took a look at an apartment advertised at $800/month. We'd prefer to rent for a little while, but if this apartment was ANY indication of what's available to rent, then we'll be buying.

Another Week

Another week has gone by, AND I only have another week until I'm finished my last teaching placement!

It's amazing that sooo much can happen in one week, and nothing at all happens the next week, isn't it? Nothing too exciting is going on out here...

I cleaned out my barbecue and found out the heat shield was held together only by rust. So today I'm buying a new heat shield.

So Steph and I are having trouble deciding what to do...

You know... buy, rent?

If we do either option, should we move out of this present apartment and try to save our rent money for 1, 2, or 3 months?

It's all up in the air right now.

The only thing that isn't up in the air is the fact that I never did finish my marking from a week before... So guess what I'm doing THIS weekend...! (yippee)

BUSY!!!!

Wow! Time has flown by US in the last couple weeks! It's been crazy nuts! I don't really know where we should begin...
Steph didn't get the job she had wanted in Woodstock. Unfortunately, c'est la vie.
So we suffered for a little while, wondering what to do next, and in the meantime, just plugged away at our work.
Teaching grades 5 and 6 has stretched me and really pushed me to be a better teacher. My classroom management is good. But my ability to mark assignments quickly is absolutely non-existent. So, now I've got a full week and a half of marking to catch up on this weekend!
BUT I've got a season-ending hockey tournament I MUST go to. So marking is still going to take a back seat to life.
Okay, that's all boring stuff to write about. Here's something interesting!
Martin and Emily have bought a house.
Stevin and Katrina are moving away from Barrie.

And Steph and I are moving TO Barrie.

Steph recieved a phone call on Tuesday, asking for an interview on Wednesday, and was offered the job on Thursday! Ca c'est tres vite!

And then I had a job interview in London on Thursday afternoon... (which I'll have to reject in favour of going to Barrie next year).

It's funny how, just when you lose hope, God picks you up and sets you on your feet again!

So Steph will be teaching a grade 7 class at Timothy Christian School next year!

Next Steps

Well, we had a pretty disappointing week here. We found out that I did not get the job in Woodstock. It was given to someone who has worked there in the past. I knew that my chances of getting the job were pretty slim if someone applied that had worked there, but I was led to believe that no one fitting those criteria had applied. So nevertheless it was very disappointing since we had thought that we had an extremely good chance and we've had to spend the last month (since my interview) thinking about it and becoming more confident.

So now to the next steps. We have no idea what those might be. We currently have no other leads in the Christian schools, although we have a few more resumes out there. We're looking into the public school, but aren't really sure what area we should go for. Lots of people have suggested international teaching....so who knows?!?! We're trying to be optimistic but it's a tough and very stressful spot to be in! We're trying to trust, but at the same time can't sit around and wait for it, so we're doing what we can.

So please keep us in your prayers! And if you hear anything about job openings, fill us in!