4 INTERVIEWS!!

One email to the counselor I did my internship with 4 years ago led to 4 scheduled interviews in Augusta County. I have them on Monday, starting at 10:30 and going to 3:15. I really can't believe it- my current principal has already spoken to one of the principals I will be interviewing with and my current principal said to expect good things. So, once again, I'll do the best I can and I will keep you posted. By the way, Augusta County is the county that Kari and I are seriously looking at houses in (if we could ever sell this one). Thanks for all the emails and calls about my job situation. I'll keep everyone up to date on here.
-Jimmy

A New View

As many of you already know, I am moving to a new school next year. After three years of driving an hour to my current sixth grade job I began to apply for new jobs in the county that I ACTUALLY live in. I was lucky enough to get a 5th grade job at the brand new elementary school (Cub Run Elementary) that is being built in Rockingham County. It is very close to Jimmy's school (we hope) and only about 15 minutes from our current home. I got a chance to tour the building on Monday and I cannot wait to move in. All rooms will have Smart Boards! For those of you not in education, a smart board is a white board that has your computer screen displayed on it through a media projector. You then can touch the board and it acts like the mouse. It is the next wave of teaching. I have one now, but had to fight for two years to get one in my room. Those of you in teaching I am sure feel my pain. At any rate, I now have a vision of my new "school" home - although still a little dusty!

2nd Place

We came in 2nd place at this weekend's AAU tournament. An exciting weekend of comeback wins and we finished 3-1. My boys played really hard and I was proud of them. But those of you who know me know that 2nd place doesn't sit well. I wanted to WIN! I was gone for a LONG time this weekend it seems, so I'm anxious to just spend some time at home. We have another tourney in 2 weeks so hopefully the outcome of that will be better. Good weekend, but not a great one!
-Jimmy

Interview Tomorrow, Seth and Joy, and AAU Hoops

Well, I have an interview tomorrow morning at Massanutten Technical Center for a potential 1/2 time position. If I have a good interview and would get that job, I would then be able to breathe my first sigh of relief because I'd then be assured of a full-time position. So I'm crossing my fingers and preparing for the interview as best as I can. I'm hopeful for some good news in the days and weeks ahead.
Seth and Joy are coming into town to visit us tomorrow night. We're excited to have company from back home coming to visit- even if it's a very short trip. I'm sure there will be a post from my wife on the weekend's happenings.
We have our first AAU basketball tournament this weekend too. After a successful season, I'm anxious to see how this AAU group can do for me. It's close by and I'll be sure to post Sunday to let everyone know how we did. I'm working with some of my same players from this year but adding in some current 8th graders as well. If you're wondering why on earth I coach so much (like my wife does at times)- it is so my team can have a successful winter- and that makes all of us happier. I'll keep everyone posted on how our AAU team is doing!
-Jimmy
PS- Still no offers on the house- FRUSTRATING! However, we must remain patient and know that good things will happen- our town house is one of the nicer ones in our area and very competitively priced- so we will sell. Kari and I both are not the most patient of people though, so it is frustrating!!

It's a never ending process...

Well, for my first post I will keep things short. Seeing as writing this post is taking me away from the very thing I am going to talk about. Cleaning! I am sooooo tired of cleaning! We are trying to sell our lovely abode and making sure it presentable every time we leave is exhausting. I have to get up approximately 10 minutes earlier every morning (as if 5:10 isn't enough) just to do the last touches and pray that Jimmy gets anything I missed. I have to admit that my husband is doing an awesome job! I think he might regret the fact that I now know he can make the bed, pick up his clothes, and hang his towel straight (he is better at this one than me!)

Our house has been on the market for about 3 weeks with no real bites yet. We have had a handful of people through and all have been complimentary of the space, there is always just a couple things wrong. No bathroom on the second floor, laundry in the basement, our neighbors trash pile (which we hate too).... and all things beyond our control! We pray every day for an offer and we know that it will happen. We just have to be patient. Its hard when we see the house we want and we creep steadily towards summer. Tomorrow we have an open house so keep us in your thoughts between 1-3pm tomorrow! Well, I am off to buy more toilet bowl cleaner. Pleasant.

Clearing Things Up

For those of you who read my last message and are confused, I am writing this to clear things up a bit (it's what happens when I don't consult my wife before posting a message). My current position is 1/2 funded through a grant that expires at the end of this year. We were hoping that the 1/2 of the position that was grant-funded would be picked up. It does not look like (right now at least) that will be the case. So I will have a 1/2 time position at Spotswood and maybe pick up an additional 1/2 time position somewhere else. I have interviewed for another full-time position as well. It's a matter of waiting and seeing what happens with some of those other options. The waiting and seeing is the most difficult part for both of us. But I truly believe that something good will happen. I hope that clears up any confusion I may have caused. And my apologies for not being clear!!
-Jimmy
PS The next message on this blog will come from my wife. She's annoyed that I keep writing messages!

No News=Good News??

For anyone who was wondering, there is still no news on the job front for me. We are trying our best to be patient, although I admit it is difficult. We are hopeful, though, that it will all work out. My gut tells me that "No News" doesn't equal the "Best News" in this case. But I'm sure that Kari and I are resourceful enough to make something work. Hopefully one day SOON I can post a message that delivers good news on the job front!

The Final Four

An interesting start to our blog- the weekend that we both never thought would happen. Carolina and Kansas come face to face and we both knew the only way we would survive "Semifinal Saturday" was to not be anywhere near one another. So, Kari took off to Pennsylvania and I remained in Harrisonburg. Fortunately for Kari, her Jayhawks dismantled my Tarheels and the rest is history. Two nights later, we watched the National Championship game. I even wore Jayhawks socks in support of my wife. And even though she quit watching the game at one point when her team was down, I continued watching. She watched the overtime though and saw KU finally win a title. I was happy for her but am still bitter about the Final Four weekend. Hopefully the next road trip that one of us takes will be one where we're together- but thank goodness we could be apart for the Final Four.