Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Life after the Fire







38 days after Jonathan and I were married... I went to bed at the normal time. The house was clean. The checks were written up and ready to be mailed and I had been working on a wedding photography book. Jonathan was staying up late to study and I went to bed.

At midnight I was sleeping peacefully and Jonathan had finished up and was just falling asleep. We heard someone bang on the door and Jonathan got up to check it out. He opened our apartment door and smoke started to flood into our place.

I threw on a robe, hot pink pajama pants, and black and white rain boots. I did not grab my glasses, purse, or cell phone. So I was standing outside in the cold... blind. The news said that by the time the fire trucks came the flames were shooting out the windows of the apartment beneath ours.
It has been 5 weeks since that night. We lived at Jon's parents for awhile, had every single thing we own washed by strangers, moved to a completely different apartment, and had to replace a ton of our brand new wedding gifts. We finally feel like we are back home again. Everything is back in its place and we are ALMOST done with the paperwork.


Not many newlyweds have to deal with a major crisis within the first months of their wedding. I feel like this situation has really helped Jonathan and I learn how to deal with stress. I am just so thankful for a man who is calm and patient and a leader. Everyday when I wake up in our little apartment (that still smells just a little bit like smoke :)) I am so thankful for the way God provided for our family. An insurance policy that provided a restoration company that saved all our photos and mementos and sentimental stuff. Parents that took us in and washed our clothes and fed us or called everyday because they couldn't be there. A husband that held my hand through the whole situation and made me feel safe even when everything was upside down.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Learning to be flexible.

I am trying to move into our apartment this weekend, but....
Jonathan had 6 wisdom teeth removed today.
My sister and Andy are in town and want to check out Notre Dame tomorrow afternoon.

Sometimes I need to take my timelines and game plans and throw them out the window.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

More News on the Job Front!

I know what my other position will be now. I will be teaching FACS (home ec) to 7th graders at Jackson Intermediate. Projects we will be working on: sewing a pillow and making cookies. I might love this new career path. I will be sure to let you know all the awesome things we do this year. So 1/2 time at SAMP and 1/2 time at Jackson.

Friday, July 30, 2010

New Couches!

So... we are broke :) We can't afford new furniture, but there is no reason we have to look like we can't afford furniture! Jonathan's family donated some fabulous plaid couches to us. Now I am not really a plaid couch kinda lady, so I went out and bought some slipcovers. They make it seem like we have new couches! Dave Ramsey would be so proud...

BEFORE
AFTER

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Confessions of an Engaged Woman...

Sometimes I sign my name "Kristin Freel" on cards and guest books and other things like that... :)

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Riffed then Rehired!

In May, South Bend Schools had to lay off 50 teachers. I was 6 people from the top of that list.... which was depressing, but I decided to use the situation to expand my teaching license. I went through the list of endorsements I could get just by taking a test. My choices were Math, Language Arts, and Family and Consumer Sciences (Home Ec). I hate math, my writing skills aren't strong enough to teach junior high, and I loved home ec in high school. So I took the test one Saturday morning in June. I honestly didn't know if I would pass or not. I felt like I was putting it out like a fleece before God saying "if this is the path you want me to take I will pass this test." Well I passed it by like 20 points! So I started looking into the openings in South Bend for FACS teachers. The one that really interested me was SAMP (school age mothers program). I just felt like this was the job i needed to apply for. I went in for the meeting with the lady in charge of the program and the lady over all the FACS classes in South Bend. We connected on our ideas of teaching and learning. I got the call today that I GOT THE JOB! It's a half time position which will be paired with another half time position in an intermediate center. So with SAMP I will have 3 classes: sewing, foods and nutrition, child development/parenting. My classes will be between 4-10 girls and they will be pregnant or teen moms..... God has a plan for me with this program. I am so excited to see what this year will be like. It's going to be crazy because I will be adjusting to 2 new schools and planning a wedding/being a newlywed, but it will be good. :)

Jonathan just started his 1st clinical for grad school. He is in Physical Therapy School at Andrew's University. He will graduate with his doctorate Aug. 2012. His first year was HARD but he finished strong. Now he is up in Kalamazoo, MI for a month working at an Outpatient Clinic. After 2 days he loves it! He feels confident in the skills he learned this year and the guy he is working with is giving him challenging stuff to look up at night. I love that this is only increasing the passion he has for physical therapy. I'm excited to see where God leads us after he graduates and what aspect of physical therapy he will like the most (orthopedic, sports, neuro, etc....)