around here.

Here's what's been going on around here this fall.

It's apple season and my housemates have gone apple crazy. Josh, Lauren, and Daniel have been making applesauce on and off for weeks. We have tubs on tubs of the stuff in our garage freezer and Lauren and Daniel are bringing back more apples from an orchard today! We hope to have enough applesauce to eat all winter, spring, and summer. It's wonderful!

Josh is a bread baker. Look at this loaf! The night Josh made this loaf we happened to do "highs and lows" (aka "pows and wows"). This beautiful and tasty loaf of bread was my high for the day.

We have a cat. Josh has been advocating for getting a pet cat for a while now. We tried to get a kitty last spring, but it didn’t really work out. When we told our woeful story to Josh’s cousin April over the summer she offered to give us one of her cats. Her two cats were not getting along, so towards the end of August she drove from Ohio to Kansas with one of her kitties. Now we have Amèlie! The transition was pretty tough. Amèlie hid under the couch for the first three weeks, but now she lounges all over the house and makes us laugh by playing with twisty ties. She has the softest fur! We love her.

I'm enjoying this tasty coffee roasted right down the street from where Layla goes to school.

Last weekend I was with my parents and sister in Chicagoland, walking along Lake Michigan and watching Trinity International University Sports. I sure do love my family.

I am getting ready for a craft fair next Saturday, hence the messy desk. There's lots to do and make, but it's lots of fun. I'll share more on this later.

What's new with you? Do any of you have a newfound skill or a new pet?

Happy Saturday!

around here: we're employed!

Photos from top to bottom: a custom card order for Grandma Kay// Josh's classical guitar made by Uncle Willis// tip top of the legacy house (more about this place soon)// herbal healing in progress// Josh got his wisdom teeth out

Life has been pretty good around here. Josh is recovering well from his mouth operation. We're getting to know more people in Wichita, we love our housemates and our friends across the street, we're starting to feel comfortable at two different churches, we love our home and living close to the river, and we are feeling so blessed to have jobs! Over the weekend the weather was hinting towards fall, which I loved. After a great 9 mile run (Josh and I are both training for a half marathon in October), I biked to the farmer's market with Lauren, Kenzi and Cora. Then we relaxed a coffee shop for a while, where Josh and Daniel joined us. Saturday night JRLD (that stands for Josh, Rachel, Lauren and Daniel) headed over to Grandparents Kline for dinner. Both Saturday and Sunday were a wonderful mix of relaxation and fellowship with friends and family.

This past week was our first full week of work. So far we enjoy what we do. This year Josh gets to write his Master’s thesis, so he spends a good chunk of the day reading and thinking about what he’ll write. Since he needs time for studying, Josh applied for several part time jobs. A couple weeks ago he was called for an interview with the YMCA for an after school recreation leader and he got the job! He’s now working at Hamilton Middle School; his job requires him to monitor students during an academic time for homework or reading and then he leads students in sports activities. The Y sponsors an intramural soccer league amoung the middle schools and Josh’s kids are pretty into soccer. Therefore, the majority of sport time is dedicated to soccer practice. Josh says he really likes connecting with the kids, biking to work and doing soccer stuff again.

I was lucky enough to get an interview at Woodman Elementary School for an ESOL Paraeducator position. Aunt Meme told her friend Vikki about me back in the Spring. Vikki actually worked at Woodman as an ESOL teacher, so when she heard about an opening at Woodman she emailed the principal about me. That same day (Wednesday) I got called from the principal inviting me for an interview. I went on Thursday for my interview, it went great, and I was offered the job right on the spot! I, of course, accepted. 

My job requires me to assist various ESOL students in different grade levels with their class work or extra reading and writing. This past week I went into several different first grade and second grade classrooms to help students. In the afternoons I helped out in the ESOL classroom with whatever was going on. Many students are pulled out of their normal class to doing reading and writing with the ESL teachers. One of my favorite parts is helping a little Mexican girl in the first grade classroom. She’s very new to the USA and has been in school just a few days longer than I’ve been working there. My job is to make her feel more comfortable and to help her learn English. So far I’ve been speaking to her in Spanish and English, which is a fun challenge. She’s extremely shy, so besides repeating the colors and numbers I’m teaching her in English, she only speaks to me in Spanish.

How's your September going?