Another Week In The Life

... just a photo taken before we moved. The kids we're "practicing". Practicing what, I'm not exactly certain. They'd run and flip... and call it practicing. Remember when it was that easy?

We had the joy of welcoming some of our old friends to a new city! Jeff & Angela Morgan and their family arrived in Rochester last weekend. Nolan & I spent a morning with them and our families dined together at their new home here in town. For those who don't know the Morgans - they are dear friends of ours of many years. Both of our families made the recent move to southern Minnesota! It's so fun to have built-in friends in a foreign place. We're so grateful for them!

And speaking of friends, we had the opportunity this afternoon to cultivate new relationships at a backyard picnic for our new 'mini-congregation' (aka sunday school). Lots of families, lots of kids! Claire & Nolan were a bit slow to get in on the action, which is pretty unusual for them. Although there were lots of children, not many were Claire's age. She got over it, though, when she decided to play football with the 'big boys'. She even made a tackle and got a high five from one of the guys! She had a blast! Nolan ended up muddy, which means he enjoyed himself too. I, especially, was able to connect with a few women and am looking forward lunch with a new friend tomorrow and starting a morning bible study this Thursday.

I had a job interview this week, at the Olmsted Medical Center. Olmstead is the lesser-known medical facility here in Rochester. The position was an admitting clerk for the hospital emergency room, 2 evenings a week and every-other weekend. After the interview, I was undecided as to whether I would accept the job, if offered. My prayer was that if it was not the job for me, that I wouldn't have to make the decision, but that it would be made for me. Friday I was told that they offered the position to another candidate. I felt relieved! There were many factors in my unease with the position, and I'm so glad to still be at home. I do believe that a time will come for me to work in some capacity again, mostly likely sooner than later. I had thought it would be in a medical environment, as that is where I've been the past 2 years - and with the Mayo Clinic & it's hospitals less than 5 miles away, there are various opportunities. But perhaps there is something else in store...

We're still waiting on something to happen with our home in Mayer. When we left, we did so thinking that we'd receive an offer in the near future. No such luck. If anyone knows anyone who knows anyone who knows anyone looking for a new home - give us a call! We'll probably make a change in the next few weeks, in regards to our agent or the price, or both! Please pray as we decide what to do. When we first put our home on the market, we did so with excitement and urgency, knowing that our home was God's rather than ours, and He would sell it at His price in His time. We still know it to be true, but the time and distance (knowing it's sitting there, waiting for a family to fill it!) has stripped away at all that excitement. We're so thankful that we have a place to call home here in Rochester, that we are together as a family in one place, able to plant our feet here, get connected and make new relationships. Jon & Laila - I think of you! But really - if you know anyone...

The Big Yellow School Bus

School began and the autumn weather has set in. It's fitting, really. Doesn't 'back-to-school' mean new sweatshirts and jeans and backpacks? This picture was taken before the rain & cooler temperatures arrived - after a hearty lunch at Denny's and before an afternoon at the park. What more could a kid ask for?

As I posted last week, we did make it through the first days of school with no tears. But it wasn't without disappointment. Claire was devastated that she wasn't joining most of her classmates on the school bus at the end of her day. We talked about it, and today was Claire's first trip home on the big yellow school bus. It's not that I'm anti-bus, but assumed that Claire would rather be greeted at the end of her school day by her brother & I, instead of the bus driver. Boy was I wrong. My biggest concern was that she'd forget to get off the bus, as she's the only one at her stop and is known to get a bit distracted at times (something I'm sure she didn't get from me). My fears were erased, however, when her driver warmly greeted me and it turns out there's only 3 kindergarteners on her bus ride home! Claire: "Just me and two boys from another class. I wish I could ride the rocket ship bus with some of the other kids from my class, but that's okay. I love school even more when I can ride the bus, mom." What's more to say? I'm still Claire's means of transport on the way to school, which isn't bad since she doesn't begin until 9:15.

Wednesday night begins Awana, a first this year for us. Kelly & I are really excited - we have a confirmed date every Wednesday evening! We're pretty giddy, we haven't spent time alone... well, in a very long time. Claire is still trying to figure out what Awana is (for those of you who don't know, it's a Christian kid's program), and when I tell her that she's a Spark and Nolan is a Cubbie (the different club levels by age), she says "the Teachers have cubbies at school to put their papers in" ...um, different kind of cubbie.

Switching gears, I've been trying to get Kelly to post again, especially since his first one was not quite so "ha-ha" funny, as we all know him to be. I guess I didn't catch him on a good day. Since then, he's had some positive things to post about, but since he's not here just now, I'll fill you in. Last Friday was Crossroads' annual golf tournament, which is the big athletic fundraiser of the year. When he first arrived, the college didn't expect to make any money, rather they were hoping just to break even. Kelly worked it and secured hole sponsors. The week of the tourney they had 60 confirmed golfers which meant that they might pocket a few hundred dollars. Then came the Friday morning shotgun start, and they had 94 golfers! They tee-d off 45 minutes early, enjoyed lunch on campus afterwards, gave out great prizes and called it a success. It far exceeded everyone's expectations.

The second positive came on Saturday afternoon - the volleyball team secured their first victory over St Cloud Tech. It was the first win for the team in a very, very long time. (It didn't hurt that St Cloud only had 6 players and one of them sprained her ankle in the first play of the game, which meant that as she sat the bench, each time it was her turn to serve Crossroads scored a point...) Nevertheless - the Knights won, and that's good news any way you can get it! Go Knights!

Here's to little kids growing up into big kids, small successes and the thrill of victory! Have a great week!

No Tears Today

Angela: I can still remember the day my mom & I attended my high school freshman orientation. The cheerleaders performed, pep-rally style. I looked over and saw my mom crying. I knew she had issues, but cheerleaders?? Now, years later, I understand. It's not the cheers that made her cry, but what they represented. I was growing up, going to high school. And here I am today, after just sending our only daughter off to kindergarten.

Everyone has asked me, "How are you taking it?", "Are YOU okay?". I'm fine. Really. I got a tiny bit misty when told of another mom breaking down after leaving her daughter inside, and as I looked around at the "big" school with the "big" kids running around. But tears? Not today. Maybe it's because Claire has been talking about kindergarten since the day she emerged from the womb, or perhaps it's because I know she's ready for school, or maybe it's because I'm ready for the routine that only the school year can bring - whatever it is, I'm not sad.

And as anyone who knows me can attest: Angela Spann is an emotional woman. I emote at every turn. Show me a tear and I'll bawl with you. But no one is sad today (well, Nolan was missing his sister and really wanting to play with that cool train set in Claire's classroom, but his new Fergus - a dear friend of Thomas the Tank Engine - has erased any tears that may have emerged).

We'll celebrate this big day with lunch at McDonald's playland. Yes, Claire is only in school for 2 1/2 hours each day... Maybe I'll cry next year.

The Virgin Blog

This is my first attempt at writing my thoughts down on this blog. Forgive my "rookie" post; I'll try to make sense out of what's going on here at Crossroads. What a whirlwind the past two weeks! The previous regime left little to no paper trails of any system or reason of how the department was run. A new computer system was installed....... but didn't work. I had to come up with syllabi...... with lousy textbooks. I had a overzealous student question my integrity...... over a one credit PE course. Ah, the life! The athletic culture here is an untrusting, mediocre, circus act, complete with clowns and death defying acts. However, this has stroked my ego, because any small act of order and consistency is cheered and applauded. I have to be careful not to let it go to my head, but trust me, there's always something to bring me back to reality. This is definitely a challenge, but I have settled into a groove and look forward to making a difference here. My challenge to the department is to ensure that leadership qualities are taught, learned, and applied. What a challenge that will be.

Kelly

Sparkles & Stars

The Spann Family has increased by two! Okay, not quite, but Claire & Nolan each acquired a new pet today. Meet Spakles and Stars - Goldfish extraordinare!







Okay, these aren't actually photos of our fish, but they look just like this - I promise!

Have a fantastic weekend!

ps - Kelly & I are placing bets to see how long Sparkles & Stars stick around...

"I'm New Here!"

Last night was 'Meet the Teacher Night' at Claire's new school. She's officially a Bamber Valley Beaver & has the tye-dye t-shirt to prove it! Ms. Stekel seems very nice and I'm thrilled to say she's in AM kindergarten (I didn't even have to beg!). Claire is "sooooo excited" (her emphasis) and thrilled at the prospect of meeting new friends.

We visited Silver Lake Park over the weekend, hoping to find the outdoor swimming pool still open, alas it was closed for the season. We decided to play at their wonderful park area. It was fantastic, it reminded me of the Three Rivers play park in Minnetrisa. Silver Lake is part of the park system, which is built next to a power plant. The heat from the plant keeps the lake warm enough that it doesn't freeze in winter! I've heard it's the destination for geese in the winter.They had a huge wooden train to sit in, climb on and just pretend. Nolan was in train heaven. Claire met some new friends when we overheard her say, "Hi, My name is Claire. I'm new here!".

I'm thrilled to say that my sister, Lydia, and my 3-month old nephew, Adrien, are visiting with us this week. Lydia's husband, Andre, is taking an intensive 2-week, 2-class seminary module at Nazarene Theological Seminary in KC, so they made the trip to spend some time with us and give Andre some time to "focus". I've missed socializing, so it's great to hang out with my sis. We're taking it pretty easy, but Adrien is a fantastic baby! So good, and so cute!

As I mentioned, I'm longing to chat it up with some other women. I miss our friends & co-workers, there was never a lack of conversation at most times of my day. We attended the CM&A church here last Sunday, Christ Community. It was a youth service, which we really enjoyed. We didn't actually meet anyone, but the kids loved it and for being a larger church, the service had a really intimate feel. We plan to return this week.

Kelly is still feeling a bit new to Crossroads, but really, it's only been 2 weeks! Classes began in earnest this week, he's teaching Tues, Thurs & some Fridays. Volleyball has home games this weekend and soccer is away. New staff (Kelly) mean changes and as we all know, change is usually met with some resistance, especially at a small organization. Also, Kelly's office in not in the main academic building, but in a separate building which also houses the music dept and the bookstore office and what used to be the Student Center (they built a new one last spring). He's pretty much all alone. He hasn't complained, but I know he misses the camaraderie and friendships often found in an office setting - especially an athletic office! (Yet another reason to get "plugged in".) His biggest task at the moment is planning the annual golf tournament fundraiser on the 8th. He's making lots of phone calls for hole sponsors these days. He's also just trying to understand the athletic department, feel-out coaches and "tighten things up" as he says.

I know he's sorely missing baseball, but he's already been in touch with the coach from Rochester Community & Technical College and he'll help out with their program. They're running some winter camps this year, and Kelly will probably be an integral part of that, since he's run the same camp for several years now and RCTC is new this year. The head coach seems glad to have Kelly's help. Crossroads doesn't have any spring sports, which frees him up a bit to do some coaching.

Kelly is officiating football again this year. This summer he had told his "crew chief" (or captain, or whatever they call him) that he couldn't work on his crew this year because of our pending move. When he found out we moved to Rochester, he reassigned him to his crew. Many of his games are really not too far, but tonight he's going to Norwood! Their crew gets high ratings from coaches, and they've been together for awhile, so they may have a good chance of going to the State Championship game. Whoo hoo!!!! Kelly enjoys it, likes who he works with and makes some nice money, too. I'm glad he's doing it (even if it means I won't seem him on Friday nights for awhile!).

No news on our house (sigh). We still have a showing or two each week, but no offers yet. As school begins, it feels like things are slowing in an already slow market. We're praying it will be soon!

So we're still beginning. I'm not sure when we will feel like we're not "new" anymore. Probably not for a long time. That's okay. New is good, right?. And wherever we are is Home.

Wednesday in Roch

I'm really enjoying this blog stuff. More so than creating my own, I enjoy reading others thoughts, musings and opinions. I'm finding myself reading the blogs of strangers! Some are incredibly insightful while others are just plain weird (or scary!). And I love to read those of friends, it keeps me feeling 'close by'.

Not too long ago I was complaining to Kelly that I get so tired of "new" technology. New phones that take pictures, do your laundry and cook supper! Okay, not quite, but almost. There's always something new, something better. I appreciate computers and what they do for us, but I don't like how they turn us off from each other. Everyone (including myself) is chatting on cell phones in public, which is totally rude and obnoxious. Is it really that important that it can't wait? That said, I'm still loving the blog-world! I do realize that it's nothing new and I'm just green when it comes to this stuff. Perhaps it's being disconnected from friends and family that makes me want to feel close and to communicate.

Speaking of trying to connect: We did attend a church this past Sunday, trying to find a new church home for us - the sooner the better. Autumn Ridge has a beautiful facility (Crossroads uses one of it's buildings for their own weekly chapel service) and it's nearby. We enjoyed the service, but we were so tired from the move that we didn't feel... well, moved! We plan to try somewhere new this Sunday. There are so many to choose from and they all seem to be very established and have great ministries. Women's Ministry is important to me, as it's a way to feel part of something, and to learn and grow in the process. Kelly would like to find something to be part of too, and many of the churches have softball & basketball leagues in addition to bible studies and small groups.

We'll register Claire for school this week (kindergarten begins on the 7th), but not before a quick trip to Mayer! Seems we left ALL of our personal papers (birth certificates, ect) behind! I'm hoping for AM kindergarten, we'll have to see if I can be convincing in my plea. The Rochester library has great activities for Nolan, which we'll register for as well.

The weather is beautiful today, we don't have A/C which means hot afternoons and evenings, but the mornings aren't bad. And really, considering the warm temps just a few short weeks ago, it could be a lot worse!

Our vehicle had a hard time adjusting to the move as well. After we arrived she had a nervous breakdown! (I don't usually refer to our car as she... creative license). The starter went our on the Blazer so we had it towed down the street and we hope to get it back today. The college has loaned us a car to use in the meantime. Another plus to campus life: The walk to work is a short one!

Classes begin today. We're still trying to get a feel for the vibe on campus. With such a small population, it's kind of hard to do. Another reason I'm glad we're here: If we were off campus, the kids and I wouldn't know what it's like. After we move we won't have much reason to come visit. All sports are played off-campus and there's no cafeteria, so we won't be coming for lunch!

Well, we're off to explore the city. May the remainder of your week be wonderful.