Two Weeks Notice

Last week I applied for a new job at small private school down the street from our house!! Well, since then, the head of the school called me back and I GOT THE JOB!! The school is VERY different from what I have experienced in public school, but still fabulous!

Turned in my letter of resignation and gave two weeks notice. Nanny mom has been out of town so I have not seen/heard her reaction yet. Needless to say I am expecting this next two weeks to be awkward and filled with a pouting adult. I think she will be shocked and offended that I am not just so happy working with her family that I would pass up a teaching job.

This week I worked at the school from 8:30-1:30 and at the nanny house from 2-7. I got my butt up and to the gym everyday at 6 a.m. Believe it or not , that was the one hour of sanity in my day and I loved it (might sound crazy, but it is true).

Even though I am totally excited I am also very stressed. I am stressed about her reaction, I don't like conflict and I try to avoid upsetting people. If nanny mom accepts my two weeks notice I will continue to work 10 hour days until April 8th and then I will start full time at the school.

I will keep you posted on nanny moms reaction and how the next couple of weeks go. Bottom line is... I am ready to be out of nanny moms grip and start feeling good about the work I am doing again. This nanny job has taken a toll on me, the main way is this... Luke and I took Strength Finder 2.o and in my top 5 strengths are Restorative, Consistency, Responsibility, Harmony, and Achiever.

Nothing about this nanny job is CONSISTENT, I take RESPONSIBILITY for everyones actions and needs in a house of 5 irresponsible people, HARMONY is hard to come by and I find myself desperately trying to create it with no success, and most days pass with me feeling like I didn't actually ACHIEVE anything. All of this combined usually leaves me drained. I am not unhappy at the end of every day, but I can feel the toll it has taken on me emotionally.

Thank goodness for my awesome husband and Mosaic family who fill my life with such happiness.

Love from CA,

Jess

Miracles Happening

A few days ago I shared that I sometimes struggle with Luke's health and what it looks like in relation to our future together. I am so overwhelmed by events that have happened since that short post. Let me start from the beginning...

Our path has continued to cross with Dave and Kim Rhodes. They are a couple that not only inspire but believe in us. Well, Kim and I have developed a friendship that takes place 3,000 miles apart. She has really become a safe place for me to share and gain feedback. Recently I realized that I needed a place to vocalize my feelings, thoughts, emotions, concerns about Luke's health. So I did something I don't normally do. I brought up this struggle in one of our conversations and asked that she be a person I can share with on good days or bad days. She is a great sounding board and listening ear. I kept saying things like "it is hard for me to open up about this portion of our life because I feel like no one can REALLY understand" during our conversation. Because that is the truth, people don't understand and I am sensitive to that but I don't want people to feel bad for me, or look at Luke differently, or get freaked out to be quiet honest. So I just kept it all inside and allowed it to be the one area that was "mine". I made sure to pretend I was always okay and had it together in this one area. Our conversation ended with Kim asking if she could share with Dave and process the information but saying that she would start praying for someone who did "get it".

That weekend Dave was speaking at a retreat in Louisiana. Apparently he felt compelled to change what he was going to speak on at the last minute and one thing lead to another and the topic he ended up talking about caused a young guy to approach him at the end. This guy said to him something to the extent of "Everything you were talking about tonight is so relevant to my life because I have Cystic Fibrosis and I just got married and my health causes my wife to have a lot of concerns" If I remember correctly he made the point that since this is how his life has always been and it is all he knows the concerns that his wife has are not as heavy on his heart (this is where Luke and I find ourselves when dealing with CF). So needless to say this is CRAZY. Dave is standing in front of this couple who is exactly what Kim committed to pray for as a connection for me. Whoa! As Kim is telling me this story and she nears the end she says, Dave told me to tell you "that God hears you, he is listening and you are not alone" NOTE: I never told Kim that I felt like God didn't hear me. I had definitely been feeling that maybe He didn't hear me and a little alone in this part of our life. But I NEVER said it out loud. So how Dave knew that it was urgent that I hear "God hears you, he is listening and you are not alone" is truly beyond me. I am not sure if I did a great job of putting this story into words but it is without a doubt a miracle. There is no way any of it is coincidence. God's fingerprints are ALL over this and I am in awe.

I now have this couples contact information and will hopefully get in touch with them soon. I cant wait to see where the Rhodes/Hughes journeys continue to connect and I am thankful for how intentional they have been in staying active in our life even from so far away.

Just wanted to share this truly miraculous event that went down this weekend. Thanks for reading.

Love from CA,

Jess

I'm Still Alive.

Hey Everyone!

Sorry, I have been MIA. Things got crazy here and I have been neglecting to blog. But, I'M BACK! a few updates...

*Luke's parents come to visit this month! We are excited to see them.

*We are going to Hawaii next month Counting down the days.

*Luke and I are busy serving in different areas at Mosaic (more to come on that) and LOVING it!

*We are getting excited for a visit to GA to be in Sarah Beth and Cam's wedding in May! Cant wait!!!

Things are exciting and moving quickly here. I am headed to the nanny house for work so I will post more later.

If you want to keep up with my nanny adventures follow my on twitter @ jhughesLA... never a dull moment.

Love from CA,

Jess

Life: Not Taken For Granted

I have recently been thinking a lot about Luke's health. The struggle that I have with this topic sometimes seems small and other times feels very overwhelming. I stumbled upon this blog, Faith, Hope and Lovebugs of a CF patient and her husbands blog Confessions of a CF Husband. I was moved and inspired by this family and their story. I am thrilled to say that I am able to journey through life with the most incredible human being I have ever met. Some days I struggle with the thoughts of having to live life without him one day, but most days are full of striving to not take one minute for granted and loving this journey we are traveling together. I will share more about this portion of our journey as I feel compelled to, but for now I wanted to share these blogs so that you might be inspired. Click on the highlighted text above to check them out.

I want to end with this

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Matthew 6:25-27

A friend reminded me of these verses this week and the relevance they have to my everyday life. Thank you Kim.

Love from CA,

Jess