Little bit of everything

Okay folks - I've got a little bit of everything for you today. So we are going with list format for easier reading.

1. Friends: I have spent a lot of time this break blogging about family and what a blessing it is to be home with the whole clan at once. I still totally think this to be true and I know it will be hard for everyone to split up this coming week, but I have neglected to talk about what a JOY it has been to catch up with the few close friends that I have here in Charleston. Laura, Shawna and Kaitlyn are my three closest friends at home. Laura was my YoungLife leader in high school and Shawna and Kait are both a year younger than me, attending college at WVU. I realize when I come home and spend time with this three women that I truly miss the fellowship that they offer. Laura was such a blessing to the three of us in high school and it has been so great to become peers with her over the past few years. She has so much wisdom to offer and it is so neat for me to be able to serve her by watching her two awesome kiddos. She is super patient and understanding, and has a great sense of humor. Typically the perfect equation for me when I need someone to listen, be honest, and bring me back to earth. Check out their blog at http://thetuelfamily.blogspot.com/. Any time I get the chance to spend time and talk with these three I feel so encouraged. I am able to be so honest about both things that are dragging me down and the things that i am joyful about. Shawna and I have such a similar sense of humor that I am constantly laughing when I am with her, and Kaitlyn is so wise that I am often wondering how she could possibly be younger than me. This is not to say that the one does not possess the traits of the other, but I am blessed by each of them in their own unique ways. I LOVE these three among others that I have gotten to know since graduating from high school (Adrienne), and coming home reminds me that their fellowship has been instrumental in making me who I am today. I get to be so real with these ladies that I always leave feeling so refreshed.

Along with seeing these women...I have had so much free time for great phone conversations catching up with friends and ample time to facebook chat any- and everyone who is connected. Spcifically, I have gotten to chat with my good friend Chad from OSU who is a fellow blogger (http://saki-crash.blogspot.com/). He is a wise guy whose friendship I am thankful for. (Excuse the sentence ended with a preposition). He and I have been talking about our individual futures a lot lately and he said something the other day that made me excited and encouraged. I am not totally sure where it fits or why it stuck out, because its something we have all heard, but I feel inclined to share (And it's my blog so I can write what I want, right?): "Sometimes you gotta take a risk to get something great." Anyway, in light of my slowly growing excitement/nervousness about graduating and relocating, this speaks volumes. Good friends = good advice.

2. The Tuel Kids: I just thought it might be funny to share what a fun morning I had with Laura and Ben's kids, Ted and Sophie. Ted is such a funny kid. He was asking me for his "booger wiper" today and I would have had no clue what he was referring to unless I had read Laura's blog describing her plan to liberate him by giving him his own rag to wipe his nose; rather than have mom always doing it. The funniest little things make him laugh and while playing CandyLand he sounded just like his dad: "Dangit!" every time he only got one color square on his card. Sophie is too happy and this morning Ted and I were teaching her how to drum. All this while Ted donned his dowwboy hat on his back, his WVU football helmet on his head, his hillbilly teeth in his mouth, and his guitar in hand.

3. My Interview: I am headed to Charlotte, NC with my Dad this Sunday to spend the night in anticipation of my interview on Monday. The job I am applying for was talked about when I first started blogging so I will give you a brief overview. It is a 2-year teaching fellowship through Citizen Schools. I will b ein charge of running an after school program for middle schoolers, as well as working at a local non-profit org. in the mornings. Their model is so neat because it consciously addresses the lack of motivation and direction that many middle-schoolers have before entering high school. They bring people from the community into the school to teach "apprenticeships," culminating in a WOW! where the students present what they have laerned back to their community. There are LOTS of perks involved with this job, so while the pay is not GREAT, it is something I think I wouild love. I am not putting all my eggs in that basket because I have made that mistake before. I am confident that the Lord will really open up opportunities and reveal to me where I am called. Though my fingers are crossed that it is South (specifically NC or SC). Is that too much to ask? The Lord gives us the desires of our heart, tight? :) We will see.