Soaking up sun at Lake Aleknagik Hopefully this post will "catch us up". It's a pretty brief overview of the past month, but it will do.
Differences in Dillingham
So far we have been enjoying some advantages of living in a larger community. Tim is able to drive to work in a car every morning, which means he doesn’t have to get dressed up in heavy rain gear or cold weather gear. Kaylee and I have visited the library and attending story time for the first time. Kaylee and I also try to take advantage of the bike path along the road and go for walks when the weather is nice. We do have to walk over ½ mile to get to the bike path, but it’s really nice once we get there.
I have been surprised by the sound of traffic. We heard 4-wheelers and snow-goes in Togiak, but here I can hear trucks and cars passing throughout the day. I’m just not used to that anymore and I’m not sure whether or not I like it.
Differences in Dillingham
So far we have been enjoying some advantages of living in a larger community. Tim is able to drive to work in a car every morning, which means he doesn’t have to get dressed up in heavy rain gear or cold weather gear. Kaylee and I have visited the library and attending story time for the first time. Kaylee and I also try to take advantage of the bike path along the road and go for walks when the weather is nice. We do have to walk over ½ mile to get to the bike path, but it’s really nice once we get there.
I have been surprised by the sound of traffic. We heard 4-wheelers and snow-goes in Togiak, but here I can hear trucks and cars passing throughout the day. I’m just not used to that anymore and I’m not sure whether or not I like it.
Taking a walk even though it's a bit chilly Settling In and Getting to Work
Tim wasted no time in getting to work. We arrived on a Thursday afternoon (July 25th) and Tim reported to work at 8:00 am the next day. Kaylee and I spent most of the next two weeks at home unpacking and putting things away. (Although, we did try to take advantage of the sunny weather and take a few walks.)
Tim didn't really have any time to be trained or get accustomed to his job before he was in a whirlwind of busy. He had one week to unpack, sort, inventory, divide out, repack, and ship all the new social studies curriculum, move office spaces, and prepare for in-service. His second week of work consisted of administrators in-service followed by new teacher in-service. His third week of work consisted of all staff in-service. School has been in session for nearly two weeks now so, for Tim, things should be slowing down and getting into a routine.
I don't feel stressed out, which kind of stresses me out
I'm used to this time of year being full of anticipation, excitement, and stress. It's the beginning of a new school year. I'm always excited for the new year and the fresh start. It's fun to meet all the new staff and start to form relationships with them. It's also a time to start lesson planning again. But, this is the first time in 23 years that I’m not having a first day of school. My mind has been confused. I've been feeling the beginning-of-the-school-year excitement, but none of the beginning-of-the-school-year things are happening for me this year. I keep forgetting that. I've realized that I'm not stressed out about lesson planning or the entire school year looming over my head. Should I be stressed out that I'm not stressed out? Nope. I don't have to be stressed out! I'm not teaching! (Teaching is great, but my new job totally rocks!)
I didn't want to completely miss out of the new school year excitement. Tim was kind enough to let me come to the new teacher BBQ and the all staff BBQ. We also had a few friends from the school district over for dinner throughout the two weeks of in-service. I'm really excited about the new science teacher in Togiak. She is quite a bit older than I am, but fairly new to teaching. She seems really organized, proactive, happy, and kind. I think she is going to do a great job in Togiak. It will be hard at first I'm sure, but I think the students will learn a lot from her.
Tim wasted no time in getting to work. We arrived on a Thursday afternoon (July 25th) and Tim reported to work at 8:00 am the next day. Kaylee and I spent most of the next two weeks at home unpacking and putting things away. (Although, we did try to take advantage of the sunny weather and take a few walks.)
Tim didn't really have any time to be trained or get accustomed to his job before he was in a whirlwind of busy. He had one week to unpack, sort, inventory, divide out, repack, and ship all the new social studies curriculum, move office spaces, and prepare for in-service. His second week of work consisted of administrators in-service followed by new teacher in-service. His third week of work consisted of all staff in-service. School has been in session for nearly two weeks now so, for Tim, things should be slowing down and getting into a routine.
I don't feel stressed out, which kind of stresses me out
I'm used to this time of year being full of anticipation, excitement, and stress. It's the beginning of a new school year. I'm always excited for the new year and the fresh start. It's fun to meet all the new staff and start to form relationships with them. It's also a time to start lesson planning again. But, this is the first time in 23 years that I’m not having a first day of school. My mind has been confused. I've been feeling the beginning-of-the-school-year excitement, but none of the beginning-of-the-school-year things are happening for me this year. I keep forgetting that. I've realized that I'm not stressed out about lesson planning or the entire school year looming over my head. Should I be stressed out that I'm not stressed out? Nope. I don't have to be stressed out! I'm not teaching! (Teaching is great, but my new job totally rocks!)
I didn't want to completely miss out of the new school year excitement. Tim was kind enough to let me come to the new teacher BBQ and the all staff BBQ. We also had a few friends from the school district over for dinner throughout the two weeks of in-service. I'm really excited about the new science teacher in Togiak. She is quite a bit older than I am, but fairly new to teaching. She seems really organized, proactive, happy, and kind. I think she is going to do a great job in Togiak. It will be hard at first I'm sure, but I think the students will learn a lot from her.
Whose 8 months old? Kaylee
Kaylee's adoption is finalized! The judge signed the papers on August 8th, exactly 8 months after we took Kaylee home with us. Tim and I have received all the paperwork in the mail, so we have proof. At this point in time we can give her a name and a blessing, have her sealed to us, get her a new birth certificate and a social security number.
Kaylee rolls over daily now. She rolls from her stomach to her back, but never the other direction. She also has been a lot more tolerant of tummy time. It might have something to do with the fact that she can easily roll over if she gets sick of her tummy. Kaylee is also starting to put some weight on her arms and feet. She doesn't push up much on them when she's on her tummy, but when she's sitting she'll walk her hands forward and put weight on her left foot and right knee. She can transition from sitting to her stomach fairly easily. I've never heard of a kid learning to crawl from a sitting position before but I think she's going to do it.
Church
Tim and I are now part of the Dillingham branch, which means no more phone church. We actually go in person and see and interact with people face to face. I must admit that it was much easier on Kaylee to have phone church, but we'll survive. Church is from 10 am - 1 pm, cutting into her morning nap and her afternoon nap, which means she generally just misses both of those naps on Sundays.
Since we came to Dillingham there have been between 17-25 people at church each week. Tim and I were put right to work in helping in different areas. I have spoken in sacrament meeting, led music, and played the piano. Tim has taught Sunday school twice. A couple weeks ago Tim was called as the first counselor in the branch presidency. He will be busy with that calling, but we both feel like it will be a good experience. We are really excited to be part of the Dillingham branch and be able to serve here.
All in all, we are feeling pretty happy with our new home and are enjoying each and every day.
Kaylee's adoption is finalized! The judge signed the papers on August 8th, exactly 8 months after we took Kaylee home with us. Tim and I have received all the paperwork in the mail, so we have proof. At this point in time we can give her a name and a blessing, have her sealed to us, get her a new birth certificate and a social security number.
Kaylee rolls over daily now. She rolls from her stomach to her back, but never the other direction. She also has been a lot more tolerant of tummy time. It might have something to do with the fact that she can easily roll over if she gets sick of her tummy. Kaylee is also starting to put some weight on her arms and feet. She doesn't push up much on them when she's on her tummy, but when she's sitting she'll walk her hands forward and put weight on her left foot and right knee. She can transition from sitting to her stomach fairly easily. I've never heard of a kid learning to crawl from a sitting position before but I think she's going to do it.
Church
Tim and I are now part of the Dillingham branch, which means no more phone church. We actually go in person and see and interact with people face to face. I must admit that it was much easier on Kaylee to have phone church, but we'll survive. Church is from 10 am - 1 pm, cutting into her morning nap and her afternoon nap, which means she generally just misses both of those naps on Sundays.
Since we came to Dillingham there have been between 17-25 people at church each week. Tim and I were put right to work in helping in different areas. I have spoken in sacrament meeting, led music, and played the piano. Tim has taught Sunday school twice. A couple weeks ago Tim was called as the first counselor in the branch presidency. He will be busy with that calling, but we both feel like it will be a good experience. We are really excited to be part of the Dillingham branch and be able to serve here.
All in all, we are feeling pretty happy with our new home and are enjoying each and every day.
