Work It, Work It!

On Wednesday, August 26th, my friend Leslie sent me a text that said, "Call me when you get this." I had not heard from her in a while, so I was immediately curious. When I talked to her, she said, "I'm sure you heard already, but I put in my two weeks."  (She told them on Monday the 24th.)
 
{Back Story-- About this time (maybe October/November) last year, Steve was on the HR Committee at church and was asked to help them find/hire a Communications Director. Leslie was in my MOMS Club chapter and I immediately thought of her for the job, and told her to apply. She did, and she was hired.}

So she and I chatted for a few minutes and she said, "Anyway, I was calling because when I told them I needed to resign, they asked if I knew anyone that would be able to do this job well, and you were the first person I thought of." 

I was floored.

When Steve was helping with interviews, he was on the front-end with screening applicants. He received a lot of applications and did quite a few phone screens, and all the people had Communications degrees, and/or Graphic Design backgrounds. They all had outstanding portfolios and resumes, and I remember thinking about how good they all were. 

I told her that I didn't feel qualified at all, and she started telling me about the job and what she does and why she felt I'd be the perfect fit. She basically said that it's a lot of what I already do for MOMS Club, but I'd be getting paid for my work and time. :-)

She said, "So, can I tell them that I think you'd be a great fit?" I told her sure-- I had nothing to lose by her telling them about me!

When Steve got home that night, I told her about the call and he was totally in favor of me applying. He helped me with my resume and letter, and I sent it in that night.

On Thursday,  I was at Publix for a grocery store tour and my phone rang. I didn't recognize the number, but assumed it was Gus's school. It was actually Max and Lyle from CtK, and they were calling me to say that they received my resume and letter.

They said they were VERY impressed by my resume and wanted to know if I could come in the next day to talk to them about the position. They said Leslie put in a great word for me, and they were very eager to talk to me. I said I'd be there, and hung up and did a happy dance.

I went in on Friday morning, and the conversation was about my experience with social media, graphic design, and various communication methods. They seemed impressed that I knew Publisher, Photo Shop, and a variety of other programs. At the end of the meeting, they said they'd be talking with the pastor and would be giving me a favorable recommendation. They said to be on the look out for an email to set up a virtual meeting with him over the weekend.

That afternoon, I got an email asking if I could do a virtual meeting on Saturday morning.

Saturday morning at 10am, I had a video conference with my pastor and the meeting was great, super easy, and at the end of the meeting, I was told he'd be recommending that I be hired to the Parish Council, and he asked if I could come in on Monday to start.

Seriously, in a period of six days, my life completely changed. I am now the Communications Coordinator for my church!

 Me at my desk in MY OFFICE

Thankfully, Steve has a pretty accommodating job, and he was able to stay home with Hugh while I went to work on Monday. Hugh didn't start preschool until September 8th, so that first week that I was working, he was home with me.

Between Steve staying home, my best friend watching Hugh, and Zip and Pep (a drop-in place for babysitting), I was able to get to work and have time to focus on all that needed to be learned, and not have to worry about Hewy.

Let me just say that it's super stressful to start a new job!! I had not been working since 2010, and while it's not that much time, it was enough that it stressed me out. I will say that I love my job. It's everything that I enjoy doing already, and I get paid to do it. :-)

I worked along side Leslie for her last week in the office, and was able to get as much info from her as possible. Thankfully, she and I are friends and I know I can text or call her at any time for help and she'll do what she can to help me out. (I have already had to call her a few times.)

I was off on Labor Day, and then Hugh's first day was the 8th. He came to work with Steve and was able to hang out in my office while we waited to go to preschool. 

He comes with me on Tuesdays and Thursdays and plays in my office before school or after school. He was slated to go to school there anyway, so now I'm just staying there and working while he's in school. It's so nice, because I'm right there if he ever needs me for anything, and we signed him up for extended day on Tuesdays (he'll stay an extra hour) and he's doing Play Ball on Thursdays (it's a sports program that takes place after school). 

I got my first pay check last week and it was AWESOME!!! Seriously a huge blessing and I have no doubt that this whole job was divinely executed. Many prayers were answered and I am so grateful!!

VBS :: Weird Animals

 

Gus enjoying breakfast

Last year, we had just joined Christ the King when the school year ended and it was time for VBS (Vacation Bible School). As a former Catholic, VBS wasn't something that I grew up doing, and wasn't something I knew much about. Maybe it's not even that it's a Catholic thing, but a Southern thing. I don't remember ever seeing so many advertisements for VBS up North.

I had considered signing Gus up last year, but your child had to be potty trained (he was not) and the only way to get your younger children in the nursery was to be a volunteer. I had no desire to volunteer.

So this year, I still had not planned on sending Gus because it was the week after school was out and I didn't want to volunteer. Well, somehow or another, I was asked to take pictures for the week, and that counted as volunteering. So I was able to get Gus signed up, and Hugh was able to hang out in the nursery all week.

I wasn't sure what to make of the whole thing, but I went to the mandatory training and showed up at 8am on Monday morning ready for the volunteer breakfast.

Gus was very interested in sitting next to me in the church for the morning gathering, but he had to go sit with his "Zoo Crew" and he was very unhappy about that. It took a few days before he settled down in the morning. However, once he was with his group he had fun.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the week:

Everyone gathering in the morning

Milton the Star-Nosed Mole

Pastor Brian as "Dr. Paws"

Look at that hand-made set!

Every day had a different animal and theme. Day one was "Even when you're left out... Jesus loves you!" The animal for the day was Axl

GORGEOUS

Snack time!

Gus at the games station

I stopped by the nursery each day to see Hugh :-)

The first day was amazing. I was honestly really impressed and found the whole experience to be a lot like Rainbow (a Catholic youth conference held annually in Detroit) but for little kids. Gus had a great time and enjoyed learning about Jesus and he loved the songs.

Here are pictures from Day 2:

 

Animal of the day was Fern (a dragon seahorse) and this was the theme

 

Gus's preschool crew leaders

 

Each day, the snack was different. On Tuesday, it was decorate your own cookie :-)

 

Pastor Brian sharing a video with the kids

 

Each day they made a different craft... these were grass heads :-)

 

This is Sandy, she's the director of youth and families for CTK

 

Hewy having fun in the nursery

 

They took the babies outside and traced their bodies with chalk. Here's his body outline :-)

 

Here are the pictures from Wednesday:

 

Dr. Paws spraying his laughing spray 

 

Gus laughed and laughed at this :-)

 

Animal of the day was Milton, the star-nosed mole

 

Each day, the older kids went to a station called "Bible Adventures" and there was a different biblical story that was told to the kids. On Wednesday, it was all about servant leadership

 

The snack for the day :-)

 

The preschoolers had recess twice a day-- I went out and took some pictures of the kids at their second recess for the day

 

Hugh in the nursery

By day four, I was exhausted and so was Gus. We had to get up each morning at 7am and leave the house by 7:20 so that we could get to CTK by 8am. It made for a long week, but it was definitely worth it!! Here are the pictures from Thursday:

 

Weird Animal of the day was Shredder

 

The craft for the day (the older kids made these)

 

Each child got a tag to wear on a necklace

 

The snack for the day

 

Bible Adventures theme was all about Jesus dying on the cross for our sins

 

Each child put their name on a heart and put it on the cross

 

At the end of the day gathering, the kids whispered their sins into a black garbage bag and then each crew leader tied the bags to the cross

 

Then an older child, dressed as Jesus, came and removed each bag of sins

 

And then the cross lit up. It was pretty awesome

 

The last day was great. The volunteers were treated to a pancake and bacon breakfast and it was the best surprise (all week we had bagels/fruit/donuts)! Gus was happy to indulge in pancakes.

 

The last Weird Animal was Iggy

Here's Gus's individual picture and his group picture:

Overall, it was a fantastic week and I'm really glad I volunteered and that Gus and Hugh were able to go. Next year, Gus will get a lot more out of it, because he'll be able to go with the kindergartners and Hugh will be with the preschoolers. It's crazy to think that next year, there won't be a baby in the nursery. :-(