Hello there, folks. It's been a long time. We have needed some time to settle back into my old stomping ground and Isaiah's new town, Lexington, NC.
We've done just that. About 2 weeks to settle in, unpack, get rid of things and pack things up (After all, we moved from a lakehouse to a Dunn House to a single room at my mom's). After that, I (Calli) started a new job at North Davidson High School, the same place I graduated from exactly 7 years ago; it's actually phenomenal that almost nothing has changed there. Seriously. Nothing. I even feel like the same, awkward, fish-out-of-water every time I walk into work....the only difference is that now, I'm somehow this grown-up teacher who pretends to know what she's doing.
Sometimes, I don't even pretend.
Teaching English at North has been a tad difficult. It's definitely different than teaching at James Irwin in Colorado, working at the YMCA, or doing Drama at the Boardwalk Chapel. Nothing can actually prepare one for teaching public school, not even going to one growing up. The Holy Spirit is 100% necessary every day, and when I don't do devotions, I suck more than usual.
After a mere 2 weeks of teaching, we Englishes headed off to Florida for a Cleary family vacation. Isaiah and I went with my dad and closest brother, Mitch. (Luckily, there were only 3 days of school that week anyway, so my students only had to endure the "horror" of another sub for a few days.) Here are a few things we learned on vacation: (1) Playing putt-putt in monsoon rain actually provides an interesting and fun challenge. Who knew? (2) Vacations with the Cleary men do not actually provide rest or relaxation (getting up early for theme parks, riding roller coasters, and having intense intellectual and religious conversations with "the Mitchster" DO NOT facilitate chillness in the least) (3) Vacations with Mitch are rough (4) Vacations with Mitch are also fun...but still rough (5) My dad and Mitch approve of having Isaiah as a new addition merely because of his cooking and grill master skills as well as his awesome cleaning skills (6) Playing Scrabble, Monopoly, and Phase 10 as a family is amazing (7) Universal Studios is overrated, but the world of Harry Potter within it is Calli Approved. Also drinking Butter Beer with your husband is literally the coolest thing ever. (8) I am still deathly afraid of roller coasters and am happy to have a husband who doesn't push me (though I did ride what Mitch deems "baby roller coasters") (9) Isaiah is braver than me (10) Busch Gardens is amazing and full of variety (11) Getting the "Couple Suite" in the condo is awesome and feels very grown-up (Giant bed, Giant tub, Giant shower....pretty legit) (12) Todd Cleary (my dad) is a complicated and amazing man, who Isaiah and I learned a lot more about this vacation.
Since returning from Florida, I've worked one full week and two days (tomorrow is a day off!)! I realize this sounds crazy, but honestly...I've needed every single break I've gotten. Being the 4th teacher to regular Seniors who are done with life and are mostly male is very difficult. #Pray4Me!
With that said, Isaiah and I are fairly pumped about sleeping in, Christmas shopping, drinking hot cocoa, and watching more episodes of "Cadfael" in the 'morrow. In fact, I am elated. It's like a snow day, but better.
Side Note: Have I also mentioned that teaching single is way easier than teaching married? When your job is your life you're pretty excited to get there. When you're married, you mostly want to stay in bed with your awesome, hot husband and never go to a zoo filled with small children who don't love you as well as your awesome, hot husband. For the first time in my life, I feel like a normal 25-year-old working lady: I wake up, feel awful, drink tea, and go to work even though I don't want to. Feeling like a normal working woman sucks by the way. In case you were wondering.
Though we do miss the Boardwalk Chapel, I do get to talk to Teri Smith quite a bit and a lot of us keep up via Facebook. We're also thinking that a few Boardwalk troops might be joining us to ring in the New Year, which would be great!
Japan Pursuit is still going well. We had our scary Psych Eval test and our Psych Eval Interview and have a meeting with TEAM members next Thursday.
Rich Fork Baptist has been helping us with TEAM stuff quite a bit, and I am personally hoping that they partner with us once we head over to Japan (It's going to take quite a while). We're now going to Rich Fork on the regular and attend a Sunday School with my dad and lots of old people (they know the Word well, and they're super wise and cool).
Isaiah and I have also been having a Bible Study with our friend Michael on Sunday afternoons. It's been amazing, and keeping up with a co-worker from the YMCA makes me feel like my time there mattered. My mentor Hannah, though she is currently overseas with her husband taking care of missions board stuff, has been very helpful as well: giving me some Bible study basics on the book of James and helping me understand how the Bible is actually laid out as a work of literature.
I am happy to report that I am still reading the Bible, though I'd like to be further than I am and hope to get to the Prophets soon, so that I can learn more about the people my husband loves so very much. I want to share in that passion with him. One thing that I think will help even more is the Bible classes I'll probably take starting in January (I hope!) through Trinity Online. I'll need these classes for Japan to be considered highly qualified as a church planter. And hey, any excuse I can find to take more classes (I love school!) and learn about the God I still need to know so much about, is great!
We still see the English family regularly. We actually enjoyed Isaiah's sister, Geneva's, birthday party this past Saturday.
If you have any specific questions, let us know and we'll be sure to answer. We'll be trying our best to update more regularly, so you can really get a feel for how things are going here in Lexington and in our pursuit of Japan.
We love you all!
Praying for you as you pray for us.
The Englishes
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