Pythagorean Theorem= 2 crazy parents and a frustrated teenager

We started the semester with a couple of goals in mind. One, form a mathematical foundation to build upon. Two, establish meaningful friendships and relationships with people of good character. Three, become involved with an extracurricular activity that will have a positive effect on Destiny's mental and physical well being.

Sunday started a goal #2 for all of us. We started going back to Church of the Highlands. Josh and I went there a couple of times as college kids, but we never made it a priority. Now that we have Destiny, we don't have a choice, but to make it a priority. We still have a long road ahead of us in this area. However, I can't deny the morals and values that growing up in church taught me. So for now, we are taking it one Sunday at a time. That morning we met with a lady that told us about "Switch" (their Jr High and High group). That night Destiny wanted to go. We took her and she hit it off with some great people. Fingers are crossed that she will continue to like the positive environment that is there and continue to want to go.

As for goal #1, well it's a work in progress. At home we have been working on remedial Math skills (adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing). If you are thinking, "What in the world are they doing teaching a 14 year old that?" Well, you are right. Destiny is very far behind in Math. So as we are studying the simple things, at school she is still responsible for grade level material. This week is was Pythagorean Theorem or if you are at our house- the dreaded 9th layer of HELL. I have to give a shout out to her teachers at school. They have done a great job of letting us know what is expected of her every step of the way. So we dropped remedial math and started on the daunting task of geometry. We spent countless hours studying, some yelling, a little crying but.... It finally paid off! I got a call late Friday afternoon stating that she probably got a high B or low A on her test. WAHOOO!!! Lord, I never thought I would be this excited again over a grade. It wasn't only the grade that meant so much, but the proof that she doesn't have a learning disability and that she is fully capable of learning this material with some help. Celebrate the small battles until you have victory! She will start remedial Math tutoring on Monday as we continue to chisel away at grade level material. So keep your fingers crossed for us and any prayers regarding our sanity will be much appreciated. We are going to need it!

Next week is a pretty big week for myself. Late December Josh and I noticed that our schedules needed to change. It isn't fair for Destiny to come home to an empty house every night. So, we began looking for other jobs. A week later, I was called to meet a lady from the School of Nursing, two days later I met with the dean. When we came back from Christmas break I found out that I GOT THE JOB!! If you have ever applied to work for AU you know that this process is a tedious one and takes a while for final decisions to be made and paperwork to be filled. It is unheard of that something like this moved so fast. It's just another testament to God's will. My first day at my new job is Monday. I will be the Coordinator of Development for both main campus and AUM. Honestly, I will miss my callers, they always seemed to brighten my day and have a surprisingly smart outlook of life. However, I'm looking forward to working a normal 8-5 schedule for one in my life. This means normal nuclear morning and afternoons. Even weekends off! Truly an answer to prayer.

So as you can tell Josh and I are still alive and kicking although this past week seemed to hit us in way we never thought. Learning to communicate not only as a teacher but as a parent is a constant struggle. We are still trying to share interest in boys, cell phones, and silly text messages. We know they are important to her, but seem trivial to us. We are constantly trying to learn new ways of getting our point across. It seems as though parents tend to learn more than the actual children do while they are growing up. Josh and I are in this thing double-time. Looking back on both our teenage years, I think we have our work cut out for us!

First Family Trip To The "Gump"

Before school started back, Josh and I decided that this year was going to be filled with tons of learning experiences for Destiny. So why not start off the year with our First Family Trip. I have to be honest and say that it wasn't anything spectacular to an outsider, but to us, IT WAS GREAT!!


We started our trip at our state's capitol. Josh and I haven't been there since we were kids, and we thought that Destiny would enjoy a little History too!

Our second stop was the Montgomery Zoo!

We got to meet Nova's sister.

Destiny got a chance to say her apologies to the zebras for her room being plastered in their print.

Feeding the Giraffe's, she didn't want to turn her back to them... Heck, I probably wouldn't either!

Our last stop in Montgomery was the Museum of Fine Arts. If you live any where near Montgomery, we would certainly recommend the MMFA. It's free and fun!

We had plans to go visit the Planetarium, but they were closed....total let down. So instead we did something way cooler....WENT TO DO GUMBALLS!

Josh and I thought that Destiny needed to know the hard work that goes into being able to provide her with the things she needs. Boy did she learn!! Thank God it wasn't a school night because we didn't get back until 2am. Regardless, it was good for her to see.

It was a VERY long day, but successful!

We are taking suggestions for our next trip. Leave a comment with your suggestion.

Destiny

As many of you may know, Josh and I have started the process of gaining custody of his 14 year-old cousin. What you may not know is why. We thought that blogging about our experience will not only help friends and family stay up to date on the process, but also help us gain a little insight to this whole new life. So here's the beginning to our very unforeseeable adventure.

A couple months ago it was laid on both of our hearts to start preparing mentally, physically, and financially for a family. During this time, Josh's mom, Peggy, went to live with her sister, Glenna. Shortly after moving in, Glenna became ill. Glenna had custody of her grand-daughter, Josh's cousin, Destiny. Since Glenna was falling very ill quickly, temporary custody was awarded to Peggy. Sadly, Glenna soon passed away.

Josh and I soon realized that the image that we had for our family isn't what God had in store for us. We sat down and both had the feeling that we needed to do something for Destiny, if nothing else just be role models for her. Sunday, November 13th, Josh and I went to Cullman to spend some time with family and to finally meet Destiny. We hadn't been there 5 minutes before we knew what we were to do. We didn't even have to speak to one another...we just knew. That night, in leaving Cullman, we told Peggy that we wanted to do anything that we could to help out with Destiny.

That following Monday, God confirmed everything that we were thinking. A lady came to Josh at work and handed him a hundred dollar bill. Josh thought that she wanted to pay her bill, but she soon stopped him and let him know that the money wasn't for a bill, but that God was telling her that Josh needed it for something "good". At the time, we had no clue what it was for, but we knew that it was God's money and when the time came that we needed to use it, we would know. Little did we know it was going to be two days later.

Novemeber 16th, we got a call from Peggy explaining that Destiny needed a safe place to stay until some things were worked out. Josh and I left without hesitation to go pick her up. Hands shaking and minds running, we knew what God had planned for us even when no one else did.

Destiny spent Thanksgiving meeting my side of the family. Soon after Thanksgiving, what was laid on mine and Josh's heart was soon confirmed by Destiny asking if she could stay with us. Peggy, too, agreed that it was in Destiny's best interest to stay with us.

December 7th, Josh and I filed for custody of Destiny. Our first court date was on December 15th.

I'm sure some of you are wondering where her parents are in all of this mess. Well, her dad is in prison and her mom is currently living in Athens. Destiny had lived with her mom for 2 years, in that 2 year time span, Destiny was exposed to several situations that even adults shouldn't be exposed to. Needless to say, being a parent is more than possession. Destiny's mom, let's call her "Lady", has just recently been approved for disability. In the state of Alabama, when you are approved for disability and someone files for child support, it automatically comes out of your check. Lady is not wanting to pay child support. So a way around that is to have Destiny in her possession.

On December 15th, it was honestly a toss up on whether or not Lady was even going to show up. Well unfortunately, we lost and she showed up. She didn't even say "hello" to her daughter. When brought before the court the judge asked her if she knew the opportunities that Josh and I could provide Destiny. She rudely responded that she wanted a lawyer. The judge has to give her at least 60 days to form a case with a lawyer. So, currently we are waiting to hear when our next court date would be. Until then, Destiny is living happily and safely with us.

Some of you might be wondering what the money went towards. Well, we bought her some much needed shoes and clothes.

To the God-fearing woman out there that listened to God when he spoke- Thank you, you have no idea what that money meant to us. It was more than money to us. It was a much needed confirmation. It was water to a seed that had been planted long ago. Again, thank you for not only listening but acting when it might not have been the easiest.

To friends and family- Thank you for the donations of clothes, money, and of course the numerous prayers that help us continue through everyday life of raising a teenager.

Josh and I are excited about this new journey of our lives, but we are more excited to see where it takes us. Keep reading  to stay up-to-date on our everyday adventures through the teenage years.

I Love that My Husband Cooks

The stars aligned and Josh and I both had off for the Fourth of July. We spend most of our day at the pool. Then we came back to start cooking. We were suppose to go watch fireworks but we were scared it was going to rain.

My husband is such a great cook. He made pork rib steaks and they were delicious! I wouldn't even know where to begin, but he just whipped up his own delicious recipe.

Homemade  BBQ sauce

Bella even enjoyed the Fourth

Oh, I almost forgot, Josh and I got new Recycling bins.

We are going to paint them so they are more home-friendly. I'm thinking a monochromatic color scheme. I'll be sure to post pics when I'm through.

Guest Bedroom

I honestly can say that I have never been so excited to take one of my days off and spend it decorating our guest bedroom. Here is a before shot:

After a trip to Hobby Lobby and several hours in front of a sewing machine this is what turned out...

The furniture was handed down from my parents. I just painted them white. I made the curtains, bed skirt, and pillows. I also made this wreath and you'll never guess what I used to make it!!

We are still missing a few things like a  chair in the corner and of course some stuff for the walls (that's all over the house though) I'm sure with time we will find things we like!

So tell me what you think!

The Island

So, we have a new addition to our kitchen, the island! Mom found it in a yard sale in Bon Secour and got it for a great deal. It needed some mega cleaning and possible painting, but I can't decide if I want to paint it white again, or something darker since the rest of our Kitchen is darker. What do you think?

Here is the before shot, in case you forgot.

We are still on a look out for a china cabinet. I don't know why, but the tupperware that they are sitting in just doesn't do them justice. 

New Living Room

We finally have a Living Room!! After a month of eating and watching tv in our bedroom, we finally decided to work on our living room. Here is the before picture:

And now it looks like this...

Sorry for the crappy pictures, I have lost my nice camera charger. Anyway, we still have some things left to do, like hide the cables and buy a chair and ottoman, but for now it will do! We bought the couches off of Craigslist for $400. Everything else we already owned or recently bought with gift cards or got from a yard sale. I am still looking for a way to decorate my mantle. If you have any ideas please send them our way!!

Now the next room to work on is our bedroom...