rollin' with it.

many a thing has changed since my last full entry. let's see...

* charlie and i now reside in our very own apartment in the west end. charlie likes the walks around the complex, leash in his mouth, a bounce in his step. i do think he misses parkside, though. and so do i.

* i took on a full-time teaching gig to finish out the school year, so i instantly went from instructional assistant to 8th grade exceptional education physical science teacher. yeah...what? laura...science? naaaaaaaaah. somehow, by the grace of God, it worked out...and i actually fell a little in love with formulas for acceleration, the forces of magnetism, energy transfers and the like. i actually used my masters degree! imagine that!

* along with finishing out the year, i was offered a contract for next school year...8th grade exceptional education english. much more my speed...and i must confess that i am pretty excited. bring. it.

* as if that weren't enough, i went a little crazy and decided to teach summer school. so, i spend a good 6 hours a day offering reading/math remediation for students that need a little extra help over the summer. so far, i love my students. it's a very relaxed atmosphere and we talk about all kinds of things. fun fact: we all love cold pizza. go figure.

* health update: it's been an up-and-down few months. i think the all-of-the-sudden stress i've faced since the beginning of may only exacerbated the gastroparesis and i've seen a good many days out-of-commission. it's OK, though. it gives me a chance to think through issues that i tend to run from with great effort. i'm continually humbled/reminded of my incredible blessings. i don't take my good days for granted...not like i used to, at least. that's a good thing.

in light of everything, i am content...but very aware of how i am in the middle of a giant gleaning process with the Lord. He's preparing my life...my heart...my mind for something great yet-to-come. i feel it in my spirit. my BFF and i have logged lots of hours recently talking about the transformation that He is doing in both of us...and i am amazingly blessed to have someone to keep me accountable/pray/encourage me through it all. (thanks, twin.)

i'll speak more on these thoughts/issues from above in another post...but for now, know that the Lord is incredible and incredibly comforting, especially in the midst of change.