Vacation!

So, for the first time in a couple of years I am on vacation and actually get to travel! The GEMS Leadership Training Conference is this week in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We're leaving around 8:30 this morning. I really should be in bed now, but I've been busy packing, doing laundry, and just finding a place for everything before I go. I don't get back until Sunday sometime and I know I won't have a lot of time to prepare before going back to work Monday. I guess it's just my way of preparing for that inevitability and to clear some of my mind clutter too.

I have big hopes for this time away. It's a time away from my job, away from my house and away from my family. It should give me plenty of room for some much needed soul searching. I want, no. I need to find my calling. I need to find God's purpose for my life. I don't expect to have all the answers, I just want to feel like I'm on the right path and working towards the right goals. I'm tired of floundering through life. I know I have a great life in terms of an amazing husband, and three healthy, beautiful, unique children. There was a time I thought that was all I'd ever need, but I'm now finding there's still something missing. Some part of me that can't find peace until I am fulfilling a purpose greater than I am now.

Okay, well this post took a sorry turn for the dark and depressing! Sorry about that. I am actually quite excited about my trip and just wanted to take a few minutes to share where my head is at. If there's WiFi I may try and sneak in a blog post while I'm away. If not I'm sure I'll have plenty of stories to share when I return.

Have a great week!

A Long Overdue Update

Okay, so obviously I'm a "little" behind in blogging but I'm here now and I have so much to tell you. As of midnight July 9th (technically the 10th) I am finished my student placement at the JF Norwood House. In fact, as of July 11 when I turned in my final evaluation I am officially done school! 

Can you believe a year ago I didn't even know if I would get into the program? And now here I am completely done. If my calculations are correct my overall average for school was 87%!!!!! I'd originally hoped for in the 90's but quickly realized that wasn't very realistic with 3 kids running around my house. After that my goal was to keep it around 85% and as you can see I beat that! I have to say I'm proud of myself! I guess that inner voice of negativity was wrong all along. I'm not really stupid at all, in fact, I think I may even be SMART! 

So, I finished placement Monday and left Wednesday afternoon to attend a GEMS Girls' Clubs Leadership Conference at Wheaton College in Illinois. It was truly amazing. There were over 640 women in attendance. I'm forever changed from the experience. I spent time with some of the most amazing women I've ever had the privilege of meeting. 

Myself and Kristen - I just love this picture! 

I arrived back home Monday in the wee hours of the morning and I've been catching up on sleep since. Today's the first day I haven't spent most of my time on the couch. When I think about it I've pretty much been going straight since September when I started school. Now I'm continuing my job search. 

Starting Monday I'm going to step it up a notch. It's not going to be easy, but I think getting up and getting ready as though I was going to work will make a great difference in my day. I'm sending as many resumes to as many places as I can think of. It's a lot more time consuming now that I actually adjust my resume and cover letter to each company I apply to. I'm sure the time I'm putting into them will be well worth my while. I'm a little concerned I will be overlooked because I don't have a lot of related experience. I wish there was some way of conveying who I really am in my resume. I'll just pray for interviews so people can see for themselves how truly awesome I am :-) 

Hey, if I can't toot my own horn who else will?

I'm off to go about my day. I'm going for coffee with my amazing sister-in-law and mum-in-law. On that note, just a shout out to say 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBIN!

Can't get enough of Being eLLe?

Connect with Being eLLe on Twitter  and Facebook.

The Race Is On

Well,Wednesday night was our annual GEMS and Cadets Pine Car Races. Each of the kids designs their own car and then everyone gets together and races. This is always a huge event, lots of people and so much excitement.

I let my husband go out, so my mother in law came with the kids and I. She took care of Riley while Dale and Joey played with their cars and friends. At one point my mum in law took Riley outside for a walk...I should be more specific...Riley took her Nana for a long walk! Apparently, it took a while to coax her back toward the church.

I had a great time announcing the racers of each race. It's funny because I was always afraid of public speaking and now you can't shut me up!

The night dragged a bit near the end with the last of the heat races. Finally it was time for the awards to be announced. Dale won 3rd place for the Best Looking Car on the boys side. We didn't stay past this as it was already 9:30! 

All in all a good time was had by all. Oh, I forgot to mention my pink car that looked a little like a phone receiver was probably the slowest car on the track! How embarrassing! Ah but it was all in good fun!

Here are some of the pictures:

Here's the beginning of the track

My boys, Dale and Joey, hamming it up

Here's Riley. Look at all that hair? Isn't she adorable?

Dale receiving his trophy for 3rd Place - Best Looking Car

Joey misappropriated Counselor Ron's jeep. I'm pretty sure he was only supposed to have it for the races. 

Dale with his car and trophy

Stumbling Through Life

As many of you know I am a GEMS counselor. The purpose of GEMS Girls' Clubs is to help bring girls into a living, dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ. 

This year's season is quickly winding down and I didn't have anything planned. From time to time winging it seems to really pay off. I quickly put together a few activities from one of our resources and I think I managed to provide a powerful message. 

The main  activity we did was to be blindfolded and maneuver through an obstacle course of chairs to get the ball on the other side. The idea was to show the girls that when we try to do things on our own we often stumble and fall. When we take the time to listen to God and follow the path he has laid out for us we often get exactly what we need.  

Each of the girls took a turn and at the end I decided I should go through as well. While blindfolded the girls decided to use my phone to take a video. The quality isn't great, and please keep in mind that I didn't know I was being recorded.

I think it really helped the girls and myself to tangibly see or rather feel how difficult it is to navigate through life. Even though we cannot always see the path, if we take the time to listen to God he will always steer us in the right direction.