Halloween Labradoodle Puppies!

Our labradoodle puppies are 8 weeks old today and ready to start going to new homes! Here are some pics we took today with the puppies in our front yard.

 If you are interested in having one of these puppies, let me know and check them out on my puppy blog: www.labradoodlesoregon.blogspot.com

Puppies are now 1 week old!

Molly's puppies are now 1 week old! This next week should be exciting as they open their eyes and start hearing too. Watch for updates on my labradoodle blog: http://labradoodlesoregon.blogspot.com/

New Puppies at Our House!

Molly had her puppies last night! I'll be posting updates about her and her puppies at our puppy blog: http://labradoodlesoregon.blogspot.com/

Future Admin Angst

Here's the problem: I aspire to be a school administrator. I've completed my admin program. I've done hundreds of hours of practicum experiences. I've immersed myself in courses, books, and workshops to shape what type of administrator I'll be. I've dreamed about places and ways that I might serve. But now I have to interview and land that first job.

I guess I could choose to only look at the up-side of things. I have applied for three admin jobs and I've interviewed three times. So, I'm batting a thousand, right? On the other hand, I have not been chosen as one of the two or three finalists either time and now I'm wrestling with a persistent, bothersome angst in my gut and speaking out of the shadowy corners of my mind.

Where do I go from here? What am I doing wrong? What can I do better? How can I improve my interviewing skills? How am I going to convince someone (usually a whole group of someones) that I really am the next great person that they want to hire? When will I get another chance? What should I do now to stay sharp or get sharper? How do I overcome my quiet nature and shine brighter?

Here are some things I'm reflecting on after three interviews: First, I don't really like the interview process. Oh, I don't mind the dressing up, the meeting folks face-to-face, or even the questions thrown at me. It's just that it's all one-sided communication after they pose each pre-formulated query. There is no back-and-forth, no dialogue (would I be out of line if I asked questions back to my interviewers in an attempt to engage them?). I generally give thoughtful, but succinct responses and then catch myself wondering if I've said enough, if I've gone where they wanted with my response, or if I need to expound more on the brief things I've said. All I can do is try to read their faces and other non-verbal signs to see how I'm doing. I've wished that someone would cue me somehow with comments like, "yes, tell me more about that",or "what else might you do?" or "that's good, but we are actually wanting to know more about. . ."

My second reflection is that some people are probably interviewing better than I am, even when I might be able to do a better job serving in the position. I have a quiet confidence in my decision-making, skill-set, experiences, and work ethic; but I'm thinking that some others - the chosen "finalists" - must know how to talk a better game. I don't mind saying that there are some things I simply don't know enough about yet (and that I will learn by asking colleagues, experts, or through experience). But there are other things that I'm pretty confident about and know I can do well. Somehow I've got to learn how to paint a more complete picture of who I am.

And finally, I'm becoming more aware that I do have some holes in my experience; I have a certain naivete as one who hasn't yet served full-time as a school administrator. This is partly due to the set of practicum experiences I've been allowed to have (I've been welcomed to take over lots of supervisory duties, but seldom pulled in on the big inside things like expulsion hearings or FTE cuts). I hope to get future opportunities to sub in high school buildings - which should help. And I suppose some things will just be learned once I'm on the job.

Thanks for letting me share my personal frustration here. If anyone reads this, you're catching some of the wrestling match going on in my heart and mind as I hopefully move forward to my next administrator interview and ultimately a place to serve in my first admin job!

Christmas/New Year Letter

Happy holidays from our family to yours!

We have enjoyed reading cards and letters from so many friends during these holiday times and now we’re finally getting our own letter written! Hope you are all enjoying some quality family time. We went to Missoula to spend Christmas with Lani’s mom and her brother Brian’s family. Now we’re relaxing back at home for a few more days and getting a chance to visit with some friends. Though it wasn’t forecast, we got a nice little snowfall this week so I included a couple pictures from that fun event. Hope you enjoy reading about our family as much as we like hearing about yours!

Dan & Lani’s year. . .

Early 2009 had many challenges. Dan’s dad, Dick, lost his battle with cancer and moved on to that heavenly choir on Feb. 15. We were touched by the outpouring of memories and sympathy from so many friends and family members.
As Spring came to full bloom, many Oregon school districts found themselves faced with massive budget cuts due to the downturn in the economy. Lani’s job remained secure but Dan’s district made some program cuts; after a few weeks of uncertainty, Dan was offered a new assignment as a half-time choir director at Gordon Russell M.S. and a half-time district instructional technology coach. While it was a stressful transition, it has been a blessing.
We helped Dan’s mom, Sue, move over to the Portland area during June & July and later in the summer celebrated our 22nd anniversary with a nice getaway to Seattle.

This Fall we made a church change and are now part of the East County Church of Christ. We’ve stayed plenty busy keeping up with our kids and their activities.
Hannah – After spending her freshman year at Chapman University in Orange, CA, Hannah came back to the Portland area and is a music major at Concordia University. You can also find her serving up the best ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery in Gresham. We are enjoying having her back living at home, but don’t see her too much as she stays busy with school, work, friends, and church.
Micah – This is Micah’s senior year and he has really bloomed as a performer at school. He played Lazar Wolf in Gresham H.S.’s production of Fiddler On the Roof (and was fabulous!) and he will sing in the All-N.W. Choir in March. Micah has also grown past his dad and now stands 6’6”! Micah will graduate on June 10 this year.
Caleb – If you haven’t seen him in a while, you might walk right under him! He’s growing like a weed and is now a smidge over 6 feet. He is a great student, plays tuba in band, and is really improving as a basketball player. When not doing those activities you’ll find him either reading a book or playing video games.
Levi – Levi is in 5th grade this year (hard to believe it’s the last time we’ll have a child in elementary school) and is a great student! He’s been growing a lot too and is now up to 5’ 3.5” – not long until Lani looks up at all the rest of us! Levi plays football & basketball and just like his big brothers he loves to read and play video games!

Looking ahead. . .

We pray God’s blessings on each of you! As this letter goes out to friends far and near, we remember fondly our times with all of you. For our farther away friends, please know that you are always welcome to come visit and stay with us! Oregon is a beautiful place to go on vacation and we love showing our visitors around the area. We also hope that we might see some of you that live nearby too; if we haven’t seen each other for a while, let’s find time to get together.
This coming year may bring job changes (Dan will begin applying for Admin. jobs this Spring and of course who knows what will happen with state school funding), but God continues to be faithful and blessing in all that we do. Micah’s graduation is on June 10 and he is in the process of applying to colleges right now; we’ll see where he ends up in the next few months.

A Final Blessing: Colossians 1:9-12

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance in the kingdom of light.