Silly Conversations

This title is a little misleading. This blog will actually be about work. You know, that thing we all look forward to having a day off from. It’s still weird to think that I have an actual “career.” I mean, not as weird as being a parent, but still a strange concept for a person who still doesn’t feel like she’s made it into the adult world. This is my 5th year as a full time classroom teacher. It’s definitely not been easy. I’ve been through anxiety, depression, coming in early, staying super late, grading on any free time I have, crying on my lunch breaks, quitting mid year, parent complaints, thousands of hours of professional development, long term sub problems, breaking up fights, de-escalating situations, sassy teenagers, hormonal teenagers, emotional teenagers, hard situations, mandatory reporting, and of course getting BARELY above the minimum wage for all of this. I don’t go through that list to get pity or sympathy or encouragement. I go through this to let ...

I sit here nursing the Bebe, trying to get him to sleep, I can’t help to reflect on all the things God has been teaching me recently. I think about things a lot while nursing. Because, yes it’s such an incredible bonding experience, but it’s also a quiet time of peace for this mama. I can’t help but wonder, how am I doing? Not as a mama, but as Elisa. How am I doing as Elisa Hernandez? It’s a weird question but I’m often wondering about it. Too often I’m just going through the motions. Too often I’m left sinking in the shadows of what my mission is here on earth. I want more than anything to persue my mission here on earth, which is clear to me as a Bible believing follower of Christ: make disciples. What would happen if all those who claim the name of Jesus started acting upon the mission God has called them too? What would happen if we stopped just taking from God, and gave back to Him in our efforts? God doesn’t need us and yet He chooses us. What if we stopped putting God...

Money, y'all. We know that the love of money is the root of all evil. It's a little disheartening to have a 2 income household and still be on the struggle bus with money. And we're pretty thrifty too. I've been trained to go for the best deals, the best coupons, the lowest prices, and to sacrifice quality when needed. Would I love to shop in the organic, all natural section more? Uh duh. But this crunchy mama is more of a crispy mama, due to her budget.  And yet, even in our thriftiness, we have been struggling with money. A couple of unforeseen circumstances came up: After the babe was born, we knew our insurance premiums would go up. But they went WAAAY up. Like, into the stratosphere up. Like, "wow I didn't know they could be that high" up.  We had a lot of medical expenses after pushing the baby out, and we spent a day in the Phoenix Children's hospital after he was born.  I'm a teacher, so I already make basically nothing. I also ha...

Motorola RAZR, Circa 2008 Can you believe that these 2 babies have their very own baby? We met. We befriended one another. We fell in love. We made a commitment. And we had a baby.  Here's a cliche: marriage isn't easy.  We get it. God decides to put two people together that usually have very opposite tendencies, upbringings, and personalities. Sure, maybe you like similar things, but eventually you find that the romantic passion you had for each other becomes stagnant.  And then you throw a baby in the mix?! I'm not saying anything ground breaking here. Anyone who has ever seen any American sitcom is FULLY aware of how a baby messes with a marriage.  Elias and I have been attending a marriage Bible study at our church. It has rocked us in so many ways. Currently we are going through the study  You and Me Forever  by Francis and Lisa Chan. HIGHLY RECOMMEND so far.  We have been challenged through this study to see our marriage as a min...