I have now reached my 3 month mark of working here at Grace Children's Home. I am surprised and not surprised all at the same time. I hit my 3 month mark on the 22nd of March and it seems that time is just flying by while I am down here. I would have thought life would pass slow considering this is my first time completely away from home and on my own...college doesn't really count since I considered Grand Rapids my home still. It is becoming more like home to me down here and it is great! The people in the community are very welcoming and sweet. I smile every time I drive somewhere or walk when others simply wave to you as they pass in their cars...it is the wonderful thing of a small town. You don't have to know one another to be friendly and say hi, everyone is welcoming to everyone. Henderson has truly become my home and I couldn't imagine my life being any other way. My girls have already informed me that I am starting to lose my "Minnesota accent" which is kind of bitter sweet. On one end I am being a Nebraska person but at the same time I grew up in Minnesota my entire life, so to lose my accent is kind of sad too. But of course I still have those select words that are VERY Minnesotan that my girls jump right now in telling me stand out! :)

My 6 days of work this week went kind of long. To start off I had a cold for the first few days...then I got a sinus infection which I am still fighting. That is what you get when the weather changes every couple of days. Thankfully we are finally getting spring weather. It has been high 50's and low 60's the past few days which means I have pulled out my shorts! Most of the people I work with think I am nuts to wear shorts but hey that is the Minnesotan in me!

I spent most of the my days doing household projects, shopping, cleaning, taking kids to appointments...and of course my all time favorite part...getting my youngest new girl to school finally! On Thursday I had prepared to walk her to school and we were getting ready to leave. Well we asked her to put her coat on since it was like 20 degrees out (we require the kids to wear coats until it is 45 degrees at least) so 20 degrees is definitely needed! And in Nebraska when it is windy you REALLY want one! Well she refused over and over again. Well our main goal was to get her to school since it would be her first day (she refused the day before to go to school at all her very first day) So we told her if you don't wear it we are going to carry it the entire way. She threw a fit about that and when Hannah (my co staff) handed me her coat she flipped out. Not two seconds outside our front door, she threw her school books down and started walking away downtown. I took off after her at a casual pace. My main priority is to keep her safe and keep an eye on her. She told me we were stupid and she was going to the program manager since she would understand. I told her that our program manager was going to tell her the same thing and not to mention it was 7:40am so the office isn't even open yet. We spent the next 20 minutes walking around town as she tried to avoid me and get rid of me and ended up at the park where she stood and yelled at me. I tried to calm her down and talk to her which she did but in the end it was a lost cause. I asked her if she was ready to go to the office and talk to the program manager and she said yes but you don't need to follow me. Well of course I am going to anyway since it is my job to keep her safe and I told her so. So we spent a good 45 minutes talking to the program manager and finally convinced the girl to go at least half a day to school. So she spent the morning working with me on household projects. She complained a lot and I simply told her that "You can either do these projects or go to school. Those are your only options. We have work to do around here and you can't just sit around and do nothing." On a good note she ended up going to school after lunch for the rest of the day.

It was definitely a stressful situation, but let me tell you this girl is definitely kicking my authority into high gear. For all those times I never thought I was very authoritative...you could have fooled me after this girl. I am learning to become more the authoritative figure and not care if they yell at me, tell me they hate me, etc. because I know it is my job and what I am supposed to do.

The rest of the week had gone pretty smoothly. We had one girl sick, and that is kind of how I got my cold. But that is part of being a care worker and living in a house of girls. You get sick...just like being a mom. You are bound to get sick at some point it is only natural. I also got to take one of our new girls who has been here a little over two weeks now to the eye clinic. And as much as she hated me in the beginning and wouldn't talk we had an awesome conversation on the way to and from the clinic. We discussed college opportunities and things she wants to study and do with her life once she leaves Grace. Things that could have a positive affect on her instead of the things that have happened before Grace. These are definitely the moments that I store away in my mind to keep me going. It is the main reason I love working in youth ministry. To see those moments where you can walk along side a youth on their path to adulthood and sometimes to God. It is an awesome experience that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. No matter the hard times I face...sometimes one of those good moments makes up for it all!

On my time off here I am going on my second day off. I didn't really do much yesterday aside from go to Starbucks and Walmart with Caitlain. That is our usual time off trip. Can't have a break without Starbucks! :) Today was the most fun I have had on a break lately. We have been fixing up our off duty house and updating things. We finally got our blinds and curtains all up in our kitchen AND the biggest thing is that we are painting our bathroom! So Jessica and I got the first coat on tonight! Super fun stuff!

Our new curtains and blinds in the kitchen! Much better and updated!

 Becca! One of my co-staff and wonderful friend! She always makes me smile!

 Hannah! Another co-staff and friend. Silly girl but makes me smile all the time.

Painting begins!

 This was on the wall behind our bathroom mirror! We plan to add our names and 2013 to it :)

 Before shot of our bathroom. It was dark with one small window and not finished...

 Close up!

 Jessica painting along side me! We had tons of fun!

Me and a roller. We are hard at work and look at that awesome green color! What a huge difference it makes! I will post pictures of our bathroom once it is complete tomorrow with a second coat and everything is back on the walls! :)

Tomorrow as Good Friday and we are going to have an Easter Egg hunt for the girls. So Caitlain and I are going out tomorrow afternoon to hide the eggs since we are off and enjoy the day with everyone as they find them. Then Jessica and I are going to Grand Island to look for some curtains for our living room since they are in desperate need of new ones. It is awesome to be fixing up the house and that our boss is on board for us to do it and they reimburse us since it really needs a few things. Plus these are a few of the things I like doing anyways especially if I am going to live here, regardless of if I would get money back or not. I like to fix things and do house work, I guess I inherited that from my dad.

As I prepare for Easter on Sunday I am excited to be able to share the day with my girls. Since I work I get to share the meaning of Easter with them and spend time with them, it will make it a bit easier since this will be my first Easter not at home. It will be different not being at my Nana and Papa's for Easter as it is every year. But it is life and time to start some new fun traditions with the girls and look forward to the time when I return home and see everyone...it will make my time at home whenever that is all the more enjoyable!

Happy Easter Everyone! Remember God loves you, that is the reason we celebrate! He died for all of our sins and ROSE AGAIN three days later! What a miraculous thing it is indeed! Blessed be the Lord God Almighty!

~Ashley~