Monday, January 21, 2013

Long time no post...

Wow...it's been about 5 months since we posted anything here.  We have to apologize, but our lives became pretty dull once we moved to Michigan.  That's not to put down Michigan or our family, we simply didn't realize how wonderful our friends in Boston were.  We don't have much to do here.  We've been trying to "explore" Grand Rapids, but we've been adjusting to life on a new budget and can't get out as much as we'd like.

The biggest frustration so far has been trying to find a church home.  We've easily visited 15-20 churches in the five months that we've lived here, but have yet to find a place that we feel comfortable.  Last week we did find a mega-church that had solid worship music and preaching, so we will be going there for a number of weeks to feel it out.  Please pray for our search...this is a huge part of life that we are missing here.

By far the most exciting news since we've moved to Michigan is that Sarah is pregnant!!!  We hadn't planned on starting a family this year, but God blessed us with being able to get pregnant VERY quickly.  It was initially a huge surprise, but we are so excited to have a Baby Draeger on the way.  Incidentally, Sarah and I were baby sitting our niece and nephew (Abbi and Elijah) last night and we asked Abbi what we should name the baby.  The amazing reply from a 2 1/2 year old..."13 dollars" or "Dragon".  Both are quality picks and have definitely made the short list.

There is a little debate as to the actual due date.  The OB says July 9, the sonographer says July 3. Apparently the window is any where in that time.  We're hoping that the baby comes as early as possible, so that I can be home to help out for the most amount of time.  I get out of school June 7 and go back August 20 (for PD).  I would love to be able to be home for 7-8 weeks with Sarah and the baby.  Sarah is healthy and doing well.  She is only 15 weeks along and doesn't have much of a baby bump yet.  After the initial morning sickness and sleeplessness, she's returned (more of less) to normal.

As far as jobs go, we are both settling in.  I work in Muskegon as a 7th and 8th grade special education teacher.  It has been challenging to adjust from a unionized public school to a for-profit charter school, but I'm getting there.  The expectations are much higher, but there is also quite a bit of financial support...my thoughts on charter schools and their place in our educational system are changing, but I'm not sure if it's for the better or worse yet.  Sarah had been working 3 1/2 part time jobs, but has since dropped one.  Right now she works at a doctor's office in Holland working with food allergies and weight loss (3 days a week) and for a dialysis company in Grand Rapids (1 day a week).  She is still an employee for an assisted living facility in Weston, MA - which she does part-time.  All in all, her schedule works well for her.  She works 4 days a week and has one day off every week to go to the doctor and get other things done for the baby.

HOPEFULLY....we'll be updating the blog more often.  There are more interesting things happening in our lives now.