I’m a Job Coach

Friday, I went to work at my new job. Well you could say work. It was more like orientation. We spent five hours at a table going through basically what the job entailed as well as went over disabilities we may be working with and how to work with people with disabilities. They call the job I’ll be doing a job coach. What do coaches do. They sit on the sideline and support those in the game.

I’ve always wanted a job where I was doing work that matters. That’s why I tried to work for Dave Ramsey. That’s why I want to work for the church. I’ve also always wanted a job wearing a somewhat business style outfit. I finally think I got that job. No more messing with chemicals. No more crawling under houses. No more killing bugs (unless they’re in my own home).

The catch (and there always is one ain’t there)? I don’t work for the government. I don’t work for the Tn. Rehab Center, sorta. I work for myself. That’s right. I am contracted by the TRC to coach. That means, I am an independent business owner. I have to make sure my taxes are paid. I count off everything. I have to record my mileage. I have to manage my time because I am my own boss. These are all things that in small ways I have done in the past but not really sure how to make that happen on this scale.

So if you ask me who I work for, I get to say myself. Ain’t that cool? Thanks for all your prayers, kind comments on FB, and support. I could still use your prayers because even though everything I’m doing I have done in small portions before, now I am doing it in a major way. I will need guidance. I will need help. Thankfully, I have surrounded myself with folks who can answer these questions for me.

Wanna know more about what I’ll be doing? I have supplied a brief description from a website for you.

What is a Job Coach?

A job coach is a person, usually supplied by an outside agency, who provides specialized on-site training to employees with disabilities. Typically, a job coach will help an employee learn to perform his/her job accurately, efficiently and safely. In many cases, the job coach may also help the employee acclimate to his/her work environment.

What do job coaches do?

Typical job coach duties include:

• Assessing and assisting a person with a disability to develop a list of interests and potential skills.
• Performing job analyses at work sites in order to match people with optimal positions.
• Providing one-on-one training on a job site.
• Providing job retention services to employers and people with disabilities.

The job coach’s degree of involvement with the employee should decrease over time – as the employee masters the requirements of the position, the job coach will then contact the employee and supervisor on an as-needed basis.

Granddaddy, we miss you

Two years ago today I lost my Granddaddy. I’ll never forget that day when Kevin walked into my office to tell me. I was 28 years old and 3 months pregnant. Granddaddy would have been almost 97 years old.

Here is the post I posted three days after his passing. In remembrance of him…we miss you, Granddaddy.

http://picturesoflillies.wordpress.com/2010/01/11/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away/

Carrie the Moments Photography

Here is the page I will now be using for all my photography sessions. If you have a session with me you will be able to preview your photos here before receiving your cd. I will be keeping it as private and confidential as I can by not listing anyone’s names on it. If you don’t have a photo session taken by me and you still like to keep track of my work this is where you can do just that. You can also send any of your friends or family to this site to view my work before contacting me for any scheduled shoots. Feel free to post comments as well but please keep my photos as is and do not remove my logo please. If anyone has any suggestions on the look of the page please feel free to send those to me too. Thank you and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

http://carriethemomentsphotography.wordpress.com/

Home Alone (The Cookie Dough Effect)

I think most everyone in my life knows I lost my job a few weeks back. I’ll write more news on that next week. But I wanted to share with you during the time I’m not reading, writing, studying, or wasting time on YouTube.

-Kevin

 

 

Facebook hi-jacked

As some of you know I’m off facebook now. Some insensitive, careless person decided to hack my page, change my email, password and username, delete all my pictures and use some of my information as their own representing themselves as some web page designer of some sort of sexy hot model. I have no idea. I’m still pretty mad about this mainly for a few reasons, which are reasons why I will not be on facebook for awhile again. When we finally realized I had been hacked I immediatly tried to contact facebook, but due to the fact this person had changed all my information facebook was unable to link any of my information to any existing account. So the help center on facebook is totally useless for me in getting my account back or even getting this person kicked off.

Yes my account still exists but since they changed all my information they said it didn’t exist. I would suggest not clicking on any zebra printed shoes that someone has tagged you in because that’s the link we think is how they are hacking into pages. Which is something else that makes me really mad and we can’t do anything about it. There are programs out there you can download that will help and teach you how to hack pages, people actually pay others to do this for them and I haven’t found any where that is illegal.

To me I consider it identity theft almost.I just can’t understand how facebook can’t catch this person-if it even is a person-and do something about it. I know I’m not the first person. We have a friend who was hacked by the same picture, though his wasn’t nearly as bad as mine was. But same picture. So it’s no telling how many others they have gotten and facebook has to know about it.

Regardless, the damage is done. Everything I’ve ever posted on anyone’s page reads this silly persons name. Unless you block and delete her off of a page they will always be there, in my past post unfortunately. I get so mad thinking about this it literally makes me sick and I have lost sleep at night wondering what other passwords have they stolen from me and others. I’ve changed passwords on almost every account I can think of that might have been linked to my facebook page. I suggest too that if you were my friend and haven’t done so block my page and change your password just in case.

I realized facebook connected me to most people in my life. A connection that has now been lost for sometime now. So if you need to contact me, just pick up your phone. I was ready to get rid of all the drama in life found on facebook. I felt too connected and consumed by it most of the time yet could never really draw myself away from it because I felt like it was the only way to actually connect with some people and stay informed with a lot in life. Sad really sad. So now I sort of feel like if no one reads this blog no one will know anything in my life nor will I in yours.

I guess you can say I’m ready to get back to face to face relationships. Back to calling each other to say “hi how’s it going, what can I do for you”. I miss that. I really do and I know it’s going to be the hardest thing for me to get back into doing especially now that I expect others to do it for me to sort of keep me in the loop too so to speak since there is no facebook world for me.   In a way it sort of makes you wonder if you’ll be remembered or forgotten really because of the fact no one will see those posts of what’s going on in my world today. Yet, sad again. Maybe this is a good thing. Hopefully not depressing. Facebook sort of turns people into hermits and unpersonable people I think.

So, anyway, family will have to stay informed on what’s happening in Levi’s life on here and I’ll be creating me another wordpress page here for my photography clients to sneak peek their photo session. More work for me in the long run because I’ll have to watermark all my photos before publishing them. But that’s ok. It’ll be worth it for my photography clients. I’ll post that link here as soon as I get that created. For now, pick up your phone and call me sometime. Keep me in the loop of what’s going on in your world as I will try to do for you as well. Love you all and all your daily minute by minute posts will be missed. Good night and bye bye facebook world at least until I’m tired of protesting you and your unsecured helpless site.

~Carrie

Christmas down in the holler

Totally forget we actually took pictures during Christmas. Sad I know. Here are some pictures from Christmas at the Boatright’s. Good times. We went from opening balls and clothes with Levi to playing with makeup and baby dolls with Bonnie Claire, which Levi loved her baby doll and as you can see he was actually trying to feed her, to Joe Joe loving his union suite undies. Sorry I look horrible in these pictures-hadn’t been up too long. Christmas morning you have to love at my parents cause we get up early, eat breakfast, clean up the kitchen and open lots of presents. Always been like that, always will be.  And yes that is a cut on Levi’s check. He hit a door at Grannie Vickie’s the day before.

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A Very Blessed Christmas Filled With the Love of Christ

This time last year I would have never imagined us being where we are today this time of year.  But I have to say this Christmas has been probably the best one ever considering the circumstances. We have felt the love of Christ like never before. When Kevin first lost his job we were scared, shocked and disappointed because we knew it wasn’t going to be the Christmas we had planned, imagined nor wanted. But God saw fit to prove us wrong.

After the first week living on one income I soon realized, once again, that God has us in His hands and will provide for His faithful even when we walk in little faith. We have had so many blessings come our way that I don’t even know where to begin. Instead of mentioning so many names, you know who you are, some of you we don’t know who you are like the secret mystery santa at my office who left presents for Levi and the mystery person who left a box of food on our porch one day, oh and we can’t forget the person who left money in Kevin’s jacket at church. A really BIG thank you! We never expected any of these blessings.

But God saw fit to bless and provide. Some of the blessings were hard to receive but we have learned over the last few years not to rob loved ones of their blessings because God has a plan.  And thank you for allowing God to use you to make our Christmas, especially for Levi, a very special Christmas.

-Carrie

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It was very hard to be merry during a time when everyone was gift giving. We love to give but with the job loss, it was very difficult to give anything tangible besides our time, in which we gave plenty of. I’m sure that everyone was pleased to see us, especially Levi. In return, Levi got showered with toys, and we got some nice things too. We couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas.

Sometimes, God wants to do amazing things in your life but in order for God to do a miracle, we have to be in a position to receive a miracle. That means life has to be turned upside down in order for Him to turn it right side up. So much was done for us through the Christmas season. So much was given and we can’t possibly do anything in return that would measure up to what had been done for us. Two things we can do; keep on being who we are because obviously you love us that way, and secondly, paying it forward.

So count others blessed by us because you blessed us through a tough season in our life. I love being part of a church that desires to serve others. That’s what the Christian faith is all about, giving to others and in doing so you give to Christ.

So thank you to everyone who made the Christmas season bearable as well as knowing that we are well taken care of. We have been able to put food on the table, pay our bills, and give back to the church and have residual in the bank. We are truly thankful for you and thankful for a God who takes care of the ones who love Him.

-Kevin

A life devoted

1925-2011.

Everyone has heard of the story about the dash between these two years what means the most in a persons life. Sure the first year is the year two loving devoted people brought a beautiful little baby girl in to this world. And the second year is the year the Lord took His beautiful daughter home to spend with Him in eternity. The dash in the center is what we reflect on. 3 wonderful children, 6 grandchildren, 6 great grandchildren, my Grannie’s life was full of many blessings and lots of love.
Me and my brother had the privilege that not many grandchildren have and that was to have grown up right next door to my Grannie. I remember many late evenings walking down the road or in the hay field to her house smelling the honeysuckle in bloom as I walked to arrive on the patio to sit and watch the lightening bugs burst out into the summer night air. Halloweens Grannie would always make the best caramel covered apples anyone could ever taste. I remember every winter they would pack up to head to Florida. After telling them bye I would always cry myself to sleep hoping to see them again. She was a quiet lovely lady. Speaking her mind when needed. Correcting at every opportunity that presented itself. Commited to others’ lives, especially seeing that my Papa was always taken care of, well that everyone around her was taken care of. I remember I would spend weekends with them, working in the gardens, helping Papa pick up golf balls on the golf course that was next door, only to settle down at night in my Grannie’s bed to stay awake to the sound of her snoring. You laugh and I laugh now but it was horrendous at the time for a small child. I remember one time we were getting in the truck to go somewhere, as I jumped in on the drivers side she accidentally hit my hand with her lite cigarette. Yes it hurt but I played it off strong and painless. As I got older, married and had my son, every time she saw me she’s asked me if I’d cut my hair. She loved my long hair and hated me cutting it even if it was a trim.  She also loved her garden and loved to make fruit cake every Christmas that I think all of us did not like too much. She made the best grilled cheese sandwiches in the summer time, oh and the best lemonade too. She hated you putting Lou at the end of Jimmie and heaven forbid you call her Grannie Grunt. Not sure how she ended up with that name but all of us grandkids call her that.

So many memories stored away. So many I don’t remember until 6 cousins get together to reminiscence of the old days and things start coming to memory. If I took anything from that dash of hers between those two years it was to be dedicated to those you love, always telling them how much they mean to you and how much you love them. This weekend was full of pain, sorrow and grief but time and love heals, though there will always be a part of my heart for my Grannie. Even down to that last day I saw her where she held my hand and said “don’t leave”.

Now Grannie is walking the white sandy beaches of not Florida but Heaven and my hope I have to walk those beaches with her one day.

Levi at 17 months

Wow! This month has gone by so fast. Seems like yesterday that I was writing about 16 month milestones.
Not too much new this month. A few new words-”cheese” which he learned while I was taking his Christmas pictures. He likes to say, “hey” and “bye”. We are beginning to see an imagination like I’ve never seen before. He loves to fly airplanes and helicopters and will even fly his cars sometimes with noise to go with it in the air. He loves to make his trucks vroom vroom too. If you are on facebook you have seen his “Ready, Set, Go” game that he loves to play and he loves to play Hide and Seek around corners and chairs. He was given a Weeble Wobble toy for Christmas and he absolutely loves taking the dust pan and hitting the Weeble Wobbles with it as well as taking his hammer and hitting his little wooden blocks making them bounce across the floor (thanks to Grandma Sarita teaching him that with special effect sounds). Music is his passion I believe and the boy has rhythm. He is pretty good about picking up on things the first time or two that he sees it. This I think is great but we are really having to watch what we do around him and even teach him. Sometimes these things can be dangerous because you never know what he is going to try with the little mind of his. Ha! We have 2 molars coming in on the bottom now. Here we go again! Well, until next month…we’ll see ya! I’ll do 17 month pictures in a few weeks.

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

These are our virtual e-Christmas cards for all of you. From our computer to yours. These are so much fun to make, so much easier, so much cheaper and they don’t get thrown away after Christmas nor take up your space somewhere.  You can come back as many times as you’d like to look at them too.

Enjoy! And have a very Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!

 

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