Brad?

Alright, after the sounds of crickets after my previous blog entry, I am pretty sure that no one will be reading this (except for my cousin Kristi). So, Kristi, enjoy!!!

I think that aliens may have abducted my husband . . . he was afraid that this may happen, and now, it may be too late!

It all started Thursday morning as we were packing to get away for a night for our 10th anniversary. At one point he disappeared and when I finally found him he was in the garage cleaning out the vacuum cleaner. Believe me when I say that this should have been my first clue . . . Brad NEVER cleans out the vacuum cleaner on a random day without prior nagging on my part. I thought it was weird, but figured that it was his way of doing something unexpected and nice for me before we left home.

As the morning went on, and we continued to pack for us and the kids (who stayed with the Cooks - THANK YOU, COOKS for giving us some much needed time away) I noticed several other unusual things going on with Brad - he moved his pile of laundry out of the bathroom floor . . . then loaded the dishwasher . . . Again, I questioned his motives, but just assumed he had grand plans for our time away and wanted to make sure that he earned a few brownie points before we left.

But never did I expect what I would walk into when we came home from our trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A CLEAN HOUSE!!!!!!!!! Brad had actually arranged a week ago for Brandon and Michelle's cleaning lady to come by and give him a quote on cleaning the house. Then he hid a key outside and actually let this "stranger" into our house while we were gone. (For those of you who don't know Brad, this is TOTALLY unlike him. "Safety Joe" as we all like to refer to him, would NEVER leave a key outside that any common criminal could find and break into the house with. Much less be comfortable letting someone he doesn't know roam through our house while we are out of town.) And did you catch the part that he planned this all out, on his own, a week in advance?

So, like I said, it is obvious that my husband is long gone, being poked and prodded on the mother ship while a stand-in is doing a pretty lousy job of trying to keep things running as usual back here at the Rollmann house.


Happy Anniversary, Brad! The past 10 years have been amazing! You are a strong, loving, and wonderful husband and father. I couldn't ask for more. I love you and look forward to the next 10, 20, 30+ years.

p.s. You totally surprised me with the cleaning lady! I love it!

Is Anybody Out There?

I know that it has been a long time since I posted anything . . . but between organizing the packing of an entire school and trying to take care of the assistant principal and principal responsibilities for two months, I have been a tad busy. But where is everybody else?

I used to check friends' blogs regularly to keep up with what is happening with them. There was always a new post to read somewhere. Not anymore! Has everyone abandoned their blog and ran to facebook??? I miss the posts, the stories, and the pictures. Is anyone even going to read this?!? Is anybody out there?

God is Great!

I am reminded daily how God is constantly at work in my life. He has surrounded me with an amazing support team. I am blessed with an adoring husband, beautiful and healthy children, fabulous friends, and wonderful co-workers. And every day I see Him at work, putting the right people there at the right time to lift me up and help me find my way.

Paula is still out taking care of Russell. Please continue to pray for a miracle for this family and for peace and comfort as they continue to fight for recovery. In the meantime, I am still the "acting principal". I am starting to settle in a bit now - not quite as shocked and overwhelmed. And I continue to be amazed by the overwhelming support that I have received from central administration and my wonderful counselor and secretary - I truly couldn't do it without these two. Starting tomorrow, I will have an administrative intern to also help ease the load. It will be nice to have an extra set of eyes, ears, and hands to help take care of the day to day tasks.

And through it all . . . late nights, meetings after school, cereal for dinner because I am too tired to cook . . . Brad has not complained. He has gone above and beyond to help me out with the girls - waking up early so that he can pick them up from school, taking care of baths and homework, buying the Easter eggs for Lily's class party . . . He is a great dad and husband!

On top of that, my mom and Donna Carr have stepped in to help watch the girls for me when needed. My sister spent a day in the office cleaning out cabinets for us. Friends have offered to cook dinner for my family. I even have one friend who wasn't satisfied when I told her there wasn't anything she could do to help me out at work, so she insisted that she was going to help me out at home. She has since paid for her cleaning lady to clean my house until school is out.

Some people who were visiting our church today prayed over me (thanks to my husband who drug me over to them and asked them to do this). And it was amazing! They spoke with me and one lady, without even knowing my situation, said "God is telling me to tell you that 'you are equipped'." This is exactly what I needed to hear. I have spent weeks questioning myself, not confident that I was ready to take on the challenge of running a school. (Especially this year because we have to have our entire building packed up before the last day of school.) And then they prayed over me. And I felt the tension and anxiety lift from my shoulders as a peace washed over me. It was like every doubt I had about whether or not I could finish up the year on my own melted. In their prayer they mentioned that God can do this, not me. And I was relieved. Because it is true - He can do anything. And I know that He is going to use me to take care of this situation. And I don't need to worry, He's got it under control. And I am blessed, truly blessed!

Keep The Prayers Comin'

I am still asking you to join me in lifting up the Eagleton family. Russell is awake and alert now and dealing with the understanding that he may never regain movement or be able to breath on his own. And his family is struggling daily to give him the encouragement and support that he needs while they try to take care of financial and medical decisions. Please continue to pray for a miracle for Russell and for peace and comfort for the entire family.

In the meantime, I have been trying to be the principal and assistant principal at the same time. Trying to cram in her meetings and responsibilities while still taking care of mine. I've got to say that God has totally done his "thing" at EH. I am surrounded by a great staff who are willing to go above and beyond in times of need. He has blessed me with office staff who are on top of things and have been handling problems before they even become a problem. And my counselor has been at my side, giving me a shoulder to cry on and helping me to laugh through the frustration and craziness. We are a pretty awesome team! But, man, do I miss Paula!!!! We are all trying to assure her, when she calls to check in, that everything is great - the last thing that I want her to do is to have to worry about school. But she is definitely missed, and I hope she knows that we are doing the best we can, but it is NOT the same without her. So I also ask you to pray for me . . . I am trying to fill some really big shoes, and probably not doing half as well as she would, but I want to try and keep things going as smoothly as possible. And quite honestly, at times, I feel like I am barely staying afloat trying to take care of the things that I know she would do. So I am thankful for the weekend - 2 days to rest and rejuvinate so that I can start the rat race again on Monday. How many days left until summer break?

Calling All Prayer Warriors

Many of you know that I am an assistant principal at an elementary school. I love my job! I love the kids (most days) and the teachers (most days) and the principal (every day). She is amazing! She has been an incredible mentor and has quickly become a dear friend. I am here today to ask you, on her behalf, to pray.

Paula's husband, Russell, fell Monday afternoon while installing a canopy over playground equipment at an elementary school. He is in ICU with a neck injury. His spine was not severed, however, he has extensive swelling in the area which has resulted in paralysis from the neck down. At this time it is a waiting game. The doctors cannot tell the family when or if he will regain feeling.

So I ask you to pray. This family has been an inspiration to everyone around them this week. They are all hoping, praying, and believing in a miracle. Please join me in lifting them up.

If you want more information or to get updates, they have created a website http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/russelleagleton

Wanna Help?

As most of you know, my mom has done fabulous in her battle with lung cancer. At this point she has completed her chemo and only has 6 days of radiation left. She has been such a trooper! And now we can all see the light at the end of the tunnel. As a celebration of her accomplishment and as a way to contribute to the ongoing fight to cure cancer, she has decided to participate in this years Relay for Life. She has formed a team and asked all of her friends to join. So far we have had so many join that she has actually had to create a second team. We have been busy planning decorations, our team t-shirt (thanks, Lindsay, for the cool design), and coming up with ways to raise money for the American Cancer Society. I have had many of you serving as prayer warriors over the past few months. And I want to thank you. What a blessing to be surrounded near and far with such amazing friends! A couple of people have asked about contributing to the Relay in honor of my mom. If you are interested in making a donation to the American Cancer Society under her team name - just go to www.relayforlife.org/azletx and go to Joyce's Journey.

Facebook

Have you tried it? I'll admit, I don't totally get it. I've got people throwing food at me . . . inviting me to join causes . . . sending me flair . . . and I have NO CLUE what most of that means or how it works. But I have been able to find several long lost friends within days of joining facebook. It's pretty cool! I have actually (without much effort at all) been able to get in contact with a couple of friends that I haven't talked to in over 10 years. They are people that I had somehow lost touch with and had even tried to google over the years with no luck. Then I joined facebook, and there they were.