It is the weekend!

Oh hi!

Sorry for the disappearing again.  I may need to work on that, but really it is a LOT harder to write this when I have a lot on my plate and can't get to my blog at the ranch.

The last week/first week of August/September was a break for everyone.  So some people headed to home or a volunteer family for the week.  It was nice to have a break because it was very much needed, at least on my end.

Suz, me, Rikki, and Rhia

Jordan!

On my break I did some travelin'.  I headed down to see the old roommates because you know my life would not be complete without them.  Those three (and then also Renee who is not pictured) mean the world to me! I have truly been blessed by there presence in my life... I mean really, if it wasn't for them I don't think that I would have the confidence to say that I am a GOOD roommate even though the first might care to disagree.  I also got to see one of my favorites, JORDAN!

She has also been a HUGE BLESSING in my life. The time that we got to spend together that weekend meant so much to me because it has been a rough couple of weeks prior to seeing her.  I love that I was able to go and sit with her for a few hours and just tell her what my life is looking like right now.  Which I need people in my life that will just sit and listen to me sometimes and pray for me.  It was nice, and Jords if you are reading this now that some of those prayers have been answered, but keep on prayin'!

And what would make a trip to Montreat even more complete? You guessed it! I got to see a cute baby!  And seriously she gets smarter EVERY TIME I see her!  I got to spend a few minutes hanging out in the office with her and then even got to babysit her that night.  Although the time was somewhat short it still made my heart happy.  And sadly I don't think that I have a picture of her from that time.

Being in Montreat was a really refreshing time for me because I got to see people I LOVE!  Everyone is asking me about whether it was weird or not being back and not in classes and stuff and I have to say that  I am STILL THANKFUL to not be in school anymore and that I graduated.  And to be honest it isn't weird, because those people are still my family from college, I still care deeply for them and I want to see them and know how they are.  There have been a lot of changes since I have left for the ranch, but going back made me realize that not everything in my life is changing, people in Montreat still love me and are praying for me.  HOW AWESOME?!

The next stop on my adventures home was the ever amazing SMC. My favorite part from that trip was walking into Stacey, the resident life director,'s office.  As soon as I walked in I was greeted with a "I really needed to see you today" and a great big hug.  That made by heart even happier than I already was from the weekend.  And the best part was we just sat there and caught up on life and it was good.  And she even helped me work through some of what I was feeling about things that are going on right now.  Just like old times :).  I truly felt blessed to still know that the people in Spartanburg still love me and think about me.  I was also able to see other people that have just touched my life while I was there.

If you can't tell already by this post, one of the things that I have been struggling with lately is being alone with no one to love on me in a way.  Lately there has been a lot of struggles with people in my life pushing me away or never spending time with me. And it has been really hard.  But I guess one of the lessons I have to learn is that God is the only one that matters.  He encourages me with love. He is my friend when no one else will be.  And there are constant reminders that even though people can build me up, they can also knock me down, but no matter what God still loves me and directs my paths and will never leave or forsake me... HOW AWESOME IS THE GOD WE SERVE?  He will not leave or FORSAKE me!

While I was home I struggled with leaving to come back to the ranch.  And I tell you that not because I don't like my job, because I do.  And like my mom reminded me before I left - I don't want to live at home or in Charleston.  I tell you that because it is NOT an easy job.  It has been awfully lonely the past couple of months.  There are only 7 other people that are my age around the ranch and I only see one of them on a regular basis.  Not to mention that I don't know the others well so on the weekends I don't know what to do because I don't know who to call.  Also I tell you that because I don't want you to think that it is easy for me to be 6 hours from home and 2 hours from Montreat.  It is not easy for me to be away from home... in fact sometimes it is terrifying and all I have to say is that I am thankful for cell phones and the fact that my mom has hers attached to her hip.

See... legit, I made that - with a lot of help from mom

Ok. so real fast because I'm getting tired. So I went home and hung out with my mom and got my toes done, my oil changed and made an apron, yes, I'm that awesome.

Then I drove back up to Montreat for the night so that I wouldn't have to drive 6 hours.  And hung out with Scout again... because yes we are that awesome.

Then made it back to the Ranch....
I have to go to bed now, but I will update later about this last week and this weekend!  Promise!

God's got His hand on you, so don't live your life in fear..."

It has been a while, and I am truly sorry for that. It is really difficult to find time to write here since the site is blocked at the ranch.  There are many things that are going on in my life right now and they are all incredibly hard.  I don't want to talk about may of them here and now, but that is ok, the internet doesn't need to know all of what I am going through.

There has obviously been a lot of things that have been going on in the past  umm... fiveish weeks? Wow.  It has been over a month. Well I went to see a cute kid for her birthday :)  That was a lot of fun.  I really enjoyed seeing her and her mother... and even her father.  BTDubs, that is Scout, Breena's daughter.  I really miss them a lot.  And I haven't seen them since the day after this picture, so that is a little bit difficult for me, but Lord Willing I will be seeing them next week!  HALLELUJAH! I can't believe that she is already a year old, that is crazy!  I miss getting to see her every week.

L-R:Victoria, Kelly and Samuel, Jessie, Sarah, Madison, Me!

On August 3, Mrs. Sarah, the house mom had her baby! Finally!  She was thinking that she would never have him after she past the due date.  But he was a BEAUTIFUL baby boy, 9 1/2lbs.  Way to go Mrs. Sarah! His name is Samuel Aaron, and he is a cutie!  I can't wait to come back from break and being able to watch him grow daily.  And honestly having Mrs. Sarah back will be a blessing as well, forreal.  While Sarah and Jay were off on maturity leave and such all the girls moved down to the other girls house.  Although we have had a lot of fun, I am thankful that all the girls moved back yesterday afternoon.  The past couple of weeks Kelly and I have been going back and forth from Pleasant Hill to Laurel Ridge and it hasn't been easy for me at all.  It may be easier for Kelly, but I think even she is ready for normalcy again.  And now we have it back!

The Ranch students at Cirque de Chine

Mom and Michael also came for a visit the first weekend of the month.  It was really good to see them, but I am a terrible host because I don't know what we can do in the area still.  We ended up going and seeing the Chinese acrobats one of the nights and that was a lot of fun, but not as much fun as when I went with the ranch this past week.  They even changed the show up and it was a lot better the second time.  It was awkward for me this time because the guy who gave us tickets was the PR guy and he was saying that this was probably the best show in the area and I wasn't really in agreement with him, but I did enjoy it, the second time.

The last thing to add before heading off of here, is a masquerade ball kind of night!  Ok, maybe I will just add some pictures :]

Everyone with their masks!

Pleasant Hill girls!

Madison's Mask and a feather

Well I believe that this should be it for now!  I will try to be better about updating once school starts :) for the girls that is, not for me because I done graduated!

It's been a week...

After last week this week has been awful.  Honestly, I think I'm coming down with a cold or something that makes me really tired and makes me wake up with a swore throat wishing that I didn't have to get out of bed. 

Wednesday and Thursday are the house parents days off, and for me they are sometimes the hardest days.  One of the duties that we (as mentors) have to do when they are off is preparing and cooking the meals for the day... shocking that kids have to eat right?  This week on Wednesday morning I woke up feeling lick I just needed to roll over and go back to bed but I got up and made breakfast because I knew it had to be done.  The worst part was the meat.  I already felt like I was going to throw up that morning and then I found out how much worst it would me once I got to cooking raw meat.  This maybe a silly thing, but I HATE raw meat... with a passion!  Raw sausage for breakfast... is NOT good idea for an upset stomach.  But Thanks be to God, I made breakfast and the girls enjoyed it.  But it was not a fun task.  Then for dinner I made stir fry with chicken... that was pretty bad as well I'm not going to lie, but not nearly as bad as the sausage... it took me a while to get my appetite back after I cooked the sausage.  So really, if you have ANY suggestions on what kinds of food  I can make for breakfast or dinner... perhaps stuff with not a lot of meat would be even better :).  Not really though... I can make things with meat, I will do it for the girls!  But please send me recipes on facebook or to my email or here!

Other than me having an increased dislike for raw meat I must also say that this week really hasn't been the easiest.  Truly not an easy task being a new mentor to teenage girls who sometimes what to be friends and other times what to rebel against authority.  Specifically when they are asked to put their shoes up, apparently that is a sore subject.  I was told this week by one of the students that she didn't understand why she had to clean up the house because "we live in a house, not a museum".  Which although is true does not mean that we have to live in filth and make sure that our shoes are where they belong.  They also weren't to happy when the student that is pretty much a mentor (because she is the highest level you can get) was upset because of the laundry room being a mess.  I mean it was GROSS.  And we talked about it last week and one of the other girls was going to clean it and forgot or something.  A lot of this week was dealing with attitude, A LOT OF ATTITUDE!

Speaking of attitude, one of the girls has had an attitude with me since I got to the ranch.  Anytime that I ask her to do something she kind of rolls her eyes at me and gets upset.  However, being that I have been here for a month, it is about time that she stops with the back talk and stuff.  I know that this was a God thing that I am about to tell you.  On Wednesday night I was done with life, I was tired I didn't feel good and I was sick of the attitude with this girl along with other things.  I have been repeatedly told that she will not take correction well, and that it is never her fault.  Which is hard to handle for me because she is 13 she needs to get over herself!  Anyway - Well Miss Kelley was talking to the girls about attitudes and cleaning I asked her if she was listening because her head was down and like normal she had an attitude back.  I was at my breaking point and Kelly asked her not to talk back and then I asked her not to roll her eyes at me... Tenish minutes later she asked to talk to me.  We went outside and she ACTUALLY APOLOGIZED!  It was good!

Off to Mellow Mushroom now with JADA!

This week we...

Ate Watermelon

 

Made funny faces 

 

Celebrated achievements with the boy scouts

 

Watched the Sunset from the top of the mountain

 

Hung out with Mad Dog

 

Took/Picked up Shykea at work

 

Made Bread

 

Tried on Masks 

 

Had some fun :)

 

Well, this has been an epic fail of a day...

Not really, but I am entertained that I decided earlier that I didn't want starbucks because the internet was not free. However after going to McDonalds, Chick-fil-a, and wondering aimlessly around Pigeon Forge on Fourth of July weekend... I am sitting in a Starbucks, because that is the only way that I am EVER going to update this blog.

Unfortunately, the ranch has not stepped into the world of blogging because it would be horrors for the Ranch kids to be able to write and read blogs, and not just the kids, but the staff too. Just so you know, I can not enjoy other sites such as Hulu and youtube... and other random things. It is nice to have a day in town though. I found some nifty places - places I wouldn't find in Montreat or Charleston, or even Spartanburg. One of the best things about living in a touristy town is the fact that they have discount places all over the place. One of the best things that I found out about is that since I work in Sevier County at certain places I get a discount! Woohoo! I learned about that last night. I really wanted a big person that was teachery since I will be a "teacher" for the next year. I am glad to announce I have found a new bag... One that did not have sales tax because the store I bought it from did not have sales tax for July 4th weekend. And was 10% off of that because I work in Sevier County. Win. I got a Vera Bradley Bag for about $16 off. I very much enjoyed it. Also, just so you know just because I have one Vera Bradley bag does not mean that I want another. In fact I don't. I don't even what the knock off brands... I do enjoy my bag, but that is the ONLY one I want. And I was happy for the discount.

There are also a couple of places around that have hand bag for real cheap that look like designers.... Not that I will be buying one anytime soon, but it is a nice place to know is around. All in all I have started to embrace my new life in TN. Although it is a little far from some friends, I like it. A lot actually. I miss being closer to Spartanburg, especially since Aly is back at home, but I really like TN.

Ha ha... I just thought of the time when I was little and I wanted to live on a farm. I was always told that I wouldn't want to take care of the animals, now I live on a farm and I don't take care of the animals. Nice.

So you probably want to know what is going on at the Ranch. Well, the second week I was here we went to Atlanta for our house vacation.  The first stop (once I got there) was Six flag!  Not my favorite place in the world, but the girls loved it.  You really have to love roller-coasters to like six flags, and I'm not a fan, but it was good to see the girls happy.  In the picture is Victoria, Me, Shykea, Jesse, Madison, Kelly, and Mr. Jay (the House Dad).  That was taken when we were leaving... it was a very tiring day to say the least.

But the week got better!  Our second stop and my favorite - the World of Coke... I have to interupt this sentence to say that at Starbucks they are playing the acoustic version of Jump on it - seriously.  Any way - the world of Coke... as most of you know I would have loved to go to Texas instead and go to the World of Dr. Pepper... I don't think it is actually called that, but The World of coke is super awesome! From left to right is Me, Jesse, Kelly, Victoria and she is holding Caroline (the house parents child), Madison, and Shykea.  Also the other picture is one of my favs of Madison at Coke :).  She is beautiful!  They all are, but I really like Madison, don't tell her I said that though!  She is from Texas... and so is Dr. Pepper, maybe I belong in TX??  Ha ha... anyway!


We also had an epic fail that night... it was a cloudy day and we had tickets to the Braves game... we went and sat in our seats and watched the Yankees and the Philly's play instead of the Braves, and when we left the game started... but it was still cool to sit in Turner Stadium! 

The last place we went on vacay was Blue Rigid, GA to some lake... at a fancy shamacy lake house.  The person that grocery shops for the ranch has a lake house in GA and that is were we stayed... with them.  It was a good two days at the lake and then back to the ranch.  The picture on the right is of Jesse and Victoria on the tube... they are beasts and held on for a long time.  We got some sun burn and lots of time in and on the water... it was great for ALL THE GIRLS and us.

Since Vacation, we have been doing a lot of school.  We have two hours of school in the morning lunch, and an hour rest time and then free for the afternoon.  We have been taking a lot of trips to the National Park since the ranch backs up to it.  We have a pool on the ranch as well that we try to hit up when camp isn't using it and we have a lifeguard on duty... which is not me! 

That is really all that is going on at the Ranch right now.  Just summer things and trying to stay cool and hydrated!  Before I leave I just want to give you guy my mailing address in case I haven't... Just so you know I love getting mail... in fact I just bought something online because I want mail and because I needed it... but the mailing address is:

Kira Hader
3601 Lyon Springs Rd.

Sevierville, TN 37862

Care packages and welcomed and encouraged!  For real... send me stuff, even if it just a letter or perhaps a funny card... do it. Now.

I've been working a week now...

While I am sitting at a coffee shop in black mountain, NC - I thought I would do a little update update.

Your first thought was probably "Why is Kira in Black Mountain, NC she lives in TN now." This is very true, and I am sure that there is a coffee house or something closer to where I live in TN but you know I just like the atmosphere so much in Black Mountain, that I had to come back!... Ok that is just a joke, really it is because I have a wedding to go to today! Woohoo! People are getting married today! Thankfully I have some amazing friends that live in the area still that let me stay in their house for FREE! I like to say that I make up the "rent" for staying in babysitting their child so that they can go out tonight! But part of it is just the fact that they are amazing! We even got to have waffles for breakfast courtesy of Dave (the husband of my friends Breena!) And they were quite delicious!

Ok, enough for now about NC - Lets hear it for TN! Since you are looking at this you probably only really want to know how the job is going. And I have to say that it is AMAZING! I am really enjoying it and still trying to get a few things under control. I have been really struggling with one of the girls that is in the house because I do not know how to approach her. She tends to get very angry easily and the other night she got really mad twice and I am pretty sure that both times were at me. However, if was because I told them that they could not do something and it upset her. I guess it just goes with the territory of being a mentor person.

I do not actually have time right now to continue on with stories from this week, but I have to mention that I do not have access to blogger (how i update this) at the ranch. So if I am able to make posts it will probably be on the weekends unless the IT person figures out how to unblock the page.

Ok, I'm off to buy a present make a key and watch people get married!

Hello wonderful friends!

Just so you know this is the same post that was on facebook, so if you have already, sorry! If not, YAY for me posting to the blog! Also I am leaving SUPER early tomorrow morning! So I will try to update tomorrow night - but not promises!

The past two years have been such a blessing, and I start with that because this journey did not start in January when I applied to get a job. I want to tell the amazing story of how God's hand was in this. In fall 2008, a friend of mine was asking me where I wanted to be after graduation... and for the life of me I still don't remember why I said this, but I said "I either want to be here (in Montreat) or not far over the boarder into TN."

Well God has a great sense of humor because that is where I am going! The next part of this story thought is about an amazing person that God brought into my life. For one of my classes last semester I needed a mentor. Someone to meet with every week and talk about like (as Doug Fields would say 'do life with'). When I heard about that the semester before the class started there was one person in particular that I wanted it to be, but I kept my mouth closed and waited for the semester to start before I asked her. When the semester started full force I was nervous to ask her, and then because of Shawn Stewart making it part of her job (ha ha) Breena and I started to meet on a weekly basis!Through out this year the two of us have met together once a week to talk about life. The good, the bad, and the ugly. We have spent time in the word learning from each other and teaching each other what God wants for our life... instead of what we want for our life. Toward the end of last semester Breena and Shawn were both really pushing me to start looking at jobs. When we actually sat down to talk about that I was scared out of my mind! Breena told me about what she did when she graduated from Montreat. As we began to talk about her experience I began to desire the same experiences. At first it was the same experiences that I was having throughout last summer at MLC, but then I realized that it would be different and more.

Through much prayer and a lot of encouragement from Breena and other friends of mine I filled out an application to be a mentor at Wears Valley Ranch in TN. Breena was a great encouragement when it got to the point that I didn't want to finish filling it out - even after Breena and I made our own deadline. Before sending in the application I had a few conversations with the secretary at the Ranch through email and when she received my application she contacted me and told me she got it and that she would tell me when the director of the resident program read it. Two weeks went by and I never heard anything. I was about to go to Chicago for the Group Youth Workers Convention so I decided that when I got back from Chicago if I hadn't gotten any word from them I would contact them and see what was going on.

One of the days that we were hanging out in Chicago we went to an art museum because it was free. As we were checking in our bags at the counter my phone rang and I didn't know who the number was so I answered. It was the director at Wears Valley. I placed the phone on mute for a second and then stood in a semi-private place and had one of the most awkward conversations EVER. I blame it to being over whelmed of being in Chicago and getting a call from him at the same time. During the conversation he mentioned that he was very impressed by my application and they wanted me to come out to visit the Ranch.

So on Monday of my spring break I headed up to the Ranch to check it out. The drive was less then awesome because I kept getting lost... the gps doesn't understand that I-40 is closed going into TN. Thankfully I have an awesome brother that is almost always somewhere near his computer. He helped me negative through some hilarious places such as Cherokee, NC. :) Anyway - I arrived at the Ranch around 6. Let just preface this by saying I was already impressed by what I heard about the Ranch and the visit did not let me down.

The first night I ate dinner with one of the houses and the girls asked me some fun questions as we got to know each other a little bit better. Oh right. The Ranch has four house two boys and two girls, in each house they have two house parents and two mentor/interns. It is a home for children that come from bad backgrounds, but they want something different... to make it simpler. So anyway - this 24 hour period that I was there I got to learn what it was like at the Ranch and talk to the people on the campus that run the programs and know all that goes on. I got the chance to talk to some of the mentors that are there now and what there experiences have been like.

The trip was absolutely amazing. I loved it so much. God was really faithful through the whole thing. During the rest period one of the girls even knitted me a book mark and a very little bag. It was super cute! As soon as I left I was ready for the phone call to talk about whether or not I wanted the job, however, I knew that it wouldn't be until later in the week. So the past two weeks have been another waiting period.

I began to worry that they didn't want me, but God is faithful because He put amazing people in my life to remind me that "the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come to give you life and life everlasting" (John 10:10). I was worrying on Monday and on Tuesday, one of my classes ended up getting canceled and the director called me and offered me the job! AND I ACCEPTED! :)

So starting on June 4th I will be living in TN for the next year as an intern at Wears Valley Ranch! If you want to check it our more here is their website http://www.wvr.org/ :)

Please be praying for me during this time! Cause it will be anything but easy!

"'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'" Jeremiah 33:3