I started my job!

You may have noticed that there haven't been many blog posts lately. Previously, I was writing quite frequently since I was waiting around without much to do.  Last Monday, however, I began my job at Crittenton Services for Children and Families.  It is an organization that works in many areas with at-risk children and families, including foster care, Wraparound services, group homes, and therapeutic services.  I work at the Valley View location in Orange County, which is 2.5 miles down Harbor from our apartment.  Valley View campus is four cottages that each hold up to 14 girls and several babies. The girls are there for several different reasons, mostly for breaking laws or having delinquency problems either at school or at home. A small minority of the girls are there for Child Protection cases, meaning there is a situation with their parents or foster parents or they are in a transition between caregivers. 

My job is Team Leader with the residential counseling staff. There are two team leaders per cottage (on opposite shifts) and a unit supervisor, along with 2 residential staff on each shift.  So far I really enjoy all the staff in my cottage, and feel really comfortable with the position.  The group home runs very similarly to my previous job in Minneapolis at St. Joseph's Home for Children. I am so happy I found a job so quickly, and it is in a field I really enjoy working in. I have never lived so close to work either, so I feel that we are just in the right spot at the right time here.

Things are going so smoothly for Brian and I here in California.  I suppose this is a good place for us to be, after a long transition this summer, we are rewarded with a great church, and a great job for me in a great community.  I suppose we were just waiting for everything to fall into place for us, and now it has!  Thank you all for your encouragement and support over the summer as we were waiting to get to where we are now.

Oh, and it's official now: I am a California Resident!

Mom was worried about the safety of my identity, so I blocked cropped out the important information :)