BigHouse Info Video!!

Our BigHouse Video is done! Check it out!
BigHouse Video
Thanks to Chris Kelsey with Kelsey Creative Media, Jana Calano, Stan and Kelly Cox, and Jan Burke.

the time has come...

tomorrow is the beginning of the rest of my life...

sound overly dramatic? maybe a bit, but tomorrow officially begins my life as BigHouse Director and beyond. For anyone who may not know, I graduated from the University of Alabama on May 9th. I was then blessed enough to go to the beach with friends and Orlando with my husband's family. I spent this weekend reading Harry Potter, taking naps (pathetic I know), and cooking out with friends for Memorial Day. Basically, I gave myself 2 weeks off to relax, chill, have no school/no stress and genuinely be a lazy bum. It was really hard. I have always wanted to have nothing to do but of course once I finally got it I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought. I have found I need structure, a bit of stress, and a lot of work to do to get anything done.

This is why I am ready for tomorrow. Tomorrow is the beginning of "Hi, I'm Micah Melnick, Director of BigHouse".

I know this probably sounds stupid, especially since I have been "doing" BigHouse stuff since November, but I really have not felt comfortable saying those words yet. I have always felt like that was another part of my life that would begin later... After I graduated or something. Well... I am finally ready to say those words and know they are true! I gotta admit I am really excited about this.

I am going to try and commit myself to blogging about this phase of BigHouse more. People are always telling me I should journal about these beginning days of BigHouse. Well I hate to journal. I can't seem to write to myself... it kinda makes me feel crazy. Blogging however, allows me to at least pretend like others would read this, and I don't feel quite as loony while writing it.

Ok so back to BigHouse. As of tomorrow, it will be my almost full time job (I have three more weeks of working part time at the job I have had all through college.) Then, after June 18th, BigHouse will be my full time job. This is very exciting and very intimidating and scary. I feel prepared to interact with the kids and come up with cool things for them to do, but I have little experience running an organization. I was a double major in art and human development... i mean really...

Thankfully, I have some really awesome people helping me along the way. Our BigHouse board has been awesome at helping me know what to do and how to do it so far. I have to give a HUGE shout out to Jana Burns Calano- quite possibly the most driven person I know. She is brilliant and such a blessing. It is no coincidence she and her husband Mike(equally as awesome) are on our board- God totally knew what he was doing. Our family and friends have also been incredibly supportive and encouraging. I appreciate their guidance more than they will ever realize. Of course, Blake (my husband) has been more incredible in this endeavor than I thought any spouse could be. From the moment I began talking to him about the idea of helping foster children, he has been 100% on board. He has listened to me, encouraged me, and even challenged me to think bigger. We share the dream of BigHouse, which makes it so much easier than going it alone. I love to hear him share a new idea he has about BigHouse. His hard work and dedication have made it possible for me to pursue my dream full time. What a gift!

This week not only marks a beginning to my new career, it will also be the first time we have a BigHouse sponsored "event". BigHouse volunteers and I will be providing childcare for the Foster Parent Appreciation, hosted by DHR. I have finally been able to email some of the people who have contacted me and said they want to help with BigHouse, and give them an opportunity! This is our first official interaction with the foster parents and children. I am really excited. We will begin building relationships with the parents, the kids, and the volunteers on Thursday! This will be the first event of the summer and we are already working out details for other events for the whole family.

Ok, so that is just a bit of what is in my head now on paper... or the internet...