Monday, August 29, 2011

pinterest project

Handprint wreath.. this is what it looked like on pinterest


And this is what mine turned out like. 

I let each student choose the color of paper they wanted and did their handprint in white tempura paint. I cut them out and glued them onto a posterboard I cut to a wreath shape. I plan to take it down at the end of the year and put the hands in the memory books. Easy, fun and I think it turned out pretty cute. Pinterest rocks! :)

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Friday, August 26, 2011

Picking up


I got to pick my babies up from school today. I love that I get to do that this year. Their school gets our an hour later than mine so it works out perfectly. I love being the one that has them hopping up & down and waving excitedly when I pull up. I love getting to be the first one to hear the stories and details of why today was the 'best day ever'. For my son it's all about the food. He says the burritos are phenomenal. He says they taste like from our favorite restaurant and he went back for thirds. He really likes his teacher, but last year's teacher gave them icing so she's still winning for now. LoL. For my daughter, it's all about how she feels. She says her teacher is super cool and a girl told her she was pretty today & braided her hair. They are both very happy at their new school and I couldn't be happier. Knowing you made the right choice is one of the best feelings in the world.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Truth for Tuesday :)

No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness, and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure- Emma Golmam


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Saturday, August 20, 2011

Ready or not..

School has officially begun for me. I have 2 whole insane first days under my belt now and 172 to go. Despite various other challenges facing me this year, I have FOUR students with the same name- yes I said FOUR! All but one have the same spelling and two of them have the same last initial. Not sure what I will do with that yet.
Not allowing myself a second to mourn the loss of peaceful, laid back summer, on Monday I plan to hit the ground running. I'm starting phonics lessons & all kinds of assessments. My room is organized and tidy and I have the first few weeks planned out already. I also brought all my student workbooks home and tore out all the pages & sorted them by chapters/lessons for the entire year.

It's my 5th year of teaching first grade and I feel like with all I've already been thru, I'm capable of handling anything.

Yep. I'm ready alright.
Bring. It. On.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Hope

Sunday Stealing:



1. God is ALWAYS at work
2. We can ALWAYS have more of God
3. We can ALWAYS glorify God with our lives
4. A new Heaven and a new earth is coming for those who believe

Believers should be the encouragers of others. We have Hope because we belong to Him. We should be the ones who remain calm, thanking God ALWAYS and meditating on the promises of God.

Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:19
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

Sometimes Jesus calms the storm. Sometimes he calms the man within the storm.

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Saturday, August 13, 2011

more 30ths comin'

Celebrating 30th birthdays these days and I gotta say I still don't feel like we could actually be THIRTY. If it's true that you're only as old as you feel, I think, perhaps, we'll be young forever. :)




Having girlfriends keeps me young. They keep me laughing through life and distract me from myself. We celebrate our lives together and I love that.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Little Moments

Today was a fun day at home with a little errand running. The days that the Firefighter comes off shift and we get to be all home together are always my favorite. Funny how appreciative you are of your time when you've been missing one another. 
It was the Diva's first day back at dance. After planning her "perfect outfit" she jumped right in to the new hip-hop class which she absolutely loved.

Then we went to the kids' Back to School night. My Superhero walks right in the door and walks with his head up taking it all in. He acts like he owns the place, lol. My sweet girl, however, is so nervous. She's had different experiences than he has, not that she wasn't already timid enough to begin with. She looks at her feet and shuffles along clinging to my side like she's starting kindergarten not 4th grade.

After seeing their classrooms, talking to every single person in the building (because we actually know them all), and having some cookies, she's finally loosened up. They go play on the playground awhile and then we say our goodbyes and head back home.

I am overwhelmed by a sense of peace here. I feel so excited for them to be going to this school, together for the first time. Each time I walk through those doors I feel more convinced we made the right decision.

I am anxious too see down the road.. our new home, our new daily lives. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us next. For now, though, I will enjoy the little moments that are leading us there.


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Sunday, August 7, 2011

SS - The Ox

Well, it's Sunday Stealing time.. who better to steal from than my pastor? :)

".. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." Acts 26:14

An ox being prodded with a sharp stick (goad) would sometimes kick against it. This is did no good of course and only inflicted pain on itself.

How often do we do that? Fight against God.
We know what we are to do. It's all right there in the Bible for us. Yet we avoid reading it, and try to control things ourselves rather than surrendering to God's leading.

Get that visual of yourself as an ox and God gently prodding you with a spiky stick. When you resist God's Will it's like you are kicking your leg against that stick. Flesh is tearing and you are causing yourself pain.. for what?
What stuck out for me today was this simple truth:

GOD WINS

He always wins. You can't throw a tantrum like a toddler and get your way. God is not a permissive parent who gives in because of weakness! Your fleeting moment of happiness is not His ultimate goal because He knows better! He knows it all. He knows what's best. Why would we want to fight against the One who loves us so much?

Resisting our creator is useless, and painful.. don't be a dumb ox.

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Wednesday, August 3, 2011

my Pride and Joy<3

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The Help

I love this book.

So many people recommended it to me and I'm so glad I listened.

If you like stories that draw you in and keep you turning pages all the way through.. you'll love this book.
If you like historical fiction.. you'll love this book.
If you like books about relationships, friendships, family.. you'll love this book.
If you are passionate about racism.. you'll love this book.
If you grew up in the South.. you'll love this book.

The movie will be out soon and I know what it's gonna be like already in my head. Let's hope it lives up to the expectations of a story as great as this one!

Trust me.. you'll love this book!

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Flared up

The "fun" thing about tmj is the flare ups. You're rockin' along happily ignoring minor pains and feeling like life is finally close to back to normal and WHAM!

Maybe it was something you ate.

Maybe you slept really hard and were grinding your teeth last night.

Maybe it's that you've overdone it again.

So many things to consider, but it's stress that is the worst trigger. For a person like me.. who lives in a moderate/high level of stress most times, this can be difficult to prevent.

Any kind of drama filled or anxiety producing situations, time crunches, disputes, large amounts of noise, etc and you can count on some pain.

I am a "teeth clencher" the tmj peeps say. My stress tolerance may be high but in the process apparently I internalize all that stress. Calm, cool & collected on the outside but chaos raging on the inside. Ah, such is life.

The TMJ doc said I needed therapy. No, not that kind. Either physical therapy or chiropractic care. Since the specialized PT was hours away I chose the latter. I am to be going in twice a week until things improve. Joy. Today I've done my horribly painful treatments and been on the couch on a heating pad filled with meds and despair.

School starts in 15 days. I need to be "all better" before then. I'm out of patience with this and soon will not have time to "recover" from treatments. I will have to carry on thru the pain.

For now I am grateful to be relaxing and that I get to have my hubby & kids nearby. And also very thankful for my friends.. who ARE my stress relief. I know it could always be worse.. oh yes I sure know that. So today I am thanking God that it's not worse.. just a little flare up.


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Beholding & Becoming

“It’s impossible to behold what He has made and not be humbled as the created.” This beautiful book seeped in the richness of God’s Word ...