9/30/07

I know...two days in a row posting is unheard of from me lately. Hope you are sitting down as you read this. hee hee

I worked on a different banner for my blog title... What do you think? It took several tries to get it right but I finally figured it out. It may not LOOK complicated, but it was. lol

After church today we went to Yates Mill Pond park near our house. We walked around with my Mom and brother. It was really nice and the kids got some fitness points for school to boot!! Because of the drought the water was not running over the mill dam and we could actually walk out close to the wheel. It was quite neat to see it up close. We walked around the edge of the park as well on the trail. I had some little insect thingy get up my jeans and keep biting me on my knee. NOT the greatest thing to take pictures and itch. lol Here are a few pictures from that today. Hope you enjoy!!

09/29/07

Well, yes, I am still here... I couldn't believe it when I saw that it has been 2 weeks since I wrote last!!

I am finally beginning to feel like myself again since the surgery. It took me three weeks not to feel like I needed to collapse and sleep forever when I would get home from school. I have had more energy to do things and that is more like myself. I felt like I had a weight in my pants dragging me down!!

Other than the normal school stuff we have been doing our normal routine of life. Go to school, get home, do homework, eat something, get the kids ready for bed, read, put them to bed, grade papers, go to sleep all to get up and do the same thing again. ha!! :)

Last Saturday Steve took Wesley with him to help his brother move. Mikayla and I were on our own. I went to a soccer game which had a couple of my students playing in it. We had to be there at 8:30 in the morning so on a Saturday that was interesting. lol I am glad I went, though... I think it tickled my students. After we left there I decided to go photographing. We went to the NC State Arboretum and I had a BLAST with the flowers and other plants there. I'll be showing some pictures from there in the future posts. While there, though, I managed to step into a lovely MUD puddle with one foot and almost run into 2 spider webs. Mikayla and I got to watch a Writing Spider wrap up a fly and I couldn't believe how fast it did it!! We enjoyed many beautiful things... even found out we were "in the middle" of the end of a wedding! It was hot, though, and by the time noon rolled around we were both ready to go. I took her to McDonald's... her choice... and then we came home and I worked on the pictures and stuff while she played. We had a nice day together.

Today was BEAUTIFUL. The temp was in the 70's... I felt like I needed a parka... and the wind was breezy and there were no clouds in the sky at all!! Steve decided to try to fly a kite again today because it was windy. We have had NO luck in the years since they were old enough to know about kites. Today was successful! It was so neat watching the kite fly. The pictures for today are from that.

I also scrapbooked today. I got the kids school books caught up through their second Kindergarten year and I am at the end of summer in our book. No journaling has been done on any of my scrapbook pages for this whole year, though!! I have lots to write! It was nice getting that done and listening to Il Divo and some Dino. :)

The kids stayed outside ALL day long. It was great seeing them outside playing. From what we understand they were playing pirates. :) I went outside a couple of times and either took photos or even tried to play basketball with them. (That was a joke..) Steve worked on cutting the grass. This evening Steve grilled out burgers and we ate outside on the deck. It was a great evening for doing so. Steve played football with the kids and that was comical. All in all, today was a "perfect" day for spending time at home and not feeling like you had to go anywhere.

Tonight I have to grade lots of papers so I guess I need to close. I'll try to get on here and post again this week!

09/14/07

This picture was taken at Steve's Dads last weekend. It was the only plant that was surviving in the drought conditions. lol Of course it would... its natural habitat is in a desert!!! lol

BUT....

...Rain!! We have had rain today! I have been praying all week that the Lord would send it and He did. I cannot get over how dry it is around here and to have this rain, although it isn't going to end the drought, is better than nothing. I just thank the Lord for His goodness. I was never so happy to walk around with an umbrella as I was tonight. :) I should have taken a picture of it!!

I have had a good week at school. I am still a bit tired but I am feeling so much more like myself. It has been an exciting week teaching the children about the Biblical Global Flood and Noah and why our earth looks like it does today. I have taken LONG times teaching Bible this week but I do not really care because I want them to have a firm foundation that the BIBLE is the foundational book that we go to when we want to learn about the world around us. It has been exciting teaching them and helping them learn. I am glad I have felt better so I could do just that. God has been good to give me strength each day to do what I need. :)

Mikayla has had a rough week. It seems since my surgery she has been weepy. She cries a lot and misses me and when I see her at school she will cling to me. She never used to do that. We have talked with her and prayed for her and it has continued. Yesterday her teacher talked to her and she had a great day but she started it again this afternoon. One of my fellow teachers brought up a good point that maybe she is connecting my surgery with Mom's time in the hospital.

We found out today that even though that was part of her issue, apparently there is a bigger issue. It seems that our little strong-willed child is getting picked on at school. Since last year when she had gotten in trouble for being bossy we have worked with her on understanding how to control that. She wants so badly to do the right thing and to treat others with respect. It seems the only problem is that other children aren't being taught the same things. She told me tonight she is wanting to "wear her full armor of God" that we are learning about doing at school but when other people are mean to her she doesn't want to tattle. Now, this isn't a situation of being physically hurt... it is more of her being told one day she is someone's best friend and then the next day that same person may tell her they don't want to be her friend. It snowballs from there.

he has mentioned things like this to us since school started and we have tried to handle it in a way that she would understand she needs to let the Lord handle it. However, MY human nature wants to tell her to tell that person she never wants to speak to her again and to leave her alone but I know that isn't pleasing to the Lord!!!! I felt like a Momma Bear today wanting to defend her cub. For those of you that know Mikayla personally, this isn't like our little confident strong-willed girl. I am thankful some of that strong will is being replaced by compassion and caring for others, but I also do not want her to become someone else's stepping stone.

She and Wesley are at Mom and Dad's for a sleepover tonight. At first she didn't want to stay because she wanted to be with me. I couldn't give in to that because the weepiness would continue and we would never get to the root of the problem. I talked with her for a while and then Mom and I finally got out of her what was bothering her. It broke my heart. I knew she needed to move on from this and not live her life in "fear" but at the same time I wanted to take her home and cuddle with her all night. I kept telling her to put her trust in the Lord and not in herself to solve this problem. We can do nothing without Christ and I want her to learn that as early as she can. I have prayed for her several times tonight. I found that she was much "lighter" when we dropped off their clothes and stuff for the night. The poor thing had a heavy burden and didn't quite know how to voice it.

We will be talking with her teacher this next week to see how it can be helped. I don't want special favors... I just want the mean behavior to stop. I also know Mikayla isn't perfect and she truly could be doing some of it herself. From what we faced with her last year, though, I am doubting that is going on. She learned a valuable lesson last year about how to be a good friend. Please pray for her as she goes through this valley that to US as adults seems minor but to a seven year old it is a deep valley. Their burdens are big for their little bodies to carry. I want her to cast her cares upon Jesus for He cares for her....

On another note, this past week we had to say goodbye to some of our friends who have moved across country to San Diego, CA. (HEY SAL, Morgan and Cassie!!!!!) I was sad to know they wouldn't be around anymore but know the Lord has plans for them there. I pray everything continues to go smoothly for them. They are the ones who first introduced us to our love of hockey. The games won't be the same without them.

Steve and I went out on a date tonight. While at the restaurant this young man comes up to me and checks to see who I am. Come to find out he was one of my students TEN YEARS ago!! I remembered him quickly once he came up to me. In fact, he was the one who showed us to the table and I thought he looked familiar. He remembered some of the things I did in class and things I had taught him. He was quite tickled that I remembered HIM. I told him I may not always remember the names because there are so many now that are floating through my mind, but I remember my kiddos names but once they are in my class they are always my children! He is going into the Navy when he graduates in the spring. He wants to be a NUCLEAR ENGINEER.... and I taught this guy??? ha!! It made me proud of him and I was thrilled to see him again. Of course, it also made me feel "old." :) What a blessing it is to see children you have taught turn into responsible adults that want to do the right thing. I didn't get to talk with him very long but I do hope and pray he is still following what the Lord wants for his life. That is what will carry him through. He said he was going to come back to school and see everyone before he graduates. I look forward to that day.

I am sitting on this computer when I need to be talking with Steve. Of course, he is watching sports.... probably flipping the channels between golf, racing, baseball, football... you name it. I love it, though, because that is what makes him who he is.

I am also looking forward to sleeping in a bit tomorrow. I am glad I don't have to go anywhere at all this weekend. I would really love to scrapbook. That means the house will probably not get cleaned. Oh well... Life goes on and dust continues to collect. I don't want my house to be nasty and will make sure it is cleaned but I gave up long ago on the spotless house as you all know. One day it will be back but for now it is gone. As long as my children learn their responsibilities and we are together that is what matters.

Look at me... trying to get off of here and still yapping. Geesh... I yap people's ears off in real life and now I do it on my blog. Have I said lately how thankful I am to the Lord for the rain He has sent tonight!??? Praise His Name!!!! Night!!! :)

09/11/07

Yes, it has been a week... and what a week it has been!! Since I last posted, I have been back to school and found out that I probably went back a day or so earlier than I should but didn't really have a choice. (OK...I DID have a choice but didn't want to waste anymore time on lesson plans for a sub... I am a control freak, OK???) Last Wednesday I went back to school and it was all I could do to make it through the day. Everyone kept telling me I looked bad... gee, thanks. ha!! I was quite pale and didn't move very fast. The kids were great, though, and very understanding. I came home that day and took a 1 1/2 hour nap!!! On Thursday I got this renewed sense of energy and over did it for which I paid dearly on Friday! HA! By Friday I was just plain "give out." I am amazed at how much a minor surgery can take out of you!! No wonder it took my mother over a year to start feeling better!!!!!! I did find out at the follow up doctor visit on Friday that my gallbladder was chronically inflamed... which means it has been having issues for over a year (from what the doctor said). I think that explains a lot of things I have been dealing with in the last couple of years that I just kept thinking were heartburn or something like that. No wonder the medicine kept needing to be increased... it was just being a band-aid! It made me thankful I took my friend's advice and got a second opinion. I am glad the thing is gone and I am not having those pains any longer!!

Saturday we went to Steve's Dads to celebrate Steve and his brother's birthdays. I was tired but it was nice to relax... I even fell asleep while we were all talking on the back porch. Sad, huh? I was able to take more photos again which made me happy. I have truly missed that. I will share more of those shots later but these are pics of how bad the drought is in NC. It is worse where Steve's Dad lives but it is truly bad all over our area. We have been praying and praying for rain. I have never seen their boat dock with this less amount of water. There was no way we could have gone for a boat ride because his boat couldn't even reach the water when it was fully lowered!! Stumps were showing through as well. Steve and I were in "shock."

This week seems to be better. I am less sore, although I am finding if I don't keep that Advil in me I get really tender and a bit achy in the area of the surgery. Wesley was reading to me this afternoon and doing his homework and I missed the WHOLE reading because I fell asleep!! I think he did well. ha!

It is hard to believe that 6 years ago today... and on this day of the week... that we experienced what we now know as "9/11." I remember that day so clearly. I had my kids at school dress in red, white and blue in honor of those who died. It is amazing how time causes you to lose certain memories, though. Of course, I will never forget when one of my friends who works at school kept coming in my room telling me everything that was happening. When she told me about the Pentagon, after the 2 planes, I had to stop class and we prayed. The kids were clueless still but I just had to pray.. it was the only thing I could do. I think of and pray for those who lost loved ones that day. What a day in our history.... I took that picture of the flag at Steve's Dad's this weekend. We still take so much for granted in this country. We should be on our knees thanking the Lord for His riches and blessings. We have no right to complain.

Well, I guess I should get off of here and read to the kiddos. I have lots of papers to grade tonight so I have to get started on them right after they go to bed. Then, I'll collapse in bed. :)

09/04/07

Well, I am still here and surviving. :) My surgery went well and I don't remember a thing... he hee... In fact, the doctor told my Mom and Steve I should be out of post-op around 20-30 minutes after he talked with them about the procedure. That turned into an hour and 20 minutes because I was enjoying that sleep too much! The nurses and other staff were all very nice to me, though. I have been taking my pain medication and glad of it. The first couple of days were harder with the pain but it is getting easier. Now I am just dealing with being tired.

I was supposed to go back to work today but was advised to wait. My doctor wanted me to stay out all week but I know I can't do that. I'll be going back tomorrow and know it is going to be a long three days for me. I know the kids will do great, though. I have missed them so I am anxious to see them all again. I am still pretty tired and can get up and do things but find I get tired really quickly. I am not really used to that kind of sapping of my energy. lol

I haven't picked up my camera in a week... can you believe that? I may try to go outside for a bit this afternoon to get my stamina up and see what I can do. I really do need to get outside and "practice" for tomorrow!

I have had parents bring supper to us as well as my Mom. That has been a huge blessing. I just wanted to update on how I am. I'll post pictures later. I have been sitting at this computer for a while and I am actually tired, believe it or not!!