09/30/09

Interesting little plants, wouldn't you say?

It seems my blog has gotten a bit boring lately. Sorry for not commenting much. Life is so busy now that I'm doing good to post. I hope you are still enjoying the pictures!

09/29/09

Today was field trip day.

They are a nice change of pace but actually more stress than a regular day of school. Can you guess why???

The up side is that I do not have any papers to grade tonight... and my students had no homework. :)

Vocabulary words are calling my name, though. Off to see if two children know them!

09/28/09

Such a lovely orange color to get you in the mood for fall even though it is not a fall flower. LOL

Crazy, busy "what else is new" day. :) Off to grade papers and review homework.... and to find two library books that are missing... lol

09/27/09

I like the colors and lines in this photo. Wesley likes it, too... John Deere green and gold. ha!

This story was one that was read in teacher's devotion this past week. I shared it with my parents as I think we all need to remember this as our children are growing. We can also think of it applying to our own lives as well.

The Fern and the Bamboo

One day I decided to quit. I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality. I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.

"God," I said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"

His answer surprised me.

"Look around," He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"

"Yes," I replied.

"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.

In the second year the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And, again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the third year, there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit.

In the fourth year, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed.

But I would not quit.

Then, in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant.

But just six months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle."

He said to me, "Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots? I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you. Don't compare yourself to others."

"The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern, yet, they both make the forest beautiful."

"Your time will come," God said to me. "You will rise high!"

"How high should I rise?" I asked.

"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.

"As high as it can?" I questioned.

"Yes," He said, "give me glory by rising as high as you can."

09/26/09

Today equals these things:

Lazy, rainy day.

Stayed in comfy clothes all day that kind of resemble pajamas, although they are not.

Laid on the couch with Mikayla this morning for an hour while she and Wesley watched cartoons.

Ate chocolate double stuffed oreos for lunch. For shame.

Worked on journaling my scrapbook pages from a year ago... that I am still behind on, but better.

Realized it has now been a year since we went to see the USS North Carolina and I never even showed those pictures!

Watched Steve paint the trim in the kitchen around the windows. I may get those new window treatments up tonight!

Enjoyed a slow paced day with nowhere in particular to go. They don't come often.

It was a nice day.

09/25/09

Hooray it is Friday!

Cleaning is done!

Papers were graded at school!

I am going out with my sweet man since the kids are at a play date.

It's cool outside today!

Ahhhhhhh...... :)

09/24/09

This was a beautiful flower at the nursery area I photographed a while back. I loved the sunlight hitting it. "Far away" and close up....

Today has been interesting.

I came home yesterday to find the electricity had gone off while we were at school. I re-set the clocks.... unfortunately, I reset mine to an hour behind.

Fast forward to this morning. I get up at my 5:00 time as usual... or so I THOUGHT it was 5:00.

We get ready and start our day, etc.

Mikayla commented that it surely was light outside for it to be 6:00. I noticed it, too, but thought it was just getting to the time of year where that happens.

Steve came in the kitchen and noticed the time on the microwave and stove said 7:00.

"No", I replied... it had to be those were set wrong from yesterday.

I hurriedly went to get my watch only to find that, YES, IT WAS 7:00!!!!! I am normally at school for around 20 minutes by that time of the morning!

We swallowed our breakfast whole and got to school by 7:25. Amazing.... but at least we were pretty much ready before breakfast.

At school I got to experience God's creatures up close and personal and look like I was as skiddish as I was... it was a lovely LARGE spider that made its way into my room. My class went nuts trying to find it/stay away from it. The teacher did no better....

My amazing friend/Teacher's Assistant saved the day and took the spider outside.

Why didn't I just kill it you may ask?

Well, I kept hearing my brother in the back of my mind saying "Let it go outside!" (It doesn't matter that one of my kids had an ant on his desk a week or so ago and I went right by and squashed it underneath a finger! Here I am teaching about insects and God's creation and I go do something like that... lol)

At lunch today we had a lockdown drill. We had to eat in our rooms today because of a special gathering the first grades were having. Do you want to know how lovely lunch was today? ha!! We made it, but it was a bit hectic.

One of my students wrote this on the board yesterday for her prayer request: "Pray for me I have h1n1."

Yes, I was a bit shocked about that seeing as she was at school. When questioned further she revealed that they had been "attracted to it" by some relatives and her mother was SURE they were all going to get it. Now, I've heard of attracting all kinds of things, but didn't realize you could "attract" the flu. ha!!!!! (I love little kids when they misuse a word thinking they know what they are talking about. Of course, we all know I have misused many in my time so I should be quiet about that....)

I told her we would pray for her whole family to be safe and flu-free. :) She was fine today, too.

Speaking of words:

I have had car duty this week after school. Today I hear this conversation:
little boy: I catched this bug!
little girl: No... you can't say that, you have to say 'caught.'
little boy: "Catched" is a real word!
Then the the little boy comes over to me and asks about the word "catched." I share with him that "catched" is not a real word, and that you would have to use "caught" for past tense. I began to give examples of "catching" "will catch" and "caught."
He goes back to his friends and says something like this: "I found out catching was a real word. Then goes on to continue his story about the bug..... "I "catched".... (whatever it was he was originally saying.)" Hmmm.... not sure if he understood my teaching moment. LOL

Until the next saga of my silly days, enjoy yours. Off to finish some cleaning, do homework and grade papers. Such is the life of the school teacher.

09/23/09

I know these would eventually burst forth into some beautiful bloom, but I don't know what kind. I realize it is a lot of green, but I thought they were interesting.

We actually left school at the "time I could leave" today and came STRAIGHT HOME..... the FIRST since school has started, I believe. This doesn't happen often so we are enjoying it. :)

I copied this "survey" off of my online/blogging friend Wendy's blog. Just call me "cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater.."


1. What is your current obsession? Always email... always. School has made me become that way because I'm always checking to see if a parent has emailed. I know I have others, too, but you probably know them already if you know me in person or have followed this blog for very long! ha!

2. What is your weirdest obsession? I like to make sure the forks/spoons in the drawer are stacked a certain way. I can't let go of that.

3. Recall a fond childhood memory? Growing up on the farm... and all that goes with it. I was oblivious during a lot of my childhood, as my brother can attest, but it was wonderful and I would love to go back in time and re-live some of them...just not middle school....

4. What’s for dinner? Usually whatever Steve decides because he is an awesome husband who helps out his wife.

5. What would you eat for your last meal? As in, if I was on death row and about to die??? Well, wouldn't like to think of that... I guess steak???

6. What’s the last thing you bought? groceries and fall/winter clothes for the kids

7. What are you listening to right now? The hum of the computer, the sound of my fingers typing, and Mikayla doing something in her room.

8. What do you think of the person who tagged you? Wendy didn't actually "tag" me, but I think she is a super individual even though we've never met in person. She's also an awesome teacher. :)

9. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished, anywhere in the world, where would it be? Right where I live. I love HOME.

10. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? That is too hard to decide and if it is only for an hour I'd have issues because there would be a lot I'd want to photograph and not enough time. lol

11. Which language do you want to learn? I, well... don't care to learn another language simply because the Spanish and French that I tried to learn in high school and college didn't go over very well. I'm not auditory and I just don't quite "get" other languages sometimes. Does it count that I love HEARING other languages? (Kevin would be ALL about this part because he'd probably want to learn the over 3,000 languages that are in the world.)

12. What’s your favorite quote (for now)? "In order to LEARN it, you have to EARN it." Spoken like a true teacher.

13.What is your favorite color? Purple... and green

14. What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe? My pajamas and my old worn out robe Mom gave me brand new when I was expecting the kids. I love that robe, ugliness and all, and wear it every night.

15. What is your dream job? I do it every day.... I teach. Photography would be up there as well.

16.What’s your favorite magazine? Magazines???? Hmmm... I'm doing good to read my books, so I guess I don't really have a favorite one of those.

17. If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on? Probably use it towards the framing of my barn picture for my kitchen... a big ole 16x24.

18. Describe your personal style? I am quite simple and not into a lot of clutter.... I add that myself with our daily life. I am not one that feels I have to buy the best to look a certain way. I just get tickled if it looks nice and I didn't have to pay a lot for it!

19. What are you going to do after this? Grade papers and maybe pass out on the couch seeing as we have AWANA tonight and I have 15 more Kindergarten through second grade children awaiting me there.

20. What are your favorite films? The Sound of Music, Grease (lol), and, I am sure there are others, but right now I can't think of them.

21. What’s your favorite fruit? I guess I would say I enjoy all of them. I'll have to think on that...

22.What inspires you? simple faith in the Lord.... the ability for someone to constantly put everything in God's hands. I fall short on that so many days, but I am continually learning.

23. Your favorite books? Historical fiction

24. Do you collect anything? DUST... and pictures.....

25. Any advice from bitter experience? Learn in life that true friends stick with you whether you are having a "sideways attitude" of a day or whether everything is "peachy." lol

26. What makes you follow a blog? I follow my brother because, well, he's my brother! and some of my friends. Then every day I check others I have stumbled upon. There are others that I just visit every once in a while. I like to be friendly to people in blogger world. :)

I am amazed at the number of people that "follow" other blogs.... I am not sure if I'll ever get that! lol If I follow someone's blog and check it all of the time I always try to let them know I've been there by posting something in their comments.

HINT, HINT. No pressure, people, no pressure. ha!!!

09/22/09

It's the first official day of "fall" so I had to find something that looked a bit more "fallish." lol This will have to do. We don't have changing leaves and such until late October/November. I'm looking forward to picking out our pumpkins and such in a couple of weeks. Maybe then I'll get some good pics of all of that.

I was reminded today that when you allow someone to get out of a driveway when traffic is backed up, please nod or wave a hand or something to let the person who is being kind know that you appreciate the gesture. A little kindness back goes a long way.

(This coming from the person who tried to show kindness but was ignored.) LOL!

09/21/09

Isn't this just beautiful? It is some type of lily, I believe.

Short and sweet today... off to work on other things. :)

09/20/09

Here is a bit of peace in imagery today...

John 10:11~I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Think on this today. Jesus is our good Shepherd and He GAVE His life for you and me. My pastor spoke on that today and it was a wonderful message. No one took Jesus' life from Him, He gave it. We all would willingly give something for someone, but are we willing to give our life? That is something to ponder. Truly, no one ever cares for us like Jesus.

The words to this song were read today in church. I love this song. As you know I love hymns and that is why I love the group Selah so much because they still sing them. There are a lot of valuable truths we can still glean from them. As you read the words, really think about what they are saying.

No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus

I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus,
Since I found in Him a friend so strong and true.
I would tell you how He changed my life completely;
He did something no other friend could do.

Chorus
No one ever cared for me like Jesus;
There's no other friend so kind as He.
No one else could take the sin and darkness from me;
O how much He cared for me.

All my life was full of sin when Jesus found me;
All my heart was full of misery and woe,
Jesus placed His strong arms about me
And He led me in the way I ought to go.

Chorus
No one ever cared for me like Jesus;
There's no other friend so kind as He.
No one else could take the sin and darkness from me;
O how much He cared for me.

Ev'ry day He comes to me with new assurance;
More and more I understand His word of love.
But I'll never know just why He came to save me,
Till someday I see His blessed face above.

Chorus
No one ever cared for me like Jesus;
There's no other friend so kind as He.
No one else could take the sin and darkness from me;
O how much He cared for me.

09/19/09

I took this today.... some senior pics. I loved this shot and it is my favorite so far. It was a lot of fun. Didn't get much accomplished today in the area of housecleaning but.... it will still be here another day.

09/18/09

These are called "paste pearls" (I think I remember that is what they are) and I took them at my friend's house. She had them on a mannequin and they were so unusual I tried to capture them. I didn't think my capturing was what I had desired, but here they are nonetheless.


These pearls are not the real thing but they were loved, I am sure. I imagined someone wore them proudly knowing they were the best they could have.

They also remind me of a story I read long ago. I thought it worked well with my pictures. It always brings a bit of a tear to my eyes when I read it. Hope you enjoy.

The Treasure

By Alice Gray as printed in “More Stories for the Heart”

The cheerful girl with bouncy curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box.

“Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please!”

Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her girls upturned face.

“A dollar ninety-five. That’s almost $2.00. If you really want them, I’ll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday is only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma.”

As soon as Jenny go home she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.

Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere - Sunday School, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop what he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story.

One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, “Do you love me?”

“Oh yes, Daddy. You know I love you.”

“Then give me your pearls.”

“Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess - the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She’s my favorite.”

“That’s okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night.”

And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny’s daddy asked again,

“Do you love me?”

“Daddy, you know I love you.”

“Then give me your pearls.”

“Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have the babydoll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper.

“That’s okay. Sleep well, God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you.”

And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian-style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.

“What is it, Jenny? What’s the matter?”

Jenny didn’t say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, “Here Daddy. It’s for you.”

With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny’s kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny.

He had had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her the genuine treasure.

So like our Heavenly Father.

What are you hanging on to?

09/17/09

These first two pictures are of an antique chandelier that was at my friend's house. It was most unusual as it was on a "stand" and not one that hung from the ceiling. I love sparkly things and it sparkled in the light so I was drawn to it. Of course, sparkly things do not always photograph well unless you have the right equipment, but these were my "best" shots. I thought they were neat, anyway.


As I was talking to a friend the other evening on how busy our lives were, I was reminded of how much less busy mine was than hers.... and was thankful.

She has three children and they are all involved in many different things, plus school... plus church. I have shared with her before that I just couldn't live my life but "so" busy.... I am not a person that is cut out to be "on the go" all of the time. She knows how I feel and I don't make a big deal out of it with her, but on the way home that evening I thought on that a lot.

I am seeing more and more the older the kids get that, while outside things are good and bring out qualities in them that help with responsibility and maturity, I also do not want to be SO busy that we have no time for this:

Sitting at our kitchen table eating supper together as a family.

Now, I know that many of the meals there are not hours long and full of conversation. A lot of nights they are hurried and "How was your day" was about all that we were able to say. The meals may not have been the fanciest... sometimes just a peanut butter/jelly sandwich. BUT... the fact that we were at home TOGETHER, and not running around like chickens with our heads cut off to get to something else, make it precious to me.

Our society today tends to demand our children be involved in SO much. I wonder sometimes if that is why families are falling apart or kids are so stressed out in school.

I want Wesley and Mikayla to be well-rounded individuals... and you KNOW I expect a lot out of them.

I do not, however, want them to be so "well-rounded" that we are never home, stressed beyond words and do not enjoy just sitting around the table as a family.... eating, laughing, loving, caring.

When I was growing up, those were the times I remember so much. We had many fun times laughing and carrying on around the table.

• It was when we would get to see Daddy most of the time because he was so busy with the farming.
• It was where we cut open those watermelons spread out on newspaper and ate to our hearts content.
• It was where I remember the candlesticks being placed when the lights went out because it was the center of the house.
• It was where we helped Mom prepare the Thanksgiving meal every year because there wasn't enough counter space.
• It was where we had loads of fresh veggies from the garden that were being put up for the winter.
• .... and so many more....
• (Even today it is where we spend many a meal trying some new thing for which Kevin has found a recipe or for the latest "news" of our weeks.)

I want my children to have fond memories of us around our table. I know our world is different than when I was growing up, but I don't want it to be SO fast-paced and hurried that we don't have the opportunity to spend that time as a family.

Those "events" and extra-curricular activity will fade away one day... I don't want my family to fade away with it.

Precious are the times we have around the kitchen table. I don't take them for granted.

09/16/09

I think these are the last of the cactus... I THINK. ha!! :)


I have three tests to grade tonight plus AWANA at church so not much time to "say" anything. Here is a thought for today:


Nehemiah 8:10
"Neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

Happiness is usually caused by circumstances. When things are going great, we feel happy; when life is unpleasant, we are depressed. Supernatural joy, however, enables us to experience a deeper joy that is not so dependent on our circumstances. As we live by correct priorities, cultivating our relationship with Christ on a daily basis, we will begin to experience a quiet joy resulting from a sense of security that we belong to God, and He is indeed in control of our lives. When we focus on this security, we will be free to relax and trust Him in whatever situation we find ourselves. We will not always feel happy, but we will have a deeper sense of joy that we belong to Christ and that His plans for us are good. God's joy is supernatural. His joy is also refreshing.

- Susan Alexander Yates

09/15/09

Quite an unusual cactus... looks like a fan or something.... or even a type of lace.


I am going to attempt to make a sentence or two out of vocabulary words we were studying this afternoon to show my "expertise" in learning bigger words with my children. HA! After some of my "doozies" of word concoctions in second grade, some days it is good I am learning vocabulary all over again.

Here goes:

It was a gloomy day when I went out to capture the coward who insisted he didn't need to read the passage. He was restless as he began to exclaim his talent was not in diving in shallow water, but in the ability to shatter a vase.

Thank you... I passed my homework today.