04/29/11

Hello?

Testing, testing....

One.

Two.

Three....

Anyone out there?

I think I have been talking to myself.

04/28/11

We went to the Fine Arts Competition today in Wilmington for the Christian Schools. Mikayla was in the poetry competition. It was a two hour drive to watch her perform for a few minutes, but it was so worth it and we also got to see some of her friends/my former students perform. I was so proud of Mikayla and her hard work. She not only said the poem, but "acted" it out instead of just getting up there "saying" the poem like you would imagine some would do. Her coach, her third grade teacher, was excellent in helping her.

We will not know the results for a few days, but I couldn't have been more proud of my girl. Whether she won a ribbon or not she is a winner to us. It was a great day to be with her away from school and just be a Mom. Her poem was so fitting for today because we have had a lot of storms and rain.... and hers was about a camel on Noah's ark. Here it is:

Camel Complaint
by Marty Nystrom

"Rain, rain, go away,"
Cried Camille on the fortieth day.
"How much longer will it pour?
I just can't take it anymore!"

"I know that it's a blessing
To be sailing on this cruise,
But the weather's so depressing,
And I'm battling the blues."

"I don't mean to make a fuss,
To murmur and complain,
But we camels aren't accustomed
To a climate with much rain."

"I'm really not a grump,
It's just that my hump
Is drowning in this ever-drenching drizzle.
I sound like a scrooge,
But this daily deluge
Is causing all my fur to frizzle."

"The gator and the otter
Are at home in all this water;
'The wetter, the better,' they say.
But all this pitter-patter
Makes my teeth just clink and clatter
As I shiver in wet weather through the day."

"Surely you can understand,
I'm homesick for the desert sand,
And I cannot contain my sorrow.
I can only hope and pray
For an end to all this gray,
And that the sun will finally come tomorrow."

04/27/11

So... since I don't already have a billion things going on, I decided to bring out an "old friend" and begin something again:

Yep... you guessed it correctly if you guessed cross-stitch.

When I was younger I cross-stitched ALL of the time. I loved it, and still did, but just didn't have the time for it when we got married and I started working, etc...

Fast forward to a couple of years ago. We were in the mountains and I saw a bookmark where I could teach Mikayla how to cross-stitch. I figured if I loved it, surely she would to! That started out OK, but she didn't "love" it then like I did so I didn't push it.

Fast forward to the NC Project - Mikayla did (and wanted to do!) a cross-stitch sampler. She really enjoyed it even though it was something she had to do more hurriedly because of the project. She kept telling me she wanted to do a horse and butterfly when she finished. That got me excited so I decided to go up in the attic and get out all of my old cross-stitch stuff. It was like Christmas!! I found receipts from an old store called "Piece Goods" (anyone remember that store??) where I had bought thread. It was from 1991. I had fabric I had forgotten I had and other supplies that got me excited. I also went online to this website where it had cross-stitch patterns you could order and download. As I was looking for horses and butterflies for Mikayla it hit me.... I could start this up again myself! There are some nights that I don't want to read because my brain is too tired, but I want to do something anyway. Working with my hands would be the perfect way to be relaxing yet doing something at the same time.

SO.... when I ordered Mikayla's horse and butterfly patterns, I also ordered a pattern to start for Wesley. When I started the new project it was like it is when you ride a bike.... all the things I used to do kind of fell back in place.

I can't become obsessive over this like I find myself doing with so many things in my life. lol BUT... it is something that I can keep by my side of the couch and work on when I have a minute without feeling like it has to be done in a certain amount of time. I find it is good to work with your hands and watch something be created right in front of you.

Cross-stitching always reminds me of how God views our life. He takes us one stitch at a time. He can see the whole picture like I see the pattern, but each stitch is a lesson in life that colors our world into what God wants us to be.

Can you guess what this will be? I'll keep you posted on how it looks as I work on it.

04/26/11

Just thought I would brag on Steve a bit today.

As I posted a week or so ago, he finished our deck in record time before the kids' party. He took it apart board by board and then replaced it in the same way. He worked very hard to make it sturdy and have a bit of a different look than before.

I realize I don't have any before pictures, but just know there were pickets that had fallen off and boards that had been rotting because it was 14 years old... and because the deck went on the back burner when twins arrived at our home 11 years ago. SO.... it actually lasted a whole lot longer than we thought!

This shows how he put "fancier" posts in and on the ends of the deck where he had to put 6x6 posts to strengthen the end of the deck, he put copper caps on top.

While he was re-doing them, we decided to put in another set of steps so we can go off the deck either way. It has been SO NICE to have that now.
(Molly came free with the following picture. She had her teddy bear with her that she had been slinging back and forth showing it who was boss.)

I wish I could have shown you what it looked like with the table and chairs/umbrella in place, but Steve has worked on cleaning the deck so that he can stain it to protect it and had to move all of that. Maybe I'll share that later.
That was also a makeover on a budget. It was called clorox the chairs and buy a table cover to cover the rust spots on the table. Hey... it worked and we love it.

He did an awesome job.... one that I know I couldn't have done. I am thankful he had the ability to do so because it allowed us to stay on a more frugal budget.

04/25/11

****These images are not mine****

I didn't post much last week other than celebrating our projects done and our risen Lord.

I had much to chew on from the previous Saturday when all of the storms hit with tornadoes. I have even dreamed about the tornadoes coming again. It was all very surreal.

We had heard all week that the storms on Saturday were going to be bad. I have had to learn over the years to not get stressed over them because they usually do not come down "my street" and I worry for nothing. I always want to be cautious and be careful, but not to panic.

However, Saturday changed all of that!

It is a sobering feeling when you hear the newscast say a tornado is coming and then the meteorologist mentions your street in the path! I still didn't panic, but I began to put everything I could in the bathroom... including all of the stuff I could find from their NC projects.

We went into the bathroom when Steve looked out the window and saw debris flying in a circular motion. The electricity immediately went out when we closed the door to the bathroom. I did have a calmness through it all that the Lord was with us.

When we emerged just a few minutes later, we thought everything was good for the most part. That is, until we realized that just a 1/4 mile up the road the tornado went through and did a lot of damage.

We have gone around to see the damage that was done in a matter of seconds. Homes were torn apart, trees were twisted and broken as well as fully uprooted. There were lives lost as well, but thankfully, no lives were lost around our immediate area.

We have seen a lot of trees just like this near our home.

The force of the tornadoes just cause you to go speechless.

This is a common site around our home, too. This was in downtown Raleigh at the old cemetary.

It is amazing how these old and well-established trees were just yanked from their spots.

I will admit... I have had a hard time realizing the damage that was so close to us and all we had was a few shingles off our roof. Don't get me wrong, I am SO thankful that the Lord protected us.

Tornadoes like this usually hit out in the middle part of the country. We see it on the news and hate it for the people, but we go on with our lives because we don't experience that type of thing very often. I guess that is why this has overwhelmed me so much with the devastation I have viewed... it was SO close.

I am still wrapping my mind around it all, but I am learning that isn't what I am to do. I was reminded of this passage of Scripture in I Kings after reading one of my former students' blog:

The prophet Elijah was in self-pity mode. He was overwhelmed with all that was going on around him. He had just had a great victory on Mount Carmel where he showed God was the one true God to the prophets of Baal. Now he was running for his life from wicked Queen Jezebel. He was in a cave hiding out because he knew she wanted to kill him. God asked him why he was in the cave. He forgot to remember what God had just done for him until this:

[God said], Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. I Kings 19:11-12

I have to listen to that still small voice and remember that God is in control no matter what the circumstances. Please continue to pray for those who have a long road of recovery and re-building. Thankfully, God is there.

This was a photograph taken by someone right after the storms went through Wendell, NC last weekend.

04/24/11

Matthew 28:6
He is not hear: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

The Sign of the Empty Egg

In a schoolroom was a boy with Down Syndrome. Some of the kids like to make fun of him. One warm spring day the teacher gave each of the students a big empty plastic egg. Then she sent them outside to find signs of life and put them inside the egg.

Soon they returned. Inside one student's egg was a butterfly. In another was an ant. Others had collected flowers, twigs, blades of grass. But one egg had nothing in it. Everyone knew whose it was, and the kids laughed at the boy. The teacher asked him why he had not put anything inside his egg to show signs of life. Without a hint of embarrassment, he said, "Because the tomb was empty."

That boy understood a profound truth - a truth each of us should tell someone about. The empty tomb was a sign of life. It indicated that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead! It's a miracle that is even better than the return of life in spring.

See What a Morning! - Keith and Kristyn Getty.... love this song!





A cupcake for our Easter party one of my parents made for school. They were just too pretty to eat!

04/23/11

Beautiful Terrible Cross....

04/22/11

I recently got this as an email. I thought it only fitting to share on this Good Friday. This Friday is GOOD because Jesus paid it all.

At the age of 33, Jesus was condemned to the death penalty.

At the time crucifixion was the "worst" death. Only the worst criminals condemned to be crucified. Yet it was even more dreadful for Jesus, unlike other criminals condemned to death by crucifixion, Jesus was to be nailed to the cross by His hands and feet.

Each nail was 6 to 8 inches long.

The nails were driven into His wrist.
Not into His palms as is commonly portrayed.
There's a tendon in the wrist that extends to the shoulder.
The Roman guards knew that when the nails
were being hammered into the wrist,
that tendon would tear and break, forcing Jesus
to use His back muscles to support himself
so that He could breathe.

Both of His feet were nailed together.
Thus He was forced to support Himself on the single nail
that impaled His feet to the cross.
Jesus could not support himself with His legs
because of the pain, so He was forced to alternate
between arching His back then using his legs
just to continue to breathe.
Imagine the struggle, the pain, the suffering, the courage.

Jesus endured this reality for over 3 hours.


Can you imagine this kind of suffering?
A few minutes before He died,
Jesus stopped bleeding.
He was simply pouring water from his wounds.

From common images, we see wounds to His hands
and feet and even the spear wound to His side...
But do we realize His wounds were actually made in his body.
A hammer driving large nails through the wrist,
the feet overlapped and an even large nail
hammered through the arches,
then a Roman guard piercing His side with a spear.

But before the nails and the spear,
Jesus was whipped and beaten.
The whipping was so severe that it tore the flesh from His body.
The beating so horrific that His face was torn
and his beard ripped from His face.
The crown of thorns cut deeply into His scalp.
Most men would not have survived this torture.

He had no more blood to bleed out,
only water poured from His wounds.
The human adult body contains about 3.5 liters
(just less than a gallon) of blood.

Jesus poured all 3.5 liters of his blood;
He had three nails hammered into His members;
a crown of thorns on His head and, beyond that,
a Roman soldier who stabbed a spear into His chest.

All these without mentioning the humiliation
He passed after carrying His own cross for almost 2 kilometers,
while the crowd spat in his face and threw stones
(the cross was almost 30 kg of weight, only for its higher part,
where His hands were nailed).

Jesus had to endure this experience,
so that you can have free access to God.

So that your sins could be "washed" away.
All of them, with no exception!
Don't ignore this situation.

JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR YOU!

Do you KNOW Him?

"How Deep the Father's Love for Us" by Selah

04/21/11

I realize I have been MIA.

(I sometimes wonder, though, if my daily blog begins to sound like the teacher on Charlie Brown - wa, wa, wa, wa, wa....)

I have been overwhelmed this week by all the devastation around me from this past weekend. I'll talk more on that tomorrow.

I have been overwhelmed, too, by the last minute work on the kids fourth grade NC Projects times two that are due today.

This was my den most of the week. Our office was the normal disaster zone, but I had to get out of there and move to another environment. This actually looks good compared to what the office looked like most of the time.

See those sticky tabs? They were used A LOT on this project and I picked up over 12 million of them. I even found one stuck to my foot last night. Who knows whether I wore that all day or not.

We went through a lot of construction paper. It wasn't the appropriate size for the page protectors so guess who cut ALL of the paper for the project?
(I wasn't letting Wesley and Mikayla near my paper cutter.... I envisioned injuries.)

All in all this project encompassed 15 sections including the history of the state, government information on the state (a lot of information was sent from school to home to be mounted in each section.... which you hoped your child knew where they went and where they were. There were many times I didn't know if we had them all!), a city report, the two additional projects, arts and entertainment brochures and articles for each of the sections of NC - Mountains, Piedmont and Coastal Plains, decorated divider pages, a site visit that we made to Old Salem which included a summary of our trip and pictures from our trip, pictures from their projects, all of their tests and quizzes, a travel brochure made at school, and.... well, you get the picture.

The next couple of pictures show that we were getting there but not complete. Steve and I put the tabs on..... there is no way Wesley and Mikayla could have done that and it make sense.

Wesley's... those are Town of Cary pics.

Mikayla's... Charlotte pics

They had two required additional projects in conjunction with this notebook. The kids got to choose from a list what they wanted to do. I had to change up Mikayla's when I saw how long just the notebooks were taking. She writes more easily than Wesley so she chose a different path from him.

Wesley's first additional project in addition to that notebook -
Wilbur and Orville Wright model
The box said it was for 10+ year olds. The 43 and 39 year olds in the house had trouble figuring out that model, let alone a 10 year old child. We need to write that company.

Wesley's second additional project in addition to that notebook and the above project -
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
He built this one all by himself. I was so impressed with his creativity and attention to detail. He has a light in it that works. He created the "glass" part out of the top of their mouth wash. Too bad for the mouth wash that it had to be thrown away afterward because of no cap. Thank goodness it was "old."

Mikayla's first additional project in addition to her notebook was a one page report on
James K. Polk.

Her second additional project in addition to the notebook and the above mentioned project was this cross-stitch sampler.
She finished it on Tuesday night at 10:30 pm. She did an AWESOME job... it was just stressful trying to get it all finished in time.
Can you tell she looks tired????

Mikayla's picture shows it all.

Wesley's just glad his Mom isn't saying "FOCUS, WESLEY!" to him a thousand times.

This was a huge mountain of a project. It was overwhelming.... especially times two.

My kids have not had a free weekend since January without me telling them to work on some part of this project.

Our spring break in early March was consumed with this project.

Many school days they had to work on this on top of their regular homework.

Many days I sat in the middle of the floor with them and cut paper as well as help them keep it in the correct area because it was not a project I could just leave them alone to do.

I am thankful for what was learned.

I am just happy to know we are "free at last" and this project is being turned in today.

We are doing nothing involving school at all this long Easter weekend.

We all need a break.
(Just ask the kids.... they know Momma's nerves are shot.)

04/17/11

Isaiah 40:12
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

Isaiah 40:15
Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.

Little did I realize a week ago when I chose the picture I would post for today how true these verses would be reality in my own life.

Yesterday, as most people know by now, a huge set of storms with tornadoes came through North Carolina. We had a tornado pass by just a 1/4 mile from us. Lots of damage near us. We are so thankful for the Lord's protection over us.

We were in the bathroom. The kids were scared. Mikayla was crying and we were all praying.

I can't explain it, but I had a huge peace even in my fear. I just kept telling the kids that God knows where we are and He is in control.

Even though there have been deaths reported which I know will increase when people are finding out more today, I know God is in control of all that went on yesterday and previous days in other states.

God is good.

Even when our homes have been destroyed.

Even when lives are lost.

We must have faith and remember GOD IS GOOD.

Let us praise Him today on this Palm Sunday for how He protected many. It could have been a lot more fatalities and damages.

He holds us in the palm of His hands.

He will never leave us or forsake us.

Praying for those families who have lost everything and lost loved ones.

God IS good.

04/15/11

Second grade had a field trip to the NC Zoo today.

I decided that this year I wouldn't take my camera because I have gotten so many of the "same" shots for so many years.

Well...

Guess who saw more animals "up close?"

Guess who saw more birds in the aviary than she has ever seen?

Guess who saw some flowers that she hasn't seen before?

Guess who is going to make sure she takes her camera next year?

04/14/11

Steve and I were caught on Sunday.

We were caught kissin' before service.

He had to usher for the entire service and so I wouldn't see him again until after it ended. When we "parted" we did our normal goodbye kiss and "love you" and I went on my merry way.

Our Sunday School teacher's wife saw us. She came and sat down beside me before Sunday School started and said she loved seeing Steve and I outwardly show affection to each other. She and her husband are counselors and they see so many people who hate each other that she said it was so nice to see couples who loved each other and showed it.

That was quite a nice compliment. It was something Steve and I do just because that is who we are.

We call each other silly names.

He grabs my hand at times when I least expect it.

He calls me "Darlin'."

I am thankful to have him as my man and to know we can be an example to others when we least expect it! :)

04/13/11

Can you guess what flower this is???????


Let's talk about prayer today. Prayer is just talking to our Heavenly Father. I am so thankful I can talk to Him ANY time of the day. He even understands and hears my thoughts when I drift off to sleep as I pray at night.

Last week I prayed for more time in my days.

Last night I was praying for a friend who got saved a year ago yesterday and has had a lot of uphill spiritual battles.

I pray knowing that God hears me.

I pray knowing that He will always answer... just maybe not in the way I would have wanted.

Sometimes YES.

Sometimes NO.

Sometimes WAIT.

However, He tells us whatever we ask in His name He will do.


Why is it I am always amazed when God answers a prayer "my" way?

Let's think on this.... we are told to come boldly to the Throne of Grace. God wants us to talk with Him like we would if He were right in front of us in person. Yet, when we talk to Him, as I did last night, we put limitations on what He can do.

As I prayed for my friend last night I prayed that God would allow me to hear from that friend. I then said "Well... I know he probably won't let me know how he is, but please let me hear from him."

Did I just put God in a box?

Uh, YEAH.

I stopped in my prayer and asked God to forgive me for putting limits on Him and that if it was HIS WILL that my friend would let me know how he is, then I would hear from him.

Guess who heard from her friend this morning through email?

Guess who sat in front of her computer with her mouth open and a smile on her face?

Last week when I prayed for more time in my days so I could get everything done that was needed, I looked back on my days and was "amazed" at how much I got accomplished. I got done all that was needed... and even had some time left to do other things.

I think it is good to be awe-inspired when God answers the prayers exactly as we pray.

BUT.....

Shouldn't we also be awe-inspired that God cares enough for us to answer our prayers according to His will which may not be what we asked....but is even better than we thought?

It should amaze us that God cares so much for tiny old us that He hears our prayers. God is so big that we can't comprehend how big He is, but He is so personal that He can see to the smallest details of our lives.

This reminds me of the Chris Tomlin song "Indescribable"..... He is our AMAZING God.

04/12/11

More cherry blossoms... full tree view. :)
So I am thinking yesterday I was a bit stressed.

The Lord reminded me this morning to be thankful.

Be thankful my kids are learning.

Be thankful I have a job.

Be thankful I have energy... even when it is not at its peak.

In teacher's meeting this morning our devotion was on dwelling on the promises of God instead of the problems we face. Our principal read from the book Good to Great in God's Eyes by Chip Ingram. It spoke volumes to me:

Here are some ways we talk ourselves out of believing the promises of God and focusing on the problem instead of His promises.

"We aren't going to have enough to support ourselves."

"My God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory" (Phil. 4:19)

"I'm so overwhelmed with all that's happening; I'm not sure how long I can hang on."

"God's grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness" (II Cor. 12:9)

"I know that's what God wants me to do, but I just can't. It's too hard."

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13)

"I don't want to go through this alone."

"I am with you always" (Matt. 28:20)

"I'll never be able to forgive her for what she did."

"If you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you" (Matt. 6:14)

We all need those reminders.

I hope today you rely on the promises of God instead of listening to the lies of Satan.

What are you thankful for today?

04/11/11

So... I just love this picture. Cherry blossoms are only here for a short while. Had to enjoy them while I could.
Randomness today:

Steve finished the deck at the eleventh hour on Friday... just in time for 9 kids to run all over it and eat some supper.

I didn't want them eating in my house.

The deck looks so nice... nicer than our previous one. Steve worked very hard and did a great job.

I'll have to take pictures so you can see. Hardship for me, though.

We survived the sleepover, but I realized I am getting OLD. I do not like to stay up late and deal with younguns like that anymore.

I felt like my parents when I was telling the kids to calm down. It was a flashback to my very own slumber parties growing up.

We were no good the rest of the weekend. Between last weekend and last week my body needed time to recoup.

I felt lazy.

I smashed my thumb in the van door when we got home this afternoon.

Ouch is an understatement.

I came home and had another iced cafe mocha courtesy of my booth at Super Saturday.

Between teaching at the end of the year and dealing with this NC project times two, the more I realize my body is not caring what it intakes as long as it gives me energy. Not so good.

I haven't been able to run/walk in two weeks.

Thank the NC Project and the huge blisters I got on my feet from Super Saturday. Now I am feeling like a slug again.

I've got to call in two children and work on that project some more. I think I am going to pour me some more iced coffee.

Do you think I might need a break from school???????

04/10/11

Proverbs 17:22
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

04/09/11

Whoever made up the quote "Silence is golden" must have had 9 kids at their house with a sleepover.

04/08/11

More cherry blossoms for your enjoyment.



My enjoyment will be to survive tonight.

There are 7 children heading to my home this evening.... to celebrate my two kiddos.

Six will be spending the night.... with my two.

We have requested no presents to be brought.... the kids coming are present enough.

There will be no goodie bags. I am feeding them and letting them spend the night. That is "goodie" enough. :)

We have hotdogs to grill.

We have chili to make.

Water balloons have been made and are ready to be used.

Cake will be eaten.

Memories will be made.

I hope I make it past 8:00. If I fall asleep I may wake up with shaving cream all over me.

Oh, the joys of birthday sleepovers!

04/07/11

Cherry Blossoms with the sun shining through the blooms.

It has been windy a lot in the last week.

Last Saturday we saw that wind knock over booths at our Super Saturday. We had to hold on to our cups!

Monday was even worse. The wind was howling and blowing everything.

Steve came in that day and said he was ready for the wind to stop and I had to agree.

Last night in my devotions I read something that made me think of wind in a different way. Wind is like the difficulties and trials in our lives.

We want them to stop.

We want them to stop beating us up and ripping us apart.

However, when I read this in my devotions I had a new outlook on the wind. It comes from Job and how God talked to him through a whirlwind to show him that God is always in control.

God did not forget Job and He won't forget you. When the storms of life threaten to beat you down, God is there, in His grace and sovereignty. He sometimes sends the winds of adversity, not to beat us down, but to strengthen, and fortify us.

For two years scientists sequestered themselves in an artificial environment called Biosphere 2, a structure built to be an artificial, materially-closed ecological system in Oracle, Arizona. Inside their self-sustaining community, the Biospherians created a number of mini-environments, including a desert, a rain forest, and even an ocean. Nearly every weather condition could be simulated except one, wind.

Over time, the effects of their windless environment became apparent. A number of acacia trees bent over and even snapped. Without the stress of wind to strengthen the wood, the trunks grew weak and could not hold up their own weight. (www.b2science.org.)

The harsh conditions, the winds of adversity - all help to strengthen us.

Through trials we become stronger in ways we never would have imagined. It is not pleasant to go through them, but the strength we attain is worth it all in the end.

In the midst of Job's trial, what did he say?

Job 13:15
Though he slay me, yet will I trust him:

04/06/11

My students wrote thank you cards to Veterans who had fought in World War II and were going to DC to see the monuments today. I am not sure if all states do this, but ours is called the Triangle Flight of Honor. It is a great way to show respect and admiration to those men and women who fought for us.

The thank you cards were too sweet. I just had to share some of what was written in them. Spelling and wordage are all the kids!

"thank you for every thing that you have done for are nation I realy apreashate the freedom you have given us and in world word two I bet it was hard I bet you were tired but it was worth doing all that stuff I wish I could meet you I realy do I bet you are realy nice I would like to no a lot of ansers but there is so many I want to ask I can't even fit them all on this paper Oh, and thanks for giving us freedom."

I really do teach separate complete sentences.

"thank you so much for you and your friends and saving the country God & jesus must be so proud of you."

"Thank you for letting us have freedom in our country. I would like to tell you something that I haven't told anybody my 3 year old sister wants to be in the Navy someday. ha! Thank you for fighting the war for me & us!"

"Thank you... for your service in our country. We appreciate your help. While I'm talking to you, do you know a man named ____ _____? If so, he comes to my church and is one of the best people in church. Well, bye!"

"Thank you so very much for fighting in the war. I am so happy that you are still here right now We all are very happy that you fought and I know that it was a hard time but it is over now. Thanks Again."

"Thank you for your help in the Navy. Your a big help to our Country. My family will pray for you every night. Guess what my cousin _____ works in the Navy. If it makes you feel any better."

"Thank you for your bravness, kindness, and trust. I thank you for freedom. even tho I don't know you you seem nice."

"thank you for fighting in are warps."

"Thank you for fighting for our free country the United States of America. You were so brave to give us our freedom. I'm so glad we are not still stuck with the thirteen colonies."

OK... wrong war. :)

"Thank you so much for our contry. We don't now how you live. I thank you are doing a great thang."

Yes, we are country folk.

04/05/11

These pansies aren't long for this season... pretty soon they will wilt in the heat around here.

Since I have put flowers from the winter up today I thought I might take you back a few months... to Christmas.

I realize this is abnormal, but those who know me, know that is not always far-fetched.

One of my students and her Mom came up with this jingle about me to the tune of the Twelve Days of Christmas at Christmas. They were in McDonald's one day and decided to write this tune in "honor" of me. She lost it but recently found it and gave it to me yesterday.

May you enjoy the newest version entitled:" The Twelve Days of School with Mrs. Fowler".... to the tune of Twelve Days of Christmas. Feel free to sing along... we'll start with twelve and move to number one:

"On the ____ day of school Mrs. Fowler said/gave/did:"

12 Reading Groups
(of all things in school reading groups get to you after you have heard the same story 3 times)

11 "Tear out papers"
(at the end of each day I tell the students to tear out their papers)

10 Made up songs
(I make up songs to EVERY thing.)

9 Birthday Hugs
(I give the kids a choice between birthday hugs and "spankings"... they seem to love the spankings.)

8 Spelling words
(This is obvious... we do spelling words every day)

7 Class Notes reminders
(We have "Class Notes" on the computer and I update mine each Monday and send out nice little reminders to my parents to please read them... and their child will receive 5 points in a subject, or a no homework coupon... or a piece of candy.)

6 "Take a moments"
(I seem to say this a lot... that I need to take a moment... you would, too, if you had 25 younguns telling you somethin' is ailin')

5 "Give.... me..... fives............."
(This is the way I bring the group back under control: Eyes on speaker, voice quiet, face the speaker, hands free, listening. They have to raise their hand holding out all five fingers when they do so.)

4 Stories about Wesley and Mikayla
(Again, obvious... hello, gotta talk about my chil'ren.)

3 dull scissors (When the kids come up to me and tell me something hurts I tell them I am going to turn into Dr. Fowler and use my dull scissors to cut them off. I even have a huge pair that are hung by my board.)

2 "Oh my words"
(This is normally said very slowly and with much expression. It usually happens when something has caused me alarm or surprisement (I just made up that word. I am good like that.))

and....

1 Out of Order Tally............
(We have the tally system in the classroom. If you aren't where you are supposed to be, that out of order is yours. I am such a meanie.)

I have never had a song "written" in my honor. I feel quite loved.

Doesn't it make you wonder what a day in my classroom is like? Just ask Lori. :)

04/04/11

Let's take a look at our birthday festivities from the weekend.
It was so busy and I hope the kids felt the enjoyment of their birthday!

Here we are with our annual picture between the times they were born
~ 5:46pm (W) and 6:30 pm (M)

This was them that morning.... I always put a candle in their oatmeal in the morning and sing to them several times before we even leave home.

That night we celebrated by going out to Mimi's Cafe Restaurant and then letting them come home and open their presents.

Here are some clothes for Miss Sassy.

She also got the new American Girl Doll of the Year: Kanani

Wes and his clothing

Wes got another collectible tractor - his 24th as he shared with me last night. :)

We gave the kids new Bibles because they requested nice ones. These are study Bibles and I felt they would be able to grow with them.

Their names are engraved on the front and they were so excited.

We gave Mikayla her birthstone ring. She was all about that!

Wesley has been wanting his own lap desk for a long time. He was tickled with this one. We will be decorating it with John Deere stickers.

Here is Wes and his new tractor:

The birthday cake.. simple, yet showing their differences. I had such a hard time eating it. It was such a sacrifice. I'll be sacrificing again tonight.

Happy Birthday to my babies!

About to blow out the candles.

This is what excited me most. I went to say goodnight to them and found them like this. Wesley likes to have "sleepovers" in Mikayla's room sometimes so I let him that night since it was their birthday. Well... they were doing their devotions together with their new Bibles. I pray they will always love to do this.