bed of heather

Still recovering...

2011-11-22T10:42:00.000-08:00

And I still feel like pooey...but I know it will be worth it in the end. I think I'm starting to get my sense of smell back, but unfortunately that comes with that 'sick' smell/taste...so I think I'd rather it be back the way it was!

The things I miss the most?

My sense of smell

Hot showers

Spicy food

My own bed

Sleeping!

Laying down flat

Exfoliation! (I can't wait to scrub my face again!)

Mom's been way too good to me though; I know I'm a terribly whiny patient. Dad's taking me to my post-op tomorrow so I'll let everyone know how that goes!

Post Surgery

2011-11-19T05:59:00.001-08:00

Thanks for all the prayers and support this week! It means so much to know I have so many people that care about me.

So far so good - I'm not in much pain, and ironically the pain has more to do with my limited sleeping positions rather than the actual procedures.

The official diagnosis: chronic frontal sinusitis, chronic ethmoid sinusitis, chronic spenoid sinusitis, deviated nasal septum, turbinate hypertrophy, chronic maxillary sinusitis

So for the run down of the procedures: septoplasty, bilateral frontal recess clean out, bilateral total ethmoidectomy, bilateral sphenoidectomy, bilatera maxillary ostea enlargement with antrostomy, ME/TRF - Landmark - bilateral turbinate procedure

Sounds like fun right? The procedure took him about two hours because once he got in there things were actually worse than originally anticipated, which didn't really surprise me at all considering I've been dealing with my gnarly sinuses for 31 years.

So far I don't have any bruising on my face, just one nasty one where the IV was because she couldn't find a good vein. I think that was the most painful part of the whole procedure! (But it could just be the Vicodin I'm on now blocking the pain!) I have to wear a 'mustache' gauze because my nose is still bleeding, but not bad. Just enough to be annoying. I can't bend over at all so that's made eating fun since I can't really see my face or my lips, and my neck is pretty sore because I think I'm over compensating by holding my muscles too tight. I have to sleep on my back with my head elevated, which is not comfortable at all, so I really only sleep in one hour increments.

Overall I think it went really well. I didn't expect to feel like doing anything for a few days, but I'm already tired of being cooped up and limited, though with my 'mustache' I definitely won't be leaving the house till my post-op appt on Wednesday.

Baptist Hospital was great. Other than the initial meeting with the pre-assessment lady (who I reported to registration yesterday when all my paperwork from the pre-assessment turned up missing!) everyone was amazing. I'm definitely going to be writing to HR to sing their praises. I was so scared by the time I got back there that I was in tears, and they were really comforting and helpful.

Here's to being able to breathe again in the near future!

Home Sweet Houston

2011-08-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

So, I just realized I never posted that I accepted a new position teaching Reading Resource at Garfield Elementary in Pasadena, TX, which means I moved! (OK, so those of you who read this know already since I posted on FB, but I figure I should keep the blog as current as I can!)

It's been a little less than 3 weeks since I moved, and I have to say I love my apartment! It's so quiet even though it's right off a highway, and it's pretty much in the middle of everywhere! I'll have to post some pics once I finish getting everything squared away; still have a few Goodwill boxes around an some pictures to be hung. But I'm pretty much settled in.

Good thing too since we start in-service MONDAY! I got to see my classroom yesterday and see my campus beyond what I saw at the interview. Love it! It's huge - we have over 900 kiddos! I'm in room 6 :) I'll be posting pics of my room soon too - I have a door and WINDOWS!!!

Thought I'd share some pics I've taken around the apartment of the community pets. There are ducks everywhere around here since we're right off a private lake (my building is right on the lake!). These are the ducklings we have right now with Momma. According to the other residents of my building, she started out with 12, but right now we're down to 8 :( There are several small flocks all over the place, but Momma and babies stay between buildings 18, 19, and 20. (I'm in 19).

This is the first morning after I moved in when I went for a walk. This is across the sidewalk from my apartment.

In case you are wondering, you can fit 10 ducklings inside of a medium sized Tupperware container, without the lid ;)

These are the babies as of a few days ago. They are growing so fast :)

The things we miss...

2011-07-19T08:37:00.000-07:00

I guess it seems silly that it's hitting me this hard, but I really miss my little Paisley. It's so hard not knowing exactly what was wrong with her, and having had to give her back because I knew I was not stable enough to put another dog down only three weeks after I lost Midget. But these last few months when I've been home by myself, really made me wish I would have fought harder for her. So I wanted to post the few pics I have of her in memory of my sweet little girl.

Capturing Kid's Hearts

2011-06-24T13:43:00.000-07:00

Despite the negative outlook of having to give up a week of my well earned summer vacation, I was somewhat looking forward to the Capturing Kid's Hearts retreat with my coworkers. Vidor ISD was big on it when I was there, and I was excited to have the opportunity to get to attend, even though again, I was slightly bitter because it was in the summer, and work-related anything was not what I wanted to be thinking about after the year I'd just barely completed.

But it was definitely worth it. I didn't expect it to be so heartfelt and emotional, but again it was a room of mostly women, so I shouldn't have been surprised. By the end of the three days, I had a totally knew perspective of how my classroom should have been last year and the many places where I could have really changed the dynamic of my room by employing very logical and loving techniques. The object wasn't to change the kids, but to change my approach to the classroom environment and my daily attitude in general.

As our trainer, Karen, continued to remind us, CKH isn't a Magic Pill to fix all our problems, but an amazing tool which makes negatives turn into positives when used correctly. I certainly have a lot to think about right now, both personally and professionally.

Getting Ready for Grad School

2011-06-12T19:58:00.001-07:00

My first book for my first graduate class arrived this weekend! My first class is in mediation which is required by all MEd degrees at ACU. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't get it cheaper on my Kindle than the traditional book price, but at this point, cheap definitely trumps technology (the irony being this is an ONLINE degree).

I logged on for the first time today to start my online orientation. The technology nerd in me cries out, "This is so cool!" I like taking classes in pajamas and not scaring the people sitting next to me! I'm really excited to see how I fair having to time manage myself as far as my education. As someone who definitely needs structure and deadlines, this should prove very interesting. But since this is something I've wanted for several years now, the motivation is definitely there.

My start date is June 27. Should be interesting to see how this all plays out! Here's to the MEd class of 2013!

OMG...What a Year!

2011-06-05T08:46:00.000-07:00

Well, 2011 has not been good to me, but I still know that God is in control. Even if I don't understand why I have to face the things that I have to face, I know He has a purpose. But I won't lie; that only makes it tolerable, not easy.

Along with an intense and trying year as a 1st year teacher, I lost my best friend to a collapsed trachea and congestive heart failure. It sounds silly I'm sure, but I still fight (nearly two months later) to find a way to exist without Midget. She was my best friend for 17 years - I can hardly remember a time when I didn't have her. Even when I lived away from her, I always knew she was there. I would go home to visit my family and cry when I left because I had to leave her behind. I found this amazing website that has made me custom jewelry from her paw print, so she can always stay with me (http://www.4pawsforever.org/pages/custompaws_gallery.php). But every day, I still expect to come home and see her sitting in her chair, waiting for mom and me to get home.

Then I met Paisley, a yorkie mix at the Beaumont Animal Services. She was 5 months old and adorable. It took a few days, but I adopted her and brought her home. I fell in love, but knew that she was sick. I couldn't get her to eat, and she drank bowl-fuls of water at a time. When I took her to the vet, he wouldn't check her for parvo, but did diagnose her with a rare parasite common for dogs in poor health conditions. He gave her a B-12 shot, so she ate a few meals, but still couldn't keep the medicine or any food down. Diarrhea and vomiting for a few days...and then I called Animal Services to find out that they had an outbreak of parvo. And Paisley was showing all the signs.... I ended up making the decision to take her back and let them test her...but they pretty much told me that she probably had parvo. I never did find out...I had to leave her there for fear of having to make the choice to put another dog down less than a month apart. But now my heart is broken because I've lost two so quickly.

Which means no pets for me for a while. I'm still struggling to deal with it.

But there are several upsides to this year....well, two, I guess. One, I finally got into graduate school! Yippee! Two, I found out that next year my principal is going to allow me to go back to teaching special education! I'm hoping at this point my year will start to turn around!

There Is A Time...

2011-04-03T16:50:00.000-07:00

This past week marked an odd experience in the career of any teacher, and I prayerfully hope I never have to experience it again in the future. We found out that on Saturday, March 26, one of our first graders, the daughter of one of our second grade teachers, died mysteriously in her home on the couch after complaining of abdominal pain and laying down to try and sleep it off. http://madyson-williams.memory-of.com/photos.aspx On Thursday, the day of her funeral, we had our own memorial ceremony at the end of the school day. I unfortunately didn't get to attend because some of our students had to stay in because of behavior, but my students came in crying and emotional like I never though possible. Most of them didn't know Maddie or Mrs. Williams well, but for me to say that my homeroom is usually heartless is an understatement. They typically laugh at anything which borders on emotion or heartwarming. (For example, I showed a video of "The Little Match Girl" at Christmas to all the classes....my homeroom laughed when the little girl freezes to death at the end. The other classes all cried like normal human beings, but not my kiddos!) But they were uncharacteristically moved by compassion and sadness for Maddie's family. We played a song by Mandisa over the loudspeaker called "He is With You" based on Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Though being a science teacher I often get the open-ended questions which I can answer with "because God made it that way," I had an unusual opportunity to share His word, and I was going to take it. If the state of Texas wants to start getting rid of teachers, I'd rather give PAISD a good reason to let me go than to have them have to fish for it! My students loved the song and having noticed that I was singing along, asked if I knew who sang it, etc. I opened the discussion quietly with, "Did any of you know that the lyrics of that song are based on a book from the Bible?" A few said yes, but most shook their heads. So I told them that they are words that come from the 3rd chapter of Ecclesiastes. I have one little boy who keeps a Bible in his desk to read during D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read) so he can ask me questions about the Bible , and he immediately pulled his out of his desk so he could look it up. The other kids kept asking if they could read it when he was finished, so I asked them if they would like me to read it aloud to the class. All of them nodded eagerly and said yes, so I had one of the kids get the Bible off my desk so I could read it. After reading, the conversation proceeded to my translating the meaning from NIV to more kid-friendly language and ultimately ended with me sharing the gospel and the ABCs of accepting Christ. That lasted for 20 minutes until the bell rang (to which all my kids went, "Awww..."). Then the kids that come to my room to wait for the bus wandered in and the discussion continued for another 45 minutes! What an amazing gift for me in the midst of a year of my life filled with doubt, anger, and anxiety! The verses in Ecclesiastes had me thinking about God's purpose in Maddie's death. First, I know very clearly from his word in Eccl. 3:2 - [There is] a time to die. Second, many times an early and humanly unexplainable death is sometimes God's way of saving an innocent child from a horrible attack by those who follow Satan and his ways. A dear coworker shared a story similar to this which helped speak this truth to me, and I am so blessed by her open heart! Third, going back to Eccl. 3:7 and using the words of Mordecai from Esther, "[There is] a time to be silent and a time to speak" and "If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise...from another place...And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?" I only claim royalty for myself because I am the daughter of the Most High and the King of Kings, but let me say that I knew in my heart He opened up the door for me to share His Word and His Truths with my students that day, which would have not been the case in the moment had He not chosen to take Maddie. My heart cries for the difficulties ahead for her family, but what a time for Him it was! I was blessed with the time to speak and not be silent! Though I may never know what seed He planted during those times, He was clearly at work in the third grade. My two coworkers both had the same blessed opportunity I did, though they shared different scripture, the outcome of His was the same. We all agreed - let us face the wrath of the state of Texas, because to have remained silent would have been far worse! For all of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 click below: http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Ecc&c=3&v=1&t=KJV#top

Getting ready for grad school

2011-03-12T15:57:00.000-08:00

Well, the process has officially started...I'm getting ready for grad school! I've been looking into the online program at Abilene Christian for several years, but had to wait for the two years of teaching requirement to pass. Although it still hasn't passed, my A-M-A-Z-I-N-G advisor, Robin, passed my resume on to the dean of admissions, and he okayed my student teaching and aide experience to count as part of that requirement. So I just have to have a great Statement of Purpose and references, and I should be in! I've been debating about doing the Digital Learning program versus the Special Education program, but the more I think about it, the more my heart is in it for Special Education. They also offer a certification for the Digital Learning, so I may opt for that after the MEd. Who knows what God has in store at this point! If I've re-learned anything, it's that God is always in control.

Hard to Argue with Child-like Logic....

2011-01-06T17:26:00.000-08:00

People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." - Luke 18:15-17

On few occasions, I am reminded why I chose to do what I do. Most of you know the struggles I went through to make the leap to teaching, and most of you know the extreme measures God used to get me here because I was fighting His Will for my life - out of nothing but pure fear of change and unknowns.

Anyway, after a long prayer time this morning asking for a renewed spirit during a difficult time at my campus, I showed up a few minutes late and frustrated with myself for not being better prepared....blah, blah, blah, the usual. I knew my science material very well so I wasn't overly concerned, but I still like to feel over prepared (not that that EVER happens). Consider it a flaw in my OCD personality.

Either way, today's science lesson was the conclusion of our lab on natural resources which fed into determining which resources are renewable and which are nonrenewable. After finishing our lab, I started one of the programs I use called EduSmart which is an interactive teacher's aide program (would be great for a SmartBoard if we had them.) It starts off showing 5 different types of renewable resources: oxygen, soil, fresh water, animals, and plants. (Our definition of a renewable resources is any natural resource that the earth can make more of almost as fast as it can be used up.) Per our discussions, I start asking students to think of things that could be made of animals and plants or something that needs oxygen, soil and water, and where the oxygen comes from, etc.

In my morning class, very unexpectedly, one of my "trouble" students raises his hand and says that he thing people are made of a natural resource. I assumed his logic was based on the fact that we eat plants and animals so we must be made of them. I fully expected to have to correct that by saying our bodies use those things to get energy and nutrients which we'll talk about in the 5th six weeks. But his answer truly caught me off guard.

Intrigued, I asked why he though people were made of natural resources. His response was this, "Well, God made people out of soil, which is dirt, and soil is a natural resource. So we have to be made from a natural resource."

Someone tell me how to argue with that!?!? I could do little to argue. I said, "Well, I guess we are made of at least one natural resource then aren't we. It's a good thing God made the soil for us then isn't it?" The whole class agreed, and we continued our lesson.

But it hit me hard. The child-like faith Jesus mentions in Luke and Mark was right there. So simplistic in it's design is the faith of a child. It's still very pure without all of the mess we bring into our minds as adults, twisting and turning faith till it fits our own version of "logic". We manipulate faith if we aren't capable. But as children, their minds can't do that yet. They simply relate to the beauty of what they know.

How I needed that small reminder of what it is to have pure faith! In a time of transition, where so much rides of my faith in Him and His plan for my life, I can only hope to survive by living the on un"adult"erated faith like that of a child!

A Post About Nothing

2010-12-30T10:50:00.000-08:00

Haha...so it's been since August, and I still have 'blogger's block.' There is literally nothing exciting that I can post here. Nederland is still Nederland - boring, dull, slow, etc., etc. The good news is that I'm praying about my move at the end of the school year. I'm applying to my usuals in San Antonio and also in the Clear Creek, Friendswood, League City area - hoping now that I've got some experience under my belt I might be able to get on somewhere outside Jefferson County.

I can say the last few months has been a huge growing experience for me personally. I know a lot more about what I want - but even more about what I DON'T want for myself and my future, though unfortunately it usually takes a mistake or two for me to realize those life altering revelations. God is so good; however, He never lets me suffer long and is true to His promise that I'll never have to go through more than I can handle.

Someone very dear to me said recently, "When it comes to life, all anyone needs is love." (Not quoting the song or Moulin Rouge, by the way.) That person was recently removed from their job, and was told flat out, "Love isn't enough anymore." I'm frightened by that statement, but see that dark thought hovering over this area like a thick fog waiting to descend. Perhaps it's my obvious and life-long disdain for the area I must always call my birth-place, but it seems so many people are desperate for something here and fill that need with something else that feeds the darkness. There is no room for love here anymore; I just never thought I'd hear someone say it!

More than ever I'm desperate to leave; knowing this time, I won't be coming back. It won't be long before I can move Mom (I hope) and turn my back on this place for good. I can only keep filling out job applications and continue praying for God's will to coincide with my desperation to be free of this place.

My Summer Endeth

2010-08-08T07:53:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow marks the end of my summer vacation, since I've been asked to attend a week-long training for my new role as a 3rd grade Math/Science enhancement teacher (basically reteaching hands-on what they are learning in their Math/Science classes where the new subjects are introduced).

I have to say I'm looking forward to the school year - even if it means I no longer get to sleep in and have limited responsibility. I'm nervous about having more students and more responsibility, but I know it will be fun. I just hope I don't let the administration down since they have so much faith in me. It's scary!

I've been browsing the web for helps and implore my teacher-friends to give me ANYTHING you can for math and science intervention teaching. I've got some ideas that work in my head, but who knows what will happen when I actually get in the classroom! Prayers are welcomed - for the teachers and the students!

The World Famous San Diego Zoo

2010-07-26T17:22:00.000-07:00

It was everything I'd dreamed it would be and more!

Though our day started out rough with a nail in the front passenger tire of our rental car, we did eventually trade out the car and make it to the zoo. Poor Hilary had to listen to me squeal and take a million pictures at the entrance before we even made it into the zoo :) I was so excited to finally see the zoo's sign that I'd seen when I was a little girl, I think I might have hyperventilated a bit.

First of all, the zoo is beyond huge! And of course, I wanted to see everything; it was so hard to decide what to see first. However, what we saw first was most unexpected - a peacock, not in a cage, but sitting freely on top of the ticket booth making a very loud and obnoxious squawk (which Hilary can immitate perfectly, by the way.) Apparently there are three or four of these Indian peacocks that wander the zoo freely making their highly annoying and LOUD "may-awe, may-awe" noise. (Again, ask Hil :) We ran into these guys several times: one was eating a Skittle, another was trying to sneak into the gift shop by the entrance - but the best was the one posing with his plummage open for everyone. I mean, literally posing. Wherever the groups of cameras were, he would slowly circle around to face them. Like he knew he was beautiful and wanted to make sure everyone got a great shot! I took a few pictures standing next to him.

We got lost amidst the monkeys several times en route to the tigers and hippos. Sadly, the tiger was hiding from us, but we did see the pygmy hippos, and I so wanted to hug them :)

My favorites? Hmmmm...that's tough. Of course I love the elephants. The ones at the Zoo are the older elephants, and from what I could see they were all Asian elephants. You could look at their faces and tell they were older, but still adorable! I wanted to play with them so bad! The zookeeper even got one of them (Mary) to trumpet for us! We watched them eat and play for a while. Then we moved on to the giraffes.

I think the giraffes enjoyed the crowd that they ensue as well - at least the seemed to look at the camera it was pointed at them. Unless there was food involved. One of the zookeepers came out and fed them "giraffee snacks" while we were there. Apparently Thursdays - Sundays there are certain times that you can go and feed the giraffes for $3 or so. Darn that we went on Wednesday! Anyway, we still got to watch them line up fore cookies, which is hilarious considering their size.

The pandas! Apparently, the SDZ is one of the few zoos which has a successful giant panda conservation program, since several have been born at the facility since 1987 when they began the program. We got toe see baby Yun Zi who will turn one on August 5 this year. He is currently only 48 pounds and unbelievable adorable. He's still very uncertain of himself and is extremely curious. He loves to climb the trees in the exhibit and will do just about anything for a red apple, just like his mamma. We saw three of the adult females and this adorable little guy :)

I only took about a million photos - ok, 724, but who's counting? So clearly I can't post them all. Needless to say, I hope that I can go back to the SDZ some day! It was so worth the trip and to know that there are places doing so much to protect our endangered animals.

My last on the list of favorites has to be the meerkats. They run around like crazy and get the greatest looks on their faces. Both the zoo and the Wild Animal Park had a meerkat manor, but we spent more time at the one in the zoo. These guys are hams for the camera. Several of them would stop and look at me while I took a picture, then scurry off after I put the camera down. Can't say they aren't used to being adorable!

Snorkeling in La Jolla

2010-07-24T17:33:00.001-07:00

La Jolla is such a fun place! Small college town, on the beach no less, with lots of young people running around in swimsuits and wetsuits. Hil and I snorkeled with San Diego Bike and Kayak Tours - basically we rented snorkeling gear and walked down the street to the beach where a guide (with very nice abs) showed us where to snorkel if we wanted to see certain things. Our plan was to snorkel with leopard sharks, who use the shallow waters of La Jolla cove during their summer mating season, and we saw plenty of them, plus some shovelnose guitar fish and a few others I don't know the names of. One fish kept following me and getting really close to my camera! It looked like he was trying to smile for it! The leopard sharks are very shy, so they made underwater photography more difficult than it already was (there was a glare so it was hard to tell what I was shooting.)

The water was also very cold. Make that VERY cold. Considering the outside temperature was under 70 degrees, the water had to be at least in the 60s. It was soon very clear why we were in full wetsuits! We snorkeled for a few hours before I looked up to ask Hilary where she wanted to swim to - only to discover her lips were turning blue! Needless to say we headed for shore.

It's no wonder people choose that little cove as a vacation spot though. I could have spent a weekend there easy just hanging out by the beach and snorkeling and kayaking around the cove.

Getting Ready to Live a Dream :)

2010-07-15T16:35:00.000-07:00

OK, so I'm turning 30 this year (gasp!), and I'm getting to live a dream. Since I was a little girl I've wanted to go to the San Diego Zoo. You are all about to see why...

Home Sweet Away from Home - Weekend in SA

2010-07-12T16:04:00.000-07:00

Procrastinator that I've become, I didn't pack until Friday morning, when I was supposed to be leaving. I couldn't believe how much stuff I brought; I used to be rather proud that I could travel efficiently, but I definitely looked like I was moving in with Laurie and Justin by the time I got done packing!

The journey always starts with the packing. Midget is not a fan of my suitcase, because she knows that means 99% of the time I'm leaving, and she's being left behind. Immediately when the suitcase came out of the closet, the whining started, and she was on my heels observing every movement I made with huge eyes.

Once I load up the car and come back in to tell her bye, she turns her head like a little kid and won't look at me - her version of a temper tantrum.

The drive to San Antonio was fabulous with no traffic or events outside of a few scattered showers and some minor traffic in Houston @ I-10 and 59. I got to SA around 3pm. My first stops? Scrapbook Cottage and Scrapbook 911. I mean - if I didn't have access to the Internet, I'd have nothing but the chain hobby stores to feed my expensive past-time! How cruel would that be? Anyway, I had a $10 credit at Scrapbook 911 from my previous exploits that I hadn't redeemed and plenty of time on my hands...which meant I had a bit less money left when I was done shopping.

Laurie and Justin were doing a family birthday celebration with their family for Justin's b-day, so I went to my old favorite Starbucks at the corner of West and NW Military to curl up with a book for a while. (Anyone that's interested, I finished all the Percy Jackson books now and I'm reading "Beautiful in God's Eyes" by Elizabeth George and continuing my Philippa Gregory books.) At 7pm I met up with David (whose Bible study buddies who were coming with us totally bailed on!!!), and we went to Azuca for some amazing food and salsa dancing - which is where we had his birthday party a few years ago. They had updated their menu, and I think it just keeps getting better. If I'd had my camera with me I think I would have taken pics of the food. It feels like a vacation restaurant; they put a lot of effort into the presentation as well. We danced until we were exhausted and couldn't stand the heat (the a/c isn't all that great in the place) and then walked around downtown. How I miss having a 'downtown' for one - and then having a place where you can just walk and stop in places just to see what's going on! I miss you SA!

I got to Laurie's about midnightish - navigating thanks to my iPod. We sat up and talked till about 2am until we had to force ourselves to bed. Poor Justin had drill all weekend so he didn't get to play with us on Saturday morning - which was a shame since we went to float the Guadalupe with Rockin' R. The river was fast and COLD! It was a huge shock getting in after standing in the heat to pay for 45 mins and sweating bullets (and all our sunscreen off). They told us at Rockin' R that we had to wear life vests because the water was moving at 180 cc per minute (or something to that effect where we nodded and said 'OK') or we'd get a fine from the county. Apparently there is a county ordinance when the river is that fast/high.

Well anyway, we survived all the rapids in our toobs without major incident - which is more than we can say for family in a raft that rammed a tree head-on and lost their life jackets and oars in the collision. The little kid in the boat hit something hard when they went down, because she came up screaming with a bloody nose. Fortunately, fellow toobers retrieved the scattered belongings that were floating and paddled to return them. At that point forward, they all wore their 'required' life jackets - which I don't think they had on prior to the collision.

Another interesting note - the cops on the river are mean! When we got to the long stretch between the rapids and the dam, they floated by in their little boat looking for reasons to write tickets to toobers. We asked about the life jackets, since several people weren't wearing them, and no one seemed to be getting ticketed. They said no one had told them to ticket for life jackets - so everyone started taking them off (they were a huge pain and made it very difficult to navigate the toobs - not to mention turn your head or move at all!). Then they proceeded to cite a group for having a cooler that was too big for that particular section of the river - like it's possible to do something about that while you're floating!?!? Rockin' R apparently rented them a cooler that was too big - which didn't seem right that the group could get cited when they thought they were rented an acceptable cooler. I mean, why would anyone question the acceptability of the cooler you were being rented for floating? Oh well. While they were getting ticketed though, the cops' boat decided to ram into Laurie and I - literally! First, he was steering to stick with the drunken cooler people and steered right into me with the motor on the boat - making some rude comment about it not being able to hurt me when I quickly pulled my legs into the toob to avoid contact with the propeller. (Like I wanted to stick my leg out and find out if it would or wouldn't mangle my outstretched appendage!?!) As we're dealing with that, one of the cooler group guys says, "Um, there's a tree" and Laurie barely had time to put her arm out before she rammed hard into the tree. The cop then says, 'Well that might hurt you' referring to the fact that the propeller wouldn't but his inability to navigate a boat with a motor might affect Laurie's consciousness. If she hadn't stuck her hand out, the back of her head would have hit pretty hard. If I'd had a way to report their badge numbers, I would have! They came and apologized about 15 mins later after they ticketed the other group - but never once asked if she was OK after the collision. The cooler people floated by and checked on us though.

The rest of the adventure went without incident. While we were waiting on the bus to get back to the car after the float, we learned that Rockin' R had lost about 32 of their vehicles in the flooding last month, which explained the long waits between the water exit and the transport back to the car. I guess I didn't realize how bad the river had been when I was hearing about the high water.

We went back to the house and showered. By that time Justin was home, and we decided that he, David, Laurie and I were going to go out to eat @ TGI Fridays and then we went to the movies to see "The A-Team." It was a good movie once I accepted the fact that Mr. T was not there to play his signature character.

Sunday's activities included church @ Castle Hills (and I LOVED having everyone hugging me and telling me 'Welcome Home' - I cried a lot that morning!) . After church, Laurie and I went to Chuy's and Fashion Bug (which could have been named that due to the infestation of crickets that were EVERYWHERE! Even inside the clothes on the racks!) We both bought a few things (they didn't charge for the crickets) and then went home to rest before Bible study. I got to see Devin, Khaliann and Elena (who is definitely up for the cutest girl in the world award) and Jennifer and Curt. After Bible study we ate at Incredible Pizza - and that pretty much ended the night's festivities. We went back to Laurie's and Justin's and sat and talked till late, and then I headed out this morning for a wonderfully quick drive thanks to the lack of early Monday morning traffic.

All in all, an AMAZING weekend! I took this photo on Friday, but it pretty much summed up the awesomeness of the whole weekend - though the photo doesn't do God's artwork justice. Thanks to J & L for letting me stay (and Justin for letting me have his wife for most of the weekend!) - and for everyone else I got to see and catch up with. I'll be back soon SA! Miss you!

The Baby Bird Story

2010-07-12T11:38:00.001-07:00

Well, after the massive amounts of rain that we had last week, I awoke Thursday morning to find yet another bird nest in the front yard after the storms. Not unusual; I've lost count of the number of nests that have fallen out of the oak tree out front this summer. It's been a bad summer for bird housing. Midget and I find them all the time on our walks. Usually I leave them unless it'll be awhile before the yard guy comes. This one I had planned to leave, but I did have to walk by it to get the water hose so I could take care of the plants on the porch. I was quite surprised when a very large mouth popped up out of the mangled nest and began chirping away.

This is the first time I've found one of the nests on the ground with the residents still inside! I got closer for a look and started noticing the adult birds up in the trees making awful noises to deter me from eating their young. Turns out there were two little fledglings still in the nest who had amazingly survived the fall. So I had to figure out how to get them off the ground so the neighborhood cats wouldn't eat them. (I didn't want to have to rescue another injured one from a cat.) I'm quite thankful I have those coconut hanging baskets now! I scooped up the babies, nest and all, and put them in the basket, which I then hung in the tree.

I peeked in on them a few times on Thursday afternoon and Friday before I left to go visit Laurie and Justin (another blog entry to come), and the babies were doing great! I named them Icarus and Apollo (fell from the sky and I've been reading the Percy Jackson books).

I got back today and was sad to find an empty nest. I kinda figured they'd died and Mom had disposed of them so the bugs wouldn't be attracted to the yard. But I noticed the birds were still trying to keep me away from the tree, so I started looking in the bushes nearby - and sure enough, one of my babies had feathers on his wings (but was still bald and fuzzy up top) and was perched in the bushes!

I only saw one, but I think that both my babies survived and will fly off! I'm so glad that I had a few more babies survive the summer heat and the weather that has been destroying the nests this year :)

Certification - Check!

2010-06-22T16:11:00.000-07:00

Well, the final dives are complete, and the test is taken. All that is left is for me to go to the shop tomorrow and take my pic for my license and sign my folder. Look out fishies - they let me in!

So Smith Lake - visibility stinks! Couldn't see two feet in front of me - even if my goggles hadn't been fogging up! I tried taking some pictures, but as you can see, there's not much use in this lake. This is Melissa just a foot or so from me. Not to mention it's in the midst of a trailer park. The manager came by and fussed cause we were 'all' apparently speeding...I don't think anyone actually was. And we saw a little boy peeing off the side of a cliff. Real classy place. Don't recommend anyone coming here for any reason other than getting certified. But it's true what they say - if you can learn to dive in Smith Lake, you can dive anywhere!

The best part is that I've lost almost 8 pounds this summer due to all the swimming! Must...keep...exercising! And I have a semi-tan line, that I'm sure will disappear in a few days.

Smith Lake Dive

2010-06-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

Pre-Dive:
So due to some scheduling complications, instead of doing our open water dives this coming up weekend, we are doing them today and tomorrow! So in a few minutes I'll be heading out to Smith Lake (which makes me nervous considering the reviews I've read of the residents surrounding the dive site, who have epitomized what people think of when they think of Vidor, Texas - no offense to my family and friends who live there because I know better!) However, apparently this is the shady side of town.

That said, I will actually be deeper than the 'deep end' of the pool with limited visibility, so I'm very nervous. I know the skills and I've gained a lot of confidence in two days, but I still feel very uncoordinated and gangly (if that's the right word to use there). If something ridiculous and avoidable can go wrong, I will be the one to experience it! I'm leaving way early so I have time to make sure I end up at the right place! I'll post after I get back, and tack it on at the bottom. Wish me luck!

Post-Dive:
Well, I didn't drown! Yay for me! Didn't get any pictures, considering we could hardly see each other! We dove to roughly 20 feet, which is pretty much the deepest Smith Lake gets. We went to one of the sunken boats, and I think we interrupted lunch time for two small mouth bass - we swam through a school of minnows. (Of course, my first thought was BAIT!) At the surface we had a perch follow us up while we were talking about lunch - guess he thought he'd join us! We're going to feed them tomorrow with flour tortillas! (Not the Texas Tech kind though!)

Tomorrow is the final dive using the compass and the written test, then, provided I pass, of course, I'll get my C card :) Then it'll be time to find some dive buddies. Anyone in SA up for TrashFest in the Comal in October?

Scuba Day 2

2010-06-20T14:45:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow we do our open water dives in Smith Lake - eeekk! I think I'm the dunce of the class - being so uncoordinated and graceless. However, I have not drowned, and I do much better under than above the water anyway, which is the point after all I guess :)

The sunburn cleared up and tanned overnight thanks to some tanning bed lotion which pulled the heat out. So I can claim a 'tan' keeping in mind that my 'tan' is most people's natural color :)

I did much better today. I went early for some 'tutoring' and Anne and Budd (the instructors) helped me work on my weights and buoyancy more. I can't believe how hard it is to sink! But I'm very thankful I've been swimming at the YMCA here in Port Arthur because it's really helped me build a lot of strength under the water. Just wish the chlorine didn't pull all the moisture out of my skin 'cause it feels yucky for a while till I can get hydrated again.

Still, it's fun! We took some pictures today and played in the pool and tomorrow I'll bring the camera to the lake and take some pictures too.

Scuba Lessons Day One

2010-06-19T16:28:00.000-07:00

K - so it's hard to remember to breathe underwater at first, but I think I've taken to it somewhat well. It's very dry air - worse than sleeping with your mouth open and finding your throat dry. Not that it can't be fixed with a little saliva, but still takes some getting used to. I have had to add more weight than even some of the larger guys in the class - I somehow float no matter what! Guess that's probably a pretty good thing in an emergency though :) So far we're learning all our skills in the confined dive area (aka - a swimming pool). There are 5 of us in the course - 3 of us are new, 1 is taking the course as a refresher, and another has been on controlled dives at resorts but isn't completely certified. It's a fun group to be with, and we've all hit it off quickly. Anne and Allen, our instructors at Scuba Brothers, are great!

It's also VERY tiring, but I didn't notice I was tired till after I'd showered and dried off at home. (I also didn't notice that my shoulders are the same color as my bright red swimsuit - despite the 4 coatings of SPF 75). Looks like I'll be diving in a shirt tomorrow :) Fortunately it does not hurt at all, so possibly the red will go down a lot. My face hurts yet received no burn - weird.

The course I'm taking, for those who are interested is the PADI Open Water Diver certification, so basically it means that I can dive in the recommended depths as long as I have ready access to the surface (hence open water).

We'll be diving in Smith Lake (in Vidor, where I was a teacher's aide while getting my cert) once we are ready for the open water dives...apparently there will be some interesting things down there. I hope to be able to bring my camera and take some pictures :) I've been told one of the exercises we do is see who can find the most golf balls in the water...interesting... We shall see :)

My First Real Summer Begins!

2010-06-08T08:09:00.000-07:00

No more students, no more lesson plans, no more IEPs for 2 1/2 months :)

My first summer not looking for a job begins, and I'm taking it off completely (no summer school) to enjoy or find that I'm bored out of my mind and need to do summer school next year! What a wild ride teaching is! I applaud all of you who have done this for years and not found yourselves absolutely exhausted day after day. I love it, but it's certainly not what I expected, and I'm glad of it! I had feared that each day would be the same routine, day in and day out, and that I would quickly get bored. How wrong I was! I have inherited all of the campus's behavior problems simply by being the special ed teacher, so each day is filled with new tantrums and fits. And because I helped out as a TAKS coach, all of the students at some point or another have seen me so I get random hugs throughout the day too. I had students who would come in my room after school to help me clean the boards and disinfect my desks and keyboards - which kept them out of fights since they were typically the bullies or the ones who were always getting picked on. Strategic selections :)

All in all, it was a fabulous four months, but I'm glad that I have time to rethink my room and relax a bit before I have to do it all again. So what am I going to do with my summer vacation? I haven't the slightest idea! I have two weeks at the end of this month in which I will be learning to SCUBA dive, but outside of a few trips to Houston and San Antonio - I got nothing but some volunteer work and a few home improvement projects, three of which I've already completed!

Anyone want to take a vacation before August 16? I'll go ANYWHERE!!!! I fear boredom!

The Good, the Bad & the Chamomile Tea

2010-03-17T18:35:00.001-07:00

Parents.

They can make or break a large part of a child's educational career. I'm sure most teacher-friends of mine will laugh at me and say "Duh, you just figured that out?". Others of you are, I'm sure, laughing, too, at that blatantly obvious statement.

It's not that I'm just realizing the truth of that statement; it's more so that I'm seeing it more first-hand as a 'responsible faculty member' than I did as an innocent volunteer and bystander.

I had the opportunity today to see just how valuable parents can be when they are involved in their children's school activities - yet, still recognize that their children make their own choices and expect them to behave and to receive consequences when the child chooses not to behave. Those parents are the volunteers we love to see, and the ones we praise the Lord that we have, understanding that kids are still kids and will misbehave and be cruel to one another - sometimes as the receiver of the cruelty and sometimes as the instigator.

Then there are those whose child "is never at fault." (Were I speaking, those would be air quotes.) The kids who instigate, but run and tattle as soon as things don't go as planned. Or the ones who are repeatedly picked on, as unfortunately happens in adolescence. However, the parent seeks to solve the problem by creating more problems - thus giving their child a reputation because of their parents' undesirable behavior. Sometimes the kids are even picked on BECAUSE of the parent! Then a "responsible faculty member" must get involved in a heated debate of how discipline is to be handled at a school-sponsored function.

In one day, I have experienced both extremes of the spectrum - the irate parent and the highly-rated parent. I have been blessed to know the supportive parents of my students and been cursed because school discipline isn't enough when "my child is picked on."

That's where the chamomile tea comes in...

My First Spring Break

2010-03-08T07:54:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's taken me months to post how things are going at my new job. It's hard to say how much I love it because just about everything I do is confidential. I have to say, though, I believe with all of my heart I am exactly where God wants me for the moment. I know things can change in an instant, but to have a job available just days before I was to end student teaching and realize that I was still unemployed was truly a gift from God.

My school has the most wonderful, Christian staff imaginable. Everyone shares their faith, prays for each other and the students, and it creates an environment like no other. I love getting up and going to work every day knowing, no matter what type of day it is, I am surrounded by faithful brothers and sisters in Christ.

I am now on my first official spring break of my new career. Being lazy at the moment, but I do have a list of chores that must be accomplished. I did get to start my week by going to SA and Hondo to visit Jennifer and see Kase Braden for his first birthday. I can't believe he's one! I still remember getting the phone call from Marissa telling me that she was pregnant! Time flies. I hate being so far away from them :(

Sadly, not much else has taken place in the past few months. Midget and I are just relaxing and listening to the rain. I will be getting her groomed soon, but I'm trying to get her to eat before I take her. However, she's enjoying having me home and is snoring blissfully at my feet. We may not make it to Miss Joy until later :)

What I Did on My Winter Vacation

2010-01-01T18:27:00.000-08:00

Well, let's see - snow, video games, shopping...yeah, that about sums it up :)

So I've posted all the details of the snowy trip to DFW. Well, upon return, I had Christmas with my Dad and Cheryl. Then I got to meet Erin at the Galleria for a shopping spree, courtesy of my $$ and gift cards from Christmas. I was blessed to find LOTS of clothes for work and new makeup (since the Prescriptives makeup line is closing down). And I had sooooooo much fun catching up with Erin.

Then I got to go to lunch and shopping with my sister. I can't remember the last time we did that, and we had a blast!

I've been getting ready for starting work/school on Monday, too. I'm getting so nervous, but a good kind of nervous. It's crazy to think that I can get paid to make a difference in someone's life. I'm so blessed to have been called into this profession. I just hope I can be what the kids need.

The rest of the time was wasted away doing laundry and playing Animal Crossing on the Wii. The GOOD news is I finally caught the elusive scorpion on the game after what felt like hundreds of stings by the darn things. I caught all the fish and the bugs in the game - so I have officially obtained the golden fishing rod and golden net. Quite a feet considering the craziness faced chasing the scorpion.

White Christmas 2009

2009-12-27T10:11:00.000-08:00

Who would have ever thought a SE Texas girl would experience a white Christmas without having to leave the state in search of it? And not just an "Oh look, the angels have dandruff" kind of snow, but actual flakes which look like the traditional snowflakes we draw and cut out of paper for crafts - without having to be put under a microscope before they melt! Mansfield (south of DFW) received about 2 inches of snow Christmas Eve, which stayed on the ground through Christmas day and into the following day when we were loading the car to drive home. The roads and driveways became dangerous and icy on Christmas Eve and many churches and other organizations had to cancel late night Christmas Eve festivities to avoid endangering the congregations and staff because the roads did get so dangerous. I couldn't even take the dog out to potty (not that she would potty in the snow - she kept looking for grass) because the driveway and porches were so icy! Talk about an unexpected Christmas adventure slash fiasco! We had a snowball fight, built small snowmen, and reveled in the abnormal Texas weather while drinking hot cider and sitting by the fire. We pondered the thought of sitting in the hot tub while watching it snow, but (it being December and all) none of us thought to pack our swimsuits.

Mom's family all gathered in Mansfield at my aunt and uncle's home, we had a wonderful holiday. This was the first year that we'd drawn names so each person only had to buy one gift (since money is tight for all of us - and all the kids are finally 'grown'). It was a very memorable and enjoyable holiday.

My cousins, Kris and Angella, and I spent Christmas evening playing "Rabbids Go Home" on his Wii - highly recommended game. If you've played any of the Rabbids games, this one will not disappoint. It's as hilarious and annoying as the other two games, and we had a blast!

I Got My Christmas Wish!!

2009-12-16T18:58:00.000-08:00

Most of you, by now, have heard that I am officially employed...or will be, come January 4 when I report to my new campus :) I'll be teaching Content Mastery at Dick Dowling Elementary in Port Arthur. I went to the campus today to see if I could get an idea of the school layout, etc. and ended up eating lunch with the staff...they are great! I felt perfectly at home and am really excited about next semester.

I visited Highland today too, where I did my student teaching. One of my angels got me a gorgeous Christmas gift! They were all so excited to see me - if I hadn't practice holding in my emotions over the past year, I would have definitely cried.

Anyway, these past few weeks have been quite exciting for me. I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping and am looking forward to the new year, while enjoying these next two weeks without worrying about a job! What a blessing indeed. God opened so many doors this year; it's unreal! Some of them felt like He'd slammed them in my face, but it was just me trying to go through the wrong ones. I've definitely learned to sit back and keep my eyes open rather than barrelling ahead and making my own decisions. It's really amazing how the path becomes so clear with faith.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and holiday season!

Miracle on South 6th Street

2009-12-05T15:07:00.000-08:00

It's official!! With mixed emotions and snow-expectant, hyped-up students, I ended my student teaching experience and have moved into the realm of highly-qualified, state-approved Texas educators. My generalist certification is still pending because I had to apply for a "Certification by Examination," but that should be available by Monday. However, the Special Education certification is a done deal. I will desperately miss my kiddos, especially my sign language buddy. It feels like the twelve weeks flew by; it's hard to image that most likely the next classroom I enter will be my own. There is one opening in a neighboring district that I will be applying for which is an elementary special education classroom. Wish me luck!

To top off the monumental transitional day for me, I drove home during a light dusting of southeast Texas-type snow flakes...the kind that look like some of heaven's angels have a bad case of dandruff. It did thicken up over the next few hours, but we received nothing compared to what the Houston area received, or remotely like what we received last December 11, but the spectacle was fun, and I was glad the kids did get to see it snow - I just hope they weren't too disappointed since it didn't compare to last years freaky natural occurrence. However, the ground was frosted this morning when I woke up. I drank my coffee while watching the sun slowly melt the frost off the roof and on the ground and watched a few disappointed birds alight on our bird bath, which was a solid frozen bird-sized ice skating rink.

I can also proudly report that I convinced my mother to let me put up a Christmas tree this year. It took most of the day, due to the fact that Mom's artificial tree had quite a few broken lights due to the rough transport back and forth to the storage building over the years. However, I successfully got all but a small section of the pre-lit tree burning brightly; I just turned the few branches that didn't light to the wall so no one would see them. I single handedly decorated the tree, though I believe my mom stayed away, not because she didn't want the tree or was tired - more likely because my anality and meticulous placing of the ornaments makes it hard for me to play nicely when it comes to decorating. Once we get the rest of the holiday decor up, I'll post some pictures of the tree. I sustained only a few minor scratches and scrapes from the branches and broken bulbs during the process. Probably the fewest injuries I've sustained in a holiday decorating endeavor, though the decorating isn't complete yet.

Well, I suppose I should finish my decorating break here and get back to it...ciao!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T08:38:00.000-07:00

I carved my first jack-o-lantern this week. I've observed the process numerous time throughout my life, but, until this week, had never personally wielded the knife to maim a gourd. Alas, my innocence ended on Thursday as we had a 'non-party' pumpkin carving lesson, and let the children help scoop the pulp, vote on the expression that our pumpkin should have, and vote on the shapes of the facial orifices. They had a blast! And I did, too - probably the most fun I've had teaching. So many moments become teachable moments; a simple pumpkin carving can be morphed into sequencing, sharing and turn taking, learning new words, making choices - the possibilities are simply endless.

It's hard to imagine I have only a month left in the student teaching process. I will most likely be substitute teaching as it appears there are no reputable districts in the area with openings. It's still a paycheck even if I will still lack the health insurance I miss so much. I've had to start preparing the students for my departure, which has been tough on all of us, but I've insisted that it's very likely that I'll see them again since I'll be substituting in the district.

Anyway, everyone, have a safe and wonderful Halloween! It's a bit embarrassing to admit this is probably my favorite non-Christian holiday. I love the festivities which accompany the "spooky" season. It's too much fun to decorate pumpkins, make spider webs, and tell 'semi-scary' stories with a flashlight and the lights turned off. (And during the pumpkin carving, it was pouring outside.)

Happy Halloween! MWUAHAHAHAHA!

The Elmer's Glue Webs

2009-10-25T14:05:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics of the webs we made in handwriting out of Elmer's glue and wax paper. The kids are sooo proud of them, and I think I've given the instructions and lesson plans out to EVERY teacher on the K/1/2 wing of the school. Of course, our class is right on the end of the wing, so all the kids have to walk by our class to go to music and PE - so we get "oohs" and "aahhs" when they walk by. Unfortunately due to the fact that I was instructing and because of potential liability issues, I don't have any pics of us making them.

Why We Have Zippers and Other Fun Things...

2009-10-14T17:33:00.001-07:00

So far all assessments and evaluations have gone fabulous. People around campus keep telling me how much they are going to miss having me around when December creeps upon us, which is definitely a nice feeling.

Today was especially fabulous. I created a lesson plan for cursive handwriting with a focus on the letter 'w'. The 'under curve' seems to be difficult for our children, and since most of our lowercase cursive letters are constructed using the under curve, I decided to work on a letter that has three of them (if you count the optional initial stroke, which isn't taught everywhere).

So today's handwriting lesson was "Wonderfully Wacky Woven Web Wednesday." Some of you probably saw on my facebook status that I was practicing and creating a model this weekend for the children to see as they created their webs. We started with wax paper and Elmer's glue and made cursive lowercase Ws all over the wax paper. Then I asked the students to draw lines to make the Ws connect - straight, curvy, etc. to make the shape of a spider's web. We followed up the web creation with iridescent glitter and then stuck little black cardstock spiders in our webs and put them in the window sill to let them dry. The idea is, once dry, the webs, which dry clear, can be peeled off the wax paper and will have a sparkly almost glow-in-the-dark feel and be a bit rubbery. We'll hang them up for Halloween decor along with the sign the kids made to go with them, written in cursive, which say "Wonderful Wacky Woven Webs". The kids listened well and worked so hard on their webs - and they had a lot of fun. The webs came out really cute, and tomorrow I'm letting them add some eyes or a red hourglass to their spiders in glitter before we hang everything up. I have to toot my own horn a bit and say it was one of my most creatively thought up lessons thus far. I was ecstatic that the kids loved the activity. I'll take some pictures tomorrow once the webs are dry. I can't post the ones with the kids, but I'll get some of just the webs alone. I'm very proud of my munchkins!

I also got to work with our sign language student again today - he is learning so quickly, he'll pass my ASL abilities up in no time. He's doing his spelling words now by sign (seeing the sign, hearing the word, then using fridge magnets to spell the word). We're trying to get him to make the signs himself, but his agility isn't quite there. He's certainly trying though.

This evenings top story; however,is that I have finally learned the purpose of the zipper, as of today. Our speech path intern and I really get along and talk a lot during our lunchtime. He told me this great story he wanted to share. He had a student with three items pictured on cards in front of him, with the objective of the lesson being to identify the commonality among the items pictured. He had a zipper, a button, and a snap on the pictures in front of him - the commonality being 'fasteners on clothing.' The student was mulling it over in his head and was quite puzzled so the SLP asked him to tell out loud what he was thinking in his head so the SLP could help. The student replied, "Well, I know the button is, like, for a button-up shirt. This [snap] thing is on top of jeans. And the zipper is on your pants so you can put 'it' in and pull 'it' out...." I should mention the student has four brothers :) So in case you ever want to know why we have zippers on our clothing....just ask our kids!!!

Midget's After Bathtime Dance

2009-10-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

I find it very amusing that my 15 year old Yorkie still pitches a fit after bathtime. She loves to play in the water, but when it's associated with a bathtub - forget it! Water is apparently only fun when it's at the beach or a big puddle in front of the house. And wet grass is not the same as a good old fashioned splash in a puddle.

Here's her little after bath dance...

So, What is Special Ed?

2009-09-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

What happens when three fourth graders have a chance to wind down after a tough lesson and enjoy birthday cupcakes courtesy of one of their mothers? Very entertaining conversation! We helped them begin the conversation by asking if they had enjoyed the previous evening with their families. One of the boys proceeded to tell us that his brother is in special 'aide' (not special ed, mind you - special aide.) Looking at one another, the teacher and I prodded him to explain to us what special aide is - to which he replied he did not know. Mrs. Fleming explained that it is a class where some students can go during the day to get extra help (since we know what type of special services his brother receives) on school work if they need it. He remained confused by this so one of the girls decided to help by blurting out - "Duh, you're in a class like that right now!" Definitely one of those "you had to be there moments," but if you knew and loved these kids like Mary and I do, you would have joined us behind the bookshelves turning purple while trying to maintain some composure and not laugh at them trying to define "special aide."

In other news, one of our boys is getting ASL (American Sign Language) instruction for 30 mins, twice a week, and I got to join him in his first lesson - which means I get to learn as well. The two young ladies teaching are both deaf themselves and come with an interpreter, but were so sweet as I mangled my way through finger spelling and demonstrating the few signs our student knows and the ones we think would be relevant to helping us teach and assess him. I can't wait to learn more! Today we worked on letters, numbers, colors, and his personal favorite: train. (He LOVES Thomas the Tank Engine.) So fun! I hope once I get a job and an income that I can enroll in some ASL classes myself. I think it's something that I'd really benefit from knowing!

Warm and Fuzzy Evaluations

2009-09-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

I think my nerves are officially gone with regards to being observed (at least until the principal observes me). My observations couldn't have gone any more smoothly if I'd scripted them. The first was Tuesday when Mrs. Fleming observed me in preparation for my LSCO observation the following day. My lesson that day was still "Statements versus Questions" - but each day we focused on a different question word. Tuesday was 'who.' I taught them "Who stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar?" and put the words to the verse up on the Smartboard so the kids could each come up and manipulate the verse before we got started. I had them identify the questions and statements in the verse, highlight keywords and punctuation marks, and then fill in their names as the person who stole the cookie when it was their turn. They seemed to really enjoy it - though it was probably more the opportunity to use the smartboard than it was my lesson :) Either way, the lesson went really well, and I was quite pleased. I, of course, have things to work on - but I expect to have things to work on throughout my career. I don't ever want to stop getting better :)

Wednesday, my official eval, was perfect :) Mrs. Dixon even told Mrs. Fleming she should take a 9 week vacation and just let me have her classroom. I have to admit that felt pretty nice. She gave me a perfect score, which I'm grateful for, but don't feel I deserve. I don't by any means think I'm perfect.

However, during the whole process, I think the most rewarding part was when two of the students looked up at me during their Independent Practice and looked at me with really wide eyes, saying "Miss. Simpson - I GET IT!" And they did - going from making a 20 on a worksheet to making a 100 on a worksheet - without my assistance. That moment and many more to come are why I know I'm where I should be. I can't tell you how warm it felt to know I'd helped them understand something they'd been struggling with. They have even shown that they can transfer the knowledge to other worksheets and settings - the sign that they really did get it and weren't just memorizing answers on a worksheet. Way to go, boys!!

My first lesson & Midget goes gigging

2009-09-21T18:16:00.000-07:00

Well, my first official lesson as a student teacher was interrupted by a fire drill. The poor kids were out in the freshly mowed grass for 15 minutes smacking mosquitoes so much it looked like they were all dancing to the beat of some unknown music. Then there were the kids who stopped to wait in ant beds...sigh...needless to say, it took us about 10 minutes and lots of alcohol based GermX to get the kids to focus on the lesson and not the unbearable itchiness that was distracting their already uber-distractable selves. I did get through the lesson and felt it went well considering all that took place during it.

In other news, Midget has taken Gig 'Em to a whole new level. She has 'adopted,' per se, three little frogs which have taken up residence in the flower bed nearest the garage - underneath the big floodlight which illuminates the front walk (and half the neighborhood) where all the bugs fly around. She usually just 'herds' them with her nose to get them all in the same spot - in the flower bed if they've hopped over the bricks onto the sidewalk. For a reason unknown to me, she decided a few nights ago to pick one up in her mouth. I don't know if she intended to eat it, help it, or play with it, but regardless - the end result was that it peed in her mouth. Totally disgusting, but incredibly hilarious to watch her cough and sputter trying to get the pee-taste out of her mouth. It was like watching Donald Duck have a sneezing fit! I did brush her teeth and clean her face really well after we came inside (and she was furious about that!) and we didn't go back out the rest of the night. Needless to say, she has not made any further attempts to go gigging since the little froggy went wee wee wee all the way home.

Student Teaching - Weeks 1 and 2

2009-09-19T07:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I have officially completed my first two "observation" weeks in student teaching. Though, my personality did not allow me much observation time; I found it very difficult to sit on my duff while there were students in the room needing help, and the two aides and teacher were helping other students. The kiddos seem to be responding very well to me, and I'm already quite attached to several of them. I still miss my kiddos from Vidor, and I need to call some of the teachers that are still there to check up on my darlings.

Anyway, I've been doing a lot of tutoring/content mastery work with them the past few weeks rather than teaching lessons. Some of the kids seem to be behind level on reading mostly though their intellect is on par with their classmates. Definitely a different world from last year with my severe and profound classroom. I'm enjoying the exposure to the different learning levels. We have several ranges of ability in the resource room so I'm getting my personal need to be challenged fulfilled daily, which definitely motivates me in a fun way.

Next week starts my official teaching schedule. I'll be teaching a Language Arts lesson everyday to our 3rd and 4th grades. Mrs. Fleming loves my ideas for the lessons - hopefully the kids will enjoy it and get something out of it. We've chosen for me to work with them on recognizing Questions versus Statements because we have several students that really struggle with that concept. I'm incorporating songs, poems, games, and jokes into the lessons to try and appeal to all of them. I'll keep you all posted!!! Should be exciting. I'll be officially observed by my college supervisor for a grade on Wednesday. Yikes!! I'm trying not to be nervous. I'll have to be observed countless times over my career so I might as well get over that!

Now for the elementary school humor of the week. We've been teaching all of the children in the school to sing a chorus of "Happy Birthday" while they wash their hands to make sure they wash the recommended length of time as per the CDC. Well, believe it or not, some of the students are actually doing this - breaking into song together with their friends in the restrooms as they wash their hands. Yesterday one of the teachers reported that she was in the hall while her class was taking their restroom break, and she overheard one of the first grade girls tell her friends, "I'm tired of singing 'Happy Birthday' - anyone want to sing the 'ABCs' instead?" Too cute!!

Labor Day Weekend 2009 - Part 4

2009-09-13T17:13:00.000-07:00

Alas, I must come to the end of my journey. Sunday, 9/6, was my last full day in Baltimore. We did achieve our goal to sleep in, waking around 10 am and venturing once again to Ellicott City for breakfast at Sarah & Desmond's. We watched the many people and their dogs come and go during our meal, and Matt asked one of the other guests where he might find a good bike shop. We drove over to the store that he recommended and browsed for a while before heading back to CCBC for an afternoon nap in the sun before Matt had to go to work again. I tried to sleep but couldn't - so I amused myself taking pictures of Matt sleeping and various other things within my view while he slept. Eventually we did have to leave the serenity of nature so that he could go to work. I amused myself by talking on the phone and playing on facebook while he was at work - once again unable to take a nap to pass the time. Picking him up from work proved to be an adventure, as downtown was a maze of people and police cars after the Orioles/Rangers game had ended at Camden Yards. However, I successfully evaded both in my meandering, and still have no idea how I happened across Matt - but I did, and he took over the driving as we headed to Diamondback Tavern in Ellicott City for one last hurrah. When we arrived, Matt's friend Brandon and the bartender, Mike, were the only people there - but by the end of the evening the place was quite crowded. Apparently Midnight Madness is quite popular :) Prior to the crowd's appearance, Mike entertained us by mixing his concoctions very creatively (think Tom Cruise in Cocktail). Definitely a first, but hopefully not a last, for me!

I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. We played a round of shuffleboard, which I officially suck at(even after Matt and I tried to fix the leaning table), until we had to leave due to the 6am flight I had to board at Reagan International in D.C. the next morning. We bid adieu to his friends, and I held back the tears as I realized that the most wonderful weekend of the year was truly coming to an end.

3:30 am came REALLY early, and before I knew it, we were outside the terminal saying good-bye. I managed not to cry this time - a first I think, and probably only because it was 4:30 in the morning, and I was hardly conscious enough to realize what was happening. I passed through security and boarded the plane without incident - and by early afternoon collapsed onto my bed exhausted, but blissfully happy, having had a fantastic weekend. Though I knew it would inevitably end, the weekend could not have been more perfect - nor could my summer have ended and my student teaching semester began with anything more amazing than seeing my beloved friend.

Thanks to Miss Fu for making the weekend possible - I can't possibly thank you enough! And thanks to Matthew for allowing me to come visit and keeping me around for 11 years! I love you both dearly!!

Labor Day Weekend 2009 - Part 3

2009-09-12T14:22:00.001-07:00

Saturday was a lazy day - for me anyway :) We got up around 8ish and headed to downtown Baltimore. Matt unfortunately had to work 9-12 so we ate breakfast downtown at the Panera before he headed into work. I took the car back to the house; one thing I did learn is that parking in downtown Baltimore is a huge nightmare! Worse than trying to find parking at under the main building at USAA after the day starts if you can imagine that (for those of you who've experienced the lack of parking after 8:15 am)! So I managed to find my way back to his place with the help of his GPS - who yelled at me several times because she had to recalculate her route. I had hoped for a round of applause from her when I finally did reach the house. Alas, there was none. Anyway, I wasted away the four hours doing various things: showering and getting all girlified, chatting with friends, checking facebook, etc. Around 11:30ish I headed out to go pick him up. Getting downtown proved to be much easier - I still had to use the GPS, but she didn't yell at me. I gave myself extra time thinking I'd get lost, but between the GPS and my lead foot, I arrived early and circled around the various streets of downtown for a few minutes till he called to let me know he was waiting. I should point out that the speed limit ranges from 55-65, so for the speed demon in me who has a hard time going only 70 on a Texas highway, you can imagine how difficult it was to maintain the proper speed while behind the wheel.

Anyway, we went to Subway for lunch to take a break from the fried foods of the nightlife and then drove to Matt's campus, CCBC (Community College of Baltimore County) to eat outside. Again - outside in September in mid-day! More weekends like this and my pasty white skin might get some pigmentation and NOT glow under a black light!

Oh, and I found the sign to the left utterly amusing :) This is on the CCBC campus near a steep incline - which apparently lends itself vulnerable to college-age stupidity during the winter :) But being from Texas, it's just not something one sees every day!

We drove to Alexandria, VA Saturday night for Samantha's birthday dinner. She and a group of her friends had been wine tasting all day - with the finale being dinner in Alexandria and hanging out at her place afterward. We met them at Sam's place to carpool to dinner at Taqueria Poblano (http://www.taqueriapoblano.com/). Yes, I ate Mexican food in Virginia. Their salsa was really good! I was impressed being so far from 'the border'. I ate so many chips & salsa that all I ordered for dinner was a taco - which was pretty good, too. I enjoyed the company a lot - many, many new faces that I don't think I'll remember all their names, but lots of good company. Overall, it was a very relaxing evening. I think we left Sam's about 12:30 am and drove home. And then crashed with the intention of sleeping well into the morning on Sunday.

Labor Day Weekend 2009 - Part 2

2009-09-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

Morning dawned on Friday, 9/4 - beautiful! No need for A/C - in September. SEPTEMBER! No swarms of mosquitoes, a wonderful breeze blowing through the window...it was surreal. Matt had to go to class at 9, so I took my time showering and putting on the make-up...essentially being girly to pass the time. I think he got home around 10:30 or so, and we ventured back to Ellicott City for breakfast. We stopped at this really cute, bakery/cafe called Sarah & Desmond's (http://www.sarah-desmonds.com/). They had all sorts of pastries, coffees, smoothies, teas, homemade breads...and I was surprised that it wasn't pricey. I noticed that the coffee shops and cafes in the area were much more common than what I'm used to seeing and very popular and affordable. I enjoyed the atmosphere and people - everyone was relaxed, coming in from walking or biking to joining for breakfast or meeting friends. It had a very neighborly feel and was also very dog friendly just like every other place in the area that I'd noticed. We had bagels for breakfast, and I enjoyed a wonderful cup of 'Hippie Blend' coffee - which I got several times over the course of the weekend. Very yummy!! I should have taken some pics, but I distract easily :)

We spent most of the day driving around and just looking at the area - old neighborhoods, houses, and several of the state parks in the area. In SEPTEMBER, with the windows down and no A/C!!!! I don't think I can stress that enough - still shocked! The deer were also out in mid-day SEPTEMBER, which I found fascinating. We sat on the side of the road in one of the parks - I think it was Patapsco - just watching them. I think we counted four adults and two fawns. At least one was a young male with short spikes; he kept his distance. We could tell the females watched him for orders though as we got closer. They didn't seem to mind our presence though. I was able to take several pictures (some, you'll see, I forgot to turn the flash off) before they decided we were no longer welcome in their presence, and they hopped away.

Friday night we joined some of Matt's friends from the aviation program at CCBC, Dave & Jessie & Jessie's boyfriend (can't remember his name) at Illusions Magic Bar & Lounge (http://www.illusionsmagicbar.com/) in downtown Baltimore. It was apparently voted one of the top 9 bars by CNN Travel - something they mentioned during the show and are quite proud of, which considering how many bars there are in the country does seem to be a huge accomplishment. At 10 pm on Wednesday-Saturday evenings, Spencer Horsman performs a show behind the bar - card tricks and his finale of hanging upside down from the ceiling while attempting to escape from a straight jacket. I, of course, was pulled up on stage by Spencer's dad who owns the bar and was a former circus clown to assist in one of the tricks. In this 'illusion', Spencer had me blindfold him and used a sword to try and determine the cards selected by other audience members. We mixed the cards up all over the table, some of them falling on the floor, and he still found a way to get the cards. I tried to figure it out while up on stage, but noticed that there were various stab marks all over the table, so in the end, I gave up the urge to figure it out and succumbed to the entertainment of it all. It was a great night - definitely something I wouldn't have thought to do as a 'tourist'. The benefits of spending time with locals :) I noticed later that a lot of people had videoed and taken pictures during the show, so I was disappointed that I hadn't done the same, but I thought it might be a little tasteless and kind of rude to do so during a live performance in such close proximity to the performer. I did, however, find someone else's video on YouTube, so I'm embedding it here.

Kuddos to he who took the video :) It's hard to tell in the video, and in this one Spencer's hair looks like it's a different color, but Spencer reminds me of a young version of the actor who played Carlisle Cullen in Twilight - as Carlisle Cullen with the platinum hair and the fair white skin. Matt said he looked like a cross between Macaulay Culkin and Jonathan Taylor Thomas. (I gave him Macaulay Culkin - could never see the JTT resemblance. You can decide for yourself - I found his facebook page; debating on if I should 'friend' him - http://www.facebook.com/SpencerHorsman). Anyway, I was impressed by the performance, but also at the abdominal strength Spencer had to have to perform the trick with all the movement - you'll notice that in the video! Leave it to me to be more impressed by his unseen abs than by the straight jacket - but I found that just phenominal!

Anyway, it was a nice evening and fun to meet some more of Matt's new friends - I'm sure they'll be getting to know each other a lot as the start down the road of aviation together. Definitely an evening to remember!

Labor Day Weekend 2009 - Part 1

2009-09-08T16:08:00.000-07:00

Wow...I don't even know how to start this blog post. Labor Day weekend was without a doubt the best weekend of 2009, and I don't think it will be topped this year or any time in the near future.

For me, the weekend started out on Wednesday evening (9/2) when I went to League City, TX to spend the night with Hilary for her birthday - the big 2-9!! Wonderful dinner at Ichiban's, a hibachi grill restaurant -amazing meal! I was so glad that I got to spend her birthday with her. I spent the night there and left for Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston the next morning for my flight at 7:55 am to Reagan International Aiport in Washington, DC.

Both my flights went well - I, being as shy and reserved as you all know I am, talked to the people on the flight next to me for a bit. I was a bit disconcerted the the co-pilot's name of the flight to DC was Tim Taylor - as in Tim "the Tool Man" Taylor, but the flight went smoothly without bumps, tweeks, or male grunting over the intercom, and we landed without a hitch, about 5 minutes late.

Matt met me outside baggage claims, and we headed off to Mt. Vernon (http://www.mountvernon.org/)to meet his friend (now my friend too, of course), Samantha for a tour of the property and collection of George & Martha Washington. Sam is a cataloger/researcher there, which I found fascinating. It really made me think about how much of the nation's history still exists up there - since Texas being a fairly young state has very little of that history. Seeing everything up there made me wish I'd paid a bit more attention in the years of history the Texas public school system poured into me.

I was able to take a few pictures at the property - most everything cannot be photographed because of the damage it can do to the artifacts. However, the re-creations were available for photos...the one to the left is the kitchen. This was separate from the actual house itself. The house had been 'restored' so to speak to match the era decor of Washington's time. The main entertaining room was painted a very bright green - for those of you who knew me in high school, imagine the color of my first car. That's the wall color - bright calypso green. We were also able to see the rest of the house, huge rooms which hosted many guests, and the bedroom where George Washington died in 1799.

To the right is a photograph of the tomb which houses the sarcophagi of George and Martha Washington (bottom middle-ish) and about 25 of their other family members. The tomb was built over several years, requested by George Washington to replace the old family tomb, and was completed in 1831. The last member of the family to be buried in the tomb was in 1855.

After Mt. Vernon, Matt, Sam and I went to happy hour in Old Town Alexandria, VA and walked along the waterfront. It was SO beautiful there. We were there just before sunset, so the view was amazing. I enjoyed people watching; the whole area, Alexandria, Baltimore, & DC is very pet friendly, so people would have their dogs with them in restaurants, shops - even church! I love it!! I took several touristy photos here. I couldn't help it. With the weather not requiring shelter to prevent me from melting and the peaceful sounds coming off the water...I think I could have just stayed watching the boats, fish, and birds the rest of the evening. One of the other cool sites we visited was Gadsby's Tavern (http://www.gadsbystavernrestaurant.com/) - one of the places where George Washington had dined, which is still in operation...one of the old ice houses used during his era exists under it. So fascinating to think about how much history still exists literally right under our feet. Texas wasn't even a fathomable possibility when all of this was built. Beaumont wasn't even established till 1901...and it seems like things here are old!

Across the Potomac from where we were lies Washington National Harbor in MD (http://www.nationalharbor.com/). It was really pretty with the sunlight reflecting off of it. And it was gorgeous lit up at night!

I also took the opportunity to take a pic of Sam and Matt...and to get the first pic of Matt and me of the weekend.

After parting ways with Sam, we went to Matt's place to drop off my stuff and then we went to one of his and his friends' favorite places, Diamondback Tavern (http://www.diamondbacktavern.com/) in Ellicott City, which is near Baltimore. It's such a cute little city with a lot of old homes and buildings which have been there forever (or so it seems). The city itself reminded me a lot of Fredericksburg, TX or Main Street in Boerne - lots of shops, coffee houses and cafes. And again, very dog friendly. There was a Baltimore Ravens game that night, but I guess since it was away and preseason, there weren't many people there to watch the game...which was nice that it wasn't extremely crowded. We went to 'DBT' several times over the weekend.

The Summer Ends with Student Teaching

2009-08-26T10:23:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like employment for Fall 2009 is a no-go. I will be student teaching at Highland Park Elementary here in Nederland. This is the elementary I attended as a child and will be under the instruction of my former second grade teacher, who is now the resource teacher there. God works in mysterious ways, doesn't he? I was inspired to teaching for the first time in Mrs. Fleming's class when she allowed me to teach a reading lesson. When I graduated high school, she placed a writing assignment in with my diploma that I'd entitled "Why I Want to be a Teacher." Guess she knew what it took me a while to figure out :) Anyway, despite the absence of a paycheck and insurance, this is sure to be an exciting fall. And once I'm done student teaching, I will be done with the ACE program completely and officially certified. At least I will be looking for a teaching job with a certification in my portfolio instead of just a letter of approval for certification. Hopefully that will help in the search for employment! If not, I can get a job doing something else without the worry of finishing my certification sitting heavily on my shoulder.

I'll start my student teaching on September 8, the Tuesday after Labor Day and after I return from Baltimore. Looks like the trip to Baltimore was perfectly timed :) God is so good to me! Even when I don't understand what He's putting me through!

Issues?

2009-08-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

So in spite of the stress added to my life as I desperately try to get my foot in the door to begin my teaching career, I have enjoyed going through my mom's box of videos and discovering what a little brat I was. Or, I should say - having my bratty-ness confirmed.

Some of you have already seen this from my post on Facebook, but for those who haven't - here's my second birthday :) I've saved you the 20 minute agony my family and friends went through trying to get me to open my presents - I would have much rather watched everyone open them for me so I could decide what I wanted to play with. Besides, the fun comes when it's time for cake :)

Enjoy!

Ah...Memories

2009-08-04T14:20:00.001-07:00

I can't help but get teary-eyed looking through some of these old videos. At least at my first few birthdays, grandparents and great-grandparents were all present - and though very much spoiled - judging by my very limited attention span, I couldn't have cared less how many presents were there as long as I had every one's attention while I was "entertaining" them by being my adorable, albeit bratty self.

One video brings to mind recent conversations my mom and I have had about my present and future. Though many conversations remain private (though some of you who are close to me have had the same conversations with me and will probably know which ones I'm referring to), I look back and realize without a doubt God does have a plan for me. And I thank my mother for hauling me to church and instilling His values in me at a very young age.

Somewhere between 12-18 months, I sing "Jesus Loves Me" and confirm "That's right!!!" on cue whenever asked. At one point, I say "I know Jesus Loves Me!!!" Mom's repeatedly told me she's known things about God's plan for me long before I did and has watched them confirmed. And many haven't happened yet, but she knows they will simply by trusting Him and having watched parts of His plan already laid out. It's just humbling and amazing to see pieces put together like this while I'm completely clueless and oblivious at times! Probably most of the time!

The Blessings

2009-08-02T19:38:00.000-07:00

I love God-breathed deja-vu moments. This weekend He reminded me of the many blessings I have in my friends and prayer warriors. I love events, like Becky & Josh's and Laurie & Justin's weddings from the past few weekends, which bring together so many of the faces of comfort and familiarity that I see in my 'family' in San Antonio. With so little time spent focusing on those relationships like I want now that I'm away, those events which put everyone together give me so much joy that I can hardly stand it. Being able to talk with so many of the people I love in just a few days was such a blessing from Him.

I also see relationships I have growing. It's strange that I just now feel that I'm moving into adulthood with truly emotionally intimate relationships growing exponentially with those special friends God has blessed me with. What a refreshing feeling it is to know trust - not only to be able to trust those around me with my intimate thoughts and prayers, but to have them trust me in many aspects of their lives as well. So much of this year has been self-discovery in a more intimate relationship with God than I could ever imagine, and one of the realizations I had was a fear of trusting most of the people I love. He's show me how and released me of that fear...and what a release it is! And to be trusted is one of my heart's desires, given to me by Him - what an honor it to have been explicitly and verbally told MULTIPLE times this weekend by my girlfriends how much they trust me and my heart.

I continue to pray for patience during the job search and anxiously await this next step in my freedom. Thanks to all of you praying for me!

Baby Me!!

2009-07-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

I'd like to introduce my weekend project. After discovering a box of photos in my grandmother's closet, I scanned and digitized each of them with the intent of making a scrapbook. Missy introduced me to http://www.scrapblog.com/ and with that, my baby photos are now in an album - so to speak.

Without further ado, I introduce...baby me :)

Who's your Pharaoh?

2009-07-26T12:44:00.000-07:00

It's no wonder why Exodus is my favorite book. Every struggle I have somehow relates back to something Moses or Israel went through. Let's talk bondage. My concordance has two words defining the term - slavery and servitude. One, servitude, can be a choice a person makes based on a personally motivating factor - be it joy, money, or obligation. The other, slavery, has never in this world's history had a positive connotation; slavery is without choice-without freedom.

Bondage to Israel came when a new Pharaoh ruled Egypt and did not know Joseph. He feared the multitude of Israel in Goshen, and, however he did it - placing taskmasters over them, afflicting them with hard labor (Exodus 1:8-14) - Israel grew. Bondage = slavery. This was no choice servitude. I can imagine what the brick pits must have been like - the grumbling against Egypt when the taskmasters weren't listening or perhaps they cursed the Egyptians in their native Hebrew tongue. But maybe not - some, if not all, of Israel continued telling the miraculous stories, from creation through Joseph, and kept their faith. Exodus 2:23 - the Israelites cried out and God heard their cries; literally "their cry for help...rose up to God." God always keeps His promises - and so it was time to call forth Moses to His plan for Moses' life.

Servitude can have a more positive meaning -depending on how the situation comes about. After all, Christ Himself told us we are his friends if we serve Him (John 15:14). In most cases I've found, a person's entrance into servitude is by choice, at least at first, due to a certain affinity to that which he (or she) serves. Many of our Biblical forefathers were regarded as servants of the Lord: Moses (Deuteronomy 34:5), Joshua (5:14), Samuel (1 Samuel 3:10), David (2 Samuel 3:18)...the list goes on much longer than this. Also, people throughout the Bible pledged their loyalty to relatives, kings, and friends by calling themselves "your servant." By choice, servitude shows loyalty, honor, even love.

Yet what happens when servitude morphs into slavery? Matthew 6:24 & Luke 16:13 - "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God & Money." In context, this is the moral at the end of "The Parable of the Shrewd Manager." When faced with a choice between two things we "serve," we inevitably must choose one over the other - rarely can a compromise allow service to both and even more rare, and possibly non-existent - is equal devotion. Money is obviously high on the list of masters - so are fame, career, family, community, drugs, alcohol. Yet, some of these can be blessings when not placed ahead of God.

What about the moment when we are tested - asked to put God before our wealth, family, career? Failure marks slavery to something given to us as a blessing. Bondage.

Ive been there. Being asked to give up on something I thought I was entitled to because I'd worked so hard. Hardly! I'd worked myself into slavery because I feared losing that which I was at first voluntarily serving - which was a gift from God initially. I'd placed so much value in my bondage that following my true Master - my God, Father, & Creator - seemed nearly impossible.

It seems Pharaoh is not something ancient Egypt alone placed on a throne. It is a term synonymous with those thing which hold us captive today. Pharaoh was Joseph's friend, then his family's friend, and they were happy to live in his kingdom under his rule. Time passed and eventually Pharaoh became a slave master. It took God's intervention to break that bondage. And so it is with us today and whoever/whatever binds us today. Only our true Master can set us free. Serving that which God has blessed us with can lead to slavery if we focus on it rather than God. Uninhibited freedom in Christ is a gift to those who choose to leave this bondage behind.

Let me ask you all, who's your Pharaoh?

Who wants to be a trophy wife? Not me!!!

2009-07-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

Gone are the days when I answer "Where do you see yourself in 10 years?" with "Someone's trophy wife." Many reasons come to mind: (1) It takes WAY too much effort to keep up a figure, (2) I don't consider any part of me to be a trophy....(3) BOREDOM!!!

This summer shall forevermore be titled "The Summer of Boredom". I cannot be a stay at home wife unless it were coupled with stay at home wife. I need to use my God-given gifts beyond the home. I know my calling is to work with children, and especially those with special needs. I can only image how this gift will be used in my future. Literally, as I have not seen any indication as to where I am to go beyond this particular moment in time. As of now, my prayer is for a teaching position in elementary special ed so that I might use my summers for mission trips...however, as Christ prayed "not my will but Yours (Matthew 26:39)", I hope to find my future in Him.

My heart is burdened with all that has been revealed to me in this time of "wilderness". Per Mr. Webster, one of the many definitions of wilderness is "a bewildering situation." Welcome to this past year in Nederland (and a little prior to the actual move). Many things I will keep silent for now, as Mary did when she saw her young son Jesus in the temple, and treasure them in my heart (Luke 2:51). Suffice it to say, that revelations within my wilderness - where I've been taken away from the one place I can truly call home and placed back in the surroundings which trapped me for so many years - have dissected my heart and removed those pieces which weren't part of His plan and stitched together the pieces which do belong in whatever
He has laid out for me. I can't even begin to say what that is, but He's given me glimpses into my future - I'm sure to soothe my innate curiosity and impatience.

What I can say is that my burden for my family is gone. I care about each of them deeply, but I have an amazing peace and no longer fear that I must be immediately available, perfect, wealthy, successful and silent to attain their love. Love is the first of the Fruits of the Spirit because it's basic - it exists within us. We must cultivate it and care for it if it's to grow, but it is born within us at our birth. God is love, we are created in His Image. Why it took my entire life until now to grasp that concept, God Himself only knows.

With that burden, along with the feeling that my worth as a person was based on my net worth, removed, the freedom I feel is astounding. I really am free to go where He sends me, and fulfill that which I am here for, which is.....dunno; He hasn't filled in that blank completely yet. Well, I should say, He hasn't filled it in where I can see it; it's been filled in long before I took my first breath.

My future lies before me a big blank canvas. Guess I don't have an answer to "Where do you see yourself in 1o years?" anymore...but I'm OK with that!! :)

the blog is back

2009-07-20T16:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, after reviewing the situation, I've decided to reinvent the blog - only this time I won't be posting prayer requests in the event of upseting someone. So those will have to be emailed privately to those of you who are my special prayer warriors.

Since the death of "A Bed of Heather", I've been all over Texas for weddings, job hunts, and visits with friends.

I'm still unemployed, unfortunately. I guess that prayer request I can post for the world to see :) I've applied all over the place for teaching positions and am praying that God will place me where I'm needed (though my heart is in San Antonio). I do believe that working with children (and particularly with those with special needs) IS absolutely my calling, so I know it's just all in His timing to find where I'm supposed to use that gift.

Anyway, I'll be updating everyone once again on the job search and my time here. I plan on posting my wilderness study soon once I've got it updated the way I want it :)

Ciao!