etc.

changes

2010-10-11T17:30:00.000-07:00

well, keith is going to town on his bathroom, it will look so different when he gets done, can't wait!

we are also going to take up the carpet in the living room and eventually getting new furniture for that room, again , can't wait!

we went and looked at counter tops for the kitchen, very nice new counters coming soon, again can't wait!

we are finally starting to put in the new windows, very exciting!!!

we are hoping to get the buffet and china cabinet that goes with mamaw's dining room table and chairs to elizabeth soon, just waiting for her to let us know whether to send it with her folks or if she will get it or we put it in storage until she can get it. it will give us some much needed room in the living room and the dining room. it's tough having your furniture and someone else's furniture too:)

i feel like we could be on flip this house, ha-ha

talkin' and walkin'

2010-09-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

you can talk about being a christian all you want but if what you do in your life doesn't match up to your talk then there is a huge disconnect. what you say matters and what you do matters but how you live your life for Christ says more about you as a Christian than just mere words~

this was the explanation i gave for the quote "your talk talks and your walk talks but your walk talks louder than your talk talks"

labor day fun

2010-09-07T18:22:00.000-07:00

we had a blast at lake allatoona with matt, tasha, and bj.
we had a fantastic picnic. oma had given me a picnic basket and i also have a neat backpack that has plates, cups, utensils, napkins and even a cheese board! i packed sandwich stuff, pickles, chips, homemade pound cake, cookies and other snacky stuff. we ate at the top of a hill overlooking the lake. we had that place all to ourselves, shady and cool.
we then walked a little way on a wide trail to a spit of land that jutted out into the lake and swam and sat around in our chairs and just had a relaxing time. keith and tasha read while the guys and i swam and skipped rocks.
we ended by going back to tasha and matt's where bj changed clothes and headed to work while we headed to dunkin' donuts and home.
it was one of those picture perfect days!

sad

2010-08-30T17:10:00.000-07:00

it is always sad to sing or play for funerals but it is especially hard when it is for a friend. our friend max hughes died on friday after a relatively brief but severe illness. we just weren't ready for him to go. his story is one of amazing grace. linda, his wife, when she and max married would ask max to come to church with her or they could go where he wanted to go. in the meantime one of our deacons had been inviting max to come to our church. one sunday morning max asked linda if she meant what she said about going with him to church. she said yes and he said that he wanted to attend morganton.

what is amazing grace about this was that max had a very bad reputation. keith told me that he was the kind of person that people warned you to stay away from. his cousin spoke to me the other day and asked me how i knew max. i told her that he was a yolkfellow at our church. that he was a wonderful christian. she was surprised, to say the least! her comment to me was that she was glad he was in church! he was so much more than just a pew sitter.

the song i sang at the funeral was "when it's all been said and done" and basically it was about the fact that what really counts in this world is what we have done for Christ and that all our sins are forgiven when we trust Him. i thought that was appropos for max.

we will miss him but we will see him again and in the meantime i know he is enjoying being with his Lord.

nothin' much

2010-07-15T20:02:00.000-07:00

well the summer has flown by as i knew it would. we have been busy all summer but have had some days just to kick back and rest.

we went to texas to see nathan, kayla and brenna bunny. my how she has grown. while we were there keith put together the swing set that sharon and dave bought for her. we saw their new home which is beautiful! so happy for them! bj got to go with us and spend a couple of days so we had fun. i think nathan was glad to see his big brother : )

matt and tasha have been doing ivf and we are all praying for them. tasha and i have been going to school for the last of our specialist degree. we have seen quite a bit of each other this summer, ha-ha. i absolutely could not have gotten through this without her. it has been a good experience for both of us but we sure are glad it is over!

bj has been very busy at work. big pie is a happening place, if you will excuse a throwback to the 70s~ they absolutely make the best pizzas and calzones in the world! it's always good to see beej when he has time off.

we got to go and see dad and mom this summer too. wish we could have stayed longer. we always have so much fun and relaxation when we go to virginia! wish it hadn't been so hot, we only got to sit on the deck one night. it was over 100 every day we were there, we thought we had gone to texas again, ha-ha! loved watching movies with them, what fun : ) we'll see them at christmas which if time flies like it did this summer will be here tomorrow, lol

we loved all the nice things we brought back! love my mom!!!!! we have used the pasta pot several times but funnily enough not for pasta, ha-ha since we brought back the larger glasses we haven't even used our everyday glasses, we love the new ones so much! i even took one to church sunday morning : ) love, love, love the coffee maker, it makes a really good cup of coffee and goes so well with my kitchen. like i told them, they have corrupted me. i have coffee at night now! lol can't wait to use the roaster.

it was so neat. today the mission team that's here this week is working next door and had to come use our bathroom b/c the lady whose house they are working on left and locked the door! they all said what a beautiful home we had. that is oma's influence. i try to have my house as nice as hers and daddy's. i think i'm getting there: )

in and amongst all of the traveling we have had all the normal activities at church. this is the first year i haven't done vbs in a loooong time. i forgot to mention that i had arthroscopic knee surgery in late june and had a cortisone shot in the joint at the base of my third finger on my right hand for trigger finger. that hurt more than the knee surgery! thankfully it seems to have done the trick. i'm still hobbling around from the knee surgery. matt calls me hop along, tee-hee. i was on complete bedrest for 3 days. i'm not normally one that takes lying around easily but i have to admit it was kind of nice to be "out of commission" for 3 days.

we leave with our youth group for missionfuge on monday. i'm so excited to see what god has in store for our group this year! we return home late, late, late friday night and then i have class on saturday. it is the very last class of this degree. nathan says i'm just putting off the inevitable doctorate. we'll see, but not now, i need a rest!

i guess the next post will be after school starts, it just doesn't seem possible. i still have so much i wanted to get done this summer. but, i guess we'll do it along and along, ha-ha

i did do one thing that i am proud of. thanks to kayla's inspiration i got busy and painted the trim in the bathroom by myself. i also painted a picture frame and am about to tackle the kitchen after we get back from missionfuge. thank you kayla!!!!

school's out for summer

2010-05-25T19:05:00.000-07:00

it is so hard to believe that this year is over. i absolutely love teaching middle school. i knew that if i could just get there it would be where i was supposed to be.

i am blessed to be on such a wonderful team. and i am blessed to work at such a good school. it was a crazy year what with the weather and all. we had to make up 40 hours of work. that was a lot of time spent before and after school but i really do love snow days!

our efforts paid off this year, we saw some good crct scores. i also had the privilege of having many of my former students this year. for some of them it was my 3rd year with them. they wanted to know why i wasn't moving up with them to 7th grade, ha-ha. i think some of them thought i would just go right on through high school with them!

well, it was a good year but i am ready for summer break~

easter weekend

2010-04-03T20:02:00.000-07:00

a wonderful easter weekend...

i took friday off b/c daddy and oma came down from virginia for easter and i had a dermatologist appointment. we left at 9 and got to ellijay for breakfast at, where else, starbucks. we got to the doctor's and waited of course. he took one place off for a biopsy and removed 2 other places.

we left from there and went to big pie in the sky for lunch and to see bj. we got home and saw daddy and oma. they rested up from their trip and then came to the house for supper. keith and i made steaks, baked potatoes, salad, corn, ciabatta bread, and homemade pound cake with strawberries and whipped cream for dessert. we also skyped with nathan and brenna so daddy could see why we want them to get a laptop with a webcam. it was fun to see their faces when they got to see and talk to brenna. matt will help them shop for a laptop at the end of april and set up skype and facebook for them. after daddy and oma left for the hotel keith and i stayed up, cleaned, and i made homemade blueberry muffins and egg, sausage, grits, cheese breakfast casserole for saturday brunch at matt and tasha's.

we got up early, for me on a saturday it was early, and met up with daddy and oma and went to matt and tasha's. they have done so many nice things to the house. they added curtains to the living room and guest bedroom. they put tile up around the top of the shower, got a round shower curtain for the front bathroom, put up some nice sayings on the walls in the living room, kitchen, and painted the deck and got some patio furniture and outdoor rug. they also worked on the landscape around the house, all in all, very pretty! we waited for bonnie and jim and jayden to get there. when they arrived we had my casserole, matt and tasha's cheesy grits, biscuits, muffins, fresh fruit, bacon, sausage, coffee, and juice, good eats!

after breakfast we hurried to matt and tasha's church for the easter egg hunt. they had 40,000 eggs for all the kids! they had different divisions, we'll post pictures of jayden soon "hunting" for eggs, quite cute : ) they also had a petting zoo, bouncy sets, about 6 of those, they also had a velcro climbing wall. tasha and i wondered if we could get one of those for our classroom! you will be still and learn because i am velcroing you to the wall today!! LOL

after that everybody sorta scattered. i went with bonnie and jim and jayden to bath and bodyworks, keith went to matt and tasha's to help put up a fan in their computer room, and daddy and oma went back to the hotel. bonnie and jim took me on home after shopping, keith went to the church to open it up and check on everything for the concert tonight. matt and tash got to the house and we met keith and oma and daddy at the restaurant for dinner at around 5:15. keith and matt and tasha and i left and got to church at 6:30 which is when the concert started! i literally ran in the back door jerked my jacket off, put my music on the piano as the band played the first opening measures of the first song we were doing and i jumped in! i don't know if i've ever cut it that short before, ha-ha

the concert raised $489 for the mission trip,ptl! well before dinner oma realized they were losing pressure in one of their tires and sure enough it was going flat. thankfully it stayed ok til they got to church and after the concert we took it to chad's, god bless that good man, who found the leak and repaired the tire. we then left and went and i showed them my classroom. we met up with matt and tasha at the motel so i could ride with them to the house b/c keith was having dinner with the watkins' family who performed tonight. we are fixing to go to bed because it has been a long but happy day.

tomorrow we have a wonderful service in the morning that i don't have to be to church early for! matt and tasha and bj spent the night tonight and we'll all go to church together in the morning but since the watkins' family is here i don't have to plan the music for tomorrow's service. all i have to do is play the prelude, offeratory and postlude for which i have practiced all week. after service tomorrow daddy is taking everybody to longhorn's and matt and tasha will go home from there as will daddy and oma.

a busy but wonderful easter!!

10 things that a teacher will never tell you

2010-02-27T10:29:00.000-08:00

i've been reading these in reader's digest for the last couple of months so i thought i would create one of my own. so here goes: 10 things teachers would like you to know-

1. most of the time the problem is not the student but the parent!

2. all teachers have their favorite students but the great teacher will never let anyone, especially the students, know who they are.

3. i love my job, which is teaching.

4. i hate all the other stuff i have to do, paperwork, meetings, etc.

5. never met a teacher yet who thought "the test" measured anything that the students actually learned while they were on her/his watch.

6. administrators need to know that we need some specific praise just like the kids do.

7. when we are out on break we are just as excited about missing school as the kids are : )

8. we cry over our kids b/c we love them.

9. we spend our own money not only for class supplies but to buy girl scout cookies, be a sponser for a student in a beauty pageant, buy a student paper, pencil, dictionaries and any other supplies they need, and the list goes on.

10. we are mom, dad, grandma, nurse, counselor, confidant all rolled into one.

offeratory disaster

2010-02-07T13:36:00.000-08:00

oh my what a mess! this morning i had put my music for the lord's supper on the piano out of the way b/c i was sharing the piano this morning. i had also put my offeratory music on the shelf that is beside the piano. now i have 3 books plus the song book i'm playing from for the first song of the morning worship at the piano.

well, we sing the first set and the second set where the band played this morning, which was awesome btw! then as the prayer is being said before the offering is taken up, i pick up my music that i'm going to play for offeratory at the end of the prayer. i pick up one book open it to the first page and it's not the right song so i'm thinking, ok, i just picked up the wrong book. both of the piano books remember are on the piano. i pick up the other book, open it to the first song, it's not the right piano piece either!! so now i'm thinking i just have the wrong page. at this point the prayer is winding down! i frantically begin to search the book in my hands for the song! it's not there. i pick up the other book and search... nada! now i'm really in a panic! the deacon says amen and i got nothin'!!

i tell keith to say something, anything! my drummer looks at me and i tell him i can't find my music, he looks on the roland to see if i left it there when i played with the band, nope! so as keith is talking i begin to look for something else to play. i find, here i am to worship. i'm thinking, ok, i've played this at home, i know this one. NOOOOOOOO! WRONG VERSION! but now i'm already into the piece and realize i have never played this version in my life!!!

it sounded like something the cat would play with his paws. it was awful! anyway, i struggle through, humiliated. when i sit down and keith starts to preach i begin to go through the 2 books ( remember i said i had 3?) i thought my piece was in. it is no where to be found so now i'm thinking i have lost my mind or have had a blackout and we need to get to the emergency room for a ct scan of my brain!

when church is over and i'm gathering up my stuff i look over on the shelf beside the piano and what do i see? there is my music with my piece in it.

i will play this piece for church tonight, lol!

50 questions

2010-01-30T09:50:00.000-08:00

50 of the most random things you probably never needed to know about someone. REPOST WITH YOUR ANSWERS

1. whats your name spelled backwards? arbeD nnA yngiveS senoJ

2. What did you do last night? watched it snow! had a paninni for supper, watched a little bit of a movie

3. The last thing you downloaded onto your computer? pictures

4. Have you ever licked a 9 volt battery? No. duh!

5. Last time you swam in a pool? last summer

6. What are you wearing? houseshoes, sweatpants, sweatshirt, socks

7. How many cars have you owned? Personally owned 1, every other car has been owned with my hubby : )

8. Type of music you dislike most? ANY southern gospel or country

9. Are you registered to vote? Yes, since 1971

10. Do you have cable? Yes

11. What kind of computer do you use? laptop hp, at school pc acer

12. Ever made a prank phone call? yep

13. You like anyone right now? my husband : )

14. Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving? skydiving if i had the chance

15. Furthest place you ever traveled? france and england

16.Do you have a garden? Yes, several flower gardens, vegetable & flower patches

17. What's your favorite comic strip? pearls before swine and zits

18. Do you know all the words to the national anthem? Yes

19. Shower, morning or night? never in the morning, yuck! bath or shower at night

20. Best movie you've seen in the past month? haven't been this month
21. Favorite pizza toppings?white pizza with extra cheese

22. Chips or popcorn? chips, fritoes to be exact : )

23. What cell phone provider do you have? ATT

24. Have you ever smoked peanut shells? uh, no

25. Have you ever been in a beauty pageant? Nope

26. Orange Juice or apple? OJ.

27. Who were the last people you sat at lunch with? - or + 116 6th graders

28. What is your favorite chocolate bar? it's not a chocolate bar, it's mercier's truffles, champagne or grande marnier

29. Who is your longest friend and how long? mr. b

30. Last time you ate a homegrown tomato? If you count canned, in the last week. Raw on a sandwich, middle of last fall.

31. Have you ever won a trophy? yes, teacher of the year

32.Favorite artist? monet

33. Favorite computer game? word drop or any word game

34. Ever ordered from an infomercial? No.

35. Sprite or 7-UP? Usually Sprite

36. Have you ever had to wear a uniform to school/work? Yes. Not school, but work.

37. Last thing you bought at Walgreens? Rented a movie from the Red Box outside.

38. Ever thrown up in public? Yes, don't need to detail, ha-ha

39. Would you prefer being a millionaire or finding true love? I found my true love. Definitely superior to being a millionaire, or even billionaire.

40. Do you believe in love at first sight? yes, i'm living proof : )

41.Can exes just be friends? i think so

42. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital? heather

43. Did you have long hair as a young kid? yes

44. What message is on your voicemail machine? the one that i keep forgetting to change!

45. Where would you like to go right now? virginia to see my daddy

46. What was the name of your first pet? of all things, a dog named fluffy seeing as how i am a cat person

47. What kind of back pack do you have, and what's in it? black satchel; pens, pencils, notebook, book for school

48. Last incoming/outgoing call on your phone? incoming, oma and daddy, outgoing, jim to talk to bonnie

49. What is one thing you are grateful for today? too many to name, i am one blessed woman!

50. What do you think about most? keith, family and work, always work....

BONUS Question added by EKJ: What's your favorite hobby or similar activity? reading, cleaning ( although my family says it's an obsession), cooking, playing piano with new music

snow days

2010-01-10T17:21:00.000-08:00

snow days! most people up here don't like them but when you are from the deep south like i am, i can't get enough of them! i had never even heard of such a thing as a snow day until i went to college. i love them and nobody will make me change my mind, ha-ha!

i will watch movies tonight, sleep late in the morning, linger over breakfast and have a second or third cup of coffee in my pajamas. the house is already clean so tomorrow is a treat : )

LOVE ME SOME SNOW DAYS!

christmas, oh, christmas

2009-12-19T19:58:00.000-08:00

it is so hard to believe that christmas is here, it seems like just yesterday it was christmas. time sure is going by quickly!

well , all the shopping is done, if not the shipping, school is out for 2 glorious weeks and LMU is out until january 15th. i came home today from shopping and having breakfast with matt and tasha and then lunch with them and heather, jayden, jim and bonnie changed to warm sweat pants and hoody, warm socks, a toasty fire, soft couch, comfortable quilt and a good book and stayed that way for hours! it was... i don't think there is a word for how great it was!

we are staying home this christmas which is a blessing. we will miss our loved ones far away but i think keith and i need a rest. church is going well but it keeps us busy. we have to remind ourselves not to get so caught up in the "doing" of church that we forget why we are doing it!

i love middle school but i feel in some ways that i am a new teacher all over again. new team, new curriculum, new duties! it is exciting but exhausting, too.

and then there is the specialist degree. much reading and writing and projects! i am so glad that tasha is doing this with me b/c between the 2 of us 1 of us is sure to know what is going on, : )

i pray that God will continue to give me the stamina to continue all that i am involved in at this time. but at the same time i am so thankful to have the health to do all these things. i remember several times when i wasn't able to get up and do, so i remind myself to be thankful!

lord, help me remember why we celebrate this season. that you loved us so much you willingly gave your child for us. miracle beyond measure!

school, home and church

2009-09-28T17:42:00.000-07:00

where do i begin? i know why i'm going back to school (purely worldly) to make more money and that makes me kind of sad. the only way teachers can get raises, especially with the economy, is to go back to school. i'm enjoying doing this with tasha, who is amazing. the girl works like a whirling dervish! but i'm a little disappointed b/c so far all i'm doing is a repeat of my master's degree work. i just keep reminding myself that this time next year i'll be done and will see the "fruits of my labor."

the praise team at church got a very nice compliment from our guest speaker and his wife. they heard us last sunday and we also sang for the beginning of the program they presented at our church on saturday, at their request. we have worked so hard to be sure that we are first of all leading the people in worship and that our music is a blessing. well, the compliment was that our music is truly annointed! we could not have a bigger assurance from jesus that we are in his will with the music!

the other thing that is happening at church is that this thursday we are opening a soup kitchen for folks in our area. this came about by keith's preaching on being a light to others. he asked people to put down on paper what they would be willing to work for and to see happen at church and this was one of the ideas. there are about a dozen people helping with this project! what a blessing : )

the youth group continues to be a bright spot in my life. we are consistently running anywhere from 10 to 12 on wednesday nights. i love seeing these young folks grow in the lord and for them keeping me young! one of "my boys" told me the other week that for someone with white hair i sure didn't act old, ha-ha. we are going to the corn maze in dawsonville saturday. one of the many reasons i love being a youth leader.

my job at school has kept me hopping. i told our curriculum director that it was very unsettling to be new and old at the same time. after all, this is not my first rodeo but it is my first time being at middle school. i still feel a little unsure of myself but they haven't asked me to leave so i guess i'm doing ok. i do love teaching 6th grade, although they are not that much different from older 5th graders. i'm thinking that the change happens after christmas break, that's when we always saw a difference in our 5th graders. i have a wonderful team who have taken me in : ) the day sure flies by b/c of all the classes.

i guess i'll close for now. ttyl

sadness

2009-09-15T17:41:00.000-07:00

jean reeves let us know that pulitzer prize winner david finkel has written a book called the good soldier. in it he details josh's death. it will be 2 years in a week or two since his death. it is still so hard to deal with his death and if it is hard for us i can not even begin to imagine the pain his family goes through everyday. please keep his family in your prayers.

we love you, josh.

go dawgs! oklahoma state, sept. 5,2009

2009-09-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

touchdown, gooooo dawgs! 4:03 score is 7-0. they are in possession of the ball. os 9th place ga 13th place
pushin' em' back from their 10. close to first down, os. one yard gain and we stopped them. close to first down for os. on the 20. smack talkin' on the field! first down os. low snap and caught and smack down by evans!!! what a tackle!! evans down, checking his shoulder, he's off the field but ok. 1 minute for this quarter. almost intercepted! but we lost it. third and ten and blitz by ga. cuff takes the quarterback down. hike to miller and out of bounds near the 35. under a minute and pick up of 3. boykin is out of the game. first down for us but there's a flag on the field, holding, repeat 2nd down. penalty on us. we were the most penalized team last year. end of 1st quarter.

nice pass but knocked out by os. good punt and os has a good run to 31 yard line. so far we are out doing them in all categories. flag thrown, false start offense, os. 5 yd penalty. os in possession, tough run, about 5 yds. pass to 41 yd. ga needs to hold em'! 2nd and 6. run and flag on the play. holding, offense, 10 yd penalty. os on the 50. 3rd down and ga blitzes. kick and in the end zone,out to the 20 yd line. cox has ball ( ga on offense), pass is complete. penalty on os. ball on the 24 yd line. pass, incomplete. no huddle, 3rd and 9. cox calls for time out. settle down georgia!! line up,ga pass ,and thomas off! first down and change! 17 yd gain!! drive for about 10 yd. hi mark richt : ) on the 49 got 3 yds. they're saying it's really hot on the field. ga in the I and nothing! ready to kick, good punt and bounce on the one yd line and the linemen run into each other, omg!! so it's a touchback, : ( on the 28 hand off and picks up the first down for os. pass and incomplete, almost intercepted! false start offense, 5 yds. replay 1st down. on the 25, pass and ga knocks it down. that's twice we could have intercepted and we weren't able to do it. evans back in the game. 3rd and 15. another flag. dead ball, false start on offense. on the 20. pass off run and stopped after 14 yd gain. still no 1st down. punt and thomas running and flag on the play on the 18. illegal block on us. ball inside the 10. pass and caught! ball on the 35. toss sweep and gain of 3. time out. on ga 37. pass and incomplete. too high and a flag on the play. no foul on the play. 3rd down. samuel tripped over his own freakin' feet!!! punt and short and caught on a hop by os. ball on the 28 and os pass and complete. ball on the 50. pass again and ball on the 46. time out ga, last time out for this half. 2 and a half minutes to go in this half. os coach is having a meltdown. line of scrimmage, pass long and touch down os : ( kick was good. kickoff and ga driving out of the end zone to the 23. pass from cox and it was almost intercepted! he was almost sacked! 2 and 10. hand off but false start on ga. 5 yd penalty. richt telling ga to remain calm and settle down. time out os. on the 20, fumble and frickin' os has the ball !@#$%$ flag on the play, personal foul on us! on the 5 push and stopped on the 3. 2 minutes left. pass and stopped again! line up, on the 3, hand off and stopped again!!! go dawgs! time out for os. here we go... ball on the 1. flag on the play, 10 yd penalty on os!!! os kicking, kick is up and kick is good. 7-9 at half time. hey uga puppy : )

3rd quarter-let's see a kick butt 2nd half!
i miss larry munson.
goooooooo dawgs! sic' em', woof, woof, woof!
dang, os carries the ball 74 yards in the opening kick off! os runs to the 15 yd line, pick up of 9 yds. inside handoff and the first down, to the 12. poor tackling on our part. line up, pass and incomplete pass. injured player for os. up and off the field. ok, line up ht, running and stopped! 11 yd line. line up, pass and complete but short of the first down. going to go for it. os will call time out. close to 2 yds to go. ball inside the 4 and dawgs stop the run! os gets 1st down. they're marking it and it is a 1st down. first and goal. dawgs stop em' again!! flag on the play. dead ball, unsportsmanlike conduct on os. os scores : ( kickoff and ga runs it back to the 10 yd line. ok, line up, run and only gained 5 yds. os player injured. he,'s up and he is walking off the field. line up, hut, pass and first down for us. running and down on the 30. hut and running and first down! pass and incomplete pass. os player is down and out. pass and complete and first down!!! driving the ball down the field. ball on the 50 yd line pass and run and first down again!!! lost a yard. sturdivant down. looks like a knee injury. needed help to get off the field : ( 2nd and 12. run out of bounds, why didn't he throw the ball??? gooooo dawgs! hand off and ga has the ball on the 35 yd line. kicking a field goal. up and good! ga 10 and os 17. what a kick! we need a touchdown! kicked and os runs it out to the 25. no gain on the next play. 2nd and 10 pass and first down for os. ball on the 35. no pass and short of the 49. heat is causing problems for us. dehydration and cramping. first down for os. pass and down on the 46. hut and pass and run and first down. come on dawgs! under 4 min for this quarter. pass and the slips and falls. no gain. hut, pass and incomplete pass. line, hut, and flag but no call b/c time out was called before the snap. 3rd and 9. line pass and blitz by ga and flag on the play. offense, pass interference. repeat 3rd down. ball on 49. dawgs rush and pass is incomplete. kick, deep and ball on the 4. line up, snap, running and out to the 11 yd. sturdivant out for left knee. doesn't look like he's out for the season. ball moved to first down on the 15 yd line. dawgs running only 2 yds. pick up. line, snap, pass off and ball moved to 18, gain of 1 yd. line, 3rd down, pass and incomplete. through the hands of charles. cox had a good pass. kick ready, low, wobbly, and ball is on the 6 yd line. 75 yd punt for butler. first time the dawgs have opened outside of athens since 1958. line, snap and brought down on the 12 yd line. os running for first down. clock is running. line up, snap, pass to the 20 yd line. 2nd and 6. os in possession. ball on the 20. os crosses the 20 and is tripped up. on the 20 os in possession, snap and pass and gained 3 yds. ga forces a punt. punted and ga runs and runs and runs and runs and is brought down on the 2 but there is a flag on us. illegal block! argh!!!

4th- ball is... on the never mind, quaterback is sacked! on the 35 and ga is brought down. 13th penalty called on os. ball is on the 35 os passes and incomplete. flag on the play. personal foul on ga, 15 yd penalty, first down. i don't know what the officials saw b/c it was a shoulder hit!!! it was not a head shot! ball on 18. os snaps and hands off and brought down on the 14. think they will kick. os passes and touchdown and that, my friends, i'm afraid, is the ballgame. goooooo dawgs, sic em, woof, woof, woof. kick and brought back to the 40. first down for ga. snap and flag on the play, false start, 5 yd penalty for os. ball on the 37. pass and ball on the 30. snap, pass and incomplete. ga is just not playing well. too many rookie mistakes. snap pass and incomplete again! punt and os running back to the 36. this does not bode well for the rest of this season. ball on the 37. os in possession. snap, pass and brought down. os runs and is on the 42. snap and pass and incomplete.

well , that as they say, is that. i still love my dawgs but what a killer!

funny 6th graders

2009-09-04T18:51:00.000-07:00

first of all i love teaching middle schoolers! they are so funny:) one of the 6th graders came to my desk today to tell me something that had been on his mind. he asked me had i ever noticed that teachers who had taught for a long time were nicer than new teachers but older men teachers were meaner than young men teachers. he just thought i would like to know that observation. where that came from i have no idea and then he went back to his desk and went back to work, ha-ha.

it is so much fun to see how they develop their own ideas and opinions independent of others at this stage. some of the things they think can be so profound. we just read a story called "greyling" about a selchie that returns to the sea leaving his adopted mother and father. the theme of the story is that parents have to learn to let their children go and follow their own dreams and wishes. we had a lively discussion in class about this concept. they all agreed that for some of their parents this was hard, especially if they were the oldest or the only child. they are starting to feel the call of independence. i told them to cut their parents some slack b/c this was hard for them, too. i love the interaction with these young men and ladies.

anyway, i am learning. i feel like a new teacher and i have some of the same feelings i had when i first started teaching. it is coupled, however, with experience this time so i know the world won't end if i screw something up or forget to send a notice home in 7th period. that's a nice place to be! i guess i will always need to renew and refresh every couple of years but that's a blog for another time ; )

movin' on up

2009-08-07T20:57:00.000-07:00

well i finally made it to middle school! i had been thinking and praying about this for about 3 years. last year i was asked to attend a meeting with some other teachers and our assistant school superintendent. they had 2 openings at the middle school and wanted to know if any of us was interested in moving. i immediately raised my hand. she asked us to think about it but i told her i had already thought and prayed about it. i had an interview at the middle school and was hired.

now the really neat part about this was that i felt led to take the praxis test last summer to be certified for middle school. i took the language arts and reading tests. i passed the reading test although at the time i would have preferred to pass the language test and was somewhat disappointed about the results. guess what the position at the middle school was for? reading! God just keeps on amazing me with His plans. i love being at the middle school and am so happy that God allowed me this opportunity!

georgia aquarium

2009-07-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

monday we took nathan, kayla, brenna, and bj to the ga aquarium. it well worth the money. kayla took some great pictures and i took what i could, not being the photographer in the family. we all had a great time. georgia should be proud of this accomplishment. i know it had its detractors who said that it was wrong to capture these creatures but they have done a good job caring for thise magnificent creatures with dignity. if there wasn't someplace like this then the common man, me, would never to get to see them. they have also placed alot of emphasis on conservation and protection of the ocean and waters of our world. i think they have struck a good balance.

yesterday we took brenna to story time at the library. she had a good time there as she loves the library. we came home for lunch and nap and then she played in her pool and we caught bugs in her bug box.

today she played with the sidewalk chalk that oma and pepere got for her with g-daddy. we ate at zaxby's for nathan and then she lay down for a nap but it wasn't peaceful! she is a strong willed young lady and did not want to take a nap. i finally bribed her with making cupcakes when she woke up but in all fairness she had pretty much worn herself out by the time i got to her. she is now asleep : )

it will be sad to see them leave for athens tomorrow and then back to texas next week but i am very happy that they got to come. we are hoping to be able to get out there this october over fall break.

happy fourth

2009-07-04T21:15:00.001-07:00

well, i got up at 7:30 this morning and made "panacakes" for all the family. then i went with keith to ingles, along with all the vacationers, and picked up the rest of our stuff for the annual jones fourth of july celebration. we got home where oma was making her delicious cucumber salad and her out of this world potato salad. i made my 4th of july cake and put out everything that we would need for the afternoon's feast. we ate lunch and brenna took her nap. when she got up matt and tasha had arrived with heather and jim and jayden. they stayed for a little while and then matt, tasha, kayla, nathan, brenna and i went to the lake where we met up with jan and kevin o'quinn. we had a lot of fun swimming in the lake and visiting. i swear, brenna is part fish!

we left at around 5:3o and got home, cleaned up, and started putting everything out. we had hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, cucumber salad, all kinds of chips, a cookie 4th of july cake and tasha's chocolate cake, and my cake plus cokes and such. it was so much fun to see everyone sitting around eating and talking and just enjoying being together. after we cleaned up we all went to the comfort inn parking area and waited for the fireworks to start. we were thrilled to see kayla on top of the van so she could get good shots of the fireworks. all told we had about 15 people there (pepere, oma, tasha, matt, nathan, kayla, brenna, bj, me and keith, jan and kevin o'quinn, don, heather, and jayden).

all in all we had a blast! we then came home and played with sparklers. brenna was thrilled!

work, work,, work

2009-05-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

we are hosting the mother's day get together tomorrow at our house! i love it when we have people over b/c it forces me to clean the whole house and i mean really clean it. it's what "i call cleaning in the corners" cleaning. i always have such a contented feeling when the house is clean
: )

keith worked outside all day, mowing the grass (between rain showers), putting up a trellis that he made for a wild fox grapevine, and cleaning under the carport. we have been busy today!

lost in the mountains

2009-05-02T20:07:00.001-07:00

i got a call yesterday from my friends jan and kevin asking me to feed their kitty babies while they were out of town this weekend. i said i would and then asked keith where they lived b/c i had only been there once. i remembered they lived in the mountains but i didn't remember it being hard to get to. my first indication that this might be harder than i thought was when keith said, "aha." now those of you who know me know that i was not blessed with the keenest sense of direction so when keith said aha, i knew i was in for an adventure!

he couldn't go with me b/c he had a meeting today so he drew me a map. my maps aren't like other people's maps. mine say things like, "look for the store on the right and go a little way until you see a bridge, go over the bridge and stay on this road ( notice there are no names given b/c it wouldn't mean anything to me anyway and certainly not road numbers!)" etc. well, to make things more interesting, it began to thunder, lightning, and rain like we haven't had rain in like forever! all i could think of was those poor hungry kitties, wondering where mommy and daddy were and why the heck there wasn't any food! anyway, i made it to the road on the mountain where their house is except i couldn't find the house and i had no cell coverage.

let me digress for a minute, b/c i have been lost before i have learned to bring provisions for my lostness. for this trip i brought my boots with thick socks in case i had to leave the car. did i mention that the road isn't paved? i also brought my coca-cola, umbrella and a book. you see, there have been times that i had to wait for rescue so i now bring something to occupy my time.

well sure enough even with my husband's wonderful directions i could not find this house! and i did not have cell coverage. i have learned a valuable lesson when i go someplace that i am not familiar with, i can always backtrack! well i drove all the way into the mountains which on a sunny day would have been beautiful but today was just "interesting" as it was pouring rain. came to the end of the road and knew this was not jan and kevin's house. so i turned around or at least tried to b/c i was stuck, see, i knew to prepare. thankfully, i didn't panic, rocked the car a little and was able to get unstuck. backtracked through the mountains again and drove until i had coverage.

well, i called keith and we proceeded to have a discussion about the directions. what he failed to mention was that there was a big ole' sign that led up to their house. you can't miss it! anyway, i found the house, fed the sweet kitties, and made my way home one proud lady that i did this with a little help from my husband.

btw, i had called matt and tasha to let them know that i was going "into the mountains" and if they hadn't heard from me in an hour or so to send help!!!

birthday day

2009-04-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

what a wonderful day! we had a good service at church and then went to jim and bonnie's for a combination b'day and Easter lunch. bj called and nathan called to have brenna bunny sing happy b'day, a sweet present : ) my daddy and ingrid called to sing happy b'day. my family is amazing! i feel that as long as i have my family i have everything i need. it was also nice to get birthday wishes from friends through facebook.

as funny as it sounds, my favorite gift, after brenna singing happy birthday to me, was from keith, i got a weed eater! it trims and edges and is light weight enough for me to handle. and yes, i did ask for it. he also got me some perfume, sunflower and l'air du temp, 2 of my favorites.

i can't wait to see brenna's easter pictures. i know she was a little doll!

good friday

2009-04-10T20:36:00.001-07:00

i had completely forgotten that today was good friday! and now i'm wondering how could i have forgotten!! this was the day that my Lord made the ultimate sacrifice for me. if this day had not happened then we would not be able to celebrate His resurrection. it is so incomprehensible to me how someone could love me so much that He hung on that cross for me. i don't think i truly understood this kind of love until i had children of my own. i would gladly die for my children or suffer for them to keep them from harm. this is what God did for us. we are His children and He loves us so much.

sometimes i get lost in the doing of "religion" that i forget how simple the gospel is. all that is required of me is to believe and accept the gift that was given.

i praise God for Easter morning!

gardening and spring break

2009-04-04T15:50:00.001-07:00

keith and i decided to stay home for spring break and just enjoy being home with time to actually enjoy being home! keith and i worked in the yard this afternoon. a couple of the guys from church came over this morning to help keith with the roof of his building. it's almost done! i think i'm as excited as he is about this building. i worked in my herb garden and cleaned the gardens in front of the house. i wish we were going to have more great weather but that doesn't seem to be the case. we're supposed to get storms tomorrow and then much colder with snow showers on tuesday. a high of 39 on tuesday!! that's weather in georgia : )

it is so nice to just be home! i am going to watch movies, sleep late, clean the house, rearrange closets and bake. i love being home and cleaning and cooking. we are going to atlanta on thursday and friday. keith found a wonderful deal that will let us vistit fernbank, the aquarium, the atlanta history museum, and the botanical gardens so we are going to see matt and tasha and spend the night thursday.

hooray for spring break!

family

2009-03-28T12:09:00.000-07:00

i love my kids! we went to tasha and matt's last night had dinner with them and went bowling. we talk almost every night with nathan and bj and keep up with them. i just think it's wonderful that what i wanted for us as a family has come true. we enjoy each other's company and can talk about anything. we are there for each other and have been there for each other all the time.

the wind down of school

2009-03-26T17:47:00.001-07:00

i can feel spring break coming and soon after that the end of this school year. this time of year everybody is tired and a little cranky. and if i hear the words crct again i think i'll throw up!

i am so thankful that tasha does a countdown for us! it helps to know that i can do anything for 38 days. it's not that i don't love my job but it takes so much energy that sometimes i feel that i have to reach to my toes to get enough to go on.

i feel so fortunate that our school system is small enough that we don't have to worry at this time about losing jobs so i feel very blessed. i am so sad for those who are being cut in the larger counties. it will make teaching very challenging. i also want to say that people who think parapros are expendable are nuts! i was a para while i worked on my degree and i worked and made a difference in the life of children and helped my teacher be able to do what she needed to do. those paras will be sorely missed. their job is grossly underappreciated.

we talked to our little girl in texas. her birthday is coming up and so we asked her what she wanted and she said.... a penguin! how funny! the other thing she wanted was for us to play the georgia fight song, i love my little georgia bulldog : )

she's all that!

2009-03-12T16:01:00.000-07:00

for those of you who don't read kayla's blog missed this precious picture of my beautiful gran! who knows? she might be the future hostess of "what not to wear!" the girl has style : )

cell phones and projectors

2009-03-07T18:34:00.000-08:00

yeah! here's what my new phone looks like. i have mp3, unlimited texting, camera ability, fun stuff : )

another techie thing that has happened is that my school just mounted our video projectors to our ceiling and gave each 5th grade teacher their own laptops to use for school. now i know, those of you who are in upper level grades have probably had this for some time but for us in elementary school this is a big deal! i love it! i have the computer at my desk hooked up to the projector and all my morning work, announcements, vid streaming are done from my desk. i have done powerpoints about writing, i can also hook it to my elmo which saves alot on paper.

if someone had told me that i would be proficient in this technology i would have laughed in their faces, now i can't teach without it!

fireplace insert

2009-02-28T14:24:00.001-08:00

this is what our insert looks like. it seems to be here at a good time as we really do seem to be going to get some real snow, not that "spilled sugar" on the ground we have had. it's not in yet b/c it is probably going to take at least 5 people to get it in!

oh, sick, sick, sick

2009-02-27T15:04:00.000-08:00

i was at work on tuesday of this week when about 11 o'clock i really started to feel awful. i put it down to the salad i had eaten and tried to brave it and tough it out but at around 1:30 i gave up. as i was on my way to the office one of my babies at school is coming down the hall looking like i felt, so we both went to the nurse and she sent us home. oh my, i had no idea how much worse this was going to get.

at 4 i was in a wheelchair being wheeled into my doctor's office. to let you know how truly hideous i looked they admitted me through the back door! i was given a shot of phenergan, ouch, by the way, and sent on my merry way with something for everything that i had at the moment. the interesting thing was that i had never had a shot of phenergan before and as we were at the pharmacy drive-in window i had the awfullest sensation that i was going to pass out, i got tunnel vision, and my hands began to tingle and i just sort of fell back on the seat of the car. liked to have scared keith to death! come to find out that is how the medicine does. would have been nice to have known that in advance!

anyway, after 3 days out of work and taking medicine i am finally on the mend. limp and as weak as a kitten but better. i actually ate real food today. anyway, i am resting and watching movies and waiting for keith to get home with our new fireplace insert. i guess he'll put that in tomorrow. if we get snow this weekend it will be wonderful to have a fire again.

long time. it no blog

2009-01-24T17:45:00.000-08:00

well, it was an interesting week. we had mlk day off on monday then it started to snow on monday evening so we were out of school on tuesday. it snowed all day on tuesday so we had no school on wednesday. i thought for sure we would be in school on thursday but we got a phone call on wednesday afternoon that the roads were still bad so we didn't have school on thursday either. so to make it a full week i had a minor procedure done thursday afternoon and missed school on friday!

i told bj that this made up for the vacation days at christmas when i was sick. it was kind of nice, the house was clean and we had nothing scheduled so i read 3 books, slept, and baked. my bff got me the missing books for my "mitford series" by jan karon. she came over before christmas, looked at the books i had in this series and got the ones i was missing. now that's a friend! so, i started at the beginning and have read all but the last one which i started on today.

we had a wonderful phone call this morning from our number 1 gran who wanted to talk to her g-daddy. she of course wanted to know about tiger and patty puppy. she wants to come and play : ) it won't be too long before we see them again. i forgot to tell nathan and kayla that pepere got her a big rabbit for easter.

well, i guess that's it for now. it will be back to routine next week, i like that ; )

sick, sick, sick

2008-12-22T15:15:00.000-08:00

as bj said this afternoon, i seem to do this every year no matter what i do to try and prevent it! i am lying on the couch feeling simply awful. the only bright side, if there is one, is that i am forced to not do anything but lie here and watch tv and movies. i really would rather be having fun : (

christmas in black and white

2008-12-08T16:50:00.001-08:00

my friend holly and i played what is our second annual christmas in black and white. we enjoy doing this for several reasons. the first is we get to play some cool duet pieces on 2 pianos and another reason is we get to work on music that we don't get to play at church b/c it's to long or is more classical. we even had a trio with the 2 grands and the roland, which keith played. it was a very pretty arrangement of the first nowell.

i'll post a picture of holly and i at a later date when i find the camera again!

oh christmas tree

2008-12-05T20:04:00.000-08:00

well after 3 days of off and on work i finally finished decorating the tree. i must say it is one of the prettiest we have had, but of course my family will tell you that i say that every year : ) i love putting the ornaments on the tree because there seems to be a memory attached to each one. some of my favorites are the one that was made when nathan was in kindergarten, bj's baby rocking horse from his first christmas and matthew's first baby christmas. there are also michaelangelo, the numerous georgia bulldog ornaments, and the various cat ones, not to mention the ones that are shiny!

i love the ones we have gotten from oma and pepere over the years, they are so beautiful. well, i'm sitting here in front of the fire with the tree lit up and the smell of cookies in the kitchen and feeling very content. i will enjoy this for the moment b/c tomorrow i have practice for the christmas in black and white, a christmas party tomorrow evening, church on sunday with the performance of christmas in b/w sunday afternoon and then wrapping christmas shoeboxes sunday evening!

it is truly the most wonderful time of the year!

snow days are the best!

2008-12-01T17:24:00.001-08:00

today i got the phone call that all teachers and students love to get... school is cancelled today due to snow!! i always count these as "gift" days. they are days where you can do anything you want, nothing is planned.

so my day went like this: i got the phone call this morning at 6:15 so i turned over and went back to sleep, that may be the best. i made pancakes for breakfast and then we put the lights on the tree. our tradition has always been that when it snows we make soup beans, so that is exactly what we did for lunch. i then made cookies and hot chocolate for us. i was able to wrap a lot of the christmas gifts and watch a movie. we also enjoyed watching the snow fall, and fall, and fall, and fall! it snowed all day. it was beautiful!

i will go to bed tonight and be thankful to God that he made snow for us to enjoy!

restful day

2008-11-28T20:18:00.000-08:00

well, after all the doings yesterday today was a day to relax. i made the mistake of weighing myself this morning so instead of pancakes i had instant grits and toast. daddy and ingrid went to helen today, keith worked on his storage building and i rested today. i think we all forgot about the railroad display. this evening we picked up daddy and ingrid and went to longhorns. matt and tasha, bonnie and jim, and bj met us there. and as bj said, we ate yet again! we had a fun time just being together.

tomorrow we have tuba christmas from 9 until the performance at 12. we have got to get to wallyworld for my contacts and maybe some more christmas shopping then everybody is at our house for matt's b'day party. i have coerced everyone into helping me decorate the tree. the more the merrier!

this season is shaping up to be a doozy. next saturday is our lady's dinner and on sunday is our piano christmas program, christmas in black and white. lots of practice for that one. i'm playing about 4 pieces and my friend and fellow pianist, holly, is playing about 2 pieces also and then holly and i will be doing some duets as well. the following saturday is the big party at our house with about 20 people! there's more this december but as the brits say, that's quite enough to be getting on with at the moment.

well, going to bed now and rest for tomorrow. oh, btw, nathan and kayla are going to get to meet the members of casting crowns, hope i get an autograph : )

thanksgiving day

2008-11-27T21:35:00.000-08:00

we had a wonderful time today although the beginning was very busy what with cooking and getting all the food packed to go to tash and matt's. we made mac and cheese, turkey, dressing (that we forgot to take!), cranberry sauce, pink salad, deviled eggs, we brought the cucumber salad (thanks to oma). that was what we brought and then everybody else brought food, too. it was quite a feast. the house was decorated so beautifully. tasha made placemats and name place cards.

after we ate, tasha had a cute multiple choice test about thanksgiving. did you know that there are 3,500 feathers on a turkey??? do you realize that somebody counted feathers on a turkey? of course keith won! he knows more trivia than anyone i know. pepere and i tied for 2nd place. when we got home we got our pj's on, watched some of the "house"marathon, built a fire, read for awhile and relaxed.

tomorrow we are going to have "panacakes" for breakfast, go see a railroad exhibit and then pepere and oma are taking us all out to eat at longhorn's for dinner. we're also going to get the christmas tree and decorate it. btw, my house is all decorated for christmas : ) saturday is tuba christmas, some shopping and matt's b'day party! all in all a great way to begin the holiday season.

hope everyone had a wonderful turkey day and are very thankful to our terrific God for our innumerable blessings.

christmas list

2008-11-13T15:43:00.001-08:00

since everyone sends christmas lists i thought i would like to send mine, too : )

clothes:
sweaters (medium) cable knit (nothing fancy) in brown, red, or hunter green

trouser socks- brown, black, blue

music and/or books:
classical music (especially Mozart, or anything from the Baroque or Renaissance era)

gift certificate for Barnes and Nobles or Books a Million

the Left Behind series

Movies:
the Lord of the Rings trilogy
the 2nd Chronicles of Narnia

jewelry ( of course!):
a simple white gold bracelet with a bar clasp (this is the one with the loop and and a bar that goes through it instead of a clasp)

asheville,nc getaway

2008-11-05T18:22:00.000-08:00

keith and i finally got away for a few days. we went to asheville, north carolina. we had our fall break oct.27-28. it was absolutely beautiful and it snowed! of course we went to biltmore house. talk about more money than brains! who in their right minds needs 543 rooms????

we got there on monday and it started snowing monday evening. i was looking out the window at around 1:30 in the morning and these big, fat snowflakes were coming down. i woke keith up and probably the whole hotel. i just thought everyone should enjoy this beautiful sight : )

it was so nice not to be in a hurry to get some place, no eating lunch in 15 minutes, no watching the clock and NO getting up at 6:00 in the morning! anyway, it was sweet.

a day off

2008-10-19T18:25:00.001-07:00

saturday was such a fun day! i slept in, keith took me to wahoo for breakfast, and then we went to the farmer's market and got some early christmas presents. we also bought some more mums for the garden. when we got home in the early afternoon i just rested and enjoyed the rest of the day. keith built me a fire in our firepit and we roasted hotdogs over it and ate outside. it was chilly but nice around the fire. we played with patty puppy and then watched movies that evening.

yes, my house still needs cleaning and the clothes need washing but it was so nice to just put everything on hold and just enjoy the day off. i'll clean this week : )

lessons learned in a cornmaze

2008-10-10T21:41:00.000-07:00

this is the cornmaze i took our youth to this evening. last year at this time we had at most 4 youth and more times than not 2. we started praying and tonight we took 14 kids to this youth outing!! praise God : )

this was titled lessons learned so let me tell you the lessons we learned. when we entered the maze we followed our map and got to the end of the maze where the exit was. we didn't believe it could be that easy so we decided that we knew more than the map, see where this is going?? we went back into the maze and really got turned around. we could see the light that the maze had to kind of guide you in the right direction to get out but we just got farther and farther away from it. we eventually, 1 hour later, sort of found our way out. if you can see where the square above the name pat is, that is where we came out. as you can see, there is not an exit there. we blundered our way through and made a way out. we got out but it certainly wasn't what the makers of the maze had in mind! there was also a platform so folks could stand high above the maze and see the people trying to find their way out.

we got to talking as we were making our way around the maze back to the entrance and said this was what we do as christians. When we see the exit from our sinful lives we figure it can't be as easy as believing, surely we must have to work harder to get out of that life so we go about trying to figure it out for ourselves. as we do this we find ourselves getting farther and farther from the light. god sees us wandering around and he hollars at us to turn right or left or go straight but we ignore this and decide that we will not follow the path, hey, we'll make our own! we stumble, are caught in brambles, sometimes even fall. we may eventually get out but it certainly wasn't the path that god intended for us. it would have so much simpler if we had just gone out by the path that was marked.

good fun, good lesson!

funeral

2008-10-04T18:34:00.000-07:00

have you ever wondered what would be said at your funeral? will people say how good you look? (i've always thought that was a terrible thing to say like you look better dead than alive?!) will people say what a wonderful person you were?

as you can tell i went to a funeral today and as always it makes me think of my mortality and what a really short time we have on this earth. i always feel funny about singing or playing for a funeral when i don't even know the person, as happened today. it is interesting to hear what people have to say at funerals. many times it makes me wish i had known this person. sometimes when i overhear what people say when they don't think anyone is listening it makes me glad i didn't know that person!

i would like to be remembered as someone who made a difference in somebody's life. i want people to say they saw christ in me. i would like to be remembered as someone who lived every minute to the fullest and had no regrets. keith said that this lady never said, "i wish i had done thus and so." i don't want to waste my life waiting to live. i think that is something profound that i have learned in the last year or so. so many times we are waiting to "do something" that we forget to live each day, i mean really live it!

i'm going to try very hard to remember that this week!

OMG! where's the gas????

2008-09-29T16:34:00.001-07:00

it just boggles the mind that we are such crazy people that we talk ourselves into such a mess. the folks in charge are asking people to drive only if they have to, NOT call 911 to find out which stations have gas and not to top off their tanks! commonsense, which we in this country seem to be in short supply of.

keith had a wonderful idea, he suggested that schools could add an extra hour to our day and go to a 4 day school week and save gas by not running the buses. those things take an enormous amount of gas to run. we only have about 12 buses here but atlanta has 100s. think of the gas that would be saved if we took one day off from the buses.

wonder what would happen if this continues? i have a bike and only work about 3 miles from home. i guess i could ride... i just finished a science fiction book about what life would be like if we had been attacked by nuclear bombs. there was no gas, no electricity, no coffee!, no food other than what was available at the stores in canned food, no resupplies of medicine. it really made me think about how much we depend on technology and modern conveniences. how many people these days know how to can food, cook over an open fire, preserve meat? i think of all the things we take for granted that make our life so easy. with that in mind i am going to learn how to can food, and i am going to make my garden bigger and better next year. it really made me think about things.

oh my poor dawgs!

2008-09-27T18:08:00.000-07:00

oh my poor dawgs! it is so hard to be a devoted fan and see your beloved team having their fannies handed to them on a silver platter. but you accept the good with the bad.

i love my dawgs!! woof, woof, woof!

fall in the mountains

2008-09-26T14:14:00.001-07:00

in just about 3 weeks this is what our mountains are going to look like. i cannot tell you how sweet it is to live here during the fall season. the highs are in the low 70s to 80 degrees during the day with blue skies that go on forever. the mountains are so clear they seem almost to be within reach of your hand. the evenings are crisp and clean. it's sweater weather and on some evenings, fire in the fireplace weather.

we sleep under blankets that keep us toasty warm and make it very hard to get up on these chilly mornings. the temp this morning was 48! the coffee seems better on cool mornings : )

this savannah girl gets kidded about the weather b/c what i think of as down right cold everyone here thinks is "just cool." i do believe, however, that i might be being persuaded t0 become a "mountain girl."

blue grass weekend

2008-09-21T18:07:00.001-07:00

we had a wonderful weekend. there was a blue grass festival in blairsville. we went and enjoyed some wonderful music. it is interesting to me that i don't, and i mean don't, like country music but i love blue grass. when we were listening to some of the music i was reminded again how much the music sounds irish and how much that particular style influenced this area's music.

there were also some arts and crafts folks there. one was from england. he had the most interesting material that he made into a candle holder. it was from a seed pod from western australia. i have never seen anything like it. his story about how he wound up in murphy,nc was interesting, also. he and his wife were on their up north when they stopped in murphy. by the end of the day they had put a bid on a house! they never made it up north. they sold their condo in florida and moved within the month.

we went friday evening to see the play "our town." for a small theater group it was good. i love this play b/c it reminds us that we only have this one life to live so we need to live it to the fullest everyday. btw, i have offered to accompany the theater production of "the fantastics" next summer. i think it will be fun. i played this when we lived in dublin. it should be challenging and fun: )

brenna bunny

2008-09-16T16:58:00.000-07:00

we had so much fun with brenna this weekend! she has grown so much and she is such a wonderful little individual.

it was interesting to see that the "mom" gene was still intact. it was strange when she first arrived,
it was like, what do i do with this little child. i'll
admit, i was a little nervous, would i remember what to do with a child of 2 again? interestingly enough, it only took a couple of hours to feel comfortable with her in the house. i even had the "i will kill anyone who wakes her up!" moment.

as you can see, g-daddy had fun, too. we took her to the lake and surprisingly we had the lake to ourselves except for a couple way away from us. she loves the water! we brought bubbles, which uncle matt liked as much as brenna, we had a ball and goggles. she loved the goggles! i think she may be part fish.

we took her to church and she stayed for awhile in big church. she was a very good girl. she sat with uncle matt, aunt tasha and tasha's parents and sister. she had a lot of attention which allowed me not to worry about her and play the piano. everyone thought she was so pretty, of course ; )

she did have to sit in the naughty chair for just a little while sunday evening. she seemed so surprised that nonnie had a naughty chair. her expression was like, "how did that happen?" i had asked her to leave something alone and she wouldn't, typical 2 year old. after she sat i went to her and told her why she had to sit in time-out and asked her if she was sorry. she was so cute, she said, "i sorry, nonnie." i told her i loved her and she said, "i nuv you nonnie." she had me at i'm sorry : )

i am so glad that she has 2 loving parents that love her, that discipline her, that teach her, and are raising her to be a wonderful person. they are doing such a good job!!! thank you for sharing her with us. i love being a grandparent!!!

not a happy momma

2008-09-10T15:17:00.000-07:00

i have got to tell you, this momma ain't happy! i do not like the fact that my middle child will only be 100 miles inland from a possible cat 4 hurricane!! thankfully brenna and kayla will be here in georgia when this thing hits texas.

i know, i know, nathan is an adult and is perfectly capable of taking care of himself but that doesn't mean i have to like it!!!

here's matthew

2008-09-09T15:05:00.000-07:00

as i said i'm still learning how to upload pictures and edit blogs. anyway, here's my youngest!!

to bj

2008-09-09T14:08:00.000-07:00

first of all i apologize that all my pictures are christmas pictures but i haven't loaded any others on my computer.

anyway, to my oldest! you probably don't know this but you almost weren't. your daddy was a youth minister and we had just about decided to not have kids of our own because we had 30 kids at the time but God had other ideas. we are soooo glad he did! (i thought you were the flu : )

there are so many things i love about you it's hard to know where to start. first, i love your humor. you are one of the wittiest and funniest people i know. your mind is so quick! i think you should have a vent all your own with just your comments on it! second, you are so tender hearted. i still remember when we got lady and you wanted to take all the kittens, cats, puppies and dogs home from the shelter! we had to send you out to wait in the car. next would have to be your musical ability. you don't use it much but you do have it. i love that you're a reader. i like sharing books with you and discussing them with you. i like the fact that you take your lumps in life without complaint. if it was your fault then you have always manned up and said so.

i love how much family means to you. you aren't afraid to tell people that you love your family. i am very proud of you. you have always worked hard and i am very proud of the fact that you are going to tackle going back to school. from experience i will tell you that the hardest part is walking into that first class. it will be worth it. the first step is the hardest.

you have always been my child who believes all things are possible. i believe that God gave you that ability. i love the fact that God has His hand on you and you're not shrugging it off. i love that you love Him.

one last thing, i love how you are such a people person! that is such a gift. people just naturally flock around you. you are honest, even when it hurts you. you are trustworthy, caring and a wonderful son.

God bless you, my firstborn.

here's nathan

2008-09-07T18:39:00.000-07:00

sorry, i'm still learning some stuff ; )

this one is for nathan

2008-09-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

this one goes out to my middle child. you handle that role so well. you have always been the one who sits back and scopes out the situation and then decides whether it is worth your commitment or not. i think that is a valuable asset to have.

i love so many things about you but here are a few : ) i think your commitment to the Lord is awesome. you are a mature Christian beyond your years. i was afraid that when you left to move to texas and had to leave compass that you would just give church a pass and only go when you could go to a comparable church but i was wrong. you seemed to innately know that it was not the how of worship but the what of worship, namely, honoring God on the Sabbath.

i love that we share a love of music, a music tie. both of us would rather play than eat especially if it's new music. i have loved watching you grow as a musician. i am glad that you have this talent and use it.

i think you are a wonderful teacher. you have an ability to reach a very tough age group. you are developing skills that will make you a great teacher. you are willing to listen, watch, and learn and that's what it takes to be a great teacher. great teachers never stop learning.

i love how much you love kayla and brenna. you are good husband and father. i love how you make your girls laugh : )

i love your perseverance. you were knocked down but you were not knocked out! that is important b/c life is full of knock downs. the important lesson you learned was to get back up, rely on God and go forward.

you are a joy to all who know you. i love you, my middle son.

tributes continued

2008-09-05T18:03:00.000-07:00

this one is for my youngest (don't worry guys, your time will come: ). my minky! your nana has always said that people should know this about you: they could either lead, follow, or get out of your way. matt, you have always seemed to know what you wanted. sometimes it has been very hard to get there but you persevere and reach those goals.

if someone needs to get something done they just need to see you. you have always had that bulldog tenacity, sometimes to your brothers dismay! you're very sensitive and care very deeply. i love the love you have for God. even when church was hard to endure you never lost your faith.

i know that the fact that your brothers always seemed to be more popular than you was difficult for you at times but you learned that to have several close friends was just as good as having a lot of friends. and the wonderful thing is you married your best friend! i can't tell you how happy i am for you for that fact.

i love the ability you have in music. i love to hear you sing and play. i like the fact that you like to hang out with your family, too.we really have fun together. i like the fact that family is important to you. i think that it is neat that you love history and you are so knowledgeable about it. you have a lot of your pepere in you. you want to get ahead. you're always looking for the best way to do something, willing to go the extra mile. i love the way you love and care about your wife. and i am so happy that you are so happy.

i am so proud of you, my youngest. i love you very much!!

tributes

2008-09-03T13:25:00.000-07:00

this tribute is for my dad. my dad is my hero! he is the bravest and strongest person in the world.

let me tell you just a few things about my dad. he served in vietnam twice. that was hard because it was not a popular war but daddy felt that it was the right thing to do. his country called and he answered. i have learned patriotism from my dad.

he always made me feel safe and secure. even now i know my daddy is there for me. as dr. phil says, he provided me with a safe place to land. i learned how to be a good parent from my dad.

he is absolutely one of the funniest people on this earth. if you have never had the privilege of being on the receiving end of one of daddy's stories you have definitely missed a treat. my favorite story is the one about the "ghost" train that was really my dad in a plane! i learned to have a good sense of humor from my dad.

my dad is a leader. whenever something needs doing people look to my dad. he is conscientious, dependable, and gets things done. i learned my work ethic from my dad.

my dad is deeply committed to God. he doesn't talk about his relationship with God very much but i have watched my dad through the years and his actions speak volumes. he will and has risked his life for others, greater love has no man than to lay down his life for another. he is always helping others. his charity runs deep. he is always willing to give someone another chance. i learned many of my values as a Christian from my dad.

these are just few things that i love about my dad. again, i could go on and on but these are the things i thought of today : )

tributes

2008-09-02T17:40:00.000-07:00

i haven't figured out yet how to upload pictures but if i had i would put a big heart here. i've been thinking that i want to let my family know how wonderful and special they are and let others know how wonderful they are. my family is my heart.

the first, of course, is my fantastic husband. i love him for so many reasons. first is that he saved me. many of you don't know much about my life when i first went to college. my parents got a divorce and i was pretty much left to my own devices. the summer before i left for college my dad came home from vietnam for the second time. my parents had not had a very good marriage for awhile and it all came to a head when daddy came home. mom and dad got a divorce and my mom went a little "wild." just suffice it to say that home was not home anymore. i lost most of the contact with my dad. i was somewhat adrift when i got to college. i met keith and he helped me work through a lot of things. he loved me and believed in me.

he has always believed that i could do more than i ever thought i could. he has always been there for me. when i went back to college he did so much so that i could study, work and when i wanted to quit he wouldn't let me! he is now encouraging me to continue my education by getting my specialist degree. yet again when i said i didn't see how he said of course i could. it so nice to have someone affirm you.

he is a fantastic father. he is the man that i dreamed of for my children, although he is a soft touch : ) he's never been afraid to tell his sons that he loves them and give them hugs and kisses, even now! he loves them unconditionally and they know they can trust him always.

he is the smartest man i know, alive or dead!!! he's horrible to play trivial pursuit with unless he's on your side. he has helped me with so many papers and research projects that would have taken hours to find information for. he's also my editor which has gotten me more than one A in school. he even went to school for me one time when i was sick to take notes. my professor wanted to know if he could come back!

i think i knew he was truly the man God had for me when we could sit without talking and there was not an awkward feeling about that. even now, if we are driving or sitting and neither of us is talking it just feels comfortable.

these are just a few of the things i love about him. i could go on and on but these are the most important things: he is a man of God, a good father, a wonderful husband, the best person i've ever met and i am fortunate enough to call him my husband.

i love you with all my heart!

your deb

tubing with family and friends

2008-08-31T21:17:00.000-07:00

if you read keith's blog then you will know that he is not really a fan of tubing but i love it! i think that if it weren't for me the man would never have any fun (just kidding honey!) i like being in the water and going down the small rapids, getting in the water, laughing and talking, and going at a leisurely pace watching the scenery. i really had fun : )

we had a good day at church and with no church tonight, of which i'm not a fan of anyway, we had a nice restful sunday afternoon. i'm hoping we're going to sam's club tomorrow and see matt and tasha but keith doesn't want to go so we'll see. he has a lot of his mom and dad in him and i have a lot of my dad in me, meaning i like to go and do stuff and visit. he would rather stay home. like i said, we'll see. i'm pretty easy : )

it is one of life's little pleasures that we have a monday off. that to me is so nice to wake up and realize it's monday and you don't have to get up!!!!

hope everyone has a wonderful labor day.

sacs

2008-08-28T18:39:00.000-07:00

every 5 years or so the state department of education in its infinite wisdom comes to schools with a committee to see if schools know what the heck they are doing. this group of people are known as the sacs committee. sacs stands for southern association of colleges and schools. before they come the school system that is lucky enough to be accredited that year has kittens and everyone goes "insane in the membrane!"

our school system will be host to this wonderful event the 2nd week of september. you would not believe all the things that we have to be sure we know. we have been told again, and again, and again ad nauseum to know the school motto, vision (i didn't even know we had one!), and on and on. we have these things posted everywhere, and when i say everywhere i mean everywhere, would you believe the bathroom in front of the toilet????? the one in our bathroom seems to have grown legs and it has become quite a game to "find the school vision in the bathroom."

my funny today at school has to do with this visit. apparently these people will be interviewing parents and students as well as school personnel. i chose 2 students from my room. i told them about this separately and their reaction was a stitch! i called one student to tell him about his appointment to the panel. he looked at me and his jaw dropped and in his inimitable way said," this week just keeps getting better and better!" when i told the other student, she took the paper with the "suggested questions and answers" and looked at me then dropped her head on my desk and said,"and who do i owe the thanks for this honor!" needless to say they are not very happy with me right now but they'll get over it (tee-hee).

rainy days and tuesdays

2008-08-26T16:56:00.000-07:00

what a rainy day we had here in georgia. we probably had 5-7 inches of rain! everything has greened up again. it doesn't look like august anymore. we sure did need the rain.

as a teacher i love rainy days. the kids are somewhat subdued and seem to be quieter at least until recess. ha-ha, i don't have recess duty! smart woman! everything is going very smoothly. it's almost kind of scary. i guess that it's because i know these kids and they know me. like i said, we didn't have to learn the routine and sort of picked up where we left off.

i gave them an interesting writing assignment yesterday. in social studies we have been talking about scarcity and how that changes what people buy and prioritize in their life. their assignment was to pretend that they were on their own for 2 weeks and they had $100 to use as they wished. of course the goal was to have them see that if that is all the money they had then they had to spend it wisely. when they first heard that they could spend $100 they started talking about buying games, etc. then as they started thinking about it. they became pensive and really thought about the situation. they shared their writing today and surprisingly enough they, almost to every kid, they would spend the money on food, bills, pet food, they would conserve water, electricity. it was wonderful! these are the times that it is so cool to be a teacher b/c you can see their intellectual maturity growing!!!

in another vein, it is interesting to live in this environment we call school. it is like its own world. we have the leader, we have the peacemaker, we have the arbitrator, the comedian, the drama queen, the complainer, the questioner (this person drives me crazy b/c they always have that last question when the meeting is over and we are asked, "does anyone have a question?" and you KNOW this person is going to have ONE MORE QUESTION!!!) anyway, it is an interesting study in people and this microcosm world.

2008-08-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

we finished our 2nd and 1/2 weeks of school. i have already graded 252 papers, scheduled 2 conferences, written at least 5 notes and put 5 students in study hall (detention). wow! but you know what? i wouldn't do anything else. i truly love teaching!

i had several "atta girls" this week from my principal! it was really nice b/c she doesn't give compliments all the time. we were asked to come up with goals for our teaching, what we wanted to work towards. i had actually been thinking about this this summer (slow summer ) so i was ready for this. they are ambitious goals to be sure but what's a goal that can be easily reached??? anyway, my principal was so impressed with them she e-mailed them to our curriculum director who wrote her back with "WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

the other thing was about my kids. i am so glad i was able to move up with them. in social studies we have been discussing goal making and why goals are important. this is one reason i wanted to move to 5th. these kids are just beginning to have opinions of their own and understand what these mean and the importance of them. anyway they came up with goals of their own and they also wrote a class mission statement which was pretty awesome. my principal thought this was terrific also!

if you can't tell i am very glad to be working with 5th graders again and so far i have had a good start to the year. i think it will be a good year with lots of hard work on my part and my students' part. i told them i was going to work them hard and they could rest on the weekend!

i would like to share some things i have learned over the years as a teacher. keith is forever telling me i should write a how-to book but for now this will do. so here goes:

remember that each and every child you teach is someone's baby
you are not the most important person in a child's life but you can definitely be one of the important people in their life
always give a child a chance to save face, if you back a child into a corner they will come out fighting and you will lose
be enthusiastic and honest when you teach
never be afraid to say i don't know and then try your best to find out the answer

more later : )

birthday and a funny moment

2008-08-19T18:42:00.000-07:00

we went to jim and bonnie's to celebrate jim's b'day this evening. we love getting together with them. it is so good to have good friends. we always have good food, laugh until we can't laugh anymore and just enjoy being together. matt, tasha, keith and i got jim a tent. yeah, i know it's a strange gift but it is practical for what he needs it for. jim rides a motorcycle and at the end of this month he and other riders will be taking a trip for about a week. they will be camping for some of the time and he didn't have a tent thus the tent.

the other thing i wanted to write about was that as i said earlier, i wanted to find something to laugh about everyday. today was a good one. in my language class we are learning about sentence fragments. i was explaining to the kids that you don't start a sentence with the word "and." i asked them to tell me what part of speech "and" is. one of my students very enthusiastically told me it is a conjunction! god love him, he doesn't often get things right so i told him excellent! that it is indeed a conjunction. to make sure he understood what a conjunction is i asked him what a conjunction does. he got that deer in the headlights look and then, you could see the lightbulb go on, he tells me, "it conjuncts!" funny stuff for this english teacher. it made me laugh!! yeah : )

laughing all the way

2008-08-14T18:31:00.000-07:00

i now have a copy machine in my classroom! for those of you who teach you know how awesome that is!!! for those of you who don't teach you probably would never understand how great this is and how much better my professional life will be when i'm not looking for a copy machine that works.

how it got to my school is my funny story for the day. keith loaded it in the van last night. when i pulled out of the driveway this morning the darn thing shifted on the back seat where it was sitting. the seat was folded down and it slid back until it was resting on the back door. i got to school and parked in the back parking lot. i thought, "i'll gently open the back door and push it back onto the seat." well, when i opened the back door the thing slid even further out the back! i carefully lowered the door and opened the side door and got behind the it thinking to pull it back onto the seat. oh no! that would have been way too easy! instead when i got my hands on either side of it it proceeded to start sliding out of the car!

now this wouldn't have been to bad but there was absolutely no one in the parking lot at the moment! i was really stuck! i couldn't move the machine and i couldn't let go! our p.e. coach pulled up a few minutes later as i was pondering what would happen if i screamed my head off. to make matters worse he had his radio up to about volume 100. i began to wave my foot out the door hoping he would see me and realize i needed help. he waved at me! i started hollaring like crazy for him to help me. he proceeded to park his car, thankfully he parks next to me everyday. i started screaming at the top of my lungs at this point and he finally knew that i needed help, he even asked me!

well, long story short, he helped me get it back in the van. when i asked him did he see me waving my foot out the door he said that he thought that WAS odd!!

anyway, alls well that ends well, the copier has found a new home in my room : )

trying new things

2008-08-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

as many of you may know i am somewhat technically challenged but i have found that if i keep at it i can pretty much figure things out orrrrr really screw things up. anyway, i am trying to learn how to upload pictures. i'll let you know how well that goes!

not a writer

2008-08-12T16:33:00.000-07:00

i realized today that i am not a writer! and yet i am teaching writing to my students, yikes! actually there are several of my students who are really good writers. i also realized that my sons are good writers, i guess they got that gene from their dad and mamaw. but they got their sense of humor from me!!

my goal this year at school is to find something to smile, laugh, or sing about everyday. i'm sure that this will be very challenging on some days. the thing that made me smile today was this, one of my students has horrible grammar! he regularly uses ain't, double negatives, can for may, and yeah for yes ma'am, which he knows is a no-no in my class. anyway, i constantly have him repeat what he said with proper grammar or with the respectful yes or no ma'am. after being reminded several times to say yes ma'am he looked at me with his endearing quirky smile and told me " ah thank ah'm gonna have to write that on my hand!!!"

well, as i tell my students, the only way to get better at something is to practice it, so, i will continue to write : )

i love saturdays

2008-08-09T17:45:00.000-07:00

what a beautiful day here in the north georgia mountains. puffy clouds, low humidity, and temps in the 70s for the day and 50s for the evening. we haven't had our air on all day.

i love saturdays b/c it is like a free day! you can do whatever you want on a saturday. it's your choice. it's like a mini vacation. yeah, i know there are some saturdays where you do have responsibilities to take care of but on the whole it's still saturday!

good-bye skip

2008-08-05T19:43:00.001-07:00

i just read nathan's blog tribute to skip caray.i felt that i also wanted to write something to mark his passing.to me he was mr.braves. i knew next to nothing about baseball when i first started listening to skip call the braves games back in the day. like nathan said, skip made the game understandable, even the infield fly rule! my favorite thing that skip did was to tell the people watching or listening to the game where a fan was from who just caught a foul ball or a homerun ball in the stadium. there were people who really thought skip knew where these people were from!!

he will be missed.....

ps i'm with nathan, larry munson IS immortal, right???????

buh-bye summer

2008-08-03T19:19:00.000-07:00

well, in 7 minutes summer comes to a screeching halt as summer is officially over. i will be going to bed at 10:30 for the first time since june 1st. school starts for us teachers tomorrow at 8:00.

i think that we teachers secretly love the beginning of school as much as kids. i bought new school supplies and new school clothes that i can't wait to show off. we get to see our friends that we haven't seen all summer and we are really eager to learn new stuff just like our kids. let's just keep this to ourselves, shall we??? if it wasn't for getting up early i'd really like this job (tee-hee).

well, the coffee is ready to be put on in the morning, my cereal bowl is waiting to be filled, my make-up and hair stuff is all laid out and my new clothes are laid out, too, so i guess i'm ready. good bye summer, it was fun.

thankful

2008-08-01T18:47:00.000-07:00

i had my mammogram done today. as i was waiting i saw a lady i work with, she was there for a biopsy. they found a suspicious lump and they were pretty sure it was cancer. this is one of my secret fears. thankfully for me, i was fine and for her they have found it early and it is small so her prognosis should be good.

this made me think, as did the trip to west virginia, i have so much to be thankful for. i need to be reminded of this when i complain about getting up in the morning, i have to cook dinner, clean house, etc. i should be remembering when i couldn't get up in the morning, that i have food to cook and a house to clean. i hope and pray that we are all aware of our many, many, many blessings each and everyday.

3 days to go

2008-07-31T19:47:00.000-07:00

well, i spent my $100 from uncle sonny today. i really got some good stuff for my classroom. i find it hard to believe that school starts monday and the weirdness of school has already begun. i have a meeting on monday that is actually a training session but it's for MATH! i happen to teach language arts, go figure. to cap it off i'm supposed to bring math manipulatives. HELLO, i am a language arts teacher!!!!
school sometimes can just make no sense at all.

we took our animals to the vet today which is always an adventure. our three boys are all grown up with lives of their own so we replaced them with 4, yes 4, cats and a dog. when we go to the vet they have to schedule us for about 45 minutes so everything gets taken care of. when we opened the cat carrier all the cats come out onto the table. our vet said she had never had a table full of cats before. we really got tickled because our smallest cat, sweetie by name, growled the entire time. she sounds like a diesel engine! she also is the one who fills the air with cat fur. she's like a feline porcupine.

tomorrow is another busy day. i have a doctor's appointment at 8:30am (what was i thinking!), then i go with keith to blairsville for his library board meeting, then back home for a hair appointment (those roots have got to go) and then maybe, just maybe, a "moomie."

well, i hear my bed calling and my youngest just im-ed me to go to bed, so i think i will. talk to you later....

waning days of summer

2008-07-29T19:09:00.000-07:00

if you are a teacher it always comes as a shock that summer is over and school is about to start and you haven't done nearly all the things that you had planned! but on the other hand, and there is always another hand, i will be glad to be back on a routine.

teachers are an unusual breed b/c we don't make resolutions at new years but at the beginning of each school year. so with that in mind, here are my resolutions:
1. i will do my best not to get caught up in the "drama" at school
2. i will avoid, to the best of my ability, gossip
3. i will remember that all parents are not stupid
4. i will be thankful that i have a job that i know is what i'm supposed to be doing, i don't have to ask why i am on this earth

i truly am excited about this year. i get to "promote" with my class from last year. we don't have to go through the beginning of year rituals, what is this teacher like, how much can i get away with, how much homework do we have, etc. we can hit the ground learning!!! and i am back in 5th grade, hooray! oh, btw, i am now certified to teach middle school reading so i will be applying for middle school next year if all goes well. of course i won't know what's available but we'll see...

Mission Trip

2008-07-28T20:32:00.001-07:00

we just returned from our mission trip this past saturday. i forgot how much energy it takes to be with teenagers 24/7! we were really blessed by going on this trip. it's hard for me to believe that this time last year we only had 4 youth. we took 10 on the trip. i also forgot how much fun these trips can be.

as i was reflecting on this mission trip i realized how fortunate and truly grateful to God i am for several things. one, i have a good education which allows me to have a good job and thus have some financial security. two, i have made some right choices in my life that have made my life a little easier. as i watched the people at the mission we worked at (we handed out bags of groceries)i realized that had i not chosen to finish high school and go on to college i could have been one of those people who came for help to the mission. their opportunities for employment are so limited in this area. they are either coal miners or laborers and with the economy the way it is there are just not that many unskilled jobs. they were so poor and many of them so destitute. i believe very strongly that education is the way out for many people who are going nowhere fast. because i chose to go to school i chose a different life for myself. i also believe that God has blessed me with people in my life who encouraged me and were my cheering section when it was not easy to go on. i am so thankful to God that He has led my life and directed me. i could so easily have been one of those folks. they just made me realize that i have so much that i take for granted that shouldn't be taken for granted. sorry for the rambling....

west virginia is beautiful but i am very happy to be home. our summer is over and school is about to start. that should prove to be fodder for some interesting blogging later on.

well, it's late so i will close for now.

learning all the time

2008-07-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

nathan told me that nobody could read my blog unless they were from mars b/c apparently i wrote in "wingding" which sounds like a language martians might use! i am going to see if this is better. btw, i did not choose wingding (or whatever it is). hopefully this will work.

family

2008-07-20T20:28:00.000-07:00

well, my precious texas family is getting ready to return home. i will miss them terribly but it's time that all our lives return to normal, whatever that state is (lol). we have enjoyed having this time together. it's nice to actually be together rather than just talking on the phone. we hope to go visit them in october or december for christmas. we'll have to wait and see what the crazy gas and airline prices do. my beautiful granddaughter was a joy to have around. she may be ours but even so she is very intelligent, has a great sense of humor, and is very much her own person. she loves to ride horses, "playing" the piano, reading her books, being with her G-daddy and seeing patty puppy, and being with nonni to see the cats. we also had brenna's great grandmother here, keith's mom, so that was pretty good, too. it's nice that this house continues to be a place for family to gather. bj was home while nathan, kayla and brenna were here and we also went to matt and tasha's house for a cook-out. i loved seeing all my boys together.
i love my family!