De-Stressing

This is going to be short and sweet. My husband thinks I'm wasting my time doing this "blogging" thing. I think it helps me to write- especially lately. School is so demanding and my own children are as well, so this is just a way to process my thoughts and try and make sense of what's going on. This is my way to de-stress.

Good points of the day: My class seems to be getting a little more controlled (they were wild for a little bit after Christmas break). I had a good conference with a parent today. I'm trying really hard to get out of school by 4 pm every day, and so far I've been doing pretty good (since school started back in January). I'm also playing my flute for the chapel service at school tomorrow and we have been practicing. The second graders think that I'm a good flute player (even if noone else does:-). I've enjoyed playing for them and having them sing with me.

Along with the good, comes the bad. I had a student that got in trouble and had to go to the office. This doesn't bother me as much as it used to, but it was still incovenient because this takes away from my teaching time. I also got some shocking (and personal) family news tonight. I wasn't prepared for this news. I can't go into further details at this time, but keep my family in your prayers. It's been a difficult road the last several months. Well, I have to go to bed.

All Grown Up

Amber went to her first "sleep-over" last night after much pleading and begging. I wasn't quite ready to start the whole spend the night thing with her, but finally gave in. Other kids in her class were sleeping over as well and knowing her personality, I knew she'd be fine without me. She told my husband yesterday morning that she wasn't even going to miss us. She's so independent, but at least try and make us feel better by pretending to miss us:-) She ended up having a great time and she got to sleep just fine last night. Now, she is going to want to have sleep-overs all the time! She's already asked to have another one tonight!

Josh is at a birthday party tonight for all his 6th grade class. He went with a friend and I'm hoping that he will return without too many bumps and bruises. I'm getting so concerned about the friends he's around and the choices he's making. He is a follower and I want him to make wise choices, but I know he's a lot like me. I tried to call his cell phone a couple of minutes ago and he didn't answer. Jim (my husband) just told me that me calling would probably be embarrassing to him and that's probably why he didn't answer. Oops! I guess I'm not going to do well with these teen years and him going out and getting more independent.

Dream

What do you dream of? We were asked that question this morning at a staff meeting. We had a teacher workday and it was interesting to bring this topic up (but not really, because the moderator then showed us Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech). So, we were asked to think about our passions, and what gets us fired up. I thought I'd share a few of mine here. They are:

1. To teach my own personal kids about God and for them to grow up to be faithful to God.
2. To play my flute more professionally (this is a big dream that I've had for a long time, and I keep trying to stuff it under a pillow).
3. I'd love to breed dogs (Yorkshire Terriers). I love animals- especially this breed.
4. I dream of getting a chance to spend a little more time at home- less stressed by work.
5. For my home and classroom to be a place of love and respect.

Well, those were the goals that I wrote this morning. I think my list should be called: My A.D.D. dream list. My goals and dreams are all over the place. But seriously, this meeting has gotten me thinking about not giving up on some of the things that I love so much. Life is too short, and I need to take small steps to try and achieve these dreams. I'm not sure where God is leading, but I know that I have been getting the message all too clearly about spending time with my children and about less stress. I have to go for now!

Another year older

Well, it's my birthday day (as well as my husbands). I know that is quite unusual and haven't really met anyone else that has the same birthday as their spouse. Oh well, we really don't do a whole lot to celebrate. We went to the movies as a family last night and saw "Alvin and the Chipmunks". I *loved* the Chipmunks when I was a little girl and remember getting their Christmas album and playing it over and over during the Holidays. So, this took me back to my childhood.

I don't think that I will be one to grow old gracefully. I remember when my mother was 36 (she had children young) and now I am there. I used to think that age was old and now I realize it's not really *that* old:-). I don't feel old, but I'm definitely noticing some changes in my skin that I don't like one bit! I guess the good thing about getting older is growing wiser and watching my children grow up.

I wanted to write about my baby, Angel. I wanted to just do a post on her (my dog), but figured I would add her to this post. She is the best dog in the world! I was listening to Animal Planet explain that dogs lower people's stress level and can lengthen your life. I know that's true of our little Angel. She is a Yorkshire terrier (I think the best breed that exists). She is all of 4 1/2 lbs. but doesn't know her size. She tries to play with an 80 lb. German Sheperd next door. It cracks me up. She never fails to give us unconditional love every day. Her picture (above) shows her almost asleep. I will probably write much more about her. I would love to breed her one day and wanted to show her in the ring, but life has been too crazy. Well, I'm off for now to do some school work.

BRRR- It's cold outside!

Well, snow is in the air or should I say that my students think that snow will be falling by morning:-) My class was off the wall today and I have to assume it is because of the excitement about the remote possibility of snow. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, but who knows- it could happen. That would be a nice little day off:-)

I wanted to post on Sunday after church about the excellent sermon that I heard. If you get a chance, check it out at: www.elevationchurch.org. The sermon focused on scripture from John 9:1-6 (these verses spoke to me the most). I will just sum it up to say that Pastor Steven talked about wandering in the "wasteland of why". I've been asking God why about things lately (especially since my 15 yr. old nephew passed away). I realized that I can get stuck in this why mode and not move on to what God wants me to learn from this (and what action I need to take). The verses talk about how a man was blind from birth and the disciples were asking why he was blind (did the parents sin). Its neat to see Jesus's reaction. He didn't want the disciples to get hung up with the "whys" but to see what was about to happen. The other weird thing about this scripture is the way that Jesus heals the blind man. I can remember I was teaching my 2nd graders this scripture a couple months back and when we got to the part about Jesus spitting to make mud and putting it on his eyes, my kids were grossed out. I wondered why at that time Jesus would do that. After Sunday, I know that Jesus could have chosen anyway to heal, but her chose a "messy" way. Lots of times in our lives things get messy before they get better. I have definitely seen this in my life.

Well, I guess that's all for now. Maybe I'll get a chance to sleep-in in the morning. Amber wants to do a snow dance tonight:-)

TGIF!

Here I am again. I set up a google blog because I like the look of this better than earthlink. Anyway, I am so glad that it is Friday. I am not sure there is much other point to this blog, but to say that it has been an unusually stressful week. I'm trying to analyze why in my mind and I've come to a few conclusions. Here they are:

1. This was our first full week back in school after a 2 week vacation (I guess this was more of an adjustment for me and for the students than I thought).
2. I've felt exhausted (goes back to #1 because the students have worn me out this week).
3. I've been super emotional (when I'm exhausted, I am extra sensitive).
4. Being a mom this week has not been easy- I've gotten a lot of resistance from my middle school child this week:-)

I'm going to just relax and enjoy my days off. Note to myself: I need to take my vitamins, eat my Wheaties:-) and pace myself until Spring Break (which is in March this year). I guess that's all for tonight.