Food for thought....

"Some days are easy, like licking icing off a spoon. Today was more like stapling Jell-O to a brick." (borrowed from a friend)

This has been my week. Do you ever feel like this? AND it is still my life and I am sticking to it!

I needed this!

I found this while deleting emails. I know...2 posts in one day!

For some reason........this IS my family. Probably me and my cousin Brandi as old women. Of course IF she wants to tell you the original story then so be it! But, not me.

For what it is worth.

Wow this week at church has just been wonderful. I have needed it oh so much. There are times in my life that I am not bouncing off the wall with excitement. I do wear my emotions on my sleeve..shoulder...face..and voice! Somedays are just going to be "those" days. Yesterday was one. And so..........I am asking a favor of you. Pray for me. Pray for my two children. There is nothing "terrible" going on. It is just that I want my two children to be "good" Godly children. I don't mean angels. I don't expect that on this earth. I just want them to be respectful, kind, hardworking, honest, loving, AND know how to persevere when things get tough. (Yes, I do want them to be a better parent than I am, to be responsible adults, and to put the dishes away, make a bed, and keep some kind of path in their room in case of fire.)
Kauy has had a terrible week. After weeks of great grades, very few marks, and eleven stickers for focusing....... this week has just gone down the tube. He has no desire to learn. He told my mother that "I will drop out of school just like my dad and be okay". There is nothing harder for me than to watch one of my children hurt, but watching my mother cry over this is killing me. I feel like my son's firey spirit is being put out, and the reprocussion of that may be not good.
So I ask...Is this because we are a family of teachers and see what can become of my children...good or bad? Is it because I am expecting too much because I am a teacher/mother? Is he just being a boy (many remind me of this)? I am tired, frustrated, and feel that my son has been the "target" as far as behavior is concerned. Now on the bright side.........I can not keep him away from books lately. He loves to read aloud to me. His reading level since my "parent conference" has increased. He may not be the "club sandwhich" in the basket, but he isn't "bologna" either.
How does church fit into this? Well, Sunday's service was wonderful! I will tell you more at a later post. Last night there were two stories told. One was about a lion and a heartbeast (I think was the name) Anyway, it will the deer like animal will run, run, run when being chased by a lion. When the lion crouches to wait, the beast will stop and seems to be thinking "now why was I running. Hmmm I am hungry so I will eat some grass". With the lion sitting in wait, this beast will stop, eat and just forgets what it was doing. When it finally turns its backside to the lion, the lion attacks. When we are not looking out, we too will pounced on by the lion. So, we need to be watchful. The second story gave me great hope. It was the story of Kem. She told about her drug habits. Her time in and out of jail. Her life as a mess. She told of the night she felt the hand of God, but yet continued on her path. Later, her life changed. In the video she talked about the grace of God being all that she has. BUT what I saw in that interview was the hope we have when we decide to get out of the muck and yuck! Wow she was just powerful. I know her...I see her now and as she has been for at least 10 years. What a wonderfully powerful lesson.
So, I was once again reassured of the hope for my children. The hope for me. My problems are not life threatening nor are they life changing at this point. We are not into anything as heavy as the drug world, but in our world today, low self-esteem is what can lead young down that path. I have hope that God will put people into Kauy's life that will help build that self-esteem. I know that through prayer, God can and will deliver my children onto the "paths of rightousness". It won't be through me!

I am ususally a fairly good writer.......well at least some of you say so, (the "quiz" I took was NOT that nice.) I have had a wonderful weekend. Today this email came from a friend who teaches with me. She is the "Maxine"(minus the smoking) of my life. She will "tell it to you" without scrimping on the words. She has more....."guts" than some men. She often makes me blush, but I love her. It is my place to be planted in her life I am almost certain.(notice the word almost?) So, I would like to share with you the email she sent me today. You may have read this little funny. If not, you will have a few thoughts just like I did.


God is sitting in Heaven when a scientist says to Him, "Lord, we don't need You any more. Science has finally figured out a way to create life out of nothing. In other words, we can now do what You did in the beginning.

"Oh, is that so? Tell me..." replies God.

"Well, " says the scientist, "we can take dirt and form it into the likeness of You and breathe life into it, thus creating man."

"Well, that's interesting. Show Me."

So the scientist bends down to the earth and starts to mold the soil.

"Oh no, no, no..." interrupts God,
[I love this]





"Get your own dirt."

You may or may not like that little "story", but I did. It hit me! There are times that I tell God I can do it by myself......and I even think..."just watch". Guess what...........I can't. Thank goodness He doesn't EVER tell me to go get my own dirt. After I wallow in the dirt of stupidity for a while, I find His hand that has been there the whole time. He was sitting there on the stump just waiting for me to reach over!

Belated Birthday wish

Hope you had a great Valentine's Day. I did forget one thought yesterday.........

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE TIMMY !!!!!!

Tim has been married to my sister since 1992. When he decided ask my sister to marry him, he brought the diamonds to my house(late, late,late) and asked my opinion(like I know diamonds...the bigger, brighter the better!) Tim proposed to my sister from the pulpit one Sunday as he was leading singing (he had more hair then). She was clueless about anything and thought he was about the lecture the congregation about smiling. The wedding was huge (they know EVERYBODY) and was beautiful. Tim and I had recorded a song for my wedding, then we sang it at their wedding. He also sang a solo..(no, not Amazing Grace...even though my family felt this was an amazing moment.) Tim has kept our family laughing. Family dinner night can be pretty funny. He and my grandmother can match each other wit for wit. They are the "in the know" part of this family. He has mowed my great-aunt's yard for a lot less than the amount of sweat poured out. He was the one to go into the hospital room with Kelly to watch the final tests, and then went to my house to do the laundry so I didn't have to wash dirty underwear and shirts. He sheds tears gracefully such as when he put my "cat-phew" down last month. Tim can be a great brother-in-law, and I LOVE to sing with him!
There would possibly be only a few things about Tim that drive me nuts. One is that he thinks everything can be fixed with duct tape! He is very opinated. He loves his job at BBBS. And, he can be self-focused at times. However.....yesterday I understand he gave up HIS DAY to make my sister's Valentine's Day special. I have no clue what he did. My mom, my daughter, and Tony have an idea but no, not me. He was very selfish in not telling me. Usually he calls and asks what to do. Nope, not this time. All I know is that he went to the video store, and he had to put several utensils on the table so he called mom for directions. I hate being left in the dark!
But, because of your 3 days of planning....Uncle Timmy....Happy Birthday (again) and I know you had a Happy Valentine's Day.

Happy Valentine's Day

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO YOU!!!

Tis Valentines' Day
In this quaint town,
And my kids went off to school
With their backpacks loaded down.

They will get love notes
Along with some candy to eat.
A few cards from family
Filled with thoughts so sweet.

But most of all
On this day for showing love
I will remind them
They are my Valentine Gift from above! (Yes, I write poetry)


I decided to ask some of my friends here at school what they were doing for their spouse for Valentine's Day. I have enjoyed the responses so much that I felt the urge to share them with you.
Females: "I am weighing in tomorrow. We will probably have cottage cheese and strawberries"
"We are going to drink strawberry margaritas and then see what happens"
"I get the night off. He is taking the girls to the dance."
"Am I supposed to do something for him tonight?"
"He sent red tulips in a box yesterday"

Males: "I am going to suprise her. Call her tomorrow and ask."(we are good friends)
"I sent her an email at work"
"Nothing. It's for her health. IF I did something she would die of a heart attack."
"I bought her new running shoes so she can stay in shape to take care of me."

So, what did you do today? OR...do you show your love daily?

Borrowed thought

I received an email that I had never seen before. Imagine that.....it was all new. I am not sure how much of it is really "legend" but the end of it just hit me today. I am not grumpy, sad,frustrated or specifically struggling with any one thing. I immediately thought about some of my friends and family. So, instead of forwarding it to everyone and risking the chance that there is someone in another far off distance galaxy that needs to read this.......I am going to put part of it here. (And as an Eng. teacher, I put quotes around it because I did not write it) Enjoy

The legend of the Cherokee Indian youth's rite of passage:

"His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it.
Once he survives the night, he is a MAN.
He cannot tell the other boys of this experience because each lad must come into manhood on his own.

The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him. Maybe even some human might do him harm. The wind blew the grass and earth, and shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold.

It would be the only way he could become a man!

Finally, after a horrific night, the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold.
It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him.
He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm.

We, too, are never alone.
Even when we don't know it, our Heavenly Father is watching over us, sitting on the stump beside us."

My mother-in-law has 2 big tree stumps in her yard. I won't look at either the same any more.

I took the quiz

Well, I went to my friend Sarah's blogspot (which I still don't know how to link in a post, but will get there with time.) and took her test about "What time of day are you?" Here is the response to that quiz.

You are the moment when the last bell rings and school lets out for the day. You are resistant to schedules and obligations, so you love feeling like you're in control of your life again. You are the very moment when the second hand hits the 12, and the halls fill with noise and motion. Even if your after-school time is packed with activities, lessons, or a job, somehow, you just feel freer in the late afternoon than you do earlier in the day. Maybe it's all that blue sky and afternoon sunshine? Nah -- even on rainy days, 3:15 is always a beautiful time.

Hmmm school gets out at 3:25. That might explain it.

Riddle

What do you get when you put a 7-year old boy...a 3ft.long floating aircraft carrier, and bathtub 1/4 full of water all together?
answer: you get a mop (quickly)!
reason: all oceans are rough once in a while, and the waves get REALLY high.

Do you quack and poop or soar?

The Middle School teachers had to attend a teacher's meeting last Wed. afternoon. You know how I love the fact that Wed. is here and gone so there are only two more days to "love" these students. Believe it or not AFTER all the griping and complaining about not being able to stay at my campus and work, I enjoyed the meeting. AND...I even volunteered when he needed 10 volunteers. I am an outgoing person, but you NEVER volunteer at a teacher's meeting because..."well, that is like picking your nose in public"..you just don't.
What was so great about this meeting we attended? #1 There were refreshments. #2The speaker was energetic. That helps on a Wed. afternoon. #3 He stepped on my toes.
Basically he worked to motivate us to finish this year's race without being wornout, huffing and puffing, and smiling to the finish line. But, my favorite part of the talk was about ducks and eagles. Which are you?
A duck waddles around doing two main things. "Quack, Quack, Quack..poop, poop, poop." "Quack, poop, Quack poop". Their beaks are flat out there for everyone to see. Their bills are always moving. They take from everyone. When ducks leave, there is just a "mess" and feathers. They always flock together. Very seldom do you see a duck alone. There is another usually in the area if not a flock of them.
An eagle soars above the mess. He flys high (above the mess). He/she flys with wings spread and floats on currents and is graceful. And, they usually fly alone. His/her beak is turned down, which leaves the appearance of a smile on their face. They don't go around making noise unless there is danger.
So his question at the end was....Are you a duck or an eagle? Do you run your silly-looking mouth all of the time only to leave a trail of mess for others to clean? Do you flock with others ducks to just make the quacking louder? OR do you soar above the mess. Tend to your business and wear a smile. Quacking ducks really annoy most of us, at the same time, most of us stand in awe of the eagle.

Two thoughts...long ones

I wish that I could impart to you many words of wisdom; something that would inspire you but I don't. For some reason I feel compelled to share with you things over the past week. So, I think I will just let the spirit lead my thoughts as I tell you about LIFE!
#1... It has been tough to be a parent this week. On Sunday, Kauy and a friend of his in Bible class decided to destroy some pictures on the wall in class. It doesn't help that I am one of the 3 teachers in that room. I must say that he used his best writing AND wrote the word GOD(he was probably hoping that GOD would save his rear when he got caught). Kauy received a spanking immediately, one of the elders spoke with him (at my request) AND he paid $2.00 to our Children's minister to help his friend pay for new pictures (Color copies are NOT cheap). Of course he couldn't go anywhere Sun. so I was grounded. Then on Wed. night it was war zone at my house. He refused to stay in the bed. The only ME time I have is after they are in bed asleep. However, on Wed. night he refused with every ounce of his body to stay in his room. He took several spankings...I turned out all the lights, closed and locked my door, got into my bed (again) and that still (10 min.later)did not work. Back to his room and suddenly...."I love you mommy..goodnight" (Of course that was after 20 min or so of "You're the meanest mommy in the world". Makaley was upset...she had been sick and in bed all day and still needed more sleep...but he was destroying the whole "sleep" atmosphere!
BUT it has been a good week to be a parent. Last Sat. we spent the morning at our local amusement place. We played air hockey...spent money...and drove go carts. Makaley is working on a beautiful new piano piece and I am soooo impressed with her ability. Kauy has had only 2 marks this week; both on the same day and has recieved 3 stickers this week. The vitimans are a MUST!!! AND..last night........Both kids went to bed with not an arguement. They even cleaned their dishes off the table.
#2....It was a rough week being a teacher. We have had so many students out with whatever. Today I sent 2 to the nurse who have an injury of some kind and need to see a doctor, but the wait is about 2 - 3 hours. We are trying to give the 6 weeks test, but it will take 6 weeks for them to finish because they are here then gone then back again. At McMurry I have had several students out with the "bug" but have been good to call in for their work. One of my students had to leave quickly during class because his one year old was being admitted into the hospital. It is hard to have a job that the state/public/administrations look at grades and scores to decide if you are a good teacher. They don't take into account flu, RSV, death in the family, ear infections, divorce, broken arms or broken hearts. (OF course, they are invinsible! Give them my classroom for a week and I promise you......they would ask for 4 months off.) Oops..did I preach?
BUT it was a good week to be a teacher. The kids have worked so hard in my classroom this week. We HAD to go to an after school meeting that turned out to be a blessing (I will share with you at a later post). The class at McMurry is taking on a personality and I love it. The past two days the students in my room have been working on the 6 weeks test. So, I would like to leave you with two "funnies" from testing in my room. During one class, I heard much whispering. No one would fess up. Finally one of the girls said she was talking to another. When asked why she told me that she was telling girl B to quit sucking down snot to chew on before she swallowed. Next time...I will just have her sign the book for talking and not ask any further questions. Then in the other class one of my "tough" guys who doesn't do work because it would ruin his image looked like he was really working. I got up to tell him how proud I was of him only to find him writing a love note to his girlfriend. He feared I would read it out loud. Of course I proofread it (I teach that sort of thing) and glad I did. He wrote "Hey, babe wuz up...i am taking the bitchmark". I calmly walked to the board,wrote "benchmark", and turned around only to say "just incase you need to write to her tomorrow while you are still taking the "benchmark"". Love my job, love my life and I will stick to both of them.

Hang on...I will get there!

No, no one at my house is sick(yet...except that Kauy had the "rare canine disease" on his face. Curable with a wet wash rag and some Benadryl)Yes, I live...Yes, I work, and Yes I know I am behind on my blog and many of you have told me how you read this to get a good laugh so.....until I get more time. Put on your big girl panties and SMILE! Even my big girl panties make me smile...because when your rear is this big anything rides up and become a thong which makes me smile just because I am having to "grin and bear it".