playroom

For the seventeen years I was a student and the seven years I was a teacher, I loved this time of year. Last year was the first time since I was four years old that I didn't go back to school. My big preggo belly and I still browsed the school supply aisle, but since Carson was born on the first day of school, I didn't have too much time to miss it. I was busy getting to know my precious miracle and learning how to be his mama.

Back to school is always full of excitement, new beginnings, and new relationships. Teachers anticipate getting their class list while children anxiously wait to find out who their teacher will be. The pointy new pencils are excited to gradually transition from an awkward fist to a graceful home between the thumb and fingers as their owners become increasingly comfortable with them and learn to form the letters that represent sounds, then combine them to form full words, which they'll then put together to form complete sentences, paragraphs, and eventually even complete stories. The full boxes of sharp crayons are eager to dance between chubby fingers as children draw pictures to represent their hopes, dreams, and fears. It's a special time for all involved.

I don't have a classroom to prepare this year, but as my baby becomes a boy, I'm having lots of fun preparing space, materials, and opportunities for him to play and learn. The previous owners of our home converted the garage into an extra living space. We've enjoyed the space; it houses our treadmill, games, and a few other odds and ends, but since we first moved in and long before I was pregnant, I've been mentally transforming it into a playroom:) I don't typically spend much time or energy on decorating, but play spaces are different! I enjoy walking up and down the hallways at schools and churches and seeing all of the different ways teachers create environments that promote security and learning. I have fun browsing the internet for various play and learning spaces. Providing pleasant space for children to play, discover, explore, and learn is one of my very favorite things.

We used baby shower gift cards to get the toy cubby shelf, deciding it was a more organized option than a traditional toy chest. My parents gave us the glider and Keith's parents gave us the couch with hide-a-bed. Using Christmas money, and after much searching, I found just the right fun and colorful rug so Carson would have a soft place to play. For the past several months, the toy shelf has been on the wall on the left side of this photo with the couch across from it on the opposite wall and the rug between the two, but as Carson became mobile, his favorite place to go was straight through the room, past the soft colorful rug, past the blocks, books, and puzzles, straight to the treadmill and toolbox. These, of course, were not safe play options for my wee one, and spending time in the playroom became more about me saying no than about Carson playing, discovering, exploring, and learning. So, one day a few weeks ago, I had a idea! Why hadn't I thought of this sooner?! I moved the couch and the toys to create a wall blocking the alluring treadmill and tempting toolbox. Sure they're still back there, and he's tried to maneuver his way back toward them once or twice, but they don't dominate his attention the way they once did. Instead, his focus lands on his legos, tractor, or xylophone. It's amazing how a simple furniture shift can change the dynamic of a room and the experience of the people in the room.

During our recent trip to California, I spotted these fun alphabet cards, and my sweet husband sneakily added them to his Amazon cart and surprised me with them. When my mom was here a couple months ago, she helped me hang them. Then last weekend, Keith mounted these gutter book cases so that Carson can select a book by looking at covers, rather than spines. He can easily reach the bottom gutter and I can change them out every week or so. The top one is out of his reach, but is a fun way to display some of his books and stuffed characters, and of course, they too are easy to change out from time to time.

Creating an organized space for my sweet boy to play, discover, explore, and learn is one way I've made my life lovely:) If you've never read Heather's blog, check it out! Her story will touch your heart, and her sweet spirit and desire to make life lovely and enjoy the blessings of each day are a rare treat.

five senses: see

Another fun sense to explore is seeing. I’m amazed at the concentration and focus such a little guy has as he explores his sense of sight and learns about the world around him!

For a while now, Carson’s sense of sight has drawn him to look at bright lights and contrasting colors. He follows things he sees with his eyes. We have lots of fun experimenting with his sense of sight by playing peek-a-boo. One of the newest ways we’ve played with his sense of sight is with bubbles. He lies on his back, I blow bubbles towards him; watching them seems to relax him. The very best part of his developing sense of sight is the way he responds to things he sees. When we smile at him he smiles back!

He uses his sense of sight when we read books. Because our extended family all live in different states and Carson doesn’t get to see them too often, I made him a book reminding him of how much his family loves him with a page featuring each grandparent and aunt so he can see their sweet faces with his own and be reminded of how much they all love him!

His sense of sight is encouraging him to move, too! When he’s on the floor and sees a toy in front of him, he wants to get it! The problem is, right now, he goes backwards when he’s trying to go forward. Poor buddy. This can be frustrating, but I know his sense of sight is what’s encouraging him to move and it will be the thing that motivates him to master forward crawling before I know it. My baby boy is growing up quickly!

five senses: hear

Another way Carson is learning about the world around him is through his sense of hearing. He began hearing our voices even before he was born, so once he was born they were another way of providing comfort and safety. Talking, singing, and reading to him not only calm him down, but they are also how he begins understanding language.

talking

singing

reading

In addition to our voices, Carson enjoys toys that make noise. He likes things that rattle, squeak, and jingle.

I drink ridiculous amounts of peach tea, so I toss 3-4 of these handy dandy cylindrical containers in the recycling bag every week. I knew there had to be some way to repurpose them, because, after all, cylinders are the coolest three-dimensional figure:), since they’re the only one that stacks, slides, and rolls! Finally, I had an idea; these would make fun rolling shakers for Carson! I filled one with rice and one with pasta for two unique sounds and secured the lids with packing tape.

Then, I found some cute scrapbooking paper, cut it to fit, wrapped the shaker in paper, and covered it with packing tape (to protect it from slobber, of course!).

Carson's having fun exploring his sense of hearing (and touching and seeing, too) with these free toys! I wonder what other trash can become a treasure around here?!

five senses: touch

As a first grade teacher, one of my favorite units of study was the five senses. I always introduced the unit by popping popcorn, because it engaged all five senses. We heard it pop, smelled the buttery goodness, saw the small cloud-like pieces, touched the warm light-weight morsels, and finally tasted the yummy popcorn flavor seasoned with butter and salt.

Now that I’m a mama, teaching the five senses is even more fun, because everything is brand new! The first sense that’s been important to Carson is that of touch. Immediately following his birth, the cold air felt quite different from the warm moist environment he’d always known. Touch is what made him feel safe in this great big world. While we were in the hospital, Keith and I both spent time skin-to-skin with our little bundle of joy, and what a special experience it was!

Touch has remained an important way for Carson to feel safe and learn about the world around him. Snuggling, hugging, and kissing are all ways we show love.

Bath time is a fun way we engage the sense of touch in a totally different way! Carson loves to feel the water on his skin.

When it snowed, Carson got to touch a completely new temperature and texture!

One day, Carson and I had fun experimenting with flour. What a fun (and messy!) new way of engaging his sense of touch!

As I mentioned in the last post, Carson loves playing with placemats. He enjoys rubbing their rough texture. Similar textures he enjoys are carpet and the upholstery on our furniture. More great “toys” that have a unique texture are a bath puff and bath glove. They feel kind of scratchy. Sometimes while I’m getting ready, Carson lies on our bed and plays with Daddy’s shorts. They feel nice and soft and smell like Daddy!

I look forward to continuing to explore the five senses with my baby boy!

from teacher to mama

The sweet teachers at my school threw me a surprise baby shower!!! It was so much fun!

I've loved working with this sweet group of teachers. I was pretty nervous about joining the big, scary world of middle school, but these teachers have made me feel so welcome! Middle school was not so big and scary after all:) The kids were taller and could tie their own shoes but were still very sweet! I still got hugs and sweet notes, and enjoyed going to school each day.

My mom has been a teacher most of my life, and I spent many hours in her classroom. Then, at ACU, I spent four years preparing and learning to be a teacher, and for the last seven years, I have been a school teacher. Teaching school has been who I am. It's been a huge part of my identity. I loved building relationships with my students and fellow teachers. I loved reading to children. I loved helping children learn to read independently. I loved helping children learn to solve problems. I loved giving them a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, a hug, or a high five.

After much thought, prayer, and conversation, Keith and I have decided that I am not going to teach school next year. I know that I will miss teaching. I'll miss preparing my classroom as school starts next year. I'll miss the excitement of getting to know a new group of kids. I'll miss spending time with a diverse group of young people everyday. But, I am thrilled to be able to stay home with my sweet son. I'm excited to snuggle, play, and teach Carson! Teaching has been special, and I know I can always go back and teach again someday, but I am thankful and excited for this new chapter in my life!

Here are pictures from Carson's baby shower. These teachers, who I only worked with for one year, were so thoughtful and generous. Carson and I will definitely be going to visit them next year:)

Here are the the sweet sixth grade hostesses and host!

Justin was brave to join so many oooing and awwing women!

The other host had football practice:) We missed you, Brad!

the cute and very yummy turtle cake:)

the gift table and CUTE diaper cake made by sweet Tracy!!

my sweet friend Jill

opening lots of sweet and thoughtful gifts for baby Carson!!!

reflections from a snowed in teacher...

Last week, we got LOTS of snow and ice in Hohenwald, and it was BEAUTIFUL! We were out of school for four days!! With the weekend between those days and church being cancelled as well, I was at home for SIX days in a row!! CRAZY! I didn't go farther than the porch for six days...I'm thinking that's a personal record;) Several people were getting on facebook talking about cabin fever and such, but I could not relate. I enjoyed being at home. It was a nice break from the routine. Actually, I've had lots of breaks from the routine recently, we had another smaller snow a couple of weeks ago and were out of school for a couple of days, and we had MLK Day off, so I haven't worked a five-day-work-week since sometime in December:) The reality check after President's Day and before Spring Break may hit us hard around here!

I had a pretty good balance of relaxation and productivity while I was home, with a bit more relaxation, of course;) One of the things I worked on was going through all of my first-grade stuff. I had about 30 boxes of first-grade stuff in storage...yikes! That's way too much. I could have gone though more of it before we moved, but there was not a lot of time for that, other people were helping me pack, and I had no idea what grade I'd be teaching when we got here. There were about 10 boxes of files and five boxes of children's books. Once some of the snow melted and we could safely drive the couple of miles to get it, Keith braved the elements and got the files and books for me to sort through. I may teach little ones again someday, but it seems silly to store 30 boxes of stuff until that day may or may not come. It was a tedious job, but I sorted files to keep, recycle, and give away, and I sorted books to keep and books to give away. I still have a big stack of boxes in the corner of the living room. Hopefully they will leave soon:)

As I worked I had time to reflect on the differences in teaching first grade as compared to sixth. There is plenty to miss about the little ones. I miss teaching fundamentals, such as putting sounds together to read and write words and putting those words together to read and write sentences. I miss teaching the basic number sense in math and working with the five senses and changing seasons in science. But perhaps more than anything, I miss all of the celebrations in elementary school. We had at least one per month:)

September: Johnny Appleseed's birthday

October: Halloween

November: Thanksgiving

December: Christmas

January: Martin Luther King

February: Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, President's Day

March: Dr. Seuss's birthday, Easter

April: April Fool's Day

May: Mother's Day

As I sorted, it was fun to think about the books and activities I will use as a mother of my own children. Keith laughed at me when I declared I was going to do "units" with Itty Bitty:) It made me even more excited to be a mama!!

Even though there is plenty to miss about teaching first grade, and I have mourned those days from time to time throughout the school year, I am enjoying teaching sixth-graders. The challenges are different. Sometimes I struggle with seeing the relevance of the things I teach, and it is more difficult to build relationships with my students when I have 150 for an hour a day instead of 22 for six hours. But, as the year has progressed, I have convinced a few students that proper English is important, and the depth of my relationships with them has increased.

Sixth-graders are at a hard age. They're stuck right between childhood and teenage years, and sometimes they struggle with their identity, playing with legos one minute and writing love notes the next. I have had fun hearing their stories and talking them through some of the struggles of growing up. So, I think I'm finally beginning to deal with my own identity struggle of feeling like an elementary teacher in a middle school world. I will always remember first grade fondly...I have to remind myself that there were real challenges there too...tiring ones;) But, for now, I'm embracing the middle school world, and I'm thankful for the opportunity for a new experience.

My sixth-graders have been sweet and encouraging about my pregnancy. Almost everyday I come home telling Keith something sweet or funny that one of them has told me. Pretty much everyday since I told them the news, someone has asked me if it's a boy or girl. They cannot seem to remember that I've told them 25 times already that I won't know until March. I guess it's not unlike telling them the difference in an adjective and adverb 125 times! Several of them have offered advice on a name for the baby, including plenty who have requested I name my child after them. A couple of the little girls have already touched my belly and talked to the baby. A few have asked me when I'm going to get fat. One little boy pointed out to the class that I was finally beginning to show on Friday, and when a couple of them didn't understand what he meant, he quickly explained that I was getting fat:) They've had fun asking me how big the baby is, and it's been neat explaining that even though the baby is teeny tiny, he or she already has a heart, brain, arms, legs, and even fingernails. They like to warn me of things I'll have to deal with when I become a parent like kids not wanting to eat vegetables and begging for their own cell phone. Some of the boys told me that if it's a boy, I have to buy him a cool game system, but not to worry about buying any games, because they'll let him borrow their games:) I'm glad I get to share this journey with such sweet kids, and I'm thankful to have a job that I enjoy!

sixth grade happenings

I am LOVING sixth grade English!! I never thought middle school was my thing, but I knew if I never tried it, I'd never know. Teaching little first graders was just who I was, but I've got to tell you, I am having so much fun! I knew it would be a big adjustment, so I spent a lot of time thinking it through and processing aloud with sweet listeners like my precious mama and husband:) I'm so thankful I've had lots of people praying for me!! I felt surprisingly peaceful throughout inservice week and the first three days! I am so thankful for God's granting me peace!

The other sixth grade teachers have made me feel so welcome and a part of their team! When I first accepted the job, I was nervous about interacting with middle school teachers, because they always seemed so different than us elementary people, but they are WONDERFUL! They love the kids and support one another. They have all been friendly, warm, and hospitable.

The kids have been sweet too! They're great listeners and are so good at following directions:) I had them write stories on Friday and had the best time reading them this weekend. I wasn't sure what to expect from their writing, but I was pleasantly surprised with their use of paragraphs and adjectives!!

My sweet family is always so supportive and helps me get my classroom ready for a new school year, and since they were far away and couldn't be here to help, they sent me these beautiful flowers just in time for open house!!!! Isn't that so thoughtful?!!! They're the BEST:) These pretty flowers have been the perfect welcome to my classroom and have made it smell good too!Keith's sweet mom knew how much I was missing my mom as I set up my classroom, so she made me this super cute curtain to hide the kids' cubbies!!! Once again, SO sweet!!
Then, as if that wasn't enough, Lourene and Laura (Keith's mom and sister) surprised me with this SUPER cute wreath!!! Aren't they talented and crafty?!! They worked all day the day before school started just to make me feel special! All of the pencils remind the kids of how much writing we're going to do this year:)
I am so thankful that Keith and I both have such sweet families to encourage us!!! Thanks guys!! It's looking like a fantastic school year so far!! I hope all of you Texas teachers enjoy your last week of summer!

teaching school is the job for me, i just can't help it:)

Hey friends. Long time, no blog, I know. We're still enjoying life in Tennessee. The summer has been eventful and fun! About a month ago, I got to fly to Texas to visit some family and friends. Best of all, I got to SURPRISE my mom at her retirement party...sooo fun! My mom was a fabulous teacher for many years, and it was an honor to be there to celebrate with her! Here is a copy of the letter that I wrote for her retirement. But, first a couple pictures of us! The first one was right after she first saw me...SURPRISE!

Dearest Mama,

In reflecting upon your upcoming retirement, I want you to know that because of you…

I work to create a classroom environment that’s loving, welcoming, and warm.

I want to make every child feel loved.

I try to give a little extra love to those who are harder to love.

I look for strengths in every student.

I survive off of hugs.

I sit in the floor.

I touch children that are not clean.

I wipe noses and bottoms when I need to.

I listen to each child’s story.

I work to develop a sense of community within my classroom.

I try to look at learning through the eyes of a child.

I try to make learning fun and engaging.

I watch children play.

I play with children.

I realize the value of relationship with other teachers.

I try to encourage other teachers.

Thank you for making me want to be a teacher. When you were worn out or frustrated with the job, those things did not consume you, because teaching and engaging with little children is who you are. Teaching has never just been a job for you, it has been your identity for many years. I know you are going to miss spending your days with three and four year olds, but I am thankful that you are moving on while you still love it. You are not waiting until you burn out just to draw a paycheck, afraid of what the future holds; you are closing a very full chapter, anxiously waiting to open the next one. You will spend your days with family, with friends, and with lonely people who need a friend. You will do chores and run errands for people who need help. You will make things grow in your garden and cook delicious food in your kitchen. You will share both of those with other people. Whether these things fill your days or you decide to take up quilting, open a restaurant, or run for school board, I know that whatever you do, you will be a blessing to those around you. Thank you for all that you have done to make me who I am today.

I love you!

Mindy

My teaching career is about to shift gears...A LOT! In just a few weeks, I'll begin teaching 6th grade English. I LOVED teaching first grade, enjoyed my short stint in 4th grade last spring, and am looking forward to a new challenge in 6th grade! During my mom's 25 years of teaching, she taught everything from Pre-K three-year-olds to high school seniors. I am thankful for her loving wisdom as I embark on this new adventure! Middle school here I come:)

goodbye bulldogs...hello cubs!

In December I said goodbye to my sweet Bonham family. I'm going to miss both the teachers and students. This picture is of me with my first grade teaching team (except Deb, who couldn't be there) and the fun cake at the sweet going away party they had for me! Bonham is a wonderful school with teachers who love their students and go above and beyond the job requirements to meet their needs. I learned so much during my time at Bonham. I was there five and half years; it is the only place I've taught until now. This week, I'll begin a new teaching adventure. I got an interim job teaching fourth grade here in Hohenwald. I'm looking forward to a new challenge! Thanks to my time at Bonham and the wisdom I gained from veteran teachers, I feel equipped for the job. Sure, part of me is nervous to spend my days with ten year olds, rather than six and seven year olds, but mostly I'm excited! Bonham will always be home to me, since it was my first school, but I'm looking forward to becoming part of a new school family! I spent one day there last week and was greeted warmly. The kids are so mature and independent:) I'm thankful for this new opportunity! 

Hi Friends!

Hi internet friends!!! I've missed y'all:) I'm excited to be back to blogging! It's taken me a while to catch up on all of your blogs; but I had fun doing it! I just didn't feel right about blogging until I'd read the last couple months on your fabulous blogs! Sorry for the lack of comments!

The end of the summer was busy with a super fun vacation and some home renovations (two reasons I got behind), so I'll have to do some summer rewind posts to catch up, but for now I wanted to show you my new toy! Our desktop was on her last leg (the other reason I got behind), she lived a good life, and I had lots of fun blogging with her, but it was time to say good-bye, so instead of getting another desktop, we decided to get a laptop, and if we were going to get one, I decided it might as well be cute! So, now I'm blogging in style and having lots of fun! It's a pretty purplish-pinkish color with flowers! I can blog in bed, on the couch, at the table, and even in the floor, no more desk for me!

I told you it was cute!

In other news, Keith got a new job! In addition to his job in enrollment marketing at ACU, he is now working part time with spiritual formation and young adults at University Church of Christ. He's been official for a month now. Keith interned there for a couple of years, before preaching at Maryneal, so it's been fun to go back and feel at home. Everyone has been very welcoming, and we're really enjoying getting to know the young adults. We have class with them on Sunday mornings, dinner and fun on Sunday nights, and this week we'll begin visiting home bound members on Wednesday nights. It is a blessing and we are thankful for the opportunities at University.

Finally, I just started my sixth year teaching first grade! It's off to a great start so far! I have a smaller class than usual, only 17 kids, so I'm enjoying that. The kids are really sweet and I'm having fun getting to know them.

Summertime....and the livin' is easy....

We've been enjoying summertime here in Clarksville.

Another school year ended with its usual craziness. This year was especially wild at my school, because our campus is being renovated and we had to pack EVERYTHING (54 boxes to be exact). Only elementary teachers save so many awkward to pack, fragile, heavy, bulky things, that we hope to remember to pull out once or twice a year to enhance the education of our future leaders!

Since then, Keith and I have both been working at ACU. Keith got a job as the campaign manager for the new enrollment marketing department. He gets brainstorm how to "sell" the ACU experience to highschoolers with a great group of people and "play" with spreadsheets. He's enjoying it. It is not the type of job we expected, but it has been a blessing. I'm working part time in the education department as the assistant director of the reading clinic, a class where senior education majors tutor children one on one. My job is a lot of fun too; I get to help the college students look at test results and decide how best to meet their client's reading needs, grade their lesson plans, and fill in when a tutor is absent. It's a fun, low-key summer job. I'm finished by lunch, so in the afternoons, I rotate napping, shopping, TV, laying out by the pool, and such....I know, I know it's a tough life:)

During the evenings and weekends we've spent time with each other and with friends. We started watching LOST and we LOVE it!! We're hooked. It's a great show--abc.com has them all for free online right now, so if you've ever thought about watching it, now's the time. You. will. love. it. It is not a show you can watch sporadically, because if you do, you'll be really confused. We've enjoyed a couple marathons already and have just finished season 2.

We're happy that our friends, Nick, Lauren, and sweet Emmy moved to Abilene! We've shared several meals and played lots of games with them! We've also had some fun visits from out of town friends like Whitney and Suzanne, two bffs from ACU that are lots of fun! Both of these girls are the kind of friends that I don't keep in touch with quite like I should, but every time I see either of them we're able to pick right up where we left off. I'm thankful special friends like that!

Last weekend we went to see Jacquie, Spruce, and Lynlee. We enjoyed getting to play games with them and some of their new friends on Friday night. You can't beat a good game night! Saturday we hung out and played with Lynlee; she is growing and learning so much! That night we celebrated Jacquie's b.day! We went and ate at one of those fun Japanese steak houses and then enjoyed a Rascal Flatts concert. You can read more about our history with Rascal Flatts here. It was so much fun! Such a better experience. Let me sum up the contrast for you....concert number #1--drunk teenagers falling on us and getting muddier than a pig pen full rooters, concert #2--Clay Walker wearing tight jeans, shaking his stuff, and thinking he's 15 years younger, concert #3--soft grass, shade, lots of fun songs to sing along to, sweet kids sitting behind Keith making shadow puppets on his back, funny families to observe, and last but not least, "Spike" (our term of endearment for the lead singer) got a haircut:) Although this was by far the best experience of the three, they all had good friends and lots of laughs in common! Sunday morning we joined them for chuch, met lots of friendly people, and heard a great sermon by Jarrod. Oh yeah, I can't forget to mention meeting precious Rylee, Jarrod and Lauren's sweet daughter!

Hope all of you fellow bloggers are enjoying your summer!

Long Time No Blog

So, I hesitated to start a blog, because I really didn't want to be one of those people who starts and blog, writes for a while, then just stops....and that's just what I did, but only for a few weeks and I've still been reading all of your blogs faithfully:)

Here's what we've been up to the past few weeks:

*HUGE highlight for Keith--he got to go the NCAA Final Four basketball games in San Antonio and cheer on the Memphis Tigers with his dad. This was such a dream come true for Keith. His favorite team made it to the final four, which just happened to be within driving distance! He LOVED every minute of it--except when the Tigers wimped out and lost the championship game in overtime:( I really need to get pictures of this from my sweet FIL!

*Having a slumber party with my parents while Keith was at the Final Four.

*Hanging out with good friends: Lauren and Nick, Whitney, Kina....too bad I didn't take pictures of any of these lovely people:(

*Playing putt putt! Abilene has a new place called Primetime and it's so cool...it's got putt putt, bowling, go carts, and video games and rumor has it they may even add a waterpark and resort...in Abilene? you ask....and the answer is yes, we just get cooler all the time;)

*Hanging out and working out with my sister.

*Watching great television like The Biggest Loser, American Idol, and The Office. Grey's comes back this week as a birthday present to me:) YAY!

*Seriously pondering for the first time in five years if teaching first grade is really the job for me since I cannot get my crazy kids to stop talking for more than two minutes.

*Visiting the home of one of my students and having my eyes open to the reality of her little life.

*Wondering and hoping that the time I spend with these sweet children each day is enough to make a positive difference in their lives.

*Going to school, getting lots of big hugs, sweet pictures, and kind words reminding me that teaching first grade is the perfect job for me, even if they make me crazy and want to pull my hair out sometimes:)

*Working on the t-shirt quilt.

*Jury Duty: This was a first for me, but they ended up settling without a jury, so it didn't get too dramatic!

*Getting out of jury duty early this morning and going to Walmart at 10:00 am. This was seriously wonderful. The best Walmart experience of my life. No one was there, but it wasn't like when I go at midnight to avoid the crowd and am surrounded by stockers either...just calm and wonderful:)

*Booking a condo in Gulf Shores, Alabama for a VACATION this summer. We are so excited to celebrate Keith's graduation and almost five years of marriage! The condo looks fabulous, the beach looks gorgeous, and there is a lot of fun stuff to do there like playing in the waves, fishing, dolphin and alligator watching, outlet malls, playing games, watching movies, and going on dates!! I'm ready to go right now!!!

*Counting down til Keith graduates. Only 18 days and one paper to go!

I'm thankful for SNOW!!! Twice in one week--woohoo!! It has been sooo pretty and so much fun to get excited about it and with my students...we even had a snow ball fight at school...is that allowed;)

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

"I would not could not in a box. I would not could not with a fox." You gotta love Dr. Seuss! He wrote and illustrated 44 books for children. He wrote fun books specifically for beginning readers during a time when all most children could read were the Dick and Jane books, and although these books are nostalgic for a lot of people,"See Spot run." isn't exactly a page turner:). Did you know that Green Eggs and Ham only has 50 words and that all but one of those words has only one syllable? If he were alive today, he would be 104. My class and I had a great time celebrating on Friday! I know you're all jealous of our yummy brunch:) My favorite Dr. Seuss book is Horton Hatches the Egg. I have a hard time not crying when I read it:) Do you have a favorite?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today I am thankful to love and be loved!

It should be a fun day at school with games, art, pink, red, hearts, candy, and lots of sweet cards from my kids. Then, Keith is in class tonight, so I'm having a Valentine's Day date with my sweet sister!

Since I'm about to go enjoy it....this evening I'm thankful for my comfy bed and snuggly husband! I hope you all have a good night's sleep. Tomorrow is FRIDAY, and it will be even more fun than usual, because it's the 100th Day of School! We elementary people look for any reason to celebrate...speaking of....that's another thing to be thankful for:) I have a job where we can change up the routine every now and then, just for fun!

Introducing

If any of you had Willard Tate at ACU, you probably remember making thankful lists each morning. Per WIllard's inspiration, for five years now I've had my students write "Thankful Thursday" journals. I talk to them about what it means to be thankful and encourage them to try and think of something different to be thankful for each week. However, I haven't always taken time to join them in this exercise of thanksgiving, so I decided to make "Thankful Thursdays" a part of my journal too:) Each week I'll try to think of something different to be thankful for. I have so much to be thankful for. I think this will be a good reminder each week!

Today I am very thankful to have a working heater. We are under a winter weather advisory and have freezing temperatures and sleet right now!! Yikes! I am so thankful to have a warm house with a heater, an electric blanket for tonight, and maybe even some hot cocoa in a little while:) It is easy for me to take something like being able to warm up when I'm cold for granted, until I talk to a precious child at school whose family does not have a working heater during a really cold week like this one. I pray that those sweet babies are able to cuddle up and stay warm tonight...sometimes I wish I could bring them home with me. I hope you're all doing well and staying warm!