First Day of School!

Okay - before I tell you what a fiasco the first day of school was let me remind you to withhold your judgement on how unstable I am while you remember that my oldest went into junior high and my baby went into kindergarten....and yes, I am a bit unstable!

So we get up early and all goes well. We get to school at 7:15. First we go to the junior high to get Matthew's schedule. Then we go to the elementary school to drop Kaleb off. Matthew sees Josh who asks if Matthew can go with him to the junior high to pick up Josh's schedule. I say sure, not thinking to say good bye - have a good day - go spend your day with a bunch of teenagers in a new school - nothing. So I see Keli and her girls. We drop Kaleb and Abby off in Mrs.Brown's room. We are so glad they're in the same class. Smooth sailing (or the calm before the storm). I then walk with her to take Ali to junior high. (let me interrupt myself and say that when Matthew and I got his schedule there was no one in the junior building but one other parent and 2 teachers - nice quiet building - nothing to be fearful of...back to the story) So Keli and I walk in with Ali and oh my - there are millions (okay - like 100 but it seemed like millions) of huge, sweaty, scary teenagers (okay - so not sooo huge, not sweaty at all, but still a little scary) in the hallways. Instantly Keli and I look at each other and begin to cry. Keli says "This is worse than kindergarten", which reminds me that I have to take Benjamin, who is holding my hand as I cry, to kindergarten in a few minutes. So we walk down the 6th grade hall and I see Matthew. I really start to cry. I'm not making noises YET, just tears rolling down my face. Matthew looks at me and has a panicked look - maybe she knows something I don't know. I try to act cool but it doesn't work. He gets sympathy tears in his eyes and I think "Oh, great, now he'll get beat up in junior high for tearing up on the first day". So I hug him then Josh says "Let's go Matthew". Josh saves me from any further embarrassment. Keli and I tell them we love them then cry all the way outside. She tells me she's so sorry I now have to go to kindergarten...

So on to kindergarten. Well, let's just say that by the time Benjamin and I made the short walk to the primary building the tears were no longer just streaming down my face. I was in shoulder shaking catch your breath mode. When I get in the building and see Rusty standing outside Mrs.Ham's door I fall apart (yes, it can get worse) - I am now sobbing, making noise, and drawing attention from perfect strangers who ask me if I'm going to be okay. I have snot running down my face and I can't even speak. Do I look like I'm okay!!! NO! So I tell Rusty I can't do this - Benjamin and I are going home. Benjamin sits in his desk, looks up to me, and starts to cry. He has a look like "She knows what is about to happen to me. She is crying because she knows they are going to tape me to my seat and torture me. She knows this is our last good bye." It was so sad, really. So Rusty tells me I must leave. Leave you say - oh I don't think so! Yes, he says, you are making this terrible for him. Leave now. No way, I say - I have to tell him bye and kiss him. No, he says, you will leave this room now. For goodness sake - you teach him Music in 2 hours! Okay - so I go into the hall while Rusty promises Benjamin a fabulous toy if he'll not cry and be big for me b/c I'm obviously not doing so great. As I go in the hall people are hugging me and saying they are so sorry. I realize that I look like I've lost a family member. I know I look ridiculous but I cannot gain my composure to save my life. It is just pathetic. I finally stop the shoulder shaking sobs long enough to peek my head in and tell Benjamin to have a great day.

Later that day I tell Rusty that I am so sad that the boys are growing up and ask him if please, could we adopt a baby. He says, "Are you crazy - so we can go through this again in 5 years? I don't think so!!"

Houston/Galveston trip

My Aunt Karen (who I love dearly) had a stroke in the beginning of August. Uncle Richard said she was doing fine but I wanted to see for myself so Rusty and I decided to take a trip to The Woodlands to see her in the hospital. We thought we'd do some fun stuff while we were there as a "last summer thing before school starts". Uncle Richard was right. She looked good. It was a bad stroke but she has good doctors and she has worked very hard. An update is that she got to go home yesterday!! And she said she won't even need the walker. I am so thankful that she is okay.
After seeing Aunt Karen we took the boys to Galveston to see the beach. No, Galveston isn't the prettiest beach in the world but the ocean is the ocean and the boys were thrilled. And it was fun for me to remember times in high school and college that I spent in those waters with my friends. The boys had a blast playing in the waves (which were so big), finding shells, and making a huge mess in the sand.
The next day we took the boys to Schlitterbahn Galveston. It was awesome!! Perfect weather, no crowds, our hotel was right by Schlitterbahn. As we were riding in the lazy river (which isn't lazy - the water is really fast) in our tubes I noticed that across from Schlitterbahn is The Children's Hospital. I looked around at my kids having a blast in the water and was overcome with gratitude that I was on this side of the road. I get caught up in things that I deem "important" and get frustrated over stupid things and I was reminded that God has graciously given me three healthy, precious boys. There were parents in Children's Hospital fighting for their children's lives as we floated carelessly through the water. I appreciate God for refocusing my mind to the bigger picture. I have a great life and I appreciate it.
When we got in the van to leave Schlitterbahn there were several voicemails. That made me nervous. My dad left a message that my Uncle Doug (who lives in Clear Lake) had had a heart attack the night before. Now, I love my Uncle Doug. He is smart and funny and an excellent conversationalist. We went back to the hotel and changed out of our swim suits and headed to The Houston Medical Center - downtown. I was so pleased with what I saw. He looked good and it wasn't as bad as they thought. They didn't have to do surgery. The medications worked and he didn't spend too many days in the hospital. I am so thankful that we were so close when it happened so I could go see him.
While we were in Uncle Doug's hospital room my cell phone rang. I didn't answer it. I saw that is was from a friend in Harleton and I figured I'd call her back on the way back to the hotel. Then it rang again - a different Harleton friend. I figured something had happened. I answered it. One of our close friends, Wayne, had had a heart attack and was scheduled for a quadruple bypass the next morning. I just couldn't believe it. I called Carolyn (Wayne's wife) and told her we'd be there the next day. So we headed home the next day. It's been over 2 weeks since the surgery and Wayne is doing well. It took his toll but he is a tough ole boy. God is healing him daily.
So that's our crazy trip ! I'll post pictures later. I have to figure out how to set up my card reader to this laptop. Again, I'm not so computer savvy!!

I AM SO GLAD TO BE BACK ONLINE!!

Wow! You don't realize how much you use the computer until yours is messed up! Our wireless internet card was messed up so we couldn't get online. I finally got another one a couple of days ago. I have so many things to update you on. I guess I'll do each topic in a new post to make it easier to read...

My classroom

Today I spent some time working in my classroom. I'll try to post some pictures of it tomorrow. I don't want to take pictures until I'm through. It's looking so good. I hung curtains today and put out a super cute rug. I teach Fine Arts (art, music, and theatre) to kindergarten through 5th graders. This is my 2nd year to teach here in Harleton. I taught first grade before we started our family. Then I stayed home for 11 years. Now I'm back in the work force and I love my job. My classroom is actually connected to our PE room. We're not connected to the main building. Our building used to be the old Ag building back in the day. My classroom was the Ag classroom and the old Ag workshop is now the PE room. I have a large room with a huge storage closet that I love. It was quite a mess when I took over but it's looking really good. The PE coach and I kind of team teach. We divide each grade (about 50 kids per grade) into two groups. Each day the kids come to the gym and then one group stays with the PE coach and the other group comes to my classroom. Then we switch. It works out great. And during the Fall the coach helps me with my programs (each grade level puts on a program in the fall) and in the Spring I help him with Field Day. We're both real accommodating of the other so it works out perfect. I can't wait to show you how good my room looks. I'm hoping to have it finished tomorrow - which will put me way ahead of schedule!

CHANGING THE SUBJECT - I FORGOT TO TELL YOU SOMETHING FUNNY...

Oh - I forgot to tell you what funny thing we did! I have a good friend who's birthday was Sunday. Well, I realized on Monday that I forgot her birthday. There's a group of us girls who run around together and I emailed them and said we forgot!! So we wanted to do something extra special because we forgot. I felt especially bad because my birthday was last and they came to one of Kaleb's ball games and brought me an awesome digital camera all wrapped up. It was such a thoughtful gift and I loved that they were at the game. Sooo we decided to send her a singing telegram! Isn't that hilarious! Who knew they even still had people to do it that. One of the girls found this lady to go to Keli's work and sing to her. Keli sent us an email later in the day with title "Y'all are toast!" She said this older woman dressed in a sequin vest showed up at her office wanting to speak to her. She goes over there and this woman starts singing Happy Birthday and 3 other songs! She even made up a song about us forgetting her birthday
and how we just love her and want her birthday to be special. Keli said the lady was dancing and waving her arms and stuff. Keli also said she (Keli) was so humiliated. That made it so much better because Keli is the worst about embarrassing us. She has made me want to crawl under a table on more than one occasion so it was just great that she got embarrassed. I didn't think it was possible to do that to her. Of course she said she's gonna love getting us back. We'll all be sleeping with one eye open!!

Good Summer Reads...

So this summer has been the summer for reading at our house! I love to read. I always have several books I'm in the middle of. This summer I have read at least 5 books. My favorite book of the summer is The Shack by William P. Young. This book blew my mind. I read it once then bought several people the book so I could get other people's opinion. Now I'm half way through reading it again with Rusty. This book changed the way I see God. That is a strange statement considering it's a fictional book but I'm telling you it rocked my world. You'll have to read it to understand because there's not much I can tell you about the book without giving something important away.

Next book, Polishing God's Monuments by Jim Andrews. Great book (true story) about how one couple survived through terrible medical problems without losing faith. It' s an amazing book written by the girl's father, who is a pastor. The format of the book is interesting because one chapter will be a letter written to the pastor's church updating them on his daughter's progress; the next chapter is written like a sermon about the importance of recognizing the way God has moved in our lives so that when troubles come we can fall back on who we know God is. Really glad I read it.

The strangest book that I loved to read this summer is an Art college textbook. I found it at a garage sale for .50 so I bought it. It is such an easy read. Who'd a thought! I have read that thing like a novel. And I have highlighted passages and tagged pages to copy later for use in my classroom. It is a huge book but full of interesting information about the fundamentals of art.

One of the best books I've ever read is The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. So full of wisdom. Very easy read - hard to put down. I am a slow reader and often reread a page or paragraph over and over (part of my OCD I suppose!) and I read this book in two days. I just could not put it down. Thanks, Keli, for telling me about this wonderful treasure.

I am finally finishing That's My Son, How Mom's Can Influence Boys to Become Men of Character by Rick Johnson. This book has given me such insight into how my boys think and relate and process information. It gives practical and straightforward advice on how to relate to my boys at each stage of development. It's one I'll keep around for reference.

Oh, I just thought of another one I read at the beginning of the summer. Well, I actually started it before school was out. It's Frommer's 500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up. It's the coolest book. I bet I have 50 post it notes sticking out of this book! It sure makes me want to travel with my boys!

I am now reading, Discovering Orff by Jane Frazee. I'm a nerd - I know. It's a music curriculum book about teaching the Orff music method.

The boys have read a ton of books this summer too. They signed up for three reading programs - one at the Mall, one at the Longview Public Library, and one through the Shriners. And they went to our school library and checked out books and took AR tests on them - that'll help in the fall. I love that the boys love to read. Matthew read a 12th grade book this summer and tested on it in our library. He made a 100 and got 17 AR points for that thing! I was totally impressed. It's funny how a person's personality is reflective in the books they read. Matthew loves mysteries and old baseball books - really any old book. Kaleb likes the flashy sports books - any sport. Benjamin, of course has to read to and wants character books - like Scooby Doo or Power Rangers. Rusty - well, let's just say his reading is limited to the Dallas Morning News each day - and always must begin with the Sports Section!

I hope I haven't bored you. Go out and pick up one of these good books (maybe not the Orff one) and enjoy a good book!!

The new addition to our family

As you can see, we have added a new member to our family. Her name is Belle (short for Isabelle) and she is a Shepherd Mix. We got her from the pound. We had to leave her at Mom and Dad's house for 2 weeks to make sure she was healthy enough to bring home to Holly (our lab/beagle mix). We finally got to bring her home a couple of days ago. Holly took to her great! I'm hoping she'll turn out to be as good of a dog as Holly is. So far - so good. The boys just love her. She's only 8 or 9 weeks old so she's small but I think she'll be a pretty good sized dog. We went round and round about names. We called her Blue for a few days b/c she has one blue eye and one brown eye (kinda creepy, really) but the boys said Blue was a boy name. We got online and looked up names and in the end Isabelle it was. Of course, the boys are now calling her Bluebell some too. And my dad calls her Tinkerbell. She'll be one confused dog when we get through with her!

Kaleb's first Fall Ball tournament

First place, baby! What a thrill fall ball is! Once All Stars was over Kaleb still wanted to play baseball so Rusty and I looked online to see if there were try outs for any area teams. Deep East Texas (DETBA) is our area's Fall Ball Association. We found that the president of DETBA was having try outs for a 9 and under team. Kaleb said he wanted to try out so off we went. The coach already had 5 players so there were only 6 spots left. I think like 31 kids tried out over several days and Kaleb got selected. We were so proud of him. When the coach called he said that he could tell Kaleb was a "good kid". That pleased me more than if he'd said he was a great athlete. He said he could tell that Kaleb was coachable. Kaleb is like a sponge when it comes to learning about baseball. He loves it and really pays attention so he can do his best. The coach asked that we put Kaleb in pitching and hitting lessons, which we have done. Kaleb works with a super coach and has already come a long way.

Soooo his team is called the East Texas Dirt Daubers. There are players from Henderson, Longview, Carthage, Kilgore, Harleton, and I think Gladewater. We played our first game on Saturday in a tournament. We ended up winning the tournament undefeated! It was so exciting. This is a whole new game b/c it's kid pitch and you can steal bases. It makes me a wreck watching them steal bases. Kaleb stole home in one of the games and we were down 2 outs. I was so afraid he'd get tagged out and leave guys on base. But he was safe. I'm going to have an ulcer before the season is over!! Kaleb is having a blast. He has such wonderful coaches who never yell - they are very encouraging and are so knowledgeable about baseball. We really prayed about Kaleb trying out for this team and I am so thankful God allowed us to be a part of it. I could not ask for better coaches or teammates for Kaleb.

Here's a picture of my sweet boy with his first place trophy!!

Welcome to the blog world, Lisa...

I just couldn't stand it - so many cool blogs out there - so many people I keep up with because of their blogs. So here I am - she who knows NOTHING about computers - trying out this blog thing. We'll see how long it lasts!