I MADE IT!!!!!!!!

There are still two days left until I am officially done with this school year, but the kids have gone home, and I am left standing. I MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With the help, support, love, and prayers from my heavenly Father and family and friends I got through the hardest year of my 17 years as a teacher. I think I might have learned a thing or two and be a better person for it, I'm not sure yet. :) I want to do a lot more reflecting on that and put my "lessons learned" together more cohesively, but that is for another day.

Today my "baby" graduates from high school!!!!! Our family arrived Thursday/Friday. What an adventure it was for my parents to get here, and they, along with Rob & I are wiped out! Hopefully they got some rest overnight and we will all feel much better today and be able to have a wonderful, fun-filled day today. And let me just say that without a doubt, I have the MOST ADORABLE niece on the planet, EVER! :)

I'm going to the store in a minute for some produce, milk and such, and going to make a yummy brunch for us this morning. This afternoon Matthew wants to make/have "grandma's parmesan chicken," so we'll cook up a delicious supper and head to Winston for graduation. Tomorrow will be at church together and Monday we are all getting photographed at the Arboretum before they have to head back to Illinois.

I will post photos and blab some more soon. I just wanted to say that I MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you have prayed for me and my kids this year, I cannot say enough, "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Much love,

Rebekah :)

STRESS

Ever have everything go wrong when you least need it to? Yeah, that would be tonight. And I'm frustrated beyond words.

I won't bore myself, let alone you. It will all be okay. In 48 hours I will be done with the teaching part of this year. I have to get there that's all.

Taking my cranky self to bed and going to pray for grace, strength, and a little help in the computer-on-the-fritz department.

Night!

Photos-outside

This is our front porch/steps.

St. Louis Blues' colors with purple and yellow lantana

My little rose plant that was here when we moved and didn't look like it was going to do anything is doing much better this year. I had made plans to dig it out, but was putting it off because roses make me think of my Momma. Then it is making what I hope will be a comeback. :)

My family thinks I'm silly, but I LOVE lambs' ear! It's so soft and fuzzy and the blooms are pretty and boy do the honeybees love it!

Finally got a butterfly bush, and cannot wait. Had this one in the ground one day and am already seeing butterflies and moths. I also bought a white one. :)

Had this little wire basket thing Rob bought me a couple years back for Mothers' Day. I decided to experiment. We'll see how it goes, but for now the vinca is loving its home.

Now for some before/afters. This is my peach tree- my first Mothers' Day tree- as it appeared spring of 2009 when we moved in this house.

My wonderful peach tree this spring :)

My little Japanese maple (2nd M.D. tree) in 2009 when we moved, maybe 2-3 feet tall.

Look at this beauty now!!! WOW, what a lot of growing it has done! I think it loves its new yard home. This is what it looked like a couple weeks ago here in its corner of our yard.

And though we are between a rock and a hard spot this summer in finances, I spent $ I shouldn't have and bought mulch for this corner and a few plants. Here is my beautiful dwarf maple now with its new friends- echinacea, butterfly bush, shasta daisy, delphinium- and upgraded home. I know you can't see the flowers much, but I'm sure in a year or so this area will be full of blossoms and butterflies!

A view from further back

and a deck shot

and a "just because I love this tree" shot

That's it for now Rach. I'll post some photos this summer as things get settled in and start to bloom more. :)

Photos- Inside

So I promised Rach some photos. :) Late, but not forgotten, here we go. Rach, don't get too excited, it isn't much, but hopefully you can see what we did. :)

Love,

Beka

I didn't take a "before" shot last weekend, so this old one will have to do. This is from when we moved in two years ago. We weren't quite unpacked yet in this photo, and the bookshelves were not as full then, but were LOADED with books we've bought since. This is where we had them though so you can see- there were three in the corner of the living room with a corner chair squeeze in against the piano, and the recliner right in the center of the photo. It was a tight squeeze in here. On the other side across from this is a small loveseat in front of the windows and the t.v. plus Rob's desk.

So we moved the bookshelves out, put the corner chair in a corner, where it belongs :), slid the piano down, and now have a great photo corner! I am working on getting Matthew's baby & senior photo up on the wall there in that empty spot this week- he's going to help me pick the photos for his space.

We put one bookshelf on the other wall between the window and t.v., got rid of the corner stand and used the old three-tiered table/shelf that I have had all my married life. It belonged to my Momma and Daddy. :) It is holding our printer and all the kids' game stuff.

The piano and the rest of the photos. I still have to print photos for the frame on the piano- saw that yesterday and liked it.

Moved one of the other bookshelves into our bedroom by my bed. It barely squeezes into the space between the bed & closet, but it works and actually looks good. The third bookshelf went into the kitchen and holds all my books for school and my grad school books.

My houseplants LOVE this spot! I moved some outside for the summer, but these stay in and grow like crazy all summer! Here is my shamrock. Love this plant! And my spider plants up there, they grow so much I have given away spiders each year and the second one in this photo came from the first one.

Last Week of 2010-11

Whew, it's finally here! I cannot hardly believe it as I typed those words! This is the last week of school for this year, this oh so challenging, full of growth, sometimes good, sometimes not school year. We have so much to accomplish, and it will be a crazy busy week for the kids and me. This is just a bit of the happenings this week:

• Finish memory books (kids) and bind 18 books (me)
• Thank you project for a volunteer (Barbara)
• Teach the Teacher Day (Tuesday)- Some of the kids have chosen a topic and will be presenting their lessons to the class.
• Field Day (Wednesday)
• Water Day incentive, assembly, and class celebration (Thursday) I am super excited because I am working like a crazy woman to create a movie to surprise the kids with at the party. It's almost there, and I have to get copies burned for all of them by then too.

Sometime in there we have to pack up all the kids' things and clean up the room too. I will be out on Friday to be with my family- WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but will be going in during the afternoon to say my goodbyes and see the kids off. I have to get all my cumulative folders done by Thursday too so they'll be ready to check in and have paperwork ready for the big appeals meeting. Oh my, I wish I were still young enough to pull all-nighters! I have tried to act like a 20-something the past two nights and am feeling my body protest today. :)

Have a great week! I will post photos (if my family is willing) from our WONDERFUL visit and graduation this weekend!