2013- Page 3 - Thankful Thursday

I'm going to try to do a Thankful Thursday each week.  I just want to make sure I keep thinking of my blessings; I think I do this, but it can't hurt to be deliberate in keeping the thankfulness in the front of my brain. :)

• thankful that I got to have four Christmases- with Shanesa, then all the young people, then our Thomas five, then my Illinois family. :)  As the kids are getting their own adult lives, we are having to learn to adjust.  Christmas is not what it once was, and that bothered me a little at times this last month, but then I remembered that we have to change.  I will miss the Christmases with my little ones, but we will make new memories and build new traditions and that will be fun too.  It was also so nice to spread out the fun, laughter, joy, and giving.
• thankful for safety on our travels to IL & back- about 1,800 miles total and part of that was in snow
• thankful my hubby is feeling better, that he went to the doctor (did you feel the Earth shift on its axis this week???? He NEVER goes to the dr.!), and that he is getting appointments for further medical care.
• thankful for our healthcare provider- Sara is the BEST.  I've had some really crummy doctor experiences, but Sara has been so good to me and to the kids the few times they've gone in, and now to my hubby.  I am so thankful for her!!!!
• thankful that I am finding/taking time to do some sewing and creating- it was so nice to give my kids(students) all fleece reading blankets, and I was able to make something for my assistant, Shanesa, Rita, Barbara, my sister, my brother (in-law), my niece, and now I'm working on pajama pants for my momma.  :)  

• thankful for the laughter of children- I didn't want to go back to work, but I was so happy to see my kiddos and hear their laughter and get lots of hugs!

My niece, Zoe, LOVED this cloth when we were at the fabric store.  She kept pushing off the other bolts of fabric from the cart, leaning backwards to lay her head on it and saying, "soft, soft." :)  When the clerk was cutting it for us, she kept pointing and saying, "mine;" she wanted it back and was not happy that Aunt Beka had given away "her" soft fabric.  It was cute and funny, but she was oh so right- this stuff is amazingly soft.  I want a blanket or pj's with it too.  You're pretty smart, Zo!

I made my own purses! :)

When my cousins, Regina & Pam, were here, we had a lot of fun, laughed a lot, ate a bunch of good food, went to every craft store we could find in Greensboro and to Walmart so many times I lost count, and just had a wonderful, wonderful time!!!!

Regina bought me a springform pan, which I've wanted for a long time, and she made a cheesecake which we all loved. We loved it so much, in fact, that she made us a different one the next day, and then, the next thing you know, she made us one more the following day- so we got to try different flavors and compare. My kids LOVED it because I've only once or twice made cheesecakes since I didn't really have a good pan for it. It was like a cheesecake of the day club. :)

Pam taught us how to make bags/baskets and got me sort of out of my creative slump- or on the road back to being creative. After making one while Pam was here, and one after she went home, I got braver and have tried to make the bag with handles. I did it, and it turned out pretty good, so I tried again and have made myself my very own teacher purse/bag. :) So cool!!!!

Here they are:

I know you're going to think it's silly, but I keep looking at them thinking, "Hey, I did that! I actually made my own purse! Who'd of thunk it?!?" :)

I love the colors of this one! Blues are my favorite colors, and these prints just jumped out at me at Walmart! Then I found the lining fabric at JoAnne's another day & I was so happy with how well it went with the quilted part!

And now, my very own teacher bag. I am sooooo excited!!!!! I can carry this with me to my work retreat this weekend. When I get uptight, bored, frustrated, or whatever else, I can look at my purse and think happy thoughts. :) hahahahahahaha

Now that I think about it though, Pam & Regina did all that, and I didn't do anything but eat, laugh, and learn. I always was a deadbeat! :) I definitely owe them something for sure. :)

Not that they will see this, but Regina Baldwin & Pam Brown, I LOVE YOU LOVE YOU LOVE YOU!!!!!!!

Rebekah :)

My Guys

Last night Rob had gone out for a bike ride and when he came back in, he was clearly in distress, but was having trouble telling us what was going on- he was obviously being attacked/bitten by something but we couldn't see what was going on. He was just standing in our kitchen, twitching and saying, "Oh!" Robert & I were trying to figure out what was going when finally Rob made it to the bathroom and the dog started tangling with a wasp/bee in the kitchen that followed Rob into the house and was chasing him into the bathroom. Rob got his clothes off and there were two more still on him, stinging him. Robert ran and got him Benadryl, and Rob is okay, but he has been hurting from the stings. He says he got stung four times, but I think he had more on his back. So thankful to God he is okay!!!!

Robert has had a horrible case of poison crud (I don't know if it's ivy, oak, sumac or something else- he's done this before and is VERY allergic to something out there). He is starting to heal from that, but is still really, really broken out all over his legs, stomach... Then Sunday while working he thought he got into more and came home breaking out in new places and was miserable. He showed me, but it looked different, and I wasn't sure. Yesterday he showed me again, and it was clearly spreading, but it was really odd- his hands have developed thick callouses from his work and whatever this is has spread under the callouses and not on top of his skin. He woke me up early this morning in great pain from this and asked me to pray. After we prayed, I looked at him closely, and whatever this is has spread on tops & bottoms of his hands and arms up to his elbows and he has it on his legs (around/on top of the poison crud he already has). I recommended he go to Primecare and be there when they open so he could get seen before he had to work today and maybe make sure he is self-treating it correctly. He called me later, and he definitely has poison crud but the new stuff is chemical burns from industrial cleaners he was using at work. Poor guy!!! They gave him steroids and some other drug to take.

I teased Matthew to look out. It clearly is not a good time for the Thomas men in our house. :)

Today Barbara & I went to Kristen's house and hung out with Kristen & Erin (gals I used to work with who have moved on to other schools). Kristen has the SWEETEST little two year old girl, Elizabeth. She was such a ham- she counted to ten, followed by "Here I come!" She sang songs for us, and was HYSTERICAL when she rolled her eyes at her Mom's request- best eye-roller I've ever seen! We laughed and cut up and shared "war stories" about school. I am always nervous when I get together with people (even my family for some weird reason), but once we got there I was perfectly at ease and fine and had a nice time. I forgot how they just take me for who I am and are okay with this Rebekah.

I came home and fixed a new recipe for supper. It was good- Gazpacho Salad- it was cooked cheese tortellini laid on a bed of lettuce, topped with chopped tomatoes, cucumber & red onion, drizzled with a homemade vinaigrette and topped with croutons. It was done in no time too! Plus more sweet watermelon, and Robert brought home cookies & milk. :) I've done some crafting and am going to call it a night now.

Summer Projects

I don't know why exactly but I'm sure not being my normal self. I mean, I usually come on here and write boring stuff from my life pretty regularly. I know the two people who used to come by here probably really miss my boring life. :) hahahahahaha I seriously think I was/am burnt out, and I am actually concerned about that, but it's not what I really want to think about or deal with right now, so moving on... :)

Anywhoo, here is a photo of a project I started - well I'm embarrassed to admit this- but two years ago. It was going to be a Barbara and me project, but then she didn't want to do it and grad school started and work became insane... I've worked on it a bit here and there, but finally I'm getting it done!

It's a homemade braided rag rug. I cut the cloth myself, and had to make one HUGE, long braided strip. It is seriously long- I should have measured it before I started. :) Now I am sewing it together. This is what I have gotten sewed today- after I had to rip it apart and start over when it wasn't staying put the way I wanted.

This is a project Barbara and I worked on together too. We practiced our sewing by making Zoe a grocery cart seat cover for when she goes shopping with her momma. :) It's got lots of mistakes too, but I was happy with how it turned out for my first attempt. Thanks Jessica for letting me/us practice on you and Zoe! :)

I am also working on making baskets. My cousin, Pam, taught Barbara, Regina (another cousin who came to see me and brought Pam with her), and me how to make them. The first one is full of mistakes, but I'll share photos soon. I'm making a new one now with the prettiest blue prints. Hoping it turns out better! I bought "teacher" fabric and am going to try to make small teacher baskets too to give to the new art teacher at our school and then use as gifts or something.

I miss being on here, and need to get back to it. I guess I just was tired, have been being relaxed (or a bum- depending on how you want to look at it), and feeling kind of "blah" after graduation, dealing with continued run-around from the Army, and family being here and the loneliness that comes after they're gone. Most of all, though, I've just truly relaxed and been with my family and enjoyed this time. It's the first summer in years I haven't worked summer school, babysat, or tutored and it has been sooo nice. Tough on our finances, but oh so wonderful to be home with my loves and just be me. I'm sure going to hate going back to reality. Like Scarlett O'Hara, I'm not going to think about that today. I'll think about that tomorrow. Maybe. :)

Love,

Beka :)

Mothers' Day 2011

This was a wonderful day. It is looking likely that Matthew will be sworn into the Army in the next few weeks, so this very well may be my last Mothers' Day with all my kids home. It hit me hard on Saturday (I'm only 40 and my kids are all grown- how did this happen???). It is so bittersweet, and I had no idea how hard letting go would be. I am determined, though, to live for the sweet and not dwell on the bitter. I hope I do this stage with grace and laughter, that I adjust quickly to a new stage of parenthood, and that I make God, my parents, my best friend & hubby, and my kids proud of me throughout every stage of my life. :)

My family has been so much fun. I live for days home with Rob and the kids!!!!!!!!! I am so thankful for them!!!!!

So today's photos (sorry, there's a lot), in no particular order:

My personal chefs for the day :)

Matthew made bruschetta- doesn't this photo make your mouth water? Yummy!

Robert has cooked professionally, so he always has everything prepared and ordered and ready before he will start cooking. Here he is getting everything ready for my chicken marsala. :)

This photo is for my Momma & Pop (Grandma & Papa, here he is 21 years old and he still spins in "spinny chairs." :) hahahahaha Just hope there was nothing breakable around him. :) snicker, snicker

the final product- yummy, yummy in my tummy- Boys, you did an outstanding job. This was an absolutely delicious day! :) Thank you for cooking some of my favorites for me!!!!

A few years ago Rob and the kids started a tradition, only they didn't know it was going to be a tradition. They decided to buy me a flowering tree to plant for Mothers' Day. Matthew picked a peach tree that year; he was in 8th grade. This year, Rob and Robert and Barbara did something else, but Matthew insisted that he wanted to keep the tradition, so on his own he bought me another tree and planted it for me. This year's tree is an ornamental pear.

This is our loyal, loving dog, Samson, also known as Sam and Sammy. He is particularly fond of Matthew and me and follows us around. He sniffed and explored the front yard where he doesn't get to go often and then came and laid down by Matthew and I while the tree was planted.

Matthew asked me to take photos of my other Mothers' Day trees. This is the peach tree from the first year. It was well established at the house we rented at the time we bought this house and moved. I was sad to leave it behind so Rob said we should try to bring it. Matthew dug it up and he & I replanted it here at this house in the rain. We weren't sure it would survive, so we even stood outside, he & I, and prayed for the tree in the rain. Look at it today- doing great!

This is my second tree- a dwarf Japanese maple. It moved with us too and is doing great- really filling out. I hope to work on this part of our yard and slowly over the summer dig it up with the boys' help and find cheap/free mulch and fill it in.

I love lambs' ear, and this patch is just looking pretty to me! :)

Rob & Robert bought me a bike to match Rob's (his was a Fathers' Day gift last year from us). Now Rob & I will be riding bikes together in the evenings and walking in the mornings this summer. :)

Matthew watering the trees. The redbud on the right is the Mothers' Day tree from two years ago, and the dogwood on the left was last year's tree. The redbud had something eat away all its leaves last summer, and we weren't sure it would live. It didn't bloom much at all this year, so I was worried about it, but it's doing very well now. :) Someday these trees will fill up our front yard and make for more privacy.

My Army-bound son, his tree, and me. I asked him what he would do next year when he was gone; he said he will send me money to buy a tree and continue the tradition. :)

I REALLYREALLYREALLY hate photos of me, and it is very rare for me to post them in public, but I decided to do it anyway since this was a special day for me. I hope to have a skinnier photo to share next year. My clothes are getting baggier on me; I don't know if you can tell in the photo, but they are.

I made crepes for us as a special treat. We filled them with fruit preserves. I haven't made crepes since I was a newlywed so it was a bit of an adventure but fun. My silly Barbara Rose made hers into a smiley face. :)

This young lady and I have some doozy of arguments sometimes, but I simply, absolutely ADORE her!!!!!!!!!! She is a terrific young woman, and I am so proud of her!

My crazy, silly, joking, smart-aleck, make me laugh until I pee my pants, drive me crazy, love you to death family.

Thank you God for this family. All I ever wanted to be growing up was a wife, mommy, and teacher. I got to be all of those, and I never had any idea how much love and joy it would bring to me. Rob, Robert, Barbara Rose, and Matthew, thank you for a truly wonderful Mothers' Day. I LOVE YOU all very, very much- much more than words could ever say. I will be eternally thankful for each of you and the love and memories we share.

Most Wonderful Mom Moment Ever!

Robert came home from his second job last night at 11:30. I was asleep in the recliner (stupid back). :) I woke up enough to say hello and was thinking I'd head back to sleep. Being "my" son and so much like me, he needed to talk, so I woke on up to listen. I am so glad I did!!!!!!

I had the most wonderful moment a mom could ever have, and I just sat there, in the dark, and listened to him and cried and held his hand, and oh my! I have never cried so many happy tears in all my life!!!!!! All I could think of was two things.

I may be a big fat slob (which I am, but not for the rest of my life). I may be not a nice person. I may be a lousy teacher by some's view. I may be not much to look at. I will never be of any importance or famous or well off. But, I (and Rob) did something good in this world, something right because that young man is ours!

All those hard times, and there have been many. All those years of sacrifice. Those "bad" years when our marriage was young, and we were oh so young, and trying to survive layoffs, no food, no money, three in diapers, both going to college and working while juggling three under the age of three (then three ages 1-4, ages 2-5...), all those days I had to load diaper pails into the wagon, strap two toddlers to the wagon handle with a walking "leash" for lack of better word, carry one baby on my hip and a diaper bag with diapers, extra clothes, snacks, toys, books and my own backpack of homework and walk with them and the wagon to the laundromat, all those days Rob & I would one of us be in class, and the other would bundle three babies/toddlers up in coats and hats and carry them all out to buckle them into car seats and drive to campus to trade so the other could get to class ten minutes later (and repeat that a couple times a day).......ALL that paid off.

I look back and then it didn't feel like it would ever end- it was just hard. I couldn't have imagined that I would raise such fine young people. I would never have known how much I would love these kids or how my heart would burst with pride at the young adults they would become.

My :) List for today is this: I am a mom of three amazing, wonderful, talented and maturing young adult children! That is more than enough for me!

Robert Michael Dale, Barbara Rose, and Matthew Lane, you just really have no idea how much you are loved by God, your parents and grandparents, your Aunt Jessica, your friends and many others.

And you have no idea how very, very proud your mom and dad are of you! But I pray that as you keep maturing into these amazing adults you are becoming, you will know two things: the absolutely profound and endless love & mercy of God first & FOREMOST. And that you will know how very deeply your parents love and cherish each of you. You are and always will be my greatest pride & joy! I will ALWAYS love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I could not be more proud of you than I am!

Today's smiles

I am exhausted from another night of very little sleep. Rob & I were both up at 4 AM after being up until about midnight. Ugh! I'm too old for that deal! :) I think I will call it an early night soon and pray for a good night's rest.

My :) List for today:

• Another sign of spring- storms are here this afternoon/evening- YEAH!!!! Oh how I love the rain and thunder and lightning! I take after my Momma that way. :)
• A nice, brief talk with our literacy coach today. She doesn't think I'm doing a horrible job, and gave me some positive feedback- a first this year and oh so nice to hear!!! She gave me some suggestions too which was also nice- real, practical suggestions based on a conversation or observation of what is actually going on in my world. :) Refreshing!!!
• Picking up my daughter from the college! Haven't done that in a week or two. We haven't gotten to spend much time together lately, and I have missed her a lot!
• Hugs from my daughter at the end of a rough afternoon- just what I needed was the love and support of my family!
• Homemade potato soup made by Robert waiting for us when we got home- yummy! AND "grown-up" grilled cheese sandwiches made by Rob AND tomatoes!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, I can't wait for tomatoes all summer! :)
• Our hardworking oldest son makes me so proud! Robert is working two jobs. Today he worked with the contractor all day, went from that job straight to the restaurant at 4 PM, will get off there and go straight back to work with the contractor & be painting at a local Walmart from 10 PM-7 AM, then report to another job & work another full day tomorrow before getting off finally tomorrow night. He just turned 21 and is not afraid to work hard. I did something right to have such a great young man as my son!!!!!!!!!!
• I will probably regret this in some way, but it is what it is. I'm wiped out. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. This year is kicking my backside! I have a lot of things that "need" to be done. Paperwork that is due or past due at work. Papers that I need to grade (just a small pile though), grad school work that I have to do, and oh so much more. You know what, though. I'm not doing it tonight! I'm going to go to read my Bible, crawl in bed and pray for some rest and relief and a day of being His light tomorrow. One more day, Father, one more day. I'll get there one foot in front of the other, one day at a time.

quick post

I was "going to go to bed" ages ago- famous last words! Now it's 11:30 P.M. Me and my sore throat are still sitting here, but at least I'm in my pj's. :)

We had a dinner date with one of my third graders tonight; he had to earn this and worked very hard the past few weeks to improve some things. He giggled and smiled the whole time; kind of sweet! :) I hope it made a wonderful memory for him. He picked Cici's pizza and was hilarious watching how much pizza Matthew ate. He & Matthew played some video games afterwards, and Matthew helped him with the claw game. Rob took him to buy some flowers to give his mom as a "thank you" for letting him go, and was whispering to him gentlemanly clues, so my little friend opened doors for me all evening. :) He told me he's going to tell the class all kinds of things about me and my family tomorrow. He was telling his momma about my family and about my car named, Rosie; said his sister asked, "What kind of people name their car?" He told her, "My crazy teacher!" :) :) :)

I have stared at the hospital photos of my niece most of the evening since we got home, haven't done a single thing I needed to do, and now I'm headed to bed.

Rob & I are going on an adventure this weekend. I'll have to take a ton of school and grad work with me, but it'll still be fun and away from my employer and this county- so tired of "them." I'll miss the kids. We've NEVER left them alone; never left them with anyone but parents/my sister. I feel really weird about that, but I guess since they're 18, 19 & 20 (about to turn 20 & 21), this is probably totally silly of me. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Rebekah :)

Welcome to the World Zoe!!!!!!!!

Meet my niece, Zoe Nicole Rose, born today at 8:01 A.M.!!!!!!!!!!!

My dear little niece,

Welcome little Zoe!!! You are so very loved, and you don't even know it yet! I haven't met you in person yet, but this first photo looks JUST like your Momma. I hear you've been quite active in Momma's tummy like I was in Grandma's. Way to go, kiddo! :) Now, though, you have to rest, eat plenty, and let your momma heal up from today's big action. You keep growing and learning and then we'll give your momma some fun together. :)

We are going to have so much fun when we get to be together; I'll tell you lots of stories, read to you, teach you fun things, help you play pranks on your momma, do art projects, make cookies, go to church, and whatever things you like to do. I wish that I lived closer to you, and it bugs me a lot that I won't be there to see most things in your life, but I'll write you letters, send you homemade cards, mail you packages of books and cool things, birthday presents and gifts at Christmas. When I go to the mountains, I'll find neat things and send you photos of all the pretty things I find. If I venture to the ocean, I will hunt for the prettiest seashell I can find and send it to you.

And maybe you can send me pretty pictures and drawings you make, and write me when you're old enough. We can be pen pals. :) We'll skype each other and text (yeah, I'm going to be one cool aunt!), and as you learn more tech things that they'll invent in your life, you can teach them to me too!

Zoe, you have to learn all about Jesus. Momma & Daddy will teach you all about Him and how much He loves you. I know you will love Him too.

Zoe, there will be hard times in life. I wish there weren't, but that'd be a lie. But NO MATTER WHAT, never forget that you are loved. LOVED, LOVED, LOVED!!!!!!!!!!!! We all waited for you; you were an answer to prayer. Your momma & daddy are going to be AWESOME parents. You are very blessed to have them. Some days they will make you mad. You will feel like they are so unfair and mean and awful, but I promise you they are not. Listen to them and try to be as obedient, respectful, and thoughtful as you can be.

Zoe, you are one beautiful little girl! I cannot wait to see you grow up.

With all my love,

Aunt Rebekah :)

Matthew Made Me So Happy

Matthew made my day today! He was disappointed when Rob said he'd get groceries so I could keep working on my research paper. He stood there and said, "Awww, I wanted to spend time with Mom." :) :) :) :) :)

So, I procrastinated a little more on the paper and went grocery shopping with my "baby" and my "baby girl." I don't know how much longer I'll have Matthew around, so I am grabbing EVERY opportunity to be with him.

But most of all, this just made me so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Matthew Lane Thomas, your momma loves you so very much!

hodgpodge

Heard today in my room:

C: Mrs. Thomas, are you perfect?

Me: No I am not! No one is perfect except for God of course.

J: Mrs. Thomas, you are too perfect!

Me: Really, J, I promise you that no human being is perfect. We all make mistakes and do things we shouldn't.

J: Mrs. Thomas, don't say that. You are perfect for me! :)

Awww, J doesn't know how much this touched me. He is quite a challenging friend many days, but together we are working hard, and he is growing up. I am NOT perfect, but I can live with "perfect for him." :)

On the family back home front- My mother-in-law lives in St. Louis which was forecast (according to the Weather Channel) to get an inch of ice! And my parents & sister & brother-in-law are supposed to get 18" of snow. This sure has been a big storm winter so far, and this one will definitely go in the record books. Rob talked to his mom a little bit ago, and she is safe inside her apartment. My momma is home from work and said everything is shut down for tomorrow so unless Baby M decides to make an appearance, they'll all be safe inside and staying put.

We're about to eat dinner- fried chicken, Rob's DIVINE mashed potatoes, salad, and peas. Then I'm hitting the streets before I start trying to put together this research paper. I need to pay the bills and get my February menu together since it is February.

Wonder what the groundhog will see tomorrow. :)

Things that made me smile today

• I introduced fractions to my class today. I have never taught fractions at this higher level before, so I was/am nervous! :) I brought fruit to class and after we made bubble maps of the word "fraction" (a sort of pre-assessment for me), and after I introduced some vocabulary, the kids & I cut up fruit into fractions. They each got to "order" their fraction fruit using the correct vocabulary. OH MY WORD!!!!! This was a HUGE hit!!!!! You'd have thought I brought gold or Christmas toys, they were so excited about fruit. I have many kids that I know for sure/or have strong suspicions don't always get to eat at home and this just confirmed it for me. I think I'll start bringing a bag of fruit a couple times a month. And several kids kept asking me, "Where did you buy this fruit, Mrs. T.? I'm going to ask my mom/dad to go there and buy this!" Like they'd never seen it before!
• One of my girls just tickled me how much she loved the little fresh mandarin oranges after she'd finally got brave enough to try one. She kept coming up and asking me, "Can I have 3/10 please?" "4/10?" "9/10?" :) She'd have eaten all my oranges if I let her!!!! Then it finally dawned on her, "Mrs. Thomas, are these the ones you wanted me to try last week at lunch?" :)
• Eating at our favorite Mexican restaurant tonight with Rob, Matthew, Barbara, and one of my self-claimed daughters, Rita. I LOVE that young lady, and was so happy when I got home and she was there! So since it was payday, and we had survived to the day (thank you God!), we took everyone out for supper. YUMMO! I couldn't finish my plate (a good sign!!!) so Matthew helped me finish my meal.
• Getting almost all my papers from last week graded- about 1/3 the stack remains, but it will have to keep for another night!

I'm off of here to email, check facebook and get ready for work tomorrow and head to sleep. Hope you are all having a great start to the week. Thinking of my family back home and hoping they stay warm and safe in the blizzard! Wishing I could be snowed in with you.

Love,
Rebekah :)

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Here's the lowdown from today:

The Good:

• "My girl" was beyond happy and proud when I shared my good news about her report card. I took her to the principal to share how proud I was of her. :) She told some of her favorite staff members and her former teacher too- "Mrs. Thomas cried when she did my report card because I did so good!" :) Oh, I wish I could share her smile with you- it was amazing! :)
• My class continues to be so much better! I am very proud of them, and oh so thankful. They crack me up because they keep talking about our "old class" and how awful they were, but how much they like their "new class" now! :) Pride in themselves is really motivating them to keep being that "new class." I'll take it! :)
• Our first Nook e-reader came today through Donors Choose! The kids and I are very excited to use it. I let them make me wish-lists of books they'd like to have on it. I purchased a few books tonight for it to get them started, and I'll do more at payday. This technology is really amazing! If you follow my Donors Choose page at all, you'll be able to see photos of the kids reading with it soon. :) I have one more grant for another Nook up- about half way there. I will be trying to get a couple more before years' end so that I can have enough for a small station.
• It was a late start today due to some freezing rain early this morning, but we managed to get most of our lessons in for the day.
• The kids loved giving Mrs. Sudano a baby shower gift today. I loved teaching my kids to give to others and think outside of themselves. I believe strongly in this!

The Bad & The Ugly:

Well, I was going to share the bad & ugly, but Rob says I better not. Big brother is watching. So on that note, "Hello Big Brother or Big Sister, whichever you are." :)

crying + report cards= a happy me

I am working on report cards, but I have to hop on here and write this down for myself. I just started report cards, and right "out of the gate" on the very first kid- THERE is my proof!

Love may not solve everything that my kids have to face in their hard lives, but LOVE can help! My "girl," a very special child to me, the reason I came up to third grade! WOW!!!! I knew she had improved a great deal these past few weeks in her behavior, and I was seeing her actually attempt to do some classwork. BUT, WOW, when I pull up her 1st quarter report card to see what I wrote and reread her grades from 1st quarter. OH MY GOODNESS and THANK YOU GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I all did was love her- really. Loved her through some pretty rough days and loved her on the good days. Gave her hugs a zillion times a day no matter what she was acting like, told her I believed in her even when she was being a not-so-nice human being. Celebrated EVERY SINGLE good thing she did, and hugged away the bad things. LOVE!

There is my proof for the critics out there who don't like me from the regional office. Once you can help a child start to deal with their anger, learn to control their behaviors, THEN they can get down to learning, and she has! The grades are markedly better, and the behavior/work grades are HUGELY better! :) :) :) I cannot wait to show her this report card. Last time she was so upset with herself for her report card grades, and that made for a rough day. This time, we are going to happy dance together!!!!!

And, not where she'll ever see it, but on my inside I'm praying this growth shows up on the one & only score that "they" count, so that maybe, just maybe, they'll see what I see too and start to believe in us too. But either way, THANK YOU GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

40 :)

Today I turned 40. It was a very nice day.

Last night, Rob started bugging me to get in bed saying, "The 39 year old doesn't have much time left to sleep; you really need to get her in bed!" And as I was getting into bed, I checked FB and my sister left me a funny math-themed message to wish me happy b'day.

Today started with my hubby teasing me and calling me "old" as I got ready for work. :)

Wore one of my new blouses that my Momma & Pop got me for my birthday while they were here last week. I felt so pretty! And all day I thought of my parents' love (all three of them).

When I got to work, I found the nicest surprise on my desk. Alma (one of our custodians) had left me a hand-made necklace and pair of earrings for me with a note that said, "Feliz Cumpleanos Mrs. Thomas." :) How sweet!!!!!!!!!!! And so pretty, can't wait to wear them!

Got TONS and TONS of love from kids at school who had figured out or heard that today was my special day. :) One of my team-teaching buddies had all her students write me letters, so throughout the day I received hand-made cards from a lot of kids not to mention the hugs that came with them. I took cookies to share with my reading class and my third grade class and my third grade team and my two team-teaching buddies. The kids loved that of course!

My third graders were so cute- one of them started the idea to give me a b'day hug and while hugging me, stick a post-it note on my back announcing it was my b'day. They were doing this because I had said I wouldn't tell any of the adults at school it was my birthday, that it wasn't a big deal. Guess they were worried about that because I had so many post-its on me at one point or another, though they kept falling off this blouse I was wearing- it wasn't Post-it friendly I guess. ;) But, I thought it was sweet of the kids anyway. I just played dumb and pretended I didn't know what they were doing, and that was even funnier/cuter to watch them! hahaha

After school, I went back to the DOT to get my new license as the old one expired today (long story, but I went yesterday and had to go back today). Got my license! :) Then home to my silly family. My kids asked off of work/got off of work so they could be home with me today. :) That meant more to me than they know! When I came home, I found on the door signs Rob had made that said "The old bat is 40!" :) :) :) He had them taped to the glass on the storm door. Too funny! Rob got me a book - the next one written by Greg Mortenson. Waaay excited to read that hopefully sooner than later.

We went out to Rio Grande, our favorite Mexican restaurant. Rob just happened to "mention" it was my birthday and as we were getting up to leave, the owners and waitress came over, planted a sombrero on my head and sang to me and brought me a yummy dessert with a candle! :) LOVE that place and those people! They are great!

We went and got our Christmas tree and a pretty greenery wreath for the door. It will have to wait until Saturday to get decorated, but right now my house spells so good. LOVE this time of year!!!!!!!

Got the bills paid; thank you Father for $ to pay the bills! I started using online bill-pay from our bank a couple months ago, and I love it! So much easier- wish I'd done it long ago!

I still have two assignments due on the weekend not started yet, a HUGE-MONGOUS pile of papers to grade & record in the grade book, lesson plans to be done, materials to be found and created for learning stations next week, and interim reports to write, but my sleepy 40 year old self is going to call it a night! Tomorrow I will have to pull off a miracle and do my lesson plans and grad school assignments by Saturday morning- yikes! :)

Love to you all!

Mountains!!!!

a great day & summer cleaning

I am having a wonderful day with my young people. :) We went to Biscuitville together for breakfast and then went to get Rob's gift for Fathers' Day. It was so nice as the kids and I are going in on something nice together- something Rob wants, but I can't say more now, not yet. :) Barbara wanted to look for a swimming suit and the boys didn't want to wait on her to try them on, so she & I went back to Walmart for some "mommy time" as she calls it. Hit the post office & bank in there too. We had lunch together at home and then have all been working on deep cleaning together.

Matthew helped me move EVERYTHING out of my kitchen & bathroom except the table so I could deep clean the floors. I know this might sound silly, but I love the smell of Pine-Sol. :) And I LOVE having tile floor so I can just dump soapy water on and scrub. Barbara is tackling the laundry pile and the laundry room. Robert scrubbed down all the downstairs doors and the walls & baseboards in the bathroom and kitchen. I still need to rinse the floor- the water was awfully soapy, but boy is it going to look great (for a day- hahaha), and then Matthew will have to help me put everything back.

We are doing a little bit each day, and in about a week my house is going to look 100% awesome again! I don't know about any other teachers, but spring cleaning always seems to get put off here until it's a summer cleaning.

Well, it's time for my little friends to arrive for babysitting and tutoring time. I better get going. Hope the floor is ready to rinse soon. I'm getting a bit high on the smell of Pine-Sol. :) hahahaha

Hope wherever you are, it is a wonderful summer day for you too!
BekaBoo :)

Summer Day 1

Today was my 1st day of summer vacation; my summer school job fell through due to the state budget crunch. So this summer, I am working from home- babysitting, tutoring & working on my card business. Today I:

• slept in until 8:30- aaahhhh, how awesome that was!
• did a grocery run for the rest of the month's food with Barbara & Matthew
• went to Walmart and picked up some cloth & thread- found a simple pattern for smocked sundresses- going to try to make one and see if I can do it well enough to sell some to help our family's summer budget
• babysat & tutored my two buddies- oh what fun! We walked to the neighborhood playground and Robert, Barbara, & Matthew went with us too :), had our "school time," made a card for the kids' dad, and after all that the two little ones & I played with Mr. Potato Head & his friends and then we made a tent for them to play in.

Tomorrow I need to work on homework BIG TIME! We are also going to go pick out Rob's Father's Day gift. Though I needed the job, I am thankful for the time I also truly need to rest and relax. My body had hit its limit this year! God knows what we need more than we do! :) So glad He sees it all even when I don't!

"in God's way..."

I overhead this conversation last week as we were walking back to our classroom...

"Mrs. T, is kind of like my stepmom."
"Nuh-uh, she is not!"
"Yes she is!"
"No she isn't! Mrs. Thomas, you're not his stepmom are you?!?!?!"
"Yes she is... aren't you Mrs. T?"

I just grinned, and said something about how I wasn't really his stepmom, but at school I am kind of like a mom who looks out for them all, takes care of them, and loves them all very much.

Then my little man looked up and asked me, "Mrs. T, can you be my sister?"
I replied, "D, I can be whatever you want me to be."
"See, she is my sister!"
"Mrs. Thomas is NOT your sister!"
"Well, aren't you really my sister in God's way, kind of???"
"Yes, D, in God's way, I am kind of your sister." :)

pause... silence as he thought...

"Mrs. T, can I call you sis?"
"D, you sure can."

And since then, I have been a combination of Mrs. T and "Sis," to which I have been replying, "Bro" and we both smile. :)

100th Day

i had very little sleep last night and am going to try to be in bed by 10 so i better make this quick. :)

today was the 100th day of school! my kids BEGGED me to do a pajama party. with the craziness of snow days almost all last week, some of the kids forgot but we had a great day! they even bugged me to wear my 'jammies and i humored them. it was a comfy way to spend my day in my warm 'jammies and robe. :) and the kids were so cute seeing their teacher in her pajamas. i think maybe they didn't know i sleep too. :) haha

i had a new t.a. start today. it was a lovely day. :) only a couple negative comments from people, but i tried to head it off at the pass.

i've done a bunch of school work tonight and am ready to try to sleep now. wondering what tomorrow will bring since we're forecast to get some freezing rain and snow/sleet early in the morning before turning into just a cold rain. wonder if it will be a late start or no school again.

so goodbye 100th day. good night world! hope you all have a terrific tuesday!