Weekend Alone

My kids left today for Myrtle Beach with Robert's church youth group (Robert's 2nd family). They are all our kids' youth leader, and I could go on & on about the three leaders and their love for our children. They were a God-send to us here in N.C. - truly the only church family we have here. I am so thankful for them!!!

Rob is still in school through part of next week and working this home stretch at the ballpark, plus he has a band gig this weekend, so I will be spending most of the next days alone. This will be the longest stretch of my life that I've ever been without family (except for Girl Scout camp that one year). I clung to Momma after Daddy died, and I got married at 17 and started our family at 19. The kids have never all three been gone for this long at the same time, and Rob & I have never gone on vacation or left them anywhere more than a night with my parents.

I am a family person, so I don't really like this much, but perhaps it will be good for me to "practice" being post-kids as that day is looming in the near future. So while I am practicing how to function without my children :), here are my plans:

• relax a bit (watch a movie or two, read, sleep in a little if my body will let me)
• do my homework for Monday's class- a MUST
• make cards (This is one I made up with Rob's help to draw a template. It's kind of simple, but hopefully people will like it. It flips open on the side for more writing space.)



• cook something that I want- now to figure out what that is :) (I did make myself a huge bowl of pico de gallo this afternoon and have been eating it tonight! YUM!)

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! What do you have planned?

BekaBoo :)

garden goodness

We planted a small garden in the yard this year hoping to get some food to help our summer budget. We are amateurs for sure, and we didn't have a tiller so there's a bit more grass in the plot than we'd like but we will keep working on it & learning. I hope to freeze up some vegies later this summer. The food is starting to come in. Thank you God for fresh vegies grown by our hands and blessed by You!

our second picking of green beans

The tomatoes are coming in; soon we'll have a bunch. I can taste pico de gallo already! :)

grape tomatoes for our salads

romas for pico & homemade spaghetti sauce that Robert is going to cook for me :)

the "big boys" for just eating- I plan to eat a bunch & fry some green ones up too; it's making my mouth water just thinking of their juicy, yummy goodness.

my prairie flower to remind me of home- Echinacia- Oh how I miss home!

Our yellow squash & zucchini are blooming like crazy!

peaches!!!

My poor little peach tree is so full, I am not sure the branches can hold it all. We keep thinning them out so the tree doesn't fall over, but I hate to pitch the peaches... Hoping they are edible. :) Going to make a peach cobbler if they are good and plan to sit outside and eat some fresh ones too.

Rob & his Fathers' Day surprise

The kids and I went in together to get Rob this bike he's been eyeing and wanting since last September. He seemed very surprised when we gave it to him yesterday. He is enjoying it and getting some good exercise in too. :)

Happy Fathers' Day

This day is a little hard for me as Mothers' Day & Fathers' Days are for a lot of people.

But I wanted to say Happy Fathers' Day to my wonderful Pop who took on the challenge of helping to finish raising two girls who were not even his own. He didn't have to do it. He could have just treated us girls as his stepdaughters, but he loved us as his own and he is our much loved Pop/Dad. He is the only grandfather my children have ever had or ever will. He is a dad to Rob. He has been there for my sister & I when our other family couldn't or just wasn't. He has been there for Rob & I when other family couldn't/wouldn't be. I am thankful for him- more than I can express through a few words.

Happy Fathers' Day to my best friend & hubby. Rob, you've been a wonderful father to our children, and I am so grateful for the children God blessed us with and the joys and laughter you've added to our lives. I am blessed to have you as my husband and the kids are blessed more than they know yet to have you as their Dad/Daddy. You have supported me as a mom, a wife, a daughter, a teacher, a student... You have stood by me and your family through the hard & ugly times. You are loved Rob!!!

God, please tell my Daddy Happy Fathers' Day for me. I know You don't have these kinds of holidays in heaven (or I guess you probably don't), but please let him know that I have not forgotten him, his love for his family, his laughter or ornery smile, how he taught me to fish, pushed me to do/be my best, and the example of seeing him in church, worshipping with his guitar and voice, working to help build the church building, struggling to quit smoking and letting God help him. I have so many good memories of him, and God though it hurts to think much about him, I am thankful you let us have him for a short time. Please tell him for me.

And God, please be with my cousins who also lost their dads. Today is just a hard day when you've lost a loved one. Be with those who are mourning today or who are remembering loved ones with tears in their eyes or sorrow in their hearts.
Beka :)

Please Help Me Help My Kids

I wrote here a while back about trying to get some technology for my classroom- an LCD projector. I am totally thrilled to report that I received FULL FUNDING for this project a couple weeks ago. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so thankful to God for blessing me and for all the family, friends, and strangers that helped me!!!! If you were one of those, please accept my deepest thanks!

I have written another grant for some tech hardware that will turn my classroom whiteboard into a giant mousepad- interactive with my personal laptop through this new LCD projector. I can do some pretty neat stuff with it- make my lessons more interactive, create lessons for students to work on while I teach in another part of the room, and more stuff I have to learn about as I get going here on my adventure into technology in the classroom! I am super, super excited!!!

The price tag is a bit hefty, but if I can get 231 people to each give $5 I can get this baby funded and into my classroom. I am trying to find donors that can help me have this wonderful tool so that I can start the school year ready to roll and get my new kids pumped up about technology and learning.

Can you help me spread the word? If you know anyone who might give anything - even $1- would you pass this info/link on? If you know anyone who would be willing to email this note or pass my info/link on to their friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, bosses, businesses, etc. would you pass it on to them? WITH MY THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Friday! I hope you all have a great weekend!

BekaBoo/Rebekah :)

My "Smart Board" proposal can be found here.

My DonorsChoose webpage with all my proposals is located here.

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!

The year is over.

Thanks to my two youngest children, Barbara & Matthew, I am done! They helped me pack my room up, clean, pitch and move everything to one corner as we're supposed to do every summer. I was able to walk out today and won't have to go back until I am ready to start reorganizing and moving to wherever I am going next, once that is decided.

I had many moments this year when I didn't think I would get to this point, but God helped me get through it all. Now I can reflect on the year, figure out what I am going to do next year, rest, exercise & take better care of me, and focus on being a wife & mom, babysitting & tutoring, and my grad studies.

Thank you Father for helping me get to this point. I am so grateful.

backyard party

Rob & I hosted a backyard party yesterday for my coworkers. We wanted to do something fun for everyone after the long, hard year it's been. I think everyone had fun! I prayed for good weather, and God blessed that. The party was from 12-3, and the storm clouds rolled in at 3PM just as everyone was leaving.

lots of talking :)

Momma, this is Mary, one of our ESL teachers (the one who teaches my kids & one of my favorite people at our school!!!) Mary's little one loved our dog; he crawled all around the yard following Samson. It was so sweet!

We turned on the sprinkler for the kids.

Some of the kids found a ball and played basketball on our driveway.

It was a good day!

almost there

i am so tired and have so much i want to record for myself and things i want to share... but for tonight i have one more dvd to burn for my students tomorrow and i must get to bed. it has been two or three weeks of not enough sleep and i'm exhausted.

earlier in this rough school year i didn't think i would make it, but God has helped, a change in the staffing in my room was made in February and here i am- the night before the last day.

tomorrow will be "poofing" day in my classroom. i need a godo night's rest to poof all the kids out of my room and onto their new adventure next year!

happy thursday all!!!

God, let me be faithful.

"Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens." JRR Tolkein

I do not want to be counted as faithless. I believe in them, and will not give up on them. God help me to be strong, and on that day let me found to have been faithful to You and to children You placed in my path.

"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. :)

A Standing Ovation

Work- well according to a lot of people, we teachers stink and nothing we do is good enough. We are villains and worse....

BUT, I don't care what anyone says, I have to be doing something right. And though it won't show up on any state EOG or any little "number" these "experts" want to throw around to judge us, I had living proof of my successes and the successes of my students today! And, boy did it make me smile and cry a couple tears of joy!

This week, two of my littlest, youngest, and struggling kinders read their first book with "real" reading or great improvements. One of them was really reading- not just making up a story that matches the picture or memorizing the words, but going back and fixing "boo-boo's" (that's what I call mistakes). And my other little one was pointing from left to right and reading from top to bottom and though it wasn't word-for-word matching YET, it was very, very close, and he was using the pattern of the story and the pictures to help him. These are HUGE, HUGE, HUGE steps I tell you!

We read for anyone and everyone- Barbara (who was volunteering today, and two other staff members that I called to come over and listen to my newest readers. My two little ones were positively beaming and one was jumping up and down with excitement and pride in himself. He even asked if he could read to our whole class.

So these two little ones sat down in front of my whole class of mixed K's & 1st's and read their first book to the group. Part way through, several of my 1st graders realized they were "really reading" (quoting one of them who mouthed this to me) and they were cheering and clapping after each page. When it was all done, my 1st graders, spontaneously got up to their feet and were clapping and cheering and gave these two kinders a standing ovation. I have never taught them this and I did not coax them to do so, but I did join them in it.

That was such a HUGE success for us all- for the boys who are learning to read and things are starting to "click." I LOVE these "lightbulb" moments!!! Oh what joy they had on their faces!!!! And success for my 1st graders who are learning to be supportive, caring, compassionate children. And success for me. A long time ago, I set out to help these children become a little family and to learn to care for one another and support each other on the good days and the bad days. I have succeeded.

My children made me proud today- each and every one of them.

And yes, I stood, unashamedly crying in front of all 16 of them!!!

Five Minutes

I saw this video here, and wow- it is sobering. God please let me not forget and may each of my moments in each of my days count for something to someone and to You.

Next Five Minutes from David Platt on Vimeo.

Robert is a college graduate!

Last Thursday our oldest son, Robert (20 years old) graduated from Guilford Technical Community College. He has two classes this summer before he'll receive his diploma, but he was able to march in the ceremonies last week. We are so proud of him!!! While going to school full time, Robert has held down, at times, two jobs and worked an average of 30-35 hours a week, thus enabling him to pay his way through school. He is a great young man!

Our graduate!

Our family and our two friends, R & J.

As is our usual, we love to be silly.

a child's note

This has been a killer week... EOG's (end of grade testing). Robert's graduation ceremony last night plus keeping two of my favorite kids from school. I am sick and have grad school this weekend plus Robert's graduation lunch for his church family and friends on Sunday. I have photos to post of cards and flowers (for Ruhiyyih) and our oldest son graduating from college (for Momma and everyone else)... I promise I'll be back with those in a couple more days.

But for me, tonight, I wanted to jot down a memory. This week was EOG week. I made cards for the third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers and classes- just something super simple to encourage them on this big, stressful week. Not a big deal really! I had so many kids ask me "Why did you do that?" I was surprised at their asking. Several kids were excited about it, and one class called me and put me on speaker phone to shout a big thank you to me. :) All of these made me feel so wonderful! But I think, without a doubt, the student that touched my heart the most was a third grader that did not attend K at my school so I didn't know her by name (I know almost all the kids from K to 4th now at our school). She wrote me a letter back and she made me cry (no biggie I know!). She wrote, "You are the nicest teacher I never had." I am blown away by the love of children and the love of God He gives me through them! And people say God isn't in public schools. :) They are so, so wrong.

Happy Weekend all!

neat video

a coworker shared this with me yesterday. it's pretty neat!

aaaahhhhhh, a peaceful Saturday

it was so nice this morning to be able to sleep in a bit! :) thanks, God!!!!

i have started the stamping on some graduation cards and when i get back from a mom's taxi run i will start doing major lesson planning and homework time. if money allows, i think i am going to go buy myself some plants for my front porch flower pots too.

hope you all have a terrific weekend!!!!

my payday prayer

each month as i drop the bills that i've paid into the post office box around the corner from our home, i say a prayer thanking Him for providing for those bills to be paid. it's not a ritual i go through, but something i do to let Him know i'm a grateful recipient and that i do not take His provision for granted.

today my prayer went like this; i put each bill in the box one at a time and said:
God, thanks for taking care of us.

• for the money to pay these bills in my hand.
• for jobs to earn the money.
• for a warm, safe place to live that provides this sanctuary away from the world where my family can live in love and laughter.
• for insurance that protects our home and cars in the event disaster should ever strike us.
• for Rosie (my car) and Toto (Rob's car). There was a time in our lives and not very long ago at all when we couldn't even qualify for an auto loan on our own. we are so grateful.
• for water and power and heat and a.c. thank You for living in such an advanced place where these technologies make our lives easier and better. please let me not take it for granted.
• for phones to be able to communicate with our kids and each other in the middle of all our many obligations and most of all to be able to just talk and share and hear our "back home" loved one's voices from so far away and not totally lose touch with them.
• for internet to stay in touch with our family, do work at home, go to college and study.
• for these medical bills- well, God- thanks for insurance that paid for most of the bills in hand. thanks for insurance that helped provide much needed medical care for Matthew when his leg was broken. without it he might have not gotten the care he needed- the surgery to fix his broken leg. he could have been in pain and had a badly healed break or been denied care and ended up with a bone sticking out of his leg, or an infection, or so much worse. in another place or time he would not have had that option. thank You that You provided healing for him and now provide for us to be able to pay a portion of his medical needs.

God, thank You that You take care of what we need TODAY! i may now know about tomorrow's needs, or next month's or this summer's, but You already do and just as you keep taking care of us one month at a time, You will continue to provide our needs. You have never left us, and You won't start now. Thank You for that!

Let the Waters Rise

There are two songs that are really speaking to our hearts right now (that'd be Rob and me). One I blogged about the other day here... This song (Let the Waters Rise by MikesChair) is similar and reminds us both that we are doing what He called us to do. It is getting harder than we either one ever would have imagined, but we are trying our very best to remember that He is here with us in the storm and that He promised to never leave us or forsake us.

Some of the lyrics that really jump out at me:
"There's a raging sea right in front of me, wants to pull me in, bring me to my knees. So let the waters rise if You want them to, I will follow You. I will follow You... I will swim in the deep 'cuz You'll be next to me. You're in the eye of the storm and the calm of the sea... God, You know where I've been, You were with me then. You were faithful before, You'll be faithful again..."

My Momma has been sending me verses this week on facebook and it has encouraged me a lot! I found another one today as I was talking with God and thinking about things. If you're going through a hard time, maybe they'll touch your heart to. I hope someone else will be encouraged.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned..." Isaiah 43:2


"You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble..." Psalm 32:7


"If the Lord had not been on our side when men attacked us, when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive. The flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away.... Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 124: 2-5, 8


This Tuesday, May 4, there will be a court hearing that may decide the future of my school, and will most definitely affect the children who learn there. It may decide the future of the teachers who work there. Please pray.