Update

So after my running out the door to do all my errands, here's what got accomplished:

• Packed up classroom, paperwork done, meetings had and school is over!
• Visit to the chiropractor
• Quick stop to the children's consignment shop
• Stop at Office Depot and Staples for more "last minute" items
• Lunch with co-workers at Jason's Deli
• Stop at Marshalls, Michaels, K-Mart
• Bank
• Home for 3 last minute loads of laundry
• Final items packed for trip
• Stop by the neighbor's house
• Wrapped some birthday presents for an adorable almost 2 year old whose birthday we're missing
• Workshop stuff cleaned and packed up
• Shopping list made up for a friend doing me a favor
• Woobie Shop quick blog updates
• Photo c.d. made for little Annabella
• Sad phone call from a dear friend about her grandfather passing
• Trip to Kara's house for drop off and quick chat
• Stopped by Leah's house for a drop off
• Dinner at Chick Fil A
• Home to put little man to bed
• Long conversation with Josh and Tim
• Finally off to bed only to be woken up at 4 am for 10 hours of traveling with a two and a half year old.

But it's all been worth it, I slept for hours last night while Nana took care of little man, woke up to a delicious breakfast and have so much fun stuff to look forward to :)

Off in a rush

So much to do today, so little time.

Want to see so many people and get all the errands run.

Last night was great, wonderful Bible study to get my mind prepped.

To do list set in my head, I'm off.......

We'll see what gets done :)

It's Over

That's it, the 2009-10 school year has come to close for me. WHEW! I am still a relatively new teacher, as far as it goes, but this year was rough.

Tough crew of kids we had in our grade this year. Quite sad and frustrating. Talent was hidden and shadowed away by all of life's junk.

I got the opportunity to teach a technology class this year which was a nice change/break from my typical English class. However, by the time I got into the swing of things, I discovered I had to move back into the English department. God knows what He's doing with me, even if it's not exactly what I want. I have certainly grown and strengthened over the year. Learning more about myself as a teacher and all things education. (By the way, I usually blog at night when my brain is on overload and I'm pooped, so don't hold against me the fact that I should have good grammar, spelling, modifiers, etc.)

I've reached the 5 year teaching mark and had to renew my certificate. NEVER dreamed I would actually teach that long. I was supposed to stay home with kids before this point. Once again, God knows what He's doing in my life. I had so many in-service points that I renewed my license and have enough "banked" for the next time should I renew again.

So much to absorb from this year. I must remember to learn from the good and bad, savor the good and release the bad.

BAD :(

• People, both children and adults are mean spirited and that's tough to deal with.
  
• Deception hurts, all the time.
  
• Not every child cares to learn as much as I do, which is sad.
  
• Girls are so insecure in themselves, it's frightening to watch as I'm more aware of it now.
  
• Having to work in an environment where kids don't want to be there is often a difficult challenge.
  
• Kids are growing up way to fast. I don't want that for my little man.
• The pay is lousy.
  

GOOD :)

• There are people who genuinely enjoy my contributions and desire to work with me.
  
• When God brings me to a situation, He will make the path straight and successful for His glory.
  
• Children need love more than anything in this world.
  
• There is a purpose for me to be where I am.
  
• Just when you feel like all hope is lost, there will be one kid who can make you smile.
  
• Kids just want respect, give them that and you can change their lives.
  
• New opportunities are on the horizon for me professionally if God wants me to take them.
  
• God has gifted me with something and in spite of themselves, I really do love working with the "squirrely" middle school kids.
• I can throw a great party for my little "paparazzi posse."
• When God moves me away from myself and uses me to make a difference in the life of kid, it feels really good.
  
• I work hard with other people's kids because I want a teacher to touch my child's life one day when I won't be able to.

Off to bed, much to do tomorrow morning before turning in keys. So glad the summer is here.

Late night thoughts

It's been a busy week and weekend, but before starting another work week I wanted to jot down a few thoughts:

• Love how my Mr. Independent can now wake up in the middle of the night, walk to our room, stand by the bed and realize we won't let him in, and walk back to his bed, crawl in and go back to sleep. (Now if only he'd bypass the trip all together and just stay in bed.)

• My hubby is so great when I feel moody and tired. I've had a rough few days, and he's so great with me as I stretch and grow in a few different areas.

• Re-visiting boundaries with children is not easy. They learn the rules and consequences and then as they grow they grow into wanting to push and explore more than their boundaries, and it's not always easy to have to be correcting, re-directing and disciplining to turn them back to where they should go.

• I heard the best compliment about my little man today..... He was asleep when we arrived to church this morning and woke as I went to bring him to his nursery class. He was a little clingy and I feared a fight in order to leave him. Another little girl, who had just been dropped off, was throwing a fit and crying and didn't want to participate in the group. I was able to leave little man and when I picked him up I heard he went over to the little girl, sat with her quietly while she pouted by herself, offered his snack to her and stayed with her to comfort her. When one of the teachers would come over to check on her, little man would say she was crying and just sit with her. The little girl eventually stopped pouting and little man was able to share a book with her. That makes my mommy heart so proud. Aside from the lack of sharing, fighting for toys, terrible tantrums and all the other irksome things about the world of 2.... my little man saw another child upset and went to comfort her.

• Being a stronger person than others around you is a difficult thing. Especially when you may have to spend much of your time around them. But if my obedience today will bestow blessings on the life of my son someday, I'll gladly sacrifice my selfishness and pride.

• This week I will walk in the truth that if God brings me to the situation, He alone will set up the success and blessings of it.
  

Pawn

I've been played like a pawn and am just coming through to see the light..... Just have to remember that a small pawn can still take down a queen.

I got thrown a curve ball today that I'm not sure I was ready to catch........

To be a team player to look out for self ????

Trust in the words of others????

Decisions, decisions. So much to think about. So much to take in, consider, weigh, and determine.

"Be still and know that I am God." It was a good Word for Him to give me this morning.

Sweetness

This morning little man came into bed with me at 6 am (love the schedule on the weekends :( ) and cuddled up into my back. Daddy had to leave early to go take an insurance license test and get fingerprints (he passed, yeah!) in Sarasota so little man and I got to chill in bed a little while.

It's not often my little guy will sit still, even in his sleep he moves around too much. But this morning he cuddled up for a few minutes and I just laid there stroking his facing thinking "God is too amazing!" Of all the amazing gifts I've been given, salvation and all, He choose to let Mason be a part of my life.

Being a mom is amazing. Today I just enjoyed savoring in it. Before I know it, I'll blink and he'll be all grown up.

Jenn's Belly

This is Jenn and her adorable belly. I was able to take some photos of her last month during my photography class. She was a client of Squeeze's and volunteered to be our model of the day. I loved taking pictures of her and it was such a beautiful fun day.

Well after a baby shower and maternity photos I better move on to another topic before my hubby starts to get nervous :)

Molly and a super sweet shower

It's been a busy week, with a lot of unexpected interruptions, but through it all God has been good. Last night I was able to successfully host a small baby shower. Thank God for good friends to help me out. Between work, my kiddo, sick hubby and everything else I was afraid that this was going to be a flop.

Molly's only been in the area a little under a year, but she's such a sweetie. She works so hard serving the Lord, and I totally remember how hard it is to be pregnant when you don't have your own family near by, so I just wanted to let her know we love her and her little one. It really is awful at times to not have your own mama near by when you're having a baby, so it meant a lot to me to show Molly we are all here for her.

God showed up like always and we had a blast. Molly got some adorable clothes and baby essentials like diapers and such and some super cute accessories.



As much as Molly may have needed the time to celebrate, I think I needed it more.

Superhero MJD

LMM the Superhero

This little man stands at just over 3 feet tall.
Has a minimal vocabulary
Thinks he is a real life superhero. Yes, he's in the superhero stage.

I love him to pieces! He might very well be my superhero :)

Sunday Morning stones

When Scripture says, "for this too shall pass" I have to wonder if the writer was referring to kidney stones????

(Seriously, I know not, but the thought made me smile this morning, and it's been a long morning.)

My hubby had his 3rd ER visit for kidney stones in our 5 years of marriage. UGH! I love the man, but morning visits to the ER are miserable, especially when the strong, powerful, amazing man you love is writhing in pain.

My girlfriend, who went through natural delivery the first time with no pain meds, had kidney stones before and said she would prefer childbirth any day to having another kidney stone. They really must be awful!

Not at all how I planned my day... was supposed to get up early, prep again for my preschool lesson at church, get a Sunday paper, teach my kiddies, lunch with the boys and maybe some family outing. Instead I spent 3-10 am with my husband suffering with him suffering with kidney stones.

I hate when he's sick, it makes me feel so helpless. I can't touch him because it causes more pain, I can't relieve the pain, I can't take the pain, etc. So I pray. While the pain doesn't go away, the LORD still provided the next best thing..... an ER doctor who had stones in the past, trusted the pain was real, knew the symptoms, didn't waste time and give a quadruple does of pain narcotics. I suppose it really is the details of the situation that show God's sovereignty.

I'm tired. Finally got a little sleep, so I'm no longer delirious and only functioning in survival mode. It's crazy how the adrenaline makes you survive then crash. Off to get more sleep while LMM is with Papa playing.

Things I love

Some of the most recent things that have made a mark on my heart concerning LMM.


Mason makes some adorable new sentences and while his enunciation isn't great, I get his meaning. "I badmen" for "I'm batman!" is my favorite.

He's choosing out his own clothes now and showing his preferences, desires and will.

Independence comes with a price.

The pictures I have in my hard drive are priceless and I hope will one day be interesting for him to look back on.

He gets totally concerned when we go through his baby photos and he thinks about himself in anything other than the present moment.

I hate watching the same episode of Bob the Builder, but will continue to do it to make him smile.

Potty training is frustrating. We'll wait a little longer and clip a few more diaper coupons.

Mason loves mimicking Daddy. So glad I have a great man for his daddy.

Haircuts equate to a lot of tears, but he looks really cute after a fresh buzz.

We go through an awful lot of sippy cups in one day. Daddy's not always the best about remembering them from the car :(

Superhero clothing is totally in style for him right now.

He wants to see "baby friends" everywhere we go.

Going to the "ma" (mall) is very fun for this little guy. Playground and kiddie rides more so than shopping in the stroller.

Most of all I love that everyday brings a new adventure together and new memory to hold.