Enjoying the Small Things...

Have you ever been told not to play with your food?

Well...sometimes you just can't help it!

15 Years of Service

I have been teaching at Capital Christian School for 15 years and was awarded with a plaque and a small gift certificate! We had a little luncheon for me, my fellow teachers and administrators to celebrate the special occasion. As you can probably tell from the lei that I am wearing, we had a Hawaiian theme...seriously you didn't think I would wear that as an accessory now do you? LOL! Also, had I known about the luncheon I would have certainly dressed up for the occasion! Oh well...Anyways, next to me is our new principal, Katie Nelson. I have been friends with Katie when I first taught at CCS and she was a 6th grade teacher at our middle school. She then became a middle school vice principal and then this year was asked to be our principal over in elementary. I can't tell you how thrilled that I am to be working for her and along side her! The woman in the middle is Wanda Hynson, our vice principal and on the far right is my fellow kindergarten teacher and best friend, Vonda Mellott. They were honored for 25 years of service. I am soooooo blessed to be working with such amazing women and gifted teachers and look forward to another 15 years a service at CCS!

Smile!

This is what I am trying to do right now...

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do NOT lean on your own understanding..." Proverbs 3:5

Fall is Here!

Hello Blogland! After a very busy start of a brand new school year I am glad to say that I am back! I had a GREAT summer but I was so ready to get started with a new group of sweet lil' friends to teach and love and can I say it truly has been love at first sight! My little class is so sweet and make it so easy for me to want to go to work everyday! We had our first field trip up to Apple Hill where we toured an Apple Farm and got to go to the Pumpkin Patch across the way. The rule was that the children can get a pumpkin as big as their head to take home but as you can tell, some of them over estimated how big their actual head is! LOL!

I love Fall! I love the changing of the leaves and I love the smell of pumpkin spice and hot apple cider. So I just wanted to say, "Hello Fall! We have been anxiously waiting for you and I hope that you stay for awhile! :)

The Babies Have Arrived!

Look what the stork brought! LOL! They are sooooooooo sweet! Mama who was out searching for food when this video was made and babies are doing just fine.

Happy First Day of Summer!

Look at what my friend Cristina found in her backyard!

Aren't they beautiful?!
Then yesterday on Father's Day look what happened...

They started to hatch and trust me when I say that they are adorable! She named the first baby Paco, the second one is named Tony Curtis (don't ask me why? LOL!) and the last baby is named Jaelynn. I however, thought that she should have named one of them Padre in honor of Father's Day since that was the day that they were born. They are so sweet and of course we have to keep our distance since their Mama is still tending to them but seriously, how can you deny the existence of God when you see something as beautiful as that? What a great way to start the first day of summer!
"Happy Summer Ya'll!"

Lil' Blue Scooter

This is my lil' buddy Anthony! I have known him since he was in preschool and have had the privilege of having him in my summer school class! I love him so very much! His grandmother is our school bus driver and Anthony and his sister live with her. Anthony had a little scooter that he talked about and when it got run over by a car it just about broke my heart! Enter my cousin Austin...he had a scooter in his shed that he no longer used and said that I could have it if I wanted it. Which is just what I did.

Well, as you can see, this was one sad little scooter and since I didn't have enough money for a new one I knew that this would have to do. So...I channeled my inner Martha Stewart and made a feeble attempt to give it an "Extreme Scooter Makeover!" Since Anthony's favorite color is blue I tried to spray paint it "Ultra Blue" but the spray paint only made it look worse! However, I refused to be defeated and when I saw one of our maintenance crew painting the rails around our school I asked what kind of paint that they used and enter Rustoleum "Tranquil Blue" paint to the rescue! It took several coats of paint but I was finally able to get the look that I was trying to achieve. Then I added some new wheels and attempted to replace the handlebars. Again thank goodness for the maintenance men for those handle grips just would NOT budge!

Then for the finishing touches I found these cute little sticker decals with alphabet letters and I wrote out his name and also since I knew that Anthony was a fan of Spiderman, I added a couple of Spiderman stickers as well. Also, when I applied the stickers I added a clear finishing gloss so that they wouldn't peel off. I was pleased with the results and as you can see...

So was Anthony! Enjoy your lil' scooter buddy! It was made with LOTS OF LOVE!

"Happy St. Patrick's Day!"

"Leprechauns!" Shamrocks! Erin Go Bragh!"
"It's St. Patrick's Day! Rah!!! Rah!!! Rah!!! Top of the Mornin' to Ya' All!"

Today at school, we thought that it would be fun to celebrate the occasion by serving "Green Eggs and Ham" for lunch! Let me just say that the rice krispie treat was consumed with much excitement and as for the eggs...well not so much! Some kids insisted that because they were green, they just had to be rotten! So much for trying to have a little creative fun! LOL!

To quote my dear friend, Dr. Seuss...

"Do you like
green eggs and ham?

I do not like them,
Sam-I-am.
I do not like
green eggs and ham!

Would you like them
Here or there?

I would not like them
here or there.
I would not like them
anywhere.
I do not like
green eggs and ham.
I do not like them,
Sam-I-am!"

Happy St. Patrick's Day my dear friends! Even though I am not Irish, I am for today! God bless you and may you find your pot of gold at the end of they rainbow!

Almost Wordless Wednesday...

Can you spot what's wrong with this photo? Actually, it's kind of appropriate given the circumstances! LOL! P.S. This makes me love Wal-Mart even more!

Man...I should have kept THAT donkey!

Three blog posts in one day! I feel so accomplished. Can I just say that I so admire my blog friends who mange to post daily...or even a few times a week! Honestly, my hat is off to you! ("Applause, applause!") I'm lucky if I do it once a month! I feel soooooooo bad about that but I think I am now on the right track! Now I'm gonna let you in on a little secret...one of the main reasons why I hadn't been blogging as of late was because of this...

Yes, I was a bad girl and ran a red light! No excuses! It is what it is but I finally learned that a "yellow light" means caution...slow down and NOT speed up! LOL! $425 later plus online driving school, I can safely say that I have finally paid my dues to society. Darn! Had I been riding "Cookie" the donkey, I probably wouldn't have been in this dilemma in the first place!

Parents and Friends!

As most of you know, I am a teacher and next to working with the children I have the awesome privilege of being able to get to know their parents! They bless me so very much! They not only entrust me with their children, but are so welcoming and encouraging as well! That means A LOT to me. More than you will ever know! Some of these parents have remained my friends even after their child has graduated out of my classroom. My friend Tina is one of them. She is so loving and gracious and I just love spending time with her and her sweet family! I had her son Matthew a couple of years ago and this year I have her precious daughter Alexis! Now, even though I am a teacher by profession, I am reminded through this simple children's poem of the following:

"An apple for the teacher, is really nothing new. Except when you remember, that parents are teachers too!" Thank you parents for ALL that you do for you are your child's "ULTIMATE" teacher and what would we ever do without our parents!

Donkey Basketball!

Last night I played in a donkey basketball game and if you have never played or have seen donkey basketball before, let me give you a few of the rules:

1. You don't have to dribble the ball...thankfully.

2. You must hold on to your donkey at ALL times. If you let go and you have the ball then possession goes to the other team.

3. When you're passing the ball, one person (either the passer or the person receiving the pass) must be on their donkey.

4. You must be on your donkey to score.

You should also know that these donkeys are crazy. Some don't move at all! Others buck you off as soon as you try to get on them and a few will run like crazy when you put any weight on their backs. However, I had the sweetest donkey, he was gray and his name was "Cookie!" I was on the "Blue Team" and somehow, I ended up with the hugest egg helmet! Everyone else had these cool riding helmets...well, as cool as helmets can be and I thought I looked like "Humpty Dumpty" LOL! But I had to remind myself that the main reason why I was playing, was that we were raising money for our school's high school students to be able to go on a missions trip to Jamaica! We did well and the "Blue Team" won even though I slid off of the saddle and got my foot stuck causing me to be dragged across the floor! But hey, it was all done for a good cause right? Right! I love you "Cookie!"

Meet my lil' buddy "Cookie!"

Happy New Year!

It's a brand new year! A time for fresh starts and new beginnings! Don't dwell on the past but look to the promise of a bright new future! I will all of my dear family and friends a year full of peace, love and joy! Remember that life is too short and that we all have to make the most of it so don't forget to "live, love and laugh!" Welcome 2010, we have been eagerly waiting for you!

Holiday Greetings!

Check out the holiday greetings that I got from a few of my celebrity friends! :) "Wink, wink!"

Thank you George, my darling! XOXO

Holiday Greetings from the Woods...

The "Real" reason Tiger is in hiding! LOL!

Now that the joke is over, here is my "Real" holiday greeting...

Wishing you "Real" peace, love and joy throughout the holiday season and into the new year!

May God bless you richly and abundantly!