Wonderful Chaos

As we gathered around the table last night, I felt an overwhelming sense of blessing. Our sons and their wives, our five grandchildren, plus the little one yet to be born, all were there at the table, happy to be together. It's been two+ years since we've done this and even though that's not a terrible amount of time, a lot happens in two years, especially when the grands are so little. It has been wonderful, and we're only into day two. I am so grateful!

Our sweet 7-year-old Colton reads to his little cousin Grace (3 years).

The youngest, Eliott (14 months) and the oldest, Kayla (11 years) having fun together.

The cousins: Grace, Colton, and Sierra love spaghetti!

Grandma and Gracie making ginger cookies

Grandpa and Eliott, checking out one of Grandpa's carved Santas.

Jesus really loves children

I remember reading that line in the book Heaven is for Real... "Jesus really loves the children." I know He does; I'm glad He does, but part of me is just a tad disappointed that He chose to take Anna Joy home to heaven when her mommy needed her here so much. So did the rest of her family, but her mother has suffered through multiple miscarriages and infertility; to lose Anna Joy now, it is absolutely heart wrenching. I'm praying for the family as they mourn this Christmas. Oh may God be close to them, hold them, assure them of his love, and heal their broken hearts.

Baby Anna Joy

It's three o'clock in the morning, and I'm still recovering from a terrible cold. Over the past few days, I have been haunting the blog of some of our church friends. A little baby girl, Anna Joy, was not expected to live more than a couple of hours after her birth, but God has moved yet again. She has endured open heart surgery and is a living witness to His power. This little one's grandmother (now worship pastor at our church) and my hubby have been friends since his early college days. Anna's mother has been one of our son's friends since he was in high school; they met during one of our evacuation from Haiti experiences. If you are one who prays, I would invite you to whisper a word to the Lord for this little one.

The Day After Thanksgiving

We have been busy! My husband is the Grand-Master Dickens Village creator. Here's the process:

Take down the "Cabin by the Lake" print and put up the Dickens Village painting.
Add the wood base and boards for height.

Add quilt batting and begin placing houses, roads, bridges.

Lighted houses means lots of cords!

T adding the characters, lamps, trees.

A sparkling Dickens Village complete with snow, ready for Christmas.

I love Blythe Pond

The Watch-maker and The Old Curiosity Shop are our favorites.

The Village Church next to Ebnezer's house.

Gratitude

It's the night before Thanksgiving... and we've been busy. Tomorrow morning is the Turkey Bowl, the annual kids' football game that our son has hosted since his son was three. Lots of little children get out in the yard and play football for an hour, then we all eat breakfast together. Totally fun, although this year our son suggested calling it the Gravy Bowl since the rain has made the yard into a mud hole. But that won't stop the action tomorrow... no sir-ee! And we can't wait! I'm so thankful to be able to enjoy this time with our children and grandchildren.

School was only a half-day. I left within 30 minutes of the last bell. Couldn't wait. Went to Trader Joe's for a case of spiced cider then to Costco for several other things. Since I went when I did, it wasn't a horrible experience. Got home and have had a great evening, working on making our home more enjoyable for the little ones who are coming to stay.

We've been converting my husband's office into our grandchildren's bedroom and playroom and we are close to finished. Here's the latest:

Toys, Books, Fun for Little Ones

Dollhouse for Gracie and her cousins to enjoy

Eliott's bed, complete with the baby quilt my husband used as a baby.


Gracie's bed, with a sweet white teddy bear

We are so excited to have these sweet children come stay with us for six weeks. What fun we will have together! They arrive in 27 days - but who's counting; you bet I am! I am so grateful for my family, so blessed that we love each other and want to be together. There are far too many families who do not. Yep, I am living in a state of gratitude.

Getting Ready!

December 20th, one month from today, our son, daughter-in-law, and two adorable grandchildren will arrive from France to stay with us for six weeks! Hooray! We have been changing furniture in various rooms and picking up things that we think we will need. Friday, the church that has been meeting at our school prepared for a 'moving party' as they leave our school for a budget-wise transitional place before moving into their new building. Among the freebies: a high chair, a dinosaur rug, a little tykes play table with drawers, a large doll house with all kinds of accessories, a big (as in laundry basket size) bin of duplos, a toddler race car set, books and other miscellaneous toys. And yes, all these things have a new home in our home.

Saturday, I sanded, stained and sealed the old crib that I found on Craig's List. Today I asked my hubby to stop at Target so I could pick up some crib bedding. I finished quickly and was ready to head out when he mentioned wanting to check out the toys. Guess who's almost finished with Christmas shopping?! Amazing! This is so much fun!

Prove it

Have you ever read something about teaching and come away feeling really satisfied because you got there on your own? That's how I feel about this. I've been teaching my writing through literature this way for quite some time. The assigned essays always come from the literature students are reading, and students must always prove it, whatever it is. Right now I have students who have chosen, The Land, The Giver, The Same Stuff as Stars, Archer's Quest, and White Fang. One of their essays involves showing the effect society has on the character of the protagonist. Another deals with the ending of a book, that it ought to conclude, not simply stop abruptly. We always look back to A Wrinkle in Time when we talk about this essay because that was the number one complaint students had of this book. There are always a few students who get it. They realize I'm allowing them to express their opinion. But there is one way I go after this, and I repeat it with every essay. I say, "So this is your opinion. Is your opinion right or wrong? Neither, it's your opinion. Do I have to agree? No, but what do you have to do? Right... you have to prove it. Prove your point with evidence from the novel or other sources." And some of them do it, while others just write a summary of the plot (irritating) and receive a C- at best. But that's okay; they are getting exposed to this manner of writing, and I am hopeful that they will eventually catch on. I always ask the students to bring in their essays early. I put them in groups and have them edit and discuss their writing. Often I extend the deadline after this experience. It depends on what I see happening in the group. Anyway, I love what I get from about 70 percent of my classes. It's a good thing to know they can prove it!

A New Blog

My daughter-in-law was born and raised in the Middle East. One of her best friends married a few years ago and recently moved to Niger. They are a great young couple, and I have been following their blog. Really rich reading; I highly recommend it!

Finished, I hope

I am hoping and praying that my students have finally finished all their Halloween candy and will be somewhat normal on Monday. Last week was really a ridiculous week. Having Halloween on a Monday night is just about one of the worst things that can happen to junior high students and therefore, to their teachers! By Friday, I was so tired. About 11 o'clock in the morning, I called my hubby, the high school principal, and gave him some suggestions about what he could do with my students. It was that bad. They were simply not capable of calming down. After school, I came home, sat in a recliner for about an hour, then fixed taco salads for dinner. Quick and easy. I then went back to the recliner and didn't move again until bedtime.

Today was another tiring day but for a completely different reason. A couple weeks ago, my mother's dishwasher went on the blink and ruined a section of her hardwood floors. Mom's house dates from the late 1940's and the dining room floors were amazing. She decided to pull up all the carpets and have them refinished. A really smart move. They are gorgeous. She's been in a hotel for four nights (she wouldn't stay with us, didn't want to disturb us) and I helped her get back home today. But we couldn't walk on the floors until after 1 o'clock this afternoon so first we raked leaves in her front yard. After that we went to her church for their annual bazaar. Lots of handmade goodies, toys, and such. We each spent less than $20. Not bad. Then we went across the street to Lincoln Elementary for their annual toys and books sale. I got a box of books and several nice toys for $20! The books were a steal, nearly all hardback picture books for my little ones who are coming in a few weeks. Have you priced little kids' books these days? They are so expensive. I think I bought close to $150 worth for that 20 dollar bill! After lunch and a quick trip to the store, Mother and I went back to her house. We dusted walls and doors, got the pictures back up, rehung the drapes, and created enough room in each bedroom so she could watch TV in one and sleep in the other. We can't put furniture back in her living and dining rooms until Sunday evening and may wait until Monday after school. We'll see. She's just so glad to be back home.

Another good thing is that today/tomorrow is Fall Back! I love adding an hour of sleep to my day and of all times to do it, this week is perfect.

November

When my friend, Shannon, posted that she was ready to begin her 50,000 word novel for NaNoWriMo, part of me wanted to cry! I am not ready to write, even though I love it. Not ready to blog faithfully, even though I did it last year. That was last year and things have changed! We are doing pretty well these days. T is healing, face is nicely healed, leg is fine... that wrist still screams at him from time to time, but he is so much better. First quarter ended yesterday and I uploaded grades last night. Started with a clean slate today and some of my students were grateful for the new opportunity. I have a week and a half until conferences. I'll say nothing of those.... nothing... my mother always said, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." I love my mother. And she is right.

My 8th graders are back in novels of their choice, and the 7th graders are working through parts of speech. My writer's workshop kids are tearing things up! They love writing and I love that they love it! I can't wait to do "monikers" tomorrow. It's a fun little exercise with names. Yesterday we talked about puns and they each came up with five. Some were hilarious and others were quite painful. My favorite assignment that I have them write is the letter to themselves - 15 years from now. But they won't get that assignment for a few weeks, after Thanksgiving. January is going to be poetry, every day, from the beginning of the month to the end of the 2nd quarter. I found a sample unit online from NYC that I am hoping to apply to some of the projects I have used in the past.

The big news is that those two little kids pictured in my previous post are going to have a baby brother or sister in May. Yeah... can you say three under three? My kids can! And I can't wait!

Halloween Already?

October is gone. How is that possible? I think I've only written two or three posts on this site during the month of October. I could not have imagined how busy this year would be. Seriously, I'm pulling back and not apologizing for it. There are several things I am not doing. When asked to speak at retreats or conferences, I've said no. When expected to attend a conference, I didn't go. Normally I sing in both services for choir, not this month. Even when I try to simplify, life seems so busy. I really don't understand this but I'm plugging away, doing what I can, when I can, and forgiving myself when I can't.

My hubby is mending well. The eye area is healed; the leg is healed. But that arm... it is going to take time, a lot of time! The doctors took a big chunk of flesh from his wrist to patch the hole they made in his face. Since there are no functioning nerves in that area of his face, he feels no pain. However, the wrist is an entirely different story. One wrong turn and the man is in agony! It makes me want to cry to see him suffer like that. Honestly, it is getting so much better. He is radically more capable of caring for himself. He even takes care of all his bandages but one, the ace that wraps around his wrist and forearm. It has been six weeks since surgery; healing is a slow but steady process, and we are grateful for the progress.

School continues to demand our mental and physical energy. My students are doing back-to-back novels since I missed a critical two-week period in September when they should have been in a novel study. I decided to leave the grammar for the sub and concentrate on the literature upon my return. It was a wise move but there's still a lot to accomplish in a very short time. November is full of holidays, conferences, and potential snow-days. (From my mouth to God's ear!)

In 50 days, our kids from France arrive for their first home assignment. We called it furlough, back in the day. We are looking forward to seeing Gracie and Eliott again.

They are growing so fast. This past week, they moved into a new home in Chartres, France. They loved their little village in Jouy, but this location is more central to their ministry and the house is slightly more than twice the size of their prior teeny 500-square-foot apartment.


So as October fades away, we are grateful for the blessings of the past six weeks. As I look back over all we went through over these two months, I see God's hand of strength and healing. I don't know what lies ahead, not sure I want to know, but more than ever before, I believe God is in control. I'm simply going to let him deal with it all.

A Good Day

Wow, it's been such a long time since I posted anything! Today has been such a good day that I have to celebrate with a quick post. First, I over-slept. All right, that's not exactly a good thing but I got to school before the kids came in the classroom so it worked. And I didn't beat myself up over it either. I am tired of holding myself to a higher standard than I do others. Time to let that ship sail. Next, 8th graders had a major essay due today. I had two students unexpectedly absent but they sent their work to school! That is HUGE! Finally, the sun is really shining brightly. We have been told that the rain is going to come on Thursday so we should enjoy this while we have it. I plan to do that... somehow. And now, back to work.

Outside again

I should have been grading papers. Two stacks of essays sit on my desk awaiting my responses. But it was not supposed to rain (and it didn't) and I have a flower bed that has been driving me crazy. First of all, my nephews needed money. Cameron is a senior and Riley is a freshman in high school. Both boys have bikes that constantly require maintenance, due to the crazy things these boys do! The plan was to remove the old weed barrier, covered in clover - hate clover - and put down new barrier and bark. The boys were confident they could remove the old weed barrier before I returned with the load of bark, didn't happen. That old stuff has been there for decades and the roots that were tied into it... incredible! It took them almost three hours to remove about 350 square feet of the old stuff. With another hour's work, the new barrier and bark were in place. I worked with them and have the sore muscles to prove it. Although it's a relative small project, it has been making me crazy for a long time, and I'm so happy to have it finished.

Preparing

A couple months ago (seems like a life-time) we moved T's office furniture to the school and began converting his office into a den. Scott and Kass had a beautiful, wrought-iron daybed that they weren't using, so we brought it to our house (minus the hardware) and made plans to set it up for Gracie's arrival in December. Yesterday, S/K came over with their three adorables, and we set up the daybed. It was quite a process but turned out nicely.


I have a pack-n-play for Eliott but I am looking for a full-size crib that I can set up instead. I have a call into a Craig's list post for one from IKEA. Eliott is not a little guy. He weighs well over 25 pounds and is pretty tall. He'll be a year next Wednesday! Oh how we miss our French kiddos but it's all good; we understand what they are doing and are thrilled that they are able to experience the French world as a family. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to Christmas! They will arrive around the 20th and be with us for six weeks! This will be a super good thing.


And it will be so much fun to watch Eliott grow and develop over that time. What a blessing our little ones are to us.

A Crazy New School Year

This year has certainly not started like I had planned. After two weeks of school, I found myself flying off to Texas with my hubby as he went through more cancer surgery. During the prior week or so, I prepared detailed sub plans - two weeks of them. I really thought that would be more than enough. I also made all the photocopies I would need for the following week when I planned to be back in the classroom. It didn't turn out quite as I planned, but having prepared nearly everything I needed, it was pretty easy to extend the sub plans. We returned home Monday night, very late. I did laundry and ran errands all day Tuesday, worked in my classroom a good portion of Tuesday night, and started school again this Wednesday. It's been an intense three days, but I think I am caught up enough that I won't drown. I still have quite a bit of work to do, namely three sets of essays to grade, but other than that, I'm on it. Tomorrow the grandkids will be over for a while. It will be their first visit since surgery. We'll be ready for the little darlings; we've certainly missed them! I'm pretty sure they'll adapt quickly to their Grandpa's crooked little smile and new battle scars, none of which are very visible as yet. Bandages are good for hiding the wounds. I'm so glad it's Friday. I need the rest!

The Benefits

There are tons of benefits to teaching in a private school as well as a few limitations, but last night my husband spoke with a friend of ours who revealed one of the big benefits. Teacher friend has 37 students in her 7th grade classes. Oh my goodness! We had 25 (our cap) and then enrolled that beautiful, little, blonde girl, who became my favorite student this year because she allowed us to split the class! We have 13 in each 7th grade, and 16 in each 8th grade. Goodness, I seriously cannot imagine having 37 in any junior high class. Horrors!

A New Addition

I added a new blog to my Worth Reading list: Books That Heal Kids. It is so true that kids come to school with a ton of baggage. You may remember that last year one of my students lost her father to cancer. It was discovered in December, and he died in June. Shortly after, she hurt herself badly, falling down a 15-foot shaft. After a summer trying to do things that would help her get on with life, school started... and she broke her foot! I'm not making this up. Of all the kids who might have to wear a boot and use crutches, this one was not the kid who needed that kind of hassle!

One of the things I do in my Bible class is the Silent Study. I teach a curriculum published by Lifeway called Character Quest - I love it! Each week, I introduce another character trait that should be a part of our lives as Christians. In addition to that, I have gone through scripture (mostly New Testament) and found short passages that apply to the particular trait being taught. Students come in each morning to find a new passage on the board. They get their journal and answer two questions: What does this passage mean? How can I apply this to my life? We just finished the first week of school and the introduction to the textbook. The passage I chose this week was Colossians 3:12-14. Students wrote about verse 12 on Wednesday and verses 13-14 on Thursday. (Friday is chapel - no silent study.) On Thursday or Friday afternoon, I read the journals and jot short response notes to my students. The pain that came from Thursday's passage about forgiving... it took me by surprise. It always does. I know students have broken homes and lives, but I am constantly surprised at the open, intense pain that 7th graders are willing to write about in a journal.

At the end of the day, Friday afternoon, we held our traditional first week finished junior high party. Before we ate all the junk food that the kids brought, we played a game - Just Like Me - students noted their favorites: books, food, musicians, etc. and then had to find someone who marked the same answer. It takes about 15 minutes to play. The 8th graders were acting too cool for the game until I introduced the prize: 1 Free Homework Pass for any of my classes. Suddenly, they were all over it! One new girl had a tough time with the game. She wrote her answers and then wandered the room, from person to person. I could see she was trying. Basically, she placed herself next to someone different every minute or so, and hoped that person would ask to see her paper. Shy is an understatement. But I know a bit about her story (family members with addictions, abuse, moving, legal problems) and her sense of who she is, of what she's worth, doesn't match the beautiful little person I see. And she is having an awful time trying to write. It is as though she is bound with ropes and cannot move off a certain position. I ache for her. She's in my writer's workshop and has yet to get a full sentence on paper. I have a feeling that I need to get into poetry quickly, much sooner than I usually do. I think it will open her more than fiction writing.

Books are therapeutic; they can help children heal. They allow students to identify with characters who have survived similar pain and sorrow. We live in a broken world, with fractured lives and relationships. Anything that helps children find a pathway through the pain is a good thing.

The Visitors

There have been a few visitors to my class over the past few days. Our beloved private school welcomed lots of children back to learning on Wednesday. Our K-8 school is one of three schools on campus; the high school is across the parking lot from us. As you might imagine, several new 9th graders came back to visit their old junior high teachers. I love getting hugs from my former students. Today three boys came to visit... young men actually. All three had grown considerably over the summer. But the greatest thing happened... Mr. Principal happened to be standing nearby as two of the boys left my classroom and called out to them, "Hey guys, how are you doing?" To which one of my dear grads replied, "Very well!" Isn't that great? He said well!!! Knowing when to use the word good and well is one of the heralds grammar acquisition. And believe me, junior high boys are not terribly excited by the proper use of small words. But I was thrilled. I turned to Mrs. History Teacher, also standing nearby, and asked if she'd heard what he said. Oh yes... she had a big smile on her face too. She heard him. The casual use of proper speech - music to a teacher's ears!

A New School Year

Here we go... I've been working in my classroom for a few weeks. Friday morning --> afternoon was the Meet and Greet for K-8. High school does theirs Monday evening. One of the things I did differently in my classroom this year was the top of my bookcase. I have taken an idea from my young librarian friend, Andrea, and will change out the books each month. The first month, September, the display is entitled Super Series for September. This month I'll feature a few student favorites, including the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, a good selection of Roald Dahl books, the Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins, the Shadow Creek Chronicles by T. Elizabeth Renich, and several books from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. I have many others I could have put on the top shelf but this is a good variety for the first month of school.


I've made a few other changes as well. Last year I placed my parts of speech posters on the back wall but I've brought them to the front again. Students kept getting out of their seats to check out the definitions and examples, so it is worth bringing them back to the front.




I posted a question on my facebook account about how to sort books in the classroom library and almost everyone said by genre. My initial reaction had been to do that, but getting the opinions of people I respect made it quite easy to follow up on the idea. I'm going to try to push the students to be careful with re-shelving. Right... Oh well, as long as they're reading!


There has also been a lot of renovation going on at school, notably the boys' bathroom near the school library and sixth grade classroom. The day before the Meet and Greet for students and teachers, that hallway looked like this:

Nothing says welcome back better than thrones in the hall for all!

Pruning

Saturday morning I pruned my vegetable garden. Earlier in the week, I brought my mother over to my house to show her my raised-bed garden. I was sooooooo proud of it! My mother is a master-gardener so I thought she would be impressed with my 2nd-time-ever vegetable garden. Well, she was impressed all right but not in a good way. She got right with the program, telling me that I needed to prune all the suckers off the tomatoes, cut off the remaining blossoms, in fact, cut the tops out of the tomato plants. If I didn't, my tomatoes might not ripen properly. I have LOTS of tomatoes and some are pretty big, but they are all green. Next, she suggested I remove some of the excess foliage from my one (huge) zucchini plant so I could actually see if I have any more zucchini in there. I thought I had two - ahem - I had seven. Then she said something that kind of hit me in a different way than she intended, "You've watched me raising tomatoes for years; I thought you knew this."

Saturday, as I pruned away at my plants, I thought about my mother's comment. How much am I counting on my children, grandchildren, students... knowing what to do because I assume they have paid attention to what I have done? The truth is that I did watch my mother plant and cultivate her flowers and vegetables for at least a couple decades. But I didn't really learn anything until I asked questions and she provided the answers. She was always willing to share her knowledge; I wasn't always paying attention.

We have to speak the words. Do we want our children to be polite, well-mannered? Instruction is needed. Do we want our kids to love books and reading? We must read to them. Are we hoping our children will find a valuable relationship with Christ? We have to talk to them, share our Christian experience, pray with them. We cannot assume it will be caught - it must be taught.

The other thing I realized as I was pruning was that it was taking a very long time. I spent well over an hour at the job. I realized that I could have nipped the suckers (little growths that appear between a branch and the main stems of the plant) as they appeared and it would have taken just a few minutes. Since I waited until I had fruit-loaded plants, I had to be quite careful when I cut, and the job was far more tedious than necessary. The same is true in our lives as parents, as teachers. If, from the very beginning, we start right and consistently do all that is required to raise up well-mannered readers who love Christ (my prior examples), the outcome may be what we hope for - fruit bearers. I'm grateful to my mother for all the lessons she has taught me over the years. I just hope I remember them better than I did the pruning.