Nice Change of Pace

Today I had the opportunity to go to a training on how to use our Promethean Boards (interactive white board) in the classroom.  There are several good things about getting inservice days during the school year:

1.  You get a break from the normal routine.

2.  You get a little downtime.  Instead of going from one lesson to the other, you get a day that runs at a slower pace.

3.  You get a chance to see and talk to co-workers that on most day you are lucky pass and say "hi" to in the hall.

4.  You get to sleep a little later.  Instead on being at school at 7:30ish, I didn't have to be there until 8:30 today.

5.  You get a least an hour for lunch instead of a rushed 30 minutes.

6.  You get to go sit down in a restaurant and order a nice lunch where you can sit around a table and have nice conversations with your coworkers/friends.

7.  You leave feeling refreshed and excited from what you learned instead of completely exhausted.

All in all , it was nice to have a change of pace today and the good news is I get another one of these days next week!

Bringing Home Joleigh

This is a picture of my friend Jenny and her beautiful family.

What really strikes me about this family is their desire to follow what God has put on their hearts to do.  They are all so kind and so selfless.  I want to model my family after the example this family has set.  This family is in the process of adopting a precious baby girl, Joleigh, from Ethiopia.  God has put on their hearts to provide and nurture a child that may not otherwise have that opportunity.  

I admire this family.  The choice to adopt is not easy.  The road they have ahead of them may not be easy, but they are choosing to be obedient to God.  How amazing is that!  What is also amazing is how this family has inspired others to help.  While it may not be in everyone's future to adopt an orphan, the journey this family has taken has inspired many others to help sweet Joleigh get home to her family.

This family has worked hard to get Joleigh here with them.  This process is incredibly expensive due to the fact they must travel to Ethiopia twice.  But, they have not looked at this as a daunting task, but rather have worked with such joy to raise the funds that are needed.  This joy has spread to others and made others want to give of themselves freely.

Cans, Cans, and more Cans


This mountain of cans and so many more have been saved, crushed, and cashed in to raise money.

Coffee

They are also selling fair trade coffee and other items.  Check out their coffee shop here.  Other fundraiser they have held include a gold party, a jewelry party, and a yard sale.  But, now they are doing something new and I just love it.  

I love these shirts.  They are so thought-provoking to me.  When you stop and think about this sentiment, it makes you think about how much we waste in our quest for things.  We waste time, energy, and money.  Things aren't bad, just not quite so important when you consider the number of people fighting for survival.

Here is the link to Jenny's blog where you can hear about the journey her family is on.  You can also buy a T-shirt and find out about other ways to help bring Joleigh home.  I hope that spending a few minutes on her blog will bring as much inspiration to you as it has me.

Note:  All the photos I used in this post came from Jenny's blog.

Waiting

I read this blog post over the weekend and it has stuck with me.  I just can't stop thinking about how it totally described me and my mentality.  We have become a society of instant gratification.  In retrospect, I see myself often confusing "needs" and "wants."  There is a difference that I really need to learn.  I want to overcome this entitlement to have everything I want; it's an entitlement I tried to ignore that I have.  I am not entitled to "things."

Recently, we have been looking at buying a house in the NWA area.  It's not as easy as it seems.  With the economy down, lenders aren't looking to just give money away to people that say they want to buy a house.  So at times, I get down about how it isn't just falling into place as quickly and easily as I want.  I have caught myself saying, "We need to get a house.  This apartment just isn't enough."  Now that I think about it, we don't need a house.  Yes, it would be nice.  Yes, we would have more space.  But, I need to stop and be grateful for what I do have.

We are fortunate to have a nice apartment to live in here.  We still have my grandfather's house to live in in Central Arkansas.  We have two nice cars that get us everywhere we want and need to be.  We have plenty of food to eat, clothes to where, and have had the opportunity to visit some amazing places.

There is really nothing I need or am lacking.  I know that when the time is right the opportunity for us to buy a house will present itself. In the meantime, I need to have more patience with everything and have patience.  Many things in life are worth the wait, I need to slow down and enjoy the journey and stop focusing so much on the end result.

Sick Day

Well, I'm off work again today.  I started feeling a little off on Monday, but I self-medicated with Dayquil, Advil, etc. and kind of blew it off.  This was supposed to be a busy week.  We were doing some testing at school that I needed to be there for so I could provide modifications for my students.  Plus, this was Parent Conference week.  So, I was supposed to work late and sit in on conferences with my students' parents.  I also was supposed to go to class on Wednesday night.

By Wednesday, I could barely talk and very little energy.  That is when I decided I just had to go to the doctor after school.  I sat in my one conference I really needed to and then headed to the doctor's office.  My diagnosis was a mutated form of Strep Throat and Bronchitis.  Yucky!  Needless to say I didn't make it to class that night and was ordered not to go to work for at least the next day, preferably for two days.  Today is an inservice day and I was planning on going back for it.  However, the principal and assistant principal told me to just stay home and get plenty of rest.  They will make sure I get my hours I need.   They really didn't want me to infect everyone else and they trust that I know what is necessary for the audit that is coming up in a couple weeks.

Hopefully, I will be back on my feet and ready to go soon.  It is such a relief to work in an environment where the leadership really does care about the employees.  They want what is best for everyone, not just what they see as best on their agenda.  I am truly grateful for my job and all the support I get in it.  When I become a school leader in the next few years, I will definitely remember this experience and strive to make the staff that works under me feel the way I feel today.

Such a Blessing

I know that it has been a while since I have posted.  Things have been so busy around here between work, school (both mine and Mike's), and of course football.  The Razorbacks have gotten off to a super start.  We have only lost one game so far and that was to #1 Alabama during the last five minutes of the game.  I have high hopes of going to a bowl game.

Speaking of being busy with work, Mike just got hired at my school to be an Instructional Assistant full time.  He had been subbing, but know will be able to work everyday and still go to school.  The pay is the same as subbing, but he doesn't have to look for a job and he gets benefits. He know has health insurance and will get retirement.  Yay!!!  He is working in the computer lab and will be working one-on-one or in small groups with students.  He is excited and has enjoyed his first few days.

I am also really enjoying my students this year.  I also got another teacher that comes over for 1 1/2 hours during the day to serve five kids, so my caseload is now down to a manageable level.  The only setback I have had is that I am now sick and having to stay home today, but hopefully I'll be back at work tomorrow for Professional Development.

There are possibly some exciting things coming up on the horizon for Mike and me.  Hopefully, I'll be able to share soon!  I'll leave you with some photos of our first Razorback football games courtesy of the iPhone.  I hope life is finding you well!