My hard-working man

Kraig has been working so hard and found out today that hand injury number 4,679 has an infection. I'm telling you, I better take out some more life insurance. The lady at Med-Express asked him if he had a recent tetanus shot and of course he answered that he had one only a week and a half ago. Maybe I should buy some bubble wrap like we mentioned in earlier posts!
Anyways, Kraig let the boys keep the trampoline up because they just knew the weather would get better...said in a whiney tone, of course. So, tonight after seeing a movie, the three boys went outside and worked to take down the netting. Well, two boys worked and Trevor monkey just hung around. We enjoyed that last bit of warm weather and now on to ski season.

10 Fabulous Things

So...I was thinking about the number 10. Hey, I'm a math teacher, we tend to think in terms of numbers! Do I have ten things that I am thankful for without having to think about life being a bummer. Praise the Lord, I have more than that, but I will only share 10, because that is the number of the day.

1 - The TNT kids laughing and playing, even when the weather wasn't very agreeable.
2 - Kraig setting up almost everything for the party before he left to go to work for the day.
3 - A good friend coming home and making time to visit (no gangsta kitty here).
4 - Kaleb and Trevor playing ever so nicely upstairs...together!
5 - My brother Greg is coming over on Monday to watch the boys so I didn't have to pay a babysitter.
6 - My pal and movie partner is always available on a moment's notice. Love her for that!
7 - People allowing me to hold their children and get my baby fix for the week, every Sunday.
8 - Election day is almost here and I won't have to watch any more commercials!
9 - Little boy kisses for making hot chocolate with whipped cream and grated chocolate. Little does he know that I would have shoved in another marshmallow for that same little kiss.
10 - A content heart and a life being fulfilled with all that God gives!

These are my ten. I have more, many more.

Progress Reports

I know that a positive note or word encourages others. Well, Trevor received a "good job" note from his teacher. Last year, his confidence was down towards the bottom of a pit because he wasn't interested in school or his lessons and not paying attention. His teacher this year is full of positive remarks and praise, while still being able to say, "I know that you can do better!" He hs definitely exceeded my expectations and is focused on his work. Hooray!
Also, a student in my morning class was talking to me about not being able to understand the work. I paraphrased Philippians 4:13 loosely, I might add. He said (and I quote), " I know that verse...I can do everything through him who gives me strength." The kids then had a little mini lesson about using Christ to help them through their school work and when things aren't going well. They finally asked me if I knew the verse and we talked a little more and then moved back to math. Maybe they have taken prayer out of the public schools, but He was certainly present in my 3rd hour!

I hope that your Monday was as enjoyable as mine!

Opening Day

Oh my...could it be? Yes, it's opening day of bow season!

Kaleb is trying to work it out for bow season. Hmmm...I don't think that this bow is the same.

Just a reminder that I have a bow that is available for any woman out there who is losing the company of her man for the next few weeks. Who says that it is just bow season for deer hunting! I had way too much time on my hands tonight. HAHAHAHAHA :-)

Barakel Treasures

Who is Sarah about to kiss? Well, it turned out Froggy was just that... a frog. No Prince Charming appeared after she smooched him. What happened to those fairy tales? Froggy even had the nerve to relieve his bladder!

This was after the hay ride on Saturday night, right before chapel. Nora stayed back to get some reading done.

Sarah and Tracey paddled around in the funyaks. I snapped the pictures, held their electronic goods and sat on the dock basking in the sunshine.

Nora was nicknamed Sniper! She did a great job at riflery and if you are having squirrel problems, she can certainly take care of that.

Tracey, Nora, Sarah and I went to Barakel's Ladies Retreat this past weekend and had wonderful weather along with a good speaker. Many good tidbits that I will talk about later. This picture was at the top of the zip line. Sarah will swear that it wasn't swaying in the wind, but she's wrong, it sure was!

Well, you know how I feel about the singing...high and definitely out of my range. However, one of the songs spoke to me this weekend.

Restore My Soul

Restore my soul, refresh my heart, renew my life in every part,

Reveal to me what sin remains and lead me to the cross again.

Relight the fire that burned so strong reminding me what You have done.

My one request is to be changed so lead me to the cross again.

There is another verse, but I went to Barakel to be renewed and restored. School began and praise God, it is good. This weekend really showed that I was becoming so busy that I was "forgetting" to complete devotions or putting it off until later in the day. This song hit me Friday night. Nothing like starting the weekend with a good kick in the pants!

The speaker, Elizabeth Givens spoke about 2 Corinthians 1-5. She waas easy to listen to and gave some good thoughts. We talked with our room mates from Battle Creek Saturday night about Fragrant Walkers" and what would we smell like in the eyes of others. Would we have a sweet smell that would encourage others or would we be not so sweet.

Another tidbit was the treasure of affliction in 2 Cor. 4:7-11. She talked about a cracked jar and how the light would shine through if the jar were in darkness. God's light within each of us that allows others to see Him. The glory of God keeps the pot from falling apart during times of trial and adversity. It is during these hard times that God holds us together so that later we can see how much we had to rely on Him. This truly hit home for me because of the loss of my parents. During that time, I never thought that I would truly work through the anger and loss. And yet, years later, I am here and happy. I truly had to allow God to work through my anger and hurt on a daily basis sometimes.

There was more and hopefully, one of the others can share something else but I am refreshed, restored, and renewed because my sin was revealed. Amen to that!

80's music

Well, I have a request. I need some music from the 80's (think Michael Jackson thriller era) that I can play in my classroom on Monday. Next week is homecoming week and Monday is 80's day. The kids at school were talking about what a throwback!!! AAugh, I felt really old today. I do not actually want to buy the music, just borrow or download a cd or something. I have an ipod but not anything to dock it on because you all should know how much I love that music!
I am also trying to think of an outfit that I could put together from my closet. I know some of you young ones were probably only in elementary or middle school, but let me know if you think of anything.

A room with a view...

I have 20 by 30 pictures of Kaleb and Trevor between each window to cover the glue. If you noticed the flowers, don't be alarmed...they're fake!

Kraig came and put up a whiteboard over the nastiest wall of glue.

This was the longest bulletin board ever. Notice how far apart the math posters are? :)

Well, it's better. I can spend more than a few minutes in here without going stir cazy. The window in the door still is pretty shabby, but I like the door open, so I don't usually see the window. Baseboards are still missing, but I can overlook that. My mouse friends have not come back to visit me the last few days. Maybe, it's the Bounce sheets that I have in every nook and cranny around the room. I overheard a student say that it smells like someone just did their laundry. The first two days, while hot, were manageable. Students actually brought pencils, paper, notebooks and folders...shocking, isn't it? This is your peek into my classroom. Enjoy your day and maybe, if you're lucky, my mouse friends will come by to visit.