As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him--you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2: 4-5
# of boys in my class- 11 # of girls in my clss - 6 (soon to be 7) # of times I had to say, "Boys and girls, this is a no talking time." - 10 # of times they actually listened - 1 # of times someone asked me when snack was - 17 # of people who had to put their name on the board - 3 # of minutes it took to take them to the restroom - 15 (because the boys can't go in with each other) # of stories read today (the only time they are quiet) - 5 # of hours on my feet - 8
washed, dried, folded and put away 5 loads of laundry scrubbed the baseboards in the kitchen scrubbed the kitchen floors by hand swept and mopped all the floors scrubbed the steps cleaned the kitchen supervised the cleaning of the living room fed Hannah two meals tackled the sock basket emptied the trash cleaned up the bathroom did two loads of dishes and.... played Dora cards with Hannah for an hour.
Can you say....nesting?
And I think that I have must have been remiss in my domestic responsibilities lately. Not only was the house...GROSS, but Maddy asked me, "Is someone coming over?"
Today was the first day of school, so here are a few pictures of the kids as they "joyfully" got up and ready!!!!
Maddy was the only one excited to go to school this morning!
Here's Hannah, saying goodbye to her beloved Speedo, our class hamster, that had the privelege of living at our house this summer! Don't let Sarah fool you...she was really glad to be there, glad to see her friends! And then there's Josh. See, the thing about having a child that can drive is that everyone is not up at the same time, so I had to get his picture once he got to school. I told him to come to my room when he got there...not telling him why! Ha!
anyways...it was a good day for everyone, I think, though Sarah did come home with homework on the very first day. My first graders were just precious, but this year, I have 13 boys and 5 girls. I usually have a girl heavy class...I think it's because of my love for integrating art into just about every area of the curriculum...so this is a huge departure...and learning experience for me. Thirteen little boys make for a noisy active classroom! Sweet sweet kids, but my goodness!
Other good news....Finally, after nearly three months and thousands of dollars...Josh is getting his car back tomorrow!!!! Yay! I know millions of people survive on only one car for the entire family...and that some have no car at all, but what a relief and convenience it will be to have Josh be able to drive AND leave me something to drive as well. And I"m sure PawPaw will be happy to get his truck back! Thank you, Nanny and PawPaw for letting Josh borrow the truck so often!
I love this song. Absolutely love it. I first heard it when we were watching "Fireproof: The Movie." If you haven't seen it, you should. The acting's not great, but I loved the story, loved how it was all about how God worked in a marriage. But I loved loved loved the song the very first time I heard it and still do.
And it holds special significance (gosh, that just doesn't look like it is spelled right!) right now as I wait for this birth of this baby. Wait for my life to return to some semblance of normal as I get my body back. About a month ago, when things got really bad with the anxiety and the sleep problems, I held on to the premise of this song and decided to do just what the song talks about--wait patiently, but while I'm waiting, serve Him, worship Him, praise Him, follow Him in obedience. And it has really been a sweet sweet time in my spiritual walk.
Because I don't sleep a whole lot (but a lot better than I used to!)I spend those dark early hours of the morning in study of God's word, reading, meditating, praying. I spend that last hour before I fall asleep the same way. I've made it a point not to wait for the message each Sunday morning to touch me, to excite me, but to purposely choose to listen to the message and what God has to say to me through it.
And sweeter still is the sweet, tiny little voice from the carseat in the back as she sings along when this song comes on the radio. It just warms my heart to hear my little girl singing about the Lord. I know that she doesn't totally understand about God, but she has in the last few months began asking questions and offering insight about God that only a three year old can (for example, did you know that it makes God mad when your sandals hurt your feet?). The big kids came to their knowledge of and relationship with God much older than Hannah, so this is all new to me, and really...what a blessing to experience your child growing up in the Lord!
It has become a tradition...now for 12 years!...to go back to school, school supply shopping with Grandma. We met them in Conyers, went to Staples (oh so much better than Walmart!), got almost everything on the list, and then went for a yummy dinner at Red Lobster. I admit it...I'm a nerd...and school supply shopping just makes me happy. And don't let the faces of these children below fool you...they like it too. As soon as we got home, they dumped everything on the floor and started getting folders and notebooks ready. Two of them (ahem...Josh and Sarah) tried to pretend that they weren't excited about going back to school, but I think they secretly are. Maddy, on the other hand, didn't even try to hide her excitement, and her packed bookbag is already in the car to take on Tuesday!
What school supply list would be complete without a 3D stretchy book cover?
And what would school supplies be without a little chocolate ice cream? Hannah was a bit disappointed that she didn't have a bookbag to fill...so Daddy got her some chocolate ice cream. Hard to believe that next year, we'll be filling up her book bag to go to pre-K!!! (Maybe then I'll get to buy some crayons...not one crayon, pair of scissors, or glue stick in the bunch this year!)
Can you tell by the recent lack of posts that I've returned to work? Pre-planning doesn't officially begin until Monday, but I know from experience and the memo we were sent that most of our time will be spent in meetings and not in our classrooms, so I went in for a few hours this week to get things ready. My classroom is student ready--except for things I can't do without having my class list--and I have planned and prepared for the first day (Friday) and the first week. Impressively efficient, huh? NOT! As usual, I can't seem to be on the ball at school and at home, and the house has returned to usual "pit-like" state--laundry undone, floors unclean, toys everywhere, and too much reminder of dog. Someday, somehow, I will find balance between work and home. I realistically do not expect this to happen for a few years at least--I remember all too well the people who have had to come in and help me get it together after the births of all of my girls!
There haven't been many picture opportunities this week, pretty much because I've hit the ground running (or waddling, that is) every morning with the alarm (and the ONE day I could stay in bed, Hannah joined us at 6, asking if the sun was up and it was time to play yet...sigh) and not gotten home until dinner time. And then...I was so incredibly worn out. I sure do hope it gets easier as I get used to it!
Not even sure when this picture was taken...seems as if Sarah and Hannah were playing with my camera. Thought it was a super cute picture though!
Hmmm...Sarah...you seem to be playing with the camera quite a bit these days!
Really not a good picture of Hannah, eyes closed and all, but I was trying to capture the cuteness of the situation...In her hands is a little purse with two dollars in it. She was going to Dollar Tree with the baby sitter and brought her own money to spend. She is also demonstrating her latest skill...opening the automatic window with her toe! This morning, before we left for the sitter's house/school, Hannah said good-bye to the big kids. Sarah and Josh were off to the lake to spend some fun in the sun with my parents, and Maddy would be going straight from helping me at school to a cheerleading lock-in. So Hannah had big "huggy wuggies" for every one!
She loves her brother and sisters so much...and as much as they hate to admit it, and as much as she annoys them sometimes, they adore her too. It makes me a little sad that Josh won't really be around for this little one's early childhood like he has been for Hannah. Josh told me the other day it made him a little sad too. What a great big brother!
She loves her brother and sisters so much...and as much as they hate to admit it, and as much as she annoys them sometimes, they adore her too. It makes me a little sad that Josh won't really be around for this little one's early childhood like he has been for Hannah. Josh told me the other day it made him a little sad too. What a great big brother!