Tuesday, May 24, 2011

I wish I spent more time blogging about my students so that I could document it forever to look back and remember sweet anecdotes & funny moments. Instead I worry about confidentiality and laws and such. This is my attempt to do better without revealing the "who" of my stories.

My school holds the Newcomer Center for my district. Abilene is one location where the International Rescue Comittee relocates refugees from mostly war-torn countries. I've had students walk into my classroom shortly after leaving refugee camps where they witnessed horrific things, like the murder of their own father. These students show up in my room (usually part-way through the year) and I have the distinct privledge of helping them learn to speak English and learn to read among many other things. Today I held the joy of explaining chocolate syrup and sprinkles and watching them take their first bite of ice cream topped with these mysterious substances. So fun!

I also adored my time teaching 2 students to play aggravation (which is very similar to "sorry"). I laughed so hard as one boy, with thick African accent, told another boy, "I send you home! Wait _____ (insert name) I send you home!!!" I can't do this story justice, but just imagine us cracking up as they learn the game and then master the concept of sending their opponent back to start... with a vengeance!

I also had the privilege of heading to the ballpark to watch the bats crack against the ball.

What a privilege it is to take part in their lives. I love watching these kids grow up and pray daily for their future stories. It has been a great school year and I'm not quite ready to let this group go.

But just as I feel this way, I sit in the ballpark talking to kiddos and parents who told me they are excited to possibly have me next year. Praise the Lord for opportunities to see Him at work and get a glimpse of excitement for a new year.
Happy Summer y'all!

(p.s. I wrote all this from the tiny keyboard of my phone so hopefully I was able to make sense! ;) if not please ignore this post!)

Monday, May 9, 2011

Is it Friday yet?

What a week it has been so far ... and it's only Monday!
On Saturday night, after our garage sale, we had the college students over for BBQ. The house started feeling really hot, but we thought it was because we had been in and out all day and our house was full of people. We realized when everyone left that the AC was not working. So we went to bed with the windows open and tried to get some sleep. Around 3:30, I woke up sick as a dog, whatever that means. After it was all over I was completely dehydrated, achy, and had fever for another 24 plus hours. Dr. Munton called in a prescription of phenergan and the nausea finally went away. Sunday was the fourth Mother's Day without my sweet Mama and one full year after the miscarriage of our first baby. I spent the day sleeping in a hot, hot house. On Monday, I was supposed to take my class on field trip to the zoo, but realized that was not going to be possible. Thankfully I found a sub at the last possible hour and spent another day in bed with a terrible dehydration headache. Around 3:00 DJ called Dr. Munton again and he had me come in to his office. Instead of going to my graduation rehearsal, I spent the afternoon getting IV fluids, but oh how much better I feel! The AC man came tonight and $75 dollars later replaced the fuse on the unit. Seriously!? Now we are just waiting to hear from our insurance about our roof. The roofers already came and said the hail demolished it, so we'll just find out what insurance says. We are taking it one day at time, trusting the Lord, and finding the joy in the many blessings we do have. The trials make the good times so much sweeter.