The Best Week in a long time!

So November is traditionally not the best month in terms of weather and events. The novelty of autumn wears off and the rains hit hard, at the same time as the days are drastically cut short by nightfall. November's only redeeming qualities are more days off of school and Thanksgiving. I like how my sisters and their families from out of town traditionally come for this holiday, which makes Christmas a little more bearable! Its nice to see family at least once a year, especially the little ones!

This last week made up for all the drudgery of the previous weeks. We had a Thanksgiving feast with Bryan's parents at their church on Sunday, and Naomi and her family arrived on Monday. At school on Tuesday, my class won a trip to Godfather's pizza for selling the most entertainment books for the school fundraiser, and on Wednesday we had the most fun classroom party that I have ever had in my years of teaching. I love my students and their families (I can't wait to see what the Christmas party will bring!).

Of course on Thursday we celebrated Thanksgiving by Bryan's traditional game of football at his old high school in the morning while I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and read books with my nieces (I also snuck in a walk around the old neighborhood before shoveling the food in- however, I still gained at least two pounds this week). We ate lots of great food thanks to Mom and then napped and watched "Up" which was a perfect family movie. After dessert and the kids going to bed, we watched "17 Again" which is also cute.

On Friday Bryan and I ignored the advertisements and lure of the "Black Friday" following and slept in. After a hearty breakfast at Shari's, we walked over to Target and still found some good deals on toys for the kids. We also went to Walgreens and bought a pet bed for Fuz, and later Bryan bought an MP3 player from Best Buy. I went to my parent's and took Ava and Lauren to three parks in their neighborhood before we had dinner (Naomi and Alex were out for the evening). Then we watched Polar Express before they went to bed. When I got home, Bryan and I made plans to go to Barnes and Noble and to a movie theater at Bridgeport Village to see "Couples Retreat" which was funny. It was a good night out for the two of us!

And then today I did some more errands for Mom, and then Bryan, Naomi, Alex and I took the kids to Safari Sams in Sherwood, which is an indoor jungle gym that also has a cafe, miniature golf, bounce houses and an arcade. It was a great way to spend the afternoon while Grandpa and Nana got some much needed rest! Tonight I am attempting to catch up on work but it is more like catching up on emails and blogs!

Tomorrow will be another busy day for sure and then its back to a LOOOOONG work week- three of them to be exact, until I can have TWO GLORIOUS weeks off. Its so nice being at home and getting a decent amount of rest and relaxation, mixed in with a good dose of fun! I am also almost finished with another great Nicholas Sparks book called "The Last Song". It's great to have time to read too!

Thanksgiving Wishes

May your stuffing be tasty

May your turkey be plump,

May your potatoes and gravy

Have never a lump.

May your yams be delicious

And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off your thighs!




Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Christmas Card 2009 Sneak Preview

Which one will be the winner?? Help me decide, voting from #1 (top) to #10 (bottom).
I must figure this out by the end of the week so I can place my order!
Thanks!

A winter statistic

98% OF AMERICANS SAY 'OH SHIT' BEFORE

GOING IN THE DITCH ON A SLIPPERY ROAD.


THE OTHER 2% ARE FROM North Dakota AND THEY SAY,

'HOLD MY BEER AND WATCH THIS.'

True Story

I heard an amazing story yesterday of a petite, curly brown haired five year old with beautiful green eyes and an even spread of freckles on top of a porcelain complexion. She has the personality of a vixen however (just ask her teacher!) but that is besides the point...she clearly is a portrait of God's handiwork. She casually mentioned to an adult yesterday that her "Dad is dead," which brought on this story between the adult and this child's mother that leaves no doubt in my heart that God is a loving Father who really does exist.

This little girl's parents were married 20 years. 20 years of unsuccessful attempts to grow their family with children. In year 14, Dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer. However, he hung on for 6 more years. In the last two years of his life, they were only "together" once due to his ailing health. But when you are God you can perform any miracles and this little girl arrived just six months before her Daddy passed away and Mom was well over 40. Its like the classic story of Abraham and Sarah but with a modern, fateful twist. Before this father left the earth, God enabled him to conceive a child who is perfect and looks exactly like him, and will carry on his legacy. And though the mom admits this little one is a handful, she knows everyday what an amazing blessing her daughter is.

I know people who are having difficulty conceiving, who are struggling with cancer, or who do not believe that one Creator, one True God, exists. I hope this story is an inspiration to you all, and you may always know that God has a perfect plan for your life and your family.

Recently added to the fleet....

This is what you can get for $1k or 500 each...if you work at a reputable shop and are willing to put a little TLC into these orphaned cars that are otherwise quality (AKA Honda and Acura). Bryan and I feel so blessed to be able to avoid car payments and have three cars that are all paid for and (as of right now) run decent. The most recent (white Acura Integra) broke down on us today on 185th and we had to walk through the greenhouses in the pouring rain back to Mom and Dads house to hitch a ride home so Bryan could get some spare parts out of the garage for it. So now Bryan has his little hatchback for a performance/non-daily driver car, and we will share the other two. Pretty decent whips, huh?! Dave Ramsey eat your heart out!

There's a Fuz in My Fridge!

Look what crawled in our fridge (on his own)! Once he jumped in, I shut the door and found the camera! He didn't seem too bothered by the fact he was in there a good minute or two. Good thing our freezer is not on the bottom! :-)

Your Help Needed! You need not be local, either! :-)

Greetings! The Box Tops for Education contest has begun. You can help raise up to $20,000 per year with this program, simply by clipping the Box Tops off products you already buy!! Box Tops can be found on most General Mills products.

The contest is Nov. 4, 2009 - Jan. 12, 2010. I encourage you to check your cupboards, watch when you grocery shop and collect those Box Tops. Enlist the help of family and friends to collect them for you, too. Box Tops can continue to be collected throughout the school year, so please continue to send them in even when the contest is over.

The class that submits the most Box Tops during the contest will receive a Pizza Lunch in their classroom! This year, all proceeds will go to purchasing additional computer and audio/visual systems for the elementary classrooms - our goal is to raise at least $1,000 for two ELmo A/V systems.

Let me know if you have any questions and start clipping today!

Good Video to Watch!

We watched the following on Wednesday night at my young women's group:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXut0HxncvY

Rethinking Halloween...

I got an email in my inbox at school yesterday morning from a mother who is new to the U.S. and was having trouble understanding the traditional Halloween celebrations. She found many articles that cited reasons why Christians should not celebrate Halloween and shared them with her twin daughters (my students) and me. While my school does not observe Halloween, it is still difficult to filter out the conversations among students about Halloween.

I remember as an elementary student we would dress up at school, have parties and parades in the school, although we never learned the historical background. Now I know why! Its pretty grim....

I noticed that there were not as many trick or treaters out as there could have been, and not as many houses turn their lights on any more. While I still enjoy the fun and innocence of dressing up to get candy, maybe this is one holiday that won't be around for long?

Read this when you've got the time!

"I thought that I was crazy when I started thinking that letting kids to celebrate this day is actually a bad idea...
so, I decided to see what others were saying..
I found this:
http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/onlinediscipleship/halloween/halloween_watt05.aspx
and this:
http://christianity.about.com/od/holidaytips/i/biblehalloween_2.htm
and this (please read to the very bottom):
http://www.jeremiahproject.com/culture/halloween.html
and more:
http://www.chick.com/seasonal/halloween/celebrate.asp
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art13725.asp (this one I really liked)"

Weekend Recap

Bryan and I spent a good portion of this weekend babysitting. On Friday night, we drove down to Portland and had dinner on 23rd before heading over to the house that I babysat at over the summer. While the baby was already asleep, his parents went to see Dracula at the local theater and Bryan and I watched a movie about Ted Bundy.

Yesterday I went on a long walk in the morning and picked up Lilah at Mom and Dad's around noon. When we got home, my friend Melissa brought two of her kids over in costume to pick up some treats. Then Lilah took a nap for 2 1/2 hours. After she woke up, we went to one of my student's halloween party for a few minutes before picking up our pizza. Nana and Paco came over for dinner and root beer floats and we all (except for Bryan, who stayed home to hand out treats) set out to go find more treats at a whole 7 houses before it was Lilah's bedtime. After Nana and Paco took her back to their house, Bryan and I watched another scary movie until we had our last trick or treaters around 9:30. We started with 75 pieces of candy and ended with 7, although I am guessing we only had about 25 trick or treaters (at least less than I imagined in this neighborhood). Bryan must have been generous with handing out the candy!

Shortly thereafter we went to bed and slept a ton, since we had an extra hour! We went to church and the day has flown by since then! Im not sure what all I have gotten accomplished but I know I still have a huge list of things to do! The end of the first quarter is on Friday, so I have lots of grading to keep up with! Time is flying by so fast...today, this school year so far, and 2009 in general! I am looking forward to the holidays soon!

Halloween 2009

The costumes. The goods. The obligatory pre-Trick or Treating nap. Dinner with the family before heading out. Its all posted here! :-)