Spelling Tuesday

We had such a great Christmas. Calebs mom and dad, sister and brother came up from Bolivar and my parents came over for Christmas dinner on the 23rd. It was really nice this year because I only had to make the green beans, potatoes, and blueberry cobbler. My dad brought the ham, and Caleb's sister Michelle brought the rolls (yum). It was fun to get everyone together. The next day we went to Nebraska furniture mart and browsed (that was fun) and then went over to my parents house to play games and just have fun. Then Caleb and I went to church and had our own quiet Christmas Eve together (watching it's a Wonderful Life by the fire). On Christmas day we opened our stockings from each other (I got the world's best robe from Victoria's Secret!) and then went over to my parents to have lunch with them and my brother and his wife. They brought their new Wii and we played a lot of tennis, bowling, and boxing. My arms are so sore! The day after christmas we hit the st...

’ This little poem just about sums it up. 'Twas the days before Christmas,And all through the school,The teachers were tryingTo just keep their cool.The hallways were hungWith Christmas art.(Some made in NovemberTo get a head start!) The children were bouncingOff ceilings and walls,And seemed to forgetHow to walk in the halls. When out of the teacher's loungeWith "holiday shirts"And "jingle bell jewels,"The teachers looked festiveEnforcing the rules. There came such a chatter,The principal went inTo see what was the matter. The teachers were hidingAnd trying to refuel,On coffee and cookiesAnd treats from the Yule. When what to their wonderingEars do they hear,But the ringing of school bellsIt's the children they fear! More rapid than reindeerThe little ones came,And the teachers all shoutedAnd called them by name; Walk Vincent! Walk Tanner!Walk, Tyler and Sammy!Sit Jamie! Sit Laura!Sit, Tara and Tammy! To your desks in the room!To your spots in the line!...

Best christmas movie: I'd have to say a tie between "White Christmas" and "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" Best Christmas Goodie: I love eggnog! I would drink it everyday if it didn't have a million jillion calories! Best Christmas Song: "Baby, it's Cold Outside" Or if you are feeling religious: "Oh Come, Oh Come Emanuel" Best Christmas to date: Christmas 2001- When Caleb and I had just gotten engaged. We were so excited and the time planning and dreaming with family was so fun. Best Christmas gift I ever got: Barbie Dream House- Christmas of 1985 Best Present I ever gave: Not sure, I think I suck at giving presents. Favorite Christmas tradition- Mistletoe! Duh! If I had a million dollars to go Christmas shopping anywhere, where would I go???- I hear switzerland is nice- and everyone likes watches and chocolate! Decorating habits- I love to decorate, and I don't stick to the "after Thanksgiving Only" rule that...

Today was a fantastic day at school! There were six kids absent today, so I had 18 kids and another teacher to help me for most of the day, so it was great! I got so much accomplished and hardly anyone got in trouble all day long. It was like a glimpse into what teaching SHOULD be like. Not to mention the Benton teachers had a bake off today- so lots of goodies. So much for the diet. My goal is to still fit into my pants at the end of the holiday season. You gotta dream big, ya know? This really is my favorite time of year with my kids. They are so excited about Christmas, they are finally starting to get the whole "school" thing, and they say some really funny things. Not to mention they are easily threatned by my close personal relationship with SANTA. I have them waving at all of the fire alarms in the school (North Pole spy cameras!)

The best part about being a teacher is.... SNOW DAYS! There is nothing better! You get a call telling you that a day you thought you would spend at work, you will now get to use to do NOTHING! I love it. You can't even be expected to leave the house cause the roads are so incredibly dangerous...I stayed in my pajamas pretty much all day today, snuggled with my dog, and watched all three hours of King Kong! For those of you who are concerned that I am a lazy bum, I also cleaned the house, folded a mountain of laundry, and baked a white chocolate peppermint cheesecake for the bake off at work tomorrow! Back to King Kong, I had never seen that movie and I thought it was pretty rad. The dinosaurs didn't really impress me, but the gigantic bugs gave me the creeps. I was bummed that church was cancelled this week, cause Caleb actually didn't have to work! Well, we will be there for sure this weekend! I miss all of you guys!

14 So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. 15 I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. 18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[ d ] I want to do what is right, but I can't. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20 But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. 21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God's law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power[ e ] within me that is at war with my mind....

The last couple of weeks at work have been brutal. My class has 24 kids in it now, and more than a few "issues". On top of that I have been sick and just haven't been able to shake it. How do you know if you have the bird flu??? Anyways, I haven't been at church in like three weeks, so sorry about that- particularlly to my Jr. High girls. Now that Caleb has gone to days at work we may be taking a little time off from serving in the youth. We will only be able to be there every other month, so it is gonna be pretty hard to stay connected and stuff. In a way it is blessing though. God knows that we would probably never elect to take a break because we just wouldn't want to let you guys down. But everyone needs a break now and then. We have been serving in the youth for three years straight without more that a week off at a time, and it is really hard at times. I am excited to be able to attend some Saturday night services with my hubby, and you guys don...

We do not put our arms in the toilet. We do not sit in the sink. We do not eat erasers. We do not eat unidentified brown substances that we find on the bathroom floor! We do not pee on the floor. We do not pee outside. We do not lick our friends. We do not step on people's necks. We do not hang upsidedown from the coat rack. We do not glue pages of the book together. We do not glue our fingers together. Glue sticks and chapstick are not the same. If you can't button it, don't wear it. We do not stick beans up our noses. Truly, I have really said each of these sentences at some point in my career. I have the most glamorous job ever.

I am still sick, and I am taking the day off tomorrow so that I can go to the doctors. I was coughing and hacking today at school, and the kids asked me what was wrong with me. I told them that I caught *Opelia's germs (a girl in our class who has been coughing for weeks and rarely covers her mough). *Opelia looked at me and said, "Uh oh, get ready for the barfing." Gee thanks. There's that to look forward to. *student's name was changed to protect the innocent (or not so innocent)

As many of you know, my parents were night club singers. My Dad was in a honkey tonk band called "Toad Holler". No, I am serious. And my mom was in a top fourties band. She had an older friend who liked to go listen to a lot of the local bands, and she kept talking about this "Rick Brummett" who sang in the country band and had the voice of an angel. My mom just rolled her eyes. But when her friend told her that they were looking for a female vocalist, my mom agreed to audition. She of course got the job, as she has a great voice and looked a lot like Farrah Faucett in the 70's. My Dad was the leader of the band, and insisted that they had a rule about NOT dating the female singer- (there was real Yoko potential there) and then he promptly asked my mom out. A few months later, Mom proposed, and they have been together ever since.

1. my husband is a godly man who works hard and is completely trustworthy. 2. My parents are still married. 3. I have a beautiful home. 4. I have a church family that supports me and loves me. 5. My dog (Scooter). 6. Sunday afternoon naps. 7. Three really cool sister in laws (I always wanted a sister!) 8. I have a job where I can potentially make a difference in someone's life. 9. I have friends who have stuck with me for years (Tiff, Stacey, and Erika in particular). 10. My mom still prays for me continually. 11. My Dad still drops everything to help me. 12. My little brother is a good friend. 13. I have been able to travel and see a lot of rad places. 14. I am healthy and able to take care of myself. 15. My husband and I don't fight about money. You just don't realize all that you have to be thankful for until you sit down and write it out. Thank you God, for everything that you have blessed me with.

Let me just tell you a little story that will explain what my life is like. Teaching Kindergarten can be compared to trying to herd cats. Even after being in school for about 25 days now, they are still pretty much clueless. Today, we were getting ready to go to art class. I was giving them the usual pre-art pep talk which includes "you need to do your best work. listen to the teacher, and follow the directions..." yada, yada, yada. Anyways, I asked the red team to show us their best lining up at the door. They quietly pushed their chairs in, silently walked over to the door, and lined up ---BACKWARDS. All four of them line up perfectly, with their backs to me. I burst out laughing and shook my head in exhasperation. Oh my. Only in Kindergarten.

I claim to neither oppose the war in Iraq or to support it. Let's face it people- after 9/11 everyone was all "Let's fight Back!" and we all supported the efforts. I think Bush would have really caught some slack if he HADN'T taken some sort of stand in Iraq. But as time has gone on, the enemy has begun to seem more and more distant. Fighting terrorists is a lot harder than fighting Iraqis, right? I mean, there are terrists in just about every country. We just happened to pick the one that those particular terrorists were from and start a war with them. Then there is all the stuff about the oil. I am not really sure how I feel about all of that, but I don't feel like oil is a good reason to fight, that is for sure. I do not mean any disrespect to any of our troops who are serving our country and fighting and everything. I love the country, and I am grateful to them for keeping it safe. But I think there is a growing feeling that our hearts are not ...

My Briother sang this song at our wedding. I think the words are really beautiful. I Am In My Being Here With You Written by Don Chaffer The deepest ties are the hardest to understand But the warmest to embrace And today I am assured of this At the seeing of your face In giving up myself to you I'm becoming more complete Darling, we're in the face of mystery But we're drawing from its heat CHORUS I'll swallow all the problems I will swallow all the pains I'll drink this life together Down to the blood inside my veins I'll swallow all the pleasures I will swallow all the smiles I'll drink the life I have with you Down through the years and through the miles A song is in its singing A gift is in its bringing And I am in my being here with you I've seen in you an oceanfront I've seen in you the skies And sometimes I when I'm suffering I find comfort in your eyes When the whole world starts to shaking up Right underneath my feet I remember, Darling,...

Okay, something has happened to me in my old age-- I have become a full fledged hippy. It all started with a New Year's resolution to become more enviromentally concious. I started buying compact florecent bulbs. I began recycling (it was so easy, I was kicking myself for not starting sooner). I also got some reusable grocery bags. Did you know that one of the those plastic walmart bags takes 10 year to decompose, and there are landfills chalked full of them? Eww. Earth day everyday people. Now, I will admit, that it is still uncomfortable to hand them to the checker at the store, cause they usually look at me like I am crazy (particularly after they see all the health food I have in the cart) but I have only had a few people be rude about it. Both of those particular people were at Wal-Mart, so I have started going to HyVee and they have been nothing but pleasant. A few have even commented that they wish more people would do something to help. I feel that because God p...

The best part about going to college in a small town is that there isn't much to do--- you have to make your own fun! Some of the most fun things I remember doing in Bolivar are: dragging all of our friends furniture out of his apartment and onto the front yard- including TV and VCR so that we could have a "drive in" movie night! "Camping" out in the middle of the forum ( I peed on the library!) Going barn swinging in Springfield. (If you don't know what barn swinging is, it is just like it sounds- you swing from these huge rope swings that are in a barn and fall (a lot) into matresses that they have on the floor. It is really fun.) Eating at Lamberts (home of the throwed rolls). Having a poop contest with my dorm suite mates-- my girl Kira took the cake on that one. She pooped four times in one day one time! We recorded all BMs on a Poop chart. Speaking of Kira, we got written up by our RA about a million times for "unruly" behavior! ...

Okay, here is the story of me and Caleb's first kiss. I should tell you, that we were actually broken up at the time. You see, we had dated for about a month (no kisses there), and I never really felt that he was that into me. So I pre-emptively dumped him. He fought back with a long love letter and a dozen roses delivered to my dorm. He said that he really liked me and even if I didn't want to date him, he still wanted us to be able to hang out and to be friends, yada, yada, yada. So, there we were, broken up, and hanging out just about every day. What can I say? That guy is charming! Anyways, Caleb told me that there was a meteor shower that was supposed to happen that night, and he invited me to go out to his grandparents farm to watch it. I agreed. What? Friends watch meteor showers in the dark??? Anyways, there was this hammock set up for us and we just layed there watching the amazing meteor shower and talking. I actually was almost asleep when he finally ki...

I found some of my old Jr. High diaries the other day and laughed my butt off reading them, and it got me thinking that I really should keep a journal. Or at least write down an account of the important events in my life the way that I remember them right now. Before I get too old to remember! So here is the exciting story about how I met my hubby. Once upon a time in the bustling metropolis of Bolivar, MO, a young college co-ed (that's me) was working at a daycare. My boss, Mindy, kept telling me she knew this guy that she wanted to set me up with, but due to the fact that he was a townie who worked at the car dealership with her husband, and because I had a boyfriend at the time, I politely declined. Meanwhile, the handsome and charming Caleb was working about twelve different jobs around town, one of them being a work study position in the Education Department at SBU. When young Caleb would get bored at work, he would browse through the Student Teacher's Biographies ...