Episode 6

Here we are...December 6th already. Episode number 5 had to be cancelled due to puppy drama. Poor Braddock is used to a slower pace and Amelia is a barrel of dynamite. She prances and romps and Braddock (who is quite the former romper himself) looks at us like "she is so immature". IT is quite comical really.
So, episode six. I was thinking today about how busy this season can get and in some ways it robs us of the real reason. I looked at my calendar and between Christmas productions, parties, shopping, work events...December is already booked solid and December just began. I love Christmas and this season...even when drowning in "events" i want to enjoy December. Thanks for allowing me to share my "events" with you. Tomorrow will be a funnier post.

Episode 4

Well...recall yesterdays post? Well i just increased that reason to rejoice by one more. Only time will tell if this new little lady will give any Christmas

"memories" the way Braddy has done the past few Christmas's. So far, however, those two have romped and played and napped already tonight. Looking good so far.

Reasons to Rejoice--Episode 3

I am thankful to have a pet. Is he a ton of work? YES. Has he destroyed a small fortune in books, shoes, and even cds? Yes (he eats everything). Does he cause me to sweep up hair by the hours? Yes. However, I have a reason to rejoice because in three Christmas's, he has only done damage twice. Once was to his own present under the tree (he could smell the bones) and the other time was to my "snow" pile. Here is the video of my Christmas Bandit.


Then, only the other day, my friend and I were having a chat in the living room around the "family tree" and out of the corner of my eye I saw the smaller Christmas tree in my dining room swaying from side to side. I jumped up and walked into the dining room and there was Braddy surrounded by piles of white "snow." It was so funny we had to take a picture. I am not much of a disciplinarian.



I am thankful that he has yet to eat anyone else's gifts and he has yet to eat the Christmas tree. He brings us so much joy (along with the problems he brings). We love him and are thankful he is part of our family.

Reasons to Rejoice December 2

Oh the Christmas Play! Today I stumbled upon the dvds of my old Christmas plays, Christmas presents with family and Christmas dinner celebrations. Some of it is embarrassing, most of it is heartwarming and touching, a few of them make me cry but the Christmas plays make me laugh. Every year, our poor music teacher would start about the second week of school drumming 27 millions Christmas skits, songs, poems and passages to present in December. About November was when everyone started singing the songs even in their sleep. Parents begin to get the "Christmas Program" video tapes ready (since each program was easily 3 hours long, they needed lots of tape). At long last, the elementary students were decked out in their little halos and the boys picked up shepherd's crooks and donned their old ratty bathrobes. There was always someone who forgot their lines at the most awkward time. Someone always forgot that they were the line leader and when it was time to leave the stage, they were picking their nose or twirling their pretty Christmas dress or waving at mom. Nevertheless, every kid left the program feeling special because they had been on stage. Every parent felt their kid was the brightest and the best. Even more than that, each person left there hearing the true message of Christmas. I don't miss performing in them...but I am happy I have the DVD to remind me from time to time. It is another reason to rejoice.

Reasons to Rejoice

I am trying something new this Christmas season. I am going to "try" to post daily either something I found to rejoice about this month or a memory from Christmas past to share. I discover the longer I am alive how very blessed I am in my growing up years and my family. Some people actually dread the holidays. I know we were talking to some people who said their Thanksgiving was boring, that they could not get away from their families quick enough. I usually cry when I pull out of the driveway of my parents house because I already miss them.

Well, the picture of the day is the advent calendar that my Grandma DeVelder made for my mom and I remember it being in our house almost all of my life. When I got married and Ryan and I had our first Christmas at our own home, I remember feeling like something was missing. The next year mom and Rachel took on the task of making one for each of us to have in our own homes. Right now, since we have no kids, it is just me putting up the little felt animals, trees, shepherds, wise men and the holy family....but someday I hope to share the calendar and the greatest story ever told with my own children.

I have many memories of this calendar. I remember my sister always being so upset because the angel that you put on for the 20th of December (which is her birthday) had the head fall off. That really burned her up. I also remember, once I learned the concept of odd and even numbers, finding a way to "trick" Rachel into taking the even numbers because then that meant I got to put the baby Jesus on the calendar and that was, of course, the coveted honor of the advent calendar.

But the thing I remember most about the calendar is that even though it was just little people made of felt and Velcro, it was a family tradition that carried us through all our growing up years. More importantly, it taught us as little children that Jesus is the whole reason we even have a Christmas in the first place. As kids it was a countdown to Christmas but now as I look at it in my own "grown-up" house with my own "grown-up decorations, it is a countdown to the greatest reason we have to rejoice. God with us, Jesus, Emmanuel....this is the reason to rejoice and for today...December 1, 2011...it is my first reason to rejoice in my countdown to Christmas.

Thankful thoughts

Things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving Day. I usually take an inventory like this once a year at this time. It rebukes me ALWAYS because I should do this on a daily basis much more often than I do. However, here is my list.

1. I am so very thankful for salvation. When I look at my life and what it is, I know that I owe every blessing, every success, every bright or happy moment in my life to the Savior who now calls me His own. I will never understand why He saved me but am daily thankful for the fact that He did!

2. I am so very thankful for my husband. Ryan is the best thing that has ever happened to me (under #1 of my list of course). Every now and then I try to imagine what life would be like without him and I cannot do it. He is my very best friend. Even though we disagree, like the opposite kinds of movies and I could eat pork chops at least once a week and he could live forever without eating another one...he is my other half. The other day he took the whole day off and we did nothing but meander around Busch Gardens and the mall. I could brag forever about my blessing of a husband...but I think you all get the point. He is always full of surprises and willing to seek my comfort above his own. Cannot thank God enough for the blessing of Ryan in my life.

3. Family and laughter. Tonight after the last bite of turkey was gone, we gathered around to play some games. Nothing brings the memories like a time around the table with games to play. We played Taboo tonight (wish I had had Ryan there because he ROCKS at that game). Here are some of the funny moments we had during the game.

Rachel(trying to get Duncan to guess the word "Stupid") "Ok, I am a person who doesn't have any sense in my head."
Duncan: A Democrat?

Me: (trying to get Duncan to say the word "Date" and I could not use the word "first, go, out, kiss, or calendar). So, I said, "This is what you do when you ask another person to walk their legs around town while you walk your legs around town at the same time." Laughter

Duncan (Trying to get Rachel to say the word "nut"):"This is a small delight"

Some of the words and clues made us laugh so hard that tears were running down our cheeks. I am so thankful for happy family memories.

#4. I am thankful for tears and the ability God has to walk you through a valley. Ryan and I went through the hardest summer we have ever lived through. But, at the end of this long season of our lives, we can thank God for bringing us closer as a couple and closer to Him even though at the time, we felt like our world was crumbling. Hopefully this Thanksgiving if you have yet to taste and see how good our Lord is...may this we a season where you find out how good He is.

Since I've Been Gone

It has been a long time since I last wrote. I have been so very busy with this, that and the other thing that blogging has been pushed to the side. It is never totally out of my mind so for that reason, here are all the things I have been meaning to write about but have just never gotten to just yet.

1. How to find out who your true friends are: By a fifth grade girl
The other day in Awana club one of our girls came over to my group. When she sat down I noticed that something was wrong with her. She looked different than normal. She asked, "Do you notice something different about me?" I said, "Yes, but I cannot put my finger on what it is." She said, "Well, I was having a hard time figuring out who my true friends are" (a very troubling thing for any girl..tis true). "So," she said, "I decided I would shave off all my eyebrows and whoever made fun of me was not my true friend." My hat goes off to her. Very few of us are brave enough to take such drastic measures to discover our true friends. I asked her, "Did it work." "Pretty much" was her reply. I love fifth graders.

2. How to scare your enemy: By a 12th grade boy
On Thursday the boys football team had a big playoff game. That morning, one of the players (who is also in my homeroom class) left his backpack behind in my room. When my first period came in (crashing down the hall much like charging elephants do), one of them knocked the backpack to the floor. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a thick cloud of smoke rising from the backpack. My heart began to pound because my worst classroom nightmare (aside from the one where I get to school and I have no clothes) is the one where the student "accidentally" leaves there backpack in my room and then it explodes. So, here was my nightmare playing out in real life. In a desperate desire to save my students and maybe myself (if I was lucky) I ran over to the backpack and looked at it closer. In fact, it was not a bomb. It was a HUGE canister of blue Gatorade powder that had burst all over the floor, all over the students football pants, all over EVERYTHING. I tried to cheer him up by saying, "Hey, just think, when a defender on the other team smashes into you they will freak out because there will be an explosion of Gatorade." He said, "Nope, I will be distracted like crazy because I will be sweating blue Gatorade." All I could do was laugh.

3. How to make your teacher laugh: By a misbehaving 10th grader
I was in the middle of a class and one of my students just cut right into my conversation and began his own. I stopped, told him to put his name on the board, and proceeded to teach again. When he did it again, I told him that he was showing a "flagrant disregard for rules and regulations" which in hindsight probably made no sense to him but it did to me. He says, "You mean like when you do not put on deodorant?" I almost split my face trying not to laugh.

4. How to remember you love teaching: It only takes one student
Yesterday reminded me again why I love to teach. We started a mock trial in Government class (hence the reason for a lack of blog posts...I have been preparing for that in addition to keeping up with the rest of my work). Anyhow, I gave out the "roles"of the mock trial and the kids literally needed no redirection from me. They got into their huddles and the lawyers and witnesses started learning their roles. It was so inspiring to see my kids WANT to do something, not just because it was fun but because they had a genuine interest in how the process works. I just wish everyday was like this.

5. How to giggle like a school girl again: It only takes one student
Today we heard from my "witnesses" in the trial. I told the kids they had to stick to the facts of the trial but they could add their own personality to it. Long story short, the plaintiff in my case is a boy who got hit on his bicycle by a passing motorist. Anyhow, the defendant is stating that he never saw the boy on the bike and that the boy was breaking the law in that he did not have reflective clothing or a bike light on his bike. Well, we get the plaintiff on the witness stand and the prosecution asks him to state his name and all that stuff. Then the lawyer says, "Where were you going that night and why were you riding your bike so fast?" Here is what the plaintiff replied with. "Well, I was just finishing my charity work (the salvation army) and I was driving really quickly because I had to rush home to my two crippled parents so that way I could feed them because if I take too long to feed them they could slip into a coma. Also it was starting to get dark....not dark enough where I thought I needed my bike light but JUST dark enough so I worried that I might be mugged in the park." I had to pretend I was looking up a law on my computer so the entire "courtroom' did not see me laughing (since I have the role of judge). The kids are having so much fun and they are LEARNING so much. It just makes me feel like I am doing something right for once. I love when that light comes on and the kids come into school and tell me that they spent EXTRA time preparing for class and that they actually did WORK. I love it. Reminds me all over again why I originally caught the "teaching bug."