Thankful Thursday

Here is my list for this Thankful Thursday! 

~ having a sweet husband who takes care of me.  The other morning it was 12 degrees and he went to get gas for me so I didn't have to do it myself.  I had checked the day before and saw I had 1/4 tank left and we'd talked about the night before that I would have enough to go where I needed to go.  Then before he left for work he told me he'd gone to get me some so I didn't have to worry about it.

~ the sweet things my boy does that make me smile.  Like when he sits in my lap after school some days and tells me about his day.  Or when he hugs me extra tight before he goes to sleep. 

~ Several times this week I've been reminded of the value of teachers....like the teachers who cared for their children stuck at school during a snow storm.....and the teachers who teach our children each Sunday morning......and the teachers who make learning fun for my boy (I love that he comes home so excited about the things he is learning!).....and the teachers I had (I feel blessed to keep in touch with so many through FB).....and the professors who have touched countless lives. 

~ getting ready for the Valentine countdown!  I'm so excited for this and have been looking forward to it.  We will start on February 1.  My boy thought it was going to be silly the first year we did it; this year he asked a few months ago are we doing that mailbox thing in February.  :)  I love having memories and traditions as a family.  They don't take a lot of time or money but the memories we will always treasure! 

~ making chocolate chip cookies again.  I'm using this for one of the prizes for the mailboxes next week but had time to make them today.  So I made them and will keep them in the freezer.  :)  I have never been good at making cookies.  My Mom gave me the recipe she used and some tips and I think they taste great! 

Have a day of blessings!

My other birthday gift...

I mentioned in my post Monday that I had another present that I'd tell you about in a separate post.

After my gifts were wrapped, one of them looked like a frame to me (do you try to guess what your gifts may be too!?). We'd purchased new frames for our new house recently, and I figured it was a new frame that JMP heard me say I thought was pretty when we were looking.

On the Friday before my birthday, I emailed and asked my husband if he was getting off early so we could head to my Mom's house. He wrote back that he was trying to leave early. Then at his normal getting off time he wrote me that he was frustrated because he'd left work at 4 to go pick something up that he thought would be very quick. The lady at the store ended up being very slow doing what he wanted. I couldn't imagine what he could have been doing, but he told me it was something for my birthday.

Sunday when I opened the gifts the one was a frame. He told me, "It's for your diplomas, and I have another one for your teacher certificate." On Friday when he took off early, he went to the store to buy mats to go around them in the frame. He had been sneaky one night while I was in my bath and measured my diploma to know how big to get the mat.

When we were moving he came across my diploma and told me I needed to frame it. I never thought of doing really when I was teaching or now that I'm not teaching. I didn't want to buy a frame for it just to hang in the house. He has a frame in his office that I got for him when he graduated but never considered getting one for myself.

I don't know if I can exactly put into words why this is so special. He totally surprised me; I would never have thought of this.. It is such a thoughtful gift that just spoke to my heart. I have always known my husband supports me and wants me to be a stay at home Mom. He always tells me what I do is valuable and important. It was very validating that he wanted to frame my diploma and teaching certificate to hang in our office at home, even though I'm not teaching right now. This was a gift that said to me I love you, you matter, what you did 10 years ago in college was important and what you are doing today is important.

Some may think it a waste to have my degree and not be teaching right now. I'm glad he doesn't see it this way.

Have a day of blessings!

Flashback Friday

This week the flashback topic is teachers since this week was Teacher Appreciation Week. Great topic and I could go on and on about this one!

All of my life I loved school. Looking back I am thankful for all the teachers I had. While I have some special memories from each grade, I can pick a few that greatly influenced my life and have a few special favorites.

One was my second grade teacher. I've shared an extra special story about her here on my blog before and the "Mrs. P" apple, you can read it here if you do not already know that fun story. She is still teaching today (but I have her apple!). I really loved my third and fifth grade teachers too. I loved the centers we did in 3rd grade. We also did a Christmas play in her class of the Nativity (yes in a public school and it wasn't even THAT long ago!) I remember my fifth grade teacher had a talent show at the end of the year for us. She played a guitar and sang to us.

In middle school I enjoyed 7th grade Texas history with Mr. Tate. He was a fun teacher and really knew his history and made learning fun. History was never my favorite subject, but I felt I learned a lot in his class.

I had many great teachers in high school. I really appreciated my choir director. I was in choir from 6th-12th grade, and I have many happy memories of trips, contests, and productions with Mrs. Reed. I got to go to New York with her twice to sing in Carnegie Hall with the choir too. She excpected the best of us with each performance and practice. I respect her so much. Mrs. Hohertz taught everyone senior English. She also had high expectations for her students. She always had a challenge for us and wanted the best from all of her students. Everyone loved her! I think we all knew she cared about us and our lives outside of the classroom. Mrs. Nance was another one that seemed to go the extra mile to help me in her math classes in high school. I had her several years and she was so helpful to help me in the mornings before school when I wouldn't understand the homework. She made us do a different project each six weeks. There were some crazy ones! One was building a truss bridge with balsa wood and Popsicle sticks. I could list more memories about more teachers, I am thankful to have so many great ones.

I keep in touch with many of my teachers. Several of them are on Facebook, and I am glad to see how they are doing in life now. Some are still teaching and others have retired. I know of one who reads my blog too. :)

Have a day of blessings!

Teacher Appreciation Week

May 3-7, 2010 is Teacher Appreciation Week. From my days as a teacher I know this is a great time of year to show a little extra appreciation for teachers as many of them are counting down the days until summertime with their students.

Do you have any ideas that you do to show teachers you appreciate them?

When I was doing my student teaching, one boy brought the teacher a magazine one day. The teacher told me every month on the first of the month the Mom sent her something at school. I loved that idea and have kept it tucked away to use when Caleb is in school. Some of the things I've sent have been a candle, holiday socks, stickers, sodas, and muffins we made. I include a little thank you note that says Happy ____(whatever month it is) at the top. I try to avoid trinket type teachery stuff because I know teachers probably get a lot of that kind of thing.

I look forward to reading your ideas of what you do or have had done for you for Teacher Appreciation Week.

Have a day of blessings!

If...

Today I have another poem to share with you. I received this in an email last week. It brought back memories of my senior year of high school. We all had to memorize this poem for English. As I was backing out of our parking spot Saturday after the parade I turned and saw a familiar face. I pulled back into the spot, jumped out and ran over to hug my English teacher. It was great to see her! So aftter getting this poem and seeing my former teacher Saturday I've really been thinking a lot about senior English!


It is really a great poem with so much truth, and it is a good one for students to memorize in my opinion.

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!
~~Rudyard Kipling

I could think of various real life experiences as I read this poem. How did I handle the situation? Could I have handled it better? True character is shown in how we handle the hard times as well as prosperity and what we do about the rude comments made behind our backs or the lies told about us. Do you stay true to your morals no matter who you are with or do you change based on your company?

I hope this poem gives you a little bit to think about today. Thanks for visiting!
~~~~~
"The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him." Nahum 1:7, NLT