Great Start

I cannot believe we are in week 7 of school! J did great - you should be proud of me I didn't even cry! He rubbed his eyes in order to stop the tears but he did great too! I think the hardest part is not giving him a hug when he needs to stay in line.

The funniest thing happened last Friday was after school his kindergarten teacher came and slammed J's folder down and said, "Well, he's loosing letters!" I asked where did he loose them at? What he meant was that J knew all his letters at preschool screening but when he retested them J kept saying, "I don't know...." Mr. C was upset and told him to go sit down and he would get him after school for detention. Good news, J knew them - he's just stuburn like his daddy!

J's in an all boy classroom of 21 students. I gave his teacher the best book that I've read called: The Mind of Boys. He really needs it to deal with them. My class has book/math buddies with his class and today we spend the time in our school's courtyard. We could of stayed outside all day because it was so beautiful.

The Big Day Tommorrow!

Tommorrow is the big day for Kindergarten! I cannot wait. Today he stayed with my sister because they had staggered entry. He only has 19 students in his class, but they are all boys. They are boy heavy. I have somebody covering my class so I can be mom in the morning. Wish me luck, I think I'll need it.

He is so nervous about Kindergarten that just last night about 3:30am he woke me up to ask if we had bears in our county. I made him repeat the question because I didn't think I heard him right. Of course I explained that some bears have been spotted but he shouldn't worry about it.

What Kind of Animal Would You Be?

I recently asked my son if he could be any animal, what would it be and why? At first without thinking to hard he said, "A lion because they are king of the jungle." I said okay, think about it a little harder and I'll get back to you. A few minutes after he replied, "I would be a giraffe." I asked why? He replied I might add as if I was stupid, "Because mommy they are closer to God!" It's amazing what comes out of the mouth of babes. Whether he knows it or not, he brings me closer to God.

Promoted to 4th Grade!

This past week I was told I was moving to 4th Grade. I wrote my pros and cons list. I will not tell you which one won, however, good news appeared in the newspaper today! The fourth grade writing test is no longer after about 15 years running. I am excited because I was worried about the state writing test and mathematics. Now this summer I can concentrate on getting my math in order. I have to move from my classroom of 9 years which forces me to do a little spring cleaning. Unfortunately I am a pack rat! One of the things on the pro list was the added technology that I get called - The Smart Board. This interactive board is great to get the students engaged using technology in our global world.



About a month ago, I did an act of kindness for a co-worker without her knowing about it. And this past Monday I had an envelope on my desk that read "Enjoy!" Inside were two tickets to the zoo! Two co-workers and myself along with our kids are going to the zoo in a couple of weeks. I cannot wait for our "Zoo Pal Field Trip!"

Kindegarten Orientation Comments

Last Friday I took the day off so my son and I could be ready for kindergarten orientation at school by 10:00. We walked in the front door which is unsual for us and he was lead to one room to "play" while parents went to the other. My lovely husband noticed the lack of dad's there, but I told him that is was good for him to see that both his parents value his education! As I was sitting there trying to listen to the presentation, the teacher (and mom) in me wanted to get up and see how well he was doing on the informal tests. I asked him later in the day how he thought he did and his reply was, "I think I missed a few of the letters because they were out of order!" How cute!

We left school and went to the doctors office in order to have an added eye exam because of new state guidelines. After that we met dad for lunch at his favorite Mexican restaurant. For a special treat we went to the movies to see Horton Sees a Who! It was great - we were the only ones in the theater. If you have not seen Horton yet I highly recommend it. The neat part was during the movie I had a connection to how small the speck was that Horton was trying to save to us here on Earth. I thought that Horton was a lot like God trying to protect us specks. It's amazing how a different perspective can be eye opening!

I think he is ready for kindergarten - the only problem is, I'm not. I know this may sound crazy but I have already gone school supply shopping. I got most everything on the list for only $30.00. Fall of last year, I went ahead and ordered his bookbag with his name/horse logo from L.L. Bean since they were having a sale. It is just his size - I guess I watch the kinders as they go by my room in the morning and notice that half of the bookbags overpower them.

The good part about our school is that as teachers we get to request who our child has - when asked by a staff member who my son will have - my reply was I have known since birth (or at least the first week of his life) because we were visited by him and I have the cutest picture of him holding him in the nursery. My plan is to have a copies made of the picture along with the first day of school for the future scrapbook for both the teacher and him.

Since I have spent the last three summers getting my masters - I hope this summer my son and I can make-up for lost time. The way gas prices are going I think that I might have to be a little bit more careful planning. Just today a couple of teachers and myself have planned two trips to the zoo (each continent separately) - at least we can carpool and share in the cost of gas. We are calling our group - Zoo Pals!

How Many of Me

I was viewing Sweet Tea Please (thanks Leah) and loved the idea of this:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 122 people with my maiden name and 32 with my offical name in the U.S.A.
How many have your name

Taxes, Death, and Meetings = April 15th

It is very said that I literally hate (I know it is a strong word) tax day for several reasons.

The main reason is that it is the anniversary of my father's death. Even though I was only eight years old, I still remember the good times that we shared. It is amazing how something as strange as a scent (certain roses) and other things trigger your memory in order for you to remember a loved one that has gone on to heaven. I love sharing little things with my son about my dad. When I was growing up in the 70's things were a lot simplier than they are nowadays. It is amazing how the grace of God can get you through major milestones in ones life for example first date, proms, engagement, marriage, and even the birth of a child. I will never forget a member of our previous church (for those that know him - Bob) called my hospital room just as I was coming back from step down to tell me congratulations. I knew instantly who he was because of his distinct deep voice. He will probably never realize how much that meant to me - it was if my daddy had called to say congratulations on the arrival of my son (whose middle name is named after my dad's last name).

Another reason I dislike April 15th is because of tax day. Currently I am reading a book about finances and how to get it under control. Student loans are the worst! I normally put all money situations on the back burner and I need to watch it more closely.

This year on that particular day I have two things extra at school. We have a SACS visit (in short it helps not only our school but our system to become accedited) as well as a meeting across the county (which hurts the gas budget) with all my grade level teachers. I guess I need to be thankful because at least I have several things to keep my mind off of it!

We just had revival at church starting on Sunday morning and finished up Wednesday night. I was able to attend all services except for one. I learned a great deal as well as took lots of notes. Hopefully I will refer to them often and apply what I learned in my daily walk with the Lord. I have a long way to go, but I know that God will help me every step of the way.

It's Spring, It's Snowing, and Other Things

Even though last Thursday was the first official day of spring, just four days later as I write at my sisters it is snowing outside at dusk. You've just got to love our state's wacky weather! One of my favorite seasons is springtime. Mainly because of the real meaning of Easter and the message of new life for Christians.

As a whole family, we need your prayers. My sister's husband (Grant) was diagnosed with cancer last year. My husband's aunt (Beth) was diagnosed with cancer about a week ago. Having these things affect your family in both a positive and negative way. The positive things that have come out of it is the reality that time with family is priceless, seeing the good instead of the bad, and it even has caused me to have a physical today. The doctor was concerned about my elevated blood pressure and weight gain among other things. I guess you could say that is one of the negatives. I will not go into great detail about the other negatives.

My future healthful living goals are to drink more water instead of Pepsi, and to start back walking the driveway after a long cold winter of not being able to. Why do I walk the driveway you might ask? Mainly because it's free and I have no excuse of the gym was to busy or gas prices are to expensive, etc. My favorite thing to listen to on my iPod is the song by Point of Grace about Walking with Jesus. I cannot wait for the weather to cooperate.

Thoughts For the Day

My friend at work gave me these "Thoughts For the Day"

• Did you ever notice that the roman numerals for forty (40) are "XL"?
• A penny saved is a government oversight.
• The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat have gotten to be really good friends.
• The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.
• If you smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.
• Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.
• The sole purpose of a child's middle name is so he can tell when he's really in trouble.
• The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

-Author Unknown

Priceless

Title of Real Life Play: Priceless
Setting: Sunday lunch
Characters: B: Brother-in-Law; K: Me; M: Husband; J: Son; N: Niece

B: J's going to be the smartest one on his cell block (meaning jail)
K: Well, he's the smartest one at this table!
M: Ooooh!
N: Okay then if he is the smartest, J, what's 20 plus 20?
J: (without hesitating) 40!
K and M: (hoop, hollar, and high five) Ooooh! Ahhhh!
B and N: deadly silent

The Greatest Show On Earth!

My wonderful husband took our son to the circus this past Friday. You may be wondering why I only bought two tickets for this great event - the reason: I have a pathological fear of c-l-o-w-n-s! I do not know why, I just accept this fact and rotate my life around it. When my nephew asked why I didn't go, I spelled the word so "J" would not know why. My reply prompted, "What does that spell?" My response, "I don't like crowds!"

I thought that since I gave my husband an "x" amount of money that he would budget accordingly. I was wrong (that's hard to admit)! Word to the wise: Be specific: You may pick out one toy, one drink, and one food item. Not a hat, sword, mommy and child zebra, 2 drinks, cotton candy, pretzel, etc. Can you get the picture?

What did I do while they were out on the town? I organized and cleaned toys from birthday and Christmas. I wanted to work on scrapbooking - maybe they will go on another outing soon!

Locked Out!

I have recently been locked out of going to any major websites including blogs at my place of business. How dispointing? I will have to use my sister's laptop in order to update since she has wireless internet. As I am writing this, my son is typing on my laptop and keeps asking me what he is spelling (hopefully nothing ugly). It's so cute because he is trying to keep up with my wpm while looking at me. This is a prime example of why parents should watch their actions because children are watching even when you don't think they are!

I Am Excited!

One of the things on my to-do list was to start my own blog. I am able to sit behind a computer and keep in touch with friends both near and far.

I probably need to explain the title of my blog. It is a fairly long story, but I will try to be brief. I was able to take a digital art class at our local university for free and one of the assignments was to design something that was both symbolic and yet meaningful. For some reason, all my life I have always loved the four seasons. I came up with four digital pictures and wrote "144 Seasons" across the middle of the art piece. The "144 Seasons" was the amount of time that my father had lived before he died. The reason why saying "144 seasons" was so important to me was because at the time of taking the class, I had also lived the same amount of seasons.



I was able to use the same concept with the title of my graduate portfolio - "Nine Seasons." Sometimes it sounds better to say it only took me nine seasons to complete my masters than almost three years.