It's After Midnight

...am I'm up...yep...up and on the computer...why?...because I don't have school tomorrow! Yea! I love Thanksgiving break.

And...

We are back in the Lone Star State to celebrate our time with family. What a blessing it is to be able to take time to give thanks to God for all that we have. We are truly blessed! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Be blessed!

Things Are A Shakin'

Fun Fact: Did you know that Arkansas has earthquakes?

Here's the clip from the news website:

Hector - The U.S. Geological Survey says a small earthquake occurred in central Arkansas.

The quake, of preliminary magnitude 2.9, occurred at 7:47 a.m. Saturday, 14 miles north of Hector in Pope County.

A dispatcher with the Pope County Sheriff's Office said the office had not gotten any calls regarding the tremor.

A quake of magnitude 2.5 to 3 is the smallest generally felt by people. Hundreds of earthquakes occur each year. Most are so small they cannot be felt. Hector is about 80 miles northwest of Little Rock.

Luckily, we did not feel anything. Apparently, though, Arkansas falls on the New Madrid fault. I did not realize this until we moved here. Who would have thought Arkansas would have earthquakes!

Praise Report and New Request

To start off with, I have a praise to report. I have talked to my mom everyday since her surgery. She is doing fantastic. Apparently, she is impressing herself and her doctor with how well she is doing. YEA! Again, the recovery will be lengthy. Please continue to pray for her that her recovery will continue to go as well as it has already.

Here is my new request... We received a call this morning that Matt's grandmother had to be taken to the hospital. Apparently, she has an infection and congestive heart problems. There is fluid around her heart and on her lungs. She is also having trouble swallowing. She is 92, but continues to be very healthy. Please remember her when you pray.

Prayer Request Update

Mom's surgery was this morning. They started about 8 am. Both knees are now completed. I talked with my sister several times throughout the morning. She said the doctor said everything went really well. Last I talked with my sister (about 1:30) mom was in recovery sleeping. They were just waiting on a room to put her in. I obviously have not talked with my mom yet, but it seems like the surgery went as planned. Thanks for all of the prayers.

Please continue to pray for her recovery. I know that it can be very painful and very lengthy. Also, please continue to pray for no complications.

I appreciate all of the prayers.

Not Me Monday!

It's time again for another round of Not Me Monday!

Let's see...I am not excited that I only have one more day of teaching this week. Why would I be excited? I love teaching! I especially love spending every day with my students who don't seem to care what I have to say.

I did not spend the weekend sleeping. Seriously. I did not take a 2 hour nap on Saturday and Sunday.

I am not procrastinating my school work. I am not supposed to be reading right now. I don't have a test on Wednesday.

My husband did not buy me roses today...for no reason...not at all... He wouldn't do that.

That what I did not not do. Now, what have you not done?

Prayer Request

Hello Friends & Family!

Some of you may know, but most of you probably do not know, but my mom will be having double knee replacement next week. I am soliciting as many prayers for her as possible. It's a very common surgery these days, but there is always a risk of complication especially with blood clots. So, please pray for her and the doctors attending to the surgery. Pray for all to go well with no complications and for a very quick recovery. She is currently trying to decide if she wants to do rehab at home or at a rehab facility. I am encouraging the rehab facility because she can be monitored easier and if there are any complications it will be more convenient. Again, just pray for her. The surgery will occur on Thursday, November 13. Thanks for the prayers!

Ode to School

Well, I wanted to let everyone know that the school week did get better. Thanks for listening to my rantings on Tuesday. I still am amazed at some of my children, but the good news is that only one child got sent home this week. (FYI - That's an improvement from weeks past. I usually send 4-5 kids to the office on a regular, almost daily, basis.)

So, here is what I am looking forward to in November...

Next week, we have a shortened week at school. Apparently in Arkansas they have 2 days with the kids out of school yearly for Arkansas Educators Association Conference. That means, I still have to work, but no kiddos. YEA! That will occur on Thurs & Fri. To top the week off I will have a sub on Wed because I have to be out for another professional development day. The good news is that I am still going to be at the school, so my kids should not be near as disruptive since I will be just across the hall from them.

The next week is a full week of school, but I actually have to attend 2 different trainings that week as well. So, I will only be at school MWF for the week.

Then, Thanksgiving! YEA!!! Mon & Tues and no more for the week. We get to take a trip home to Texas to visit with family and some friends. I wish there was more time to take a trip back to Clifton & Waco so that I could visit all of my friends, but I'll take what I can get.

BTW, if you are starting to question my return to teaching, I want to reassure you that I do absolutely LOVE teaching. I just have a very "behaviorally challenged" & "academically challenged" class. It makes for a harder school year in which I enjoy regular breaks, but still love the little successes I get to be a part of with my kiddos.

Anyways...enjoy your upcoming weeks as I know I will!

The Joys of Teaching

Here is why I love teaching...

So, I went back to school today. Still not feeling that well. My ear hurts. It's very stuffy and muffled, so I can't hear that well. Anyways... I walk back into my classroom this morning (feeling the way I described) only to see that my room is a DISASTER. No joke. Absolute disaster! Why, you ask.

Well...

I had a sub yesterday. Not just any sub, but the WORST sub on earth. Ok, that may be an extreme statement, but I did tell the office staff that the sub should NEVER sub for anyone at our school again. As some of you know, I have a difficult class. They are what I like to call "behaviorally challenged." What I mean by that is that they don't know how to behave. I spend a lot of my day trying to teach them how to behave...along with reading, math, etc. What did my sub do yesterday? She let them act however they wanted. No joke. I was told by several people how out of control they were. Several other teachers tried to help by getting onto them. The assistant principal and principal were both in my room at some point yesterday. My principal said that she had the kids clean up. There were crayons all over the floor. They got out my box of snap cubes and were throwing them all over the floor. Absolute chaos! Needless to say, I was very upset and I sure made sure my class knew it this morning.

So, there was no grace or tolerance in my classroom this morning...

Tomorrow will be a better day.

Not Me Monday!

I have seen the Not Me Monday! on several sites, so I have NOT decided to join in the fun today.

I also have not been stealing my children's Halloween candy. I would never do that, especially since I am trying to watch what I eat and lose a few pounds before the holidays.

I also did not take the day off of work because I was sick. I did not go to the doctor and find out I have another ear infection. I would not have an ear infection because I am an adult. I was supposed to grow out of those a long time ago.

I am not writing on my blog instead of reading for my test on Wednesday. Why would I procrastinate? I would not do that!

Well, I am new at this, so here is my Not Me Monday! post. What have you not done?