Hello world-wide-web,
Thank you Heavenly Father for all the heroes in our daily lives: ordinary people, like our family, friends and parents, who make our lives so much better. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Brian Wood, a computer gaming designer from North Vancouver, and his pregnant wife, Erin, were driving home on Friday, September 17th. Nothing unusual about this, couples are happily married (remember, 50% of all marriages LAST), wives gets pregnant, and driving home is an everyday occurence.
On the other side of the freeway, two twenty-year-olds were high on drugs when the driver decided to take off her sweater and asked her friend to take the steering wheel while she did so. The truck swerved, crossed the center lane and headed straight for Brian and Erin. I think Brian's gaming ability came in handy as I imagine him assessing the situation quickly and breaking a hard right - causing the oncoming vehicle to crash into himself, but saving his wife and unborn child. Brian went straight to Heaven in that heroic act of love, and his wife and baby cheated death because of his ultimate sacrifice. Rest in peace, Brian; the world is better having had you in it.
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
My New Digs
Hello world-wide-web,
Thanks, Lord, for the many blessings you've bestowed on my family, friends and especially me. I thank you for the continued healing of the couple who had a miscarriage, the child in the hospital, and for all triumphs over evil. Thank you for a smooth school-changing transition. Thank you for always having my back. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
This is the second week at my new school and I feel like I am starting to understand how things are done in this new environment, and I'm relaxing more as my comfort level grows. Here are just some of the perks I've enjoyed: wearing jeans on Fridays and Mondays. Then there's "Fun Friday," where all the students who did their homework for the week get a half hour of 'free time'. The 'free time' is academic, of course; the students are shown a discovery channel video, or a Magic School bus show...in our area, since there are four teachers, one teacher serves as a 'study hall' teacher and all the students who didn't do their homework for the week are sent to her room, with their unfinished work to be done. The students who did their homework are sent to one of the other three teachers.
I like the way duty is done as well: I have a half hour off every day, in addition to my conference time, while the other teachers take the students into their rooms for recess, or, if the weather is nice and not too hot, outside to a playground. In our case, I have the first half hour free. During the second half hour, the teachers on recess duty are off, and we take the kids to lunch. I didn't know how I'd like this arrangement at first, but I've liked it thus far.
My teammates are nice, highly supportive of each other, and friendly. The staff in general, for being such a big school, has been highly welcoming. The principal hugged me the first day she met me.I thought it would be strange driving and walking into a new school, but I already feel like I've been at this school for years, in a good way.
The best part of my job, of course, is the students. They are a rambunctious, talkative, intelligent group of children. We have a nice mix too: African Americans, Indian, Muslim, European American, and Mexican-Americans. My own students still don't know what to make of me: am I mean, or just kidding around with them? I see the quizzical LoOkS on their faces as they seem to be asking themselves, "Is she seriously going to make me accountable for my actions? (you bet!)" "Will she really call my parents if I do something terrible?" (of course!) "Did she just give me cub cash for answering that question correctly?" (indeed I did!) "Is treasure box for real?" (uh-huh!) "Is she just plain crazy?!" (!!!)
This coming week I am a 'star'; meaning I'll be 'featured' on the morning announcements. I need to introduce myself and come up with some interesting things to tell everyone about myself...I'll ask my students for some suggestions...
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world". Mother Theresa
Thanks, Lord, for the many blessings you've bestowed on my family, friends and especially me. I thank you for the continued healing of the couple who had a miscarriage, the child in the hospital, and for all triumphs over evil. Thank you for a smooth school-changing transition. Thank you for always having my back. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
This is the second week at my new school and I feel like I am starting to understand how things are done in this new environment, and I'm relaxing more as my comfort level grows. Here are just some of the perks I've enjoyed: wearing jeans on Fridays and Mondays. Then there's "Fun Friday," where all the students who did their homework for the week get a half hour of 'free time'. The 'free time' is academic, of course; the students are shown a discovery channel video, or a Magic School bus show...in our area, since there are four teachers, one teacher serves as a 'study hall' teacher and all the students who didn't do their homework for the week are sent to her room, with their unfinished work to be done. The students who did their homework are sent to one of the other three teachers.
I like the way duty is done as well: I have a half hour off every day, in addition to my conference time, while the other teachers take the students into their rooms for recess, or, if the weather is nice and not too hot, outside to a playground. In our case, I have the first half hour free. During the second half hour, the teachers on recess duty are off, and we take the kids to lunch. I didn't know how I'd like this arrangement at first, but I've liked it thus far.
My teammates are nice, highly supportive of each other, and friendly. The staff in general, for being such a big school, has been highly welcoming. The principal hugged me the first day she met me.I thought it would be strange driving and walking into a new school, but I already feel like I've been at this school for years, in a good way.
The best part of my job, of course, is the students. They are a rambunctious, talkative, intelligent group of children. We have a nice mix too: African Americans, Indian, Muslim, European American, and Mexican-Americans. My own students still don't know what to make of me: am I mean, or just kidding around with them? I see the quizzical LoOkS on their faces as they seem to be asking themselves, "Is she seriously going to make me accountable for my actions? (you bet!)" "Will she really call my parents if I do something terrible?" (of course!) "Did she just give me cub cash for answering that question correctly?" (indeed I did!) "Is treasure box for real?" (uh-huh!) "Is she just plain crazy?!" (!!!)
This coming week I am a 'star'; meaning I'll be 'featured' on the morning announcements. I need to introduce myself and come up with some interesting things to tell everyone about myself...I'll ask my students for some suggestions...
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world". Mother Theresa
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Curly hair Haven!
Hello world-wide-web,
Thank you Heavenly Father for blessing Olgita to tell me about this wonderful salon!
To all my naturally curly-haired friends and readers, I need to shamelessly give a plug to this FAB place.
The owner, Claudia, cut my hair yesterday.
But before I go into greater detail about The Styling Hutch, I must tell you, if you are curly headed and don't know about and use the products of a woman in NYC named Ouidad, then you are truly missing out on some great hair goods! I mention Ouidad products because Ouidad also designed a way to cut curly hair - the way it is meant to be cut!
Claudia, right here in our sweet Plano, Tx, has been taught by Ouidad's professionals and uses her techniques when cutting curly hair. Claudia told me as she clipped away, "I am a great hair stylist, but when I first learned how to cut curly hair I wanted to go back to all my curly-headed clients and apologize. Curly hair is supposed to be cut differently from straight-haired people and I didn't know that! I do now, though, and have been cutting it properly going on six years!"
I know the basics of curly hair: don't wash often - once a week, if not longer - use a shampoo that doesn't have sulfate in it, Ever. Deep condition at least once a week. Sometimes I just use Conditioner and don't shampoo at all. Use a leave-in conditioner. Condition, condition, condition, as curly hair is often dry, not to mention coarse, but don't despair, as there are products to make curly hair softer. Check out Oudad's products for yourself at http://www.ouidad.com/ and/or google "Naturally curly hair," to learn more about your hair.
Since I did know 'a little something' about my hair, Claudia mentioned to me, "All you need is a good hair cut." I felt like I was getting a hair cut for the very first time! I am in recovery from receiving hair cuts for straight hair, lol. I am not blaming hair stylists for not cutting my hair properly; they may not know there IS a way to cut curly hair, or don't have the money for the training, etc. I'm just glad I found Claudia. If you do go to her shop, please tell her I sent you.
Here's the info:
The Styling Hutch
3948 Legacy Dr. #105
Plano, Tx 75023
972-943-0732
website: http://www.stylinghutch.com/
I had Claudia take pictures of my cut:
Wow, what a dif a great haircut can make!
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa
God's plans
Hello world-wide-web,
Prayers for everyone I said I'd pray for, especially with regard to health. Strengthen all marriages, Lord, and for all singles. Prayers for teachers everywhere: may they be blessed with plenty of patience, compassion and a sense of humor. Heavenly Father, thank you for changes in our lives. May we always remember to rely on You and Your will, and to seek Your will when we are unsure of what the future holds for us. Thank you for being with us throughout our lives; our journey is bearable because of You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
We think we know God's plans for us, but we don't. :) I certainly thought I did with regard to this school year. Already having two weeks of team teaching under my belt, I was settling into a groove, happy where I was planted.
Then came Thursday afternoon. I was done with car pool duty (3:15ish) when my principal and assistant principal asked me into their office. I didn't think anything about this, since, hey, this is how things went when I was told I was going to team teach. I jokingly mentioned to the two administrators, "Haven't we already done something like this? More goodness to come, I suspect?"
My principal responded, "It depends on how you look at it."
Still, I'm an optimist, so no worries.
Turns out the school district decided that since I only had six students in fourth grade, my talents were better served if I moved to another school and helped with eleven third-grade students there.
Wow. Shocker. I wasn't expecting yet another move! I went into denial for the first couple of hours. Then later of course there was acceptance. Now I am completely on-board with the decision and happy to move. Yes, I am anxious about teaching a different grade level, meeting a new team, and being at a school where I don't know anyone, but I am a flexible professional and will do my best to help my student's be successful, while enjoying the change of scenery along the way. I went from thinking, "Wow, no one knows me," to "Wow, no one knows me!" he he. Brand new start.
We told the students Friday afternoon about the changes. We were all sad, of course, but I assured them I will call and see how they are doing, as well as send emails to ask about their progress.
My current team has been really sweet in saying good-bye: they bought me a gift card to Starbucks, a deliciously scented candle, some pretty paisley sticky pads, and bagels for our last meeting together. I will miss them. We spent six years (this would have been my seventh) together, but we are friends on FB, so we'll keep in touch.
The priest at mass yesterday said that God wants us to keep Him #1 in our lives. "Without Jesus as the center of our lives, who knows what can happen to us? But with Jesus at our center, we can rest assured we are being taken care of."
Check this out: my new school's name is Christie! I think of it this way: "Christ - ie," or "Christ, that Is." :)
As the great Winston Churchill once said, "For myself I am an optimist - it does not seem to be much use being anything else." My thoughts exactly!
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa
Prayers for everyone I said I'd pray for, especially with regard to health. Strengthen all marriages, Lord, and for all singles. Prayers for teachers everywhere: may they be blessed with plenty of patience, compassion and a sense of humor. Heavenly Father, thank you for changes in our lives. May we always remember to rely on You and Your will, and to seek Your will when we are unsure of what the future holds for us. Thank you for being with us throughout our lives; our journey is bearable because of You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
We think we know God's plans for us, but we don't. :) I certainly thought I did with regard to this school year. Already having two weeks of team teaching under my belt, I was settling into a groove, happy where I was planted.
Then came Thursday afternoon. I was done with car pool duty (3:15ish) when my principal and assistant principal asked me into their office. I didn't think anything about this, since, hey, this is how things went when I was told I was going to team teach. I jokingly mentioned to the two administrators, "Haven't we already done something like this? More goodness to come, I suspect?"
My principal responded, "It depends on how you look at it."
Still, I'm an optimist, so no worries.
Turns out the school district decided that since I only had six students in fourth grade, my talents were better served if I moved to another school and helped with eleven third-grade students there.
Wow. Shocker. I wasn't expecting yet another move! I went into denial for the first couple of hours. Then later of course there was acceptance. Now I am completely on-board with the decision and happy to move. Yes, I am anxious about teaching a different grade level, meeting a new team, and being at a school where I don't know anyone, but I am a flexible professional and will do my best to help my student's be successful, while enjoying the change of scenery along the way. I went from thinking, "Wow, no one knows me," to "Wow, no one knows me!" he he. Brand new start.
We told the students Friday afternoon about the changes. We were all sad, of course, but I assured them I will call and see how they are doing, as well as send emails to ask about their progress.
My current team has been really sweet in saying good-bye: they bought me a gift card to Starbucks, a deliciously scented candle, some pretty paisley sticky pads, and bagels for our last meeting together. I will miss them. We spent six years (this would have been my seventh) together, but we are friends on FB, so we'll keep in touch.
The priest at mass yesterday said that God wants us to keep Him #1 in our lives. "Without Jesus as the center of our lives, who knows what can happen to us? But with Jesus at our center, we can rest assured we are being taken care of."
Check this out: my new school's name is Christie! I think of it this way: "Christ - ie," or "Christ, that Is." :)
As the great Winston Churchill once said, "For myself I am an optimist - it does not seem to be much use being anything else." My thoughts exactly!
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa
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