The Vacation I Did and Didn't Have

My parents recently went to see mi hermanita favorita y el esposo Juan en Colorado.  My sister and I like to sprinkle in a little Tex-Mex when we chat.  She and her husband, John live in Colorado.  Growing up, we always took family vacations there, so she just moved there when she got the chance.  I try to fly up and see her when I can.  Here is a shot that mom took before a family hike to somewhere.  That's my goofy dad in the background.

Eventually, I will expose my kids to something more than a few hours away; but since my family isn't driving all the way to Colorado, we are doing local attractions like the STW and Sea World.  We have also enjoyed hanging out for the evening in the middle of nowhere with friends.  Getting away from town to just hang out and laugh is a fabulous mini-vacation for an evening.  Isn't that the point of a vacation?  You're supposed to relax and have fun.  Small bits sprinkled through out a time period is better.  

Sea World

Hanging the middle of nowhere with friends/family.  

One of the reasons we hang out in the middle of nowhere!
This is a Bonnie moment - God is so beautiful! 

Thumpin' Small Town Weekend

Once again, my family enjoyed staying mostly local.  A neighboring town had their own festival which we enjoy visiting.  This year, my girls only did the carnival, but to buy an arm band and ride whatever they want for as long as they want is worth it.  Actually, we didn't even buy an arm band because we have connections.  Shhh!  That is another perk to being connected in a small town.  I highly recommend it.  Wait!  I'm reminded of a Chris LeDoux song:

So, y'all just stay where you are.  Enjoy your big city.  Let us take care of the snakes and critters out here.

Here are my kids {not} enjoying a STW.

We also enjoying eating as cheaply as possible so that we can go out on the town and enjoy the local attractions.  We hunt and grow our own stuff.  My husband also works on a ranch that has an incredible garden.  The office sells the produce, and my husband brings home what he can.  Whether you buy from a farmers' market or grow it yourself, it really is the best way to eat.

Cooking sausage links from last season's hunt.  

Do you see the spider?
I pointed him out
before Model T
jumped in for that mater.  

Red knows better than to go in there!

The other thing that started this weekend is VBS!  I'll have more to post about that later, but here is the first night.

Forty and Fabulous Friday

Ugh!  My friend texted me to let me know that she had lost two pounds.  I'm so excited for her, but I found her two pounds.  Here is my week in pictures.  See if you can spot a problem.  This is very honest.  I'm open to suggestions or anyone who wants to help me out.  I'm not comfortable with supplements.  I need a better diet and exercise.

This is the actual serving size for my cereal.
I could eat about five of these. 

My husband likes to take a Coke for lunch.
And I like to drink them every afternoon.  

Then I try to have a healthy meal of coleslaw and fish. 

Be honest.
Everyone sneaks some of the raw cookie dough
before they are baked. 

And I took my girls for a milk shake at the new McD's. 

I tried to be better for dinner each night.
One night I made stuffed tomatoes
to go with some left over chicken.
I ate about four of these. 

I tried to spend more time this week working on my paper,
but this position isn't working well on any of my pool float areas.  

Suicide

Did that title get your attention?  I can't seem to get anything else done this morning until I get this out of my system.  Actually, it probably won't be out of my system for a while.  One of my former students committed suicide recently.  His memorial was this week.  You need to know about this because suicide affects everyone: the living and the dead.

This boy was odd but friendly.  I had seen him at church and had him in English class his freshman year.  He had friends who showed up and talked about their friendship at the memorial.  The pastor said that this boy had made a profession of faith in 2008 which brought comfort to many.  I don't know what motivated him to make such a drastic decision.  We may never know.  However, there are several things about suicide that you do need to know.

The first thing that many of my students say is that suicide will send you to hell.  I challenge them to find support for that statement.  Matthew 12:31 says that the only sin that cannot be forgiven is blasphemy against the Spirit of God.  The next argument is that when you commit suicide that you can't ask for forgiveness.  True, but who remembers to ask forgiveness for every sin ever committed?  I don't and I try.  John 5:24 says that whoever hears and believes will not be condemned.  The Bible never says that we have to have all of our sins confessed in order to get to Heaven.  Multiple times, we are told that we have to believe and accept what Christ did for us.  We don't have to be perfect.  We can't be perfect because we live in a sinful and fallen world.  The purpose of confessing sin is to bring us to a closer relationship with God.  Sin hurts our relationship with God, but it doesn't end the relationship.  It doesn't cause Him to turn his back on us.

I teach Romeo and Juliet every year and spend a ton of time talking about suicide.  We look at all the circumstances and play the "what if . . . " game with all of the decisions that the couple makes.  We talk about all the other options that they had.  We talk about options that students have today.  I can't share scripture with them, but I share everything else I can.  If they bring up the Bible, I run with it!  They always do.  We talk about the families and communities that are hurt by the selfish action of suicide.  I tell the story of my friend Peruna who committed suicide about 10 years ago.  The life lessons that I get to teach are equally if not more important than learning where to put a comma in a sentence or finding the author's purpose in a magazine article.

Here is what I want everyone to remember: I Corinthians 10:13 says that there is always a way to escape a sinful situation.  Philippians 1:6 says that God is still working on us.  Don't give up on your life.  God has more for you.  Jeremiah 29:11 says that God has plans of hope for us.

Don't give up.

If you feel like you want to give up, talk to a parent, a teacher, or a pastor.  They can help you to find your options to make it through the circumstances.

Here is the song that the family played at the memorial service.  If anyone is paying attention, this is what I would also like at my own funeral.

Lemonade Stand

Model T started a savings account this week with some money she earned from last week's contest.  I wouldn't let her spend any of that money, so we had a conversation about earning money.  She does get some money each week for doing things around the house that we ask her to do: collect the trash and take care of the animals.  However, she wanted more money.  Her cousin has done a lemonade stand several times, so I encouraged Model T to try it also.  It was an afternoon of preparation for an evening of fun and math lessons to come.

I helped her make the sign.  She traced over my lettering. 

Model T made the cookies mostly by herself.
I supervised.  

All of the products and ready to go!
I put a message out on facebook so friends would know.  

Model T and C with a friend set up in the driveway.

Model C's BFF stopped by for some cookies and lemonade. 

The girls sold out of two pitchers of pink lemonade, 20 cookies, and a dozen floral brownies in an hour and a half.  Way to go girls!

When the stand was shut down and cleaned up, we divided the money and talked about tithing, saving, and spending.  I let the girls go shopping on Friday afternoon to pick something out with their spending money.  I'm very proud of them.

Forty and Fabulous Friday

Taken in February 2014

Not so fabulous this week.  I'm not 40 yet either.  This week, I did a self reflection while at a local supermarket.  We all love the supermarket, but people don't seem to care what they look like when they go.  One of my dearest friends, Karen, has made it a point to never leave her own home without being dressed and with her hair and makeup done.  I'm not always on the same page with Karen, but I should be.  There is something to be said for always looking presentable.  Today, I did not look presentable when I went to the supermarket.

Number one, I was in my jogging shorts and a t-shirt.  Those clothes are for a purpose which is not shopping.  This was mostly a problem because my attached pool float was showing through my t-shirt.  You know I'm not really talking about a pool float, right?  If I was really skinny, I might feel differently.

Number two, my hair and makeup were not done.  I live in a small town and I usually see someone I know: a parent, a student, a church member, or a neighbor.  I need my personal standards for how I look to reflect what I expect of those people also.  I need my appearance to reflect the standards that I set for others.  It is my job as a teacher to not only set standards but to follow them too.

Number three, I was evaluating the people around me as sloppy.  I don't want to be that too.

A friend at school challenged me to drink three liters of water a day.  Drinking lots of water has tons of benefits, so I gave it a try.  It isn't too difficult when I'm talking all day long with my students.  Running to the bathroom presented different challenges.  The blog that Lindsey shared with me said that drinking this much water would take ten years off my face.  After reading the article, I understand how it helped the lady from the article.  I don't think it helped me as much.  Maybe I already look young.  It did help my zits.  What do you think?

My husband said it looks like
I need a number
across my chest to go to jail!
Thanks, Sweetie Pie.  

If you would like to read the article and make your own judgement, the article can be found at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2480491/How-drinking-litres-water-day-took-years-face.html.

New Treasure Hunt

I just want to share with everyone a few more Treasure Hunt quatrains.  My kids said they were ready for another hunt, so I got to work on a few more rhymes to keep them busy for a bit.  The order doesn't matter, just know where you are headed so you can put the clues in an order to send the kids where you want them to go.  Enjoy!

Map of our house.  No, we don't really live in a castle.  

The clues for the first treasure hunt. 

A few new clues and a few old clues for the second treasure hunt.

Please visit the Original Treasure Hunt to see how I got started.

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Happy Father's Day

The role of a father is a very serious role.  The father is the head of the house and a leader.  I believe God set it up that way because even in the God-head, there are roles.  God created us in His image, so we naturally should respond to roles.

My dad on Father's Day a few years ago. 

My father was certainly the head of the house and a leader in many ways.  When I was younger, Dad traveled often with his job.  My sister may remember more than I do, but all I remember is just a few things until later.  Dad would read to us using voices, and he was good!  Dad could also stand on his head.  I don't know why that memory is important.  In high school, Dad was my Sunday School teacher.  I joke about that being a problem because I couldn't flirt.  The truth is that I really liked having my dad as my teacher at church.  He always studied on Sunday mornings and used a Matthew Henry commentary.  I naturally wanted my own copy when I headed off to seminary.

Over the past few years, Dad has been teaching at a local college.  He drives down from his neck of the woods to teach and swings by our house for dinner twice a week.  Sometimes he picks the girls up from school.  Model T and C absolutely love when he picks them up!  These are simple memories that they will cherish for a life time.

Daddy's birthday party. 

My husband is also a fantastic father.  I'm tickled every time the girls want to go fishing or hunting with their daddy.  Once a month he has to work on the weekend, and the girls beg to go with him to check the farm.  Jason is also a leader in our home.  He sets the example and the standards.  We gladly follow him.  In our marriage, we partner on many things.  Jason even lets me have my way sometimes.  However, ultimately, he is in charge.  I love him, and the girls obviously love their daddy!

Rodeo with Daddy.  

Helping Daddy at work. 

Hunting with Daddy. 

Small Town Weekend

Every small town has a weekend to celebrate the special nature of being that small town.  Our weekend was this past weekend.  We have the typical events which include a fair, rodeo, music entertainment, and a parade.

The events begin with the crowing of the Queen and her court.  My Model T wanted to run this year for the Little Miss Hometown.  She got over some fear and shyness to talk to people and raised lots of money.  It wasn't enough to make the court, but I was so very proud of her!

Small town rodeos are so much better than any other big town.  All the seats are good unless you are looking directly into the sun.  Everyone was very excited to see the world class rodeo clown Leon Coffee.  My family saw him last year at another rodeo, and we will go see him again!  He is hilarious and does a great job.  You can read more about him in Texas Monthly.

The whole town turns out for the parade on Saturday morning.  This isn't a huge metro parade.  It is small town style!  I love that I can drive up to our church ten minutes before the parade to pull out the lawn chairs and join our friends to watch our other friends march down the street in the parade.

My students were marching with the ROTC, the band, the cheerleaders, and other organizations.  Local businesses created fun floats.  Church groups entered their floats.  Class reunions from 1949 to this year's graduating class of 2014 created floats.  Maybe not every single one in between, but there were a lot of classes.  Small town classes get back together.  I didn't personally go to my own reunion because it was too big and I hadn't seen most of them for 20 years.  Even floats from local towns close by came to join our parade.

Of course, the best part about a STW is hanging out with friends!  Here are some of my favorites.  (I have tons of favorites.  I don't want anyone to get upset.  I just didn't get pictures with everyone.)

Do you know this story?

The main character starts in a very ordinary, almost boring setting. Suddenly, something happens that causes him to start off on an adventure. He must leave what is comfortable to set off on his journey. Along the way, the main character makes helpful friends and fights enemies through a series of challenging situations. At one point, he thinks that he will possibly fail what he has set out to do; but after surviving this particular personal low point, he is revived with new energy to finish the adventure. Through all of these situations, the main character learns something special, grows as a person, and accomplishes whatever sent him on the journey. He will return home, but will things ever be the same? Probably not.

Which of these stories could this be?









I could add possiblities all day.

Hair Styles

One of the fun things about having daughters is playing with hair.  I don't personally like long hair on my own head, but I enjoy playing with the hair on my daughters' heads!

My SIL found hair extensions at a garage sale for a $1
and thought it would be fun to try on me.
 I can handle it for about ten minutes.  

I know I've shared this before.
These are my hairstyles from the past 20 years. 

And here is what I did this spring.  

Here is a sampling of hairstyles I have tried on my girls.  Thank you Pinterest for inspiration!

Let's Bring Back Summer!

The week before the official end of the public school year, my youngest daughter graduated from preschool.  I am so excited to send her to kindergarten next year because she is beyond ready.  She may even be a bit bored because she has been bringing books home to read already with simple sentences and sight words.  Thank you so much to Kathleen and her cutie for helping with pictures.  

Model C and I are of course the top left.  In the middle is our friend Nick.  Model C went with the preschool director to the scholarship award assembly at the high school to present Nick with a scholarship.  The director didn't know that we are friends.  Nick scored major brownie points when he showed up for Model C's preschool graduation.  On the bottom left is Hannah and Model C.  Hannah put up with Model C when she was just six weeks old while Hannah's mom babysat for me.  Plus she keeps showing up at our house with Nick.  I guess Hannah is family now.  She thinks it is safer to be part of our clan than to hunted down for offending us.  The bottom right is a group from Model C's class reciting a poem.  They all spoke very clearly and did a fantastic job.  The big picture is Model C and Kathleen's cutie.  They have been friends since they were crawling.  I find it hard to believe that they will be the class of 2027!  

The end of school is always a stressful and difficult time.  It wears me out emotionally.  The kids and teachers usually just give up at the end.  Finishing grades turns into "survival of the fittest."  My teammates and I discuss what is most important in assessing a student's mastery of a skill or concept and what that should look like in the grade book.  The bigger question should be, why haven't we been doing that all year?  Little Miss Cutie English Teacher, next door to me, and I agreed on some major changes for next year.  A student should not be graded on how many of the same type of assignment he can complete, but rather the one assignment from that concept where the student is successful.  "Practice makes progress," says Michelle Duggar.  Therefore, we will continue to do practices, but our grade book needs to look different.   We are hoping that this idea will help us to keep our sanity as well as show student success.  Chocolate helps too.  

Everyone tried to enjoy the last day of school.  Do student realize that teachers are people too?  Do they realize that we have friends and like to be silly?  Here is what happens to photo bombers in my pictures!  

This year, I attended my first graduation ceremony in this district.  It was the most casual graduation I've ever attended.  When I graduated from high school, I graduated with 750 students in a large college basketball stadium.  We had to be in and out in 2 hours to make room for the next school.  Small towns hold ceremonies on the football field.  There is no need to dress up too much in this heat!  I thought it was very awkward that as soon as students started crossing the stage, they walked off and took pictures with family and friends.  The end was very anticlimactic.  The poor kid who had to deliver the benediction was barely noticed.  I don't think anyone was quiet for that prayer as cameras were still flashing.  Honestly, it seemed very irreverent for a rite of passage ceremony.  Even though it was very strange, I really enjoyed seeing students from the past and getting hand-shakes and hugs.  One of my besties and I took a picture before it started to prove to one special guy that we were indeed there to support him.  

Recovery time for the last week of school will probably take the rest of summer.  Locally, the last class let out one week ago.  I have accomplished a few things, but not enough.  My sweet and crazy friend Diana has made it a point to stay on my case to finish my thesis.  It has been hanging over my head for a year!  I did make a partial submission this week, but my professor is in another country and won't get back to me until next week.  That's ok.  I will keep trudging ahead.