The Note

After a really hard week with difficult parents and kids, not to mention being hormonal, I finally caught a little bit of a break. There was a situation about getting planners signed by parents each night. A mother of one of my students heard that I was being a little harassed by some of the parents and wrote me the following note:

" I'm signing both the planner and the reading minutes because I think you're doing a great job and teaching my son about responsibility and getting things signed is teaching him to finally take care of his crap! AND that if he forgets, he can't enjoy the fun life! You're doing a great job and I think parents need to grow up! It's your classroom and you're the teacher and they're not! Keep up the good job! Love Jen. PS I think you have the hardest job in the world and how you give up your time every day to teach my son and a bunch of children how to be responsible is crazy amazing. Please don't ever change!"

I know that is not much, but for any of you who have kids going to school who are reading this...that made my day 100% better. I photocopied it and put it in my "Good Feelings" folder in my filing cabinet (yes I have a folder full of those things...many teachers do).

So keep in mind that sometimes people are having a tough time and one little thing that you say or one note that you decide to write can really make a difference.

The Bend in the Road

The Bend in the Road

Submitted by: jdr

Author: Helen Steiner Rice

Sometimes we come to life's crossroads
And we view what we think is the end.
But God has a much wider vision
And he knows that it's only a bend-

The road will go on and get smoother
And after we've stopped for a rest,
The path that lies hidden beyond us
Is often the path that is best.

So rest and relax and grow stronger,
Let go and let God share your load
And have faith in a brighter tomorrow-
You've just come to a bend in the road.

Thanks for sending this to me Mom. Love you.

Thoughts

When by my solitary hearth I sit,
And hateful thoughts enwrap my soul in gloom;
When no fair dreams before my 'mind's eye' flit,
And the bare heath of life presents no bloom;
Sweet Hope, ethereal balm upon me shed,
And wave thy silver pinions o'er my head!

John Keats

Never speak out of anger,
Never act out of fear,
Never choose from impatience,
But wait... and peace will appear.

Guy Finley

Thanksgiving

I set the table. : )

Kayleb made his first pies. Mmmmmm.

We sat and ate and talked and laughed.

I beat both my parents at Shanghei!!!!!

The next morning, Mom and Kathy and I went for pedi's and mani's.

Stacey and I got ready for a date, went to dinner with the family and then Stacey, Dan, and I went out to a movie.

Saturday, we all headed up to Leslie's to play in the snow.

I borrowed a lot of snow gear and looked like a big, blue snowman.

Stacey protects her camera with a sky mask.

The kids ride the hood/sled and get snow in the face.

For some reason, I really thought that I could sit backward and take some pictures of the kids. I ended up holding on for dear life...and eventually asked him to stop so I could just turn around and hold on.

Stacey's action shots:

I stayed at Leslie and Gary's that night and was driven to the airport the next morning.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you for all of the fun and all of the love!
Kiss!

AFTERMATH of BLIZZARD

This is the aftermath:

Blizzard my eye!!! WEAK! NO school closures for me.

All the hype for NOTHING!

At least the snow looks pretty.

Hair

PS I got my hair colored again. :)
He went more blond on me this time. I like the color of it.
Sorry, no front pics today...I don't have makeup on today and I did my bangs yesterday, but I'll post something from Thanksgiving if you're really needing to see it. ha ha.

YIKES!

I received this e-mail a few moments ago:

Given the dire weather forecasts predicting massive storms throughout Utah, campus is closed immediately.

Refer for to SUU home page for more information.

Public Safety

Southern Utah University

ST 172

Cedar City, UT 84720

(435) 586-7793

http://suu.edu/ad/publicsafety/

Some schools in the area have already canceled school for tomorrow. The forecast says that the storm should hit this afternoon and then again this evening. The temperature is continuously dropping as the day goes on. We have been advised to stay completely off the roads after 5 pm tonight. Oh yeah, and did you know that the air can swirl around in the valley because the mountains are pushing it back in and it can pick up moisture from the lake and dump even more snow? I didn't know that! This is said to be a historical storm, something that hasn't been seen in the last hundred years.

A friend on my team at the school thinks that it is being talked up too much, but I tried to reassure her that it is most likely going to be a bad storm after hearing how it has hit in Washington state.

So it sounds like I will be having a nice evening inside my apartment where I will pack for a flight that may be canceled and try to sleep through 40 mile an hour winds and cold air seeping through my windows.

Hot chocolate anyone? Redbox?

(This is what it looks like outside my school right now. It looks pretty harmless, right?)

I don't have internet at home, but I'll try to take pictures or video of the storm this evening to demonstrate what it looks like when I have internet access again.

My friend from school helped me get my car into the shop to get the snow tires on. I dropped it off at noon and will be heading back at 3:30. They estimated that will be around the same time they'll be finished.

I just want to be able to get to the air port. That's all I really care about. I want to be able to get there and not feel like my car will be buried...and have my flight not get canceled.

Wish me luck.

Jars of Light

I saw this idea on another blog and just wanted to show it to everyone. Just think, during the holidays you will have a lot of get-togethers. Why not have each couple or family bring several, clean, glass jars. These could range from DI jars or they could be brought from home (pickle jars, jam jars). Then, neatly place a candle in each and PING! you have a beautiful table runner. I love candles. Enjoy!

Winter Wonderland/Snowy and Freezing

After a long day at Barnes and Noble, writing a paper, I drove home in hail. As I approached my apartment, it started to really storm. The wind picked up, the hail turned to snow and I ran from my car to the covered stairs.

Later that night I glanced out my window to find this:

Has anyone else heard about the HUGE storm that is supposed to hit Tuesday night? 90% chance of snow, 13 degrees, 40 mile and hour winds...school just might be canceled on Wednesday. I'm fine with that...as long as my flight isn't canceled along with it.

It looks like Washington is getting about the same treatment. :)

Today, I did recess duty for a friend only to find the entire playground and field was covered in ice. Although it isn't allowed, I joined in as we shuffled onto the ice sheets and laughed as kids ran and slide, skated around, and fell (sometimes on purpose). I then hurried them back inside before our noses fell off and then went from class to class reminding students that we are not allowed to play on the ice during recess because the 1st graders might break something and cry. The students laughed and were happy that we had a chance to do something fun outside during the winter season for a change.

(The frozen field)