Christmas Card Photos

Here is a preview of some of the great shots we got of the kiddos in our attempt to get a shot for the Christmas card. Yes we currently have 2 trees up. We have a 3rd one too but no where to put it but there will soon be a 4 foot pink tree since I know a little girl who wants one.

Thankful

In honor of the big day here is my list.

An adoring husband who puts up with all my craziness and is always there to support me 100%.

My 2 beautiful, sweet, silly children that fill everyday with lots of laughs, hugs, kisses, giggles, and happiness.

Our families. We may have our ups and downs but I love them all and am thankful that they are in my life because without them I wouldn't be the person I am today.

My job. I get to work with amazing people everyday doing an amazing job helping mold our future. Even though there are many days I feel beat down by everything going on in education but in the end I love my job and I love my students.

Our good fortune. We have been lucky to be fairly healthy this last year and even though we hit some rough patches financially we have stayed afloat.

I love my life and even though things don't always go exactly as I want I know I have it really good and I am thankful for all the love in my life.

Last Week

Last week we went to the park for our friend's birthday. The kids had a blast and Milo went swinging in the real swing for the first time. He loved it. Eve finally enjoyed the swings too. (She has taken longer than most kids to build up the courage to try out the toys at the park.)

Life as we know it

Life has been crazy busy lately. Adam got a temporary job that could last for at least 10 months which means he will keep looking for a new job so hopefully we will be good come next year. This job offers a ton of overtime. He can work 12 hour days and 8 hours on Saturday and this week he could even have worked on Sunday. They had to do mandatory 10 hours of overtime this week. So Adam is putting in mad amounts of overtime which pretty much means my days are filled with work and then taking care of both kids all night. Usually they are both in bed by the time he gets home. I miss spending time with him but at the same time like the idea of building our savings back up more quickly.

A day.

After school we got the news I had been expecting for some time now. They are, contemplating, meaning they are going to close our school. We will get transferred to other schools if there are openings. I feel bad for our students because they are closing our school basically the parents won't stand up and fight for them like the more affluent schools in our district even though they have way lower enrollment than us. I don't like that I probably won't know until May where I might be. I hope I don't end up getting split between schools. I also will most likely not get to teach the 7th grade accelerated students if I end up at a Junior High and I really don't have the desire to teach 7th or 8th general anymore. I wonder if I will get to move to the high school which would be my preferred choice. I really wonder where I will go and would like to make that decision sooner than later so I can prepare my move. I am not looking forward to all the conversations I will need to have with my students as they struggle to make sense of what is going to happen next year. I just want to teach and be there for my students but there are some days I feel like there are so many obstacles I just can't do what I need to.

Usually a day like would lead to a lot of whining on my part but I am to the point of just embracing what is happening and trying to make the best of the situation.

A new outlook.

I know I have been so mopey lately and I don't like it. I finally got my reality check today. When I was dropping Eve off I overheard one of her teachers talk about how she is really struggling raising her 2 teenage sons because she is a widow and they really need a male in their lives so she has been trying to get men from her church to kind of step up to help her show her sons how men should live a moral life. After I drop Eve off everyday I drive the rest of the way to work and pray/think to myself. As I was driving I saw a woman at a bus stop who had her whole side of her face bruised. I realized I need to get over all the crap and realize what I have to be thankful for.

I have 2 beautiful children.

Milo's smile lights up the whole room. Every time I look at him he smiles at me...even when he is whining.

Eve is so funny. Her curiosity kills me. I love how she says words wrong. Like shade-o instead of shadow. She is so sweet and I love that she is so loving to her family.

Adam is amazing. He is the most giving man in the world. He takes such good care of the kids and me. I can't put into words how much I love him. I like that we are always on the same page. Sometimes I think we are the same person. Like tonight when we were talking about dinner we both had a new idea of how to prepare the roll for our meatball subs. It was the exact same idea of making the roll into garlic bread first before adding the meatballs.

I am thankful for my parents because they always make time for us.

I am thankful for my students because they always know how to make me smile/laugh even if we had a rough day.

I am thankful that my coworkers take the time to tell me good things they hear about me in class because it makes my day.

Halloween.