Recommended Reading

Did I say that was enough for now? I just had to plug a series I read in about 3 weeks. I literally could not put it down. This series is called Twilight. The books are Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. They are written by Stephenie Meyer and she ranks up there with J.K. Rowling for me. I don't know these women as to what kind of people they are, but they are excellent storytellers. It was purely fiction since it dealt primarily with vampires and werewolves. I'm not typically a fan of this genre, but you just have to read them to know how good they are. At first I was intrigued, but then I was completely hooked.

Bonus: The first movie is coming out in November. I included a picture of the actors for the movie. I can't wait!!!

Panther Pride, already???

It's good to be back! My life has been a whirlwind since school started back on August 18. I'm posting now because I had a minute to get caught up on reading my husband's blog and it inspired me to post an entry on mine.

There's so much I could tell about school, but I really shouldn't go there. I'll focus on the kids for now. It's amazing how quickly they have adjusted to becoming Panthers after all those years as Wildcats. It's still hard for me and this is my 3rd year at NL. I graduated from PHS and at this very moment I feel some Wildcat blue coursing through my veins. Anyway, they have both adapted very well. They are making lots of really good friends. They are enjoying many school activities. They both made Honor Roll for the 1st six weeks. I'm very proud of them. The funniest thing, though, was the NL homecoming game last weekend. An outsider would have thought they had always been Panthers. I'm attaching some pictures to prove my point. I'll let this be all for now, but now that I've reopened my blog (and remembered my password) I hope to keep it more up-to-date.

Some Magic Is Good Magic!!!

Let me preface this post by saying that I am not being compensated in any way or form by Mr. Clean or any of his associates! With that being said, has anybody used this miracle of magic called the Magic Eraser??? I've heard from a person or two that it doesn't work on certain surfaces, but it must have been specifically designed to obliterate that elusive soap scum that sticks to glass shower doors like it's gettin' paid. I wet that magic sponge and just wiped it right off like I was wiping my counter tops or something. I just wanted to share. I can't keep a secret like this under wraps. I don't think Mr. Clean even knows that I'm advertising his product, so I really don't have anything to gain here. Just trying to hook a sista up! So...if it doesn't work for you, please don't expect me to refund your $$$ or anything like that! In other words, "don't get crazy". I'm gonna try it on my dry erase boards at school, so I'll let you know how that goes. Until then...

Well, I might post again before that since I don't seem to be in any hurry to get up there (as stated in a previous post).

Silver Anniversary

I mentioned in an earlier post that we had a 25th wedding anniversary dinner for my sister, Tammy, and her husband, Ed, on Saturday night while the whole family was together. They have been married 25 years! I can't believe that. Time has gone by so quickly. I still remember all the preparations leading up to that day and my dress, my shoes, my flowers, my haircut, my glasses...of course, it was all about me. It was 1983 and I was 14 years old. I had some jank glasses, a terrible body wave perm and short haircut, and the dresses...I'm sure they were stylish in 1983, but not now! They were dusty pink (I think that was the real advertised name) and long and ruffly and strappy and such. My shoes were white strappy tiny heels (that I almost killed myself on). The color of the guys' suits was dusty blue. I was a little freaked because I had to walk back up the aisle with Ed's friend, who was lots older than me. I was totally embarrassed. It really was a beautiful wedding. Tammy and Ed were both soooo happy! I'm sure Ed was thinking, "Let's get this over with so we can get on to the honeymoon", but it didn't show. He seemed to be having a good time. My brother, Bryan, was 6 years old and so cute. My sister, Terri, was looking gorgeous after having spent hours on her hair and makeup, I'm sure. My Mom and Dad were so young. It was before my Mom got sick, so she was at her Mom-as-we- knew-her-best! Beautiful and full of life. All of the people we loved and cared about were there. It was a great day! They have now had 25 years worth of days, some great and some not-so-great, as do we all.

Happy 25th Anniversary, Tammy and Ed! You are an inspiration to us all. Love you guys!

Boys of Summer

I meant to say something in my last post about my nephew, Jeff. He's an awesome baseball player. He played in an under 16 select baseball tournament this past week in McKinney. He did some great pitching, hit an out of the park home run, and won an all tournament award. Their "thrown-together" team (most of them had never played together before) won 3rd in the nation, including New Mexico (inside joke). Kudos!!!

Speaking of boys, Kevin and Carter got haircuts today. Very handsome!

Life in the Fast Lane

It's been a few days since I posted, and here's why:

• Thursday at 11:22 p.m. - our niece Taylor had a wreck in BFE (if you don't know where that is, ask me later) and I went there...she's okay (concussion & cuts & bruises) and DRAMA, got in bed at 2:30 a.m.


• Friday - hit the ground running, picked Reily up, prepared food for Saturday & started cleaning out the garage & loading things up for a garage sale, went to our niece Anna's 13th birthday party from 7-9 p.m. & then went to our friends' house to get ready for the garage sale, tagging till 1:00 a.m.


• Saturday - got up at 6 a.m. and started cooking for Reily's & Carter's family birthday party that started at 9 a.m.; after their party, we had our nephew Aydan's 3rd birthday party; left there and went to the garage sale & packed up the leftovers to deliver to Christians in Action; had to be at the Fish Fry that night at 6:30 p.m. for my sister Tammy's & her husband Ed's 25th wedding anniversary celebration


• Sunday - church, then to the ER because my sister Terri called and said she took my niece back again...once again, she's fine, just "boogered up" pretty good


• Monday - paying bills, running errands, made a trip to school to take some stuff and survey the situation up there...can't wait to get busy on that (NOT!)

Anyway, a wreck, four parties, bill paying and a trip to the ER later, I'm finally sitting down to post this, mainly so I can remember this blur of a weekend that I still haven't recuperated from. Tomorrow I start cleaning house for the jewelry party. Hope to see you there!

Perforated Monkeys & Piranha with Bling

It's almost that time again! Time for the depression to set in. School starts for me in three and a half weeks. Don't get me wrong. I love my job. I can't imagine doing anything else. In fact, I've done other things, and this is where I ended up. I love everyone I work with. I love the age group of kids that I teach. I love the subject I teach (Science). I could always use a little more monetary compensation (can I get an Amen, teachers), but that's a subject for another post. At the same time, I also love my summer and the time I'm able to spend getting to know my family again after the relentless pace of the school year. I'm always excited and a little nervous at "Meet the Teacher" night right before school starts. In the time between now and then, there's lots to do. I've already been cutting out laminated bulletin board stuff. Nothing says school like cutting lamination. I also had some help from Carter with punching out perforated monkeys to go on my bulletin board outside my classroom. I went to a jewelry party that one of my co-workers was hosting this morning and was told by another co-worker that all my "stuff" was back in my classroom. I wouldn't know this because I haven't stepped foot in there since the last day of school. What that means is that the janitors have finished waxing my floor and everything is back in my room ready to be reassembled, which requires me to be there and actually do it. See where I'm going with this, lots to do between now and the excitement and anticipation of school year 2008-2009. I feel a little guilty about saying the depression has set in because I read my friend's blog (who is also a teacher) and she only had good things to say about going back to school. Anyway, no more excuses because the time has come to get up there and tackle it!

This school year is going to present some other challenges as well. Reily and Carter are switching from Paris schools to North Lamar. I am anxious and excited about this. They are leaving friends (even though they all still live in the same town, some only miles from us) and situations that they are comfortable with and accustomed to. It's scary for them, but I think I carry their burdens a lot more than they do sometimes. Neither of them will be on my campus, so I can't be personally involved in the transition. I was able to request an excellent teacher for Carter and he knows at least one other kid in his class. Reily knows several kids that will be in 6th grade with her, but neither of us know much about how things will work in middle school. I guess I would have been nervous about that change no matter where she went. I just pray for them and their teachers that this will be a wonderful school year full of new friendships, lots of learnin', and tons of fun experiences.

I mentioned a jewelry party earlier. It was fun because a lot of my co-workers were there. We ate, played some games, I ordered the earrings I wanted and was about to "escape", when I was blind-sided by a piranha covered in bling and before I actually got to my car...let's just put it this way...JEWELRY PARTY AT MY HOUSE JULY 31 AT 6 P.M. Details to follow. And yes, she does take checks!

And, word from camp...Kevin's friend went to the camp today to eat lunch with his daughter (who is also there) and he texted Kevin and said "Reily said hi". I couldn't leave it at that, so I texted him later and asked him if Reily seemed like she was having fun. He said she was and the camp was "rustic, but the dorms were really nice". I guess that means, she's comfortable while she sleeps. Can't ask for much more than that. Speaking of which...sweet dreams!

Left Behind

Well, we got Reily off to camp! I have known since camp last year that she was going back this year and I wouldn't have it any other way. It's still hard. No matter how old she gets, it's hard to let her go off on her own like that (meaning without one of us who love her no matter what silly thing she does or says). It's especially difficult when you know her like we do. She is so sensitive and takes everything to heart. She wears her feelings on her sleeve and is one of the most passionate and compassionate little people I've ever known. I had to talk myself into stepping back and letting God love her more than I have the capacity to and find comfort in knowing that He is in control of her life, including any situation that she could ever be put in. In other words, even though she left us behind, God is with her and she's in the best possible care.

Carter and I are on our own while Kevin is at work this week. We have lots to do. I think he's sad that Reily will be gone, but has already pointed out that he doesn't have to share the computer or video games while she's gone. I haven't broken the chore list out yet.

If you pray, please pray for Reily to feel accepted into the group she's in so that she can focus on the task at hand, which is learning as much as possible about God's grace, glory and sovereignty and praising Him with all her heart.

For that matter, there are 63 other campers with her, I'm sure they could all use your prayers. Thanks for indulging me!

Sense of Belonging

I have a daily devotional calendar that has been sitting on March 30th for maybe a year now. The idea on that page has been my absolute favorite.

"A family ought to have an identity that gives each member a sense of belonging."
For in Him we live, and move, and have our being. Acts 17:28

I think this explains why a lot of people (and especially kids) get lost in the cracks of life. They don't have a sense of belonging anywhere or to anything. No matter what challenges life is sure to bring, I want us to do our best to instill in our kids that their relationship with the triune God and our family is their identity. I don't want them to ever wonder (or wander for that matter)!

I need to be more thankful for the precious gifts that God has entrusted to me.

GO TEAM PRESTON!!!

Why The Title???

Hello, Fellow Bloggers! If you are reading this, you are probably already aware that my husband has a blog. His blog has inspired lots of our friends to take the plunge. Thinking it might be kind of cathartic, I decided to join the crowd. I love to write. In the past, I've kept journals and written down ideas for stories I might like to write one day. I've never gotten around to that. Maybe blogging will inspire me.

Now, to get to the title. As anyone who has started a blog knows, the most difficult part is choosing a blog name because everything is taken. I tried several different titles before deciding on using the one NO ONE WOULD EVER USE. It was a title I had decided on for a children's story I wanted to write someday. Guess what? It was being used. I was shocked and deeply offended that someone would steal my title. It took me several minutes to recover. I'm okay now. Thanks for your concern! The title "Green Apples and Bubble Gum" is inspired by my kids. They love them both and I thought that just might be random enough not to be used. It wasn't!