Boring Blurbs

It was a cold, wet, wet day that was not sunny... But we still could do things that were fun and were funny!
Today I went teaching... and it went well. Except history... that didn't get done. Next week. Also Rebekah and Katherine have lost their school books. That means I have to scramble in the morning and get some papers organized for them to do. But it still went fairly well today. I'll only be teaching there for about one more month. I think I will miss them... it will be nice to have my days off, but then maybe I won't know what to do with myself! I'll have to wait and see what God has in store for me. I know he's got something good. I suppose I'll be able to visit my Mom more often and get my errands done and clean the house! That'll be good. And I know that I can always visit my students whenever I get the chance. Hey Mom, have you saved me a spot in the garden? I'll be able to come over and tend one hopefully... All I need is some tomato plants, pepper plants, I do like growing corn..., maybe some beans and squash. Oh, I do like gardening... Anyway, Adam's waiting for me. He want's to go get a rain coat. I think for work. His new job is going well. I think he likes it. He doesn't complain anyway... Sorry for the short blurb of a blog. Not very good this time... Oh well!

New Wheels are Turning

Well, folks... I have a new vehicle. My Nissan was rear-ended last week and bumped and bruised. Seeing as the car has 245,000 some-odd miles on it, we decided it wasn't worth getting it fixed. And since we were thinking about getting a newer car anyway, it just got pushed closer. So my Adam went car shopping (at Van Bortel Ford) and he found a nice Ford Escape. It's kinda like a small SUV and very good for things. Like putting things in it, hauling things, going places with things, and things like that. I like it a lot and it is fun to drive. The Escape is a 2003 and is dark forest green. Quite stylish. Adam has good taste, although he did have to ask me if I liked it. We still have my Nissan, though when Adam starts his new job next week, we'll be getting rid of it shortly thereafter. You see, he can't drive his own company van to work (because Betlem also has a residential department), so he has to drive something else until he get's a Betlem company van. So things are kinda changing 'round here. New vehicles, new jobs, new seasons, but no new kids. But Louis is like a kid, and he's getting big... Well, maybe eventually I'll put a pic of my new car on here... but then maybe that's kinda stupid. Although Jim did it when he got a new car... We'll see.
Tomorrow is the Apple Blossom Festival. Maybe we'll go. Sounds like fun...

A Mother's Day

Here is a picture of my mom and I on Mother's Day. We could be twins! Today Adam and I spent Mother's Day with both our Mothers. First we went to the Lilac Festival with Bob and Joanne and Adam's brother Andy. We walked around, smelled some flowers, traversed the traffic and ongoing stream of people and then we left. It was fun. Then we went to a little Tex-Mex eatery where they chowed down and Adam and I had soda and/or dessert. We had already eaten before the Lilac Festival. We had gone to our favorite place called Billy's Homestead. This time, though, we did not sit alone. There was this little old lady who came in after us who was going to sit alone. I thought to myself, "It's no fun to sit alone. Especially on Mother's Day. Maybe she would like to sit with us." So we asked her and she gladly obliged. Her name was Helen and she comes to Billy's often. We had a nice chat and I think it was a good lunch/breakfast for all of us. She even invited me to stop by if I ever wanted any flowers because she has spare flowers growing in her gardens. Sweet lady she was.
Anyway, after the Lilac Festival we went to my Grandparents house where my side of the family was. My aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, cousins and parents had all gathered for a picnic earlier (to which we did not attend) and we came to also join the company. Most of the festivities were already over and a lot of us were tired. So we just relaxed, did crosswords, chatted a bit, ate Dave and Leta's fruit salad and hung out. I had bought Mom a lovely hanging basket plant... but I'm not sure what it is... I think she liked it. I did not get any Mother's Day presents because I'm not a mother yet. Leta wishes she was... Maybe someday we can be Mommies together? Anyway... Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful Mom out there! I love you 'specially mom!!!

School is Fun

Hey there blogging world! Here is a picture of one of the trilliums that we saw the other day. When I went teaching yesterday, we went for a walk again... this time with all the kids (except Meghan- she's only two and was taking a nap) and I had my camera. We tromped on out into the woods laughing and having a good ol' time. Most of the kids didn't like having their picture taken, but I still managed to get a few good ones. Katherine's face was beat red by the time we got back home. It's hard for a four year old to keep up with the big kids!

But she managed, and so did I. We didn't meet any big dogs this time, which is probably a good thing because we had so many people with us. There were eight of us in all because the neighbor boy, Brian, had been persuaded to come along.
I think that school has been going pretty good so far. Their Mom bought Joe, Rebekah and Katherine workbooks to go through. This is nice because it includes reading and writing exercises and math activities all in one convenient book. Joe is doing well with memorizing his division facts. His mom has been practicing them with him. Yeah! I don't think he knows how good he's been doing at them... or how much he actually knows. I see good progress with reading... it may not be too long before both Joe and Rebekah are reading just for fun.
Baby Rachel is getting bigger too. She is now at newborn age and her Mommy says she is popping out of her preemie clothes! That is good news.
Well, soon my hubby will be home. Dinner is already made and waiting. It's nice to have dinner done when he gets home. Makes me feel like a good wife. We're having chicken and pasta in a creamy sauce and a salad. I'm excited because it's something different and I think he'll like it. So I gotta go. Good evening to all!

Big Dogs and Small Kids

Little kids can be fun. Especially country kids like these. The one on the far left is my Grandpa- he was a cutie. Yesterday, I got to spend some time with some country kids. You know, the kids I teach... Right before lunch they like to run down to the creek and stand in the muddy water and catch slimy frogs. They carry them around a bit and then stick 'em in a bucket for the day. I can't blame them... I used to do it too. My brothers and I would spend hours during the summer months in the little creek that ran behind our house catching frogs, lots of crayfish, minnows if we could, and maybe, once in a while, a snake or two. It was one of very favorite things to do. And of course we would leave them in a bucket in the yard for a day or two or three till we let them go. It was fun being a kid... And I suppose, that my pupils also should have a chance to catch frogs and enjoy sunny afternoons too. Of course, we try to get school done as quick as we can so we can go outside and play. Yesterday, I went for a walk with three of the girls. Bethany (who is 11, almost 12), Rebecca (6), and Katherine (4) and I hiked on out over the creek and out to the woods. We walked through fields and followed the tractor trails on up the hill. Watch out for muddy spots! I braved 'em and walked through the middle on the high spot. The girls took the safer route. Once we hiked up the ridge, we noticed a single, beautiful trillium blooming under the canopy of the trees. It was like a treasure among the leaves and twigs and undergrowth. It was so precious in its' singleness. I explained to the girls what it was and how it was endangered and against the law to pick them. They ooed and awed over it and then we walked on. Pretty soon we began to notice a few more trilliums here and there. We got so excited... Bethany said they had never seen them before and she was so glad we took a walk when we did. I wished that I had my camara. The farther we walked the more and more flowers we noticed. They seemed to be growing everywhere along the ridge or that hill. They were so pretty and I am so glad we decided to take a walk that day. I don't get to see many trilliums and they only bloom in the woods in early spring. So that was a treasure. But that wasn't the only exciting thing that happened on our walk... When we were almost done with our walk (nearing the road, which we would follow back to the house) we saw, standing in our pathway up ahead of us, a big black dog, just standing there watching us. I stopped in my tracks and tried to remember what to do when you saw a strange dog and didn't know whether he was nice or mean. I told the girls not to look him in the eyes and we backed up a little. But we couldn't turn around now... it would take us forever to get home if we did. And then the dog started trotting toward us. I told the little girls to stand behind me (just in case). You have to understand... this dog was huge. He was at least part Great Dane and his head came up past my waist. I decided that I would talk sweetly to him and called out to him "Hi puppy". He was hardly a puppy, but that didn't really matter. When he came too close for comfort I stood there and told the other girls to walk on ahead but not run. The dog stood there next to me... he didn't seem mean, but he hadn't wagged his tail yet either. How could I tell what he was thinking? He was wearing a collar, and when he wanted to follow the girls, I took hold of it gently and told them to keep walking. When they were far enough away for me, I let the collar go and started walking down the path, the dog walking next to me. I caught up to the girls and took Katherine's hand in mine, and kept myself between her and the dog. The Great Dane dwarfed Katherine. She was scared of him. I patted the dogs head just to make sure that he knew we were okay and so I knew he was okay too. Rebecca got brave and patted it too. I did not want her to do that. Whenever we would stop walking the dog took a few more steps then turned around and waited for us. It looked like he was there for the duration. When we got farther down the path we could see some kids playing at one of the houses next to the road. They were jumping on a trampoline and I took the educated guess that the dog belonged to them. It turned out that he did and his name was Mozart. And although he was scary looking, Mozart really was a nice dog. Good thing for us. It was quite the adventurous walk. And fun too. Sometimes it's nice being a kid, and then sometimes one has to be the grown up, and at least act like you're brave because there are younger people looking up to me. Good thing I have someone watching out for me too.

Sentences of Joy

Hullo... here I am blogging again. I went teaching again today. Lovely day to do so. I was greatly encouraged today because two of the kids I teach wrote their very first sentences all by themselves! They even sounded out the words themselves! Yes, yes, yes!!! Now they will be able to do so many more things! Like learn to spell and write stories and write more sentences and use their imaginations!!! I'm so excited! Now let's just see if they feel like writing more sentences on Friday. You have to understand why I am so excited that they wrote sentences all by themselves. Seven weeks ago, they were both struggling to read, not quite knowing all the sounds or how to write certain letters. Now I know that I actually have been making a difference and have been helping these kids to grow and develop and learn many new things. Josiah (who is eight and just wrote his first sentences on his own) also started learning how to divide today. Simple division, of course, but none the less, division. It is good to be seeing progress. It is encouraging. Although, working five days a week is very tiring and maybe more stressful on my relationships and my housework. On which note I shall leave you all and go back to my real life. Good bye!

Here are a few pics from my trip. First is Mandy and I. And there are two from the wedding. The little girl is my cousin Abby from Albuquerque.