Happy 4th of July!!

I just wanted to post a picture of this cake I just decorated. It's by no means an original design. My mom got a book from Ollie's with some different cake decorating ideas in it - this was one of them. Doesn't it just look yummy!!!

Movers and packers

I guess 3 weeks is long enough to wait between posts! Since school let out, I've been trying to get some packing done, sending out resumes, and just generally not wanting to do anything at all!! I guess you don't really realize just how much "junk" you have until you move!! I keep thinking, "I need to get rid of some of this stuff!" but I just keep packing it away, thinking, "I may need it some day . . . " Of course, when I DO finally throw something out, I think about a week later, "Now, what did I do with ________, OH YEAH!! I threw it away!!" Maybe I'll eventually figure out what is worth saving and what can be disposed of!

Is there anything you have thrown out and then later wish you would have kept? Or maybe the opposite?? :) Let me know!!

Frogs and fingers

The past two weeks, the High School Bible class has been teaching Bible lessons for my class. They have done an awesome job so far, and I've really enjoyed having them around. I think it's been really good for all of them. This week we've been learning about Moses. Today they taught about the 10 plagues in Egypt. At the end of the lesson, they gave the kids cupcakes that looked like this:

















Isn't it adorable!! The green gobs above the eyes are marshmallows rolled in green sugar. The eyes are chocolate chips. She said it took her and her sister 2 hours to do them all!!! I can tell she really put some extra effort into it! Thanks!!!

Going backwards in time, I was playing volleyball last night -- you guessed it -- I hurt myself again. This time it was my left ring finger -- I guess I'll have to postpone my wedding a few more weeks :) That must be why I haven't gotten married until now -- God knew I would have probably needed it cut off because of the swelling. This one seems to hurt a lot more than last time. I don't think it's broken, though. My aide says she thinks she has a splint I can use to keep it stable. Speaking of which, I probably shouldn't be typing with it right now . . .

Backing up about a week, MY BABY BROTHER GRADUATED COLLEGE!!!
















We are all so proud of him!! Now he can get a JOB!!! :)
























The speaker for his graduation was Ben Stein (remember the movie "Expelled" and those eye drop commercials?)


You can sort-of see him on the screen -- please pardon the random backs of people's heads.

















So now, it's just a matter of getting through the last couple weeks of school. Only 10 1/2 more days of school left!!

(as a side note, I sent out applications to 8 different schools. Please continue to pray that God will direct the recipients in the way HE would have me go.)

Teacher Appreciation Week

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. I am so blessed to have such great parents!! So far, they've given me flowers, chocolate, a book and an apple-shaped pin. One parent even invited me over for dinner in a couple of weeks! The parents in the school as a whole have been great, too. I haven't had to pack lunch all week!! They brought BBQ chicken on Monday, a meat and cheese tray on Tuesday, Lasagna on Wednesday, and Chick-fil-a brought us chicken, fruit, and brownies today!! Tomorrow, we have a hot breakfast served to us compliments of another family in the school.

Being a teacher is awesome!!!

Balderdash

This weekend I lost my mind.

I had 8 teenage girls spend the night at my apartment. My friend, Karen, leads a girls Bible study on Saturdays, and they have had a sleepover once or twice. When Karen started planning this one, I said, "Hey! They could just stay at my place -- that could be fun!!" Fun -- right. It actually was a really good time. They made spaghetti and I got to show a girl how to make cheesecake! We had to improvise a little since I didn't have all the ingredients, but it still tasted great! They even cleaned up the dishes when they were done!

Karen is currently raising support to go on the mission field. She has such a heart for missions and wants to spread that compassion to these girls, too. She had them pick a missionary our church supports and write them a letter of encouragement. The girls did an awesome job! After supper and the dishes were cleaned up, we took some time to pray for the missionaries they had written to. I prayed for 2 Karens -- my friend who leads this Bible study and my sister and her family.

After we prayed, we played Balderdash. If you aren't familiar with the game, I'll give a summary. In the classic version, one person reads a word and everyone writes down what they think it means. They try to make it as convincing as possible. When everyone is done writing, they give their paper to the person who read the word. That person reads all the fake definitions, along with the real one they wrote down, and everyone votes on which one they think is real. I have a version that takes it a step further. In the version I have, they have 5 different categories: Weird Words -- as described above; Peculiar People - names a famous people and you have to say why they are famous; Marvelous Movies - gives a movie title and you give the plot; Incredible Initials - gives initials and you have to say what the letters stand for; Laughable Laws - gives the first part of a crazy law and you have to finish it.

You can really learn a lot from this game. For example, even though we only did about 6 or 7 rounds, I learned that a mormoop is a type of ugly bat; that in Baker, California it is illegal to ride a bicycle into a swimming pool; and that in Spartanburg, South Carolina it is illegal to eat watermelon in a cemetery. (I really like the laughable laws category!)

Anyway, it was a lot of fun. I felt really old, though -- they started a movie after midnight and I just went to bed!! They said most of them went to sleep about 3 am. I guess I'm just not as young as I used to be!!

Any other interesting facts you'd like to learn?? Maybe we can do a blogging version of Balderdash!! This could be fun! Let me know if you'd be interested. :)

EASTER!!

This Easter was very different for me. This was my first "major" holiday away from any family. I would have gone home (since it's only about an hour and a half away), but between tax season and being in my church's Easter Concert, I couldn't make it back. Despite this, it was a good day. A friend of mine invited me to have Easter dinner with her family. It was great! I really miss those big family gatherings with the good-natured ribbing and reminiscing. After that, we just sort of sat around all day, chatting and napping and watching quilting and knitting shows on TV. Then it was off to warm-ups before the concert. The concert was AWESOME!! I'm hoping to get a copy of the performance. I won't put it all up here, but if I can put one song up, I'll try to do that. The arrangement of Amazing Grace was the best one. It wasn't the typical Amazing Grace, or even the arrangement with "My Chains are Gone." The words went:

Amazing Grace brought hope forever,
All sin erased, remembered never
I live again! Because He took my place.
Thanks to Calvary and Amazing Grace.

While we sang it, there was a video in the background with scenes from "The Passion of The Christ". We had to make sure we weren't looking at the monitors, or most of us wouldn't have been able to make it through the song. When we finished the song, it was absolutely silent in the auditorium. The pastor got up then to give his challenge. I don't know if anyone made a decision last night, but I know that God will definitely use that ministry for HIS glory!

Only 3 more days of taxes, then I FINALLY get to completley enjoy my Spring Break!!

aahhhhhhhhhhhh

Spring Break at last!!!!!!

Today went well, though. I had one parent come in early to pick up their child. I loved her comment, "They seem quieter than normal." They were really good today. I don't know if it was because of the anticipation of break, the fun activities of the day, or the fact that we had an awesome magician speak in chapel today. Either way, I'm still glad for break. I did realize, however, that after leaving school, I did leave one thing on my desk: an Easter egg a 2nd grader gave me. Yes, I knew I would probably forget it. Yes, I tried to remind myself several times. Yes . . . it is a real egg . . . . maybe this can be the source of a great Science experiment. "What happens to a hard-boiled egg after sitting in a school for 10 days??"

I plan to use the next couple of days to pack up some stuff to get ready for "the move" to "______". This blank will hopefully be closer to being filled in after this break as I plan to get some resumes sent out, too. Please pray for guidance as I send these out. I feel like I'm back to square one. It's exciting and a little scary at the same time. I need peace.

In other news, our Easter Concert is Sunday night at 7. Anyone interested in hearing an AWESOME concert, let me know. (and it will be awesome for many other reasons other than the fact that I'm singing in it!! :) We have "dress rehersal" tomorrow. My throat is feeling a little sore, so hopefully it won't cause any problems. At least I"m not singing any solos!