Life Lately

 

Life lately has included some sights around my neighborhood.

Life lately has included watching my students grow in their love for reading. Seriously, I've never had a class who, overall, loves to read as much as this one. In fact, for their next class reward, they wanted a Reading Party (...where you'd read for hours and hours). Now, while we won't actually do that, it still makes me smile :)

 

Life lately has included Easter, which was a little different this year than years past. Parts were good. Parts weren't as great. But honestly, overall, it was still a good day, and of course, the best day of all to remember the reason for the holiday...the resurrection of my Lord and Savior.

Life lately has included dinner and games with friends and co-workers.

Life lately has included a monthly get-together with our AGWM family here in Senegal (well, some of us), full of food and fellowship, prayer, laughter and even tears. 

Life lately has included goodies for my students.

Life lately has included me raiding my "secret" chocolate stash because as one of my kids said, "Sometimes in life we just need chocolate." 

Life lately has included my friends trying their classmate's "microphone" and thinking he's the coolest kid ever!

Life lately has included me baking, something I'm not very good at. Why? ...because there are 10 kids I kind of like a little bit and they deserve it :)

Life lately has included reminders of family, whom I miss so very much.

Life lately has included a quote which is so true at times. 

Life lately has included a couple new (to me) books and the anticipation of the upcoming weekend when I'll be able to read them, since I have a rule about that... Elisabeth will not read (for fun) during the week because she cannot put a book down once she starts reading it...which could be problematic when she has work the next day :)

Life lately has included a few new ideas for my students, all with the goal of keeping them entertained, well-behaved, and learning.

  

Life lately has included watching Kid President videos on Youtube. This kid rocks! And my 4th graders love him!

Life lately has included eating blueberry muffins and playing the most hilarious and lively game of Uno ever with my favorite 10 kids.

Life lately has included a peeled orange and an almost proposal. He asked, Are you a Madam or Madamoiselle? And then he gave me a gift of an orange, peeled it for me, and then winked as he handed it to me. It was awesome! Haha :)

And if I'm being honest...

Life lately has been hard. ...like, really hard. It's not just the anniversary of my dad's death (...which is exactly one week from today, by the way). I mean, that in itself is incredibly hard. But it's just... I don't know. I can't explain it. I just know it's hard.

At any rate... Life lately has included digging deeper into the Word more than ever before because at times I feel like I'm struggling more than ever before.