Wednesday, April 28, 2021

What’s Up April

   Happy Wednesday, Y'all

Today, I'm joining Shay, and Sheaffer for their What's Up Wednesday link-up. 


Every month we answer the same list of questions based on how things are currently going in our lives. 

The questions are...


 

What am I eating?

Nothing terribly exciting... I did have some nems the other night, though. They're Vietnamese egg rolls. They're basically spring rolls filled with all sorts of yummy goodness and then deep fried. They are so good!


What am I reminiscing about?

My dad... It's hard to believe that he's been gone for 6 years. Also, today would have been my parents 37th anniversary. So that's on my mind too. At any rate, I'm just so grateful for all of the memories I made with him.



 What am I loving?

I love seeing kids who once hated to read, fall in love with reading. Because the majority of my students struggle with reading, it's not even remotely close to being their favorite subject. As a result, I rarely hear positive comments about reading. But this year... This year I've been able to see such a fun shift in some of my crew. I'm so grateful for finding lessons/activities that make reading fun for them AND I'm thankful for a library full of all sorts of books (and an amazing librarian too) who make my kids want to read.


What have I been up to?

Teaching/prepping all the things... I'm a big fan of interactive notebooks, especially with my younger students. They're such a good way for students to get all of the content knowledge they need in a more fun manner than via lecturing and traditional pen/paper assignments.


What am I dreading?

I've been dreading the arrival of the bill for the doctor visits and the physical therapy sessions that I had done in January. Well the first bill came in and then, when I checked my insurance site, I saw the rest of it would be arriving shortly. I'm thankful for the generosity of people who have offered to help me with this unexpected expense. Because oh my word, y'all... It's ironic. In the 10+ years that I've had this insurance, I've barely touched it. But man, I do know how to go big when I do need to use it. And a super high deductible doesn't (didn't) really help matters...


What am I working on?

Grad school. So very much grad school... This class has been enjoyable for me. I've learned so much. But oh my word, y'all... It's required a lot of work! So knowing that once I turn in my last assignment next week, I'll get 8 weeks off before my next class start is a good feeling! So yay for that!


 What am I excited about?

I'm excited to see my family in just 6 1/2 weeks. 



What am I watching?

I rarely watch movies anymore. But I have been watching old episodes of  Guy's Grocery Games from The Food Network. That's been my new way of "unwinding" at the end of the day. I watch an episode or two each night, just as a way to relax a bit and not have to use my brain to think ;)


What am I reading?

I'm currently reading my 21st book of the year, Anonymous by Alicia Britt Chole. I've had this one on my "to read" list for a while, but just haven't started reading it 'til last week. I'm slowly working my way through it, as I want to fully soak up all God has for me to learn as I read. I'm only a few chapters in at this point, but I really am enjoying it.


What am I listening to?

I thought of the hymn, Be Still My Soul, a few days ago. And then I found Kari Jobe's singing of it and loved it. The lyrics to this song are just so good.


What am I wearing?

My newest Teacher t-shirt... I got it at Christmas time, but somehow didn't pack it in my suitcases. So my mom threw it in a package she mailed me a couple months ago.



 What am I doing this weekend?

There's an intramural hockey tournament at school this weekend. So I'm considering going out and watching a few of those games. Then, past that, this will be my last weekend of the grad school class I'm taking. So I'll be working on that. Then, I'll be going to church and resting up since the next few weekends after that will be full of all sorts of fun (but time consuming) activities. So, sort of busy, sort of not... 

What am I looking forward to next month?

I'll be on a break from grad school. 
We have a day off next month. 
The freshmen class, which I co-sponsor, has another fundraiser and a class party as well. So that'll all be fun.
The school musical is next month.
I have a few fun projects/lessons planned for my classes.
And there are a few other fun school-related things going on.


What else is new?

I've been working on building my schedule for next year. It's looking like I'll be teaching a couple new (to me) courses to my high schoolers (along with a whole bunch of classes for my middle schoolers and elementary schoolers too). So that'll be interesting. As a result, I'm thinking I'll be visiting Amazon and/or a Teacher Supply Store this summer to prep for that. 

And that's what I'm up to this month.

What about you?

What are YOU up to this month?

Monday, April 19, 2021

6 Years

 6 years


6 years ago, my heart was hurting worse than ever before.



My dad had just passed away.
It was the day before my dad's 56th birthday.
It was only 9 days before my parents' 31 anniversary.
And it was hard...
So very hard.


Some days it still feels just like yesterday. 

And other days it feels like it's been an eternity.


My dad loved preaching.

In fact, he preached his last sermon from his hospital bed exactly one week before he passed away. Using Romans 8:18 as his primary verse, he reminded us that, though we may experience suffering and pain here on earth, we can trust in the hope of our Savior. We can trust in the knowledge that if we are saved, we will experience that glory that is beyond compare. 

 I am so incredibly thankful that his words are now etched into my memory. 

And not just that... 

I'm thankful for the love of the Bible he shared with me. 

I'm thankful for the model of Christian ministry he shared with me.

I'm thankful for the Christian heritage he passed on to me.


I'm thankful for the 29.5 years worth of memories.



 


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I've written memories-filled posts every year on the anniversary of his death, which can be found below. While still sad, it's nice for me to be able to look back and remember how God's been with me through the past 5 years...






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Today, I'm joining Ashley and Erika for their monthly Tuesday Talk link-up, where bloggers come together and talk about whatever is on our mind at the moment. And today, for me, that was a reminder of what happened 6 years ago.

Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Currently

    Happy Wednesday, Y'all

Today I'm joining Anne from In Residence for her monthly link-up, where we share what's currently going on in our lives. And each month, Anne gives us a list of prompts to use to guide our posts. 


April's prompts are...

  * arranging *  craving * discussing * enjoying * preparing *

I'm currently arranging plans for this summer. And part of that includes arranging to take the 3 Praxis exams I need to retake to renew my AL Teaching certificate. 4, if you count the one I need for my current program... Fun times y'all ;)



I'm currently craving Chick-fil-A, which is kind of sad since I’m obviously nowhere near one... But I found a copycat recipe that is supposedly pretty awesome. So I’m going to try it out later this week. If it turns out to be good, I’ll share it on here.

I'm currently discussing this book with anyone who will listen... While the author was “transplanted” into the bush of Alaska, the lessons she learned can easily be applied anywhere...



I'm currently enjoying still being on Spring Break. Ah, alarm clock, I do not miss you :)



I'm currently preparing my lessons for the next few weeks of school. I decided to spend one day of my Spring Break working in my classroom. That way I could get things done, but still be able to enjoy my time off from work. And today is that day... 



 And since it's my blog and I can, I thought I'd share a couple more :)

I'm currently planning to publish a blog post on this topic soon. I’ve been slowly adding to it and I think it’s almost ready...



I'm currently researching a fun topic for grad school. I printed off a huge stack of journal articles to pour through. And since I would prefer to highlight, notate, etc., directly on paper (versus reading them online), I’m willing to spend the money it takes to print all these journal articles. Sorry about that trees... At any rate, the teacher/learner nerd in me is loving this ;)

I'm currently thinking back to this time 6 years ago and missing this guy... 



I’m currently telling myself I should listen to this fridge magnet a bit more...

 
And that's about it for me.

So what about you?

What are you currently up to?

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

What's Up March

   Happy Wednesday, Y'all

Today, I'm joining Shay, and Sheaffer for their What's Up Wednesday link-up. 


Every month we answer the same list of questions based on how things are currently going in our lives. 

The questions are...


 

What am I eating? 

I could live my life without most sweets. I rarely eat dessert. And candy is never my first choice of treats. But, ice cream... Ice cream breaks all of those rules, especially when you live in a climate that is hot more days than it's not. So yeah... Give me ice cream and I'm a happy girl :)


What am I reminiscing about?

Easter 6 years ago... My brother and sister-in-law brought my nieces over to see us. We spoiled them with all sorts of Easter goodies, loved on them, and enjoyed our time all together. And what makes it even more special is now knowing that was the last time my dad got to see my nieces before he passed away just a few short weeks later. I remember my oldest niece sitting next to her Pawpaw, talking up a storm. And my youngest niece, who wasn't yet talking, just staring lovingly into his eyes, giving the sweetest hugs and kisses before leaving. My dad was born to be a Pawpaw. That is for sure. So when I think back to memories like these, I think of the joy he had and I can't help but smile :)

 
What am I loving?

I'm loving not having to set an alarm clock at the moment. 

What have I been up to?

Well, two days ago I went on a safari drive. I know I've lived here for over a decade. But y'all... It doesn't matter how long I've been here. It still occasionally boggles my mind that I actually live in Africa and can do stuff like this... Past that, I'm been resting, relaxing, and enjoying Spring Break.



What am I dreading? 

I semi dread the middle of April each year. This year, it will be the 6th anniversary of my dad's death.I recently had a conversation with a friend about how I still miss being able to pick up the phone and call him. I miss going to him with questions I have about the Bible. I miss swapping book recommendations. I miss asking him advice about life and ministry. I miss receiving those periodic texts and emails saying he's praying for me and he's proud of me. I miss landing at the Birmingham airport and seeing him waiting by baggage claim, ready to give me a hug and to ask about my flight. I miss sitting in church and hearing him preach a sermon full of truth and grace and love. I miss our spontaneous roadtrips and adventure seeking times. I just miss him so much...


What am I working on?

Embracing the concept of "rest"...


 What am I excited about?

Nothing terribly exciting at the moment... Although, I was pretty happy to find some sunglasses at a random little store we stopped in yesterday, especially since I forgot mine at home. And seeing that they said they were Gucci glasses just made me laugh ;)


What am I watching?

I watched the series finale of Superstore last Friday. As someone who has watched every single episode, I was quite pleased with how they wrapped everything (and everyone's stories) up so nicely. After all, a happy ending on a show makes me a happy girl :)


What am I reading?

I'm currently reading my 16th book of 2021.


What am I listening to?

Someone told me about Carrie Underwood's new gospel album. So I found it on Apple Music and I've been listening to it ever since. I love her voice. And I love these hymns. So it was a win win. 


What am I wearing?

All the comfy, non-work clothes, thanks to it being Spring Break

 What am I doing this weekend?

I'll get back home on Saturday. Then, Sunday is Easter and I'm planning to go to church. But past that, I have nothing planned. We'll see what I can get into :)

What am I looking forward to next month?

Well, it's still Spring Break for another week and a half, which is quite awesome. So there's that. But past that, there's Easter. There's also some fun stuff happening at school along with some fun projects and lessons I have planned for all of my classes. So there's that as well.

What else is new?

I'm in the middle of my newest Educational Research class. As someone who loves doing research and writing papers, this class is perfect for me. So I'm definitely enjoying myself. And since I have a nice view to enjoy while I study this week... Well, that's just icing on the cake for me :)


And that's what I'm up to this month.

What about you?

What are YOU up to this month?

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Randomness on a Tuesday

Happy Tuesday Y'all

Ready for some randomness?

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Here's your funny kid story of the day...

Yesterday a student told me I had a lot of "glitter hairs."

Glitter = Gray

What I wanted to say...

Thanks, Kid. I'm pretty sure it's your fault I have them.

What I actually did...

Laughed

After all, what else can you do? Laugh at the craziness. It makes life much more enjoyable/tolerable after all. Laugh at the craziness. I think that's going to be my new motto in life. 

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12 years ago, I was offered a job at Dakar Academy. How in the world has that much time passed? Some days, it seems as if that were just yesterday... In that time, I've taught Elementary School (1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th), ELL (all grades), and SPED (all grades). I remember telling people before I left that I was just going for a year, maybe 2 years tops. And I'm thinking that God just laughed at me when I said that...

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It's almost Spring Break. We just have to finish out this week and next week. Then we'll have 2 weeks off for Spring Break. I love my job. I rally, truly do. But oh my word, Y'all... I'm so ready for Spring Break!

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I'm working on trusting in truth of the verse shown above. The thing is... I know it's true. But y'all, sometimes it's hard to connect what we know and what we feel. Sometimes the mind/heart don't work as closely as they should. Last week was intense. Between fears for safety in our country to the stress/added work load of switching back and forth between online learning and in-person learning to worrying about issues with my students to stuff going on back home and on and on... It's been a lot. But at the end of the day, I do know that Jesus is in control. I do know that He knows what's best for me. So I will continue to push through on the hard days and cling to the promises He's given me.

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 Happy Tuesday, Y'all

Today, I'm joining Ashley and Erika for their monthly Tuesday Talk link-up, where bloggers come together and talk about whatever is on our mind at the moment. And today, for me, that was a random assortment of things.