Thanksgiving Day!

The above picture is of our family on Thanksgiving Day. It was a great time of food, football and games! So much to be thankful for!!

What do you call Him?

1. My beloved
   
2. My defense
   
3. My deliverer
   
4. My exceeding joy
   
5. My Father
   
6. My fortress
   
7. My friend
   
8. My glory
   
9. My God
   
10. My goodness
    
11. My help
    
12. My hiding place
    
13. My high tower
    
14. My hope
    
15. My hope in the day of evil
    
16. My judge
    
17. My King
    
18. My lamp
    
19. My love
    
20. My praise
    
21. My Redeemer
    
22. My refuge
    
23. My rock
    
24. My salvation
    
25. My Savior
    
26. My shepherd
    
27. My shield
    
28. My song
    
29. My stay
    
30. My strength and power
    
31. My strength and song
    
32. My strong refuge
    
33. My strong rock

"Well, will you do me a favor then? Can you bring me my chapstick? ...But my lips hurt real bad!"

- Napoleon Dynamite

A little girl in my class, Hannah, came up to me today and asked if she could go to the nurse. I asked her why. She said, "Because my lips hurt real bad!" I laughed so hard. She didn't understand why I would be laughing, but dang she sounded like Napoleon.
I let her go.

Happy Be-lated Birthday

Happy Birthday to my nephew Jake. He was a year old last Saturday!! He is one cute baby.

'Tis the Season...Deer Season

Well it is that time of year. Deer season is in full force here. The below "song" is one of my favorites. We used to sing this song in high school and I'm sorry to say that I used to know ALL the words...(I'm bit of a redneck) Don't let that get around!! : ) If you aren't used to listening to a Northern accent, you may have a hard time understanding the words, but the point of the song is that these hunters from Wisconsin found a "thirty" point buck.
Enjoy.

One Week Ago...

Ryan Shay died during the U.S. men's Olympic marathon trials on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007 in New York. Shay collapsed about 5 1/2 miles into the race Saturday, and later was pronounced dead at a city hospital. His wife, Alicia (Craig) Shay, is a runner from Gillette. I live with Alicia's folks, Dave and Sally Craig.

Saturday was a very surreal day as I talked to Sally and found out that Ryan had died. At first I thought she was joking. How can it be true that one of the top athletes in the United States is dead? But the more she talked and I could hear the strain and tears in her voice that I knew it was true. My heart broke for the Craig/Shay family. I had met Ryan, right before he and Alicia got married and of course he and Alicia were usuallly a topic of converation at supper time. Talking about their different upcoming runs and of course the Olympic trials. The funeral is tomorrow afternoon and I can't imagine the grief that the new bride of 4 months is and will be feeling tomorrow and for along time to come.

Please keep this family in your prayers.

Happy Halloween

I hope that everyone enjoys a nice evening of trick-or-treating (trunk-r-treating!) and that there is a nice variety of candy this year!! : )

I'm Back!

Hello blogger friends! I am back after some wacky last few days. I had a ton of work to get done before I left for Washington D.C. and on top of all that I got a nasty cold...CRAZY!! I just got back last night from a great trip and run. For those of you who don't know, I ran in the Marine Corps Marathon this last Sunday. I ran with my aunt. We had a lovely time. The weather was wonderful and I was happy with how the race went. I am still a little sore, but it gets better each day. The race route was beautiful. We ran through all the momuments, in a great park and then past the pentagon. I am glad to have it over with and am looking forward to working on a new goal. I am thinking maybe snowboarding. I have never tried that. Anway, I am back and hopfully I'll be better at keeping up on my postings.

Overwhelmed.

As the Marine Corps Marathon draws closer, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. It is coming at a very bad time for me. I leave for the race next Thursday, but before I leave I have a big family/wedding week-end this week-end, 2 observations, a school carnival, report cards to get done, and other radom demands on my time. I truly am tring to take it a day at a time and not stress about it too much.

I am looking forward to going to Washington D.C. with my aunt and uncle and spending some nice time with them. Knowing that helps me get through the next few days!

Happy Monday Dad!

Roy Rogers Riders Club Rules:

1. Be neat and clean.

2. Be courteous and polite.

3. Always obey your parents.

4. Protect the weak and help them.

5. Be brave but never take chances.

6. Study hard and learn all you can.

7. Be kind to animals and take care of them.

8. Eat all your food and never waste any.

9. Love God and go to Sunday school regularly.

10. Always respect our flag and our country.

My Chains are gone!

I had a great talk with my good friend "H" tonight and this song came to mind as we were talking. Sometimes I forget that my chains are gone.

Love you sister!!

** Love this version of Amazing Grace by Chris Tomlin **

Fall Fun

On Saturday night our small group got together for Bible study and a fall party. It was a wonderful time. We dined on some tasty chili, cornbread, pumpkin muffins and popcorn. After our study, we carved pumpkins. I haven't carved a pumpkin in a few years and I felt like a kid again. Of course T. H. is the only person I know who would carve a pumpkin with a power tool. It was a fun night filled with laughter and memories being made!

It does matter!

I was given the "Nice Matters" Award by my good friend. She is one of those people that I was lucky enough to get to know and share life with, even if it was for such a short time. I do know that we will always be friends and have a connection even from far away. Miss you friend!!

I am passing the award on to my friend 5 Hearts. As a busy mom of three and trying to finish a 5, 000+ square feet house with her husband, she is kind enough to let me chat with her on my drive time home from work and even lets me crash at her house on short notice on a late nights. She has a willing and a "can do " attitude! Thank you T for your friendship!!

Foto fun!

My brother and his family came this last week-end. Jason was doing a financal workshop at church and I got to "babysit." If you can call it that. It was Saturday morning and I had had a long week, so I put the baby down for a nap, put in a cartoon for the girls and fell asleep on the couch. When I awoke from my slumber, the cartoon was over the the girls were a little bored, so we painted toes and nails and took silly pictures. It was a fun time!

Thanks for letting me have some time with the kids J and L. Just let me know when you would like me to babysit again!! : )

How refreshing!

On Tuesday afternoon I went through my purse and took out all of my credit cards (but one) and cut them all up. What a refreshing feeling!! My brother is a financial planner and counselor and has been helping me and giving me great advise to help me with a budget (such an ugly word sometimes.) He had talked sometime back about getting rid of my cards, but I just couldn't do it, but I just had an urge to do it on Tuesday. Okay, I didn't get rid of all them, I did keep one just in case! Baby steps right?

Excuse Me...Come Again?!

Laugh of the week and the weeks to come!

The other day in class we were working on the /K/ sound as in kite. Well, I sat down by my little Devon to work on this sound with him and pointed out the pictures on the paper. It had pictures of a kite, king, key, kittens and a few others that I can't recall. He took one look at the paper and said, "Oh, I like your titties!" My jaw dropped and all I could do was just look at him. He said again, "I have two titties." "I like to pet my titties." He then proceeds to point to the kitties on the paper and says, "I like that tittie the best?" Oh, you like kitties!! Of course!

I will be referring him to speech.

Every time I think about it I laugh hysterically.

Ew, Yuck!

This last Friday as our day was drawing close to an end, I saw a little boy do one of the most disgusting things...he spit on another child!!! Not just a little spittle, but a full blow, all over the face, not once but twice SPIT. I drug his little 5 year old butt down to the office and he was out of the classroom for the rest of the day. I don't know what possessed him to do it and he couldn't even say why, but to me there isn't any good excuse for doing something like that. I'm hoping that our Monday will be a little better than Friday!!

There is never a dull moment in a Kindergarten classroom!!

What??

I have been waiting for the last 41/2 months for the season premier of my Thrusday night shows just to find out that "they" have double booked two of them. This has been my run down for the last few years:

My Name is Earl
The Office
Grey's Anatomy
ER

Well!, I am so ticked off that they have put The Office and Grey's on at the same time. Now I am going to have to learn how to record off one channel while I'm watching another channel.
How rude that ABC and NBC don't coordinate their shows and times a little better.
I tell you if I were a drinkin' girl... :)

Will wake-up for...

One of the things I miss the most about living in a big city is my Starbucks! I would drive by countless Starbucks on my way to work out in Meridian and think nothing of it, but now I have to set my alarm extra, extra early to get my "fix." There is a stand-alone store here in Gillette, but way out of my way on the drive to school. I will trick myself into getting up early with a Starbucks coffee as my treat. In fact, I'm on my way to bed now so I can have my prize in the morning.

Night all.

Happy Fall Y'all!!

Fall is my absolute most favorite time of year. This past week-end my mom and I got to spend Saturday going through the Black Hills and Spearfish Canyon and enjoy God's beauty. I've included a Robert Frost poem entitled October. It just seems to fit this time of year and also it has been windy something awful here and it won't be long and the leaves will be all gone.

October

O hushed October morning mild,

Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;

Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild,

Should waste them all.

The crows above the forest call;

Tomorrow they may form and go.

O hushed October morning mild,

Begin the hours of this day slow.

Make the day seem to us less brief.

Hearts not averse to being beguiled,

Beguile us in the way you know.

Release one leaf at break of day;

At noon release another leaf;

one from our trees, one far away.

Retard the sun with gentle mist;

Enchant the land with amethyst.

Slow, slow!

For the grapes' sake, if the were all,

Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,

Whose clustered fruit must else be lost--

For the grapes' sake along the all.