Can I just color?

Today I had one of the sweetest teaching moments of my career. I have a student who comes from an amazing family that are missionaries in Mexico. Zach's parents are my age and had to come back to the states because his mom had a miscarriage last summer and ever since then has been in intense pain and the doctors cannot find out what is wrong. It is a very sad story, the mom has to walk around in a wheelchair and is just vey weak. This family has to stay in the states until the mom gets better. Like I said, this family is incredible and I love them to pieces. Zach is a sweetheart and we pray for his mom every morning.
Right after school was out this afternoon our school secretary took me aside to tell me that Zach's mom had to be admitted to the ER and that she thought it would be better for me to tell him and then I was to take him to extended care. I was trying to hold it together but it was hard, my heart broke as I thought about the open house being tonight and how Zach was SO excited for his mom to be able to come and see the surprise that we cooked up.
So I told Zach that his mom's doctor appointment was going to be a little longer than expected and that he was going to extended care. He was obviously worried so we just said a quick prayer together.
I took him to where he needed to go and told the girl in charge that if he seemed really sad that he could come back to the classroom and hang out with me.
About 15 minutes later there was a knock on my door and in walks Zach and here is what was said:
Me: "Hey Buddy! How are you?"
Zach: "Good"
Me: "What's going on?"
Zach: "Nothing, I just am thinking about a lot of stuff."
Me: "Do you want to talk about it?"
Zach: "Not really. Can I just color? Do you want to color with me?"
Me: "Of course"
For the next twenty or so minutes Zach and I did simply that, just colored together and were silly and had a lot of laughs. It distracted both of us from what was going on and it was good.
Zach's dad came and picked him up and I could tell that it meant a lot to him that I would take the time to sit and color with Zach and that warmed my heart. It was the least I could do.
Zach's dad was able to come to the open house but not his mom as she has to spend the night in the ER.
I took lots of pictures of the classroom all decorated as an ocean for the open house and will post them soon. In the meantime, say a little prayer for sweet Zach and his family. I will keep you updated.

Why I am a teacher

I often asked myself the question, "Why am I a teacher?" this week after the hard days and wanting to crawl under my desk and cry! This week I have thought a lot about why I do what I do and why I love it so much.
Mrs. Holt, my 4th grade teacher, is the reason why I became a teacher. She was the one teacher I had that truly showed that she loved me (and the rest of my class) unconditionally. She knew how to have fun and be serious when needed. There was never a question as to whether she cared about us and I learned so much that year because I know she cared.
Often times I think about what kind of difference I want to make on my students and this is the exact impact I want to have on them. I want them to look at their 2nd grade year as a year of growth and fun and know that I loved them even through the rough days.
Mrs. Holt came and visited me and my classroom in December and it was one of the best times I have had! I love how we just picked up right where we left off and she was able to see me in action (and my kids in action :). It meant the world to me that she would want to come and visit. I respect and admire her in so many ways. She is one in a million!

Mini High School Reunion

When I was home for Christmas, one of my best friends from growing up happened to be in town and we hadn't seen each other in almost 8 years (way too long!). We decided to get together and invite some of our other friends. It was a blast and I loved that we were able to just pick up right where we left off. We have all gone our seperate ways, but it was fun to reconnect and learn about each other's lives.
We all agreed that there was no need to go to our 10 year reunion (scary that it is only a year away!), we just needed to get together again during that time and forget everyone else!
Here are a few pictures from our time together.

Me and Emily, best friends since the 3rd grade!

Me, Kelly and Emily

The gang...good times!

A good reminder...

as to why I teach and why I love it. These kids are precious. Despite their behavior and lack of self-control, they are priceless and I love them to pieces. I love talking to them about heaven and trying to answer all of their millions of questions as to what heaven and God are like. I love talkng to them about science and history as they seem to devour everything they learn. I love going out to recess with them and playing basketball or foursquare with them, making them feel loved and wanted.

Admist the challenges and hard days, I know that I am meant to be a teacher and all I need to do is look into one of their faces for a reminder of why I am here. I love them. Here are a few pictures that were taking at our reading party that they earned right before Christmas. They had a blast and I did as well.

Rough couple of days...

I wish I had pictures to post as I know that all great blog posts include pictures but I don't really have anything that would capture what I am going to talk about.
These last two days have to be two of the hardest teaching days of my career. It included crying in front of my class, breaking down in tears in my boss's office and going to bed at 8 o'clock the last two nights.
I am just exhausted and drained. My kids are wearing me out and it has been hard. My aide was even in tears yesterday saying that she has never seen a class like this before.
My boss came in and observed me today which was good. The kids were, of course, perfect but the funny thing is that he thought they were naughty. So if he thinks that is naughty, wow! He had a few pointers for me and it was hard to take but things I need to learn from and change. He really is a great guy and a great leader.
Anyways, I am too tired to really write a lot and I promise that I will post some interesting pictures real soon.

Too long

Wow, it really has been too long since I posted a new note! Sorry for the delay! Ever since coming back from Christmas, life has been crazy and I have been so tired. By the time I get home every night I am ready for bed! How sad!

Today I write with a thankful heart. Thankful that my students have had an amazing day after such a rough week. Thankful for my job and the people I work with. Thankful for conversations I have been able to have with a few friends that have challenged me to grow in so many areas. Thankful for God's love even when it is not deserved. I am just happy. Admist the chaos of life, I find myself happy and so thankful that I am at a healthy school where I can thrive and truly feel like God has gifted me as a teacher.

I think I am so mindful of what I am thankful for because of something that happened this morning. I had a parent (the one that obviously doesn't care for me and thinks her son is perfect) snap at me for something so small and minute. She even snapped at her own son and was seriously acting like a Nazi. I walked away angry and just wanted to fight back but kept my cool. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this woman is just angry. She has been hurt by someone and now is trying to hurt other people and it really is not worth it. I am thankful that I am not that angry or bitter that I have to find enjoyment in hurting others.

I must say that I am angry and bitter about my last job and how my boss treated me. He caused me to think twice about being a Christian and a teacher. He really screwed with my mind and only now am I trying to pick up those pieces. But I am thankful that I have other things in my life to be thankful for and set my mind on that this is much better harboring the emotions and hurting other people.

Okay, this has turned more into journal entry than anything else. I just wanted to update those out there that actually read this.