Easter

Easter was very special to me this year. I was so much more aware than in previous years what Easter is all about and what that means to me. My students and I had a great time talking about Easter and learning so much about Jesus' love for us. Below is a picture of an activity I thought up of at the last minute. I gave each student a part of scripture that talked about the Easter story and they made a "film strip" out of it that consisted of the verse and a picture describing that verse. Here is how it turned out...very cool! The only film strip that is missing from the picture is the "He is risen." Sorry about that! :)

This Easter was a blast as I got to spend it in Kent with Steve, Heather, Micah and Dick and Judy. I haven't done that since college and really was looking forward to it! Judy went all out for the egg hunt, except it was all indoors as it was pouring down rain that day. Micah LOVED egg hunting. It took him a few minutes to get the hang of it but once he did he was SO excited. It was precious. And of course, Steve Heather and I joined in on the hunt once Micah got a few! :)



What better way to end Easter with story time with Gamma? Notice Micah doesn't have clothes on, that is my fault! I leaned over to kiss him with a plate of strawberry shortcake in my hand and it spilled all over his nice khaki pants! Oh the memories!

Nutrition

For the month of March we have been talking about nutrition and health. We have talked a lot about how healthy food is pretty tasty like fruits and vegetables! At the end of the nutrition part, we had a feast where every student had to bring in a healthy food from a food group to share with everyone else and here is what we came up with.

Valentine's Day

So, every other month my class goes to Mission Healthcare, a retirement community and just hang out with them. For the month of February we made Valentine's Day crafts with the residents there and it was really sweet to see. Mostly, my kids did the crafts as a lot of the adults said they had never colored before or didn't know how to color! :)

Valentine's Day was a blast this year. I really was not expecting all the gifts I received, I wasn't expecting any gifts at all! I was showered with gifts, lots of chocolate and teddy bears! For our party, the students decorated sugar cookies and it was interesting to see all the sugar they piled on top of the cookie. It looked pretty gross!

My sweet aide, Mrs. Camella.

Being an auntie and God's grace

I have been trying to upload some pictures of my sweet class during Valentine's Day but my computer at work is not letting me! So for now here are so pictures that explain why I love being an auntie....



Tiffany and Sydney came over last week and I was able to visit with them every night they were here. It was a blast watching Sydney walk, hearing her saying "boo" and seeing her cheesy smile. It was sweet to see Micah love on her and make sure she was not able to reach his legos. I love being an auntie and I love have two of the greatest girls I know as sisters!

On another note, I was able to see Brennan Manning speak at a church this past weekend and it truly was life changing. He has authored many books but my favorite is "The Ragamuffin Gospel." It changed my view of God's grace and was very helpful in allowing me to start seeing God as gracious and loving, not judgmental and disappointed. Brennan's talk was on the compassion of Jesus and he told story after story of Jesus' compassion being witnessed on this earth and it was amazing. Very moving and heart wrenching. I walked out of there feeling like a new person, understanding Christ more and letting Him finally love me for who I am right now and not who I think I should be. It was incredible and seems to change the meaning of Easter for me this year. There is a lot more that can be said about that, if you want to know more you can always email me! :)

Busy

Wow, this week has been insanely busy but full of fun things. After getting back from my vacation, I had plans every night during the week. Now it is the weekend and I have some time to just relax and I am wiped out!

I have been enjoying getting to know one of the teachers at my school that is my age. Angela and I carpool together and we have started hanging out and I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her.

I also am enjoying my small group through my new church that is watching Rob Bell DVDs. I am learning a lot about God and life and connecting with some pretty cool people my age.

I wish I had pictures to show my life the last few weeks but sadly I have not been taking pictures. I need to do that!