Computer crash

Right now I am on Elizabeth's computer, mine crashed. So blogs may be slight.

Thankful Thursday

Sometimes it's the little things we need to be thankful for, things that maybe we just take for granted. Things we can say 'Thank-you' to God for.

Today there is much to be thankful for, to much to list right now.

What do you say to a parent who has lost a child? You say " I am so sorry." "How are you doing?" "How are your boys doing?" "Is there anything I can do?" You can be thankful that you can ask those questions. You can be thankful for being there for this family and supporting them when they hurt so much with a pain that they will live with all their lives. They will deal with it and go on for their family and other children. You can be thankful for healing, even if there is a scar. This scar will fade some, but will always be a reminder when looked upon. God is graceful and His being is enough to be Thankful for, His blessings are abundent.

Today we are planting a tree in our play yard at school for this little boy and his family. I purchased some flowers last night for the children to plant around the tree, the school is purchasing more. This ceremony is during class time so families may come ~ families whose children are in my class, children who were close to him, who still talk about him, who draw me pictures to give to his mom and dad. Children who go to his tree and pat the tree and say this is him and tell 'him' how much they miss him. Today his parents and many other family members will be at the school to witness this dedication.

I am thankful that we can do this for that family, I am thankful I am not doing this alone. God is so good and His love and grace are so abundant. Just be thankful. ♥ ♥

Living well Wednesday

I was better this week, and shed 2 of the 3 pounds I had gained the weeks before. So maybe I am finally on the right track again. Just to say that maybe I got my 'balance back' and am going to try and keep it straight. Also, I find that if I skip my daily devotions I also tend to skip a little on my brains. Enough said for now I need to get ready for work.

Lots going on with getting ready for the end of the year, 1 week from Friday. Tomorrow we are planting a tree in our play yard in honor of the little boy who died last Dec. We will have a ceremony during class so parents of children who were friends of his and/or know the family may attend. This is a 1st of this type of ceremony for me and I just am a little/lot nervous. Just hoping when I speak I say what I need and will do justice to him and his family who will be there. The school principal has done this before and she is helping walk me through the details ~ I will speak with her this morning about tomorrow.

And I still get to come home and clean out an old and arrange a new refrigerator. Maybe Dan will have that mostly done by the time I get home, I'll wait and see. Keith is off and will help him pick it up this morning.

Still no word from the autopsy on Jessica's sister and cause of death. Continue to pray for her and her family.. Until this is complete they can't even have a funeral for her.

God bless

Busy day!

The day started out with Dan getting up and going to get parts for our refrigerator. To make a long story short, we went out and bought a new refrigerator after I got home from work. Not exactly what we wanted, and yes he did get his money back on the parts he bought.


The fun part of the day was when the aquarium came to my classroom. The last field trip of the year, and yes it is an 'on site' field trip. As you can imagine the children were absolutely delighted, they had been looking forward to this for weeks.
Some of the photos of what they brought.

Except for the anemone (their tentacle's are poisonous when they sting) they were allowed to touch everything. The photos don't show the hermit crabs or other shell snail type critters.
We took them back in groups of 4-5. It was delightful. 3 parents showed up for the event. It was very interactive, which is good with 4/5 year olds. After they left we went outside and let then run for about 30 min. Can you imagine, 4 &5 year olds sitting on the carpet for an hour!!!! Yes, it is amazing they did. Of course they did get to go and see the tide pool animals and there was interaction going on.

Crazy weather!

(last year's photo ~ taken over Labor day)

Last week-end the weather was 102 on Saturday and Sunday! This is central California and today it is 53 outside and has been raining all morning! Don't get me wrong, we really need the rain! I am just glad this isn't later in the season when all the grapes are on the ground drying into raisins, because then the raisin and grape farmers would have a really big problem ~ called mold big time!
Have a great day! This weather will keep me inside to work on some of my end-of-the year projects ~ school is out in 2 weeks and I have much to do!
God bless! ♥ ♥ ♥

Living well Wednesday

I haven't posted for 2 weeks, shame on me. I also show a slight weight gain. Doing assessments and conferences and all that goes with it has led me to 'comfort' foods. I had a change of the one medication I take for acid reflux and it caused chest pains, my doctor switched me back to the 1st med that caused no problems. Since I said chest pains (which I no longer have) I have undergone an EKG and treadmill test. My heart showed no abnormalities and seems to be perfectly healthy. However I have gotten flack from my doctor and the nurse who did the treadmill for my weight. So I will again get out my menues and shop, cook and eat accordingly. However, I can blame no one for my choices but myself.
School is out in 2 1/2 weeks, and I am headin up to Oregon, so I should be really good.

God is good, have a great day! ♥

Cocoons! ♥ ♥

I came in Monday and all but 2 had cocooned. By the end of class today only 1 left and he was doing the cocoon dance (they will lift their head and move from side to side when ready to do a cocoon). In 2 weeks we shall have 25 silk moths. You can imagine the excitement in my class on Monday. The cocoons are created from the outside in from one continuous strand of silk.

Skinny dipping Gecko!

Even gecko's like to take a dip on a hot day. She was sitting in her water bowl. I had to give her more after she climbed out of the bowl. 102 today, YUCK!

Hot Day!

It was 99 yesterday and 102 today, way to hot for this time of year! Chloe took to stretching out on the floor. Jonah lays over the back of the recliner.
Today I was getting my assessments ready to turn in (I have to record each child's score that is 39 x 24) Squirt decided to help me, needless to say he had to be removed (from the table).
The silkworms haven't cocooned yet, but they are big and should soon. Some are over 3 inches long. I am hoping when I go in on Monday I will see some cocoons.
They look and are soft and squishy.

Randon shots

Chloe is starring out the window at a couple of dove's. She sat like this for about 5 minutes Sat, just looking and most likely dreaming of catching one.
The silkworms are about ready to cocoon, any day now. It is incredible just how fast they grow. They are approximately 2 inches long.
This is why I have called her "Bat Dog" since they day we brought her home. When her ears stand up they are big.

Eric came to visit for vacation, he brought his Studebaker with him. One any given day he and dad would be working on the car. He went home today, he has work tomorrow. I just hope that they got done what they wanted. It was a good visit. His kitties were here also.

Parent conferences

Assessments are finally done for the spring. I am now having parent conferences. There was no class yesterday, for prekindergarten only, K-6th still had class. I had 17 families signed up for Friday, one called and rescheduled and one simply was a no show. I have the rest next week, either before school or after. all the paperwork has to be tallied and turned in by Fri. Not to say the least is I have had very little sleep the last couple weeks just getting things done. It really isn't hard it is just time consuming. So many of the little one's this year have made such progress, more like leaps. If kindergarten started tomorrow so many of the kids in my class would just be able to start immediately and are so ready for the next step. It is always exciting to share these results with the families.

So now I need to get ready for a baby shower this morning. Kind of a nice break from the rest of the week.

What a day!

Today we had an on site field trip. The firemen talked with the children, covering various areas concerning fire safety and what to do ~ and how you proceed to get out of a burning house. One of the firemen put on his protective gear, so the children could see he was just the same and not some monster. The children touched him and asked questions. They then proceeded to crawl out of the classroom and explained why you crawl. The children then went outside to the firetruck where they were allowed to get inside the back then the front. I think their line (waiting for their turn) was one of the best lines we've had all year. They also got to see all the equipment. Several parents came at the appointed time also. They were impressed with the children's responses.
I was beginning to wonder if the praying mantis were every going to hatch, we got the egg in March. Well today this is what one of the children found when she came to class this morning. It was very exciting for them, and me, also.


Your guess is as good as to how many there were. We let them go in a corner of the yard, next to the field the cows and horses occupy. I am sure there are plenty of little bugs there.
I did put the egg back in the container in the room, just in case there were more. I'll find out in the morning.