Catching Up

     It's funny.  Things are crazy busy in the Jones' household yet I'm struggling to come up with quality blogging material.  We busy with just the normal life stuff.  

     Michael is still working 12 hours days.  I've started back to school.  I am loving my little class.  If you're of the teacher mind set you may want to check out my other blog...I've been trying to add some posts there.

   Oh and stop the world...there has been some progress made to the slowest great bathroom remodel of 2011.   It hasn't been a huge priority since we have another restroom.  Between Michael's work hours and keeping up with our yard work and our neighbor's he hasn't had much time to devote to it.  

 The big hole in the wall has been re-sheet-rocked, wiring re-wired, lighting hung, and fresh paint applied.  We went with a gold paint.  Huge change from yellow, huh?  But it really is.  We're sensing some tile flooring in our near future.  
  

Biltmore Bust

     Last weekend I was so excited!  It's been awhile since Michael and I have had a long day together alone doing something enjoyable.  Some sweet friends gave us Biltmore tickets.  Last Saturday was to be the day.  Friday night we decided to go by the hospital to see Granny and then drive to New Port so we wouldn't have so far to travel on Saturday morning.  Plans don't always work out...the horrible stomach virus hit me early Saturday morning.  So we came back home where I spent the day asleep and feeling yuck.   Michael had our tickets upgraded to season passes so I'm expecting another date day in the near future sans the bug.   

Lessons learned by a Second Grade Teacher after Ten days of an unexpected Blissful Break

1.  No matter how much  you like your job its never easy going back after a break.

2.  I'm awesome at staying at home....while staying at home I'm awesome at:

• keeping a super clean house
• cooking dinner
• ironing
• being a Christian
• being in a great mood
• completing projects

3. Second Graders do not mature much in 10 days.

4. Second Graders can forget a lot of math facts in 10 days.

5.  Second Graders can remember addition with carrying over the ten days, even if their teacher forgets that she already taught it to them and is ready to teach an introductory lesson on it.  Seriously?  My Teachers used to do that, and they were old!

6.  My class is still as exhausting as they were in August.  The maturing that miraculously happens over Christmas break...not so much this year!

7.  Staying cuddled up at home is not nearly as tiring as teaching!

8.  Copying and prep work doesn't do itself while the teachers enjoy the snow.

9.  Lesson plans can be transferred to the next week pretty effortlessly!

and last but not least...

10.  Second graders do not mature much in ten days.  (it's worth repeating!) 

Beyond the Grave

Browsing through Obituaries morbid past time? the other day, I stumbled across a portion of one that really got my attention. 
      
Born June 17, 1925, she was saved at a very young age in an old brush harbor meeting in --------, and was still a member of ----------- Baptist Church, founded by her husband. She loved sewing and helping others. She was a faithful pastor’s wife, as he labored to pastor several churches in East Tennessee. As a wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother and great-grandmother, she personified Proverbs 31 (KJV).


What a testimony.  I loved it and It really got me thinking about what my loved ones will write about me.  What will yours say?

Maybe I should write my own now....

I know you could care less....

I'm naive.  But even I'm not naive enough to think that you care about what books I read last year.  This post is simply for me.  I'm taking my 2010 Book List off the side of my blog.  So when I'm sitting around in a couple of years wondering what I read in 2010,  I'll have documentation.


2010--Book List

1. When the Heart Cries By: Cindy Woodsmall

 

2. Black and Blue By: Anna Quindlen

3. My Soul to Keep By: Melanie Wells

4. The Preacher's Daughter By: Beverly Lewis

5. The Englisher By: Beverly Lewis

6. The Brethren By: Beverly Lewis

7. This is your Brain in Love By: Earl Henslin

8. The Daily Five: Fostering Literacy Independence in the elementary Grades By: Gail Boushey and Joan Moser "The Sisters"

9. The Last Sin Eater By: Francine Rivers

10. When the Morning Comes By: Cindy Woodsmall

11. When the Soul Mends By: Cindy Woodsmall

12. The Time Traveler's Wife By: Audrey Niffenegger

13. The Midwife's Tale By: Gretchen Moran Laskas

14. Rachel's Tears By: Beth Nimmo and Darrell Scott

15. A Virtuous Woman By: Kaye Gibbons

16. A Lesson Before Dying By: Ernest J. Gaines

17. Thru the Bible Commentary Series: Ruth By: J. Vernon McGee

18. A Merry Heart By: Wanda E. Brunstetter

19. The Proposal By: Lori Wick

20. The Shunning By: Beverly Lewis

21. The Cafe Book: Engaging All Students in Daily Literacy Assessment & Instruction By: Gail Boushey & Joan Moser

22. The Confession By: Beverly Lewis

23. The Reckoning By: Beverly Lewis

24. The Redemption of Sarah Cain By: Beverly Lewis

25. Ready, Freddy! Going Batty (for a second grade reading group activity guide) By: Abby Klein

26. Little Women By: Louisa M. Alcott

27. The Help By: Kathryn Stockett

28. A Place Called Home By: Lori Wick

29. The Wishing Jar By: Penelope J. Stokes

The Voice Mail

It went something like this:




Hey Charlie. This is John Moore. We've played together before. I'm kin to Harmon and Vickie. you know me. The reason I'm calling is because we are playing tonight at Music road and our banjo player can't make it. We were hoping you could fill in. We are suppose to be there at seven and on stage at eight. If you can make it, give me a holler back at --------------. Talk at you later.

2 Things:

Number one: I should really redo my voice mail message and emphasis the "This is Stephanie" part.

Number two: Michael ruined my last chance at stardom. He called ole John back. I could have been great.

Totally Random Update

Things at the Jones home are going great.  I have been avoiding blogging simply because the r and y on my keyboard are not working.   So without a bunch of copying and pasting the above sentence looks like this: I have been avoiding blogging simpl because the  and   on m keboad ae not woking.     Good times!


School is going good.  Just super busy! Our report cards have majorly changed which is a good thing but way more time consuming.  It's really put me behind on some school things. 


Michael has got to stay on days though several of his night rotations.  It has been huge blessing! He was suppose to start on nights again Monday but it looks like he'll be on days a little while longer!


He gave me an early birthday present a few days ago.

I'm loving my new Nikon D3000! 


I got some great family pictures on Labor day which I'll post later. 

And Finally our daily visitors.

 

The post with no pics and no point

I have thus far skipped the normal hooray-it's-summer-being-a-teacher-rocks post.  Between working at the house, attending an inservice day already, and teaching pre-k summer school next week I feel like I'm stuck in the school twilight zone (much like Bro.Tony and Josh in the front of the church van driving to Mexico).  I'm expecting at 2:00 on Thursday afternoon, when we send the last pre-k kid out the door to be singing the happy chorus. 

10 Ways to Spend the Looonnnnggggg Evening and Night While Your Husband is Bringing Home the Bacon

Every evening around 5:15 Michael and I have the same discussion. It goes something like this....



Me: Pleeeeasssseeee don't go. I need you to stay home with me tonight.
Michael: I have to go to work.
Me: But I hate when you're gone. Just stay home.
Michael: Do you want to eat?




O.K. His last line changes from night to night. Sometimes I get "sorry babe". Sometimes its a "I have to" Occasionally I get another answer pertaining to welfare or our desire to buy a house.




We're now in what I've named the third week blues. At his new job he works four weeks of days and four weeks of nights. The first two weeks of nights are no walk in a park but they are some what bearable. The fourth week is not a mouthful of cotton candy but you can swallow it thinking how you're nearing the home stretch. The third week is the killer! It's horrible. So in light of this being the horrible, no good, stinky, miserable, very bad third week I've had to come up with some mind nurturing entertainment.


In no particular order the events of my night :)



1. Finish reading A Lesson Before Dying. Not a favorite but it did put me in the mood to visit New Orleans.



2. Paint a masterpiece.

I really did like it at first. The wrong turn happened with the house and the handwriting. I'm a teacher without the teacher handwriting and I'm no Sarah! The good news is two fold: The canvas came in a two pack (so I get another shot at this thing) and the smudge left by that thumb in the picture (in the wet paint) isn't that noticeable.

3. Watch Two redbox movies.



4. Spend some time in the book of Ruth with J. Vernon McGee (this was the most rewarding time spent.)



5. Avoid at all cost finishing cleaning out the back room!



6. Plan out some great genre writing lessons.



7. Read your newest copy of ALL YOU.

8. Think about what scripture you want displayed in your house. This is a biggie for me. The first scripture I remember memorizing was John 14: 1-5. My aunt Jane had a home interior piece that had it on it. I want lots of bible verses hanging around for my kids to read and hopefully memorize.

9. Share with your bloggy friends that you are under a contract for a house. Lord willing we'll close at the end of the month.

Technically our first picture at our new home....however Michael wasn't all about it and the sun was in my eyes!

Expect a lot more pictures really soon.

10. Debate with yourself if you can make sausage balls using Mozzarella cheese.

What's been happening around the Jones' Home

• I'm up to $4.80 in my business endeavor.
• Michael is back on days...Hooray!
• We are making an offer on a house in our area (Don't get too excited...we've been down this road before).
• My student teacher is leaving me after 6 wonderful weeks....I'm excited to have my kids back but am dreading the whole working aspect :) My classroom is wonderfully organized with all the extra help I had.
• The month of March has absolutely No (count them...zero) school holidays....and very little chance of snow. Come on April!
• Don't criticize me about my desire to be out of school (like Michael is doing now) I put in way more hours than required!!!!!! Be quick to sympathize and slow to criticize.
• I'm excited about our revival this week (if you live in our area it's with Bro. Terry Norris @7).

I've got nothing

I have thought and thought for days. Mustering up every ounce of creativity that I have for a great original blog post. But still I've got nothing. I could tell you how I have started a new business endeavor. I've actually made some money....$1.20 three times. For those who don't teach second grade math that's $3.60. Be jealous. But even I know that's nothing to write about. I'm still alive...still enjoying life....everything is going good. But still I've got nothing. Is it better to be silent during these times, or post about how still I've got nothing?

Inside My Head

(click to make it larger!)

I'm dreaming of a white Thursday...and other random things

• Some times bulleted posts are fun!

• It looks like we might get a lil snow Thursday. I'm ecstatic! Is it wrong to be wanting a day off after only 2 days back?

• Speaking of going back...it's going really well....Would it be cursing myself to comment on how much I feel like my kids have matured?

• The problem with teaching Mass and Matter to 7 and 8 year olds: Matter is anything that takes up space and has mass. Mass is how much matter is in an object. So basically you can't understand what matter is unless you know what mass is; you can't understand mass unless you know what matter is?!?!?!?! You following me? My kids aren't.

• They are also struggling with solids and liquids...which is something unbelievably easy for most people.

• This is a long week....morning and evening bus duty everyday, afterschool classes on Monday, Faculty meeting and church on Wednesday, and ballgame duty on Thursday....does anyone know a snow dance?

• A parent texted me last night (picture text) of her child's math homework...they couldn't figure it out.
  

• I just finished my fourth book in the last few weeks.

• Last but certainly not least....I'm so so thankful for mom's great report! I'm right there with her; every time I think of God's goodness in this situation I lose it! Thanks to everyone who prayed! Love ya, Momma!

Aren't we cute, in our gray?

Hello 2010!

I'm sad to look and realize how little I have blogged the last month! And how little I've document with pictures. Christmas came and passed as a blurr, just as always. It's my favorite time of the year! We had a great Christmas. Michael and I spent Christmas Eve enjoying each others company, then later drove to his mom's and Dads and spent the night. We spent Christmas morning with them and the afternoon at my mom's house.

I was in desperate need of a break from work! These two weeks have been refreshing! It's so nice to be sitting in a clean house and not have to work about the stress of not having time or energy to wash dishes and fold laundry. I'm caught up! Surprise visits are welcome! (Today and tomorrow, only please, I can't promise anything pass that!) :) I've even had time to get a few fun projects ready for school.


I feel like a different person spiritually when I'm off work also. I've stayed busy working around here, but it's so much easier to keep your mind on the Lord while you're dusting vs. teaching 19 rowdy kids. My car hasn't left our driveway in a few days, I guess I'll break down and go to the grocery store in a little bit.

I'm always excited and refreshed at the start of a new year. It's exciting to think about starting with a clean slate. There's so much I'd like to do this year. So many areas that I neglected in 2009.


I remember at the end of 2008 I wrote about what a great year it had been. 2009 was, to say the least, a difficult year. But through the difficulties God was able to show his faithfulness time and time again. And that makes all the tears worth it. Also during 2009 I was able to spend many many hours with my husband and grow deeper in love with him.

I'm excited about all the opportunities that await in 2010!

What have we been doing?

I'm so glad that you asked!

I guess all my loyal readers have realized that I'm not finishing the 30 days of Thanksgiving. I'm totally ok with being a quitter. I am truly thankful. I'm one blessed gal! Hopefully, you are not too disappointed with me. All that blogging left me needing a break. But I'm back and feeling revived.

Life has been super busy around the Joneses' house recently. Between the holidays, play practicing, ballgames, crafting, lesson planning, decorating, ornament making, cooking, laundry, and cleaning (well not so much the last three) we hardly have a free night. I wouldn't have it any other way though. Our life is full and happy.

Thanksgiving came and left with a smile. We spent the morning with the Joneses and the evening with the Hursts. I love being able to sit and talk with family we haven't seen in awhile.

Black Friday I got up at dawn-thirty to go shopping with my fam. Actually they were late picking me up. It's kind of the story of that shopping trip. They are always later than what they say! I could have slept 30 more minutes. I didn't even buy alot. A griddle to replace one I broke and few gifts for my angel tree girls. At least mom got some good buys....I think.

Michael will start his new job on the 14th. I'm so happy and excited for him. He's welcoming the change!

School life is crazy trying to teach all the normal stuff and fit in Christmas crafts & ornaments. We're be going on a field trip Monday that I'm super nervous about. We're ending the trip at a nursing home (that I've never been too) singing Christmas Carols and giving out a craft the kids have made. It could be a huge flop! I hoping that the kids will at least look cute and that'll out weigh them not singing well and the chaos that might follow!

It's hard to believe that this year is close to winding down! Where has the time gone?

Have a great Tuesday!

Sunday's Scriptures and a Note

He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.

In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Psalm 62:6-8


I know...I know....add my name to the list of LOSER/SLACKER bloggers. I took an unannounced/unexpected blogging break. I certainly had my reasons. Sometimes God just wants us to be still and listen, and lean on him. Sometimes we just need to survey whats really important in our lives and enjoy those things. Sometimes we are just really uninspired! Sometimes we are hurt and need healing time. Sometime we are drowning in crazyness and need all our strength to just float.

I hesitate to make the promise that I'll do better. But that's the plan.

For now just know...I am alive, well, and kicking.

Ever felt like you are being watched?

VBS Pictures

We made it back from the meeting in McDonald, TN. It was so good. We got home about 12:30 am on Friday night.

I took the dreaded Pre-k test on Saturday. I'm not sure if I passed or not. I should know in four weeks. If I passed, I'll let you know....if I didn't, the subject won't be mentioned again. Teachers, always tell you to get a good night of rest before a test. They are right! It makes a difference! I was falling asleep during some of it.

Mom had her first radiation treatment today. They get you in and out of there quick! If only every appointment was that fast. I'm sad she's having to go through this but I see the hand on God on the situation. He already knew the outcome before we even knew she had cancer!

Bible school started tonight. Teenage girls are intimidating. It went well...I think.

I'll leave you with decoration pictures.

The auditorium

The days of creation (in reverse order)

Picture Post

These pictures have been hanging around on my camera for awhile. Thought I'd finally share.

Michael's Birthday Cake....Yeah, it was even uglier in person. All lit up.

The Graduate...


Jen and Punk

Punk and Aaron

Katie and Punk

Punk and Kiah (they are really starting to look alike).

Me and Punk

All the graduates.

Too young to go to the pokey!

As a teacher, missing work is not something I do often. Here is the reason......

Since I knew I was going to be out today I decided to "run by" school at 10:30 last night to drop off lesson plans and my faithful husband decided to go with me. So we trotted down the hill at school to my back door, spent about 30 minutes in my classroom and when we came out saw the blue lights. The police officer had already ran Michael's tags and was questioning why he had Bradley County tags. We must be pretty honest looking because he let us go without too much trouble. Does anyone else have this sort of trouble when missing work?