Daddy's lap

When Sarah was 5,  she sat on Jason's lap, and with sad eyes,  he asked, "How many more years of this do you think I'll have?"

She's 9 1/2 now. 

The answer is: You'll have as many of these moments as you'll give her.

Little girl sleepover

Part 3

Frozen.

Little girl sleepover

Part 2

Charlie Brown Christmas by the tree

Little girl sleepover

Part 1

Gingerbread cookies

Not to be confused with "men"

These are gingerbread rockets, bunnies, hearts, and moons.

Taking after daddy

I'm a "one and done...(maybe 2 but probably not)" kind of girl when it comes to how many times I want to eat Thanksgiving dinner.

As good as it is-- I don't want the whole thing pulled out of the fridge to feast again.

But Jason?  He will eat nothing but Thanksgiving every meal for a week if the leftovers hold up.

Sarah is more like me.

Jack and Caroline take after Jason.

Happy Thanksgiving from the farm!!!

Big Hero 6 at iPic

Killing time before the movie. 

Then we are off to see The Big Guy next door.

Poop patrol

The kids have been struggling with putting their junk away.  Since they aren't cleaning up inside like they should,  they're getting to clean up after Reese outside.

Gloves, bags, down to rubber boots.... these kids are so dramatic.

No idea where they get it.

Perfectly imperfect

I have no idea how this is going to taste, but it's done.

It definitely looks homemade.

I may not be roasting my own pumpkins and hollowing out the insides for pie (like some people I know) but I give myself an "A" for effort.  :)

Buttermilk pie

I've been asked to bring a buttermilk pie to my in-laws tomorrow.

I decided to step up my game and make the crust.

This could go horribly wrong. 

I hope this is OK so far....

Celebration dinner

Last night we went to Mom and Dad's for a celebration dinner.  My mom and her cousin are doing wonderfully since the kidney transplant. Praise God!

The local part of our families got together to celebrate and thank the Lord that it went so well.

Very appropriate that this fell on the week of Thanksgiving.

Pics:
Mom and Wynette... The kidneys, together again... ;)

Me, Hilary, Layne (Wynette's daughter)...

 

I heard this song again this morning... and I thought it fit with this post...

 

 

God is Still Doing Great Things            

 

Are you standing in need of a miracle today?
Even doctors don't know what to do
God is able to make a way from no way
He's still able to carry you thru'

 If we will just learn to trust and obey
We'll find that our Savior turns darkness into day
He alone can handle the challenges life brings
God is still doing great things

God is still doing great things
His power has never changed
Yes, God is able to transform your life
God is still doing great things

If we let God's power work deep within
He's able to do more than we could comprehend
He alone can handle the challenges life brings

God is still doing great things
 

The boys may be camping....

But we're making s'mores.

Winning.

Three little monkeys...

In bed.

Watching Nickelodeon.

At 8:57.

I'm not a fan of sharing the bed with the kids. Not quite sure how I was talked into this.

Caroline's expression about taking this photo is my feeling about a slumber party in my room.

I bet I end up on the couch before the night is over. ;)

Caroline's portfolio night

Thursday we went to the kids' school to see Caroline's work. She did a great job of explaining everything and showing us around.

I made sure to get a pic of the kids in Ms. Rushing's chair.  All of them had her for kindergarten, and we couldn't imagine anyone better!

:)

Girls' weekend

The boys are at the lease til Monday so the girls have a weekend to ourselves.

Today we went to see my niece in a production of "Annie Jr". It was very cute!!

 

 

Then we put up the Christmas tree. The girls decorated it.

We made grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner.
Then I made hot chocolate and popped popcorn...

 

which we are enjoying while we watch Netflix. 

 

 

Let the good times roll... :) 

We had a Thanksgiving board posted in our hall at work this week. Teachers were encouraged to write the things that they are thankful for.

My friend and I were joking and talked about filling the board with passive aggressive thanks for everyone to read.

"I'm thankful for the 3 staff members who show up on time."

"I'm thankful for the parents who don't complain."

"I'm thankful that I work with women who are so filled with confidence that they feel like they don't have to listen to me."

It's been that kind of week. We needed the comic relief.

To be clear... We did not actually write any of those things.

Then this morning I sat in on a meeting with my mentor where the parents were downright hateful.

My heart was racing and my hands were shaking in anger... And I was just listening and watching.

My mentor handled it beautifully!! I would not have been as kind and calm. It was awesome to watch.

But it took me a few minutes to fully calm down after they left.

Then I went to teach a guidance lesson about perseverance. We watched a clip from Derek Redmond's Olympic run and Kerri Strug's famous vault.  Even though I've seen it before, I got chills all over again. 

I needed the warm fuzzy feeling today. :). If you need a pick-me-up, Google it!

THEN.. to end the day, I delivered a box of food to a family for thanksgiving. They were supposed to pick them up here at the school.  She walked here to get it because she didn't realize it was so heavy.

I told her I'd take it to her.

I drove to her apartment. It was tiny but clean. Her son also receives clothes from the school, and I delivered some of those as well.

This boy is so sweet, in the gifted and talented program at school. The parents are awesome and involved with his education.  They simply can't afford much.

When I brought in the boxes, she asked if I had been the one she had spoken with on the phone so many times. I told her that it was me and explained how I'm an intern this semester.

She hugged me and thanked me for being so kind to her.

And THAT was the moment God knew I needed this week.

To get a big hug and hear a sincere thank you from an appreciative heart.

Happy Thanksgiving week!

Oh... And I get to take home a pie today! :) Thanks, PTA!

words

I don't think it's possible to say "pecan" like "pee-can" without sounding like a hick.

Can we all just agree that "pu-kahn" sounds more civilized?


.........



Can we also agree that "moist" is a word that sounds like its definition? Moist.

Someone: "What does 'moist' mean?"

Me: "Exactly the way it sounds."

Ick.


........


I dry heaved a couple times this week.

Once was when I helped in the kitchen at our church.  While our kitchen is very clean, I think industrial kitchens are gross.  But that's a story for another day.

The other was when a coworker said she was going to baste her turkey to "keep the breast moist".

"Breast" and "moist" in the same sentence?  That's more than I can handle.

hooray!

Who has two thumbs, ordered graduation tickets,  and is getting the wrinkles out of her graduation gown?

This girl!

Soon, friends! December 13 ends my journey to my Masters.

While it's never too late to go back to school,  may I humbly suggest you do it before you have 3 kids. ;)

Chopped

Sarah had a sleepover tonight, and the girls played "Chopped".

Round one: Use donut holes, Nutella, and cheese puffs to make a dish.

The fridge and pantry were up for grabs. Blenders were out on the counter. The oven was preheated to 350°.

Lela gave us a donut hole topped with Nutella and cheese puffs mixed together.   It was surprisingly good. The salty cheese puffs mixed well with Nutella and donut.

Sarah made a cupcake filled with a cream filling of flour, cream, sugar, and cheese puffs.   She topped it with a donut hole and Nutella.

Pics of round 1....

Round 2: Basket ingredients included hot dogs, salsa, and potato chips.

Lela was inspired by Spaghettios.  She made a tomato soup with pasta,  hot dogs, salsa, and potato chips. On the side... a cucumber slice and parmesan crisp.

Then... as a bonus... she made a pizza.  A corn tortilla with tomato paste, cucumbers and hot dogs.  She made a tea drink to go with her entree.

Sarah made a soup with cream of chicken, hot dogs, water, and potato chips.

 To accompany the soup she did her take on a grilled cheese (without cheese).  It was buttered bread, salsa mixed with vanilla to sweeten it up, and hot dogs. Her drink was served in a martini glass. It was a coke with half and half and vanilla.

Yes, you read all of that correctly.   I'm sure you wish you could've judged with Jason and me.

Pics of round 2...

Jason and I gave Lela the win for taste and Sarah the win for creativity.

After losing on taste,  I heard Sarah say, "Maybe I should've heated up the hot dogs."

Blanket buddies

We were ALL making sure I hit the right button.


Hashtag Can't take selfies

Who writes this stuff?

These were the first two sentences I read in a legit article today.  :)


"Authorities are looking for a Florida quadruple amputee in connection with the murder of his parents.
Sean Petrozzino, 30, is on the run and considered armed and dangerous...."

Picture dump coming soon...

I have so many pics from so many random things I need to upload.


My friend, Stefani, reminded me that I have yet to post pics of Caroline's 5th birthday that was FOUR MONTHS AGO.  yipe!

Much to come! 

I hate that I've fallen so behind.  I graduate in just over a month!!!!!!!!! Hallelujah!!

Then this "online thing" will return to being enjoyable rather than reminding me of school and to-do lists that remain undone. ;)

I Wonder...

I wonder why people go less than 20 mph in a school zone.  

Is 20 mph not slow enough for some people?  It drives me crazy when I get caught behind someone going 18 mph.  Take every MPH you can get.  We're all trying to get somewhere.  Move along.

.................


I wonder, if someday, people diagnosed with ADD will be the majority.  We're well on our way.  I swear, I think we are. 

And if someday my grandchildren have not been diagnosed with ADD and they are in the minority, can they receive modifications from schools? 

Will my kids one day sit in a meeting with school administration having a conversation like, "Mr. McGlamery, we love your child.  He is a pleasure to work with.  I have noticed that he is not impulsive and he is attentive.  We want to work with you to meet his needs."

At what point does a "deficit" become the norm, and a norm become the exception?

Maybe one day there will be no such thing as attention deficit.  Attention deficit will be the norm.  And those without it will be labeled "hyper-attentive".   I don't know.  I just wonder.


...................

Along those lines... I wonder when they'll recalibrate the norms for lake levels here in North Texas.

We are constantly in a drought.  Lake levels are constantly below normal. What is normal?  Have they recalibrated "normal" since we had so many people move to North Texas and use so much of our lake water/drinking water?  Have they thought about a new normal since the zebra mussels infected Lake Texoma and we stopped using that lake? 

How can we constantly be below normal? Redefine "normal"!


.....................

 
I wonder why some cream doesn't have to be refrigerated.  I don't like that.  Mini Moos scares me.


......................


I wonder why people don't know how to drive in the rain.


......................


I wonder why the ("19 Kids and Counting")  Duggars don't watch TV but are on social media.

...................


I wonder why we have to follow Daylight Saving Time.  I want to live in Arizona.

...................


I wonder lots more things.  They keep me awake at night.

But I'll stop for now. :)