Oh, hello carpenter ants!

It's so very nice to see you again. It's been so long since last you invaded our space.

I'm flattered by your love for our little house, though I'd prefer it if you lived amongst the stumps and trees we've left for you in the yard. You, then, must know our friend the woodpecker, who prefers our gutters and asbestos shingles to the aforementioned trees.

Obviously, we parted on good terms, since you came back again. Well, no fear this time friend. Our intentions will be made quite clear.

The exterminator is being called tomorrow. And he will be given a license to kill. Prepare ye to meet thy Lord.


(Oh, and by the way, I know Him, too. And I think He likes me better.)

Summertime, and the livin' is easy.

And by easy I mean sweaty and incredibly productive.

In my first 2.5 days of summer break, here's what we've done:

1. Put another coat of Golden Oak stain on the cabinets

2. Organized the garage

3. Mowed the lawn (that one was all Jordan. I refuse to mow have allergies.)

4. Ripped up hallway carpet and removed all nails and tack strips.

5. Bought most of the tile for the back splash at the9. ReStore for cheap!

6. Went to a concert, or at least stood outside the gates to hear Mumford and Sons. I cannot even tell you just how much I respect their music and their performance.

7. Had friends over for s'mores and hot dogs and FIRE!

8. Put the final coat of stain on the cabinets -- cherry on top! tehe!

9. Removed cabinet doors on the current cabinets in preparation for DEMOLITION next week!

10. Put in a corner garden bed where no grass grew in the yard. Not even weeds grew there, and that's saying A LOT because we mostly have weeds.

11. Put in a circular garden area around the old clothesline pole.

12. Planted a little garden area around the bird bath my dad brought back from my grandpa's house.

13. Bought plants for above gardens. I made a commitment! All. by. myself. That's a big deal, folks.

14. Slept in (believe it or not!) for two days in a row!

Whew. Now we're off to a fish fry at a friend's house. Never been to one before, so it should be a fun experience!

 

A Post for Mother's Day

God chose a mother for me who would teach me to love and honor Him in everything, to draw strength from Him alone. A mother who would raise me to be a confident woman who behaves like a lady. She taught me to love laughter and good friends, to invest in the lives others but not to be a doormat, and to fight for what is right. She modeled for me a passion for seeking knowledge in God's Word and to work hard at everything I do. Not to mention she is an amazing teacher. I've met a many of her former students and I have yet to hear anyone say anything less than how influential she was in their lives. I hope I turn out to be half the teacher she is. I'm grateful for my mother, and while our relationship was not always peachy, I've grown to appreciate her as a friend and a role model. She is such a blessing to me.

I'm also blessed to be given the dream mother-in-law! She loves me like a daughter and helps me to be more easy-going. I have friends who dread visits from their in-laws. Luckily, I'm not one of them, and we are well on our way to cultivating a fantastic relationship. In fact, when ever she comes to visit, she just hugs my husband and then she and I spend the next hour chatting! 

And there's one other woman whose one choice to give me better changed the course of my life forever. I think she'd be quite pleased to know that decision worked out so beautifully. While I don't consider her my mother, as that role was filled by God's perfect choice for me, I'm eternally grateful that she loved me enough to want better for me. Adoption is a beautiful thing.

How blessed am I.

PS. Someday, I'll post those other pictures as well as our kitchen updates. Promise.

Master Bedroom Makeover - Before Pictures

Since we moved into our little house almost a year ago, we have decorated and painted nearly every room in our house except our master bedroom. This was mostly because we couldn't agree on a color scheme, bedding, or anything aside from the fact that we did not want an oversized duvet cover. We did hang some stuff on the wall and eventually bought a plain white well-fitting duvet cover, but the room needed help. Here's proof!

We lived with the bed blocking the entrance to the room for a long time. Decided we hated it about a month ago, and we had to figure out how to re-arrange it.

The only problem with the bed on the opposite wall was that the window was not centered and did not create symmetry. I. must. have. symmetry. It makes me crazy otherwise.

View from the wall where the bed used to be.

Nasty old ceiling fan that we hated. Don't worry, it's gone now!

Stay tuned for the after pictures! I'm excited, and you should be, too :)

Maybe it's a bad thing my students are so comfortable with me.

I have always been mistaken in appearance as younger than I am. Always. When I was student teaching in middle school, I needed a band-aid from the nurse to fix a nasty paper-cut (me = wimp. I'm okay with it.) However, before the nurse could give me a band-aid she needed me to clarify if I was a student or a teacher. Mind you, this is happening mere months before I graduate college, become a real teacher, and get married, and she wanted to know if I was a student. at. the. middle. school.

Not so lately. In the eyes of my students, I'm apparently beginning to look quite weathered. Today, one of my students was looking at a picture on my desk from my wedding (taken less than two years ago) and was confused as to why I had the picture. He was asking if it was my sister, having a hard time believing it was me. I thought it was simply because I was so fancy in the picture, since they have never seen me that gussied up, but no. No such luck.

He said "Well, if that's you, then that picture must be really old. Must have been taken in like 1999 or somethin.'"

. . .

(Also, is 1999 really that long ago? Geesh!)

Then later, at choir, I told the kids that I had sung a song they're currently learning when I was in eighth grade. To which one student retorted, "Wow. This song must be really old then."

. . .

So, in my not-quite-two-years of teaching, I have gone from being mistaken as ten years younger to 10 years older than my actual age. Maybe, just once, someone will mistake me for my actual age. A girl can hope, can't she?

Either way, I'm starting to think the relationships I've worked so hard to build with my students for the last two years have begun to backfire. At least I know they feel safe to speak their mind, even if it's making me think Botox.

Honduran Loves

I know I'm a little late, but I wanted to join in on the Portrait Party over at Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures. While these are not portraits taken specifically for this project (seeing as I'm sick and not in Honduras) these are some of the photos I'm most proud of. They were taken back in '08 while we were on a mission trip in Honduras. These kids still have my heart (along with my 500 students . . . guess I've got a big heart?) and they were easy subjects to photograph. Great lighting (hello Honduras!) and great subjects allow even the least gifted of photographers to get great pictures!


Precious girls with lots of personality.

 


If I hadn't been in college, I probably would have taken Kingler home with me.
She is as sweet as she is gorgeous! I used my camera to make this picture sepia.
I like that the background was overexposed, as it brings more attention to her gorgous face!

 


Some may not like the way I cropped this one, but it's one of my favorites from the whole trip.

 


This picture completely represents Lucito, the only boy in an all girl's orphanage.
He is the defintion of a ham (probably from getting lots of attention). I love this guy . . .

  I am most happy with the personality I was able to capture in these shots. I literally took hundreds of pictures, and that's what I learned from shooting here. Take lots and lots of shots, because in the end, you can't ever completely recreate the environment or the feeling in that moment -- and that's what makes for a good portrait!

So I'm linking up (never done this before!) with the Portrait Party!

Proceed with caution -- radical politics ahead!

As in the radical politics of providing our children with the best public education possible, even in a recovering economy! I know, I'm crazy, but I just don't think that public education should bear the burden of fixing our nation's budget woes. The quality of my students' education should not be sacrificed to the budget gods! What follows is a letter I sent to my congressmen -- you should send one, too!

I am writing to you to discuss my fears regarding Washington’s current stance on education, specifically the language in Continuing Resolution H.R. 1, and the impact it has on my students’ education and available educational programming. I am well aware of the budget crisis facing our great nation; however I am distraught at the thought of our already struggling public education system sustaining any more cuts in funding. Few agencies affected by the budget deficits are also entrusted with the responsibility of preparing the future presidents, senators, representatives, doctors, teachers, and technicians that will guide our nation toward bigger and better things. My fear is not for myself, my income, or my retirement, but that my representatives in Congress have no knowledge of how the proposed cuts will affect the 500 young minds I am charged with inspiring and educating on a daily basis.

The majority of the proposed cuts will drastically affect educational programs, specifically Arts in Education programming. These programs provide essential enrichment activities for students, many of whom are from rural communities in Kansas and would otherwise miss out on these opportunities. Arts-based programs are proven to promote more authentic learning, collaboration across the curriculum, and the creativity necessary for problem solving. Moreover, study after study confirms the necessity of these enrichment activities (or so-called “extras”) as they play a pivotal part in learning theory, thereby making enrichment programs essential, not optional. I cannot accept that cutting funding for these critical educational programs is the best way to solve our budget problems because I know there are more options available. Surely Congress is creative enough to find other ways to reduce the budget that will not directly impact students? What about ending the tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of the country and fixing corporate tax loopholes? While cutting this funding might provide a short-term solution, the long-term ramifications to our students’ education are simply not worth it.

I am also repulsed by the banter in the Republican Party about what is happening in Wisconsin, most specifically the regarding the value of teachers. I have heard prominent Republicans refer to teachers as “part-time” workers who are earning “too much,” doing whatever they want to do with no accountability because they can “never be fired.” This sort of speech shows sheer ignorance on the part of the Republican Party and in no way whatsoever represents the realities of teaching in the public education system. I am held accountable for everything that I teach my students, and I know the same is true for every one of my colleagues. Teachers tend to the educational, emotional, and physical needs of hundreds of students every week. For anyone to imply that we are over-paid babysitters is absolutely ignorant. You or any member of your staff would certainly be welcome to spend a day in my classroom to garner first-hand experience with what it’s really like to be a teacher under NCLB.

I am sure that as my senator you will make my voice heard. Education is far too important to the future of our America to offer it as a sacrifice. Education is a necessity, not a privilege, guaranteed to every American student, and as such it should not bear the burden of fixing our country’s budget problems. In the interest of all of your current and future constituents, please find another way to balance the budget.