from the mouths of babes...

On Sunday mornings at my church, I teach three year olds. The three year olds that I have are older 3's. They turned 4 sometime between September and now.

This Sunday, our story was about Noah and the Ark. Every week, John, the guy I teach with, tells the story and then there is always a picture that accompanies the story. We pass the picture around the circle so all can have a chance to look at it, and then they point out something in the picture that they remember from the story. This week I was sitting between a little boy who could not keep the legs of his chair on the ground for the life of him (very similar to my 7th graders, but that is a whole other story) and a little girl that rarely says much. Of course as we start passing the picture and John askes them who is in the picture all of them respond with "JESUS!!!"---which is their answer for everything. So as the little girl gets the picture she asks me why Noah's shirt is ripped (the picture is of him working on building the ark), so I tell her that he is working very hard to get the ark built, because that is what God told him to do. Her response to that was "Oh, he is kinda cute." I managed to keep the laughter in (somehow) and all i could say was--"Pass the picture". You just never know what kids will say...but you can bet it will be completely honest.

Good friend and a glass of wine...

The first time I heard the song "a good friend and a glass of wine" by Leann Rimes I fell in love with it. I must admit that I have not always been the biggest fan of one Ms. Leann Rimes...quite frankly she annoyed me for a while, but this song is fabulous!!! And more and more I realize how really true the lyrics are. The chorus says...
a good friend and a glass of wine
someone to say it's gonna be alright
a good friend and a glass of wine
a little pick-me up to get me through the night
we talk trash 'n' we laugh and cry
that kind of therapy money can't buy
every now and then, every now and then
every girl needs a good friend and a glass of wine.

that is just so true...

the other night I went to a friends house from high school. we all went to dinner and then back to her house where we laughed at our high school selves...We most certinaly did not realize how often we wore the overalls (long and short). Apparently looking at photo albums we wore them all the time, because there were no less than 20 occasions in which the overalls showed up on one or both of us...who ever thought that that was something that everyone should wear? We also realized that a free shirt that we somehow accquired became a staple in our wardrobes also...it was a quizno's shirt that seriously we don't remember how we got. But this shirt honestly must have taken the place of the overalls, because that shirt showed up on one or both of us a number of times also. One day we will all look back on ourselves currently and wonder...what in the world were we thinking...but for now, I am just wondering what in the world were we thinking in high school...an oh so short 10 years ago!!!!!!

I am officially....

OLD!!!

I attended a wedding yesterday of a friend from college (this is only the beginning of the weddings for this year) she and I went to church together, so there were several people from my church in Abilene in attendance. I spoke with most of them and caught up on their lives...and that is when I felt old.

First you must understand that while in Abilene, I helped in the youth group at my church...

One couple that I spoke with, I had their daughter in the first disciple now that I did at my Abilene church. And somehow all other disciple now's that I did, their daughter was in my group. Their daughter and several other girls from the youth group would spend the night at my house frequently, we also hung out on the night of her prom when she didn't go. That was the night she ate her first Allsup's burritto...if you have never experienced this food item, it is a must at some point in your life. ***side note, if you are going to get an allsups burritto, be prepared to come out of the allsups smelling like a burritto*** I moved to Arlinton and their daughter went off to college, she has now graduated, and just completed teaching her first semester...she should still be in high school. This same couple has a son that was just leaving for college when I arrived at Trinity, but I still knew him somewhat...he is getting married in August.

I also saw the pastors wife, she was telling me about the youngest son...he will soon be graduating from college, which doesn't seem possible and possibly attending law school...

Another teen, graduated from high school this weekend, which really makes me feel old, because the first disciple now, we were at her parents house and she was unable to participate in disciple now because she was only in 5th grade!

I heard about all the teens that were in the youth group when I was there and how they have graduated from either college or high school, and have gone on to become productive members of society. I am getting old...

yes, I know...you are only as old as you feel, or whatever that saying is. I really don't feel that old. I will be 28 in July...I don't like saying that number, because it just sounds so old. 27 isn't so bad, but 28...that is almost 30! I guess I will get over it. and I will just go on with my life as usual, until kids graduate next year...in 2 years, the first group of kids that I taught in D'ville will graduate...now talk about feeling old.

farewell...

It has come time to say farewell to an old friend...my trusty Jeep. I got it in December of 2002 (so for those of you that are trying to count, I had it for almost 5 1/2 years). It was a good vehicle, but with almost 139,000 miles on it and gas at almost $4.00 a gallon, it was time to trade her in. I didn't get alot for her, but something is better than nothing right?!?!?!

The new car...a 2006 Mazda 6. I didn't think that I would like going back to a car after such a long time in an SUV, but after having the Mazda for only 4 days...i love it!!! And I think that the mpg (miles per gallon) is really going to be a great thing...I just filled up today, and have done LOTS of driving since I got the Mazda...I even drove home to Abilene.

I know that some of you it will be quite an adjustment for you to get used to me driving a car and not the gold jeep...but get used to it, I am going to have her a while...

briefcase...

Ok, so I teach 7th grade and everytime someone asks me what I teach and I tell them 7th grade I ALWAYS get close to the same response. "oh you poor thing" or "oh my, bless your heart" or "really?! why?!?!?!". And you can usually hear the same response from me "I love it" or "there really is never a dull moment". And both of those responses are the honest to goodness truth.

I have a student who just really seems to always leave me at a loss for words, or leave me in the hallway laughing and then having to compose myself before I re-enter the classroom.

Earlier in the year, April 1st to be exact, this student came in and very matter of factly announced to me that they had rabies. Now understand that one of my very favorite shows on tv is the office, so all I could think of was the fun run episode of the office in which they have a 5K walk/run to cure rabies. I seriously had to remain in the hallway a good 7 minutes in order to be able to compose myself.

Today this student walked into my classroom with a briefcase. Not just a small briefcase, but a rather large one. This student proceeded to open it up, place it on the desk and "work" from it. It truly had to be one of the funniest things that I have seen all year long. I really don't know why I found this to be so incredibly funny, but it was. If I could have taken a picture of the scene, I would have. I really had to find other teachers to share in the moment with me, because there was no way that I would let that pass and not share the joy and laughter it brought to my life.

tag...your it...i've been tagged

by Angie...

What I was doing 10 years ago:
Getting ready to graduate from Cooper High School (dearest and best...) and go to ACU. WOW time really does fly when you get older...

5 things on my To-Do list today:
1. get something on my desk accomplished...maybe some papers graded
2. go to the 8th grade awards ceremony tonight
3. watch American Idol
4. Go to chipotle and get a free burrito (gotta love teacher appreciation week)
5. have my quiet time

5 Places I have traveled:
1. Bahamas
2. New York City
3. Albuquerque, NM
4. Disney World
5. St. Louis
**I know I have been so many places, don't be too jealous**

5 Snacks or treats that I enjoy:
1. Skinny Cow Ice Cream sandwichs
2. Chocolate Chip cookies fresh from the oven
3. Ben and Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch
4. Turtle Chex Mix
5. Yellow Cake with chocolate frosting

What would I do if I were a Billionaire?
pay off all my debt (why is college so expensive???), tithe, and then travel or something like that...

Places I've lived:
1. my parents house in Abilene
2. 3 different apartment complexes in Abilene
3. The house on Beech street in Abilene (how I stayed there an entire year I will never know)
4. apartment in Arlington
5. House in Arlington

Jobs I've had:
1. Daycare provider at my mom's daycare
2. babysitter
3. Sears--children's dept and home fashions
4. Motherhood Maternity
5. Lenscrafters
6. Substitute Teacher
7. 7th grade science teacher in Duncanville ISD

5 People I'm tagging:
(I don't know that I know 5 people with blogs to tag, but I will tag people and maybe it will
inspire them to get blogs)
1. Debra
2. Ernest
3. Anna
4. Jana
5. Rebekah

funny thing happened to me on the way to school...

I was driving to school this morning, just like normal. My cell phone resting in the center console of my car, charging, because I left my home charger at my parents so my only method of charging currently is in route to places. I am about 7 minutes from school, and my phone rings. I look down to see the picture of my neice show up, and I stop and say to myself "why is Kristen calling me at 7:15 am?" So I figured this must be something really important so I pick up the phone and say hello. I don't hear anything. I say hello again, and I hear my neice jabbering. Just jabbering away. I asked her if her mommy knew she had her cell phone, she just jabbered. I asked her if she was getting ready for school, she said Cayman, jabber, Cayman. (side note: Cayman is her boyfriend at preschool). I asked her if she had been playing on her new playground. answer: jabber, grandma, jabber, mommy, jabber, cayman. I finally said good bye and promply called my sister back, with out an answer. So I left her a message informing her that her daughter had her phone and that she and I had a 3 minute conversation that involved Cayman, mommy, and grandma. So that was the start to my morning...it was just really funny and I had to share. One day we will actually have a conversation and I will know what she is saying.