"Snow" Day

When I first moved to the south almost 15 years ago, the concept of a snow changed changed rather dramatically for me.   It was my first year of teaching, and my fellow Yankee roommate and I were admiring the tips of grass that were still peeking out through the snow as we got ready for school.  We were shocked when the morning news announced that there was, in fact, a snow day for our district.  Snow plows do exist, but are reserved for highways and WELL traveled roadways.  Also, much like my four years of Spanish instruction, lack of practice when driving in inclement conditions leads to  less-than-accurate precision when the need comes to driving on snow.  A secondary factor that I do not remember being as prevalent when I lived up north was ice.  It is considerably worse than snow and much more hazardous the few times a year it make its appearance.  Today was one of those days.

Looks like nothing, but surprisingly a pain in the backside to remove from important locations such as the driveway.  Everyone got to stay home today, but only one of us had to work and it wasn't me:). I did get to finish 

Which I started way back in November.  As well as the Ultimate Guide to the President's that I started on Sunday.  It never ceases to amaze me how far(?) our country has come in the last 100 years.  Rather how much it has changed, yet still remains the same.  

  

Odds & Ends

So we decided to move forward with our trip to England!  It has been exciting to begin to map out our itinerary and figure out what we want to see.  I have also procrastinated the heck out of changing my name on my passport, so I will need to have that expedited to ensure I have it in time for our us to go.  Plane tickets are a fickle business.  We have been working with AAA.  On Thursday, they had sent us an itinerary with one layover in Atlanta that would save us like $500 per ticket.  I called Friday, to secure the trip with payment.  Got an email from them Friday night saying their phones were down and I should call on Monday.  Called at 9am this morning and that flight was gone.  Not a real surprise given the cost, but still sad to see that money float away.  We are now doing a direct flight so maybe that will help us get some sleep for a great first day of our trip.

I went to the allergist on Friday as I still have hives.  She wants to help me get them cleared up before we can move forward with possibly finding any cause.  Though she did remind me that in 70% of hives cases they never determine the cause.  How is it that I only end up with stuff that is unexplained?  Saturday, I was hive free.  Sunday I had breakthrough hives so took even more meds.  Today is better though between all of the drugs I am taking, I am kind of a hot mess (sleepy, grumpy, and a host of other un-fun dwarfs!).

We are off from school today for President's Day.  I got a number of to do list items knocked off and am now settled in watching a documentary on our US Presidents (I am such a nerd!).  I am being lulled to sleep by the ice hitting the windows outside and though we did not get any snow (well it snowed for about 60 seconds and then turned over to freezing rain) I imagine we will off tomorrow as the temp will not rise above freezing until noon tomorrow.  We are both home now and the only one of us that would have to work can do so from home if necessary, so at least we are safe.

It will be a long 6 weeks until Spring Break, but at least I have something exciting to look forward to!

Dear Baby K

Dear Baby K,

I've been thinking about you a lot this evening.  I have actually thought of you a lot over the last 30 years.

For most of that time it was just the idea of you--a cute, chubby little one who would call me mommy some day.  But when you think about it, I guess I was thinking more about being your mommy so I was actually thinking about me.

When your daddy and I fell in love and started talking about what it would be like to have you I started to think:  Would you have have blue eyes and blond hair like me and your daddy had when we were little?  Would you have his intellect?  Would you have my musical ability?  Would you be a perfectionist or a know-it-all (when you are older you will find out which one of us is which!)?  But when you think about it I was thinking about the man I love and how I wanted us to have a family to share that love, so I was thinking of us.

Then when the time came for us to begin to feel like were were ready to become your parents, I starting to think:  When will we become parents?.  Then:   How will we become parents?, so I was still thinking about us.

Over the last few months, I am slowly beginning to hear my thoughts change:  What will you need when you get here?  What choices do we need to make to help ensure you always know where you came from?  What kind of parents do you need us to be and what do we need to do to ensure we are the best parents we can be for you?  It was a long, winding road, but finally my thoughts are right on target because I am thinking about you.

Thank you for being patient and giving me the time I needed to become the mommy you need me to be.

Storytime

From Lisa at While I am Waiting found on Expecting Miracles:

"A father had to bring his 1 1/2 year old son to the hospital because he was very sick. The nurse was having a hard time getting an IV in the little boy’s hand and had to keep calling nurse after nurse to keep trying. The little boy was obviously in pain and he kept looking up at his daddy with the face that says “Daddy, why are you letting this happen to me?? It hurts! Make them stop!” The father was so upset watching his son go through this pain but he KNEW that the ultimate goal was in his son’s best interest. Because the little boy was only 1 1/2 the father could not explain to him in terms that the little boy could understand WHY this pain was for his own good. The father had the power to stop the pain but that would not have brought about the best end results.

We are just like that 1 1/2 year old!! We are experiencing pain in this life and as our Heavenly Daddy holds us we are asking Him, “Why God, Why this pain?? You can stop it at any point if you want to!!” But because we simply cannot understand the mind of God, He can’t explain to us why this pain is for our good and ultimately His glory. He cannot explain to us why He allowed certain things to happen in our lives. We simply would not be able to comprehend the big picture as He sees it. He hurts along with us but KNOWS that there is a bigger plan than what we can see."

So true! I need reminders like this quite frequently these days, and today is even a more peacefully patient kind of day:).

Dreams

At church we just completed a series based on the book:

In the first part of the series, we discussed how you Dig Up those dreams that for many people due to individual responses and life circumstances go underground.  Over the last few weeks I have been pondering this concept and have come to the realization that as far as dreams go mine have been (or should have been) well within the scope of reason.  I like to sing, but never aspired to be an entertainer.  I played sports, but early on realized no collegiate or professional career was in my future. I can be very passionate and outspoken about certain topics but had no political aspirations.  When it comes down to it I have held onto 6 dreams:

• In the second grade I decided to become a teacher, and somewhere in that same time frame knew I wanted to become a wife (once the cooties went away) and mother.  While I grew up I babysat and worked in daycares and at summer camps as I earned my bachelor's degree in elementary education.  I began teaching in 2001 and met the love of my life a few years later.  We were married in 2009.
• Once I became a teacher I decided I wanted to have an impact on more than just the kids in my classroom so I got a Master's Degree in School Administration.
• I also realized as I grew as an educator that I would love to open my own school.  Beginning in June 2010 I was able to do just that when I became the founding elementary principal of a brand new charter school.
• Finally, I would like to follow in my mom's footsteps and be stay-at-home mom and homemaker until my youngest is in kindergarten.  

Four of these dreams have been realized.  The other two are pending.  Maybe God has granted me with this gift of time not only to strengthen my relationship with Him but also to begin to work on some more dreams...