mamasoup

Inpired!

I haven't posted on my blog in over a year and a half. So much has changed since my last post.I am now a full time teacher at my children's school and I am loving it. I also started graduate school in November to try and catch up on what has changed since I last taught school over 12 years ago. I thought it would be the best way to immerse myself in the current research and best practices surrounding teaching. I am being very challenged and I enjoy the discussions that I have with my fellow classmates. The whole program is on-line through UT-Arlington and I take one class every 5 weeks with one week off in between classes. My current course is called "Teaching the Writing Process" and we are required to write or 30 minutes everyday in addition to all of our readings and other assignments.  We are also required to post to a blog once a week with some pre-service teachers to offer them advice and encouragement in their classes. My writing this week made me miss this blog. I really enjoyed reading through my old posts. I hope to visit here more often to leave my thoughts and perhaps do some of my required writing. It is more enjoyable to write for a real audience than to just write on a blank screen. Hope all is well in your lives. Let me know what is going on with you if you happen to read this.

Haircuts

If you know my family, you know that we have hair issues. We have hair issues because all four of my children have had heads full of hair since the moment they were born. It is dark, thick hair that doesn't fall out like most babies who eventually have blond hair. Instead it just grows out white blond with the dark birth hair on the bottom. So then it looks like I color my children's hair when they are infants (I actually had someone ask me this question.) Also, our hair grows very fast so we have to get frequent hair cuts.

Well this week was hair cut week. All three girls got their "summer" hair cut this week. Kate's hair had already started turning green from the pool. Abi's was getting tangled too easily and Emma just doesn't let me brush her hair with out a brutal fit if it is past her shoulders. So here they are on Photo Booth showing off their new 'dos. (By the way, I think that Photo Booth is the greatest thing. My kids totally know how to do it themselves and have documented many precious moments for me.)

RLP Franciscan Retreat

I want to give a "shout out" to all of my new friends that came to Covenant for our first ever Franciscan Retreat this weekend. We had people from all over the country come to our little church in the woods and create a little community for a little while. I was amazed at how God orchestrated the details of the weekend.  The people who attended were the perfect people to be there. I was amazed at how quickly we all meshed together as if we had known each other before and were getting together after a few years apart.

I am serving as the "Retreat Coordinator" for these events. This is a job that I volunteered for and have really been enjoying. I get the privilege of helping everyone find their way here by plane, train, or automobile. (I think we even have someone riding down on their motorcycle for the next one.) It was refreshing to finally put a face with a name and "email voice" after over a month of communicating with some of these people.

I appreciated the openness of the weekend. Everyone was so willing to share and open up about where they were in their spiritual journeys and thoughts on God. I was encouraged and challenged to think about my heart and where God has been leading me this past year.  The resounding thought or word I had from the weekend was "simplify."  I am looking forward to exploring all the ways that I can do this:  with my money, my possessions, my time with my family and God, with my expectations of others and myself. I desire to live a simpler life.

One of the best treats was seeing Elisa and Shannon. It was nice having two people there who I had known before but hadn't been around in a while. Elisa's joy in getting away for awhile was contagious.  She just needed some time away. I can really relate to that.

Lastly, I want to share how thankful I am to my friends and neighbors who made this weekend possible for me by watching my children so that I could focus on some of the details of the weekend and participate as well.

Here I am again

It has been a long time since I last posted! I just haven't felt like I could take the time to sit down and share anything. I have even kind of given up checking my facebook page. I have just been very tired this last 5 months.  My job as a preschool teacher is wonderful and is over until next fall. However, I found myself so drained each day that the last thing I wanted or could do was to sit down and write something amazing or clever or "meaningful."

I think one of my biggest hangups about blogging is that I feel inadequate and awkward when it comes to writing and sharing my thoughts. I am married to an amazing, creative and linguistic guy who's posts are super meaningful and interesting. I also have two friends, Chelsea and Stephanie, who are writers. So naturally their posts are also interesting and creative. I am a math person and a sports person. I don't have very many creative ideas that just come to me. I don't tell stories very creatively. So basically I am embarrassed to post because I worry that people might judge me by what I write and then they may not like me and that would be bad. Because I really care what people think about me and I want everyone I meet to really like me and when they don't I get sad and it hurts my feelings. Whew!  Now that I got that all out, I think I can post again. Thanks for letting me vent!

What We Did Today

Happy New Year

I have been missing since my encounter with Lance Armstrong. I started a post after Thanksgiving but could never figure out how to finish it. I may post it later.

Anyway, to catch up.  We had a great Christmas break.  I realized that since I am working now, I was actually on vacation, too. I got to sleep in several mornings until after 9am.  On several occasions, I wore pajamas all day.  Paul led our family in an amazing organization of our home where we took all the paper clutter to one room of the house and forced ourselves to get rid of it or find a better place for it.  We are about 90% done with that project and have freed ourselves up for more projects to make our modest home more livable. 

I hope that 2008 is off to a great start for you and I hope to post more regularly this year. (I make that vow every year)

You won't believe who I met this week

I need to watch out or I am going to start expecting to run into celebrities every time I go out of town.  My family and I traveled to the Davis Mountain Preserve on an invitation to my husband's staff to spend a long weekend there. 

On Friday morning someone told us that there would be 2 men cycling in the mountains that day and they didn't want to be disturbed.  I am not sure why they thought we would be a bother to anyone since we only had 8 children in our party ranging in age from 13 months to 14 years . 

So later that morning a car pulls up the Conservation Center where we were staying and out comes LANCE ARMSTRONG! and his friend Mike.  They come into the center and ask to use the satellite phone and the bathroom.  So I met Lance Armstrong. 

But the story gets better because when they were done with their 3 hour mountain bike ride in the mountains, they came back to the center to use the bathroom and I offered them lunch.  We had more than enough food for our group because we had raided Costco and over bought.  They admitted that they were starving and took me up on my offer.  So I laid out all the sandwich fixings and chips and Lance drank my last HEB Diet Coke admitting that it, "wasn't half bad."   We chatted a little bit, but I tried to respect their privacy and unfortunately we didn't end up with any group or individual shots to prove this story.  We do have video footage that my husband will help me post soon and we have a photo of his signature on the sign-in book at the center.  So that is my story about having Lunch with Lance.  I wonder who I will meet next week when I travel to Dallas for Thanksgiving.

One Degree

Forget six degrees of separation, you are now one degree closer to Kevin Bacon.  I met him this weekend at The Sunshine Kids 25th anniversary Gala event in Houston.  My godfather, G.W. Bailey, who is on the show The Closer on TNT, works with this Foundation that provides week-long getaways for children with cancer.  My dad is on the board, and invited us to join him as the Foundation celebrated 25 years this weekend.  The entire cast of The Closer was there to help celebrate.  That included Kyra Sedgwick, the star of the show, and she, of course, is married to Kevin Bacon.  So, I got to meet all of them this weekend and it was very fun.  I got to spend a wonderful weekend with my hubby and my brother and his wife and my Dad and his wife as well.  It was a great, relaxing getaway that happened to also be a star studded event. 

The morning after I met Kevin Bacon, I decided to go to the hotel gym to workout. Paul had joked that I would be "working out with the stars" and I told him that none of them would be there. Well I was wrong.  About 10 minutes after I got there, Kevin walked in and we were the only two people there.  Now, I know you will think I am crazy but all I said was, "Hi" and that was it. I  was really trying to respect his right to a workout without a "fan" bugging him.  He seemed to recognize me from the night before and that was enough for me.  Now I will admit that while I was working out I did consider falling off the treadmill or dropping a weight on my toe, but I resisted the urge and simply worked out with Kevin Bacon in peace and quiet. 

On Saturday night, at the actual Gala Event I got to dress up and "have a grown up evening" with my family and new friends from The Closer.  Jon Tenney was at our table and he was a pleasure to meet. He is the former husband of Teri Hatcher and plays Kyra Sedgwick's boyfriend on The Closer.  We got to watch the live auction where the foundation raised over $150,000.  It was a weekend to remember. 

I have been cheating on you

I have to apologize. I have a new love. Its name is Facebook.  My husband got me hooked a few weeks ago, and I have been in love ever since. I know it is not fair and it is nothing that you did wrong, but Facebook satisfies my need for instant gratification.  I have been missing you though and so I am back. I have had a few adventures that I need to catch you up on and I will, in due time.  Thanks for your forgiveness and understanding. I promise not to cheat on you again. 

Hair today, gone tomorrow

It was time for my annual haircut today.  I don't generally have the time or money to care much about my hair. But today was a lazy Saturday and with my new job I have a little extra money for things like haircuts. So I ventured out to the mall and my favorite salon: Visible Changes.  A woman named Shelly has been cutting my children's hair for about 4 years and I have always wanted her to do mine.  So today was the day.  Paul  graciously watched over the children and continued cleaning our bedroom of paper clutter while I got my haircut.  I am pleased with the results.  I may change my mind after I have to fix it the first time, but for now it is great.  Kate, my 6 year old, doesn't like it and she told me so.  Emma wants me to "get my hair back" as well.  As I always say, it is just hair and it will grow.