Unwrapping Fun

Last year Lucy was too sick to care much about the Christmas festivities. However this Christmas is different. . . . Turns out that Lucy likes to help us unwrap our presents. :) Here she is in action:



Have a Merry Christmas!

Front Page News

Stolen from the Temple Daily Telegram:

Temple police officer Michael Meadows, left, and Eric Thornal, a teacher at Travis Middle School, celebrate with a chest bump after their team’s 25-14 victory over the school’s volleyball team. The school marked the last day of classes before the holiday with a volleyball match, a production of “The Toymaker” and a basketball game with teachers playing against Fort Hood Army personnel who will be deployed to Iraq.

Ewww. . . .

I just got a note from one of my students. She drew a big heart with a banner across the middle of it that reads:

"Blood is the love of your heart."

Umm. . . thanks, but I'll pass on the love.

By the way this is the second post today; go me! You can check out the other loveless post below.

SERIOUSLY?!?!

***CBA-a test given at the end of a grading period in each subject area to determine if the teacher taught the mandated objectives***

Our morning announcements came on and I heard, “This is an important announcement for teachers.”

Okay. . .

“All CBAs MUST be given today. They are due at the end of the day.”

WHAT?!

Special Ed has no modified tests and isn’t sure how they will test all of their students in all of the subjects. The dyslexia teacher is having to test all of the dyslexic students.

I looked at my science test and it looks okay, with the exception of 2 questions. My social studies test is going to be awful. I was planning on having today and Monday to teach social studies and Wednesday to review. Out of the 17 problems, we have covered 9. Those last problems are concentrated on a small section at the end of the unit we were supposed to have studied.

The students are stressed/mad that they have to take 4 CBAs today. The teachers are stressed/mad that they are having to give CBAs to unprepared students. Supposedly this was on the “calendar” since the beginning of the year. My question is, “What calendar??” Another teacher and I looked at the district calendar AND our school calendar and there is no mention of CBAs anywhere.

To top it off, this totally ruined my circuits test that I reviewed them for yesterday and it blows my plans for next week. My plans for next week? To give CBAs.

I AM NOT HAPPY.

Shake It!

Check out our snow globe! Too bad there isn't a fun Christmas song playing in the background.

Hmmm. . . .

I saw a girl writing in my class the other day while she was supposed to be reading. Fourth grade girls have been known to write malicious notes, so curiosity got the best of me and I walked over to her desk so I could read what she was writing. My eye caught the following sentence that the she had written about herself:

"Cheryl has facial hair."

Hmmm. . . . I hadn't noticed, but I suppose it's a possibility.

Turns out Cheryl was working on a spelling assignment where she had to write sentences for each of the words and the spelling word for this sentence happened to be facial. I decided not to tell her that putting a man's name in place of hers would make more sense. I thought I'd let her unknowingly give her ELA teacher a laugh. I am such a cruel teacher.

It's Thanksgiving week for goodness sake!

So I'm sure there are other things I should be doing, but instead I am sitting at school on my computer contemplating why I have to be at school today. Are there any other teachers out there who are actually having to work this week? Hmmm. . . Didn't think so! :P

Well I've gotta go pick up my students from PE. Think of me while you are curled up on your couch with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate.

Talking Dog

Lucy likes to talk on the phone. . . and run up our cell phone minutes. Enjoy! :)

Insert Creative Title Here

Since my last real update, you know two months ago, there have been a couple of blog-worthy events. Most importantly Miss Pope is now Mrs. Hermans! :) The wedding was beautiful, the reception was great, and it was all so uniquely Emily and Jud.

It was too funny to meet some of their friends from Atlanta who had never been to Texas. Boy did they ever embrace the Texan stereotypes! I'm talking cowboy boots and hats, and one of them even had a sheriff's badge. I have to confess that I've only had one pair of cowboy boots. They were red and I was seven.

At the reception I had the chance to catch up with my other favorite Emily. I love that with true friends it doesn't matter how long it has been since you last talked, you can always pick up right where you left off.

A couple of weekends after the wedding, Eric and I headed to San Angelo for homecoming. We stayed with Wes, Stacey, and the future Baby Jordan. Sarah C. also came in for the weekend. Once again, yay for good friends. . . AND good food! :) Boo for no pictures. Sorry.

I think I'm going to have to wrap this up for now, especially since I have to wake up in a little over 5 hours in order to get ready for school. Pray for me tomorrow. It will be Halloween and I'm afraid the kids are going to be CRAZY!

Love it!

Top Ten Things You DON'T Learn about Teaching in College

Cheesy? Yes. . . but still so true.

Updation

• Visiting the day spa was a good experience. I drove about half an hour to Crawford, home of President Bush AND location of The Spa at Canyon Oaks. Each guest at the spa gets her own suite (complete with bathroom and sun room) where the spa treatments come to her. Despite my preceding nervousness, I was able to relax and enjoy the pampering. I am oh-so-spoiled by my husband! :) My verdict: Visit a spa for massages and facials. Visit your local salon for manicures and pedicures. Completely skip the lunch and makeup.
  
• School started back up this past week. Imagine my surprise when I got to school on Tuesday to find that my 22 student class had increased to 27! Thankfully only 25 showed up that first day, which means that only two of my students did not get a desk. Our school, particularly in the upper grades, is overcrowded. The good news is that there is a state law limiting 4th grade class size to 22 students, so hopefully by the end of this upcoming week they will begin transferring students to other schools.


• With school starting back up, I am beginning to question my career choice. I honestly can't say that I wake up in the morning wanting to go to work. I also honestly can't say that I come home in the evenings and relax. For me, it is work, work, work all the time. I know this isn't how I want to live my life, but I'm having trouble thinking of alternative careers. I'd love to go back to school and get my masters in something, but first I have figure out what that "something" is. . . .


• Last but not least, Eric and I recently began sponsoring a little girl through Compassion. Her name is Sada and she is a little five (almost six) year old girl from Tanzania. She is too cute! We are super excited about the chance we have to pray for and develop a relationship with her.

Laredo and a Day Spa

Eric and I just got back from a short trip to Laredo to visit his friend Josh. It was a sports-filled weekend complete with a softball game, baseball game, and of course watching the Olympics. We also went and saw The Dark Knight which I did not like one bit. I'll stick with my feel good romantic comedies.

Tomorrow Eric is treating me to a day of pampering at a day spa. I've never been to one and I am NERVOUS! Hopefully I'll come back more relaxed than I am right now. :)

Summer in Pictures

Eric and I have discovered the best thing about being teachers--SUMMER! In just a couple of months we have vacationed in NYC, moved into a house, celebrated our anniversary with a day trip, worked hard on a week long New Orleans mission trip, attended two Texas Ranger games, spent a weekend hanging out with friends from college, and our next plan is to spend a couple of days with Josh in Laredo. After realizing how long it would take to actually write a post about our summer fun, I decided I'd just put together a post made up of pictures. After all, a picture's worth a thousand words. . . . :)

No, we don't own Rangers jerseys. . . .

Yes, the rally cap worked. The Rangers won with a walk off homerun.

We toured the Blue Bell Creamery in Brenham and. . .

visited the site of the signing of the Texas Declaration of Indepenence.

Happy 1st Anniversary to us!

We worked with Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans' 9th Ward.

My group did roofing and siding on this house and one other.

We had the awesome opportunity to see a house dedication ceremony.

It was good to catch up with friends,

catch a MercyMe concert (with Josh Hamilton) and,

sit in the stands hoping to catch a fly ball.

That has been our summer so far. We have a week and a half of freedom left, then it's back to the classroom for another grueling 9 months. But do you know what follows those 9 months? That's right, SUMMER!

A Word Cloud

Busy Bees!

Eric and I have been going, going, going since my last "real" update. Instead of writing one massively long post, I think I'll break it into two parts--one about our trip to NYC and one about our new house.

"Start spreading the news, I'm leaving today. I want to be a part of it, New York, New York! . . . " Ok, so really we left nearly two weeks ago, but nonetheless our trip really was a lot of fun. The pace of life there was crazy fast. I learned that I definitely belong here in Texas where people walk, talk, and simply live more slowly. It seemed like all of the New Yorkers were always in such a hurry to get everything done.

Our first full day in NY was packed full of touristy things to do. We began our morning by taking a cruise to the Statue of Liberty.

I was shocked by how incredibly big she is. Take a look at this picture of Eric standing in the grass by her pedestal. Yeah, that's him--the little blue and orange speck.
Unfortunately I ordered our tickets too late, so we weren't able to go inside of the statue, but it was still neat to be able to walk around Liberty Island. We also cruised on over to Ellis Island which now houses a museum dedicated to the history of the island and immigration.

Not long after getting back to the mainland, Eric and I rushed uptown to the Ed Sullivan Theatre for The Late Show with David Letterman which is actually recorded not so late around 4 PM. If you remember, in a previous post I had mentioned that I couldn't figure out who the guests were going to be. Well it turns out that The Late Show didn't even know who the main guests would be until late the previous night when the Celtics won the NBA Championship. The surprise guests? Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Apparently they're a big deal to basketball fans. Jane Krakowski and Martha Wainwright were there as well. It was fun being in the studio audience and watching the precision needed to record a live show. They wouldn't let us take any pictures inside, so this is our only memory:

After getting out of The Late Show recording we headed even further uptown to Yankee Stadium for Eric's favorite part of the trip, a Yankees game. Now if you want my honest opinion, the Ballpark in Arlington puts Yankee Stadium to shame. I'm sure it has a wonderful history, but I can also see why they're building a new stadium. Free hats were given out at the game to the first million fans. . . not really a million, but it seemed like nearly everyone had one. Please notice that Eric refused to wear his. . . and THAT was the end of day one.

The next day Eric and I went to the American Museum of Natural History, the setting of the movie Night at the Museum. The AMNH was great with the exception of the food in the food court and the hordes of school children who were there on field trips. This museum has something for everyone whether your interest is animals, space, dinosaurs, different cultures, etc. The most popular exhibit at the museum? The Easter Island statue. Throughout the hall you could hear little voices saying, "Hey dum-dum, you get me gum-gum! "

That evening Eric and I went to see the Broadway musical Wicked. Wow! I had read the book, which is very dark, but I had also read reviews of the musical that said it was light-hearted and family friendly. I really didn't know what to expect, but it was AMAZING! There were tons of differences between the book and the musical, and I would have to say the musical won me over. Obviously I couldn't take pictures inside the theatre, but take a look at the trailer below:

After Wicked Eric and I walked through Times Square in all its glory, and on the way back to our hotel we ran into Paris Hilton. I am not a fan of hers, but it seemed kind of surreal to be standing just a couple of feet away from the oh-so-famous heiress.

Our last full day in New York was the most laid back. We slept in, explored Times Square in daylight, and ate lunch at the ESPN Zone. Then Eric and I headed to Central Park where we spent a couple of hours wandering around. Towards the end of our time there we rented a row boat and Eric rowed us around in one of the lakes. I really enjoyed it. :)

After our boating excursion we headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where we were scheduled to take part in a scavenger hunt. Talk about fun! Eric and I were one of twelve teams participating in the murder mystery hunt that took us to look at art ALL over the Met. In the end we came in third place which I thought was pretty impressive for us.

Well that was our trip in a (slightly large) nutshell. So much for a non-massive post. Just be glad I didn't report on the house! :) I am definitely glad for the opportunity we had to go to New York, but I think I'm good with waiting several years before returning. . . .

Moving

No phone. No cable. No internet. Be back soon.

Late Show Tickets

Eric just got off the phone with someone from The Late Show with David Letterman, and despite the fact that I don't think he got even ONE of the trivia questions correct, we were rewarded with two tickets for June 18th. I've done all kinds of searching on the internet to determine who the guests will be, but the only one I can figure out is the musical guest, Martha Wainwright. Has anyone ever heard of her? Hmmm. . . . Neither of us are big Letterman fans (don't tell his people that), but we thought that being in the audience during the filming of a show might be pretty cool. I'll let you know how it goes! :)

June=Exciting

June is guranteed to be an EXCITING month for Eric and me. Take a look:

• It started off with us signing a lease on a house! It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a garage, fireplace, and most importantly a backyard. The location is great AND it will still only take me about five minutes to drive to school. :) We get the keys on the 23rd. Pictures to come!

• Eric and I leave for NYC in less than a week!

• We are going to a Rangers game on the 28th with our best friends from college. All of us are scattered across the state, so it will be nice for us to have this chance to get together. Oh, and did I mention there's a fireworks show after the game? Yay!

I am now remembering one big reason teaching was so appealing--we get summers off to do these fun things!

I SURVIVED!

School is officially out for summer! I spent today cleaning up my room and taking care of some paperwork. I also met with my principal who informed me the third grade job she thought she would be able to offer me is not available. It looks like I'll still be teaching fourth grade science, and now I'm expected to teach social studies as well. The thought of teaching fourth graders for another year is less than thrilling. I really don't feel like fourth grade is the place for me. I applied for a school transfer a while ago, but the district is at a stand still in hiring thanks to the ridiculous amount of debt it is in. I can only hope that my second year in fourth grade will be better than my first. . . .

Outside of our school lives Eric and I are planning on moving out of our apartment and into a duplex or rent house that has a yard. Lucy has become increasingly more active since her surgery and it seems unfair to keep her cooped up in an apartment. So far Eric and I haven't had much luck. Everything we find seems to be either in a bad location, over priced, run down, or yard-less. Our apartment complex is expecting us to move out on June 30th, so we're really getting down to the wire on finding a place. Now that we are done with school I'm sure we will be devoting the majority of our time trying to find our new home.

Eleven more days, and New York here we come! With school wrapping up and the house hunting we've been doing, I don't think either of us has really had the chance to get super excited about our trip. It should be fun though. Our planned destinations/events: Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Yankees game, Wicked, National Museum of Natural History, Central Park, Murder at the Met(ropolitan Museum of Art), shopping, and whatever else strikes our fancy. :) The only thing I'm nervous about is figuring out the subway system, but I'm sure it can't be too hard.

So that's the update on what's going on in our lives. With summer here, hopefully I'll be able to post more often!

5 Truths and a Lie

So I wasn't tagged by anyone to do this, but I decided to do it anyway. What I have listed below consists of 5 truths and 1 lie. How well do you really know me? Can you tell which is the untruth? Make your best guess!


1. I have been a radio DJ.

2. I have shaken Bill Clinton's hand.

3. I am married to my high school sweetheart. :)

4. When I was little I ate butter straight from the tub.

5. My absolute favorite Disney movie is The Lion King.

6. I was a dancer in The Nutcracker ballet.


I'll reveal the truths in a later post, but until then I tag the Sarahs and Stacey!

No really, I didn't fall off the face of the Earth. . . .

I noticed it's been awhile since I last blogged, but honestly I read everyone elses blogs regularly! :) I started blogging in my free time over spring break and I guess I didn't think about how hard this would be to keep up with during the school year.

Speaking of school, it's a nightmare. Our campus assigned police officer was back in the classroom today due to an incident on Friday. Needless to say I cannot wait for summer and a chance for me to get my sanity back!

On to happier thoughts. . . . A couple of weekends ago Eric and I went to Dallas for a Third Day concert and Texas Rangers game. I have to admit that I'm not super familiar with Third Day, but I really enjoyed the concert.

After the concert we headed over to the Ballpark for the game. There were no home runs, which means no fireworks, which in turn means the game wasn't particularly spectacular for me. For those who care, the Rangers lost 4-1. I can at least say we sat in some pretty good seats where you could actually see the dust coming up off of the warning track, if that's something you really care to watch.

That evening we stayed in a hotel that we booked through Priceline. With Priceline, you select a general location and the price you're willing to pay and if the offer is accepted, you must take it. Eric and I were really nervous about potentially getting stuck in a creepy hotel, but we ended up with the Hyatt Place . We actually got the room for over 50% off and it was NICE! We had a "cozy corner" that had a wraparound couch and an ottoman. There was a small dividing wall between the couch and the plush bed, and from either of those two places you could watch the big HDTV. I've never slept better in a hotel room! After this experience, we're thinking about using Priceline for our trip to New York this summer. And by the way, if you have any NYC advice, I'm all ears!

Well I suppose that's it for now. Don't forget to wish Sarah C. a happy birthday on the 27th!

A Brief Update

Thank you to all of you who have been praying about the situation involving the boy in my last post. Sadly on Monday night CPS came and removed the other two children from the home. I'm not really sure what is going on, but I do know that this latest event is traumatizing the family even more. I must remind myself that all of this will work out for the glory of God.

As far as my life goes, not a lot has been happening, just the usual school stuff. We are officially counting down the last nine weeks. I am so ready for June 4th at 12:30!

Today Eric and I helped my parents with a garage sale. The two of us made $30--woohoo! Then we came home and I took a 3 hour nap; I guess I was tired. This afternoon we worked on cleaning up the apartment and we gave Lucy a bath. My most recent accomplishment of the day makes me proudest of all--I actually finished my lesson plans tonight! I usually end up stressing myself out by trying to put together a week's worth of lessons on Sunday night, but I decided that I wasn't going to do that to myself this weekend. I want to enjoy a Sunday for once and that is exactly what I plan on doing tomorrow!

I hope all of you have a wonderfully restful Sunday! Until next time. . . .

A Life Cut Short

Today I was really hoping to write about the fact that I turned in my transfer letter last week. This means that I have a chance of switching to another school in the district, which as you may or may not know, would be a blessing. I have spent so much of my first year dealing with discipline problems that I haven't actually had the opportunity to focus on planning AND implementing the kind of lessons that I would like to teach. Sadly, my good news seems so irrelevant in comparison to what happened today. . . .

I was in the copy room this morning when I heard my name called over the intercom. My first thought was, "Great, as if I don't have anything better to do." My name was quickly followed by the name of one of the other fourth grade teachers. Seeing as how we have discipline issues all the time, I assumed it had something to do with that. When I got into the office I could tell something didn't seem right.

The assistant principal proceeded to tell us that one of our fourth graders had drowned on Sunday night. He apparently dove into a pond to retrieve a pair of glasses, despite the fact that he could not swim. His body was not found until midnight and the family does not have the money to pay for a funeral. I went numb and began to tear up as the AP explained that we were not to discuss this with anyone (students or teachers) until a plan was put into place. Of course being the rumor mill that fourth grade is, word had already gotten around before I picked my kids up from the gym that morning. All I was allowed to tell them was, "I don't know. I can't discuss it right now."

During my planning period (which is early in the school day) the fourth grade team met with several administrative officials from the district. A statement was devised to be read in the classrooms in order to let the students know what had happened. Counselors were brought in from all over the district to deal with the potential out pour of grief.

As the statement was read in my class I had several students break down, while many sat there in shock. My room had never been so quiet. Throughout the day, students had the opportunity to seek counseling where many of them made cards to give to the deceased student's family.

One of the toughest issues for me was knowing that so many of these kids had never been nice to the boy. It was apparent that some of them were regretful as you read their cards. "I'm sorry for being a mean friend. I hope you can forgive me now." But by the end of the day, their regular disrespectful behaviors had returned. It was as though they didn't even remember the lesson they had learned that morning.

This evening one of the other fourth grade teachers and I took food over to the student's house. I've never been in a situation where I had to deal so directly with someone else's grief. I learned that at a time like this, most people just want someone to listen to them. While we were there we were told that there is a trust fund in the works so the family can afford to have a funeral.

Well if you've actually read to this point, all I have to say is wow. I didn't know that I would write so much, although I suppose writing is theraputic. In the end all I have to ask is that you please keep this family and my school in your prayers. I have a feeling it's going to be a tough week.

An End to Spring Break

The Boomin' Beyond Measure concert was awesome! The only thing that could have made it better is if our seats hadn't been RIGHT by the speakers. Let's just say Eric and I not only heard the music, we felt it. Here are a few pictures from the evening:

Matthew West did end up being there! He was the concert opener.

Jeremy Camp was next. If you haven't heard his testimony, you should check it out here.

tobyMac and the DiverseCity band brought the concert to a close. They had an amazing energy that kept nearly the whole audience on its feet while they were on stage.

Prior to the concert we spent the day at Six Flags which, by the way, was PACKED. In the six hours before the concert we only managed to ride three rides! Due to the crowds we decided to eat lunch at the park instead of losing our parking space. It turns out people weren't just forming long lines for rides, but for food as well! I saved a table while Eric waited in line for at least an hour to get our lunch. Talk about a test of patience. . . but patience is a virtue, right? :)

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Tomorrow Eric and I must return to our teaching lives. If I don't post again until next weekend, don't think that I have completely abandoned my blog, I'm probably just trying to get back into a routine.

Before I go I want to wish you a HAPPY (probably belated) EASTER!!! Check out the eggs Rachel, Eric and I dyed last night!

Boomin' Beyond Measure Tour

Friday, 7 PM.

Eric and I will be at a tobyMac and Jeremy Camp concert! Rumor has it Matthew West will be there as well.

Don't be jealous. :)

The Beginning

I will admit that I've never been much of a writer, but the idea of having a blog amuses me. Many might also say that I am not the best at keeping in contact, despite the fact that I really do have the best of intentions. So in an effort to keep in touch with friends (and mildly amuse myself!), I have decided to enter into the world of blogging.

Wish me luck!