We're going to London to visit the Queen

Well, not the Queen. But we are going to London! Bob's going on a business trip and I get to tag along. He put this trip off until now so that I could go with him once school was out for the summer. We're excited, but a little stressed. We leave tomorrow and will be gone for two weeks. This will not be a "relaxing" trip as we are doing quite a bit of traveling in the UK. Staying in four hotels in 2 weeks. When I last talked to Bob earlier today, he still hadn't booked one of the hotels. Yeah, we're kind of winging it a bit. But that's okay. We like being spontaneous, sometimes...and this may be one of those times. What we do have planned is this. We fly from DFW to JFK and then on to London. The next day we take a VERY early flight to Belfast, Ireland for just the morning and lunch (business). We really weren't all that interested in staying longer in Belfast. Now if it were Dublin, maybe. But then we fly back to London and have the weekend to ourselves. Monday is a work day for Bob and then a conference for Tuesday and Wednesday. We've now changed hotels. Wednesday we drive to a town called Paighton, near Bristol. Then on Thursday, from Bristol, we fly to Edinburgh, Scotland. We'll stay two nights here and do some sightseeing after his business meeting on Friday. Then back to London on Saturday where we'll be on our own until we fly back home on Tuesday. Are you worn out yet? It does seem like a lot of traveling, but we will have lots of time to see some sights. I've never been to the UK and Bob has only been to London over there, so we are definitely looking forward to the trip. Plus, they speak English!! So we won't have the language barrier. Anyway...I've got plenty of books to read. My ipod's getting loaded. The camera's coming along with the computer. And from the looks of things, I'd better bring my umbrella. On the homefront, I've got a wonderful daughter-in-law who is taking care of the dog and my flowers. So it's a go. Looking forward to posting some pictures.

School's out for the summer

I got to sleep in this morning. So instead of waking up at 5:00 am, I rolled out of bed at 7:30. Now the consequence of sleeping in is that I have to make the bed. We've had this unwritten rule in our marriage that whoever gets out of bed last has to make the bed. Well, for the last 10 years or so, since I've been teaching, Bob is usually the one to have to do this. He's not a morning person, though I don't know very many who are at 5:00 in the morning. It takes me much longer to get ready in the morning (it's a woman thing) and I don't like to rush. I absolutely hate starting off the day rushing. It gives me a bad attitude. So I most always get up before Bob, but somehow he leaves the house before me. So summer is not easy for Bob. I get to stay in bed longer. But atleast he doesn't have to make the bed.

So this morning I decided to go up to the Y and start my summer off on the right start. Actually, the hippo on Lori's blog was the best. You've got to take a look. It made me laugh. Anyway...while I'm walking on the treadmill, I was watching CNN Headline News. It catches me up on what's going on in the world. I usually read the Dallas Morning News at breakfast. That is, I scan the front page, then head for the sports (Mavericks, you blew it!) and then metro sections. But while listening to CNN this morning, I hear two of the most ridiculous stories. I thought I'd have to share them since they were so stupid. One was about a man, who was probably in his 30's, who was convicted of sexual assault of a child. The judge ruled that he shouldn't go to prison because he was "too short!" He is 5'1" and the judge thinks he wouldn't "survive" in prison. Give me a break! What message is this sending?? Okay, then the other story was about a survey that determined that surgeons who played video games just prior to surgery performed better in the surgery. Will we now have video game playing as a requirement in medical school? I would love to know what the unsuspecting patients felt who were part of this survey. Which game is better to play right before you take a person's heart out? Okay, enough. I've got to get on with my day. My summer vacation's starting. I think I'll go make some coffee.

Answering some questions

I was running late for school this morning...again. It's been harder and harder to get up early. Lots of excuses. We've been staying up late. One night it was because of an intense Rumikub game with Mish and Steve. Other nights it's been because we were watching the Mavericks play some great basketball. (Last night they went into overtime to finally win the series! I see more late nights in the near future.) Anyway...on my way to work today, I had this song in my head, from worship on Sunday. "I want to be holy. Set apart for you Lord. 'Cause I'm ready to do your will." It got me thinking...am I really ready to do God's will? Do I even know what that means? I say I want to do what God wants me to do. But what if that's not aligned with my desires? So I'm thinking that the desires of my heart should be what God desires for me. That sounds good. Now how do I make that happen? Well I suppose this is where daily communication with God comes into play. How can I know what He wants for me if I don't know Him? How can I know if I don't ask? I have been enjoying Tim's series on "The God You Can Know." I took lots of notes on Sunday. Most of what Tim said I've heard before. But I love it when God delivers a message that is exactly what I need to hear at that specific moment in my life. My heart was open, and He delivered. I shouldn't be surprised, just thankful. So where am I going with all of this? Well, the morning started off with alot of questions. I am looking forward to spending some time this summer searching for some answers. I know one book I can start with. It's been around for awhile and I consider it the truth. Does anyone have any other suggestions for some summer reading?

The end of a good year

This is the last week of school for me. Actually the last four days. Well, not even that many. On Wednesday, the fifth graders are spending the day at the park. Thursday there will be a brief "graduation" ceremony and then any child may leave with their parent. The teachers are staying through dinner, which is being catered by El Chico. So the week isn't a "teaching" week per se. Now I know this may sound crazy, but I actually want to see my students this week. I guess I've been asking myself the last week or so if I've taught them enough. Have I taught them everything I wanted to teach them? Well, of course, the answer is no. There's always more I could have given them. I've had these students since August, five days a week. That's alot of time. But there's also alot of knowledge to impart to them. I'm not just talking about book knowledge, but about life in general. To be able to mold the lives of young children carries tremendous responsibility. What I love about kids at this age is that they soak up any attention you give them. I've had two identical twin brothers in my classroom this year that made me look forward to coming to school every day. They just wanted to learn. If they didn't know something, they asked. They weren't afraid to look like they didn't understand something. They had the best work ethic. I will miss them. So this week for me will be bittersweet. My fifth graders get to "graduate" onto middle school. I'll lose a group of 9 students who have challenged me throughout the year, both academically and behaviorally. But they brought an energy to my classroom that was fun and alive. It's a great job and I love it! Now I get to rest and get the juices flowing for the next group in August.

The Best Mother's Day Present Ever

Twenty years ago today, I received the best Mother's Day present ever. A beautiful baby girl was born to Bob and I. We named her Rebecca Leigh. The name sounded like a Southern Belle. Becca, as we called her right away, was born at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, at 8:07 pm, after 9 hours of labor. She weighed in at 8lbs. 9 oz. and was 21" long. She didn't have much hair (unlike her brother and sister!) and it was very light (again, unlike, Pam and Steve). She was beautiful and healthy, and we all loved her. I was very glad she had finally arrived. My pregnancy with her was not much fun. I had severe morning sickness, much more so than with my other pregnancies. There were times I was so sick, I had wished I wasn't pregnant anymore. Becca moved around inside of me and kicked so much (yes, the future soccer player!) that it made me nauseous. But I can't imagine life without this beautiful child. I had a miscarriage early on in a pregnancy right before. There are times I think that Becca would not have been born had that miscarriage not occurred. The Lord blessed Bob and I with this baby who would grow up into an amazing young woman. Becca has brought into our family much joy and laughter. She has been mischievious and active to where we had to harness her in some situations. (Pictures of Becca on a rope are hilarious.) She has persevered and worked to get where she wanted to be ever since she was little. Hard work is no stranger to her. She is friendly and loves to make people laugh. And she is loyal. But most of all, she is a woman seeking the Lord. I cannot be more happy than to know that she is a child of God who desires to follow His ways. So today, twenty years later, our beautiful Becca leaves the teenage years behind and enters the next stage in her life. Rebecca, may the Lord bless you as He has most abundantly as you continue to do His will in your life. HAPPY 20th BIRTHDAY!!! We love you!

The Not So Empty Nest

This one's for you, Babette!

Well, what started out as a "castle" all to ourselves is now becoming a popular hangout for tenants of another kind. The other night Molly started barking outside on our patio. She's 12 years old now and her eyesight is failing, but I think she still has that hunting instinct in her. Well, sure enough, there was a critter on the patio in a very small space between a storage bin and our house. It turned out to be a very small baby possum. Now if you know anything about possums, you know they are nasty animals. They have sharp claws and mean dispositions when cornered. Well, this one already learned from momma that you snarl and show teeth when someone is shining a flashlight in your face. So we did the right thing (or should I say, Bob did after much prompting from me) and left the little baby alone. He was gone by morning. I just wonder where his momma was... has to be around somewhere. Okay, then yesterday, Bob and I are coming back from one of our trips to Home Depot (we really need to own stock in that company!), and we are driving into our cul-de-sac and see this long snake in the road. Bob asks "Is it alive?" I reply, "Yes, it's sticking it's head up. Drive over it!!" So he turns the car around and attempts to drive over the snake. (I've got my ears covered, like that's going to help.) Bob misses the snake. (You may harass him later.) The snake was quick and slithers up into our neighbor's flower bed. Now we have to kill the snake, I say. Our neighbors are young; she's cute. They're on their honeymoon! She would not like to find a snake when she gets back. See it's the Good Samaritan thing. So Bob goes and gets the shovel and starts poking around in the flower bed full of monkey grass. I stand about 20 feet away. But we can hear the snake making a noise. (Did you know they make noises when cornered?) Can't see it, but we can hear it. All of a sudden it slithers out. Stupid snake. Bob is pretty good with a shovel. After his kill, Bob tells me to go get the camera. I'm thinking, now I've got something to put on my blog. Bob the snake killer. My hero!

Is summer here yet?

I can definitely tell we are nearing the end of the school year...
- Becca's blogs are getting shorter and fewer
- Pam's blogs are still long, but have that sense that she's really, really busy with school, work
and married life in general
- I haven't been able to come up with anything very interesting to blog about
- all my students just want to play all day; they've pretty much "checked out" and my patience
with this class of ADHD kids is wearing very thin
- I've been getting to work later and later each week (and I haven't been the only one!)
- the teachers at school have been showing alot of "educational" movies lately
- everyone's using their remaining vacation/sick days for "mental health" days
- we've been getting alot of substitutes at school whose names we can't pronounce and who
don't seem to understand or speak English very well
- there's a look about the teachers in the hallway that says we are all tired and worn out and
summer can't come soon enough!
- I'm already thinking of all the things I want to do after school gets out (like sit in the backyard
with my feet up and read a book! I might even try out the hammock. No, I don't think my back
could take that.)
Maybe I'll be able to think up some interesting things to blog about...