i found my camera AND i went to a park this afternoon. just warning you........lots of pictures today!!!

photo of the day 10-24

the preacher and family

it's a sock monkey costume!!!!

the rest of the pictures are from my walk today at a park near "our house". i've driven past there many times and wanted to stop, but today just felt like the right time to check it out. i'm so glad the boys and i went!

i was just amazed at the beauty of this little place! god is such an incredible artist. he knows just what colors to put together to create a masterpiece! i couldn't stop taking pictures!!!!

the boys had fun feeding the ducks and geese (mainly). at first they were scared of them, but by the end they were following them around honking at them!!!

i don't think he liked me sticking the camera in his face!

photo of the day 10-27-09

god's masterpiece

this duck has a mohawk!

one armed shot (of course!)

these leaves really were the size of their faces!

there's something about willow trees that are peaceful to me.

we found a chrysalis or cocoon. i'm not sure what this is, but it is still cool!

colby was just as fascinated with the cocoon as i was!

i caught him just standing and staring at it.

i {heart} this yellow tree!

quote of the day: Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn. ~Elizabeth Lawrence

hello monday

i worked 12 hours today! yes, you read that correctly.....12 long hours.

part of it is my fault because i didn't go to my school over the weekend like i told myself i would, so i had to go early to do the work i should have already done. and then i stayed late because i had to prepare for a sub tomorrow. i am going to be in a vertical team meeting all day! yippee.

i had another meeting today from about 2:15-3:00. a sub was watching my class, and in that 45 minutes i got a glimpse of what tomorrow will be like. HOLY COW!!! when i walked back in the first thing i noticed was that one of my kids was holding her lost puppy! she'd been carrying a "lost puppy" sign around with her all day asking people if they'd seen her dog, and then suddenly it was in my classroom on the 2nd floor of the school! i'm still not real sure how that happened.

another one of my kids sent himself to the office because he said he just couldn't take it anymore with the substitute!!! it's weird to me how so many kids think they have the option of just leaving class when they don't like what's happening! geez, i wish i could just leave every time i got irritated with them.

my camera is temporarily misplaced in my car. all of the stuff we used for trunk or treat is still in my car, and i think the camera is somewhere among all the destruction! since today is 10/26, my photo of the day will come from the 10th folder in my picture file, 26th picture. let's see what it is.....{i don't like it, so i lets' go with the 25th picture!}

photo of the day

colby watching his first BA fireworks

random quote of the day: "Why do people in ship mutinies always ask for "better treatment?" I'd ask for a pinball machine because with all that rocking back and forth you'd probably be able to get a lot of free games." ~Jack Handy

back by popular demand...part 2

before i was so rudely interrupted by blogger NOT uploading my pictures, i was talking about our trip to the pumpkin patch. one thing that frustrated me there is that it is SO HARD for me to make up my mind about which pumpkin to choose!!!

i carry several different ones around, set them down, come back to them and select a completely different one. ok, i know this is going to sound so stupid, but i even felt bad for the pumpkin that i carried around for a LONG time and then set it down because i found another one i thought was better! so while you're laughing about how dorky i am, here are the rest of the pumpkin patch pictures!

the farmer who drove the tractor pulling the hayride saw me taking pictures of the different pumpkins. when i stopped to take a picture of this tumor-covered one he said, "i used to have a girlfriend with a face like that! i thought she was purty, but she decided she didn't want me!" {giggle.}

photo of the day #287

mr. scarecrow, i needed your smile today

photo of the day #288

rocky leaning on daryl....precious!

sunday night the elementary kids had a game night and devotional in the teen room. they had a great time. i played a new game that was like I Spy books. i can't remember the name of it, but it was fun!

photo of the day #289

one of our elders playing monopoly jr.

monday afternoon the boys met me at the door shouting, "look what we found!!!" weapons. just what they need....

photo of the day #290

armed and crazy!

tuesday afternoon i came home feeling overwhelmed with all the stress of my new job, and i needed some beauty. i needed to release my frustration and forget about work for a while. i decided to take my camera and go for a walk. the sun was close to setting, so i didn't go far. but there was still plenty of beauty right by the house.

on my way out the door, i found this line of ammunition that had been unloaded in the hallway and up the stairs! colby had been here........{giggle, giggle.}

photo of the day #291

sunset through the leaves

this transition from broken arrow to bartlesville is unlike any other time we've moved. this is the first time our house hasn't sold quickly. this is the first time i've not started at my new job at the beginning of the year. this is the first time we've lived with another family.

i'll be real honest. this isn't easy. i've been kind of depressed lately. i feel like my life is consumed by this new job, and i don't feel settled anywhere. but this isn't the first time we've been unsettled. a little over 5 years ago, we had a house fire. we were "homeless" for 6 weeks. fortunately a generous lady from church let us stay at her family retreat. we called it the ponderosa. it wasn't easy then, but God brought us through it better than we were before {i think.}. so i know he'll bring us through this again. wednesday's picture of the day was taken at the ponderosa over 5 years ago.

photo of the day #292

remember

poor spencer was sick again thursday and stayed home from school. he had a stomach bug. i pray none of the rest of us get it!

photo of the day #293

sicko

and last but not least, today's photo is of the sweet dog who has allowed us to invade her territory and live with her for a while. she's very protective of the boys!

photo of the day #294

honey

quote of the day: "Have a blessed day, and BE a blessing today." ~unknown

back by popular demand...

i'm so sorry i've fallen down on blogging. i know my followers miss it, and really, i miss it, too.

so here's what's been happening in my life since last wednesday:

last thursday was the first day of fall break, and we decided to spend our break at our house in BA. it was weird being there. all of our stuff was there, but it didn't feel like home anymore. {sigh.} it made me feel like a stranger in my own life.

the great thing about being back in BA was that i got to spend time with my friends!!! that was SO needed! i miss them so much! {i wish sammie smor could have been with us. :(}

photo of the day #286 A

lisa!

photo of the day #286 B

geeg and nellie!

friday we ALL {daryl included!} went to the pumpkin patch in porter! i love that place! it's peaceful and welcoming. seeing all those bright pumpkins in the field just makes me smile...

blogger won't let me upload any more pictures right now....i'll try again later!

not gonna happen

i was going to blog tonight, but i'm tired and i still have to look over my lesson plans tomorrow! and i want to knit, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow! sorry!

yes, i'm okay.

i know this is probably the longest span of time i've gone without blogging. i have been so overwhelmed with my new job, that the only thing i do when i get home at night is knit. i'm almost finished with my first afghan! hopefully that will be my photo of the day tomorrow!

another reason i haven't blogged is because i'm mad at myself for missing 3 days without taking a single picture!!!! i was doing so well at taking a photo a day, and here i am almost at the end of the year and i missed 3 whole days!!! so annoyed at me right now.

i'm also not making this adjustment very well either. this teaching gig is WAY harder than i expected. the programs they use at my school are completely different from anything i've ever used in all my years of teaching. i feel more lost than when i was a first-year teacher.

i'm just so ready to be settled. i want to be in our own house because this is my favorite time of year. i want to put out my fall decorations and start dreaming about all the christmas decorations that go up the day after thanksgiving. but right now, i can't do that. i thank god that he sent us the king family so that we didn't have to commute from broken arrow to bartlesville. living with them is a tremendous blessing, but i'm ready to be in our own house. i know that god's time is not my time, and he has a reason for making us wait. i just have to be patient. i should be thankful that daryl and i both have jobs and a roof over our heads.

anyway....enough rambling. here are the photos of the day from last week {minus 3. dang it!}

photo of the day #275

bell and boot

{there is a cowboy boot and a cowbell hanging from the bumper!}

photo of the day #276

room with a view

{this is the view from the window in my new classroom.}

photo of the day #277

dang it!

photo of the day #278

dang it!

photo of the day #279

dang it!

photo of the day #280

the drive home from work

photo of the day #281

sooner game

{daryl and spencer went, and they had my camera all day!}

photo of the day #282

colby talking to griffin

photo of the day #283

colby's bellybutton!

{the picture is currently located on my phone, and i don't have the right cord to transfer the picture to my computer! you probably don't want to see the picture anyway! eww!!}

photo of the day #284

colby "helping" e.d.

tonight the boys and i played freeze out on the way home from church. it was 48 degrees and there was a cold drizzle falling from the sky. we rolled down 3 of the 4 windows {not mine!}, cranked the AC as cold as it would go, and the first person to say they were cold was the loser. guess who lost?

photo of the day #285

frozen loser!

quote of the day: When God leads you to the edge of the cliff, trust Him fully and let go. Only 1 of 2 things will happen: either He'll catch you when you fall, or He'll teach you how to fly! ~unknown

prayers felt

i know that lots of people must have been praying for me and my new kids today because this was a much better day than yesterday! i didn't shed a single tear! i'm still stressed about learning all the ins and outs of my new school, but that will get better with time. so all of you who have been praying, DON'T STOP! i still need 'em!

quote of the day: "I'm going to invent a machine that will pick your nose for you and then flick your boogers!" ~one of my new darlings

barely breathing

did a hurricane blow through northeastern oklahoma? i feel like i've been blown over! my life has been crazy since sunday morning, and that's why i haven't blogged!

sunday morning at 6:30 our phone rang. instantly i knew something was wrong because it was too early for a normal call. dad was taken back to the hospital with chest pains. he'd just had his 2nd stent put in on friday, and he went home on saturday feeling great. but around 3 in the morning, he started having horrible chest pains, so an ambulance came and took him back to the heart hospital.

since i hadn't gone to the hospital the past 2 times he was taken, i felt like i needed to go. daryl unloaded all the boxes we had packed into my car on saturday, and i took off for edmond. after a long day of waiting, dad was taken for a heart cath around 4. in less than an hour the doctor reported that there was nothing wrong with his heart! praise God! he was sent home on monday morning, but the doctors still aren't sure what caused his pain.

while i was in edmond, daryl and the boys moved a week's worth of stuff up to bartlesville. sunday was also the day that we all moved into the king's house while we're waiting for our house to sell. sunday was the day before the first day at our new schools!

yesterday spencer, colby and i all started new adventures at different schools. this time around the boys aren't at my school. that's weird for me. i really miss seeing them throughout the day. i think they like their new school. they haven't said much, but i haven't heard anything bad about them.

my school, on the other hand....

let's just say i'm having to readjust to this type of setting. it's definitely NOT like park lane. the kids here are easily angered, defensive and mean to each other. it makes me sad. i know that i can make a difference, but it's not going to easy. i came home crying today because i feel like i'm the enemy to these kids. it's like being a substitute teacher all over again. not fun.

i'll try to post pictures later tonight when we get our personal computer set up.

goodbye, park lane

i know i haven't posted in a couple of days. that's because i've been busy leaving park lane.

thursday, one of the kids' mom asked me if i'd take a picture of my class. then she took the sd card because she needed the picture of my class. that's why i didn't blog thursday night.

photo of the day #272

my homeroom

and yesterday i didn't blog because i was just plain wiped out emotionally. i haven't cried that much in a long time! i was only 5 minutes into the school day when the tears started flowing!

on the morning announcements, spencer was given the mic one last time to say his good-byes to park lane. that's what started my leaking eyes! i felt so sad for him because he really enjoyed being a part of PNN (Pioneer News Network). {they gave spencer a surprise going-away party!}

PNN Crew

then one of my students walked in with a little cake that said, "will miss you". she handed it to me and said this was not for the class. it was a snack for me to enjoy with my teacher friends. how sweet is that? more tears.... so our team had one last meeting while the kids were in specials and, yep, i cried some more.

i finally had myself back together when the kids came back from music. one of my students brought 3 ghekkos to show the class. he said he normally brings them at the end of the year, but he wanted me to see them. i was thankful for that distraction.

halfway through the morning, the mom who'd borrowed my sd card the night before came in my room carrying a large framed picture of my homeroom class. there went the tears again! she'd even hand drawn lettering around the picture! it is so cute {and thoughtful}.

right before lunch i ran into colby and his class in the hallway. he was sitting with his best buddies, and i got misty, but not leaky!

caroline, colby and griffin

colby and mrs. durbin

lunch finally came, and my awesome partner teacher allowed ALL 52 kids to have a going-away-lunch in her room! she even brought lunch for us. another teacher bought a spongebob cake for ALL 52 kids plus teachers! but she couldn't be there because one of her kids was sick and she had to stay home with him. such kindness from those teachers.......but i didn't cry that time!

partners in crime

i managed not to shed anymore tears for several hours until right at the end of the day when leah and her mom walked through my door. {happy sigh...} leah was one of my kids 2 years ago. when she first came in my class she wasn't very sure of herself, she didn't smile much, and she struggled with math and science. but leah worked hard that year, and something finally clicked. she was more confident, she made some good friends, and her grades started to improve. i wouldn't let her give up on herself. i knew that if she just stuck with it, she could understand math.

i immediately started crying when i saw her walk in! she has grown into such a beautiful young lady! she's more sure of herself and she's making an A in pre-AP science!!!! that's why teachers love their jobs. when we see that we've made a difference in just one life, it's all worth it.

photo of the day #273

leah

by the end of yesterday, i had seen kids from all the years i've taught at park lane. several parents of former students also stopped by along with many teachers. by the time i left school yesterday around 5, i was exhausted. and my day was far from over!

i drove the boys to bartlesville to go to the men's retreat/camp-out. then i met some ladies from church at red robin in owasso for dinner at 6:30. after that i drove to geeg's house in jenks to hang out with her. we were going to watch a movie, but we ended up just talking. i needed to decompress.

i finally made it home around 11:30, and i just went to bed. my mind was too wiped out to think about blogging. i slept until 9:30 this morning!

then i went back up to school and cleaned out my classroom. it took several hours, but it's finally done. now my car is loaded with boxes to haul to bartlesville tomorrow.

photo of the day #274

today's snack

this is our last night at this house for a while. we are moving in with family from church in bartlesville. it's kind of sad. i really like our house, but i'm glad we're all going to be together every night again instead of just a few nights a week.

quote of the day: The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected. ~Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook