running on empty

It's been that kind of week. Nothing terribly "wrong" or "hard" or "awful" happened. It's just a lot of little things. I have a pile of things that need done and won't get done by next week when they need to be. My brain hurts from keeping track of what I need to do and what I've done and what I'm currently doing.

Yawn. I'm not sure what would help more; a stiff drink, screaming or a REALLY LONG SLEEP. Oh! And a personal assistant who works for free.

God has us where he wants us

For a long time, I wondered why we moved to Michigan almost 6 years ago. For awhile, I thought it was the friends. I have made some AMAZING friends and I often wonder if I would be a good mom without them. They have been such a crucial part of my parenting and life.

And while I know I've been blessed by friends, it's just part of the reason we're away from our families. I thought maybe it was the jobs. Matt has a secure job in the ER at the hospital he works in. He loves the field and the adrenaline rush. He enjoys his time with the company and has a lot of opportunities to do teaching he wouldn't be able to do elsewhere. And I've been blessed this year with a great job at Payton's school you all know about too.

But that can't be it entirely it either. This week, while sitting in church, listening to the mission statement I've heard 1,000 times, it hit me. THIS is why we're in Michigan. Because what our church believes is what we believe. What we want for our faith and our walk is what our church is growing people to become.

Love God
Love People
Serve Our World

These are the things we've been teaching our children their whole lives. The things we try to embody ourselves. The morals, values and beliefs I want our boys to pass on to their children. God first, people second, then serve the world. All belongings and possessions fall well below those three.

Our church has nearly secured a HUGE building where we will begin a new ministry; Hope Center. It will be the largest food pantry in the county. They will offer amazing services and assistant to SO many people. The church has been blessed by Meijer who supplied us with the materials and the food items to get started. I'm so excited about this project I can barely contain myself. Some of the families who will be assisted by this program are "MY" kids...the ones I teach all day long.

We will be volunteering as a family at the shelter once a month (or more). I want out boys to know that the best way to show God's love isn't to blab about it or to act like your better than others in some way. It's to show people that you love God by showing people that you love others. And to serve the world in ways that show His love.

I'm so excited about where we're going, what we're doing and what's in store for our little family and our BIG church family. God has us where he wants us. That has been proven to us many time...this was just one more.

Today we...

played outside. It was such a great day to do it. So so so needed. And so beautiful!

Thank you, Lord, for giving us a hope for Spring!

Young Chocolatiers Class

This weekend, it's just me and P. And I LOVE these weekends!!

Knowing this weekend was coming up, about 2 months ago, Matt and I signed Payton up for a Young Chocolatiers Class. They were to be making "Easter Holiday Chocolates". I wasn't sure what they would be like, but I knew he'd like it.

So Saturday morning, we finally got up and moving and headed to Miles Cake & Candy Supply Store in Mt. Clemens, MI. The class was a nice size, not too big or too small. They had everything prepared and set out and were ready for the kids when we got there. Payton was so excited. I could tell he was ready to bounce out of his seat.

The class started with making pink chocolate covered popcorn. It was all uphill from there. We made a LOT of chocolate covered things that pertain to the upcoming holiday. Payton really had a fabulous time and, surprisingly, so did I. I didn't think I would, but it was fun! Just the two of us working on projects like that.

Here are the "best of" pictures I have. I submitted the pictures to the owner of the cake supply shop too, so maybe those will be up on her website someday as well.

Vegetables

I have been waiting all year to study the letter "V" with my kindergarten class. I'm a huge fan of veggies and I know a LOT of kids don't see or taste fresh veggies very often.

Tomorrow, the lesson begins. I went to the veggie market tonight and purchased $25 worth of veggies to introduce to the class. We're going to look at them, touch them, and maybe taste some too! I'm so excited!!!!! (This picture is the bucket 'o veggies. All ready for tomorrow! Taken with my phone...sorry about the quality.)

Really? It's been that long?

Wow. I guess it has. Wow has life been busy.

Well, I survived Scholastic Book Fair week at school. It's so incredibly time consuming and stressful. I'm so glad when it's over, but I'm so proud of the money raised and the kids reading with new interest. I've also launched the Accelerated Reader program at Reach. That has been, also, very time consuming. I'm starting to see interest and results from the students, so every bit of work seems to be worth it.

I've started my new "lit" groups in the afternoons too. This time, instead of taking 10-15 students and doing book studies, we're working on comprehension tools in groups of 3-6. It's been great having smaller groups and specific tools and tips to give them. We'll dive into books when we have a few tools under our belts and use them in our reading.

The boys are fantastic. Payton has been doing great in school, of course. He's developing a few bad habits in his work that we're trying to nip. But nothing life altering or anything he can't overcome with instruction. Maxwell is doing amazing. He knows all his uppercase letters, most of his lower case, almost all his phonic sounds, and can spell a few words.

I'm teaching sign language after school to 4th-6th graders, so we've been working on that at home too. Payton is learning a lot. Maxwell is working on the 3 letters to spell "MAX". That's all he cares about right now.

Matt is doing well too! He's been suffering from some back pain and went to the doctor today. They put him on physical therapy and some drugs. Hopefully they start to take effect. He's been incredibly giving the last few weeks with all the stress I've been under at work.

Last week, he asked me to meet him and the kids at a local Italian place we like for dinner. When I arrived, my family wasn't there yet. I got a table and then, I heard "MOMMY!!" Matt had stopped to pick me up a beautiful bouquet. So thoughtful! He even "let" me go out with my friends on Friday night. SO needed!!!!

I finally caught a break this weekend. The boys and I spent a lot of time doing nothing. That was GREAT!! One thing we did do: Build A Snowman!! I'm so ready for Spring!