Some Things I Love

So the following list of some things I love may just give you a little insight to the strange shelves in my mind. If you know me well, you won't be surprised, for you know I'm a little crazy. If you don't know me well, don't hold anything you're about to read against me.

I love the book Heaven Is For Real. It's all about this 3 year old boy who has a heavenly experience while in surgery for a critical case of appendicitis. After his medically surprising, but not heavenly surprising, recovery, he begins to tell his parents about meeting Jesus and what and who he saw in heaven while he was in surgery. I admit that I was skeptical when I began reading, but as a believer in heaven and the Bible I ended up being pleasantly surprised by the proof and excited about the prospect of such a wonderful eternity. Is little Colton's heaven my heaven? I don't know. But any heaven at all where Jesus lives is all right with me. And in 40 or 50 more years, after I dance at my grandkids' weddings, I'll be ready to go.

I love the Hunger Games book series (Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay). It is nothing like Heaven Is For Real. Not in the least. It is aimed at teenagers and is about a 16 year old girl who gets thrown into a fight to the death game held by her post-war North American capitol. It's brutal and science-fictiony and absolutely fascinating. I loved every minute of the read and fell in love with the heroine. I felt very motherly toward her and was so glad when...well, I won't spoil it for those of you who are still reading or who may. But I can say that if you are at all inclined to read young adult literature, you should definitely try Hunger Games. Just be sure to pack your bow and arrows.

I love going to the movies by myself. Don't get me wrong, I love going with the kids and Arrty and my girlfriends, too, but there's just something so free and easy about going by myself. And that's just what I did last night. I bought "just one" ticket, ordered the snacks I wanted (small popcorn and small Diet Coke), and sat where I wanted. (And then moved over one seat without feeling the least bit weird when an older gentleman, also alone, sat by me because the theater was almost full.) I should make it a point to go more often. It gave me a few hours of much needed solitude. And along those lines...

I love Fast Five! Oh.My.Goodness! I have enjoyed all the Fast movies, but this one was so, so, so good! Vin Diesel and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson with a little Paul Walker thrown in for good measure. Then you add some really fast cars, exciting car/train/truck/bus/vault chases, and a 100 million dollar heist. Nice. I loved it from the very first scene and smiled and laughed and gasped and jumped in my seat through the whole thing and even until the little surprise after the credits. I love this line in a review I just read about Vin and The Rock--"when they fight, it's like half of Mount Rushmore got liquored up and started wrasslin', two solid slabs of muscle whaling away at each other with great vigor, and to great effect." Yep. It was just like that. And I loved it!

So there you have it. I love heaven, good books, solitude, and action movies. I told you I was crazy.

10 Things Thursday

10 random things.


1. I taught my kindergartners how to draw a rabbit last week. They turned out really cute. Well, mostly. A couple of them looked a little like Picassos.

2. Julianna learned about the circle of life this week when our trusty mouser, Luke, left a mostly intact mouse on our front walk. When I explained to her that Luke's job is to get rid of the mice for us, she said sadly, "But I like mouses."

3. Josh asked me if I would buy him a cell phone. I told him that he could have one when he was the age that I was when I got my first cell phone--28. Adam then asked, "What did you do if there was an emergency?!" Which led to my explanation of land lines and pay phones. You know, back in the dark ages.

4. I bought new Play-Doh for my class this week. In spite of the mess, it's one of my favorite kindergarten activities. It really allows the kids to be creative. And even my 3rd and 4th and 5th-7th grade art classes had fun with it. (Oh, and one teacher who happened by my classroom.)

5. On cold, windy days my 15 minute recess duty is exactly 15 minutes. 14 1/2 if I can get away with it. On warm, sunny days, my 15 minute recess duty might stretch to 20...or, let's be honest, 25 minutes.

6. There's been lots of baby name talk in our family lately with my new nephew arriving this summer. If I had more babies to name, I like Maggie, Ethan, Ella, Noah, Ava, Sophia, Olivia, Ben, Max, Addison, Mia, Caroline...

7. Why is it so hard for kindergartners to distinguish one coin from another? They all look different. They are different sizes. They have different pictures on them. The penny is a whole different color for goodness sake! How hard can it be? Apparently pretty hard considering I spent my whole math time working on it this morning and some of them still said "penny" when I held up a nickel. Urrrggg.

8. I received a copy of Veggie Tales "Twas the Night Before Easter" from World Vision to show to our school. They also sent a little stack of pictures of children who need sponsors through their program. I love World Vision and we sponsor two children, but I really have to stop doing things where they send me these pictures. I want to sponsor them all! And I don't have to send the unsponsored ones back and I can't bring myself to throw them away. Anyone want to be a sponsor?

9. I so, so, so hope winter is over. If it snows again, I may just have to cry.

10. The movie "Fast Five" starts this weekend. I should not be so excited about an action movie. But Vin Diesel and The Rock in the same movie?!? I can hardly wait.

Wednesday WORD

To get today's WORD, I went to my Bible site, closed my eyes and clicked. This is where I landed.

Nathan told David, "Whatever is on your heart, go and do it; God is with you." 1 Chronicles 17:2

Really?! REALLY?!!!!

We are reading!!

Today I sat down with each of my kindergartners and read with them one on one. And guess what?! They can all read!! Yes, there are some who are very beginning readers, but readers nonetheless. Even my two 4 year olds are reading. And I am thrilled! I've never had a year when every single one of my students were reading at this point in the year. Or even by the end of the year. Woohoo! Woohoo! Woohoo!

Cutest.Thing.Ever.

One of my afternoon moms came to pick up her little boy the other day and noticed Julianna in my classroom. "Is that your girlfriend," she asked her son. He grinned and acted all shy. Apparently he has been going home and telling his mom all about Jules and how she is his girlfriend. And when his mom asked him what Julianna looked like, he said, "a princess."

See. I told you. Cutest.Thing.Ever.

Wednesday WORD

Matthew 7:7 (various translations)

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

Quote of the Day

"Mommy, it's not snowing!!"

Show and Tell Fill in the Blank

This is my ____________________.
a) Bunny named FlowerHeart
b) Rocks
c) Bunny named Buns
d) Monster Truck
e) Pillow Pet
f) Medals
g) Christmas Tree ornament
h) Ipod (toy)

I like it __________________.
a) a lot
b) very much
c) so much

It's ________________.
a) special
b) very special
c) very, very special

I like to __________________.
a) play with it
b) take it with me wherever I go
c) curl up with it
d) listen to it

I got it from ___________________.
a) McDonald's
b) The Playground
c) Great-Grandma and Grandpa
d) Christmas

10 Things Thursday

10 things you should see in spring.

1. Sunshine
2. Blue skies
3. Daffodils and other new blooms
4. Short sleeves
5. Birds
6. Bugs
7. Green grass
8. Budding trees
9. Baby animals
10. Kids playing outside

1 thing you shouldn't see in spring: SNOW!

Overheard in Kindergarten

"I can spell dog--D-O-G."
"I can spell cat--C-A-T."
"I can spell God--G-O-D."
"I can spell dad--D-A-D."
"I can spell mom--W-O-W."

Saturday

So today is Saturday which means that I have two days left of spring break. I totally did not do anything on my "to do" list. Frankly, I didn't even make a "to do" list. It rained a lot, so we watched a whole bunch of movies. And I've been reading "Rhett Butler's People" which is "Gone With The Wind" from Rhett's perspective. And I've cooked a lot and done dishes at least 1,000 times. I've played Littlest Pet Shop and Babies and read more picture books than I can count. I spent several hours at Sacred Heart Children's Hospital and took care of a recovering child. I've gone grocery shopping and to Costco. I made it to the movies once and tried the new Coldstone Creations. I took Julianna to a birthday party and watched as my baby turned into a little girl. I went out to lunch with my husband and we talked about the past and the present and the future. I spent a loud, exhausting day chasing a two year old around Chuck E. Cheese's. I moved Julianna's crib out of her room and replaced it with a toddler bed in anticipation for her big girl bed in a couple of weeks. And I have spent the last few nights wondering how such a little girl needs to go potty so many times right after she goes to bed. And wondering how she can possibly still be so awake at 10:47pm after being put to bed at 8:00pm. (I figured that one out though, when I went in and found a huge stack of books in her bed. Up reading 'til all hours of the night? Wonder where she gets that?) So, no, my spring cleaning didn't get done. And my 4th quarter lesson plans didn't get made. And no big events happened. But my mind and heart got a little spring cleaning. And now I think I can make it through the next 9 weeks of kindergarten. And if the sun ever comes out, I know I can make it.