Update, Update, Update...

1. I still have a job! No changes for me or anyone else as far as I know!
2. My tonsils looked like gold balls on Sunday... got a shot Monday... the left one hasn't gone down at all... can you say tonsillectomy?
3. My niece Alyssa spent the last few days with us... holy cow I am tired! Special needs children require a lot... and sleep for the care giver seems to be optional!
4. Robert just bought Kali a 22 rifle... pink of course for her birthday! I'm guessing she is going to like it more than the DS she is getting!
5. I haven't bought any presents at all and it's how long til Christmas????

2 days...

This time last year I was told that instead of being full-time I would be 3/4 time at MCM. All that really meant was that I would have one less class to teach and about 8000$ less a year. According to our contracts, they have to tell us before the end of the semester (which is tomorrow, I guess) if anything is going to change! So... be praying I don't get the dreaded phone call asking me to come into the office! My stomach hurts just thinking about it! UGH!

Most Wonderful Time of the Semester....

As I typed my title, I was seriously singing! You know... its the most wonderful time of the year... it's the hap-happiest time of the year!

This week is final exam week! Yippee! Although I am sad to be saying goodbye to my students (well, some of them), I am ready to post the grades and be done. By ready, I only mean psychologically and emotionally, as I have stacks and stacks of grades to post!

The problem with these stacks and stacks of grading to post is that I am sitting in my house, in my pj's, about to read a book (can you guess which one?) and am not planning on going into the office! Hmmmmm....... grading make take longer than I thought!

Addiction...

Hi! My name is Jessica and I have an addiction... It all started quite innocently with a reading of the book before I went to see the movie...

And then I bought book 2... And book three...

And book four...

I read all of the books (and half of the next one online) in a matter of 5 days! I did not clean, cook, or even supervise my children much (mind you, they are pretty self-sufficient). What's worse is that I even passed my addiction on to several of my friends! (Sorry Katie!) I have gone to see the movie twice and am planning on a third trip tonight! I think I have a problem my friends... hahaha!

Ok, I'm only partially kidding... although my husband might disagree... I am a huge fan of this series... it takes little brain cells to read, and makes for a nice escape from reality........

Movies and More

My speech classes are watching Sweet Home Alabama this week... we are analyzing the interpersonal relationships and conflict skills of the characters... (can I say how much I loooovvveeee this class)... Anyway, I always forget how much I love the movie until I see it again! So many lines worth remembering...

On a side note... basketball starts tonight!!!! YIPPEE!!! I mean ladies indian basketball at MCM, btw! The girls always do an awesome job and the games are a lot of fun! Kali even gets to wear her little cheerleading outfit! ha!

That's all I have... ha!

I HATE SNOT! Sorry, snot seems to be surrounding me currently and I'm a little grossed out. I have 100 students... all sniffin' and coughin'. I have two kids who are blowing their noses and showing me. And... my own head is full of the nasty stuff! So....again... in case you forgot... I HATE SNOT!!!!!

Be careful what you ask!

I started the 'Abiding in Him' bible study at church last night and there is daily homework, so I prayed before I went to bed last night that God would help me get out of bed this morning in enough time to get my study done.... at 6:39am my cat (who had been meowing for a while) crawled in between Robert and I and peed in my bed! I was up after that and headed for my bible study!

The lesson for today... be careful what you pray for... you don't know how God will fulfill your request!

Weekend update...

Who knows how blogger will post these pictures, but they are from the weekend! The first pic is from church tonight. Kali and our music minister (her piano teacher) played a duet of "Jesus Loves Me" during the offering tonight! It was soooo cute and she did a great job! She was sooooo nervous, but she was very excited about getting to do it!


On Friday night I went with my friend Katie to play bingo! I've wanted to go for a loooonnnggg time, but couldn't find anyone to go with me! Katie was all about it! We totally lost, but we had a good time! Notice all the snack food we brought with us... and the free candles that the bingo hall gave us... good luck candles! Ha!

I had some pics of us posted with out dobbers in hand... but close ups are never pretty! ha! Anyway, I hope everyone has a great week!

Memories...

This post is a little random... it is the notable moments from the last couple of days.... things I think that are imp't to me...


I will post pictures tomorrow of the flowers at the funeral! My grandma had severe allergies to everything, but the most difficult allergy for her was the allergy to flowers! She loved to drive down the road and look at the wildflowers bloom, but she could never pick a bouquet and bring them into the house. With that thought in mind, my mom and her siblings picked the brightest flowers for the casket and I did the same when I ordered the flowers from the grandkids and great-grandkids! People I didn't even know that well sent flowers... and all of them vibrant! When mom ordered the casket piece the guy at the flower shop keep discouraging her... I guess bright isn't in for funerals! I think he finally understood though, because the flowers were gorgeous!


My mom finally told me the story of the night that grandma passed.... the chaplain and all of the kids had gathered around her to pray and the chaplain told her that she could go... and within 60 seconds she was gone.... and when she went there was an immediate look of peace upon her face... in my head, the only thing that makes sense is that the gates of heaven opened up and her Lord was waiting with his hand outstretched...

And my final tidbit, the 'fun part' of any funeral (if there can be a fun part) is hearing the stories of the family... I heard wonderful stories today about my dear grandmother! Stories of struggles and pain, stories that had me rollin' in the floor, and most of all stories of grandma's faith in her Lord. Every person I spoke to had a story of how gma had effected their life in some way! She was indeed an amazing woman!

Keep my gpa in your prayers... they were married for 56 years... that's a lifetime... and every time I think about how gpa is going to survive without gma I cry again! I mean, can you imagine???? A lifetime with a person and then one day they are gone... who's going to cook his eggs? who's going to watch the rodeo with him? who's he going to talk to about the birds and the flowers? Ugh.... here go the tears again....

The pain of loss...

It is with tears streaming that I post this post. Last night, my grandma passed away. As much as I would like to say it was unexpected... I guess it wasn't really! When Gma went to Lubbock 3 weeks ago, the dr's told her that if she didn't have open heart surgery she would be dead in 3 weeks. Well... she had the surgery... it has been 3 weeks... and she is now dead. Hmmm... it would seem to me that the dr was right and God was ready to have His child home. I can only imagine Gma walking the streets of gold right now worshiping her Lord and running into family who have gone before her. And honestly, at least I have that security... at least I have that comfort... my Gma has gone to a place and I know that I will see her again someday....

I survived!

Well, I survived the weekend! Homecoming was fun and the girls got to spend lots of time at TP village! I learned how to set up a TP (did I mention it is HARD), and I learned that I can survive on 4 hrs sleep still! I watched bonfires and cookouts and I prayed the entire time that no one would get hurt while setting their own campfires! I watched students make complete idiots of themselves and prayed they didn't get caught! I cheered for a fb team that just can't seem to win, and watched my students leave the field with their heads down. I took down a TP (25 ft poles are quite difficult to manuever) and put it away for next year. It was a lot of fun, but I am pretty sure I have not been soooo tired in a long time! The weekend made me realize that I am not as young as I used to be! HA! Oh well... I have pictures, but those will have to wait for another day!

It's Friday!!!!

It's 8:27 and my children and I are all in our pj's watchin' tv! I am off today and my children are taking a "mental health day!" We all need one occasionally, right? Our plans for today include TP village, High School Musical 3 and flu shots! Yippee!

The girls LOOOOVVVVEEEE TP village and since my students are all running the TP's, the girls get to run around in and out of the TP's. Last night, they helped start fires (let's just say the mommy me was stressing out a little) and got to be up close and personal when my AYA girls put up their TP. (Putting up a TP is WAAAAYYYY more difficult than I would've thought! Those poles are HEAVY and everything has to be just so!)

Anyway, the TPs will be up today and tomorrow if you care to stop in for a little visit! =) Now... off to shower and start our day of playin hookie!

I SURVIVED MONDAY!

Well, I survived Monday! And tonight, I rewarded myself with a little GNO at the paint your own pottery place! I painted a cross and a pencil holder... I'll post a pic next week! Tomorrow I get to sleep late... I'm soooooo excited.... Kali has reached that 'need to go to the dr place' and the only appt was for 9:30 am. That means that I get to sleep til like 8am in the morn! Yippeee!!!! You know, it is the little things in life sometimes...

Catching up...

The only image I can think of to describe my current life is the cat my brother threw in the pool when we were kids... it was soaking wet and doing everything that it could to keep it's head up! Pretty image, huh? I could go on... like when I tried to help the cat it clawed my arm and made me cry.... etc.

I should probably never post on Mondays... Mondays are my busiest day. I hit the ground runnin' in the morning and I literally don't stop until 11pm tonight. By 11pm, I will have been at home for all of 30 min today and only seen my kids when I got them up from bed and when I ran home between babysitters. On Mondays, I teach 4 classes and see about 100 students! This morning, I found myself singing "I hate Mondays" to the tune of "I want Candy" as I pulled into Sonic for my breakfast burrito and diet coke! Maybe I'll create the rest of the song as the semester goes along! ha! Monday's are soooo bad that when Kali woke up with lime green snot this morning, I told her she wasn't allowed to be sick on Monday... she had to wait until Tuesday because neither her father or I could take her to see the dr today! Now, isn't that awful?? (She wasn't really sick enough for the dr, yet.... otherwise I would have done the good mommy thing and stayed home!)

In lite of all I just wrote, I am going to try to come up with some positives from my day thus far...
1. They turned off the air in my building and my office is no longer 50 degrees.
2. I got to teach my fave essay in Engl today... "I want a wife"
3. When Monday is over Tuesday starts and I get to go to my fave Bible Study over Ephesians with my preacher's wife.
4. Only 6 more hours until my day is done....

Children...

My mind is swirling with the many things I would like to say, but I'm have quite the time focusing in on one theme... another words, sorry if this lacks focus!

Our weekend was packed full of birthday activities, football games and a trip to the minor emerg clinic. Long story short, there was an altercation at my house with Kali running full force into Megan to 'shove' her out of the way and Megan not budging. (This is where I point out that Megan's hands did not touch Kali in any way and Megs wants everyone to know this!) Kali hit the ground with quite a force, landing on her wrist. She had a cup in her hand that she was trying not to spill, so she landed 'funny.' She cried, the wrist swelled, the dr said go to minor emerg. So... we did. The wrist was not broken, just a bad sprain, but let me tell you how much fun a 7 yr old is when their hand is sweating under a wrap... ugh! Needless to say I am a little annoyed about it all, thus the trip to the alter yesterday...

I realize that children fight. I fought with my brothers. My friend's kids fight with each other. My students tell me stories of still fighting with their siblings. BUTTTTTTT, that doesn't make it right. I have tried to explain the importance of being nice to each other and how one day they will love each other, but IT'S NOT WORKING. To make matters worse, Megs weighs exactly twice as much as Kali, so if I were to let them fight it out, I imagine Megs would crush Kali. Their expressive capabilities are not helping the matter either. Megs is really good at putting words together... in fact, she is quite proficient at saying things that she knows will upset Kali. She is also good at just standing still in such a way that she can't actually be blamed for hurting Kali. Kali, on the other hand, is not so good with words and never has been. When she is angry, her first instinct is to pound on her sister. So... how am I supposed to handle this??? What happens next time Kali takes a running lead and her sister just STANDS THERE and Kali breaks something??? Who should be in trouble??? Megan for standing in front of the car so Kali couldn't get in seat? Kali for shoving her sister? Megan for bucking up and causing Kali to fall????

AUUUGGGHHHH... calgon take me away! I am praying for wisdom and attempting to see if there are behaviors within the house that I need to be more aware of, but I am pretty much at my wits end with it all. Can I just send them to their room everyday and not deal with it????

Meg-Pie

This morning, at 7:29 to be exact, Megan Renee' turned 11 yrs old! 11 Years Old!! Holy cow! I'm not sure I can handle this! Before my eyes, she is changing from the little girl that played in the dirt and thought boys were smelly into a young lady who cares what she wears, spends entirely too much time in the bathroom, and thinks boys with lots of hair are cute. (Dont' tell her daddy!)

I have sat here for quite a time trying to come up with words to describe her, but it is quite difficult. She is just like every other child in the world that hates to clean, doesn't like her sister, and has begun to role her eyes! But she is soooo different than most in that she cares... truly cares... about other people and making sure everyone feels welcome. She is very much a rule follower and worries about those who aren't following the rules. She loves the Lord and wants everyone around her to do the same!

Ok... compt is dying.... will try to think of more later...

Home sweet home...

Ok, I am exhausted, but I am home. Grandma's surgery was yesterday morning and she did wonderfully. We all prayed over her before her surgery (even the dr's and nurses). The surgery took about 3 hrs, and the dr's were amazed that she did so well. Her color was good after the surgery, but there is nothing fun about watching your grandmother on a ventilator. I was set to come home yesterday after the surgery, but I got lost on the way home and decided to just turn around and stay the night... I'm glad I did stay, though, because this morning Gma was sitting in her chair eating her breakfast when we got to the hospital. She had tubes and wires everywhere, but she looked good and was talking again. The prognosis looks good, but prayers are still asked for, because anything could happen at this point.

A few observations from this weekend:
1. My family (my uncles specifically) really is/are crazy and you should never talk about politics when sitting in the waiting room.
2. Sitting in the room with your biological mom and your adopted mom can be quite awkward at times.
3. Lubbock is the WORST town for directionally challenged people. I have never gotten lost so much in my entire life!
4. If I ever need heart surgery I am going to the Lubbock Heart Hospital... that place was AWESOME! (Well, except for the fact that there was no Internet access!)
5. I am dropping SPANISH class tomorrow, because of the previously mentioned lack of Internet and the fact that I am language acquisition retarded!

Update...

They postponed my grandmas surgery until Saturday because she crashed twice yesterday after her angiogram. She was upbeat today and I enjoyed spending today with her. I am off to eat dinner and do a little shopping (what is a trip out of town without a little shopping???). The surgery is scheduled for 7am... so keep the prayers going!

PRAYERS, PRAYERS, PRAYERS

I type this blog as tears stream down my face... my grandmother is having open heart surgery tomorrow... Thursday... in Lubbock. I am driving down in the morning with my dad. My grandmother is convinced she is going to die on the table, so please keep her and my family in your prayers. Grandma isn't that old as far as grandma's go, but her health isn't at it's best. The surgeon doesn't seemed worried, just grandma. Anyway, she has said her goodbyes 'just in case' and there have been lots of tears! I've been stressed out just because I didn't think I had the time to drive to Lubbock on a Thursday, but really, what option do I have? I mean, what kind of granddaughter would I be if I stayed home instead of seeing her off into the operating room? Anyway, keep all of us in your prayers... I'm not ready to lose my grandma and my mom isn't ready to loose her mom! Pray that grandma survives the double bypass and valve replacement and heals quickly (she's also a very whiny patient)!

Anyway... I'll let you know how it goes!

Busy, busy, busy...

As I'm sure you can probably tell from my last post, life has been a little crazy lately. The transition from summer to fall is always difficult, but this semester just seems to be a little worse than normal. I've tried to put my finger on it, but I can't quite place the difference, and frankly, it might just be a combination of it all.

To top off the busyness of the week, I now have the busyness of the weekend to look forward to! I am sooo not complaining about this, because I LOVE MY FOOTBALL PLAYERS... but it is difficult to go cheer for a team, when they aren't exactly a winning team. I want my boys to have the satisfaction of winning, so that they are not so frustrated during the week! (And by my boys, I hope you know I mean my college students!) I have been at MCM for 3 years, and at the pep rally yesterday, I realized that 4 of the 5 team captains are my previous students! Over 3/4 of the team are students that I have either had in class, know because they are friends of students, or students that I currently have in my class. Anyway, I want to spend my Saturday at the field cheering on my boys.... but it's difficult to come home and see all the laundry that needs to be done etc and not feel a little guilty about spending my day at the field. But... I will soooooo go cheer em on, because the benefit it does for them and the appreciation they show is way more than the appreciation I will get from my family when they have clean socks!

Anyway, keep Robert in your prayers. He's a little overwhelmed with work and school right now. He is taking calculus, statistics, government, and Spanish! Although individually the classes are difficult for him, all together with his other responsibilities, I think he's going a little batty!