Happy/Busy/Crazy/Busy/Happy

At long last.

Whew. I feel like I have been going non-stop for a month.

And I just NOW sat down. 24 X 31 hours later....

I get frustrated when I am soooo busy, feeling pulled, not being on top of things...

feeling like every moment is worth a thousand bucks. What am I going to do with that moment?

....but I wouldn't want to be doing anything else than what I have been doing.

I am happy busy. Crazy, yes. Wondering if this is the true meaning of life. Yes.

But knowing that this is a phase that I will look fondly back to one day.

Planning birthday parties. Coordinating stuff. Helping with homework.

Emphasis on the WORK. Solving puberty problems. Staying up late. Getting up early.

Feeding the herds. Tending to people. Praying my heart out for it's the only way I can make it through each day. Playing a little tennis in between. And spelling words. Lots of em. All with Tom out of town or busy with basketball much of the time.

You know. You are living it too.

There is a time in the not so distant future when I will miss the business the craziness the happiness that comes with taking care of my precious family.

And here are some of our happy/busy/crazy/busy/happy times over the last month that include a birthday party, a homecoming parade, family photos, and mudnight at our church .

A Fairy Tale?

Check this out. Could it be a true story or is it a fairy tale?

In a day and age when we micromanage our children's lives from their extracurricular activities down to their choice of socks, it is certainly the sign of "a good mom" to do some serious jockeying for position when it comes to teacher placement. Fill out your parent input form. Say a couple words to the right people. Possibly send some effectively worded and well timed emails just in case. While trying not to appear to be too pushy, still making it known what our child wants, what our child needs.

But today, I got a look in mirror, mirror on the wall. Who's the humblest of them all? Here's the story:

A sweet young mom I know had a dream-of-a-teacher for her precious, little kindergartener. It was to be a fairy tale come true. That is, until 5 days before school started when that dream of a teacher moved to a new school district. Ugh.

So, my friend's prized daughter instantly went from having a Cinderella of a teacher to having to spend a year with one of the wicked stepsisters. Brand new, surprisingly young, terribly inexperinced, and embarrassingly unassertive. Little to no classroom materials. Not a whole lot of ideas. It was a sad situation indeed.

The teacher had not a shred more than the gumption it was to take her to gut it out each and every day with 25 little kindergarteners who undoubtedly could smell the new blood in the classroom. And not their own.

Most moms in this world would sing "Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It's off the principal's office I go." They would document the reasons why their little geniuses should be moved. Yesterday. They would stew, possibly sue and certainly stir up a brew of fears for others.

But this mom is different.

Different than the world.

She didn't reach for her magic lamp.

She didn't long for the carpet ride out of there.

Well, I must admit she did consider it. She and her husband thought that their bright young child certainly deserved more, even imagining that maybe they should take this young child and move her temporarily to a private school, where she would receive the instruction she needed.

But upon reflection and with much prayer, this beautiful princess mom and her prince of a husband decided on something so different, so outlandish, so amazing... it almost seems to be something out of a fairy tale...They decided that they would take the money that they would have spent on a private education and invest it into this young teacher. They spent the weekend shopping for things that this young lady will need. It wasn't about what their child wanted, what their child needed. It wasn't about themselves. There was a bigger picture. It was and will be about serving someone else, regardless of what that person is going to do for them. So though it sounds like folklore, I must tell you that this story is true. It is real. And it's better than any fairy tale than I have ever heard. It is a blessing to me to hear it. It is a blessing to share it. And there is no doubt it will bless the lives of this young family, their children, and the young teacher for years to come.

Clipboard City

Remember a few weeks back, I mentioned that I have been making clipboards for Teacher Appreciation at the kids' school? Well, I am finally and officially finished with the clipboards and wanted to post pics of a few of them. Most of the clipboards were decorated with leftover scrapbooking materials, so they cost me next to nothing to make. They are known as "altered clipboards" and you can do a google search to get more ideas about how to make them! They are a great teacher gift and are really pretty easy to make.

It just wouldn't be the same without all the musical numbers that are presented this time of year. Kami is a proud member of the Jenks East singers, and loved performing with them this December.

One Reason I Love ORU

Moses Ehambe. He was the "celebrity reader" in Ellie's class on Friday. Talk about a great guy! He is one example of the wonderful people you will find at ORU. In Ellie's words, "that Moses... he's sum' thin' else!"

October 10, 1910

On October 10, 2007, Kami (far left) went on a field trip to Rose Hill School in Perry, Oklahoma. When they walked over the "bridge of time," they were taken back to the old days, when girls wore bonnets, boys said "yes ma'am" and teachers rode their horses to school. They got a glimpse of the time when teachers called students by their surnames (ex. Miss Hankins), students stood with respect when they addressed their teacher, and kids carried their lunches to school in a metal pail. No, there were no ziplock baggies or cold packs. Kami took 3 biscuits with butter and jelly, two hard boiled eggs and an apple. Quite different than what she's used to. The kids learned how to use ink wells, copy books and writing pens. They didn't smile a whole lot until recess, because Miss Rupp, their teacher, was quite strict, a no-nonsense kind of lady. But at lunch, they had fun playing marbles and enjoying the "flying Jenny." Before the field trip, Kami's teacher required the students to interview someone who had gone to school many years ago. Here is Kami's interview with Grandma I:

Interview with Ida Pondarae Reynolds, 96 years old

Q: What year did you go attend school?

A: 1917 at Etta School in Tahlequah, Oklahoma

Q: How did you dress?

A: I wore a cotton dress that was very simple. It was long sleeved and was made of a plaid or flowered material. Underneath the dress, I wore an underslip, and under that I wore long handle underwear. The shoes we wore buckled up.

Q: How did you get to school?

A: I walked 3 miles through the woods.

Q: What kind of food did you bring?

A: I brought a biscuit with butter and jelly.

Q: What did you do that was fun? What did you do at recess?

A: We didn’t have a playground or swings, so we played Ring Around the Rosie, Drop the Handkerchief or Marbles. We made up games a lot of the time.

Q: If you could, name one of your teachers.

A: Mrs. Mertle was my teacher. She was very nice and I loved her very much. She rode her horse to school. She would tie up the horse on a post every day.

Q: Did you like school?

A: I loved school. When we had to take a break from school to pick cotton, I was always sad.

Q: What was your classroom like?

A: It was one room and it had wood floors. We had desks and a chalkboard. We had to bring our own books and pencils. There was a wood stove in the room to keep us warm, but no bathroom. When it was time to go to the bathroom, we would raise our hand. When the teacher said to us, “you are excused,” we would go outside. On our way out, we would put our book in the door as a sign to the other children that they couldn’t come outside. There was a girl hill and a boy hill and we would go up and go to the bathroom on that hill. No matter what the weather!

Q: What was a punishment like if someone did something wrong?

A: Well, one time we were reading a story called “One Eye, Two Eye, Three Eye,” and we were supposed to learn our spelling words from the story. Two of my spelling words were “sister,” and “forehead” and I did not know them. So, Mrs. Mertle made me sit on the floor. That was my punishment and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I learned those words quickly! I never got punished again, but some people, when they got punished, had to put their nose in a circle that was drawn on the chalkboard.

Q: How many people were in your classroom?

A: less than 15 kids who were all different ages. Olin Sweatston had a crush on me and when I was punished that time, he tried to give me his coat to sit on.

Luke's First Day with Ms. Bunch

I cannot believe this day has come! My baby boy is going to school at Jenks East Elementary, and he is in Ms. Bunch's class. Ms. Bunch is the precious teacher who had Kami, and then Ellie and now, Luke!!!! It doesn't seem like he's old enough to go off and leave me at home alone! But it's going to be a great year for Luke and the girls too. They ALL have wonderful teachers! Now if Luke can just keep from being sent to the principal's office.....

Fantastic First Day of School

Our Last Skidamarinky Doo

Friday was the girls' last day of school. Normally, it is a day I welcome. I usually don't fall into too much sentimentality (oh boo-hoo, it's my child's last day of kindergarten,) but this May 25th, the sentimentality fell into me. It has been THE BEST year. Kami's teacher, Mrs. Zemanek, has been challenging, sweet, fun, interesting, organized, encouraging, and engaging, a fabulous 3rd grade teacher. She's irreplacable. And Ellie's teacher, Mrs. Swaim, is just a jewel. So sweet and laid back and amazing with those kiddos. The pied piper of kindergarten teachers is she. The whole class can be in an uproar, and she begins quietly singing... and no kidding, I have witnessed this several times... within 30 seconds they are all sitting around her singing too. Here she is sitting on her new rocking chair that the class gave to her (you can see another picture of it below) surrounded by Ellie's classmates. As the class stood in line at the door, singing their final song together, I found myself wanting to capture the moment forever. It hit me hard that it was Ellie's last Skidamarinky Doo with Mrs. Swaim. It is a song that she ended her days with all year long. Here are the words:

Skidamarinky Dinky Dink, Skidamarinky Doo, I Love YOU!

I Love you in the morning and in the afternoon.

I Love you in the Evening and Underneath the Moon,

Oh, Skidamarinky Dinky Dink, Skidamarinky Doo, I Love You!

(Yes, I do!) I Love You (See you Tomorrow!)

I LOVE You, Doo, Boop-Boopy Doo, Yeah!

School Stuff

Kami and her classmate Gabrielle were asked to lead the Pledge of Allegiance at the Jenks School Board meeting tonight. During the pledge, they were looking at the flag, which was on the other side of the room; as a result, I did not capture the actual moment that they said the pledge. (bad mom!) Here they are right beforehand. By the way, can you tell what the style for an 8 year old girl is?

After that, we went to an open house for the Reflections contest at Jenks East. Kids enter stories, drawings, photos and songs in a PTA sponsored contest. Here are pics of the girls with their entries. The theme was "My Favorite Place," and Kami and Ellie both wrote stories about... Alaska. They loved that trip (which was one year ago this Thanksgiving.) The project Kami is holding she called "Trojan Pride," and Ellie's is "At the Pumpkin Patch." It was really interesting to see what all the kids created. What I didn't get a picture of was Luke sneaking up to the refreshment table and eating cookies with both hands. I think the damage was about 6 cookies for the time we were there.