Once a teacher, always a teacher!

My heart hurts today because a precious friend received the kind of news that knocks the breath out of you and leaves you gasping. She has cancer - very advanced cancer. She is one of my mentors, role models, and friends. She helped shape me into the teacher that I am today. I learned so much from her. I learned from her that you could be a student's friend and still be an authority figure. I learned that if you respect your students, they will respect you. I learned that humor goes a long way in making learning fun for everyone, including the teacher! I learned how to manage a classroom and still manage to have a family life too! I learned to love teaching! She taught me all that and so much more, and she is teaching me still. When I visited with her yesterday, she said instead of worrying about how many days she had left, she was going to live - really live - and cherish each moment of every day. Instead of us comforting her, she was comforting her family and friends who are struggling to accept her news. That's just like her, a master teacher. Always teaching no matter what the subject or the circumstance - still helping others to see and understand. I love you Cindy!

Coming Attraction!

Well, we are getting closer and closer to that magic closing date of Nov. 13th when we should once again be homeowners! Our life has been pretty crazy since we decided to build a house back in June, but God has been so good in providing a reconnection time for me with my parents that I didn'teven realize was needed. Things progressed more quickly than we had anticipated with the selling of our house and we found ourselves sort of homeless. My parents, being the hospitable people that they are, offered their home to us. So, on July 13th we moved in with Mom and Dad. God knew where I needed to be not only for my sake, but for my parents as well. My mother's health is not very good at all. I hadn't realized just how much she had declined over the past year until we moved in with them. As we were moving our stuff in, my dad turned around at the door and said, "Have you noticed how much your mother has declined?" I shook my head yes and he quickly said, "I'm so glad you're here!" That's how God works - He put me right where I needed to be and it has been a bittersweet and precious time for us to be together. I thank God for the time I have had with my mom and dad. There is no end to what parents will do for their children - even taking in their cat! Cat tales to follow in a later post!

Well, I guess I've been absent from the Blog and Xanga scene for a long time now. Life has been a little crazy since April. God's been very busy in our life recently and it's been quite a ride! Since April I've changed the direction of my career; I moved from teaching high school to teaching 4th & 5th graders! It has been such a culture shock, but I am loving it. I do miss the relationships I had with the high school students; however, I still see them and they are sweet enough to drop in on me in my room and let me know they haven't forgotten me. We also decided to sell our house and move. Life got really crazy then. There is an awesome God story about how we ended up living with my parents while we are having a house built in Owasso, but I will save that for another post. Let me just say, God does move in mysterious ways! I love being His child and being a part of His plan.