A Common Love

A Common Love

A common love for each other

A common gift from the Savior

A common bond holding us to the Lord

A common strength when we’re weary

A common hope for tomorrow

A common joy in the truth of God’s word.

We sang this song tonight at church. I love the meaning of this song because it is all about family... church family, our brothers and sisters in Christ! What is so meaningful to me is the love, strength, bond, hope and joy that spills over into all parts of life. Today was a hard day for many reasons. Kelly and I ran the Route 66 5K. It was the toughest 5K course we have ever ran... there were many HILLS. Today is Diane Cook's birthday. She is the amazing woman who inspired my blog. She is David's sister (Kelly's sister in law) who passed away on June 2nd of this year. Her faith was amazing and so deep. She left behind 2 little girls and a husband who love and miss her every single day. My heart breaks for them. Today, Kelly and I ran in her memory. We were reminded of her each time it was hard to run or to keep running. She did it again! She inspired us to keep on running the race... I am reminded of the verse in 2 Timothy 4:7 which says, "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith."

Diane Cook

Each day is a gift from above. God gives us each day to live according to His purpose. I so often fall short and I am thankful today, everyday for His grace and forgiveness. I was thinking about ALL of this as I took the Lord's Supper today. It is my favorite part of worship each Sunday. Today, I give thanks for life... mine and yours and Diane's who touched so many with her grace and faith. Ya know, some days are hard and it is difficult to remember that the trials make us stronger and more faithful. May we all cling to that and those who love us, give us strength, hope, joy and share our common bond.

Route 66 ~ Nov. 22nd, 2009

I am thankful for the common bond we share.

Looking on the bright side of things...

Have you ever known someone who seems to glide through life with a smile, never having a bad day, always in a great mood?  Life is perfect when you have Jesus in your heart, right? Uh, yeah..no... It isn't perfect so why do some people act like it is?  I haven't "hung around" perfect people lately (like since college) because they make me feel stupid and like my faith is lacking. The truth is... God never said this thing called life would always be happy and easy.  I TRY REALLY HARD to see the positive in all things but there are just times when I have to admit, life is hard or frustrating. 

This has been a hard year in teaching... for many reasons.  I am not going to spend the time to recount those things here.  You'll just have to trust me when I tell you... it is a difficult year.  I am trying to see the positives... and there are many to reflect on.

Flash + Dreamboat = Flashboat!

(AKA... Sarah and Me!)

~ I LOVE my co-teacher, Sarah Hicks! She cracks me up every single day! I LOVE her organizational abilities and how she is working so hard to get me to perfection in that area! DUDE! She SO has her work cut out for her!

~ The smiles on my students' faces are always a positive and all 27 of them are making AMAZING progress in all areas! WOO HOO!!

~ My desk area is naked!!! I am SO EXCITED!! Sarah has de-cluttered me and MADE me throw lots of stuff away as well as donate boxes full of misc. stuff.  It is a CLEAN kind of feeling!

~ Laurieann... who laughs when times are hard and just keeps moving forward.

~ Tobi... who works hard to unify the team and keep us stuck together.  She is there to unite us always!

~ Micah... who communicates how she is feeling and validates us all.

~ Kelly... who vents, listens, encourages and sticks to the plan, even when it is hard. This "big class adventure" is something... so glad we are in it together!

~ Rocket Brothers... can make almost any day better.  I am so thankful it is just a few minutes away! WOO HOO!! This will tell you how stressful this year has been and how we are spread so thin... TODAY was the FIRST EVER "TEAM Rocket Run" of the school year! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

~ Wednesday nights... this might seem a bit weird to some. However, it is the energizer I need in the middle of the week to keep going. God is good... ALL THE TIME!

~ Running... it is amazing how much better I feel after I run on Mondays and Thursdays.  I am sure it is partly the run and partly the company but it is good, nonetheless!

Kelly, Me and Bridget AFTER the Tulsa Run on October 31st!

I am SO proud of us!!!

Sometimes it helps to just focus on the positives...

Family Matters

This weekend was pretty amazing... it was quite a week at school.  I would say one of the hardest of my career but that is all in perspective now.   It is funny that you can go through something, all caught up in the emotion of it and look back, realizing it really was beyond your control.  Well... that is how it was last week.

My weekend started in the most amazing way!  At 5:30 on Friday, I went to church.  I met my family there... Mom, Don, my girls and Todd, David, Kelly and the boys.  Tim was there too and so was another family (neighbors of Mom's). This was something I have prayed for since... forever, honestly. My mom establishing herself at church in her faith and wanting to be involved in worship every Sunday. YAY!!!!  My mom was baptized for the remission of her sins on Friday at Broken Arrow Church of Christ.  God has the power to make HUGE dreams come true!!  Mom hasn't been a member of a church in over 38 years but now she attends BA COC with us every Sunday.  The amazing part of this story is that Don, Mom's husband was raised in the church and his daddy was a Church of Christ preacher in Arkansas. Don is right at home at the Broken Arrow church.  Kelly and I got to go up to the "pool" to help Mom get ready.  There really are no words to describe how it felt  to hear Mom confess her faith and watch as she was buried with Christ.  It was pure joy! 

Mom and I on November 6th, 2009.

This road we are traveling is a long and curvy journey.  I am so glad to have Mom there with me! Is it weird to say you are proud of your mom?  Well... I am! YAY MOM! YAY GOD! It was also neat to see the relationship that Kelly has built with Mom and Don... I know they appreciate her welcome hugs every Sunday. Isn't funny to think how all of this came about and how the Lord brings people into our lives at just the right time? Mom wouldn't be at church right now if she hadn't come to my baptism in June. I clearly wouldn't have been baptized in June without Kelly's influence and so this is how it was intended to be. Praise be to God!

Mom with Tim.

       Raised to walk in newness of life!

Don and Mom with Emma, Katherine, Todd and I

ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!

I have been so busy with work, home, church, company and running that I haven't blogged in a while. An update is long overdue!  I don't have any super profound thoughts tonight but it has been a great weekend!!

I have to write about my new ADDICTION to football!!! It is SPECIFIC to ALABAMA FOOTBALL! I openly admit that it started out as a social opportunity.  I just really wanted our family to spend time with the Parrott's on a Saturday. Kelly invited us over so WE WENT! It is some kind of entertainment... I'm just sayin' there is NOTHING like watching Kelly interact with the TV during a game.  IT IS AWESOME! So... I liked watching the game but now I HAVE TO watch Bama EVERY week and sometimes, I watch OTHER teams too! What in the world is going on with me??? There are A LOT of changes in my life lately... I guess I am still rediscovering myself! Can I share a secret dream with you?? I AM DYING... I MEAN DYING to go to an ALABAMA game IN ALABAMA! If I had a random donation of $1000, I'd be there... WITH KELLY! WOO HOO!!!! I am cheesy just thinking about it!!! POOF! I woke up... it was just a dream! :>)

ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!

Alabama isn't playing next weekend!! WHAT AM I GOING TO DO? 

Oh yeah... I will be running the TULSA RUN 5K!!!

Today was a CHURCH DAY! Literally, I spent the WHOLE DAY THERE! WOW! We went to Bible Class this morning, then service, to lunch, home for an hour and back to church for a meeting, service and then the Good Guy Carnival.  The Carnival was super fun and was put on by the middle schoolers.  Oh how I love Broken Arrow Church of Christ! :>)

My Girls ~ Katherine and Emma

Griffin and my girls

Kelly and I at church... I love to worship, sing and pray with her!!

I wouldn't trade anything for it!

If you dislike sappy stuff... POOF! Be gone from this blog right now... because it is a sappy post!

I have been reflecting A LOT this week! Do you ever feel like AFTER a big event you are kind of drained? You know, like after a wedding or a trip or being TOY for a year?  YEP! That is how I feel... just emotionally tired and worn out.  I was totally warned that this would probably happen but NOT TO ME, I thought... wrong! It is not that I am sad that my time in the spotlight is over... cause that is NOT the case.  I need LESS busy in my life...honestly. I think it is just once the pressure of it all is gone, you realize how tired you are and how much emotion was involved. 

I have been attending Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University since August.  There is a lot to learn about FINANCIAL PEACE... and a lot of discussion on the value of things. It has been said that everything has a price.  You know what?  I disagree... there are just some things I wouldn't trade anything for.  Here is my list:

~ The autumn wind blowing on my face as the sun sets
~ Walking down the aisle at my wedding and hearing Todd tell me I was beautiful
~ Doing the HALF marathon in OKC and FINISHING strong!
~ Reading "You are a National Board Certified Teacher" on the screen of my computer on December 17th, 2006.
~ Giving birth to my two precious girls
~ Teaching my friends' children
~ Going to Hawaii FOR FREE with Micah... hearing the waves rush upon the beach in the dark and knowing we were THERE!
~ Going to Vegas with the kindergarten team
~ My cruise with Todd
~ Being Baptized... looking up and seeing the pure joy on Kelly's face, tears streaming down her cheeks and knowing that it was a moment I'd never forget. I loved sharing that with her after all of our studying.
~ Being the Teacher of the Year at Park Lane for 2009
~ Sharing my heart with my friends and them sharing their hearts with me
~ Still remembering what my Dad's voice sounds like when he says, "I love you".
~ Summer of 2009
~ Attending church with my family AND the Parrott's... no matter what my mood when I arrive, I ALWAYS leave with a smile and a full heart. I thank God everyday that we are part of the Broken Arrow Church and that our family friendships are growing stronger with each passing day.
~ Seeing Katherine and Emma smile at me and give me a random hug
~ Todd's "I am proud of you" look... looking in my direction. :)

This is not a complete list but a good start... What is your list?

My dream came true!

I have been teaching in public education for 14 years. Throughout my career, I have grown and changed in so many ways.  I have strengthened my practice and found value in different parts of what I do each day.  I absolutely LOVE teaching young children. I love being one of their first teachers and getting to inspire their love for learning... hopefully that lasts a lifetime. It brings me the greatest joy to see them later as they have grown up and knowing that I somehow, in someway, influenced their life.

At Victoria's graduation!! Victoria was one of my first students in Glenpool!!

What is my favorite part of teaching? There are so many! I LOVE to teach little ones to READ.  I love to sing with them and hear them sing the songs when they don't know I am listening. I enjoy forming parent relationships, especially those that last for many years. I love to see that twinkle in the eye of young children as they realize THEY CAN DO IT..."it" being anything I told them was possible and they didn't believe me! I love to teach with Micah, Laurieann, Tobi and Kelly. I can honestly say..we are the dream team.  We are there for each other whenever it is needed or not needed!

I love receiving notes, letters, cards and emails from parents thanking me for the time I have spent with their child. These are priceless to me.

Throughout my teaching years, I have set goals.  I wanted to successfully write a grant.  I decided to write a BIG ONE for a trip to Hawaii in 2005 and I got it!  Now I write grants EVERY year for educational materials. I always wanted to become a Nationally Board Certified Teacher.  In 2006, I realized that dream after HUNDREDS of hours of prep, writing, teaching and studying. That moment, that I shared with NO ONE, will FOREVER be in my mind.  It was one of the greatest accomplishments of my professional life and I earned it on my own accord. What a fabulous moment!  So... after that, what kind of goal do you set? I realize that for many, it is enough to just teach because the rewards are so great.  You know what?  THEY ARE! It is not like the daily rewards are not enough for me.  I just wanted to dream a little more...what would it be like to be Teacher of the Year? I had always wondered and in 2008, I found out when I heard my name read by one of my students at a celebration at Park Lane Elementary.  THAT was the greatest moment of my career so far!!  I sat there with my team who were all so happy for me, so supportive. They sat there with so much HOPE for me and SO MUCH PURE JOY when I received this honor! It was a moment I won't soon forget.

So, you ask, why am I writing about it now? On Tuesday, October 6th, a new Teacher of the Year will reign at Park Lane Elementary.  I am very proud to have served our school and SO PROUD to have made it into the top 10 in the BA District. I am looking forward to passing the torch to the next deserving educator. I just couldn't let this mildstone in my life pass without writing about how much it meant to me to be the TOY of Park Lane. It will ALWAYS mean the world to me to know that my peers thought I was worthy of this honor.

I love you girls! YOU INSPIRE ME!!!

God is good...ALL THE TIME!

I didn't have a lot of time for 'reflection' today but I tried to squeeze in a little this evening while I drove to Target.  It was really the only time I was alone. What can I say?? It is hard to "reflect" with a three old in your back pocket!

Have you ever felt like God was right there with you?  Cheering you on, encouraging you or giving you strength for the next race you will run? When I finished running on Thursday, UP HILLS IN THE RAIN, I picked up Katherine and Emma from Mom's house.  I was struck by the true beauty of the sky.  It reminded me that God is always there...even in the storms of life.

God is there for the little joys too...like watching my girls at their FIRST football game last Friday night and while they were riding around at the nursery last Sunday!

God is there when things are hard and when they are easy... I much prefer easy, even though hard is sometimes necessary. :) He is there for the victories and the losses!

Friday night was a win for BA and today was a WIN for Bama! YEA!

I am so thankful to be a child of God because no matter what I face in this life, I know he will be right there whenever I need Him! Take the time to tell the people in your life what they mean to you as often as possible and don't forget to thank God for the blessings you have been given.  Guess what time it is? It is time for me to spend some quiet time with Him right now.

Have a blessed day!