WooHoo!

I got a new computer! Well its a laptop and I love it. I know next to nothing about it, except that it is mine and has a 17 inch screen and vista. It shares the file on the desktop that has my pictures in it and I can access scrapblog. sorry all you tech savvy readers, send my husband an email, he knows.

Real life survivor

Several weeks ago the talk started. People quietly whispering in the hall way. Others openly speculating for all to hear while people look at them like they are nuts. Some people talking about others behind their backs. As time has marched on relationships have become more tense. Emotions are running high and all eagerly wait to see what will go down at tribal council...or staff meeting. Thats right this is all happening at my school. Teachers have no idea what they are teaching next year and I think people are going to start losing it if we don't find out soon. My teaching partner and I have joked about people trying to make alliances as they decide who they'll be teaching with.

The tension has spread to the kids. Poor kids I think they're getting it from both the teachers and the parents. I have fielded several phone calls from parents that are just as anxious as the teachers. They have heard it through the grapevine. What they think they know is always pretty interesting.

I had no idea what the end of the school year was really like from the teacher side of things. So many things have to be prepared for the next year and I'm trying to wind up this year at the same time. It is a crazy, hectic time of year. People are unpredictable and more last minute things keep cropping up!

I have 9 more teaching days!!! Then a work day and a few conferences. I can hardly believe that my first year of teaching is almost over. It is a little bittersweet. In some ways I am very ready and in others I need a little more time. The first year is supposed to be the hardest and double session kinder is apparently the worst assignment ever, so if I teach again next year hopefully I will be a more effective and less stressed teacher. Or maybe I'll be off on another adventure, only time can tell.

of tread mills, frogs and ice cream

Adam and I joined anytime fitness on friday. I have been three times to exercise. My legs hurt. My arms hurt and I have slept really well the last couple of nights despite our frog problem. Our house has three "water features" that are doubling as frog breading grounds. The noise that a tiny frog can put out is simply amazing. I decided one night that i wanted to see these blessed creatures. I stood on the deck and used adams mag lite to look out toward the ponds. as soon as I had the flashlight on dead silence. flashlight off, ruckus, on silence, off ruckus. They were mocking me!

As i sit here blogging i am eating left over birthday ice cream. the dreyers slow churned with half the fat means you can eat twice as much right?

Betcha haven't done this!

So today i saw poop come out of a caterpillar butt (if they have butts). We have 31 caterpillars in my classroom. They are much more disgusting than I thought that they'd be. For a week they have been doing nothing but appearing bigger each morning. They have hardly even moved. Then today clearly pooping right in front of our eyes. I was surprised that the little boys in my class who giggle when someone says fart, poop or butt were so disgusted to see the caterpillar poop. They just like to talk the talk, deep down inside they are still little boys.

My beautiful girl

My daughter is so amazing. Sometimes so frustrating, but mainly amazing. She is beautiful, kind, tenderhearted and loves to sing.

Today she came in the house and her and Moriyah sat on the couch and she read a story to her. Then they went upstairs to get on dress up clothes. Hannah held moriyah's hand all the way down and as they walked off to play Hannah said, "Daddy, she is my best friend forever!"

Melts my heart. I pray they will always have a close and tender relationship.

Not again

There are several things i have never wanted to do or really ever entertained in my mind. Among those are bungie jumping, eating something that once produced slime and having surgery.

I have recently reconsidered the last of the never to do activities. I always said i never want to be in a hospital for a reason other than having a baby. I have been feeling so miserable lately despite the new medicine they gave me. At my appointment yesterday he went from, " well you seem to be having symptoms even though you're on the medication' (Um duh, I just said that) to 'the surgery would be a good option if we did this test. You could have (tuned out due to overuse of medical jargon) CANCER' (tuned back in due to the use of the word CANCER!) did I hear him right? The truth is i don't have cancer and at this point he doesn't think that right now i'm a good candidate for cancer, (I imagined people running for the cancer election when he said this), it is however a possibility if we can't find a way to manage these symptoms. So lucky me i feel crappy and i get to continue to feel crappy for some undetermined amount of time. Once they decide when to have me do the next round of testing I have to stop taking my pills for a week before hand. His advice for when doing the test is to do all the things that really make me feel horrible. That way they'll get a good handle for how bad it is. My poor family, my poor husband. I am going to be such a happy camper for a while. I am hoping that whatever this next test reveals it is difinitive. I would like one extreme or the other. Surgery is the only option or we can't even consider the surgery. None of this middle ground having to make a decision of wether or not to have a surgery. Cause frankly I'm not sure what I'd pick.

because its so fun

Yes I was tagged as well.

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Kindergarten teacher
2. work study in presidents office at cascade
3. mervyns
4. olympic gym childcare

Four movies I've watched more than once:
1. finding forrester
2. cinderella
3. a walk to remember
4. shrek


Four places I have lived:
1. Portland OR
2. Gresham, OR
3. Troutdale, OR
4. Redmond, OR


Four TV Shows that I watch
1. Survivor
2. the office
3. Good Eats
4. iron chef america

Four places I have been:
1. Anchorage alaska
2. Various places in CA
3. Prescott AZ
4. Boise, ID

Four people who e-mail me (regularly):
1. Erinn Lakey, my teaching partner
2. Redmond moms club
3. deschutes public library
4. Ms. Dunsomeones class even though I don't have a child in their class and I keep asking them to take me off the stupid mailing list.

Four of my favorite foods:
1. chocolate
2. sweet corn tamales, authentically made
3. chunky chips with malt vinegar on them
4. everything that my wonderful husband makes!

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Somewhere in Mexico
2. Hawaii
3. bed
4. a greek island

Four things I am looking forward to in the coming year (next 12 months):
1. financial peace university
2. my first summer break as a teacher
3. celebrating my tenth anniversary with my hubby at the beach
4. no longer having a "baby"

Four significant/memorable gifts I have received:
1. my kids
2. baby bassinet for andrew
3. flowers
4. a new ring, that came with a romantic proposal

Four Books that have impacted me the greatest:
1. ok so you'd think that i could answer this question being that i love reading, have a degree to teach it, sit on a committee...
2. But i am struggling to come up with books that impact me.
3. mostly i just like books.
4. i usually find something redeeming in anything that i read.
mosaic of thought
gospel of john
esperanza rising

Four People who have changed my thinking and continue to do so:
1. Jesus
2. Adam
3. kevin reed
4. ummm....

Its been awhile!

Well it has been an incredibly long time since I blogged. I feel like an entirely different person since that blog posting. I have grown and changed much since that time. Teaching has its ups and downs. Thankfully I'm in an up motion now. I have had horrible health issues that were solved, after much testing and worry, with a pill. As we come up to our tenth wedding anniversary adam and i are still learning what it means to live sacrificially and to choose love each day.

Here's the story that brought me to this computer as I wait for my toe nail polish to dry.

This morning the girls woke up bright and early at 6:45. Which is the regular time for them, they still haven't caught on to saturday and sundays schedule yet. Adam and I each got a girl and brought them back to bed with us. I had Hannah he had Moriyah. We laid quietly for 1.2 seconds then the talking, giggling and general awakeness began. Mo, thats what we call Moriyah, crawled over adam and Hannah to come find me. she put her face right between mine and Hannah's. I thought Hannah was going to have a cow but instead she looked at me and said as if introducing us, "This is my friend Moriyah." Those were the most precious words to hear. I have been a little worried about the girls because they seem to like to pick at each other even though they're so little. I guess all siblings are going to fight sometimes. I just don't remember the boys doing it this much.

I am so excited because my husband is the bomb. He earned some sort of award for something at work. (I think he had to be in the top 10% in the NATION for something). We are going to a banquet tonight. I started asking a girl friend that works at tmobile what it would be like, what i should wear, etc. The best way to describe her responses is a high school formal. I had to go buy a dress and everything. The funny part of that was there were five high school girls trying on formals at the same time i was. I'm pretty sure they thought I was in high school to. So I'm waiting for my toes to dry so I can get dressed and all dolled up. Hopefully have a great time!

Do I really sound like that?

Well tonight we got home and the boys went to playing. Hannah went upstairs and Moriyah and I started to cook dinner. I have been doing the evening shift alone this week as adam has had to work until after midnight. I make a terrible single parent!! On to the story. I heard Hannah say Mommy I need your help. I was very impressed because she has taken to talking like a baby lately. She is the oldest one at the daycare. I wonder if she thinks she'll get more attention if she does. I quickly headed upstairs to praise her big girl words and see what she wanted. When I got to the top of the stairs I saw her standing there with her arms on her hips. at her feet was a bed she'd made from burp rags and a baby doll all swaddled. She said "Get in there and clean your room then put away the dish washer" All the while wagging her finger at me. My immediate thought was "do i sound and look like this" obvious answer YES! Those are the only two regular chores our boys have. Funny thing is both my room and the dishes did need my attention. Oh two year olds can speak much truth without even trying!

ugh

I made it through my first full week of teaching kindergarten...kind of. I left Friday sick and then Saturday went to the walk in clinic in desperate need of antibiotics. They always act like they have news to tell me when they come back with the strep test as positive. I already knew. I just wanted the antibiotics. Ooh and they gave me tylenol with codeine. That is some great stuff. I didn't realize it until it wore off. I went in desperate search for the bottle. thankfully my mom took my kids and I got to spend the majority of Satuday in bed. This is the second bout of strep I've had in the last 3-4 months. If I get it again in the next year they are going to send me to a specialist and probably take out my tonsils. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I never ever want to have strep again and if that means no tonsils, well then lets do it. But does it really mean that I have to have surgery. Its a little scary. I have a hard time believing that there are body parts I don't really need. Apparently there are quite a few you can live without.

I took today, my birthday, off. It was a little scary to write sub plans. I don't think I did a good job. I'm sorry poor unnamed sub.

On Friday as I was getting the kindergarteners ready to go my principle stopped by to let me know that I needed to pack "the essentials" for teaching on monday in another room. Aparently they decided to clean the gross mold that is growing in the storage room adjoining my room and she was afraid of bleach fumes and the kids. I have no idea how to pack 'the essentials' I mean I use everything that is out. I just looked around the room thinking right. Because I was sick I decided to deal with it on Monday. And then I got a sub. Poor sub. It must have been an awful day. New room, new teacher, no routine. Those five year olds were probably a mess. I am a little concerned that when i go back tomorrow it will be like cleaning up after a large explosive has gone off.

What have I gotten myself into?

I am a little over halfway through my home visits. It has been very interesting. Tuesday was off with a bang when I couldn't find the house I was going to, only to discover the student showed up at school. The next three conferences were with spanish speaking families and the district had so graciously told me too bad no interpreter for you. Later that day I managed to lock myself out of the house and had to drive to adams work to get a key. We were 15 minutes late for soccer practice and still did not have any dinner. My first day was a doozy.

It has gotten better. I showed up at one house today and found a place set for me at the table. It consisted of a large pitcher full of ice water, a wine glass and a bottle of liptons green tea with citrus. The mother walked around the whole time I was there drinking water out of a wine glass. I felt terribly underdressed.

My room is put together but I am so not ready to actually teach. I have not prepared a single lesson plan or any materials. AHHHHHHH! I'm sure it will work out fine. I had no idea that when I signed up for this job I was also signing up for a weight loss program. Stress has always really "helped" me loose weight and I'm down 5 pounds since tuesday!

Me too!

Tag...you're it!
I've been tagged...here's the rules:

1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.

2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

3. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (If you don’t have a blog, email me)

4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Here goes:
1 I love books and it is painful to think about getting rid of them.

2. I now have an office the size of a bedroom. I never thought I'd have an office.

3. I love blue raspberry slurpies or white cherry. But the 7-11 near our home never has those flavors so I end up mixing coke and regular cherry.

4. I have always wanted to travel, especially to mexico or spain.

5. I have attended a meeting called The BOB SQUAD. I really thought we were all in trouble but Bob turned out to be a man who really resembled Santa Clause.

6. I love to play soccer but don't particularly like watching it.

7. One of my favorite vegetables is brussel sprouts.

8. I have always wanted to learn how to ride horses.

Steve, Kristi B, Emily W.---TAG YOU'RE IT

Extra Extra, Read all about it!

I am a KINDERGARTEN teacher at Evergreen Elementary! I can't tell you how excited, nervous, overwhelmed, joyful I am. It's sinking in. I got my keys today and went to MY classroom. I have no idea what I'm doing or what half the crap thats in there is. But its mine. As well as about 50 little 5 year olds. I think I ought to start praying now!

Our church

We do not meet with an established church. Instead we have been meeting with several couples and working on planting a church. This past week has brought a lot of change to our little meetings. We said goodbye to one couple and welcomed two new couples. Our new friends each have 6 kids so we no longer hold the record in our church!! We do still have the youngest kids which makes things interesting. Stuart and Diesta Love have been here the last couple of weeks and I have really enjoyed hearing them speak. Adam thinks he's like Dumbledore in his calm speaking presence. Its amazing to see the room quiet down and sit with rapt attention with just a word in his calm voice.

We have been able to sing songs this past week because we have more voices. We sang before but it was really pathetic if you ask me!! I still miss the voices from my family. Nothing can beat sitting around singing with the Wilsons and the Wolfgangs. Although I don't add much musical talent to the group I really enjoy listening and trying to keep up.

I am so thankful that we have found people to meet with and to begin the dream of planting a church. We have much work to do but it is good work. I know that Redmond will be blessed by the efforts of this new church to show people Jesus.

Little Mo

I think that Moriyah might be the most uniquely funny infant we have had. Here are some of her funnies:

• She ROARS. Seriously just like a lion. If she hears someone roar she is compelled to roar as well.
• She used to growl, thankfully I haven't heard her do that lately. It was this deep raspy i'm possessed kind of growl. I found it to be a bit creepy.
  
• She loves to eat, not so unique, but she will eat anything we give her. Pickles, blueberries, olives, whatever. But please don't give her baby food. She hates it.
• She waves good bye the right way. Most babies wave backward. Oh not Moriyah.
• For many months now Moriyah has swirled her foot around. You know how you can make a circle with your toes. Well she does that when she is excited, tired, intrigued...whenever
• She gets genuinely angry and yells at whatever has made her angry. IE her shirt, the table, a toy.
  
• she moo's but only with Adam. I think she is going to be a daddy's girl. I tried to get her to moo with me. No dice, just daddy.
  
• She thinks I'm a rock star. At least thats what i call it. Every time she sees me she screams for me. She my entourage. Every mother needs one.
  
• She is so fat she has tan lines on her rolly arms.
  

She brings us such joy and laughter. Little Mo we love you.

Is it REALLY still 2007?

Things I recently overheard...

"Well we were down by the river and there were "beaners" everywhere. Playing their damn (really bad impersonation of latino music) everywhere."

"Have you noticed all the black people that moved in down the street."

"Well you know how black people are..."

"We could tell by their language that they weren't saved. But we decided not to tell them about Jesus" (that second part was paraphrased from a much larger conversation)

"The school population is changing, hardly anyone can speak English now. My job is getting a lot harder"

"They are diverting so many resources into families that don't speak English its ridiculous"

"Well those immigrants...(roll of the eyes)"

As I have had conversations with neighbors and fellow church members there have been little snipits of racism thrown in the mix. I have been taken aback by them and the frequency with which they came the last three days.

Am I the only one whose been hearing this or maybe its just being in central oregon. Truly their is very little diversity here. Perhaps its that I am so accustomed to the diversity that I've always lived with. One thing that we noticed that is extremely odd here is there are hardly any asian people. I didn't realize it until we went back to Portland.

what is in a theme

"Get your biscuits in the oven and your buns to the fair" is the theme for the 2007 Deschutes county fair. I'm not sure who comes up with these or why. I think the theme should be come have fun and spend an arm and a leg. Thats basically my fair experience. But not this year. We have discovered a loop hole. If we enter something into the fair we get free admission all week! How glorious! We told the boys that if they wanted to go to the fair this year they had to enter something and then we'd buy them one of those ride bracelets. So...
Andrew has entered a crayon drawing.
Isaac has entered a picture of the black bear he took while at the zoo in portland
I have entered a sunset picture I took while camping this spring.

Adam wanted someone to enter him into the fair. No takers so far.

So if your biscuits are in the oven you should get your buns to the fair. I wonder if they realized that the biscuits would then burn. I mean its pretty dangerous to leave something like that in the oven.

kodak moment

VBS in Portland

This past week we headed up to portland so that adam and isaac could be in the vbs at pump church. We left sunday morning and got to gresham right about when church started at East county church of christ. We headed in and as we walked in the door, being about 15 minutes late, one of the members looked at us and said, "Welcome home sarah." Thats what it felt like. It was so good to get to see and talk to old friends. East county will always feel like my spiritual home no matter where my physical home may be. I love Redmond but it has felt like a spiritual wilderness for this past year. I really miss being a part of a faith community.

Beautiful

Thank you Father for all the beautiful things you have placed in my life.