Enjoying the Moment

We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today. ~Stacia Tauscher

So much of the time I am focused on my children's future. I often wonder how I am as their parent will directly affect the people they will become. But as I tucked my little angels into bed tonight, I took in the moment. They are little precious people right now, full of questions and requests. Daniel wants to take an empty backpack to school tomorrow because he "doesn't have to carry anything to school but you never know what I will have to bring home." Mann wanted to talk about who he knows that lives in heaven. Emma gave slobbery kisses.

I am so grateful tonight for my little blessings, just as they are today.

Why do you go?

Do you go to church on Sundays? Why do you go?

I think everyone has different reasons to go to church. We attend a small church in Murchison. Seth and I with our family are really the only young people who attend every Sunday. I started a Sunday School class for the children that meets during the service. Sometimes it is just me and my boys in there, but on most Sundays there are other children visiting with their grandparents. I tell a story and then we do a craft. And I am starting new curriculum next week that I am really excited about.

But I teach my children about Jesus at home. And I will admit, I feel closer to God during my morning quiet times with Him, then I do in the church we attend on Sundays.

So why go to church at all? I know people who do not go to church, but are better Christians than many of the people I see behind those church doors. But Hebrews 10:23-25 tells us that we should gather together as Christians, to worship and spur each other on to do good deeds.

I practiced Catholicism for a short period of time right after I got out of college. What I really liked about the Catholic church was the reverence. I really felt the presence of God in the Catholic church. But I have also felt God's presence in the Bible churches I have visited, with their powerful worship teams with amazing music.

God is everywhere. He is in my living room every morning at 5:15am, getting me ready to start the day.

So, why do I go to church? To be perfectly honest, I go to be with family. Why do you go?

Let's Hear it for the Coaches

Last night, Seth came home and said he didn't feel well. He was in bed by 9 o'clock. He thought he was sick, but I know what it was: exhaustion.

I feel like people really don't appreciate coaches. Everyone shows up for the game Friday night and watches the team, but do you ever watch the coaches? Of course, I do, because that is my cute husband there on the sidelines! Seth may complain about not making enough money and the time coaching takes, but I know he loves it. When I see him interact with those kids and get excited about a good play, I can tell he is having fun.

What is not fun is to hear the crowd boo the players and shout unsolicited "advice" at the coaches. It floors me that people come to a football game and sit there on their behinds, socializing and ignoring the game or are apparently only there to shout negative comments. Why do they even bother coming out? When the team is doing well, do they cheer for them? NOPE....they don't! But if something doesn't go their way, you can bet these people are on their feet looking for someone to blame - and it is usually the coach.

My prayer is that this season is better than the last. I hope that the fans will be on their feet for these kids and show them some support. I hope that when things don't go our way that people think before they yell at a coach or boo at a player. Everyone is doing their best out there. Let's try to treat each other with encouragement and respect.

"Let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet." 1 Thessalonians 5:8

I Love Walmart

This title probably just set my mother not simply rolling but spinning in her grave!

When I was growing up, we shopped at Ralph's. Ralph's was the small local grocery store in Snider Plaza near our house. We did not go to Minyard's, which was the local chain store, even though my mom knew the family who owned the chain. Nope, we paid slightly more to support the local store.

While I agree with supporting local merchants, for my family it really does come down to what I can get for less. We are starting back to school tomorrow, and money will be extremely tight for the next ten months. We have three children in daycare, which runs about $1100 a month. I am essentially working for health insurance for me and the kids and my car payment this year.

Our financial plan includes Seth going to Sam's Club once a month and getting the bulk items and snacks and such for the kids. Then every week, I do the grocery shopping. I can only spend $50 a week.

There is not much you can get these days for $50. For example, I put $60 in my vehicle on my way to the store today. It is quite a challenge, but one I have tackled for the past few weeks and it has been working out well.

I plan my menu for the week's meals. I cook mostly from scratch, which is much cheaper. When I get to the store, if the cart is getting too pricey, I start eliminating what we can do without.

The reason I say that I love Walmart is this: I can buy $50 worth of groceries and make it last a week. Even cutting coupons, I can't get everything we need for $50 at Brookshires or another local grocer. (Not that Brookshires is very "local" anymore!)

Walmart has their own generic brands that are literally half the price in some cases for the same product. Plus, you cannot ignore the convenience. Last week, I went at 9pm on Saturday night to do the weekly shopping, after I got the kids in bed. And, in addition to the groceries, I also was able to pick up a couple cute t-shirts for Emma Jo, for $2 each. If I had needed a fishing pole or a cooler, I could have gotten that as well.

So I am sorry to mom that I just cannot make myself spend more to support local. The fact of the matter is that there just isn't very much local left to support anyway. But one thing I will always do is buy from our local produce stands. There are a ton out here where we live in the summer and if you buy up and freeze, you can be set all winter long! Yum!

Some thoughts for the day

*Anyone that can control your anger is in control of you.*

*Nothing creative ever came out of chaos.*

*Trust is built not during the easy, happy times, but during the trials in your life.*

*Take the time it takes.*

EXEMPLARY!

Exemplary!!!

Really? Are we dreaming?

If you work in education in Texas, you know exactly what I am talking about. The TAKS tests are all we hear about all year long and then the final scores come in over the summer. The state tells you how your students did and gives your school a ranking that will follow you around for a year: Academically Unacceptable, Academically Acceptable, Recognized or Exemplary.

2010 was a wonderful year for Brownsboro. We are a Recognized District this year, with 3 of our schools receiving the Recognized rating and 3 receiving Exemplary status....and for the first time...EVER....Brownsboro Junior High is EXEMPLARY. This means that 90% or more of our students passed TAKS!

This is just a huge accomplishment and I am so proud of all of the teachers at BJH, especially the teachers who teach the TAKS-tested subjects. I feel like I am just riding on the coattails of others' success in their classrooms because 7th grade Texas History (which is what I teach) is not a TAKS-tested subject. (But I am sure my students would have passed had there been one!)

Like I have said before, junior high is not an easy level of education to teach. Some days we feel successful if we have made it through the day without any fights or emotional meltdowns. To learn that we ARE being successful in the classroom is a great joy.

Tonight is Meet the Teachers and we will be meeting and welcoming our new students and parents to BJH. I am so excited to see my new 7th graders. They are always so cute when they are nervous in the beginning of the school year! Ready or not, here it comes!

Scary Saturday

This past weekend, I got the scare of a lifetime.



It was early on Saturday morning and I was sitting in our Lazy Boy chair, where I usually have my quiet times in the morning. The boys had awaken early that morning and were playing in Daniel's room, so I was trying to spend some "semi-quiet" time with my Bible and praying before Emma Jo woke up.



I opened my eyes to the sound of her crying in her crib and began to get out of the chair. As my eyes cast down at the floor briefly, I saw it: A snake, silently slithering along the baseboard, not 2 feet from me. It wasn't huge, but I knew right away that it was a Copperhead.



I quickly stepped away and raced to the fireplace and retrieved the small shovel. The snake hadn't appeared to notice me yet. I crept up to it and took careful aim. I said a prayer that I wouldn't miss, and then I went for the head with the shovel.



I didn't get as close to the head as I wanted and the snake was pinned against the carpet, which was making it hard to kill. It was striking at the shovel. I held on as tightly as I could and tried to move it against the baseboard. I kept pushing the shovel against the snake for what felt like eternity. Finally, I decided it was dead enough to let go and get it out of the house. I scooped it up with the shovel and headed out the front door.



When I got outside, I was brave enough to take a picture. You can see where I got it with the shovel, there's a little indention...not quite close enough to the head. Had it been a large snake, I would have been in trouble...but then again, had it been a large snake, the kids and I would have evacuated and called for back-up!



I am not certain how the snake got into the house, but I am so thankful that it was me, instead of one of the kids, especially Emma Jo, that found it. I hate to think what would have happened to my fearless little princess if she would have happened upon it first.