The Little Things...

E is becoming quite the little investigator. Anything that is new or different needs to be studied and examined. She is noticing the little things in life more and more. Birds get her 'oh'ing and 'ah'ing and pointing every time that she sees them. Birds are amazing and wonderful to her. We live in the flight path of geese. Several flocks go overhead daily. As soon as E hears them, she's looking and pointing. Yesterday we were at a park, and a flock landed in the little league field on the other side of the park. Off E went to see those geese. She was marching very purposefully toward them. She was very perturbed when they took off on her when she got too close.

She loves playing on the soccer fields near our house. The field is huge and there are a couple sloped inclines on the edges of the field. She could spend hours going up and down and running around. I also never knew that a soccer goal could provide so much entertainment to run around and reach your hands through. Plus, there are always interesting things left on the ground to investigate. It is a favorite place to spend time.

Another fun place is the park. She loves to climb through the big tube and slide back down. The steps are fun to go up and down. There are those silly animals on the springs that she loves to climb up and down. And of course her favorite is the swings. My girl loves swings! Plus, she gets to watch the ducks on our way there and home. She likes to watch me feed the ducks, but she eats the old, dry bread if I give her any to feed the ducks. I haven't been able to convince her that she doesn't need to eat it.

It is amazing to watch the world through a one-year old's eyes. Everything is new and amazing. Everything needs to be investigated. The little things that we take for granted is mesmerizing to her. It is so much fun to see her become more aware of her surroundings and just enjoy life.

A theological illustration/thought that struck me...

Last weekend my sister, Stacey came home for the weekend. Mom decided that we were going to make an apple pie and applesauce from the apples in her apple trees. So, we dodged raindrops and ventured outdoors to pick the apples.

Mom filled her bucket within minutes. She was done before Stacey and I even got outside. We grabbed our bags and headed out. Stacey and I picked the first few apples and they were gross. They were full of worm holes and just looked nasty. We chucked them into the cornfield and tried for a few more. They all looked gross. We decided that mom must have gotten all the good apples. So, we watched Elizabeth jump in a few mud puddles and inside we went.

Later in the evening, Mom brought out the apples for us to core, peel and slice. Her apples looked as gross or grosser (is that a word?) than ours had that we'd thrown into the field. We kind of made a stink about it, and Mom told us to core and peel the apple and cut away all the yucky parts...it was going to make a good pie. Amazingly, for a yucky as the apples looked on the outside, they looked pretty good on the inside. The corer took out all the center, which was where the majority of the worms resided. So, we just had to cut out the worm holes. Sure enough, after a while, we had peeled enough apples for the pie and the applesauce. My only thought was "I hope it tastes good and Mom's not crazy and that no rogue worms got in"

For lunch on Sunday, we had the delicious pie and wonderful applesauce. It was better than I had even thought it might be and no one found a rogue worm...

Now this leads to my theological thought. It reminded me that we are all flawed. We each have different types of 'worm holes' running through us. We have rotten spots in our core. Yet, God can take all of our 'nastyness' and turns us into something wonderful, if we let Him. The question then becomes, will you let go of your worms so that something wonderful can be the result???

I liked that applesauce so well that I brought home 2 bags of those dirty, rotting, wormy apples. I have been making applesauce all week after Elizabeth has been in bed. We have several bags of it in the freezer so that we can enjoy the fall apples in the middle of winter when the sun seems far away...and it will serve as a reminder to me to self evaluate for any worms that have squirmed into my life recently...

Into the world of Subbing...

Well, I entered into the world of subbing today. I actually set my alarm this morning...got up before the sun was up and ventured into a classroom that was not my own. I was very hesitant to pick up a job this early in the year. It was still the 'honeymoon' period in the classroom. The students are only 8 days into the new year. I was very worried that routines would not be firmly established. I chose my position carefully. Several jobs were posted for special education settings, but I didn't want to jump right into that kettle of fish. I know those positions are usually super easy or very demanding and I wanted to ease into this whole subbing thing. Yesterday, a middle school language arts position became available in Shepard. Without mulling over it too much, I decided to pick it up. I didn't sleep well last night imagining all the horrible ways that students can torture substitute teachers.

However, today has been a very pleasant surprise! I think that I worked at an at-risk, title 1, urban setting of a school building for entirely too long!! My view of the middle school world might be a tad jaded. I walked in and the office staff was EXCEEDINGLY friendly. The secretary walked me down to my classroom and located the sub plans for me.

I got there plenty early to review the directions for the day and get comfortable in the classroom. The first thing I noticed was how organized this teacher is...kudos to her. The lesson plan was easy to follow and seating charts easy to find. So, the kids starting coming through the hallways. At Central, we all took our stations in the hallway at that time. However, I was the only adult visible in the hallways...and the hallways were so quiet and orderly compared to Central. I was shocked. The kids were kids, but it was a totally different experience here.

My students entered the room...all 17 of them. Can you believe a class size of 17 in the general education setting?! My classes averaged 26ish last year and I had a couple maxed at 32 throughout the year. There are only 22 desks in this room! Crazy!! In hours 1-3, I haven't had a room of 20 students yet.

Anyway, the students got out their lit logs and took their seat with their silent reading books. When the bell rang, they actually started reading. I didn't have to quiet them down or pressure them into working. It was wonderful. They did their work all hour and rarely needed re-direction. I couldn't have asked for a better group of students.

2nd hour wasn't as smooth, but they were still better than my best classes at Central. I have been so impressed. I have 2 hours to go at this point, and I know that afternoon will be more difficult because the students wake up after lunch...but hey, it has been great so far. So, I don't think I'll complain much...even if the afternoon is challenging.

I've been very impressed with Shepard Middle School, so far...the secretary just dropped off copies for the teacher!!! I wish someone would have run my copies for me!!! Well, I did have that experience in Napoleon...but I missed it at Central!

Another weekend road trip...

Jut's grandmother turns 80 tomorrow. To celebrate this monumental b-day, his mom and aunt threw her a surprise b-day party on Saturday. We decided that since we hadn't seen her for a year that we would go down on Friday with the cover story that we were on our way down to Indianapolis for a baby shower on Sunday and were just dropping in to see her. We had a great time catching up with Grandma Mi-Mi and Aunt Gaye over dinner on Friday evening.

We headed to a local hotel to spend the night. Well, true to form, E doesn't sleep well in hotels. It took forever for her to get to sleep (11 pm) and then she was awake crying by 3 again. By 6:30, she thought it was time to start the day. Needless to say, it was a short night!

But, my girl loves a good party! She did wonderful throughout the entire b-day party. It was fun meeting some of Jut's family for the first time and seeing others that we hadn't seen since our wedding 6 years ago. A good time was had by all.

Around 6, my sister showed up because we were carpooling down to Indianapolis together for our cousin's baby shower. So, we climbed in the car about 7 and hit the road. Stacey entertained E for quite a while. E didn't fall asleep until it got dark about around 9. So, we arrived in Indy around 10:30 and decided to get a suite at a hotel. We would take the bedroom and Stacey would sleep on the couch.

Unfortunately our definition of 'suite' and the hotel's definition of 'suite' were not the same. We were thinking that we'd get a 2 room living/bedroom...well...we walked into a slightly larger than normal hotel room with a king size bed and jacuzzi. Myself, Jut, Stacey and Elizabeth one room. It was a touch weird and uncomfortable, and between the roll-away and the pack-n-play there was hardly any room left. But, we decided to make the best of it. We were cozily making memories, I guess. Well, anyway, we probably would have been able to keep E asleep had we had a separate b'room, but as soon as she saw Aunt Stacey, she knew that it must be time to play and NOT sleep. She was awake and ready to go.

Actually, we had a pretty good time. We joked about heading to an all night restaurant, but I didn't want to be one of 'those' parents that have their kids out past midnight in their pjs. So, we watched E run around the room...fed her another dinner of mac 'n' cheese at 11, gave her bath and somehow got her back to sleep sometime between 12 and 1, which is not an easy feat with 3 adults in the room. She just wanted to be the clown.

Again, it was another short night, but many times better than the previous night. But true to form, our girl loves a party. She had a lot of fun at Aunt Evie's running up and down the stairs. She was mesmerized by the other babies there. At one point in time, she was reverently stroking a 7-week old's feet. She was quite amazed by Conner and the lo. She loved helping Kendel open presents...I think Christmas will be much more fun this year...It was a great baby shower and fun to celebrate Nicholas' impending arrival with Kendel.

We drove back to Jut's aunt's. Dropped off Stacey and Grandma Mi-Mi gave E a b-day balloon. The balloon keep E awake until we hit Gratiot county, which was perfect because we were able to get her into the house still sleeping so that we could also go to sleep.

It was a fun weekend road trip! I'm glad we had the adventure!!

Life in Gratiot County...

We are learning about life living back home. This week has been interesting. My parents were out of town for the week visiting my aunt and uncle. Consequently, I learned about the responsibilities of living back home this week.

First of all, I got the 'Grandpa' duty. Mom asked me to at least pop out on him once this week. He's 90, but in very good health...but he lives by himself, so Mom likes to check in on him at least weekly. So, we pop over on Wednesday after dinner. Ring the doorbell, but no one answers. We do it again to no avail. Well, Grandpa's hearing isn't the best. So, we head to the front door and knock real loud a couple of times. No answer. So, Jut goes and peeks in the window. Sure enough, there's Grandpa watching the tv. So, Jut flags him down and we visit with him for awhile. That was fun responsibility.

Second, we got the 'corn' job. My parents plant more sweet corn than our entire extended family could eat for the year, I think. Well, a batch was ripe this week while they were gone. Since I am home, it fell to me to pick it, shuck it, blanch it and freeze it.

So on Friday, we went to pick it. I wish I would have had the camera. E went with Jut and I. Number 1, she loves the dirt. Playing is dirt is great and a garden is full of dirt...so she was having fun from the get-go. Then, she found my grocery bag full of shucked corn. She pulled out one ear, ate a few bites. Pulled out another and ate almost an entire row...pulled out another and ate a for awhile...you get the picture. She never eats cooked corn, but I guess she likes it raw because she at least one full ear. Anyway, the corn made her just a sticky mess...and you combine that with the already dirtyness of playing in the garden. She was a site to behold. When I got her home and threw her in the tub, I even found a corn worm in her hair. GROSS! But, she had a good time and so did Jut and I.

We took the corn home and froze 27 pints. Not a ton, but it was a good first effort. I've done it numerous times with Mom, but never on my own. So, I put my first notch on my belt as a 'real' grown up. I wouldn't say that doing up the corn is fun, but it wasn't too bad either.

The nicest thing about being home happened this evening. Mom and Dad needed to go grocery shopping and so they dropped by this evening on their way to the grocery store. We were able to chat about their trip and they played with E. We ordered pizza and had dinner. It was really, really nice. I'm glad to be home.

Settling in

We are managing to get settled in. E loves our new house with all the rooms and the stairs. She's always getting into something new here.

We have been exploring the area. Today we walked to a wonderful park that had a huge wooden playscape. E made a new friend, Caden. He's 2 and had lots of fun showing E how to go up the steps and down the slide. She would have followed him anywhere. It was pretty cute.

The landlords are FINALLY finished with the house. They finished the last touches to the bathroom yesterday. Yipee!! However, I was thankful that they were in the house because our sewer had a couple blocks and it was backing up into the basement. We didn't know about it because we never went down to the basement. So, luckily they were there and got the problem fixed right away and cleaned up the yuckiness, too.

Internet and phone are being hooked up next week and it will finally become "home"...I miss those 2 items. I'm a bit too dependent upon the Internet, I think. This month break has been good for my 'addiction'. ;-)

Moved in!

We've finally moved into our house!! Yipee! However, the laundry/utility room is not finished. Consequently our washer and dryer are still sitting in the middle of our kitchen...not the ideal place for them. But, we are there and no longer residences of my folks...so that's a good thing.

I have 1/2 of the kitchen unpacked and hopefully will finish that and the living room this evening...and then it will begin seeming more like home and not just a place filled with boxes.

I'm going to be adding pics sometime...hopefully soon.