Prayers for Teachers

Do you have a child?

Does that child go to school?

If yes, that child has at least one teacher.

Pray for her (or him). Right now. Go ahead. We'll wait for you.

Now go do it again. They need it.

This is the hardest job I've ever had. It's 11:18 and I've been working non-stop since dinner. I only spent about three hours today NOT working on stuff for school. During those three hours I showered, got ready (it was picture day today so I took an extra five minutes), ate, drove, took care of my kids and dog, and folded laundry. That's it. The entire rest of the day was WORK.

Pray for teachers. Please. Especially if they teach fourth grade.

Quick Prayer Request

Seven is feeling better now--thanks for asking about my baby. Mom is doing pretty well. She's been cleared to drive for short distances, but she's supposed to continue to stay off her feet as much as possible. Ten wants to stop taking his meds, so we'll see how that goes. Pray for his teachers.

I'm going to have my first observation in twelve years this Tuesday. YIKES! If I had any memory of what I'm supposed to do, it's buried under piles of papers that are waiting to be graded. I have a ton of paperwork to do before then, so I'd better get back to work.

School Update

Let me just warn you now, this is going to ramble and wander.

So, school started yesterday. I was at school at least twelve hours every day this week, sorting through stuff the previous teachers left in the room, sorting through my own stuff from teaching eleven years ago, buying stuff for the room, decorating, attending meetings, cleaning, etc. I am so tired. I barely saw my family this week and my poor dog goes nuts every time I come home. Which doesn't happen often. Mom has been great. She was there every day helping me or watching my kids (sometimes both in the same day). She went shopping with me, cleaned all my student desks and chairs, did my bulletin boards, fed me, and lots more.

I still haven't hooked up my computers, planned lessons for next week (beyond a skeleton framework), haven't written out my discipline plan or parent letters, and I have two more bulletin boards to finish. I have a Smart Board in my class but I don't know how to use it. It'll be awesome when I get the training--those things are so cool. Everything is done by computer at this school, so I have to get them up and running this weekend. Oh, I also have a phone in my room so parents can leave me messages directly when they need something. And I can call them in the middle of the day whenever I need them without walking all the way upstairs to the office.

Right now I have 26 kids in my class, but that's subject to change any time--especially within the first week of school. Due to numbers, we might qualify for an extra teacher in fourth grade so my numbers might go down. If not, they'll probably continue to go up because the kids keep crawling out of the woodwork. I got to meet most of my students and their parents on Friday and they're so stinkin' cute.

Ten and Seven have great teachers--both of them are the New Teacher Mentors for my school. Ten came home yesterday so excited about the school year. That's a HUGE attitude adjustment from last year so I'm thrilled beyond words. He's already made a few friends in his class. Seven did too, but he can't remember their names. He wrote a story for his teacher yesterday while he was hanging out in her room.

We're still waiting for someone, anyone, to make an appointment to see our house. We had a realtor open house Tuesday and 38 realtors came through it. Hopefully one of them has a client who will think this place is their dream home. I looked at a really cool one in Hendersonville yesterday--right across the street from the high school and backs up to the big park--and I'd love to be in a position to make an offer on it. My realtor's best friend's daughter is in my class, so I told her family to pray that he'll get my house sold quickly so her poor teacher won't be stressed out all year.

Living with my parents is going to be a gigantic adjustment. Mom's great and is trying to make things as smooth as possible, but it's still going to be hard to live in someone else's house. We're used to our place, our own routines and space. Everything is different when you're not at home. Then factor in my big dog, their tiny dog, and the fact that their yard isn't fenced. At home I can just let Lily out in the yard while I get ready. At Mom's I have to leash her and walk her all the time and keep her from crushing Izzy. Kinda hard to do while you're drying your hair, know what I mean? I'm going to be working late a lot (especially at the beginning of the year) so that's going to be hard to arrange. And I miss my friends in Smyrna.

So, if you've read this far, please pray for me, my kids, my husband, my parents, my dog, Mom's dog, my class, and that my house will sell and I'll be able to move into another one quickly.

Before I have a nervous breakdown.

Letting Go

Prayers for Caro's family.

LETTING GO
How do you say good-bye
to one so precious in your life,
so young and full of promise,
a joy, both day and night?

Many are the memories,
and each one shows the love
you felt for this most cherished one
who now has gone above.

God has a reason every time
He takes His children home;
it takes a lot of love inside
to let Him have His own.

Time and faith will dull the pain
you feel now as you part.
Rest assured God knows your grief;
His love will heal your heart.

May God keep you safe and comfort you
throughout this trying time.
And let your friends provide support
that alone you might not find.

Written by Shelia S. Ange from Jamesville, NC

Prayers for Caro

Please pray for Caro and her family. Their little baby, Jaeden, died yesterday. He fought for every day of his very short life after being born prematurely with Downs Syndrome and a hole in his heart. Twin sister Sofia is doing well.

Sorry, I'm uncharacteristically speechless.

Super Tuesday Tornadoes

For those of you who emailed me to ask if we're okay after last night's weather...

Thanks for your prayers. We're fine where I live, southeast of Nashville. Mom and the rest of the family up there are fine too. Wish I could say the same about the residents of Castalian Springs, northeast of the city. Those poor people. Go here to read more.

Please pray for all the families who lost everything. Entire homes were wiped away like they were made of matchsticks. So sad and so scary.