799-858

Good grief...it's been a month. Here are a handful of the "gifts" I've witnessed in the past 4 weeks.

799.listening to Mat Kearney in the morning
800.encouragement from a friend in email form
801. promise of a 3 day weekend
802. student waving and calling goodbye from the bus window ("I love you Mrs. G!")
803.school picture day and how especially nice they look
804. student who ties anothers' shoes
805. my principal's sense of humor
806. new lunch boxes
807. straightened hair
808.enthusiasm for learning in a child
809.Gilmore Girls
810. getting to talk to people who are far away
811. choosing not to be a slave to "the fear of man"
812.early morning sounds
813. not having to cook dinner
814. bear hug from my husband and all seems right in the world
815. clouds that resemble mountain peaks
816. a choice of shoes
817. crunchy pickle
818. a car accident that didn't happen
819. pumpkin spice coffee and homework oatmeal (compliments of BCG)
820. a grasshopper on my windshield
821. carrot cake cookie with cream cheese frosting
822. holding my husband's warm hand
823. spontaneous date with my husband
824. wearing my favorite hooded sweatshirt for the first time this season
825. dusty country road
826. inside jokes that I know about
827. public library
828. brakes on my car
829. fun jewelry
830. peeling paint on a farmhouse
831. a song in my heart
832. rest from a headache
833. friend with a tangible need met by God
834. making the choice to rejoice (I didn't mean to make it rhyme)
835. seeing an entire rainbow
836. hearing the marching band in the morning from across the highway
837. card in the mail
838. spying the first changing tree!
839. pumpkin spice latte on Saturday morning
840. little girl on the monkey bars and how her hair swings back and forth
841. hooray for October!
842. Friday night in the city
843. steam coming out of the vents
844. free upgrade to a king size suite
845. gelato
846. city lights from the 19th floor
847. the golden glow in the air
848. new recipe with my students that went well!
849. soft English muffins
850.student who was so excited about his mom announcing she's expecting...He kept saying the baby would be here in 7 days (instead of 7 months).
851. pumpkin ravioli, pumpkin dip with apples, and 2 bite pumpkin pies all in one day
852. being asked to make my Christmas list
853. friendly looking chrysanthemum
854. running water where I live whenever I turn on the faucet
855. black and white change from 2 weeks ago
856. home again
857. decorating for a new season
858. 2 years with my sweet husband

Recent Creative Endeavors

Made these Christmas ornaments for my parents and Bob's parents --I finally learned how to emboss thanks to my friend Champ.

Made the following (next 8 pictures) for my sister in law for Christmas. They are seasonal wall hangings (one for each season).

Made this for my dad for Christmas...his favorite hymn is "Eternal Father Strong to Save" so I used that idea for his gift.

Used my new embossing tools for the following cards...

Made this little paper basket from a template that was given me. I think I might fill it with valentine candy.

Made a new journal for late Winter/early Spring (it usually takes me about 3-4 months to finish writing in each one.)

Where did my favorite month go?

It's no secret that October is my favorite month...at least as far as "non-school related" items are concerned (the yummy smells, the changing season, it's now our anniversary month, the world just seems at it's best then, etc...). But good grief Charlie Brown, as far as school is concerned, good luck staying sane :) This would explain my pictorial absence as of recently. So here goes in order to catch myself up...

Week of Oct. 22


# 1-4 Went to Parkville on a Saturday and just sat under a tree at English Landing Park. It was lovely. I read a book that wasn't school related just for fun!


#5 pretty tree at St. Therese Church and School#6- I made Pecan Bars (pretty much like pecan pie in a delightful little square)
#7 Made chocolate chip pumpkin cookies#8 Joey looking especially adorable-keeping the blanket warm :)

#9 Joey inspects the grocery bags when I get home from the grocery store. We call him "Inspector #37."
Week of Oct. 29
#10 My friend Brooke told me about this...but make sure you throw it out before 2 weeks (it got all squishy and leaked gross pumpkin juices all over my husband. Yuck!)
#11 Went to see the the little monkey pants at MNU-she was in the Homecoming Court. It was fun times! #12 Pumpkin Pie Dip (very yummy with apple slices-especially Granny Smith, gingersnaps, or pretzel sticks)

#13 I made butternut-carrot squash soup, put it in a bread bowl, and put roasted pumpkin seeds on top! (This was a day I didn't have school so I actually had some time :)
#14 Bob gives it 2 thumbs up!
#15 Went home to Bolivar, came down with strep throat, and saw my girls Katie and Tara in their Halloween costume finery:) I can't believe how fast they're growing up!

Week of Nov. 5
#15 -17 Some favorite fall cards I made...#18-19 Bob sent me flowers at school for our 13 month anniversary...just to surprise me:) It was very thoughtful and made my day! My kids made sure they "oohed" and "aahed" appropriately :)

video-my sister in the homecoming court and her escort Taylor (they were hilarious...I would expect no less).

Have your (wedding) cake and eat it too...

So this is way overdue, but here are a few "snapshots" from the past (almost) month.

Week of Sept. 24



#1-3 I love decorating for seasons...but obviously this one is my favorite! #4 The moon and "cotton-candy pink" sky as i was leaving for school one morning


Week of Oct. 1

#5 Okay, I admit I'm ridiculous, but joey the cat really looks so innocent and sweet here... (By looking, you wouldn't think he's be capable of eating a stryofoam plate or attacking my aloe plant)
#6-10 I love my drive to and from school...true, it would be nice if I lived 10 minutes from school (when I Bolivar I lived 5 minutes and that was a little too close). I love the fields, the mist in the mornings, and shadows on the country roads on my way home.

Week of Oct. 8
#11 stir fry I made-Bob loves bell peppers, hence the abundance!

#12-13 Our anniversary weekend-we ate at Lidia's near Union Station-I highly recommend it!
#14 Went to English Landing Park in Parkville on Sunday ... love that place! Some of my more vibrant childhood memories are from here.#15 The secret to a great tasting top-tier of your wedding cake a year later is to get people in charge of your cake table who will wrap the cake in 10-15 layers of plastic wrap and aluminum foil. It seriously was as good as the first time...a year ago! Yum-chocolate and raspberry!

Week of Oct. 15#16-17 I arranged some flowers (use the word "arranged" very loosely) for my friend Sasha who just had a baby and wanted to bring her some fall festiveness. I kept one for us (and Joey ate some of the leaves while I was gone). Silly, silly animal. I think he threw it up later, but don't feel bad for him.




#18-19 We went to the pumpkin patch (in Gardner, KS) and it was fun times. It's a little funny going to a place with all of these really cute families and I feel a little out of place-just the two of us, but it's still so much fun! Maybe we'll be a cute family like that one day (I'll point and say "Look at that cute baby!" and my husband will say something like "Yeah, but we don't want one...they spit up and make big messes." ).
#20 Joey mesmerized by the water in the sink...it doesn't take much for him to be entertained.