Busted.

Giving

Through a really neat and totally "God is in control" set of circumstances, Nathan and I have developed a big heart for a Christian grief counseling ministry called Joy in the Mourning.

It has been a blessing to see lives changed and ministered to in the midst of the tragedy of losing loved ones.

Many people could benefit from this counseling but do not have the funds to do so.

If you are looking for a great place to give money this upcoming Christmas season, you might consider Joy in the Mourning. It is located in Irmo, SC and here is the address:
Joy in the Mourning
PO Box 4162
Irmo, SC 29063

And on the memo line you could just write something like "scholarship for those that need it".

Soccer Stars

MY kids are better at soccer than YOUR kids!

At least that's what my bumper sticker says.

Watch out, China Express. There's a new cat in town.

I just added the 13,000th reason I love my husband:

His best friend is Asian. And his best friend can cook eggrolls like nobody's business.

So for the past 3-5 years (we tried to remember and we can't) we have been in a Supper Club with our best friends from college, Rachel and Wes, and Eric and Megan. (Eric is the Asian I mentioned earlier.)

It did not occur to us until last month to ask Eric to cook authentic Asian food for us. I have no clue what took us so long. Last Friday night, my life was changed for the better. I bit into the most delicious eggroll I've ever tasted. I'm pretty sure The Hallelujah Chorus started playing in my head (although I wouldn't be surprised if Megan ACTUALLY had it playing when we all took our first bite. She's THAT organized. It's ridiculous. I mean, I'm organized, but she makes my house look like an episode from Sanford and Son.)

Every month it's a huge competition to see who can cook the best meal. We rotate houses each time. And guess who gets October. I'm already stressing because nothing I do will compare with the deliciousness that is a Soong eggroll.

So, stop what you're doing, call Eric Soong, and ask him for a batch of eggrolls. He'll say "no" because I already asked him for some and he's the bomb-diggity pharmacist who works full-time and doesn't have time to cook eggrolls all the time from scratch. But still. Call him. Because I'm thinking if enough of us do it, he'll cave and start a Soong Express in his home.

They are THAT GOOD.

Thoughts on Schools

If you've talked with me for more than 5 minutes you know I'm passionate about teaching and learning. I advocate for students and I will take you down if you talk negatively about kids. Not really. I'm not super strong. But it will get me upset.

So here are some of my latest random thoughts:

Administrators are not managers. They shouldn't try to be. They should be in classrooms observing teachers, guiding them, leading them, and offering feedback. It is easy for teachers to feel isolated. And I PROMISE their are some teachers LOVING that because it means they can show up and then leave without EVER TEACHING. There are also teachers working their fannies off and would LOVE to have an administrator with which to reflect, share, and grow.


What do we really want for kids in schools? What is the real goal for learners? High test scores? Really? That's it? I'm not so sure about that. I'm kind of thinking I want Landon, Reagan, and Connor to be thinkers. I want them to ask questions, to talk, to know what they believe. Not so sure test scores measure that. It's fascinating that a lot of schools love to put all their eggs in the test score basket.


Last thought for today...Last week I observed a kindergarten classroom for several hours. It was incredible and brought my heart so much joy. She knew the learners in her care. She knew reading process. She was engaging. She encouraged them to talk and think and read and write and sing and laugh. She believed in them. It was exciting to see because she has only been teaching for a couple of years and I know she will only grow if she continues to develop professionally and is surrounded by a support system (See paragraph about administrators).


It's easy to get frustrated but there are a lot of really powerful things happening in schools every day.


Huge shout out to one of my heroes in education, Sally. She is a literacy coach in the district in which I live and is a former colleague of mine. Talk about supporting teachers- that's Sally. (Sally's also the one that brings over cookie cakes during season finales of The Bachelor so that's just another sign that she's pretty much incredible.)

I just reread this post. It's so scattered and all over the place that I laughed out loud. But I still love it so I'm publishing it. Because that's how I write when my heart is all pumpy and I'm fired up. I apologize. This piece is certainly winning no awards. :)

Happy Birthday, Mr.Trevett!

Reasons I love my father-in-law:

1. He raised an incredible son.
2. He enjoys food as much as I do.
3. He loves his grandchildren like crazy.
4. He treats me like a daughter.
5. He taught me that you should never run out of shrimp.

Happy Birthday, Mr.T! Love you!

Tip of the Week

If your 3-year-old is in the bathtub and she says she needs to go potty, take her potty. Right then. Don't wait. Don't continue to straighten your 1-year-old's room. Go get your 3-year-old and put her on the potty. Because if you don't, you'll soon hear your 5-year-old yell, "SHE POOPED IN THE BATHTUB!!!!!" and you'll walk in and you'll see two really huge poops in the bathtub and you'll throw up in your mouth.

Steps to the Perfect Lemonade Stand

Step #1: Make a sign.


Step #2: Wear your Gamecock jersey assuming that mostly Gamecock fans will come to your lemonade stand because you live in Columbia, SC, home of the GAMECOCKS!!!!


Step #3: Count your money and realize you've only made $3.00. Consider taking off your Gamecock jersey so as not to offend Clemson fans in the hopes that you'll sale more lemonade. But decide not to because you don't much care about offending Clemson fans.


Step #4: Call on your favorite superhero for help and, together, conquer that lemonade stand!

A Brand New Labor Day!

For a whole bunch of years, we've had the same Labor Day tradition:
1. Drive to Chapin Labor Day Festival.
2. Park a kajillion miles away and walk to parade.
3. Sit in 100 degree weather and tell the kids we're sorry they can't see anything because there are mounds of people in front of us.
4. Fight crowds to buy a burger.
5. Sit with whiny kids and threaten them that if they don't hurry up and eat we won't be able to pay $1,000 to slide down a huge blown up treehouse thing.
6. Walk a kajillion miles back to car sweating and miserable.
7. Go home and ask ourselves why we did that.


This year we decided to try something new. We headed to Flat Rock, NC to check out SkyTop Orchard. It was peaceful. It wasn't crowded. We wore sweaters! We went on a hayride and saw animals and ate apple doughnuts and drank apple cider and bought jalapeno pepper jelly! It was pure bliss and got me super excited about Fall!

Welcome to Union!

Union Preschool added a spunky 3-year-old to its roster today. And she was thrilled! She'll attend Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8:45-11:45. Happy First Day of Preschool, Reagan!

Happy Birthday, MaMa!

We love you and are so thankful to have such a loving grandmother and great-grandmother!
Christy, Nathan, Landon, Reagan, and Connor

In Landon's Words

Upon walking into a friend's house, Landon exclaimed,"Hey! Someone trashed your house!" Nope. It hadn't been trashed. It had just been "loved up". So, we had a little talk about that.


"Mommy, I have TWO bosses. One that's a person and one that's not a person. Mrs.Thompson is my boss because she's the principal of my school and God is the boss because he's God. Mommy, is God Mrs.Thompson's boss?"


Me: What do you like about your teacher?
Landon: What is there to like since she's a Clemson fan?


After getting off the school bus, Landon looked up at me with his big, blue eyes and said, "Mommy, I missed you today."

Oh, how I love him.