Please Pray for the Fischer's and the rest of Louisiana!

Watching the news isn't a good idea if you have a friend that lives in Louisiana. I got really worried about Elizabeth and her family when the news guy said that they were worried because they hadn't declared an emergency evacuation for Baton Rouge. WHAT!!! That's when I decided to give her a call to check on them. I got in touch with her and she said that they were safe and have been without electricity for the past couple of hours. She is worried about her fence blowing away(yes, the fence that they had all the trouble getting put up the right way)and their house flooding. Please keep Elizabeth, Paul, Carly, and Bree in your prayers along with the rest of Louisiana!

A DAY OF REST...FROM MY LABOR!

I googled Labor Day and this is what I found:

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September. The holiday originated in 1882 as the Central Labor Union (of New York City) sought to create "a day off for the working citizens".
Congress made Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894.[1] All fifty states have made Labor Day a state holiday.
Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer.
Labor Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in the United States since the 1880s.[2] The form for the celebration of Labor Day was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday—a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations," followed by a festival for the workers and their families. This became the pattern for Labor Day celebrations. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civil significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.

Mi casa...a nice man came and put up our flag in celebration of Labor Day. Almost every house on our street has flags up. I love driving down the street and looking at all the flags!

I'm so thankful for my day of rest. I started my day off by sleeping in(8a.m. this is sleeping in for me, since school has started I've been getting up at 6a.m.). Then, I headed to the gym to get a work out in(along with everyone else who lives in Ft. Worth-the gym was packed out). Now, I'm getting ready to work on some school stuff(the work of a teacher is NEVER ending)for this week. Hope that you all enjoy your LABOR DAY HOLIDAY!!!

I SURVIVED...JUST KEEP SWIMMING!!!

I survived my first week back at school!!! This week has seemed like one of the longest weeks OF MY LIFE!!! to Miss Bailey's Class! This is how my furniture looked(all in a big pile)before I set up my classroom.

This is the wall outside my classroom where I will display my student's best work(the monkeys have clips on them). Thanks E for the cute motto!My classroom ready for FUN AND LEARNING!

The home living center...I added a palm tree this year and the kids love it! This is the word wall where I will post high-frequency words for my students to use in their writing.
This is where I post class news...it is empty now, but just wait as the year goes on.
My motto for this school year is JUST KEEP SWIMMING!!! Thanks Ames for the motto and reminding me about one of our favorite movies=) JUST KEEP SWIMMING, SWIMMING, SWIMMING is what I'm going to be singing to myself A LOT until Sept. 8th roles around. I have 26 five year olds in my room and will until the early childhood department makes a decision about what to do with ALL THOSE KIDDOS! I have a great group of kids this year, but 26 is too many for one classroom and one teacher(who do they think I am- SUPER TEACHER)!
I thought this year might be different from years in the past and I prayed to have a "normal" classroom(whatever that means). Last year I had an autistic child in my room and this year I have a child with Lyme Disease(mostly affects him mentally). He seems to be a smart little boy, but he has a lot of anger issues and doesn't like to be disciplined and is a runner. Please pray for me. I'm really not sure how to discipline him. I need to do some research to understand his disease so I can have a balance and know the difference between his disease and him just being disobedient. I know that he will be my CHALLENGE for this year. Even though this student makes my job harder, I'm sure that God will use this to make me a better teacher and person. I feel truly blessed to have a job that I LOVE and I see my job as a ministry!!! I LOVE WORKING WITH KIDS!!! I can't believe that another school year(this makes #7) has begun! Thank goodness for a holiday on Monday!!

HAPPY 28TH BIRTHDAY SIS!!!

My little sister turns 28 tomorrow(18th). Charity, I hope that you have a VERY SPECIAL DAY! I love you!!!

My little vacation to San Francisco and Napa

A couple of weeks ago I took a little vacation to visit my dearest friend Mindy in Napa. Apryl and I flew into San Francisco and spent the day there at Pier 39. We did a little shopping, eating, and site seeing before we headed to Napa.

Pier 39 with Alcatraz in the distance

Apryl and I on the "little tugboat" that took us on a tour of the bay
sea lions basking in the sun...what a life San Francisco is so beautiful, there's a ton of site seeing, and the weather is on the cool side. I really enjoyed my time there.
From there we headed to Napa to stay the weekend with Mindy. Napa is breath taking with all it's vineyards. I love the wine country!

just look at those grapes the Domanine Carneros Estate...looks like a castle and is so beautiful...we did a wine tasting tour here our cute little dinner on the patio Chef Mindy...we got to watch her do a demo lesson at the university...it was AWESOME to see her in action! Mindy, Apryl, and I at the Greystone Restaurant at CIA(Culinary Institute of America)...what a dinner!
Point Reyes lighthouse...we hiked 300 stairs to see fog! the view from the lighthouse...it was a foggy day=( driving on the Golden Gate Bridge...so AWESOME!

We had a fun trip and it was so great to catch up on life with Mindy. It was neat to see what her every day life is like and to see her being the GREAT Chef that I always knew she would be! We laughed a lot which is always the best medicine!! I love CA!!

MEET BREE!!!

I love this pic of Carly holding Bree and mommy holding both of her girls!


Check out the pond for more pics and the full story. I think that she is so precious and can't wait to visit! Congrats!!! Beeda loves you!

Congrats Glo and Daniel!

New babies are in the air. My friend Glo had her baby girl today. Congrats!!!

Eleanor Grace Cooley was born Aug. 12 at 4:21pm. She weighs 6 lbs 10 oz and is 19 inches long. Mom and baby are doing fine.