Eternity is impacted...

A teacher affects eternity;
he can never tell where his influence stops.
~ Henry Brooks Adams

I've been on all sides of teacherhood. I've been a student (and continue to be one), a teacher and now a Mother who watches her child interact with her teachers.

Teachers don't always seem to realize how very valued and important they are in the life of a child. I can remember when I first started teaching, I would have parents who would tell me how very important I was in their child's life. Yes, I heard them, but I truly did not grasp the concept until my own child went to school.

The first thing my daughter said on Monday when I picked her up from school was "Ms. Yockey is like Ms. Morris."

Now none of you can know what that means.. but to her Mom and Dad we know it means everything. Ms. Morris was Cara's 4th grade teacher. She was kind, loving, and compassionate about her job. Cara had a great year in her class. So hearing this come out of Cara's mouth.. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that this will be a great year.

On a total other note, a lot of my former Kindergarteners are in college. Last night on facebook, I was able to reconnect with some of them. It is incredible to see where they are in their life... I saw them as they were embarking on their school years and now I can glimpse at where they are as they are embarking on adulthood and college. So cool! Of course, two of my favorite kiddos were red heads and that is who I contacted first on Facebook. Several of my students are playing basketball at the college level. I feel like a proud mom. I only had them for one year, but they all hold a place in my heart.

Dirt, Nerds, Toilets,Dog Bowl, Stairs

What do all of these things have in common? My son, Caleb.. I always knew that boys were different than girls.. but not till I had my own sweet little guy did I truly understand it.

In one day, he knocked over a plant, got into the cabinet with the doggie treats and started feeding them to the dog (thankfully, not to himself), climbed the stairs numerous times, got a box of Nerds out of the refrigerator.. shook them around like they were a rattle then figured out how to open them and then I had Nerds all over the floor, played in the dogs bowls, and played in the toilet. YUCK! I am certain there is more.. but that is all I can remember.

It is a choice

Gratitude

Seems like such a simple thing

But yet it is so big

It is a choice that we make each day. I never realized how hard it was for others to be grateful.

It comes easily to me. I think it is how I grew up and the way I saw my Mother and Grandmother choose gratitude.

When I was little, my Mom had divorced. She had an old yellow Nova with vinyl, peeling, black seats and no air conditioner. But yet she was grateful that she had a running car.

That is just one example of thousands, I could share. It seems so easy to me to be grateful for even the small things. I truly learned this from my Mom.

My sweet Mom, who is now with Jesus, had a gratitude journal the last 9 months of her life.

I love to look at it on occasion.. to see her handwriting.. to see what she was grateful for on that day...

I am amazed at how she was grateful for the simpliest things...

a blue jay in her yard

a phone call

a visit

and I love how she would write down "my Judy"..

Let's choose to be grateful for what we have...

Seems like yesterday...

First Day of Kindergarten, August 2003



It seems like yesterday that my little girl with a cute little dress and a bow in her hair was off to Kindergarten. This morning, my 10 year old young lady was off to 5th grade. I am amazed at how quickly time does go by.



I can still remember that first day of Kindergarten. Cara awoke very early out of excitement and joined Wade and I in bed. We prayed together and snuggled before we hurried off to get ready. This morning, five years later, I woke Cara up at 6:50 a.m. per her request. She set her alarm for 7:00 a.m. in case her Mother overslept. Caleb gave her some love and Cara jumped up and got ready and did her hair. Then, she was off to get her lunch ready.



She graciously allowed me to walk into school with her to her 5th grade classroom, Ms. Yockey so that I her shutterfly happy mom could take her picture. This will be the last time, I am able to walk her in on the first day of school. I can't believe that my little girl is now a little young lady.



On that day in 2003, I shed tears. This morning, I just smiled as I saw her sit down in her seat ready for what 5th grade has to hand her.






First day of 5th grade, August 2008

Many thanks to Jennisa at Once Upon a Blog for designing my blog! She is awesome and very patient. Click the link on the right to go to her site...
Blessings-

Surf and Sand and South Carolina

We awoke early last Thursday morning... 4:30 A.M. to be exact.. to head to DFW airport to fly to Charlotte, North Carolina.. This was Caleb's first airplane ride and he did great.. sleeping a lot of the time on his Dad.


When we arrived in North Carolina.. we rented a car and headed South to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. almost 11 hours later... we arrived at our resort, Sea Mist. At first glance, it wasn't exactly what was pictured on the web .. but it turned out to be just fine. Our room was located directly by the beach which made it easy access to and from the ocean.

The resort.. takes your picture and then everywhere you go they just look you up on their computer for entry into their waterparks etc. I thought this was a great idea..








We immediately headed to the beach to play in the sand.



We enjoyed the aquarium, minature golf, pools, waterparks, eating out.. lots of Chick Fil A and Chili's... and the surf.

And part of my favorite time of the trip.. was taking our picture on the beach and Caleb looked at the camera :-)...

What a blessing to spend time away from the hustle and bustle of life to just enjoy God's beautiful creation and the gifts of my family...

"Humans are like tea bags. They never realize their strength until they are put in hot water." - Author Unknown

What punctuation are you?

You Are a Colon

You are very orderly and fact driven. You aren't concerned much with theories or dreams... only what's true or untrue. You are brilliant and incredibly learned. Anything you know is well researched. You like to make lists and sort through things step by step. You aren't subject to whim or emotions. Your friends see you as a constant source of knowledge and advice. (But they are a little sick of you being right all of the time!) You excel in: Leadership positions You get along best with: The Semi-Colon

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Seventeen Years and counting!!!

August 10, 1991- August 10, 2008

Seventeen years ago, I walked down the aisle to my red headed man whom I had fell in love with two and half years earlier. I knew that he was the one for me, but it took him awhile to see that..

When I walked down that aisle, I had no idea where life would take us. We have had highs and lows. We have traveled the world together. We have enjoyed the joy of two beautiful children.

However, we have had heart aches that we never knew that we would endure. We have suffered loss beyond imagination. We have walked hard roads together. But we have persevered only with God's help. Thanks be to God for being there in our laughter and in our sorrow.

We enjoyed a night on the town at a favorite eating establishment, Trulucks...we thanked God for being with us and cried tears of joy for our years together and how God has brought us through and answered so many of our prayers.

100 Things I Love...

1. God that he loves me despite my faults

2. His Son, Jesus and that he would die for me

3. My friend and husband, Wade

4. My first born, Cara Elizabeth

5. My MIRACLE baby, Caleb Wade

6. My dog, Boomer and that he follows his Mom around everywhere and sleeps outside Calebs door to protect him

7. My Bible

8. My Mom's Bible, I love reading what she underlined.

9. Mexican food especially Pappasitos

10. Seafood.. Mahi Mahi especially

11. Dr. Pepper

12. Sweet Tea

13. My lifelong friends who I've known my entire life

14. My new friends as of the last 10 years :-)

15. Baylor University

16. Talking with friends

17. Facebook and reconnecting with old friends

18. Mail

19. Email

20. Surfing the web

21. Finding bargains

22. My camera Nikon D80

23. Scrapbooking

24. Looking at pictures... they can be anyones pictures.. even people I don't know.. I love pictures and how they capture the moment and memory

25. Christmastime.. the whole month of December and all the events surrounding it

26. Birthdays

27. Giving gifts

28. A Happy Home.. when everyone is in a good mood

29. Traveling

30. Hawaii

31. Switzerland

32. TEXAS

33. Being with my brother and sister and all the kids

34. DVRS

35. Hugs

36. Hershey Chocolate Almond Bars

37. Dr. Pepper Ice Cream

38. Chocolate Almond Ice Cream

39. purses, purses and more purses

40.Snuggling with my baby

41.Girls Night Out

42. Church Camp

43. My Lap Top

44. American Idol and watching it with my family

45. massages

46. my cleaning lady, Debbie the best investment every month...

47. Marshalls and finding bargains

48. Craigslist you can find anything on there

49. Cordless phones

50. Invention of disposable diapers

51. Air conditioning

52. My YUKON Denali

53.Naps

54. Surprises! and giving them

55.Filling out my day planner

56. Willow Tree figurines

57. Remebering happier times when my Mom and Ninny were here

58.Sunsets

59. The Beach

60.. Hymns

61. Itunes

62. My husband in a suit and especially a tuxedo

63. Weddings

64. Mattress Warmers

65. Cell phones

66. Watching Caleb as he learns new things

67. Hearing I love you from Cara

68. Ninny Cookies

69. Ninny Pies

70. Grapevine

71. Humira, my new medicine

72. Walt Disney World -all of it

73. My hairdresser, Laurinda

74. Y and R

75. Shopping

76. Target

77. My church

78. My scrapbook room

79.Sitting by the fire

80. Solar Nails

81. Kindergarteners

82. Being a Stay at Home Mom

83. Pedicures

84. Fresh Flowers especially red roses

85. Hearing my kids laugh

86.to be able to pray at anytime and any place

87. that we live in a free country

88. Arlington, Texas

89. 2906 Norwood, my childhood home

90. Jet/Nash Oklahoma where Wade grew up

91. going on dates with Wade without kids

92.Blogs

93. Beth Moore Bible Studies

94. Contacs

95. Being called Jude by my friends and my hubby at times

96. Being called Pumpkin

97. cheese

98. my Mom's gratitude journal

99. comfy pajamas

100. Knowing that one day we will all be together in heaven and we will never have to say goodbye. Thank you, Jesus!

CAMP!!!

Camp! I went to the Tarrant Baptist Encampment every year from 1977-1987. I spent every summer there and had some wonderful times with not only friends, my Mom, but most importantly the Lord Jesus there. It is now named Riverbend Retreat Center.

This past weekend, I went as a camp counselor to Riverbend. I was in charge of 7 fourth grade girls. Cara is a 4th grader as well, but she was in a different small group than mine. It was a wonderful experience... some things have changed, but a lot has stayed the same.

The cabins were the same as when I attended.. some had been updated but not the one I stayed in. It was still cabin 5! The Chapel was the same.. although it looked so much smaller than I remembered. We had crafts in the chapel. There is a new Activity Center where we had worship. It was huge! The food was a ton better! The pool was the same except they had added a pool to the side with slides. The river was the same. Archery was still there, but with a new improved awning. Added was the 40 foot Zip Line, The Lake with the Blob, Paddle Boats,and Ice Berg! Also, new to me was all the pranks the boys and girls tried to pull.

Girls still do each others hair! Girls still want to talk to all hours of the night! The view is still as beautiful! The canteen is still a cool place to hang out at.. and especially now that they have an ice cream shop! And God still spoke to lots of students about himself! One of my girls made a rededication. We had over 600 students total and at least 100 decisions. I never heard the final count.