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