Love this picture of Allison and my mutt, Dixie. This was the same day that Dixie got groomed. She looked so cute all shaved and fixed up! Allison enjoyed snuggling with Dixie after she got home. It was pretty cute how she was being a mother hen!

Well, things are a little rocky again on the homefront. The people that own the house we are renting have decided once again that they want to move back into it before the end of the school year. That puts us out Jan. 15th. The realtor that manages the house is trying to get the lease extended until May 31st. I don't look for them to sign the extension. So, we will probably be moving in the next couple of months. It sucks too. We are just really unsure what to do. We have thought about moving down towards Austin or Houston. There are jobs out the wazoo for Mikedown there. He figures he'd make a little more than he makes here but without the company truck and the benefits of having that truck. So, I guess either way you look at it he's making out about the same. We won't have the truck payment or gas bill if he stays at this job. I think he figured that saved about $8,500 per year. That's quite a lot! But, at another job he'd get better benefits. It's really a toss up. We just don't know what to do and we are really putting a lot of pressure on ourselves. We also figure that if we stay here we wouldn't need our personal truck. If we sold that we'd be able to pay some things off. So, the question is.....What do we do? Well, we're not sure. Maybe this house thing is a blessing in disguise and God's way of telling us what we need to do and where we need to be. I hope that we make a decision soon. I have felt like I have been in limbo for quite some time. So has Mike. I hope we can make a decision soon!

In the teaching world, I have decided that sometimes when you reinvent the wheel it can be a good thing or a bad thing. If I am the one reinventing the wheel that I can't complain about it later. I can deal with that because I did it to myself. But, on the other hand, it really irks me when somebody reinvents the wheel for me. Long story short.....

We have a lady at work that is the TAKS coach. She gets stuff together for us to teach during our Power Hour time. (This is about a 35 minute time period when we work with our ability grouped kids on specific skills and concepts.) Almost all of the time she gets us our materials at the last minute or even late. It sucks to have to plan this stuff at the last minute. That's beside the point though. Well, today, she basically told us to chunk our plans for the rest of the week. We would be doing a TAKS reading passage. And then got upset when we questioned if we could wait until next week to start. Now, for those of you who don't know, it takes about 30 -45 minutes to do a passage if the kids use all the strategies they are taught to answer the questions to the passage. Well, I gave the test and of course my kiddos didn't finish. I didn't expect them to. They'll finish tomorrow. I guess my frustration lies in the fact that we don't have a plan. Or at least one that makes sense to me. (I am not the only one who feels that way either!) I feel like we are spinning our wheels and not getting a lot accomplished. We will meet as a grade level on Monday. I hope we get some of this resolved. I am sure so. I just hope it goes well! ;)

I'll keep you updated as I get things figured out. Cross your fingers for me and say a little prayer! Later guys!

Sunday Nights...

Get here too quickly in my opinion. I know I have been off for a week. Actually, 9 days if want to know the truth. But, Sunday comes and GOES way too quickly for me. I enjoy my time off but when it gets later on Sunday I start to dread Monday. I know that means that I have lots of responsibilities to face 1st thing in the morning. Lots of little kids that depend on me. I don't mind having the responsibility at all. I love my job. It's just that I love the mindlessness that weekends and time off tend to bring with them. It is pretty sweet sometimes to be able to do whatever the heck I feel like doing. For example, I stayed in my jammies ALL day yesterday except when we went to McDonald's for lunch. After we got home from McD's I was back in my jammies lounging on the couch watching movies all day long. That was pretty nice. I just gave my body and my mind a break. It is important to let it all go and just sink into yourself sometimes.......I think we need to do that more often. Too bad Sundays roll around like clockwork each week! :D Hope you have a good Monday!

Goals for the week

So, I am trying out a new background on my blog. I was really tired of the whole polka dot thing. I would really like to learn how to customize my backgrounds and colors. Maybe I'll be able to figure it out over the Thanksgiving break. I know that it is probably fairly simple but I just need to figure out where to start.

I also want to scrap my butt off this week. I have so many projects that I want to work on and complete. I need to get some things finished for AC Bailey Designs. I have some great papers and supplies to work with this month. I also have a few personal things I want to get done. Maybe even a few Christmas gifts..... :D

I want to take the girls out and do a photo shoot with them for my Christmas cards that I send out every year. I bought the papers for them yesterday. I really like what I bought. Much different from the past couple of years. I also need to do a photo shoot with Allison still. She has asked when it would be her turn. I think this week will be the perfect time to do that.

I plan on getting this house straightened back up. It isn't just a wreck yet so I think I can get it back in shape pretty quickly. Then I want to enjoy it!

My scrap stuff needs to be cleaned up and organized. Definately need to get that done so I can be more productive. It certainly helps!

I will have some scrappy goodness to post in the next couple of days. I have been in card making mode and want to get them up and posted.

More later! I'll post pics next time! Promise! Later gators!

Is this week over yet?

This feels like it has been the longest week EVER! I am so ready for the weekend. I plan on doing some ME stuff and just being a little lazy. I really need that.

My schedule at school has had to change due to some of my kiddos getting pulled out of class for extra help. It's a good thing, I know. Just a little hard to adjust to only have a handful of kids in my class for nearly an hour. Then when the pull outs get back I have to quickly reteach them and get them caught up. I hope that by changing my schedule I'll be a little less stressed about this in the next few weeks. I am sure it will all work out. It just needs to happen soon!

Mom and Dad traveled back to Kansas today. They were there about a week ago and this time they plan on staying through next week. I am glad that Mom is able to go be with her brother. I think Uncle Mike is really glad she is there as well. I am going to leave him a message on his Care Page. This is a webpage set up by my cousin Jessica, his daughter. The address is www.carepages.com. His page is called larrymscott. He has recieved lots and lots of messages. I think it makes him feel good to get to read all of them. Jess has also posted some pictures on the site as well. It is nice to be able to see these.

Well, I am pooped. I think I will go lay down for a while and watch tv. I will probably fall asleep pretty quickly and not actually see any shows! Talk to you later!

Hidden Messages...

Today I helped a man with no arms. He was in a wheelchair and his arms were prosthetic extensions with hooks on the end. (I know that is not the politically correct way to describe them but I am at a loss as to what they should be called. I apologize.) I noticed him as soon as I turned down the aisle he was on at Wal-Mart today. My first thought was, "Dear Lord, please don't let my girls stare at this man." But that would not be the case. You see, this man asked for help. And, I am so glad that he did. He had a gentle kind voice and a nice smile. It made me feel good to be doing something for somebody else. Well, God didn't answer my prayer....He had a different plan. He wanted my girls to see him. Or, maybe he wanted ME to see him. When I say that God wanted me to see him, I mean that God wanted me to face the reality of a situation that I didn't really and truly know how to deal with. It was like a metaphor for several things that I haven't truly dealt with in my life.

I have a terrible time dealing with death. Or the prospect of death. You see, Mike and I lost our very best friends, a great couple, in a horrible accident 4 years ago. Mike grieved right away. I thought that I was being strong for him but I later realized that I was just avoiding dealing with a difficult circumstance. I finally began to deal with it nearly 2 years later when I started dreaming about them. More recently was the death of my grandmother. She has been gone for a little over a month and I don't know that I have yet completely dealt with that. It really bothers me though. I can picture her at the funeral. I can feel her. Yet, in my mind I still see her smile, smell her sweater, hear her voice, and feel her soft kiss on my cheek. I miss her.

Now, I am trying to wrap my brain around the fact that my Uncle Mike was recently diagnosed with ALS, Lou Gherig's disease. He is a big strong man. He is funny. And yet, here he is with this terrible disease. It is in its advanced state and there is absolutely no chance of getting better. In my mind, I know all this, but I can't picture him any other way than what I saw as a child. I know that has a lot to do with the fact that we live in TX and he lives in Kansas. But even when I saw him just over a month ago I still saw him like I did as a kid despite the oxygen tank that he was hooked up too. I know that my aunts and uncles and his wife and kids are having a difficult time dealing with this. You know, it is a helpless feeling when you can't be there to help or to comfort. Am I dealing with this yet? I don't know. I do know that I think of him multiple times each day. I think of all these people. Life is definately tough sometimes, but one way or another we all manage to make it through one day at a time.

That's my little RoCk STaR!!!

These pics are from our day off from school. Both girls had a destist appointment so we just made a day out of it! I took Whit downtown and we just looked around the old buildings and in the alleyways to find some cool backgrounds. We had a lot of fun and Whit got really good at striking her "Rock Star" pose! I am stoked about how these pics turned out!