Chalk Painting Again

Today I decided to dig out the Chalk Paint and paint another one of our end tables in our living room. I was reminded again how much I love Chalk Paint. I was done in about 2 hours max with my project! I painted it the same color as my other end table (cocoa and old white).

Before

After

Ford Pickup

A hobby of my husbands is buying and selling pickups, fourwheelers, dirtbikes, or any other wheeled thing that runs (or doesn't run). I don't really understand it, but I don't need to! He enjoys it and makes him happy, so it makes me happy.
His most recent purchase - a 1984 Ford pickup. It reminds me so much of my grandpa's old pickup. The pickup that he and grandma would go on evening drives with, the pickup he would nap in on summer afternoons, the pickup that drove through the drifts of the storm of '97 to bring Elizabeth and I to their house...
Here is a picture I snapped on our way home from picking up the pickup. The sunset was beautiful.

What Students Remember Most...

I really enjoyed my last semester of classes before student teaching at UND. The classes were smaller and you really got to know your professors (and fellow classmates) well. I still correspond every once in awhile with my professors, via facebook, and it is nice! It is nice knowing you have somewhere to go if you have a question on something school related or kid related.

A few days ago one of my professors shared this (below). And you know, it made me realize that it is so easy to get caught up in lesson planning and trying to find the best learning activity possible for different subjects. It's nice to read this and remember that while the lessons we teach are important, it's also important to be there for the kids - and let them know you care. Because if they know you care and you build that trust, chances are they'll learn more in class anyways and put forth more of an effort.
Just my two bits! :)  The source: http://pursuitofajoyfullife.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/what-students-remember-most-about-teachers/

Dear Young Teacher Down the Hall,

I saw you as you rushed passed me in the lunch room. Urgent. In a hurry to catch a bite before the final bell would ring calling all the students back inside. I noticed that your eyes showed tension. There were faint creases in your forehead. And I asked you how your day was going and you sighed.

“Oh, fine,” you replied.

But I knew it was anything but fine. I noticed that the stress was getting to you. I could tell that the pressure was rising. And I looked at you and made an intentional decision to stop you right then and there. To ask you how things were really going. Was it that I saw in you a glimpse of myself that made me take the moment?

You told me how busy you were, how much there was to do. How little time there was to get it all done. I listened. And then I told you this:

I told you to remember that at the end of the day, it’s not about the lesson plan. It’s not about the fancy stuff we teachers make — the crafts we do, the stories we read, the papers we laminate. No, that’s not really it. That’s not what matters most.

And as I looked at you there wearing all that worry under all that strain, I said it’s about being there for your kids. Because at the end of the day, most students won’t remember what amazing lesson plans you’ve created. They won’t remember how organized your bulletin boards are. How straight and neat are the desk rows.

No, they’ll not remember that amazing decor you’ve designed.

But they will remember you.

Your kindness. Your empathy. Your care and concern. They’ll remember that you took the time to listen. That you stopped to ask them how they were. How they really were. They’ll remember the personal stories you tell about your life: your home, your pets, your kids. They’ll remember your laugh. They’ll remember that you sat and talked with them while they ate their lunch.

Because at the end of the day, what really matters is YOU. What matters to those kids that sit before you in those little chairs, legs pressed up tight under tables oft too small- what matters to them is you.

You are that difference in their lives.

And when I looked at you then with tears in your eyes, emotions rising to the surface and I told you gently to stop trying so hard- I also reminded you that your own expectations were partly where the stress stemmed. For we who truly care are often far harder on ourselves than our students are willing to be. Because we who truly care are often our own worst enemy. We mentally beat ourselves up for trivial failures. We tell ourselves we’re not enough. We compare ourselves to others. We work ourselves to the bone in the hopes of achieving the perfect lesson plan. The most dynamic activities. The most engaging lecture. The brightest, fanciest furnishings.

Because we want our students to think we’re the very best at what we do and we believe that this status of excellence is achieved merely by doing. But we forget- and often. Excellence is more readily attained by being.

Being available.
Being kind.
Being compassionate.
Being transparent.
Being real.
Being thoughtful.
Being ourselves.

And of all the students I know who have lauded teachers with the laurels of the highest acclaim, those students have said of those teachers that they cared.

You see, kids can see through to the truth of the matter. And while the flashy stuff can entertain them for a while, it’s the steady constance of empathy that keeps them connected to us. It’s the relationships we build with them. It’s the time we invest. It’s all the little ways we stop and show concern. It’s the love we share with them: of learning. Of life. And most importantly, of people.

And while we continually strive for excellence in our profession as these days of fiscal restraint and heavy top-down demands keep coming at us- relentless and quick. We need to stay the course. For ourselves and for our students. Because it’s the human touch that really matters.

It’s you, their teacher, that really matters.

So go back to your class and really take a look. See past the behaviors, the issues and the concerns, pressing as they might be. Look beyond the stack of papers on your desk, the line of emails in your queue. Look further than the classrooms of seasoned teachers down the hall. Look. And you will see that it’s there- right inside you. The ability to make an impact. The chance of a lifetime to make a difference in a child’s life. And you can do this now.

Right where you are, just as you are.

Because all you are right now is all you ever need to be for them today. And who you are tomorrow will depend much on who and what you decide to be today.

It’s in you. I know it is.

Fondly,

That Other Teacher Down the Hall

Valentines Day + Weekend Company

I like Valentines Day. It's a holiday that breaks up the monotonous months of January and February.

This year, Aaron and I celebrated it on the 13th because we would be having company on the 14th through the weekend! Sadly, though, I was coming down with some sort of sickness and felt rotten. 

Nonetheless, I stopped by the store after school on the 13th (and after two preschool Valentines parties...which really drains your energy) and got some spaghetti, french bread, asparagus, and cheesecake.

Aaron and I ate our supper by candlelight, exchanged cards and chocolates, and sprayed the cats (for jumping up on the table). I then proceeded to go to bed early. I woke up the next day with a sore throat and achy muscles. me = very unhappy

The reason for this unhappiness with being sick was because on the 14th my middlest sister was flying in to visit for the weekend! I ended up staying home from school and sleeping the whole day until I left to pick her up at the airport. Besides having a sore throat, it was a wonderful weekend spent with my sister! We enjoyed chatting, watching The Sound of Music plus The Pioneer Woman, spending time with Aaron's brother and his wife & kids + Nate, Olympic watching, and eating small town cookin'. 

Eating at Country Kettle

Come back again, soon!

I'm a lucky lil sis

Throughout my 23 years of life I have had two amazingly supportive sisters. We get along so well and I enjoy every millisecond of every moment that we're together.

When I was going through all my things after getting married and sorting out what I wanted to bring with me into my new married life, I found a certain bag filled with wrapping paper bits...

{Leaving for college can be exciting but scary. I remember being very anxious about what college classes would be like, what my roommate was going to be like, what life in general would be like...
Looking back, I remember that I couldn't wait for that first weekend when I could come back to the place I was most comfortable at - home.}

Anyways, these were the wrapping paper bits and they were placed on various items, which were then placed in a big gift basket. Elizabeth and Kristin, thank you. You made your little sister feel pretty special and loved!

magnetic calendar

fingernail clipper

jump drive

sticky tack

phase 10 game

cough drops

gum

highlighters

Trailmix

computer paper

foot file

tape

pencils and erasers

I don't remember!

Miciaha

If you would happen to drive by my parents place, there is a good chance you would see a little Golden Retriever on the porch - more than likely chewing on a maroon, saliva hardened, stuffed bear.
The bear, you see, was a spur of the moment toy I gave to her when she wasn't even six months old. It's not even a true animal toy...it actually is, or was, a lavender scented bear you would put in places such as closets to brighten up the smell. Miraculously, it has survived for 9 years without even getting so much as a rip in it! But, this post isn't about a stuffed bear, it's about that little Golden Retriever - my dog, Miciaha.

The dog that would be waiting for me every day after school during my four years of high school, and then would bound out eagerly to greet me as I drove up on the weekends during my four years of college. She would sleep beside my bed as I slept at night, laid beside me as I practiced piano and did homework, was my constant company when I broke my leg...

The last few times I've made it home, it's hard to ignore how gray she's gotten around her face...or how the arthritis has made it's way into her bones.

The best thing about going home is seeing mom, Will, and grandma...but coming in close second would be reuniting with my faithful pup, Kiah.

Weekend Happenings

This last weekend Aaron and I made the trek to Minnesota to spend time with my side of the family. We had a wonderful time, with lots of good laughs. We even found out what Pipsissewa means! 

I always get a little sad when we drive out of my parent's driveway....knowing that what I was looking forward to for so long, is already in the past. But, every day is just one day closer to when we can all be together again! 

Tonight we came home to two very clingy and lonely kittens as well as a very cold house! Aaron turned the thermostat down to 56 when we left. Our little house is warming up quite nicely, though, and the cats are curled up contentedly on our laps. 

Now onto another week of work and school...uff. But, YAY for only two weeks until my middle sister comes and visits!