When the going gets tough...

The weak run and hide.

Or they want to.

I wanted to hide this morning.

It was youth Sunday and my dd1, as a newbie in the youth group, had to be at church at 8:50. The morning started off with the realization that I had overslept. This in and of itself wasn't huge until I tried to move a box of candles, and tripped over a shoe left on the floor. Unable to catch myself because of my bad knee, I fell and so did the box of candles (in glass jars) and one of them broke. It was for a customer. >>sigh<< I'm going to have to buy a new one, and I don't even like the scent so I don't know what I'll do with the broken one. >>sigh, sigh<< After cleaning up the broken glass off the floor, I hurried to grab my keys and get out the door...we could still get there in time...we jumped in my van (you know, the one that's less than two years old?) the battery wouldn't start!! >>sigh, sigh, sigh<< I shuffle my dd1 off into her dad's car, which doesn't have air conditioning, and it's at least 110 degrees out at this point even though it's only 8:45 in the morning!! I dropped my dd off at church and turned around to go back home and get the rest of the tribe and bring them to church. Now at this point my make-up has completely run off my face and my dh has assured me he got the van to start so I went into the bathroom to fix my face. On the way out of the bathroom I tripped over a fan and fell AGAIN!! >>sigh, sigh, sigh, sigh<< I picked myself up (not an easy task when you can't put much weight on one leg) and shuffle off to the van...really not even WANTING to go to church at this point AND feeling a bit like a jinx...and, yes, you guessed it...the van wouldn't start. I helped my husband jump start the van and we roll off to church, which at this point has started 10 minutes ago. We get to church and drop off the three youngest at SS and walk down to the sanctuary only to have my dd run out bawling her head off. She didn't get a "job" because she was late and she was sure we weren't even coming. >>sigh, sigh, sigh, sigh, sigh<< In the end the day turned out okay. I talked my dd out of her hormonal hysterics. The service was nice, lunch at Rubio's was uneventful, and I talked my dh into going to Berean's to find a new novel to read while I'm sitting in doctor's offices in the next couple of weeks. I even got to take a short nap.

I had a friend email me some verses the other day:

Prov. 3:5,6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own
understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct
your paths.

Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

and this one found me later today...
Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Do you think God's trying to tell me something? Despite my morning it is still true that God is good, all the time...And with the help of HIS strength I've survived to say it one more time.

How was your Sunday?

AWESOME Video!!!

My friend Amy posted a video to her blog that is really AWESOME!! It's hard to see at times, but it is well worth viewing...it had me in tears...just be sure to watch it all the way to the end.



I hope this worked...I just figured out where to get the code to embed it in this blog. If not click over to Amy's blog (link above) and watch it there!!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen EXTREMELY random thoughts:
1. Everytime you put together a group of 20 kids you will get a very different community.
2. One student can drastically change that community.
3. The longer you teach the shorter the amount of time you need to recognize who that kid is going to be.
4. Patience is a great virtue, both in teaching and in medical office visits.
5. Timeliness is not a virtue most doctors possess.
6. Doctors don't seem to have many answers either.
7. Patience is a great virtue, both in working and parenting.
8. I am capable of getting from my house to my school in 10 minutes without getting a ticket.
9. My ds seems to have an amazing ability to forget his lunch.
10. Feeding him Taco Bell probably isn't the best way to encourage him to remember his lunch tomorrow.
11. Buying school supplies is one of the highlights of my life. There's just SOMETHING special about a brand new box of crayons. They're even better when you can buy them for 20 cents a box!!
12. Ticonderoga really are the best pencils. No, your local teacher is not getting a kickback from them.
13. I can take a lot more than I ever thought I could and still survive.


Here's to one more day!!!

It has begun....

Well, another school year has officially begun...we've made it through the introductory week full of rules, procedures, and getting to know each other. Now we're in full swing.

I'm so blessed to have a school full of students who run up to give me hugs (younger sibling of past students of mine give me the most hugs...I think that's funny), parents who support me (even my parents from last year still come by and bring me Starbucks!), and a great new principal!

The craziness of grading and planning and all that is here as well so you might not see me blogging as much but I will try!!

This year we are beginning our school year by reading a great book called "The City of Ember" by Jeanne DuPrau. If you haven't read it, you should check it out. If you like it let me know!

And the verdict is....

surgery. I saw an orthopedic surgeon on Wednesday and his words of wisdom were..."it won't get any better, but probably won't get any worse either, but I don't think your pain will go away unless you have the surgery." So here I stand...on one good leg and one wobbly one. I have some other medical issues I have to deal with first, so I'll let you know what I decide...but it looks like we'll be dealing with surgery in the near future.

Thanks for all your prayers...keep them coming!!

Sometimes it's just unbearable....

The chronic pain of my "prepatellar bursitis" is just unbearable at times...I get so frustrated with my inability to do things...or the fact that it takes SO LONG to do something that used to only take me a few minutes...or the fact that when I do NORMAL things like washing dishes or doing laundry I am most certainly going to pay for it in my pain level later if not immediately. For those of you who have been in chronic pain for years...I feel for you...I have had chronic back problems that have limited my activities and caused pain on and off for years but it's nothing like what I'm dealing with right now. I have this constant chronic pain in my knee. It NEVER goes away, even with pain meds. It is constant. It definitely adds meaning to the "thorn in the flesh" that Paul dealt with. I can definitely understand his prayers to God to take it away. It complicates every area of my life. A split second of my life, one decision (to get on the quad), one false move that wasn't even my move, and my life has been altered so completely. Isn't life always like that. It's that one split second, that one seemingly insignificant decision, that can change our lives, sometimes forever.

Here's another one....

You Are 30% Left Brained, 70% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

This is so true!! I would draw, paint, take pictures and read for my whole life if I could and would be deliriously happy the whole time!!!

When there's nothing else to blog about....

Take a wierd online quiz. Anyone would have guessed this one about me....

You Are A Chocolate Ice Cream Girl

Dramatic. Powerful. Flirty.

What Flavor Ice Cream Girl Are You?

Quick update on the bum knee...I went to the knee specialist today, turns out he used to be an olympic diver and got to carry the torch part of the way to the Atlanta Olympics a few (?) years ago...pretty cool...but I digress, he sent me for an immediate MRI and I will know more in about 4 days. I start PT on Thursday.

I love the RAIN!!

Have you ever smelled rain in the desert?? There is nothing like it! The smell of a summer rainstorm in the desert is unlike any other smell in the world.

It is a wet, musky, almost dusty, fairly indescribible smell. I LOVE IT!! There is nothing like taking a long deep breath of summer monsoon rain air!

This is the time of year in the hot Phoenix summer that you can sit back every evening when the sun is just about to go down, open the windows, take a deep breath and wait for the rain to start falling. I don't understand it completely, but it has something to do with the heat rising from all our concrete and moisture coming up from the Gulf of Mexico.

Whatever the reason, I really enjoy the rain and I hope we have a long monsoon season.