Update

The past few weeks in my freshman English classes we've been reading Romeo and Juliet. I love that play. I hadn't read it in a while before this year, but I love getting the students' first reactions to it. My fifth period class has decided Romeo is emo (which is a stereotype that didn't exist when I was in high school so I had to have it explained to me). My favorite thing to hear is when they're disappointed when we have to stop because they want to keep reading and find out what happens. I think I have a special group of kids this year...I like them a lot and they make it worth coming to school on days when I don't feel like it.

I'm thinking about starting grad school this summer in English at ACU. Brandon gets a family discount but only for 3 hours a semester. Since I'll still be teaching while in grad school, that's probably the most I would want to take at once anyway, but at that rate it will take me about 3 years to finish. I hope I remember how to be a good student. It's weird that I feel old when I go on ACU's campus now. I expect to run into people my own age and instead see my cousins who were in middle school when I was in college. 4 of my cousins are at ACU now and have lunch together once a week. One of these days I'm going to take a day off of work so I participate in Cousins Lunch.

I'm ready for Christmas break. First we're going on a cruise with Brandon's parents and family friends, then we're going on a trip to Austin with my family. I'm looking forward to lots of time to relax, read, and be with family.

My girlfriends are planning our annual MLK weekend trip together. This year everyone's coming to Abilene. I'm really excited about catching up with everyone because a lot has been going on in our lives. There are new babies, pregnancies (even twins!), jobs, moves, and healing...so much to talk about!

Any good gag gift ideas? I've got 4 Christmas parties in 3 days next week and each one involves a gag gift exchange. So I'll probably be doing my Christmas shopping tomorrow at garage sales and Goodwill. Maybe I'll find some great, obscure, unique gift for my Dad while I'm at it.

Snow Days

Yesterday morning, this friendly duo knocked on my door to wish me a Happy Snow Day! I think students and teachers share the same excitement when it comes to school being cancelled. It's a great feeling to get up at 6:30 and then realize you can go back to bed. I celebrated the first snow day of my teaching career by playing with Ava and watching old episodes of Grey's Anatomy with Summer during Ava's nap. It was a great day!

Thanks for Thanksgiving!!!

I am SO glad that Thanksgiving break is here! I'm almost giddy this morning. Here's what I love about Thanksgiving:

Grandma's egg rolls
a week off from school
games with family
time to read a book
cool fall weather
pretty trees
lots of family in one place
staying up late and sleeping late
eating too much
Scrabble tournaments
decorating for Christmas

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

I had a nice weekend visiting with college friends who came for Homecoming. Saturday we ate lunch together and just sat around and talked for hours. It's nice to be able to catch up with friends.

The weekend before last I went to Houston with Leah and we visited Jenna and Matt and my cousin Chris and his wife Jenny. It was also great to spend a weekend catching up with them and being able to see where they live and go to school and church.

Things at school are going well. I was remembering the other day as I was grading papers how I used to "play school" with Summer or with friends. As a child of a school teacher, I had old lesson plan books, chalkboards, and most importantly, textbooks with the answers in them! I remember playing for hours pretending to record grades, make lessons, and teach students. Jocelyn and I used to pretend our elementary teachers were our students. I remember a particular sub we didn't like got sent to the principal's office a lot when we were pretending to be teachers. Grading papers now has lost the excitement it had when I was young, but I'm thankful I have a job doing what I've wanted to do since I was 5 (after realizing careers in body building and nursing weren't going to pan out).

80's Flashback

A few months ago some friends in our small group started talking about how we miss getting dressed up in costume so we decided to have our own 80's party complete with an 80's movie at the Paramount and an 80's dance party. Let me just say that I love that our friends can have serious discussions about spirituality and being missional and can be totally silly and dress up in crazy costumes together. Our 80's party got a little more awkward than it already was when we stopped in at the Galaxy grub. Yes, you heard that right. Chad is a Galaxy sponsor, and he got a call Saturday afternoon that none of the sponsors could go, and they needed him to come. So the eight of us decked out in 80's attire show up at grub. (By the way, the theme was greatest enemies, so we didn't blend in.) Everyone is already seated and gives us curious stares as we hear whispers of "Who are they," "Why are they dressed like that," and "Well, they have wedding rings on, so...?" And as it turns out, 3 other Galaxy sponsors received the same call and were there as well. So we get our Galaxy grub photo taken, eat dinner, and continue on with the rest of our evening. The awkwardness and the picture only added to making the night memorable.

Here are a few pictures from my classroom. I had help from my sweet family before school started. Dad helped haul all my stuff from Mann to Abilene High. Summer hung posters and decorations. They both helped paint the wall behind my desk. And Mom made the curtains and recovered my chair. And it has made a big difference. I feel like I spend more time here than I do at my house, so I'm glad it's a pleasant place that I feel comfortable in. I remember when I was in high school, I asked one of my teachers if I could bring posters to hang on the wall. It was a gray classroom with no windows and no decorations. I needed more visual things to be able to think.

Two of my girlfriends from college are living in Abilene, and we've decided to get together at one of our houses every Thursday night to watch "Grey's Anatomy" and visit. I look forward to it all day Thursday.

Please pray for my friend and former roommate, Christine. She has had health problems since she was in high school and is in the hospital again now. Pray for healing for her, strength for her family, and wisdom for the doctors. She's a great friend, wife, mother of a sweet 2-year-old boy, and started teaching this year.

I am starting a new job at Abilene High this year teaching English I Pre-AP. I love my students (all 160 of them), but I don't love grading all their papers. I'm still trying to figure out how to balance all that. The students make it worth it. They are sweet and are conscientious about doing their work. The other English teachers I work with are great teachers and very encouraging and supportive. I am thankful to have this job, and I ask God to give me the strength to do it well every morning.

These are the some of the pictures that represent what I did over the summer. I love summer vacation; it always seems to go by too fast!


I'm so proud of Brandon. The team he coached, the Derby Twins, weren't even supposed to be in the National Baseball Congress World Series, but they made it in at the last minute. Of the 42 teams competing, they made it to the championship game and got second place in the tournament. Brandon got the All-American team manager award. It was a great way to end the summer.






This is the quilt I started last summer when we were in Wichita and (almost) finished this summer. This is on the summit of Mt. Antero. We had beautiful weather all week! This picture is with Tyler, Gini, and Zach Sheets, and my cousin Bradyn. Everyone in the group got along well and enjoyed playing games and talking together.



This is the group that went on Wilderness Trek from Highland. We had a wonderful time. I wish I could take a break from school and go again right now!

Have I given up on blogging?

I've considered it, but no, I have not given up. My readers may have given up on me, but I'm still here reading faithfully and have finally mustered up the energy to attempt to cover my summer in one post. I had taken a break from blogging for the summer since I have been away from a computer for weeks at a time and had nothing even resembling a routine. I will try to catch up what readers I still have as briefly as possible. And I promise to follow with pictures, so tune in later for the photo montage!

Brandon and I began the summer with a trip to Corpus Christi with our newly sophomore huddle. We had a wonderful time and it reaffirmed why we are huddle leaders and how much we love those kids!

Brandon then left June 1st for Wichita to begin his coaching responsibilities with the Derby Twins. We have the same host family that we did last year, so it was easy for him to adjust to being there. Plus, he really enjoys the players on the team this summer, and they just found out they are going to be in the World Series beginning this Friday!

I had a week in Abilene without working, and with the help of my mom and sister, was able to make curtains, bedskirts, and pillows to get the house (almost) finished before I left. I was also excited to find out that I got a job teaching 9th grade Pre-AP and regular English at Abilene High. My family and I saw my dad off at the airport before he left for his month-long trip to Israel. Then I joined Brandon in Wichita for a month of watching (and scoring) baseball games almost every day, hanging out with the man I love, reading A Tale of Two Cities by the pool, and (of course) eating a couple wonderful meals of Mongolian beef and lettuce wraps at P.F. Chang's!

Then I was back in Abilene for 4 days. My mom had helped organize a group of retired Japanese people (many of whom had taken my parents' English classes in Japan) who stayed in Abilene for a week. I hosted two of these women at my house and affectionately referred to them as "my girls" even though they were closer in age to my grandmother.

Before this group left to return to Japan, I was off with the Highland youth group and 4 other adult (I use that term loosely because I fall in that category now) sponsors to Salida, Colorado for Wilderness Trek. I left feeling busy, anxious about my summer almost being over and not feeling ready for school, and unable to relax, but God taught me about sitting still in His presence that week. I came back feeling refreshed and having a better perspective about the things God is accomplishing in me rather than the things I am trying to accomplish. I also made some wonderful relationships with new people on the trip and renewed relationships I am so thankful for that go back several years.

That brings me up to today where I am attending an English AP Summer Institute in Seguin, Texas. My sweet father, seeing how tired I was when I got back, offered to drive me here and is hanging out in Austin while I attend the workshop this week. I'm living on the college campus and without a car, which is why I now have the time to actually get on the computer.

If you're still reading, thanks for sticking with me through my (not so) brief and rather boring rendition of "What I Did on My Summer Vacation." I hope to soon catch up with more of you personally.

Where do I begin?

My life feels pretty hectic right now, but there is an end in sight. I remember my dad telling me never to get in an argument with a middle schooler because as soon as you begin, you've already lost. I kept that in mind today when I told two 6th grade girls to be quiet, and they proceeded to blurt out to me, at the same time, that they weren't even talking to each other, they were talking to other people! (Oh, okay then, you can keep talking! Sorry, my mistake!) I don't know how much longer I can handle getting yelled at by 12-year-olds and not break the "Do Not Argue" rule. Thankfully, there are only 5 more days of school. 5 busy days of grading, writing a final, reviewing for a final, and packing up my classroom...but 5 days nonetheless.

Brandon's life is hectic too. Last weekend ACU hosted the Lone Star Conference tournament, and starting today, ACU's also hosting the South Central Region tournament. Both tournaments include 3 games a day for 4 days. Even though it makes Brandon really busy being at all the games and working on the field, I'm glad the tournaments have been here so I can go to the games and so he doesn't have to travel.

I'm looking forward to going to Wichita so we can see each other and both relax a little. I just want to sit by the pool with a good book! In the meantime, if you're an 11 to 14 year-old with an attitude, stay out of my way!

A Busy and Eventful Weekend

We are in our new house now! Brandon's games Friday got rained out, so we went over to the house (which didn't have electricity yet), and started painting by flashlight with the help of our families. On Saturday and Sunday ACU had double-headers, so the rest of the family met at the house again to finish painting.

That night was the Global Night Commute for InvisibleChildren to bring awareness to the civil war in the Sudan, and the millions of innocent children who are abducted and forced to fight. We walked from ACU to First Baptist and spent the night in the parking lot. Many children in Uganda are afraid of being abducted in their homes, so they walk miles to get to town where they sleep in empty buildings, and then walk home in the mornings. Check out InvisibleChildren.com for information about it. Several of our huddle kids and 2 of my Mann students participated...I was proud of them for taking the initiative to do that.

Sunday was moving day. Once again, our families helped us out a lot. And our care group of about 5 couples met us at our old house and helped load up trucks and get the rest of our stuff over to the new house. We could not have moved without the help of our family and friends! We are so thankful for them, and we appreciate all the hard work they put in over the weekend!

Monday I took a personal day from school to stay home and begin unpacking boxes. Summer walked over from her house with Ava and helped me arrange the bedroom, the closets, and the kitchen. She is a huge help when it comes to packing and unpacking. I tend to get sidetracked, but she just keeps going and empties boxes and gets them out of the house. She also didn't look at me like I was crazy when I started crying out of exhaustion and lack of sleep Sunday night. She just brought me something to drink and let me take a nap on her bed.

I like our new neighborhood. Two of our neighbors have already come over and introduced themselves and offered to help us with anything we need. It is a quiet and quaint place to live.

I spent most of Saturday and Monday packing up our house. (We had the day off of school Monday for an Inclement Weather Day.) This summer is our 3rd anniversary and this is our 3rd time to move. I hope we don't keep averaging one move a year, but it's exciting to start thinking about being in our new home.

Ava entertained us on Saturday by imitating my singing of "Don't cry for me, Argentina" while holding up a play microphone to her mouth. Then she would stop singing and point the microphone at me wanting me to take a turn. Then she would stop me and point the microphone at Dad for him to pick up the next verse.

Summer came over yesterday to help me pack up the kitchen. She was a huge help, and since they just moved into their home in February, we had several boxes and tissue in stock for us to use.

Just 5 more weeks of school: tiring, but do-able!

Easter

I had a great Easter weekend! I got Friday off of school which made my whole week better. I cleaned house and ran errands and watched some ACU baseball against Texas A&M Kingsville. We had double-headers on Friday and Saturday, and ended up winning 3 of the 4 games. Brandon had to stay in Abilene for baseball, so I rode with Mom to Brownwood Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon we had our annual Easter egg hunt at the lake. This year there were only a few kids young enough to participate, so some of the older kids were blindfolded and a younger cousin had to verbally lead them to the eggs. It was fun watching Ava hunt for eggs, and watching the older kids get led into trees and mailboxes.





We had a surprise 80th birthday party for my grandma. This is a picture of her in Japan about the time she married my grandpa. She is an incredible woman. She and my grandfather met in Japan after WWII. He was in the Air Force stationed in Japan. My grandma, Ruri Nakazawa, was working in a store on the base. She worked in the sewing part of the store which was right next to the camera section. My grandpa would frequently go into the store to the camera area where he would always look for her. After they fell in love and got married, they moved back to Texas where she had to adjust to learning a new language and culture. She changed her name to Ruth because it was easier for Americans to pronounce. The name fit her well. "But Ruth replied, 'Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God.'" (Ruth 1:16) She was baptized when my mom, the oldest of five kids, was three years old. My grandparents have 5 children, 5 children-in-law, 11 grandchildren, 3 grandchildren-in-law, and one great-grandchild. My grandma is an exceptional cook, seamstress, and gardener. We traditionally have Japanese food for our Christmas or Thanksgiving meal. She has handmade a quilt for every child and grandchild. She extends love through the beauty and comfort of her home and her handiwork.

My cousins, Kasey and Bradyn, try using the cobbler for other purposes while their mothers warn them to stay in the kitchen and not be seen by Grandma and Grandpa's friends.
Ava won over the audience by announcing "Hap Birday" from the microphone. It took her a few tries to get it out because she was so surprised and amused by hearing her echo.

I haven't felt like writing on my blog lately. I've been reading others, but neglecting my own. But today, I am still at school at 4:45 needing to write TAKS practice questions, and avoiding it at all costs, so here I go.

School has become more difficult lately. Students are getting lazier about following the rules, and teachers lazier about enforcing them, except every now and then when a teacher hits a boiling point, and then, stay out of the way...you don't want to be in that line of fire! Lunch conversations tend to always become negative, even if they don't start out that way. My goal is to not be pessimistic this time of year, but to finish the semester on a positive note. Sometimes that task seems more difficult than others. Fortunately, we get Good Friday off next week.

Brandon and I are excited about becoming homeowners. We are buying a house from some friends from Highland. It's a 1930's home with hard wood floors and a fireplace. It has 2 bedrooms, one bath, a living room, dining room, kitchen, and (my favorite) a breakfast nook. It also has a fenced-in backyard with a big pecan tree. We'd like to build a deck so we can enjoy being out there more. And it's only a couple of blocks from Summer and Chad's new house which means I might be taking Ava on frequent walks to the park.



Brandon's staying busy with ACU baseball and enjoying being a coach. He's also making plans for coaching the Twins in Wichita, Kansas again this summer. Last week we had some friends and family over to celebrate his 26th birthday. I got him some tools so he can get right to work on that deck!

Here's one more of Spring Break:
Dad and me at the Angles vs. Rangers game at the Angels stadium.

I appreciate even more that it was warm and sunny there since it was cold and rainy when we got back to Abilene, and has stayed cool and windy since.

I wish I were more of a morning person. I liked waking up at 8:00 and jogging every morning in Arizona, but it's hard to make myself wake up at 6:00 every morning to jog now. It seems like if I know I have to get up and go by a certain time, I like to sleep as long as possible, but if I know I have the whole day to myself, I don't mind getting up. Is it possible to make yourself become a morning person even if you aren't naturally one?

OK, Blogger is being squirly, so I may have to post one picture a day. It will build the suspense. So, here's picture #2...

Dad, Brandon, Carolyn, and me at Carlsbad Tavern in Scottsdale for dinner Tuesday night.

We had a great time in Arizona for Spring Break. Dad and I drove, and Brandon got to fly because he was recruiting at junior colleges while we were there. This was the only day Brandon got to go to a Spring Training game with us. We watched the Rangers at this ballpark in Surprise, and also got to see a couple of guys who played at ACU last year and are now in the Kansas City Royals minor league organization.

While Brandon recruited, Dad and I went to a different ballpark each day to watch games. The weather was cool in the mornings and evenings, and sunny and warm in the afternoons...perfect for watching baseball on Spring Break! We saw John Lackey pitch against the Rangers at the Angels' park. We all stayed with Brandon's in Tempe. I have more pictures, but I'll have to try posting them again later.

Back to AZ, and not a moment too soon!

This year my dad and I are heading back to Arizona for Spring Break to watch some spring training games. We also have a couple favorites from last year we want to visit again: for me, My Sister's Closet, a trendy consignment store in Scottsdale; and for my dad, the Scottsdale Library that has regular book sales.

This year I'm especially excited because Brandon will be going too. He's actually going to recruit at junior colleges, so he's flying there and renting a car to travel around watching college games. Hopefully he'll be able to go to a spring training game with us or at least watch some practices in the morning at the facilities. All three of us will be staying with Brandon's aunt in Tempe. We're looking forward to getting to visit with her.

Only 2 more days of school, and both days the kids will be taking practice TAKS tests , so I will be grading furiously at my desk to try to get it all done before I leave. When I go on vacation, I like to leave work out of sight, out of mind. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but I really just work to support my vacation habits!

Cute kids

This girl cracks me up! She loves to imitate what other people do, and sometimes she'll have a long conversation with you, the whole time looking at you like you should be able to understand exactly what she's saying. She loves to swing and play in the car. She says "Ca, ca, ca" over and over and does the sign language for 'car' (imitating holding the steering wheel). Only when she does it, she gets her hips in to it and shakes them back and forth while she's turning a pretend steering wheel. Maybe she'll create a new dance craze.


Jack and Kadin were the only boys allowed at our girls lunch Saturday. While we were all talking and eating in the kitchen, we caught them watching some questionable TV programs. Got to keep an eye on those two!

I had a fun weekend visiting with some friends from college, going to Sing Song, seeing some family from out of town, going to Leigh Ann Hess's wedding shower, and watching the Olympics with Brandon.

One of our favorite sports to watch is curling. It's one of the few Olympic sports that makes you think, "I could do that." There's no way I could ski the Super G or speed skate or even ice dance (not that that's a real sport), but I think I could be a curler. And I could be the person on the back of the bobsled who pushes it to get started, then jumps in the back and ducks his head down. What Olympic event would do?

I remember one of Summer's birthdays when the whole Thompson family was at the lake. My aunts planned the "Summer Olympics" in honor of her birthday and everyone (kids and adults) participated. We had events like bobbing for apples, 3-legged races, and covering our uncles' faces in shaving cream.

I think it's about time to hold our own Winter Olympic races.

As the first ACU baseball game of the double-header against Central OK started yesterday at 4:00, the weather was warm, sunny, and breezy. Ava had on her summer clothes and sunglasses. By the end of the second game, it was windy and frigid and about 40 degrees cooler. It must be time for Lectureship.

One of my favorite Lectureship memories is from my senior year. The powers that be at ACU were determined not to cancel school even though snow and ice covered the streets and every school within a 30-mile radius had been cancelled. As my roommates and I checked our e-mail that said, "Yes, we are having school today," we reluctantly got dressed and headed out. The campus center parking lot looked like a bumper car ride at the fair. Is it any wonder that West Texans don't know how to drive on ice? By 10:00 we got the exciting news that school had indeed been cancelled for the day, and by noon a group of girls had gathered at our house to watch "White Christmas" and eat soup for lunch. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing in the snow, sledding on make-shift sleds (the lids from any plastic garbage can we could find), watching Andrew ski behind Josh's car, and building snowmen.

This year I don't think we have snow in the forecast, but we might get a "wintry mix." Some of my old roommates and friends are coming in town and we're having lunch together tomorrow and going to Sing Song. I'm thankful for my friendships from college and the fun memories we have together!