Again with the no pictures.

Tomorrow is FRIDAY and I am certainly ready. This week has been difficult to transition back to work. I've felt extremely run down this week, and I'm not entirely sure why.

Words Their Way, the new phonics and word patterns program I started this week, is going really well. The groups have been working well together, they are learning how to think critically about words. I have found some weaknesses they have and I feel like I'm better able to tailor my instruction because of this. So I'm really excited about this!

Kim, my mentor throughout high school and college, just had a little boy! I am going to visit them tomorrow after school. I will take a picture tomorrow, promise :)

Tonight I made fry bread.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 4 cups oil for frying, or as needed

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in milk, and mix until the dough comes together. Add more flour if necessary to be able to handle the dough. On a floured surface, knead the dough until smooth, at least 5 minutes. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a large, deep heavy skillet to 365 degrees F (180 degrees C). Oil should be about 1 1/2 inches deep. Break off 3/4 cup sized pieces of dough, and shape into round discs 1/4 inch in thickness, making a thinner depressed area in the center. Fry breads in the hot oil until golden on both sides, turning only once. Drain on paper towels.

It turned out really well. It cooks really fast so you have to watch it.

I sprinkled sugar, cinnamon, and honey on them and cut them into triangles. There are some guys over hanging out with Joel, and all the bread is gone! Well, almost. I saved a few pieces for myself :)

1) I stink at resolutions.
2) It's early and I need to go to work.
3) I just wanted to ask for prayers for Joel's knee. He hurt it right after we got married, and hasn't been able to play basketball or run since then...and it's been hard for him. He's been to the doctor a couple of times and is going to physical therapy, but this week he tweaked it somehow and he's finding it really difficult to just walk around our house. So please pray that he will be healed, that he won't need surgery or anything like that, and that he'll be able to play basketball soon :)
Thanks friends.

A picture a day...

Kelsi Wilson has the fabulous idea to take a picture a day in 2009. So I've decided, although I'm not really the best at keeping resolutions, I'm going to try this one.

So here's my picture from yesterday:














Seems a little boring (and wrinkly) but I'm so happy that Joel (and Tyler) put up these curtains! Finally...no more staring a blank white blinds!

Today's pictures are from my classroom. I decided to give you a little tour of my room to start off the year.



















This is the front of my room. On the whiteboard is the Promethean board that makes my job so much easier.














Morning message for Monday.














Bulletin board with class jobs.




















I was so organized today and made copies of morning work for Monday. I though I could put the finished ones on my classroom door.














This is the back of my room, and those cabinets hide my desk. I totally recommend doing this for 2 reasons:
1) I never sit at my desk during class time because I can't see the class.
2) I can keep my desk however I want and it's unseen.
Examples:




















My desk. So sad.



















The side of a cabinet: notes to myself.

I like this because it's "my" space. Generally, no one goes back there. Although I have seen a parent poke around a couple of times...














This is what the reading table looks like on a teacher workday. Or a planning period.















This has saved me so many headaches, because instead of being interrupted by 15 questions during reading groups, I get about 15 sticky notes thrown in my face.

It helps.



Well, I have a messy classroom but there it is.

I have some funny videos of Grace Elizabeth, Laura's sweet little girl, but I'm not sure how to shorten them. Anybody know?

G.E., do you know?

I am thankful for...

Good girl friends and real conversation. A clean bathroom. Meals at home. Gift cards. An honest husband. An open house. My brother. Prayer. New curtains. Coffee. Facebook. North Carolina weather. Authenticity.


I need to...

Clean the house. Lose 10 pounds. Grade lots of papers (still). Stop eating chocolate. Put up new curtains. Be honest.

Day 7...Guilt sets in

It's been exactly a week of vacation, and I have now hit that point of shame. It's 1:40 and I am just now eating lunch after having had a leisurely breakfast with Lauree, reading for an hour and a half, and taking a nap. I have not done anything productive.

My husband has spent the past 4 hours on the couch. When, in horror, I ask him how he feels, he exclaims, "Great! I love vacation!"

I always go into vacation with high hopes of accomplishing great things: going to the gym regularly, grading all my papers, reading dozens of books, reconnecting with all my old friends. I'd return to work a skinny, organized, well-read social butterfly.

But in my other life at work, I grumble that I can't stay at home and vacillating between napping and reality television. I just can't be satisfied.

When I actually muster up the laziness to do sit around, I feel extreme guilt that I haven't saved a small child or redecorated our bedroom, both worthwhile things in my opinion.

Anyway, I ended up feeling like such a waste that I unloaded the dishwasher. I figured if the machine did all the work, I could at least put the dishes away. But this has reduced me to cursing the stupid thing for not actually washing our dishes. Instead, it has distributed the gunk from our plates to our cups and knives, forcing me to wash everything by hand. I'm not sure why we even use the darn thing anymore.

OK, Joel is now ready to move around. We're going to the gym and to run some errands and then I'll complain that I'd rather be at home watching reruns of What Not to Wear.

A couple of pictures:

Christmas updates:
Joel and I finally decorated our tree a few days ago:




















We opened our presents to each other on Christmas Eve. I just got impatient!

We spent time on Christmas with our families and ate great food.
My mom got this picture from Nigeria framed for us:















Joel's mom gave us this tablecloth from Nigeria, which I think is awesome. We have some matching napkins that we'll actually frame, I think. They're just so bright and colorful, which is great because everyone knows how much I hate white walls!
















My brother and I went to see Yes-Man last night, and it was surprisingly funny.


This Christmas, I've been so thankful (more than ever) for my husband. We've been married for 5 months today! I just love having our time during this vacation and holiday. We enjoy spending time with our family but then coming home together. I don't know...it's just wonderful.

"God has rarely given me an assignment that I considered to be in my league. Anything of priority in the Kingdom is out of our league. When we serve in our church, we must never forget that we are dealing with people’s lives—their internal struggles and eternal destinies. Sincerity and sweat do not always suffice. God places us in positions beyond our capabilities so that we will be at His absolute mercy, realizing that only He can succeed."

Words of wisdom from our favorite, Beth Moore.

This devotion was also very challenging.

Joel is at a friend's, so I've had the evening to myself. It's been spent making homemade chewy caramels (they turned out wonderfully but were a pain to wrap individually!) and peppermint bark.

I have been really lacking the discipline to have quiet times daily, and I am thankful for tonight's extra time. I had no excuse. And I read some of Beth Moore's old online devotionals. I think I want to start a new Beth Moore Bible study. Know of any good ones?

I am excited about our first Christmas together. We used to have mixed feelings about holidays, because we barely saw each other in the flurry of family time. I think it will be really nice this year to have time with our parents but come back home together.

I used to be really cynical about Christmas. But I am realizing more and more how significant this time is. The hope of the WORLD, Jesus, was born. What a miraculous thing.

A lot of people have looked to Obama as the hope for our nation. Bumper stickers and TV ads and posters all advertise Obama as the change we need.

But this Christmas I understand more that without Jesus, we have no hope. We are fallen, sinful people. There is something so broken inside of us. And nobody, not even a president, can totally fix us. That change can't come from us. It has to come from Somebody perfect, and nobody is perfect except for Jesus. I think that I've really lost that lately, and never really celebrated that fact at Christmas. I am so undeserving of the grace He has given me but He freely gives. I pray that we can remember where we would be without the saving love of Jesus.

Merry Christmas.