Alisa's first craft sale at the city block party!

Setting up...

She had a vision...

and it came together nicely!  We had a smaller tent...and laughed about it...but it did what we needed it to do...provide shade for us.  It was easily set up by one person...but we helped each other.

Pink hearts for breast cancer awareness month...October...and a sweet poem to celebrate auntie and Grandma.  And the pink flamingo!  

So many pretty things!

First customers!!!

We were at the far end of where all the action was with limited foot traffic...which was a bummer.  But we saw our police officers come through regularly!  The day was beautiful!  The sun was hot and the breeze a nice relief.

It was fun to watch people and learn about what to expect or plan for "next time"!  Alisa made a few sales and got her card out to several people.  We enjoyed lunch.  We talked to each other and to other vendors and customers.

And then got surprised by a pouring rain!  We got things quickly covered and thrown in the car!  We impressed ourselves with our efficiency and speed...no merchandise was ruined!  With only an hour left and no foot traffic...we decided to go home...by way of downtown.   We should have gone the other way...there was a lot of foot traffic downtown...what a bummer!  But we learned and we will count the day as a blessing!

Meanwhile...Ted got stuck on I-96 heading home for five hours!  He went to Howell to a meeting and found out too late the interstate was shut down due to a gravel hauler tipping over in construction zone...spilling its load and 200 gallons of gasoline.  Yeah...not fast or effective decision making on the part of M-DOT officials.  They finally turned vehicles around to clear highway...and the road stayed closed all the way till 10:30 Saturday night!  Uff da!  One of the main thoroughfares East and West to Detroit.  No thanks to our governor who sat on her campaign promise till the last four months of "Fix the ..... roads!"  She was too busy shutting our state down for two years as she tried to make her moves to be Biden's running buddy...and we see how that went.  Now she is running again with corrupt money fronting her...and our roads are worse than ever!  
 

First week was good!

"What are you doing now?"  I'm making a tree for Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!  Things from the garage...craft room...and coat closet!

It was a hit!  We read the story and then they found the letters for their name and we stuck them on the trunk!

My little buddy...teacher's helper...even when she doesn't need a helper.  

Homework...my Kinders always want to do it!  Soon...they will change their minds, but for now we have fun activities!

"OOOOO, this is like Christmas!  Oh, wait, it is for Christmas!"  Alisa unpacked a shipment of yarn to get ready to start making a Christmas gift order!  Yep...I understand...it is like a new box of crayons or a new candle...or....

And this girlies makes good bagels!  What a treat for lunch!  And yes...those are dead roses in the background looking very wilty...I felt exactly like they looked!  First weeks are hard in K5!

I walked into the living room to sit down...felt very judged by them...sitting and waiting for me to come sit down so they could cuddle!  Yep...naps are a must on some days!

 

We switched things up abit this year!

Alisa drove me to school this morning and took my picture for the first day of school!  And we laughed!  We had a great day in our K5 class!  They all told me they were excited...not scared...this morning.

We have three new to our school friends this year, so we were sure to help each other.

We read The Kissing Hand and then followed directions to make our own raccoon for the hallway!

We practiced the letter "I", coloring, and they showed me how they write their name.  So far...so good!

We are learning the way we do things in K5 and it will take us all week to practice.  I have more shy/quiet friends than chatty friends right now...and it is going to take some work to keep the lid on the chatty ones...so the shy ones don't get lost.

They got some time to explore the room and find the "cool toys".

It is fun to meet new friends and watch them figure things out in their own way and in their own time.  Once again, I was reminded how far back I have to go when we start a new year.  I'm seeing that this group is going to catch things pretty quick.  We were reviewing the couple rules we learned...and in the middle one little girl says, "Oooo...look at your toes...you have pretty polish!"  I'm so glad for the reminder to keep things short and sweet!

As I walked back into my room after dismissal, my phone chimed with a message from my love, and I was able to respond positively..."I made it and I'm still smiling!"  He had told me to have fun today...and I did!  He also makes the best cup of coffee every morning!

My Alisa came and picked me up, took me to the store, and made sure I ate some lunch.  Sure is nice to have my own cheering section as I start another year in K5!
 

Saturday sounds...

Love the background noise of football games on Saturday afternoon while I fold laundry!  Fall is coming.  And Ted is home...and I am still so thankful for that fact.
 

Watching Teddy...

                                               enjoy a hobby throughout his high school years!  

                          He got to ride in various places and states.  He kept all his limbs intact.  

He worked on it.  

He worked for it.  He worked to fix it.  He worked to make it look cool.  

He worked to keep it clean and safe.

This picture made me laugh out loud!  I never knew that he brought his bike frame into the house...

we were gone!  And his note on the picture even funnier.

Our hearts are filled with amazement and wonder as we watch Teddy navigate life and hobbies.  He knows all sorts of things to fix things.  He also is finding out the difference between wants and needs and what it takes to work toward goals and dreams.  We heard his thoughts and debates of all the pros and cons of keeping or selling his dirt bike.  We watched from afar as he did a hard thing.  We know it is tough to grow up and grow through certain life changes.

Our hearts hurt for those hard decisions but at the same time beat with thankfulness as we watch Teddy move to the next stage of life.  I can't help but think of I Corinthians 13:11 "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child:  but when I became a man, I put away childish things."  Hobbies aren't childish things.  But it is a mature thing to know and decide to let one thing go so you can pursue something else.

I want to remember this for Teddy's sake.  It is hard to grow up.  Grown up decisions are hard.
 

Lunchtime visitors

Mari and Fancy came for lunch!  She brought fresh tomatoes and I had just made fresh sweet tea...perfect!

It is always fun to have time together...and some of us take a nap and snore and make us laugh.

 

Do you know what?

I love it when these three take time to talk to us!  I love FaceTime with them.  I love text messages.  I love Marco Polos.  I love the Facebook memories that pop up each day and remind me of special times that we intentionally planned.  I love the blog that enables all of us to go back and remember.  How much life has changed from when we started keeping track!  Film that had to be sent out to be developed...at the time of their birth...to now...I hold them in my hand on my phone and instantly see their face!

I enjoy the types of things they tell us...from songs that bless them, friends they meet, verses they are thinking about, co-workers they are building relationships with, things they are learning from podcasts/messages, recipes they are trying, areas they are struggling in, activities they are doing, funny memories, and just saying "HI, I love you!"

I had to save recent pictures from their "moving messages"...and let me tell you...that was hard!  They all talk with their hands and they move a lot!  Yes...I was trying to get just "the right picture" so they aren't totally mortified by the picture.  Ha...girls!  In the process, I noticed something that all three have in common...ohhhh my...the facial expressions!!!!  I sat back and watched in wonderment that I had never really thought about how expressive all three of our chair-fillers are...and even more so now in their adultness.  I wonder where that comes from???  Ha!  I know their wit comes from their Dad!  I just love enjoying these three humans and the time they share with us!  And, yes, I miss having them around...so it makes any time a blessing!

 

Ready...Set...wait a little longer!

Staff lunch today at Longhorn was very good!  It is always fun to gather and talk about life and school ideas.  We had a great lead waitress and team take care of us...so we give the new to our town restaurant a thumbs up!

I am officially ready for the start of the new school year.  I did it all by myself...after Alisa helped organize my life earlier this summer and after she went shopping with me and gave me some suggestions!  So...I had some help along the way!  Thank you, Sisa!

                                                Here is a tour for you...especially for my Mom!

I welcomed 12 families to my K5 class last night!  I do still have spots for three more Kinder friends,  we had lost a couple due to other choices.  Our other K5 room has 8.  The class sizes are small due to the restraints of classroom size.  We are busting at the seams in our Pre-school program and had to get creative again this year to try to accommodate 120 little ones in K2-K5.

After our A.L.I.C.E. training the other day, I moved desks into a different formation for more floor space and farther from door line.  Always thinking about what works better for certain scenarios...that is what teachers do normally...now with a heightened awareness.  I know God is at work and He will care for His own...so we are not crippled by fear of "what if or what could"...but more prepared because...we have to be now.

I have 6 students this year that have siblings that have been with me!  How fun to see these families again and see how big my former students are now!  I'm feeling old...one of my first K5 class students stood next to me last night...towering above me!  I love that they find it humorous...and will admit that I was once their teacher.  One friend (not his parents this time...but he said it to me unprompted) from two years ago told me, "You prepared me well for first grade!"  Awww...that meant a lot knowing that he had changed schools too.

I had contemplated taking down some wall color to "tone it down" visually...but decided to leave everything as is...I teach off my walls!  And no color is boring...good grief...children today are in front of animation and stimulating technology all the time...over-stimulated?!  Turn the junk off!

My goal is to stimulate brains to be creative and think and play and problem-solve without having to be entertained by pushing buttons!

It was a busy night at school welcoming new and returning families!  Our staff worked hard to make everything ready and our facilities looked nice!  All the extra touches showed well.

We start school on Tuesday, September 6!  I know at least 11 little Kinders that are super excited...1 is so very shy that it could be a hard first day at a new place.  I am praying for her and her parents now.