Remember

I need to remember that Jesus came to serve and that is what I am called to do also. Plain and simple. The thing is that Jesus did it kindly and in a pleasant way, while I have become frustrated and annoyed far too easily. I want to serve my family and friends with a kind and loving heart. God, help me to serve my family and friends the way that you would like me to. Give me the strength to do so. Amen.

The Christmas cards are all sent and the tree finally has lights on it! Life is grand. Today we had a family day at the Museum of Science and Industry. It was the kids' first time going and they all had fun. We were able to visit many of the exhibits even though we were there for 3 hours. Here is what we saw: Christmas trees from around the world (my favorite), a gigantic train set up (Caleb's favorite) , the US 501 (?)submarine (Madison's favorite), baby chicks, aviation everything (Archie's favorite), farm equipment, space equipment and information on the Apollo, and the children's museum(Christian's favorite). It was an eventful day.

To top it off, Madison and I attended our church's Christmas musical which really got me into the "right" Christmas spirit. The music was beautiful and the talent in the church is just amazing. I have not created any time to just sit and enjoy this Christmas season yet, but watching the musical tonight, made me really think that I need to- and I want to. I want to make sure that I don't allow the business of the season to beat me down, rather I want to spend some time marveling at what God has done- isn't it amazing that God sent Jesus to the earth and had him born in a stable and laid in a manger for the beginning days of his life? How humbling is that? That the King of Kings-gave up heaven- for earth---for us! Amazing! I hope that all of us will take some time to really think about God's love for us and what it still means for us today during this Christmas season.

Here are some pictures of what we have been up to:

Getting ready for Christmas! This is my favorite time of the year and the kids seem to also really like it. They loved unpacking the Christmas boxes to see what was inside. So far, the most favorite Christmas items they like to play with are the musical stuffed animals (hence the reason why they are in the picture), the garland, the lights, and the chocolate advent calendars- thanks Grandma Coleman!

Our annual tradition is to go out and cut down our Christmas tree with the Colemans. Christian found his own little tree that he did not want to let go of. It reminds me of Charlie Brown's little Christmas tree. Uncle Dave got a big laugh out of it.

After Archie chopped down our tree, Madison helped Daddy drag it to the car. See how hard they are both working?

The tree sat outside for a few days to dry off, and then sat for another week inside the house- naked and lonely. We always put the lights on the tree first before anything else, but somehow all of our lights that we had used in the previous years broke and we thought that we should fix them. After Archie and I both worked on the lights--it took about a week to actually sit down and do it- we decided to throw them away and buy new ones. In the meantime, Madison thought that the tree needed to be rescued so she took matters into her own hands- with parent permission of course. Here she is standing on the couch to put the garland on. While Madison was busy, Christian and Caleb stayed busy playing with the lights. Look how intent Caleb is playing with the lights in this picture. We finally bought lights for the tree yesterday and now I can officially say that the tree has everything besides the ornaments on it. Madison and I will start that first thing in the morning-she has been waiting a LONG time for this.

Madison had her Kindergarten Christmas performance last week. Since it was in the middle of the day, I took the day off and got to spend some extra time with the kids. Madison was so excited that she got to wear a twirly dress to school and that I curled her hair. Archie left work early and surprised all of us by coming to her performance. He had to leave right afterwards to return to work but we were all so happy that he made it. What a dedicated and loving father my children have! I picked a keeper!

This is something new. Christian has started to help me with the laundry. When I put the laundry away in the boys' room, I stand and hang up shirts on Caleb's crib and then walk over to the closet and put them away. Since Christian can't reach the top of the crib, he figured out that he can hang them lower. My little problem solver!

A few weeks ago Madison became a Daisy Girl Scout. They had a ceremony for all the girls where they received their Daisy pin and a certificate. Madison already has memorized the Girl Scout pledge and likes to recite it. Speaking of memorizing, Archie and I were so proud that Madison went to Awanna last week and had 3 verses memorized. She will have reached her first jewel this week and she is so excited. I hope that her excitement continues to grow!

The boys thoroughly enjoyed playing at the water exhibit in the children's section of the museum. The little yellow rain coats didn't keep them dry since they continued to dig their hands all the way into the water. They had so much fun.Both boys figured out that if you let go of the ball in the big tube, some wind will come and take it away--they thought that this was very exciting.

From the second floor, the museum is so beautiful so Archie took a picture of the main Christmas tree with some of the other trees next to it. You can even see the airplane hanging down from the museum's ceiling.

I am thankful for. . . life

I am thankful for life. Just as it is. The Coleman 5 are definitely busy people and at times I think that we need more simplicity and I become frustrated that we are so busy- but that's our life. From Archie flying and working many long hours, to me teaching part time and making some "good" time with family and friends, to Madison going to Awana and Daisys, and then to the boys just being boys- running around, screaming, jumping, tearing books apart--that is our life right now--and it is good. We make it a point to spend family time together and Archie and I believe that it is very important for our children to learn the basics and the foundations of what we believe so we spend time doing these things. If we are running around in the evenings, hopping to family to family to celebrate holidays together--so be it. We love our family and friends and they are such an integral part of our life.

I have longed to come down to the basement and spend hours on email, facebook, and my blog--but I don't have hours in my day (unless I stay up late- which I am trying not to do) so that is alright . . . that's my life at this moment in time. One day I won't have these busy moments and kids running around fighting for my attention. I am choosing to cherish those busy moments now and am learning to enjoy those moments that are "not so much fun." When the kids are attacking me (I think I am claustrophobic--scuba diving story to come at a later date), hitting one another, not obeying me, refusing to eat, complaining, making messes- the list can go on and on--I am starting to learn how to enjoy them since I am just beginning to see the grace of God poured into them--and God gives me the grace and love to love my kids and Archie like they need to be loved.

I think I have rambled on- so be it-. My point--As busy as we are--our life is filled with good things and beneficial things--that's the Coleman 5 and life is good!

What to come:
- pictures of life around the house, Thanksgiving, cutting down our tree, and the first snow! Yippee! I hope to go sledding this weekend with the kids!
To those of you I scared with the boys standing in their high chairs- no more need to worry! The boys have graduated from their highchairs and have joined us at the table--with straps! They LOVE sitting at the table with us and are now learning basic table manners such as not to roll your sippy cup accross the table and to keep your hands to yourself- it's a working progress.

Look at what we can do!

It's amazing to see what kids will do when you step away for a minute or two. The boys LOVE to stand in their highchairs. Don't ask me why I didn't belt them in- I just didn't- but this is what the boys were doing when I came back from loading the washing machine downstairs. Are they too cute to discipline?

Christian smiling so sweetly-
Caleb doesn't know what to think-

Madison being her cute and sweet self. She was dying for me to come up and see what she did. She was so proud of herself for accomplishing the whole alphabet AND the numbers too! My little girl is growing up! Madison is LOVING kindergarten and is learning SO much. Tonight when I was putting her to bed, she asked me how my day of teaching was. I told her about how my students and I started a new story and how we discussed it during class. She then asked me if we made any connections today while we read- I told her that we actually did and that I can't believe how smart she was becoming. What a fun little gift to get tonight -not from a daughter to a mother- but from a student to a reading teacher. For those of you that don't know- making connections is a reading strategy that we teach to help students understand and relate to what they are reading- very encouraging!

Archie got the flu last night and has been in bed all day. He had a fever of 101.5 degrees and it finally broke tonight. Hopefully he will be feeling better tomorrow. It's almost the weekend! Yes! We will be helping my mom get some things organized in her house on Saturday, but after that- we have no plans all weekend! Yes! I love these kinds of weekends!

Last night, before Archie got sick, we went to Awana for a Parent's Night with Madison. Here is a picture thatAwana took of Archie and Madison. For those of you that are thinking "what is awana?"- Awana is a VERY fun place where Madison learns about God, plays games, and sings songs on a weekly basis- kind of like Vacation Bible School. When I say it's VERY fun- it's only because the first 2 times that she went to Awana- she told me that she wanted to go over a HUNDRED more times! That means that she had a VERY fun time. She was SO excited that we were BOTH able to come and be a part of her evening. It was good to spend some time away from the boys just focusing our attention on her. It was so rewarding as a parent to hear Madison recite 2 verses to her group leader. If anybody looked at us they would seen a nutty group of 3 with beaming smiles - it was fun to be together! Thanks Aunt Julie for making this possible- she watched the boys!

Hello- we are still here!

These pictures are not in order from when the events occurred.

We went to a pumpkin patch and had a ton of fun seeing the animals, riding tractors and hayrides, and jumping in the bouncy things. There were even pony rides. The boys loved their first pony ride. We waited in line 3 times to ride the ponies since it was part of the whole price for the pumpkin patch. I got stung by a bee during our first wait, but I decided that it was important to ride the ponies so I sucked it up. Christian and Caleb loved it so much that they cried when they had to get off. Madison was a good sport the whole time.The boys loved trying to feed the goats hay- they were adorable to watch!

We tried to take pictures of the kids by some pumpkins but it's so hard to get them to stay still!

The kids were exhausted after going to Madison's soccer game at 8:00 a.m. and then the pumpkin patch from 9- 12. What a busy day we had! We had so much fun!

Dad and Marsha came over to spend some time with us. Dad put the swing up in the tree that we desperately wanted hung and Madison attempted to climb the tree. There are no pictures of Dad and Marsha from their visit, but we all had a lot of fun playing outside and eating Brown's Chicken! Yummy!

During dinner, Aunt Lori and Aunt Julie encouraged Christian to play with his food. Creative?

My mom volunteers her time to give tours of a historical building, so my sisters and I went to visit her and hear her tour. She did a remarkable job! Way to go Mom!

Before Halloween, the kids liked playing in their costumes and we attended some Halloween events in them too. Here is a pic of Christian as a pumpkin- his costume last year. My, has he grown!

Madison was a cowgirl- again! Her school had a Halloween parade where they walked around the school and took part in many camera moments. She said that the parade was a lot of fun, but that the class party was the best! I was very surprised to hear that Madison's school district participated in Halloween activities- we were fine with it- just surprised. Before we had children, Archie and I discussed whether or not we would allow our children to participate in Halloween events since I did as a kid and Archie did not. That may sound funny to some of you, but we wanted to make sure that we were on the same page with one another and we also wanted to discuss why some Christians choose not to celebrate Halloween-and others do. Discussion for another time . . .

Caleb was a frog and Christian was a monkey. We had a blast trick or treating and eating candy!

On the Saturday after Halloween, Madison wanted to take a walk so she got her brothers ready and helped them into the wagon. She even helped them put their jackets on and gave them a blanket. She is so independent and so helpful!

Here is a picture of Madison and my mom on my Mom's b-day at Papa's Pizza- my Mom's favorite type of pizza. We had a lot of fun spending time with Grammy on her birthday!

Grandma and Grandpa Coleman came to watch Madison in one of her soccer games so they also got to see the boys and play with them. They chased them all over the place!

ORCHARD-

We had a wonderful time going to the same apple orchard that we went to last year- and Daddy was able to come with us this time! From picking pumpkins, to picking apples, to riding on a hayride- we all had a wonderful time being together.

Here is a picture of the kids last year- I can't believe how much all 3 of them have grown! Crazy!

I am not posting pictures since my camera is upstairs and I don't want to get up and go get it- am I lazy or tired?

It just turned midnight and I JUST got done with "money stuff" and going through my pile of papers that have been piling up for the past few weeks- finally! It feels good to have that done. I have put all of our birthday parties, family outings, etc. in the palm pilot and have paid bills online. Now I can enjoy blogging and possibly go on my facebook. What can I say- I AM a night owl.

School has been challenging. Many of my students are needy and I am becoming emotionally exhausted trying to help them. I am also behind grading. I should probably be doing that now, but after the day that I have had at school- and at home- I don't want to grade any papers. Enough said about that.

Friday was my mom's b-day so after school the kids, my mom, Laura, and I went out for pizza at one of my mom' favorite places. After that, she helped my put the kids to bed and then I helped her pick out pictures that she wanted to print from the past year and then we stayed up until 1:15 a.m. on Facebook. I taught her how to find friends and to add comments. It fun spending time together. Needless to say that I did have a difficult time waking up for the apple orchard at 7:00 the next morning. Good think Archie is so patient and helpful!

We went to an apple orchard with my sisters and had a blast. The boys LOVED picking apples and eating them right away. Laura and Julie both found some pumpkins to bring home and had a good time cutting them off of the vine. But, the donuts were the best part for me- besides just being together as a family. The donuts that they sell are apple cider cinnamon and it was worth the one year wait for them once again.

Madison had her soccer game that we almost slept through since we were so tired from the orchard, but we made it there in time. She of course has fun on the field, but I will say that after three goals were scored while she was goalie- maybe goalie isn't the best position for her to play. Grandma and Grandpa Coleman came to Madison's soccer game so that made the day extra special.

On Sunday, to celebrate my mom's b-day, my sisters, Archie, and I took my mom out to brunch and went to a show at Pheasant Run. Archie's parents graciously watched the kids and everyone had a wonderful day.

I hope that I can get caught up with all the things that I need to- if not, it will still be there and so will I.

I wonder if I lost any of you. . .

I am now on FACEBOOK and loving it! It's so addicting, but I am trying to limit my amount of time on it. So, if any of you are on FACEBOOK, let's be friends. Today I was supposed to be observed but since my observer had to break up 2 fights, she did not come to observe me. I think that my students liked and learned from my lesson so that's a good thing. I will tell you that this new school that I am at, is definitely different from my other one. We'll have to see what happens next year.

Here are some pics so you know what we have been up to.

Here we are outside today playing in the yard. The kids loved playing in the leaves.


Here is Christian's 1st Harley!

What do you think of my new haircut? I love it but Archie thinks that if it's this short then I should just go bald!

They boys love playing together!

Bedtime- prayer time! They love this and I think it's SO cute!

Christian praying-

Caleb praying-

Caleb blowing kisses- another bedtime ritual- well, it actually started at bedtime, but it occurs throughout the whole day!

Caleb playing-

Christian stood and posed for this one- he definitely knows the camera! Good boy!

I took off a day of work last week and had the wonderful opportunity to bring Madison to school and to pick her up. It was SO much fun! Here is Madison after school holding the door open for her classmates. We had such a wonderful day together and when the boys were napping, that is when I became a FACEBOOK member!

A few weeks ago, Archie and I traveled to Peoria to attend a Murder Mystery party with our dear friends Todd and Becky. We had SO much fun! Archie was the character "murdered" and we all had to try to figure out who did it. The white flour on his face symbolizes his death.

Here is the whole gang that took part in this fun murder mystery weekend. We all had to dress up and become characters from the 1960's. Archie was "Billigan" a sailor and I was a famous Hollywood actress. If you ever get a chance to do something like this- DO IT!

This weekend we will be going to an apple orchard, watching Madison's soccer game, and celebrating my Mom's bday. I will show you pics again soon!

Let's remember September 11, 2001

I received this forward three times today and thought that I should post it:

'MEET ME IN THE STAIRWELL'
You say you will never forget where you were when you heard the news On September 11, 2001. Neither will I. I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room with a man who called his wife to say 'Good-Bye.' I held his fingers steady as he dialed. I gave him the peace to say, 'Honey, I am not going to make it, but it is OK..I am ready to go.' I was with his wife when he called as she fed breakfast to their children. I held her up as she tried to understand his words and as she realized he wasn't coming home that night. I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a woman cried out to Me for help. 'I have been knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!' I said. 'Of course I will show you the way home - only believe in Me now.' I was at the base of the building with the Priest ministering to the injured and devastated souls. I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven. He heard my voice and answered. I was on all four of those planes, in every seat, with every prayer. I was with the crew as they were overtaken. I was in the very hearts of the believers there, comforting and assuring them that their faith has saved them. I was in Texas , Virginia , California , Michigan , Afghanistan ... I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news. Did you sense Me? I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew every name - though not all know Me. Some met Me for the first time on the 86th floor. Some sought Me with their last breath. Some couldn't hear Me calling to them through the smoke and flames; 'Come to Me... this way... take my hand.' Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me. But, I was there. I did not place you in the Tower that day. You may not know why, but I do. However, if you were there in that explosive moment in time, would you have reached for Me? Sept. 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey for you. But someday your journey will end. And I will be there for you as well. Seek Me now while I may be found. Then, at any moment, you know you are 'ready to go.' I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.
God

I know that I sounded down in the dumps a few days ago, but I have had a WONDERFUL past 4 days. Like I said, God ALWAYS meets me where I am and brings me out of my pit. I found a quote today that I really liked but I don't know the author. It is, " The task ahead of me is never as great as the power behind me." Thankfully I have God's strength and power behind me!

As for the past 4 days, Madison had her first soccer game on Saturday, we had a much needed date night, and I spent some time relaxing and playing with the kids which was a lot of fun. Since I HAVE to have some productivity in my weekend, I cleaned the house top to bottom and changed out the boys' clothes for the next season. Yes, fall is right around the corner. It was a good weekend!

I tried dowloading some pictures from the past week, but for some reason the computer is not cooperating with me. Here is a picture of Madison, Christian, and I at the Labor Day parade. Did you notice my new hair cut? I got about 5 inches cut off!

Check out this site

After thinking about the Democratic and Republican conventions these past 2 weeks and after reading one of my friend's blog pages- thanks Matt, I really started to think about who would truly make the best president for America- Obama or McCain. I found this site on a site of a friend's blog page and had to take the quiz. Take it and tell me what you are. . . or don't if it's too personal.

According to this quiz, I agree with McCain 68% and Obama 32 %. There were some items on this quiz that made me realize that I need to think a little more about how our country is being governed and that I need to really think about some issues that I have not put much thought into and which issues are truly important to me. I hope to do this before November!

This is what the website said about my voting, "When it gets down to it, you tend to best match John McCain.But he's not the perfect candidate for you, and you may not be sold on him yet.Obama shares a good number of your views too, so you might want to give him a second look. It all comes down to which issues matter to you the most. "

http://www.blogthings.com/shouldyouvoteformccainorobamaquiz/

I am going to ramble

Gosh, I almost forgot what my blog page looked like. It has been VERY difficult for me to get to the computer and blog, email, or pay billls. I have even had a difficult time returning phone calls- those of you that are still waiting for a call back- sorry. . . it's coming . . . sometime. For this post I am going to just ramble on for awhile- thanks for listening.

I am not in any pain anymore since I had my root canal last week, but I twisted my ankle this past weekend which was no fun at all. I stayed pretty much off of it on Saturday and Sunday so it felt a TON better on Monday just in time for the Labor Day parade and Last Fling. It was a blast taking the kids to the parade and the Last Fling. Madison is such a daredevil and the boys enjoyed riding the merry go round. Archie and I both realized that as we are growing in age, for some reason we do not do as well on rides. This is very sad and disturbing to us since we LOVE rollercoasters and rides.

My first few days of school I felt lost. The school layout is the exact layout as my last school, but when I walk around nobody is the same- it's weird. The kids are also very different than my last school which has made me revise my ideas and actions of discipline. It has been a transition for me to get used to my new school and all the policies and people in it, but I know that it was a good move for me so I am trying to be patient. I do NOT like the feeling of being lost- who does? Since now it is the 2nd week of school, I am finding my way around and getting to know people so it's getting better. It's easy to forget how a new person feels at times.

I am trying to be patient with my dear beloved children but it has been very challenging lately. I am not sure if it's because of their new schedule or what, but my cutie pies have been a lot to handle lately. The boys are now a year and a half- do I need to say more? And, there are TWO of them. What REALLY gets me annoyed is whining and crying. The boys LOVE to cry when I say "no" or take something away that they want to play with- fun! Let me tell you that there is NOTHING that they don't want to play with. And Madison has recently started to whine. I think that she is whining because she is tired- but still, that is no excuse. When I get annoyed I get very short with people and tend to want ALL control. Actually, it's control that I want, but I do it through the means of wanting perfection with myself, Archie, and my kids. I don't ALWAYS want perfection, but when I am annoyed I do. I try to make everything perfect in the house while everything going on around me is falling apart. I don't know if that sounds weird to you or not, but that's me. To help you understand my head a little better I will give an example: as Christian was crying tonight (because he didn't want to eat the food that I gave him to eat), my thoughts went to how I need to clean the dishes at that very moment and how I really wanted the kitchen and the rest of the house clean- Then my mind goes so many more places- all dealing with perfection and control. Things like I didn't put away the laundry yet that has been sitting there for the past 2 days, I need to work on Madison's writing with her so she can make her "s" better, I should be reading with the boys tonight, but I am too tired, why can't we just have clean walls with no markings on them. I am not sure if you are following me here or not, but overall, when things are NOT going the way that I want them to, I am not always patient and then I start "fighting" for control because at that moment I feel like I have no control. Have any of you been there? It's not like that every day by any means, but I have my days. I NEVER stay in that rut of thought- that out of control feeling because God always reminds me of his love and goodness.

THANKFULLY, the good Lord meets me right there when I feel out of control and sort of lost and when I even sometimes get mad at life. He met me tonight when I was getting Caleb ready for bed. All I will say is making dinner, cleaning up, giving baths, and doing that for 3 tired and irritable children was not a lot of fun tonight so I wasn't my chipper self. I call Caleb my little monster. I love him dearly, but he tests me all the time and I easily get frustrated with him. Well, tonight, I got frustrated with him a lot quicker than I would normally because I was already frustrated with both Christian and Madison. As I was getting Caleb ready for bed and dwelling on some of the "bad" things that he did today and on all the things that I wanted perfect in my life I was reminded of WHO God is. I looked into Caleb's cute little innocent face and his smile melted my heart. I felt God telling me that this is only a phase, a short brief period of time in my life and that HE is in control of it. He knew what he was doing when he gave us the twins and I was reminded to turn to Him and trust in Him and not just in myself. I had a feeling of peace at that moment and just looked at my sweet little boy lying there. I started to thank God for Caleb and I asked God to help me to trust in Him more and not myself- since I just can't do it on my own and I wasn't created to. I was reminded that Caleb and all of my children are God's children and that I also am a child of God. Does God yell at me and get all frustrated with me when I don't do things the way He would want me to? Somehow, he LOVINGLY brings me back to him and reminds me of the truth. I want to show my children the same love and patience that God shows me. I thought about the day in the future that I am going to want the old days back when my kids were young- Would I really want today back when I get older I thought? God reminded me that it's not a big deal if the boys are always kicking off their shoes and I can't find them, it's not a big deal if the dishes stay in the sink tonight, it's alright if I don't put away the laundry, my house is not perfect and that it will never be- get that through your brain now. These things are not the things that really matter in life. I shouldn't be annoyed and have the need of control and perfection in my life. I am already perfect in God's eyes. It's Him who makes me perfect. Jesus dying on the cross has covered my imperfections and his strength allows me to overcome my shortcomings. let me tell you- I have many! Amen to God for who He is and for helping me out ALL the time. What would I be like without his love, guidance, and goodness? EEk! I am glad that I won't ever have to find out.

So, that is me in a nutshell- a complex nutshell- I hope that I didn't scare you.

Just a side note- You all know that Archie helps out a lot, so this is not a blow at all about him not helping- he had an appointment which is part of his job which helps pay the bills- anyway, it's good that I experience evenings like this because it's ALWAYS good to experience God.

I am in pain! I need to get a root canal on Monday. Isn't saying those words painful enough? I went to the dentist before school started this week to see if they could do whatever they needed to do, but they said that my tooth was too "hyper" to work on so they sent me home with some antibiotics and told me to come back on Monday. After taking pain relievers and these antibiotics that make my stomach hurt- I am still in pain and feel discomfort. Oh well, such is life. Tuesday night, the night of Madison's first soccer practice, I took some pain medicine and went to bed at 6:30. . . .even before the kids did. That was also the night before Madison's "sneak peek" to kindergarten. I felt bad that I wasn't able to stay up with her and get her ready for her big day, but like I said I was in a lot of pain. . . and I was exhausted. Archie did AWESOME with her- he gave her her bath, talked about kindergarten, and put her to bed so sweetly. He did a better job than I could have. I have to remember to not just let Archie be a PART of the big things, but to be the LEADER in those big things- I want too much of the control and I tend to "run the show" with these types of things. Surprising huh? But, since Wed. was my 1st day back to work and Madison didn't want to miss seeing me leave, she was up at 6:30bright and early to see me go so we were able to spend some precious time together then. I am thankful for that.

Madison had her "sneak peek" to kindergarten on Wed. and today she actually had her 1st real day of school. Archie took her to school on both of these days. He even sent me a text with her picture outside of the school while I was at work which totally made my day. I am so glad that Madison's Daddy was able to spend this monumental day with her. . . and take a few pictures while doing so. After I got home from work Madison said "I think that my teacher is going to be my best friend since she is SO sweet." I thought that that was sweet.

Otherwise, I have been in pain this week and have been very exhausted starting back at school. Oh, I have some good news- I DO have my own desk in my office! Yippeeee! I was told that I would have to share desks with my job-share parner- but they were wrong. My assistant principal said that every teacher must have a desk- I was delighted to hear that! So, I will be getting my desk all ready for the new school year tomorrow with pictures and etc. Yipee! I also have a girls' weekend with my mom and sisters tomorrow so that will be fun too! Life is good . . . even though I am in pain.

Here is Madison on her sneak peek day with me in the morning and on her 1st day of school.