and this little princess...

and this little princess..., originally uploaded by noel_harmony.

This was from the flight I took to pick up Joy and Gus.  We had a lot of fun at the airport and in the plane with only a few minutes toward the end of the flight where they were both a little grumpy and possibly in pain because of the shifting in air pressure.  That always gets me too.  I fell asleep in the airplane on the way to Texas and woke up in a ton of pain because I hadn't yawned or done anything to let my ears pop and there was a ton of pressure built up. 

The only hitch was that on my way through security the machines I had to go through indicated that I might have explosives.  The only thing I had on/with me at all was Gus and I while I know for a fact he can be explosive I don't think it was the kind they were talking about.   

It was so nice to have the whole crew up here (Symph and Caleb too) for mom's birthday and just at all.  I didn't realize just how much I missed having them around.  It will be nice when they move back in February to this area. 

 

wolf spider

wolf spider, originally uploaded by noel_harmony.

I love it when teachable moments happen.  I think they are so much more fun sometimes than the lessons I plan because they are unexpected and very relevant to what the kids are interested or need to learn at the right time.  Spiders just happened to be one of the lessons that we have been learning about lately. 

It all started at nap time a few weeks ago and I was just about to turn on some quiet music when I looked down and saw this "little" guy/girl and thought that someone must be playing a joke because there definitely wasn't a real spider this big in my classroom.  Upon closer inspection however it was definitely real.  I immediately grabbed one of our many bug boxes and began the chase.  I had to move a few cots (with sleeping children on them) and get down on my belly to find it under the heater but I was able to capture it unharmed.  When I turn around with my prize one of my students who hadn't fallen asleep yet was watching with wide eyes and said in a very impressed voice "That was a good catch Miss Harmony, a good catch." 

Well that good catch went on to help us learn about peoples fears (of spiders) and how we should be respectful of them and help them not to be afraid of them if we can.  We also learned basic facts about spiders and how many legs and eyes they have and how they shed their skin as they grow.  After researching for a few days, we found out that this was a wolf spider (the eyes placement was the biggest help) and that they're harmless.  One interesting thing about wolf spiders though is that they carry their babies on their back (the mommies do anyways) for about a week before the babies go off on their own.  We read some really good books with spiders in them (A Diary of a Spider, Charlotte's Web, and Once I Knew a Spider), and had fun making spider webs with yarn and paint.

Such fun!  I love my job:)

 

What to do when your car won't shift?!?!

I call my Daddy and he comes and helps me tear the car apart to find the problem then provides the string (rope) that helps keep it together so I can get home.  Of course he complains at first and says the I need to get a new car, but if my car hadn't been so old and he hadn't had a similar problem with his Javelin when he was younger then he wouldn't have been able to help me as much as he did. 

Thanks Dad!

I miss these cuties

I miss their momma too of course.  Fortunately for me I get to see them at the end of the month.  I'll be heading down to Texas to pick them up and bring them back to Maryland so Mom and Dad can enjoy some time together on the road coming up just the two of them (and their dog Isis too).

Hopeful!

This lovely flower is what I saw this evening when I came home from work. I was reading e-mails when I smelled something wonderful. Joy had been playing in the dirt earlier this week so I knew it was going to be blooming soon, because it had buds on it then.

I absolutley love having flowers any time of year and am truly grateful for the gift of them from my students. The bulbs were given to me by one of my students for Christmas. I immediately put them in a pot and set them under the kitchen sink. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to add water or not so I didn't and forgot about it for a while. About a month later I saw that they were starting to sprout some so I pulled them out to get some sun and a few weeks later this is what I'm blessed with.

I think they're called paper whites but I'm really not sure.

This next picture is my coffee table covered with many of the events of the week.

- the boogy boo mask that Joy loves to play and was left there by her earlier this week.
- bean bags I've been making for my students (our old ones were getting pretty dirty).
- valentine's in the works for my students (involving chocolate).
- and a book that I definitely didn't stay up too late to read because I was enjoying the reading of it so much :) (especially since it was reading I didn't have to do!).
- oh and a mug of crayons and pencils that Joy was using to color (fortunately on paper and not the cover of a new book!).

That's all. Have a wonderful weekend!

looking back

So what was the best part of 2010? I was asked that question recently and had a really hard time answering. I could immediately think of what the worst part (being the optimist that I am) was but the best was really hard to decide. I have been to some pretty cool places and enjoyed good times with friends so here are the highlights:

- crawling around in the caves of West Virginia
- climbing outdoors using ropes and harnesses
- meeting my nephew Augustus Wallace Lovelady
- meeting my nephew from a brother from another mother Matthias
- getting to spend more time with my sister and her children
- spending more time with my grandparents and getting to hear their fun stories
- working on quite a few quilts to give away
- moving into a new place with more space
- getting to work with an amazing group of kids
- getting to hang out with my friends
- getting snowed in with friends and not being able to find my car the next morning
- questioning a lot about what I want to do in this life I have to live here
- kayaking under a full moon
- meeting new people
- connecting in a different way with people I've known for a long time
- unexpected and undeserved gifts from friends (camera, ipod, shoes)
- having fun taking pictures again
- laughing a lot
- playing 6 hour long board games and not hating it
- friends willing to hold me accountable and help me with my frustrations
- people who get my sense of humor
- learning new things
- getting to play more volleyball and having people think I'm great (little do they know)
- communicating my feelings

Now this list is fine and dandy but I think that the question of 'what was the worst part of this year?' needs to be asked too:

- recognizing my feelings and lack of ability to communicate them for a long time
- being a hermit when I don't want to deal with things that need to be dealt with
- being frustrated with friends who don't understand me because I won't communicate to them my frustrations (pure foolishness)
- getting injured pretty badly twice within a space of 3 months (one a torn MCL while playing volleyball and the other a badly pulled muscle in my arm after water skiing)
- not to mention getting punched in the face while playing volleyball
- having a hard time relationally with multiple people that I work pretty close with and not knowing how to deal with that
- trying to figure out what my goals are as of now, how they've changed and whether or not they are God's will or my own
- trying to better understand God's call on my life specifically
- being frustrated with the church and not motivated to do anything about it
- not being creative or making as much as I would like to have done (too many ideas and not enough time or motivation)
- putting up with childish adults (don't get me wrong I think it's great that people can still have childlike hearts when they're older but to act childishly relationally and not accept things about yourself is the kind of childish I'm talking about)
- having my own childish attitude at times and not wanting to admit it
- not being able to shut my mind off at times
- not being about to work out my own thoughts so that I don't have to think about them incessantly

Now for a new year and new challenges along with old ones.
I read this recently and thought it fit pretty well for me too, My goal is to "do what I'm doing already only better". To live an intentional life and learn from my mistakes.