Princess for the Day!

Well many of you know that today is my birthday.  It is also my anniversary or as I like to call it my banniversary.  We were going to take today off of work just to spend the day together, go to lunch, etc.  But when I had to miss a day of work in February for my tubes, we decided to celebrate this weekend.  We had dinner at Uncle Ernies with some of our friends plus a little game night and Cold Stone Icecream cake.  On Saturday we went to the beach and went to dinner at Saltwater Grill.  Yesterday we took Bowden to Mexico Beach for the day!  We have been celebrating ALL weekend long and I didn't think it could get any better.  Well....I was wrong (I'm beginning to see that happen a lot more in my "old" age).  BTW....one of my students guessed that I was turning 13 so I think I'll stick with that!  When I got to school today my kids were so excited to see me.  They all wished me a happy birthday and then my sweet Chloe handed me a present.  She had this big smile on her face and could not wait for me to open it.  Inside was a Birthday Princess crown that she had made just for me!  I could have started crying right then.  This crown will go in my teacher box to keep forever!  There is nothing like the heart of a child and I am so blessed to be able to see that everyday!  It made me feel so special that she had taken the time to even think about it!  Her mom said that she saw it and just had to make it for my birthday....How Sweet!!!  To top it off, she gave me a singing card with "Can't Touch This" playing.  Another student gave me a card singing "Shake Your Booty"  Do my kids know me or what??   I have had the BEST day ever and my WONDERFUL husband sent me some beautiful flowers to top it off!  Thank you everyone for making me feel so loved and special!!  I am blessed beyond measure!!!

Out Of The Mouth Of Babes

We were talking at lunch the other day about certain things our kids have done that we will never forget.  Here was mine.  My first year at Tyndall I was teaching second grade.  I had one of the funniest kids I have ever met.  I mean EVERYONE knew this child.  He had made his mark at our school for sure.  It must have been the last week of school because we were having a game day and I remember having so much to do. My brain was on overload for sure!!  I was hoping to take some of that time to get some work done, but then Mikey asked me to play Yahtzee.  There was no way I was saying no to this child so I sat right down and started rolling the dice.  It went around a couple of times and everyone was having fun.  And just so everyone knows.....just because you are the teacher, it does not mean you have to let the other kids win.  I'm not going to lie, the game got pretty intense.  Don't worry.  I managed to stay in there.  I can hold my own when it comes to some board games.  Well it got to be Mikey's turn again and well it was getting pretty serious. What does he do??  He picks up the dice.  Shakes them in his hand and says (and I quote) "Momma needs a brand new pair of shoes" as he throws the dice on the board.  And this again is why I love my job!!

Three Little Jellybeans

So I know it's been a long time since I have posted anything.  Most of you know about everything that is going on with my dad so it's been a little crazy around here.  I have lots of things to share, but this one deserves it's own post.  As you all know we have a big Holiday coming up.  In kindergarten, we try to make everything a big deal so that brings me to Easter.  Tomorrow is our big Easter Egg Hunt and boy are these kids ready.  I wish you could have seen their faces when they walked in the room today and saw all of the eggs being stuffed on the table.  It was like Christmas!  Well this year I am trying something different (thanks to my teaching neighbor).  We decided to number the eggs with their student number.  They can only pick up their number which will make the egg hunt last longer than their usual time (aka 3 minutes).  I'll let you know how it goes, but they are super excited about this big event.  One of mine even had my para write his number on a piece of paper so he could practice and wouldn't forget it.  He kept that piece of paper with him all day long.  I would catch him looking at it through out the day.  He is beside himself with excitement.  Well this same child happened to get an egg today for working hard with one of the other teachers.  I knew he was excited  and felt so proud to get it, but I didn't know just how much it meant to him until we were walking to the buses.  I hugged him goodbye and watched him get on his bus.  As I was walking by I looked up one more time and saw him talking to the bus driver.  He had his egg out and was showing his bus driver.  I could have started crying right there.  If you could have seen the look on his face as he was showing her his egg, you would too.  He was glowing as he was showing her the 3 jelly beans that were inside it.  I can't wait to see what happens to tomorrow when he gets 14 eggs ;)  I went back to my room and could not stop thinking about that moment.  I may never forget it and hope that I don't.  So many times I have the I want more mentality.  I want a house, a boat, new clothes, etc.  I find myself so many times falling into that mind set in so many ways.  Maybe it's something at home or even at school.  I think being satisfied is something so many of us find ourselves struggling with.  Well...not my little kindergartner.  He thought one little Easter Egg filled with three little jellybeans was the best thing there is.  If only we had the heart and the eyes of this child.  My hope and prayer is that God will teach me this.  So this Easter, whether you have a whole basket filled with the best Easter eggs there are, or if you have only one, filled with three little jellybeans, I hope you can find the same joy and happiness that this little boy did.  Happy Easter!!!

Nothing To Be Sad About

For those of you who don't know me very well, it takes a lot to get my to cry.  Don't get me wrong, I can lose it at a movie or that darn Kays commercial (the one where the boy is the wingman for is dad who is deployed...get's me everytime), but as far as "I'm having a bad day and going to cry about it"...rarely happens.  Well, that wasn't the case today.  I was definitely not myself, very bitter and irritated through out the day.  It wasn't my kids.  They were WONDERFUL!  It was the other little things that happened through out the day.  I left school today feeling helpless, like my hands were tied.  When you are a teacher, you don't ever want to feel that way because your job is to help these babies in whatever way you can.  Whenever you feel like there is nothing you can do, it is just one of the worst feelings ever.  Well that was for sure me today.  I have been teaching for 4 years and have never left school as sad as I did today.  As soon as I left work, I called Adam crying and it wasn't pretty.  I know so often on my blog I talk about how much I love it and that I will do this forever....well today, I was not singing that song.  I am so thankful to have a husband who is so patient, understanding, and still listens to me when I've fallen off my rocker!  heheheh....So anyways, since I was so sad I decided to go and see my sister's baby.  Abigail makes everyone feel better!  Well when I get to my parent's house, my mom tells me about something that happened at my dad's work.  My dad has a good friend that he has worked with for about 10 years.  We've grown up around this man and his family.  I can remember his kids coming over and playing.  Well they have been going through a hard time the past couple of years.  He and his wife got divorced, his daughter has gotten involved in drugs, and recently threatened to commit suicide.  They have been working on getting her help, but last night she snuck out of the house leaving a suicide note.  My dad got a phone call this morning and a group of coworkers all went to to help look for the girl.  Before they left, they gathered together and prayed.  When my dad told me that I got chills.  They gathered together at a place of business and prayed.....a place of business.  This is huge!  People can try to take God out of the work place or schools or the government, but He can bring himself right back in.  After their prayer, they all went out to help.  They hadn't found a body yet and weren't sure if she was still alive or not.  They all went down to the lake where she said she would be and started searching.  While they were there, the phone company gave them the last numbers she had called.  My dad's coworker got the address of the last one and they decided since the police were all searching here, they could go and look there.  They jumped in my dad's car and left.  Well talk about Divine intervention!  They arrived at the house just in time to see the daughter get into someone's car.  My dad pulled his car out infront of them to block them from leaving.  They were able to call the girls dad and get him and the police there.  Everyone was safe and she is at a place that can help her now.  If they had gotten there 10 minutes later, she would have been gone and who knows what she would have done to herself.  They didn't know what kind of car they were looking for so getting there earlier wouldn't have changed anything either.  They probably wouldn't have even stopped...except that they saw her!  It just blows my mind how awesome God is!  Three hours before this, I'm calling Adam talking about how bad my day is......how could I forgot that God is in control.....ALL THE TIME....and that's nothing to be sad about.  He is in Control of Absolutely EVERYTHING!  Tonight I was reminded of that verse "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps."  How thankful I am that He does!  That man's daughter had her own plan, but the Lord determined another.  I had one plan in how my day should have gone, but the Lord determined another.  I can't even begin to tell you all the things that God has reminded me tonight!  I am in such awe of His perfect plan!  And yes, I'm ending my blog with a Chris Tomlin song!  I hope this brings you some encouragement....but most of all hope....for we have nothing to be sad about!

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

W is for Wig, Worms, and Wah Wah Wah What's Happenin Duuuuude!

A couple weeks ago we were learning the letter W.  W is one of my favorites because we get to explore with real worms that week and the kids LOVE it!  I also like this letter because if you have ever watched the movie "The Letter Factory", the W is a rapper and he goes wah wah wah what's happenin duuuuuuuude.  We like to say that through out the week, so W is pretty much the best ever!


Well one of our words for W was wig.  One of my girls went home that day and told her momma that she was going to bring her Hannah Montana wig for show and tell.  She said "I am going to go into the closet, put on my wig, and come out and surprise everyone."  Well sure enough on Friday she brings that wig in for show and tell.  I let her go into the closet and come out and surprise everyone.  They loved it.  They couldn't stop laughing!  She looked so ridiculously cute in it that I told her when we get back from lunch I want to get a picture of her in her wig.  She said (in her little sassy, but cute voice), "Ok...but I want you to be in it so we can get a picture with both of our wigs."  My kids just started laughing....they thought it would be so funny.  The sad thing is they really do think my real hair is a wig.  That's what I get for not straightening my hair everyday like I should.    On the way out the door I made them pull at my hair to see that it is real.....guess I showed them.  I'm pretty confident between the hair pull and my new dedication to using my hair straightener, they won't be making this mistake again!

It Wasn't Your Fault

I know I say this a lot...but I really have the best job ever!!  I am so ridiculously blessed that it is very rare that I come home without lots of good things to share with Adam.  I know for so many people it is the opposite and I am so thankful the Lord has placed me where I am.

 So today was a special day in kindergarten....Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!  Most celebrate birthdays with birthday cake or brownies....not us....we have green eggs and ham!  The kids LOVED it!!  Even the ones that were too scared to try it had a blast making it.  I loved hearing the excitement in their voice and seeing smiles on each of their faces!  It is so rewarding to help fill them with that joy and laughter!!  Well so after green eggs and ham it was business as usual.  We had snack and then it was on to math.  For those of you who don't know, we have a new math series.  None of us have ever taught  it and it has been an experience FOR SURE!  Well today the math lesson was really hard and so we started on the carpet and we sorted our shapes whole group.  They did a really nice job and so I thought they were ready to go to their desk and try it by themselves.  We were using shapes and to make a long story short, what I was trying to get them to do confused them even more.  I had 5 kids do exactly what I asked, 9 completely lost, and 1 had gone to the bathroom and I look over and he is playing in housekeeping!   I normally don't get frustrated with them because 1. They are five 2.  I just love them!  But I sure was getting frustrated with them this afternoon.  I finally looked up at them and said "Are you just not listening to me or I'm just really confusing you?"  Ofcourse they all respond that I'm just reslly confusing them.  One of my kids even suggested that we take a vote....so we did....and majority rules....I was just confusing them.  So we put all our shapes back in the bag and started over.  This time instead of getting out 10 shapes, we got out 3.  MUCH BETTER idea.  Math after that went beautifully!  Everyone was following along and getting it.  It was a great day again!  After math I told them I was really sorry that I confused them and that it was completely my fault.  One of my little ones raises his hand and as serious as can be says to me "it wasn't your fault Mrs. Walsingham.....it wasn't your fault....really it wasn't your fault."  I love it!!!!  I'm over here worried that I have scarred some of them for life with my ridiculous math lesson and this little one over here is worried about me!  So if they go on to first grade and stink at math...I have full support that "it wasn't my fault!"  Hope this makes you smile!

Terrible Tuesdays!

One of my babies didn't have his best day on Tuesday.  I spent all of yesterday wondering what was going on.  He is pretty much always on green, but yesterday was a red day.  That's a big deal people.  I wanted to get to the bottom of this big difference so on the way to lunch I asked him what was going on.....his response...."Sometimes on Tuesdays.....my brain gets terrible confused!"  There you have it!!  It was just a Terrible Tuesday!