Home Improvments

I've managed to make a few dints in my to do list. (I outsourced a good portion of it!) Here's a glimpse of some of the home improvements we made over the summer:
Before


After


Anyone who's visited knows the front step was a hazard. Now you can approach the house with ease. We hired someone to pour the step and then I repainted the porch.



A second hazard (at least for our attempts to sale the house) was the lack of privacy in the backyard. I'd already redone the back deck to make it cute and useful, but I was a bit stumped about how to create some privacy from the apartments behind us. My mom and dad came and built the frame and then I added the curtains.

Back To School

Schools in and I'm excited. It is going to be a great year. One reason is because I have my own classroom again! Here's a peak inside:

Here's the view from the door.


This is the reading center. My favorite place!


The listening center.


Computer stations.


Our circle time space and entry way.


This is a rocking chair I found at a antique shop and revamped. (Thanks Morris and Ginny!)


Cute curtains I made!

Our Great Escape

Jon and I just got back from a vacation in California. We had an amazing time! Our great escape involved:

- renting a jeep and driving to Napa Valley. We had a picnic lunch at V. Sattui winery, went to a forest filled with petrified redwoods, and visited Old Faithful. That night we ate at an amazing restaurant and stayed in a great hotel.

- heading through redwood forests and other scenery toward Mendicino, CA. In Mendicino we walked the beach/rocky coast, browsed shops and admired gardens. We stayed in a B and B b/c that is about all they have in the small town. B and Bs aren't our style, but there's no denying it was a nice place.

- driving along the California coast. AMAZING! This was our favorite part. It was beautiful, relaxed and fun.

-spending time with friends. We stayed with Joseph and Rachel Digerness. They showed us some of there favorite San Fran spots, and introduced us to Sausilito and Tiburon. We celebrated the 4th with them at a county fair in Merin. Oh, that's right... ferris wheel, corn dogs, and cow manure. It was such fun! We also got the see the adorable Prentiss family!

This vacation was a perfect mix of exploring beautiful new terrain and connecting with far away friends. Thank you Joseph and Rachel for your hospitality! Thank you Jon for being a great travel companion!

Summer Project 1

Isn't it beautiful? Oh, the organization makes my heart sing. Matching hangers, cubbies, a shoe organizer... what more can a girl want? I got right to this project the weekend after school ended and thought it would start off my summer with a sense of accomplishment. It did that, but the feeling has wained.

Only 5 more weeks to:
- refinish an antique sewing table
- build raised flower beds
- create a frame and fabric curtain for the back deck
- find someone to redo the front steps
- make a teaching website
- rearrange a classroom
- plan portfolio assignments for my students
- sew a quilt

I can do it, right?

Finished

I took a quilting class in March, and finished my little quilt....at the end of May. Let's just say hand quilting may not be my forte. But quilting is definitely a hobby I am trying to pursue. This quilt is a pattern called single Irish chain and I choose 1930's reproduction fabrics. I'm really proud of it.

Since finishing it, I've also made a small rag quilt, and 2 little patchwork doggies. I'll share pictures of those in the future.

A Toast

This past weekend Jon and I were at a wedding in San Francisco. I enjoyed the toasts at the rehearsal dinner. It was refreshing to hear people say nice things about others. I wanted to make a toast, but felt it was inappropriate since I was the wife of a groomsman and would mention the groom's previous engagement- ooo, taboo.

I love that we can see God's character stamped all over our lives and not just where we have been taught to expect it. My toast would have been about how I could see that God is a redeemer by looking a this friend's love life. He was engaged before and it was wrong, and weird, and almost destroyed him. Now, he's married to a wonderful and beautiful girl that makes him smile.

I also love that regardless of whether we see it, God's character is stamped all over our lives. Weddings always serve to remind me how beautiful, spiritual, and miraculous my marriage is. It's something I tend to forget in the day to day, but thankfully, that doesn't make it untrue.

When 5 year olds make you feel like a million bucks

One of the most wonderful parts of my job is that I work with 5 year olds. These little creatures have a way of working magic on one's self-esteem.

We were counting cookies in cookie jars (not real cookies, but felt ones- otherwise we could chalk up my students reaction as a response to sugar and not my incredible wit). We started the lesson by reading a sentence on the board: There are three cookies in the cookie jar. I then counted out three cookies into my cookie jar making an intentional error. The kids irrupted into laughter. Apparently a teacher making a mistake is top-notch comedy for Kindergartners. The best part is that they never tired of the joke. With each sentence, I'd count wrong or write the wrong number, and always the same reaction of uncontrollable laughter. One boy announced after every mistake I made, "That's SO funny!"

Yeah, feels good.