it's all about the details

a birthday treat...and so much more

It's birthday time for our adorable mother!  On Monday, she will turn 72.  Yesterday we had a nice lunch with her and Dad in Charlotte, MI, at The Gavel - our favorite "meet halfway" haunt.  We are so glad to have her in our lives!  Last week we chatted via webcam - aren't our parents the savviest septigenarians you know?  The layout below was done by Beth in honor of Mom's 71st birthday.

On the school front, we just came out of parent/teacher conferences.  And here is what we found out from the parents who came to visit us - we ROCK the FAB!  One parent came to my room accidentally (not unusual, since Beth and I have the same last name), so once I figured out she was in the wrong place, I pointed her in the direction of Beth's room.  On the way back, she stopped me and bubbled over about "what a wonderful woman" my sister is.  How cute is that?  And I had moms tell me how much their kids adore my class.  One mom even said, "Craig said that you are his favorite teacher, and he wanted me to tell you that."  Ya know what I wanted to do?  Look at Craig's class list, go to all of his other teachers, and let them know that I'm #1!  :):):)  What an ego boost it all was, and if you've been reading our blog, you know that we were in sore need of that!

On the scrapbooking front, we both got layouts picked for publication this week by Creating Keepsakes for an upcoming special book with Lisa Bearnson called 50 Moments - Life Events.  I am especially excited, since the three layouts of mine that were chosen all have some of my best journaling ever!  I really put a lot of thought into what I said, so that makes it even sweeter that they will be published!  It was a real bright moment in our week (after seeing our mom and dad and getting positive feedback at PT Conferences, of course!).

On the move to Istanbul, we received this disappointing news from Kurt: "Our items that we shipped air cargo are being held at customs and in order get them out we are having to involve a lawyer and then pay a third party to assist us to get them out. It is a terrible mess and after a lot of heartache and about $5000 we should have them in our possession. Please pray that no more delays will be presented and that our finances will remain solid. This is an incredible hit to us as it is about 3 months of worth of living expenses.   We are finding our way around and meeting lots of people and getting a lesson in Turkish red tape  Thanks for your continued support!  Love to all!  Kurt"  Wonder what they are doing right now?  It is currently 4:30 in the afternoon there.  Photo by Tara Whitney.

 

And finally, just a little bit of fun.  When is the last time that you thought of Arrested Development's Mr Wendal, Men Without Hats' The Safety Dance, or Kriss Kross's Jump! Jump!?  For me it was just this past week!  What random song did you hear lately that took you back?

Susan

and away they go...

The day we've been dreading has arrived.  Kurt and Anna and David and Jonathan move to Istanbul tomorrow.

They've spent the last couple of weeks in the Midwest with friends and family before heading out.  Right now they don't know whether the cell phones will work, whether the Internet will work, whether they'll be able to receive mail...

It's also a little scary, what with the news reports about anti-American sentiments in the region, to think of our sweet little family entering a culture that may not welcome them.  They assure us that Istanbul is a modern city and that the unrest won't reach them.  They rave about the robustly friendly nature of the Turkish people.  And they look forward to treading the sacred ground that figured so prominently in the early days of Christianity. 

I know that God wants his people to spread the word about his grace and salvation, and I believe that the work of Christian people in foreign lands is important.  But the boys are sooooooooo blond!  And so boistrous and hard to miss.  I'm just nervous.

And did I mention adorable?  Maybe that's the hardest part. The selfish bit where they move far away and I have to wonder if they'll remember us by the time we see them again next summer.  The realization that an 8-hour time difference will seriously challenge phone calls or web cam conversations.  The knowledge that these aunts won't be the recipients of any squishy hugs or sloppy kisses for ten long months.

So off they go...

 

...may God keep tender watch over them until we meet again....

Beth

alive and kickin'

Sorry for the sad posts the last two times.  I believe that we just might be coming out of that funk.  Today seems like a new day -- a day to attack the world and get on with life.  We do want to thank each of you for sharing your kind and understanding words.  It really meant a whole lot to the two of us!

Anyhooooooo... Last weekend, we had a grand time with our nephews in Bay City (more on that later), and now we are forging ahead into fall.  We are really looking forward to some fall-like weather coming (and staying).  What's autumn without frost on the pumpkin?

One thing on my mind lately?  Spell Bowl!  I have the distinct pleasure of coaching the CHS Spell Bowl team.  It's really interesting getting together 10 spellers and grooming them to compete.  There are times that I wish that I could be at that little desk spelling the words for them.  Being mature in years, I have encountered many a word in my day.  But there are other times that I am surprised by what they know.  Take last night for example - Miss Sarah (pictured below) spelled dichotomous correctly.  And she's only a sophomore.  And you might note that she is holding a ribbon that says "Near Perfect Score."  Yes, ladies and gentlemen - she spelled 8/9 words correctly - and I'm not talking about words like cat or kitchen. I was impressed needless to say.

The team as a whole was fun to work with, and they placed a respectable 3rd place in the area meet last night.  The best part is that none of them are graduating, so I get them all back next year!  Go Spell Bowl!!!!

Things to look forward to:

• A free weekend
• Biaggi's wine event
• Soup for supper
• A possible trip in about a month!
• Christmas in Toronto

Cheers to you, oh bloggy friends!

Susan

 

drowning

It's 6 p.m. on a Sunday night, and the pall has begun to fall.  I'm facing the gloomy realization that tomorrow I have to jump back into the rat race.  The last moments of the weekend are dwindling away.  In a matter of hours I have to go back to school.

Susan and I are trying so hard to be positive lately.  We are not, by nature, complainers or whiners or wimps.  But we just don't know how to make it better.

A week or so ago, Susan and Mollie and I (the English 12 team) approached a couple of our superiors and told them, in essence, that we were drowning.  We desperately needed some type of life preserver tossed our way.  But the response we got instead sounded more like, "Keep swimming!  Paddle harder!  You can do it!"  See, we weren't telling them things were difficult.  We were, as a last resort, admitting that we couldn't do it.

A day or two after that, I broached the subject with a different boss, and his reply was even less helpful...something on the lines of, "You'll get used to it.  It's just different from how you've taught before, and that's good."  So I haven't been working hard enough prior to this?  I'm finally getting my lazy butt moving, and I'm out of shape, so it feels impossible?

Physically, I AM out of shape.  We haven't exercised much at all this month.  We get up around 5 and work hard on school stuff, home stuff, family stuff until 9 p.m.  And our eating habits have been horrendous.  Last Sunday at church one of the Bible readings included Amos 6:7... "your feasting and lounging will end," and boy, did we feel personally convicted!  Maybe we're trying to find comfort in food.  My mom had a heart attack at age 55.  I'm 48, and my chest feels tight almost constantly.

I don't know if it's just how education is now, or just how our administration is, but I can't continue like this, and I don't know where to turn.  Every Monday we tell ourselves, "This week will be better!  We can do it!"  Every Monday we pack our gym bags and vow to eat better, because we know that we'll be happier and more resilient if we get healthier.

By nature, I am prone to do too much.  I'm never satisfied until I have given everything I've got.  Years ago, I read about Donny Osmond suffering from a panic attack during the run of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."  A perfectionist like me, Donny had a breakthrough when his wife suggested he just go out and be average for that night.  You see, average for Donny Osmond was still awesome to the rest of the world.  So Susan will sometimes encourage me to do a "Donny Osmond job," meaning that nobody but me will know it's not my standard of perfect. 

Before I taught here, I received nothing but kudos for my prowess in the classroom.  The only person who looked at my work critically was me. When I taught in Chicago, my principal once pulled me into his office when I was stressing over my workload.  He tried to remind me that I couldn't do it all.  He assured me that I didn't have to attend games or performances just because students asked if I was coming.  He informed me that I was the only one expecting award-winning lessons of myself every day.  In each week, he proposed, there would be great class periods and ones you just got through. 

Here's what's crazy:  NOW, the expectations that others have for me exceed even my own perfectionistic expectations!!!!  I feel guilty if I am not doing my absolute best every minute of every day.  And I live in fear that someone will reprimand me for turning on a video for my classes to watch so I can catch up on some grading.

The kicker is that I love teaching.  I love the kids.  I love the subject matter.  I love my colleagues.  Parents tell me they are thankful that their sons and daughters are in my class.  But I just don't know how I can keep doing this.

I want to scrapbook, but I am so exhausted.  I want to improve my photography skills, but I can't find the time.  I want to be a better friend, but I don't want to depress anyone!  I want to end this blog with the sunny side, the positive outlook, the cheerleader perspective, but it wouldn't be real.  This is where I am right now.

I think I'll go read the book of Job.  Prayer is about all I can think of to do any more.

Beth