Currently Reading

I've been meaning to write a book post for quite a few weeks. After all, it is summer now and summer is always when I catch up on reading. So here it is, the books I am currently reading. Feel free to click on my Shelfari bookshelf (it's on the left, below my blog archive) to see others that I am reading or have just read (and even plan to read soon).

1. The Cross-Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney
-I love this book SO much. Ciaran and I are reading it as a devotional (we should finish it sometime in August). This book has forced me to really pause and savor and contemplate the cross. It is helping to draw me deeper and deeper in my relationship with Christ. I read one section each morning with my Bible reading and I find myself pausing throughout my day to worship Christ as I consider what I have read. I never want to "move on from the cross, only into a more profound understanding of the cross" (Mahaney 17). And this book is helping me to do just that. Ciaran and I are loving this book and we heartily recommend it to anyone who longs to live more fully "the cross-centered life."

2. Middlemarch by George Eliot
-Yes, I graduated from college with a B.A. in Literature and never read this classic. Of course I read excerpts and was reminded over and over again by professors and classmates alike that I need to make reading this book a priority, but alas I never got around to it. I had been told that Eliot was phenomenal and that I would find her characters absolutely fascinating, but unfortunately she has always been bypassed by me up until now. I've just started this novel, so maybe I'll post again about this book in the weeks to come.

3. The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne
-Another so-called "classic" which I usually only read one at a time, but a recent visit to the library with my cousin Katelen prompted me to add this one to my current reading list as well. I loved The Scarlet Letter and this was also another recommendation from lit. classmates.

4. Amazing Grace by Jonathan Kozol
-This was hailed a "must-read" for policy makers and since I eventually want to work in the field of education policy I decided to pick this one up. I usually read this one at bedtime and usually end up in tears. Kozol writes about the poorest congressional district in the U.S. and what is happening to our children there. Horrifying and it makes me want to pack up my bags and go help in anyway I can. I think this a must read for all Americans, not just policy makers. Welcome to the United States of America.

5. The Shape of Sola Scriptura by Keith A. Mathison
The doctrine of sola Scriptura, that's what this whole book is about. Need I say more?! I am gobbling this book up. This book takes you through the historical context, scriptural backing, the theological necessity of this doctrine, etc. I love, love, love this book! I can't believe it's been on our bookshelf for over three years and I never read it!!! My mom received it as a gift from some Bible study friends and I plucked it up as soon as I discovered it...and I haven't been able to put it down since. :-)

6. The Cross of Christ by John R.W. Stott
I wish I could say that I'm gobbing this one up too, but unfortunately it hasn't received a lot of face time and I'm still only on page 34. It's a theologically rich book and I can't wait to devote more time to it, but I just haven't gotten to it lately.

7. When Sinners Say "I Do": Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage by Dave Harvey
A book recommendation I picked up off of the Radical Womanhood blog. Carolyn McCulley says that, "you don't need to be married to learn from this book how to live redemptively in close relationships." And wow is she right! So far, it's been a challenging and convicting and simultaneously uplifting read as it's pointed me Godward, to the author and perfecter of my faith!!! This will be a book I'll read over and over again.

8. 35 Classroom Management Strategies: Promoting Learning and Building Community by Adrienne L. Herrell and Michael Jordan
Interlibrary loaned this for one of my fun, teaching books to peruse this summer. So far it's a good read, haven't found anything earth-shattering and new, but I'm only a few strategies into it. So we'll have to see.

And that rounds out eight of my current reads. You can click on my Shelfari bookshelf to find more, if you are so inclined. Enjoy your evening.

Oh and Ciaran comes home very late tomorrow night! I'm beyond giddy right now. I can't believe I was able to concentrate long enough to write this rather lengthy post. :-) Pray for him as he travels all day tomorrow!

Kidney Stone Update: Surgery Scheduled

I'm sorry to all of you who have e-mailed me in the last few days and I haven't responded. I've been pretty sick with kidney stones. I met with my urologist yesterday and now the next step in this wonderful journey with kidney stones is to have surgery. My surgery is scheduled for next Wednesday, the 18th. I'm praying I pass the little bugger on my own though between now and then. :-) Hope everyone's having a great week!!!

Euro 2008 online

Quick update because I want to get back to watching the game, but I just realized that ESPN360.com will be showing the games live as well, so for those of us that can't get to a TV at some point during the 23 game days, we can watch it online as well. :-) Enjoy the games!

16 Teams. 23 Days!

That's right, it's time for Euro 2008 (finally!). I've only been waiting for this moment since the close of World Cup in 2006! The only trace of sadness that is marring this glorious event for me is the fact that England isn't competing. But life goes on and the games begin in just about an hour and a half. If (horror of horrors) you've never heard of the UEFA European Championship, just click on the links below and enjoy your reading...or better yet, tune in to ESPN Classic at noon or 2:45 today and enjoy the fun with me!

Official Site

ESPN's site

Kidney Stone Update

So it was back to the hospital for me yesterday. I woke up to intense pain in my right side again; this time the pain was so intense it made me sweat right through my pajamas. I army-crawled (there was no way I was walking in this state) to the living room to find the phone, called my mom at work (no answer), then quickly dialed my grandmother's number. Poor grandma, I didn't even identify myself but just blurted out something along the lines of "need help, come quickly." Then the nausea hit and I (even more slowly now) army-crawled to the bathroom. A lovely time in the bathroom followed and my grandmother arrived (she's had kidney stones before so she completely understood what I was going through). My mom arrived shortly after because while my grandmother was on the way over the nausea became so intense that I knew it was time for me to go the hospital and I left a message for her at work. I know they consulted on what to do at this time, though I was pretty out of it. And I remember my grandma calling my urologist's office and taking care of a bunch of other stuff for us, but I don't remember all of the details.

At the hospital, I was quickly given an IV with lots and lots of fluids, and the normal amounts of Zofran, Fennegrin, Toradol and Dilaudid (probably slaughtering the spelling of these meds). Within a couple hours my nausea had abated, my dehydrated body was properly hydrated once again and about four hours after we arrived, I was allowed to go home with even more intense pain meds and more anti-nausea. For the record Vicodin barely even touches the pain of kidney stones. It's laughable really. So my new stuff consists of "extra-strength Vicodin" piggybacked with Toradol two hours after I take the Vicodin. We'll see how this stuff works once my stone starts its trek again, right now its not moving much so I'm feeling little pain (thus not taking those meds). And my meds for an infection that has set in (this also occurs EVERY time I get kidney stones) just makes me feel so comfortably sleepy that today has been a quite lovely day, which basically means I've slept most of it away up until now.

All right, back to the recliner in the living room I go. I watched the movie 27 Dresses with my mom, Aunt Martha and cousin Katelen last night. Very cute. I think I'm going to go watch it again. :-)

The World of Finances

Now that I'm done with my teacher certification program and embarking on the official journey to my new career in the world of education (Lord willing of course...if I can FIND a job in my area of certification here in Michigan), I've begun to really delve into researching financial planning. After all, I definitely want to make my teacher salary stretch as far as possible. Armed with my new budget courtesy of YNAB (thanks Jen for pointing me to this system and software!), and some really God-centered, biblical books/resources (more to come on this in another post) and the fun that has come from praying and playing with the YNAB system, I've really started to enjoy reading financial blogs in my spare time too.

Here are just a few of my current favorites:

Get Rich Slowly

The Simple Dollar

YNAB Blog (I actually don't go to this one that much because I have the e-book and I've taken the YNAB free e-course, but I had to list this because the software and e-course are so phenomenal.)

And once again I've run out of time to post. Enjoy your night!

Somewhat Clear-Headed

I'm somewhat clear-headed for the moment, so I decided now would be a good time to post to my blog. I STILL haven't passed my kidney stone and today was the second worst day of pain I've had so far with this silly little thing. Thankfully I still have Zofran and Vicodin on hand and was able to medicate myself enough to get through this rough patch without having to accrue another hefty hospital bill. My cousin Katelen came over and kept me company today too, so that made an otherwise frustrating and unbearable day quite pleasant. Pray for me. I'm so ready for this whole ordeal to be over. I'm exhausted!

In other news, it's now official--my brother is moving to California in July! He's so excited and he and my mom enjoyed a few hours working in his bedroom this afternoon, cleaning stuff out and starting to plan what's going to go and what's going to stay. I'm so excited for him!!! It's so great to know that he's found a job he can get really excited about. What an answer to prayer. Well, it's starting to thunder and lightning outside, so I had better end here. Enjoy your night!

Reader Beware: The Shack by William P. Young

Christians are really getting caught up in ideas espoused in a book entitled The Shack by William P. Young. Although I haven't personally read it, I have been overwhelmed by noting the response to it in Christian circles and wowed by the mass number of reviews on Amazon. Since I haven't personally read it, I do not feel free to stand on my little soapbox and freely declare my opinions at length. But what I do want to do here is refer you to an excellent and comprehensive review of this book if you have read it, are considering reading it or have family or friends that are reading it. The PDF below is written by Tim Challies, a well-known and respected Christian and blogger. I've mentioned him before on this blog. Please, take the time in the next few weeks and read this document. It is definitely well worth the time. :-)

http://www.challies.com/media/The_Shack.pdf

Let The Mourning Begin

Champions League Final:

Manchester United won.
Chelsea lost.
Enough said. :-(

Let the grieving begin. (Congrats Ciaran...and all of you other Man. U fans out there.)

May Giveaway at Challies.com

The battle to pass this one last kidney stone rages on so unfortunately I don't have a lot of exciting news or personal thoughts to post about. But I do have a link here to a wonderful giveaway at Challies.com (one of the blogs I frequently view). Challies.com is giving away gift certificates to Monergism Books. Three to be exact. Click on the banner for more details (and give me a referral at the same time). :-)



For those of you who haven't heard about Monergism Books, check it out here. I love Monergism Books because of the quality Christian literature they keep in print, especially some of the older classics.

Hospital Visit

Friday I had to break down and go the ER to get relief from my newest bout with kidney stones...or rather a kidney stone that has been lodged up in there since 2006 or even before. Also, when I say "break down," I literally mean break down. I called my mom at work in tears about 9:30am begging her to come home because "it was a bad one." Within about twenty minutes I was lying in my bed in fetal position, white-knuckle grasping the bedsheets and wishing God would just end me right there. Then came the vomiting, at which time we began our preparations to head to the hospital. This routine, I have to admit, my mom has become quite good at. In a matter of moments, I was safely tucked in the backseat of her car, bucket on the floor, blanket wrapped snuggly around me as I violently shook and dry-heaved at the same time...a plastic bag was placed next to me with a water bottle, napkins, Kleenex, and gum (to get the puke taste out of my mouth should I need it). Cell phone in hand she made some necessary calls as she double-checked her purse for the notebook she keeps with my med. lists and prior kidney stones information that they always inevitably ask for in the ER at some point. She's a pro, what can I say.

The visit itself was quite nice. Aside from almost losing consciousness twice, vomiting so much that the dry heaves made me pull a muscle in my left side, and generally wishing my life would just end, I was whisked into my own little room at an incredibly brisk pace. The lovely nurse arrived quickly, joking about my ashen skin and lips and how they always know a kidney stone patient by our bent over position and pasty skin and lips, and I dazedly listened to her chatter as I willed her to get that IV into my arm as quickly as possibly. But alas, my veins wouldn't cooperate and after doing a number on my right arm, and then my left arm, we finally settled on my left hand and FINALLY my dear little friends came flowing steadily into my body. Friends with names such as Zofran, Toradol, Fenegrin and my new favorite...Dilaudid. In a matter of minutes, I went from going-out-of-my-mind pain and violently shaking from both pain and incredible coldness to this delightful warm, weighted sensation--I felt as if I was being wrapped in a warm, cozy, little cocoon.

And then there was the wonderful man who did my CT Scan. Through my medicated stupor he asked me where the pain was. "Pain," I slurred through my aforementioned medicated stupor. "What pain?" The nurse at my side laughed and asked where WAS the pain. Much better, I thought to myself. We must be accurate. I feel no pain. I quickly pointed to my right side to answer their question. The guy who did my CT Scan also chatted it up with me about his last bout with kidney stones and then told me about the grown men they get in the hospital sobbing like little babies and women with kids who say giving birth is nothing compared to the pain of kidney stones. I remember him saying these things, but once again, I'm in a medicated stupor, and all of this just amuses me. The pain is just a hazy memory now and I just want to be back in my little room with the warm blankets and sleep, sleep, sleep. Oh yes and keep the meds flowing through that IV for heavens sake!!!

And now, a few days later, I'm home and completely off both the Zofran and Vicodin they had me on for here at home. I still haven't passed the stone, but it's out of my kidney where it really causes pain and I'm trying to pass it on the lowest dosages of meds possible. I'm praying I get rid of it in the next two days...without going back on Vicodin. All right, I've run out of time to expand on my kidney stone narrative, so I'll end here for the night. :-)

FlyLady and Podrunner

Since this is my blog (i.e. my little soapbox), I’m going to rave about two new things that have me wowed right now. First is FlyLady. This system which I stumbled upon a couple months ago now has completely revolutionized my entire approach to housework. No more am I overwhelmed by a messy house and the daunting “to do” list that accompanies said messy house. I look forward to encouraging little e-mails every day that give me a “mission” to do around the house in ONLY 15 minutes. I love this! I can almost always carve 15 minutes out of my busy schedule to accomplish these fun little missions AND the best part is, I’m starting to see major results around my house. I absolutely LOVE this system so check it out at Flylady.net OR even better, check this book out, Sink Reflections. I checked it out at my local library, but I’m using it daily, so I may be purchasing this book in the near future.

And now on to the topic of Podrunner. Thanks to Jen and Shannon and their mission to run a 5K, I am now hooked on this as well. I’ve focused on keeping myself marginally in shape this winter (or so I thought) and so when Jen and Shannon were glowing about their new running regimen, I thought I would check it out. [Keep in mind, I am so not a runner.] I looked up the program online which is called Couch to 5K, wrote down the week one training schedule and set out yesterday on the road to running a 5K...eventually. A day later I am sooo sore! I thought I was in shape...apparently not. Then today Jen sent me the link to something called Podrunner. It is SO great! I downloaded the first two weeks onto my ipod and they sound like so much fun. Basically it's the C25K running program set to great music with audio cues for when to walk and when to run. The music tempo increases when your speed should be increasing. LOVE THIS! If you want to get in shape this summer, check out the website. I’ll be blogging about my progress in this area of interval training in the weeks to come, but I had to rave first about how cool these Podrunner downloads are first! Thanks Jen for sending me that link!

The Return of Wednesday Night Soccer

Ah, summer has arrived...er, not really, but Summer League Soccer has arrived. I look forward to this every year. Yet when Ciaran moved to New Hampshire, I was sure my viewing of Wednesday night summer soccer would be lost too. Enter Gerrard’s Kopites, and problem solved. Some guys from my church put together a team and so not only do I still get to watch fun summer soccer, but I get to enjoy watching it with a bunch of girls from my church as well. So as you can probably tell, last night was a blast! For the record though, I still miss watching you play, Ciaran!!! You and Carter are still my favorites to watch!

In other reflections, Ciaran and I just began reading C.J. Mahaney’s Living the Cross Centered Life. I’ve skimmed this book before, but Ciaran and I are reading through it slowly, really savoring and working at applying what C.J. Mahaney writes about. This has been such an awesome and convicting experience so far. For example, read my blog and what pops up the most...hmmm....Ciaran, soccer, teaching, etc. Does the gospel? When you read my blog to do you see Christ permeating the entries? Hmmm.... If someone were to read my blog or talk to me at length, what would they say I am most passionate about? Probably they would have a long list because let’s face it; I’m passionate about a TON of stuff. Yet Mahaney says,

“If there’s anything in life we should be passionate about, it’s the gospel. And I don’t mean passionate only about sharing it with others; I mean passionate in thinking about the gospel, reflecting upon it, rejoicing in it, allowing it to color the way we look at the world and all of life.”

Mahaney goes on to say,

“In the Scriptures we discover a profound urgency for focusing all we are and everything we do around the gospel of the cross. For not only does this good news come first chronologically in our Christian experience, but it stays foremost in critical importance for creating and sustaining our joy and our fruitfulness—a fact we too often overlook” (15).

Is my joy and fruitfulness in Christ waning? Here is the solution. The gospel needs to be my one supreme passion, the very center of my life in all I say and do.

Hmmm...lots of stuff to pray about and so I’m praying this day that God will change my heart so these words typify my life, “Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” -Galatians 6:14. Well, I’m now off to run errands for a bit with my cousin Katelen, she may find me a bit distracted as I meditate on these truths this late afternoon. :-)

The Job Search Has Begun!

Today marks my first official day of job searching. A wretched two weeks of passing three kidney stones kept me from beginning my job search in earnest and then another week of having Ciaran in town kept me occupied and determined to ignore the looming search that needed to take place. And then yesterday I allowed myself to wallow in misery and grieve Ciaran being back in New Hampshire, but after a refreshing evening with my mentor last night and a rousing morning of housework, I began the job search this afternoon in earnest.

So where will my job search take me?! Only the Lord knows the answer to that one. I will be applying for jobs this week in Wisconsin and Indiana and there's actually one in Michigan as well (the same school Ciaran interviewed at last week on the west side of the state...although that one is a high school position and my experience is at the middle school level--thanks for the lead though Ciaran!). Pray for me if you think of it, I'm excited about this process, but I know I need wisdom and a clear sense of God's leading as I navigate these waters in the months to come.

And now for a brief recap. of my enjoyable week with Ciaran. OK, I just wrote that and immediately started to feel sad so I'm going to keep this short. It was a wonderful week! I know I conveyed that in my last post, but words really can't do justice to how nice it was to spend time in person with Ciaran again. And Ciaran's uncle and aunt were in town from Ireland and I hadn't met them before, so I enjoyed some time getting to know them as well. Ciaran's family is so fun to be around and his Uncle John loves literature and I so enjoyed some time discussing Oliver Goldsmith's The Deserted Village (one of his favorites as well as my own) and James Joyce and a whole host of other Irish literary figures. I always enjoy discussing Irish literature with Dr. Byrne, but having his brother to discuss this with as well made for some immensely enjoyable hours. And then Ciaran's Aunt Beatrice (she's originally from Spain and has a beautiful Spanish accent) also is inclined toward literary pursuits and so all around I was able to bask in the joy of discussing literature at length with both of them. What a joy!

All right, I'm going to end here because thinking about my time with Ciaran is making me miss him more...and I have AT LEAST seven more weeks to go before I see him again. :-) Hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful evening...it's absolutely gorgeous here, I might even take Ben for a long walk before the night is over!

A Wonderful Week

Ah, where do I begin?! First, Ciaran is in town!!! It has been so amazingly wonderful to have him here. Talking on the phone, sending letters via snail mail and e-mail is all grand, but nothing beats being together in person. It's been a moment by moment reminder of the hundreds of reasons I have treasured our friendship so much over the past six years. So what have we been doing during this time...I'm so glad you asked...because it gives me a chance to "gloat" as Shannon commented in the previous post. First, Ciaran has had a few interviews so that's taken up some time because one of them involved traveling (I'll get to this one later). But let's first address some good ol' soccer because it's been a GREAT week for classic English football!

So on Sunday afternoon, Ciaran and I watched the Chelsea v. Man. U game (his brother, Paul, had recorded the Saturday game). My boys defeated his team, much to Ciaran's chagrin and now our teams are tied for first in the Prem. race...too fun! Nothing like some good healthy competition between the two of us. And while I'm on the topic of soccer, why don't we waltz over to the topic of Champions League Semi-Finals. So first, Man. U v. Barcelona...being the loving girlfriend that I am, I sucked it up and supported Man. U on Tuesday (partly because I was being said loving girlfriend, the other reason being I wanted an all English final in Moscow--ah the truth comes out doesn't it?! Hehe.) And thanks to Scholes (who moments before his amazing goal was delivered, Paul and Ciaran were fiercely critiquing his worth to Man U these days...too funny), Man U. is headed to the final in Moscow on May 21st! Then yesterday arrives, the moment of truth: Chelsea v. Liverpool!!! Ciaran being the loving boyfriend that he is supported Liverpool (they have a strong Irish population in Liverpool after all, but I think he was still nursing some wounds from Saturday's game). And yet, who is heading to Moscow on May 21st to go up against Manchester United?! Ah yes, that would be CHELSEA!!! When all is said and done though, I thought that was the best semi-final match I've seen in a long time. I was on the edge of my seat through the entire thing! I'm sorry Liverpool fans (Jen and Jared and Garrett and all the others that Jared has successfully marketed to his side that I don't know about yet). Your manager should never have taken out Torres, but alas he did and it was a brilliant day for my boys! OK, enough gloating. I've taken up too much space with soccer, but it's been an eventful week in the world of soccer and the best part has been Ciaran's in town to share it with! I've missed his brilliant commentaries so much!

Now to follow up with Ciaran's interviews that he has been blessed with this week...I'm not going to share too much about them since this is a public space and we don't know the outcomes yet, but I will share this. The interview he had this morning on the west side of the state was enjoyable, but the last question of his interview had to have been the BEST question I've ever heard about in a teaching interview. It went a little something like this[keep in mind this isn't a direct quote because Ciaran's not home yet to get the exact one from him...don't want to bother him while he's driving after all]...OK, here it is:

"Well, this will be the last question for today (insert pause here), and I have to know...what did you think of the Champions League semi-final yesterday?"

Hahahaha, that's right, I'm sorry, not to rub salt in an open wound to all you Liverpool fans out there, but come on, this is too priceless!!! Oh and I'm actually serious, the last question in Ciaran's interview today was exactly that. I guess the principal is a huge Liverpool fan and is pretty upset about why Rafa didn't put in certain players and why Torres was pulled out. But that is TOO PRICELESS, any attention drawn to the fact that Chelsea won is perfect for me. OK, I've run out of time to write, so I'll post more later about this wonderful week with Ciaran.

*Oh and sorry for all of the upsetting grammatical errors, I know they are there, I just don't have time to go back and edit. Just look at this post and really all of my other posts as stream of consciousness writing or a simple free write activity. :-) Enjoy your day!

Ciaran Countdown

Just over 30 more hours to go and then Ciaran will be in town for a week!!! Sorry, had to share my excitement with everyone!!! :-) We will have survived just four days short of four VERY LONG months apart. Yay!!!

Cabin Fever

I officially have cabin fever. The kidney stone pain keeps hitting me intermittently in intense waves, which makes outings away from home next to impossible. I don't know if I still have a kidney stone passing through, or if this pain is just due to the after effects of the inevitable damage a kidney stone brings to my inner body as it passes through. Either way, I'm frustrated. This week was supposed to be a week filled with fun substitute teaching experiences and lots of cleaning and catching up with all that has been let go for the past fifteen weeks because of student teaching. Grrr...I'm a bit grouchy can you tell?! :-) But when I step back and pray for a moment, I realize that I should view this time as a gift from the Lord, time to slow down after the hectic schedule I've kept and delight in Him during this extended quiet time I now have before me. It truly is a gift when I think about it from that perspective; I just wish this gift didn't have such intense waves of pain to accompany it. Hehe.

New ESV Study Bible!

I'm so excited! The long-awaited ESV Study Bible is set to come out in October!!! I can't wait! OK, whew, having gotten that off my chest, now for a little bit of a life update.

So my student teaching experience ended on Friday. I received lots of hugs and presents and the kids had created (with the help of the art department's student teacher) a banner for me and a bunch of the kids signed it and wrote little notes to me...so sweet! It was a memorable day and I managed to not cry too much. Then Saturday came. As I graded the kids papers, I found myself choking up at the oddest moments. About two hours into grading, and my sadness was reaching its peak, there was a knock at the door. I went to the door and there waiting for me was a flower delivery...a dozen pale pink roses to be exact...my absolute favorite flowers!!! Ciaran had so sweetly anticipated my Saturday let-down after student teaching ended and sent them to cheer me up. Ah Ciaran, you never cease to amaze me! The weekend wore on (more pleasantly with the beautiful roses to gaze at) and after roughly nine hours of grading my student's projects, papers, etc. , and entering grades into the system...my student teaching officially ended. I was feeling a little sad still and now had some rather annoying lower back pain to accompany my sadness, but other than that, I was ready for a new week and whatever that may bring.

And then Monday arrives...and with that some more rather intense pain...pain that made me drop to my knees crying! That's right...you know that rather annoying lower back pain I experienced all weekend??! That wasn't the result of being hunched over all weekend grading papers, it was actually the start of none other than...KIDNEY STONES! That's right, my mortal enemy, the dreaded of the dreaded, kidney stones. So with lots of prayer and lots of pain meds and a whole lot of water I managed (by God's grace) to pass this morning a kidney stone without going to the hospital for an IV! Woohoo!!! Praise God! I'm still pretty worn out from it, but hopefully that was the only stone and I will be getting back to my normal self soon! All right, that concludes my update for the evening. I hope everyone is having a great week! I sure am...now that the wretched little stone is out of me. :-)

Crying as I Grade Writing Journals

It's Sunday night and that means I'm grading papers in front of the TV. I just finished grading "Writing Journals" from last week. This is something I put off all weekend...not because they are tough to grade, but because I typically end up in tears and exhausted by the time I finish. And this week is no different. My kids' lives have been so tough, the things they have experienced are so far from my realm of knowledge and experience and it just tears me up to read about their experiences in foster homes, at the homeless shelter, living in cars, watching their siblings/family members/friends get shot in drive-bys or other violent acts, and then of course to read about the bullying that goes on. I inevitably every couple of weeks also have something I have to report to a social worker...those topics I cannot highlight here because of obvious reasons, but I do encounter those as well. As much as I am saddened by the fact that I am heading into my last week of student teaching, this emotional weekly ritual is one that I don't think I'm going to miss that much, although I will miss hearing my students' voices as I read; they have such amazing voices as writers and that has been a joy to experience and work with!

Oh and in other news, we found the owner of the stray dog I mentioned in my last post! He lives on another road not far from our house and is now safely returned to his owner. :-)

Stray Dog

So we have the cutest dog sitting on our back deck right now. He's a chocolate lab, about one year old. Neighbors first started calling us about him on Thursday around noon because everyone thought it was our own beloved chocolate lab, Ben, roaming the neighborhood. But no, Benjamin was safely in our house at that time. So it's now Saturday, and dear puppy whom we've dubbed Jake, is now safely in our backyard, with a collar on, as we canvass the area trying to find his owner. So if you know of anyone missing a chocolate lab in the area, let me know!