Just some anecdotes

"Mrs. Person, my neck hurts." (she means throat... she tells me this daily.)

"What is a hotdog?"
"You know, a weeeenie. Like a weeenie. With a bun. The bun opens on one side and you put the weeeenie in it!"
"Oh...." (exit Mrs. Person from the room- cracking up)

"knock knock"
"who's there?"
"bat"
"Bat who?"
"bat who! That's right!" (i have no idea why that was funny...)

"Mrs. Person, how's your day been yesterday?" (this child asks me this almost everyday...)

a student was standing at my desk watching me, I turned and asked "What do you need?"
"A hug!!"

"We have pictures! And we are going to put them on our shirts!" (one child's explanation of our self portraits in which we are drawing our heads and torsos, and gluing photos on the shirt part...)

"Valentimes" (all of my kids during our Valentines' Day program practice)

child: "The art teacher's going to get pregnant!"
me: "I think you mean she IS pregnant and is GOING to have a baby... "

"You know Jesus? He looks into our hearts. He lives in the sky and he can see us. And sometimes he eats grass."
"He eats grass? Why?"
"I don't know, we haven't gotten to that part of the book yet."

Just wanted to remember why I love my job. My kids are the best!!

Pedro the Lion speaks

Love this song. Praying that I can act it out daily. My armor and fight sure isn't getting me anywhere...

The sun shines
And leaves blow
And my hope like autumn is turning brown
I know it seems like I'm always falling down

But it does not matter to me
Although it seems like it should
It's because I know I'm understood when I hear Him say
"Rest in me little David
And dry all your tears
You can lay down your armor
And have no fear
Cause I'm always here
When you're tired of running
And I'm all the strength that you need"

It's uphill both ways
Tomorrow I swear I won't act this way
And I know it seems like that is what I always say

But it does not matter to me
Although it seems like it should
It's because I know I'm understood when I hear Him say
"Rest in me little David
And dry all your tears
You can lay down your armor
And have no fear
Cause I'm always here
When you're tired of running
And I'm all the strength that you need"

You know I want to be like Jesus
But it seems so very far away
When will I learn to obey?
Obey...

Oh the weather outside is frightful

A hoodie and blanket are so delightful....

I just watched Julie and Julia. It was a lovely film. It reminded me that I have not written in such a long time! But, alas... I don't have any issues pressing on my brain enough to write.

I'm off for a snow day today. I love watching the snow fall, as everyone else does. However, I hate snow, because it is cold. I would be perfectly content to never see snow again.

I am considering a venture based on the Julie/Julia project. I may begin a Jillian/Lauren project. This would entail me doing the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred workout for 30 days straight. I really do want to do that... I started a few weeks ago and then got sick on day 2 and had to stay in bed all day. However, I am considering trying it again.

Christmas break would be the perfect time to do this for 2 reasons. Number 1- I have more time on my hands. Number 2- It will help me not gain 5 pounds over Christmas!! Here are some concerns I have- vacation. We are having our own Christmas Vacation, am I required to workout then? Would a 3 day rest invalidate my work? Lastly, I like to work out with other people. If someone joined me on this journey, I am 99% sure I would complete it. Volunteers??

Politcal Message from Lauren.

My friends, I am not a major political nut. However, I just feel compelled to make a few statements of political nature. I hate arguing, and avoid it at all costs, being the passive aggressive creature I am. I promise I am not trying to make anyone mad. I also promise I do not know all there is to know about anything political. So, take these comments with love and grace.
Thanks.

The issue of the day is aliens! Not space ones. Mostly Mexican ones. People who come to America because they want to make a better life for themselves and their families. They don't always do it legally. Sometimes they sneak in. Sometimes they don't follow the rules of living here properly. Mostly I hear anger and hatred when people speak about these folks. They steal our jobs, they take our money, they don't follow our rules, they don't try hard enough to learn English, etc... I would just like to reflect on a Bible verse for a moment.

This is a verse from Leviticus. In the passage God is explaining some laws he would like the Israelites to keep. He asks them to keep these rules so that they may be set apart from the world and show other people how God loves them and how God wants them to live. Here is a law I came across... "The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God." Leviticus 19:34.
What?? God wants us to love them? YES!!!!! God wants us to love them!! Because God loves them. And aren't we commissioned to be Jesus to all people?

Let's look at the verse again. Why does God say we should love them? Because we were once aliens in Egypt. Not us, literally; the Israelites. The Israelites were enslaved to the Egyptians for hundreds of years. They were mistreated and cried out to God for freedom. God is asking the Israelites to empathize with their neighbors. To remember the pain of being alone, and to reach out a loving hand. (Yes, I know the Israelites are different from aliens in America because we do not have them enslaved here. They come on their own. But I believe the principle still remains. Empathize. If you lived in their country, saw the violence and poverty they do, you might consider swimming the river, too. I know I would. Empathy. Love.)

So, when I hear people complaining about illegal aliens I cringe and say, why can't we love them? Just because they are more tan than me, speak a different (and beautiful) language, and were born a few miles south does not give me any right to slander them. We are to love them. God asked us to treat them like our own native-borns.

Most of my opinion comes from being concerned very little with earthly governments and very much concerned with the Kingdom of God. As a citizen of the Kingdom, I will choose to love rather than accuse, complain, or judge.

Well, that's about it. I have more to say, but due to privacy, will not be typing it online. We can talk about it personally, if you are so inclined.

I feel better now. c:

Advent Conspiracy

Since its getting closer to Christmas, I have been thinking about the website (AdventConspiracy.org) I read about last year. Its basically about how Christmas celebrations have gotten pretty skewed over the years. We should be celebrating the life of Jesus and the amazing story of how God was born into squalor and genocide to rescue his lost loves. I like the ideas they have there about celebrating differently...
Our small group is reading Jesus For President so I skipped ahead to the part about holidays and was re-reading... The thing about it that gets me thinking is, we give presents because the Magi gave presents to Jesus. So, of course we want to give our loved ones gifts. As a church, we generally look beyond ourselves and give to an Angel Tree kid, or take the inner-city kids to North Boulevard for their huge giveaway. We find a way to extend the love to others. That's what we should do, right??
After I read about the water crisis going on in most of the world, and how little (relatively) money it would take to fix it, I wasn't so sure. Most of the world drinks dirty water, and wastes huge amounts of time to get it. David says his team in Tanzania walked with one of the girls carrying water one day and they were exhausted at the end! And women do most of the work to bring water to their homes. A lot of that water isn't even clean. According to the research on the website, millions are sick, dying, and unable to go to school- all because they lack clean water. And its there in the ground!
I know giving presents to a kid whose father is in jail is noble. I know it is kind and good hearted. But I, personally, think I will be sick if I buy a kid another X-Box game, when I could provide water for 4 kids for LIFE with the same money. While I don't want to discourage people from doing programs like the Angel Tree, I feel like God's people need to step it up, here! If we could provide water to these millions of kids, we would make their health, education, and therefore, life so much better! Honestly, I don't think buying Tickle Me Elmo for a little girl is going to do that much for her...
I want to live in a way that is not of the world, but of the Kingdom. I want Christmas to look different for my family than it does for other people. I want to celebrate the life of Jesus and the life he came to bring to us. I can't think of a much better way than to help people build wells so they can provide their families with clean water! Jesus even called himself the Living Water.
So I'm not sure exactly how we are doing Christmas this year... I would love to see my church family get in on this with me and really change some lives! Praying that God will show us how to serve him in all that we do! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I have known the Harrells pretty much my whole life. When I was very young I would watch this home video my parents had made. I think they were saying goodbye to someone who was retiring, or something like that... I don't really remember. But in the video my parents and their friends were doing the silliest skits! One of them was Mark Harrell laying on a table with his head hanging upside down with his chin decorated like a face. He was singing and it looked so bizarre to me! My parents laughed every time we saw it. I also remember seeing a picture in one of our photo albums pre-me and Nikki with my parents, the Harrells, and some other couples from church. I always like the picture, because they all looked so happy. Lisa was laughing. And my mom is wearing this pink sweater, which she still owns and wears, so that's pretty funny.
The Harrells became very important in my life about the time I was 14 or 15. They called on me to babysit for them. I was looking for some extra money, and I have always liked kids, so they asked me to babysit for them fairly often. It wasn't until recently that I realized how much they were doing me a favor, and not the other way around. When I would babysit, Mark would come pick me up at my house, about a 20 minute drive. Then they would order pizza for me and the kids. When they got home, Mark would take me back to my house! So he was driving about an hour out of his way, when he could have just gotten a babysitter who could drive. And they paid me!! That is love.
Babysitting for them was wonderful and I will never forget it! Sam was quiet and just played on the computer the whole time. Shelby was a precious little thing who took most of my attention, since she was still in diapers! She forced me to watch more Barney than I had ever wanted to. But getting to play with her and watch her grow was totally worth it. She had quite a cute belly back then and I remember patting it and calling her Buddha Belly. One night I gave her a bath and tried to towel dry her hair. She got really aggravated at me and went to get the blow dryer and tried to make me use it. I had not really ever used one myself and I thought I would burn her little head. So I think she probably just air dried that night! Last, but oh- not least, there was Seth. Adorable, wild Seth. Seth who did not tell me we were playing hide and seek- but hid anyway. I may have had a heart attack that night! After looking everywhere, I finally got Sam to help me look. Of course, smart Sam knew just where he was- in a closet by the bathroom. I think he was under some towels... Anyway, I gave Seth a lecture of the dangers of hiding (cause, you know, a fire could happen and then I would die trying to find you and you would die because you were hiding!!!!).
My very, very favorite memory from babysitting is going to the lake! Lisa's family lives by a lake and have a boat and some jet ski's. We all went up one day and I came along to make sure the kids stayed out of the way of whatever they were doing. A few weeks later, my family and some other friends all came up to the lake together. This time we played all day! I remember riding on the jet ski for the first time and thinking it was the best thing ever! My mom thought Mark drove too fast (she was wrong :) ). Then I got on the tube behind the jet ski... It was the only time in my life where I truly thought I was about to perish. Obviously, I was fine. Riding so fast over the water with the surface inches from my face was exhilarating! Again, my mom thought Mark was driving the jet ski too fast (I may have secretly agreed that time). Then we loaded up on the boat to get some dinner at the Marina. I have a distinct memory of Mark at the wheel, the wind blowing his hair in crazy directions, singing "Cheeseburger in Paradise" very loudly. Then he let me steer the boat. His faith in me was astounding.
What I don't want to write about today is how hard it has been to watch Mark leave us. I don't need to tell you how I cried out to God to save his life, because if you are reading this, that is likely your story too. We share the grief, the the heartache of seeing him ill; if you attend Stones River you shared with me in the awe of watching him walk down the aisle at church as we sang "How Great is Our God". The joy and thankfulness and comfort in seeing him live so richly with his family the past two years is in all of our hearts. Lately, peace is all we have petitioned.
When I think of Mark, I will not think of grief. I will not think of loss. But I will always remember his kind and good heart, his sense of humor (even if I rolled my eyes more than laughed), and his deep love for his family. I will miss seeing his smiling face. I praise God he is smiling again now, his body whole and his pain forever gone. He is probably boating around on that crystal sea looking for a cheeseburger.
Jesus, bring us peace. Holy Spirit, comfort us. Father God, continue to pour out your goodness upon us. Amen.

Learning at Lunch

Being a teacher is a wonderful job, especially if you enjoy people watching. Children have this ability to completely ignore the fact that someone else (someone who may be judging them) is around. For example, 7 seconds after the kids walk in the door, I become invisible as they talk to friends, gather books for the day, and use the restroom. When I break into their conversations to correct one of them or say Good Morning, its as if I have interrupted. When this talent of ignoring is playing out, I get to see them in their bare form of being. They drop the "please the teacher" charade when they forget I'm there. Watching them interact with no filter is a sometimes shocking, and always hilarious adventure.

Last Thursday, three of my students had earned enough pennies to eat lunch with me in the classroom if they so chose. They told me they were very excited to get to eat in our classroom because the cafeteria is too loud. I asked them if they wanted to sit at their own desks, or if we should sit all together. I don't want to force my company on them if they would rather not talk to me, but they are six and I am still a friend in their mind, so they eagerly clamor to all sit together!

We sit down and eat our lunches, comparing each others. The children have ice cream bars which they cannot open, so I do the honors. One girl eats her ice cream first. I ask her if she is going to eat the rest of her food, and she nods yes as if I am crazy. I forget how physically hungry my students are. They eat anything! And tell me multiple times during the day they are hungry. Some of them don't eat much at home, and don't bring a snack to school. Our school cafeteria does a good job of feeding them a delicious, filling lunch each day!

As we eat, I let the kids talk freely, not commenting much so they can be themselves. It is funny the personalities that come out. One talks the entire time. I know she is a talker already, but today she's going full blast. The talking is so persistent, the the boy next to me has to interrupt to get a word in edgewise! When he speaks up, he tells me about his family. He tells me sad and worrying things about his family, but the way he describes them is more factual than despairing. It saddens me to see the potential in this child, and hear about his family's troubles. I hope that despite their hardships, they focus on him and help him become all he can be.

The third child does not speak up much. She is generally quiet, and I have assumed it is because she does not speak much English. After lunch, I learn my assumptions is incorrect. She sits quietly as the other two children vie for my attention. When they get tired of me they talk to each other about things I don't know about (iCarly and Hannah Montana). While discussing Hannah Montana's house, my quiet girl loudly and confidently chimes in about the color of Hannah's bedroom. I look at her a bit shocked. She simply smiles at me and eats the rest of her food without a word. Whether or not she speaks much English, that is not holding her back. She is just one of those people who is quiet until they have something to say, much like my husband.

Some teachers don't like to let kids eat in their rooms, and I understand why. They are messy and clingy, and when I can take 25 minutes to myself during the day, I am happy to do it. But, I am glad my kids ate with me on Thursday. I need to see more into their lives. All it takes is 25 minutes with a child, and in that time, a world of information comes out.