the first day of school.

today was the first day of school. a few months ago, before the end of last year and before lylah was born, i didn't think i'd still be a teacher on this day. i'd turned in my resignation because leaving lylah (and the other two as well, honestly) was out of the question. i wanted to nurse. and i desperately wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. on a whim, i included the possibility of continuing to work with the school via the yearbook in my resignation letter. i truly, truly love my school and knew it would be hard to find someone to take over the yearbook job. the learning curve is steep, and it takes up a lot of time for an english teacher. even so, i really didn't expect it to work out.

i was wrong.

it has more than worked out. the school has given me everything i asked for: one class period (for yearbook I, II & III), an afternoon time slot, and the opportunity to maintain health insurance for my sweet family of five. i am still a part of the team at tlca while still very much a stay-at-home mom. i can take my big kids to preschool as well as attend their events there and pick them up when it's over. i can nurse my baby. i can go grocery shopping with my kids and take them to the park. i can do laundry and clean bathrooms during the day if i want to. i can also get showered and dressed for work and wear a tlca name badge. i can go to football games. i can hug my students of two years who are now 8th graders. i can supervise the creation of the third eagle charter yearbook. it is mind-blowingly, unbelievably ideal. totally perfect. God is such a showoff.

i love being a teacher. and i love being a mom. i truly have the best of both worlds.

today was great. my staff is great. i can already see their creative, artistic minds turning. i can't wait to see what they come up with over the next several months. making it even sweeter was that class was sandwiched on either side by my having lunch with my kids and putting them down for their naps.

it's going to be a great year.

how to survive being in a classroom when it's all sunny and springy outside.

drink yummy, homemade iced coffee.

i plead the fifth on whether it's decaf.

(sorry, lylah.)

vacation is over.

back to work tomorrow. students come back tuesday. i didn't post nearly as much as i did during christmas vacation last year, but i refuse to beat myself up. the break was wonderful despite minimal blogging. now, only 42 work days until spring break.




*photos of the kids a few days before christmas, and, clearly, before gray's much needed haircut.

my first movie.

i went to a workshop today called "using flip video in the classroom" where every participant received a flip video camera to take back to their campus. during lunch, we were given an assignment to capture a few video clips to turn into a movie in windows movie maker upon our return. here's what i came up with. there is one clip that, strangely, appears to have not taken the filter i know i applied, and i wish i'd interviewed one more person. but it was so fun! since this camera is for school use only, i am already dropping (not-so-)subtle hints about what i'd like for my upcoming birthday or christmas. who knew i could make movies?

washed by the water.

oh, how i need this today.

this band ministers to me so much, and the lyrics of this particular song are perfect for my mindset at the moment. i'm feeling quite a bit of anxiety about going back to school. tomorrow starts inservice. i know my second year will be easier in some aspects, but several other factors will be different this time around. kids will go to preschool. ministries have been added. and other things may go down over the course of the year that will make life more hectic.

i am very, very prone to becoming overwhelmed (who isn't?!) if i do not allow the Lord to minister to me on a daily basis. heck, some (most?) days it's a minute-by-minute necessity.

but oh, He is so faithful. nothing about my life has to change, but when i get into His presence and let Him wash me in His holy, cleansing water, i am revived, i can do it, He has chosen me for such a time as this! instead of dread and defeat, i am full of energy, purpose and excitement.

oh, Lord, in the coming days, please help me to remember and make it a priority to desperately seek Your face before i face my life. You have not called me to anything for which You will not equip me.

Your plans are great for me and my family. the difference between seeing Your hand and being overwhelmed and discouraged is allowing my heart and my sight to be washed.

even when the rain falls,
even when the flood starts rising,
even when the storm comes
i am washed by the water

so close.

summer: so close i can almost touch it.

a glimpse.

(photo credit)

while watching a film on the life of c.s. lewis and viewing footage of the english countryside:

a student: "this is what i imagine Heaven looks like."

another {in awe}: "yes! only even a million times better."

i cry. and long to visit england.

and, most of all, long to visit Heaven where i shall hug the brilliant, inspired neck of c.s. lewis.

right now.

my students are creating TAKS-tone-word flashcards.

see? love these.

dictionary practice is good!

also, my desk is messy...

...i'm loving my new name badge because it means i don't have to embroider every shirt i want to wear to work...

...i'm stressing about yearbook...

...sixth grade teachers are enjoying the weather with wide open classroom doors...

...my students are catching on that i'm taking photos.

hope your tuesday is lovely!

a teaching moment.

i am home, having skipped church, with two sickie babies this morning. they've been alternating between moaning in discomfort (junky coughs, some low-grade fever, lots of snot), watching finding nemo and up and snacking on peanut butter-filled tortillas, homemade applesauce and kashi cereal.

as i was wiping everybody down in preparation for naptime, i noticed ellie was swinging her arms wide open and then clasping them around herself over and over while saying, "open. shut. open. shut. open. shut."

i smiled at her and asked her to show me which was open and which was shut. she demonstrated correctly, and then i told her that open and shut are opposites. just like happy and sad. (we practiced making happy and sad faces.) and black and white. (we pointed to places in a piece of art on the wall that are black and places that are white.) and boy and girl. (who is a boy? "gray gray!" who is a girl? "ellie!")

i know ellie probably doesn't understand the term "opposites," but i couldn't resist the chance to introduce her to something about language.

i've been reading some about homeschooling lately, and i am no where close to formulating a concrete opinion or plan. (ultimately, it's extremely personal, as evidenced by a question i posted in a recent facebook status that elicited 19 thoughtful responses.) it is just a topic that has peaked my interest so i'm indulging. some of what i've read is very much in favor of a traditional classroom setting in the home. but, fascinating to me, some of what i've read focuses on the family living life and teaching throughout the day, that opportunities to learn are everywhere if you're looking.

regardless of whether i ever homeschool my children, i will always be their first teacher, a fact that thrills me. what a responsibility!

as i progress through the season of preparation in which i have recently realized God has me, i am solidifying seemingly mundane processes in my life such as housekeeping, finances and menu planning. while having a handle on those areas is important in the most basic sense, God has been opening my eyes wide to a less-than-concrete reason to "get it together": having the proper processes in place for the "must-dos" in life allows me to free up mental and physical space in my day to focus on what's really important.

perfect, planned meals, a spotless home and seamlessly organized finances are wonderful in their own right, but what i can pray for, plan for and achieve in the time i am not wasting by being bogged down with disorganization in these areas is the real reward.

that moment with ellie this morning was a result of having a calm mind and peaceful spirit. there was enough space in my brain to see and seize the opportunity. i am so.incredibly.far from having my life as streamlined and up-to-date and organized as i want it. but i'm getting there. and the fruit is showing. for that i am full of joy.

"there has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears."

(philippians 1:6, the message)

do you have any idea how happy you can make 6th graders by dressing up as a rock star on costume day at school?

very. you can't see it here, but the guitar hero guitar (thanks, landon...) is the icing on the cake.

my classroom, which is about to change.

these are pictures i took at the beginning of the year, and never got around to posting. there are a few minor differences in my room right now from these shots. mostly, the desks are in a different arrangement, and there's a lot more STUFF everywhere.

but, as we speak, there are workers putting the finishing touches on BRAND-NEW-REALLY-BIG portables outside. the 6th grade should be moving there in the next few days. woohoo!! i am beyond excited because my kids are packed in our current rooms like sardines. three of the four sixth grade rooms (mine included) used to be the nursery. and my journalism room used to be the nursing mother's room. nice.

thoughts on my very first classroom?

Welcome!

My English Classroom

My Yearbook Classroom

confirmed.

sixth graders with strands of wet hair plastered to their preteen foreheads, run, yelping, for hugs along the sidelines of the rained out football game. violent vacillations between frustration and anger and hopelessness and despair dissipate as my heart melts.

and "for such a time as this" is confirmed.

showers: 2 down, 1 to go. (etc. etc.)

phew! last night, i returned home from nine days in the dallas area for various activities. i'm hoping to get more photos, but i don't know for sure. my camera has officially died so i've only got my cell phone and other people's willingness to share at this point.

laura's bridal shower at the art centre of plano was last saturday (the 6th), and i think it turned out great. kelly (scott's wife), becky (scott's mil) and i put it together. kelly and i fleshed out our email- and gmail chat-born vision quite well!

this past saturday (the 13th) was laura's lingerie shower and bachelorette party. the photo above is from that glorious shindig. kelly planned it all on her own, and we had a blast at the iron cactus in downtown dallas. we had dinner first and then moved upstairs to hangout on the rooftop patio until the wee hours of the morning. as you can see from our shiny, happy faces, it was quite warm. we were happy to endure it, however. (oh! and i totally saw my old friend curtis from the people newspaper days. cra-zy!)

in between there was a great district council during which landon, the kids and i mangaged to sleep pretty darn well in one hotel room. i think it's because i prayed. that situation could have been miserable, but it really was not. the key: run the kids to exhaustion before trying to make them sleep in pack-n-plays in the same room. works like a charm. God REALLY showed up on tuesday night for an awesome, awesome service. there were wonderful pieces of inspiration and information strewn throughout the entire week, and i'm feeling motivated to truly allow God to grow the dreams He has placed in my heart.

grayson also turned 10 months while we were gone so i have that post to catch up with. it'll include the news that i believe is pretty miraculous regarding the delicate situation i posted about before we left town. we'll be getting confirmation that all is well at an appointment with his pediatritian early tomorrow morning. keep praying!

this week, i'm working with rhonda to finish my bridesmaid dress for laura's wedding. really, rhonda is skillfully creating a custom dress while i attempt to sew darts, rip them out 'cause they're terrible and just resign myself to visiting with her while she makes it right. i told her i'd fold her laundry or something. she wouldn't let me.

also this week, we are finishing up all we need to have kylah's baby shower on saturday! woohoo! it's going to be a bit different from other baby showers we've thrown, and i'm very excited. being in dallas with my newphew on my mind proved very good for his closet and very bad for my purse. let's just say i am staying true to henry-kotze-piland aunt status with the rather tall stack of tiny-baby-clothes goodness folded lovingly in my closet. yay!!

finally, a post is coming in which i put words to my mounting excitement and anxiety over the fact that I WILL BE TEACHING IN THE FALL. i've recently been made aware that i get to pick my ela AND journalism textbooks as well as all the novels we'll be reading in my 6th grade classes. that combined with the fact that i have several workshops to attend and a classroom (or 2?) to outfit on like, half a shoestring budget, and i'm a tad overwhelmed at the moment. i'll enumerate on all that in the next couple days. i'll be looking for some tips from all you creative peeps out there. now, is NOT the time to hold out on me. i'll need everything you've got.

who said teachers don't work in the summer?!!?