Give Thanks

It's been sort of a rough 4 months, and I feel like it has been very hard to remember what I am thankful for many days because I am so overwhelmed with the things that haven't worked out as I wanted. But, what is Thanksgiving for if not for forgetting all that bad stuff and reflecting on the blessings in life ... and honestly, there are many. I am truly very blessed. I've been thinking this over for a few days, and here are the things I have come up with that I am thankful for this Thanksgiving:

- my church: having found a place to worship, and get involved has made a tremendous difference in my life over the past 6 months. I am thankful to go every Sunday and praise and learn about God with a congregation full of people who love Jesus just as much as me. I am thankful for the ladies in my bible study who encourage me, inspire me, and pray for me. I am thankful for the ladies I work with while teaching Sunday school, and the opportunity to share my love of Jesus with His precious little lambs each week.

- old friends, new friends, and mended friendships that were once thought to be broken beyond repair: What a difference a year makes. I guess along with this I am thankful for my friends' ability to forgive ... even when I make mistakes, however monumental they might be, I am thankful that with time things can go back to the way they were, and in some cases may even be better than before. I am thankful to have so many friends that have known me so well for so long. I don't have to explain myself to these people, because many of them know me as well as I know myself. They have been there through it all. They know how I feel before I voice it. They are there to laugh with me when life is good, and sit and cry with me when it is not.

- my family: Again I must say, what a difference a year makes. Things have come a complete 180 since the holidays last year. I am thankful for the relationship I have with my mom and my dad as individuals. I am thankful that they are there to lend an ear when I need it and that they support me in all my ventures. I am thankful that my brothers, who were once such a pain in the butt to me, have turned out to be amazingly wonderful young men whom I adore. They have wonderful hearts and it makes me smile to be around them.

- I am incredibly thankful for a beautiful seven year old girl whose bold love and faith in Jesus reminded me what life is all about and set me back on the path I had strayed from. God used this wonderful little girl and her pure and simple faith to draw me back to His side. And I have to tell you, because of this child, my life is forever changed ... and most definitely for the better!

- which leads me to the last thing on my list; I am thankful for my savior Jesus Christ. I am thankful that He is ever loving and forgiving. No matter how many times I fall flat on my face He picks me up so I can continue on. He loves me in spite of all my shortcomings. He knows my every thought, and yet still, He loves me. He died for me; is that not an amazing kind of love? I can go about my life here knowing that this is not my home. I can look forward to a day when I will be with him in heaven for eternity. If that isn't something to be thankful for then I don't know what is.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

~ Psalm 107:1

So, what are you thankful for? Take some time to count your blessings today, and if you feel so inclined, share them with me. I would love to hear what you are thankful for this year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Michael Jackson moves

I forgot to post about another funny story from my day. We were talking about all the Thanksgiving related things we were going to do on Monday and Tuesday which got the kids thinking about holidays which led to Christmas. They started discussing amongst themselves our class holiday party which we will have in a few weeks.

Later in the day one of my kids came up to me and told me he had a great idea for the holiday party. I asked him what it was and he beckoned me down to him to whisper in my ear.

"We should get the Michael Jackson Christmas CD to listen to! Wouldn't that be great?!?"

I sort of did a smile and nod sort of move and he walked back to his seat. A minute later I look up and the kid is totally standing by his desk silently doing a Michael Jackson type dance. I am not even kidding, I almost fell on the floor it was so darn cute and hilarious! I love kids!! I'm laughing now just thinking about how funny it was. Wish I had a video.

Missy, this kid could totally give you a run for your money. I mean MC Hammer meets Hillary Duff is pretty good, but this was on the same sort of level :-P hahaha

New Moon

This was just laugh out loud funny today, so I thought I would go ahead and share. One of our school ESL teachers has started coming in my room daily and asked if she could teach some writing lessons. Um, OF COURSE! It's wonderful ... really wonderful! (especailly wonderful considering I am ESL certified so no one is required to come in, let alone do any teaching).

Anyway, totally not the point of the story (but a happy spot in my day nonetheless). So Judy was in my room today to teach writing, and while the kids were getting things out and ready she asked me, "what time are you going to the theater tonight". I looked at her with this what are yout talking about face before I realized that we are facebook friends so she had seen that I was going to the midnight showing of New Moon tonight. Once it clicked I told her we were going to get there around 11, and at about this time one of my kids pipes up (a boy no less!), "are you going to see New Moon??" I turned to him shocked and he repeated it, "are you going to see the midnight showing of New Moon tonight? Is that what you are talking about? My mom told me about it being tonight". Judy and I just about died laughing. How funny! Would NOT have expected a kid to know about that, let alone put together that me going to a theater tonight meant that I would be going to see that movie. haha

Fireflies

One of the speakers at the Women of Faith Conference was Patsy Clairmont, and let me just say that if you ever get a chance to hear this lady speak, don't pass it up. She was absolutely wonderful! She is this tiny (and I literally mean tiny, she's under 5 feet tall), animated (I'm talking dancing all over the stage animated), hilarious (about to make me pee my pants funny), older lady, with a lot to say. She was such an inspiration! After she spoke, I felt compelled to go out and change the world ... and that says a lot.

Patsy talked about fireflies. Think about what a firefly does. It is a small speck of light an otherwise dark sky. Do you remember the way you felt about fireflies as a kid? There was something magical about them wasn't there? The way they would twinkle as they lit up in the darkness. All you ever wanted was to contain the light. How many times did seeing a firefly bring a smile to your face? Can't you just picture your little 5 year old self dancing off through the yard trying to catch one?

Patsy compared our lives to fireflies. We are God's little fireflies, let out in the world to bring small flashes of light to dark places. We are charged with shining God's light. Stop and think about that for a second ... it's a lofty task. How is one person supposed to fill the world with God's light? It's simple really, you just have to start small. You don't have to fill the whole world with light, just the corner you are living in. And how do you do this? By loving on others, making people smile or laugh, going out of our way to do nice things for people, by putting others above yourself. When you think about it, it's really not all that difficult. You can bring happiness and hope to others by doing simple things to brighten up their day. You can be a light to everyone you come in contact with.

Here's the thing about fireflies: they wouldn't be quite so magical and special if there was no darkness for them to light up. The same is true of us. If we are going to be a light to others, if our job is to give people hope and light up their lives with smiles, there has to be some darkness in order to have the greatest impact. You can't appreciate the light without the dark. And that darkness, it's all around. It's everywhere you look. Whether you know it or not, everyone is dealing with some darkness in their lives. Why not try making it a point to shed some light into those dark places. Help someone out, smile at people you walk by, or take care of a friend in need. The light won't always look the same, but it always has the same effect.

This message really seeped into me this past weekend. I felt called to start living my life as a firefly, rather than moping around and focusing on myself. Each morning this week I have climbed out of bed with the thought in my head that I was going to spread light throughout the day ... and then I have gone out and done it! And my goodness, what a difference!! At work I have made it a point to spend less time worrying about my stress, and more time loving on the kids. And oh have we laughed this week. We have taken time out of our busy day (I assure you, it's very busy!) and just giggled. I can see a difference in the kids; their eyes twinkle when I sit down beside them and let them invite me into their 7 year old world. The kids are telling me silly stories and we are spending time laughing and smiling. It's wonderful!

And, in typical God fashion, He has let me know that my efforts are not in vain. I have randomly received multiple affirmations this week that what I do makes a difference and matters. And in my efforts to brighten other people's lives ... my own life has become much brighter. I am happy to get up in the morning again. I look forward to laughing with my second graders again. I love my life again. What a blessing! In making an effort to shine my light, I have been more open to receiving light from others. What a concept ...

It's funny how following God's will can be a blessing in your own life. Funny, but not at all surprising. That's the way it is supposed to be right? If only it didn't always take a smack on the head to figure that out.

Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven.

~ Matthew 5:16

Why not make it a point to be a light to someone this week? Make someone smile; bring them a glimmer of hope. You may be surprised what you get back in return.

Women of Faith

I have SO much to share about the Women of Faith Conference, so over the next few days I'll most likely be slowly blogging about the things that affected me enough that I feel led to record them and share them with you.

The entire weekend was just wonderful. Every single part was really fabulous! I cannot say enough good things about it. It was inspiring and uplifting and quite literally has changed my whole outlook on life right now! The speakers were hilarious, entertaining, open, honest, and real. The musical performances were phenomenal. The fellowship with the ladies from my ABF was really wonderful as well. I laughed, I cried, and I learned a lot! It was exactly what I needed right now to push me through the rest of the semester. I feel blessed and my heart is full.

This is absolutely going to be an annual event for me. I can't imagine missing out on it after having experienced how wonderful it was. It was so good, I am already thinking about who I can invite to go with me next year. I want all the people I love to have the chance to go!

Awesome day!

Today was such a wonderful day! In my classroom it was one of those days where the kids just listened, learned, and did everything exactly like I asked ... For example:

During our reading block the kids were so focused on doing their work during daily 5 that I was able to pull groups the full time, was not interrupted once, and the kids I worked with were able to practice new skills effectively. I love when that happens!

Then during writers workshop I was teaching the kids how to "hook" the reader by starting their stories with an exclamation. I shared examples of published authors that had used this strategy and challenged the kids to try it out in their work. Every day I teach them something good writers do and challenge them to try it. They aren't required to though, it's just a challenge to help them improve their writing. Today, I had multiple kids that did it effectively on the first try! YAY! They listened to me, were pumped up about it, and then tried it successfully.

In math we took a test over unit 6. 7 kids made a 100, 13 more made an A, and 1 made a B. Only one student needs re-teaching over the concept. That just rocks!

Then after school one of the parents of a student invited me to a celebration for their son for completing this academic program he has been involved in for the past 6 months. He has worked SO hard and has shown so much progress as a result (I had him last year and this year so I can really tell). I got there thinking there were going to be a number of people (it was sort of like a graduation) but then I realized it was actual this intimate family celebration. It warmed my heart that they had wanted me to come be a part of that. I love that kid to death. I am so proud of him. He seemed so proud of himself that it really just made my day!

And finally I got to meet up with my favorite kid in the world and her mom for dinner. I hadn't seen her since before school started and have been missing her like crazy! I totally miss seeing that kid in my classroom every day. It was wonderful to see them and catch up. I had such a nice time. It was a great end to a great day!

To make matters even better, I have tomorrow off to go to the Women of Faith conference. I have been looking forward to this for months and just can't wait! I feel like right now more than ever, I really need it. Should be a nice boost to get me through the rest of the semester. I'm sure I'll fill you in on the details after I get home on Saturday. :)

Christmas Music!

I noticed in the past couple days that Christmas decorations are going up everywhere. I'm not talking about just putting out Christmas stuff for sale, I'm talking about full out Christmas decorations everywhere. The first place I noticed it was in the shopping center by Randalls. It wasn't long before Target had decorated, I heard my first Christmas music in Family Christian bookstore, and then driving by town center today I saw they have their Christmas trees up down the road. I cannot tell you how happy this makes me! I love Christmas, it's so magical. Although, every year I still long for the days of a white Christmas in Colorado, but that's okay.

I figured that since the world was starting to decorate for Christmas, I could start listening to the music. Today I busted out my first Christmas music of the season and it put me in the best mood. My car CD player is now stocked with Sounds of Christmas 1, 2, and 3 (Thanks to Jenn!), Josh Groban's Christmas album, and Mannheim Steamroller's Christmas album. LOVE IT!

I'll hold out until after Thanksgiving before playing Christmas music in my classroom, but it is with great pain, I promise.

By the way, if you haven't heard Josh Groban's Christmas album your life is not complete. I'm not kidding. This was the first CD I have purchased from a store in something like 8 years. After I bought it and put it in my car, I ran some errands. Half an hour later I went back and bought as second copy for a friend because it is JUST THAT GOOD.

I could marry him for his voice. haha Let me put it into a little perspective for you: the way I feel about his voice is very similar to the way I feel about Ryan from The OC ... you know, when he has the curl ;-) mmm

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

Last week it was pumpkin pancakes, this week it's pumpkin pie oatmeal. Let me just say, wow! This oatmeal is the best I have EVER had! It's incredibly sweet, more like a dessert than a breakfast really, but oh so delicious!

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

The oatmeal is like a big bowl of gooey pumpkin deliciousness, and the topping gives it a wonderful sugary crunch which makes for a great contrast to the gooey oatmeal underneath. There is not one thing I don't like about this meal, seriously!

I have been known to make oatmeal and mix in some canned pumpkin and spices many times before. It's simple and tastes great. But I must say, this recipe totally puts that to shame! If you like pumpkin and oatmeal you HAVE to try this.

For the Oatmeal:

Mix together:

1 cup oats

2 1/2 T brown sugar

dash of cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg, and salt

In a separate bowl mix:

1/2 t vanilla

2 T softened butter

3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree

3/4 cup milk

Pour pumpkin mixture into oats mixture and stir. Pour into individual ramekins, place on cookie sheet, and bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. While that is baking prepare the topping.

For the topping, mix together:

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1 T brown sugar

1 T softened butter

After 10 minutes, remove oatmeal from the oven. Divide topping equally over ramekins. Place in oven and bake an additional 7 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Super Soft Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these cookies a few days ago but didn't get around to taking the pictures off my camera until today. You already think I'm the crazy pumpkin lady over here, so why not live up to the title?!? haha

Super Soft Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

As you can see, these cookies puff up quite nicely. They are almost cake-like they are so soft. It's quite literally like eating a piece of pumpkin cake, in cookie form. yum! I think these would be really good with some vanilla ice cream :)

Guppies and Snails

Today I introduced my class to their guppies and aquatic snails. Our fall science kit is all about organisms, so we have been spending the past few weeks talking about living things and their needs, and setting up habitats for different types of organisms. Well, our guppies and aquatic snails came in the mail Wed after school, but since we had a field trip yesterday I didn't introduce them to the kids until this afternoon. Man were they excited!! Each table group has their own aquarium with 3-4 guppies, 5 aquatic snails, and an aquatic plant, elodea. We spent this afternoon observing the aquariums and writing about our observations.

The kids decided they needed to give their new creatures names. One table group had 3 male guppies, and 3 boys at the table, so they named their guppies after each boy. Too cute. Some of my favorite names included:

- Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Snails Stinky (that would be first, middle, and last name LOL!)

- Dark Chocolate "because his shell is brown, like dark chocolate, duh"

and my all time favorite:

- Froggy "you can't just say 'froggy', you have to say it long and do your hands like this *jazz hands* 'frogggaayyy'!" I just about died laughing at this one!

Black Bean Soup

There are certain foods that I am drawn to, no matter what they are in. Some I have mentioned before: tomato and mozzarella, avocado, and pumpkin to name a few. But also, black beans. I LOVE black beans.

This morning a recipe for black bean soup showed up on one of the blogs I read. All day at school I could not stop thinking about that black bean soup, so I decided to try it out for dinner. This is one of those recipes that will become a staple for me. (Maybe it could even become my new speciality Missy, since I don't eat my old one anymore haha!) It literally takes under 5 minutes to prepare and it tastes great! Plus, you can easily keep these ingredients on hand for times when you want to throw something together quickly without any real planning.

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup salsa

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 t cumin

Combine everything in a food processor (or if you are me and don't own one, throw it in the blender haha). Blend until fairly smooth. Heat in a saucepan over medium heat. Ladle into bowls, and garnish with cheese and sour cream. That's it! It's so simple, but tastes really good! YUM!

It's time

If not now, then when?

Now is as good a time as any.

Maybe even a better time than most ...

Balance

Today I was working with a student at my table while the rest of the kids were doing independent work. I heard a large crash so I looked up to find one of my students on the floor, with their chair on top of them, and some of the things from their desk spewed about around them:

me: Um, what just happened?

student: Oh! Sorry, sorry! I just need to work on my balance, that's all.

student's neighbor: She just fell out of her chair. She was just sitting there and all of a sudden she fell. I don't know what happened!

later in the day the same student knocks into a table spilling a bunch of things over:

me: are you okay?

student: Oh, sorry! I just have to work on my balance!

Apparently balance is not a skill you can acquire without much practice. Who knew?

Letting go of the past

I've been doing some thinking about this since last week, and putting my words down on paper helps me to think out my ideas more clearly and solidify things in my mind. This is for me, but if someone else can benefit from it, than maybe it has a dual purpose.

Last Sunday in my ABF class, we watched this video about holding on to the past. The idea was that so many people waste so much energy wishing for things to be how they were "in the good old days", whether your good old days were many years ago, or just last year. I thought the video was very powerful and it really struck a chord with me. Those who know me well know that I am probably the absolute worst in the world at living in the past. It takes me SO long to adjust to something new, and I spend so much time wishing things could go back to how they were. Heck, I still wish on a regular basis that I could move back to the duplex on Holik, and I lived there 5 years ago for goodness sake! But the thing is, things can't go back to how they were. And by spending so much time holding on to the past, you (and by you, I mean me) are missing out on what wonderful things the present has to offer.

"when we're still holding on to how things were, our arms aren't free to embrace today"

There are a lot of things I wish I could change. There are a lot of things that are different that I wish could be the same...

"Life isn't static. It ebbs and it flows, and people grow up and move away and graduate and lose their jobs. And people that you love die, and some people get married and others don't, and some get divorced and some get cancer and things aren't how they were ..."

It's not the same, and it's not going to be the same. It's not supposed to be. That's not how life works. That doesn't mean that the new can't be as good as, if not better than, the old. You can't go back, only forward. Sometimes, all you can do is let go. Maybe it's letting go of an old friendship, an old hurt, or an old love. Maybe it's just letting go of the idea that a relationship can stay the same forever ... because it can't, people change, and that's okay. If you know that it isn't going to be the same you just have to decide if what the new brings is okay with you, or if you need to let it go completely. Holding on to what something was only keeps you from seeing what today has to offer. So, here's to making the most of each day, and looking forward not backward.

... But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 3:13-14

If you get a chance I highly suggest you watch this video. I searched for it online and found it on youtube, but unfortunately could only find it divided into two parts. It's about 12 minutes total, and if you need a little push, or a little encouragement, I'd say it's worth your time. (sorry about the spanish subtitles, it's all I could find)

Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese

Another post about pumpkin?!? It's not like you should be surprised at this point. haha

Do you like pumpkin? How about bagels and cream cheese? Okay, wait for it ...

Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Spread for Bagels!!

Are you excited?? If not, you should be! This is delicious!

I'm finding so many great pumpkin recipes that I love, I swear I am going to get fat eating them all! Seriously, it's getting a little out of hand! Just a little fyi, I currently have 27 recipes saved involving pumpkin. 27!! Thus far I have made 6 of them. That leaves 21 to go haha! No worries, I promise I won't make all of them (not this season at least), but I do have a number more different types of things I want to try. Clearly I have the canned pumpkin stock to do it. :-P Anyway, on to the recipe:

Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Spread

Ingredients:

4 oz cream cheese

1/4 cup pumpkin purée

3 T brown sugar

2 T maple syrup*

1/4 t vanilla

pinch of cinnamon

pinch of pumpkin pie spice

*the actual recipe called for maple syrup. As I stated earlier, I don't really like maple syrup, so it seemed silly to buy a huge bottle when I only needed two tablespoons. I did a little research and came up with a substitute. Mix together:

2 T boiling water

2 T brown sugar

1 t granulated sugar

Beat all ingredients together with a mixer until smooth. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Slather generously on top of a bagel (if you buy mini bagels like me, this would make for a great snack!). Enjoy!