God's Rainbow

I think spring is here. It's been rainy, sunny, sprinkling, sunny again, downpouring... all in a matter of minutes. You'd almost expect to see a rainbow sometime, but I think the rain and clouds are coming too often for the sun to create any bands of color.

The other day I was outside and I did see a rainbow, although not as you would expect.

Thankful Saturday... One Chapter Closed, Another Opened

As the season for graduation parties begins, the reality of summer vacation is here. It was a good year at school, with many great accomplishments by my students. With students ranging from preschool to seniors in high school, I was constantly busy. For this reason, the year flew by.

It was just a year ago that I was offered a proposition to teach preschool three mornings a week, while the afternoons and Tuesdays and Thursdays would be my time with the junior and senior high students. I was excited about the possibility of teaching preschool, since my degree is in early childhood. My only skepticism came with not being in my other class full-time. It actually worked out well and the students got a lot of work done this year. I am really proud of them.

Once again, I am facing change in my teaching. I have been asked to teach preschool full time, with two 4-year-old classes and a 3-year-old class. I will no longer be teaching the junior and senior high students. While I'm excited about the prospect of next year, little did I realize that change would be this difficult. The reality of it hit me on the last day with my junior and senior high students. I've been hearing an undercurrent of sadness from my girls, but I think I was too busy with end-of-the year projects to worry about it too much. Some sentiments were If Miss L. isn't going to be here next year, I'm not coming back. I don't want Miss L. to leave. I think I'll homeschool next year.

Once all their tests were done on Thursday, the girls started coloring and drawing. I began to find random notes around my desk, computer, and a couple even stuck to my shirt. Here are a couple examples of what I found:

Yes, these were very cute--cute enough that I'd take pictures of them (all the while thinking of a blog post), but I almost lost it when I found this one stuck to my shirt.

It was at that point I realized this was a day of many "lasts." Last tests to grade, last daily trivia question, last goal checking, last awards program, last fun day with my students. Every thing we did that day I realized was a "last," and something inside my heart began to feel sad. I made it though the graduation and end-of-the-year slide show without any tears, and even when a parent thanked me for the years of teaching their children, I was okay. It wasn't until I went back to the classroom, after everyone was gone, that I noticed the silence and saw the empty desks and realized that my days of teaching at Grace Christian School were over.

While it hasn't always been a "bed of roses, I've enjoyed my time teaching and pray the students will do as well for their next teacher.

One chapter closed...

Another opened.

Wordless Wednesday... Preschool Graduation

Wordless Wednesday

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. But read mine first, because I'm not so super excited to tell you what I did not do this week.

After writing last week about how much I love photography, it was not me who purchased a new camera on ebay. I did not check my email every hour on the hour to see if there was a status update. (There was none.) The following day, I was not completely angry when I got an email from the seller, telling me that the camera came with only one lens, not two as was in the listing. Okay, there's not usually a whole lot that can upset me, but you mess with my camera and you might see my cheeks get a little red! Once I calmed down, it was not me who spent hours of time searching for another camera. Well, long story short... I absolutely, definitely, for sure did not purchase another camera and 2 lenses, only 2 days after I bought the first one! And it only cost me $1.95 more than the first one!

On one of the warmest days this week, I did not decide it was time to clean my car, which had not turned into a storage bin on wheels. It could not have been me who emptied and threw away a trash can full of stuff (and my car is not very big)! As I was talking on the phone with my friend Sue, I did not gasp when I found a pile of sunflower seeds in the back of my car. What to do now? There can't be anything dead in here, because I don't smell anything. Does that mean there's something alive in here? I don't think I want to know! I was not tempted to just pile everything back in there and forget about it, because I was not prepared to deal with a live critter in my car. I finally decided to persevere and ended up vacuuming everything. The "simple" task of cleaning my car did not take an hour and a half and I will not wait 5 months to clean it again.

On Saturday, I went to an auction at Miracle Bible Camp. Waking up that morning, I did not see snow-covered roof as well as a thermometer dipping to 29 degrees. I picked up two of my students and we headed to camp for a fun-filled day. During the hour drive to camp, the clouds began to break up and the blue sky emerged. It was still chilly and windy, but it was nice to see the sun. In spite of the cold beautiful weather (on May 16th), I did not don a t-shirt, sweatshirt, and fleece jacket (while secretly not wishing for earmuffs) before browsing the auction items.

As the day progressed, the "excitement" increased. I had already won 2 items and was just waiting to bid on the 3rd item I had my eye on. My 2 students that came with me did not disappear for most of the day, leaving me to wonder where they went. My friend Sue needed to use my cell phone, so I did not give her the keys to the van. She did not return with my phone and sheepishly hold out her hand to give it to me. When I asked her if there was reception, she did not look at me and say "I locked the keys in the van." I did not immediately start laughing. (I also did not have in the back of my mind This will make a great story for Not Me! Monday.)

The rest of the afternoon was not spent going back and forth with making alternate plans for getting home, bidding on items, getting sunburned, and watching eagles fly overhead. The most hilarious item of the day was definitely a gold dryer. I can't give details yet, so please keep reading. As people were loading their vehicles with their purchased goods, I did not see a truck drive over a bunk bed that my friend Deb had bought for her twin boys. Seriously, how dumb are you to drive over a pile of metal? When they went to talk to the guy, he did not say, "I thought I had enough room to cut the corner. Guess not." At the end of the day, we did not pile 7 people into Sue's van and head for home, all the while formulating a plan for retrieving the van and the remainder of the items at camp. So after an hour drive home, six stops, trading cars, finding spare key, and a stop at Burger King, we did not continue our adventure back to camp, as I told Sue, "Remind me to take a picture of that dryer when we get to camp."

By the time we got there, it was rather dark and we did not have to shine headlights in the field so we could see what we were doing. While we were loading the truck, I did not feel like we were sneaking around like thieves. Once the items were loaded, I began to look for the dryer. There was a pile of stuff under a large blue tarp, with boards all around to hold the tarp down. We did not have to strategically park the vehicles so we could see what we were searching for. All the while hoping that the dryer was, in fact, under the tarp, I did not scream with excitement when I saw its ugly, grotesque color beaming back at me. Imagine three people (Sue, her son Patrick, and myself) trying to hold up a 25' tarp so I could get a picture... not an easy task, my friends! Well, here are the pictures you've (hopefully) been waiting for...

Is that dryer not the most beautiful thing you've ever laid eyes on? It's like a bad nightmare from the 70's. (Notice the blue tarp overhead.) It should come as no surprise to you that this dryer would not sell at the auction, even with starting bids of $2.50. But, the color is not the only drawback. As the auctioneer was starting the bidding, a lady opened the dryer to find this...

No, that is not clothes that you see there in the dryer. You are completely mistaken! Seeing this, the lady did not slam the door after she held up this...

No, that is not a bra that was found in the dryer. Who knows how long it's been there... Let's hope it was clean since it was in the dryer!

I did not get home at 11:00 p.m., fifteen hours after I first left home. It was not a super fun, fabulous, exciting, tiring day... and I am not counting the days until next year, wondering what could possibly happen to outshine this year's auction.

Well, there's another week of a lot of crazy happenings... I mean "not-happenings." Try it next week. It's really fun!

Not Me! Monday UPDATED

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Well, after my incredibly not stupid happenings last week, I did not realize that this week was rather dull. But here goes anyway....

Since I do not love taking pictures, I was not completely surprised to find that I only have 435 MB of disk space left on my computer. Do you think it's time to burn some DVDs and clear up some space?

Since I "love" physical therapy, I was not completely ecstatic on Tuesday when I went to my LAST therapy. As I was doing my last exercise, I most certainly did not hear/feel a snap in my leg, very similar to the snap I heard which started this whole ordeal. As I took my first step, I was not expecting excruciating pain and I did not start praying that I wasn't going back in progress. There wasn't the excruciating pain and I can still walk, but there definitely is something that feels different. So I guess I'll just work through it. When I first started therapy, I borrowed a tilt board to use at home for exercises. Since this was my last session, I got it out of my car so I could return it to the therapist. As I shut my car door, I did not peer through the window only to see my keys lying on the front seat. No, the doors were not locked and I was not stranded at there until I was able to find someone to get me a ride home. This was not a less-than-perfect ending to a two-month physical therapy experience. I'm just glad I'm DONE!

After my moment of sheer panic last week, I was not at the SAME pump when I did not find another foreign object in my gas tank. Okay, so the object wasn't foreign... only a piece of paper, but the location?? Paper does not belong in my gas tank. All I'm wondering is Who keeps putting stuff in my gas tank??? Not funny, people.

This weekend, my friend Dawn and I went to the movie Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, starring Matthew McConaughey. As the movie started and Matthew made his first appearance on the screen, Dawn and I did not hear a collective sigh from the crowd that was not 99.9% women.

After the movie, we did not go to Dairy Queen and proceed to talk for an hour and 45 minutes.

After hearing that MckMama's story was going to be in the Star Tribune on Sunday, I was not holding my breath as I stopped at the gas station (not the same one with the gas tank incident), hoping that all the copies were not sold out. After not purchasing two copies (one for my sister), I did sit in the car and read the article before I went home and did not read it again.

Yesterday, I did not buy another camera. I was not completely upset when the seller emailed me today to let me know that the camera only came with one lens, not two as was in the listing. I did not "unbuy" the camera, only to being the process of perusing ebay listings once again. Since the money is not refunded yet, I do not currently own four cameras.

Today I was not completely thrilled to get a direct message from MckMama on Twitter today!!! I did not feel super special!

So there's another week's worth of things I have not done. Join the fun next week!

Spring in Minnesota

A beautiful day in northern Minnesota was reason enough for me to get outside and take some pictures. I absolutely LOVE spring. Seeing the green buds on the trees, feeling the warm sunshine on my face, hearing the birds chattering in the trees, smelling the sweet scent of violets... I love it all.

God's creation is so amazingly beautiful. Every time I witness the newness of spring, I'm reminded of the transformation that takes place when a life is surrendered to Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" Remember this as you enjoy this beautiful season!

Not Me! Monday

Well, it's time once again for Not Me! Monday. It is good to have MckMama back on board! Check out her blog to see what she and everyone else has not been up to this week. Wow, it's been a very busy week. It's a good thing I have not done anything stupid this week, so this post will not be rather short. Grab a cup of coffee and maybe some toothpicks to stay awake for this one.....

After my sister Erin returned home after her two-week visit in MN, I did not start wondering where the awful-smelling leather "not-candle" was hidden. If you missed the complete story, click here. I was told that it would appear sometime soon, in a normal activity, so I wasn't too worried about it. BIG MISTAKE! While going the routines of a normal Tuesday--school, meetings, prep for preschool, buying gas.... WAIT A MINUTE! HOLD ON! Here's where I did not nearly freak out and get sent to the mental institution. As I opened the door to my gas tank on my car, I did not feel something stuck inside, and when seeing something duck-taped in there, I did not have thoughts such as Do I hear a ticking noise? Who would put something in a gas tank... unless they're going to blow it up!!! AAAHHHH! It's a bomb. I'm gonna die! The entire town will go up in smoke once the gas station explodes! Uh, what?!?! It's the stupid candle?!?!? Oh, Erin's gonna die! Once I regained my composure--about two seconds later--I did not call Erin and say, "You are such a FREAK!" She did not start laughing immediately because she knew exactly what I was talking about. Oh, but the paybacks are sweet, let me tell you! Just wait, little sister!

Because of the busy social life I do not have, this week I did not have something going on 4 nights; therefore, I did not realize at the end of the week that I'd eaten at Subway 3 times. In a town of less than 10,000 people we do not have 3 Subways, and I did not visit all three of them this week.

Being somewhat sick of Subway after my 3 visits, I did not choose to get a ham and cheese from Arby's. As I pulled up to the drive-thru window, I did not realize that I had left my wallet at home. I did not drive away from Arby's with a hungry stomach and I was not reminded of my stupidity all night as my tummy rumbled until I got home to eat something.

With excitement rushing through my veins in anticipation of a "girls night out" to watch a movie, I was not hurrying through Wal-Mart trying to find a snack to share. After picking up mozzarella bites and pizza dipping sauce, I was not leisurely browsing through the store when I hear a loud shattering sound. Glancing around, I definitely did not realize that the sound came from my cart, and when I looked down, I absolutely did not find a jar of pizza sauce smashed to smithereens on the floor. Not feeling like Urkel, I did not immediately think Did I do that? The proof was not in the splattering of sauce all over the legs of my jeans.... and we will not even talk about my white tennis shoes that did not have red accents. After checking to make sure no one saw this incident, I did not walk around for a few minutes, trying to find someone to clean it up--okay, I was really trying to convice myself to do so. As I was not arguing with myself, I did not hear a kind voice over the pager Can I get a member of maintenance to Men & Boys for a clean-up. (I was in the aisle between the fitting rooms and the boys' department.) I did not give up shopping for the rest of my things because I did not see pizza sauce footprints following me through the store.....

Could it be the Subway food? I did not stay up until 1:30 AM three nights this week. Hmmm... Subway 3 times.... late night 3 times.... Is there a connection?

On our last night of Cubbies, you can be certain that I would never think of giving ice cream sandwiches to preschoolers right before sending them home to their parents. That would be too cruel for Mom and Dad, so that's something I for sure did not do.

I did not kick off my garage sale season by travelling 30 miles with a friend to every garage sale seeker's dream. We did not find an entire arena filled with clothes, shoes, books, knick-knacks, plants, furniture, etc. I did not smirk when I saw that they had a concession area, and not just a couple tables. We're talkin' a small cafeteria! My first impression of amazement was not outdone by the booming voice I heard over the loudspeaker. Really, a loudspeaker? That's gotta be a new one! I did not come out of there with 6 bags of stuff, having spent only 5 dollars. I did not consider finding a 2010 calendar and marking the date for their next sale!

I am not proud to say I'll be number 818 or rather 819 to link my post on MckMama's blog!

Chances are, if you've been around for a while, you are already familiar with Not Me! Monday. If, however, you're a newcomer, check out MckMama's blog and enjoy the other brutally honest people who have done some stuff they're less than proud of, but have lived to tell about it!