Saturday, January 24, 2009

Whats Goin On




Last Saturday we took a "field trip" to Hands On Museum in Johnson City with the Phipps family. It was lots of fun! The kids are already asking to go again!!





I spent last week in Charlottesville for a week long training. Chris was at home with the kids. In addition to following my directions (very well, I might add) he taught Maddie to count. It is so funny. He says, "Maddie wanta count" she says "yes" Chris proceeds to say "1" Maddie follows with "2" Chris says "3" Maddie says "4" all the way to ten. It is soooo funny! I am not sure if she will ever be able to count on her own :)!!

My training, at UVA, was awesome. I am not sure if the awesome part was having a hotel room to myself for a week or actually attending the training. Whatever the case, it was great for my mental health. I had the opportunity to go to dinner with Dr. Pianta. He is the author of the CLASS book that I was being trained on. It was very humbling to have the opportunity to spend time with him and hear the story behind the CLASS. I feel passionate about the book and encourage anyone that works in Early Childhood Education to read it.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

The Last Lecture



Over my much appreciated Christmas Break, I did a little reading. Historically, I have been a reader and I still read for professional purposes, however reading for pleasure has taken a back burner to my four energy filled, time consuming little ones. My sister recommended this book.

The book is titled "The Last Lecture". It is a story documented the true Last Lecture of a man named Randy Pausch. The book describes his diagnoses with terminal cancer and his attitude towards the end of his life. Randy was a computer science professor at The University of Virginia and at Carnegie Mellon University. He was only in his forties when he passed away and he left a wife and three very young children.

His lecture was entitled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". You can watch the entire lecture on You Tube, if you are interested. I would recommend that you read the book first. It is a must for any professional person. In the professional world we tend to become overwhelmed with our jobs, responsibilities, obligations, etc. This book allows you to look at life with a different perspective. It allows you to contemplate your own mortality and the legacy that you want leave at the end of your journey.

Upon completion of the book, I was overwhelmed with sadness. Following that I felt a strong sense of appreciation for my life, especially my health. Finally, I felt an urge to contribute something worthwhile as my legacy.

If your looking for a good book on a snowy day, this is a great one.

Friday, January 2, 2009

New Year's Fun

Family, Friends, and Fun!

Every December 31st we gather together with those closest to us to celebrate the completion of one year and the beginning of another. With New Year's comes a sense of excitement and anticipation, for we all wonder what mysteries the upcoming year will bring. Will we reach our perennial weight loss goals? Will we kick our nasty habits? Will we finally gain the courage to ask for that overdue pay raise? The list of New Year's resolutions is endless. What's funny is most of us are aware that we'll probably not achieve or satisfy our resolutions, yet we set these goals nonetheless. Why is this? I think the answer to this question is simple....we hope each year will be better than the one before. We believe we'll be happier if we can achieve these resolutions. However, will we really be happier if we lose that 20 pounds? I know I've been talking about losing weight for years, but when I truly think about it, I won't be any happier just a little thinner and a lot hungrier (hunger = unhappiness).

New Year's should be a time of thanksgiving and acknowledgment of the many blessings that the Lord has already bestowed upon us. We shouldn't focus on how the upcoming year can be better than the last, but rather focus our attention on the wonderful events of 2008. Some of us may have faced the loss of a loved one, illness, economic hardship, etc. in 2008, but I believe we should still emphasize the blessings of this past year. No matter how difficult times are, they could always be worse! I could deliver a very spiritual message within this post, but because this isn't my blog I will cease and desist.

In conclusion, I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year's! Be sure to live in the present, not the past or future. Again, I ask everyone to be thankful for the gifts 2008 brought. Enjoy every moment the Lord grants you.

Regards,

Jason (Guest Blogger)



We rang in the new year with lots of good friends. The Hall's, Phipps', Salyer's, Elkins' and Mullins' Families all came to take part in the festivities. Between all of the kids there were 11 girls and 1 boy. Sam was terribly outnumbered!! We ate a great meal prepared by Ness ( Chili and Baked Potatoes) and played games, waiting for the famous ball to drop. Our games were men against women. The men were successful in winning, however the women had much more fun!!





This is a picture of all of the "big" girls ( except Abby, I'm not sure where she was) They had a great time playing in our new play room.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Christmas 08

The time FINALLY came!! The kids had been counting down to Christmas since July!! The presents were wrapped and we were ready for Santa. Vanessa, Jason and Halle are here visiting. When Ness and I were little girls it was a family tradition to attend the midnight candlelight service at our church, Wise Baptist Church. We had not particpated for the past couple of years. This year we were determined, we being me and Ness. Jason and Chris were not at all excited, they thought the idea was unfeasible with 5 children. Of course, Ness and I won the battle and we headed out in the middle of the night. I woke Anna Beth up and she said" I haven't even had time to go to sleep". The kids were relatively good. At the end of the hour long service Sam, Anna Beth and Ava were asleep. Maddie and Halle were still going strong. It was a great reminder of the birth of Jesus in all of its splendor and humility.





Santa was kind enough to leave HUGE Lollipops in the kids stockings!!




Santa and his elves built Ava this awesome rocking horse. She looks so cute in it!!




Anna Beth asked for an American Girl Doll that looked like her!! Against my better judgement we broke down and bought it. She was so excited!!







Sam loaded up on all the latest boy toys!! I am not much on purchasing boy toys, it seems that you pay a significant amount of money for plastic. Regardless, I always buy whatever he wants, even if I can't pronounce the name of the toy. He loved all of his new toys!!





Our sweet Maddie loved the gifts, however she did not want to open them. After she finally warmed up to the idea she opened her gifts and everyone else's.