12.24.08
fun things
I love Christmastime because it turns my father into an 8-year-old elf. He starts scheming and mysteriously leaving the house and secretly working in the garage and sneaking up to my room with stuff to wrap (with very specific wrapping instructions). I love it!
I love Christmastime because it turns my mother into a chef. Since I have been home (for less than a week) she has made candy and cookies and chex mix and chili and gumbo and latkes and pumpkin cheesecake and the list goes on…
I love Christmastime because I get to do fun things like drive through Prestonwood and see the ridiculous/amazing/tacky christmas lights, hang out with Niraj, have Kendra over to spend the night, wrap a bunch of gifts, go to the movies, go to the lake, and sleep reeeeeally late. And this year I get to leaf through kitten adoption ads and think about cat names and find all of the cat supplies stored around the house!
But mostly, I love Christmas time because Jesus is the best gift. He was born to die. And he is coming again! That is something to celebrate!
Merry Christmas Eve!
12.18.08
Christmas Cheer
Yesterday was a fun Christmasy kind of day. Here are some pictures of what happened:
a tree
a snowman
a reindeer
a bell
an angel
and a star!
And who are the creative geniuses behind this mess? Here’s a look at their beautiful faces:
Amanda
Sam
Kendra
Mitchem
Stephanie
Marylyn
Leslie
and myself!
And after we made this huge creative mess, we went to Santa’s Wonderland. I really enjoy Santa’s Wonderland. I have gone at least once a year, and it is always magical. The best part is the end – the second to last scene is the Nativity, and the very last scene is the cross, the tomb, and Jesus’ resurrection. It is a great reminder of the purpose for Christmas – God came to the earth as a man, lived with us, taught us, forgave us, and paid the penalty of death for our sins so that we might be made right with God.
“God made Him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
12.16.08
Prizes!
And now for the prizes!
You might remember that I love cnn.com. I do. It is true. During the workday I cannot get enough liberal media coverage. And I discovered something new and hilarious. They sell t-shirts with headlines followed by, “*I just saw it on CNN.com. 9:37am 12.15.08”
Some of my favorites:
“Blagojevich scandal not funny, hair is!”
“1 in 3 workers hung over at the office”
“ ‘John McCain is aware of Internet’”
“Roads made safer with cheese”
So for Maxine, my best friend from high school who is now a journalist in DC, I think this is the perfect prize! Maxine, pick out the headline, color, and size you want, and I will get it in the mail to you! You can let me know your picks via Facebook. (sidenote: Why does spellcheck not recognize “Facebook”? Or “spellcheck”?)
Jessica, of course, for you…coffee. At one point in time, Jessica did not drink coffee. We were freshmen living on campus, and one day I convinced her to brave the cold weather with me to get some coffee. I explained the joy of coffee and described some of the less coffee-tasting options. She was a little wary. We trekked over to Poor Yorick’s coffee shop…only to find that it was closed. Sad day. Now, years later, Jessica is a coffee lover. I like to think that I played a part in sparking this addiction. There is a Starbucks in Boerne, right?
I love you both, my dears!
12.15.08
And the winner is…
Maxine! She got three right. There will be a prize forthcoming. Jessica will also receive a prize for being awesome and participating.
1. I put my hand on a kid’s desk and he licked it.
Funny – This kid is so touchy, and it was just so… “him” to lick me as a sign of affection. I just moved my hand, gave him the look, and kept on teaching.
2. One of my kids uses a visual schedule with these little velcro pieces. I told him to hand the velcro pieces to me. He took them out of his mouth and put them in my hand.
Gross – Same kid, same saliva, but I was seriously grossed out when he handed me the slobber covered velcro pieces. I told him that it was disgusting and told him never to put them in his mouth again.
3. A kid ate an eraser. ATE. Like, swallowed.
Gross – I saw him put it in his mouth. I told him to take it out. He said, “But I ate it.” Totally seriously, like it was a piece of candy. All the other kids were grossed out. So was I.
4. One of my kids’ lips were chapped, so he was picking them. I told him to stop. 5 minutes later the kid who sits next to him says, “Ms. Moore, he is picking his lips and throwing the meat at me!”
HILARIOUS! I mean, don’t get me wrong. It is gross. But when she said “meat” I lost it. I was laughing so hard. Does that make me an awful teacher? I made him apologize, but we were all laughing so much at that point, it was pointless.
5. I had a detailed conversation with a kid about her constipation. And then got to repeat the conversation for the school nurse. And then had to pass on the message to the rest of her teachers via email.
Funny – We have these conversations about once a month. She always fumbles around to try and use appropriate words, but ends up frustrated and not knowing what to say. So I tell her to just say what she means, and assure her that she won’t get into trouble for saying something inappropriate. So she just comes out and says it. I will not write what she says here, but think 4th grade potty humor, and you’re on the right track. And I think to myself, “My brother could NEVER be a teacher.”
So there you have it, folks. A day in the life of a special ed teacher. Seriously, my job is so entertaining and challenging and I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.
I am pretty disappointed in the turnout for the contest. I have shy readers. My blogstats tell me I have readers. I know you are out there. I kept holding out on announcing the winner, hoping for more participation, but alas…
Thanks Jessica and Maxine!
12.09.08
hilarious or gross? you tell me!
Here is a list of things that happened today at school:
1. I put my hand on a kid’s desk and he licked it.
2. One of my kids uses a visual schedule with these little velcro pieces. I told him to hand the velcro pieces to me. He took them out of his mouth and put them in my hand.
3. A kid ate an eraser. ATE. Like, swallowed.
4. One of my kids’ lips were chapped, so he was picking them. I told him to stop. 5 minutes later the kid who sits next to him says, “Ms. Moore, he is picking his lips and throwing the meat at me!”
5. I had a detailed conversation with a kid about her constipation. And then got to repeat the conversation for the school nurse. And then had to pass on the message to the rest of her teachers via email.
These things come up on rare occasions, but today I was just bombarded with them! And I can choose to either get thoroughly grossed out or just laugh. Some of these grossed me out. Some of these cracked me up (sometimes on the inside…somtimes on the outside)
So…I think this calls for a CONTEST!
Leave your comments, and guess which ones I thought were gross and which ones I thought were hilarious. Whoever gets the most right wins!
Why? Because I want to know who all my blog readers are! So here is your chance to de-lurk and fess up! Quit reading in silence and make yourself known!
There just might be a prize at stake…okay, not a 2008 Honda CRV. But something I can send in the mail. Something exciting!
Let the guessing begin!
12.08.08
not me!*
This weekend I was not sick.
I did not call in sick the night before work and email last-minute lesson plans to my aide. I am not a slacker like that. I don’t miss work.
I most certainly did not stay in bed for two days straight. That would have been a massive waste of time.
I definitely didn’t get out of bed, take a shower, and put my pjs right back on, and get right back into bed. That would be disgusting.
I did not call one roommate and ask her to buy me Nyquil, and another to buy me Sprite because I was too gross to leave the house. I am not a moocher like that.
I did not cancel a trip to Houston or cancel plans to babysit for beautiful, Nyquil-induced sleep instead. Not me!
My bedroom floor was not covered in tissues because I was too lazy to get out of bed to move the trashcan over to the side of my bed. That would be gross.
I didn’t make my roommate’s fiance leave a delivery on the front porch because I was too gross to be seen by anyone of the opposite sex. That would have been rude. And vain. Not me!
Who would do any of that stuff? Not me, that’s for sure!
*alternately titled: the post where I tell a bunch of lies
12.06.08
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free thine own from Satan’s tyranny
From depths of Hell, Thy people save, and give them victory o’er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer our spirits by Thine advent here.
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, O come, Thou Lord of might, who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height,
In ancient times did’st give the Law, in cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
This is my favorite Christmas carol. It is the epitome of advent – expectation.
The advent season parallels the expectation of the Messiah (Jesus), with the expectation we experience today of His return.
Look at all the examples of expectation of the long-awaited Messiah:
In the first stanza Israel is mourning in exile, waiting for God’s son to come and ransom them. I have debated whether this is the Egyptian captivity or the Babylonian exile, and finally decided that it doesn’t matter. Both were times when Israel greatly anticipated the coming Messiah.
In the second stanza, Israel is expecting the Rod of Jesse. Jesse was David’s father. God had made a covenant with David, promising a king from the line of David to rule over Israel. Jesus’ lineage can be traced back to David – he is the long-awaited Davidic King! He came to give us victory over the grave – “God made Him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God.”
The “DaySpring” comes from Zechariah’s prophecy. He was the father of John the Baptist. Shortly after John was born, Zechariah prophesied that John would be a prophet of the Most High, the “DaySpring that visits from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.” John the Baptist actively advented (yes, I just verbed that) – anticipated the coming Messiah!
The fourth stanza refers to the Messiah as the Davidic King again.
In the fifth stanza, we see Israel waiting at the bottom of Mt. Sinai, where God gave Moses the Law. Moses went up into the mountain, God came down in a cloud. Someone recently pointed out to me how this looks ahead to the second coming of Christ, when He will come down, and believers will be lifted up.
But most notable in this song is the use of Emmanuel – God with us. Isaiah 7:14 says, “A virgin shall bring forth a son and call his name Emmanuel.” Long before His birth, an Old Testament prophet declared the birth of “Emmanuel” to a virgin. Emmanuel – God with us. God put on skin, and walked around with us. GOD. With US. Incredible. Why would God himself leave the glory of heaven to come to earth? For God SO loved the world.
This Christmas carol is so rich. It tells the story of the anticipation of God with us.
12.04.08
my quotable kids
My aide (Mrs. R), whom I love love love, announced this week that she is going to be a grandmother! Very exciting news!
She announced this to all of our students, and one girl in particular was just so excited. She applauded and told her, “Congratulations!!!!” It was adorable.
The next day, this girl came in and half-way through class, and suddenly remembered the exciting news. She looked up and asked Mrs. R, “Do you still have that granddaughter of yours?”
Mrs. R explained that she will have a grandchild, it may be a girl or boy, but it won’t be until the summertime.
The girl replied giddily, “Oh, Mrs. R, that is so kind of you!”
Another student chimed in with, “Mrs. R, thank you!!!”
It was ridiculously precious! Where do they get this stuff??
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It reminded me of a student I taught last year in LIFE skills. This boy has Down Syndrome, and is Mr. Personality. He once wrote a love letter to Kathy, a lady he met at Wal-Mart. It went like this:
“Dear Kathy, Greetings and salivations. My home is your home, so drop by any old time. And visey-versy. Love, your honeybun.”
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While I’m at it, I’ll toss in some more funny kid stories…
I cannot stand tattle-tales. I hate it. SO much. It makes class very unpleasant when the kids are constantly griping about one another. So in my class, if you feel like there is something I need to know that another student did, then I have a box. They write down their grievance and put it in the box, and I read them after class. This works like a charm! They really only bother writing stuff down if it really really upset them instead of all the trivial little “He’s breathing on me” kinds of complaints.
Some examples (names have been changed to protect the guilty):
“Carlos sahd me herd.” Whaaat? No clue.
“Kristi hit me.” Hit who?? I guess I am supposed to use my ESP/handwriting deciphering skills to figure it out…
“Darion pork.” Translation: Darion poked me. I love this one!
12.01.08
Christmas musings
I have been pondering the Christmas season this year and how I might focus more on the “God putting on flesh, God with us” aspect of it and less on the other “stuff” that is (mostly) nice, but lacks much depth.
These are some of the things I am thinking through…
During this Christmas season how will I live simply?
During this Christmas season how will I give generously?
During this Christmas season how will I love radically?
There are some of the answers I am finding…
Studying these daily advent devotions.
Giving thoughtful, but less expensive gifts.
Praying about how to give the money that I save (by doing the above) to further God’s kingdom.
Spending good, quality time with my family and friends.
Dissecting Christmas carols (the ones about Jesus, not Santa) and really worship as I sing.
The last of which will hopefully be done here! On this very blog! For the benefit of my few but faithful readers for whom I am so thankful!
So be on the lookout…and keep me accountable. If I slack off, please berate me via comments. I will appreciate it greatly, dear friends!
