oh lovely day

I had a couple of sixth grade sweeties want to stay after school today in order to clean some paint trays.  It turns out that they each normally stay after for an hour of homework club. Neither of them had homework and weren't being picked up for an hour anyway, so needed a place to be---but I'm not complaining.  So while they were working, I became very ambitious and decided to get some grading done.  After 45 minutes of that I decided to also seal a bunch of paper-mache Alebrijes (look for wonderful pictures soon).  This involves spraying an aerosol can of noxiousness.  Despite doing this right outside my door in the courtyard, within 20 minutes or so, my head was spinning.  So I went back to grading, but I could SEE the cloud of fumes lingering inside the classroom.  Suddenly my head began feeling like it was being pressed on both sides and I couldn't focus very well.  I decided to go home.

Upon leaving the building, I found that the weather and sky were having a beauty contest.  I'm not sure who won.  It was close.  But since I can't adequately photograph the weather, I snapped a few of the sky. Happy first-official-day-of-spring!  (And in true Colorado form, after a nearly perfect 72 degree sunny day, the forecast is for snow tonight.)

pics and sad conversation

Well, I don't have much to write about today.  Luckily, Marla requested some more photos, so here are some oldies but goodies.  Mostly from our wedding and one of Gabe looking very serious (a rare occurrence).

Sean,Dan,Micah,Gabe,Tim,Bob,Nate,Eric. Jessica,Cori,Lexi,me,Kristi,Janae,Chrissie. Josie,Lauren,Eva.

I did have a sad conversation with a sixth grade boy today.  Toward the end of class he approached me and said he would be switching schools in a few weeks.  He's has only been at our school for a few weeks as it is, so I asked him why.  He went on to tell me that he is living with his Dad, which apparently means he is living with his grandma (because he doesn't like Dad) and that he will be moving to the mountains with his mom soon when she gets out of jail.  He said she was in jail for tickets, that they are poor and couldn't pay the tickets, that his dad lied and accused his mom of doing drugs, that he really wants to live with his uncle, that he has 1 1/2 year old and 3 year old brothers who don't know his dad and that they don't know how to act like good people so he's the one who tells/shows them. He said at his old school he tried to get bad grades so he could prove to his parents that none of them cared enough about him, so why should he bother trying?  He's a really sweet kid and his grades have been pretty good at Horizon.  I told him what a great, smart kid he was and that his brothers are so lucky to have someone like him to look up to.  He said he didn't know what he thought about himself anymore.  I told him that I thought he'd be a really good dad when he grew up.  He said he wasn't going to have kids because he couldn't know for sure his wife wouldn't be a big loser that would hurt his kids.  But apparently his current girlfriend is "pretty nice."  He's 12. To hear him talk you'd think he was at least 18.  Poor guy.  I hope he is able to stay at Horizon somehow.

for marla and melissa

One more post because I forgot Marla requested a picture of my mom and Melissa was curious about Jessica.  These are from September '06, but it's all I've got on my computer.  There we are...

puncture wounds and works in progress

Recap of Daly's and my freak-out ten minutes ago:

I'm sitting on the couch.  Daly is sitting in window behind the couch.  Gabe bangs on the front door.  Daly panics and catapults off my head, digging his claws into my forehead.  I scream. Daly runs into a dining room chair face first.  I scream in pain and shock.  Daly's tail puffs up to 4 times its normal size.  Gabe feels very bad.  I stomp upstairs to blot the blood off my forehead.  Daly hides.  Gabe follows me.  I stomp back downstairs and pout a little.  Not proud.  Gabe hugs me.  He's nice.

Below are a few photos from the day.  Mostly eighth graders' works in progress, along with a t-shirt I was (pleasantly) surprised to see on one of my students.  He also had a Bible sitting on his desk.  Despite my rant last week about "kids these days" I find that some of them are thinking about more than just the opposite sex.

You know those cooked chickens they have at grocery stores? I'm pretty sure they pipe the scent through the ventilation system.  Well today, I caved and bought one.  I was craving Clementine oranges as I left school, so I stopped at the store.  The clementines were 7.99 a box!  So instead I bought bananas, daffodils, shampoo and a chicken.  I could barely stand the delicious fumes that filled my car on the drive home.  So I saved 7.99, but ended up spending $15ish.  Stinking chickens and their heavenly smell.

clay

Here are a couple pictures from Cori and Clay's visit yesterday.  He has grown so much since I last saw him!  Look at his eyelashes---so sweet!  

babies!

I got some pictures in the mail yesterday of Jessica's new little man, Max.  Thought you'd like to see them, Mom :)

Max

Max

Cori and Clayton were in town this afternoon and stopped by for awhile.  I got some good pictures of Clay, but for some reason they aren't uploading right now.  I'll try again tomorrow...

spring is starting to spring

The first flowers of Spring are blooming (at least the first I've come across). Here are a couple of pictures.  Notice the unbloomed tulips in the lower right quadrant...

After church today, I asked Debbie if I could take a picture of her sparkly feet.  Have to say, I've never asked someone that before, but she reluctantly agreed.  Thanks, Debbie!

Yay for Spring!  (Minus the snow we're supposed to get this afternoon, evening.)  

daly

yick

So as it turns out, yesterday when I thought I was chewing on my numb tongue, I was actually chewing on my numb lip.  Woops!

Today my 8th graders were finally at that great place in a project when they start realizing that this might actually be cool when they finish.  Once things really start coming together and they reach a place where their art is starting to look like, well, art---suddenly the class begins working more intently without my prompting them.  It's such a great time as a teacher because they start to take more pride in what they are making/doing.  It feels so fragile, like if I talk too much or sneeze that I'll break the concentration.  It's like trying not to wake a sleeping baby.  I want to get close and watch with pride and affection at what they're doing, but I don't want to be noticed too much.  So I tip-toe around beaming on the inside at the great art my surly 8th graders are making, careful not to "wake" them from these moments of concentration and creativity.

7th graders have been working with clay the last two days. Consequently I am a very popular and powerful person in their world right now.  Clay to students is like crack to an addict.  They'll go to great lengths to get it, use it, and get it again tomorrow.  Lengths even as far as following directions, and being kind to one another...It was a good day.

some art

One more post today:  Gabe and I have found a GREAT dentist.  This doesn't maybe sound like a big deal, but for us it is.  Neither of us had had our teeth cleaned for well over five years until last week.  Unfortunately our dentist found one cavity in my mouth (but after about 6-8 years of no cleaning, not so bad :). My first cavity.  So today I went straight to the dentist after school let out to have my cavity filled.  The whole right side of my jaw is numb and I forgot how funny it feels to have so much numbness!  I just tried to eat garlic bread and am pretty sure I was chewing on my tongue just as much as I was chewing the bread.  

Anyhoo, despite my earlier rant, I had a very nic

e day.  Here are a few pictures from the day and one older one (the text portrait) by an eighth grader last semester.  Enjoy!

These projects turned out really cool.  The entire portrait is made up of words (10+ synonyms for the emotion shown on the subject's face)

These are non-objective chalk pastel drawings by some 6th graders.