Apples & Chalkdust

Christmastime

2008-11-21T17:11:00.012-06:00

It all starts the day after Halloween . . . I break out the Christmas music and start talking about putting up the tree. This year, the music started on November 3 when I returned to school and created a Christmas playlist for Media Player. People coming to my office made comments that week about how early it was to be listening to Christmas music, but as time went on, more and more of them started getting out their CDs.

Two weeks ago tonight (that would be the 7th,) we went to Piedmont for Chinese buffet. While we were eating, we found out that the florist from our wedding was having his annual Christmas open house that night, so we stopped in for a couple of hours. After contemplating different purchases, including all new decorations for our existing tree (about $700) or two candles ($40), we found three rustic trees in the corner of the shop, decorated in a woodsy, cabin-type theme. It reminded us of the time we spend in the Smokies and made us look forward to our upcoming trip over Christmas vacation.

When we asked Lester how much the three trees would cost, with decorations, he said he'd just have to take everything off and add it up. We decided to let him do it and go ahead and buy it. After several minutes of pulling decorations, making lists, adding up all the birds, stockings, snowmen, berries, ribbon and trees, and throwing in a few more snowy berry branches, the total price was $400.62. We loaded the decorations and made arrangements to pick up the trees at Lester's house the next morning.

Impulse buys? I don't really think we know how to make any large purchases without making impulse decisions. We often wait and watch before buying things - usually for many months - and then suddenly something jumps out at us as the perfect option and we buy it. I'd been planning to re-do the entire Christmas tree this year anyway, and I'd been watching for colors and themes at Hobby Lobby and Kimmswick. Then, when we found the right one, we knew it.

So . . . the long awaited pictures of our three Christmas trees:

Who's Signing the Check?

2008-08-22T22:04:00.003-05:00

In the class I took this summer, Dr. Buchanan said, "if you're getting a paycheck from a school district, it's a great place to work for." The whole idea behind that thought is that no matter who you work for, and no matter how bad it may seem, the fact that they employ you and give you a paycheck means that they deserve enough respect that you're not bad-mouthing them all the time. I thought about that a lot while we were on vacation the second time this summer, and a few times since then.

What if everyone had the attitude that, because they're being paid by someone, their employer is, at the time, the best to work for? How would service in restaurants and stores change? Now I've been very impressed with some of the employees in some not-so-high-paying jobs lately, but I've also encountered those who complain about everything they have to do and act as though it's a bother just having to talk to me. The difference? Pride in the job they are doing and support for whoever is writing the check. That's what separates those who will bend over backward to keep a customer happy, no matter what the circumstance, and those who would rather see you turn around and walk out than to help you.

But how does a new generation of employees learn this piece of work ethic? Maybe it's time we start modeling that for them in the classroom and the hallways, and challenging them to have a great attitude beginning with the first job they get, even if it's cleaning the grease trap at McDonald's every Friday night.

Hmm - that reminds me of something else I need to post about - our Good Friday experience at Joe's Crab Shack. Coming soon . . . .

Newest Addition

2008-03-11T19:29:00.011-06:00

Can it be . . . I'm actually sitting here in the recliner, watching American Idol and blogging? The two things I've been avoiding like the plague lately. Actually, I've avoided American Idol for its entire run, but without 24 this season (thanks a lot, writers strike,) I've added Idol to the DVR schedule - right there with Family Feud, Andy Griffith, Jack's Big Music Show, and the Backyardigans . . . and I'm actually enjoying it. I've may have made a conscious effort to not get wrapped up in the Idol hype, but I haven't been purposefully avoiding blogging. It just happened. And now I have junior high students, teachers, and friends asking me on a regular basis when I'm going to blog again.

Over the past three months, I've had a few ideas for how to continue blogging. With more demands at work than I was used to in my last job, I've found that there's not much time in my day to sit down, clear my head, and blog. The first idea I had was series blogging - focusing a few posts on a central topic. Possible topics included "Dear Presidential Candidate . . . " where I'd write open letters to all the remaining candidates to tell them why I would or would not vote for them. Another thought I entertained was "Why I'm _____" where I'd explain why I do or believe certain things - Why I'm a Republican; Why I'm a Christian; Why I'm not blogging lately . . . ." The other idea was just continuing just as in the past with a potpourri of life's experiences as they happen and as I take the time to share them. So before this site goes the way of my Xanga site, my first website, and the fifteen email addresses I've had over the past ten years, I'm back after three months of silence, and I'm ready to share some huge things that have been happening in my life.

Two weeks ago yesterday, my wife and I packed our bags and went to bed prepared to head to Farmington the next morning for her to be induced and have our second baby around two o'clock. Everything for baby two was planned - the total opposite of what had happened a little over seventeen months earlier when our daughter surprised us by showing up a month early. This time, we knew the sex of the baby, the day he'd be born, and even the approximate time.

About two hours before we should have started getting ready on Tuesday morning, Jessica woke up with pain that she thought resulted from contractions. We decided to get ready early, and if the pain stopped, we'd just wait around at home until it was time to make our way to the hospital. If the pain continued, we thought it would be better to get an early start in case she was already in labor. By five, we were on the road.

The events of the first three hours in the hospital now seem like a blur. From OB to the emergency room, to the parking lot to get the insurance card, back to the ER, and then back to OB, I felt like the nurses were just trying to keep me busy so I'd stay out of the way as they prepped Jessica for the birth. I'd much rather have revisited the first hour I spent at the hospital when Ella was born, while I sat, sleeping in the emergency room waiting area, thinking we were only there for a quick examination.

With phone calls made and family members headed our way, I was finally able to make it back to the delivery room to find out that we were just minutes away from the epidural . . . perhaps the best part of the whole day . . . and that the doctor had estimated delivery time at 10:15. Our parents and Ella arrived sometime between eight and nine. They were able to take turns visiting with Jessica in the delivery room before the action started picking up. Unfortunately, about the time the epidural started kicking it, it slowed contractions to the point that the anesthesiologist had to add another drug to start them up again. That pushed the estimated delivery time up a little, but we were still going to have a baby by noon.

Recovering from a staph infection or spider bite (what it really was will be disputed for years) and just a day after being diagnosed with a viral infection, I wasn't exactly feeling the adrenaline rush that I should have been throughout the morning. As we neared delivery, the nurses started assembling the necessary tools, and the doctor dressed in his gown and catcher's mit, it seemed as though the heat kept rising and the room started spinning. With six people crowded in half the room and the curtain pulled just behind me, I felt the claustrophobia taking over. Cold sweat beads running down my face, I found myself having to sit down a couple of times. I was able to muster the necessary strength and overcome the queasy feeling just in time to see my son come into the world - and I was down again.

At 11:49, we welcomed the fourth member of our family, Joseph William Marc, into the world. As special as the birth of a first child is, the second child is just as special and the overwhelming pride and joy is just as real. After snapping a few quick pictures, I slid out of the room to leave the professionals to do what they do best (this time, the OB department wasn't as busy, so I didn't have to be the assistant), show the grandparents pictures of their first grandson, and get a breath of cool air. Once I was able to catch my breath, I returned to the delivery room to take more pictures, then brought Ella back to meet her new brother.

For the past two weeks, we've been able to spend a lot of time together, refreshing our relationships and building new bonds with Will. Ella has been a great big sister - helping with feeding and other baby care, and giving him a sweet goodnight kiss each night at bedtime. Being an only child for seventeen months, we were afraid she would be jealous of the new baby taking our attention, but we're trying to make her feel as much a part of what's going on as he is, and she's definitely handled it much better than we had expected.

Jessica and I have fallen in love with our son, and we're excited about where his life will lead. God has a special plan for all of our kids. On the way home from school this afternoon, I was listening to the new MercyMe CD. The first track is a song about living an extraordinary life - one that is God's will and not the ordinary life that we often grow used to. I pray that this will be one song that defines Will's life, and I pray that Philippians 3:12-14 is something that he clings to as I have.

"Goodbye Ordinary"

I wonder when we first bought into this
So satisfied with status quo
Have we convinced ourselves
That this is all there is
Well all that is within me
Says we were meant to break free

Live like there's no tomorrow
Love extravagantly
Lead a life to be followed
Goodbye ordinary
Goodbye ordinary

We were never meant to compromise
Settle for mediocrity
This life was never made
To be a waste of time
Well all that is within me
Says no more just existing

No more complacency
No more just settling
This time goodbye to atrophy
For we were meant to be alive

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. 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."

Who Would Jesus Vote For?

2007-12-17T15:25:00.000-06:00

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." - Ronald Reagan

For some time now, I've waited and watched for a presidential candidate that I could support - one who not only scored high on my issues surveys but also who stood a chance of winning both in the primary and next November. You may remember that Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo fit the first criterion, but were long-shots at best. When I would talk to anyone about either of those candidates, the reply would generally be, "who's that?" For a while, I thought that if Fred Thompson would step up and run, he'd be the answer I'd been looking for, but I've been very disappointed in just about everything he's done. Of course, there's always been Rudy McRomney - the three stooges of the Republican party. I can't really tell the difference between Rudy and Hillary; McCain seems too weak on national security; Romney says his faith doesn't define him, and I remember all too well what happened the last time we had a president whose faith didn't matter.

After several grueling months of campaigning and debating, it almost seemed like Ron Paul was the best candidate . . . and that was REALLY starting to worry me. Enter Mike Huckabee in the blind spots of all the frontrunners, leaving the second- and third-tier candidates behind. Finally, someone who shares my beliefs on fiscal and social issues, national security, and even religion. A Southern Baptist preacher running for president, who recently beat all the Democrats in a head-to-head poll. I never dreamed Huckabee would be a formidable candidate, but it seems like he's in this race to win, and he has as good a chance as any of them.

A few weeks ago, I started worrying that this whole Huckabee craze would wear off by the time the primaries rolled around, or that he might actually win the nomination only to be defeated in the general election by Hillary or Obama. I kept focusing on the negative and thinking about how horrible it would be if that happened. But then I started thinking. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" God already knows who will win the 2008 election - He knows the foreign policy, healthcare plan, and moral values of the next president. He also has the power to make anything happen - He can even put a Southern Baptist preacher in the Oval Office if He wants to. The only thing we can do is pray for His will, and then for the man (or woman) who ultimately gets the job.

Would Jesus vote for Hillary? Obama? Giulianni? McCain? Huckabee? I don't know. I do know that, no matter what happens, God will still be in control on November 5, 2008, and He'll still be in control on January 20, 2009. My favorite verse is Habakkuk 1:5: "Look at the nations and watch, and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." That's what I'll be counting on in the weeks and months ahead.

"Recently, out on the campaign trail, a voter asked if my personal faith informed my decisions. My answer was simple, just as it always has been: my faith is my life - it defines me. My faith doesn't influence my decisions, it drives them." - Mike Huckabee

Aging

2007-12-10T15:25:00.000-06:00

I've come to a point in my life where I've started realizing that the road of life is one-way. There are no u-turns and no slowing down. It feels like I'm in the cab of Jack Monk's eighteen-wheeler, barreling down a winding mountain road somewhere in California, with the brake lines cut. The farther I go, the faster the scenery seems to pass by. Yes, the DVR picked up all the "Monk" episodes that I haven't already seen, and I've been enjoying catching up on the ones I couldn't watch when we didn't get USA.

For some reason, the thought of turning 30 frightens me. In just 389 days, I'll enter the fourth decade of my life. See - I couldn't even type that sentence without getting a knot inside and my heart pounding a little harder. I've never dreaded something quite so much, but I really can't tell you why. I'm excited about the journey of life; I'm secure in my faith and the dreams I have for my life. I love my wife and daughter and am looking forward to the arrival of my first son in a couple of months. There's just something about not being in my 20's that scares me!

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we went to my wife's grandparents' house for a family reunion. Her cousins from Nashville had spent a few nights there, and they brought their 4-wheelers to pass the time. I'm not really used to riding 4-wheelers that were made for sport riding - I've mainly just enjoyed the utility versions that get the work done. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy going 60-70 mph around the makeshift track behind the house - or running straight lines from the yard to the woods and back as quickly as I could. It was definitely a lot of fun - and I wanted to spend the night so I could do it again the next morning. But I couldn't talk Jessica into staying, so around 10:00 that night, we headed north.

Sometime in the middle of the night - not long after we went to bed - my back started hurting. I've been told countless times that I don't know what "hurting" means until I've carried a baby for nine months and had unmentionable things done to my body in order to get that baby out . . . but that night, I knew that an aching back was enough pain for me. I tossed and turned all night and took a couple of Jessica's prescription pain pills from when Ella was born along with six or eight Tylenol. And I was still in pain. The only thing I could do to keep my back from hurting was to lie on a heating pad on the floor. Every time the thermostat on the pad would kick it off, I'd wake up in pain and have to wait for it to heat up so it would stop hurting long enough for me to go back to sleep. The next morning, I crawled upstairs and into the recliner, where I sat with the heating pad for the rest of the day. By bedtime, I was finally feeling better.

I'm 28 years old. I shouldn't have to give up an entire day of my life to recover from riding a 4-wheeler. What is going on? Is this what getting older feels like? I've had a hard time admitting that age was a contributing factor to my back problem, and I really wanted to blame it on the mattress.

I don't really have anything inspirational to say about the subject . . . I still hate the thought of getting older, and I haven't figured out how to stop it from happening. I'm well on my way to having a Doctorate by the time I'm 38, and I'm headed up the "corporate" ladder of public education. I have the family, house, and cars. I have a relationship with Jesus and a purpose for living. I'm happy with life. But I'd like to just stop the hands of time for just a while. Or maybe I should just start thinking of my age as 21, plus (fill in the blank).

Quiet Time Commitment Number . . . by now, I've lost count

2007-11-18T20:00:00.000-06:00

4,967 days ago, almost to the minute, I took a step in my life that has about as many cliches to describe it as twists and turns in its journey - salvation. Whether you call it "coming to Jesus," "being saved," or, as we call it at Meadow Heights, "beginning a life-changing relationship with Jesus," stepping across that dividing line between being a non-believer to accepting Jesus into your life is the most important moment in your life. In that moment, and for quite a while to follow, it's easy to desire a closer relationship with someone who could be so amazing as to give His life for you. But just as in human relationships, the fire and desire slowly burn out, and from time to time, we all come to a point where we realize the love and passion just aren't there anymore. Not because God no longer loves us - and probably not even because we don't love Him - but because the busyness of life and Satan's meddling in our plans gets us off track.

4,966 days later, I was (again) at one of those points in my life. It definitely wasn't the first time I had realized that my relationship with God was hurting, and it probably won't be the last. Even worse than the realization that I had gotten to this point in my life is the fact that my wife had to point it out to me. Instead of being the spiritual leader of my family, for some time now, I've been riding out life, waiting to see how things fall into place and spending time with God only when it was convenient. For the past few months, I've focused way too much on the first part of my mission (to use my gifts and abilities to make the greatest possible impact on public education in Missouri) and not enough on the last part (while providing the best possible life experiences for my family.) The last part includes spiritual guidance, which I have been failing to provide. Tonight, I'm recommitting (again) to work on growing closer to God and stronger in my faith while building a spiritual legacy for my family.

I love music. I love listening to a great CD or my favorite channels on Sirius, and I enjoy going to concerts when I get the chance. A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to see Mercy Me at the Coliseum in Poplar Bluff. I was very disappointed to find out that Aaron Shust would not be traveling with them until the next week, but would be replaced by a group I had never heard of - Shane & Shane. I felt ripped off - like I wasn't going to get my $20's worth because the opening act was some unknown duo. It was kinda like when I buy a CD because I just have to have one particular song, and then when I listen to the whole CD, I find two other songs that I like even better. I was so impressed with Shane & Shane that I bought a CD and had already listened to the first ten seconds of every song by the time we stopped to get gas on the way out of town. Since then, I've heard some of their songs played on Spirit 66 - so they're not as unknown as I originally thought.

One of the songs on Shane & Shane's "Pages" CD that has really stood out to me is called "Embracing Accusation." The first part of the song talks about how "the father of lies, coming to steal, kill and destroy all my hopes of being good enough . . . " is singing the song of the redeemed. My initial reaction? Wait a minute . . . Satan is singing the song of the redeemed? That's blasphemy. And they even ended the verse by saying, "he's right. Hallelujah, he's right!" I couldn't believe they'd be saying that . . . until I listened to the song a few more times. The more I listened, the closer I listened. And I started hearing other parts - "The devil is preaching the song of the redeemed - that I am cursed and gone astray. I cannot gain salvation." Well, that's true - that's what Satan says. It's not until I clearly heard the last few lines of the song that I realized the real meaning of the song: "Oh the devil’s singing over me an age old song - that I am cursed and gone astray. Singing the first verse so conveniently; he’s forgotten the refrain: Jesus saves!"

Two words - that's the difference between God's version of life and Satan's. TWO WORDS.

Ok - back to the topic: Quiet Time Commitment. So now that I'm at this point in my life where I'm committing to spiritual growth (do I have to say "again" again, or have you gotten the point by now?), I think God has given me a specific plan to maybe keep my interest a little longer and help me stay committed to it. I have book that was given to me by my high school band teacher - The One Year Book of Hymns. This devotional book has 365 days' worth of stories behind best-loved and little-known hymns alike. I've read a few on occasion, but I've never read through the book as a devotional. And I'm not going to start. I also have 4Him's "Hymns" CD - a collection of fourteen hymns, presented differently than in traditional arrangements. The plan: read the story/devotion for a hymn on the CD, and then listen to the song to hear the meaning the author intended - not just the same old song that's been sang over and over again. This time, I'll listen for all the words to make sure I understand the real meaning, and to make sure I haven't forgotten the refrain of any of them. I'm also going to try reading through the Bible in 2008 - so I'm getting a little head start, hoping the extra forty-three days might help get it all in.

Tonight, I read the stories behind "Faith of Our Fathers" and "On Christ, the Solid Rock, I Stand." The first one was just the interlude on the CD, so I decided to do two songs. Both of these songs have a great meaning related to the commitment I am making tonight. The first one talks about how our faith has been passed down through generations, in spite of dungeon, fire, and sword. It's a song of commitment saying that we will be true to the faith 'til death. So often, we (I) are more concerned about our reputations and our comfort zones to be true to our faith - to show it and share it with others. Every Wednesday around 12:15, I supervise a group of about thirty high school students who meet in the school library to listen to one of their peers teach a Bible lesson, to pray for their friends, and to sometimes sing songs. The faith of those 7th through 12th graders is so important to them that they don't worry about anything other than sharing it. They get it - they understand that "through the truth that comes from God, mankind shall then be truly free."

The second song I read about and listened to tonight was "On Christ, the Solid Rock, I Stand." The author of this song was introduced to church and to God by the cabinetmaker with whom he apprenticed. It seems as though we're living in the most uncertain times in the history of mankind. The presidential election is less than 51 weeks away, and I'm still not sure who I trust to be the nominee. Congress's approval rating is less than 20%; the president's isn't much better. I wouldn't trust public sentiment to tell me whether I should wear a coat in the morning. Corruption abounds throughout our nation and other nations; the price of oil is unstable; the housing market and interest rates are constantly changing; you can't even trust the safety of toys anymore. What can we trust? The same thing that has been the only thing anyone could trust for the past 2000 years - Jesus' name. "On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand."

Step By Step

2007-10-25T16:06:00.000-05:00

One of the dangers in pouring yourself into any project is the potential for pride to take hold and later destroy - or at least inhibit - the joy that we should feel with the final product. Maybe it's not a problem for everyone, but I have seen Satan use personal pride in achievement to destroy relationships and steal joy from many people, and I've seen him use the pride in my own life to keep me from accepting the help of perfectly capable individuals in order for God to work through their gifts and free me up to use mine to the best of my ability. This week, I think he tried using the same pride to discourage me and make me feel animosity toward others in a situation that I had no reason to feel that way. I'm glad God showed me a better perspective so Satan didn't get the victory!

We finally moved into our new house the second weekend of the month. With our weekends freed back up and nothing standing in our way, we made it to the 9:30 gathering on Sunday morning. What an accomplishment considering we had a hard time making it to church at 11:15 when we lived a mile from the parking lot, and now we have a 40-mile drive. When I walked into the auditorium, I saw a huge, wide-screen projection screen in the background and two large LCD TVs on the sides of the stage, both with crisp, clear, MOVING images . . . large theater lighting . . . four huge speakers mounted throughout the room . . . it was what I'd been dreaming of for the last few years but hadn't seen come to fruition. I started feeling sorry for myself because the quality of the production didn't suffer at all after I left the staff, and it had just taken a major leap forward and I had nothing to do with it. It didn't help that the bulletin had been redesigned and almost all of the elements that I had contributed were gone. For a few minutes, I think Satan was having a lot of fun annihilating the pride I had in the eight years worth of investment I had made.

Then God moved in and shed new light on the situation. First of all, nothing I had done was of my own power or creativity. God has given me any ability that I have, and He has used it in His time to bring us this far. Last fall, He finished using my gifts and chose to use someone else's so that He could use the gifts and abilities that He has given me in other areas of my life. He freed me up to move to a different place in life and allowed others to move to different places in theirs.

Later in the week, I started looking at this whole subject from another perspective. The first time I was asked to create a bulletin for church, I was so excited that I got to transform a publication that had been unchanged for years into something fresh and exciting (for the time). I couldn't believe God had given me the ability to design something in the first place, and for me to be entrusted with the church bulletin was awesome. (I never could have imagined what I would do over the course of the next eight years.) But there were others who came before me who took pride in their work, and had put together what they thought was the best possible design for years. God had given them abilities, and they had used them in His time - time He had given to them. Now it was my turn. I wonder how they felt. I wonder if they had some of the same feelings that I have had now that my time is over.

Some of the responsibilities I have with my new position - curriculum coordinator, A+ coordinator, and special ed director - are requiring me to take programs that were created by someone else and revamp, retool, or recreate to move us to the next step. How do those people feel about what I am doing?

Life is about steps. We never achieve perfection, but we hopefully take something that someone else hands us, improve it, and hand it off to someone else better than we received it. The next time you're tempted to throw yourself a pity party, rip up the invitations and thank God for using you to contribute to the growth and improvement of something - and for opening new doors as you take new steps in life.

Over My Head

2007-09-07T08:14:00.000-05:00

Have you ever felt like you've jumped into a situation that just totally overwhelmed you and made you feel very inadequate, but at the same time you just knew that it was God's plan, and you felt right in the center of His will? That's how I've felt for the past month.

Since school started, my "To-Do" list hasn't been empty for a second. As I scratch off one task, I replace it with two or three more. And despite as much as I've learned over the past few weeks, there's still so much to learn. I feel like I have special ed and e-Rate in a manageable state for now; today, I'd love to be able to conquer A+, High Schools That Work, and curriculum . . . but if today goes like any other day, I'll just get to scratch the surface on one of them. And at some point, I have an assignment to finish for class tomorrow.

Some updates from my personal life . . . I have started my Specialist classes, and have chosen the integrated Specialist/Ed.D. track, which means by the summer of '09, I'll be starting my dissertation! After waiting on the bank for over five weeks to get nowhere very quickly, we decided to forgo the manufactured home/land option and found an existing house to buy. Just hours before we were to close on the house, the sellers backed out. So now, a little over a month after moving from Fredericktown, we're no closer to having a place of our own than we were when we locked the moving trailer, which is still sitting in the driveway of our old house.

So . . . after following God's lead to take this job and sell the house, I feel like I'm in over my head. That's why I like Brian Littrell's song, "Over My Head," so much. It describes exactly where I am right now:

I tried to figure it out
Time and time again and time again
I guess there's just some things I'll never understand
'Cause Your ways aren't our ways
But deep down in my soul, down in my soul
There is one thing I know that I know

I'm in over my head
Right where I wanna be
I'm so lost within Your love
The love that always covers me
So high, so deep, so wide
A strong and cleansing tide
My soul has found a place to rest
I'm in over my head

...and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything!

What does that make me?

2007-08-14T16:12:00.000-05:00

I've been on the job a little over two weeks, and I'm having a blast, already learning more about the operation of a school district than I learned in the past ten years since starting my undergraduate program . . . ok, maybe not more, but definitely more rapidly! From final expenditure reports to IEP accommodations; from Medicaid billing to grant funding, I'm getting some of the most valuable hands-on experience that an administrator can ask for, while working with an awesome team of fellow administrators and staff.

With the new job comes a longer commute (40-times as long, for a total of 40 miles), and with the drive comes some time to spend alone, listening to the radio and enjoying the view. The drive from Annapolis to Bunker is beautiful. It's almost like being back in the Smokies . . . just a much smaller version. Over 75% of my drive is through National Forest land in the Ozark Mountains, and I drive miles without seeing a house or vehicle. It's hard to get bored while enjoying God's creation.

I usually listen to Fox News Channel or Spirit 66 as I'm driving - I haven't had much of an opportunity to watch the news over the past few weeks, so I figure listening to it is the next best thing. When I flip over to Spirit, I'm able to enjoy great music about God and life, and I've found some great new songs that really express where I am in my personal life and celebrate what God has done over the past few weeks. One of those songs is "Everything Glorious" by the David Crowder Band. The first seven words set the tone for the whole day: "The day is brighter here with You."

Part of the chorus says, "You make everything glorious, and I am Yours. What does that make me?" What a powerful observation. It's easy to get wrapped up in the world's definition of worth . . . wealth, fame, glamor, and achievement . . . and to start thinking that we're not important because we could never be as rich as Donald Trump, famous as Brittney Spears, pretty as Paris Hilton, or talented as Gordon Ramsay. God didn't create Trump Towers, Hilton Hotels, Hell's Kitchen, or whatever it is (if anything) that Brittney has going for her. He did, however, create each of those people, and He created you and me. He created the skies, rocks, trees, mountains, and streams. Everything God created is wonderful and glorious. Including you.

Major Announcements

2007-07-12T06:21:00.000-05:00

I have eight minutes before I'm off to my last day of Master's classes! And I have plenty of news to share.

On July 3, we found out that Ella is going to be a sister in March . . . or since she was so early, it could even be the end of January/beginning of February.

Last Friday, I met with the superintendent at Bunker to discuss the possibility of an administrative position in their district. She offered me the position of special ed director/A+ coordinator/assistant principal. I accepted and received my contract on Tuesday.

As part of the job change, we're going to have to relocate. We put a sign in the front yard on Monday, and as of Wednesday afternoon, we've had three offers on the house. Unfortunately, I can't get the bank and their broker to value it at what the offers have been, so that's my biggest headache right now. However, the last people who made an offer have cash, so we may not need to worry about it!

Tomorrow on my way to Columbia, I'm meeting with a guy in St. Louis to discuss some land that he has in Annapolis. We've looked at the land, and we just have to pick out the piece that we want. We're meeting him at the land on Monday to make our final decision and hopefully make a deposit and sign a contract.

On Tuesday, we went to Gifford's to pick out a house. We have it ready to order as soon as we close on this house!!!

Gotta go!!!

Day Ten - Homeward Bound

2007-07-02T08:54:00.000-05:00

Checkout was 11:00 am on Saturday, but we all agreed that it was too early to leave the mountains. After all, we still had a few things we wanted to do - like drive through the park, go to Clingman's Dome, and see waterfalls. Two years ago when we returned from our honeymoon, Jessica and I ate lunch at Joe's Crabshack in Asheville late in the afternoon. We left North Carolina at 4:00 PM and made it home around midnight. With that in mind, I suggested that we hang around the area until somewhere around three or four and try to be on the road as soon as possible after that.

We made our check-out time with about ten minutes to spare. After a phone call to the reservations office to tell them we were out and to report a few problems we had found (jacuzzi not working, dead phone, and staples in the carpet on the stairs), we no longer had a cabin to go home to, and we were officially homeward bound. We just didn't have any idea which way we'd go.

We stopped a few times to discuss which route to take (depending on what waterfall(s) we wanted to see) and where to eat (when we realized it was almost noon and we were about to leave civilization for at least four hours). We decided to have lunch at the Old Mill again - it was cheap and the portions were large enough to give us enough strength to make it to the top of Clingman's Dome. We were finally ready to leave Pigeon Forge around 1 PM. Not much time to make it through the whole park!

The whole drive had to be rushed because time was still ticking away. We avoided most of the pull-offs along Newfound Gap Road, and we couldn't stay long at Newfound Gap. Just past the Tennessee/North Carolina state line, the road to the right leads up the mountain to Clingman's Dome - the highest point in the Smoky Mountains. When we made it to the top, we couldn't find James and Jennifer anywhere. They had either missed the turn or done a great job losing us without telling us they wanted to separate! By the time we had Ella unloaded and our shoes changed, we saw them come around the corner. Yep - they had missed the turn!

The half-mile trek up the side of the mountain, though on a paved sidewalk, is treacherous when attempted alone. It's made even worse when you add strollers. Benches along the way provided chances to catch our breath. Once we reached the top of the mountain, a spiraling concrete ramp delivered us to the top of the lookout tower.

When we left the cabin, the temperature was starting to rise and the humidity was becoming unbearable. At over 6,600 feet above sea level, it was a chilly 59 degrees, and the mist of clouds pushed through, brushing our faces as we gazed at lakes and mountain peaks miles away. The experience made it worth the pain we were feeling in our legs.

We left the top of the mountain close to three, and we quickly realized we weren't going to be on the road by four. We finished the drive through the park, coming out in Cherokee, and went to Mingo Falls, just outside of town. I took the opportunity to take a lot of pictures of the large fall and the stream that trickled down the hill, beside the trail.

Before leaving Cherokee, we ate at Paul's Restaurant . . . a small hometown-type steak and burger joint. It was nice to see prices closer to $5.00 after growing accustomed to $20.00 meals. After a final stop for souvenirs on the edge of town, we left Cherokee at 7:40, headed up highway 19 toward Maggie Valley, then hit 276 to the interstate. An hour later, we were back in Tennessee.

A few showers along the way were expected - after all, it had rained seven of the eight days we were in the mountains. I love driving at night because there is less traffic and it is a lot cooler in the dark. I hate driving in rain at night, so I was glad that, the few times we did hit rain, it didn't last long. After over 500 miles, two tanks of gas, four stops, and nine hours, we pulled into the driveway at 4:20 AM on Sunday.

Final picture count: 1410

The Traditional Sign Picture

Clouds Rolling In - Atop Clingman's Dome

Highest Point in the Smokies

The Clingman's Dome Tower

A View from the Clingman's Dome Trail

Mingo Falls

The Trickling Stream

Sunset in Maggie Valley, NC

Day Nine - Go Carts & Waterfalls

2007-07-01T13:45:00.001-05:00

With the hours quickly ticking away and the to-do lists still looming overhead, we decided to tackle at least one together, so we headed out to find some amusement attractions and waterfalls. Between the heat and humidity, it wasn't the best day for outdoor fun, but it was our last chance for it.

Kids Country and The Track are just right across Parkway from the road to our cabin. We decided to start there to let the kids have a little fun . . . both the young kids and the old ones. We looked around and figured out we'd need to buy tickets for the rides - just like at the Azalea Festival. We assumed tickets would be a dollar or less . . . thinking a dollar would be a little expensive, but we were willing to pay it. Imagine my shock when I saw that ONE ticket cost $2.69! The kid rides took one ticket, and the go carts took 3. It didn't take long to realize this was going to be some expensive entertainment, and that the aquarium really was a great deal!

A six-pack of tickets provided a small discount, but the 11.5% tax quickly took care of that. Apparently there's a 2% amusement tax added to the already-high 9.5% state and local sales taxes. No matter where we turn, it seems like someone's always eager to take our money!

The girls enjoyed a few of the smaller rides. Ella rode the swings all by herself, and I rode the carousel and train with her. Then James, Julianna and I rode the Wild Woody - go carts that climb and descend a three-story spiral, loop around outside on a concrete portion of track, and then climb and descend the spiral again. I was second out of the starting lane, and quickly started battling for first. The boys directly in front of and behind me were apparently together, and once the one behind me would pass, he would try to pass the other, but never could make it. Then I'd pass him, but I never could get around the first one, either. Finally, while they were fighting for first place, I made it around both of them and quickly passed a couple more cars, including James and Julianna. Because I made it that far, I ended up getting an extra lap!

We finally made it to the Old Mill for lunch. Their turkey and dressing is awesome, and their lunch prices are just as irresistible. After lunch, Jessica, Ella and I spent some time shopping at some of the stores - the Old Mill General Store, the Toy Bin, the candy store - while James, Jennifer and the girls went back to the cabin for a nap.

Sometime in the afternoon, we all headed out to explore some waterfalls . . . separately. James and Jennifer had already been to Laurel Falls, and I wanted to go there. So they headed out with their book to find some roadside falls, and Jessica and I stopped at the visitor center to try to find a waterfall map or book. I bought a two-book/two-map pack that seems to have everything you could want to know about what's available in the park. I told Jessica that she could choose where we'd go, and she had the trip through Gatlinburg to decide. By the time we were half-way through town, she had found Cascade Falls, which was supposed to be just a short walk from Sugarlands visitor center. We decided that would be a good place to start.

When we pulled into the parking lot, we saw the Equinox - apparently we'd chosen the same falls! Near the end of our "short" (it turned out a little longer than we'd expected) walk to the falls, I could hear Julianna talking. Once we had pictures taken and were ready to head back, we decided to travel together and look for some easy-access roadside falls . . . especially since dusk was quickly approaching.

The next couple of hours provided a couple of great opportunities to see some small falls in a short amount of time, and the journey took us just a few miles from a return visit to Cades Cove. We exited the park at Townsend - fifteen miles from Pigeon Forge. If you ever need it . . . there's a gas station about two miles from Little River Road as you're heading to Cades Cove, where the road splits and heads to Townsend. It was a very welcome sight since I had no idea where I'd be able to fill up and my light was about to come on.

Another late night . . . we had pizza when we got back to the cabin - sometime around ten. Jessica and I worked on packing as much as we could, and I spent some time in the hot tub before finally going to bed sometime after midnight.

Ella & Mommy at Kids Country

Ella liked the swings.

Ella's riding "Mr. America" on the carousel.

Daddy & Ella on the train

After three years, I finally got to ride the go carts!

The sun shinging through the trees near Sugarlands

Cataract Falls

This has a name . . . but I don't know what it is.

Same here - a roadside waterfall.

The moon over the mountains . . . my view from the hot tub Friday night.

Day Eight - Tanger Outlet & Return to Applewood

2007-06-28T20:42:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, we decided to go our separate ways to do some of the things that were still on individual lists of things to do. Jessica, Ella and I headed toward the outlet malls and Jennifer's family drove into the mountains to look for waterfalls, and to the Ober Gatlinburg tram to ride up the side of the mountain. We met at the Apple Barn sometime after noon for fried pies and ice cream.

We hit the scrapbook store and clearance center in Governor's Crossing. For anyone who's interested in scrapbooking, no matter the skill level, you can find just about anything you need in one of the two stores. Old Navy and Dress Barn rounded out our spending spree, giving us a chance to expand our wardrobes for next year. The whole time we were at Five Oaks, it looked like a storm was brewing. Some of the ladies at Dress Barn were talking about hail being mixed in with the storm - wherever it was. But the threat of whatever it was wasn't going to keep us from shopping!

Apple Barn fried pies are always a great treat - complete with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream - for just $2.99. By the time we finished the pies, the wind had started picking up and the dark clouds were rolling in. All signs pointed to another monsoon, just like every other day. We ran to the cars and headed back to the cabin. Nothing. Finally - a day without rain!

I surpassed the 1000-picture mark! By the end of the night, I was up to 1006 total for the week.

Ella in front of the Apple Barn . . .

. . . and on the deck back at the cabin.

Day Seven - Aquarium & Bubba Gump

2007-06-28T19:37:00.000-05:00

We maintain strict criteria for choosing a place to eat on vacation. First, it can't be somewhere we can eat at home - which narrows our list of available restaurants by half. Second, we have a list of "must eats" that we have to get in at some point. Of course third is our list of places to avoid, which currently only contains one restaurant solely because of the price. On Wednesday, we decided to try out a new place for lunch - Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. But first . . . breakfast and the aquarium.

Breakfast was at one of the two Shoney's restaurants in Pigeon Forge. The Shoney's breakfast buffet is a memorable experience from all our childhoods that hasn't been possible in a while since all the restaurants around our area closed down. We enjoyed the breakfast, and I especially liked the strawberries! By the time we finished, they were clearing out the breakfast items to switch over to the lunch buffet.

Carter's had a nice sale, including a $4.99 and under warehouse sale upstairs. Ella bought enough clothes to last through next Summer, at an average of just over $4.00 per piece - a steal for baby clothes!

If you've been to Gatlinburg in the past decade, you know that Ripley's is buying out the whole town, building their museums and attractions, and all but changing the name to Ripleyburg. Or maybe it will be Ripley's Gatlinburg in keeping with the naming tradition of the rest of their empire. The largest Ripley's attraction is the Aquarium of the Smokies - a large, blue building in the center of town where two other streets intersect with Parkway. It's impossible to miss and, as I finally realized this year, just as impossible to avoid. At $19.99 per adult ticket, I had tried to avoid going because I thought it would be a waste of money that could be spent on EATING shrimp, lobster and crab . . . not WATCHING them!

The aquarium was surprisingly more enjoyable than I expected. While some of the smaller exhibits weren't that great, there was a fish that you couldn't see because its camouflaged color made it blend in with the sand, the orange jellies with the blue background were awesome, and there was one kind of dragon fish that looked like a floating bush - it had green things that looked just like leaves! The best part of the aquarium experience was the long conveyor belt that wound its way under a large pool of all sorts of fishes and lots of sharks!

After the aquarium, we were hungry for . . . seafood, of course! So we headed up the street to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. A few weeks ago, I did some research about the area to see what had changed since we were here last year, and I found out that this new restaurant would be opening June 16. I had suggested that we try it out, and it passed our criteria, so we did.

From the time we walked through the door, we could tell that the service at Bubba Gump didn't even compare with what had happened a few days earlier across the street at Lineberger's. All the servers and wait staff work together to make sure customers' needs are met. In the middle of the table, they have license plates that say "Run Forrest Run" and "Stop Forrest Stop." If you have everything you need and you're enjoying your meal, you leave the blue "RUN" sign up. Any time you need something, you flip the plate over the show the "STOP" sign, and someone comes to your table - in our experience, within fifteen to thirty seconds - to see what you need. We used the sign for Jessica's meal, which was delayed in the kitchen a few minutes, and to order dessert. Each time, someone other than our particular server came over (she was busy with other customers) and they were more than happy to check on the food and place our dessert order. We were very impressed with the way everyone pulled together to get the job done, and with the attitudes they had about it.

The food at Bubba Gump wasn't quite as good as Lineberger's, but it was still great. I ordered Shrimper's Heaven - a collection of four different types of shrimp that I can't find on their website menu . . . oh well. Three of the varieties are fried and the other is chilled peel-and-eat. It was a lot of shrimp, and definitely worth the $16.00. Dessert, appetizers, our two meals and a meal for Ella was all the same price as our two meals at Lineberger's. The chocolate cookie sundae was awesome!

We finished our second day's stay in Gatlinburg by shopping in the stores we missed on the first visit. Wednesday's rain came as we were finishing our lunch, then slacked off but continued through most of our shopping. So far, it's rained every day . . . imagine that!

We headed back to the cabin to relax in the hot tub and get to bed.

This fish looks like an American flag!

Fishes . . . duh.

A shark swimming just above our heads!

Ella with Mommy

I held a horseshoe crab!

The fish that looked like a bush

Bubba Gump

The last baby standing (the one on the right!)

Day Six - Cades Cove

2007-06-28T10:09:00.000-05:00

The morning started with hot Krispy Kremes . . . which is always a good way to start, end, or get through any day. After showers, we packed a picnic lunch and headed out toward Cades Cove, an abandoned settlement in a flat area surrounded by mountains.

There are many coves in the Smokies, and they were often chosen by settlers as locations for communities. They provided fields for farming, trees for logging, and streams for milling. At its peak, this particular cove had over 100 families. It was used in the 90's as the setting for the "Christy" TV series based on the novel by Catherine Marshall about her mother's experiences as a teacher in a setting similar to the Cades Cove area.

The winding road to the cove took us over 20 miles from Gatlinburg, so by the time we got there, we were ready to eat. We pulled in to the picnic area and unloaded the ice chest and Wal-Mart bags. Sandwiches and chips were made, and we had just started enjoying the meal when, suddenly, we heard a rustling noise in the trees, growing increasingly loud by the second. We all looked at each other and asked, "is that rain?" I grabbed my camera from the table and stood up, then felt the first drop of rain as I lifted my leg over the table's bench. By the time I made it to the van, the rain was pouring.

By the time we had everything packed away and were all sitting in the van, the rain started to lighten. It moved out more slowly than it moved in, but the rain didn't last over thirty minutes. We finished the picnic in the van and pulled out to start driving the 11-mile loop around the cove.

We've always heard that you can see bears in the cove, but when we were here on our honeymoon, we only saw deer. A few miles into our trip this time, we had seen a few deer and several turkeys, but we were thinking we still weren't going to see a bear. Jessica has been looking forward to seeing a bear since we started planning our vacation, so she was very disappointed.

A little over half-way around the loop, we stopped at the visitor center and farm area. I like this area best because there is a lot to see in one stop, rather than one or two buildings, which is a lot more convenient with three kids and a stroller. When we were in the visitor center, I overheard one of the park employees telling a visitor about a "bear jam," a traffic backup created by the spotting of a bear. He said that if the gentleman had to sit in traffic for a while, that would probably be why.

When we left the center to head down the path exploring the rest of the buildings, I told everyone in our group about the bear. I didn't really think it would be there longer than a few minutes, and I thought that even if we left then, we'd miss it. So I suggested we keep looking around, and if it was still there, we'd see it on our way out. About a half-hour later, we loaded up the van and headed back for the loop. Probably a mile up the road, we saw a long line of traffic barely creeping along. We knew exactly what we were about to see . . . a BEAR!!!

We could finally see the end of the line, and there was a park ranger standing beside the road telling everyone to roll up their windows and not stop. So we did just that . . . closed the van doors, rolled up the windows, and drove by the bear. I steered with my left hand, resting my camera on my arm and snapping pictures with my right hand.

We took a new way home - leaving the beaten path for a less-traveled route. There were originally three roads entering the cove. One of these roads is number 8 on the auto tour - a seven-mile gravel road that heads out toward Townsend, winding up and through the mountains, taking travelers to another cove on the other side. It provides a great look at Cades Cove from high above, and it lets travelers slow down to ponder what it would have been like for the settlers to build and travel the same roads - in much worse condition.

Here are some pictures from the day.

Ella sitting on a split-rail fence

Jessica, Ella & me with the cove and mountains in the background

Ella with the mountains

The bear!

A look at the cove from high above

Day Five - Gatlinburg

2007-06-26T08:55:00.000-05:00

Monday was a slow day - probably the slowest day of our whole vacation. We didn't leave the cabin until 5:00 in the evening. Most of the day was spent napping, hot tubbing, cleaning, and just relaxing around the cabin.

Dinner at Lineberger's was great . . . can't say the same for the service or speed. A Chinese family came in after we had ordered and sat at the table next to ours. They ended up getting our appetizer, they had their food before we finally got our mushrooms, and they had finished their meals and left (and their table had been cleaned off) before we got ours. It took about an hour and a half from the time we walked in until we had our food. We were going to complain, but the food was so good it caused us to not say anything.

After dinner, we did some street shopping in Gatlinburg. The shops sit right on the edge of the Parkway (with a sidewalk, of course) and they sell anything from ice cream to pot pipes . . . guns and knives to purses and t-shirts. And then there are the candy stores!!! The sidewalks are fairly large, compared to those in Fredericktown, but they're kinda small when they're filled with hundreds of people and tons of strollers. It sure doesn't leave much room for a double stroller.

We've lost track of how many times people have come up to us and asked if Ella and Amelia are twins. At Applewood the other day, the hostess asked if they're twins and James said no. She said, "yeah, she's bigger," and pointed to Ella (who's three months younger.) Last night, a man pointed at them and said, "she laughed," meaning Ella, "but he didn't like it," meaning Amelia. Hmm . . . .

We shopped until around 10:30, then headed back to the cabin. Sometime around midnight, we cut into the watermelon (I was VERY disappointed - it wasn't ripe.) Julianna and I had been looking forward to it since we bought it Saturday night. We ended the night relaxing in the hot tub, then headed for bed.

Ella napping in Mommy & Daddy's bed

Aunt Jen pushing the girls around
Amelia taking advantage of Ella being asleep
Julianna enjoying her Baskin-Robbins chocolate ice cream in a chocolate-dipped cone . . . yummy!

Day Four - Apples & Exploration

2007-06-25T08:51:00.000-05:00

Sunday was a slow day – a day of rest. I tried sleeping in, but once everyone else was up, I had to get out of bed to see what was up. I couldn’t stay in bed while something was happening out in the rest of the cabin. We took it slow all morning – hot tub, pool, snacks, and TV. Sometime around 1:00 or 1:30, everyone was finally dressed and ready to go out into the world.

Lunch at Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant was awesome as usual. Their smoked pork loin with apple relish is awesome – and you get a ton of extras to go with your meal . . . apple julep, apple fritters, vegetable soup, salad, rolls, and dessert.

After lunch, we took one of the shorter scenic drives in the area – the Roaring Forks Auto Tour. It’s a winding one-way road up one side of a mountain and back down the other, exploring the area that was once home to some of the area’s earliest settlers. The folks had to abandon their farms and ways of life when the government took their land to create the national park. Some of the buildings we saw were original to their locations, while others had been moved from other neighboring farms and areas. One house we saw had been painted white with blue and yellow trim – the “only three colors Sears and Roebuck sold.” We stopped once along the auto tour to look at some of the buildings and wade in the stream. We also took some time for pictures. So far, I’ve taken 331 pictures since Thursday.

This is the third summer we’ve been here, and it seems like rain is both guaranteed and unpredictable. No sign of rain one minute, and a monsoon the next. That was the case yesterday. On the way back from Gatlinburg, it started raining – a lot. It poured practically the whole way back to the cabin, then let up just long enough for us to unload and get settled in for the evening; then it opened up and poured again – both vertically and horizontally. Sure, a charcoal grill probably works better when you’re not in the middle of a mountainside hurricane . . . but the experience was definitely a unique one!

Ella at Applewood

Old-fashioned ice cream maker

Welcome to the Apple Barn!

Ella at one of the buildings on the auto tour

Ella next to the split-rail fence

Us in the stream

Day Three - Arrival

2007-06-24T07:30:00.000-05:00

Just an hour behind schedule, we left Nashville around 11:00 on Saturday. I was definitely pleased that we were ONLY an hour behind. Somewhere between Crab Orchard and Knoxville, we hit the hardest rain I've ever driven through. Between the sheets of torrential rain, the hail, and the fog, it was all but impossible to see the cars ahead. Hundreds of cars were pulled over on a few-mile stretch of the interstate; we decided to creep along and not take the chance of being stuck on the shoulder for an hour or so.

Around 5:00, we made it to the office to check in to the cabin. We found the cabin and unloaded all our stuff, then went to the Mandarin House Chinese buffet (over 160 items). It was the first time I'd ever eaten potato salad at a Chinese restaurant! Then we went to Wal-Mart to buy our groceries for the week and headed back to the cabin to relax in the hot tub and finally crawl into bed as the calendar changed to day four.

View from the deck door

The kitchen

Wrap-around porch with swings, chairs & hot tub

Lean more about the cabin

Vacation, Days 1 & 2

2007-06-23T09:01:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, we loaded up the van a day early and headed out for a three-day trip to Gatlinburg. Ok, I know it only takes about eight hours, but we decided to take it slow on the way down. On Thursday, we went to Jessica's grandparents' house in Broseley (about half an hour east of Poplar Bluff.) We were greeted by a lunch of barbeque chicken, twice-baked potatoes, fresh tomatoes, macaroni & cheese, and salad. Wow - I can get used to a lunch like that! For dinner, we went to a Chinese buffet in Poplar Bluff.

Friday morning, we packed up and headed to Nashville. Jessica's uncle lives in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee - a suburb of Nashville. They have two twin two-year-old girls. We met Jessica's sister there. She has a three-year-old girl and a one-year-old girl. And we have a nine-month-old girl. Anyone keeping up with the math here? FIVE girls under four!!!

Friday night, we took all the girls to the Rainforest Cafe at Opry Mills Mall. Sure, we used half our eating-out budget for one meal, but it was definitely worth it for the experience. We drove out to Phil & Beverly's new house and took the tour - the walls are up and the roof is on. On the way back, we stopped by Dairy Queen. Wow - a large Blizzard is about the size of an extra-small concrete at Dairy Bar. It definitely made us appreciate what we've got!!!

It's 9:09 on Saturday morning and we're getting ready for breakfast. We're hoping to leave Nashville around 10:00 so we can make it to the cabin between 4 and 5. We'll see how it works out - we haven't seen Jennifer all morning . . . it may be a while before she surfaces from the basement. Here are some pictures . . . .

Ella with Granny & Pa's dog, Suzie

Ella in the kitchen floor

Granny reading Ella her bedtime story, Noah and the Ark

Us at the Rainforest Cafe

The Five Girls

I'm Alive . . .

2007-06-07T00:31:00.001-05:00

. . . really, I am. If you've noticed that I haven't posted in . . . um
. . . two weeks . . . it's because I've been frantically working on my
internship. I have the ISLLC test on Saturday (it's the certification
test for administrators - six hours of writing) and comps on the 19th.
I HAVE to get my internship projects finished before the 15th so Dr.
Bertrand can look at them before my comps. Then I have two summer
classes (Foundations of Administration and Administration of Special Ed)
and I'm FINISHED!!! I can't wait! As you can see, I've been way too
busy to blog, but I hope to have time to catch up soon. I'll definitely
try to share some pictures and thoughts from vacation (June 21 - 30) and
maybe I can share some exciting news from the job hunt??? We'll see!
Still working in that department, too! But for now, it's 12:30 AM . . .
time for bed!!!

Last Day of School!

2007-05-23T07:55:00.000-05:00

Today is the last day of the 2006-07 school year. In just over three hours, the final bell will ring and the busses will come to take the students home for the last time this year. The staff will meet at a local church camp for the annual retirement dinner, and at 3:00 PM, we'll all go our separate ways for the summer.

Summer . . . . Often cited as one of the best reasons to be a teacher, the two and a half months of "vacation" are usually loaded with tasks and projects, and by the time August rolls around, we'll be ready to get back in the groove just so we can relax.

Relax . . . . For the past few months, I've been building my summer calendar, trying to allow plenty of time for family and relaxation, but also trying to cram in seven more hours of classes and leave time to finish up my internship. I'm passing on summer school because we only had ten students enroll for our yearbook program. Instead, I will use a few of those days to help out for career ladder hours and try to finish some of my internship projects.

Projects . . . . Almost a year ago, I started an addition on our house, creating a spare bedroom and an office. The entire project should have taken about a month, but with some unscheduled life events, I often had to put it on the back burner. So now, eleven months later, I still have carpet and trim to finish. That's one of the things at the top of my to-do list for this summer . . . and it had better get checked off.

Off . . . . That's what people think about teachers when they hear that summer is approaching. Most people think that teachers have three months (but it's really just two and a half) off with nothing to do . . . free vacation . . . and we're getting paid for it. Actually, our salaries are divided over twelve months for convenience, and for most teachers, summer is anything but vacation. Professional development, summer school, college courses, and curriculum meetings are ongoing and take up much of that time. And on August 13, we'll all look back and wonder where the time went.

Jerry Falwell

2007-05-17T11:54:00.000-05:00

I don’t know why I am so drawn to controversial people. I try to avoid being personally involved in controversy at any cost, but for some reason, I admire those who tend to run their mouths a little too much and get things stirred up more than they should. One such person on my top-ten list is Rev. Jerry Falwell.

Shortly after the story broke in 1999 that Rev. Falwell accused Tinky Winky of being gay, I had the opportunity to hear him speak at Bailey Smith’s Real Evangelism Conference at Arnold FBC. He talked about ten signs that would point to the end of the world. I know . . . very encouraging message, right? I wrote them all down and carried them in my Bible for the next few years, and I think the list is even still tucked away in that Bible, on a shelf somewhere.

A man of vision and passion, Rev. Falwell always had an opinion about everything. (Maybe that’s why I admired him so much. I tend to have an opinion about everything, too . . . I just try to keep it to myself.) The founder of Thomas Road Baptist Church and Liberty University, he worked hard to champion the causes for which he lived. I don’t agree with his staunch opposition to public schools, but I do understand the reasons and passion behind his stance. I also appreciate the work he has done in the political arena. Some have credited him with the election of Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and George W. Bush.

On Tuesday, conservatives lost a dear friend and strong ally. Through all of the turmoil and controversy, Jerry Falwell was a faithful follower who carried out his mission on earth in the way he believed God wanted him to. I may never be on all the cable news shows for ticking off as many people as he did. I may never establish a church, university, or grassroots political organization. I do hope that when my life ends, someone will be able to look at what I have done and say that I fulfilled God’s purpose in my lifetime.

Back to the Future

2007-05-17T11:02:00.000-05:00

If you could jump ahead about thirty years and see where you’d be in life, would you want to? If you were suddenly thrown into the future and saw the results that your actions had on other people’s lives, what would change in your life?

Last weekend, we returned to the Pine Hill drive-in for our first movie of the 2007 season: “Meet the Robinsons.” As many of you know, I jumped on the whole “boycott Disney” bandwagon a decade ago, and I’ve been very reluctant to jump off. Disney has made some very anti-family moves over the past ten years, and I have a sour taste in my mouth for them. I often have to remember that most companies in today’s society are just like Disney, and in order to appropriately justify my stance against Disney, I’d have to boycott most companies with which I do business on a regular basis. So . . . I saw the movie.

In “Meet the Robinsons,” an orphaned boy travels through time to try to stop an evil villain (the worst evil villain you’ve ever seen, and I don’t mean worst as in a bad guy . . . this guy couldn’t steal an unlocked car with the keys in the ignition because he’d foul up the whole plot before he ever opened the door) from crushing his dream. It’s a very elaborate story with some funny moments (“I have a big head and little arms, and I'm just not sure how well this plan was thought through. Master?”)

Spoiler warning: If you haven’t seen the movie yet, stop reading, watch the movie, and then come back. If you have seen it, or you don’t want to see it, keep reading.

In the end, we find out that Lewis grows up to be Cornelius, the patriarch of the Robinson family. His inventions have changed the world, and without his dedication to his personal motto, “Keep moving forward,” many of the inventions of the future world would have never been made. We also find out that the villain was Lewis’s roommate in the orphanage, and some of Lewis’s actions in his childhood were the reasons Goob grew up to be so evil.

At the end of the movie, a Walt Disney quote appears. “Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things - because we're curious. And curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. We're always exploring and experimenting.” At that point, it’s obvious that the creators want the audience to reflect on Cornelius’s motto and realize that Walt’s dream is still alive today.

In life, we have two options. We can either keep moving forward, or we can stop and start pointing fingers. We can choose to be a Lewis or a Goob. Both boys were orphans; they had the same experiences and the same setbacks in life. Lewis chose to keep moving forward, not getting bogged down with the disappointments in life and never giving up when failure reared its ugly head. Goob chose to wallow in self pity and point accusing fingers at others around him, blaming his lack of achievement on anyone but himself and harboring resentment for those who were successful.

In the search for a new job, it’s often easy to give up after trying so hard. I’m getting to the point where I don’t know if I can take one more rejection. I keep remembering that God has a plan, and that I must look back for only a few seconds, taking note of learning experiences; then I must keep moving forward as new doors open and new paths come my way. What about you? Are you looking back, or are you moving forward?

Identity Crisis

2007-05-09T13:13:00.000-05:00

One of the latest trends in commercials deals with identity. You've seen the Hertz commercials where a shifty crony from a cut rate car rental company goes under cover to find out what Hertz offers that makes them the best. Then there are the Mac commercials where the guy portraying a PC is a slightly-overweight, unattractive, nerdy middle-age man who is constantly plagued with malfunctions and a host of other problems, and the guy portraying a Mac is a young, smart, attractive, 20-something who, in a few words, has everything, does everything, and is everything. Perhaps the most popular of all are the Citibank commercials about identity theft, where a voice-over tells how they used an unsuspecting victim's credit card to finance a shopping spree that is obviously unrelated to the victim's way of life.

In each of these examples, identity plays a huge role in the scene, the interest of the audience, and the ultimate message of the commercial. Today's society places a large emphasis on identity and its protection and conveyance.

I have a sneaky suspicion that there is an identity crisis among folks in the education community. Aside from the fact that we claim to be a profession but have never been treated as professionals, we often find that our identity within the school structure is often confused, contributing to conflict, unrealized expectations, and a constant weathering away of morale. While this crisis is prevalent among teachers and classified staff, it begins at the leadership level, where it perhaps inflicts the most damage on the overall climate.

Everyone in K-12 public education begins as a teacher. From there, some become building principals. Some principals become assistant superintendents, superintendents, or fill other central office staff positions. All administrators have, at one time in their career, spent time in a classroom. But it's amazing to me how many of them forgot that part of their identity once they moved from the classroom to the office.

The most effective administrators that I have ever worked with and for remember what it was like in the trenches. They remember how taxing the life of a teacher can be. They remember to make decisions that are in the best interest of students, not parents or board members or community leaders. They remember that test scores mean nothing and that children mean everything.

On the other hand, those who left the role of teacher behind when they accepted an administration position have adopted the philosophy that they are a supervisor of employees who need constant direction. They approach their job with what McGregor called the Theory X type of motivation. They are the micro managers whose mission is to always be a thorn in the side of the teachers, prodding them along to a specified goal. They perform to please their supervisor, the local school board, parents, and the community. They forget the real reason of education and focus on data more than students.

I've often said that when I sit down behind a principal's desk for the first time, I will not be taking off my "teacher" hat and putting on my "principal" hat. I will never say, "I was a teacher; now I'm an administrator." I am a teacher; I have been a teacher; I will always be a teacher. In my new role, I will happen to be the lead teacher in the building - the one who makes the executive decisions and is responsible for the overall operation of the building. By no means will I be the best teacher in the building. I will be a resource for my fellow teachers. I will help them improve; I will help them share ideas; I will help them make a difference in students' lives. I will not simply be a supervisor, making sure employees show up on time and crank out a quality product.

My mission is not to make $50,000 a year, to get the next promotion, or to please a group of people. My purpose in life is to use my gifts and abilities to make the greatest possible impact on public education. If I am going to fulfill that mission, I must make a strong commitment to the identity of a teacher. It will never happen if I fall victim to the identity crisis that often comes with a new title. My title may change, but my identity must always remain, a teacher.

The Merit Pay Debate

2007-05-08T10:26:00.000-05:00

As we approach the end of the school year, there are plenty of controversial conversations springing up in Missouri education. I have a feeling we're in for a few major shifts in the coming years - either by choice or by force. I think we, as educators, can help facilitate those shifts on our own terms so that, even if they are forced upon us, we will have a say in the fallout resulting from them. I also think that, as these changes come about, we have the opportunity to make education the profession we've always longed for it to be.

One of the most controversial topics we're faced with is merit pay. If you mention that in a room full of teachers, be prepared for anything! You never know what kind of response you will get. I definitely understand both sides of the debate, but I truly believe that if we ever want to see what we do make the leap from a job to a profession, we MUST address this issue.

Probably the biggest hurdle we have to get over in this debate is the "we've never done it that way before" mentality. Because our pay scale has traditionally been based solely on seniority and education, those who have been in the profession a while can't imagine any other way working. It's also hard to trust a new system when the current one has "worked" so well for so long.

The second problem we have is with those who are afraid of being compared with others. When opponents say "no one wants to be a loser," they're right. But some people ARE losers. I'm not talking about the ones we walk up to with our fingers in the "L" sign on our forehead, but the ones who have settled into their 8-3 job, nine months a year, with laminated lesson plans. Just like we'll never get 100% of students to score in the top two categories on the MAP, we'll never get all teachers to cover the GLEs and put forth 100% effort. They settle for 75, 80, or 90%. And they're afraid that, when they're compared with other teachers, they won't make as much money. Although there aren't that many of those teachers out there, unfortunately, they're usually very loud and try to stifle those who want to change the status quo.

I'll admit - I'm not a 100% teacher. There are plenty of teachers out there who do a much better job. I try . . . but I fall short plenty of times. But I'm the yearbook adviser, media club sponsor, academic team coach, CTA president, region MSTA past president, and an MSTA board member. When you start talking about merit pay, where do all the extras come in? Do we continue career ladder? Do we restructure it as well? Does involvement in extracurricular activities play into the merit pay? Once we've overcome the "never done it before" mentality and stopped worrying about making comparisons, then we've got to look at how to structure a system to recognize everyone's contributions and efforts.

As I was getting ready for school last week, I was listening to the conversation on Fox & Friends on the Fox News Channel. Someone was talking about the differences between the generations, and how the latest generation is having a problem handling criticism on the job. They cry when they're talked to by their supervisors. Someone on the show said that it could have something to do with the fact that we teach kids that there are no winners or losers - in soccer, they play the game, but no team wins. Hmm . . . does that sound familiar? No winners or losers - let's just pay everyone the same, no matter how well or how poorly they do their job. What other "profession" pays its employees that way?

Merit pay unfair? Maybe . . . but life isn't always fair. Maybe we shouldn't be so concerned about it not being fair for a few and concentrate on how much MORE fair it would be for all those who do an excellent job (of course, NEVER based solely on test scores).