He Leadeth Me

Our family is going to have to start behaving because we have a principal in the family now. Mike VanLoenen, or Mr. V, as he is affectionately called, was named principal of A.B. Freeman Elementary for the 2012-2013 school year. We are all excited for Mike and for the teachers and children of Freeman because Mike is a really great guy who has the best interests of both  students and teachers as his priority. But we are especially excited because Mike's father-in-law, Terry, and all Terry's siblings,  brother Lynn, and sisters Kim and Karen (that's me) are alumni of Freeman.  We attended Freeman when it was a brand new school some 50 years ago.   On a recent visit to Houston,  Mike gave Kim and me a tour of the school.   What a thrill it was to see the school still looking so beautiful! Congratulations Mr. V!!!!!

In my career as an educator, I have visited many, many schools. But last week, when I was visiting Chipeta Elementary, where I have the opportunity to work with student teachers, I observed something I have never seen before. These hungry fellows weren't bothering with the school cafeteria. They much preferred to get their "free" lunch outside under the trees. As you can tell by the rearview mirror, these photos were taken from my car as I was driving into the parking lot. What a delight to see wildlife up close and personal!

Our neighborhood had a community garage sale today. I had seen the signs and thought I might go out for just a few minutes on this lovely fall morning just to see what was out there. I really didn't NEED anything, but isn't that when you usually find the best buys? Here are my Fantastic Finds for today! More "guys" for Caleb and then David and Aaron to play with at Nana and Ducca's house. You can never have too many guys. 25 cents each! I don't know the official name of this, but I call it a Johnny Jump Up toy. It hangs from the door frame for a baby to bounce in. One of my favorite memories is Caleb jumping in one of these and laughing, laughing, laughing. The little guys will enjoy using this when they come to visit. $5.00 An oak filing cabinet. I have looked at these new, but just didn't want to pay as much as the stores wanted. Garage Sale List Price=$40.00 Bargained Price = $20.00 Old Fashioned Mixer "It doesn't work," the lady kindl...

I think you learn how to be a grandparent with your first grandchild. All the grandchildren that follow get to benefit from the lessons you learn from the first. What David and I have learned is that being grandparents is one of the greatest joys in life and each new age and stage bring even greater joys. We were lucky enough that we got to take Caleb to pre-school this morning. How did this little man grow so big so quickly? Thought you might like to hear the "leaving for school" conversation. Ducca: I'll be your bus driver, Caleb. Caleb: Good. Hi Mr. Busdriver. Nana: Have a good day at school Caleb. Caleb: I will (spoken with great excitement). Have a good day Grandma! Grandma???? I'm Nana!!! He's never called me Grandma a day in his life. It sounded so cute, like he had learned "Grandma" at school. And you know what? Grandma--Nana! Whatever these precious boys decide to call me, I'm fine with it.

I am a TEACHER! Always have been, always will be! You can ask my brothers and sisters who were tortured into playing school with me when I was just a little girl. One of the things I miss most about teaching children is getting to "smell" the school supplies. You read that right--smell them. There is just something that says "School is starting soon" when you walk down the aisles of Target and smell the school supplies. So today I indulged myself. I walked the Target aisles and took a big whiff. And then, I found these 3 delightful binders and bought them. What am I going to do with them you ask? Why recipe files of course! Guess that means I have to COOK! Oh, well, it will be worth it to have cute school supplies in my kitchen year round to look at--or to smell!! Happy Start of the 2010-2011 School Year!