Rewards

This rose bush grows beside my garage... blooming faithfully from spring until fall each year, BLESSING me one bud at a time. But the biggest reward in the blooming of this beautiful flower is the reminder of the precious student that gave it to me, as an end of the year gift, many years ago. Each time I see a new bud, or cut a flower for an indoor vase... I think of this young man, say a prayer for him, and thank God that he was in my kindergarten classroom. It is definitely a gift that keeps on giving, year after year, bloom after bloom. I even dry the petals to use for potpourri giving me a breath of spring throughout the long winter months. If you are thinking of a memorable gift to give a teacher or anyone special in your life, perhaps a rose bush would be an excellent choice... BLESSING someones life for many years to come.

Mother of the Bride Dress

This is not me but it is the dress that I will be wearing on July 21st and that is a BLESSING indeed!

Fancy Nancy

Me, FANCY NANCY, no way...but this was a delightful Mother's Day gift from my daughter. I love children's literature and have two story hours for children each month, where I share my love for reading and books (which is a BLESSING indeed). So, you can imagine my excitement when I received this book, named after ME! Well not really, but I can pretend can't I. I look forward to sharing my new book with my story hour groups, where they call me Ms. Nancy not Fancy Nancy!

Curious Elmo

Had I known how curious Elmo would be, I would have named her "Curious George"! She just loves to explore and seems to enjoy life more than other dogs. Her curiosity does get her into trouble at times but it provides lots of entertainment for her human family. She played with this empty Cheetos bag for a long time recently. I guess it was the rattle of the paper or perhaps the smell of Cheetos' dust but whatever the intrigue; it was pure joy watching her face disappear, only to reappear with the orange dust sprinkles.

Elmo's "Therapy Dog" training continues and each week she has passed the activities with flying colors. Tonight she gets to visit Hospice patients for the first time. This experience has really been a BLESSING to me and I feel so fortunate, to have adopted such a "curious" dog, that would be able to share so much love with others.

Fledglings Flight

This frightened, bluebird fledgling sat in the opening of my bluebird box for several hours this week, before it mustered up enough courage to take flight. I've watched the mom all spring; making the nest, keeping the eggs warm, feeding the three babies, and on this day... sitting in a nearby tree, begging the tiny bird to spread it's wings and fly. The constant chirping from the mom finally gave the fledging the courage it needed to spread it's wings and fly to a nearby tree with ease. As I watched this tiny bird, I was reminded of the years of encouragement and effort that I too have put into getting my two precious adult children to take flight. Just like the mother bluebird, I knew they could do it on their own but they needed my reassurance that I was there for them... unconditionally! I am so BLESSED... they both did spread their wings and take flight, successfully, on their own. Motherhood has been the most rewarding and satisfying tasks of my entire life. On this Mother's Day, I wish all of you Mother's out there the best Mother's Day ever; knowing that your unconditional love, will give your fledgings the trust and courage they need to take flight! For the Mom's that have fledglings that have taken flight, give yourself a pat on the back, Motherhood is a difficult job! For my male readers, show your appreciation to a Mother in your life, even if it's not your own. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Gifts Galore

My daughter Katherine, in the middle, is shown with her aunts at the bridal shower over the weekend. The aunt on the left is my husband's sister (he has 3 others) and the aunt on the right is my sister (I have one more). We were able to travel to the groom's hometown for the shower and had the opportunity to meet all of his family, neighbors, and friends. The food was just delicious and what fun the silly games were (even creating the toilet paper bridal gowns. Katherine was blessed with the overwhelming generosity of all that attended and it's a good thing that we took her aunts van, because it was completely full of the much needed gifts that she received. Just 73 more days!

Showers of Blessings

Let the showers begin! This weekend we have our first, of several wedding showers, for my daughters upcoming wedding. We will travel to the groom's hometown for this one and enjoy the festivities of gifts, food, and meeting all of his family. What an exciting time this is for all of us and it is a BLESSING to be a part of this very special time in my daughters life! Just 77 more days!

The Golden Rule

In teaching seminars on classroom discipline, I was taught to create a set of rules, prominently post them, and to keep it simple with less than five rules. I am BLESSED with a Biblical background, so this was a no brainer! The best rule is the rule that everyone should live by... THE GOLDEN RULE! Treat other people the way you want to be treated. Very simple, nothing else needed, and the BLESSING is that it worked. It worked for every situation in the classroom. I live in the Bible belt and that probably explains why I never had a single parent complaint about this simple rule, during my 32 years of teaching. It was posted prominently (without the chapter and verse number listed) and reapeated thousands of times. I am Blessed to have taught during the decades that parents understood the importance of "treating other people the way you want to be treated" even if it came straight from the Bible!