So red shirt is DJ: the kid that kicked me on day because I took his umbrella away from him, mainly because he was stabbing people with it. But he's a great kid. Next to him in the yellow shirt is Julian: his dad is fighting in Iraq, his favorite subject is math and he hates writing, drawing and coloring. So cute. Next to him is Antonio, had the biggest crush on me. Got in a fight the first week of school he was the one with a busted head, he also was the one who got stabbed in the head with a pencil in my class one day when my teacher wasn't there. 

Far left is JoeL, should be a 2nd grader but is so ADD he had to be held back. So funny and smart just can't concentrate. And so hyper. The one white kid I had is Bryson. Hilarious. Tommy boy hilarious. Doesn't have a clue. But says the greatest things. Next is Joe. He has one ear. And he usually only uses one side of his face because the muscles on the other side of his face are so weak. He is getting his new ear rebuilt though and I am so excited to go back and see it. 

The 80 year old sub was trying to take our picture...I think all 5 of them look about this blurry. Its amazing they are all standing there together and looking in the same direction. 

Joel and Julian. So cute.

And this is Jayden. I would adopt this kid if I could. Him and Antonio, I guess you could say I always get along with the troublemakers of the class. Jayden was probably my favorite. His ears just stick out and he has these eyes that when he wanted something he would always get it because I couldn't say no. His mom and dad were separated at the time but were trying to work things out. He was really upset one day and I wanted to bring him home. This picture was on crazy hat day. He wore a tiny sombrero, in case you couldn't tell. I called him amigo all day.

YAY a girl. Tamara had gold teeth. She was so quiet and cute. She had the best smile. This one isn't one of her best but she was adorable. There's Antonio again in the middle. Needing attention from me and my camera. And Joe. 

Juilan. Isn't he just the cutest. You just want to pick him up and squeeze him. 

Marc is muscle man. He was a mess but he was one of the smartest kids in the class. Bryson back there yelling. He just has little outbursts where he will just scream and laugh. I usually laughed at him as well. Issach in the gray shirt, in first grade for the second time. And there's Antonio again! What do ya know? 

GO TECH!

Last weekend I went to college gameday. What a way to start off the day. Then I stood in line all day just to see the most amazing game in college history! I'm still excited about it.

You should have seen Lubbock Texas after the game. People were standing on top of cars driving down University street. People were out honking and screaming and yelling until about 4 am. It was so cool. It did look like a riot had broken out though. We are used to choking under pressure, not pulling off the upset. 

I am planning on packing my bags and moving to Canada or Mexico, due to the recent election. I'm not sure how much I like the idea of a scary man as president. 

My third graders are so much fun. I enjoy seeing them everyday. It is like being on vacation after being in total chaos for 7 weeks. They are just so excited about school and I enjoy listening to their stories and seeing them smile. Their comments about the president were hilarious. 

I am headed to the championship flag football game tonight for a repeat. Go SHELLACK! 

I like to copy Erin,

Food: I eat way too much Halloween candy

School: Finished up in the ghetto, pictures to come. Sad.

Apt.: No more gnats. 

Weather: Getting colder, need a jacket in the mornings.

Football: Tech WINS! Ags LOSE!

Sports: I love football. Intramural football: 3-0 Intramural softball: 2-0 

Roommates: Tracy told me she hated me last night. She lies.

Job: OT lady called they want me to interview in December.

Boy: He likes the Cowboys...I'm annoyed.

Boys at Tech: Matt got drunk for the first time last night. David...well, And Corey, is taking some karate lesson or something. My friends are crazy.

Tech: Is going to kill A&M for the 4th time in a row since I have been attending this school. So sorry you aggies who thought you might win a game against Tech. 

Church: Learning about the disciples.

I'll write more later, I just wanted to be like Erin. 

Chaos

Do you ever feel so unorganized...not like your papers on your desk are out of order but your life? No really, I know you are laughing because you think I am never unorganized. But since becoming a student teacher I just feel like I am always doing ten things at once and my life has become unorgainzed. I know I told Erin and Chelsi I was going to try to be a little more unorganized just to try to live life on the edge...and its working but I'm about to go crazy. 

I teach in a room with a teacher who is not very orgainzed and it has taught me so much. I have learned things like, just because your room is not color coded and each odd and end isn't in its perfect place doesn't mean life won't go on. Life does go on. And its ok to not have everything alligned on a shelf. I have also learned that when I am not organized it is hard to be productive. For example, I was looking at a book the other morning while the kids were coming in to eat their breakfast and I had to set it down to do five other things at one time and when it came time to read the book it took me ten minutes to figure out what I had done with the book. Needless to say, I feel scatterbrained these days. I have become a pretty good multitasker though. Yesterday I was doing lunch count, helping Bryson find his toothbrush, get Tamara an extra copy of her homework, give Alexis a coloring sheet, find a pencil for a teacher who stopped in from the hall, give Steven a kleenex when he sneezed on me, send Issach to the bathroom because he lost his tooth...look for the tooth he lost, put the tooth in a baggie, and finish lunch count, all while making sure 19 kids were staying in the classroom and being quiet enough so that the principal wouldn't come out of her office and wonder if there was a circus going on. Like I said.

I sent off all my applications for OT school today. That was the last step. I'm afraid I might have forgot to dot an i somewhere in the process and they won't let me in...just another step in my life that I hope is in the right direction. 

I was so excited to read Schro's blog! I feel the same way these days. I look forward to waking up on Sundays. I enjoy going to my church here so much. I enjoy spending time in the word, and everyday I get to see how small I am in this BIG world and how BIG he is. I don't know how I lived the past few years without seeing Him in the small things in life. What I have found is that God encounters happen most when we're in the right place. So I don't know why it would be hard for me to stay there. The more I stay in the wonder of Jesus the more naturally God flows out of me. 

I think I am learning how to be more patient while teaching too. Last week, I had to be the teacher by myself again while my teacher was a sub. At some point in the morning the little black girl somehow stabbed Antonio in the head with her pencil, so Antonio has a hole in his head and its bleeding. Within a few minutes half the school knows...all because he walked down to the nurse's office. The next day the principal comes in during the science kit time. So in the science kit there are ping pong balls, steel balls, spoons, golf tees, and other assorted items that 6 year old boys should never be allowed to play with. When she came in I had boys teeing up ping pong balls and hitting them across the room with their spoons. It was MASS chaos. And for some reason it didn't seem to phase me. I have become used to flying objects, puncture wounds, snot, blood, throw up, soggy cerel, cafeteria food, tying shoes, buttoning pants, yelling, screaming, but somewhere in all of these things when those kids give me a hug, smile, laugh, draw me a picture, bring me candy, I am reminded to never let the stuff of this life narrow my vision of real life. And the good stuff is what real life is all about. 

Well there haven't been any Erin T weeks in my life since I last wrote a blog. Nothing just real exciting is happening in my life right now. Its kind of sad, but good at the same time. We won our first flag football game of the season last week. Is it weird that I find some of my most favorite moments in the middle of football games? Yeah your right...it is normal for me. The Steelers are playing right now and I told my first graders that I would give them extra credit if they watched the game tonight. I almost lost my patience with those 6 year olds today, but I held it together. Then I read something this afternoon that made me rethink the way I teach. It said, "Anytime you devalue people, you question God's creation of them." The worst thing I can do is devalue someone, not just 6 year olds but anyone. I probably devalue people way more than I should. 

I am going to start applying for OT schools at the end of this week and this weekend. All my stuff has to be sent in by Oct. 15. I am so nervous. And Schro was so right about all of us just being scared of the future. I want to apply to a few schools and see what happens. But what if I don't get into any of them? What if I get in to all of them? Do I want to stay in Lubbock? Move to Dallas? Are these even options? Should I waste my time and take 9 hrs. next semester and then find out I didn't get in to OT school? Why can't I just move to the lake and teach kids how to wakeboard and make millions? Life would be so simple. 

Oh and apparently the stock market crashed. So if I ask for money...its because that is where my family's money is...or isn't anymore. Haha. 

I am so excited that my friends want to plan a roadtrip for Christmas. I am so excited. Even if it is just to the windfarm....ok I am going to X the windfarm, it needs to be a little bit farther away. 

This morning on my way to school I was sitting at a red light and a girl pulls up next to me. The first thing I notice is she is drinking coffee. Then I noticed her windshield wipers were on high, and it was not raining. She continued drinking her coffee and eating her granola bar while her windshield wipers just kept going and going. I couldn't help but laugh. Then I thought about the conversations me and Missy have had about windshied wipers, and how I should call Shayla and tell her what was going on because she loves my stupid stories. And how if anyone in the world would be doing this I can see Erin just doing it to make someone laugh, and Schro doing it just because she forgot they were on...

My first graders continue to be pretty good entertainment most days. Tuesday morning we were short a sub in first grade so my teacher covered in a different room while I was THE teacher in first grade, with no lesson plans. Well except math, but that wouldn't keep them entertained from 8-2. We all survived. 

Thursday of last week the mayor of Lubbock announced the city was in a state of emergency because of the 7 inches of rain that had fallen since that morning. I was already finding trees and putting my plans together to build a boat. I figured two of each animal would show up if it continued to rain as much as it did. It made waking up in the morning and smelling rain very enjoyable though. Much better than the feedlot. 

Ryan came for a visit on Saturday afternoon and he met all my crazy friends and we went to the football game. It was good to see him, hangout, and prove to my friends that he did exist. He only stayed for the day and drove back that night. But thank goodness FAMILY PICTURES are this weekend, so excited, so I will be travelling to Amarillo. 

I am still working on consistently reading the Word. Last night I was stuck on the verse in Job that says, "Am I not enough?" And I realized He hasn't been enough for me in the past, probably not even right now, but that is what I want. I also read that the things of this world are like spiderwebs, we just get caught in them and they fall down, so do we. We get tangled in things that don't even last, that are so thin, and not worth trying to hang on to. I really enjoyed Schro's post about the simple things in life. Trust me, I am simple. I enjoy the smell of the air in the morning when the sun is just coming up. And watching the sun start to rise when I go to school. I also completely agree with the post Bick wrote about actually listening to songs or actually understanding what you are praying to or for. And Erin's graceful post. They all seem to be posted at a perfect time. 

Erin I watched the whole Cowboys game on Monday night and I realized once again how much I love football, even though it was the Cowboys. I saw a poll that ranked the Cowboys 1 and Steelers 2. Superbowl party anyone? 

Guns up.

Go Steelers.

Have a great rest of the week.  

Funny things that happened today:

1. Well since two of my first grade boys got in a fight Friday after school they spent today in ISS. 

2. I am teaching math this week.

3. One of the boys told me that Snoop Dog sold his sole to the devil.

4. Another boy told me his teeth were tickling...? 

5. We had hot dogs for lunch in the cafeteria.

I feel like I am part of a large family when I hang out with my friends. We have been having family dinners and sitting at the table. Recently we have been working puzzles together. I have taken over the blue recliner at Matt and Corey's house. Its my favorite place to be. I purchased a lamp from goodwill the other day and painted it black and put on a new shade for it. Good as new, and it sits next to my blue recliner. Life is good. Willie Parker scored 3 touchdowns and Big Ben had 2. Both of which are on my fantasy football team. I also had Green Bay's defense, which did not disappoint me. It does disappoint me that Chad Johnson changed his name to Chad Ocho Cinco...retard. Tony Romo busted his chin open and Jessica Simpson asked him if it was wing sauce, isn't that right Erin? GOOOO STEEELLLERRRSSS!

God has continued to teach me new things everyday. Its probably because I am actually reading and retaining His word instead of looking over my highlighted verses. Don't act like you've never done that. It rained today and I made my first graders stand outside and smell the rain. And then I remembered someone told me that if God had a scent they thought he smelled like rain. I completely agree. God created recliners, football and rain for me, I just know it. Why he created Monday mornings, mesquitoes, or the Yankees I have yet to figure out. Hope everyone had a happy Monday!

Tying your shoes

So I am officially the student teacher in a class with 15 boys and 5 girls. Not a single white kid. Right in the heart of the ghetto of Lubbock. And for some reason...its perfect. I feel like I have been in the classroom with them for an entire year already. Today on my way to school I listened to the song on K-love that says, "I am every man." So when I showed up I kept thinking to myself. These are the faces of God. These kids are made in His image and no matter how obnoxious I feel they are being I have to remember they are God's creation and I need to show them God's love. Four or five of the kids in my class have a mom or dad that is currently in prison. The majority of them come from broken homes, have a number of brothers and sisters, don't get breakfast and sometimes don't get fed until breakfast at school the next morning. The part that gets me is they still show up and have a smile on their face. I continue to thank God for the opportunity he has blessed me with this semester. Yesterday morning I prayed that I would seek Him throughout the day and be patient and show His love to my students. After lunch my friend Steven was sitting on the carpet trying to tie his shoes for the 100th time that day. I sat down next to him and asked him if he wanted to learn how to tie his own shoes, and he did. So 30 min. later Steven tied his shoe for the first time. Oh MY GOSH! The look on his face and the excitement it brought not only to him but to me was awesome. He may not know how to write all of his letters in the alphabet but yesterday it didn't matter. All that mattered is he had been sucessful at something, and someone had taken the time to be patient with him and help him be successful. And that's all those kids need, is for someone to sit with them and give them attention for 10 min. of their day. Same with God. That's what I have decided. God wants us to just give him 10 min. of our busy day. He wants to sit with us and give us His attention, but he wants our attention as well. I read in Ps. 2 last night that if we ask Him he will give us the nations. What? Yeah, all we need to do is give Him some of our attention and think of the amazing things He has to offer. 

I have enjoying seeing God work in the little 6 year olds I have in my classroom. I have enjoyed seeing God in the small things in life. And nothing has made me as excited as I was yesterday when Steven tied his shoe. Nothing makes God more excited than when we spend time with Him. Just ask Him and He will give you the nations. 

Football Season!

What I've learned in the past two days. The last blog I talked about opening my eyes and seeing God today and spending time with Him. The next night I read in Isaiah 1:18 that "though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken." If that doesn't make ya nervous I don't know what else will. It is amazing what happens when I am obedient and stay in God's word. What is so cool about God's word is it meets us where we are. Wherever we are in life, that's where the bible meets us and that's exactly where God meets us too. At church today we sang Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, and after singing that hymn, we just kept singing open my eyes. What the heck? I guess its good to go to church and always feel like God is talking to you. So, in the past few days I've learned how forgiving God is to me and my selfish ways. I've learned that if I don't live for today, in the present, I might miss something Big. I've learned that it doesn't matter how long its been or how far away from God I feel, He is always there and he welcomes my praise, prayers, worries, and worship at any time. 

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

I also learned that Tech football needs to not get so many penalties in one football game, and I am so excited about football season this year. I hope everyone had a good first week and is having a good labor day weekend. I love getting comments from you guys and reading your new posts. I want to know what you've learned or what God is teaching you. So when you get a chance let me know. Miss you guys. Oh and p.s. Missy was at the Tech game yesterday and Dan was with her. I approve 100% so no worries. He's a great guy. Oh and we felt bad for the Aggies, a little bit anyway. 

Schro, hope Austin is good! 

Bick...what do you want for your birthday?

Shayla, post something new.

Erin, I miss New York and I hope you are feeling better! 

Really?

"He moves mountians without their knowing it and overturns them in his anger. He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble. He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; he seals off the light of the starts. He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. When he passes me, I cannot see him; when he goes by, I cannot perceive him." Job 9:10

I read this verse last night and I couldn't believe what it said. All the power and glory of God, and yet I don't see Him in my everyday life. It's not that He isn't there. It's that I am so caught up in my small little life I have a hard time seeing Him. It's sad really. The maker of the stars passes by and I don't even recognize Him. I think sometimes I wish I was living in a different time period of my life. My time is consumed with what the future holds and what I need to get done before tomorrow gets here. I look back and wish I was still in 2nd grade and didn't have to worry about this grown up stuff. I wish I was in high school with all my friends. I am never completely satisfied with what God has for me today in this moment, in this period of my life. I was caught off guard at how many other things consume my time except for what is really important. I want to be able to recognize God in my everyday life. And to do so I must spend time with Him and learn from His word, which takes time, which means my priorities have to be a little different, which means I only have today to get that right. Just like the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle said, "We don't have yesterday, its over, we don't have tomorrow because its not guarenteed. We only have today to get things right." I think that message is just now sinking in. 

"And that is why I love team sports." 

-Erin Thomason

All the other olympic posts have inspired me. Kristin, making gold medal cookies was great. We know that eating is celebrating. Bick, when I had to wait on you to read the blog from ESPN.com, it made me happy. Because I realized my friends care about important things. Erin, listening to you yell at the tv makes me all warm inside. What would the sports world do without people like us. And watching world records be broken with best friends is what the olympics is all about. How can you not love sports? 

“Maturity begins to grow when you can sense your concern for others outweighing your concern for yourself.”

Have you ever wondered how you got to the place in your life where you are somewhat grown up? And when did it even happen. It seems like yesterday summers lasted for what seemed like forever, and chasing the ice cream man down the street was the biggest worry of the afternoon. Then one day I am working 8-5 in an office and wondering what I am going to do with the rest of my life. My funny stories go from falling out of a tree to a lady in the office jamming the shredder. My life has somehow become beyond boring. And to make matters even better friends of mine are getting married and moving on to new and exciting things in their lives. Too bad I can't just worry about having the biggest water gun in the neighborhood and have popsicle eating contests after riding bikes to the park. Instead of having conversations that involve splatterball, capture the flag, and who won the monopoly game, my conversations involve politics, voting, money, bills, careers, degrees, stock market trades, and of course who won the baseball game the night before. I guess life keeps going and you just keep growing up whether you want to or not. 

"I've decided that with friends like ya'll I don't have to worry about ever growing up."

NEW YORK

TIMES SQUARE

LEGO LADY OF LIBERTY 

EMPIRE STATE BUILDING 

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

New York survived Erin and I. We managed to escape with minimum damage. Just some damage to our credit cards. It was a great trip. No plan is a fun plan. Not knowing where the subway will take you can lead you to one of the best adventures. Looking like a tourist is not the worst thing that has ever happened to me. Thanks Erin for letting me go to New York City with you. It was awesome. And thanks to all of you who behaved at Starbucks. 

A Great Experience

I got back from Canada Sunday night and tomorrow night I am leaving for New York City, the big apple, the city of all cities. 

While in Canada some amazing things happened. When I got back from Canada some pretty exciting things have taken place as well. Its funny how God works things out in his time, for His glory, for a purpose, for a reason, and its funny how I (a small human being) question his greatness and His plans for my life. I'm not saying I have it all figured out, but this summer has helped me learn a lot about myself, and I think I have changed a little bit throughout this process. And change is a good thing. I realized I was right where I needed to be this summer. And I know Erin was questioning things too, I think in a way we all are. But its crazy once you realize that He does have a purpose and He is always at work in your life. I met some wonderful people in Canada, and met some amazing friends from Paramount that I didn't even know existed until this trip. Going on this trip with no expectations was exactly the right thing to do. The trip exceeded my expectations. 

Every camper at basketball camp learned Micah 6:8. It says, "God has told you what is good. He has told you what He wants from you: Do what is right to other people. Love being kind to others. And live humbly, trusting your god." To see the seven girls on my team get excited about knowing this verse was an amazing experience. For them this verse was more important than making a free throw. I think sometimes I miss what is most important but these 9 year olds helped me see the big picture. My friend Hannah did not have a bible at home until last Thursday when I got to be the first person to hand one to her. Thinking about her taking it home and sharing it with her family made me so happy inside. These kids were so willing to learn and so interested in the bible and all it had to say. The last day over 100 kids and parents came to see scrimmages and eat a hamburger. They were so appreciative of the work we had done and that in and of itself was a blessing. I was told Canadians were hard people to get to know, and they didn't open up and become friendly very quickly. I found this to be far from the truth. They were some of the nicest, most unselfish people I have met in my life. I would not change a thing about this mission trip and being able to serve God through a sport I love was wonderful.

Now, start spreadin the news....I'm sure there will be some great stories to come from an adventure to New York with a best friend. Maybe there will be some items brought home to share with my best friends...we will just have to see. 

How the heck do I add music to my blog?

Erin, I don't need a smart remark....and I know you are laughing right now.

To Canada and back

My basketball team for the week.

They became pretty good friends by the last day.

The lake looked like the ocean this evening. 

The views from the golf course I got to play on one afternoon.

A great view from way up on the mountain while biking the last day.

Canada was one of the best trips I have been on. The people I got to know who were a part of the team from the church were great. And the Canadian people were so nice and fun to get to know. I have met a lot of neat people in the past week and it was a neat experience. The oldest member of our mission team was Gerald who celebrated his 76th birthday in Canada doing mission work with us. The youngest member was eight year old Caroline. And many different ages and walks of life in between. We had 11 decisions for Christ at the basketball camp. And that was worth the 22 hour trip there and back. I learned a lot last week about God's love, and about myself, and I learned how to love others and be intentional. I am so glad that I was a part of what happened in Canada and that for some reason I was chosen to be a part of this mission trip. I'm sure there will be some more pictures and great stories to come. 

QUESTIONS

I need some answers to several questions. Help me if you can.

1. Should the night time cold medicine make me tired? 

2. Why is there just double bubble gum in stores and not super bubble gum? Where did it go? 

3. Is it normal to decide at the last minute you are not positive you are cut out for a mission trip to Canada? 

4. George Brett...did he know he used too much pine tar, and after 25 years does he still want to beat up those umpires? 

5. Why is it you go to Walmart at 930 pm and only 5 lanes TOTAL are open? Not to mention the lady behind me stormed out because the lane was closed after she checked us out. Could the lady not check out one more person? 

6. Is my life really that unproductive? 

7. Who will win the world series? 

8. Should Farve come back? 

9. Will Tiger be back this year? 

10. Is it raining because of Dolly?

SPORTS

Sports. 

Why do I like sports so much? What makes sports an important part of my life? How can you hate them and love them at the same time? 

I played golf last weekend. I arrived and was ready to play and have fun but mainly to win. I left, lost by 3 strokes, wanted to break my clubs, and never hit a golf ball again, oh and kill Tiger Woods. Two hours later, I was practicing my putting in my room. Why? Something about sports just makes me want to come back for more. I shoot baskets on the driveway and pretend I am shooting the game winning shot in an important game, somehow I always end up winning the game in the end just to make myself happy. But why do I even get mad when I miss one shot? No one even knew I missed it. There really aren't thousands of people watching. I watched Josh Hamilton hit 28 homeruns in the first round of the homerun derby and listened to him say that four years ago he wasted millions of dollars getting high and screwing up his life, the last thing he said is "this is unlike any high I have ever experienced." And that, is why he loves baseball. It is an amazing high. Everyone loves it for a different reason. Erin told me today, and quote "I realized why I like sports. Sports can't personally let you down. I mean, you can be sad and disappointed that your team doesn't win, but their losing has nothing to do with you. It's not them getting back at you for not waiting for them to go to lunch. It's not them being jealous of the time you spend at the gym. Like, I'm pissed at the sports guy for taking a 10 week break, and it's a way for me to realease any built up anger that I have on him.  But I know that he's not doing it to ME. And when he puts up a new podcast I completely forgive him." And so Erin is right. Sports are something no one can really explain. But they don't let you down, and no matter what, in sports...there is always a chance. And that slim chance, that it is possible, is what brings you back for more. And in the words of Josh Hamilton, it is an amazing high. 

CANADA

Saturday morning I leave for a mission trip in Penticton, Canada. I will be coaching basketball every morning while the other group leads vacation bible school on the beach. Mountains, lakes, basketball, golf, bike adventures, fishing and hanging out with kids...if this isn't a perfect mission trip for me, I don't know what is. This is my first mission trip to experience. I think this trip has been planned for a lot longer than I know, I am excited to see what is in store for me in Canada. 

But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life; and thanks to a benevolent arrangement of things, the greater part of life is sunshine.

-Thomas Jefferson

I would like to think this is the perfect summer picture.