Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Last Monday in October... are you even serious!?




My favorite school month is nearly over... what!!??
October is seriously so fun for so many reasons, but one is the fun themed units that I can bring in and supplement our uber boring curriculum with. :)
This week is Bats and Bones!

Thankful....

for Hannah learning her phonics in the car and Hudson copying! I say "What does jam start with" ( for example)... she says Jah Jah Jah... ( the J sound) and Hudson imitates. Then we say J ( as in the letter name). Hudson imitates. Hey speech lady, we may be on to something ;)

for unexpected packages, overflowing the Bibles!! The note that was tucked it, hit my heart. Feels like God keeps speaking. He keeps saying "guys I have you- all you need, I will provide.. stop worrying"... yes..that.... we will listen... thank you auntie jack. thank you. XO

that Saturday just totally rocked. In.every. way.

for friends who sacrifice their time to encourage.

for MR HEBERT's 1st field trip with Hannah!

to help three sweet teens who had a rough Friday... I love positively mentoring the older girls... they came to share in our pumpkin math & lego time  and I could never have accurately counted 300+ pumpkin seeds;) They helped my class immensely and I hope they helped themselves too & rechecked their attitudes and will have a better week :) 





thankful for  thoughtful co-workers

Get past the crazy 80's looks of these guys & listen to the song ;)
Lyrics:
Oh, the source of my song is the Saviour, The reason for my singing is the Man from Galilee. It does not depend upon my circumstances for Jesus is the source of my song. Life is a song worth singing though it can be a hard melody, but if we keep our eyes on Jesus, He will turn the pain into perfect harmony. Oh the source of my song is the Saviour, The reason for my singing is the Man from Galilee. It does not depend upon my circumstances for Jesus is the source of my song. If we only sing when we're happy, we will not be singing very long. But if we're singing while the battle's raging, the world will know that Jesus is the source of my song. Oh the source of my song is the Saviour, The reason for my singing is the Man from Galilee. It does not depend upon my circumstances for Jesus is the source of my song. Oh the source of my song is the Saviour, The reason for my singing is the Man from Galilee. It does not depend upon my circumstances for Jesus is the source of my song. It does not depend upon my circumstances for Jesus is the source of my song. Yes, Jesus is the source of my song.


the love.of.my.life











Monday, October 19, 2015

Multitude Monday: Oct 19




Thankful for a night of singing! Our good friends are very musically talented and shared their love of singing with us. A few of us got together and learned our parts on a couple hymns. It was way outta our comfort zone - but such an encouraging & fun way to spend a Saturday night.

Thankful for Teachers Pay Teachers website. The amount of free printables is amazing & overwhelming & I have found so many fun October activities. This week is Spider wrap up & beginning  of our Pumpkins unit.

Thankful for the quickest apple & pumpkin picking farm day. We came. We saw. We conquered. We escaped all the bees ( and fresh cider donuts- WAY too many bees by them. For real guys. Those bees are ruthless & I'm a scardy cat) Kids left thrilled. Our apples were so huge, so juicy & so fresh. Because it was 40 degrees, no one was there! So that was also a super perk :)

Thankful for my principal and assistant principal. They are awesome. They are approachable. They understand. They help. They are UBER stylish ( seriously a 6 ft 7 guy, trying to "criss cross appleasauce" on my reading carpet :) :)  with all the kids swarming him.. in a suit but with bright pink Nikes) My assistant principal has the best style ever along with a great personality & has been a continual support during my transition to an inner city school.

Thankful for Harrison's 1st trumpet concert. This boy blows us away. He is such a blessing. I admire all the new things he tries fearlessly. We are still trying to adjust to trumpet practicing in our small house ;)

Thankful for it being my dad's birthday week, but instead of us scrambling last minute to find the gift for someone who was the hardest person shop for, or finding the perfect carrot cake for his birthday supper dessert, we miss him with both aching and rejoicing. So thankful he has had 7 heavenly birthdays- clearly far better than any bash here & although I seriously  miss that gift hunt & finding a super cool card for him... I just focus on the excitement of a heavenly birthday bash someday... when I go too... Do you ever wonder if there will be birthdays in Heaven? I think there wont be any- since we aren't in yearly time anymore- but man I love birthdays and all the celebrations that come with.. I'm sure our celebrations in Heaven will trump any birthday- even the best of them...

Thankful for social media and the encouragement that it can bring.

Thankful for Matt sharing his thoughts on his study in Hosea. I think that is a book I have skipped almost entirely!?! Have you read through it lately? The beauty of redemption, forgiveness, true love & giving all... in one book.

Thankful that our cross country season is nearing an end! Although I love building relationships with the older crew & training with them, and watching them win 1st place!!!! AHH!!! The time... it's all about time... and that my friends is something  I am working hard at prioritizing and reclaiming. Do you feel that you give your time away too much & are left stretched too thin?



 This. Thankful for Dave Ramsey and not only his great financial advice- but this quote too... Love...

Have a great week :) XO





Monday, October 12, 2015

Multitude Monday: Oct 12


Thankful  this week for....

a three day weekend! truly a time much needed to relax & rejoice in my family. I needed every bit of this down time to fully recharge my teaching heart & I feel ready for tomorrow! 4 day week. With payday Friday. Columbus activities and SPIDER week. It will ROCK :) I love teaching in the fall. Each week has super fun things planned & I will manage my expectations... as long as we can make spider hats Friday, I'm all good ;) They are SOO cute!!










a supportive hubby whose heart aches with mine over the stresses at work. I have a hard hard time leaving work at work- but I love that Matt listens and empathizes and tries to work on ways to help.

Hudson saying Mimi and Memere and.... MAMA!!! Yes, he must have just hit the M button this week... pretty exciting :)

Even with that progress... we are excited to hear that Hudson does qualify for Speech. A therapist will come to our home once a week, beginning in 3 weeks or so. They evaluated him at about an 18 month old's vocab, which we totally agreed with...although we love seeing him improve in just hours- already learned Hi and Buh Bye. Big sisters make pretty fun teachers :) Praying that the speech therapist will be patient and exciting & that he will catch up from having his ranula issue fast & will be on track in the fall for PreK! The developmental eval gave him thumbs up & although he is "self directed" aka not a good listener, there is still hope ;) In our eyes....He's perfect. The "Hudson" language is adorable ... but I keep forgetting he is almost 3! The baby of the family for sure is getting babied! Yikes! I always said I would never be "that mom!" Never say never ;) So I am thankful that early intervention is available.

our gym. Sad to see all the outside chaise lounges stacked up already for winter.. but love the indoor pool & the fact our kids can splash every day no matter what our crazy bipolar chicago weather brings!


Sunday special time.... included: afternoon naps, football, soccer & cheerleading award ceremony, Uncle Dusty & Auntie Mila time








Olive Garden. Those bread sticks do nothing positive for my December Florida body however ; /





the Cubs making it to the World Series #flythatW

free coffee all week long at 7-11 with their app... its not Dunkin... but it's Free :)

getting news that our dishwasher motor arrived and can be fixed Thursday. Moms, you know this is a HUGE deal ;) I am a dish scrubbing robot it feels like! Nonstop scrubbing.  Then non stop drying & yes our sweet kids love "helping" with this, but the safest, most effective way is for me or dad to clean... or else we may get some left over ketchup dried plate surprises when we open the cupboard ;) EWWW :)









Monday, October 5, 2015

Multitude Monday: October 5

Thankful this week for:

1) spontaneity
(Not normally a spur of the moment entertainer, but after last weeks ministry, we were mindful of certain areas that we need to improve on & boom. Last minute text, a deep breath that my sharpie covered dining chair & un-scrubbed stove would go unnoticed ;)  & a great time of fellowship.)

Read this on Sunday - timely or what?!

"Devote your home to Christ. Use it for Him openly and freely. Create a home that exudes warmth and hospitality. See your living quarters as a sanctuary for seeking souls. People long to be in an environment that extinguishes loneliness. He has blessed you with a place that illustrates God’s provision. Use it so you don’t lose it. A devoted home is a shelter from the storms of life, though it is not a conflict-free zone. There is still plenty that goes on in a home dedicated to God that needs His grace. Devote your home to the Lord, and watch Him work. He takes what is devoted to Him and uses it far beyond what you can imagine. Refrain from only using your home for yourself; see it as a God-spot for weary wanderers. Encouragement explodes in a home dedicated to the Almighty."

2) deferring my marathon registration. 26.2 miles next Sunday?! Nope... But guaranteed entry in 2016 :) 

3) neon pink football gear 

4) week 4 done at school & new tools (inner strength thank you Lord) to handle the lack of tools that these little munchkins have :( social skills... What is that? How do we share? Why not punch each other in their  stomachs? "He short cutted  me - so I pushed him into the wall"...Ohhhh ok... So my ideal plan of a letter a day, a color a day, a number a day and all the other normal curriculum, mixed in with some cutesy Pintrest ideas get pushed to the side... ( these kids get 12 sight words a week. I repeat 12. Hannah gets 5, one a day, and they are words like me, we, etc. Our sight words are "their" & "been"....really!? Smile & wave boys. Smile & wave :)  Social/emotional  skills are 1st.  This weeks goal: hands to ourselves & using our words, not screams or kicks or tears to communicate. (Day one today: ended with me very happy in the small joys of 99% of the students forming their P correctly. And seeing their enjoyment of Fire Safety activities was awesome! But of course we cant have a normal, happy, all calm day... One parent had to come pick up their aggressive, crayon stabbing, hand slapping, chair kicking child, escaper of the school child. ( NO JOKE. All before 10 am today. Whew!) and another one came later in the day after the screaming & jumping off chairs was too much to handle safely.  Please pray that I am patient & remain full of joy even though it breaks my heart to see the strong, stubborn sinful will, the blatant disrespect for authority , the minor bruises (ouch) and the tears of students who stay with auntie all week because their mom works 2 jobs and daddy  "is at a hotel". 

5) for a positive phone call from Harrison's coach 

6) for Hannah loving kindergarten & rocking her behavior. You know how nervous I was sending her to afternoon kindergarten? And now, a month plus into it, she's SO happy there & the timing makes for crabby evenings & early bedtimes- but praise the lord for a happy learner & great "no cards flipped" behavior.  Her love of writing, coloring & counting makes my mommy heart happy- but my teacher heart happier :)

7) for an early, yummy & encouraging  breakfast date ... Love conversations that have meaning & that  make you leave wanting to be a better Christian...   pricked my heart on how I can develop & strengthen my relationships with others. 

8) to see the Xerox truck out front of our school. A week of no copies?! Kinda frazzles me ;) Homework was copied today, so that's a blessing. The rest we will wing ... sigh... ;) 

9) for an email from Shedd Aquarium to say we qualified for FREE BUSES for our Shedd aquarium field trip in Dec ( admission to  Shedd is also free for CPS students and teachers)! It will be a great Christmas treat for these kids, and yay for freebies for parents by the holidays.

10) for leaves wall flowers from B&BW in my class & at home. The kids were like "Ms Hebert it smells really good in here". Bless their sweet non bath and body scented homes. 





 Last game of the season...had to get Pink-if-ied. #findacure #crucialcatch Their team was similar to our Bears... lost nearly every game, but that didn't stop Harrison's joy of the game. He got momentum back up in the 4th qtr by a SICK QB sack! It was pretty cool :) Now we can reclaim our T,W & Th evenings from 530-830 pm ( AMEN HALLELUJAH :) :) :) and our Saturday and Sunday afternoons!!!)

 Love getting pictures of my cuties enjoying the beautiful path by our house

 Picture Day & Daddy combed her hair & got her in a matching outfit. Heart EYES for days :) :) :) 

 we love shaving cream writing practice!

 This boy. Needs. Prayer. Please.

 My fantastic 5!! Read all 12 sight words on week 1!