Multitude of Thoughts: 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