today at school....

my nickname was "mrs. sunburn". ouch! =P haha.
i went to the pool yesterday with my friends jen and lola, and we were out there for a while... and i didn't realize how cooked i got!
see, take a look -

we had a nice time though and i even went down the waterslide a few times. i felt a little funny letting some of my students see me in a bathing suit, but i guess there's no getting around that as i'm sure it will happen all summer! haha.

hope you all had a nice memorial day weekend!

I've Been Tagged..

Twice! By Jessie AND Reagan! SO I guess that means I have to play too!
Here are the Rules:
* Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
* Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
* Let them know they are tagged by leaving comments on their blogs.

Here goes.
#1 - I used to (and still sometimes do) dream of being on broadway... especially in the Phantom of the Opera. =)

#2 - I have a love of pajama pants - fuzzy, capri, pink, blue, striped, polka dotted. I have to tell myself not to buy them when I see a cute pair because I already have enough to wear a different one each night for 2 weeks! =D (and I even gave some to Good Will before we moved here!) haha.

#3 - When I was younger, people used to tease me about my long toes and call me "French Fry Toes". Some still do.

#4 - I never turn the lights on unless I have to. Usually in the mornings when I wake up for school, I stumble around - brushing my teeth and even showering in the dark - waiting until the very last minute to turn on the light, because I think its too bright. I also get scolded constantly for not having enough light when I am reading, and I am even sitting in a dark apartment as I am typing this! =P (My only light of choice are twinkle lights.. which I love and use anytime of the year, not just the winter.)

#5 - I took a semester of photography school my sophomore year of college. I learned a lot and really loved it, but thought it too competitive as a career, thus going back that spring to Emmaus to catch up and graduate with my freshman El Ed class.

#6 - I absolutely Hate haunted houses. I won't go in them, and get tense being near them if I think something (or someone) might jump out at me. I know it's rather irrational, but I was traumatized on more than one Halloween as a kid, and just have never been able to move past it, I suppose! My sweet husband has witnessed this firsthand - I couldn't even make myself go in with him protecting me! =O

#7 - I cry at old Hallmark commercials. Do you remember those ones they used to show with the kid getting a card from his teacher, or a kid giving a card to his mom? Every single time I see one of those I can't help but get choked up. =)

Who I am tagging:
Marcie
Gwen
Robin
Charity
Cristina
FennyJ
Angie
I'm cheating and tagging 8 -
Jen and Lola

field day fun and lessons being learned.

today at school we had a fun field day. outside, sun, water sports... the kids had a blast. here are a few pictures =)









after field day the kids went home wet and we had some teacher meetings (it was a half-day) but after school, i also had fun watching this little cutie...




it was a long day, but pretty good all-in-all.

i have been learning more and more that i still have a lot to learn about classroom management, and the kids were quick to let me know that today too.... one of the other teachers came in this morning and said "excuse me boys and girls" and the kids immediately quieted down! so when she left i said "wait, why dont you do that for me?" and they said "we're scared of her! not of you!" ha. =P now most of you that know me know i am not a scary person... but i am still trying to learn the balance between "scary" and "too nice" (which i tend to be). i'm a work in progress. =)

on the bright side however, 3 weeks left of school after this one!
we have a field trip on friday, too - so i hope to take more pictures there... we are going to a space museum.

also, please keep praying for my sweetiepie when you think of it - we are ready for him to be back on dry land and be back together again for summer adventures, but thats still a few weeks away. we are hoping they go quickly! hope you all are having a nice week and enjoying the warm weather!

happy mothers day!

To all our friends that are moms, but especially to our sweet moms!
(ps: Marcie, Happy First Mothers Day to you!!!!) :)

In case you didn't know or haven't met them, we are blessed with 2 very wonderful, caring, godly mothers, and I hope they know how much we appreciate and love them! :) Happy Mothers Day from Japan! We miss you, wish we could be there with you today, and hope you have a wonderful day!

"And her children shall rise up and call her blessed" Proverbs 31:28

lessons in teaching, and in life.

So the teacher I took over for left one of those little day calendars on his desk that I have been reading every day, and the quote for one of the weekend days was something like this (I read it this morning). The goal of a teacher should be to have a kid leave at the end of the day loving himself just a little more than he did when he got to school that morning. It stuck with me all day, and I wondered if I was accomplishing that goal. It's definitely something to strive for, especially as the end of the year is drawing close, and my job status for next year is still unknown. I need to make use of the time God has given me to spend with these kids!

It's Teacher Appreciation Week this week, and I got a cute little basket and nice note from the Principal, an apple from one of my students (haha!) :) and a backrub from another! I really do have some cute kids... take a look:


In other news, I have been hitting the gym the past week or so trying to get in shape because this summer we are taking Rob and Charissa out to Tokyo and we are all going to climb Mt. Fuji! I am pretty stinking excited about that! :)


Other than that, I am hanging in there... missing Ben like crazy, and anxious for him to get home again... I never sleep as good when he isnt here, and the past few nights have been no exception! Maybe tonight I will get a bit more rest.

Anyway, just wanted to say Hi again. Miss you guys a lot!