Whirlwind Holidays!

Wow! It seems like time just crawls and flies at the same time. So much has happened in such a short time. Let me back up and recall the events...

December 6th promised to be a night full of fun - Clint's company party was that night and we would be enjoying a relaxing evening of games and good food and prizes! The party was wonderful and afterward we went upstairs to the hotel room we had decided to stay in. We so rarely treat ourselves as a couple, so we had decided to splurge just a little. The room was amazing, but we when we started to settle in, I realized that I had a missed phone call on my cell phone. It was dad... He knew we would be busy until late, so I was curious as to why he had been trying to call. His voice message was vague and haunting: call me back soon. When we called (at 11:00 at night, mind you) we were horrified to find out that mom had been admitted into the hospital. This completely came out of nowhere and I was devestated at the thought. Clint immediately wanted to pack up and drive back to Fort Worth, but I realized that driving that late would not be safe and mom would probably be asleep anyway. Maybe I knew in my heart that we would be in for a terrible ordeal and we would need a good night's rest. Well, the "good rest" didn't exactly come because I cried myself to sleep, Clint holding me the whole time. That night was terrible... we didn't know what would happen and why this had come about all of a sudden...

The next morning we awoke very early, checked out of the hotel, and rushed to the hospital. When we arrived, we found mom lying in a bed at Baylor Cityview hospital. There was too much confusion to truly understand what was happening. As the day progressed, we heard a word that no family ever wants to hear - Leukemia. "We don't know for certain" and "we will need more tests" but we all knew that this was not going to be good. For the next 2 days we cried, held each other close, and cried some more. I don't think that little family chapel had ever seen so many people! Our days dragged horribly. Mom had a bone marrow biopsy and the tests came back positive. My mother, my best friend, my everything, had Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Research shows that this particular form of cancer is very fast moving - if not diagnosed and treated, it can be fatal in a matter of weeks. The doctor told us that if mom had not come in, there was a good chance she would have been gone by Christmas.

Just let that sink in for a moment... imagine your loved one not exhibiting any signs (or at least no major signs) of illness, gone in 3 weeks. The thought is enough to make you stop and re-evaluate your life. I know that we all re-evaluated our priorities after this.

Mom was transferred to another hospital with a more advanced oncology ward where she was started on chemotherapy within days. If you have never had experience with chemo, you might be surprised to learn just how toxic this stuff is. Nurses suit up before setting up the IV bags. A pix line has to be run so that the chemo can be delivered straight to the heart so that it can be diluted before it has a chance to damage veins. Horrible stuff. But, it saved my mother's life. The first week of chemo was actually better that I would have imagined. There were very few side effects and we were very thankful that God was bringing us through this as painlessly as possible.

Then, the chemo ended and the struggle began. Mom's hemoglobin, white blood cells, and platelets began to drop staggeringly - she received platelets and blood transfusions almost daily. Her appetite dwindled until even the thought of food caused her to feel nauseous. She started to lose her hair. Once again we all sent prayers up to heaven, praying that God would touch mom's body and heal her.

As we prepared for a Christmas in the hospital, we set up a tree, strung lights, and tried to make the experience one that we could all enjoy, despite the circumstances that we unexpectedly found ourselves in. The house in Leander needed to go on the market, and we all pitched in to make it sale-ready. Mom's hope was that the house would go on the market by Christmas. On Christmas day the house was listed and ready. We all cried as God answered yet another prayer.

New Year's Eve was a blast as we all sat in the hospital room snacking on munchies and watching tv. The nurse and the tech came in at the stroke of midnight and we all toasted to a happy new year (with sparkling grape juice, of course).

A few days later, mom was declared to be in remission and was able to go home. For the first time in a month, mom was free from the hospital. For about a week, we were able to celebrate all of the blessings God had given us. You begin to see the world in a whole new light. Every moment of your life should be cherished. Even when the times are hard, and you are sure that you can't make it through your situation, each minute is precious. Each day is a gift from God.

All too soon, mom had to go back in to the hospital to begin her first round of consolidation therapy. We began to relive the effects of the chemo over again. Again, mom was tired and needed to sleep all the time. Again we had to be very careful to make sure that we didn't bring in any germs. Again, we spent so much time at the hospital with her.

Mom is back home now. After a brief return to the hospital following her first round of consolidation, she is doing great! She starts her next round on February 13th, so please pray that all goes well. The house in Leander has an offer, that my parents have accepted, and we are praying that all goes well with that.

God is moving in miraculous ways that we could have never imagined. Our family is so close, but God has brought us so much closer. Relationships have been mended, hearts have been changed, priorities re-evaluated, bonds strengthened. Who would have ever guessed that cancer would have made our lives better? No, everything is not "safe" yet. We still wait for every procedure and every test with bated breath. But, we are constantly reminded that God is still and always will be in control of our lives. He is guiding our paths, making them straight for His will and His purpose.

Through this, God showed me a Scripture passage that has really touched me deeply. I have adopted it as my life's verse and quote it every chance I get. Jeremiah 29:11-13 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." ESV

Lord, I come before you right now, humbled by your mighty power. I am in awe of the awesomeness you display. Your Will is perfect and your path straight. You are the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus, my heart is so full of love for you - you have never forgotten us, you don't neglect us. Even through the toughest time in my life, you are here, holding me in your arms of comfort. Without you, I am nothing. My works are meaningless, my good intentions trivial. With you, through you, and only because of you, I have the hope of everything. My life has meaning because you provide the meaning. To know that I am your treasure and that you desired me when I was so hopeless I could not even know to desire you is empowering. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for dying on the cross to redeem me from my sins. Thank you for rising from the grave to give me a hope for the future. Thank you for your boundless grace that reaches out to me in my time of need. Thank you for your salvation. Please give me the strength and the deligence to seek your will every hour of every day. Continue to work in mom's body. Give her the strength to continue on through the hard days. Give us the strength to praise you continuously. We love you. It is in your name we pray. Amen.

Tsk. Tsk...

Time flies! It has been all of two months since I last posted. Nothing too terribly interesting has happened since then. School is going great! But, I guess the best news is that TNP has assigned Clint to a brand new project as an EIT! The assumption is that he will start the Monday after graduation on December 13th. Hallelujah!!! I am so proud of him and all he has been working toward. He is generally too modest to respond to praise... but I can praise him all I want here! :)

The only other thing that has been on my mind lately is this election... I find it so tragic that our country and the fate of every life, here and abroad, that is affected by the great U. S. of A. has been placed in the hands of a man elected almost entirely due to skin color. It seems to me that we have gone the complete opposite of racism to celebrate a form of reverse racism. In a community, the idealism of non-racist behaviors would be to eliminate the affects of skin color on attitudes and decisions.

And yet, for this election, the skin color of a man who is black almost entirely in name only, is a primary determining factor for the majority of American's decisions. Where is the wisdom in this? It is sad that our country is full of adolescents incapable of researching facts in preference of feel-good emotions. Even in my own classroom I hear 7 and 8 year olds praising this man as distant to them as the moon for his skin color! People are swayed by every pretty thing that comes across the television.

Have we sunk so low that we do not care? Do not mistake my words. I did not find in John McCain a perfect candidate. But, I did not pick McCain because he was white. I picked him because his agenda more closely aligned with my own ideals. I did not fail to pick Barack Obama because he was black. I did not choose him because I disagreed with his intentions. Skin color was NOT a factor.

In a country so quick to avoid racism so as not offend a certain people group, we have allowed a plethora of race-centered agendas to overrun our country. Race exclusive scholarships for students (Black, Hispanic, or Native American only), race specific recognition programs (Black Music Awards, etc.), race isolated media (news, radio, etc.), and race engineered presidential campaigns. Where is the equity? Where is the freedom? Where is the equality? The inverse would be heartily objected -- white-kid-only scholarships, white only awards, White ABC News, and hallelujah we have another WHITE President!

Yet, the media, the country, and even most of the world praises our new BLACK President!

Does skin color affect intelligence? As a teacher who has seen white, black, and hispanic children, I can say that, skewed test data aside, children are children. Their skin color does NOT under absolutely NO uncertain circumstances affect their ability to learn.

Does skin color affect ones ability to lead a country? Absolutely NOT! There are already leaders around the world from nearly every culture in power. Having a black President is not an implied advantage.

Does skin color give inherent benefits? Medical conditions aside, God created us in his image - He is not a respector of persons. One person is NOT above another.

Does skin color win a Presidency? Apparently so.

School Year Numero Dos...

Yes, my title is half English and half Spanish. No, I'm not trying to be multicultural, this is my job. For some strange reason last year when it came down to move my classroom or become a Dual Language teacher, I chose DL. What I didn't know was that it literally entailed splitting myself into two self-sustaining and entirely independent teachers! As crazy as it sounds, I am living a double life. My words, actions, lessons, musings, and mutterings now affect two groups of adolescents. I am super teacher! Ultra Educator! Well, at least I hope to be, because even though it is easier with a year of experience under my belt (an expression that effectively holds zero meaning for me, a non-belt-wearer) the experiences and the needs and the events of this year are drastically different.

Starting from the very first day of school I have had to repeat, reiterate, and rephrase everything for children who struggle with the English language. Add to that the fact that I know essentially NO Spanish and we have for an interesting year to say the least.

I do think I am starting to get a handle on things now. But, things still pop up that must be dealt with - what if we start a chapter book read-a-loud? the other teacher has to finish it. What if we do not have time to finish an assignment before we switch classes? HOMEWORK! What happens if our two sets of identical twins decide to switch classes? Pray that NEVER happens or I QUIT!

My Latest Sewing Venture

Sew... :)... Last Saturday was the meeting for my sewing group where we were sharing our creations. We also did a fabric swap. I got a lot of really cute fabrics for another baby quilt, but I also got some adorable cherry fabric. I had no clue what I was going to do with it, but I just couldn't leave it there! So, I picked it hoping that I could find a really cute use for it. This is what I came up with:

I think CoCo likes it - don't you? Penny's dress is almost finished as well and then they will have matching sister dresses! YAY!

Moving day

And it wasn't even ours! Although, ours will come soon enough...

No, we were moving a TON of stuff into the new apartment that my mom and dad and Katie will be staying in and eventually will become Jeff's. I am so excited because it really is a great apartment and is in a great location, looks great and will work out so well.

But, before all that work and exhausting labor, Penny had her "girlie" appointment today. It was so sad to drop her off early in the morning! She was doing just fine until we pulled into the Petsmart parking lot. Then, she knew where she was going! I even have a scratch mark to prove that she knew exactly what was going on. It was so hard to hand her over to the nurse! She looked so tiny and I just wanted to hold her and take her home! All day long I thought about her and fretted over her.

During the day I had a workshop at school to go over the new textbook adoption. Last year we adopted a new curriculum, but it is TERRIBLE! None of the teachers in the district or in all the districts that adopted it like the way it is laid out. The lessons don't make sense, the kids don't get it, and we don't like it. Well, today we were introduced the new textbook adoption and we LOVE it! It is so nice because the Teacher Editions are easy to use, the kids' books are user friendly, there is lots of technology support, leveling, intervention, centers, absolutely everything you would need is already included, organized, and color coded! We were so happy...

Then, "THEY" drop the bombshell on us. We still have to use the old curriculum. "But it is very different" we point out... We are told to make it work and to use both. So now we have to take poorly written curriculum and very well-written curriculum and put it together to rewrite NEW curriculum. Stressful to say the least.

So, in a "blog"shell, that was my day... Penny, stress, labor.

Hates and Loves

I HATE:

Crawling bugs
stinging bugs
big bugs
bugs with 6 legs
bugs with 8 legs (spiders technically, but for the sake of the list...)
flying bugs (with the exception of Butterflys and Damselflys of course)
buggy bugs
bugs, etc.
low lighting
licking
clutter
missing things
crackly tv shows
slow internet
lack of ice cream in the freezer
big band
pastels
jeans shopping
lost keys
people who park in other people's driveways
cops who won't do anything about people parking in other people's driveways
tow trucks who won't tow people parked in other people's driveways
diet cokes

I LOVE!
guacamole!!!
minties (the yummy pink, green, and yellow ones from the candy store)
CLINT!
soft pillows
finishing a quilt
comfortable days with blue skies
non-sticky floors
chocolate shakes
green
sing-able music
furry puppies
sparklies
feathers
daggers
candles
sleeping
Thanksgiving
rod iron
spice cabinets
fireworks
pretty sinks
foam soap

My NEW QUILTS!!!

This is the quilt that I made 2 weeks ago. It is rather small (like for a carseat baby blanket).
This is a close-up of one of the squares. I love the vibrant colors and the quilting!
This is the quilt I finished today. It is more of a crib sized quilt (no hints or subliminal messages - I just like doing some small quilts as well!).
And a close up of one of the squares. The colors are great (they show up a little muted, but they are wonderful reds, oranges, greens, and blues).