Afternoon naps are the best :-) ❤ 😴 #naptime #toddlersi

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🍕 #mellowcupcake #nokidhungry

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Confederate Flag

While sitting at the dinner table with my husband and in-laws, the topic of the current issue of the Confederate flag came up. Now granted, I am from Alabama, and I grew up knowing exactly what it meant. While most liberals only attack the Confederate flag because of their view of racism and slavery, I wish that our government would take this opportunity to educate the public about what the flag (and the civil war) was really about. How can people in this day and age be held accountable for what was done over 100 years ago? That would be the same as putting a grandchild in jail for something that his great-grandfather did. Removing Confederate flags from our culture will not cure the race issue in our nation. If anything, it will enrage a large population and can the flames that people such as Reverend Al Sharpton (I use that title loosely) Have ignited. We will never be a country that is at peace until bottom-feeders like him are removed from the public eye.

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." ~ Albert Camus 🍂🍃🍁 #happyfallyall #firstdayoffall #autumnleaves #autumncolors #autumnweather

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To the depths of me

Because to the depths of me, I long to love one person,
With all my heart, my soul, my mind, my body...
Because I need a forever friend to trust with the intimacies of me,
Who won't hold them against me,
Who loves me when I'm unlikable,
Who sees the small child in me,
and Who looks for the divine potential of me...

Because I need to cuddle in the warmth of the night
With someone who thanks God for me,
With someone I feel blessed to hold...

Because marriage means opportunity To grow in love in friendship...

Because marriage is a discipline
To be added to a list of achievements...

Because marriages do not fail, people fail
When they enter into marriage Expecting another to make them whole...

Because, knowing this,
I promise myself to take full responsibility For my spiritual, mental and physical wholeness
I create me,
I take half of the responsibility for my marriage
Together we create our marriage...

Because with this understanding
The possibilities are limitless.

(Mari Nichols-Haining)

FAFSA

I just finished submitting my FAFSA! I doubt anything comes of it, but might as well try, right? Grad school is going to be expensive, but it will pay off in the the near future :)

Random September Roadtrip

Jason, Si and I took a little roadtrip this past weekend. We left Saturday afternoon and headed north. We didn't know exactly where we would end up. We went through Selma (which has a slew of abandoned places to photograph, might I add...) and ended up spending the night in Birmingham.



On Sunday we traveled to Ensley and Wylam )(both suburbs of Birmingham) and we stopped at Tannehill State Park on the way home (which was AWESOME!!). Trade days was going on at Tannehill so we picked a perfect weekend for our random road trip :)

 
 

Football

I am so very happy that football does not have any impact on my life.

If your mother asks you a question it's better to tell her the truth because chances are she's asking because she already knows the answer... ;-) @janie2022

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Lunch with Mrs Susanne :-)

Lunch with Mrs Susanne :-)
by Leigh Turberville Harrell

September 18, 2015 at 12:56PM
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So much more than money

Tomorrow I won't be at school. My mother-in-law and I are going to Fairhope to a flea market. It is going to be fun!! :) I need a break from school...

And, you're right, I am off during the summer. For 4 weeks. And I don't get paid for those 4 weeks. Same with the week and thanksgiving, two weeks at Christmas, and the week at spring break. Altogether, that makes 8 weeks a year. Not including, of course, all of those holidays that you probably mentioned under your breath that I get off. And yes, I get a paycheck all year, even though my measly wage is merely prorated throughout the year so that I won't have to go half of December and all of July without a paycheck.

But... what about all that time that I spend at the school and get no compensation for? Football games... basketball games.... softball games.... volleyball games.... baseball games.... after school faculty meetings.... after school detention.... the hours on end that I have spent (and will continue to spend) grading papers and projects... the conferences during the summer that are not during my contract time.

And yes. I am on contract. Which means that I am basically salaried. BUT I doubt there is another salaried OR hourly position in this WORLD that has as many duties as teaching has. I feel bad for ever thinking my mom had it easy by being a teacher. Because... I’ve figured out.... the good teachers have the hardest jobs. The ones that don't care are a totally different story.

This is the hardest job I have ever had. But it is also the most rewarding. There are days that I just want to throw my hands up and storm out of my classroom, never to return. But then.... a senior that I helped with algebra comes to me and hands me his grad exam results right before graduation and with a tear in his eye, says... "I passed..." Or a former student emails me out of nowhere needing help making a decision about her major in college -- because she has no one else to talk to about it that she trusts to give her an unbiased answer.

So... maybe I take it back. I don't get paid close to enough money for the work that I do at that school and for that school.... but I know that I will be a better person because of the lives that I get to influence and the continuous impact that these kids have on my life and my attitude.

And that is worth so much more than money....

Vintage Apple Logo! #retro #beforeapplewascool #rainbow #vintage #Apple ❤💛💚💙💜🌈🍎🍏

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10 things that make me happy

I found a list for a 30 Day Writing Challenge online, and I am going to try to do it over the next month, starting today.

1. Hearing my son's laugh.
2. Hearing my daughter's laugh.
3. Hearing my children play together.
4. My camera.
5. The smell of the air in autumn.
6. The coolness of the weather and the low humidity in autumn.
7. Netflix.
8. An ice cold Diet Dr. Pepper.
9. Putting on a pair of jeans that used to be too small.
10. The sound of the school bell ringing.

That last one is odd, I know. It doesn't matter what time of day, I love to hear the school bell. In the morning I love to hear it because it means my day is about to start and I will get to see my students. In the afternoon (specifically at 3 o'clock) I love to hear it because it means I will get to see my Janie and my Si very soon.

Love this curly headed kid! #hejuststoletheremotecontrol #curly #curlsfordays #toddlersi

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84 times

So Jason spent last night at the sleep center. I didn't even know such places existed until I started dating Jason. He has been using a c-pap or a bi-pap machine for his sleep apnea the whole time we have been together. Recently the machine stopped working correctly and since it has been 6 years since he had a sleep study done, the doctor told him he would have to spend a night at the sleep center.

Thankfully there is one about 15 miles away.

He had to spend the first part of the night without any type of breathing machine. They stuck all kinds of electrical leads to him so they could monitor his breathing. He stopped breathing 84 times in one hour.

84 times.

Seriously?!?!?

Si wasn’t very happy about his daddy leaving. He cried for about 20 minutes and then finally cheered up. Although he did keep me up until 11 o'clock last night…

He kept saying "Dada work" and "Dada bathroom" over and over again. His speech is getting better every day. We will be able to have a normal conversation in a couple of months!

Well, as normal of a conversation that one could have with a 2 year old, that is…