Parents, I have so much respect for you...

This sweet little angel...

...was caught throwing trash from the balcony at church onto unsuspecting worshippers down below. The sermon today was about taming the lions in our life. Too bad I didn't get to hear any of it.

Inspiration

I went to the Memorial Marathon this morning to watch my friends run while I drank a Diet Coke. Seriously, Holly and I went to Sonic while waiting for the race to catch up to us. We had a great time though and we got to see Moo-Moo run her FIRST half-marathon in an hour and 48 minutes!!! I was so impressed with her attitude and drive. Moo-Moo is a sophomore in high school and decided that she wanted to do this and she did it hardcore. She motivated me to get ready for next year. I also have to give a shout out to my ROGS, Amy and Mandy. Mandy ran the half and Amy ran her first full marathon! Ya'll are awesome. Moo-Moo smiling after 10 milesMoo-Moo with her medal

Open Invitation

So, I've been working on a 30 things to do before I turn 30 list. Things that seem feasible in the next five years. I'm up to about 15 things so far. Some are sensible. Get a Master's. Buy a house. There is one thing on the list (the first in fact), that is not so sensible. I also have to confess that it was the only thing on the list for about two days. Ready? I want to go to Comic-Con. Yep, you read that right. When I sat down to write a list of things I want to acheive in life, the first thing that I thought of was to attend a comic book convention. Now, to be fair, it is way more than just comic books, but still pretty nerdy. I mean, where else in the world can you go to see this?So, if anyone's up for it, I'm thinkin' San Diego 2010. If nothing else, we can just laugh at the thousands of people dressed up like Imperial stormtroopers (while secretly wishing we had thought of it ourselves). Have a great weekend!

Amazing

OK, if you are on the internet at all you've probably seen Susan Boyle from Britain's Got Talent. If you live under a rock, you have to watch her here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OcQ9A-5noM
So many people judge my kids at school based on their appearance. They sometimes look like gangbangers, sure, but there is so much more. I have kids who have a genuine shot at careers in medicine, sports, even acting. This clip made me bawl like a baby thinking about this woman who has been judged based on her appearance for her whole life. She was even ridiculed as she was walking out onto the stage! She kept her head up, though. I pray that my kids have as much strength as her and fight for a future, no matter what they are told.

LTC

The Capitol Hill kids went to LTC (Leadership Training for Christ) in Dallas this weekend. LTC is pretty much my favorite event during the year. We get to go to a fantastic hotel and swim and play, but also, the kids work SO hard to prepare for their events, it's great to see them rewarded for their effort. They competed in Bible Bowl, songleading, and drama. They also completed scrapbooks, art, children's books, and bulletin boards. This year was extremely exciting because our drama team was asked to perform their skit in front of the entire group that was at LTC. We're not talking 100 people here, folks. We're talking like 3,000! How exciting! The kids wrote the skit and came up with pretty much everything on their own. Holly and I just directed them and kept them on track.

Here are some more pictures from the weekend:

Nikki and me

Baby Eduardo

I've run out of steam...

It seems like after Spring Break I just haven't been able to get my energy up to do anything. I think my kids feel the same way. They are working so hard to get ready for their tests, but they know that summer is close and that is way more exciting. Lots of fighting, talking back, and name calling today, 3 kids suspended. Not sure whether to blame it on the warm weather, the full moon, or the fact that it is April. Let's go with all 3.

I did get to go a workshop this week on working with "challenging" kids. It was extremely helpful. I did one of the techniques with one of my sweet 5th graders (because he was so loud I couldn't teach) and my face must have looked goofy because he started making goofy faces at me (he didn't even know he was doing it). I started laughing because he looked so silly and then he said, "Are you laughing at me?" in his silliest voice. He then started laughing and we both cracked up and started giggling. The ice was then broken for us to talk about choices and peer pressure, blah, blah, blah. He listened though and the rest of the day was great. I'm not gonna lie, sometimes my days are grim and I wonder what the future holds for these precious students of mine. Is it gang banging? Is it jail? Is it death? Shining moments like these remind me that those aren't the only options. Life is just starting out for them and they have so many places that they can go. I can't wait to see what they do!

It's possible that this might be why I can't get back into the swing of things. Ahh...the beach.

Weekend Thoughts

This weekend was crazy busy, but so much fun! My grandma turned 76 this Friday, so we met my grandparents, the Boones, and my great-aunt Minnie in Lawton to celebrate. Here was her gift from me. She always tells me when I go on trips, "Well, I never made it there. I guess you'll have to take me in pictures." Maybe she should have been more careful what she asked for.

Cousin Ariel and me

On Saturday, Annie had a choir concert, so Takiea, Daniel and I went to cheer her on. (I forgot my camera, so you'll just have to imagine her singing "Yakity Yak" and doing all the motions. She was great!) Then, the CHCC youth group had drama practice. Holly and I are directing this year, which is always lots of fun. I'm always so amazed by these kids talent! Next week is LTC, so I'll be sure to post some pictures and maybe a video of their performance.
After all that running around, I was ready to chill. I rented a bunch of movies to watch while I worked. Here's the rundown:

Happy-Go-Lucky: Fantastic British movie. Sally Hawkins stars as an elementary school teacher who is constantly happy. The movie goes through different situations that would probably make most people extremely angry or upset, but she remains joyful. I couldn't help thinking throughout the movie, what if her joy was due to her relationship with Jesus rather than simply a positive attitude. Imagine how much deeper her joy could have been. But, it was still an enjoyable movie. Well written and acted, I love Sally Hawkins. She was in the BBC's version of Persuasion this year, which was wonderful.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist: I thought this would be a movie that I would watch once and be done with, but I really enjoyed it. Yeah, it was a high school movie, but the characters were enjoyable and well developed and the plot was paced very well. I might buy this one.

Twilight: I have been putting it off. I read the book this summer and just wasn't sure about the movie. That was probably smart. I wasn't crazy about it. It was cheesy and the acting was sub par. I think next time I'll just stick to the books.

Today I taught the pre-school class at C.Hill. We talked about Jesus entering Jerusalem. Fabyan knew ALL of the answers! Angela, you would have been so proud. Once again, I forgot my camera. I did ask what city they were going to, though and Max wasn't paying attention, so he just shouted out, "God!" It's always a good guess.

I've got a little bit of work left, so thanks to Red Box, I've got more movies to watch. I've Loved You So Long, with Kristen Scott Thomas, and Australia, only because I'd seen pretty much every other new release. I'll let you know the verdict.