Life.

Our dishwasher broke.  Finally.  It was a slow and painful death that we could all see coming and could do nothing about.  Except go to Walmart and buy a dishdrainer and a really good scrub brush.  ::Sigh::

Ironically, we have been better about washing the dishes ASAP instead of letting them sit in the sink.  There is something really gratifying about seeing the empty sink and all of your hard scrubbing work piled neatly on the counter all shiny and clean. 

That is not to say that I do not want to replace my dishwasher.  I do.  I really, really do.

I digress.

All of this is to say that this is really how our life has been lately.  Which is why I have not posted about Spring Break or all the books I'm reading simultaneously or how my son made the A/B Honor Roll for the first time in his whole life (!!).  I've been busy washing dishes.  And making dinner.  And trying to keep up with all this end-of-the-year schoolwork now that my fabulous student teacher left me (sad face).

I will be back in touch soon!  When life slows down just long enough for me to upload photos and write a little bit. 

Happy Spring Break!

It's here! It's here!  An entire ten days of rest.  Wow.  I think this is the first Spring Break where I have brought absolutely nothing home with me to do (Thanks to my wonderful student teacher who insisted on finishing up the grades on her own.  I promise I tried to offer to help.  Really I did!).  We are planning to rest a lot, play a lot, hang out a lot, and travel a little.

I am planning to read.  For pleasure!  Sheer and uninterrupted pleasure.  Ah, glorious Spring Break ::nerd snort::

More specifically,  I'm my plan is to finish The Hunger Games series, which is so good.

Here is a great review of The Hunger Games by Tim Challies, a man who truly loves the Lord and reviews a lot of popular books and cultural issues through the lens of Scripture on his blog.  I trust his opinion and I'm glad he likes The Hunger Games.  It made me feel even better about enjoying the story.

On Saturday, just to kick things off on a good note, Calvin and I are running a 5K.  I will let you know how that goes.  I'm looking forward to it!  I'm glad to be back to running.  It is good for my mental health as much as it is good for me physically. 

We're hoping to go up to my in-laws campsite for a couple days and also to D.C. for a couple days to visit family. 

So we have plans!  But we also have no plans!  Hopefully it is the best of both worlds!

Five Things Friday: What I Am Loving Right Now

1. This Recipe - I make a big batch at the beginning of the week and we reheat and eat for breakfast almost every day.  We just add whatever fruit we have and omit the pistachios.  It's yummy!

picture source

2. The Hunger Games - My student teacher is done teaching her units in a week or so, so I have been making the most of these last precious days with her running the class and carving out some time to just read.  I picked up the Hunger Games on Tuesday (I'm a little behind the rest of the world, as usual) and am about to finish the last couple pages within minutes of hitting publish on this post.  It's good!

3. Running - I'm back at it, running 3 times a week and using this schedule.  I've decided to focus on the distance and stop worrying about being slow.  I'm just a slow runner.  But I am running!  And that's what counts!

4. Our new bed - Horray for being a grown up and finally having matching furniture in our bedroom!  This was our gift to ourselves using our tax return.  I wish I had a picture to show you, but every time I walk into our bedroom I really just want to go to sleep in it.  Sorry!

5. Bible Reading at Night - Still using the chronological reading plan I talked about here, but Calvin and Patrick wanted to do it too so we started reading it as a family, which has been most awesome.  About 10:30 every night, before we all head off to bed, we do our reading for the day together.  We have been wanting to do some sort of Bible Study as a family and had a hard time working out what to do, when to do it, etc. so this has been perfect.  We started reading Joshua together last night. 

If you don't read together as a family as of yet, I would definitely recommend doing it and even using this schedule.  It's very doable, just a few chapters each night.  There are other reading plans available here.  I was a little scared at first that it would be kind of cheesy to all sit down together and read aloud, but you know, it's the Word of the Lord.  And that is never cheesy.

Happy Weekend! 

We have dinner plans with my dad and grandma for Mexican...yum! 

And a track meet on the schedule for Saturday.

I'm also hoping to make my way to Christiansburg to see this new face that entered the world on Wednesday!  Congrats Cassidy and Ryan!

Advantages of Starting with a Teenager

I ran into our good friend, Tabitha, at the coffee shop the other day after school on my way to cheerleading practice.  She flagged me down and waved me frantically over to her table.  "CONGRATULATIONS!" were the first words out of her mouth as she hugged me excitedly.  I had to stop and think for a minute what she was congratulated me on.  "I heard about your new addition," she replied in seeing my puzzled expression. 

"Oh, thanks!" I said.  "Yeah, I guess we did things a little backwards, you know, starting with a teenager and all..." 

"No!" she exclaimed, "That is SO y'all!  When I think about you and Patrick both, I never know what to expect! But I know that you guys always do crazy things and just don't care what people think.  Seriously, when I heard, I just thought, 'That is so Emily and Patrick.'"

I don't post those words to boast, but the opposite.  To say just what a sweet, precious blessing they were to my ears from the heart of a good friend.  At a time when I so needed to hear them.  Isn't that just how God works?  At just the right time...  Have I said that before?

And they have just stuck with me all week long... What a crazy, radical, backwards-seeming thing we are doing, but also just what a blessing Calvin has been to us in return.  I have been pondering starting out this whole parenting journey with a teenager.  I'm watching a lot of friends around who are having babies, and we will be there someday too we hope.  But today, I'm very glad that our first child came to us as a ripe ol' teenager.  There are some great advantages to this.

I think I've come up with a pretty stellar list:

1. They sleep through the night. (I think this is appropriately placed at the top of the list!)
2. They inspire you to exercise. 

3. They can actually express their feelings. Sort of. Most of the time.

4. They help out.  And they can lift heavy things. 
5. They can drive you to school so that you can actually eat breakfast.

6. They are pretty dang funny.
7. They can play Words with Friends against you and put up some pretty fierce competition. Or real Scrabble when you get tired of sitting in the same room together both of you absorbed in your iPod touch or SmartPhone.

8. They can make their own food.  And sometimes make your food!

All joking aside, if you are considering foster care or adoption, please believe me when I say that it is already worth it.  Don't be scared of teenagers. Yes, they can be quite a handful at time.  And you will be a tremendous blessing to them, but the guarantee I can make you is that, more than that, you will be the one blessed in return. 

Moments of Grace This Week

Despite this busy week of coming and going, of being a wife and mother and teacher and mentor and friend and and and...

The Lord provided a few gifts of time.  Just a few snippets of calm and quiet to gather my thoughts and rest my soul.

On Monday, I got up early and had some time in the Word before school.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

On Tuesday, I came home after school and took a nap while Calvin was at track practice.  I was much nicer after a little sleep.  I usually am.

On Thursday, I got to walk with a good friend, like a second mama to me, and catch up.  It had been too long. 

On Thursday evening, I dropped Calvin off at tutoring and then spent a quiet hour alone at the library with a big stack of books and a cup of coffee.  Even the walk across the street was refreshing.  I lingered and walked slowly, enjoying the usually warm breeze on the first evening of March.

God is good.  He continually provides exactly what I need, exactly when I need it. 

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Why this teacher would be bad at homeschooling.

Caroyln, this blog post is for you. 

I don't know how you do it day in and day out, all day, every subject, every day. 

Because I have a confession to make:  I hate homework.

When we first started this whole process of becoming Calvin's parents, we asked him about some things he hoped would change when he moved in with us.  One of the things he said was that he wanted someone to push him in his schoolwork, because he knew he was smarter than his grades were showing, but he realized he was incredibly unmotivated.  He had never been pushed. Patrick and I, being the nerds we are, basically high-fived one another and said, "Done."  This we could do. 

We love school.  We love learning.  We love reading.  I told you we are nerds.  We make no excuses about that. 

And so we started homework time every night.  After dinner at the kitchen table or at Starbucks on occasion if Mom is needing a little motivation to get through Algebra 1 Part 2. 

I will confess to you that this is a tedious process.  Calvin had been behind on turning in work, since he wasn't really motivated to get homework done or study for tests, living where he was before, and therefore his grades were all over the place.  But as we started catching up and his grades started to rise, he became more and more motivated and confident in his ability to "do school."  Which is great!  But also incredibly time consuming!  He has had to go back and relearn things he blew through before and didn't really grasp.  Which means that Patrick and I are working through it with him and learning right along side as we call things out and supervise practice quizzes.  We've become Master Googlers at looking up what we don't know.

Right now we are studying:
-History of Rome: Think Augustus, Nero, Paul and Peter and the spread of Christianity, Pax Romana, and the fall of the empire (Ancient World History)
-Amino Acid Sequencing and DNA (Biology)
-Bass Mass Composition and healthy lifestyle choices (Health 10)
-Multiplying and Dividing Monomials (Algebra 1 Part 2)
-Research Paper Writing on Career Exploration (English 11)
-Website Building and Photograph Editing (Photography)

All good things to know!  But I will confess to you that some nights it is just too much.  Some nights it's tedious.  Some nights we prioritize and pick two.  Some nights it's like pulling teeth.  I'm trying to "practice what I preach" to all my 9th grade parents but I'm seeing it from the other side now.  This homework thing is hard.  On all of us. 

But here is the light:  Our work is paying off.  Grades are coming up!  And we are finally getting caught up so there is less and less "extra" to have to do each night.  Our boy is becoming a student.

And thank goodness. Because the OCD student in me is starting to get a little stressed out.  I have found myself biting my nails to keep from taking the pencil from his hand and doing it for him!  It was all I could do not to seize the keyboard and fix all the grammatical errors in his research paper!  He did let me color in the lines on his bar graph the other night and it was enough to get my fix.  I pulled up his grades yesterday and saw the A he made on the biology lab we redid the other night and almost cheered out loud, "We got an A!" 

I promise I'm letting him do his own work.  I promise I'm trying my very, very hardest not to be a helicopter parent when it comes to school work.  I'm trying to make myself available if he needs help and be a motivater, but not put too much pressure on him. 

This is difficult, people!  It is a hard balance to find. 

Happy Friday! And Some Random Things.

It's the end of this short, but somehow long week!  We had a much-needed and restful snow day on Monday.. The weather is doing some crazy things.  A snowday on Monday and then sleeping with the windows open on Thursday night? 

But oh how I love Friday.  Today is a good one.

I took a half day today at school.  I have a doctor's appointment (just a physical, no biggie...) at 1:00 and I decided to go ahead and take the half day and meet my best friend for lunch!  Yay for being out and about in the real world.  This never happens at 1:00 on a school day for me!  I feel like such a rebel

We moved Calvin's room upstairs this week because apparently we sound like elephants walking around upstais while he is trying to go to sleep at night.  Our boy has not been sleeping really well.  Transition can be hard.  But, praise the Lord, last night was Night One in his new room and he said he slept better than he has in weeks!  Pray for him that this keeps up.  And in the meantime, enjoy this picture of the new orange bedroom in our house!  This picture was taken before we finished moving all of his things upstairs.  It looks a little more settled and homely in there now. 

Have you tried this stuff?  I have been bringing it for my lunch everyday in my efforts to decrease my caffeine intake.  I have limited myself to one cup of coffee a day, which is HARD.  I love my coffee.  And I've been trying not to drink sodas.  The carbonation in this satisfies my need for soda, but allows me to get more water in.  It's the new love of my life.  So far, I've tried lime, grapefruit, and lemon.  I think lemon is my favorite.

I broke down and used the last of my birthday money to buy myself a Kitchenaid mixer.  Is it bad that I just love how it looks sitting on the counter?  Yes, I just admitted that.  I made cookies last night and used it for mashed potatoes last week.  I want to try using it to make some bread.  Any good recipes out there?  I would love to have them!

My student teacher is doing an amazing job at school.  I almost don't know what to do with myself while she is teaching and grading.  She has really connected with the kids and given me some great creative ideas for future years as well!  She has been a very welcome blessing to me at this transitional time in our life.  It has really helped to share the workload and have someone so capable running things in my classroom. 

I saw these necklaces on this blog today and I love them!  So cute.  And what a sweet idea for a gift!

Ok, those are all of my random thoughts for today!  Hope that you have a fun-filled and relaxing weekend!   Bring it on!

Valentines Day Our Way

Well, in the true spirit of love and Valentines, I went to the dentist today.

To get a cavity filled.

I was really feeling the love when he jammed a couple extra cardboard pieces into my cheek and proceeded to drill with abandon.

Calvin came with me.

He fell asleep in the waiting room.

And then laughed at me profusely all the way home for the way my face drooped.

It was quite a moment.

Then I made pasta and we watched Cake Boss and Sons of Guns.

We ate on TV trays.

Patrick worked late.

We took advantage of a sweet Buy One Get One Free hot chocolate deal and math homework at Starbucks.

Skim milk and light whip.

(This maybe explains the need for said dentist trip? Let's not think about that.)

Finally, we ended the day hanging out with good friends in their basement watching our favorite TV show.

I realize this is not most people's idea of a great Valentines Day.

HOWEVER,

we were all in good moods all day long.

Which means my son was being his very most pleasant self all day.

I did not get frustrated even once.

This, my friends, constitutes our best day thus far.

And that is worth celebrating!

I will also say that even the cavity filling did not hurt!

(Thank you Novacane.)

Dinner was delicious.

I even enjoyed Sons of Guns!

So, Happy Valentines Day from the Herndons,

who actually do not even celebrate Valentines Day.

But we do celebrate the best days.

And today was one of those.



The End of the Beginning

We are almost there.

On Wednesday of this week, we will officially become foster parents to a 16 year old boy.

And then the countdown really begins.

Because in one year, we will begin the process of adopting this boy as our very own.

We didn't know when we began this process where this would lead.  We couldn't even get our heads around this whole idea.  We didn't know that God would forge this path or lead us down this road.  We thought we were just doing a good thing.  Patrick laughed and said that I had finally found a way to bring one of my students home with me.  We joked about gym socks and dating and drivers' licenses.

And then he asked if he could call us Mom and Dad, and we sat up a little straighter.

And then there is school.  Because we are there all day together, you know.  It's sort of like being a stay at home mom but not really.  It began with checking in before football practice and then overnight it seemed I was elected Wrestling Booster Club Secretary (what?).  Countless rice krispy treats later and a friend of his is leaning over to me during our in-class reading of Romeo and Juliet whispering, "Mrs. Herndon, are you adopting Calvin?"  I pause because no one had just put it out there like that yet.  "That is so cool," he whispers as I nod my head, very slowly.  Is it ok to tell people that? Is that the word he's using when he tells his friends--adopting? Is that what we're doing?

And finally the day and the question that we all knew was coming.  "So when Mrs. Herndon becomes your mom are you going to change your name?"  He was afraid to say yes in front of me because we had not discussed this.  I could tell this was not how he wanted it to come up, but then there it was, out on the table.  And that is how the conversation began.

And so in March we will go to court and change his foster care plan from "Independent Living" to "Adoption."  The process will take about a year.  Everything needs to be established.  Birth certificates will change.  Rights will have to be terminated.  The water will have to get a little muddier.

But the most interesting part is to watch those around us as we go through this process.  So many people simply do not know what to do with it.  Babies, people get.  When someone announces a pregnancy we know how to respond; we know the right questions to ask:  when are you due?  what will the name be?  are you so excited?!  We know to throw a baby shower and bring a gift and say "aww" over sonogram pictures.  But when it's messy?  When it's a teenager?  When the "due date" is a "move in date" and the child cannot look you in the eye or make cute noises or may be little scarred from the wreckage of life and the sin of others?  What do you say?  "Are you so excited?!" just doesn't seem to fit.

And that is ok.  This is a weird way to have your first child. We realize that. And it's ok if you think so too. We know.

And we don't really know what to say either. 

Except that we ARE incredibly excited.

And we so thankful to those around us who are excited with us and praying for us.  We are grateful for a family who has loved our boy like he's always been there.  Who come to wrestling matches and give him silly nicknames and Christmas and birthday presents.  For generous friends who throw you a "shower in a card" from far away and give you Lowe's gift certificates so you can put a closet door in his room.   For Scott and Krista who handmade a game of cornhole that we can play as a family.  A pastor who checks in frequently and has already made a connection with our boy.   Guidance counselors and co-workers and our school secretary who asks faithfully every week, "Are you a Mama yet?!" 

I am a bit overwhelmed by it all.  I'm still processing what it all means.  Still getting used to this whole idea.  So bear with me a little bit. 

Wednesday is coming.  We are ready.

And we are so thankful.

Monday Opportunities

Some day I will get my act together and participate in the Hello Monday link up that Lisa does, pictures and all.  I love her blog and I love for enthusiasm for Monday and starting a new, fresh week.  I am not often prone to take that perspective.  But I did take a few minutes today to comtemplate my week and think about it in terms of "opportunities" and blessings, rather than the dreary, weekend-is-ending-how-will-I-function outlook I so often fall into.

Here are some things I'm looking forward to this week:

• Finally catching up on grading, made a little better in my favorite spot at the coffee shop {I keep looking forward to finally not feeling like I'm drowning!}
• Enjoying having my student teacher slowly take some leadership in my classroom
• Family couseling session on Wednesday to help us all transition to this new adventure
• Coffee date with a fellow teacher and foster parent {Looking forward to gathering some wisdom and encouragement}
• Teacher Work Day on Friday!  {I'm looking forward to closing my door and tackling the To Do List}
• A quiet and low-key weekend on the horizon {husband on a business trip and son at a wrestling tournament}
• Celebrating my sweet grandmother's 80th birthday and the blessing she is to our family!

What opportunities do you have on the schedule this week?

Happy Monday!

Five Things Friday: The Christmas Money

Happy Friday!  It's been a couple weeks since I've done a Five Things post, and in the meantime, we've had  Christmas!  So I thought I'd take today to show you Five Things that I've been excited to purchase with my Christmas money.  Patrick usually gives me money for Christmas, which I know is not all that exciting to those of you who like having some substantial to open on the Big Day.  But not me.  I love having some play money.  I love spending the next few weeks carefully planning out what I would like to purchase and I love having the freedom to just go to the mall or browse online and actually buy something if I want it!  (Instead of the "window shopping" I usually do.)  It's a luxury.  Here's how it's gone so far:

 I've been wanting a cast iron dutch oven in a bright fun color, so I finally got one!  It's Lodge and the color is Island Spice.  It just arrived in the mail yesterday and I'm excited to try out.  In the meantime, it looks very pretty just sitting on my stove.

I've been needing some new running shoes and what great motivation to kick off my resolution!

I bought this yellow and cream striped cardigan at Target.  I love having a little extra spending money when I go to Target so I can make a fun purchase with no guilt.  I love this cardigan!  It's a great length and it's super comfy and cute.  I have already worn it a ton.

So I've used about half of it so far.  I also have some birthday money to put with it to make it go a little further.  I've considered using the last of it to buy one of these:

That, or splurge and buy a really awesome pair of shoes.  I <3 shoes.

Just dreaming a little a bit.

Happy Friday!

I am looking forward to a 3-day weekend!  How about you?

Resolution #1 - Read Through the Bible

So I'm already 10 days behind on my resolutions for the new year.  What can I say?  That seems to be the Story of My Life these days.  But I did make some moves in the right direction today.  I know my list-making, OCD self, and I knew that if I wanted to read through the entire Bible I would need a plan.  Something I could actually stick to so that I would not vere from the course so easily.

I tried reading through the Bible in 90 Days.  It was too much.  I couldn't keep up with it, and then I felt like I was drowning and always playing catch up, and I felt overwhelmed, so I did what I always do when I feel overwhelmed, which is to crumble under the pressure and just give up.

And then I tried reading along with the calendar our church puts out, which was great.  In fact it is stuck in my Bible and is my go-to in the mornings right now.  But I just picked it up one day in the middle of the year and started doing it, and it bothered me that I hadn't started at the beginning.   I want to start at the beginning and finish at the end.

And then I came across this post which was filled with numerous options and plans!  So resourceful! 

I chose the chronological plan because I thought it would really help me to read things in context of the time period. 

So I'm ten days behind but I am starting this afternoon.  It's a couple of chapters a day, so I think it is very doable.

And with that being said I am adding these two things to my list of resolutions for the year:

Dear People Who Hate Teenagers and Think They Are Only Trouble,

I am here to tell you that I have living proof that

despite their moodiness

despite their hormonal craziness

despite their sometimes (most times) serious lack of motivation

they are capable of love.

They have the capacity to be grateful and actually make you feel pretty darn special.

I used to take the day off on my birthday to have a whole day just to myself. But I'll tell you what. Spending the day with these students whom I have spent the whole first semester growing to love was a present in and of itself today. I love my job.

Happy New Year!

Still working on pictures from the holidays....  Maybe that should be a New Years Resolution?  Procrastination is really an art form, and I have worked long and hard to perfect it.  In the meantime I wanted to tell you Happy New Year!

Edie had the most fantastic post on Resolutions.  I loved it.  And I totally agreed.  Up until reading her post I had not made any resolutions, but she convinced me.  So here they are!  A new start and some new year goals.  And whether I accomplish them or not is not the issue.  It's the blank slate and the hoping and planning and allowing yourself to dream just a little bit.  I didn't get too ambitious so maybe things will work out this year.

Happy New Year everyone!

May 2012 be the year where you meet the Lord in fresh and new ways.

May your faith increase and your love multiply.

Ahhh.

I promise to post some Christmas pictures soon.
But we left the camera at the in-laws and haven't drummed up the energy to go get it yet.

We have been being lazy.
And being Merry.
And being lazy some more.

I finally grabbed a free minute to give myself a Christmas manicure.

My son may or may not have fallen asleep right on the hardwood floor today from complete exhaustion after what I am referring to as Christmas Explosion Weekend.

I may or may not have just left all the wrapping paper strewn about right in the middle of the living room for an entire day and a half.

I finally found time to actually start reading Harry Potter. Yes, I'm a little behind The Rest of the World.

I was actually relieved to have grapefruit and oatmeal for breakfast this morning after the last few days of what I am referring to as Extreme Christmas Sugar Explosion.

We are snuggled up together on couches, watching lots of good movies, surrounded by good books and copious amounts of free time, napping spontaneously. 

I think it is safe to assume we are perfectly happy enjoying The Post Christmas Glow.

We hope you are too!