Leave It To Teachers...

In 5th grade, we've been studying the electoral process as well as the information on voting, past presidents and past elections. Great stuff! So leave it to the 5th grade teachers to be Uncle Sam-- the classic personification of the U.S.--for our Halloween Parade-which conveniently enough also ties into our fall/Halloween poetry lessons on figurative language! (For those of you who forgot.. personification is giving a non-human thing, human-like qualities) Uncle Sam is especially known during WWII when a cartoonist created him, using him for military recruitment... we didn't get into to other political nuances. Remember, 5th graders get the basics! During our class party, I got rid of the facial hair & borrowed a student's cat ears. Slightly more comfortable! :)

Joy

My husband still woos me! I was delighted to find these on our coffee table upon coming home from school this week. Tiger Lilies are one of my favorite flowers because they smell amazing! They have already opened fully and are filling our downstairs will fragrant bliss!

A New Look

Inspired by the 1970s and the movie Tombstone.

Perhaps A New Interest?

Last week, we drove to Fremont to check out the City Beach. Our friends, Katie & Chad, invited us to go and we had a blast. William has gone with Chad before but this was my first time! I had only rock climbed before (briefly) at UCLA so this was really the first ever. I'm SO out of shape! I could only do 4 runs that day. William was a natural. I could definitely see us doing this again. It's a great workout & fun to re-unite with my inner child, the tree-climber.  It is a bit far, and without Chad as our equipment supplier, it could be expensive. We'll see... I'd do it again!

Chick Flicks

I'm at a stand-still. Since we don't have cable..or get any channels for that matter, our DVD collection has grown some. We'll pop a movie in while grading and doing homework. I really like them while William's at work and I'm catching up on grading... it means I can watch a "my kind" of movie. At this point, however, I've exhausted our small chick flick supply. So I'm looking for some suggestions. I need some quality yet simple-minded (can you have both?) chick flicks that I can pop in while doing something else. Here's our current list:

1. Pride & Prejudice

2. Legally Blonde

3. Never Been Kissed

4. P.S. I Love You (most recent addition)

5. Sweet Home Alabama

6. Devil Wears Prada ( a great fashion one!)

7. Enchanted

8. The Babysitters' Club 

What else is good to add?? 

Fall Carnival

The Annual V. Hills Fall Carnival has come and gone. Last year, Sarah and I manned the cotton candy machine...this year:

William took charge and was whipping out the blue sugary goodness for the kids. Sarah and I were his support team: handing him the white cones and pouring more sugar into the machine. The truly wonderful part of this whole process was the flying wisps of cotton candy. We were covered in it by the end of the night...William got the worst of it. I had it in my hair and eye lashes. Check out his beard!

We even ran into my family: Auntie Janice, Cousin Kendi, Phil, Brookee, and Adam! A family affair in P-town! 

Bring on the Fall!

These days of late have been deceptively delightful. The break-of-day briskness brings on afternoon bliss as the chill breeze blossoms into warmth that seeps into your whole being. Our morning coffee takes the edge off of the nippiness and welcomes us into a new day, inviting us into the beauty of forgiveness and faithfulness of God’s love. This solemn moment is too often broken by our haste in beginning the day. Thank you, Lord, for remaining faithful when we allow our faith to be swallowed by the hectic life we live. Forgive our over-inflation of our self-importance (me especially), and remind us of our limits and our reliance on you. And THANK YOU for this beautiful season where we get to see yet another side of your creativity and grace.

Homebound Fun

William & I have really enjoyed our last few weekends together (see previous post). It sure amazes me how much there is to do just around us. We went to the pumpkin patch, hiked with the dogs, cooked good food, enjoyed a play at the Amador Theater, carved our pumpkin, and basically delighted in a whole bunch of fun stuff! (which means, we haven't been all that responsible lately and can honestly say, we'd have to rush around cleaning up if we had guests!)

Our home-grown knife carving!Playing with our CUTE mutts! :)
Don't be fooled...he's not this innocent!
Great play we saw!

I survived

It was a fabulous week at Outdoor Ed in YMCA Camp Loma Mar. All of us had a great time: kids, and teachers included. :) It was gorgeous weather, a harvest moon and lots of great nature to see. We saw raccoons, banana slugs, deer, hermit crabs, seals, brown pelicans, etc. I didn't get as much grading done as I had hoped, but I did enjoy hanging out with my kids. Fun times! But it was SO great to be back with my husband this weekend. We enjoyed every minute re-connecting & catching up... and napping. I've been so exhausted. Another year down successfully! Whoo-hoo! And of course, there was always room for some silliness!

Jess Is Signing Off...

for now. I'm all packed up and heading out with 132 5th graders to the Santa Cruz Mountains for Outdoor Ed week! I'm excited to be outdoors for work, but sad to be leaving my hubby. I'll be taking pictures, hanging with kids, catching up with my fellow 5th grade teachers, hiking, and grading! Banana Slugs, here we come!

Great Weekend

We had a fabulous weekend! On Friday, William & I went my high school's homecoming game. I didn't really know anyone there. I did see 2 familiar faces, but they were parents of students that I know... not people I went to school with! Some kids were back visiting but they had just graduated in the past two years. We had a great time!

On Saturday, William worked a half day & I picked up Mama Judy from the airport. My parents held a Grand Opening Party for their new house. It was so great!! William's brother, Frank, his wife and kids came down from Woodleaf! Lots of people from our wedding were there so it was great fun. My granny made us a beautiful wedding quilt with written messages from our guests. When I get a working camera, I'll post some pictures of the quilt. It's gorgeous! 

Today, we just hung out with the family, walked around downtown P-town, ate, etc. I'm SO loving this weather. It's beautifully crisp, cool, and refreshing!! A fabulous weekend with lots of company. Just what I love!

Addition: We ended up going to the Pumpkin Patch on the way back to the airport! We'll see if have time to carve :)

Quite Premature, But Still Heart-Stirring

I fell upon a blog of someone I knew from high school youth group. Her Colorado family of three is going to be a family of four once they get their little baby girl from Ethiopia. They are adopting her and have waited over 18 weeks!! It's so exciting, although after reading their blog--it seems like such a roller-coaster journey. It is such an amazing story right in the middle of development! I was "lurking" around and found the adoption agency they were using. William and I have discuss adoption and we would love to at some point along our life together. So randomly, I searched through domestic adoptions through Gladney and just filled out a form to get more information. We know plenty of people who have adopted, and what a wild, unnerving journey it can be! It does scare me a little to think about raising a child that has completely and utterly different life experiences. They will come with an independent set of deep rooted issues. But what an amazing opportunity to love another. What a blessing from the Lord!! I think when the glossy romanticism is stripped away, it shines as a good, solid, and nourishing sacrifice. Just like marriage, something that won't be easy or comfortable, but amazingly delightful, satisfying, and overflowing with blessings along the way. A reward that is much delayed but hopefully experienced as they mature. 

I love how in her blog, Bre has already claimed this little girl as her own. She is Bre's child right here and now and she is her mother even though the little girl isn't in her arms. I want that kind of strong identity and conviction! What an encouragement to stand for truth and be solid in it!

So Well Put!

How Many Shoes Do You Have??

I'm officially taking a girl poll for my husband. I really don't like I have even close to the amount of shoes that MOST girls have. So I'd like to put my shoe count within context of other females! :) This all came about when I discovered this website. It's great! I ordered a few shoes from there, got free & quick shipping & I love them! I can't wait to wear them. Here are my new finds:

I didn't have any grey shoes for this season! So yes, maybe a few too many, but how many shoes do you really have?? Now, considering my last post, I will no longer be able to shop, really. But all of these were under $25 and I'll definitely wear them! :) William bought a gun this week and I bought some shoes. We pretty much even now, I think. To each, her/his own, right?! William says shopping is no longer my hobby. He's putting me on a very strict budget now. Man, I LOVE being married to a strong man...but sometimes, it's not as much fun when he pulls the plug! :D

P.S. Note to self: don't be sick at home with lots of time to online shop. Really bad combo!

And really, please leave a number...I'm curious to see where I stand in the girl-shoe world!

I'm Out of A Job

On Monday, Lane Kiffin was told not to come back to the Oakland Raiders. So I'm out of my nannying job for Sundays. I've been privileged enough to have a side job that is fun and gives us some extra spending money. It's been great because it's often just a week day, and some weekend time. The two Kiffin girls are so sweet & I love spending time with them. Who knows what their next step is now that their house is on the market, but my bulk Sunday time is now over. It's been great getting to know the family! We wish you the very best as you determine what's in store next!