CAUTION: Things are not always as they appear

...so, I go pick Markell up from school on Wednesday. And I see all these middle school kids with a piece of paper in their hands. Markell gets in the van and says, "Hey mom! Look at this! We just got this letter from Ms. Perkins (the principal) to give to our parents."

Now the last time we got one of those letters, some 6th grade girl had been caught with a gun at school. But the school "handled" it without incident.

THIS time, the letter was a bit different. It reads something like this....

Dear (name of middle school) parents,
In an effort to continuously communicate with you, I am writing to notify you that a (name of middle school) teacher was arrested this afternoon after an investigation of illegal activity. The teacher was not arrested at school but HR was notified of the teacher's pending arrest by (blank) County Police Dept. You maysee news accounts of this event during the next few days.
......The administration of (name of middle school) was not aware of any problems with the teacher nor had we received any information that related to inappropriate conduct or behavior conducted by the teacher while at school or on school grounds.
This is a very unfortunate event, and you have our assurances that we make every effort to provide a safe and wholesome environment for our students. We take seriously our responsiblity of educating the whole child.

Sincerely,

The principal

Now, needless to say, I was a little...shall we say, disturbed by what I read. So, later in the evening, I happen to see a little bit of the aforementioned story on the news. They showed a quick photo of the teacher, and he looked vaguely familiar. I go to the school quite often...ok, everyday, to pick Markell up as well once a week or so for other reasons. So I do see alot of the same teachers and administrators.

At around 2 the next morning, my eyes popped open because it hit me as to who this teacher might be. I honestly hoped that I was wrong because this teacher, I've actually spoken with on several occasions.

Then yesterday, I went to read the newspaper online. And sure enough, it was the guy I was thinking it was. This is a guy, who coaches lacrosse and football at a local high school, a guy who wears Christian oriented t-shirts, a guy who tells me to have a blessed day/weekend, and a person who, from what I could tell from our brief conversations was a really nice guy. He never knew my name and I never knew his. But we were often times engaged in conversation and were friendly with eachother.

When I read the paper early yesterday, it didn't go into detail as to what he actually did. But when I looked into it again, at the prompting of another parent/friend, I was SHOCKED!!! I won't go into detail here as to what allegedly happened. But I will say that he resigned from the school yesterday.

Today, I can say that I am still shocked. I'd still be a little upset and/or concerned about this if it wasn't someone that I feel I "know". But I DO! Simply because he's from the school my child goes to is cause enough for concern. Fortunately, he taught an older grade than what Markell is in. But UNfortunately, he teaches special ed. This just sickens me!!!

Now, I said all this to say...everyone and/or everything are NOT always as they appear. This is such a sad story to me RIGHT NOW...especially since it closely follows a story with a totally opposite outcome (the one about the pilot and Jayla). I'm glad to say that, other than seeing this teacher in the car pool line every afternoon, Markell doesn't know him.

Am I overreacting to this situation? Should I feel a sense of betrayal even though I didn't REALLY know this guy? How would you feel?

I guess that statement in the side view mirrors is somewhat true, huh?

Friday Flower Fix

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be. "

Is this not the cutest picture? I'm not sure what on EARTH the above quote has to do with this photo. But for some reason, as soon as I read it, it made me think of this picture. To me, it's like this beautiful animal was walking "down the street" (of some far away safari) and came across these flowers...and he just HAD to stop and smell them...LOL.

Have a BEAUTIFUL day, everyone!!

Talk about PRESSURE!!!

Don't you just love surprises? I know I do!

I got a really nice surprise today from Cheryl, as she chose me as one of her favorite blogs to read (Thinking Blog Award). I can't say that I remember ever being "awarded" anything. Some people may not think of this as a big deal. But for those of us who are serious bloggers, this ROCKS!!!

Being one of the "award winners", I was put to task to choose 5 of my own favorite blogs to read. Talk about pressure!!! I love reading ALL of the blogs that I have linked on my site. As well as the few that I frequent that aren't linked (they're just in my favorites on my browser). Now let me just say, that I enjoy ALL...and I do mean ALL of the blogs that I read on a daily basis. However, it seems that I'd better set a good example and do as the "rules" indicate. So without further delay, here's my top 5.... (in no particular order)

~B.E.M. - Hopefully, B.E.M. won't mind (this time) if I use her name, Melanie. I have totally enjoyed reading Melanie's blog over the past several months. She often has thought provoking topics on there as well as fun and interesting writings about herself and family. I enjoy seeing pictures of her adorable daughter, Little C. And I must admit, sometimes I find myself pretending that she's reading her posts out loud...in her English accent (she's from London...LOL). Be sure you check her out...it's worth the read.

~Let's give it up for Jude! Oh my goodness, I love reading Jude's posts. Although I wish she updted her blog more (something about being pregant and tired keeps her from doing it more often..lol). But I'll tell you, everytime I read her posts, I'm just cracking up laughing. I love her wittyness (is that a word?) and her humor. I always look forward to her saying something funny. If you like laughing, check out Miss Jude. It'll be worth your time.

~Next we have Miss Susie Q. - Susie has the cutest and most welcoming blog. Everytime I go to it, I almost feel like she's opening her door & heart and welcoming me in. She posts some yummy sounding recipes and tells the sweetest stories. For a warm and cozy blog, check out Miss Susie Q.

~Ok, I know I'm not supposed to choose someone who has already been chosen. But I can't help it in this case. Cheryl's blog has become another one of my favs. I love that she almost always has pictures to share. I love pictures. Not to mention, it comes across so clearly that she truly loves her family and loves to share all the goings on in her life. Stop by and see Cheryl...you'll be glad you did.

~Last, but definitely not least, is my new blogging friend, Lynilu. Oh my, talk about an inspiration. I've only been visiting her blog for a couple weeks. But Lynilu has become one of my daily reads. She comments often that she can't understand why I say she's such an inspiration. I'm not sure I can answer that in the time that I have here, nor in the times when I leave her comments. But just reading about how and WHERE she lives her "BEAUTIFUL" life, just inspires me. In this short period of time, I've learned alot about Miss Lynilu and how she got where she is today. Believe me, her blog is a joy to read. So if you also want to be inspired, go check her out.

Alrighty, that'll do it for me. And for those of you whom I've chosen as my favs, it's now your turn. The "rules" state that you must now do the same and chose your top 5 favorite blogs and post them on your blog. Everyone else, feel free to do the same. I'd love to hear who your favs are and why.

Thanks again Cheryl, this was fun.

She's such a charmer...

Yesterday, after I picked Jayla up from school, I had to get some gas and run to the bank...then to Target, of course :-). When we got to the bank, there were about 3 people standing in line to use the ATM. So we sat in the van for a few minutes waiting on the line to dwindle down. After a minute or so, another gentleman got in line. So I told Jayla that we'd better go ahead and get in line before someone else walks up.

We get out and took our place behind this tall man, fully clothed in his flight uniform. It was clear that he was some sort of military pilot.

Jayla absolutely LOVES planes and immediately noticed that he had planes on his uniform. She pointed at his arm and said...very loudly, "Mommy, he's a plane flyer man!". I said, "Yes, honey I see that, he's a pilot. But please don't point." Needless to say, the "flyer man" heard this little conversation and turned around and smiled at Jayla. He then asked her if she liked planes. She shyly said she did and started to hide behind me. A few seconds later, he turns back to her and asks if she has a favorite plane...not sure what he expected this 5 year old little girl to say, but he was a little shocked by her reply. Jayla belts out, "The C130!" The pilots eyes opened very wide and he said, "REALLY, now?" Then he says to me that it's normally little boys that know the different planes and he was impressed that a little girl knew. I told him that she became interested in planes after seeing the airshow last year.

Anyway, the line is moving slowly...as I'm sure you can tell. The pilot moves up a little, and he's next to use the ATM. Then he slowly turns back around, looks down at Jayla and says, "Hey, I'll tell you what...how bout you have this...", and he reaches across to his right shoulder and rips off one of his flight badges and hands it to Jayla. I think if that girl had smiled any bigger, her head would've been in 2 seperate pieces. She was SOO excited! "Mom, how cool is THIS?" she says to me. I was pretty impressed too. Both of us stood there for a moment and admired the patch...that happened to have a C130 on it.

The pilot walked up and took care of his ATM business then started to walk off. Jayla then yells again, "Thank you Mister!" He smiled, told us to have a nice day and walked away.

I love when stuff like this happens. Especially as a mother, it's nice to know that there are still some nice people in the world. Those people who can still be "charmed" by a cute little kid, and not have thoughts of taking advantage of them or hurting them in some way. It also shows to the kids, that not all grown ups are bad or mean. With all that you hear on the news these days, moments like this are very welcomed, albeit far and few between.

Inspired to INSPIRE -- Happy Easter!!!

I know it's the day before Easter, and my well wishes may be a little premature. However, with wishes such as this, one can never offer them too soon. Not to mention, I probably won't be on line tomorrow.

There's not much more to say when you start a post with a picture as awesome and to the point as the one above.

But I will take a moment to wish all of my readers and your families a HAPPY EASTER!!! If your family has traditions that you share at this time of year, I hope you all enjoy this special time of celebrating, rememberance, and reflection. And if you don't have any regular family traditions, this might be a good time for you to start some.

And now, I'll leave you with this:

"Giving thanks for all the blessings that we have received. Reflecting on the past year and everything achieved. Dressed in Sunday best clothes, family can be found, at the table for Easter dinner with blessings all around."

This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalms 118:24

Friday Flower Fix

"I don't know whether nice people grow ROSES...or if growing ROSES makes people nice."

Have a beautiful weekend.

Spring/Easter Program

Last Friday, me, my hubby and my mother in law went to see Jayla's Pre-K Spring/Easter Program at her school. Talk about cute.

For weeks, this girl has been practicing a few of the songs they were going to be singing. But she had us fooled. We thought they would just be performing the 2 - 3 songs that she was singing around the house. However, those kids (4 & 5 year olds, mind you) MEMORIZED 7 songs!

When we got there, the classroom was full of parents with cameras and video recorders. The kids were in another room getting ready. Finally, they marched into the room and welcomed all of us to their program. They all had on different colored t-shirts, to represent the colors of the rainbow. I was excited to see that Jayla was on the front row. And had you HEARD how loud she was singing and SEEN how demonstative she was, you'd know why her teachers put her right up front...LOL.

Oh my goodness, you guys...it was adorable. One of the teachers was playing the CD and the kids just chimed in, at the appropriate times and (almost) on key :-). A few of the songs, certain kids stood in front of the crowd and "acted out" the lyrics.

Here's a few of the pix...sorry if some are blurry and dark...the room wasn't very well lit and/or I just take terrible pictures :-).

Ok, ok...I'll stop with (these particular) pictures...lol. She just looked so cute up there singing. Not a care in the world and just excited to be performing for her family.

After the performance, the kids were filing out of the room. Some of the kids were waving and yelling to their parents. Once all that commotion was over, Jayla yells out, "I LOVE YOU, MOMMY!!!" Oh my goodness, talk about an instant tear jerker! Through my tears, I told her that I loved her too and everyone in the room said, "AWWWWW!!!". It was the sweetest thing. She tells me that she loves me all the time. But it was something about her choosing to say that to me in front of "her world" that made it so special. And the fact that she said it FIRST. Of course, after the other kids saw the audiences response, they all told their moms that they loved them too. Too cute!

The kids went back into the next room to change their t-shirts and then came back to have a quick little snack with their parents. Jayla ran right to her daddy...and THIS is what she did....

Talk about priceless! I saw a little tear in daddy's eyes too. After hugging daddy, Jayla asked me why I was crying. She was happy to find that she hadn't upset me in the least...but made mommy cry happy tears.

After the snack, the kids had a little Easter egg hunt on the playground. They had a blast. Nothing like a bunch of 5 year olds running around screaming and looking for colored plastic filled with candy. What a life!!!

New Layout - Party Like a Rock Star

Well, I've finally finished a LO I've been working on for over a week now. Isn't that crazy?!?!?

Not sure how many of you have heard the song, "Party Like a Rock Star" by the Shop Boyz...but it was the inspiration for this LO of Jayla. I just love how it turned out. Hope you like it too.

Supplies:

Patterned paper: unknown (it's pretty though, isn't it?), Cardstock: Bohemian Rhaposdy Solid Palette from Target, Embellishments: Heidi Swapp Ghost letter & Stars, mini brads, MM rhinestone brads, minirhinestones from Michaels, Deluxe Designs Chipboard arrows, MM Metal letters, KI Memories epoxy letters, MAMBI Rhinestones Star sticker, MM scrapbooking paints (Celery & Speciality glitter glaze) and "George" Cricut font, Computer font: Karaoke Superstar

Thanks for looking.

New Layout - PLAY

Ok, I'll just have ya'll know that I'm a little nervous about this particular post/layout. B.E.M and I exchanged some pictures and in turn, did a LO for eachother. She sent me the sweetest pictures of her little cutie, Courtney, at the park for the first time.

As much as I enjoy swapping LO's with people, it sure makes me nervous. Everyone has their own style, likes & dislikes. So, I truly hope she likes this as much as I do.

Oh well, here it is...ya'll be gentle :-).

(NOTE: the blank space under the picture is for journaling. Courtney and her mommy can figure out what they want to say when they receive the LO.)

Supplies:

Patterned paper: American Crafts "Simply Chic - Big Dots & Random Stripes", Cardstock: Textured Cardstock (Hobby Lobby) & DCWV Spring stack, Embellishments: "Got Flowers", Mini brads, Chip Chatter Chipboard letters, MM Scrapbooking Paints (Capri) & Pebbles Inc., 'Belmont" letter stamps, Computer font: First Grader and quote from the internet

Thanks for looking.

Inspired to INSPIRE....

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of ones soul remains unawakened."

What a sneaky way to show pix of my sweet doggie, huh? :-) Sorry, I was in a mood to show him off and I happened to come across this quote.

Enjoy your week and Be Inspired!!!