dpp day 4

so, this isn't a picture... but a video. briana performs the "quaker hill school" rap. we were down in the basement looking for christmas decorations and got distracted :) i hope you find it as hilarious as i do.

ok, and a picture. bri must have made me video tape her at least 10 times tonight... songs she knew, songs she made up, a magic show and a scary story to name a few. all of them had some sort of crazy dance... where her perfornabces were over, we came upstairs... she sat down to read her care bears book, and next thing i knew, this is what i saw:

dpp day 3

tonight at praise team we were having some major sound issues. i'm not sure anything really got resolved. with the christmas decorations up, we had to change from our usual spots to a different location. in the process, a lot of things got moved: people, instruments, toas, the manger scene, etc. well, joseph apparently was not happy with the way we sounded. mary thought we sounded great, but joseph... well, see for yourself:

dpp day 2

this is boys choir singing with the choir for the Christmas musical! tonight was their first rehearsal with us. They. Are. Adorable! And sing GREAT! i am super excited for the christmas musical - i really think this is the toughest musical we've done (music wise)... and the choir has risen to the challenge.

anyways, here's the picture:

dpp day 1

i cannot tell a lie. today was super busy, and it wasn't until i just woke up from accidentally falling asleep for 2 hours that i realized i hadn't TAKEN a picture! i was so excited last night about this project, and decided i would only take pictures of things that were NOT at my house. that didn't last long.

i also haven't loaded my camera info on my new computer, so i had to settle for a picture from my phone. deal with it :)

happy december and happy christmas season!!

December Photo Project

December Photo Project
What: Take one photo each day for the first 25 days of December. In this month of celebrations, there is something new to see each day. The DPP is fun way to challenge yourself creatively and share the results with your friends on a daily basis.

Why: Because all the cool kids are doing it. Nah… It’s just that December is my favorite month of the year and I wanted to enjoy it in a unique way, so I started the DPP a few years back.

How: Upload a shot to your blog (or to our Flickr pool) each day. Easy peasy.

Who: Anyone who likes to take photos or wants a new challenge.

New this year: This dedicated DPP page, along with displaying my daily pic, will be featuring YOUR photos! Each day I’ll randomly select four blogs and post both your photo and your web address. With your kind permission of course, no pressure.

sensational six for 11.28.09

1. twin boys. they are the cutest, most adorable, happiest, loving boys i have ever met.

2. thanksgiving football. my high school football game was a lot of fun, even though we lost 42-0. it's neat to see my nephew play football at my alma mater.

3. skype. i love skype. it's fun to visit with family and friends that are thousands of miles away.

4. thanksgiving meal. holy yumminess. we had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, turnip, peas, carrots, corn stuff, sweet potatoes and rolls. for dessert: PEE CAN pie, apple pie, pumpkin pie and chocolate cake.

5. advent. i love the season of advent. i have my advent wreath all ready to go for tomorrow!

6. christmas decorating. nothing better than blaring christmas music and decorating the inside and out of the house for Christmas. my favorite time of the year!

sensational six for 11.21.09

1. mandy is a candidate for surgery! she'll have her stomach completely removed between now and christmas. keep her in your prayers.

2. i went out with mandy and kim tonight to the hard rock at foxwoods. great meal, fun atmosphere and fun friends. there was a bachelorette party at the table next to us, which made things even more interesting :)

3. got a droid this week. love it.

4. thanksgiving!!!!! tim, bridget and the boys will be here WEDNESDAY!!! SOOOOOO beyond excited!!

5. mike came through his emergency gallbladder surgery, for this i am thankful.

6. uconn beat notre dame!! i'm still in shock. i think it's safe to say that charlie weiss' days at nd are numbered. i'm happy for uconn, though... it was a great win for their program!

boring this week, i know. i'll be back this week with an alphabetical list of things i am thankful for!

cancer is...

... a bitch.

ahem. i apologize.

but it's a true statement.

i have a friend that i met just after i graduated from high school. we went to mitchell college together, and she started coming to groton heights while she was in school, seeing as she's from MA. in getting to know mandy, she told me her story of being diagnosed with hogdkins lymphoma at 14 years old.

mandy never looked well, but she was cured of her cancer and lived to tell about it. she lived to tell about the miraculous works God performed in her life. she was told she would never have children. after getting married, she has since had 3. 3 beautiful boys, who are being raised to chase after Jesus.

mandy was diagnosed with breast cancer 6 years ago. she was 27 years old, and the mother of 3. she underwent surgery after surgery, round after round of chemo. these cancer cells were new, and not related to the hodgkins at all. she lives to tell about it... about her 2 bouts with cancer and her 2 stories of cancer survival...

back in august i found out mandy was diagnosed with stomach cancer. again, the cancer cells completely unrelated to the previous 2 cancers. she looks awful. she has lost too much weight, and her stomach is so distended she looks about 7 months pregnant. she's in round 4 of chemo, and her symptoms are getting worse, not better. she goes for a CAT scan tuesday, and sees the doctor wednesday. they will determine wednesday if she is a candidate for surgery - which would be to REMOVE her STOMACH - and if she's not a candidate, it's chemo for life. it's certain to be a shortened life, filled with drugs that sometimes make you more sick than the actual cancer symptoms themselves. and when i say shortened, i'm thinking months, not years.

i don't get it. i don't get why these types of things happen. i don't understand why God allows cancer. i've known people who have died of cancer... but tonight when i saw mandy... i SAW cancer. it's hideous. and repulsive. and revolting. i saw cancer and the way it's rearing its ugly head in mandy's life again. i saw the toll it takes on a person; on a mother of 3 young boys; on her husband and on her family. It consumes her every thought. she desires to get her mind off of it, but wants to talk about it constantly, too.

please keep mandy in your prayers. i hope to update later this week with good news. i try to see the positive in all things. i try to see God's mercy - new every morning... but this time... it's going to be tough.

sensational six for 11.14.09

1. i could really get used to having wednesdays off. such a great, mid-week re-charge that was SO needed. i loved knowing on monday i only have to get through 2 days before a day off. then, coming back thursday, i was only 2 days away from the weekend!

2. this week the elementary schools had parent conferences thursday and friday, so i didn't have to travel. i spent both days at the middle school. thursday i helped out in the special ed autism room. i love those kids to no end. i've really bonded with one student inparticular... marcel. love that boy! today i worked on my word wall, catching up and getting ahead on my vocabulary lists. it's amazing how much i can get done in school when i don't have classes to teach!

3. i saw a big billboard on colman street today that is advertising 24 hour christmas music on the radio!!!!! i am getting SO excited! i'm going to try to stay out of the stores from now until thanksgiving. i don't want to get too ahead of myself because if i listen to christmas music and christmas-y things for too long, it tends to loose its magic. i can't wait for the music, decorations, shopping, and christmas movies!

4. you know you go to dunkin donuts too much when the girl who always hands you your coffee at the drive thru says "are you sick?" i told her i wasn't feeling 100%... and she responded "i can tell. i can see it in your eyes". aww, very sweet my dunkin donuts drive thru girl is... but a little creepy, too, that she noticed my eyes were glazed (haha, no pun intended).

5. heard the cutest story this week about the song "i am a friend of God". the song goes like this: "i am a friend of God. i am a friend of God. i am a friend of God, he calls me friend". well, a grandma called up the radio station and said her grandson had heard the song and asked "gramma.... who is fred and why does God call me fred?" haha! kids. :)

6. there are some exciting things going on with the youth group at church that have me very optimistic. it's a small group, but intense and a few of our kids are deeep and chasing after God with their whole hearts. it's encouraging. we have a few events coming up, among other things that make me think God really IS in control and hasn't forgotten the youth at ghbc :)

[not so] sensational six for 11.7.09

this week has been a rough one. so much so, that i took friday off for a mental health day. i got some much needed rest, and a few things accomplished around the house for myself and the 'rents. this week really kicked my butt, which i will talk about here... i'll be making up for the extremely short list last week. if you make it to the end of this, i congratulate you.

1. sunday night i set out to have a GREAT week. i was ready for monday, for PD on tuesday, choir wednesday, a special rehearsal thursday and pizza/fun night on friday. monday morning i got an email around 6:50 from my co-worker addressing some issues that were none of her business. my immediate response was anger (not good before 7 am). i took about an hour to sort through the things i wanted to say. i did reply (coincidentally, she was out "sick" that day), and i was polite, yet firm in my response. basically telling her to butt out of my job and do her own... but not in those words. it has been one thing after another with her this year, and i know she wants her job back (my current job of 6th grade general music every morning and then a different elementary school every afternoon). i've been told her time with NLPS is limited, because she's been very dishonest on several fronts. and she pulls some not-so-cool stunts.

2. tuesday. PD all day. the morning session was actually quite interesting, and we're moving towards the responsive classroom. i'm super excited, because behaviors throughout NLPS is ridiculous. we had a district music meeting during my hour lunch on tuesday, and i was expecting a whole lotta drama. BUT... the music coordinator had touched base with all of my principals and said he got nothing but absolutely fabulous, positive feedback from all of them. they're all thrilled with the job i'm doing, and i'm glad that this was announced in front of my crazy co-worker. definitely the highlight of my week!

3. wednesday. i had a good day at the middle school. at the elementary school i had to confiscate marijuana from a 5th grader. the police came and the student is suspended for 10 days. 10 years old!!!! anyways, i had to come home to be interviewed by debra alfarone about my credit card and student loan debt. a few weeks ago they posted something on facebook about looking for someone to interview about their debt. i threw my name in the mix because i was hoping to get the free financial advice they promised. well, who knew... they picked me! ack! so, debra and her camera man, dave showed up wednesday at 3. good times. while they were here, i got a call from our security guard at the middle school. she left a message saying i had to call her back because she had a story for me. i called her back, and apparently, while i was gone in the afternoon busting drugs in the new london public schools, my crazy coworker was at it again. she. FLIPPED. OUT. crying. yelling "i can't do this anymore! these kids don't listen to me!" she slammed a door in the principal's face. and then: she left. walked out of school. gone. wow, this week just keeps getting better.

4. thursday. i was ready for the week to be over. i woke up not feeling well, exhausted and just not wanting to be at school. thursday was an after school club day, and i was at school around 4pm when my brother called. he was really quiet, making small talk and then blurted it out: "peg and i are done." WOW. this week REALLY DOES just keep getting better!!! i went to the high school practice field where he was watching josh practice. just wanted to talk to him, or if he didn't want to talk, just go visit and sit there with him to let him know he's not alone. it's been a long few months for him. he admits he's not the easiest person to live with, but i have witnessed first hand the changes he has made since july to make this marriage work. it's so sad to see it falling apart before my eyes. AND i realized the muckle kids marriages are only 50% successful. 4 marriages, 2 divorces. i guess it's the going rate these days. i hear the statistics and don't think much about it until it hits home like this.

5. friday. i took the day off. much needed day of sleep and work. i wasn't feeling well, but popped some advil and went to the JV fun night. i baked some cookies at the church, watched some dodgeball with rachel - which, by the way... it was pretty amazing that kyle and rachel stopped by! - ... i was nosey and snooped on a wedding rehearsal going on. overall a fun night until about 9 when i felt my advil wearing off. came home to help momma muck bake some pumpkin bread at 10pm and watched doubt. great, but sad movie.

6. today. i've done some dusting, laundry and washed my bed linens. they're currently hanging on the line right now, and i'm already excited about going to bed tonight with some great smelling sheets. i don't feel well, i think i have a sinus infection, but i'm looking forward to a relatively easy week. monday and tuesday i have school, wednesday i'm off but helping in the kitchen for church dinner, then thursday and friday are half days at the elementary school for conferences.

i don't see how this coming week could possibly suck as much as this week. i tried to find the positive in all situations this week... but i'm looking forward to church tomorrow and a new start to a new week.