The Halls of Middle School

   I am a middle school teacher- and have been for almost two years now. Each morning, we teachers stand in the hallway before school to keep the students from getting too crazy. As I watch these middle school students, grappling their way through these awkward days of adolescence, I feel a range of emotions myself.

   I laugh at the student who runs towards their friends screaming "Helloooo" the whole way down the hallway, making sure that everyone notices and looks at them along the way. 

   I smile at the girls who neatly put their books away, double-check their folder for homework, triple-check their hair and lip gloss in their locker mirror and quietly walk down the hall to find a group of friends.

  I hurt for the student I see walk back and forth, trying to look as if they are going somewhere, while also trying to figure out what group they can fit into, hang out with, or just follow around.

  I'm still puzzled by the behavior of boys as they jump on each other's backs, push each other around and punch each other in the arm or stomach as they laugh hysterically.

  I'm impressed by the international students who are here all by themselves, learning English while learning the culture of a new country while also successfully navigating the choppy waters that are middle school.

 I'm sad for the student who walks alone, hoping simply to blend in and doing everything in their power not to be noticed.

  I'm proud of the student who marches to the beat of their own drum, has their own style, and isn't afraid of not fitting in.
  I'm able to relate with the students I see sitting against the wall, frantically trying to finish the homework  they procrastinated on too long that is now due next period.
  I'm upset with the student who puts others down to make themselves feel better.
  I'm excited for the future when I see the energy, creativity, and joy that floats around the halls of Valley Christian.
  I'm privileged to be a middle school teacher.

  

  

Toga, Toga, Toga!

This month it was my turn to host card club. And of course, a card club isn't a true card club unless there is a theme and costume requirement. So, I chose "togas".

I couldn't resist dressing Cami up in a little toga of her own!

We are celebrating our "5 year anniversary" as a card club this upcoming summer. I can't believe how fast time has gone and how much I love spending time with these girls! So blessed to have these ladies in my life.

Mother Daughter Bunco Night

Almost two years ago, Bryan and I bought a house and moved back to where I grew up in Long Beach. We also became the youth directors for the high school youth group at the church I grew up in. I wasn't sure what it would be like coming back, but it has been wonderful. It is so great going to church with the people who you grew up with and who watched you grow up. One of the things I love about LBCRC is the community there.

   Recently, I hosted a mother-daughter-buno-night with many of the the girls that my sister and I grew up going to church with. It was such a fun way to re-connect with so many of the ladies that have meant so much to me while I was growing up!

 All the mothers

 All the daughters

The best part of bunco night was that I won more money that night than Bryan won that whole weekend while he was in Vegas! :)

Treasuring Time at Home

It's funny how things change. Just a couple years ago, I loved being busy. I would fill our weekends and evenings with a mix of friends, church and other activities. I thrived on having lots of things to do. Now that sweet, little Cami is in the mix, things have changed.
 I still thoroughly enjoy spending time out with friends, but I am realizing how much I really treasure my time at home with my family. I like getting home at a decent time so I can still have time to relax before crashing in bed. I love a Friday night with nothing to do but hang out with Bryan and play with Cami. I don't want to have every weekend filled up with plans and events to attend. I want to be home with the people I love. I want to treasure these moments and soak them in, enjoying time with the people I love the most.

Eight Months

 It has been eight months. Eight fun-filled, emotional, joyful, exciting and wonderful months. It was eight months ago today that I had one of the longest and happiest days of my life. Just eight short months ago, our Camila Joy was born.

 All I want to do is slow time down- these months have gone way too quickly. And they make me realize that time will only go faster and that I must cherish each day. I have made sure to journal every week about Cami's firsts, the fun and the feelings that we have had. 

 There are so many things that I love about Cami and being her mom. As a celebration of her being 2/3 of a year, I wanted to share (written as if being shared with Cami)!

 

* In the first couple months of your life, you would sleep on daddy's and my chest, curled up in what we called your "tree-frog" position. It didn't matter what we had going on that day, it would wait. We would just sit there holding you, letting you sleep on our chest.

* Checking on you every hour at night the first couple weeks, just to make sure you were okay. :)

* Watching your face light up whenever your dad or I walk into a room.

* Celebrating your baptism with so many of our friends and family.

* Hearing you giggle and laugh when you are tickled or find something funny.

* Dressing you up in all the super-girly outfits and lots of pink, completely contradicting everything I said I was going to have you wear!

* Teaching you how to eat food and watching it get all over your cute, little face.

* Kissing your chubby, little cheeks

* Laughing when you saved all your "blow-outs" for your time with Auntie Erin!

* Going for walks at the park

* Coming home from youth group to see you sleeping on Grandpa Halma's chest

* Seeing all of your "firsts" like rolling over, sitting up, sleeping without your swaddle bag

* Seeing your excitement over "little puffs"

There are been so much fun and growth in eight months. I can't wait to see what the next eight months bring. I love you so much!

A Trip to Mexico...

   A couple of Saturdays ago, I went with a leadership team from my church down to Tijuana, Mexico to meet with the missionaries we support. We are hoping to take a team down from our church this summer to help support and see first-hand the ministries that our missionaries are doing there.
  We went for one day and saw so many things. We visited a local church and saw the outreach they were doing in the community. We visited a men's rehab center. We had amazing tacos at a local place. We went to a Bible institution and church. And finally, we went to an orphanage.
   This place broke my heart. It was a home for about 45 kids from infant to middle school aged. These kids are orphans because their parents died, are in jail or abused them. Their chance of being adopted is very slim because the cost is too great for many and the laws make it difficult for any sort of international adoption. There were 3 wonderful women who live there and take care of the children. But that's it. Just three women for 45 kids. As if my heart was not hurting enough, James, the missionary, said that this was one of 250 registered orphanages in Tijuana alone. All of which are about the same size. Approximately 11,250 orphans in Tijuana alone.
  These kids will live there until they are 18 and then they will have to leave and be out on their own. Without a family for support, a place to live or many of the skills needed for survival. All I wanted to do was take these kids home. It was so hard to drive back home to my place of comfort. To my little world where my biggest problem is that I have a student that was disruptive or a parent that was difficult. I saw beauty in the faces of these children and I saw pain as I imagined the future that is ahead of them. And I feel helpless...