kingsbury friends in february

i've posted a video of pictures from this month. i don't usually post pictures of my school kids, but this is a special group. i looped with them from 2nd to 3rd grade.

we've been learning a lot about other cultures and the importance of respecting people's heritage. after reading our weekly story about a girl from japan, we ate our lunch using chopsticks. the funniest part was when i told the kids it was time to throw away their trash. they all gasped in confusion. few of them were anywhere close to being finished. they realized how much longer it took to eat using chopsticks. so, of course, i gave them some extra time to finish. the following week we learned a favorite game played in china...tangrams. later this week we'll be learning what our names mean in mandarin (chinese) and writing them in black paint.

some highschool students performed a "fat albert" skit to teach us the importance of eating healthy. they even served a healthy snack that looked like a butterfly. the kids loved it!

valentine's day was a beautiful day! the weather was gorgeous (compared to all the snow and ice we've had this winter). we even made a class heart using pink paper.

below is the video.

super cooper

to even the playing field, chris made a video for cooper. it's so cute...i think! the music is spot on!

my sweet taegan

chris made this sweet video for taegan. it's lengthy, but worth every minute...to me. i melt every time i watch it!

taegan loves soccer!! her friends on the team are all beautiful girls on the inside and out. we are very blessed to be a part of this team and to have such wonderful families that we can call "friends".

meet "steve"

and his "brother from another mother"

surprise snow!

i, along with a majority of memphis area residents, woke up this morning surprised to see snow. no one seemed to have a clue it was coming. i'm sure we all watched tv for several hours last night for the superbowl, yet none of the weather advisories saw it heading this way.

this is memphis for you...

i went back to sleep after my friend and coworker, howard, called a little after 5am. i kept waking up, thinking i had been dreaming and i was late for school. even more, i knew my kids would be twice as shocked! what a magical surprise!

the snow is now being weighted down with rain and sleet, but it was PERFECT this morning...fluffy and powdery. the neighborhood kids made snowmen, snow angels, snowballs, and gigantic snow forts. they loved it!

even though we only got about 4 inches, i managed to make snowcream. i'll never make it as good as my mama. i could never recreate the environment, the smell of cold snow, the taste of her snowcream, and the warmth of my home! hopefully, though, i'm creating new memories that my children will hold on to.

i love you, mom (and dad, if you're reading this)!

relationships

here goes...i'm about to reveal something that i'm not proud of. i feel quite vulnerable, yet i'm looking forward to a weight lifted from my shoulders.

chris and i have gotten into the rut of the busy, hectic, sport-filled life. we are so exhausted by saturday night...after a full week of work, homework with kids, practices, games, birthday parties, etc...that we have been using sunday as a "day of rest" (literally). we have not been going to church. whoa...it's embarrassing to type that.

yesterday (sunday), i felt this overwhelming "tug". so off we went to hope presbyterian, which is where we placed membership over 8 years ago. we still call it home even though we haven't been very faithful members.

i was very moved by the sermon from dr. eli morris.

he talked about relationships and how deep one's relationships are...with God, family, and friends. it made me think about my life. have i been allowing my busy schedule to smother relationships? yes, i have friends, but how many really know what's going on inside me. am i opening myself up? as eli said, "are your relationships hydroplaning? are you simply friends on the surface or are you planning to make contact and go deeper?

to all my "friends" and family, especially God, i am deeply sorry that i have shut myself out. i am planning to make a better effort to get reconnected.

ecclesiastes 4:10-12
"if one person falls, the other can reach out and help. but people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble. and on a cold night, two under the same blanket can gain warmth from each other. but how can one be warm alone? a person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken."

i am asking myself these questions:
1. do i choose to walk alone or be with others?
2. do i choose to pretend or be real?
3. do i choose comfort or change?

thanks for reading this. change is not easy!

open house/program at cooper's school

last thursday cooper had open house at harding academy kindergarten. they began with a program where his class sang a couple of cute songs. then the whole kindergarten sang a few songs. the one that impressed me the most was the "president song". for weeks he's been naming presidents at home. we finally learned why. i've attached the video.


the classroom visit was amazing too. harding does such a good job of displaying oodles of quality work! check out the photos.


harding is smart! they incorporate grandparents day into open house. the kids had a repeat performamce the following morning for grandparents. this helps minimize the crowd for the previous evening performance.