Precious in His Sight

Where did the time go?

I have a lot of updating to do! I could tell so many stories about my students over the last couple months of school, we had fun days, hard days, tears, laughter, and a lot of hard work! I grew closer to my 6th grade students than I ever thought possible! They are MY kids! Always will be!

The last month of school was class from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 or 4:00 or 5:00...then kids coming to my house at 6:00 and staying until 8:00....they worked so hard to finish their year! 6th grade means graduating from primary school, so no carrying forward a Pace or two until the following year...and I pushed them hard to complete all their work. I wanted them to learn and grow as they enter into highschool.

It was exciting to see them accomplish things they never thought possible. It was awesome! One of my students did not have confidence that he could finish all his work for the year, and I was constantly encouraging him, hanging signs in his office that said "I CAN!"....which he would change to "CAN'T"...but he pushed through and in the end he did it! And the joy on his face when he finished that last test was worth all the long hours I had spent with the kids. And now he knows that when he is determined and he does not give up, he CAN!

I could tell you story after story about my students. Accomplishments of the year, the obstacles they overcame, the hardships they had, the perseverence they learned. It is an awesome honor to be part of that process!

The school year ended, the Paces got completed and we had graduation! It was so exciting for the students to be there that day and be honored. I was so proud of them!

Naturally after spending so much time with these kids it was hard to say good-bye to them after Graduation. The weekend after graduation meant graduation parties to attend of the Seniors, and visits from my 6th graders to say good-bye one more time before I flew to the United States.

I left that Monday to fly back to Texas to spend Christmas with my family. I got to talk with several of my students throughout the day...even receiving an early morning (3:30 a.m.) phone call from one of my boys, he wanted to be sure to talk to me before I hit the road at 4:30 a.m.

I was excited and exhausted when I arrived in Texas on December 7. I had days of fun visiting with my family who live in Texas...Elaine and Jim, Stacy and Travis, Shawna, Austin and Ashlynn...even the dogs were happy to see me as Stacy announced to Jack that Aunt Stephanie was home! And I was happy to meet the new puppy, Molly Joy.

Joshua arrived from Ft. Riley, Kansas on December 17. I was so happy to see him and have him home with us for a few weeks! It was a great time to catch up and hear about his life in the Army. And of course we played many games of Monopoly, which he won!

Christmas Eve meant the tradition of gathering with friends to go into neighborhoods in Fort Worth to deliver gifts to children and families. It is always a wonderful time of giving. Seeing the faces of children as they answer the door and we hand them gifts, and sometimes even a new bicycle. Christmas is not about gifts, but about the ultimate gift God gave us of Jesus, and we use showing love to those we don't know, those who might be forgotten, those who might seem untouchable, as a way to reach out and share the Love of Jesus.

We had a wonderful time once again and even had snow to add to the feeling of Christmas. Glad I could feel something because I could not feel my toes! COLD! It was cold! But we had a wonderful day!

That evening all our family went to the Christmas Eve service, and then all back to Elaine's for dinner and a few gifts to open.

Christmas day was so much fun, sharing and giving gifts! And of course watching Ashlynn open gifts and play with her new toys. She is so much fun!

One of Joshua's favorite things to do on Christmas day is shooting cans with Uncle's BB gun....so of course this year was no exception. And now with his Army training he was excited to show me all he could do. He even tried to teach me...which I actually did finally hit the can!