Fall Is In The Air

I haven't posted in awhile because I have been so busy. I am having a good school year but just couldn't seem to get caught up. I am still slightly behind on grading papers but I think I can see the light. All in all, things are going very well for my family. I started graduate school and I love it. I was so worried that I would drown in all of the work but I am finding that it is quite manageable and I am grateful. I am loving meeting with fellow teachers and learning. I didn't realize how much I had missed it. Michael is still doing well in Middle School. I am so glad. Really, there is just not too much to complain about and what a wonderful feeling that is! Oh, and I forgot to say that Team M&M did so well at the Autism Walk. I didn't get to go because of my class but my sisters, nieces and cousins as well as Mark's parents were there and they reported a huge amount of walkers over the ones last year. As of right now, we have raised $3,010.00 and are in 5th place in the state. I am really proud of our team. As I have said for the last four years, we will walk until there is a cause and a cure for autism. I have our first event planned for November to get ready for next year's walk. Little by little, research is finding answers. I just feel in my heart that a huge breakthrough is coming.

Tomorrow is the first day of fall. I am ready for the beautiful leaves and the cooler temperatures. What a great part of the world we live in! :)

Thank You, Lord

It has been too long since I updated this blog. Since my last post, school has started. I spent the entire summer worrying about how Michael would do at his new school. It turns out that Michael has done wonderfully at school! It has been so cool how God has been with us every step of the way. I worried how I would handle the mornings and drop offs. A week before school started, a friend and former high school teacher called and said she would be happy to get Michael from me in the mornings and take him to her room. Thank you, Lord! I also worried about Michael riding the bus from his school to mine in the afternoons. Again, the week before school started, the bus assistant called and said she and her driver husband was excited to have Michael on their bus and, by the way, their granddaughter is autistic so they understand. Thank you, Lord! Michael seems to really like his new school and we are just thrilled.

My school year is going well, too. We have a new principal and that is always scary but I really like him. He seems to have the students' best interest in mind and is supportive of the faculty. I like my students and the things we are doing in class. My only problem is getting everything done. I don't remember last year being this hectic but I am teaching one different class this year so that is probably making a difference.

One big change for us is that I start graduate school at MTSU Saturday. I am working on my Specialist in Education (Ed.S) degree and must admit that I am nervous and excited, too. I love learning but am worried about how I will get everything done. Thank goodness I have an extremely supportive husband and he said it will work out. The bad news: The autism walk is this Saturday, too. I have been to every single walk since the beginning and it is killing me that I will miss it. I am truly grateful that my sisters, cousins, daddy and good friends will be there to represent Team M&M. We are in 6th place right now and I am proud of us.

Last, we have had a great Labor Day weekend. Two of our best friends came to visit. We cooked out, visited with them, my sister and niece and just relaxed. The slow rain that we needed was just icing on the cake. Bring on the fair and more of these cool temperatures!

Vacation!

What an adventure we had BEFORE we left on vacation! We went to St. George Island, Florida for our vacation again and my sister and niece went with us so that was an extra bonus. We always rent a van because we take so much stuff and we did so this year.Unfortunately, almost everything that could go wrong did. We were to leave on a Saturday and the Thursday before, the rental company called and said we couldn't get the van until late Friday night. No big deal, that will be fine. Friday comes and another call. We can't get the van until Saturday morning. I am mad now. I wanted to leave at 6 am so we could get to the beach house before dark. Ok, I will adjust. Saturday comes and we are chomping to get started. Rental company: There are no vans. There has been a recall on half of the vans. You have got to be kidding me! So, Saturday at noon, the five of us cram into a rented SUV with our luggage strapped to the top and we head out. We arrive at 10 that night so we can't even see the ocean properly. (That sort of cuts down on the fun of arriving in Florida.) We were grateful to make is safely there, however, since a woman nearly ran us off the road several hours earlier. We had a few more adventures on the road but I won't bore you with the details.The following are highlights of the trip:



Sunday: After a good nights sleep, we awoke to a rainy day but that was fine after our long trip. We went to get some groceries that morning then the sun came out and we got some swim and beach time with Michael finding lots of shells. That night, my wonderful husband made spaghetti for us. (One of many great meals he made.)




Monday was a beautiful day of swimming and beach time. My sister, niece and I shopped on the island and Apalachicola. The dinner that night was fresh seafood cooked by the husband on the grill. Yum!



Tuesday was a GREAT day on the beach with beautiful weather and everybody happy. (Can I say again how I love the uncrowded beaches?) The girls shopped some more and ate a late lunch at the Blue Parrot, an ocean front restaurant. It was such a nice time. No big supper that night because hubby had made gravy, biscuit and bacon for breakfast. He is just too good to us.



Wednesday was interesting. That morning, as we were leaving the gated community where our beach house was located, we saw a reporter and camera man. Curious, I checked out the news that night. I about died when the reporter said that it was rumored that Casey Anthony was on the island! (There is a small landing strip on the island and she was listed as on board the flight.) We kept our cameras on the ready the rest of the trip!
Wednesday also included some bad stuff. Michael was having such a good time in the water and my husband and I were actually getting to sit and relax (not our usual on the beach with an autistic child) when Michael got out of the water holding his arm. Yep, jellyfish sting. Thank goodness I had read the reports of jellyfish being bad this year and I had vinegar in the beach bag. We poured that on the sting and got back to the beach house. Bless his heart, I know it hurt so bad. The sad thing is that he loves the water and after that day, he refused to go back to the ocean. (I sure don't blame him!)

Thursday-Friday included steak dinner by the great husband, more shopping and swimming in the beach house pool.
After a terrific week, we strapped on the luggage again and headed home Saturday.

It really was a good trip and I am so glad we had good weather and a good time. Now, it is almost school time. More about that in the next post.

Verdict Reaction

As I have posted before, I watched too much of the Casey Anthony trial but I just couldn't turn away. When the clerk read the verdict "Not Guilty," I sat there a minute trying to figure out which lesser charge she would get then it hit me: Casey is walking away with murder. Yes, I know, I know. We're not supposed to judge others. Sorry, I can't be that perfect. Seriously, haven't you once thought, "Why is that girl wearing that short dress to church?" or "Why did he marry her. She is so mean." You know you have even if you are judging a celebrity who we don't know; we all judge. So back to the trial. I am still stunned but as the days have gone by, I can see where the reasonable doubt came in. I told my husband before they announced the verdict that I thought it would be manslaughter because there wasn't enough evidence for a death sentence. They did convict her of lying. I should hope so! Oh, that poor little girl. She's in God's hands now so she is fine but still why did she die? Casey will write a book or give interviews and make millions. I am not her ultimate judge so I hope she changes her lying ways and straightens up. Now me and the media will have to find something else to obsess over.

I'll get back to the book I'm reading Love Wins. It is the book where the preacher is supposed to be saying that everyone is going to heaven and there is no hell. A friend recommended it and I have read the first chapter. It is pretty good so far. I'll give a review later.

A Happy Fourth

I have loved this weekend. We didn't do anything exciting but it was still enjoyable. The entire weekend, we were watching the Casey Anthony trial. I have been hooked on the trial. I keep trying to figure out how a parent could wait 31 days to report a child missing. Just crazy. I am really curious about what the jury will do. Time will tell.

On the 4th of July, I went downtown to the Yankee Doodle Parade. My sweet nieces and cousin had an entry and won first place in the group category. After, my grandmother, aunt, dad, sisters, nieces and cousins went to Dairy Queen to cool off. It was so nice to visit for a while. At night, we went to the Lowes parking lot and watched the fireworks. It is so nice of Dr. Pepper to put on the fireworks display for our town. They do so good many things for our schools and community. After the fireworks, we headed to Dairy Queen for ice cream. About the time we hit the drive-through, the skies opened up. It is amazing how a storm and hard rain can materialize over one country from nothing. That is summer around here, though. All in all, it was a great weekend.

This week, I need to finish putting the rooms back together and get ready for painting the last room. I will be so happy when everything is finished.

Finally Some Pictures!

The bathroom is finished! Yeah!

The painting is almost finished! Yeah!

No workmen will be here tomorrow at 7 am! Yeah!

Here are some before and after pictures that I have been promising:

Michael's room before



Michael's room after






The bathroom before and after








I love everything. I am tired and anxious to get everything cleaned up and put away but our house looks so much better. All that is left to finish is our bedroom. Maybe next week I can relax. :)

What a Week...Painting, Building and Dodging

This has been the longest week. All this week, I have gotten up at 5:30 (Yes, I know, school is out and I want to sleep!) to meet the painters who get here a little before 7, try to keep Michael out of their way until 8 when the men redoing my bathroom get here. This has gone on every day this week. What has been accomplished: The living room, dining room, kitchen, entry and Michael's room are painted and everything (floor, tile on walls, toilet, vanity and tub) has been torn out of the bathroom and the shower wall, shower and drywall have been installed. Next week, they should finish the bathroom. Unfortunately, the painters will probably take off to do outside painting because the sun should be shining and they have to schedule according to the weather. The hall, our bedroom and the spare bedroom are the only things left to paint. I am still working on getting pictures together to show you the progress. Michael's room is the coolest looking room of all. I tried to post a video of it but it won't load. I will have pictures soon. Don't get me wrong; I am grateful that we are getting our house updated and improved but trying to keep Michael and myself out of their way is a pain. It will be worth it though.

Plans for next week: Start working on curriculum for the new school year, hopefully go swimming at a friend's house and maybe even take a shower in my new bathroom. That will be great! I am shopping for new shower curtains and bedspreads. Any recommendations of stores would be appreciated. I usually go to my old stand-by, J.C.Penny. Let me know of any good places.

Enjoy your weekend and next week and keep your fingers crossed that I survive the renovations. :)