So last night I jammed my thumb a big one! I did not think much of it until I woke up the next day and it was so swollen and bru-uuised! My school nurse advised me to go get it x-rayed. My family is not the x-ray type but it hurt really bad so I went. Not broke but the MD is pretty sure I tore my ulnar ligament also known as skiers thumb or gamers thumbs. It is pretty painful and life without a thumb is hard. Somehow I am always surprised by how much I use something when I can't anymore. I am reminded of my not too distant tailbone injury...you use those butt muscles a lot! Also how much our bodies are connected the thumb is connected to the wrist bone the wrist bone is connected to the elbow..you get the picture. I am grateful for these little reminders.
SPRING in Alaska so fun. It is like the earth litterally is shaking off the bands of death by dark cold snow and is awakening to glow and bask in the soft sunshine. I love this time of year; here people are literally more alive with the added light. I am so excited for General Conference and am glad it is on Easter Weekend how symbolic.
I caught the sunset a few nights ago over cook inlet and the sunrise this am over the mountains and both were so gorgeous!!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Dan's got muscles how but you!!!!!
The top picture is Jared's youngest Jack..he is sooo adorable.The second one is Quincy and his little one Daniel, doing muscles. I love Dan's face Quincy's too.
Thanks Ann Marie for the pictures!
Thinking about being close to home makes me smile and get extremely excited but thinking of leaving here makes me sad; bitter sweet all the way around.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
pictures
Beluga Point a great place to watch the whales in August....
Driving in Wasilla
Cannery trip--yes we have a LDS cannery in Palmer..it is so fun to go and help out here.
Out the back door of my classroom 3pm
My dirty car and the snow pile taller than my car
Sunset gorgeous!!
Sledding good times!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Spring Break
So the first two days were spent reading the most wonderful Book of Mormon! A group of singles gathered at the Stapely's my upstairs neighbors and also the sister to one of the singles. We read it in about 22 hours.
I picked up on lots of new stuff this time. The word Firm really stood out to me. Hearken and hear also stood out. It is so important for us to listen to what Heavenly Father wants us to hear and know. This comes by listening to His prophets who speak with power and authority. Also the immense love of our Savior. He wants us to come unto Him and lay down our sins and follow him. He is willing to show us all sorts of things if we have the eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to know and feel.
Went to Bear's tooth theatre yesterday with a friend. A first for me. It is a neat theatre where you can order food and they bring it to you..there are tables in front of you so you can eat during the flim. So fun! An Anchorage hot spot.
Today I am heading down to Girdwood to go to luch with a friend. I hope that it is clear out. It is the most gorgeous drive of anywhere I have ever been across this country!!
I am getting excited/anxious about moving home and all that entails. But am so excited to be close. If you aren't you are out of loop...siblings just forget you. and don't keep you updated ...except Eldon that kid is amazing...the rest.......loosers! Just kidding I know they feel the same about me! They are so busy with kids and life plus the time difference makes it hard for me to remember to call them when it is not 10pm their time.
I have pictures to post just haven't! Will try to soon.
I picked up on lots of new stuff this time. The word Firm really stood out to me. Hearken and hear also stood out. It is so important for us to listen to what Heavenly Father wants us to hear and know. This comes by listening to His prophets who speak with power and authority. Also the immense love of our Savior. He wants us to come unto Him and lay down our sins and follow him. He is willing to show us all sorts of things if we have the eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to know and feel.
Went to Bear's tooth theatre yesterday with a friend. A first for me. It is a neat theatre where you can order food and they bring it to you..there are tables in front of you so you can eat during the flim. So fun! An Anchorage hot spot.
Today I am heading down to Girdwood to go to luch with a friend. I hope that it is clear out. It is the most gorgeous drive of anywhere I have ever been across this country!!
I am getting excited/anxious about moving home and all that entails. But am so excited to be close. If you aren't you are out of loop...siblings just forget you. and don't keep you updated ...except Eldon that kid is amazing...the rest.......loosers! Just kidding I know they feel the same about me! They are so busy with kids and life plus the time difference makes it hard for me to remember to call them when it is not 10pm their time.
I have pictures to post just haven't! Will try to soon.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
ruff day at the office
so teaching today I could not do anything right, or so it seemed. My homeroom failed to do anything all day. All the other classes except one were just one incident after the other. I would label today FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE day ,big time! It lead to a major melt down for a student and then for myself as well.
The incident today was a larger scale of smaller incidents with same student for over a week. last week when he was asked to leave my room he punched a picture frame containing an USA flag I got for Christmas. He busted up his hand pretty good. He seems to seek out my personal belongings to trash. Earlier in the year he grabbed some flags, ones on dowels and hit them on the chalk tray trying to break them. For those who don't know I work at a special day school for emotionally disturbed children. We have security or intervention coaches who step in in these crazy situations. Well "Student" was at it again today.
Today he turned in 1/4 of the work and I told him I would send the rest home to be completed there. He tore up the work and threw it across the room. Then he got a new worksheet and sat on top of a desk and stared to do the work. I let him stay in class but redirected him to sit somewhere safe. he did not follow the directions and based on previous behavior I had my TA go get security to escort him out for being unsafe, throwing things, and not following directions.
In the meantime he did finally sit in a chair but was now writing on the desk he kept looking at me to see if I was going to do something about it not realizing I had already sent for help. When security arrived I told him he needed to go with them to our practice hallway- a place students go to practice good school skills they have rm8 to deescalate, 9 where they do work showing they are ready to be back in class and follow directions and they have skills- in school suspension rooms and 2 gray rooms/isolation rooms that can be locked from the outside highly supervised rooms!
When asked/told he needed to go practice school skills he picked up his desk and threw it at my computer cart, raked off my teacher podium, then kicked my fan to smithereens all in like 25 seconds. He was taken to a gray room and then somehow he ditched security and came back to my room for some more. He kicked my recycle bin all the while swearing at me and started to clear off my bookshelves. I stood up and told him he needed to leave my room immediately he ran over to me and postured as if to hit me and told me he would kill me, using some nice colorful language. about this time security arrived and physically removed him from my room.
It was so personal. he came back for me. to intimidate me. to hit me and hurt me or my stuff anyway he could. needless to say I was pretty shaken up about the whole incident and really mad. but glad I had not hit him in the heat of the moment, myself. I was so peeved and angry with him! I wrote up what needed to be written up at that second. and then took some time outside my room and I lost it.
I called my momma and she was a big help. It was so unnerving. My principle stopped by and told my ta that we could take a few days off if we needed. I said hell no! I am not going to let some teenager intimidate me into not coming to school. if he wants to hate women and hate me that is fine but I will still do my job, I will still go to work, I will not allow him to make me feel afraid in my own classroom.
I don't think the public understands what working with these kids can be like. I feel for the parents who with Ed and ODD kids. It is a rough road to hoe. Today was an extreme but it happened...tomorrow is a new day for him and for me. I hope and pray that I and he can work this out and get to the heart of whatever the problem is...if it is something I can do or change I sure wish I knew so I could fix this and make it hurt less.
You love your students and know that they are capable of good you see it in moments when they help each other and complement each other and remember to say please and thank you. When they help you clean up the mess another student makes when they are out of control and escalated. I know they are all capable of achieving so much but you can't make them chose it.
It was after this that I realized this is exactly what our Father in Heaven must feel like with us. We mess up and mess up and mess up and feel like we are no good. No matter how many times I tell a student that was yesterday lets try again; they can't let it go and all their yesterdays effect their tomorrows so much that they can't see past them or move past them. How many times do I need to be told that I am good, and that I can make good choices, or that I am more than a number on a scale, or a age or a marital status...none of these are qualifiers for love especially the love of our Heavenly Father and His Son. They constantly beckon to us to come unto them and tell us: that was yesterday let's move on. I guess sometimes I am just as stubborn and hard headed as my students. I do things that say to people I love dearly, " see I am bad, you don't need me or want me I can't/aren't changing fast enough or completely enough you can't love me"
I know tomorrow will be a new day and I hope I am able to communicate my love for this student and to start choosing more fully for myself to see the NEW DAY!
The incident today was a larger scale of smaller incidents with same student for over a week. last week when he was asked to leave my room he punched a picture frame containing an USA flag I got for Christmas. He busted up his hand pretty good. He seems to seek out my personal belongings to trash. Earlier in the year he grabbed some flags, ones on dowels and hit them on the chalk tray trying to break them. For those who don't know I work at a special day school for emotionally disturbed children. We have security or intervention coaches who step in in these crazy situations. Well "Student" was at it again today.
Today he turned in 1/4 of the work and I told him I would send the rest home to be completed there. He tore up the work and threw it across the room. Then he got a new worksheet and sat on top of a desk and stared to do the work. I let him stay in class but redirected him to sit somewhere safe. he did not follow the directions and based on previous behavior I had my TA go get security to escort him out for being unsafe, throwing things, and not following directions.
In the meantime he did finally sit in a chair but was now writing on the desk he kept looking at me to see if I was going to do something about it not realizing I had already sent for help. When security arrived I told him he needed to go with them to our practice hallway- a place students go to practice good school skills they have rm8 to deescalate, 9 where they do work showing they are ready to be back in class and follow directions and they have skills- in school suspension rooms and 2 gray rooms/isolation rooms that can be locked from the outside highly supervised rooms!
When asked/told he needed to go practice school skills he picked up his desk and threw it at my computer cart, raked off my teacher podium, then kicked my fan to smithereens all in like 25 seconds. He was taken to a gray room and then somehow he ditched security and came back to my room for some more. He kicked my recycle bin all the while swearing at me and started to clear off my bookshelves. I stood up and told him he needed to leave my room immediately he ran over to me and postured as if to hit me and told me he would kill me, using some nice colorful language. about this time security arrived and physically removed him from my room.
It was so personal. he came back for me. to intimidate me. to hit me and hurt me or my stuff anyway he could. needless to say I was pretty shaken up about the whole incident and really mad. but glad I had not hit him in the heat of the moment, myself. I was so peeved and angry with him! I wrote up what needed to be written up at that second. and then took some time outside my room and I lost it.
I called my momma and she was a big help. It was so unnerving. My principle stopped by and told my ta that we could take a few days off if we needed. I said hell no! I am not going to let some teenager intimidate me into not coming to school. if he wants to hate women and hate me that is fine but I will still do my job, I will still go to work, I will not allow him to make me feel afraid in my own classroom.
I don't think the public understands what working with these kids can be like. I feel for the parents who with Ed and ODD kids. It is a rough road to hoe. Today was an extreme but it happened...tomorrow is a new day for him and for me. I hope and pray that I and he can work this out and get to the heart of whatever the problem is...if it is something I can do or change I sure wish I knew so I could fix this and make it hurt less.
You love your students and know that they are capable of good you see it in moments when they help each other and complement each other and remember to say please and thank you. When they help you clean up the mess another student makes when they are out of control and escalated. I know they are all capable of achieving so much but you can't make them chose it.
It was after this that I realized this is exactly what our Father in Heaven must feel like with us. We mess up and mess up and mess up and feel like we are no good. No matter how many times I tell a student that was yesterday lets try again; they can't let it go and all their yesterdays effect their tomorrows so much that they can't see past them or move past them. How many times do I need to be told that I am good, and that I can make good choices, or that I am more than a number on a scale, or a age or a marital status...none of these are qualifiers for love especially the love of our Heavenly Father and His Son. They constantly beckon to us to come unto them and tell us: that was yesterday let's move on. I guess sometimes I am just as stubborn and hard headed as my students. I do things that say to people I love dearly, " see I am bad, you don't need me or want me I can't/aren't changing fast enough or completely enough you can't love me"
I know tomorrow will be a new day and I hope I am able to communicate my love for this student and to start choosing more fully for myself to see the NEW DAY!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Fur Rondy and tsunami warning
So this year was the 75th Fur Rondy celebration. It is a holiday celebrating when the fur trappers come down from the bush and sell off their furs and part!! So how do you celebrate...you have outhouse races, running with the caribou, a carnival, sled dog rides, snow and ice sculptures, helicopter rides, funnel cakes yumo!, and fireworks.
The snow and ice sculptures were incredible. I will try to post some pictures soon.
I LOVE fireworks -the sight and sounds so cool! Saturday night thanks to At&T we had quite the show over Cook Inlet. July 4th here is not the same with it being so light outside so this was great because it was dark! It was a spectacular show!
Because of the earthquake in Chile we were under a Tsunami warning here in Alaska. Crazy! So volcanoes, earthquakes, and now a tsunami warning. This is definitley and adventurous state and such an amazingly beautiful one!!!!!!!
The snow and ice sculptures were incredible. I will try to post some pictures soon.
I LOVE fireworks -the sight and sounds so cool! Saturday night thanks to At&T we had quite the show over Cook Inlet. July 4th here is not the same with it being so light outside so this was great because it was dark! It was a spectacular show!
Because of the earthquake in Chile we were under a Tsunami warning here in Alaska. Crazy! So volcanoes, earthquakes, and now a tsunami warning. This is definitley and adventurous state and such an amazingly beautiful one!!!!!!!
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