Weekend with Family

 (Note - pictures are out of order, and I have no sense on how to rearrange them. Ugh.)

A couple of weeks ago, I got a message from my cousin letting me know that she and her entire family would be in Omaha the following weekend.  Family that lives about nine hours away were only going to be three hours away. Family with which I loved to spend time. Family I don't get to see often. I was honored they wanted to include my family; and I am thankful for a husband that knows my heart.  He got back from KY on a Thursday afternoon, and we loaded up Friday morning for a getaway.

These are the adults of the crew; my two girl cousins and their hubbies. We spent Saturday morning at the children's museum. Brandon played with the girls, and I talked with my cousins. :)

These are all the kids from three cousins. We multiplied!

My mom's sister, AK, blessed my girls with a Valentine goodie. She treats them like her own grandchildren.

The girls discovering Nebraska at the museum

Analise enjoyed acting as the weather woman. She got a kick out of the fact that since she was wearing a green jacket, you couldn't see that part on the screen. She was like a head floating around on a weather map.

 

 

 

Friday afternoon we met up with J and her family for roller skating. Analise was the only one who had skated before, yet all three were excited. They were glad to have the help  with the rollers, and they tired quickly. But they all had fun!

 They loved this section at the museum.

 

A quick recap of our weekend. We hit the outlet malls before getting to Omaha. Analise had some Christmas money she wanted to spend. I knew we wouldn't have long, so we hit the two major stores: Under Armour and Nike. She was thrilled to shop, and I was thrilled she had her own money. Fun thing to remember - we came out of the dressing room, and there was Sadie's teacher! What a fun treat seeing her. :)

After roller skating, we all (18 of us!) met for dinner at Spaghetti Works in the old market. We enjoyed all being together, and I loved connecting with cousins. 

We then went back to the hotel for the girls to swim. This gave me more time with family. 

Saturday morning we met up at the children's museum, and then we had to say goodbye at lunch time. They needed to start thinking about their afternoon of volleyball, and I didn't want to get home late. We ate lunch at Raising Cane's and then stopped at The Cheesecake Factory for our Valentine's gifts to each other. We each got a piece of cheesecake as our gift. Simple but delicious. :)And that gift lasted four nights.(You know - spread out the calories. :))

I am thankful God allowed this to all work out for me to spend time with family and get out of town for a bit. I find that's always good for me. 

Fall Frenzy

This past fall was one of the busiest times in my life. Ever. Let me give a little background - when I subbed several years ago, I fell in love with 2nd grade - especially 2nd grade at our school. For some reason I have fond memories there. So when my principal approached me last spring about subbing a maternity leave in 2nd grade during the fall, my heart beat a bit faster. However, I also had those, "Am I crazy?" thoughts. I knew it would be a lot. After prayer and discussion with Brandon, I decided I would do it. The best perk - having Maisie in my class. :)

I began the year with my normal para job/hours of 8:45-1:00.  I observed my teacher for a day in September, about two weeks before her due date. It was super beneficial. She was going to have the first week's plans finished and possibly the following week since it was a three day week.
That was all going well until Sunday afternoon at 2:30 when I got a text from her letting me know she'd just had the baby. And she hadn't finished her lesson plans.  I went into panic mode. I immediately called the principal so I could get into the school. I left Brandon and the girls at home while I went and attempted my first week of plans. All the while thinking, "Pam, what did you just see; how did she do it?" I think I got home that night around 7:30.  I was so thankful that I already knew the staff up there; they were so supportive and helpful when I needed it.

Monday morning came, and off we went - four Luke ladies on a new path for 12 weeks. And Brandon left for out of town this week. And I started a new ministry at church that had our first meeting that night. It all came down to the same day. CrAzY.  But God saw me through.

So for 12 weeks I poured my heart into that job. I rose each morning at 5:30 so I could exercise on the bike downstairs, got ready, finished lunches and got the girls out of the house by 7:40 (20 minutes earlier than usual). My days in the class were fun, fast, rewarding and tiring. The girls patiently hung with me until 4:00 each day. Even they helped after school; each girl knew what she could do to help. Most days we seemed to have after school activities. We'd run home, unload all the school things, work on homework, and I would run someone to piano, gymnastics, or music class. Then it was dinner, post dinner and then pack lunches and get ready for the following day. By 9:30 most nights I was shot.

I learned I didn't get any down time on the weekends. Analise was playing volleyball on Saturday mornings; for a few weeks I was very busy with Operation Christmas Child, I'd have to buy groceries, clean and catch up on all the laundry.  Then I would spend a minimum of four hours at the school planning lessons for the following week. Sometimes Analise would come with me to help; it truly was a sweet time together.

At the end of the 12 weeks, I was so sad to say goodbye to my class. All 22 will hold a special place in my heart. However, I was ready to focus on being 100% mom/wife again. I seriously couldn't have done this without Brandon's help and support.

I am very thankful for the opportunity. I loved my two co-teachers; they are sisters in Christ, and I loved working with them. I loved having Maisie in my class for 12 weeks. Not every mom/daughter could do this. My girls were sad to see my time end, too. I was surprised but thankful that the extra hours at school had not burdened them. I learned a lot about the curriculum, fell in love with the free things on Teacher Pay Teachers, and poured into those kids the best I could for my time there.  When I met with my friend (also a teacher at heart) over Christmas, she asked me if my heart just soared while I taught. I couldn't have said it better myself. After all the crazy weekends planning and running morning to night, yes my heart soared while I was teaching.  I was made for it. That being said, I am not looking for any full time teaching positions. I honestly don't think I could give 100% to my class and 100% to my family. I am so thankful for this opportunity God gave me to have 12 weeks of my "dream job." My heart soared during those hours in the classroom. But my heart also soars now when I have a bit more time again to pour into my own family.

I leave with this advice - hug a teacher and tell him/her thanks. They aren't paid enough for what they do, so they need gifts of the heart.