I will rejoice and be glad

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Someone at work today called my husband a "hell of a man" today because he is working full time, doing grad school, and doing major work on our house. Tonight for dinner I couldn't decide what to eat because I was really tired from my crazy awesome day at school. I settled for a beer while I looked through our plethora of leftover containers thinking, "Aren't you supposed to have this many leftovers after thanksgiving?" Then, I saw the turkey leg leftover from school today and smiled.

There was just something novel about have a turkey leg and a beer for dinner- which is exactly what I did.

And Aaron said, "I'm a hell of a man 'cause I'm married to a hell of a woman." That's right mister ;)

Anyhoo, I have been reflecting on my day at school and this year of teaching in particular. God has done amazing things and continues to do so. I am so grateful for my wonderful kids.

We had a Thanksgiving feast today with my children and their parents or grandparents. It was a very successful turnout as 9 of my 11 kids had family show up! I made a video of our students learning about Thanksgiving and we all watched it before eating together. I love heartwarming videos that sum up all the good things- like the end-of-summer camp videos or the we're-getting-married videos shown at rehearsal dinners. There are of course bumpy roads for every journey, but these videos highlight the good memories- the warm fuzzies, the loud laughter, and the bright smiles.

I am proud of my students and proud of my classroom.

I do not wish to brag about myself at all, because it is my assistants who make things possible and my students who learn and grow, but I am honored to be the facilitator of it all. My students are learning and growing and their parents see it. That is all that matters. There are two things that make my heart beat when it comes to kids with special needs:

1. Helping parents finds resources in the community and understand their child more
2. Bridging the gap between special ed students and regular ed students by being visible in the school, providing opportunities for all students to interact in meaningful ways, and educating regular ed students about disabilities.

I am so pleased of the ways that we are doing these things and I continually strive to do more in these areas. At the end of the day, I want their parents to know that their children are in the best care and that they are actually learning. We are NOT babysitters- we are educators.

One of my favorite things to do is to cook hearty meals and invite lots of people over and have wonderful conversation over the meals. Today, I rejoice that I got to do this with the parents of my children at school. We did not have to talk about IEPs, about behavior problems, about forms, or about signatures. We got to laugh and joke, to learn about each others lives, and to build a stronger relationship.

"I will rejoice,
I will rejoice,
and be glad."

Thank you Jesus.



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