Were you surprised to see my name light up? Looking at this thing, it's been a year since my last update. Ironically, last time I updated we were out of school with the ice storm. We're out today too, with ice! I just hope it's not for the whole week! We were cracking up because yesterday afternoon it was 75 out and I was walking the dog and it was sunny and by 8 last night it was 21 and sleeting and we're out of school today. Crazy Oklahoma weather!

Life has been pretty exciting over the last year. I'm teaching first grade now (and loving it!), been on some amazing trips and gotten to do a lot with friends from all over the country. On Wednesday I close on my very own house! I'm super pumped and can't wait to get in and start decorating and playing and arranging the little furniture I have. It's also a little bit terrifying, but I'm ready for this part of my life. Luckily I have some awesome parents that are going to help me out if needed. Still working on some roommmates. You'd think those would be a little bit easier to find!

So right now I'm just getting ready for Christmas and hoping my anklebiters aren't too crazy the rest of the week. Oh, who am I kidding? They will be! They're 6! Happy Holidays!

Well, as some of you have probably heard, a lot of Oklahoma has been without power this week. It started icing on Sunday night in Tulsa. I didn't really think it did all that much but it sure caused a lot of damage! Our power went out at home around 2:00 Monday morning. They cancelled school, which was good because I couldn't do my hair (I know that sounds lame, but if any of you have seen my hair after I let it dry while I sleep, you understand the dilemma!). My family went to the mall on Monday morning just to get out of the house. It wasn't too crowded at first, but then word got out that there was power and food there and it was packed by lunchtime. We went back home and sat and stared at each other for a while, and about 3:00 we got our power back! We charged our cell phones and watched TV and enjoyed the heat. My grandparents and my aunt and uncle still didn't have power, so we cooked dinner and they came over to warm up and eat. About 7:00, the power went back out. And it didn't come back on. It gets REALLY cold at night with no heat. I was sleeping with 4 or 5 blankets on my bed and I was still cold. Not to mention the plastic shields on my eyes, but that's another story.

So, Tuesday we were out of school again and my mom and I went over to my dad's sister's house to dry our hair and straighten it and re-charge our cell phones. We went over to eat dinner with some friends from church that had power. Wednesday we didn't have school again and we just sat and played cards next to the fire all day. The days are incredibly long without power. Especially when it gets dark. We had candles lit everywhere and if you wanted to walk around the house you had to take a flashlight or a lantern. We felt like we lived in the olden times. We were listening to the radio in the car and they said this,"People called in saying that they really enjoyed having the TV off and spending time with their families, talking and playing board games that first night. But by the second day, they were pretty much over that feeling!" Pretty much sums up our feelings too! It would have been much more enjoyable if it wasn't so cold. We were pretty much confined to the living room in front of the fire, and it's been incredibly overcast, so that made it hard to read or see much even during the daytime. We didn't have church services on Wednesday evening, so that made for another long evening. I ended up going to spend the night with Kelsey because her power was back on. It was nice to sleep in a warm room! Today (well, I guess technically yesterday)...ok, Thursday we were out of school yet again and we found out that we're not going back until Monday, so I fled to Stillwater. Originally I was going to come because of the power, but while I was at Kelsey's last night Michael got the stomach flu and I didn't want the plague, so I ran home and packed some stuff and drove out here to stay with Matt. As of around 7 tonight, my mom called and the power is back on at home, so that's excellent! All in all, with the exception of 4 hours, we were without power for 3 1/2 days. I'm telling you, we take electricity for granted! It's amazing how much you miss it when it's gone. Be thankful! Please pray for all of the people out here that still don't have power. There are a lot. It's amazing to drive around town and see all of the damage that this storm has done. Trees are down everywhere...on houses, on cars. It's incredible.
The Survior Tree at the site of the OKC Bombing.

Now it's supposed to snow 4" Friday and Saturday, so we're not done yet. Hopefully it's not too bad. I'm ready to get back to school. I was out last week on Thursday and Friday for my eye surgery, so I've been out an extra long time. Although, this week is going to be nuts. The week before Christmas is always crazy in 2nd grade, but throw that in with an unexpected week-long vacation before, and you've got yourself insanity! But, it should be fun. Lots of crafts and stories and games. Yay!

My surgery went wonderfully! It's been a week and I'm definitely used to this whole "not wearing contacts or glasses and I can still see" thing! If any of you out there are considering Lasik, I'd say go for it! It's pretty pricy, but save up your money or get a payment plan and just do it. It's by far the best money I've ever spent. If you're worried about pain, there is none. I could see amazingly by the next morning and it's only gotten better. The only bad part was remembering to use my 3 different eye drops at least 4 times a day and having to sleep with plastic shields over my eyes for 5 nights to make sure I didn't rub my eyes in my sleep. It was such a wonderful, life changing event in my life! Hooray for seeing!

That number seems so big, yet so incredibly insignificant at the same time. Birthdays aren't really a big deal when you get older unless you've hit one of the monumental ones. I've already told my dad that I'm getting a jupiter jump for my 25th and inviting all of my friends. Probably won't happen, but it would sure be fun!

I think 24 is going to be a good year. 23 had some bumps in the road, but they made me realize that I'm a lot stronger than I give myself credit for, and I think that knowing that I can make it through unpleasant times without crumbling will only help me down the road. It amazes me everyday the way that God uses people and situations in our lives for something that we never saw coming in a million years. He is truly great. I think that I am a different person in many ways than I was a year ago. I'm not as naiive as I used to be, and I'm probably a little more guarded, but not in a bad way. Just in a way that now I look a little harder and longer before I leap.

I have been so blessed in my life so far. I have an amazing best friend named Kelsey. We have been friends for nearly a decade, which is insane to me. We've been there for each other through some crazy times and she's the person that I know I can go to for anything. She knows exactly when it's time to break out The Wreckers and Avril Lavigne for some "girl-power-we-don't-need-no-stinkin-boys" music, or when we should put in Pride and Prejudice just because you can't get enough of Mr. Darcy, or when we just need to sit and laugh for a few hours about everything. She's the one that I know I can count on. Sadly, Kelsey is going to England to student teach for 4 months in January. I guess all of this came into my head because I realized how much I'm going to miss having her just a phone call away.

Well now that I've rambled for a while (I blame that on the fact that it's 1:30 am), I'll leave my loyal readers (all 2 of them) with a short list and then I'm out.
~My aunt and uncle just found out that they're having a baby. These are the aunt and uncle that have lost 2 babies in the past, so prayers would be wonderful!
~As of December 6th, I will no longer wear glasses or contacts. I've been wearing glasses now for 6 weeks, and let me tell you, December 6th cannot get here soon enough!
~Saturday is Bedlam football(OSU/OU). GO POKES!!!
~I highly recommend Enchanted. It was hilarious. Could have been the people I was with or the mood I was in, but if you like Disney movies, this one was great.
~I got a Wii. It is rediculously fun.
~Happy Thanksgiving!

My best friend came to visit me at school today. She was only in my classroom while my kids were in there for about 20 minutes, but she was amazed. You see, she is going to be a high school English teacher next year, so 2nd graders are pretty foreign to her. After my kiddos left and went to specials, all she could say was, "Wow." This made me reflect a bit on what my days are like and I was cracking up at how bazaar my life has become. Here are some examples of my day today, which was pretty much a normal day for me:

~I was called Mom. Only once, and it's far better than being called Dad or Grandma, so I was pretty happy with the Mom thing.

~A little girl in my class got her finger slammed in a locker, and by slammed in a locker I mean the locker door was shut and her finger was still in there. It was pretty disgusting looking (even worse trying to get the locker open!) and she was screaming at the top of her little lungs, but with a band-aid and an ice pack she seemed to be ok.

~Not a day goes by that I do not leave school without some kind of marker all over my hands- Vis a Vis, dry erase marker, Sharpie, magic marker. Doesn't matter what kind...it's all over my hands.

~On a regular day I am the referee for approximately 7 "fights" over "Alex said he's not my friend anymore." or "Sbeydi was mean to me at recess." or "Toby gave me a noogie." Many of these arguments end with one or both parties involved in tears, which is always fun.

~I get to see many renditions of the "potty dance" everyday. You all know what I'm talking about and there is no need for further explanation. :) The potty dance is actually a lot better when the kid has on a belt that they can't get off. Adds a touch of urgency to the whole experience.

~Today I had a boy come up to me crying and when I asked him what was wrong he told me that he was sad because 2 of his pets died a month ago. They were a turtle and a lizard. I managed to not laugh when he told me that. I know that sounds horrible, but he didn't say anything about it a month ago when these pets died. So random.

Then there are the things about my job that keep me going back everyday. Not that I don't enjoy the things up there, but there are certain things about 2nd graders that I wouldn't trade.

~I get more hugs in the course of a day than most people get in a week, or possibly a month!

~7 year olds are great for the ego. They really enjoy telling me how wonderful I am.

~If I walk into a gym or football stadium where a 2nd grade sporting event is being played, you'd think Hannah Montana or Zack and Cody walked in (sorry, this is all I ever hear about!) because I am instantly mobbed...even by kids I don't even know.

Quote of the day (among many):
One of my girls saw my phone. "Whoa! You have a Razr. See, teachers MUST be rich!"

Haven't done this in a while...

~Apparently the new way to insult someone in an elementary school is to call another student a fast food item- the most popular being "double cheeseburger" and "chicken nugget." Yeah...

~I'm having Lasik next month (hopefully) and am currently a 4-eyes.

~The Office has become my new favorite show. I mean, seriously...you get the hilarity that is Dwight K. Schrute and Michael Scott PLUS you get the sickeningly adorable love story of Pam and Jim. It just doesn't get much better than that, folks.

~I've come to the conclusion that sometimes I'm invisible. I'm not sure if I like that or not. It does have its pros and cons...

~Today we had a student steal a teacher's pet hamster and throw it in the toilet. It was able to tread water long enough to be discovered and rescued by our building engineer. The culprit- the 7 year old daugher of the teacher across the hall. Insanity!

~My OSU Cowboys make me happy.

~I'm going to have to invest in a video camera and secretly record the kids at Camp CATCH (my 2nd job) because without that proof, no one will believe how insane those kids are. And when I say insane, I mean INSANE!

And that's all I have to say about that. For now.