I have flowers!

In the midst of the freezing temperatures and empty trees, my garden is yielding these beauties:

Thank you God for the winter-blooming camellia.

He's Home.

Cowboys and Indians

This week at school we hosted a Literacy Night. In an effort to get parents involved we have started a Parent University and try to offer workshops. This week it was about reading with children at home. In the classroom we worked on projects for Read Across America, where each grade level got a region of the U.S. and read books related to that region. Third grade was assigned "The West" and I chose cowboys as our theme. We also tied it in with our social studies unit on Native Americans. So my students studied the Navajo, made slideshows, models of hogans, and read the book "The Toughest Cowboy". I stayed at school until 7:30 two nights in a row, allllllll week we worked on our cowboy character charts, cowboy paragraphs, and prepared our room for visitors. I also got to dress up like a cowgirl, boots and all. Here are some pics:

In other news, as I write this, Adam is making like the Pilgrims on the Mayflower and heading West. He is due to arrive quite soon and I could not be happier. I've spent the last few weeks cleaning and buying him presents. It's been a long year of training and deployment, but I have to say, God has been merciful and loving throughout.

Wasting time...

I was enjoying a conversation with a friend the other day when the topic of Facebook came up. She asked how long I had been friends with someone on Facebook, and I responded that it had been about 4 years. She said, "Has Facebook been around that long?!"

Yes. It has. In fact, I have been on Facebook since 2004. Five years of my life spent on Facebook. I wonder how much time I have actually wasted checking profiles of friends and aquaintances? Probably as much time as I've spent right now writing this post instead of finishing report cards for tomorrow.

Loving and loathing Facebook all at the same time.

P.S. Here I am at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, January 2008.

Untitled

I always think I should write more, but have trouble figuring out what to say. The purpose of this blog was to keep up with family and friends far away or close to wherever home may be. I'm finding it's also a great outlet for sharing what's on my heart. So here's what's on my heart:

The last few months have been creeping by and rushing right on through all at the same time. I'm sure so many of you out there feel the same way often. In the day to day I just can not wait for Adam to get home! But then I look back and think, "My, it feels like yesterday was the first day of school and here I am getting ready to send out report cards." It's a blessing to have this time, and it's also time I'd like to get over with.

Adam is still currently deployed. I'm unsure of his current location with the 22nd MEU, but I know they are in transition to head back home. I do know where they have been since the last few posts and I've gotten some great presents from the port calls Adam has made. Adam was able to spend some time in Bahrain and Dubai, see belly dancers, go shopping, and eat anything that wasn't ship food. The squadron also spent a significant amount of time in Kuwait, flying, studying, and mostly getting sick of the heat and humidity. Since my last post Adam has pinned on Captain and qualified as PQM (pilot qualified model) on the Cobra. Now we're just ready for December to get here. I am so grateful for email and the phone calls Adam has been able to make, but it's no substitute for having him home!

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but I have been taken aback by how emotional deployment has been. I figured if I kept busy enough I wouldn't notice how much I missed Adam or much of how I was feeling at all. Of course I've still got a great big smile on my face and am thankful for everyday with Adam, home or not. But as the months go by I am amazed how much it is possible to miss a person and how magnified even the littlest situations become when Adam isn't around to support me in the ways he usually does. I talked to Nana, Adam's grandmother, on the phone last night. She was saying how you just can't know about these things until you go through them. She's absolutely right.

I know there's so much to catch everyone up on, but it's also time for me to go to bed. I guess you'll just have to wait unti the next time I muster up some words to share. For now, here are some recent pictures Adam sent me:

Belly Dancing Show in Bahrain:

Don't these guys think they're so cool: (Adam is on the far left)

Going through the Suez Canal:




On the ship:

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

I realize that I still haven't even posted pictures of my Hawaii trip. I'll get to it I promise. Life just hasn't stood still long enough in the last month for me to sit down and write. And though I am really supposed to be doing research for grad school, I couldn't help but share this link:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2052830_teach-elementary-school.html

You know how when you are on a search engine, the drop down box shows topics that you might be looking for? Well, as I was typing in "How Elementary Teachers Use Technology in the Classroom", down pops "how elementary teachers should teach". I just had to see what the internet said about how I should be teaching. I noticed this ehow article and am astounded at how easy it is to be a teacher. Just seven simple steps! Check out the "difficulty level" as well. After a day like today, I'm so glad that some contributing writer has boiled my job down to seven moderately easy steps.

Jumping off my soap box now. It's just been one of those days.

Month 3

This deployment isn't really convenient for me anymore, so could the boat head back this direction now?

In other news....

I'm fully moved into my new classroom and slowly getting it set up. I had a fabulous opportunity to transfer to the new school opening up here in Onslow County and I took it. Last year was a real struggle (that's an understatement), but it was the jumping off point to getting this job, and for that I am so grateful. I'm still teaching third grade, but this year promises to be excitingly new and different.

I recently took a quick trip to Virginia to visit family, real and extended. It was the first time I stayed over at my parents house since I moved out in 2005. It was the first time I slept in my brother's old room. And though so much is the same, so much is different. A different Hilary used to live there. Though there's barely proof of that now. I think my dad had paint samples picked out as soon as I said "I found a place in Fredericksburg...". My whole life I heard "You're moving out when you graduate" (I think that started around age 6?) and now I hear "When are you coming back?" They just wanted me to be independent, I know, but I still like to note irony when I see it.

In terms of extended family, I mean Sarah and Alexi. Friends ever since Tara and Alexi were my stunt team in cheerleading and introduced me to their friend Sarah. 10 years? We did what we do best, shopping and eating, picking up right where we left off. And though it was another short visit, it was fantastic.

I'm also still working on grad school...I'm at a point where I'm just so tired of it. I can't quit now! Two more semesters left! I have found plenty of things to help me procrastinate though, like blogging.

I'm still also trying to enjoy the last few weeks of summer. This week I'll be teaching the preschoolers at Vacation Bible School and then...I take a vacation to HAWAII! See you when I get back.