In Full Swing

     Well, school is in full swing, which means that we do not have much left-over time to write on our blog!  Our lives are busy, busy, busy but we love it!  From the time we wake up at 5:00 am until we go to bed at 10:30 pm we have things to thank the Lord for!  We can even thank the Lord for Fall, although it means that the blizzards of winter will soon be here!
     School is going well so far.  My students definitely keep me hopping!!  I am normally very worn out by the end of the day, but I guess that is how all teachers are!  They also keep me laughing with the interesting things they do and say!  A few days ago, my little 1st grade girl drew me a picture of her and me.  She had already given me several such pictures, and I always like to ask her what we are doing in the picture.  Normally we are hugging each other, picking flowers, or just standing there.  Not this time though!! When I asked her what we were doing in her picture she said, "We are both aliens with no arms!"  Well that was a bit of a shocker!  It did make me smile to myself though!  Its ok that she made me an alien, since she is the same one that likes to write me notes and tell me I am the best teacher ever and she loves me!:)  I think there is nothing more entertaining than teaching elementary age children.  I wouldn't give up my job for anything! 
     Nehemiah is also another source of amusement.  Babies are so fun to watch!  He is getting to be more and more fun as he gets older.  He smiles, laughs, and coos so much now!  When he wakes up in the morning sometimes we will hear him just "talking" away to himself in his crib!  He also has a colorful elephant that he loves to talk to.  Last night he finally slept through the night, which was a great accomplishment for him!  8 hours of sleep!  That made me happy too, since I did not have to stumble out of bed at 3 o'clock in the morning and try to find my way to his room without running into a wall, door, or other dangerous object in my way!
     This past Saturday we had a Carnival-themed party for our van kids and church kids ages 3-12.  We had a grand time!  We were able to rent some big inflatable "bouncy houses" ( I guess that is what they are called).  At one point the bouncy house that I was watching got detached from its air source and began to deflate with kids in it!!  I tried to hold it up while frantically calling for Tyler's help!  Thankfully at that point the three kids that had been in there came sliding out the bottom!  Tyler and a few other men remedied the problem and we did not have any more issues for the rest of the day!
     The van ministry has been doing well these last few weeks.  Now that school has started, kids that were gone during the summer are being faithful again!  We are needing to do two runs with the vans on some Sundays which is wonderful since it means that too many kids are coming for just one van load!  We are also picking up two of our most faithful little girls for Wednesday night Patch the Pirate Club.  It is a blessing to see them ready and excited to come every Wednesday!
   Other than these things, our life is moving on as normal!  We will try to keep you updated as best as we can!

**My students and I are in the process of making a paper chain to count down to Christmas Break--only 87 days!!!