Thankful Thursday.

 As I reflect back on 2020, I am truly thankful for some of the gifts Covid has given me:

• Being put on furlough at the Y not only allowed me to clean my house, but I was able to spend hours playing in the dirt and the mulch outside.  For that I am thankful.
• Not being able to work at Sand Creek allowed me some quality time with my bike.  I loved it - and I am thankful.
• Having my classes cut back at the Y forced me to look for different work.  I love my new job, my new co-workers, my new supervisor - and I love working with kids!  For all of that, I am thankful!
• I finished our "family book".  Many years ago, we were encouraged at Church of the Open Door, to write our stories on a rock so we could always remember what God had done in our lives.  Our "rock" is on the hard-drive and backed up.  I am so thankful for the journeys God has taken us on and the faithfulness He has shown us.    
• I'm also thankful, that thus far, Covid has not been in our home.
  

The Gift.

We had friends come over yesterday AND bring us lunch!  This friendship began B.S. (before Sam!) and has continued on throughout the years!  The wife walked in with a small gift she had made:

My brain said, "Oh, my gosh, what is it?"

My thoughts were, "My kids made things like this in kindergarten!"

My heart said, "I love it!  Thank you!"  

Because, you see, the wife has early on-set Alzheimers and I'm just so grateful she remembers me!
 

Kudos to New Life . . .

While waiting for cars to come this afternoon, we had snippets of time to chat with our fellow volunteers.  Somewhere in there I shared that we were a New Life Family and even showed pictures of our family with Allison's (the kids' birth mom).  

At one point, when things were quiet and I was standing alone, one of the ladies came over to me and said, "I'm a New Life mom, too, only my story is a bit different from yours."  

With New Life, she chose to give life and keep the baby who is now thirty-two and the mother of twins.

We shared the joy of two families blessed with the love and knowledge and support of just one agency . . .   

Farmers to Families!

That's Sam in the Berean parking lot this afternoon as we distributed food to those in the community.  We had a most delightful time with our fellow volunteers passing out a box of food and a gallon of milk to every group of four!

The Christmas Candle

Sam and I just finished watching "The Christmas Candle".  Here's the link if you'd like to watch it, too:

 

Max Lucado’s THE CHRISTMAS CANDLE: A Family Movie of Hope, Prayer, and Miracles Brought to you by RevelationMedia Thank you for registering to watch Max Lucado’s THE CHRISTMAS CANDLE. Below is your viewing link to watch the film. We hope you enjoy this heartwarming Christmas movie. Be sure and share the free link with friends & family!

Global Mercy Construction Update

Merry Christmas!

 After Christmas dinner and before Christmas football, we played Christmas scrabble!

I can proudly post this because I took them all down!  Merry Christmas!

Thankful Thursday!

On this Christmas Eve, I am thankful for . . .

• Text messaging and the ability to connect with so many friends and family;
• The chance to worship with fellow believers; 
• The opportunity to celebrate the birthday of the King!  
  

Cutest Video Ever!

 

From the mouths of our niece's babes - "we need snow!"

Micah's Cakes Bring . . .

JOY!

Farmers to Families

 Berean is again partnering with CityServe International and Farmers to Families to help and reach people during COVID-19 by providing boxes of free dairy and fresh produce. 

Hundreds of families are expected to be served during the distribution. Sam, Micah and I will be distributing the pre-packaged food next Thursday from 1:30 - 4:00 p.m. Guests will drive through the parking lot and will never have to leave their car as we bring everything right to them to provide a safe and low-touch service.

Wanting to make sure we didn't have a dull moment, I let our school social worker know and she's spreading the word!  

If you, or someone you know could use this service, please direct them to come to our distribution time:

• Tuesday, 12/29 from 2:00 - 6:00 pm

CHRISTMAS BREAK . . .

 . . . Officially began for me at 2:40 p.m. yesterday.  I'm looking forward to time away from WebEx and Google Meet and screens in general.  Word is out that the lower primary students will return to school two weeks before the upper primary students.  Not sure what that means for me since I've been placed in an upper primary grade level, but I'm definitely not even putting it on my radar until January 4! 

59 Minutes with the IRS

In spite of the Covid deferred extensions, we decided to give our best to the government this year and we paid our taxes on-line on April 10.  Then we sent in our paperwork.

We got our first letter from the IRS on September 24, saying we had not paid our taxes for 2019.  They were past due with interest.

We got our second and third letters - this time both Sam and I got one - yesterday saying we had not paid our taxes for 2019.  This time, not only were they past due, we had accrued additional interest.  

I volunteered to call the IRS today - on my first day of Christmas break.  Forty-seven minutes after initially placing the call, Mr. Devage (that's a French name, in case you're wondering!) came on the line.  It took him twelve minutes to explain what had happened and to transfer our payment.  

 I did the taxes.  I was the primary.  Sam paid the taxes.  He was the secondary.  The payment went to his account, not our account, which makes little sense.  Now the payment is in our account.  The late fees are dropped.  We are in good standing with the IRS once.

 

Those Poppers!

On Thursday, my supervisor told me that when she had decorated our principal's office for his fiftieth birthday, she decided to pop a couple of the gold poppers that I had donated to the cause.

The first popper popped with a spark that hit the toilet paper and started a bit bigger spark.  Mo was able to stop the fire before . . . 

Yup, our school still stands!

The Hairnet Challenge

Due to COVID-19, Feed My Starving Children, one of our favorite organizations, has turned to machines to help safely pack meals.  Here are their "4 Steps to Hairnet Fame . . . "

1.  Wear the hairnet!  Take a selfie . . .  DONE.

2.  Share on social media . . . DONE.

3.  Care by donating . . .DONE.

4.  Challenge your friends and community to help feed the most vulnerable children on the planet . . .

I'm challenging YOU!  DONE.   

Thankful Thursday!

What a great day to be thankful!

• Thankful that neighbor Alice stopped by with a cookie order for Micah;
• Thankful that Micah was able to grab some extra hours at Cub over her Christmas break;
• Thankful that I found out that my 1:30 p.m. WebEx was not going to show up at noon so I could go home, have lunch and finish my day from home;
• Thankful for the time I was able to spend with one of the fifth grade boys today talking about church;
• Thankful that neighbor Jana had the crafts supplies I needed and I didn't need to run to the store, 
• Thankful that I could drop cookies off at neighbor Bob's - to see if they're the kind he really, really likes!
  

 

". . . Give thanks in all circumstances . . ."

1 Thess. 5:18  

WebEx Phy Ed!

I have to have the best job in the whole world!  On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Jen and I have a group of four fourth graders and six fifth graders we are responsible for.  After lunch today, we had two fifth graders go to math in another room, three fifth graders meeting with their special ed teacher, and one fifth grader left in our room with four fourth graders doing phy ed!  We had to kick the fifth grader out so that our fourth graders could do squats and sit ups and planks and lunges while we laughed hysterically (and silently!) . . .  

Almost Caught!

When M.W. Savage closed last spring, Sam got some amazing gifts - a laminator, an electric pencil sharpener, gift cards - and some pretty interesting gifts -  50 gold party poppers and a long gold circle chain.  Sam wanted to toss the last two items, but I said, "No way!  You never know when they might come in handy."

Today, our principal turned fifty.  Yesterday, I dropped off 50 gold party poppers and a long gold chain in my supervisor's office.  As we were walking out, chatting about the upcoming redecorating of the  principal's office, who should come around the corner but said forty-nine year old man.  I promptly said, "Thanks, Mo, for helping me out with that!  I appreciate it!  I'll see you tomorrow!"  And ran . . .

I hear his office looked just lovely today!

 

  

A Smile Day

When your first student shows up at their 8:30 a.m. WebEx meeting ten minutes early and then asks to stay late so he can finish reading a chapter to you, you text the teacher, tell her why you'll both be late for morning meeting, and smile.

When your next WebEx says, after you've finished math, "I'm all done."  You respond with a smile, "Great, let's go into Razz Kids and read." 

When the third WebEx of the day finishes math and tries to leave, you help them get into Razz Kids to read out loud to you and you smile.

A laughter filled staff meeting full of smiles comes just before lunch.

Then it's the 12:30 WebEx and the 12:50 WebEx who both get a chance to go into Razz Kids and read.  More smiles.

The 1:10 WebEx has no Razz Kids code and gets to leave early.  The 1:30 WebEx just has to do math.  They're so pleasant, you just have to smile.

The last WebEx of the day is at 2 p.m.  "Mrs. Zupke, can I practice read this out loud to you before I have to read it for Mrs. Bakke?"  "Of course", I say, with a smile.

It's a definite smile day when every student shows up, reads and/or works, and experiences success doing it.

 

Thankful Thursday!

Laugh all you want!  Today, I am thankful for my brand new bath towel!  You see, back in January, my towel started to develop mysterious holes in each corner.  

We had bought four bath towels at the same time.  Sam and I had the same color.  Mine got holes.  No one elses did.  My towel was used the least because I'd shower at the Y two to three days a week.  Didn't make any sense. 

In March, we bought brand new bath towels for everyone.  Once again, my towel started to develop mysterious holes in each corner.  Seriously, only my towel.  It wasn't even a year old. 

Today, I am so thankful that tomorrow, I do NOT have to use this towel: 

 

And The Winner is!

Micah follows two Christian bakers on Instagram.  They held a world-wide give-a-way this month because they had both reached 1000 followers.  To Micah's great joy and delight, when they held the drawing tonight - SHE WON!

This is NOT a scam!  She'll be received a $50.00 Amazon gift card, a $25.00 gift card to Sweet-apolita, and a $25.00 gift card to Fancy Sprinkles.

Perfect ending to final's week!  

Hacked!

Sam's e-mail was hacked today.  We so appreciate everyone who sent us texts and e-mails alerting us to the scam.  My favorites were those who said, "We didn't think it was Sam.  He's a teacher.  His punctuation should be better than that!"  

Berean Worship - Light Of The World (Lyric Video)

Now on-line!

Micah's bakery,

Uniquely Me Bakery

has officially gone on-line!

Check it out at:

https://www.uniquelymebakery.com

I LOVE working from home!

While we're distance learning, I get to work from home on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays!  I love it!  

I met with a student this morning who was down in Florida with his family.  It was awesome!  I met with a student who's favorite Thanksgiving food was canned cranberries.  I met with students who's families bucked Thanksgiving tradition - one family had shrimp salad and the other had chocolate pie! 

There were kids who needed more time, kids who needed less time, kids who got it, and kids who didn't.  And it was my pleasure to be Jesus with skin on in their lives.

Mr. Zupke Goes to Oak Hills Elementary!

Just like Mr. Smith took Washington by storm in that old Jimmy Stewart movie, Mr. Zupke spent yesterday at Oak Hills Elementary - while he was working at Wm. Byrne!

His first visit came when we were told that our Level 3 fourth and fifth students who are coming on Tuesdays and Thursdays would be housed in a first grade classroom.  I raised my hand and said, "Excuse me, I'm speaking on behalf of my husband here.  His concern would be how are fourth and fifth graders going to fit into first grade desks?"  They got moved to the fifth grade wing.  

His second visit came when someone asked why students were using parent phones for their class meetings rather than using the district provided iPads.  I shared his answer.  "The family is obviously traveling somewhere and that's the only way they can get internet access.  It's happens to Sam a lot."

His final visit came when we were sent an e-mail regarding security.  Some classrooms were being hacked by older students who were being inappropriate.  Sure enough - "Sam had an older sibling come into a movie (yesterday) with foul language."  Fortunately, the culprit was caught and consequenced. 

And to think, he works at Oak Hills for free!

Euclidean Division!?!

Our supervisor asked yesterday if any of the tutors would be able to teach Sonday 2 to a group of students at 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  None of us really felt comfortable with the Sonday program so she said, "Would someone be willing to take my fourth grade math at that time and I'll teach Sonday?" 

Shoot! I tutored differential equations in college (good ol' diffy Q!) so I said, "Sure."  So now I'm teaching Euclidean Division in story problems.  To fourth graders.  I think I'm going to cry. 

Thankful Thursday!

Sometimes, it's just the smallest thing that makes me ever-so-thankful.  

A few years ago, after completing the Bible study, "Steadfast Love", by Lauren Chandler, I decided to get an anchor shaped earring for the top hole on my left ear as a tangible reminder that Jesus is my anchor. 

Over a month ago, while pulling off my face mask so I could go outside for recess duty, my anchor earring popped out.  I looked for it everywhere in the school entry way to no avail.  I was so disappointed that it was gone.

Today, while cleaning the floor in our hall closet, I found it!  Suprised!?! Elated!  Thankful.  

Zupke Thanksgiving Zoom!

 I managed to grab a screen shot of the "Zupke Family Zoom" yesterday:

We covered Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, New York State, Washington State, and South Carolina!  All in all, we saw thirty-six different family faces.  I tried to figure out how many Zupkes there are total last night in bed, but counting "Zupkes" worked far better than counting sheep for me!😪

The Nurse, The Lifeguard and Me

We had it all planned.  Tomorrow morning we were going to meet at Applebee's in Apple Valley to carpool to the Hastings Y.  Die hard swimmers, the three of us, we knew the pool there was open at 9:00 a.m. Saturday.  Our motto, "If you can't swim in Minnesota, drive to Wisconsin!"

Until the nurse, who is on the COVID ward at Regions, thought carpooling might not be wise.  And then I came down with a cold (which the nurse says "Take the COVID test and make sure you know").  Now we're not going.  But it sure sounded like fun . . .

Thankful Thursday! (aka "The Ever-Changing Work Hours")

When I was hired to work at Oak Hills Elementary this fall, I was told my hours would be 9:30 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.  Perfect!

When I started working at OHE, due to Covid and starting out with hybrid learning, my hours were switched to 9:45 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. for the first three weeks.  No problem!

In early October, once we were all in the swing of things, my hours were increased to 8:50 a.m. - 3:05 p.m.  Okay.  No worries.

Now that we're distance learning, my hours were changed to 8:15 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.  meaning I now needed to work out after work instead of before work.  

Except last Tuesday, I found out that my hours would only definitely be 8:15 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays would be determined by the team I'm working on.  Since Aimee and I are the entire team and she's out with Covid exposure, who knows what I'm working when I go back to work!  

In this time of Covid, when so many have lost jobs and businesses and are on furlough, I am ever thankful for the job I have - whatever my hours may be!  

 

Ghost Buster!

When Corey, our other-brother-by-another-mother, came down this afternoon to play dominoes, Matt brought out a bag of "Haunted Ghost Pepper Chips".  The challenge was to eat one chip and then see who could wait the longest to drink their glass of milk.  We decided that if I ate two chips, because the boys were dying after just eating one, I would be declared the winner.  Little did they know, we used to have taco sauce eating contests at camp and "hot" offered no challenge to me!  The victory was mine!

. . . Until Sam came home from washing Micah's car and finished off the bag.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Enjoying Thanksgiving dinner as a family of four - for the first time ever!

Go Share A Cookie

Last night in church we sang this song, "Go Light Your World" by Chris Rice.  As we sang it, I thought, "Hey, that's what I did yesterday when I shared Micah's cookies with my co-workers at OHE.  I sought out a group of tired and exhausted teachers, confused and worn by Covid and held out a cookie, lighting their world.

 

Thankful Thursday!

It's funny how thanksgiving is a choice we make.

• I had a great swim at the Y this morning.  I can be thankful for that or angry/sad/mad/depressed that that was my last swim for at least the next thirty days.   
• I can be thankful for the four boys I was able to work with on WebEx today or I can be upset that I don't know what my schedule will be when school resumes and bemoan the fact that I may not be working with them again.
• I can be thankful for the reading group I worked with this afternoon or I can be frustrated with the fact that I don't know when or if I'm going to work with them next.
• I can be thankful for the beautiful day today or I can be down in the dumps because it is supposed to snow on Sunday. 
• I can choose thankfulness that my two CPR classes on Saturday were cancelled due to Covid or I can whine about the fact that I am not making money if I'm not teaching the classes.
• Shoot, I can be thankful that I have a job in the school district right now as we move to distance learning or I can grumble about how my job just might change and/or move in a direction I may not enjoy as much.

Friends, I choose thankfulness!

 

"Rejoice always, pray continually, 

give thanks in all circumstances; 

for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Suprise!!!

I finished my swim this morning and went back to my cubby to record my miles.  There in my box was a package of cookies - homemade cookies!  I knew right away it was from the Peterson family!  I had talked to Riley earlier this fall while his boys were in swimming lessons, saying what I missed most about teaching swimming was the treats the parents brought!  

Sure enough, his boys had had lessons last night and today, I had cookies - chocolate cookies!  You'll be glad to know that I didn't eat a one until after my breakfast!

It was a sad day . . .

It was a sad day at Oak Hills Elementary today as our Monday students had their final day of class in 2020.  One of the boys in my reading group said, "If we don't come back, I'll never get to see you again."   Another boy said, "I'll still get to Webex with you, won't I?" 

It is our hope, as a staff, that we will yet return this school year.

More "Uniquely Me" Cakes!

Micah received an order this week for an egg-less chocolate cake with camouflage frosting with the Tesla symbol on top.  What do you think?  How'd she do?

 

The Social Dilemma

It was towards the end of October when I received this blog post from Erin Kirk's "Girl Catch Fire" regarding the "The Social Dilemma" on Netflix.  Micah and I met Erin when we joined Mercy Ships in Tyler, Texas in 2014.  That same week, one of my co-workers at the Y was talking about it and encouraging us to watch it.  Today I did.  I encourage you to do likewise.  Here's a bit of Erin's post:

Then last night I watched The Social Dilemma on Netflix. 

People have been talking a lot about it because it answers, in an informed and intelligent way, the question: How did we get like this?

The fake news. The division. The polarization. The out-of-hand election behavior. The astonishment you feel when talking politics with your relatives at Thanksgiving: Wondering where do they get this nonsense information and how can people be so deceived? What is even true anymore? 

The Social Dilemma asks those questions of the programmers and the early-stage developers of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Google, Pinterest, Snapchat etc. - the people who accidentally accelerated and amplified an existing problem with human nature. 

Now they are sounding the alarm in a big way, saying the technology has gotten away from us and is making the world worse and more dangerous in demonstrable ways. 

The key takeaways are these:

1. Any platform that’s free to you, is not really free. YOU ARE THE COMMODITY. Not your data or personal information, like people think. It’s your attention and suggestibility that’s for sale. We’re happily sold into this market without realizing it, or the impact it has at scale. In other words, what happens when 2 billion people are unwittingly manipulated by giant commercial interests or foreign and domestic powers with nefarious agendas. That’s what’s happening when you post a selfie. Really, watch the documentary.

2. The designers who created the “like button” and “suggested videos” did so without ill intent. They were doing their jobs: Building the most efficient systems they could to keep users on the platform longer. When they figured out how to monetize and manipulate that time, without you knowing it, the business model was born and spread throughout the entire industry.

3. Those engineers got trained in human psychology and how to manipulate pain and pleasure pathways in the slowly-evolving human brain. With that knowledge, they created an electronic drug, gave it to us free, called us “users” and now that we can’t look away, they sell our eyeballs. That concept isn’t new, what’s new is the scale and speed at which it’s operating and the damage it’s doing to particular demographics, like teenagers. 

4. These electronic drugs are unregulated because regulators don’t yet understand the risks they pose, but the people who created them do, and they’re are having a collective holy shit moment. In other words, this model has created the most profitable companies in the history of mankind, so it will be tough to get the genie back in the bottle.

I’m writing about this because before watching The Social Dilemma I unplugged from about 80% of my regular FB/Insta/Google time. I missed nothing, I felt better and was freer than I’d been in a long time, but I couldn’t articulate exactly why and how.

The Social Dilemma articulates it precisely. It’s intelligent and authoritative because it features the only real authorities there are - the people who built the tech.

 

Mr. ZupSke

For Veteran's Day on Wednesday, Sam's team worked with the fifth graders in his building, making a flip show thanking Sam for his years of service to our country (Air Force).  He showed it to me Wednesday night.  We rolled with laughter.  Almost every child said,  "Thank you . . .

MR. ZUPSKE! 

Where did that "S" come from? 

Thankful Thursday!

Today, I am thankful that which comes with my new job:

• Kindergarten girl at recess during the snow:  "I lost my face mask."  "Where?"  "On the ball field."  (That would be the furthest point from the door.)  "What color is it?"  "White."  I am thankful we found that face mask.
• Fifth grader on WebX:  "Mrs. Zupke, if you hit the letter 'T' you don't have to write the numbers in.  You can type them."  "Oh."  I am thankful for that lesson.  It's going to come in so handy!  
• Different fifth grader on WebX:  "Mrs. Zupke, are we going to finish the last row of math?"  "There's another row?"  Note to fifth grade teacher:  Mrs. Zupke is not as smart as a fifth grader.  I'm thankful we finished the row.

I am so thankful for my new job, for the things I'm learning and for the staff and students I work with. 

Singing Messages!

I checked my cell phone messages the other day.  Just like a singing telegram, I heard, "Where's my Margo? Where's my Margo?"  So I called Jana back singing, "Found a Margo!  Found a Margo!"

The moral of the story:  If you want me to respond to your message, sing to me.

Cover Story!

Yup, that's us!  We're the 2020 cover story for New Life Family Services Adoptive Family Newsletter.  November is National Adoption Month.   

Inside, one of the articles you'll find is our adoption story, written by yours truly!  If you can't read the copy here, stop by our house and peruse our copy or ask New Life to send you one.  It's definitely worth the time!

Hugs from Hazel

Our sweet little neighbor girl, Hazel, found out from her parents yesterday that Annie had died.  Hazel (3) had them walk her down to our house later that afternoon to give us this picture of Annie that she had colored.  Micah and I both cried.

Ponder This . . .

 

Happy Birthday, Micah!

 

Micah turned twenty-one today!  She made herself the above cake to celebrate.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MICAH!

Thankful Thursday!

On a glorious day like today, with warm weather and sunny skies in November, what is there not to be thankful for?  

Let me add three more possibilities:

• I'm fairly positive there are only three female staff in our building with hair as short as mine - me, the school secretary and one of our fifth grade teachers.  Today, I was holding an outside door open in the fifth grade wing during our fire drill.  The kinders go down the steps from their classrooms and out the fifth grade doors.  One of the kinders walked by and said to me, "Hi, Mrs. (the fifth grade teacher)!"  I responded with a hearty "Hi!" right back!  I'm not sure in this case if I'm more thankful for short hair, kinders or looking like a teacher😜
• Understanding fifth grade math!  Let's just say it came in handy today - more than once!
• Another good swim!  Twice this week I've been able to get in longer swims which means my body is coming back from my car accident almost two months ago.
  

Finished.

As of 4:40 p.m. this afternoon, I am finished with PT for the car accident crushed bionic knees.  I get to continue exercising at home, but I don't get to go in and see Laura any more.  Sadly, I'm at a point with Twin Cities Ortho where ever receptionist knows my name!

That's My Boy!

I was making a sweet chili for supper the other night.  Compliments of my PMR, chopping the apples was just not pleasant.  The first child in the kitchen was drafted to chop.  Trust me, it was only two apples and with a Pampered Chef chopper, but it must have been a mountain to Matt as the whine began:

"How many apples do I have to chop?"

"How many more are left?"

Finally, he reached over and ate the last two apples slices!  Gotta love it!  No more chopping.

 

Our Faithful God

One of my new co-workers had heart surgery this morning.  Not knowing where she stands with Jesus, I simply told her I would be praying for her, specifically that her surgery would only last three hours.  

If the right side of her heart needed to be repaired, it would be three hours.  If her left side needed to be repaired, it would be six hours as it would be a more difficult surgery.  They would not know until surgery began.

God was faithful.  It was a three hour surgery on her LEFT side.  I can't wait to hear the rest of the story!

     

Reality Check

One of our fifth grade boys had a birthday this week.  We asked him if he was going to do anything special for his birthday.  He replied, I kid you not, "We got a box of Apple Jacks for breakfast and I got the first bowl."  

How do you respond to that without tearing up? 

Sister Love!

As soon as Micah's eight-year-old sister heard about Annie, she wanted to call Micah.  That call finally happened on Thursday night.  We were zooming, and Kingsley said, "I want to show you what I made".  This is it:

Don't you just absolutely love it?  We both cried.

Best Halloween EVER!

Ever since Halloween costumes ceased to be cute and fun and became gross and gorey, we've turned off our lights and stayed in the basement.  This year, however, we came up with a game plan.

There are only eight children in the neighborhood that we really know well.  Anytime they were outside and we were walking Annie, Annie got some love.  So this morning, Micah baked Halloweenish cupcakes:

First stop:  Rosie's house.  Her girls were so excited!  Rosie got one, too. 

Next stop:  Kayla's house.  Her mom was babysitting and she was excited!  We left her a cupcake along with one for everyone in the family.

Third stop:  Jodi's house.  No one home.

Fourth stop:  Jill's house.  Her kids are definitely too old for trick or treating, but when your dad is battling Stage 4 cancer and has been in Rochester all week, you need a treat!  They loved them!

Fifth stop:  Deb's house.  We had three cupcakes left, so Micah's oldest-brother-by-another-mother (also known as Matt's best friend!) and his family each got a cup cake.  

I was positive the joy was in the giving until I got this picture back:
 

 

It's always a choice . . .

When something doesn't go the way you want it to, you can either laugh or you can cry.  I'm fluctuating on my choices here and I'm not which way I'm going to go.

I noticed this weekend, that I wasn't feeling quite "right".  I was finally down to 1 mg of Prednisone and looking forward to my final pill on Election Day.  No matter who won, I was going to be oh, so happy that day!  No more Prednisone.

Except, I was having problems rolling over and getting out of bed.  I lifted a gallon of milk yesterday and thought I was going to die.  Swimming was a challenge this morning.  Something was wrong.  

My PMR (polymyalgial rhuematica) has decided to rear it's ugly head.  Starting tomorrow, I'll be taking 5 mg of Prednisone once again which means I won't be celebrating on Election Day.  My internist thinks I'll be on it for the long haul now.  I hope he's wrong.  Maybe I will go cry . . .     

Thankful Thursday!

Today, I can honestly say, without a doubt, that I am so thankful I'm not the chief custodian at Oak Hills Elementary.  Rob started just before MEA so he's been on the job almost three full weeks.  Tomorrow we're having two fire drills.  In order to get ready for them, today he checked out the fire alarm.  And . . . IT.WENT.OFF. . .

. . . During the first lunch period causing chaos and disruption.  Like no one thought it was for real because we all knew the drills were scheduled for tomorrow.  But we got our first graders and took them outside.  We waited for the fire department to come and give us the all clear so they could literally go in have COLD.LUNCH.

Poor Rob felt absolutely miserable.  He sent out a building wide apology e-mail.  And me?  I was just thankful I wasn't him!

The Joy of the Face Mask

To all of those out there who are just not thinking positive thoughts about wearing face masks - okay, you hate them! - here are some of my favorite reasons for wearing them:

• No one can tell if you have food stuck in your teeth;
• No one can tell if your nose is running or if there's a booger hiding out up there;
• Got a zit?  No one knows if it's hidden behind a mask!
• Don't like what someone says?  Stick out your tongue.  They'll never know.
• We're saving money on make-up and lipstick (not that I ever wear any anyway!); 
• They're fun, especially when you work in an elementary school.  They come in an amazing variety of colors, styles, sizes and shapes.  I gave a Fastbridge test to a fox the other day.  If that wasn't a hoot and a half.  The animals are great!  I've seen any and every sports team celebrated on the mask.
• Most of all, the kids are proud of them and actually like to show them off.  They are good.    
  

  

Thankful Thursday!

When you're the "new kid on the block" like I am at work right now (I mean, Danette, Stacy and Jen have over thirty years in as tutors with the Lakeville School District!), you're not always quite sure how what you say or do will be taken.  When Mo gave out "The Ultimate Oak Hills Tutor" sheets yesterday and said I'd made them, everyone took them home.  I thought to myself, "They're going to bring them home and recycle them.  They just don't want me to know." Sense some insecurity here?

I can not tell you how thankful I am that when I looked into Karen's cubby this morning, I saw this:

 And there was another colored one in Danette's cubby and one on the door out of our room!  I am so thankful for my new coworkers!

Sadly Laughing

It was a rough day for the tutoring staff yesterday because it snowed.  Snow means mittens and hats and snow pants and winter coats for recess.  But when you're at a low income school, not every student has access to mittens and hats and snow pants and winter coats.  Our supervisor suggested to the principal on Monday that we "practice" in-door recess based on the weather reports.  He sent home an e-mail, "Dress appropriately.  We will be going outside."  

Sadly, not every parent in our building had the time or funds to run to Target or Walmart Monday night.  Our word yesterday became "fluid".  We would go with the flow.  We would put up hoods, zip up coats and encourage pockets.

The longer we were outside, the more we wanted a "mitten fairy", someone who could magically put gloves or mittens on every student without.

I came home from work last night and took my "Ultimate Eagle Lake Camp Counselor", circa 1984, and remade her into the "Ultimate Oak Hills Tutor".  I only have a copy of the ELC counselor and not my remake:

But trust me.  Not only was she fluid, but she was a "mitten fairy."  We all got a good chuckle out of it this morning!

  

Could it get any worse?

I had so been looking forward to this weekend - five amazing, glorious days off of work!  Then

• I had two doctor's appointments, 
• Annie had one,
• Sam had four, two of which I got to drive him to.
• I had to make a grocery list AND get groceries. 
• We cleaned the house.
  
• We put Annie down.
• I joking had bugs in my lettuce tonight!  And the sad thing was - I had eaten from that very same bag of lettuce for lunch yesterday!  I think I had bugs then!  So Sam went back to the store and brought home another bag of lettuce - and it had bugs, too.  I ate a spinach salad.
  

Tribute to the Anastasis

The summer of 2005 found us in East London, South Africa, serving with Mercy Ships aboard the m/v Anastasis.  While we were there, Sam's mom sent us an e-mail, saying they had had a stray dog show up on the farm, pregnant.  Would we be interested in a puppy?  No.  Absolutely not.

Somehow, by the time we got back to the States, we had a dog - or at least, soon would. As we tossed around a variety of names, one name came out on top - "Anastasis", "Annie" for short.  We had a little black puppy named after a big white ship that we loved.

This morning, Dr. Lindsey Knox from MN Pets arrived at our house around 10:45 a.m.  She kindly and graciously helped us let Annie go.  Annie now rests between two oak trees she used to sniff and run around in our back yard.

We were blessed with fifteen years, two months and ten days of a wonderful friend and we will miss her dearly.

Blessed to have had the

ANASTASIS

August 7, 2005 - October 17, 2020

 

 

 

  

Poor Prior Planning . . .

The advantage of having me work in another district/building means I get to see new/different classroom ideas.  I asked Aimee, one of our OHE fifth grade teachers if I could take pictures of her room so Sam could get ideas for his.  One of the ideas we both liked was a series of words she had put in the front of her classroom.  She told me how she'd made them, so I made the exact same words for Sam.   

Last Tuesday night, I stopped by Sam's classroom after my chiro appointment to help him finish up his room.  The kids had been in class for three weeks.  It was time.  I laid out the words on the floor in the front of the room, but they didn't fit where Sam wanted them.

We moved to the back of the room on our illegally painted wall.  I handed the letters up to Sam.  He stuck them on the wall.  We got to about the fourth word and we were like, "Woah, this isn't going to fit.  We have too much space."  Jokingly, I said, "Oh, let's just put in another word.  We can think of one."  

Here's the picture.  If you can find the word that is NOT on Mrs. Bakke's wall, we will send you a prize! 

An Unexpected Text

One of my co-worker from Sand Creek sent me the following text today:

 "It's been a bit since we chatted or worked together, so I hope that doesn't cause issues with this request.  I'm applying for a firefighter/paramedic position and would like to list you as a reference as I believe you can speak well to my planning skills, my group interactions skills, my risk mitigation thought process, and my calmness under pressure.  If you feel you can be a positive reference, may I list your number and share you as a reference?"

My response?  "I honestly trust you with my life and I would be honored to give you a glowing reference."

He's not a believer - yet.  I'm glad he's keeping this door open.  I would always welcome the opportunity to work with him again.  And when I'm anywhere on the course, I truly do trust him with my life.

 

Thankful Thursday!

Today, I'm most thankful that, due to a cancellation, Sam was able to get in for his colonoscopy at 9:15 a.m. this morning and have his upper GI at the same time.  The doctor found nothing that would explain his stomach pains which is both good and bad.  Lucky Sam!  He has more tests tomorrow . . .

I am also so very thankful that while Sam was in being tested, (compliments of COVID) I was able to spend some time with my friend who has early on-set Alzheimer's.  For the first time in the year and a half I've known her diagnosis, she was very candid and real and it was good.  Sad.  Hard.  But good.

And lastly, I am thankful that for the first time since the car accident, I was able to swim two miles without any chest pains.  I am not thankful that I jumped into the pool at 5:45 a.m. to begin accomplishing that fete, but it did feel good!

  

That Partially Painted House . . .

 On Upper 178th Street West is officially OURS!  As of Tuesday, we own our house.  Paid.  In.  Full.  As far as the painting goes, it can always be done next year - as long as the weather warms and there are no more automobile accidents!  (Translation:  two weekends were unexpectedly taken up with looking for a new vehicle rather than painting which we had really hoped to be done with!)    

A Day in the Cafeteria

With my new job as a tutor, I spend thirty minutes a day in the lunchroom, helping students, clearing tables, maintaining order.  Yesterday was a hoot and a half!

Child One:  "Guess what happened to me?"  I had absolutely no idea.  "I got my braces off!"  I shared her joy!

Child Two:  "Guess what happened to me?"  Once again, I had absolutely no idea.  "I got three stitches in my finger!"  We discussed getting stitches.

Child Three:  I knew what happened to her!  "How'd you break your arm?  Can I help you open your milk?"

I'm always having fun!

 

 

 

 

A Talk with the Vet

Annie is having a very rough allergic fall where she is getting little scabs (we call them "scabie babies") on her ears, her back, her forehead, her legs - absolutely everywhere!  The vet has been so gracious to us, letting us send her pictures of Annie and then calling us back.  

Dr. Paula was willing to put Annie on three weeks of antibiotics to see if that, along with prednisilone, would help us get a jump start on her "scabies" until we started to discuss how Annie really is doing.

We no longer go for walks.  We go for very slow meanders because Annie can barely walk.  Annie has fallen down the steps.  Annie now falls with almost every meander.  That hip she had surgically repaired in 2013 is just not holding her up.  The vet agreed.  It is probably time.  

We are crying over here now.  No one wants to put Annie down, but again, it is probably time.  

   

Brain Wave!

I was sitting at a stoplight on my way home from the Y yesterday and I noticed the car in front of me had a bumper sticker that said, "SHIPWITHPRIDE.COM".  I thought, "How cool!  I wonder who's ship it is?  Maybe it was one of OM's ships.  Maybe it's a Mercy Ship . . ."  

Or, gee whiz, maybe it's a shipping company . . .  

Protein Packed Apples!

One of Sam's new coworkers offered us apples this fall.  Every year she got EIGHT FREE BUSHELS from her relatives and she would be ever so glad to share with us!  Naturally, we said yes, not realizing that these were protein packed apples!  Micah let me deal with the worm holes and she made the toppings.  Yup, not at all what we expected, but still delicious!

Apple Pizza

Homework Hotline!

One of Micah's assignments in her "Principals of Marketing" class this fall was to meet with someone who had worked in marketing.  Sam and I were at a total loss.  We knew no one except . . .

When had I lived out at the Glen (The Navigators Glen Eyrie), my roommate Dana had worked in marketing.  I sent her an e-mail asking her if she'd like to help Micah out and she politely declined.  It had been over thirty years since she had worked in marketing.  I told Micah, "Don't give up."

She e-mailed Dana and got a "Yes."  Dana now lives in San Diego, so she and Micah met via Google Meet this morning.  Micah said they had a great time.  She could see why Dana and I had fun as roommates.  And they exchanged recipes - always a winner in Micah's book!

Here's the living proof that Micah needed for her prof:

Dana live from San Diego!