Man meant it for evil, but I am grateful.

Today I am ending my summer break early to go be a teacher of teachers and it got me thinking, once again, about my journey. Many of you that know me, know that the last 10 years have been a turbulent, crazy ride for me...especially when it comes to teaching. I've had some super high high's and some incredible lows. But I look back and despite the bad, despite the ugly, I find myself grateful. I worked for a school where the same year that I was chosen as the Arizona Charter School Teacher of the Year, I was not asked back because I was "disloyal." I was considered disloyal because I took my kids out of the high school in their district because one of my children was being verbally and emotionally abused by the staff. But I look back and I am so grateful for my time there! I met some amazing people, some of whom are to this day some of my very best friends. I had the opportunity to spread my wings and get a taste of what it was like to be in front of teachers doing training instead of just the children, and a seed was planted. And had I not been treated unfairly, I would have stayed. I would have stayed until the end of next year, at the least, to let my youngest finish elementary school. And had I stayed, I would not be where I am today. I would not be in the position to follow my passion of training teachers. I would not be pursuing my Master's degree so that someday I can do this full time. What man meant for evil, God turned to good, and because of HIM I have been abundantly blessed. If I had not been treated unfairly, I would never have moved on and I would never have taught Jr. High, which I LOVE!! Crazy as that sounds, I LOVE these crazy kiddos and getting to hang out with them everyday! I moved on, to a new school, and I had a great couple of years there. I got some fantastic training in the new Common Core standards...I learned about IB and teaching to a global generation. It was training I could get no where else. I was successful in my teaching and things were going GREAT! But once again something happened...it was a little thing, not a huge deal to most, but my character was questioned, I was judged unfairly, and I was crushed...I could have stayed, but I wouldn't have been happy, I wouldn't have been successful. My student's learning would have suffered. I sought counsel, because having had this happen twice with administration really caused me to stop and look at myself and ask if I was doing something wrong. Godly people assured me that I had not. And, then, God opened a door. I walked through that door knowing that it was nothing short of the hand of God. I didn't do anything to deserve it, I didn't make it happen. He did. And I have landed here in a place where in the grand scheme of things I am supremely happy...sure there are days, we all have days, where I don't want to deal with one more kid, one more parent, one more essay! But, I love my job! I love that I get to hang out with crazy Jr. Highers all day, and then a couple nights a week I get to chat with adults about what I've learned about teaching them. I love that I have stories to write that make me laugh as well as my readers! What man meant for evil, God has turned to good in my life, over and over again. And for that, I am grateful.

Recipe: Cream Cheese Chicken Croissants

I make these in bulk and freeze them so I'm cutting down the recipe...for my cooked, diced chicken, I throw a whole chicken in a crock-pot overnight and then de-bone it in the morning...it yields about 6 cups of chicken which would make this recipe three times.

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 cube cream cheese (8oz)
4 chopped green onions
4 Tbls chopped bacon (I use Hormel real bacon bits from Sam's Club)
1.5 tsp salt (I use sea salt)
1 tsp black pepper
2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls or similar

Directions:
Mix first 6 ingredients together in a bowl.  Set aside.  Unroll crescent rolls and put two triangles together to create a rectangle and pinch the centers together. (they make these in sheets now for recipes, which would preclude having to put them together but I'm too cheap to buy name brand unless I have a coupon!)  Put a large scoop (I used my Pampered Chef medium cookie scoop) of chicken mixture in the center. Fold up sides to enclose.  At this point, if you're freezing for later place "buns" as close together side by side in the freezer container of your choice and freeze.  When you use them later, let them come to room temperature, brush outside of bun with egg and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  If you're not freezing I don't bother with the egg wash...might not need it if you do freeze but I haven't tried that yet.  If you're cooking right away just place on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  These were a BIG hit with the kids!!

Yields: 8 "buns"

A New Journey

Wow!! Two years since I've so much as posted a picture here. That's what Facebook has done to me...I post everything there. My journey has take a definite change...I'm officially a Junior High Language Arts teacher!! Wow, is it different...and in some ways so much the same!! I LOVE it though...I think it's something you have to be called to and I absolutely adore these kids!! Even with all their drama!! Since this blog is all about enjoying the journey, and since my journey has take an turn that I'm really enjoying...I thought it appropriate to blog about it...even if no one else sees it.

Showing off the Christmas Jammies!!

 

More Christmas!!

 

Abby, who takes after mom in her love of all things crafty, got an art tote and a bunch of little doodads (pipe cleaners, puffy balls, google eyes, craft glue, acrylic paint, etc...) to go in it. Daddy decided it would be fun to wrap each individual thing so she had a LOT to open on that one!!!

Christmas PIctures!!

 

Christmas morning always begins with stockings...Sarah is checking out how the mechanical toothbrush works!!

 

This has been the most used Christmas present yet! It has been raining all day so riding the new bike Joe got was out and using the new rollerblades was out so most of the day was taken up playing WiiFit and shooting at each other with Nerf dart guns!! There are Nerf darts all over my house in wierd places but they had SO MUCH FUN!!

 

Bethany has shown an overwhelming interest in learning how to decorate cakes and use fondant so I got her a student kit for fondant. You can't beat the deal I got the day after Thanksgiving either, 50% off then another 20% off of that 50%!! I love a bargain!!

Celebrating the Miracle of Hannukah!!

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Deuteronomy 6:4

Tonight at sundown was the beginning of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. I am not Jewish and I don't pretend to be an expert on the feasts, but my family has celebrated Hanukkah with my best friend (who was raised Jewish) for many years. When they moved away to Florida one of the many things the children said they missed was celebrating Hanukkah. For them, it was more the latke's and playing dreidel with their beloved friends, than it was about the miracle of Hanukkah. That miracle cannot, however, be overlooked.

Here is the definition of Hanukkah from wikipedia.com:

"Hanukkah", from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", marks the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by the forces of Antiochus IV and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil". According to the Talmud, at the re-dedication following the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, there was only enough consecrated olive oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

As Christians we are told in 1 Corinthians 6:19 that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. It would be wise of us to take pause at this time of year to reflect on the rededication of our bodies as a temple to the Holy Spirit and spend the next eight days taking stock of our spiritual stores, that we may not be caught unprepared when the Lord returns. (Matthew 25:1-13) How fortunate we are that God has seen fit to provide a miracle to us as well, in the form of a baby lying in a manger who came to pave the road to heaven by becoming the payment for our sins.

With this in mind, I celebrate and wonder at the greatness of a God who provided eight days of oil for His people, and who provides the even greater miracle of providing for the salvation of our souls through His Son Jesus Christ!!

So, Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas!! Be blessed in this and the coming year!!

WW

 

A Time to Be Thankful....

I was listening to KLOVE today and one of the radio personalities was asking people to call and say what they are thankful for...several people called in and said the things you would expect...The sovereignty of God, which covers all things...family, friends, etc...and it got me thinking...besides all those things, which of course I am EXTREMELY grateful for...what would I say I was thankful for if I was able to get through to the radio station??

My thoughts immediately went to my best friend Heather. In October of 2006 this wonderful woman was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer. We had some days, and weeks, and months...where we weren't sure she would make it. But she has. She has survived the horrible disease, and the sometimes even more horrible treatment. I am certainly not the only one, but I am beyond grateful that God has granted Heather one more day, and by His Grace many more days!! She is like a sister to me and I miss her (because she moved to Florida in the midst of this ordeal!) a ton, but am very glad I can pick up the phone and give her a call!!

She has published a book that talks about (among other things) her ordeal with cancer and shows her amazing GOD perspective on all things. You can order it here!!

Sudden Hail Storm!!

Weather in the Valley of the Sun can be fickle at times!! It was sunny and in the low 70's this afternoon when we left church and suddenly at about 2:45 thunder crashed and we had a sudden storm!! It started as rain, then turned to hail about a cm in diameter, and now it's 3:02 and it's gone!! Go figure!! Still, it's exciting when we have WEATHER (that's not just HOT) here in the sun capitol of the world!! I took a few pictures for proof!!