Christmas came a little early yesterday...

Well, I gotta say...PAPAW DELIVERED! Megan has been begging for a Loft Bed for at least the last four months. One weekend, about 3 months ago, we spent the entire time looking all over town for the "perfect" loft bed. She wants a white one (as does mom, because it looks more "girly" and will match any decor best). She wants a huge desk that goes all the way across the bottom portion, lengthwise. While looking all over town, we came to one conclusion...We really didn't have $1000 to spend on a bed for her. We don't want to use credit. We didn't really wish to spend that much money on a bed...we haven't spent that much money on ANY piece of furniture in our entire house! Well, we put our desires for this bed on hold, indefinitely. That is, until Jonathan was visiting with his dad about a month ago and happened to learn that his dad was building bunk beds for the colleges around his town.

Jon's response, "OH REALLY!"

Hahaha. Yes, we told him what we needed/wanted out of a Loft bed, and Papaw said "I can have it ready the weekend before Christmas".

WOW! DEAR DAUGHTER'S DREAMS ARE COMING TRUE!

We didn't mention this piece of information to Megan, and yesterday morning, we got the phone call from Papaw that the bed was ready, and packed up in the truck and they were headed to town! Once they got close to our house, Megan and I went out for a bit, and let her daddy and Papaw get it ready (all unbeknown to her, of course). Once they were done, Dad called to tell us to come home, and SURPRISE! Megan walks in to a new LOFT BED in her room! It's so awesome! We still have to paint it, but she LOVES it already.

Here are a few pics for you:

IT'S CHRISTMAS! YAY!

Well, a true sign that Christmas is near is when our kids get out of school...we are there! Tuesday night was the school Christmas program, and Ryan's first year to participate. He was such a HAM and he didn't even see me in the audience! He looked like he was having the best time up there, and he certainly kept me laughing! Every year, the kids pretty much do the same songs, but this year the teachers threw in a few new ones. One of the best was the first grade class singing the 12 days of Christmas. When it got to the "5 Golden Rings" part, all the girls had on golden rings, and held their arms out front while all the boys turned and "presented" them. It was really cute. They did the standard "Frosty the Snowman" song, but it was cute as always...it must be those cute black top hats they wear. Ryan's K3 class sang "Away in a Manger" and "Jingle Bells" and then the entire school came together for the finale of "We Wish You A Merry Christmas". So now...the kids are out of school until the first of the year. It's only been a few days and already we've gotten so much done! I'll blog about all that later, but for now, here are a few pics for you to enjoy....

The Road To Bethlehem...

This past Sunday, my church, CrossPoint, performed a Christmas musical. It was called The Road To Bethlehem, and featured our choir, as well as the newly formed Drama Ministry. I have had more fun in the last few months since joining this ministry, and I had the time of my life this past Sunday! I was only an extra, but those of us who were cast as extras took our roles very seriously. (BWHAHAHAHAH! We really did...but we goofed off a bunch too!) My husband took a few pictures of us during the second showing, and here is a quick slide show. Hope you enjoy!

When Santa's away, the Elves will play

I sent this to some of you in an email, but in case you didn't get it...here it is again. Brought to you by the creative minds at JIB JAB, here is a movie starring THE BARRETT FAMILY. (plus an extra mom. The movie had room for 5 faces, and I didn't like the random face it chose to place in with us...a creepy looking guy was dancing with Megan...so I added myself twice).
Anyway, enjoy...

Don't send a lame Holiday eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

OUR TRIP WAS....

WONDERFUL!

We had a great trip last weekend! I can't wait to go back there again, and especially at Christmas. Everything was tailored towards families, and it was so wonderful! The kids loved the trains, we got to go to an Elf Workshop where they could make ornaments, color pictures, etc. We went to the Tennessee Aquarium, took in a 3D Imax movie, rode on The Polar Express train all the way to the North Pole where we picked up Santa and he visited with us on board. Mrs. Claus was on board with a few of her elves, and we all sang Christmas songs, drank chocolate milk and ate cookies! The Chattanooga Choo Choo brought Santa in (very authentic looking!), and we had virtually NO WAIT TIME to get in Santa's lap and start listing all the things on our wish lists. Our Holiday Package came with a free picture with Santa, and an commemorative holiday ornament, as well as everything listed above. As you can see, WE HAD THE BEST TIME! I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to take a little holiday trip! Go to www.choochoo.com for more information on all of the holiday packages they offer. In the mean time, here is a little slide show to watch of the Barrett Family Trip...

HAPPY 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO US!

WOW! 10 years flew by fast! December 6, 1997 seems like ages ago, yet also like it was only yesterday. Our lives have changed drastically since then. There have been good and bad times, healthy and sick times, and LOTS of poor times...still waiting on the "For Richer" part...haha.

Over all, I am so blessed and happy with my life. I had a wonderful Christmas wedding...I have a WONDERFUL husband and together we've been given 2 WONDERFUL children. It's more than I could have ever dreamed for myself!

HAPPY 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY JONATHAN! I LOVE YOU!

We got JUSTICE'D!

Yesterday, right after school, Megan went to a birthday party at Justice for Girls. Her friend had invited all the girls in her class to join in on a "Glamour Girl" type of party. They got their hair, and makeup done...picked out 6 little goodies to put in their goodie bag, wore feather boa's and had the time of their lives!!!! Megan came away from this party looking FAB-U-LOUS! Of course, she wants to have her birthday party there in February, but we'll just have to wait and see. But here is a slide show of pics from the day!

PS...little brother was bored out of his mind during this party! But he behaved so well, and for the most part, played in the dressing rooms. He's such a trooper!

A little late, but...

Here are just a few pics of Thanksgiving. I know we're over a week past, but I didn't have much time to download pics and post until now...so here goes.

Megan's class made their Indian (i.e. "Native American" to be politically correct) T-Shirts at school. She named hers "Pocahontas"...probably because that is the only Native American (or Indian...) name she knows. Whatever the case, my little Indian princess was cute in her shirt.

Ryan's class didn't do T-shirts, but fortunately he was still able to fit into the T-shirt his class made last year, and therefore got to be like big sis! His shirt didn't have a name, but we just called him CHIEF RYAN. He didn't mind...he thought it was cool.

Ah, yes. My little Native children gathering the corn to prepare for our meal! Haha! Megan loves to eat corn, Ryan...not so much. But he didn't mind holding it for a picture!

And, after those few moments, our day got CRAZY! With so much family to see on the Holiday, we were cooking, eating, driving, eating, visiting, eating, sleeping and eating ALL DAY LONG. Thankfully, we were able to fit everything into the day...we just didn't take any more pictures.

Jonathan bought a new camera this weekend....so I am pretty sure that we'll be posting LOTS of pics here soon! It's the camera he wanted, which means he'll actually TAKE the pictures and I can be in them....since he wouldn't really touch the old one, I was the one that took all the pics and then our family snapshots made my children look motherless!

Anyway...there they are, hope you enjoyed.

A RARE look at a Political Debate...

I rarely blog about anything political. OK, I've actually NEVER blogged about anything political. But the clip below was sent to me in an email by a friend, and I thought it was cool. I am sure the moderator didn't intend an answer such as this...but it also begs the question "WHY?" I don't think they are honestly interested in this man's personal belief system. I really only think they are trying to break down the "religious quacks" from the worlds "normal" standard.
Watch the clip, and let me know what you think about it....


Let me state, I am in no way pushing my opinion of this man as a good choice for president. I actually have never heard of him! It's just an interesting video clip...

FROM THE MOUTHS OF....BABES? Or really blunt 3 year olds!

At work, most of my day is spent sharing a bite of plastic fruit lovingly prepared for me by my students in the plastic kitchen playset of our classroom. I play along, because I know how hard they've slaved over this meal, and it will put a HUGE smile of pride on their sweet little faces. Well, imagine the smile on MY face after I had the following conversation with one of my students...we'll call her "Jane".

Jane: "Ms. Bawwett, herew you some food. Eat it!"

Me: "Oh, Thanks so much! How did you know I was so hungry?"

Jane: "EAT IT!"

Me: "OK...YUM!, Pizza is my favorite, and it goes so well with a piece of lettuce and....what is that? a cookie, or a doughnut?"

Jane looks carefully at the plate of scrumptious food she's brought to me.

Jane: "You bettur not eat that...YOU BE FAT!"

(INSERT BELLY LAUGHTER HERE...MINE NOT HERS!)

DIET ON!

Christmas time is OFFICIALLY here!

HO! HO! HO!

Even though the retailers, and radio stations have been pushing Christmas for quite sometime now, there is only one thing that officially rings in the Christmas holiday season for us....When Mom goes shopping on BLACK FRIDAY and Dad and the kids stay home and put up the tree. It's tradition going 6 years strong now that Jonathan stays home and keeps kids, while I go out early in the morning and try to get as much Christmas shopping done as possible. What makes this year even more enjoyable is that I have a job, I get a paycheck, and I HAD CASH MONEY TO SPEND THIS YEAR! WOOOOO HOOOOOO! Hahaha!

After an exhausting, but wonderful day of time with all our family on Thanksgiving, it was out to weave in and out of the crowds of wacko's in Target, WalMart, and all the other stores. The bad news...I didn't arrive at Target in time to swipe one of the main gifts I was hunting for-The Hannah Montana Doll and her friends, Lilly and Oliver. It was a limited supply (what the crap!) at Target, and I've seen them on Ebay...but I'm not sure I can spend that much for the doll when it was only $30 to begin with. My Mom asked a salesman if they'd be getting in any more, and He said probably not since it was a limited edition doll set they did exclusively for Target.... BOOOOOO HOOOOOO! Oh well, maybe I'll one later in the year of 2008! But the good news is, I'm nearly done with my Christmas shopping! A few things here and there, and I will be ready to wrap it all up! The kids are sooooooo excited! I'm sooooo excited! Even Dad is in the Christmas spirit now-he refused to listen to any holiday songs, etc until AFTER Thanksgiving.

So we have the tree up, and decorated. Dad is putting the lights on the house today....and we are ready to start celebrating this wonderful time of year!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!

USELESS...BUT INTERESTING...

I found a web site today that gives random "facts" about an array of topics. You can visit the site by clicking HERE if you wish...but here a few facts I found today...

1. The first toilet being flushed in a motion picture was in the movie Psycho. (HEY! At least HE flushed!!!)

2.Most liquid laundry detergents are alive with living organisms that help to break down stains! (EWWW! KINDA SCARY!!!)

3.TIME Magazine’s “Man of the Year” in 1938 was Adolf Hitler. (WHAT?????)

4. In Tibet it is considered good manners to stick out your tongue at someone. (Great, that's all I need...an excuse from my kids as to "why" they stick out their tongue. Let's keep this on the DOWN LOW!)

5. In many countries, urine was used as a detergent for washing. (OK...I'll stick with the living organisms in my detergent!)

6.Americans did not commonly use forks until after the Civil War. (OMG! How do you eat primarily with a spoon???)

7. Americans will spend more on cat food this year than baby food. (For some reason, this is not so surprising to me)

8. Up to the age of six or seven months a child can breathe and swallow at the same time. An adult cannot do this. (Hmmm, I never paid attention to this when my babies were that age, but I guess that makes sense. Ryan could always sug his bottles down so fast, and I always wondered if he was breathing!!!!!)

9.Snails breathe through their feet. (huh? I've never seen a snail with FEET)

10.40% of women have hurled footwear at a man. (OH, that's a shocker! I mean, we women LOVE SHOES, so they are plentiful!)

Let me know of your useless facts! My husband is full of them and I call him "Cliff Claven"...you know the mailman from the TV sitcom "Cheers" who knew little tidbits of EVERYTHING! Yep...I married him. But tonight..at dinner...I can appear to KNOW IT ALL! LOL

FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS...

To GirlScout, Or Not To GirlScout...

Ok, growing up, I never did a whole lot of "extra curricular" type of activities. The most "extra" I got was being a cheerleader for 2 years for South Roebuck Football. I loved being a cheerleader, but my mom says she got tired of seeing my frowning face and didn't sign me up after that. As I remember it, I was told I couldn't do it anymore because I was too old...funny how the truth comes out as we get older...haha. And to clear up that misconception of my "frowning" face...I specifically remember that it was always a Saturday Morning that we were cheering for a football game, and we had to stand with our back to the field, faces to the sun shining in our eyes and I was only "Frowning" to be able to see!!!!!!!!!!

Nuff Said 'bout that...

Anyhoo...Megan has been invited to join a Brownie Scout group. I'm thinking this may be a good thing for her. Most kids her age have long been involved in SOMETHING...dance, gymnastics, cheernastics, softball, soccer, etc. I have never signed her up for anything because of one reason....MONEY$$$$$! There is a troop that meets at her school, which is really convienent since 1. I work there, 2. She goes to school there, and 3. I know the leader because she also teaches at the school. So we're thinking about it. There is not much to cost...as a matter of fact, the most expensive part will be to get her vest/patch starter at a $45 cost. I pay $10 a year in fees, $5 a month to the troop for "extras" (or something like that), and the best part is...GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!!!!!!!

THAT'S IT! I'M SOLD! HAND OVER THE THIN MINTS!

Megan's gonna be a Girl Scout!

Seriously...we're talking to her about it. We've been having "sassy attitude" problems lately, and we've told her that this is something that she can EARN as a privelege if she get's her attitude in check and stops talking back, and start being a little more respectful. She's been working on it since Tuesday....yesterday was a good day (the other's not so much). We'll see how it goes. I really want her to do this, but I feel she needs to earn it, so hopefully this will be a little incentive.

I'M ROUTING FOR YA MEGAN!

(Mama really want's those Thin Mints!)

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN!

Yes, friends, it's that time of year again...the weather is doing a "John Kerry" flip flop and can't decide what Season it wants to be...Spring Temps of 70 degrees the first part of the week, Summer temps of 80 on an occasional day, Fall temps of the 60's here and there, and then here comes an ALABAMA COLD SNAP of lows being in the 30's, highs in the 50's and RUNNY NOSES, SCRATCHY THROATS, AND STOMACH FLU running rampid through all families! But don't worry, those cold temps never last long...we'll be experiencing SPRING again in a few days. No wonder we all stay so sick. We have the air conditioning on one day, smell the stinky heat coming on 2 days later, and the kids are swapping germs at school doing who knows what!

We've had the stomach bug...can u guess?

So, now I'm popping AIRBORNE! It's a wonderful little thing. I started getting the scratchy throat a couple of weeks ago and PRESTO! It's like magic! I was totally better the next day!

I think I'll buy stock in that product!

Here's a pic of my little one after he fell asleep last night for the second time. I say second time because the first time was interrupted by him getting sick in his bed. He only has one set of sheets for his bed, and I had to piece together a couple of different ones to be able to make his bed back up...thus the mismatch. But at least he felt better.....Let's hope it was the last of the stomach flu for us!

Like I didn't know already...

This was kind of fun...a "Look A Like Meter" from this website helps determine who your child looks like -Mother or Father...
Well, it's really obvious in our family that the "Daddy DNA" is prominent! But it's still fun.
Check out the results...
Megan:

Ryan:

It's a TIE! They both look more like Dad...but only by 3% each! Haha, well, maybe I should upload some of Megan's "bald baby pictures"! Then it would be 100%!!

HALLOWEEN CAME AND WENT

Usually I spend weeks ahead of time getting costumes ready for the kids. This year, Halloween snuck up on me, and I was pressured to get things together...which means most things are picked over and you get what's left! Megan had decided early on that she wanted to be a kitty...which was pretty easy to do. Black shirt and leggings...buy the kitty ears and a tail and we're set! Ryan on the other hand, flip flopped daily about what he wanted to be. At first he wanted to be SuperMan again...but I talked him out of that one since that was his costume of choice last year (he called himself "pooperman"! It was so cute!). I figured if he wanted to go the "hero" route, he could be Batman this year, and since Megan wanted to be a kitty, we could call her "Cat Woman". So off to the costume store we went and when Ryan saw her kitty ears and tail, he decided then that he wanted to be a doggy. OK...much cheaper to do, since the Batman costume was going to cost me no less than $20! We found a headband with doggy ears and a doggy nose that hung down the front of his face which was perfect because I wouldn't have to paint a nose on his face and have him rub it all off during the day. I couldn't find a white sweat suit that would have matched better with the headband, so we reluctantly went with black. I cut out felt circles and me being the cheap person I am, I didn't want to ruin the sweat suit that he could definitely use later, so I only stitched the spots on with one little stitch. Yeah, I did that at midnight the night before Halloween, so therefore my brain was already sleeping and I didn't think about the fact that the felt was not going to stay put with one stitch in the middle. By the end of the day, his sad little spots were limp and falling off. Oh well...at least I didn't put too much money into his costume! He still thought he was a puppy, and even though Mommy wasn't very pleased with how his costume turned out...Ryan certainly was. I don't think Megan will want to be a kitty again...she got really tired of people stepping on her tail, or using it as a leash to guide her around. I will try to do a better job of planning ahead next year. I just didn't have it together this year with me working again.
So here are a few pics in the slide show below to show you how our Halloween turned out. Still memorable for everyone....

A CAMPING WE WILL GO....

This past weekend we had a blast breaking in the new camper my mom and dad bought. We LOVE it, and joked all weekend that it will be hard to go back to tents now! haha! Part of me did miss our tent, and I am sure we'll still get lots of use out of it. We may try to go one more time before it gets too cold, but that will all be dependant upon weather, of course. Did I mention it rained all week long leading up to our trip? In the last year, we have gone camping twice...and both times, we got rained out. Now here we are in the midst of the WORST drought the state of Alabama has seen in YEARS, and there hasn't been any rain ALL SUMMER LONG, but the one time we plan a camping trip...it rains all week long, and the ground is soaked! It sure is a good thing we had the camper this time...I don't think I could have handled sleeping on muddy blankets, etc.
Anyway...here are a few pics of our trip. Hope you enjoy!

CELEBRATION DINNER FOR MEGAN

As stated in a previous post, my dear daughter got straight A's on her first report card of the First Grade. After keeping watch of her progress reports from the teacher, we pretty much knew that she was definatly bringing home the alpha's, so we decided to sweeten the pot a little and give her a little incentive. She loves going out to dinner...so much so that she is always asking if we can "go somewhere" for dinner because most of the time if we eat food that wasn't prepared at home, it's a dash at the drive thru and back to our kitchen! I'll never forget a day, here recently, that I took her to eat lunch at Subway. We walk up to the counter, place our order, and I told her she could go pick out a seat.

"We're eating HERE?!" Megan asked, wide eyed and ready to do a happy dance at the counter.

"Yes", I reply...a little shocked, but totally understanding where she's coming from.

"WOOOOOO HOOOOO!" Megan runs off and screams all the way to the table of her choice.

After the muttered laughter of everyone in the restaurant, I'm thinking..."Wow...we really need to get out more often". haha

So, after going back and forth over the last 3 weeks of where we will go to eat, she finally decides that she'd like to have "O'Charleys" because she likes the bread they serve.

PERFECT! KIDS EAT FREE!

I was looking forward to a nice dinner at Logan's Roadhouse as she had previously decided that is where she wanted to go, but that's ok. It's her night, so we'll go to the "kids eat free" restaurant! (hey...it's a win/win!). I definatly deserve to celebrate, because I've earned it too! Who do you think helps her with homework and studying for test every night?

MOM=THAT'S WHO!

So bring on my, er, HER celebration dinner!

We had a great evening, and here is a picture we took outside after we were done. If you look closely at little brother's face, you can tell he really enjoyed his dinner!

NEW LOOK, SAME BLOG...

I have been wanting to "personalize" this page for such a long time, but it is hard to find web sites that host layouts for blogger. Suddenly, one appeared on my internet search last night, so be on the lookout! Now that I have a resource, this site is likely to change colors/theme's/styles alot more often! Tell me what ya think!

Busy Barrett Bee's

Yes, it's been eons since I've blogged anything here, but I believe that is due in part to the lack of "free time" I am accustomed to. There is no shortage on topics, however to blog about everything, I'd been here much too long, and who has time to write that much, much less captivate an audience who would read it.

We've had lots of activity going on in our family. Megan is anxiously awaiting her reports cards this week...we're thinking it's all A's, but you know what they say about "counting chickens before they hatch". To create a little incentive, we told her that she could go out to eat at the restaurant of her choice if she made all A's on her report card. This excited her so much, since she LOVES going to dinner and is always begging to do so. When I asked her where she might like to go, she named a few of her favorite places...."Chick Fil A", "McDonalds". Well, I probably could have gotten away with that, but it just didn't feel right, and so I told her she should pick a restaurant that we don't go to very often, and one that we can sit down at a table and have the Waiter bring us our food. At that thought, she decided she wanted to go to "the restaurant that had the peanuts you can crush and throw on the floor"....so LOGAN'S ROADHOUSE, here we come!

Just a couple of weeks ago I was able to leave and go on a trip with all the teachers to Pensacola, Fl. The purpose of the trip is two fold...one, it gets all the teachers away from the daily grind, and gives everyone a chance to relax, and bond with one another. I think that is a great reason why all the ladies at the school get along so well with one another, and they truly love and care about each other like family! It's helped to create a great working environment, which also works for a great school environment to the students! The second reason for going is to attend the teacher's clinic's at Pensacola Christian School, which is also the basis and starting ground for the ABeka curriculum that so many private schools use. I had been briefed by many of the teachers who'd been before, but nothing can prepare you for what you see inside a K4 classroom at that place! They were very well behaved children (could have been little robot's...not sure!), they were really obedient to the routine that the teacher in the class...and with 40 STUDENTS per class that is amazing! Yes, the teacher had an aide in there with her, but for the most part, the aide just stood off to the side of the classroom since the little robots....I mean, children, were so cooperative. One of the more amazing sites was watching these 4 year olds learn to write in cursive handwriting. That school doesn't teach print, they start off with cursive handwriting. The thinking behind that is because the cursive writing in a more natural way to write...which I can see as being true I guess...even when printing, you tend to want to connect your letters sometimes and make them all flow together. It was interesting to watch them learn from the teacher how to make certain letters. I did pick up a few tips for classroom management, and it worked out great for me when I returned and implemented them into my class. Overall, it was a great trip, and I am so glad I went! I got to make deeper friendships with the ladies I already know, and I was able to get to know the other teachers whom I had not had the chance to be around much. I really feel apart of "the team" now! (haha) And the best news is...the kids and Dad did just fine without me...absence makes the heart grow fonder!

So now, I'm getting back into the swing of things. Today I was called to sub for 2ND grade, which surprisingly intimidated me slightly....I just don't want to appear to be out of control and unaware of what is going on in front of a bunch of 7 and 8 year olds...but things worked out fine and in a surprising move... the teacher was able to make it in to class by 10am, so I was out of the woods by then! PHEW! The it was on to what I had originally planned (and much better equipped to deal with), my classroom. I am getting yet another new student tomorrow, and I had to go in on my off day and work in my class so that I can be prepared for him. I already had a new student added to my class last week, and that worked out great. He came in and fit our God designed puzzle perfectly! The best part is...NO TEARS! He is not a crier, and is most definitely an extroverted child. That is what I am nervous about for tomorrow with my new student...just when I get all the kids who are criers, used to being there...we're going to introduce another one! AAAH! Well, all I can do is pray and ask the Lord to handle the situation...and have FAITH that it will be handled!

"Faith is a mindset that EXPECTS God to act!"

I love that quote. I remind myself of that often. Faith is not words...just saying you have faith is not enough. Faith is action. Faith is believing. Faith is a heart matter. Faith is a state of mind. I expect God to act and handle my day tomorrow.

FIRST MONTH DOWN, 8 MORE TO GO!!

I know I haven't written much of anything on this blog lately...but even having a "2 day a week job" (yeah, right!), has had me busier than I ever dreamed! I only thought that I'd work on Tuesdays and Thursdays, & have the other 3 days to get stuff done in between our crazy hectic weekends.

HAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I'm sorry, that's me laughing at the fact that I can't tell a weekday from a weekend anymore! Who knew it was going to be THIS crazy? (and if you did know, why didn't you tell me????)

Anyway...I digress...

We have survived the first month of school! YIPPEEE! Megan is doing very well in school and has latched onto reading so well that we've begun the "Junie B. Jones" books here at home. We read one chapter every night, and she is loving it! She has to read and log 20 books a month in order to earn a "free personal pan pizza" coupon from her teacher. When she brought that coupon home last week, it was if she'd won the lottery! She is so proud of herself. She has struggled a bit in math, but starting to grasp it a bit better...that reminds me, would you mind praying for her? She needs to be a strong math student, because I'm not going to be able to help her after it get's past "fractions" a few years from now! I, uh...I mean SHE can use all the prayers she can get!

Ryan is loving being in Mrs. Hunt's K3 class. He comes home sounding just like his teacher! We all know the rules about coloring with crayons now, because Ryan tells us all the time "Mrs. Hunt say 'NO SCRIBBLE-SCRABBLE' ", and then he precedes to tell us which of his class friends scribble scabbles and which of them "go back and forth" like Mrs. Hunt says. He also enunciates the "Pledge of Allegience" just like his teacher...it's so cute to hear him say "with liverty, and justice fo awwwlll."

And as for my class...well, my goal was to make those kids LOVE ME! Because if they love me, they'll trust me. If they trust me, they'll leave the tears at home. I started off the year with only 2 of the 8 students crying every morning. Then I moved up to 3 of the 8 when one of them realized the other two got alot more attention when they cried,and Mrs. Barrett was giving away lots and lots of hugs, and lap time! With all those tears come runny noses, and with all the runny noses comes illness....for me! By the end of the first week of school, I was sick with Mychoplasma (bacterial pneumonia), Megan had bronchitis, and Ryan had a terrible sinus infection moving into bronchitis by the time we went to the doctor. Praise the Lord for credit cards, because it's not every day you have $230 in cold cash lying around to pay for prescriptions!!!!!!! By the second week of school, I lost one student to another classroom because his mom thought that going 3 days until 12 might be a little easier on him, and now I'm down to 7 kids (so if you know a 2 year old who will be 3yrs by March, sign 'em up! I have an opening!). I really am enjoying my little angels though. It has taken the entire 4 weeks of school, but yesterday we completed the day with NO TEARS! I'm singing praises with the angels in heaven! My little criers TRUST ME! THEY LOVE ME! THEY LIKE SCHOOL NOW!

HA-LE-LU-JAH!

Now, maybe I can actually get to teaching them something! I feel as though I haven't been able to get through to them these last few weeks, because having one (or more) of your friends cry while you're trying to learn the days of the week song, sing about the ABC's, and learn your shapes and colors, is very distracting! So, I'm planning to do LOTS of review. I want them to learn, otherwise, what are their parents paying for???

But alas, just as we start getting used to school, we're going to have some down time. This next week, the entire school goes to the pumpkin patch.

It's a family field trip, where I will have no responsibilities to my students other than greeting them at the beginning of the day and then they go off with their parents to find a pumpkin in the patch. (I'll have my own little BIOLOGICAL rug rats to tend to!)

Then, next Friday, I am taking my first "going out of town for work" trip! Yep...I'm leaving the hubby and kids from Friday until Tuesday,and headed to Pensacola!!!! Every year the teachers go down for a weekend of relaxation on the beach, and attend clinics at the Pensacola Christian College where we will learn and observe the teachers at the school responsible for the ABeka curriculum so many private christian schools use. I hear it's a fun time, and all the teachers seem to look forward to it every year. The whole school closes down on Monday and Tuesday, and it's all about the teachers! Wow! I'm excited, but man is that "mommy guilt" starting to sink in. Much the same as it did when I went on my "Beach Babes BASH" last May. But hubby has been great...he's wants me to go. For a couple of reasons, one...so that I can get to know everyone at the school and be a "team player", two, so that by being a team player, I can possibly have a job there next year! hahaha! (It's all about the money...huh, dear? WHICH BY THE WAY...I GET A PAYCHECK! I was so shocked! I didn't expect to make ANYTHING after they took out my money for tuition, so AGAIN, I'M SINGING PRAISES TO GOD! Now, we might have a good Christmas around here and not have to stress out about paying the "Christmas Card" off in January! haha)

So, with all the crazyness of teaching Pre 3K's 2 days a week, working some on Wednesdays to prepare, organizing crafts/bulletin boards, etc, and re-learning how to be a working mom AND a stay at home mom, AND be on the newly developed drama team at church which meets every Tuesday, AND try to continue my current leadership roles at church (which I'm failing miserably at...help!), AND try to get started back in church on Wednesday nights so my kids can be apart of Mission Friends and GA's, AND make the grocery store runs, AND still have time for homemade dinners (haha, yeah, right), a clean house( BWAHAHAH, I'm sorry, I tried to make that sound like I have put forth an effort), AND attend every birthday party/girls nite out/date with husband/family fun day/etc that we have always done, NEEDLESS TO SAY, I'M QUITE OVERWHELMED.

One of the staff ministers at church called me this week to check on me, because he'd not seen me (or had me fill his email box full) in quite a few weeks/months. It was nice to know I was missed, and even more...he prayed for me while we were on the phone! I so needed that! I'm finding my way...the hardest part is keeping it all together sometimes. I really want to start reading my book "Passion On Purpose-Discovering and Pursuing a Life That Matters"...but I've had a hard time focusing late at night, and I usually end up falling asleep and not reading past the first paragraph.

If I can just get everything organized....

If I could just find more time...

If I could just be more energetic...

If I could just put for a little more effort...

IF I......

IF I ..........

IF I....................

But..HE CAN.

HE WILL.

HE WANTS TO.

I just gotta learn to get outta the way.

So, there's how life in the Barrett family has been...or at least my perspective. I'm sure eachof my kids, and dear hubby would have plenty to say...but they'd have to get their own blog!

Food for thought....

The "letter" below came in an email today, and it gave me chills. Beyond the chills, it got me thinking about how "busy" I am, and how I need to slow down and be ever mindful of the Lord, and his blessings. As a mother, I have the utmost responsibility to show my children how to live a life pleasing to God because if I don't, how will they be taught to do so? And of many hats I wear-mother, daughter, sister, friend, teacher, leader...the one I probably work on the least, is CHILD OF GOD!

It seems God is speaking to me lately about slowing down....looking for HIM.....coming to Him, and to stop thinking that because I am busy, I am productive, I am important, I am needed, and to stop thinking that being busy is a good thing. What good is being busy, if I'm not doing what God wants me to do? I'm starting a book called "Passion on Purpose" by Dr. Deborah Newman, and while I've only read a few pages, I am hooked! It's thought provoking...it's relieving, it's insightful, and my heart feels raw from reading it. I'm sure I'll be writing more about it in the near future.

Now, onto the email I got today. It's called, "A Letter From Satan".

A LETTER TO YOU FROM SATAN

I saw you yesterday as you began your daily chores. You awoke without kneeling to pray. As a matter of fact, you didn't even bless your meals, or pray before going to bed last night.
You are so unthankful, I like that about you. I cannot tell you how glad I am that you have not changed your way of living,
Fool, you are mine.
Remember, you and I have been going steady for years, and I still
don't love you, yet. As a matter of fact, I hate you, because I hate God. He kicked me out of heaven, and I'm going to use you as long as possible to pay Him back. You see, fool, GOD LOVES YOU and HE has great plans in store for you. But you have yielded your life to me, and I'm going to make your life a living Hell. That way, we'll be together twice. This will really hurt God.
Thanks to you, I'm really showing Him who's boss in your life with all of the good times we've had. We have been watching dirty movies, cursing people out, stealing, lying, being hypocritical, fornicating, overeating, telling dirty jokes, gossiping, being judgmental, back stabbing people, disrespecting adults, and those in leadership positions. No respect for the Church, bad attitudes. SURELY you don't want to give all this up. Come on, Fool, let's burn together forever. I've got some hot plans for us.
This is just a letter of appreciation from me to you. I'd like to say "THANKS" for letting me use you for most of your foolish life. You are so gullible, I laugh at you. When you are tempted to sin, You give in.
HA HA HA, you make me sick. Sin is beginning to take its toll on your life. You look 20 years older, and now, I need new blood. So go ahead and teach some children how to sin. All you have to do is smoke, get drunk or drink while under-aged, cheat, gamble, gossip, fornicate, and live being as selfish as possible.
Do all of this in the presence of children and they will do it too.
Kids are like that. Well, fool, I have to let you go for now. I'll be back in a couple of seconds to tempt you again. If you were smart, you would run somewhere, confess your sins, And live for God with what little bit of life that you have left. It's not my nature to warn anyone, but to be your age and still sinning, it's becoming a bit ridiculous. Don't get me wrong, I still hate you.

IT'S JUST THAT YOU'D MAKE A BETTER FOOL FOR CHRIST.

RAZOR VIDEOS...

Here are a few videos I was finally able to load up to You Tube of Dad and I riding in the Razor today. They were both shot with the camera on Jonathan's cell phone, so the quality isn't the best. The first video is Dad getting us stuck on a log on one of the trails...(see, I wasn't the only one!). The second is us hitting a small dirt ramp and trying to get a little air beneath us...and DAD gets the car up on the side two wheels! Both video's feature screams, ala JENNY!
enjoy...

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RECREATIONAL VEHICLES = BOY TOYS???

Today, I did something new! Jonathan likes going to ride trails with my dad in the 4 wheelers, and I've never been a big fan of the idea. A little over a month ago, my dad made a new purchase that was a little more appealing to me...he bought a Polaris Ranger Razor which allows seating for two, 4WD, and my favorite part - THE GRAB BAR!!!! (aka, the OH CRAP bar). Me being the girly girl that I am, I really had no interest in going and getting all muddy and dirty...but since both my husband and my dad asked me to go, I decided, "WHY NOT?". After all, mud is not anything I can't wash off!
The day began at a very early 5:30 AM! We checked out the weather forecast since we realized it had been raining all night long. "GREAT! IT'S GOING TO BE MUDDY!" is all I could think of. At least I'll be riding with Dad, which means he'll take it easier on me than anyone else would! The forecast said the rain was over and it was to be a sunny day....so, there was no turning back! We had to get Ryan up and take him over to Nana's house (Megan was already there having a "sleep over party" with her cousins...Ryan didn't want to stay). We got there a little after 6 AM and Jonathan and Dad began loading the vehicles. We had about a 30-40 minute drive to the trails, so by the time we got there, the sun was out in full force, and I was hoping it was drying up all the muddy trails! (haha). We arrived around 8am and hit the trails full speed. It didn't take me long to learn my first lesson! "DON'T SMILE!" Well, that is, unless you want dirt all in your teeth! All day long, I kept my mouth shut! I know, I know, THERE'S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING! haha! First, they took me to the top of the mountain where there was a beautiful rocky overlook! I had no idea it would be so neat! We brought the camera along and took a few pics of us climbing all over the rocks. I was reminded just how out of shape I am whenever I had to climb and maneuver through tight crevices just to make it to the top. But it was fun to do! We rode just about every trail we could find, and I was happy just riding along as passenger. But after one small break, Dad told me to drive and he got in the passenger side. I was nervous, but he tried to assure me that it was easy, and we were just riding down even trails. Yeah, right. It was even at first, until he directed me onto the "paths less traveled" because the trails we were on began getting harder with deep ravine's in the dirt. So, through the brush, the sticker bushes, up rocks, (or small boulders if you ask me!), downed tree limbs, and through COUNTLESS spider webs (eww!), we rode...all with me at the wheel! It was all fine as we were going down hill...but when we hit a dead end, I quickly realized that there was no way out and we were going to have to retrace our steps back up those tight spots on rocky hills! Dad gives me direction, we switch the Razor into low gear, 4wd, and started up the hill. The tight path was divided with a small tree, with the path on the left hosting a large rocky deterrent, and the path on the right with deep ravines in the dirt. Dad directs me to the right thinking (or hoping) it would be easier to get up. I was doing OK going up the steep hill, until the rear wheels slipped down into the ravine, and the jolt knocked my hands off the steering wheel, taking the front wheels of the car spinning into the air...TOWARD A SMALL BUT VERY "THERE" TREE!. I'm amazed at the calm voice I hear coming out of my dad sitting next to me. "It's OK, just hit the brake", he says. "What? You're not freaking out? 'cause I sure am!" I'm thinking? I hit the brakes, and we slide down the crevice slightly until we rest on the incline. Dad gets out to assess my predicament and I began begging him to let me out and HE can fix this mess of mine! And being the experienced driver he is...he got the vehicle out of trouble with ease. I was pretty much done driving at that point, and was ready to go back to being a passenger...after all, it seemed much safer for everyone!
The rain left plenty of muddy puddles, and slimy muddy roads for us to ride on, but Dad did a great job keeping me clean for the most part. I did get a little wet, but not too bad, and I ended up having a great time. We packed up and headed home around 1pm, and got the kids from Nana. THANKS TO NANA FOR KEEPING THE KIDS SO I COULD GO RIDING TODAY! When they get a little older (like, 10 or 12 years old) they'll have a great time going on the trails. A little bit young right now, but it's definitely something they're going to want to do. The minute we got home, they were both yelling "I WANT TO RIDE THE 4 WHEELER!" After a quick ride around the yard, we were loading up to go home where we all 4 laid down and took a 2 hour nap!
Having that much fun, wears us all out! Here are a few pics from the day. I didn't get any shots of the Razor being stuck from my little drive, but it would've been hard to get to the camera from the angle that I had left it in! Enjoy the pics

A+, AND DON'T FORGET TO ADD THE BONUS POINTS!

Megan came home with her first set of test papers. She didn't even realize they were in her folder and when I pulled them out of her bag today, she held her breath and clinched her teeth...she actually acted worried! I asked her what she thought her test papers said and she very shyly, no confidently, questionably asked " uh, A+? "
When I turned the pages around and showed them to her she got a huge smile on her face and screamed "YEAH BABY! I KNEW IT!"
She got all of her spelling words done correctly, and even the bonus word that we had not studied for. I hope that is just the beginning of many A's for her! As long as she loves making A's on her tests, she' hopefully love school too! I can't imagine how much trouble her dad and I will have when she gets older and we don't know how to help her with her homework because we're no longer smart enough! I guess I will be shelling out more of the green stuff to pay for tutors!
CONGRATULATIONS BABY GIRL! MOMMY IS VERY PROUD OF YOU!

The Skeptical Good Samaritan???

Why I always seem to struggle with this is really beyond me...Am I the only one that does this? Read on...tell me your thoughts!

What do you do when someone who is a complete stranger asks you for help? A few moments ago, my next door neighbor rings my door bell. The only thing I know about her are the following points:

• she lives next door


• she and her husband(?) are very quiet


• sometimes she drives a red car


• sometimes there is a white truck in the driveway


• there is a basket ball goal in the front yard, so she probably has kids

So, with that limited knowledge, and no more than an occasional wave (and when I say occasional, I mean probably twice) to say hello in the past year that they've lived there, she rings my doorbell and asks me if I am going anywhere today. Strange, but polite way of asking for something but not imposing on me. I reply "No, why?" and she just says that she needs to go to the post office to be dropped off. I do agree to take her to the post office, after all, I'm home and I am not busy. I tell her I'll be out in a minute I just have to get shoes on, and she waits outside for me. Then after closing the door, that person shows up in my head. You know, the one that doesn't have faith in human kind, the one that doubts the good intent of everyone she sees, the one that thinks anyone who asks favors such as these has demented, psycho intentions and therefore I will end up on the evening news as a missing persons story.

"YOUNG BIRMINGHAM MOTHER AND HER 3 YEAR OLD SON ARE MISSING TONIGHT IN A CLEAR CASE OF VANISHING. SHE WAS LAST SEEN DROPPING HER DAUGHTER OFF AT SCHOOL, AND HOURS LATER....SHE WAS GONE" (insert mystery music here...dun dun duuuunnnnn!)

So why did I agree to this total strangers request? At this point, I didn't even know her NAME! I had no idea who she was other than, she lives next door! What made me agree to help her when I had no idea if I could really trust her? I suppose one could argue both sides of this one.

On the SHOULD NOT have helped side..."you just can't be too careful these days", "in today's world you can't trust anyone", "you never know when someone is going to hurt you, or is setting you up for something".

On the SHOULD help side...Matthew 25:35-40 Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

By the way,

• I now know her name,
• she has 3 kids, and is actually a grandmother of one and one on the way.
• She met her mother at the post office, and together they are going to drive 40 miles to her grandmother's house to check on her, and make sure she has lunch.

The previous verses describes acts of mercy we can be involved in daily. It doesn't matter if you are rich, poor, smart, stupid, physically able or not, they are just merciful acts that we are to do freely...without expectation. We have no excuse to neglect those who have deep needs, whatever they are. We have to step up. The Lord demands our personal involvement in the care of others' needs in Isaiah 58:7 "...to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-when you see the naked, to clothe him..."

For some reason, this is a hard one for me. I want to help people, but my fear of the evil ways of some hold me back. It is definitely something I struggle with, and want to improve, however, with the meanness of the world, and the constant stories of people being kidnapped from shopping centers in day light, pregnant women being abducted because a lonely mother wanted her baby, children coming up missing in carjackings, etc...I wonder how to handle it. I think there is a fine line in today's world...and each situation is different and has to be interpreted by you and the Holy Spirit. I did pray as I got my things together for the Lord to keep me and my son safe as we helped her, and to bless our effort. I had no reservations once she came to the car...things were settled and fine in my heart at that point. To think, I could have let that doubting voice in my head hinder me from being the Lord's vessel today. I would have had to LIE to get out of it...and that would be more fault on me!

ESFJ...WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN???

I found this interesting....I origionally took the Myers-Briggs test as an assignment from our Drama Team leader at church. We are in the beginning stages of forming a Drama Team, and I guess the purpose was to find out the personalities/interests of everyone who has signed up. I pretty much find this to be dead on about me (plus or minus a few points), but what do you think? Have you ever taken a test like this??? What is your personality profile???? If you like this sort of thing, click on the links and take the test for yourself.



More about my personality type...
About the ESFJ Expert Quotes & Links

"Guardians of birthdays, holidays and celebrations, ESFJs are entertainers. They enjoy and joyfully observe traditions and are liberal in giving, especially where custom prescribes."
- ESFJ Profile (TypeLogic)

"ESFJs are people persons - they love people. They are warmly interested in others. They use their Sensing and Judging characteristics to gather specific, detailed information about others, and turn this information into supportive judgments. They want to like people, and have a special skill at bringing out the best in others. They are extremely good at reading others, and understanding their point of view. The ESFJ's strong desire to be liked and for everything to be pleasant makes them highly supportive of others."
- Portrait of an ESFJ (The Personality Page)

"...values relationships and families over intellectual pursuits, group oriented, follows the rules..."
- Jung Type Descriptions (ESFJ) (similarminds.com) "...take it upon themselves to arrange for the health and welfare of those in their care, but they are also the most sociable of all the SJs, and thus are the great nurturers of established institutions such as schools, businesses, churches, social clubs, and civic groups."
- The Portrait of the Provider Guardian (Keirsey)

"At work, ESFJs contribute their ability to cooperate with others and to complete tasks in a timely and accurate way. They respect rules and authority, and handle daily operations efficiently. They tend to be well informed and up-to-date on organizational actions that matter to people. They do what they can to make sure that personal relationships are running smoothly. Because they pay close attention to people's needs and wants, they are often involved in work activities that meet people's practical, day-to-day desires."
- ESFJ - The Helper (Lifexplore)

FAMOUS ESFJ'S

Famous ESFJs

Real ESFJ People

Danny Glover - actor
Desi Arnaz - actor, comedian, musician
Dixie Carter - actress
Don Knotts - comedian
Elvis Stojko - Canadian figure skater
Jack Benny - comedian, actor
John Connally - politician
Mary Tyler Moore - actress, comedian
Nancy Kerrigan - Olympic figure skater
Sally Field - actress
Sally Struthers - actress
Steve Spurrier - football player
Terry Bradshaw - football player
William McKinley - American President


Fictional ESFJs (Characters)

Donald Duck - Disney cartoon character
George Babbitt - Babbit (Sinclair Lewis)
Hoss Cartwright - Bonanza
Leonard "Bones" McCoy - Star Trek
Monica Gellar - Friends
Nurse Haleh Adams - ER
Rabbit - Winnie the Pooh

The Hard Part Is Over...Right???

Well, I'm finally through decorating my classroom! Yesterday was "MEET THE TEACHER" day and I got to meet all 8 of my students and their parents. I really have a great group and I am so excited! Class doesn't start for another week or so, and I am more anxious than ever. Today has been a rough day because I think I was experiencing the beautiful let down. I had prepared so hard to be ready for Meet The Teacher day and when it was finally over, I finally relaxed! Exhaustion does not even begin to describe me today! I literally laid around all day as if I had the flu! Even though I'll really only be teaching 2 days a week once school starts, I have literally been up at the school nearly every day of the week since mid July~so that will seem like a vacation! haha!
Well, here are a few pictures I took the other day while at the school. The room isn't cleaned up of the toys because Ryan was there with me and he had been playing...but I guess it's going to look like that when my students come anyway!