strangerthan

Since my first Conchords installment has been bumped off the front page...I thought I would add this little ditty. How could I pass up Jenny?

October 24th was our first Outdoor Ed Day at Durango Academy.  I took seven of my students in the Hummer.  Chip gave them a great ride and we all had a great time.  There was plenty of hootin' and hollarin'!

We took some great portraits in Farmington.  The wind was blowing and the kids were freezing, but they turned out well anyhow.

I must write a worship song of that title!

What a week this has been! Last week Oscar's stutter returned - with a vengence. By Wednesday, the teacher told Chip it was painful to watch him try and communicate. Wednesday was Show and Tell. My super verbal, little man-of-words came home from school the most frustrated he's ever been - it was heart-breaking. Chip made an appointment to see the school counselor on Monday morning.

That evening, Chip shared a story with me about another church in town and the miraculous things they have been experiencing. As a sat and talked with Oscar, listening to him restart each sentence four or five times, I became very aware of what I needed to do. I needed to pray with Oscar about his words. I needed to pray boldly for Oscar, that God would take away his stutter. I needed to give Jesus an opportunity to become real to my son, or not.

So, I prayed (Oscar doesn't yet like to pray aloud) and asked Jesus to give Oscar great peace, make his tougue work smoothly and all his words come out easily. When I finished praying, Oscar began talking to me about his transformer and about his dinner...without one false start. The stutter was gone.

In about fifteen minutes I asked Oscar if he had noticed his words were coming out easily. He slowly smiled and nodded his head. We high-fived. I thanked God for showing up for my boy. What a deal!

We pray each morning before he heads out for school. It always calms him and I see that God has hooked Himself into Oscar's heart. He now knows he has a prayer story. What could be better than that.

I had so much more to say about my week...but really the rest of it pales in comparison.

A birthday party disaster averted! Normally, I make the show-stopping birthday cake the day before the party. Now that I work, I was forced to construct the cake the day of the party. This left me no time for re-dos. Of course, the first half of giant pumpkin cake I was supposed to construct came out of the pan in three large chunks. With a deep breath I began plan B. While the cake was still warm, I began to compact the cake into four balls the size of grapefruit. The cake, being moist and dense, miraculously held together. I began to melt my orange icing and pour it over the cake balls. After refrigerating the cake balls, I added more layers of icing until the balls were well covered. I then piped jack-o-lantern faces, leaves and vines. A green gumdrop served well as the stem. The little, individual cakes were super cute and no one but me (and Chip - who laughed his head off) knew of my original plan. Let's hear it for innovation - and a satisfied birthday boy!

Work has been looking up recently. I seem to have found a rhythm that allows me to sleep at night and work at a reasonable pace. I have connected a bit more with my colleagues and am enjoying their personalities. The students seem to have found an appreciation (buried deep, deep down inside their collective subconscious) for my teaching and the amount they are learning. The school is still working to find itself a secure and vital role in the district...but as teachers, we are no longer responsible for the hashing out of these administrative details. The students really are stuggling and I need to focus all my attention on their learning - bearing the burden for planning a new school was an unreasonable load and I am glad to be out from under it. Things are looking up.

We spent the weekend in Moab and visited Arches National Park.  Wow!  It is just stunning - with lost of great short hikes for the kids.

Way to go girls! I am so proud of you!