Some Frozen February Memories

We are all guilty of it; getting caught up in the day-to-day living that we sometimes forget to actually live. To live is to show love to those people who mean so much in our lives. I have been so blessed to have several days off work with my family this week. Honestly, I've been so desperate for these days that they rain teardrops in the form of delicate snowflakes over and over again. Thank you sweet Jesus for these days.

Family Time During Teacher Appreciation Days

 Over the last 2 weekends we have taken advantage of Teacher Appreciation Days in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. We took Makayla and Jackson to Ripley’s Aquarium and strolled around downtown Gatlinburg. I have to admit I’m a little partial to Gatlinburg; an adorable quaint town that hosts so many tourists yet still has a hometown feel. The kids were treated to their first chocolate covered banana and they loved it. Was it worth $3 bucks? Definitely! The kids enjoyed every bite.

(these are taken with my camera phone...I'm saving up to get a new camera...a real one)

at the aquarium

This past weekend Tim and I took a date day while MG and Jack had a fun filled day at Nana and Grandad’s house. Amelia, Anna Catherine, and Annabel were visiting so it was a house full of sweet children. Aunt Summer was there too so it was a special treat. Makayla and Jackson took the cookies they had made the night before. When we picked them up that evening we saw that all the cookies had been eaten and neither Makayla or Jackson had taken naps that day. Did it really surprise me since they were “SUGAR COOKIES”.

Jack, Anna Catherine, Amelia, Annabel, Makayla

So while the kids were busy playing and eating cookies Tim and I were busy at the FREE attractions in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. We had a blast at The Tomb. We were successful archeologists who escaped the wrath of the Pharaoh. It was interesting and a little bit funny. Then we went to the Mirror Maze, Put-Putt, and a 5D Theater. Did I tell you it was all for FREE? Hey that might not be a big deal for some people but it is for us. I really appreciate all the local companies doing Teacher Appreciation Days. For a total of $30 bucks we visited 4 attractions, had garage parking, ate a delicious Mexican lunch (blue corn tortilla rolled enchiladas), and had desert (my favorite food on a stick: Caramel apple rolled in chopped nuts). What a blessing these small things can be!

only thing running through my mind: walk like an Egyption...

My Puzzle Prince. :-)

"cheat meal" although we skipped the rice altogether. It was really good.

I’m so thankful for all the treasures in this life whether big or small.

~ The smiles on my children’s faces

~ The chocolate on Makayla’s face while she says, ‘This is so good Mommy. Thank you sooo much!”

~ Jackson’s cheer, with arms raised, as he sees the penguins for the first time

~ The beauty of the mountains surrounding us

~ The gentle breeze and autumn’s falling leaves that speak God’s perfect creation

~ The strangers that smile as they walk past

~ The long awaited date day with my husband; a time to reconnect during this busy season of our lives

~ Knowing my children are being loved more than we know while visiting their grandaparents

~ Orange pumpkins’ everywhere which give light to the fall harvest

~ The sun on my face as I count my blessings, knowing every single blessing is from my Father

~ The strength God has given me over the last several weeks to fight adversity in terms of health problems. He is my strength.

~ Tim getting several little jobs on the side that has helped us pay our daycare bill-not to mention the after school tutoring job I’m doing. God is providing for us daily. We pray that we stay in His Will. We pray that if He opens doors that we see them and not be too busy to pass it by. We pray that every decision we make is in God’s Will and that He would shut doors that are not His Will and open the ones that are. He is able. I want to live for Him always.

God is in the details of life. Thank you Jesus! 

Back to Work

The first official day back to school for teachers is tomorrow morning and I’m not gonna lie, I would rather summer stick around a lot longer. I have so many mixed emotions about going back to work. Yes, I like teaching. Yes, I think I’m a good teacher. But, I just wish I could stay home. I know-I know-I’ve written the same thing every August for the last 3 years. Well, that just tells you that it hasn’t gotten any easier for me. I do what I have to do.  I hope this school year is less stressful. Last year was tough…really tough. I could write an entire blog about it but it’s in the past. Quite frankly, I don’t want to relive it so I will skip the part of explaining. I spent last week sanding, priming, and painting some of my bookcases. They looked grungy and I needed the room lightened up. I totally rearranged everything. I get bored with the same old set up. I switch around my room every year. This year I bought new décor-it looks fabulously refreshing. Is fabulously a word? I still have a ton of stuff to do and zillions of copies to be made. I’m sure those things will get done at some point this week between meetings and lunch with my fellow teachers. I can’t wait to catch up and see how everyone’s summer break was. Mine was terrific! We didn’t go anywhere special but we didn’t need to; we had each other and that was perfect enough.

So let’s chat about daycare. The kids started transitioning to daycare last week and that went well. I think starting them on half days a week early helped out. The kids are doing great so far. Makayla will start the Abeka curriculum in a few weeks and I’m looking forward to that-I know she is! I thought Jackson would have a really hard time because he craves one-on-one attention, but he seems to be adjusting well. I am so thankful that both my little munchkins are adjusting well. They are my sweet little rays of sunshine and I just want them to be cared for and loved. I know they will be well cared for at the daycare.

So I’m off to bed now. Do you like how I start so many paragraphs with the word ‘so’? You would think that I wouldn’t since I’m a teacher but I just tend to write however I feel like it on this blog. Not to mention I am deliriously tired tonight. Goodnight & God Bless.

Shawna

Priceless Potential for Children- Proud of My 2nd Graders!

For a moment I thought to myself, “Can second graders do a book report or am I asking too much from them? My second thought was something like this, “We should never doubt that a child can do something because if you doubt that a child can do it then they probably won’t-even if they can. If you encourage a child and praise them for their effort they just may surprise you.”
Kids want to know that you are proud of the hard work they did.”
I am an optimistic teacher. I truly believe that given the right environment, with clear directions and a supportive atmosphere, that children will rise to the occasion and learning will be maximized.

Here are just a few of the book reports my 2nd grade students did.Click on the picture to get a better view of their awesome work!

Here are just 4 of them. I have 16 more hanging on my classroom walls.

Book report for a fiction story

-one for non-fiction-

A high expectation for your children (students) to do their personal best naturally creates an atmosphere of accomplishment. These accomplishments or “achievements” may or may not appear as ‘proficient’ or ‘advanced’ on a standardized achievement test, but they will appear as priceless potential in the hearts of our children. I personally believe that “in the heart is where it starts!”

Words to leave you with today.
Remember to praise your children, whether it is your own children or other children in your life-or both. Encourage them, love them, and let them know by your words and actions that you care and are for them. Above all, let them know that love and kindness bring light into this world. After all, our children today are our leaders of tomorrow.

I Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up…”

Schools Around the World

This morning I became curious to learn about schools around the world. Now, being a teacher, I am not oblivious to the different types of schooling around the world. But I just wanted to remind myself in case I find myself complaining about my classroom this year. We are so blessed in this country! For many of us to sit and complain about or constantly make negative comments about different aspects of our kids school is seemingly absurd! It's also disrespectful to the educators who have put in 60 plus hours at school this past week to prepare for their students. Americans need to stop being so self-centered and take a look around!

I'm still "Mrs. Finstad"

I had not heard “Mrs. Finstad” in several weeks so I was a little nervous about going back to work. It’s so funny how the moment I stepped back into my classroom it seemed like I never left. My students welcomed me back with smiles, hugs, and many hand-made cards. Kids are absolutely precious! I know there must be a greater reason I am a teacher…maybe, just maybe it’s to touch the life of at least one child. And if I mean something to just that one child that needs me in their life at the given moment, and that’s where God has kept me, then it’s worth it.

Here is one of the notes from a child...very sweet.

God Bless,

Shawna

Back to Work

Well I’ve been back to work for three weeks now, and I think I’m getting a little use to getting up so early in the morning. I definitely miss spending the entire day with Makayla. She has grown so much over the summer, and I am so proud of all the things she is learning. She just learned to say “juice” and is trying to say “baby” too. I am so thankful to God for blessing me with such an awesome daughter. I love every part of being a wife and a mom and wish I could be a sahm all year long. Luckily, I am teacher so I get to look forward to being a sahm every summer; now that is a true blessing!

I will be honest and say there have been a few times when I wondered if what I do every day as a teacher truly makes a difference. Sometimes I feel like my daily tasks at work are so monotonous.  I certainly know other people may feel the same way. My days and weeks feel so busy since I’ve been back to work. I just really want to make sure I am giving the same energy to my family as I’m giving to my students. I work my butt off trying to be a good teacher, a good role model, and a good employee. And I strive so much to be a good wife, mom, daughter, sister, and friend. How can I do all of this? Only with God’s help of course! I find myself thinking of Mary, mother of Jesus. Can you imagine what Mary must have gone through? She was about to get married to Joseph and an angel appears to her and tells her she will be with child and will give birth to a son. She must have felt such a huge responsibility. She must have wondered if she was doing things good enough, and if she could be the person God wanted her to be. But Mary trusted God through it all, and her story teaches us that in order to be willing to accept God's plan for our lives, we must know Him, believe in Him, seek Him and trust in Him. It’s a journey of being obedient to God through everything, including the small things.

God is always so faithful, and knows exactly what our needs are. Early last week we had Parent Orientation at school. Once it was over a mom of one of my former students came up to me. She reminded me of how irritated she felt when her son got me as a teacher 3 years ago. She said she just knew the entire year could be thrown in the trash since I was a “new teacher”. She really didn’t have to remind me of this however, because I remember the night clearly. I was a brand new teacher at my school, completely blinded by excitement that I failed to prepare myself for parents that didn’t want their child to have a “new teacher”. Anyhow, last week she told me something that I really needed to hear at that time. She said, “We really thought that year was going to be awful, but it turned out to be the best year, and Johnny (made-up name) still misses you. He has that country project ya’ll did still sitting in the garage and won’t get rid of it! We really hoped our daughter would get you as a teacher this year.” Wow! Now that made me feel like maybe I made a difference in someone’s life. I hope and pray that God allows me to do that as often as possible.

So no matter what I am feeling inside or what I'm going though, I know there is a Maker, my Maker, who is greater than anything! And you know what? In all the busyness of life God never leaves me or forsakes me; He is for me.

“So faithful
So constant
So loving and so true
So powerful in all you do
You fill me
You see me
You know my every move
You love for me to sing to you

I know that you are for me
I know that you are for me
I know that you will never forsake me in my weakness
I know that you have come down
Even if to write upon my heart
To remind me who you are”

God Bless,

Shawna

 

An Update From Shawna's Desk...(this will be long)

Busy as a Bee...

 Me at work

It is hard to believe we are already into the month of March! Work has been super busy getting my students prepared for Benchmark Testing and now getting ready to review for the ever-so-loved TCAP Assessment. Some days it feels like I will never catch up with the never ending amount of papers I have to grade. While other days I feel so proud of myself for getting it all done. Either way, I know there will always be something more for me to do tomorrow. It can get really overwhelming at times. However, I am often reminded just how rewarding my job is when I get a hug, a note, or a pretty picture from one of my students. As cliché as this may sound, I really want to make a difference as a teacher.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you about my new writing job. I have started writing website articles in my spare time (lol) to save up some extra cash (lol again..cash is not extra...it's needed). So far, I've written 5 articles in one week and made $75 bucks! I've been staying up late to do it, but we want to pay off our cars and take a fun vacation, so I'm gonna stick to it. Actually, I really enjoy writing. I hope to start writing articles on education soon!

On Marriage...

Tim started college in January so we have been adjusting over the last few months. He is going to be a teacher! Woo-hoo! He is great with kids and loves math, so I know he will do a great job once he graduates. I am not bragging (okay maybe a little) but I am so blessed to have the best husband ever! He helps me with so many things around the house. We are a team. After being together for 8 years, we still talk to each other on the phone everyday during our lunch breaks. Tim's co-workers tease him about this but he just tells them that he enjoys talking to his wife (that's me!). Tim makes me feel special, and I do my best to make him feel special too. Our marriage is not perfect by any means. It bothers me a little when he plays his video games until 2 am Saturday, and then sleeps in late. But I have to remember that 'playing video games' is his recreation, and at least he does it when Makayla and I are sleeping. And I know I drive Tim absolutely nuts with my obsessive compulsive behavior. And he wishes I would cook dinner more often and opt out of the frozen pizza 3 nights a week. I know..I know. LOL! But of course these are all little bothers, and in a marriage you can't let the little bothers bother you a lot. We try not to dwell on the negatives but think of the positive attributes that each of us brings to our marriage. We forgive each other (Think about it...God forgives us and we don't deserve it). I am reminded of these beautiful verses...

Ephesians 5:23-32


^"23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. ²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself."

My prayer tonight is for marriages all around our nation be strengthened. Also, that couples will put God first and not sweat the small stuff.

God Bless,
Shawna

First Week Back to Work

My first week back to work was how I expected....difficult and exhausting. Each morning as Tim would leave to take MG to Nana's house, I would feel sick to my stomach. Literally, I felt like I was going to vomit, but I never did.  People kept saying, "Don't worry, it will get easier!" That entire statement is just a bit annoying in my opinion. Yes, I will have no choice but to get used to it, but it will never be easy to leave my daughter with someone else. A lady I know went back to work just three weeks after having her baby, some go back in six weeks, and some get the luxury of staying home. Thankfully, I was to able to stay out for 11 weeks with Makayla. It was the most wonderful 11 weeks getting to know my beautiful daughter. She does something new everyday, and she is getting so big so fast. After weeks of staring and smiling at her own feet, she finally found them yesterday! Way to go Makayla! Now, about my week at work. I had more work to catch up on than I had expected. I am a teacher so you can only imagine...well, maybe you can't imagine because most people have no idea the amount of meetings and paperwork that come along with the job. Add that to getting to know my students, giving assessments to find out what they've learned, and smiling at all the other teachers I pass in the hallway, when all I really want to do it catch my breath! Oh and did I mention the fact that I pump  any chance I get? I was super busy and very drained by Friday. In fact, I fell asleep on the couch Friday at 7:30 pm. The fact that I have a job that I enjoy makes this whole transition manageable.  A friend called to check on me and graciously reminded me that God placed me where He wants me. That reminded me once again that it's not all about me. 
I feel so blessed that MG's Nana is taking care of her. You see, if me and Tim have to work, then my mom would be the only other person I would want taking care of my little girl. I sure missed Makayla so much, and I know this week won't be any easier. MG smiled so happily every day when I picked her up. My daughter's smile melts my heart.