A Week's Worth of Activities

It has been a busy and tiring week! Here is what's been going on in the Sanders' home.

Friday night, Mama, Daddy, Pam, me, and Jared went out to eat dinner at Ruby Tuesday (one of my favorite restaurants). By the way, we were seated as soon as we walked in at about 6:30. After that we went over to Aldi's and the Dollar Tree. We had a good time together and laughed a lot. Jared had been away for the week and spent nights alone so he was starving for some socialization, which means he acted crazy! It was fun, though!

Saturday was our day of charity work. Jared played in the ICYC golf tournament and I bowled in the MDA Bowl-A-Thon. That night we all went to see Joseph in "Little Shop of Horrors." It was great! He was the 60 pound puppet of Audrey II, the plant! He was awesome, like always!

Sunday Pam fed us all. She made some delicious chicken tettrazinni and some awful cheese biscuits. lol She can make good ones, but she tried a different recipe and substituted ingredients. YUCK! That afternoon was also a day of charity because I did Pam's laundry for her! lol After church that night we went with the usual crowd to Jacks and it was good.

Monday I attended the viewing of my friend, Mr. Horace. I asked his wife where the peppermint and butterscotch were. She laughed and said if she had thought about it she would have put some in his pockets. It was good to see her and she cried a little when I walked in. Course, I did too. I found out nothing, as far as they know at this point, was wrong with him. They woke up Friday morning. He went to the restroom to get ready for the day and she began cooking breakfast. She kept calling him to let him know that his breakfast was ready. When he didn't respond she opened the door and found him dead in the floor. Just like that! What a shock it must have been for her to have found him like that. He was 79. No funeral, just visitation and a small burial. Mrs. Reanie said he didn't want people standing over him crying and he didn't want a sad service with sad music and all. Well, on with Monday, that night was Open House at the school so I was there until a little after 8 pm. Joseph called me before Open House and asked me to come and eat dinner with him and Pam at her house. I did and it was fun and good!
Tuesday night we went to the Polishing the Pulpit to hear Thom Holland. He was excellent! We got to see some friends from PA, Jody, Evelyn, and Julia Apple. We stayed late and visited with them.
That about sums up my week. I hear Jared is home so I better go and get dinner started!

A Sad Day

Not only was today a hard day in the classroom, but it was also a sad day. My friend, Horace Collins, passed away today. He and his wife had volunteered at PGES for many years. They even had a badge they wore everyday that said who they were and that they were special volunteers. When I had the opportunity to choose which classroom I wanted last year, I did not realize that I was also receiving the good help of the Collins'. They had helped the teacher who had occupied my room before. So, when school started last year they came to me and offered their services. Every afternoon they would show up for the last couple of hours of school and help me stuff folders, hang up art work, wash my whiteboard, and Mr. Horace would do odd jobs around he classroom. They did a lot for me including helping me gain about 10 pounds! Mr. Collins brought me several candy bars a week, plus cinnamon peppermint discs and butterscotch candies. Whenever my candy jar on my desk would get low, he would refill it! They quickly became my good friends! They were good company and good help! They decided at the end of last year they would no longer come to the school on a regular basis. They may visit once in a while, but that would be it. Mrs. Collins' would be staying home with a new grandbaby due in October. I haven't seen or heard from them since the end of school. I thought Mr. Horace might call and see how I was doing this summer. I never heard from him. I wish I had called them. You see, Mr. Horace loved to talk on the phone. When I was out with the dreaded stomach virus, Mr. Collins called to check on me because I was not at work and I had not mentioned being out. He also knew about the storm that hit Adamsville and wanted to know if we were ok. Mr. Horace really wanted me to come to his house and have ice cream with him and Mrs. Reanie, he wanted to show me her cookie jar collection, and visit with them. I don't know any details about why he passed or if he had any health problems at all. I have missed them so much this school year! I wish I would have called them sooner to tell them so. I received the message about his passing right before lunch today. My children were sharing news with the class and I turned to read a message on the computer screen from the office. I had to read it three times to beleive it! I couldn't hold back the tears and when I turned to face the class they just stared back at me. I asked them to sit quietly for a moment so I could step in the hall. The teacher next door came to the classroom to tell them why I was upset. Some got a little upset themselves because they knew him as well. Let me just say that it is very hard to put on a smile and try to teach after such news, especially on a day that was already rough (I have some doosies in my class, let me tell you!). We soon had to go to lunch. I sat there quietly and ate which is not normal for me. I usually take lunch as an opportunity to get to know the kids individually. I must have looked real sad despite my efforts, because one of my sweet little boys turns to me and smiles and then says, "Mrs. Sanders, I'm gonna pray real hard tonight that that man comes back to life so you won't have to cry anymore! I don't want you to be sad!" Then he jumped up and gave me the biggest hug. It was both funny and sweet of him! It did not help the tears, but it was awfully thoughtful! Kids are special. I always thought I attracted three kinds of people- Kids, Old People, and Crazies! Please note that I tried to end on a light note because I don't want my post to be completely sad. lol My next post should be on a lighter note because I have a big day full of fun and adventures waiting for me!

Scaredy Cat!

I didn't want to post about this earlier in the week because I didn't want some "bad guy" on the internet to track me down and get me! I have been all alone all week long. I am a REALLY big chicken and could never live by myself. I suddenly hear noises that are normally there, but I don't think about them until I am alone. Jared has been in Montgomery all week at his warehouse there. He left Tuesday morning. Tuesday night I was on the phone with him, in the laundry room, and I swear the hot water heater was about to blow up and I was going to burn to death or the house was gonna burn if I was ever so lucky to be away from the explosion! I don't know why, but over the last two weeks I am paranoid that every major thing we own is about to break down and cost us lots of money! I know why though. We spent a lot to have our bathroom remodeled and then about two weeks ago, our good friend from college, Randy, called to say that he was getting married December 22 and Jared is to be in the wedding. Last week we bought the plane tickets to Arizona and it was reasonable; however, we are to be there for 6 days! We will get home on Christmas morning! There are not many people that we would go to the trouble for, but Randy is one of the very few. Now I start to worry over every purchase because it is gonna be an expensive trip at the most expensive time of year! Anyway, back to me being a big chicken, last night, as I was pulling out of the church parking lot, I saw 3 cop cars whiz past at like 100 miles an hour! This gets me rattled because they must be after a "bad guy" and I have always been sensitive to people doing bad things - for example, whenever there was fight in the hall in high school my heart would race and I would just worry over the people. Then my mind starts to going and I think "what if there are "bad guys" on the loose and they are running loose in my neighborhood and I am home all alone!!!!" I promise I am not crazy, it just sounds like! So, I called Jared and made him stay on the phone with me until I was safely dead bolted into the house. Hopefully, tonight, I will hear nothing out of the ordinary. Just me, my soaps on dvr, and a good book (Harry Potter).

Tidbits!

This weekend was a relaxing one! We ate at Golden Rule BBQ in Irondale. I got to see an old student and her family. Well...I didn't actually "see" her because the lights went out at the restaurant, right after we were served our drinks! We just had to have faith and hope what we ordered was actually what was on our plates! lol We were using cell phones as lights! It was humorous and made for a good adventure! Saturday we went to Hannah's 1 st birthday party! She is the sweetest baby! It was also nice to see friends we don't get to see very often (Brandi, Michelle, and Shannon)! After the party we went back to Josh and Katie's to watch "Facing the Giants." It was a cute movie. It had two of Jared's favorite things- football and miracles! lol J/K! Sunday night we went with the usual crowd. We ate at Dairy Queen. It was better than it has been in a long time. They even let me order a bacon cheeseburger without the burger! Those of you who know me know I do not like hamburgers so this was a nice treat! Last night Jared and I spent the evening trying fix up business cards for him and Dad. They are in a side business with another man and his wife. They sell and deliver medical supplies to people who are not on hospice or who do not have insurance or medicaid does not cover supplies, things like adult diapers, poise pads, bed pads, sheets, wipes, baby diapers, etc. Prices are lower than Wal-Mart and are delivered right to your home. If you want to know more, let me know and I will hook you up! lol I better go make dinner. We had grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch today and they were so tasty I decided to have it again for dinner. Have a nice evening!

The BEST husband in the world!!!

As you can guess from the title, I think I have the best husband in the world! Last night after church, Jared came in and cooked dinner. I got to work on the ironing and preparing for work the next day. I had meant to cut out all my things that I had laminated that afternoon, but with bill paying and other chores, I didn't have time. When I came out of the laundryroom I found Jared sitting in the floor, cutting out my laminated stuff. It was so sweet! I went on to bed later, after we finished watching Big Brother 8, of course! Before I drifted off to bed, I could hear Jared cutting away, trying to finish it for me. And then tonight, he came in from work and got started on it again! I really had a lot of little pieces and he is trying so hard not to mess them up. I am so lucky to have a partner who helps out and does what needs being done!

The Start of a New School Year

It's official, it's the start of a new school year! I miss summer already, but will soon be back into the swing of the school year. My class seems to be a pretty good one. We'll see what the future holds. Of course, I miss my kids from last year and find myself looking for them in the halls. I've seen them all from last year except one and I know she is there somewhere because her mom registered her the night I helped with registration. She told me that she wanted me to be her teacher again, which is a nice compliment! It's always a little hectic in the beginning until schedules are tweaked and routines are in place and running smoothly.
Our friend Randy called Wed. night and said that he was getting married on Dec. 22, 2007 and wants Jared to be in the wedding. Did I mention that he is getting married in Phoenix, Arizona and right at Christmas time? We better start saving now because plane tickets are already expensive to go out there (which is why we have never been before), but at Christmas time! I guess Randy is worth it :) We might end up spending Christmas out there, we just don't know yet.
In other news, Jared is considering starting a blog, but doesn't know if he will keep it up regularly. Stay tuned! Well, I am tired so I will go. I will try to do a better job of updating from now on.