I'm trying to clear out some of my pictures, and when I looked at these, I just couldn't get rid of them. These were the last pictures I made of my kids. I guess I've made 10,000 pictures of them over the last two years. I thought these shots were so sweet. We used them during our Mother's Day program. I also used some of Becky's shots from the program and some pictures of the kids with their moms. I want to have some memories saved from this group of kids I've grown to love so much. 
I miss Easter fun with Katy and Daniel since they're getting older, so I had a blast with hiding Easter eggs with Joseph at Mother and Daddy's house. We enjoyed a great lunch together, and then we went outside to have fun with Joseph. I snapped these pictures of the egg hunter and the beautiful snowball bush in the yard. 
Bright and early Friday morning (May 29), we set off from Henderson to Memphis to visit the zoo. Becky was taking Carter, Laura Beth, and Cecily, and she asked us if we wanted to come along, so Daniel, Katy, and I went along. We had a wonderful day. The zoo was not too crowded, and the weather was wonderful. We loved seeing the lions, tigers, elephants, and of course, the pandas. For some reason the boys (and LB) wanted to visit the snake house all day, so right before we left, we saw all the slithery and slimy snakes. A polar bear swam right up to the glass where the kids were standing, and thy loved that! We were also entertained by some monkeys. We enjoyed a lesson about giraffes from one of the zookeepers.
Field Day was rained out for its original date, and we were beginning to worry about whether we would even get to have it. Finally, the rain stopped for a while, and we were able to enjoy a fun day outside. The kids loved the games, playing on the playground, and the tug of war. We also enjoyed some time just playing with sidewalk chalk, bubbles, balls, and frisbees. The kids found a nest outside, and they were so excited about that. I even ran some of the relay races with the kids - fun, but I was so sore for days afterwards! We had a great day together which is what field day is all about!
I've been so blessed with such a wonderful mother that I'm always looking for opportunities to say thank-you to moms. Before Katy and Daniel were born, I taught at Tri-County Bible School in Decatur, AL. Mrs. Whitson did a Mother's Day program that I just loved, and when I started teaching, I incorporated some of her ideas and began doing a Mother's Day tea with my class. Through the years, the number of moms who work during the day has increased, so I stopped doing it because so many children were disappointed when their mothers could not attend. This year is a special year though. I've had the joy of teaching this class for two years, and the parents have been absolutely wonderful. I really wanted to say thank you in a special way especially to the moms. Each one of the children had a speaking part, and we sang several songs. Then we had cake and punch. We also gave our moms a special gift: a box of love. I made a powerpoint presentation of the children introducing their mothers and saying something that is special about their moms. It was a wonderful day, and I was so proud of all of the children. I will remember this special group of moms (and dads) always. They will always be very special to me. (Thanks for the picture, Becky! I can't believe I didn't make a single picture...)
Tomorrow is Mother's Day. I have been so blessed with a wonderful mother. She always took (and still does) such good care of us. I have such great memories of growing up with such an awesome mother. There's three of us - me, Stacy (2 years younger than me), and Chris (8 years younger than me). We definitely learned that working was preferable to being lazy. We also learned to have respect for our elders. A very important lesson we learned was to help others - taking food, mailing a card, making a phone call to check on someone - Mother does these things all the time. She can sew, is an excellent cook, and loves flowers. She always takes such good care of our daddy, too. I remember her getting up to fix his breakfast before he left for dayshift and then having that breakfast (fried egg, bacon, toast, coffee) ready when he got home from midnight shift. We always look forward to the birthday celebration each year (my birthday and Stacy's both are in August). We love smoked chicken with "Tommy" sauce, so that's what we have. Mother is also an incredible grandmother. She has three grandchildren - Katy, Daniel, and Joseph. They are so lucky to have a grandmother like Nana. All of us have been so blessed by our mother. She is like the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31. Thank you Mother for all you've done for all of us! I love you!!
I've had a big decision to make over the past few weeks. Our principal is taking a job at the Central Office, and our school needed a principal. I really had mixed feelings about the position at first - more than mixed feelings - I love teaching!!! I cannot imagine myselft not teaching. After lots of prayer and advice from different people, I decided to take this opportunity. I hope that I will be able to help more children in this position. I also want to help keep East Chester doing what I feel is most important: love all children and take them as far as they can go regardless of their circumstances in life. Please pray that this decision will work out to be what's best for me and my family as well as the East Chester family. I'll probably be posting challenges and hopefully triumphs as I begin this new phase of my career. 
