A New Beginning.... after a tough school year.....

Some years are tough, and with some years, it's even tougher to return. In this post, I share a few reasons why.

Hello Friends,

Well.... It's summer break and I am FINALLY back to myself; both emotionally and physically. It's been a long journey this school year. Last summer, my Dad was diagnosed with leukemia. He has finished his chemo/treatment, but it was a big hit to our family. We have not experienced something this serious before and we are so grateful that now he is on the road to good health.

Then in October, I broke my ankle and was in a boot/crutches until December. THEN as a family, we took a trip to Lake Geneva Wisconsin where my youngest son broke his sternum and knee while downhill skiing. He and his 18 month old German Shepherd moved in with us for 5 weeks while my son healed and recuperated.

And finally, in April, I thought I was experiencing severe reactions to my spring allergies. But come to find out, I had a bad virus (one that they could not give me a name) which caused me to get an ear infection which led to me contracting Bells Palsy. Bells Palsy is a temporary paralysis of one side of the face which is caused by a virus. They have no idea what causes one person to get Bells Palsy and another not to get it BUT as the unlucky person who got it, it is AWFUL! Lucky for me, I had a mild case and other than slurring some of my words and having to tape my eye closed at night because the nerve that controls my eye was paralyzed and I could not blink, no one really noticed. I now have all feeling back in my face - hurray! Whew..... I was never happier to see school close and summer to come! I am LOVING being outside in the sun. I felt like a bear in a cave all winter; hardly able to get outside. It's almost as if my body is craving the Vitamin D because I have found myself finding a sunny spot in the lawn and simply standing there.

I share all this because I have been terrible at blogging this year and I hope to get back to it on a more timely basis than once every 6 weeks or so!

I love my kinders and will miss them terribly... but I need this break and am smiling in anticipation of a relaxing and HEALTHY summer break!

Here are a few random things happening in my life presently....

1. My oldest son graduated in May! I am so proud of him. He took the long way to graduation... starting, quitting, getting married, working, starting, quitting, and then finally finishing! Not everyone finishes their college journey in 4 years; sometimes it takes a little longer. We are all different and I am proud of his perseverance.

2. Last year, I planted 3 milkweed plants in our school garden. This year, those 3 plants reproduced to ten! I am working on transforming our garden into a Monarch butterfly way station. My hope is to get it to the point where we can be listed on our local Farm Bureau stats for Monarch butterflies. I have already seen Monarch butterflies visiting, but have not seen any caterpillars yet.

3. Every summer, I review the products in my TPT store making revisions and adding new ones. Last year, my goal was to create an ABC Science/STEM resource which took me most of the summer to complete. THIS summer, I am revising and adding to my religion resources. Keep watching for new product notices from TPT if you are interested in these resources. I will also post them on my blog when I get them all uploaded.

Here is a screen shot of the "Miracles of Jesus" resource that I ALMOST have finished....

4. One fun purchase that we made this year was a new table for our kitchen. I wish that I could get have gotten the chairs, but.... oh well....... maybe next year!

5. One of our teachers retired this year after THIRTY FOUR years! I made this fun retirement basket for her. We collected money from our staff and then used it to purchase gift cards. It was fun to put together! The words say" RELAX, EAT, TRAVEL, INDULGE, READ, ENJOY.

6. Finally..... we had SO MUCH rain in early spring. So much that we had a Mallard duck sitting in our front yard! Now, though, weather has taken a turn for the dry and we are praying for rain..... sigh.....