Almost August!

This is not the summer I had planned....not even close....no vacation, no room re-do, no weight loss, no energy. This was the summer I...pulled my back out while cleaning my classroom, pain close to childbirth, physical therapy for 8 weeks, disappointment in not reaching goals i set. I have finally come to accept where I am at and try to find the joy of the here and now.

The best part of my summer was my brother bob, wife danyelle and heath came to visit and my mom's first scan since her chemo came back clear. Big things to be joyful about! I have also faced the realization that my mom is changed forever from the cancer and things will never be the same. I know that I need to be here for her now and take care of things in our house from now on. I have been fighting this and it has caused me a lot of grief wanting things the way they were.

So I am moving forward and also learning to take some quality time for myself. I am starting to walk again and need to sit down and paint. Need to write it here...I will paint at least 3 times a week, yes!
I have finally broken my bad eating habits...no caffeine, no soda, no processed sugar, no gluten. Forgot how hard it was the first time I did this and still want my pepsi!!! Realization of how much food is my crutch/comfort in times of stress.

I will be sharing the few things I have done over the summer in the next few weeks and starting the prep work for school to begin. Hope you have all had a great June and July.

It has been a long time since I've posted but something major happened in my life that made it impossible for me to keep up with everything.  My mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January.  It has been a scary journey.  My mom was blessed to have the tumor in an operable place with hope of some years left.  Surgery was very complicated but my mom came thru super well and has fully recovered from it.  She is now in her second month of chemo and has a hard time keeping weight on.  I don't know why this has happened in our family but am trusting God to see us thru.  The hardest part for me is seeing my son have to be in the middle of this, as we live with my mom.  

While this has been going on, things at work have been super stressful because of budget issues.  I have a new contract for next year but I will no longer be 100%, instead I will be 80%.  I don't know how I will make up the loss as of yet.  There have been a few teachers who haven't gotten a contract next year and a few with bigger cuts then me.  It will be a completely different environment next year.  Praying that our school can recover from this and grow in the coming years.

While this has been going on, I am so thankful for my family and friends who have helped out in so many ways.  

Thank you to all of you!!  

Bragging

My son is very talented in the arts.  He has quite an imagination.  His drawings remind me a bit of Tim Burton.  We went to see Burton's collection when it was at MOMA this past year. Nathaniel really enjoyed his dark humor.
Thought I would share a few of my son's drawings.  Most are made while he is in school-shh!  He seems to learn through it.  Being an artist I let him go and leave it up to his teachers to decide if it is a distraction.