Unbroken Circle ~ An Update

Our family circle is once again unbroken ~
Austin is home!

After six days in the hospital, 
he is home. 

And, we are thankful.
Each day is a gift.

Once off the antibiotics and settled into a new
heart medicine regime,
Austin progressively began recovering.
Thank you so much for praying!  
He is much better now than he was prior to his hospital stay.

He, however, is lighter...
not really what we wanted, but it is what it is! 
Time, and the Lord's healing Hand upon him
should take care of that.  
Perhaps a little home cooking will help too?  :)

Surgery is still slated for the 4th.

We wait.  And, we pray.

The pacemaker is not where our hope lies.

Our hope lies in our Great God.

And, we know that He does all things well.

Even when those things are not our first pick.

Or, even our second or third pick!

Whatever the Lord gives, 
He gives out of a heart of love.

Perfect love.  

We rest in the knowledge 
that our times are in His hands.
And, He orders our steps.
And, His ways are much higher than ours.

How blessed we are!

Trials of life draw us closer to Him.
They reveal more of His Wonderful Nature to us.
We are sustained by the will of His Power.
That actually is the case always.
It just seems to become all the more
precious at times like these.

Thank you for praying!
We are thankful for each one of you.

May the LORD bless you all!
In HIS Love,
Camille

Roller Coaster ~ An Update

It feels a little like we've been riding

a  Roller Coaster.

Up and down, and whipped back up again,

only to come crashing back down!

It's certainly been an interesting journey,

and we do not have all the answers.

The specialists don't either.

It's a little confusing and difficult to untangle.

Austin was admitted for heart failure 

management and to prep his body for surgery.

While in ICU Austin's temp was up a little.

(It was HOT in there).

Due to Austin's physical condition, 

it was decided to give a potent IV antibiotic.

An infection could be fatal to Austin at this time.

It was a reasonable thing to do.

However, the culture that they took

at the time the antibiotics were started came back negative.

The IV antibiotics were stopped as soon as that news was received.

But, they had already rendered their nasty side effects.

Crohn's is now in a full-on flare.

He seemed to be well managed on that front on admission.

Austin is now more sick than he was last week.

Two sets of specialists are continually assessing Austin ~

Cardiologists and Gastroenterologists.

Please pray that they both would have insight and wisdom

to know what to do for Austin.

Please pray that we would have wisdom to

pursue the right course of treatment for our precious son.

Please pray that God would continue to have HIS

way in this whirlwind.

HE is Good.  Always.

Thank you so much!

We appreciate each and every one of you!

With Love,
Camille

Reindeer, Reading, and...Pugs?

It's the most wonderful time of year!  I have been unusually "Christmasy" this year--I think I went into Christmas mode a few weeks ago.  Not that I'm a scrooge or anything, but each year I get so overwhelmed with all the things that have to be done to prepare, that I end up feeling kind of sad and stressed out!  This year, I am determined NOT to stress over the holiday I love the most!  

So, I got a "little bit" of a head start.  We decorated our house for Christmas last week.  We also have watched Elf!  I had already shopped for most of my gifts before Black Friday.  {What, what!?}  I have wrapped up my daughter's Christmas books in anticipation of doing a Christmas picture book countdown each night!  I have even already read The Purpose of Christmas by Rick Warren--as a reminder to myself to keep the true meaning and purpose of Christmas first in my mind as the holiday planning gets underway.  

I also want to bring the magic of Christmas alive for my students!  It is so fun teaching the little ones at this time of year, because they have the best stories to tell about their elves.  And they love writing letters to Santa and making their lists.  It is also amazing that a simple reminder that "Santa Claus is coming to Town" will straighten up behavior!  They all seem to have a little sparkle in their eye when we come to school in our PJ's for Polar Express Day!  Their excitement is contagious, and it is such a blessing to be around.  That said, we have FOUR weeks from now until our Christmas break.  This is going to be a l-o-n-g stretch, especially with 20 very excited kiddos!  

So, what to do to keep learning fun and engaging for four weeks?  Well, next week, we will have some

silly reindeer fun with ABC order, and a fun reindeer craftivity from my Reindeer Games packet...

The week after next, we are beginning our Christmas Around the World journey!  I can't wait to take this class aboard Christmas Airlines! (This unit will take 2-3 weeks--I am planning on spending around 2 days visiting each country!)    *This year I have added a supplement pack to my Christmas Around the World Scrapbook!  It is a FREE download, and provides a planning calendar, parent letters to send home, and craft templates!  Please go download if you purchased my scrapbook last year!  It has helped me to be super organized this year!*

I have been working on this packet since this summer, and finally finished it this weekend!  We are learning all about short vowel u next week, and "Pugsley the Pug" is going to join in the phonics fun.  This packet has 9 activities for literacy stations or small group review--so, basically, next week, we are going to have a classroom full of reindeer and pugs.  It's not strange AT ALL!  HA!   

All of these and everything in my TpT store will be on SALE Monday and Tuesday! Yay!  Who doesn't love a sale!?

Here are a few of my newest creations that you may want to check out during the big sale!

The Reading Briefcase is packed with everything you'll need to get your students reading at home.  It comes with a detailed parent guide to help parents motivate their kids to read. 

The Holiday Feast Shopping List has students practicing common core skills--adding 3 numbers and adding money.  They will have fun shopping for holiday food items on their shopping lists!

I love to draw, and I am excited to share my second packet of Clip Art--"Funky Trees"!  They are perfect to add to classroom creations and newsletters!  :)

I will send my Funky Trees Clip Art to the first 5 followers to comment on this post!  

{Because I love y'all, and I love blog comments!  Comments make the blogging world go 'round!!!}

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Smug-Pugs-A-Short-Vowel-U-Activity-Pack

God Orders Our Steps ~ An Update

We make our plans,

but, God orders our steps.

The other day we were at the adult cardiologist's office

for a pre-op visit and check up.
We were meeting with this specialist for the first time.

The plan is for Austin to be attended by three specialists.

How blessed we are!

This morning I received a call from

the cardiologist at Children's.

Apparently, he was contacted by the cardiologist

we met with at the beginning of the week.

He felt it best to have Austin assessed and admitted

to adjust medications.

He's at Children's Hospital right now.

My plans did not include this.

But, I am thankful that God's plans do.

It seems to be the wisest course of action.

The hope is to stabilize him with

the introduction of an IV heart failure drug

and then swap it out for an oral one.

Then he can come home.

Perhaps this will just take a few days.
Or, maybe it will not be that simple.

My plans were to continue with *normal* posts

until the surgery date, 

at which time I planned to update once more.

Those plans have changed.

For the time being, my focus must be on Austin

and the rest of the children, (and Howie too!) as I 

divide my time between here and there.

Thank you for your prayers and for understanding

my lack of blog variety.  :)

May the LORD continue to have HIS way.

Where He leads we will follow.

Many Blessings!

Camille

Moving Forward ~ An Update

We cannot look back too much.
Hindsight is often 20/20.
But sometimes, it isn't.  

For me, it's not been too productive
to think about past events
and the what-if's and maybe's of
the would've, could've, should've things
surrounding Austin's illness.

We're moving forward.

Living this day.
Trying not to take on the worries of tomorrow.
And, in light of that,
my posts will resume *normal* topics
while we wait for Austin's surgery date.

He is scheduled for December 4th.
If you think of us in this regard,
we would be so grateful of your prayers.
There are things that could go wrong.
But, there are also many things that could go right.

Austin is in a very weakened state physically.
We need wisdom to discern when, and if,
we should take him to hospital ahead of his surgery date.
Please pray that he would not deteriorate any further,
and that he even might regain some of his strength.

As for the procedure itself ~

The leads are tricky to insert.
Please pray that all would go smoothly and 
that the leads would be attached in the most effective locations.
Please also pray that the defibrillator placed
would not malfunction and shock Austin at the wrong time!
And, please pray that Austin would be in
the category (two thirds) of people
who are helped by implantation of this heart device.

God's ways are best.

I must continually remind myself
that nothing happens by chance.
And that, indeed, the LORD does all things well!
All things work together for good for His people.
I really do believe this.

At the very core of my being.

God is Good.  All the time.
May HE be glorified in and through us.

With Love,
Camille

Challenge 24 - Merry Christmas

Well, here we are with our last challenge of the year.  We traditionally do something different in December because it's our Anniversary (3 yrs this year!) but more about that later.....

Our challenge this time has a theme of 'Merry Christmas' and is sponsored by Scribbled Kidz who are providing a prize of 3 digi images:

 

Scribbled Kidz is all about fun images largely inspired by my family and what they might get up to. They are all hand drawn originals scanned in at 300dpi and saved as jpegs.   If you have any suggestions or special requests please let us know.Please pop along and see what we have to offer.

The design team have been hard at work and here's what they have for you:

Shirley

CAZ 

Lisa

Patricia

 Michelle

Donna

 

 

So there you are, all ready and raring to go, I hope.  Here's the rules:

1. Your card must be for a man/boy.
2. Your card must be new for this challenge and follow the theme set.
3. Your post must mention Cards forMen and contain a link back to the challenge.

The challenge will run from now until midnight (GMT) on 2 December 2012.  Leave a link to your post (Not just your blog) in the link list below.  If it's not there for some reason, leave a comment and I'll add you in before the draw.  Good luck.

It's Time ~ An Update

It's time.

Austin is booked for the placement

of an ICD Pacemaker.

The date we've been given is December 4th.

We know that God is Good.  Always.

His ways are perfect.  Always.

We rest in HIS plan.

Perhaps this pacemaker will

help Austin's heart to heal.

The LORD often uses means to 

accomplish His purposes.

Perhaps this pacemaker will

be the best thing that has happened

to Austin's entire system in a long time.

Perhaps.

Whatever the outcome is,

the ICD Pacemaker is not our Saviour.

No.  The LORD is!

We rest in HIM!

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,

whose mind is stayed on Thee:

because he trusteth in Thee.

Trust ye in the LORD for ever:

for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength."

~ Isaiah 26:3-4 ~

Thank you so much for lifting our family,

and especially Austin,

up to our Great God in prayer!

He hears and answers.

He truly does all things well.

Many Blessings,
Camille

Living Life

We are all here.

This day we have life and breath.
This day we have the strength and grace we need.

We are living life.

Blessings upon blessings!

None of us knows what a day will bring forth.

None of us knows what will happen next.

We make our plans.
But, God orders our steps.

It's easy to assume that the details of life
will go on as they do now.

But, we do not know if we will be given our next breath.

We are not in control of our destiny.

We do not have ultimate control of anything, actually.

So, we live life.

And, enjoy the moments.

They truly are gifts.

Gifts directly from the Hand of God.

This post is a mix of all the run-of-the-mill
blessings of the every day.
They are random and run together one after
the next ~ just like the moments of our lives.

I captured Emma one morning reading in bed ~
It's her new favourite.  :)

"Please Mummy, may I make waffles for lunch?"
Of course!

Doin' school in the living room...

...And in the school room...

...And in the office/school...
all while furniture is being constructed ~
Yippee for Ikea!

The Learner got his *N*!

Me...with paintbrush in hand, 
and painting clothes on ~
getting more things done!

Yippee for tape that works ~
nearly perfectly!

Emma's books at the front door ~
Just in from music lessons.

Fraser and Emma reading History together ~
Emma was taking notes.  :)

A family games night ~

Complete with Twizzlers.  

My fire builder...

...And one of his fires.  :)

My leaf raker...

...And the leaves before they were all gone.

What a blessing it is to know that our times
are in the LORD's Hands.
His ways are perfect.

We have nothing to fear.
Everything to hope.
Every reason to rejoice!
May HE give you His peace and presence
each step of the journey!

With Love,
Camille

Ten Days ~ An Update

First things first ~
 I would like to express our

grateful thanks to each one of you who have

sent emails, phoned, prayed, 

and just generally cared for and loved us.

It has been ~ and is ~
a great blessing!

 Ten days ago Austin met

with his cardiologist at Children's.

Just a few days after that meeting,

he seemed to hit rock bottom.

He was nearly where he was at when released

from the hospital over seven months ago.

Almost.  

Then, on Tuesday of last week

he seemed to turn a corner.

Each day he reported feeling a little better.

Just a little.

But, *just a little* added up 

makes a difference.

The LORD has been so gracious to us!

The next couple of weeks we wait

and continue on with the meds prescribed.

We trust that the LORD will sustain our son.

And, we pray that HIS will for Austin would be accomplished.

The pacemaker and defibrillator, 

as we understand it, will be required.

Unless God heals him ~ which is possible.

Whatever is best in God's plan is what we desire.

By God's grace.

Thank you so much for praying 

and for your continued friendship!!

With Love,
Camille

Better late than never...{Classroom Tour}

I never posted pictures of my classroom this year!!!  Well, some things have already changed in the room, but here is what it looked like at the beginning--all shiny, clean, and ready for this year's group of Super Smarties...

Here is our classroom library, station baskets, and word wall! The colorful buckets on top of the shelves hold the library books, and the green baskets below them are filled with literacy station choices.      The kids just take the basket full of choices to their station area.  

Kind of hard to tell from the picture, but the library bin labels are chalkboard-themed!  I wanted to tie in chalkboards as much as I could, along with a "shabby chic" look.  I wanted my classroom to be a cozy, cheery place!  

Hey, Junie B.!  She hangs out near our little couch and chairs that my sweet mom bought me my very first year teaching!  I love that furniture, and my green umbrella.  It makes reading feel like a day at the beach!

Here is our Daily Five station board.   

One Pinterest project this summer was creating this string of lights for the back wall!  All I did was tie strips of cloth to it!  {Don't pay any attention to those cords!  They go to the SmartBoard.}  

There's Richard in his little bird nest!  He sits with a new friend in our class every other week! 

The Math Investigators station board!  

"Chalkboard" color word wall.

Super Smarties work display in the hall.

    

Thankful. {In a "Platefull"}

Thanksgiving!  One of my absolute FAVORITE times of the year, especially as a teacher!  I am SUPER PUMPED about my annual Thankful Platefull Projects!  I have been doing these for about 5 years now, and each year, they just get better and better.  {And, yes, platefull is totally another made up word.  I'll just call it a "Cooley-ism."}  Anyway, I love hearing my sweet little ones share everything that they are most thankful for each year!  First, I have my students make a list of people and other things they are thankful for.  After that, they plan their plates {in class} on a planning page.  I send home the project notes with a sturdy plate, and wait anxiously for the due date!  Easy!  

{Check out my Thankful Platefull Project Packet on TpT!
It includes everything you will need to spread the Thanksgiving cheer this season!}

Below is a photo of my "platefull"!  I used clear plastic plates this year, and I think I will continue!  They look so pretty, and it is easy to tape items to the plate and remove them.  I shared my plate with my first graders when I introduced our project.  This year  I am SO thankful.  I feel blessed beyond measure!  God has truly blessed our family with so many gifts. 

My "platefull" of thankful:  I am thankful for all kinds of delicious food {the fork}, pretty things like jewelry and clothes {bracelet}, my sweet Emma, my husband Jon, my new home, great music, LOVE, my pug Teddy, flowers, and teaching {the apple}.  

I got really excited and went ahead and put up "Our Thankful Platefull Projects" header!  One adorable project was turned in early!!!  So, there it is, waiting for more plates to join it!

I want to create a classroom community in which we are giving of ourselves, and I want to make sure we are all spreading the joy of Thanksgiving this season.  I added little "Thankful" notes to our writing station, explaining to my students that their little notes can make a BIG difference in someone's life!  We should all take the time to tell others just how much they mean to us! I put 50 letters in the basket the first day. And they were ALL GONE.  The kids couldn't wait to give their notes to our Principal, specials teachers, friends, family, and Kindergarten teachers.  I got 2 the first day.  Here is one of them:

{What a sweet guy!}

Challenge 23 - Anything Goes

At this time of year it's nice to break away from the Christmas Cards (or not) and just make a card for the sake of it.  So our theme for this challenge is 'Anythng Goes', make a card or project in any style or theme you want.  Just remember it must be for a man or a boy to qualify.

So our sponsor this challenge is My Mum's Craft Shop which is run by one of our old teammates, Kitty.

My Mums Craft Shop is a bricks & mortar and online store. We stock many of the leading brands and specialise in rubber stamping. We have brands including Some Odd Girl, Stamping Bella, My Favorite Things, CC Designs and many more. We also stock a large selection of Dienamics, Memory Box, Sizzix, CC Designs Marianne Dies. We constantly have new deliveries arriving, check out our website for more products - www.mymumscraftshop.co.uk

Our design team have been busy making some wonderful cards for your inspiration:

Lisa



Patricia

 

Shirley

Sandra

Michelle

CAZ

Donna



So there you have it, hopefully you've got some thoughts on the way to go.  All you need now is the rules:

1. Your card must be for a man or a boy.
2. Your card must be new for this challenge and follow the theme set.
3. Your post must mention Cards for Men and contain a link back to the challenge post.

The challenge will run from now until midnight (GMT) on 18 November 2012.  Leave a link to your post (not just your blog) in the link list below.  If it's not there for some reason, leave a comment and I'll add you in before the draw.  Good luck.