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.

In the Time of Trouble ~ An Update

Howie and Austin are on their way home

from Children's Hospital.

They met with two specialists this morning ~

Our cardiologist and another

cardiologist who is also an electrophysiologist.

She has further training beyond cardiology.

She carefully reviewed Austin's case,

and spent about an hour with Austin and Howie

 explaining everything thoroughly to them.

What a blessing!

As I understand it,

the way forward is as follows.

Austin is to continue to take the heart medication

recently re-introduced.

He is to carefully listen to his heart

and to go to the ER if anything 

*out of the ordinary* should happen.

Another Holter Monitor 

has been ordered for one month from now.

Austin's Tachycardia was detected on his most

recent Holter ~ which was just read this week.

Hence, the urgent appointments today at Children's.

It's a very serious turn of events.

Unless the LORD heals our son,

a pacemaker will be required.

Timing is yet to be determined.

They like to put it off until absolutely necessary ~

It's a last resort.

The goal now is to get him stabilised.

We, of course, continue to pray for healing.

But, we know the LORD's ways often are not ours.

They are better.

The following are precious verses that the LORD used

to encourage my heart this morning as

we processed the news of Austin's need for a pacemaker.

How Great and Wonderful

our Heavenly Father is!!

"The LORD is my light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the strength of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?"

"For in the time of trouble

He shall hide me in His pavilion:

in the secret of His tabernacle

shall He hide me;

He shall set me up upon a rock."

"Wait on the LORD:

be of good courage,

and He shall strengthen thine heart;

wait, I say, on the LORD."

~ Psalm 27 verses 1, 5 and 14 ~

May the LORD encourage you this day!

With Love,
Camille

Bend in the Road ~ An Update

Another bend in the road.

Austin's heart needs help.
Apparently, he's been having episodes 
of Tachycardia ~ 
a very serious situation
for someone with a heart like his.

Howie will take Austin to Children's in the

morning for further testing and assessment.

There's no question.

He needs a pacemaker.

It's felt that he needs it now.

We just got the news tonight.

Thank you to all of you who have lifted our

family up in prayer these last number of months ~
it is so greatly appreciated.

The LORD is Faithful.

He goes before us.

We are in His hands.

He truly does all things well.

As I know more, I will post updates.

"...the LORD hath His way in the whirlwind

and in the storm,

and the clouds are the dust of His feet."

~ Nahum 1:3b ~

Much Love,

Camille