Have you ever just wanted to wear pajamas to work?

There are some mornings when I don't feel like getting out of bed when that alarm goes off. Today I got to have a little fun. I have been subbing at the same school for three days now. I love these types of assignments because you really get to know the kids that you are working with. Since today was the last day of school before Christmas vacation, all of the kindergarten classes wore their pajamas to school today, and I got to too! It was a lot of fun. We served the kiddos cookies and milk while they watched the Polar Express movie. This seems to be a fun activity that a lot of schools are beginning to do at Christmas time. The kids loved it. Although, I did catch a few of them sliding down the halls in their slippers.

I Aced My Final Exam!

Over the last week I have been under a lot of stress because I had a final exam this week. I also had a portfolio notebook due the same day. It is really important for me to do well in my certification program, and sometimes I worry to much.
I think God knew that I needed some extra time to study because the school district did not call me Monday or Tuesday to work. So I spent both of those days putting together my portfolio notebook, and studying for my exam.
I was so nervous. Much to my pleasant surprise, I picked up the test and knew all but one of the answers! I made a 99. I was elated! Thanks to God, and all my family that prayed for me to do well.

I broke my camera...

Unfortunately I dropped my camera and broke it this weekend. I don't know how long it will be until I can get another one, so I may not always have pictures to share.

I was really upset because the warranty just expired. Oh well, at least it was a good camera while it lasted.

Karson's 1st Birthday

Yesterday we celebrated Karson's birthday. It is hard for me to believe that he is already one year old! He is such a sweet little guy full of laughter and smiles.

Kaden was a good big brother and helped him open up all of his presents. Karson wasn't sure whether the boxes were his toys or the toys themselves. It was cute.

Will the Christmas tree survive my pets?

As you can see from the picture above, my cat loves my Christmas tree. She knows that she can hide from the dog, and then pounce on her from behind. She also tries to eat the tree, and last year she climbed halfway up the pole. I did learn something last year, buy plastic Christmas balls for the tree. I can't tell you how much clean up that has saved me. Gabby no longer breaks the ornaments when she knocks them down,

I was so mad at Daisy when I came in from the computer room to find the picture below

As you can see, Daisy chewed a hole in my Christmas tree skirt!

I was so mad! She knew she was in trouble and ran for the back door!


So the question is, will my tree survive my pets?

Christmas is on its way!

Well, Christmas is on it's way here again. It seems like every year is a little shorter, but that may be because I am a little older.
Yesterday I put up my Christmas tree. Setting up the tree has always been my favorite part of celebrating the Christmas holidays. I remember being a little girl, and bothering my mother with questions of when I could decorate our tree with ornaments. I wonder what my house will sound like when God blesses me with children. Will they be excited as I was to decorate the tree? I hope so. This year Caleb helped me to decorate my tree, and I got to enjoy some of that childlike excitement again.
Now that I am an adult, I enjoy sitting and admiring the tree's beauty from my couch. It gives me time to reflect over the last year and realize how fortunate I am.

The Cousins Sleep Over...

The boys doing their turkey craft.

Amy and I decided that while she was in town we would have all of Christy's boys come to my house for a sleepover. The evening was a blast. We had pizza for dinner, did Thanksgiving crafts, read books, and watched Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving on DVD. Here are some of the highlights of our evening.

Karson may not have made a turkey, but he wasn't about to miss the fun!

Here are the boys with their finished turkeys.
They were Amy's idea, and listed what they
were thankful for on the feathers.


Here are the boys watching Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving.

Even the doggie cousins were invited.

Here are Emmie and Daisy resting

after playing hard.

A little later we put the boys in one of the guest rooms to go to bed. As most sleep overs go, it took forever for them to go to bed after all of the fun.

Once the kids were asleep it was time for the adults to have fun. We played board games, and Christy kicked butt in Monopoly. Then we stayed up late talking. Needless to say, we slept in this morning. It was a great evening, and we made some wonderful memories.

Thanksgiving Sunday Nov. 23, 2008

Christopher and Karson

A few days ago we had our annual Elam Thanksgiving Sunday. It was lots of fun, as usual. I have included lots of photos because there were way to many to choose from.

Here are some nice family shots.

Christy and her Dad

Tim, Amy, and Karson

Niki and Bryan

The Murray Family

(Daniel, Evelyn, and Andrew)

Dad, Paw Paw, and Uncle Tony

Thomas and Nathan

Dad Giving Thomas a hard time.

Nanny working hard on our meal.



Here are some shots of all the fun and games.

Kevin, Caleb, and Kaden riding scooters.

Daniel Posing for the camera.

Christopher, Nathan, and Tyler playing clue.

We had a blast, and we were all tired at the end of the day. Thank you Christy for hosting the festivities.

Student Teaching Assignment

Those of you who follow my blog know that I have been trying to get on as a student teacher in the Spring. Yesterday I got some exciting news in an e-mail. I have received my assignment for a fourth grade class in the Mesquite School District. When I read the e-mail I got goosebumps. Things are really starting to happen! I am so excited to begin this new phase of my education. I want to thank God and my family and friends for all of their encouragement and support.

Wild Dog Chase...

Today I had the day off for a teacher work day. The morning started out like most. I let the dog out to use the restroom, and curled up on the couch to watch a morning show. When I heard Daisy barking like crazy I went outside to call her in. I realized from the sound of the barking that she had to be in the front yard. I ran around the side of the house, and the gate was wide open! I grabbed some shoes and went after the dog. It turns out that she was barking at one of my neighbors, who was trying to catch her for me.
My neighbor told me that she had been running all over the street, and he was concerned for her safety. Once he saw that I was after her he went on his way. This is when the chase began. I was running all over the neighborhood after my dog. This presented several problems: I was chasing her in my pajamas, It was freezing outside, and I had Christy's boys asleep in the house.
I thought to myself, I have to catch this dog, but what about the boys? I knew if they woke up and I wasn't there they would be scared. Daisy happened to run right down their grandmother's street. I frantically knocked on her door, and asked her to go to my house and check on the boys. She told me she would and I ran after Daisy again. I finally caught her in their backyard. I was tired, mad, and out of breath. I returned to the house, and the boys were okay. Thanks Kathy for coming to my rescue. That was one wild dog chase I won't soon forget!

Ben Wheeler Hawg fest...

Yesterday we went to Ben Wheeler Texas for the Hog festival. ( Yes they did spell Hog HAWG). It was a really fun event. They actually decorated this bus like a pig. The event included a hog cook off in which our Uncle Tony won 3rd place out of eighteen competitors. Congrats Uncle Tony! Uncle Tony and Aunt Donna did a lot of work to put this festival together. Here is some of the fun that the day included.

There was a train that all of the kids could ride.

They loved this!

One of the major highlights was a pig chasing contest.

My nephew Kaden had fun with all of his cousins.

While Karson took it all in from the stroller.

It was a fun day that we all enjoyed. Ben Wheeler plans to make this an annual event for their town.

Kids Say The Funniest Things...

Today I had an assignment with a fifth grade class. I really enjoyed these kids, they really said some funny things.
One of the boys was really excited about his weekend. "Mrs. Elam, do you know where I am going this weekend?" " No where, I asked?" My dad is taking me hunting! Really what are you hunting? Doves! Sometimes we hunt wild pigs. Wow, I said. I then proceeded to tell them how an uncle of ours raises pigs, and that they had hog meat on the menu at their wedding. "Was it a red-neck wedding, he asked?" I laughed at that one!
Then there was a girl who told me all about her ethnic heritage. I was proud of her for remembering some pretty big details about her family. I told her that she must really be proud of her family.
Then there was a little boy who proceeded to tell me that he needed a cell phone! You don't need a cell phone I told him. Who would you call? How old are you? "I'm eleven, and I would call my dog!" I thought that was pretty funny!
These kids kept me laughing all day, and I enjoyed all of their little antics. It makes me feel pretty good when a class I just have for one day wants to tell me all about their lives. Kid's say the funnies things!

Student Teaching

Well, today I have begun the process for student teaching in the Spring. One of the things that I have to do is write an essay about myself, my teaching experiences, and my educational background. I am finding out that this is quite a bit harder that I thought. You want to give them the information that they need, but you don't want to sound to dull or dis-interesting. I am really nervous about this. All the school districts will read this, and choose whether or not they would like me to be their student teacher.
Obtaining my teacher certification has been quite a process for me. I know with all of my heart that I want to teach. It is really hard not to be nervous, and worry if everything will work out for me. It is just one of those things that you have to let go of, and take a giant step of faith. In the meantime I continue to make the preparations necessary for that step. I hope that over the next couple of months that my friends and family will keep me in their thoughts and prayers.
Sometimes when I am alone I try to picture myself in charge of my very own classroom. I think about what the students will be like, and the experiences that I will have. Above all else, I want to make a difference in the lives of those students. I hope that I can.

Oops my mistake...

Normally when we leave the house for an extended amount of time we put Daisy in the utility room to keep her out of trouble. However, sometimes when we go somewhere for an hour or so we leave her out with no problems. Last night I went to visit Thomas at work because he was getting some overtime and I missed him. I thought that I would only be gone for a little while so I did not put Daisy up. After I visited him for a while I went over to Nanny's. Evelyn was in town so I stayed to visit there for a while. After about two hours I realized that I had left Daisy out. Oh no, I thought, what am I going to find when I get home? I found the picture above.

Daisy got bored and tore up the cat's bed.

Does she look guilty or what?

I had foam all over my living room. I didn't punish her because it was my fault. I just said Oops my mistake, and cleaned up the mess.

A Rough Week

This has been a rough week for me. Monday and Tuesday I did not have good classes to sub for. It may have been because the kids were so little, but it was hard to get them to listen. One of the girls in my class at school has the same age group on a daily basis. She has what she calls 30 minute talk time for her class every morning. I thought this was an ingenious idea, because part of the problem that I had was that the kids would all run up to me at once to tell me something. The other problem is that they constantly tattled! I have a pet peeve about tattling.
Yesterday was much better. I had a 4th grade class and they were really sweet. They were working really hard because if they were good they got to eat lunch with their teacher the next day. It was so nice to be able to tell them something and they just did it without arguing or talking. At the end of the day they asked me if they had earned lunch with their teacher. I told them that they did. They were so excited, and they told me Mrs. Elam you are awesome! I told them that they were the ones who did awesome, and thanked them so much for giving me a good day. It was a welcome change. When you are a substitute every day is different. It reminds me of a saying that used to be our slogan on mission trips, "Remember Be Flexible!"

Boys Will Be Boys...

This weekend Daniel came up to spend a day with Thomas and the rest of the family. The guys got to have a lot of fun with each other playing video games, watching football, and as you can see wrestling. These silly guys always pick on the little kids!

Here is a shot of the big boys wrestling.

Christy's boys are always so sweet. They posed for this picture.

Below is also a shot of a sweet little surprise they bought me, Yellow roses.

Kevin was so tired after all the fun that he fell asleep.

I guess as the saying goes, Boys Will Be Boys, no matter what age they are.

When The Mom's Away the Pet's Will Play...

Daisy has a bad habit of pulling the cushions off the couch. She usually does this when she is left alone to long or is in a playful mood. In this case, it was because she was left alone. Thomas and I were in the other room of the house just chatting about our days. It was one of those nice long chats that come only on rare occassions (If you know Thomas you know what I mean). I went into the living room and found this! Silly dog!

Gabby decided to have a little fun under the cushions!

This is Daisy all tired out after her rough and tumble play

My silly little girls! When the Mom's Away the Pets Will Play!

The Antics of My Animals

Isn't she cute?

Today my girls had me laughing. I wasn't actually able to get a picture of it in time, but Gabby did something pretty funny this morning. I decided that I wanted some toast for breakfast, and I hadn't had the chance to put everything away yet. I walked back into the kitchen to clean up after myself, and Gabby had her head in the butter bowel licking it. I called her name, and she thought she was in trouble. She headed straight for her hiding spot on the fridge. Of course this means that I have to buy new butter! Her head was all the way in the container!

Daisy had to have a bath for her return trip to the vet this afternoon. She was less than thrilled to be all wet and soapy. Because I only had 30 minutes to get her to the vet, I decided to use my hair dryer on her after the initial towel drying. The hair dryer terrified her! It didn't go so well.

Daisy getting her bath

Thomas went with us to the vet today. Daisy did a little better with him there than she does when I take her by herself. She sat all cuddled in his lap in the waiting room. She shook the whole time. Then when we were in the examining area she recognized the vet's voice. As soon as she heard the doctor talking she was trying to jump off the table and get away! Poor baby. They are so nice at the vet's office I don't know why she always gets so scared.

Daisy seeking the comfort of Daddy's arms in the waiting area at the vet.

Animals have so much personality! My life would be pretty dull

without my girls and their funny antics.

A Typical Saturday Afternoon

Today was a pretty normal Saturday for me. It was Thomas' Saturday to work, so I had the house to myself. I slept late, and then started the laundry. I finally went grocery shopping this afternoon. The cupboards were pretty bare because I hadn't gone full blown grocery shopping for about a month. I hate to grocery shop!! It's not so bad when Thomas goes with me because he loads and lugs everything. I don't like the loading and lugging part! Today I waited until he got home from work to go. I shopped by myself, and did all the putting away of the groceries when I got home. I was fortunate that Thomas unloaded the car for me. I only had to do half of the part that I don't like.Once everything was done, I started dinner and did some more laundry. It was a pretty typical Saturday, nothing interesting to report.

Male Bonding

THEY ARE SO CUTE!

Yesterday my brother-in law Nathan asked if he could come stay overnight with us. He had decided that he did not want to miss school today to go to the coast for the weekend. Of course I said yes because he is never any trouble.

It turned out to be a lot of fun for the two brothers. Thomas convinced Nathan to work on their Dad's truck together. He told Nathan that it would be his one day, and he needed to know how to fix it. I made the guys some dinner while they were outside. After dinner we watched a movie together. This morning Thomas even gave Nathan a ride to school! I thought it was really sweet. These guys really don't get to spend a lot of time together because they are busy and there is a 9 year age difference between them. It is so nice that these brothers got to enjoy some quality male bonding together!

First Day Back to Work

Well, the summer is finally over and I had my first assignment today. The kids were really great, and it was an enjoyable experience. I was at the school that my mother-in law works at so I got to say hi to her today.
The school is really nice, and I wouldn't mind having a permanent job there someday. Today was an early release for meet the teacher night so it was a pretty easy day. I have the same group of kids tomorrow, and I am looking forward to going back. They were a really sweet group. I hope that tomorrow goes as smoothly as today.

Back to School...

Today I went back to school. It was a fun experience. The campus was really crowded. I had to park across the street in the overflow parking area. I was late because of that, and the fact that my class wasn't in the building that it would normally be in. Once I found out that my class was in the other building, there was a security guard there to tell me that I was not allowed to park on that lot. He also said that no food or drink was allowed in that building. That wasn't all that big of a deal for me because I ate my dinner before I came.

I was glad that once I was inside the classroom I was not the only student that was late. The teacher seems to be pretty understanding and laid back. Tonight was a basic overview of the syllabus, and what we would be covering over the semester. I think that the class should really be a learning experience for me.

Tonight we also talked about the different ways that we can organize our classrooms. I thought that was pretty neat because I was able to bounce my ideas off of people that are already teaching. The professor had a lot of resources for us to look at (I am all about the visual). We also get to do a project on a children's author, that should be a lot of fun.

Anyway, I think that it should be a really good class!

Doggies don't like medicine either...

Daisy under my legs hiding

My dog Daisy had to go to the vet about two weeks ago because she had ear mites. Daisy hates the vet's office, and I literally have to drag my poor baby in the door. She also hates the medicine that we have to put in her ears. As you can see in the picture above, as soon as she sees the bag of medicine she goes and hides under whatever she can find.

This is Daisy cowering because she knows we are about to put medication in her ears.

The look she is giving me says it all, "Mommy this is so mean!"

This is the funny part. After the medicine is in, Daisy rolls around on whatever she can find and tries to get it out. Poor baby! Next week we go back for a recheck to make sure the mites are gone. She forgave Thomas though. We always give her a treat afterwards.

So it's not just kids who don't like their medicine, it's dogs too!!

The Ants Go Marching In...

Well, today we had an ant invasion. This has happened before, but it was quite comical how it came about this afternoon. It was a normal Sunday afternoon about two-o'clock, and Thomas was watching t.v. I was catching up on the laundry when all of a sudden I hear Baby, come here! I was a little bit irritated to be called away from my chores. Thomas was almost jumping from the couch. I asked him what in the world was wrong. Do I have an ant on my back, he asked? Sure enough there was one. There must be ants in the couch, he said. So he moved the couch away from the window and began to search for ants. Sure enough there was a little trail of them from the backdoor to the couch.

The next thing I know Thomas is vacuuming out the couch trying to find the ants. He got the spray and attacked the ones that were under the window. Thank Heavens for Raid!!

A little funny isn't it?

Daisy is also terrified of the vacuum, so she hid by the hallway. The look on her face suggests, What is that thing doing out again?

Well, we survived the ants marching in to our home. The moral of the story... don't eat food on your couch! Ha Ha.