November 24, 2016: Thanksgiving Shenanigans

I taught Arthur how to play Heads Up.  The kid is hilarious and has the best facial expressions when he is trying to figure something out.  His guesses don't always make sense, but he does a pretty good job for being three.  I can honestly say that I love being on kid duty Thanksgiving morning while Meg and Kyle prep the food and clean the house.  Playing around with this yahoo sure beats baking pies! 

November 23, 2016: snaggle tooth

This kid is so gross and adorable.  I'd hug him more if he wasn't always covered in food. 

November 22, 2016: Love this

This is why teachers make the best coworkers...

November 21, 2016: Alutiiq Dancers

Every year we have the Alutiiq dancers come to Peterson.  I love them!  They tell stories through their songs and dances.  Last year, the banya song was my absolute favorite.  At that point, I had never been in a banya before, but the song was very energetic and happy, so I was excited to try it out.  I went in a banya when I was on Woody Island for the women's retreat.  It was so uncomfortably hot in there I almost died.  I literally laid on the bench and thought about death.  Today, when the dancers did the banya song again, I was really confused.  This dance was nothing like my experience.   Was I banya-ing incorrectly?  During lunch, one of my coworkers explained to me more about the banya.  Her son is one of the dancers (and he did a fantastic job!) and she was explaining that hunters who have been out for a long period of time would be excited to be back in and to wash up in the banya.  Made a lot more sense :) 

November 20, 2016: Stormy boat ride

This is Jolene and me, praying for our lives on our boat ride back from Woody Island.  A storm began brewing, and we were thankful we made it off the island.  I was soaked from rain and ocean water, but I didn't get tossed into the sea, so I couldn't complain!

November 19, 2016: Woody Island

I joined some of my friends from church this weekend on a retreat to Woody Island.  This was good for my heart.  The first night we were here, people shared testimonies and stories of what God was teaching them.  It was a good reminder to me that God is so big and loves us so deeply, that He meets us exactly where we are.  I was really encouraged, remembering that sometimes God pushes us to do huge, scary, grandiose things, and sometimes God reminds us that it's ok that we need Him just to be able to get out of bed in the morning.  He's in the big and the small.  He's there when we're terrified and when we're overjoyed.  I needed these reminders this weekend.   He is more than enough, and for that, I praise Him.

That alone was worth the trip here, but there also happened to be this net deep in the woods that was suspended two stories high in the trees.  Like one, gigantic hammock.  We hiked out to it, and I took a 2 hour nap in my sleeping bag, swaying in the treetops while listening to the ocean crash on the nearby shore.

AHHH-Mazing.

November 18, 2016: Pajama Par-tay!

I love teaching.  Don't get me wrong, there are days that I wonder what the heck I am doing.  I want to die.  I want to sleep.  I want to cry or do that crazy person laugh that freaks everyone out because it feels like I lost my mind.  But there are too many other days when I love my job.  I'm in a list mood, so here's why teaching is the best.  In no particular order:

-Kids are funny.  Hysterical, make me cry funny.
-I learn all sorts of random, most likely useless facts about holidays, wolf spiders, and penguins.
-I am forced to remember I can't do things with my own strength.
-I get to swing on swings, play with play dough, and paint, and I get paid to do it.
-Random hugs at a moment's notice... they're surprising and awesome.
-I get to see that incredible moment when a kiddo finally understands something that was really difficult before.  Seriously, the excitement is unexplainable.
-My teaching wardrobe includes a sparkly fanny pack
-kid art.  pages and pages of kid art. With hilarious pictures of me drawn in the center.
-I get to love on kids.  I get to be someone who tells them how awesome they are, helps them work through whatever it is that stresses their 6 year old selves out, and helps them refine the parts of themselves that might need a little work :).  I get the incredible privilege and responsibility of being a huge part of their lives for a year.  To help them figure out how to be good friends, how to handle tough situations, how to figure out what's appropriate to share with the entire class and what shouldn't be shared at all, how to make mistakes and keep going, and how to eat snack without smashing a gazillion crumbs into the floor.
-I have an excuse to order lots of post it notes.  In lots of colors.
-I get to work alongside some of the most inspirational people
-Pajama parties.  If this was an ordered list, pajama parties would definitely be near the top.  That's today's picture.  I got to wear a Finding Dory onesie to school all day today.  And that, my friends, is why I teach.