my life has been made so much easier by technology, once again!
i now have access to the system that lets me write IEPs online and it fills in a good portion of the information for me, not to mention the time i save just by typing instead of handwriting!!!
i am feeling such relief because i wrote 3 of them in one day-- i was lucky to get one done by handwriting (so many extra forms and info to fill out). YAY!!!

my favorite quote from a kid today:
i was showing one of my groups (2 boys+1 girl) my new speech room and i said, "look at this you guys!!! isn't this so great??? don't you love it??"
and this one little boy took a lap around it yelled, "YES! let's celebrate with a hug!!!" and ran and hugged me!

i'm so glad it is friday. matt and i went out to a great mexican restaurant and rented some movies from blockbuster. we're going to just lay around and be lazy tonight and save up our energy for tommorow's hike. and the best part is this monday, where i can just SLEEP IN with matt and lay around and do everything i normally couldn't do on a typical working monday.

have no fear, mary. although i have been slightly tempted to do summer school (it's only 4 weeks, i think) i am making myself have a full summer off with no working. there's too much i want to do here! so what does casey's summer school musings do to your alaska summer? are you guys still thinking about seattle as well? i was checking out some flight prices--too expensive now, but i'm sure the prices will go down in the spring. by the way, united airlines is having a special where you can fly from LA to london for $169/ticket--that's way cheaper than flying home to ohio!!!! you have to do the travelling by march 31st, though, so it's a no no for us... but anyone else who has a more flexible schedule may be interested.

justin and mary, i'm going through the same spiritual battles you are, it seems. check out what oswald chambers has to say in "my utmost..." on aug 26, july 4, may 23, and especially jan 27. they will blow you away, as they have done to me.

God is making us spell out our own souls...
--oswald chambers, from "my utmost for his highest", jan 12

well, another thursday down--let the weekend begin!!!
we don't have school on monday, thanks to dr. martin luther king, jr... (among other major, nation-altering contributions).
speaking of which, some more dreams inspired by my kids...
"i have a dream that all the kids in mexico could have bikes to ride to school" (there is no bus transportation and some have to walk up to 10 miles to get to the closest school)
"i have a dream that we would not go to war soon."
"i have a dream that i could take my whole class to disneyland."
"i have a dream that there would never be any more poor people."
"i have a dream that my whole family would live long lives and die happy."

and now a 3 day weekend, so more mountain biking and hiking for us this weekend! we're going to drive to the desert and go on this hike that has an actual oasis with palm trees and a lake and a waterfall--so pumped!

hey, to anyone who is interested, check out grammy's blog at:
www.grammytbyrd.blogspot.com

grammy, i'm excited for the wall hanging! it must be difficult to fit into your busy schedule of exercise class, word processing class, feeding the seniors, and everything else!!! you really have a full week!
mom and dad edwards, we're praying for your safety and mission on this trip to tanzania and are relieved that you didn't go to zanzibar!
mare, hilariousness with your running. and i, as well, run a 9 1/2 minute mile--don't feel too bad, but i know what you mean--at least 3 minutes more than the old days is really a depressing thing. but you're not alone!
and michelle--we want to hear from you!!!
tracey

hello gang.
a nice weekend is over and now for a crazy week!
matt and i tried to find a surfboard on saturday, but came up short--nothing quite fit both our budget AND the size requirements. there are many more surf shops we haven't checked out yet, though! i did find wetsuit that fit me, but no point in buying it until we get a surfboard.
yesterday i went to a fun church in ocean beach and it is worth going back to. without naming names, there was someone who couldn't come with me due to some intestinal issues...
then he was feeling better later in the afternoon so we took a nice long bike ride down along the bay and to downtown. it was beautiful and the weather was perfect--and i finally got to try out my new bike (now that i am somewhat recovered from my sledding accident). we are S-O-R-E today, though!!!

and now for a quote from my kids:
we were playing a game where kids were allowed to wish for anything they wanted.
here are some of the wishes:
"i wish that i could help my brother with his homework."
"i wish that i had a pot of gold that i could give to all the poor people."
"i wish no one would ever be teased again."
"i wish my brother could be with his girlfriend again because he's so sad without her."
"i wish i would never stutter again."
"i wish i had a bunny."
"i wish that everyone in the world would be happy."
"i wish that no one would ever die again."
"i wish school wasn't hard for daniel."
"i wish that my daddy would come back home."
"i wish my mommy would never be sad again."
"i wish i could go to heaven."

after that last one (and after some difficult questions to work into a speech therapy session--is the devil real? will he kill me? etc. in other words, things i hope i don't get in trouble for answering...) i was able to share the Lord with that 3rd grade boy and he said that when he went home he would ask Jesus into his heart. it was the most precious thing and totally made my day.

don't i work with the sweetest kids??? hardly any of the wishes were for themselves--they're so sweet and caring. now can you see why i love my job so much??!!