Friday, December 31, 2010

Goodbye, 2010


This was a hard year for me. One of the hardest I can remember. Having to face the idea of not having a classroom.... of being unemployed... facing the reality that people I thought would value my job in Ferndale enough to save it.. did not. It broke my heart. It filled me with self doubt. It hurt.
But now there's a new place. I like it there. The kids are older. They can do things I never could have imagined in Kindergarten. They are funny. And smart. And filled with life experience. They are not as affectionate or honest as Kindergartners. They have already put on masks to hide their true selves in many situations. You see, they care soooooo much about what their peers think. But they can write and discuss and remember with me. It is challenging. And fun. And my colleagues... they are wonderful. They always have a kind word and a smile for me. They work together. They support each other. I am blessed to be where I am now. It is just where I need to be.
And in this new year of 2011, I am hoping that my uncertainty will continue to diminish. Now that I've done this for a while, I have a better feel for what works, what doesn't, where I'm going and how I'll get all 25 souls in my charge to the places they need to be. My prayer is for the next few months to be filled with laughter and learning and community. Most of all, community.
Love, Nancy

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Crazy Sweet!


That Crazy sweet Cindyanna bought me a bottle of my FAVORITE champagne just for feeding her fish and cats and bunny on Sunday. I just couldn't imagine it sharing it with anyone else, so I got her a babysitter and invited her out to lunch (with a champagne appetizer, of course!). Unfortunately for Cindy, the champagne gave her a head ache, so I had to do all the drinking. We went out to the Banana Hut. It was my first time there and it was yummmmmmmy. I had coconut prawns with sticky rice and a little salad. We talked and laughed for about 2 hours straight. It was fabulous! Thanks for coming to lunch with me!!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Little Bits


We had a little martini party out at Danette's on Thursday. Lots of laughter and catching up. Reconnecting. Planning a girls' trip. We met again on Monday for sushi. (I had beef teriyaki... I don't hate the raw fish, just the seaweed) I am so thankful for these two girls and for their insight and friendship.

Now tomorrow I am having lunch with Cindy. Yay!

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Still Trying to Channel...

The Christmas Spirit.

One time on Hollywood Boulevard I saw a young girl with a baby. It was a crisp winter morning & her hair shone dark purple in the sun. She was panhandling outside the Holiday Inn & the door clerk came out & told her to be on her way & I wondered if anyone would recognize the Christ child if they happened to meet. I remember thinking it's not like there are any published pictures & purple seemed like a good color for a Madonna so I gave her a dollar just in case.

-Brian Andreas

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Happy Birthday, Jesus


Happy Birthday, Jesus. I can't even begin to list all the reasons I'm glad you were born. I do want to tell you that I love you. I want to know you more and better. I want to see the world through your eyes and love people the way you love them. Thanks so much for loving me, for being there for me, for loving and caring for those I love (and even for the ones I don't, boy, do I need to grow up some more). I don't really have a gift for you personally (sorry, you're one of those "you have everything" kind of guys), but the Word says that when I do something for "the least of these," I'm doing it for you, so I'll be looking for opportunities to reach out to the needy, the broken, the heartsick. I am so glad you are here.
Love, Nancy

Monday, December 20, 2010

Ugh!!


Yesterday before I went to dinner at Danette's house, I forced my family to sit for a Christmas Card picture. We took about a dozen, and this one is the best of the bunch. Not great, but decent. I uploaded them to Costco and today I went to pick them up and they looked horrible. Ever since I got my new expensive lense Costco can't develop a single picture for me. They come out all wonky and dark. So, I returned the cards and went online for a new set from scrapbookpictures.com. They cost twice as much and who knows when they will arrive, but if they look decent it will be worth it. Look for your Christmas cards somewhere around New Year's.

Love, Nancy

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Granny's Christmas Party

Every year my little granny puts on a HUGE Christmas party. She rents the hall at the Trinity County Fairgrounds and people come from all over to get together and catch up. Yesterday my mom and I drove over to Hayfork for it. My cousin Andy and his girlfriend Danielle have a sweet new baby named Cherilynn.
My cousin Logan (who was Santa) and his little daughter Josie.

My sweet Granny
Me and my Mama and Granny

I took loads of pictures and couldn't possibly upload them all here since Blogger is slow to upload and I am too lazy to resize them all. But I hope you find time to get together with people you haven't seen in a while. That's what Christmas is all about.

Love, Nancy

Saturday, December 18, 2010

My Angel Tree


One of my favorite holiday traditions is putting up my angel tree. It's a solitary activity. The tree goes up in a flash, and that always puts me in a good mood. Then I carefully unwrap each ornament. Most of them have a story or association with someone that fills my heart up.

This angel was brought to me by my sweet friend Gina from Italy. I also have a pink glass ornament my Aunt Roni gave me that she bought when Uncle Blue was stationed in Germany almost 40 years ago. I have two clothespin angels with my babies handprints printed on muslin as wings. There is a cross given to me by my dear friend Marie when I was becoming a Christian. The raffia angel I bought on our trip to Kauaii is also a favorite. There is just something about that tree that touches me and helps me to remember what Christmas is all about.
Rejoice! Love, Nancy

Friday, December 17, 2010

Post a Day



Because it's the first day of Winter Break and th days of vacation seem to be stretched out before me like an endless row of unopened packages. My optimistic self is planning on posting every day until the end of 2010! Today I give you my fabulous theme wrap for this year. All of packages are wrapped in white paper, red paper with snowflakes or red, green and white striped paper with poinsettias on top. Aren't they pretty? I just love looking at them under the tree.

(Now let's just hope Pepper doesn't eat any of them like he did last year!)

Merry Christmas! Love, Nancy

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Finding the Christmas Spirit...


And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? [Christmas] came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more? Dr. Suess

Saturday, December 04, 2010

Just about....

I was just about to start complaining about all the things I should be doing, but am ignoring while I have a little relaxation/computer time.... when I realized my 2 faithful blog readers are probably sick of listening to me complain, so here are some of the hilarious pictures from our Thanksgivng football game. Taken by Liz, photographer extraordinaire!
Mark's team: Mark, Saeng, Cheryl, Livi, Charles, Dennis


John's team: John, Dave, Me, Alyssa, Kyla, Madi


Mark's team started out by handing off the ball to expert runner, Charles. He got a first down. Yay Charles!


When it was our turn with the ball, we tried running Kyla. She ran straight into a crowd screaming the whole way!


John punting. I was sure he was going to kick by arm.


When Mason arrived he had to switch from team to team according to who was behind


Our cheering section


The football gang. I hope it becomes a family tradition.