Thanksgiving

This is one of my favorite holidays. 

I love the food. My family has some amazing cooks in it. I can taste Nanny's dressing already.

I thoroughly enjoy family time. The older I get the more reality sets in that things I have known my whole life are not forever. I have started to cherish each moment a little more. These times of gathering with those I love, these are moments I treasure.   

There is so much in life to be thankful for.

Here are a few things I am thankful for this year:

David

Asa, Jude, Titus

Our families

The best friends anyone could ask for

Our new Church

Scripture

Worship Music

Our new home and the memories we have started making

Healthy kids

My job and the people I work with, we wouldn't make it without each other

David's amazing job

My little TPT shop 

My IT WORKS $ each month

A great class of kids this year 

Asa and Jude's teacher- they love her and I prayed they would have a wonderful start to school

It Works

Let me tell you about It Works:

1. I only joined because my cousin needed a distributor. I had no intentions of doing anything with it. I got my stuff and left it in a box.

2. I started using the stuff and loved it.

3. The greens....cannot say enough about them.

4. I decided I wanted my $120 in free product so I signed 4 loyal customers. Then I saw my measly little check.

5. It was like free money. All I did was post and talk to people (which I do anyway). If you know me, I love to talk.

6. I decided I wanted a little more. I posted a few times extra a week. My husband made fun of me. I had to promise not to make selfies holding up numbers.

7. I added some products to what I used. Fell in love with the fat fighter and lip and eye.

8. I posted some more.

9. I signed several loyal customers in a month and saw that check. More $ which may or may not help my addiction to Zulily.

10. Now, I have goals. I am going to reach them. They aren't huge. I am not quitting work which I love most days, but I have goals. It is so easy to make $ with this company. The products are amazing. The bonuses are awesome. The upline support is incredible. Plus, I am nosy and I like seeing before and after pictures of real people. If you are a distributor, you get added to all these private groups and you get to see it.

11. My sister loves the stuff and she is hard to please. You can ask her on your own about REGULAR, but lets just say she is REGULAR.

12. My friend who is weird about smells approved of the line of essential oils. I have used VOODOO oil as David calls it for years. The boys love it. I love it. It is amazing stuff. I have an arsenal, you know in case of an apocalypse or something. It Works came out with oils a few weeks ago. I am sort of an oil snob. I got a set to check it out. They did their research. The four blends they created are phenomenal. It is half of my arsenal in four bottles.

13. I let three people try a thermofit. They loved it.

14. I cannot say enough about the products I've tried. It is so much more than wraps. It doesn't leave me feeling jittery. I don't have to swallow a pill pack. There is no "program" to follow. I love it!

15. I am a sucker for a deal. Every time I sign an LC I get wrap rewards. I cannot even tell you how many $25 boxes of wraps I have gotten in three months. I can't even remember. You can sell those babies for $25.00 each. That is a $75 profit per box. We are talking cash in your pocket.

16. I am a teacher. I see more snot in a day than I would like to admit. I get sneezed and coughed on. I have stayed sick for nine years. I went back and looked the other day. I was at the doctor 6 times between September and February last year. Once was the flu. All other times it was sinus infections, bronchitis, upper respiratory mess. This has been the case for nine years. This year, I have not had any of it. I haven't done anything differently, except add greens. I hate vitamins. I am not a huge fan of vegetables. This has all of that. I am getting what I need in one serving everyday.

So, who wants to join my team?

Who wants to gain the benefits of being a loyal customer? Free shipping. Points for Products....

Who wants to make extra $?

Who wants to look better?

Who wants to feel better?

Who wants to get healthy?

Start now and feel and look different by Christmas!

http://www.sunnyjae.myitworks.com

jaeskinner1@gmail.com

Loving Fierce

There was a son who murdered his mother. It is sin. It is wrong. It is almost unimaginable, except for the fact that it happened.

 What I am going to say is not going to be popular. Many won't agree. However, knowing both of the people involved this is what it is. My words do not make it right and I am not making light of the situation, but knowing these two, it hurts me deeply each time I see another share from a supposed brother and/or sister in Christ.

The media is having a field day digging up every single thing from his past.

 Yes, she was a mother that loved her children deeply, madly, just as I love mine and you probably love yours. She was a young mother. She was a young mother with little help, however, she faithfully met the needs of her kids and loved them. She loved them fiercely just as most mothers love their children.

 He is a young man who walked a path of destruction in life. Guns. Violence. Gangs. Hate. Crime. These things were all easily accessible and a way of life on the street that made him seem successful in the eyes of the "friends." The looked appeasing. The difference between him and others... He got caught several times. He got of scotch free. We live in a broken world with a broken system. Nobody helped him. Nobody corrected. He was always welcomed back into the same path with open arms.

His mom told me several times how often she prayed for her boys.

I am so sick of seeing people post the al.com article from today. It is gut wrenching. It is like a blow to my gut each comment. Each word. Each share. People who claim to be Christians. People who are "open-minded." It is hurtful.

It is hard for some to fathom. It is easy for some to see the path. It is unimaginable that a son could kill his mother, yet it happened. It could happen to anyone. Anyone who was handed these exact same cards in life, it could have happened to you or someone you know personally.

You know what isn't unimaginable? Children never getting the help they need as a child. Children never having security. Children growing up in the projects.  (yes, I know SOME come out of that life and are ok, but check the statistics). Children taking care of themselves because fathers are not handling their role and mothers are forced to work multiple jobs. Children raising children. Children raising themselves in their parent(s) home. Gangs looking great to kids because it is a group of people that will stand up for them, fight for them, and make them money. It is not the right road and sadly, it is far to easy to take that road. It is a brotherhood and a "family." It is a unit of people that all have something in common and fight for that common things with each other. Unfortunately, that common thing is never good.

There are people mocking him for "aspiring to be a rapper." You know what? I am glad that a child who struggled year after year in school still had dreams. I am thankful for a momma who believed he could do anything and poured support into him. She loved him well until her last breath. I am thankful that a broken  education system that failed him didn't crush his dreams.

I saw people saying "he should be shot." "he will burn in hell." "he should take a bullet to the forehead." "She should have aborted him." "He will get what he deserves in prison." "He should get the death penalty." "Sorry piece of...." other things that are filled with words I won't type.

I for one hope none of the above happen. I especially hope he doesn't burn in hell. Actually, I hope just the opposite. I pray that one day he stands in heaven worshiping a God who saves.  I hope this is an opportunity for him to get his life together. I hope this is a wake up call to do just what his mom was trying to tell him. I pray that he comes to know the saving power of Christ. I pray that he receives grace, repents, and spends the rest of his days on this Earth winning people for the Lord. I pray that he makes a radical change in his life. I pray that at the end of his life, he can hold his head up high knowing that he was a changed man.  I pray that he understands the sin in his life and that he asks for forgiveness. I pray this is a wake-up call on his life. He has been given an opportunity. THIS is an opportunity for the church. This is an open space for us to flood him with the Gospel. The same one you came to know. The same grace you receive day in and day out. I for one plan on showering him with the gospel anyway I can get it into that prison cell.

Yes, it is atrocious what happened. Unfortunately, we are all to good at pointing the finger. To the non-believer, it is right and wrong. It is black and white. It is death or life. To the believer, sin and repentance, it's biblical or not, it is life on Earth and life in Eternity...at least it should be. Unfortunately, there are people who walk into churches week after week claiming to be Christians adding their two sense to the news articles condemning him to Hell. Yes, thou shalt not kill is a ten commandment. I have never found one single person who walked the face of this Earth who hasn't broken a ten commandment with the exception of Jesus himself. To God, sin is not weighted. Sin is sin. To the world, it is different, thankfully, we aren't the judge and jury on eternity. We serve a Savior who gives grace none of us deserve. Grace that is greater than ALL of our sin. Your sin. My sin. DeVarta Thomas' sin.

So before you get all share happy with your clicks, think about this as a human being. A life. A lost life. A life searching for something. A son who will live with killing his mother for the rest of his life. Someone who breathes the same air you and I do. Nothing would make his mom more proud than to know he got it together. He changed his life. He served a mighty God all the rest of his days.

DeVarta Thomas is human. He is a sinner just the same as you and I.

If it were my child and it meant my death so that he could have eternal life, I'd choose death everyday. I know Mrs. Tawanda would have too. Just like any momma, she loved her children something fierce.

Pray that he turns his life around. Pray that he accepts and lives for Christ. Pray that a difference is made in his life. Share that. It actually could lead to something positive.

BrokenHEARTED

That is the place I am.

If you read my old blog, I posted once about the FAB 5. They are five kids we used to bus into our church. They loved Mr. Harold. They loved GFORCE. They came to church when there was no church. They waited on us many Sundays at the buses.  They lived right behind the church but rode anyways. They needed attention. They got it. We all loved them. I can vividly remember their faces and hearing their voices. I can picture them marching around that playroom singing Father Abraham and My God is so Big. I see those big smiles when we pulled up to get on the bus. I remember them yelling as they came up the road. I remember one crying on my shoulder when daddy left. I remember their momma pouring out her sincerest feelings about life on their porch. I have a million memories. Vivid memories and I don't know why. I can't remember every detail of yesterday.

Our church sold the buses and relocated.

Some of them came to the new location once or twice. I kept in touch over the years via social media and on the phone. One of them was shot and killed this year. I was so disturbed by this incident. I thought that hurt. I thought it couldn't get worse.

Three of the FAB 5 were brothers.

I kept in touch with their momma. She was a baby when she had the first one. She loved those boys. Through a series of circumstances, she found herself single, working two jobs and with 4 kids. She always provided for them. She trusted all of us in the Children's ministry. I remember getting them and taking them swimming, tutoring, shopping, parks... I remember them coming and helping me set up my classroom one summer.

She always let them go if they were with us.

I kept in touch with her and the boys over the years. She always texted me on Christmas to tell me Merry Christmas. We messaged on fb occasionally. She invited me to her wedding.

The boys got into some trouble.

A few months ago, one of them posted something on Social Media that should have not been posted. It was a week before his best friend got shot in the head and killed. That friend was in my first group of students. That sort of reconnected us. I talked to him several times over those two weeks. We spoke alot about the old days. We talked of the old days at church. He asked about our boys. He wanted to meet up and get lunch and talk. I didn't. I didn't out of fear. He was in a gang. I couldn't. I had to think of my boys and David. He was always posting things on FB about people looking for him. Pictures with guns. We talked about that. We talked about the deaths of two of his best friends in a year because of guns. I honestly told him why I would love to have him for dinner but couldn't because of his lifestyle.

We talked about grace. I prayed for redemption. We talked about life. I was honest. He was respectful.

We kept in touch sporadically over the next few months.

Today, raw emotions flood me. Last night, a family argument happened. He shot and killed his mother. She has two younger children who are now without a mom. She was a newly wed so there is a husband without a spouse. There are two boys without their mother, at the hand of a sibling. There is a son in jail.

My heart aches. Tears keep flowing.

For years, I have asked why God put those boys in my life all those years ago. Why did my heart love them so much? Why did I fight so hard for them? Why did He allow me to stay in touch with them? Why did their mother trust me? Why did...? Why did? Why...me?

I don't know all the answers. I don't know if I could have done more. I don't know if lunch would've opened his eyes more. I don't know. It hurts. I have regrets. It makes me angry at him for making a stupid choice. It puts me on a mission to love my kids at school more. It makes me angry that God allows such things to take place. It makes me question why their hearts were not transformed. It makes me wonder why they forgot about Jesus that they heard about so often. It makes me mad at the school system for not identifying underlying issues that were so clearly obvious. It makes me determined.

I loved them. I still do. I have for years. They are often forefront in my prayers. I think about them often. They are grown up and there are consequences for their actions. I wish I could go back to that time knowing what I know now.

I know there is a greater story playing out than just me and my feelings. I pray that one day, I can celebrate a great redemption story of three lives. Pray that these broken lives are made whole. Pray that the pain ceases in this family unit. Pray that the boys can get their lives turned around. Pray that God uses this situation to bring people to Him.

If you follow me on Facebook, you know that I've been praying for another young man. I don't know what God is trying to teach me in this season, but I pray that I listen. It isn't easy and it hurts. Actually, I hate this. I don't know what I am supposed to be learning. I know that my heart aches. Every time I think about it all I want to puke. I serve a faithful God. I know that. I know that this story will unfold and maybe not the way I want it too, but through it all, He is still God. I can rejoice in the fact that:

God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

And then one day, I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain;
And then, as death gives way to vict'ry,
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

Magnificent Monday Shenanigans

You know those days where your filter isn't working. Today is one of those. It is blah. My kids at school were loud and I have a headache. A couple things that have peeked in my thoughts today scrolling through FB and Instagram, driving to work, and just walking around....

1. Pants are not to balloon out of your boots. If there are more wrinkles above the boot than on a bulldogs face, we have a problem.
     1a. See pinterest for correct ways to wear ankle boots. 12 layers to get to them            makes you all choppy.

2. For the Love...I've said it once and I will say it again....Tights are not pants. If they don't have pockets, they are meant to be covered. It is not ok. It is not ok on an adult, it is not ok on a child. Butt cheeks should remain covered in situations of no pockets and in situations of those pockets being stretched to their max.

3. Don't beg then brag. Nothing is more annoying.

4. Talking to 3rd graders about drugs is not in my realm of expertise. Me: "Don't do drugs. They make your face look bad, your skin is all nasty, your hair looks gross, your teeth rot, it uses all your money and it is against the law. Just don't do them. Now, we are all going to design a tshirt...." I proceed with instructions. One child, "So, is it a drug if it is free, like if you grow it yourself?" "Is a cigarette a drug because my dad gets them at the gas station with his other stuff." "Some people cook their own drugs in their kitchen and blow up."   Me:"Everybody just write 1. "Drug Free Way to Be 2.Don't Do Drugs   3. pick your own slogan, decorate and you can't ask me anymore questions or tell me more stories." I'll post some of the pictures later.

5. Nobody cares how much money you have on hand. If it is all in your hand, chances are there is none in the bank. Stop making pictures before you get robbed.

6. Bicycles should never be driven in the middle of a lane on a two way road. Get out of the way. If I have to cross lanes to avoid hitting you, you need to move it.

7. You cannot get ON tomorrow. Tomorrow is just tomorrow. It just happens. You can't get ON tomorrow.


8. This man driving this train has managed to wake up Titus Skinner at 12:00 for the past two nights. I might go sit and honk at him tonight as he passes. A few toots will do.

9. The pumpkin cookies that you can decorate from Walmart.....the icing doesn't spread like the lovely photographs. It ends up goopy, splotchy, and FAIL!

10. In order to appease all people in my life under 4 ft tall I have read the Monster Underpants book a million times today. Several at school because they would laugh and not talk and once at home already.

This week is Red Ribbon dress up at my school, also at the boys school. Each day is different at both places, there is a full moon this week, Halloween is this week and apparently people carnival and fall festival every night for a week now, and it is the Magic City Classic so I am sure we will have nine billion kids in our classes on Friday due to lack of subs. I am ready for Friday!

I am going to make dinner. I might go to bed at 8. I am exhausted and it is only Monday!

Live Like You Were Dying

You know the old Tim McGraw song...

It came on the radio yesterday when I was in the car alone.

You know sometimes we get caught up in the mundane. I am guilty of it. The past two weeks have been exhausting. I've had to just sit and catch my breathe a few times.

Last week, the boys asked me one afternoon to sit and color with them. I did. While we were coloring, I realized how their little pictures have evolved in the past few weeks. Animals look different now. People have all their parts and are gaining little details. Real world objects are now being sketched through their eyes and you can make them out.

Titus' little vocabulary has grown tremendously. He is a hilarious little guy. He will make you laugh so hard. He cuts his eyes when he answers a serious question. He dances. He sings. He knows just about every word to every song you sing him. He is a  little character.

I am not dying. Well, I guess we all are in reality. It just made me stop and think about how many days I just blow through life trying to get everything done that needs to be done. Those little pauses are so precious and our boys are growing so fast. I pray I can remember to pause more often between the discipline, the day to day, the work, the laundry, and the messes. You know, in reality, life is short. It is too short to miss little moments with my kids. Too short to busy myself through holidays not knowing when it will be my last with someone. Too short not to enjoy the little things that are sometimes taken for granted because they seem like they are forever, they aren't.

1st Two Weeks

I survived the first two weeks of school.
We have been busy. I am implementing so many new things in my room this year. I spent a lot of time this summer reorganizing all of my things and preparing them by standard. Our district finally gave us the go ahead to teach and do what we know is best for our kids. Such a novel idea...so we are about to start training on project based learning. I will keep my thoughts to myself and relish in the few weeks I got to do what was best for my students. I have gained an enthusiasm for teaching again in being allowed to TEACH! I love it!

We worked on classification of plants and animals for two weeks. We broke out our little eyes as we call them and got some closeups of our leaf margins and vein patterns.

We created crazy hair self portraits. We are finally getting an art unit and I am so happy. I do the best I can with art, but I will gladly hand that task over to a trained professional. 

One of the first days, we read Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon and talked about the importance of being yourself.  We then talked about what all we could offer each other in our little (25 strong) classroom community. The students drew flowers and wrote a sentence about themselves on each petal. They were instructed to do no less than five and no more than 7.  Easily, I could see who could follow directions. I also knew who could write sentences. 

 We worked heavily on math centers, rotating, volume, and directions. I do math centers all year so having a strong foundation in them is crucial. I need them to be able to work in small groups with each other while I have a group. We worked really hard on this. We also began number talks and were focusing on making tens which tied right into our review of place value and building numbers through 1000. We also threw in some rounding and they GOT the rounding rap! I LOVE the rounding rap!!!!

 We are using our space to it's max. They have a strong foundation of our rules, my expectations, how to celebrate each other, and we have already learned so much!

A Work innnnnnnnnn Progress

So far, we have completed a few projects around the new homestead. We still have a great deal to go, but it is looking and feeling like ours!

The Living room before and after. It got a lot of new blinds, shelving, and I am still working on the walls. 

 The dining room is currently my work in progress. We didn't even have a dining room in our other house so it has been a real work!

 Asa and Jude's room before and after.

The Twins bathroom before and after. It just needed paint, the shower sliding door removed and some decorations. Titus' it needs more. Everybody is sharing right now!

 

 The office space upstairs...still a work in progress

 One day this ugly chandelier will be transformed or replaced...one day!

 This bathroom is my next project. Coming September 2015! Will probably be blogged about in 2016 at the rate I go:)

Before and After of Titus' Room

 Titus' Bathroom....Still hasn't happened....

 Before and after of the kitchen. The cabinets were 50 shades of brown stain that literally wiped off on your hand and the island was dark brown and chipped in a million places. I redid ALL wood in the kitchen and antiqued it a little.

 Master Bedroom Before and After

Master Bath. The corner of the counters is showing in the before(left) the whole thing was white. The wood was chipped. It looked terrible. I stained the vanity. Painted the walls and replaced the shades on the lighting. We also added blinds above the tub, scrubbed the grout back white and painted the toilet room.

Master Bath HIDEOUS green walls and shutters that some animal had shredded and were from the 90's...BEFORE. After.  The picture is dark, but the walls are a silver grey and we have a custom set of wood blinds that fit the window!

 Laundry Before and Yellow. AND laundry after.

 

Front door color change. 

Before and after of the porch. I painted it a dark grey, added a rug and some curtains. We repainted the swing. It is eventually getting new screens, a new swing and different furniture!

Before and After of master bath toilet room

We painted, added hardware, scrubbed, painted, peeled, painted, caulked, scrubbed, painted, changed out fixtures, added, covered, bought blinds, bought more blinds, bought more blinds...we are getting there. We knew there was work to be done. It is a fixer for sure, but we love it. Oh, and the backyard. That is Davids territory. So far, we have lost some trees and I have planted around the patio and porches. I am working on creating front flower beds. He has tree and weed duty:)