Daisypath Vacation tickers

Daisypath Vacation tickers

New living room furniture

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The living room redo is almost complete. We have a few wall accents to find, but for the most part, the room is finished. I need to "stain" the buffet, but I've had this piece for a while (my mom stripped the old finish off of the buffet). I'm going to stain it with a red tint that matches the "orange/red" in the fabrics. It's hard to tell from the ottoman (which looks orange because of the yellow undertone), but think "barn red" and you'll know what I'm talking about.

The room was difficult to design as we have two focal points (TV cabinet and the fireplace) then two entryways--behind the couch and near the TV cabinet. All in all, I LOVE the way the room turned out. We picked "durable" fabrics to last a long time and the cats have a doctor date to get "declawed" finally. Poor kitty cats!

Christmas Pictures

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My semi-annual post. ;)

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Folks,

Living in the country may be casual, but it isn't less busy! This school year, I've been swamped, but I'm LOVING what I'm teaching this year. I have the privilege of teaching English I Honors and English III. I love American literature and teaching juniors.

I also am teaching my son this year...first period! It's been quite fun, and I'm TRYING to pretend he is just another student, but I do find I'm holding him to "higher expectations."

Our football team made the playoffs this year, and it was fun to have such a winning season; we finished 8-3 for the year. Great job, Tigers!

I'm also grateful that we didn't have a COLD football season as last year we froze the entire month of October during district play.

THANKSGIVING
We just finished celebrating Thanksgiving, and it was great having Kelsey home for the holiday. She is truly loving college and I'm loving watching her live a righteous life in Fayetteville.

We spent time with my family in east Texas for Thanksgiving, and for the first time ever, our family ran in a "Turkey Trot" on Thanksgiving morning. Our youngest daughter, Claire, finished second in the "Under 20 division." I'm proud of her perseverance and staying strong mentally. Thanks to Uncle A for encouraging her to finish strong. He ran to keep up with her as the rest of us were not in shape to do the encouraging! :)

CHRISTMAS
We're decorated for Christmas at the farm. It's neat to decorate and not be "dog tired" as last Christmas we had just moved into our home and it was a lot of work unpacking then immediately trying to decorate and shop for Christmas.

I also got a long-awaited present a bit early. We've been waiting to get new living room furniture for the longest as our new "living room" area didn't jive with the furniture we brought from our "city" home. After a few mishaps, we've settled all the furniture in place. The only thing that would make it better is if Sarah Richardson would come accessorize the room and offer advice on what kind of draperies we should hang, but I don't think she'll come as a "Santa" present this year.

ONLINE SHOPPING
I'm vowing, after shopping for Thanksgiving groceries, to shop for Christmas online this year as much as I can. We'll see how it goes. I'm now a disciple of Bargain Briana, so I'm hoping to use some money-saving tricks from her, but at the very least, I'll avoid MADNESS in the stores, and shopping online is going to require advance planning, so we'll stay within budget too.

CHRISTMAS BREAK
I love the time between Thanksgiving Break and Christmas Break. My school this year isn't ending its semester until after we return in January, so I won't have a lot of papers to grade over the Christmas break either! Woo hoo! Yea for the teachers, but boo for the kids needing to retain final exam information while they are on Christmas Break.

Have a wonderful Christmas (if I don't blog before then) and I'll post pictures of our holiday decorations soon.

Our Christmas Card

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Birdie Branch Christmas 5x7 folded card
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Back to School and good things come to those who wait

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Back to School
Since the first week of August, we've been "back to school." The kids have had Band Camp each day from 8-5! Yes, that's right. 8-5! The youngest has been "worn out" each afternoon, and I've had to have dinner "ready to go" as they are "starving" upon arriving at home.

Tomorrow, I go "back to school" officially, but I've been up at the school a considerable amount during August. My classroom is still a total wreck, but I'll have it pulled together before Thursday night as then is "Meet the Teacher" night.

I find it funny that a year ago, I knew NO ONE on that night, and this year, many of the people I say hello to I already know.

Challenges this school year?
  1. Teaching my son
  2. Teaching a "new" old prep.
  3. Organizing some new initiatives in our school.
  4. Cooking dinner and running a junior high and high school kid to-and-fro.
  5. Being in the world, but not of it.
Waiting for the right time
I've window shopped for new living room furniture for quite a while. What we had in our "city house" just didn't fit the room in our new home. I'm not talking a difference in style--I mean PHYSICALLY fitting the room.

I've thought several "If I could design this room over..." thoughts, but we've saved up the money and we went yesterday to pick out a new sofa (called a conversational sofa as the two ends fold a bit back to the center--think modified sectional), a HUGE storage ottoman that can accommodate four pairs of feet AND store all the gaming equipment/TV remotes/blankets, and odds and ends, and a swivel rocker. We were able to select fabrics (which made me feel like I was in the show Sarah's House and hubby was my design assistant, Tommy).

We just need to pull the trigger and in a few weeks, wah-lah, new furniture will be in place.

Not that getting "stuff" is the end-all, but it is helping me feel settled and less displaced.

Hummingbirds
They continue to fascinate me. I continue to ask them to get along and share the feeders. Hummingbirds are a lot like kids and probably a lot of adults too.

I'll keep you updated on the living room and classroom redos. Once has to happen MUCH sooner that the other!

Some Camp Photos

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Peyton with friends readying for water slides!

Claire with her Kickapoo buddy!

Kelsey with friends from K Kauai (the family camp where Kelsey worked this summer).

Peyton with Kabin 19 Kounselors!


Claire with Komo Kabin 12 Kounselors!

I thought I would post a few pictures of my kids from summer camp!
Enjoy!

Where has summer gone?

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I'm a HORRIBLE blogger! I admit it. If I would publish half the stuff I "write while I'm thinking" away from the computer, I'd have volumes listed, but alas, I don't sit down to blog enough.

This summer we've been busy!

June:
  • Cheerleading Camp for me
  • Cheerleading fundraiser for me while the little Rs went to church camp at Falls Creek in OK. They loved it!
July:
  • My husband and I took a cruise to celebrate our 20th anniversary! Mexico was fabulous! We traveled to see some Mayan Ruins in Chichen Itza. That excursion was great, but it was RAINING when we debarked the ship, so we were soaked! :) We also snorkeled and zip-lined in Cozumel. That day was quite fun and the water was fabulous for seeing fish and creatures of the sea: tons of tropical fish, king crab, puffer fish, sting ray, lobster. Great day!
  • While we were cruising, my parents came to stay with the children. They had a blast with Grandma and Granddaddy while we were gone!
  • We squeezed in, between rain, a visit to the local Blue Ridge Rodeo on Saturday night. The rain had stopped, but the arena was a muddy mess, which made for some interesting rodeo watching. Especially the mutton busting.
  • The little Raymers went to their paternal grandparents' house for the week and while there P and his cousin received their scuba certification. Peyton was one swimmer's ear infection away from getting his open water certification, but he will instead finish those dives over Labor Day weekend.
  • The little Raymers are now at Kanakuk's K1 Kamp until July 31. They seem to be having the time of their lives, but I haven't received a letter from P yet! He better write soon! Check out some of the video from their Kamp!
August:
  • Back to School shopping
  • Dentist/Doctor appointments
  • Band Camp
  • Cheerleader Camp
  • Readying for teaching and learning! My SON will be in my class this year! Yikes!
All in all, it has been a great summer so far, and I look forward to the school year, even though I want to enjoy fully with last few weeks of summer!

Next update, I'll tell you about my neighbors who like to visit in droves! Hummingbirds!
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