Celebrating in 17 minutes!

                            So excited to join Saturday Celebrations with Ruth Ayres! 

                   It is fun to live my week thinking about what I will celebrate on Saturday!

                            A week filled with moments to celebrate and remember!

1.  Celebrating that I called a friend this morning who mentioned that she had just returned from a funeral.  This comment threw me into a tailspin because I was supposed to have a dessert at the church by 1 p.m..  I had totally forgotten this commitment, but I stirred up my famous cookie bars, showered, and delivered them to the church in under an hour, so surely I can write this post in 17 minutes.

2.  Celebrating that I found my student's paper.  We both knew she had turned it in, and she even remembered where she handed it to me (the front of the room).  My students know better than to hand me a paper because it often gets lost before it makes it to the right spot.  After looking for two days, I took a couple of moments before leaving school to check the front table again and there it was (under some other stuff).  A relief for both of us!

3.  Celebrating our independent book store.  I stopped yesterday to purchase a baby gift and had a delightful chat with my favorite book seller.  We love to talk books!  I'm glad we have an independent book store in our community.

4.  Celebrating late cards and Christmas trees.  My husband commented week before last that we were finished receiving cards, but this week several arrived in the mail, along with a note from a dear friend.  Real mail always brightens my day.  On my way home from Island Books, I drove by a house with a Christmas tree still glowing in the front window.  It made my heart glad!

5.  Celebrating what I savored when I left work before dark on Wednesday!  I chased this sunset from the south end where our school is located to Slater Park on the north end. This is the same spot where I discovered a serendipitous Saturday sunset and my OLW, savor.  Cathy mentioned that it yells "writing spot."  I'm committing to some writing time there soon.  I've also decided to savor this spot throughout the seasons, so I hope you won't object to future pictures taken at the same place.  

Looking forward to some time later to read your celebrations of the past week.

Have a week filled with moments to celebrate!

Savoring a Reading Conference

                               Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 

to the Tuesday Slice of Life sponsored by Two Writing Teachers.

Savor, my OLW, found me a week ago last Saturday on January 4, my mom's birthday.  I wanted to write a thoughtful and reflective post today about my OLW.  I've twirled ideas all week long, kept a list near my computer, and even pondered writing a poem about how I'll savor 2014.  But tonight I find I'm too tired to write this post.  I still have some emails to answer, a lesson plan that needs tweaking, and a bed that is calling my name.
So I'll share the best moment of my day that occurred during a quick reading conference with a student.  My Mock Newbery unit goes contrary to my gut instincts about choice since students read from a list of Newbery possibilities selected by the children and teen librarians of King County Library System.  As I chatted briefly with a student and looked at her genre list, I could see that this unit had kept her from pursuing new genres of her own choosing.  I apologized, reminded her that we were almost finished, and that soon she would be choosing her own books again.   She reassured me that even though she's been reading assigned titles, that they are all good books and that she has enjoyed reading each of them.  Her smile reminded me that projects like this are worth the effort.  
With a little luck, one of our titles might be selected for the 2014 Newbery Award or as a Newbery Honor. However, regardless of the outcome on January 27th, this student's response about the good books she's been reading was a moment that I'll continue to savor!

Pausing to Savor on Saturday!

                          So excited to join Saturday Celebrations with Ruth Ayres! 

                   It is fun to live my week thinking about what I will celebrate on Saturday!

                            A week filled with moments to celebrate and remember!

I'm celebrating babies this week.  A colleague stopped by school with her new baby and we were delighted to see her, big brother, and baby sister.  Our staff had two babies in November, another one due this month, and a new pregnancy announced this week.  Our church congregation has welcomed many babies this past year, after years of having only a few.  Last Sunday, I watched with delight as a sweet baby girl held her mother's hymnbook and intently watched the song leader.  It was precious and there were more than a few of us watching her instead of the song leader.      

I'm celebrating words this week.  It was through reading many of your words at Two Writing Teachers that I finally found my writing voice.   My OLW (One Little Word) for 2014 found me last Saturday evening.  I'm inspired by your OLWs and look forward to the word journeys we'll share this year.  Take a moment to see some of the words we've chosen at Cathy's post and add your OLW to the comments if you missed Cathy's call.  It's a great place to round up our One Little Words for 2014. 

I'm celebrating my students this week.  I asked them to read a Mock Newbery book over winter break.  Almost all of them returned ready for book clubs this past week!  Final book clubs will meet on January 21st, followed by fishbowl discussions in defense of each title before voting in our Mock Newbery, and we'll enjoy a celebratory breakfast meeting on January 27th as we listen to the announcement of the 2014 Newbery Award.  Yesterday, we enjoyed a little more time than usual to dive into our final book club titles.  I love a room full of engaged readers!     

My Serendipitous Saturday Sunset

                               Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 

to the Tuesday Slice of Life sponsored by Two Writing Teachers.

I'm one of those folks who struggles with never having enough time in the day, so I vacillate between doing the onerous task of grocery shopping first thing on Saturday morning or doing it later in the afternoon when I've run out of steam for other tasks.  This past Saturday I attacked the papers to be graded early in the day, posted to Saturday celebrations, graded some more, and suddenly, it was time to squeeze in the weekly trip to the store before cooking dinner and taking care of preparations for Sunday.  Knowing that I was running late and that dinner would be later than usual, I dash out of the house for a quick trip to the QFC. 

As I pull onto the road, I glance to my left and spy a gorgeous red sunset.  I manage  to steal several quick glimpses through breaks in the trees before reaching the road where I usually turn right for the grocery store.  

I decide to squeeze in a quick detour and continue up the road toward my friend Renae's house.  Several years ago, my son showed me a lovely vantage point from her road for viewing the lake and the setting sun.  I stop there, pull onto a side road, and snap a few pictures.  It's at times like this that I wish I was a skilled photographer so that I could capture what my eye sees!  Although my picture doesn't do justice to the gorgeous red of the setting sun, it can visually prompt me to recall this moment in time so I can revisit it often.  I sigh with contentment and gratitude for this moment and head to the grocery store.  

However, my car develops a mind of its own and makes a left turn toward the water.  I find myself searching the side roads for a small, public pocket park.  After several wrong turns into private drives, I find the spot I'm searching for, park my car, and amble down a rock path to the water.  And there I'm treated to a few more moments with my serendipitous Saturday sunset.  And that's when I settle on my OLW for 2014 from a list of several words that I have been considering.  I'll write more about my OLW later, but for now, pause and SAVOR the view with me!

Celebrating remnants of Christmas Cheer!

                        So excited to join Saturday Celebrations with Ruth Ayres!

                    It is fun to live my week thinking about what I will celebrate on Saturday!

                             A week filled with moments to celebrate and remember!

1.  Packed up Christmas this year on New Year's Day!  You have to know that I hate undecorating the house because it makes me sad.   Usually my daughter helps me do it, but this year she wasn't home.  Blake and Stefi left too early for me to be ready to pack up.  So I did it all by myself in one day, except that Lance did help me pack the fake tree and carry it to the Christmas closet.

2.  Packed everything . . . except for a few remnants that I keep out to brighten short winter days: 

• The metal tree that displays our Christmas photos.  I love enjoying pics of friends and family for a while longer.  Some will eventually make it to the refrigerator gallery, but for now I keep them displayed on the dining table.
• My snowperson collection.  I moved them from the dining room to the family room.  Snowpeople,  greenery, and white lights - that's winter decorating at its best!
• The red basket that holds Christmas cards and letters.  I love the late arrivals that dribble in during the next few days/weeks.  Each is cause for celebration,and there is no need to be ashamed that they didn't get mailed on time.  The late ones get even more attention.
• The white lights on the deck - short Northwest days need light!  Feb. 1st used to be my deadline for taking them down, but gradually I moved it to Valentine's Day, then the end of Feb. and one year I sliced about them in March!

3.  Joined Sara and Will for a snowy Saturday hike in NY via pics on FB and my phone.  

4.  Celebrating that we didn't return to school on the 2nd this year like we did last year.  I've loved these few extra days, and now it's time to return to some long postponed grading.

5.  Trying to follow Linda's advice to write fast.  I started at 11:11 and finished at 11:33!

6.  Back to add one more - Mom's 92nd birthday is today!  We always had angel food cake on her big day.  She had a special skill for loving people.  I miss her so, but feel so blessed to be her daughter.  

The Christmas Angels

                               Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 

to the Tuesday Slice of Life sponsored by Two Writing Teachers.

Inside this rather pedestrian cardboard box is a treasured family heirloom, 

the Christmas angels!  

They are ceramic and made in Japan, but the real treasure is contemplating the hands that have touched and loved these angels for the past 50+ years.  They were given to Angie Wyrill, my husband's grandmother, by her daughter Dorothy Behnke, my husband's mother, many years ago.  Angie's home was often filled with family and friends.  Our visits there were precious times as we gathered around her kitchen table to enjoy good food, stories, and laughter.

Angie's 90th Birthday
 Dorothy Behnke, Angie Wyrill, Sara Behnke, Ramona Behnke,
Blake Behnke, Lance Behnke

When Dorothy gave us the angels in the early 90's after Angie's death in 1990 at the age of 93, they became part of our family's Christmas traditions.  Each year, the angels are unwrapped tenderly (still  surrounded by the tissue paper and kleenex lovingly put there by Grandma Wyrill) and placed in a safe place for the holidays.  A favorite spot was the top of my secretary until I spied our cat Hadley snuggling with the angels one year.  After a few years in safer spots, they returned to the secretary this year since Hadley's advancing age limits her ability to climb.

In the bottom of the box under the kleenex and tissue paper, is the real treasure, handwritten notes penned by Grandma in 1960, 1967, 1972, 1974, and 1977, on the day she packed the angels away and placed them in the attic until the next Christmas.
.

The notes often mention the weather, an ever present concern for the wife of a Kansas farmer.  The 1960 note ends with these words:  "A cold snowy day.  Bright and sunny but much snow on the ground.  Big drifts too!"

The 1972 note:  "Little angels put away Dec. 28 -72.  Kept them on John's desk and enjoyed seeing them each day.  Now it is 2:30 p.m.  Ex-President Truman's memorial service is in progress."
The words "kept them on John's desk" are especially poignant because her husband John died in 1971.

The 1974 note is my favorite because it mentions a visit from Lance (her grandson and my future husband), and ends with the words: "I'm GLAD he is here!"  The word glad is underlined twice.

Each year when the angels are unpacked, I reread these notes along with the ones penned by me beginning in 1992 and Sara's notes beginning in 2007.  They chronicle our Christmases in Houston and Seattle and mention activities and guests who visited during the holiday season.

Sara's first addition to the notes was in January 1996 when she was nine years old.  She added the date at the top since Grandma always included the date and added these words to the end of my note - "We loved Christmas this year."  The last note written by me was in January 2005, Sara's senior year in high school.  After leaving for college, part of Sara's visit home each year has included penning the note for the Christmas angel box. This year, I'll add the note since Sara's and Will's move to NY (grad school for Will and full-time employment for Sara) prevented a visit home during the holiday season.

Borrowing a phrase from Anita's eloquent post about a family tradition, 

I tenderly tuck the angels into their box empowered by memories and the love of family from Christmases past, Christmases present, and Christmases yet to come.  

A week filled with joy!

                              So excited to join Saturday Celebrations with Ruth Ayres!

                    It is fun to live my week thinking about what I will celebrate on Saturday!

                             A week filled with moments to celebrate and remember!

One -  FaceTime and phone calls with family members (seeking answers to my cooking dilemmas, in celebration of my brother's birthday on Dec. 23 and my sister's birthday on Dec. 25, and texts and pics to share an early east coast Christmas with daughter and hubby).

Two - Other cooks in the kitchen!  I love it when someone else steps into my kitchen and asks me to step out.  Stefi, Lance, and Blake all stepped into the kitchen several times this past week.  I love eating food prepared by my family members.  And the extra hands with clean-up and put-away were all appreciated!

Three - Plates of delicious holiday goodies delivered by friends.

Four - Celebrating the birth of Christ with the children in our congregation on Christmas Eve.

Five - Our FaceTime crossword puzzle with Sara and Will, and the inaugural game of Five Crowns, our new game left under the tree by Santa.

Six - Time to shop with Blake and Stefi, tell stories, watch movies and enjoy having them home for many days.  I love spending time with family!