Merry Christmas

Christmas pics...

Imagine my horror...

when I was awakened by the siren of our security system at 2:30 this morning. Jeremy and I just had a security system installed last weekend. I feel very safe and secure with it on, but very early this morning I felt very frightened as I listened to the wailing siren. It took Jeremy longer than I wanted to wake up, which only added to my racing heart rate. Finally (after 15 seconds), Jeremy got out of bed and shut the alarm off. We both sat in the bed unsure of what to do; eventually we got up the courage to investigate. Before we made the journey into the unknown, I checked to see what set the alarm off. The code on the alarm panel said "04" which is the code for the motion sensors. My thoughts immediately went to our dogs that sleep in their crates in the basement. We have a motion sensor around the corner from their crates, so it could only be set off if one of our dogs were OUT of her crate OR if an intruder made it in a window or door without setting off the alarm before reaching the sensors. One time before I have forgotten to lock Lily's crate and was greeted by her at the top of the stairs the next morning. I was hoping that was what had happened this time and not the other option. We very bravely opened the door to the basement to find our beautiful Lily staring at us; I had forgotten to lock her crate. She was the intruder. I wonder what she thought when the screeching siren went off. I can picture her covering her ears with her paws. We were relieved but VERY awake. Needless to say it took us a while to unwind after that experience. Now I have mixed emotions about our alarm with the VERY loud siren...

Work

I have been teaching high school English for five years now...this year I ventured into a new experience. I started teaching ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages). Now, you need to understand that these students have JUST MOVED to the United States. Some of them know some English, but most of them only know how to say their names and where they are from. They are in the same class for five periods: ESOL immersion. Needless to say, this has been quite the learning experience for me. So, why am I writing about this? Because I LOVE these children. I only teach them first and second periods, but they are the highlight of my day. They are so eager to learn and are so appreciative of anything I can share with them. This year was my best birthday ever because I heard "Happy Birthday" in five languages....English (of course), Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Spanish. It was an absolutely beautiful thing; I will not forget that day. When I look at my students, I think about heaven and how amazing it will be to see every tribe, tongue, and nation singing HIS praises. Just wanted to share!

We're stuffed

It's Sunday night after Thanksgiving, and we are still full from all the delicious food we ate last week. We went to my aunt's house in Ellijay for lunch, and it was awesome! My uncle Doug built the house out of salvaged wood; I am sure it is one of the prettiest places on the planet. The picture with the covered bridge is at their house. After all of that food, we went to Jeremy's parent's house and had another delicious meal. I am surprised I can even walk after all the food I ate. Currently, we are mourning the losses of the Yellow Jackets and the Falcons. Personally, I am mourning my return to work after a very restful week long vacation. Despite the fact that I have had a week off from work, I have had a very full week. I have already done most of our Christmas shopping. Our house is decorated for the holidays, thanks to the help of my wonderful husband. We bought a new tree and decorated it together. It was so fun! Jeremy and I have two dogs: Lily and Daisy. Lily is solid black and blends in with Jeremy's shirt. Daisy is blonde and is very curious about the camera. In the last picture you will see what they do best: sleep. They are rotten!!!