one year later!

so as we all know, not only am i mrs. findley, but the expecting her first little baby cakes mrs. findley! :)

hence the reason i decided to reignite the blog, that didn't really ever get started to begin with. there are so many exciting things that God is doing in my life, and it would be a shame not to share them, as well as catch up my many distant loved ones who naturally want updates.

so here it is: i'm pregnant and i freaking LOVE it! :)
seriously, the past few months have been so blessed, i will surely never forget them. there is nothing quite like God using you to grow a little human. ;) but really, its so exciting to be totally conscious that someone else is eating what you're eating, breathing the air you're breathing... or something of that sort. its made me take better care of myself physically, spiritually, and emotionally... because hey, i don't want baby flooded with any sad hormones ;). yea, i'm ridiculous!

anyway, i'm thoroughly enjoying watching my appetite and belly grow and grow and imagine that little child growing as well. words can't express my excitement for monday: to SEE beautiful baby, and how healthy he/she is growing, AND see if he/she is a HE or a SHE!! :) a wonderful day it will be, having javascript:void(0)a little cookout for our family to share the good news of whatever gender the little one is!

i have been so incredibly blessed to not have a single day of nausea during this pregnancy. in fact my only symptoms have been a silly brain that doesn't seem to work quite as well, a growing belly, some sleepliness early on, and an ever growing appetite!

i do believe this has grown longer than i'd intended. that'll be all for now! :)
will try sooo hard to stick this out!! monday i will announce the big news!!

photos my beautiful friend mara took to remember the belly days :)

Mother's Day

So thankful for my mother. She is such a light in my life and I truly adore her. I have learned so much from her, which I see more and more as I learn to be a mother.

Today has thus far been more difficult than I had expected. I miss the kids so... so much, and it just doesn't feel right without them here. But today, I have made my choice of faith... I know that God's plan is greater than this.

I have peace knowing this.

1 Samuel 2
2 "There is no one holy like the LORD;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.

3 "Do not keep talking so proudly
or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the LORD is a God who knows,
and by him deeds are weighed.

4 "The bows of the warriors are broken,
but those who stumbled are armed with strength.

"my heart is broke"

As I'm observing the class out of the corner of my eye, while my assistant does the morning calandar and I race around after a (forgotten) morning staff meeting to get ready for another busy day... I notice one of my students with his hand over his heart. I of course asked him what was wrong, as tears were welling up in his eyes. He responded, "My heart is broke, no one loves me."

Tears immediately rushed to my eyes and I quickly blinked them away and just held him. I proceeded to tell him all of the qualities I loved about him and that I knew that there were so many children in this class that loved him until he seemed to smile. What sad words to hear come from such a little boy. He has so much going on in his young little life. I pray for God's loving arms to just wrap around him and make his heart just over flow with His perfect love.

On a brighter note, it is teacher's appreciation week... and these kids (as usual) have been making me feel so loved and appreciated. The PTA (really just teachers...) sent a flier home for a list of ideas of what to do for your teacher each day of this week. So far I have been showered with gifts of sweet cards, flowers, and healthy snacks. I tell them, who can't have a wonderful day if it starts off being so well loved by such wonderful children. What blessings they truly are...

Anyway, if you have children in school... please send a quick note or something sweet to your child's teacher. You have no idea how much it made my day and they really do invest so much in your little darling. :) I yelled up to Elias, "Remember to say something sweet to your teacher!" and he replied, "I like you, Sarah!"

Cutie!

Each moment is a gift from You to live

Father of life, seated on Your throne of grace
It's only by Your mercy we are saved
Lord, You have said if we call upon Your Name
We and our families will be saved

So we cry out Your Name,
El Shaddai, God of grace
Lord Most High, Jesus Christ
We rely on Your grace,
Adonai, crowned in praise
Lord Most High, Jesus Christ

Father of love, never failing to forgive
Each moment is a gift from You to live
We're only here to tell the world about Your grace
Until the day You take us all away

We will cry out Your Name,
El Shaddai, God of grace
Lord Most High, Jesus Christ
We rely on Your grace,
Adonai, crowned in praise
Lord Most High, Jesus Christ


This song made my heart just burst with the love of God this morning.
Lord, please move me to pour out that love to others this week... especially the ones who need it most.

For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Dear Mrs. Parent,

I wanted to take the time to write you a note to explain my job to you.
Not only do I try to teach your lovely child the Standards of Learning and how to read and write...
I take (sometimes all of my) time, effort and energy each day to instruct your child on the following (and much, much more):

how to sit still for more then 10 seconds,
how to be a good friend,
how to tie his shoes,
how to blow his nose (which often leads to germ infestation),
which are good and bad words,
how to respect authority,
when is an okay time to touch someone and when isn't,
how to keep his mouth quiet,
how to share and take turns,
how to prevent themselves from having an accident,
how to walk in a line,
how to use good manners (ie. not push people out of their way),
how to take care of the environment,
how to get through a lunch line in under 10 seconds,
and really... how to treat someone with more kindness than how you often feel the need to treat me.

You have no idea what my day entails (unless you teach, Mrs. Parent, and you don't).

I love your child. Love, love, love, love, love them!! Though you are quick to feel the need to defend them, you do not need to. I am an advocate for them. Your child is absolutely exhausting and in need of great help, but little do you know... that is exactly what I'm trying to provide.

Do myself, and your child a favor and...

Please. Show. Me. Some. Respect.

Kindly,
Mrs. F


Today I needed this:
"That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 corinthians 12:10

5 year old babies

I'm such a sucker at report card time. I spend so much time just staring at that darn screen for each grade (which is only N, S or an S+) in each subject area for each student. From the perspective of being a student, I want to make some children who are trying so hard feel encouraged with a good grade. From the perspective of a parent wanting their child to do well, I want to give grades that correctly reflect how my child is doing so I know what areas I need to give them extra help in.

Now, of course I do my best to give grades that truly reflect the effort and improvement in each area. Sadly however, from the perspective of these students' teacher I worry about what some of these grades can bring on to these poor kids. I've heard of horrific things happening to these babies when they get into trouble, and I don't want anything I do to bring that on to them. Obviously they "earn" their grade, but seriously. They're 5.

There are so much these kids have seen and so much they've had to deal with before they ever passed 5. This week one of my students found a rat in her room and killed it with a frying pan. My 6 year old Elias screamed when he saw a stink bug.

My heart breaks for those children daily. Lord, thank you for your protection over them.

their beautiful laughs

i love the laughter of abigail and elias. sometimes they get too loud, and i can't even tell them to stop because i'm just so glad to hear it throughout the house. such a beautiful sound. i'm so glad they're here again.

abigail had her first lacrosse game today. can i just say... that girl can get serious! she was (safely) a pretty aggressive player for never having played before this season! i was so proud to be cheering for her! danny was so heart broken that he couldn't be there, but it was fun to surprise him after at work so that he could see them for a little bit :) what a wonderful and hard working husband i have. LOVE EM!

that's all for today.