Thursday, February 26, 2009
Heart Breaking....
Several of my kiddos walked into today with heart breaking and life changing news. They are situations that you hear of every day--divorce and losing your home but it is so different to walk a child through that situation and I'm just their teacher. Both of these kids were so heart broken, mad, and of course blaming themselves. There was one child in particular who is taking the news very hard and will continue to.....I was so reminded today of the fact of how important it is for me to pray for these kids. I pray every day for my kids not just that they would learn but that they would be growing into the people that God designed for them to be. So often I think it's easy to get stuck on the fact that "Bobbie still can't multiply..." that we forget that these kids are going through all sorts of real life things and things that we have no idea about because they are hidden within their families. While the kids were at lunch today the tears started streaming down my face for some of my kids that have really hard lives at such a young age--I just want to fix it for them but I can't.
One Year
I have officially owned my home for one year! My closing was on February 29th of last year....obviously there is no Feb. 29th this year. :) It is so weird to think that I have owned a house for that long....the time is flying. I remember being SO emotional when I purchased my home last year because it undoubtedly was the largest purchase of my life and scary to do it on my own. I have seen the Lord's hand take care of me in so many different ways through it. When I purchased this home I had put an offer on it one day after it came out on the market two months prior to purchasing it and ended up losing the offer. Someone made an offer at the last minute that I couldn't meet but they ended up losing their financing. I was in the process of negotiating on another house when I got the call that this house was potentially coming back onto the market but that I had first dibs to make an offer on it to legally get these other people out of their contract. I was never so scared and confused in my life! I didn't know if I was making the right decision by backing out of the other offer and entering into this one but I did and I got it. When I look at it rationally there is no reason why I should have been able to afford my house but clearly the Lord had other plans....it was definitely a step of faith for sure!! In this year I feel like the Lord has provided so well for me to be here. On top of regular expenses of living here I have been able to do so much to take the largest purchase of my life and make sure that I am going to get a maximum return on my investment by upgrading things like putting a new roof on, painting, fixing random random things--I grew up in a very financially savvy family if you can't tell. :) I have seen so many situations of why the Lord wanted me to have this particular house that have been so cool. One--I have amazing neighbors that support me in so many ways. They are just really great to live next to but are really supportive and have become kind of like family in a way. Two--this house has definitely been a house of the Lord's where multiple multiple things of the Lord's has been held. Three--lately it has been a place for people to stay that need a place to stay for a while because I have the room to let them do that. In a few weeks I am refinancing my house because the rates have dropped SO much since I purchased it--I am hoping to free up some money that will help me while I am in grad school and such. The joys of being a responsible adult. :)
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Ready or Not...
So tomorrow is an early release for our students and our teachers corporation wide were able to select conferences to attend to help them advance their knowledge/skills in particular areas. I am one of those people who is teaching a class and most people in both workshops that I am leading are very seasoned teachers and have been teaching for a long time--no pressure right. :) I feel that I have a lot of quality resources to give them and even made them all CD's with digital copies and hard copies of everything...I think I killed the rain forest getting ready for this. Typically speaking, I'm not a procrastinator but some unexpected events pushed this to the last minute. Last minute for me though is still several days before and not the night before. Hopefully both sessions go well and are well received!
Funny Kiddos
My kids in my classroom have said the funniest things this week and of course not so funny things too. :) Yesterday during social studies we were reading about the Stamp Act and came across the name Samuel Adams. One of my boys who just really enjoys talking in general shots out, "That's who invented beer...I can't wait to tell my dad what I learned today!"
That same child today was trying to write out a plan of how to make a car operate on polluted water...my kids are really concerned with trying to save our environment and are always trying to come up with ways to replace gasoline. So I was asking him questions of how this would truly work to have a car run on polluted water and he got so frustrated and finally said, "Give me a break Miss Rathbun I'm a 5th grader not an engineer!" The funny part of that statement is he undoubtedly will be an engineer along with several other students in my room.
That same child today was trying to write out a plan of how to make a car operate on polluted water...my kids are really concerned with trying to save our environment and are always trying to come up with ways to replace gasoline. So I was asking him questions of how this would truly work to have a car run on polluted water and he got so frustrated and finally said, "Give me a break Miss Rathbun I'm a 5th grader not an engineer!" The funny part of that statement is he undoubtedly will be an engineer along with several other students in my room.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
25 Random Things...
1.) My hair is naturally red and people question me all the time about the color of it.
2.) Growing up I hated that my hair was red (it used to be BRIGHT red!) because certain people would always have the classic comments for it but the older I got I started to love it and have never tried to change it!
3.) For seven years growing up my family would vacation in July in Birchwood, Wisconsin. It was a very small town and we would get a house on a lake and would fish for the entire week. It was continuing a tradition because my dad's family would vacation there when he grew up on an island on the lake.
4.) One year on the way to Wisconsin I decided to order the same breakfast items that my dad did and ordered the "Hungry Man's Breakfast" at 4:00 a.m. A while later on the interstate I got sick and my sister who was in the back seat with me thought I was joking that I was sick...:) From that trip forward my parent's took buckets with us in the car just in case and I have never ordered a hungry man's breakfast ever since!
5.) When I was ten I got sick on New Year's Eve from fried shrimp and refuse to eat it till this day....
6.) Out of my immediate family three of the four of us have birthdays during the holidays! My dad's is December 25, mine is December 30, and Heather's is January 3.
7.) When I was younger I unfortunately sprayed Windex into my sister's eye.....on purpose. :(
8.) My family remodeled and added onto their entire house and did it all ourselves when we were growing up. I can say that I have helped with nearly every aspect of home repair/renovation in my lifetime.
9.) My parent's house is in a woods on a dirt road.......one of the few gravel roads left! It made it fun growing up there!
10.) My parent's had a dog named Smoky before my sister was born and one time I guess I left the house and walked down the road with the dog without telling them at the time that the school bus would be coming down the road. They also claim that I ate dog food once with the dog....I really don't remember this but that's what I'm told!
11.) My dad made me my own icefishing box when I was 6 or 7 so that we could go out on the lakes with him....I was so excited at the time to have my own!
12.) My favorite childhood indoor entertainment was the original Nintendo! :) On Saturday nights it was a tradition in my family for a while to get a pizza and there was a small video rental store in Akron that had a disc that would help you 'cheat' and get through the levels faster. I was pretty good at Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt!
13.) My dad told my sister and I once on Christmas Eve that Santa Claus wasn't coming that year because we weren't good enough that year and recorded it.....we were some pretty unhappy campers!
14.) I attended Purdue University and whole heatedly believe that was one of the best decisions of my life! I have so many amazing memories and experiences from Purdue and love being a Boilermaker!
15.) I student taught at the school where I am employed and currently teach in the room where I student taught three years ago! I love teaching at my school and love the team that I work with and how we can make almost anything fun and creative.
16.) I am starting my master's degree in May from Ball State University through an online program in educational administration. I am excited to start this new journey!
17.) The service department at my car dealership can recognize my voice without me telling them who it is....it's a little freaky!
18.) I have friends who live all over the country and LOVE visiting them. I love having meaningful relationships with people and not just surface level.
19.) On a flight back from Austin, Texas in October I sat next to two people who looked and acted like the characters from Everybody Loves Raymond.
20.) I am currently training for the Indianapolis Mini Marathon, which will take place in May!
21.) I bought my house a year ago and have loved making it my home over the course of the year. I am blessed beyond belief to own it. The next upcoming project is that I'm having the entire inside of the house painted this coming weekend.
22.) Once a worker who was supposed to be doing the spring check on my heating/cooling system fell asleep on my couch on the job. Let's just say I didn't have to pay that bill!
23.) I really really like having surprise parties and get togethers in general!
24.) I attend and am involved in an amazing church that constantly blows me away by how great it is!
25.) I really love to read and always have a whole stack of books going. I am currently reading a book by Karen Kingsbury and am starting the book Faith and Doubt.
2.) Growing up I hated that my hair was red (it used to be BRIGHT red!) because certain people would always have the classic comments for it but the older I got I started to love it and have never tried to change it!
3.) For seven years growing up my family would vacation in July in Birchwood, Wisconsin. It was a very small town and we would get a house on a lake and would fish for the entire week. It was continuing a tradition because my dad's family would vacation there when he grew up on an island on the lake.
4.) One year on the way to Wisconsin I decided to order the same breakfast items that my dad did and ordered the "Hungry Man's Breakfast" at 4:00 a.m. A while later on the interstate I got sick and my sister who was in the back seat with me thought I was joking that I was sick...:) From that trip forward my parent's took buckets with us in the car just in case and I have never ordered a hungry man's breakfast ever since!
5.) When I was ten I got sick on New Year's Eve from fried shrimp and refuse to eat it till this day....
6.) Out of my immediate family three of the four of us have birthdays during the holidays! My dad's is December 25, mine is December 30, and Heather's is January 3.
7.) When I was younger I unfortunately sprayed Windex into my sister's eye.....on purpose. :(
8.) My family remodeled and added onto their entire house and did it all ourselves when we were growing up. I can say that I have helped with nearly every aspect of home repair/renovation in my lifetime.
9.) My parent's house is in a woods on a dirt road.......one of the few gravel roads left! It made it fun growing up there!
10.) My parent's had a dog named Smoky before my sister was born and one time I guess I left the house and walked down the road with the dog without telling them at the time that the school bus would be coming down the road. They also claim that I ate dog food once with the dog....I really don't remember this but that's what I'm told!
11.) My dad made me my own icefishing box when I was 6 or 7 so that we could go out on the lakes with him....I was so excited at the time to have my own!
12.) My favorite childhood indoor entertainment was the original Nintendo! :) On Saturday nights it was a tradition in my family for a while to get a pizza and there was a small video rental store in Akron that had a disc that would help you 'cheat' and get through the levels faster. I was pretty good at Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt!
13.) My dad told my sister and I once on Christmas Eve that Santa Claus wasn't coming that year because we weren't good enough that year and recorded it.....we were some pretty unhappy campers!
14.) I attended Purdue University and whole heatedly believe that was one of the best decisions of my life! I have so many amazing memories and experiences from Purdue and love being a Boilermaker!
15.) I student taught at the school where I am employed and currently teach in the room where I student taught three years ago! I love teaching at my school and love the team that I work with and how we can make almost anything fun and creative.
16.) I am starting my master's degree in May from Ball State University through an online program in educational administration. I am excited to start this new journey!
17.) The service department at my car dealership can recognize my voice without me telling them who it is....it's a little freaky!
18.) I have friends who live all over the country and LOVE visiting them. I love having meaningful relationships with people and not just surface level.
19.) On a flight back from Austin, Texas in October I sat next to two people who looked and acted like the characters from Everybody Loves Raymond.
20.) I am currently training for the Indianapolis Mini Marathon, which will take place in May!
21.) I bought my house a year ago and have loved making it my home over the course of the year. I am blessed beyond belief to own it. The next upcoming project is that I'm having the entire inside of the house painted this coming weekend.
22.) Once a worker who was supposed to be doing the spring check on my heating/cooling system fell asleep on my couch on the job. Let's just say I didn't have to pay that bill!
23.) I really really like having surprise parties and get togethers in general!
24.) I attend and am involved in an amazing church that constantly blows me away by how great it is!
25.) I really love to read and always have a whole stack of books going. I am currently reading a book by Karen Kingsbury and am starting the book Faith and Doubt.
Different Gifts
I love how we each are so unique and we each have very different gifts. This week I have been so grateful for people's different gifts and how it makes our society so unique. This morning I was particularly grateful for endocrinologists as I had my 5 month check in Fort Wayne. It is amazing to me that there are doctors who specialize in the endocrine system and can get it back where it needs to be! I am so grateful for such good medicine and medical services in this country!
Tonight I was grateful for interior designers......one thing I don't enjoy doing is picking paint colors! It's hard for me to envision if it will look good in my house vs. on the piece of paper. :) She was so awesome and we had it all figured out in no time flat! I am excited to see the finished product after they are done! I am also extremely grateful for painters! They are going to have the whole house done this weekend except for the kitchen which will be done next weekend because they have to strip wallpaper for that part....that's amazing to me that they can do it that fast!
Tonight I was grateful for interior designers......one thing I don't enjoy doing is picking paint colors! It's hard for me to envision if it will look good in my house vs. on the piece of paper. :) She was so awesome and we had it all figured out in no time flat! I am excited to see the finished product after they are done! I am also extremely grateful for painters! They are going to have the whole house done this weekend except for the kitchen which will be done next weekend because they have to strip wallpaper for that part....that's amazing to me that they can do it that fast!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Love it!
Today was the funniest day! I had organized 'Dress as Your Favorite Story Book Character Day' at my school. All the fifth grade teachers and kids dressed up and then the kids went to the primary grade classes and read to the kids....it was really fun! It was so neat to see what the kids dressed up as and I even had a student rent a costume for the occasion!
After school I got out of my Dorothy costume asap and started working because I threw my wonderful mother a surprise birthday party tonight. It was so much fun and I think that she walked away feeling loved, which was my goal. Her best friend winters in Florida so she wasn't able to come but I had her call during the party and that was the neatest part. I love doing stuff like that in general!
Every year I do something to invest in my home and my plan this year was that I would have it painted. I had several estimates done and wasn't really pleased with either price wise. Today one of the guys who had done an estimate contacted me and we negotiated the price by basically me telling him what I felt was fair and he took it. So I'm having my house painted next weekend! He's really really fast and works really late so I'll probably stay until we get all the furniture moved and then go stay with my parents for the weekend to stay out of his way and work on stuff for them and Grandma. The best part is that his wife is an amazing interior decorator so she is going to help me pick colors on Monday. I'm excited to have it done! Last year I had a new roof put on my house and did it with my dad. I'm really glad that I don't have to ask him for help on this one and neither of us like painting...I'd seriously rather put a roof on a house!
I'm excited about my very random weekend ahead. I have running club to train for the Indy Mini Marathon tomorrow morning in Columbia City and then going to my sister's track meet at Taylor in Upland. Sunday after church I'm going to Mishawaka to visit my sister and spend time with her. There's not really time to chat at track meets....she's kind of busy running ridiculously fast. She already qualified for A Standard for Indoor Nationals for NAIA....she's so amazing.
After school I got out of my Dorothy costume asap and started working because I threw my wonderful mother a surprise birthday party tonight. It was so much fun and I think that she walked away feeling loved, which was my goal. Her best friend winters in Florida so she wasn't able to come but I had her call during the party and that was the neatest part. I love doing stuff like that in general!
Every year I do something to invest in my home and my plan this year was that I would have it painted. I had several estimates done and wasn't really pleased with either price wise. Today one of the guys who had done an estimate contacted me and we negotiated the price by basically me telling him what I felt was fair and he took it. So I'm having my house painted next weekend! He's really really fast and works really late so I'll probably stay until we get all the furniture moved and then go stay with my parents for the weekend to stay out of his way and work on stuff for them and Grandma. The best part is that his wife is an amazing interior decorator so she is going to help me pick colors on Monday. I'm excited to have it done! Last year I had a new roof put on my house and did it with my dad. I'm really glad that I don't have to ask him for help on this one and neither of us like painting...I'd seriously rather put a roof on a house!
I'm excited about my very random weekend ahead. I have running club to train for the Indy Mini Marathon tomorrow morning in Columbia City and then going to my sister's track meet at Taylor in Upland. Sunday after church I'm going to Mishawaka to visit my sister and spend time with her. There's not really time to chat at track meets....she's kind of busy running ridiculously fast. She already qualified for A Standard for Indoor Nationals for NAIA....she's so amazing.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
YAY!!! :)
I found out this morning that I was officially accepted into the administration program through Ball State University for graduate school. So now I can start this new process! I'm excited to be taking classes again.....just not excited about paying for them again!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Random Things I've Learned Lately...:)
1.) No matter what bills you receive in the mail unless they are always a fixed amount CHECK the bill and make sure that it's correct. Lately I have found so many incorrect charges on my phone bill and trust me it's worth the time to check. I had a large situation with a bill that was very expensive anyways for my house where the billing rep multiplied a number by four on accident and it made my bill $400 more than it was supposed to be and wouldn't have been caught if I didn't investigate it.
2.) If on direct deposit from your workplace make sure that the number that your slip says is the number that was deposited into your account.
3.) Never take a single day for granted....live life to the absolute fullest. A mother of a friend of mine had a stroke last week and her body is shutting down. It makes you really think about what matters...
4.) Work to see situations through the eyes of other people...it might change your perspective! I've been helping a family through a tough time and they have a situation going on that happened to my family when I was younger. It's been interesting to be on the outside but to know exactly how it feels and that all I can do is love because no amount of words or affirmation will fix it.
5.) Be grateful that we have such SMART kids in this area! I was judging the county spelling bee and was so proud of our area students! One of my students was our school's contestant and while he didn't win I was astounded at the brilliance of our future! I'm blessed to get to see a glimpse of our future daily!
6.) Show people you love them fiercely! This morning as I had some kids stay the night at my house last night and was going through the morning ritual with some typical girl drama I was blessed to look outside and see that a friend had left me a random package just letting me know that she cared. I remembered that all day...:)
7.) Remembering that the 'stuff' that God has given me that I need to be making sure that I'm using it the way He wants me too. Lately that's been cool to see how He wants me to use things. I'm blessed with a nice house and some people have needed places to stay lately and it's so nice to be able to help out. In these economic times I know of some families that can't afford to run their kids around everywhere so I've been doing a little of that and enjoy it. I always love doing stuff to help others...
8.) That fasting for 10 days is really really tough but really really worth it.
9.) That if things are meant to be in any area of life that they will happen. The other day I was budgeting for summer master's classes to pay for them next week and realized that my tax return is the exact dollar amount I need for them....amazing.
10.) Sometimes I just need a change........I'm going to Mishawaka Sunday to hang out with my sister and we are going to Ulta to get our hair cut. I think I'm going to change it up a little bit and get some bangs.....we'll see how that goes. :) At least that's a temporary change. :)
2.) If on direct deposit from your workplace make sure that the number that your slip says is the number that was deposited into your account.
3.) Never take a single day for granted....live life to the absolute fullest. A mother of a friend of mine had a stroke last week and her body is shutting down. It makes you really think about what matters...
4.) Work to see situations through the eyes of other people...it might change your perspective! I've been helping a family through a tough time and they have a situation going on that happened to my family when I was younger. It's been interesting to be on the outside but to know exactly how it feels and that all I can do is love because no amount of words or affirmation will fix it.
5.) Be grateful that we have such SMART kids in this area! I was judging the county spelling bee and was so proud of our area students! One of my students was our school's contestant and while he didn't win I was astounded at the brilliance of our future! I'm blessed to get to see a glimpse of our future daily!
6.) Show people you love them fiercely! This morning as I had some kids stay the night at my house last night and was going through the morning ritual with some typical girl drama I was blessed to look outside and see that a friend had left me a random package just letting me know that she cared. I remembered that all day...:)
7.) Remembering that the 'stuff' that God has given me that I need to be making sure that I'm using it the way He wants me too. Lately that's been cool to see how He wants me to use things. I'm blessed with a nice house and some people have needed places to stay lately and it's so nice to be able to help out. In these economic times I know of some families that can't afford to run their kids around everywhere so I've been doing a little of that and enjoy it. I always love doing stuff to help others...
8.) That fasting for 10 days is really really tough but really really worth it.
9.) That if things are meant to be in any area of life that they will happen. The other day I was budgeting for summer master's classes to pay for them next week and realized that my tax return is the exact dollar amount I need for them....amazing.
10.) Sometimes I just need a change........I'm going to Mishawaka Sunday to hang out with my sister and we are going to Ulta to get our hair cut. I think I'm going to change it up a little bit and get some bangs.....we'll see how that goes. :) At least that's a temporary change. :)
Monday, February 2, 2009
Excitement!
So my dear friend Rachelle who lives in Austin, Texas got engaged tonight.....so excited for her!!!! And my awesome friend Laura and I are her maid of honors in her wedding next summer!! :) So it looks like I'll be flying to Texas again sooner than I anticipated to help wedding plan.....love it! She's marrying a terrific man, which makes me even more excited for her!
On another note, I made a huge decision last week that I'm really excited about. I had been in prayer/thought for quite a while about what master's program to do and wasn't at peace about my decision. I had found a grant that would cover a large portion of a master's program but I really wasn't excited about it other than the fact that it would have been a LOT cheaper. During the fast I had been in prayer specifically about the master's program and little by little it became more clear until last Friday all the pieces seemed to fit together. I am going to start my master's in educational administration this summer and am really excited about it. I contacted Ball State this morning to change my educational objective and there are a few hoops I have to jump through and fast because class registration is next Monday and usually classes fill up within the day. I got everything taken care of this morning but I had to reapply so I pushed with them that I need to know this week so that I can sign up for classes. So hopefully that will all work out without any problems! If all goes as planned I have the financial resources right now to take 3 classes this summer and want to because they don't really overlap that much and that will work really well with me teaching summer school this summer. A lot of times after I get off work from summer school I tend to goof off the rest of the day but this will help me to be a lot more disciplined about not doing that. I'm really excited about this decision and definitely have a peace about it. It's something that I have always wanted to pursue anyways.
I finally got an Ipod last week....it was about time I got into the 21st century! The one I got is nice and I got a great deal on it.
On another note, I made a huge decision last week that I'm really excited about. I had been in prayer/thought for quite a while about what master's program to do and wasn't at peace about my decision. I had found a grant that would cover a large portion of a master's program but I really wasn't excited about it other than the fact that it would have been a LOT cheaper. During the fast I had been in prayer specifically about the master's program and little by little it became more clear until last Friday all the pieces seemed to fit together. I am going to start my master's in educational administration this summer and am really excited about it. I contacted Ball State this morning to change my educational objective and there are a few hoops I have to jump through and fast because class registration is next Monday and usually classes fill up within the day. I got everything taken care of this morning but I had to reapply so I pushed with them that I need to know this week so that I can sign up for classes. So hopefully that will all work out without any problems! If all goes as planned I have the financial resources right now to take 3 classes this summer and want to because they don't really overlap that much and that will work really well with me teaching summer school this summer. A lot of times after I get off work from summer school I tend to goof off the rest of the day but this will help me to be a lot more disciplined about not doing that. I'm really excited about this decision and definitely have a peace about it. It's something that I have always wanted to pursue anyways.
I finally got an Ipod last week....it was about time I got into the 21st century! The one I got is nice and I got a great deal on it.
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