When life gives you 7 extra-large rolls of duct-tape.....

....then use it to tape your co-worker to a wall in front of about 200 screaming children!

That's what we did on Friday afternoon at school. I mentioned in my last post about the generosity of the students at my school. Several of you have asked to see what a person looks like duct-taped to a wall, and my co-worker has graciously said I could show pictures of her on here.

Becky actually attempted to do this two times--once for the Kindergarten, first and second grades; then again for grades 3-5. From what I heard, she was not able to stay stuck the first time. I guess by having already tried it, they knew what to improve on, so the teachers helping to tape her were able to do better for our group! So, here's some pictures. Trust me, Becky had as much fun as it looks like!

To start off, she talked to the children about why we were at the assembly. You can see all the strips of duct tape hanging from the wall. Her helpers were really prepared.

Here she is by the wall where she had taped up the amount of money raised. We did good!

I can't show the pictures of her being taped to the wall, since it shows some of the students. But I'll tell you how they did it. Becky called up all the 3rd-5th graders who had raised the most money individually. A girl in my class raised over $150, so she got to help. She had raised more than any other student. Then they had teachers who had donated $50 or more come and assist, and our assistant principal helped because he's tall! She stood on a stool, and the teachers started out taping across her chest and torso. Then they did her arms individually, and the students helped put big pieces across her legs and down to her feet. She was smiling and joking the whole time. There was music playing in the background and some of the students watching started dancing. Everyone was having a great time!

Ok, here she is right before they took the stool away.

And here she is hanging to the wall! Becky told me later that she didn't have any trouble breathing, but it reminded her of being in her wedding dress. Not because her dress looked like duct-tape! Ha. She said the tape across her torso was like wearing the corset and fitted part of a wedding dress. She just felt very tight and secure in that duct tape.

She ended up being stuck to the wall for about 13 minutes. It was almost time to dismiss kids to the buses, and we had hoped she would stay so all the little kids could see her since it didn't work for them. But, the tape gave way and she slid down the wall. It was still a lot of fun for all of us. No one has ever done anything like this at our school before. Well, we did have a principal a few years ago who cut back flips in the front yard on the last day of school.

Becky is an awesome PE teacher! She always is doing something to keep the kids active and to encourage them to move around. She is always a "guest" on our morning news show to give them a healthy tip of the week. The kids love her, and she's an asset to our school. And I get to call her my friend!

It must be contagious...

...Generosity, that is.

This has been the week for generous giving....or should I say, a generous month?

At my church, we were participating in an annual fundraiser for a local pregnancy center that we support. The church distributes baby bottles and we fill them up with loose change. I can't remember what our goal was, but we raised over $3000! It was quite a moment to see our Pastor present this check to the representative from the center.

At my school we have had two different campaigns going on. One was our annual campaign for the American Heart Association, called Jump Rope for Heart. The PE teacher sponsors this and the kids raise money. She had a goal of $1500, and our kids raised over $2000! One girl in my class raised $150 by herself.

Our guidance counselor decided to do a spontaneous campaign to sponsor the earthquake victims in Haiti. The Heart Association drive is always in February, but no one plans an earthquake, so we had both fundraisers going on at the same time. For Haiti, we asked for each family to donate $1. Now we have about 500 kids in our school, but of course many of these kids are brothers and sisters. We figured asking for $1 per family would not be too much to ask, and that we might raise 300-400 dollars. Well, the guidance counselor announced today that we raised over $900!!!

One thing I may not have mentioned about my school is that we receive special funding because the school has such a high number of students on free or reduced lunch. My school has a high population of families whose first language is not English. And we have many families who struggle to survive. For the kids at my school to be living such hard lives, and with the economy the way it is, for some of these kids, $1 is a lot to give. But believe it or not, we had kids bringing in $5, $10, and more. Some of my kids brought in money on several occasions! It certainly has made me proud of these kids!

And to top it off...the PE Teacher had promised the student body she would do something crazy if we met our goal....and we surpassed it! She announced today what she is going to do. She is going to be duck-taped to a wall of the gym, and the top-10 fundraisers will get to help stick her to the wall. I can't wait to see this!

Quick Update

.Testing....Testing....

Are there any readers still out there?? I don't normally go this long without some sort of an update. Life has us running in 50 million different directions that I haven't had the time to post anything.

All the snow we've had recently caused some schedule changes at school....mainly with turning a teacher workday into a student day. I had a LOT of parent conferences scheduled that day, and I am now working to get all these done. I'm having to give up planning times and time before and after school. I will be so glad to get these taken care of.

I've also had to deal with a situation at work where I've had to add another child to my class. I know what you are thinking...another one? Yes...another one. That would make 25! The only problem is that this just isn't a new student--he was transferred from another class in our building. It's a long story, but just pray that the child will behave in my class. His behavior is a MAJOR part of why he is now with me. He's been with us for one week and we haven't had any problems. Just pray for the rest of the year to be as smooth as this transition week has been.

Quinn has moved up to the two-year-old room at daycare! He started this past Tuesday. The room is bigger, the toys are not as babyish, and the playground has a slide! Mainly, they start doing more "school" type activities in this room. Quinn has not adapted as well as I had hoped...he cries when I leave him. I'm sure this will get better with time. He also will begin potty-training in this room. We have bought a potty for home and he's had a few successes! I'm not pushing it or rushing it, and he seems to enjoy sitting on it.

Buddy has gotten promoted at the fire department. He is now a Lieutenant and got to change his helmet to an officer's helmet...red! I'm proud of him for all he's accomplished at the station. He also got his 5 year service award back in December.

I guess that's it for now. There just hasn't been anything too exciting going on.

A Boy and his Doggie

Tillman has been a member of our family for a long time. Buddy got him our senior year of college in 2002. Tillman is named after two buildings on Clemson's campus. Tillman Hall is one of the oldest buildings on campus and where all the education classes are held. His middle name, Lee, is the building where all the construction and architecture classes are held. When he was a puppy, he was small enough to fit inside the pockets of our jackets! Now he is seven and a half. He can't fit into our pockets anymore, but still loves to cuddle.

I was worried how Tillman would take to Quinn after he was born, but they quickly became best friends. Here they are when Quinn was about 3 or 4 months old. You can't tell in this picture, but they are the exact same size at this time. I have another picture somewhere of Tillman on his back beside Quinn and they are the same length.



This picture was taken a few weeks after the other one, but you can see that Tillman loves being with his Quinn. He's even smiling!



This one was taken back in the spring of 2009. Tillman loves to lay on fleece blankets.



One thing I haven't mentioned about Tillman is that he always seems to know when someone is sick or not feeling right. He will stay with that person all day, snuggling with them or laying nearby. If the sick person walks through the house, Tillman is on their heels. For instance, when Buddy had his appendix out a few summers ago, Tillman was with him the whole time he was recuperating. The night I went into labor with Quinn, Tillman would not settle down in our bed. He got off the bed and scratched at the door. When I let him out of the bedroom, he went to the kitchen and barked at his dish...code for "Get me more water". When I bent down to get his dish, MY water broke. I truly think he knew I was about to go into labor.

So I wasn't too surprised when I walked into the living room today and saw this.



Quinn hasn't been feeling too great today...fever and coughing. So I wasn't surprised to see that "Nurse Tillman" was on the job! And I know the next time one of us is sick, Tillman will be right there with his special touch! I am so thankful that God made animals for this world. They have a way of becoming such a special part of the family. Those of you with pets know what I mean!

Just for Fun....What have YOU done?

I saw this list on another blog and thought I would re-post it here. Basically, there are 99 things on the list and you put a star by the ones you have done before. Here's my list.

***1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stairs
***3. Played in a band (hope high school band counts)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
***6. Given more than you could afford to charity
***7. Been to Disneyland/Disney World
***8. Climbed a mountain
***9. Held a praying mantis
***10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
***21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
***23. Taken a sick day when your weren't sick
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Ran a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola
29. Seen a total eclipse
***30. Watched a sunrise or a sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michaelangelo's David in person
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful erupt
***43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (only I was the stranger)
44. Visited Africa
***45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
***46. Been inside an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep see fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
***52. Kissed in the rain
***53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
***60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies
62. Gone whale watching
***63. Got flowers for no reason
***64. Donated blood, plasma, or platelets (blogged about this one too)
65. Gone sky diving
***66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
***69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
***70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Visited the Vatican
***81. Bought a brand new car
82. Walked in Jerusalem
83. Published a book
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
***85. Read the entire Bible.
***86. Seen the White House in person
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
***88. Had chickenpox
***89. Saved some one's life
***90. Sat on a jury
***91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
***93. Lost a loved one
***94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
***96. Seen the Great Lakes in person (just Lake Erie)
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
***98. Owned a cell phone
***99. Been stung by a bee (by about 20 at once...thank goodness I'm not allergic!)


Well, there's my list. You are welcome to do this on your blog too. Or you can just leave a comment. It would be interesting to find out if anyone has done any of the weird ones or the "out of town" ones!

But probably the best thing I've ever done was the day I met Jesus! A lot of people in the world wouldn't consider this one for their "top-ten" list, but for me personally, it would be #1. It's the best thing anyone could do with their lives.

"For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever should believeth in Him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life!" John 3:16