I am Mother ... Hear Me ROAR!

My girl. She is pretty amazing. Like no other. She is more grown up acting than most grown ups I know ... me included. She loves God. She loves God a lot. She is willing to stand up for herself without stepping on someone else to prove she is right. She knows what she wants. She knows she has to work hard to get it. She is kind. She is funny. She is hilariously funny. She is a friend. She is a friend to the friendless. She has been someone's dance partner even though she is convinced she is allergic to him. (Oh, I told you she is funny!) She is a healthy eater. Ridiculously healthy. She does her homework without being told she has to do it. She gets straight A's (not easy at her school!) She is practicing for a play until after 10 pm every night this week and still getting up for school in the morning at o'dark thirty. She dreams. She hopes. She is amazing. And, she's my girl.

PS ... Jen, I put this picture up for you. See if you can remember why.

So Thankful it is Saturday!

Happy Saturday to you! I hope yours will be as fun as ours is planned to be. But, you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men ....

Here's what we have on the schedule for today ....There will be a little sitting in the yard and just enjoying Houston in the fall. Ya'll it is beautiful out. I have almost forgotten the 110 degrees of the summer ... almost! I have already been out with the dogs this morning. Zoey and I just sat on the little couch and stared at the backyard. Well, I stared. She surveyed her kingdom.
There will be much coffee consumed today. Hopefully from this place. I heart Starbucks. And, a Starbucks coffee drunk from a Christmas cup? Even better!
I will be taking a trip to our local H.E.B. They try to make a trip to the grocery store funner by saying "Here's Everything is Better" ... um, that is not what your store initials stand for. We all know it stands for the name of the founder ... Howard E. Butts. But, you must give it up for their marketing team ... because would you shop in a store with "butts" in the name?

Anyhoo, must go. We have nothing to eat in our house. Nothing at all. I have somehow managed to avoid the grocery store for the past two weeks. Sometimes Torrey being in the play and us being super busy isn't as bad as I think!
I will spend lots of time with this handsome man. And, the $20? Not trying to show off ... we found it and it was a little exciting to us. Some days money does come from heaven!

How will we be spending our day? At the mall (and we all know how much Dean loves the mall on a Saturday!) to get ready for ....
Christmas! This picture is from last year ... we may do things early, but not that early!
And, today we will be missing our girl. Torrey headed out the door early this morning for play practice. Her small group leader at church will be picking her up and taking her and a group of her girlies to a fun day at Kemah and then to a sleepover at her house. We are so thankful for these young ladies who are willing to pour themselves into our girl and at the same time pour into her the love of Jesus ... all the while being cooler than cool. We know she will have a blast!

And, then finally, we will be getting ourselves ready for ...

church tomorrow. Our pastor is leading us through a study of Genesis this year. We are at Noah right now. Good stuff. Really good stuff.

Hope your Saturday is full, too!

Life Lesson in a Fortune Cookie

Today was the culmination of a unit study on Asia in 1st grade. And there was a most delicious feast in the afternoon. And, my peoples hooked me up. There was a fortune cookie, and I actually got a "fortune" that made me go "hmmmm." (Instead of the usual "laugh at what is funny" or some other let's just state the obvious fortune!)

You will learn a great lesson. It will present itself to you subtly.

There is nothing subtle about what has been running through my heart in the past few days. Nothing subtle at all.

It must be said (again) ... I am a teacher. I am paid to care for 16 little ones for 180 days. I am paid to be a part of their life for one year. I am paid to be a part of this season in their life. I am paid to be a part of their story.

And, it is humbling.

And, it must be said, I would do it for free.

A few weeks ago, our Head of School reminded us that we do not know what our students are facing at home. We only know for sure what they face in our classroom. (And, even then we sometimes completely miss it.) And, for some of these kiddos, what they face at home would bring a grown man to his knees.

I teach at a Christian College Prep School. We will pay more for Torrey's 8th grade education than I paid for two years of my college tuition. These are children of privilege. Children who have difficult lives just like any other child on any other street in any other city in our country or any city in the world. Life is just hard.

And, for some of my students, the only way they will hear the name of Jesus is in my classroom. I was teary this week as I heard sweet D. sing "Jesus Loves Me" (over and over and over again in a very loud voice!) ... When he saw me looking at me he proclaimed, "Mrs. Townsend, I love Jesus so much!" You would be teary too if you knew the country his family is from and if you knew that his family is a family who has him at our school for the education and not because it is a Christian school. I hope his family knows that they WILL be Christians ... because their sweet boy already has a heart for Jesus and soaks up every bit of Him like a sponge.

For some of my kiddos, my classroom will be their only soft spot. Their only haven. Their only place where it will be OK to not be perfect. Their only place where grace will be given.

I have been challenged to be a light to these 16. My prayer is that my words would be sweet and my spirit would be gentle ... that they would know how much I love Jesus because of how I loved and treated them. I pray that they would become superstars for Christ ... that they would be the leaders in their classes as they grow ... not because they are great on the ball field, or can sing well, or are super smart ... but, because they love Christ.

I don't know what they go home to ... but, I do know what they come to school to. May it always be a safe spot that draws them closer to you, Jesus!

Should I Go?

I just discovered that "The Pioneer Woman" is coming to Houston. She is the mastermind behind these delicious little gems. Should I go and blog-stalk her in person? Hurry and give your thoughts ...

Just to give you insight into our life that day ... in the morning is the "Christmas Store" (our church's Christmas outreach), we have a wedding to go to at 2:00, and I have a cookie exchange to go to from 3:00-5:00. Oh, and she will be at the book store at 1:00.

I'm thinking I can pull it off!

And aMusing Monday is Born

Day One of my Homework Hiatus is here. And, I actually left school with my purse and my empty coffee cup. It must be said that I felt a bit sinful as I left, but I may or may not have clicked my heels when I got to the car.

And, because of my Homework Hiatus I am able to actually get some things done that I enjoy ... like updating my blog ... and I did some things I did not enjoy ... like walking on the tread climber. Oh how I dislike that thing!

Needless to say, I uploaded some pictures from my camera and I found this little gem ...
While I was at my parents house and waiting for a cup of coffee I spied this on their refrigerator. And laughed myself silly. Only my parents would have a list of "Important Numbers" and have "Alligator Hotline" in the number one spot. My dad tried to tell me they were in alphabetical order ... but, in his alphabetical order world Pasco comes before Mark.

And, while I was uploading pictures I found it. And, grinned. And, missed my parents terribly. I am blessed with parents who love God, each other, us, our spouses, our children ... and who put funny things on their refrigerator to make us laugh.

Go ahead ... upload some pictures tonight. You never know what you'll find!

Balancing Act

Mothers are amazing. We walk a tight rope every day to meet the needs of our families ... all amid raising littles, working full-time jobs, caring for elderly parents, volunteering in the community and church, going to the grocery store.

All without a net.

Lately I have felt like my feet aren't actually on the rope. Rather I am holding on for dear life. And, today it hit me like a ton of bricks.

I need balance in my life.

Because my focus has not been where it needs to be. My attention has been focused solely in one area. All of my attention ... to the point that everything around me is falling apart.

And, so tonight I am giving myself permission to come home from a FULL day of teaching without homework. Because I have been bringing home this or that or the other thing to the point that when I get home I am spending most of my evening finishing this project or that project.

And, before you think I will suddenly become a bad teacher ... for the next two weeks I will not be able to leave school until 6:00 because of play practice. I think an 11 hour day is more than sufficient to complete my work.

So, that is my new goal. To not bring home work ... except for one day a week when I will complete my lesson plans. Pray that I will be able to accomplish this. Hold my feet to the fire. Keep me accountable.

My prayer this week is for balance. Balance. Balance. Balance.

Sneak Peek

This one won't make it to the Townsend Christmas card ... but, I wanted to start to post the losers ... and, I'm talking about the pictures not the people IN the pictures, Stephen!