Been a While

Well, I know it has been a while.  This school year has been a whirlwind.  I am teaching Kindergarten this year and have 5 kids that I had last year.  It has been interesting to see the growth over the last year and a half.  In September we had a school fire and we put together a new school in only a weeks time.  The high school was building  a new building that was scheduled to be done a few weeks later, so the construction company put in overtime and had it ready in a week.  As they were moving out of the old building, we were moving in.  It has been quite a year.  We are teaching with virtually no curriculum.  It has been challenging.  Thankfully most of the teacher's guides are online, but that does not help with student books.  The other challenging thing has been the fact that we didn't get to take most of our item from the half of the building that was saved due to smoke damage.  For some teachers it has been harder than others.  I was okay with it, since I didn't have as much, but teachers who had been there 20 plus years and lost everything, well, that was a grieving process.  We are working through it and we will be better for it in the long run.  I am thankful that the fire was on the weekend and no one was hurt.

This past weekend my baby girl turned 13.  I officially have a teenager in the house.  We also have celebrated 10 birthdays with my beautiful girl.  I am so lucky and blessed to have such a beautiful young lady.  I love her so much and know that God placed her with us for a reason.

Christmas is right around the corner and we are counting down the days.  Have you started your shopping yet?  Not one thing has been bought in this house.  Nothing!!  I'm usually almost done by now, but I have no desire to shop.  LOL!  We are going small this year as we have been saving for a substantial trip next year and we don't have as much to put towards it.  The trip though will be a once in a lifetime experience.  I'd tell you where we are going, but it is going to be a surprise for my beautiful girl.  She will not know where we are going until we get there.  LOL!!  That oughta be a fun 2 days in the car.

Well, I guess that is all.  Just wanted to get on and update.  Thanks to those that still read.  I know my posting is very sporadic.  Thanks all and if I don't get back on between now and then, Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!  :-)

School's out....sort of...

Well, I did it.  I survived my first year back in teaching after being out for 7 years.  It was by God's Grace that I made it.  I spent the majority of this year sick and it was very hard and trying and I almost quit quite a few times.  It was hard on me emotionally, physically and mentally.  Being sick and my emotional well-being are how Satan has been trying to attack me.  It's hard.  I keep on and kept on getting struck down.  Thankfully, after we got rid of the mold in my bathroom, which seems to be a big part of why I was so sick, I haven't had all the issues with breathing that I usually do.  Dust will still get me down, but nothing has been as bad as the mold did.

Anna just finished up her 5th grade year in school as well, but unfortunately did not pass the state standardized test in science, so she has to go to summer school.  I am praying that she passes the objectives quickly, because then hopefully we will be done at the end of this week.  I was looking through old tests that are released on this subject and know for a fact that they have not covered all the concepts on the test.  Unfortunately for us, this test covers everything that she should have learned from Kindergarten on up through 5th grade.  And another unfortunate thing is that I never taught her science on a steady basis when we were home-schooling, so she did miss out on quite a bit.  We are going to practice as much as we can between now and Thursday and hopefully she will pass all the objectives on the end of week test.  Due to her being in summer school, I will also be teaching summer school in 1st grade, but only for one week.  If Anna still has to go, I will not keep teaching.  I need that break.

Health wise, I am only so-so.  I have been have a LOT of joint pain and weakness, overall tired feeling, headaches, muscles aches and stomach issues.  I am progressively getting worse, but I have decided that it may be due to a new medicine that I started a month ago.  I didn't really put two and two together until last night.  Symptoms are all there.  It makes me sad that it didn't work, but I'd rather not feel like I've been hit by a truck.  I'll be calling the doctor tomorrow to make sure, but pretty sure I'm getting off of it.  I've also been diagnosed with endometriosis in the last two weeks and will be starting a new shot for that.  Yes, it is rare to get it after a hysterectomy, but not impossible, since I still have my ovaries.  Apparently taking them out is not a cure all and it is highly likely that it will stay or come back, so the shot it is.  Sigh.  I can't seem to catch a break on this whole health thing.  I get tired of feeling lousy all the time, but also know that it is just something or something else lately that I have to deal with.  I get the treatment that the Doctors want to give me and then pray it works.  I try very hard not to let the health issues get me down, but sometimes its hard.

I guess that's all for now.  Hoping that this week goes by quickly and that Anna is done with Summer school after this week.  We both need a good break.  If nothing else we have a good trip to Dallas coming the end of the month.  Ready for that break.  

No more homeschool

Sad day for me, but I have officially removed myself from most homeschooling groups.  I have signed a new contract for next year, so I decided it was time.  We loved our homeschooling years and will never regret going broke to stay with Anna and do what we thought was best for her.  We met a lot of great people on the way and had lots of fun, but it is officially on to a new chapter in our lives.  Anna is doing good in school.  I will teach somewhere between PK and 2nd grade next year.  Exciting and scary all at the same time.

New Year Update

First of all, today is my hubby's birthday.  He is 39 years young today.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY!!  I love you and the tank looks great.  (He redid his aquarium today with sand instead of gravel.)


Second, I am clear of pneumonia.  Praise the Lord my lungs are completely clear and my breathing is back to normal.  I am still taking 2 breathing treatments a day, but I can handle that.  I have been back to work for a week and a half.  Besides being exhausted, which is perfectly normal for me after a long day of work, I have suffered no ill effects from the pneumonia.  I am so glad.  On the down side, I was docked for 3.5 days of pay.  That is going to hurt, but we are not worried about it. 


Third, I had a doctor visit with my RA doc.  Anna and I waited for over an hour past my appointment time to get back.  UGH!!  I can't stand long waits, but unfortunately, I can't go at another time right now because I can't ask off work, since I have no days left.  The best I can do is leave early.  So...long waits it is.  The doctor agreed with me the the meds I had been on are not a good fit for me and for the time being I am off of them.  I will not go back on them as they were lowering my immune system too much and were part of the reason I have basically been sick since September.  I am glad that he agreed.  I will however remain on the Plaquenil and pain pills and we will add in a different new medicine at a later time.  He and I both felt that since I have been doing okay on the Plaquenil alone that we would let it be.  I am glad he agreed, because I took myself off the other meds right before Christmas.  Now the only odd thing was that he knew I had been in the hospital and I KNOW for a fact that I never told him.  Weird, but okay. 


I guess that's all for now.  I am praying that the worst of my sickness for the year is over.  I had the flu and pneumonia shot before I left the hospital, so hopefully that will help.  By not being on the other medicine, I am praying that my immune system rebounds.  I hope everyone has a very Happy New Year.  It may be 3 weeks into the year, but its still Christmas in our house.  I am not in a rush to take it down, so if you come over, don't be shocked.  LOL!!  I hope to check back in soon.  Take care.  God Bless!

Happy (cough) New (cough) Year (cough cough)

Happy New Year.  I brought the new year in with a bang.  I was sick for the entire Christmas Break with a head cold.  I went to the Doctor this past Monday with a fever and a cough and was diagnosed with Bronchitis again and prescribed antibiotics.  I ran fever through Wednesday and coughed and coughed and coughed!!  On Thursday night, I ended up with very labored breathing and by Friday early morning we were on our way yet again to the ER for some extra help.  I assumed I would get a few breathing treatments and some steroids and be on my way.  Boy was I wrong.  It turns out I had pneumonia and I was admitted for treatment.  They gave me IV antibiotics, two different kids and I received IV steroids for a day as well.  I was released today after nearly 4 days at the hospital.  Yeah, happy new year, huh?  Now I'm home, but I am not back to work until next week.  I was released for Monday.  We will see how it goes.  Praying for a complete healing and the ability to get through the rest of the school year without incident.