your room just smells so good.....

i promised you that once school started that i would have some funny stories. well here is the first of many.

our building is a metal building that was supposed to be a temporary building, but because of small school finances, it has been up for about 15 years. anyway when it rains we get water in areas of our rooms because of leaking. so for many years i have bought plug-in to help with the smell. we used to use candles, but because of fire hazards, they asked us not to use the candles anymore.

any way, my homeroom class has 19 students in it, as i have previously stated. they are a great bunch of kids, but they are VERY busy and up all the time. they are an active bunch.

so i get ready to teach a math game and i look around the room and notice that one of my students is not in his chair. i look to see if he had the bathroom bear in his chair to signal that he had gone to the bathroom. after a few seconds of looking around the room i finally call out his name.

he suddenly pops his head up and gets off his knees and replies,"what?" "where were you," i asked. he said,"i was down there on the floor smelling your plug ins. ahhhh they just smell so good."

i was laughing so hard inside. what do you say to that????????

my heart hurts for my dear sweet husband....

today we found out that david did not get the job that he so wanted. i am so hurt for him. david is such a upbeat person who is larger than life. my heart aches for him. he is hurt and disappointed. and i am hurt and disappointed for him.

he is quiet tonight and i understand why, i just want to do something for him to cheer him up. i know he has to work this out for himself and with God, i just ache for him. he is my partner, my lover, my best friend, my soul mate, the father of my children, and my truest confidant.

i know that all things work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. i know that david's faith is strong without waver, he is just hurting right now.

i ask that you lift him up in your prayers, please. as of course i will do the same. i pray that the peace of Christ richly dwell in his heart and mind forever. i pray that he realize that God a has a purpose and a destiny for him that is better than his wildest dreams. i pray that he knows how much he is dearly loved, and valued, and cherished, by me and the girls. he is such an awesome dad and husband. i pray that Jesus wrap His arms around him and that He fills his life with unspeakable joy.

what an awesome man you are david and i am so proud to be your wife. i have loved our 18 years together and the years that we dated. God will provide, He always does, He always has. He has a job that is better for you than you can imagine. a job that will fit you better than this one would have. we can't see into tomorrow, but He can. He is probably protecting us from something that we can not see right now. He must not be finished with us here. we still have work to do here apparently.

i love you davey,
kimmie

first day of school.....

here are some pictures of the first day of school.





today was the first day of school. the girls were so excited. rebekah was so nervous. she kept asking does mrs. hoelscher make hard things easy? this is her first grade teacher. hannah was excited but not really nervous.

my class was busy and full. i ended up with 19 students. for a small district that is alot of kids. but we had a great day. i have conference in the morning, so it makes for a long afternoon. all went off with out a hitch.

a new place, a new time.... (maybe)

now i can speak about this, so my husband says. he is in dallas tonight preparing for a job interview with a new company. we have been praying about this for about two years. it is flying jets for a company out of dallas. the name of the company is flex jets. it is a job where he will be gone ALOT. he will be gone for 6 days and nights and home for 4 and then the rotation starts over again. we have been approached with this job, before, but i was not ready to have my soul mate and best friend gone from my life so much. i was not ready. and to tell the truth neither was he. he has become concerned for his job here and he is just not happy at his current job. airplanes are expensive and they are usually the first thing sold if cut backs need to be done.

God has had to do a tremendous work in my life to be able to support and be excited for the possibility of this job. God has gotten rid of a lot of baggage in my life. but when i hear how excited david gets when he speaks of this job, there was no way i couldn't support him in this endeavor. i love him so very much and want him to be happy. one night in bed i began to pray for david, and God began to say that i have created david for more than this. i known this for a while, but was afraid to allow God to take it where He wanted it to go. this would mean that i would truly have to rely on God for so much more than i already do. learn to stand more on my own two feet.

david is an awesome husband and father. i know this will be hard on the girls as they love him so. we have not told them about this yet. so i would ask that you not say anything to them either. his interview is tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. there are three parts to the interview. an oral, written, and a simulator flight. there is a chance we will be moving by december. or if they hire him and allow me to complete my contract, then we will move in the summer. we will tell them at the end of the school year, if we get to move then. of course we will tell them sooner if we leave around christmas.

i ask for your prayers. i know God is in control. we want His perfect will for all of our lives. i will keep you posted. thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

notes from a country school....

here are some pictures from my classroom. i hope you enjoy them. this is my little spot in the world where i try to make a difference.








well my classroom is finally set up and we are ready for kids. i am sorry i haven't blogged in a while, but we had meet the teacher last night and i left for work at 7 a.m. and did not get home until 9 p.m. i was a tired little camper.

anyway our classrooms are set up and our lesson plans are all ready for next monday. we will have two thirds grade sections with 18 kids a piece. i might have already told you that. our meet the teacher night went very well. we met alot of our students and their parents. the kids always come in shy and timid those first few days, but then true personalities really start to emerge soon enough.

our campus is buzzing with excitement. we are all just busy little beavers anticipating the new school year.

tonight we are just chilling, hanging with the kids, enjoying the last weekend before the school starts.

a joyful heart....

i have been listening to some tapes given to me by a wonderful friend. they are fabulous. they are teaching tape of joyce meyer. these tapes are old, i think, but God had so ministered to me through them. isn't God amazing!!!! His word is timeless. anointed messages are timeless. i was given these tapes a couple of months ago and God is just now having me listen to them.

the tape i am listening to is how God prunes christians. it is phenomenal. one of the things that sticks out in my mind the most, is that birds fly in flocks, but eagles soar alone. we all go through those times of pruning, in my life, those times seem to be the times that i am pulled away unto Jesus, himself. but after those times, i feel like i can soar like an eagle.

the tape also talks about trees and the seasons of pruning they go through. how God not only cuts off dead branches, but also branches that are alive. she states that when you go to by a peach, you buy big luscious peaches, not small ones that don't satisfy. she talks about the oak tree and how it is most often found standing alone. she says this tree can withstand years of drought because its roots are so deep and long, that they reach to a source of water that is unknown. but that it has to dig deep to find that source. the source sustains its life when others are dying. wow!!!

i like the thought of being an oak tree or an eagle. thank you Jesus for the joy that is in my soul. your joy is priceless, matchless, and no one can take it away. thank you Jesus for this peaceful place in my life. it has been for me a breathe of fresh air. thank you for all your blessings. thank you for friends that pour into my life. You are an awesome God.

thank you Jesus for a joyful heart.

BORING.. BUT THIS IS WHAT I DID TODAY!!!!

today we spent the majority of the time on curriculum alignment. this is where we make our plans for the whole year. and then we get all the teachers together and make sure there are not any gaps from grade to grade.

it took us all day just to write down what we are going to teach for each six weeks. tomorrow we will make sure we cover all the gaps for all the grade levels.

we still don't have our schedules or our class lists. there is never a win-win situation for these two areas of teaching. all of us want to teach our core subjects in the morning, but someone has to have music and p.e. at that time. our principal will probably lock herself in her office when she hands us these things, so that we don't all stampede her office at one time.

debra( my other 3rd grade partner) and i are going to have large classes this year. we both are going to have 19. that is large for us. i know that is very small for some of ya'll, but it is large for us.

i am ready for school to start. since we are starting later, the state has moved the TAKS test back. my students will not take the math until April 29. that is about 10 days later than usual.

this was kind of boring, but i know once school starts i will have better stories to tell. just getting my classroom ready. i will try to get some pictures so you can see what a small country school classroom looks like.

anyway i am ready for a nap, but i won't take one, so i can sleep tonight.

a great night and a fantastic movie......

last night we celebrated my brother's birthday. we had a shrimp boil. it was great. my family had never been to a shrimp boil and they loved it. my mother kept asking me where is the silverware and where are the plates. and are you really going to put butter and cocktail sauce all over the table? yes i said, there is wax paper covering the table.

my family really enjoyed the corn on the cob and the shrimp. i have a sister that doesn't like shrimp that much and even she really enjoyed the food. my other sister brought cobbler and my mom made a chocolate cake. hannah that day also made brownies, so there was plenty of food to go around. we had only 15 people in our family show up, so there was some food left over. everyone took a baggie home with plenty of food. it was alot of fun because after dinner we just sat around for about an hour and visited.

then my niece mo-mo said that becoming jane was on at 10:30 so her and i went to see it. and boy did we get wet running into the theater. oh my goodness i thought it was a wonderful movie. there were parts that i actually caught my breathe. i can't wait to talk to ya'll that went today to see it, and discuss it with ya'll. i love anne hathaway. i thought she did a fantastic job playing the character. and the guy was kind of cute too.

ttfn....

with deepest gratitude!!!!!!

Dear A,
I just wanted to thank you So very much for today. My hubbies job sometimes leaves us in a pickle when I have to back to work. They absolutely had a blast with you. Thank you, Thank You, a million times over thank you. I am so blessed to have a great friend like you in my life. I look forward to returning the favor anytime.

It was great to see you again today. I just love hanging out with you. May God's richest blessing follow you all the days of your life. May He make His face to shine on you. May outrageous joy be yours always.


Once again thank you!!!!!!!!

back to the real world....

tomorrow we (the teachers) start back to work. we have in services. i have been trying to get my body into the groove of getting up earlier. does getting up at 8:30 count if all summer you have been waking up at 10:30? i don't think so.

well i have to be at my school at 8:00, yes that's a.m. so that means i will be getting up at 6:15. wow! it was even hard for me to type that. i know that all of you are boo-hooing for me. i know you have young children or have been working all summer. i feel the love and sympathy flowing through the computer. anyway i am kind of ready, because i do love my job. it will be nice to get to meet the two new teachers that are going to be working in our building, as 4th grade teachers.

reading the bible twice a day is going good. i actually have begun trying to memorizing scripture. i am now at psalms 130. i have been here a few days. i do that sometimes. i stay on certain scriptures sometimes for a long time. i have been on this particular scripture for three days. here it is.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his Word i put my hope,
My soul waits for the Lord,
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than the watchmen wait for the morning.
Psalm 130: 5

o.k. o.k. i actually missed 6 words, but hey that's a great start.
i was reading back over my journal this morning and found one of my favorite scriptures. i think it bears repeating.

You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace
because his mind is stayed on You,because he commits himself to
You,and leans on You,and hopes confidently on You.
Isaiah 26:3

higher level.......

this summer has been a wonderful summer for many reasons. summer always provides me with an opportunity to spend more time with the Jesus in my bible studies. last year i wanted to go to a new place with Jesus. so Jesus called me to get up at 5:30 and read the Word before i go to work. now i didn't always get up exactly at 5:30, but i did get up and read every morning.the blessing and the peace and the growth that took place are for another blog.

tonight i was about to go to bed when i felt the Lord prodding me to read His word again. i am really trying to grow more towards the mind of Christ. i am reading this wonderful book. and in this book it discusses the only way to have a mind of Christ is to spend more time in the Word of God. to meditate on it, study it, think on it, and learn it. to keep your mind constantly on what Christ is saying in His Word.

now i realize that school is starting for me on thursday, so while i was reading i was wondering how i would keep my mind on Christ's word while i am teaching 3rd grade. i felt God speak to me a good start would be to start and end your day with the Word.

so that is my new venture, my higher level in Christ. i know that the peace of God will reign supremely in my life. maybe you would like to join me? i am sure that many of you already do this. sometimes i am a little slow.i know i might not be perfect at this, sometimes my life gets in the way. or should i say i allow my life to get in the way. i thought it would be fun to blog or not all of the wonderful things that come out of this. (just a thought)

love you guys......

brand new grand nephew......

bekah and i went to san antonio for a baby shower for one of my nieces. she is a nurse and her husband is a fire fighter. we went with my sister lisa and my mother. we had a really good time. misty, that's my niece had another little boy. he was born 9 weeks early. he is doing very well, but i ask that you would pray for him. he weighed 4lbs and 5 oz. he will stay in the nicu for 6-8 more weeks. i would have pictures, but only the parents and the grandparents can go in to see him. he has been moved to the "feeder" section. evidently this is a step in the right direction. i also ask that you pray for misty and her husband greg. they also have two other little boys that they have to split their time with. that can be difficult in the best of situations.

mom said his little head was about the size of an orange. mom and lisa(or what they call her nana) got to hold him this morning. of course lisa and royce were there when he was born. that was a week ago.

misty's shower was very nice. alot of his family came, so it was nice that we got to see them again and even meet some of his family members that i hadn't met before. we ate at cracker barrel today and got to have a wonderful visit with each other. everybody is so busy, we don't get to do that very often. bekah and her cousin had a great time playing together. it was nice to have bekah all to myself.

i really don't know much else. anyway, please pray for my new great nephew.
thanks

they're never too old to be rocked......

when my girls were babies, one of the things i loved was rocking them and then having them fall asleep on my lap. even when hannah was a baby she covered most of my lap, because she was 24 inches long. i would sing to her an old song, i love how you love me. she would hum along when she got older.

when rebekah was a baby, i would rock her and sing to her, you are my sunshine. now bekah wouldn't sing with me, but she would take her hand and place it in my hair and rub my hair until she fell asleep. there are no words to describe how i felt rocking my babies to sleep. david would often say, kim, you can put them in bed now, and i would tell him, i am not ready yet.

as a woman who struggled with infertility for 7 years, the last thing i wanted to do was to put my baby down. i remember there were many nights when i would just sleep while i rocked them, never laying them in the crib. especially when they were first born. there came a time when both of them would stop asking me to rock them, like i knew it would, but you never expect it to come quite as soon as it does.

you never know when God is going to give you the pleasure, just one more time. last night bekah came out and said, mommy will you rock me i can't sleep? she knew i would, having seen the big smile on my face at her request. i cherish those times.

ever great once in a while hannah will even ask. especially when she has had a hard day. i relish those times and thank God for the special little remembrances of their infancy.

with each new development they gain a little independence. and you are excited for that. but with each new development they are becoming more and more self-sufficient. we want that. we want our children to grow up to become strong and independent and able to take care of them selves. but before we can snap our finger, they are grown.and yet i am still surprised when it happens.

thank you girls for still needing your mommy.

nick names.....

here are my family nick names:

David: davie, dave, hunney, my little bach la-va, sweetie

Hannah: boopie smoose( it comes from monsters inc.) hannah banana, hannah montana, david calls her g (her middle name is gail) when she was a tiny baby -boobies, darling, precious, angel, my sweet girl

Bekah: reba- that is david's nickname for her; sunshine, angel, bekah-boo, honey, boobies- when she was a baby, precious, my sweet girl

today i still call both of them: my little grills

Kim: my nick name for years, especially when i was growing up was: kimbo, david and a few of my friends call me kimmie,

i thought we had a lot more. i guess i just don't remember.

special playdate.....

i just wanted to thank a. for having a wonderful play date today. it was such a relaxing time just sitting under your beautiful tree and visiting. that is one of my favorite things to do is just sit outside and visit. we did that when i was growing up, so it brings back very fond memories. my girls had such a great time playing with all of the kids there. they love to play. there was such a fantastic breeze that was constantly swaying, which made it all so nice. the brownies were delicious. (i was so proud of myself, i only had one.) yea me!!!!

it was nice to sit and discuss everything from education to being moms. thanks all you gals for allowing this oldie goldie to join in. you made me feel very welcomed and i look forward to many more times with ya'll.

once again thanks for you awesome hospitality.

New Do??? Maybe....

well i don't really have anything to write about. some pretty uneventful days. so i guess i will write about my hair appointment tomorrow. (just in case you are like me and have trouble spelling tomorrow, i always want to put two m's, but it is just one. i remember it like this. i can only handle one tomorrow at a time, so, one day at a time = one m at a time.) remember i am a math teacher and not a spelling teacher.

anyway i am getting it highlighted. my roots are way too long. about an inch i measured. does that tell you how uneventful my days have been. trust me it is different when your kids get older. they discover the friends across the street.

but when i am at the beauty shop i may end up with a new doo. i like to do different things with my hair.

told ya i didn't have anything to write about. i sure i will be full of stories when i start school in the fall.

ttfn......

greeted with big hugs.....

today the girls had mini cheer leading camp at school.

so while they were at camp i went to my campus (not that it was very far away from the high school, across the street) and decided to get some work done in my room.

i wasn't there very long before one of my very dear friends came and gave me a big hug, hello. we walked together the work room to check our mail boxes. we excitingly talked about the summer and our children and various things. while were walking there we saw two more of our co-workers. each of us gave each other hugs. you know the kind you give some one when you haven't seen them in a while.

we have a very small elementary staff, so we are like one big family. over the course of the three hours kelly and i saw two more of my teacher bench friends. big hugs were exchanged. ( a teacher bench friend is a friend that you get to have lunch with and playground duty with. this is the bench where all the worlds problems are solved( or so we think so) and we can't wait to talk about the last episode of grey's anatomy. it is a wonderful band of sisters that have worked together for a long time. there is nothing off limits during the conversations of the bench. we discuss everything. we have been through babies being born new marriages, divorces, death, religion, husbands, recipes and a host of other topics.)

most of my teacher friends are empty nester's there is only two out of the six of us that have children at home. the youngest one had a baby last year. her oldest will start kindergarten next year. we are all different backgrounds.

how blessed i feel, to not only to have wonderful friends at church (or should i say thru our blogging community) but at my school as well. i am a very blessed woman. God you are so good.

p.s. by the way our high school principal told us that our elementary got an exemplary rating. YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

scriptures to uplift the soul....

Forgetting what is behind and straining what is
ahead. I press on forward the goal to win the prize
for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Phil. 3:13



This one was not in psalms, but in a book that i am currently reading. it is wonderful.
You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant
peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he commits himself
to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently on You.
Isaiah 26:3

Here is what I read today in the Psalms 143 that ministered to me.

When my spirit grows faint within me, it is You who knows
my way.