Bennett Spring Break 2011

When there is an opportunity for a week off in your near future you spend alot of time trying to figure out the "perfect" thing to do.... or at least that's what we do.

It starts in January, after the Holiday season. We start thinking about "Spring Break" and "What are we going to do?" We make a mental list of the things we'd like to do and start to make more permanent plans a couple of weeks beforehand. This year was exactly like any other year in that area.

What we usually do for Spring Break is go to Orlando and visit one of the many theme parks. We get hot, mad at people and spend alot of time waiting. Waiting to park, to ride, to eat, to sleep, to rest.

For some reason we decided to NOT go to a theme park. We decided to do some things locally instead. The first night of our Spring Vacation we got dressed up and went to the High School's Prom. I get to go because I'm a teacher. Just a perk for me, not necessarily for my husband!!

Saturday we went with our family Golfing at Indian Springs in Marianna, Florida. This is the place where 10 years ago I married the love of my life!! Our daughter, Breeanna, went with us. This is the first time she has ever golfed with us! We had a great time and didn't get too frustrated considering we haven't been in at least a year.

Sunday we had a nice family ride to Tallahassee and visited Maclay Gardens. Very beautiful time of year to visit. The flowers were in full bloom! Afterwards we visited the mall.

Monday we drove to Destin, Florida and hung out at Henderson Beach for a couple of hours. There were some jelly fish along the beach. Very cool. Perfect beach weather.

Afterwards we went to the Bass Pro Shop. My husband had a blast! We went to an outside mall and Breeanna got her first Build-A-Bear. She was too cute and too excited about that. We walked the Destin Outlet Malls from one end to the other to realize that most of the stores there, even though half the stuff is half off, is still too expensive for us!

Tuesday we spent some time with Mom and Dad and went shopping in Marianna. Got some good deals and had a good time.

Wednesday we went to Mexico Beach and Breanna had her good friend Ariana go with us. Again, another beautiful day for the beach. Not too hot, not too cold, just right!

Wednesday evening we ate dinner with my parents and were there rather late. At 9:00p.m. my daughter, her friend and my grandson were dancing around the living room to Christmas music. Oh what fun on Spring Break. On a normal weekday night I'm in bed by 8:30!

Thursday we stayed at home for most of the day and traveled to my brothers to watch Wipeout together. We both love that show so it was fun to share watching it together. Again, normally wouldn't do this on a day of work.

Friday, just the 3 of us went to Bear Paw canoe livery and they took us to Spring Creek. It was an awesome experience. The water was not too cold and it was so clear you could see the shells, bass, brim and sand. Very peaceful trip for the 3 of us.

Friday night Breeanna packed up and went and spent the night with her friend Ariana and Daniel and myself got a date night. We went to Ruby Tuesday's in Marianna. It was nice to dress up and go out to eat!

Saturday we met up with friends and went to see the movie, Diary of a Wimpy Kid-part 2. Very funny. We were about the only row laughing out loud the whole time!

Sunday. Last day of Spring Break. We went to the Layfield's to celebrate a birthday. Got really full on Pork Steak, Fettucini, Birthday Cake and rolls! Good time with friends.

As I look back on this past week we didn't really wait for anything. God showed my husband and myself how relaxing Spring Break can be. We took time to enjoy Spring (the beaches, the creek, the flowers) and the people in our lives (family and friends)! All of what I experienced this week was peace, joy and thankfulness for rest, family, and spring! I hope you too got a chance to soak up Spring to it's full potential. I know we did and it was one of the best Spring Breaks we've had in a long time.

Here is a video of our week!

Living Loved and Freely,

Elizabeth

Eric Michael's 2nd Birthday Party

Becoming a Grandmother has added many things to my life.

Excitement

Joy

Laughter

Tears

Work....

I've become quite creative having a Grandson in my life. I love making movies of his life and I've added making cakes too.

The things I want to remember about his birthday this year.

~I want to remember that both of his parents were there.

~I want to remember that all 4 sets of his Grandparents were there.

~I want to remember that when he was taken away from his Cars 4-wheeler he cried and when he saw his "basketball" cake he stopped crying and said, "ball!"

~I want to remember that when we sang "Happy Birthday" to him he had the sweetest look upon his face.

~I want to remember that when I gave him the "ball"-- he realized it wasn't real and he didn't want any part of it.

~I want to remember that he didn't eat any of the cakes I made but ate a sucker in the shape of a soccer ball made out of marshmellow that I bought at Walmart for a $1.

~I want to remember the line of people to kiss him goodbye when he left.

Very thankful for my Grandson and all of the people in his life that love him so much!

Here is a short video called Ermi's Jam

Here are the pictures from his party.

Living Loved and Freely,

Elizabeth

4th grade Writing

Bree took FCAT writing today... She said she wrote about how one of the reasons she likes the sunny weather is because it's "happy weather" then she quotes the song lyrics..."You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray" She circled the word "happy" and continues to write, "You see, it talks about sunshine happiness. Great, now that song is stuck in my head. Bum, Bum Bum, Bum, Bum, la, la, la, la, la, Bum, Bum, Bum, Bum, Bum, la, la, la, la. It's probably stuck in your head too. Don't blame me, blame the pencil or the paper."

Whoever grades her paper ought to get a good laugh!

I know I did!

This time of year as a teacher is a stressful time of year.

After panning over my mid-term results and some other student data I've become discouraged and wondered if what I'm doing day in and day out in my classroom is even worth it! I have a feeling, after speaking with a couple of you, that I'm not the only one feeling pressured, overwhelmed, tired and distraught over the job of teaching.

I'm a believer in God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. So, on Thursday morning I was praying to my Heavenly Father and telling him exactly how I felt about my job, my worries over my students needs, and was pretty much screaming for HELP!

Felt the need to go to Isaiah and this is what I believe God gave me!

Isaiah 41:10

"Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand."

Isaiah 49:4

"But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the Lord's hand: I will trust God for my reward."

In each moment of my day at school I wonder if what I'm doing is making a difference. All I know to do from this point is keep doing what I believe is going to benefit my students and trust God for my reward. We cannot please everybody but we've already pleased the ONE that is the most important and that is God. What is so cool about God to me is that he loves and accepts me already and I don't have to prove anything to Him!

I know that we are all rushed around in the mornings to get to school and get our plans ready for the day, if we could all just take a moment and say a prayer for our students, each other and ourselves I believe that God will bless our efforts, us, and our students!

Here's an idea: partner with a teacher that works beside you and say a quick 30 second to 1 minute prayer each morning.

It's nice to know that God's got my back and it's a nice reminder that He is in control!

Living Loved and Freely,

Elizabeth