It's Friday and I'm much relieved because this was a bit of a difficult week coming back to work after Spring Break and teaching some new groups in a new schedule and different teaching hours. We are now back to full time hours for the children (4.5 hours of teaching per day vs the 4 from when the pandemic began). We no longer have to post google classroom posts each day and none of our students are remote learners....we have all 13 students back in our special education preK classroom and it's been fun but so tiring! I'm ready for the weekend and I'm starting it off by sharing FIVE of my FAVE blessings from the past week. I do this with other like-minded bloggers who link up together at Susanne's blog.
- WALKS and EASY HIKES: Last Saturday morning, I was sitting having my first mug of steaming hot coffee and doing my morning devotional when my friend Gerri texted that she was in my driveway wanting to power walk with me! We had made what I thought were tentative plans but she thought they were solid plans! I was already dressed in yoga pants and a tee shirt as I had a hair appointment later that morning, so I put on sneakers and we walked very quickly for just a little over 2 miles in my neighborhood and made plans to kayak later this spring. Then after dinner on Saturday, Dave helped to clean the kitchen so I could get on my bike for my first ride of 2021. I also was able to do an easy hike for an hour in the Pond preserve near our town on Sunday morning after church while chatting with a friend on the phone. I'm thankful that I have been able to walk every day this week plus get in one short hike. Here are some photos of my hike:
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| yellow flowers growing in the pond 11 April 2021 |
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| a fave part of the inner trail |
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| just a little muddy |
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| signs of life in the woods |
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| Ann Lee Pond Shaker Historic Site Albany, NY |
- BLOSSOMS! This past week, everything really began to blossom! I'm so thankful for the spring colors and flowers! Here are some scenes from my front and backyards:
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| backyard pear tree just beginning to flower 12 April |
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| the yellow tulips began opening on Tuesday! |
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| These little pretties sprang up overnight it seemed! |
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| my small rose bush in the front flower bed as of Tuesday...forgot to take photo of my big rose bush |
- SUCCESSFUL LESSON PLAN! On Wednesday, my direct boss (Site Coordinator) had to observe one of the students in my language/cognitive group and of course she observed me teaching. I was so thankful all went well even though I only had 3/5 students (2 had speech and physical therapies during that time). The children were eager to hear the book based on our "Spring" theme and we played a game with dice and paint that I received praise for coming up with. It really does make me thankful when I'm observed and all goes well!
- VACCINE APPTS! Dave and I have our 2nd dose of the Phizer vaccine for Covid on Saturday afternoon and our oldest daughter managed to get an appointment for next week for her first dose! AND our youngest daughter helped with a petition at UNH to get signatures of out-of-state students and they sent it to the governor of NH stating that since they live there 9 months of the year and giving NH their business (and my money!) that they should be allowed to be vaccinated. And guess what?! Yesterday we found out that YES all UNH community members (staff, faculty and ALL students including out of state residents, can start to get the vaccine on Monday!). SO thankful things are moving ahead and our town library is now open longer, restaurants are open longer and life seems to be returning to normal within some guidelines. I'm so thankful for this.
- MESSAGE! I heard from a dear church friend whom I haven't heard from in about 2 years. Because of Covid, I haven't seen her at church either. She was a member of my previous small groups and now wants to join my next Book Club group! I'm so thankful for my friend Linda and her friendship. It will be so nice to reconnect in person again next month!
Those are all just simple things but to me they are special blessings. They're what made me smile this week!
What about you? what makes you stop and say "Thanks, God" and puts a smile on your face? Do share!
HAPPY WEEKEND!
5 comments:
Hi Faith. Your spring yard looks great! I love the hike you went on. Our hiking areas are still so muddy and most mountain trails have more snow after last week. So glad your lesson plan went well last week, and that you are all getting your Covid vaccines taken care of. It's good to hear that UNH reversed their decision about letting students get vaccinated. It's always good to see what's going on in your world. Have a restful weekend.
I love all the beautiful blossoms coming up this time of year. I'm glad your observation went well and you were able to get vaccines. It's neat Claire's college will get them, too.
I got your comment on my blog as I was reading yours. :-) You asked about the birthday cake. It's based on a video game called Minecraft where everything -- people, ground, water, animals--is in squares. The blue jello was water, the orange jello lava, the Rice Krispie squares ground, and cake squares a hill.
Glad the observation went well. I'm sure it's still nerve wracking even after years of teaching. Great to see the flowers and new growth appearing. You must be relieved that Claire can get vaccinated. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
The blossoms are lovely. Not too much around here yet. I do have some early spring hostas surfacing but we're still experiencing whiplash weather. Yesterday was 21*C and today it's 5*C (feels like 0 which is freezing) and snow/rain expected this afternoon. So glad your observation went well. I would be sooo nervous. Lovely walks and hikes you go on. I need to start making a routine of it.
Spring flowers make everything so much cheerier. Love the yellow tulip!
Lucky you to get in a walk or hike every day! (It rained several days here, so we didn't get much opportunity)
Isn't it great when you hear from an old friend? And get a good review from the observation.
Have a good week!
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