What I Want My Students to Know

Teaching is by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. It is also the most rewarding thing I've ever done. Today, I had a couple of situations where I had to go out of my way, out of my job description, to get a student the help that he/she needed. I was thinking about this my whole (hour long if there's no traffic) drive home. 
I want my students (and their parent/guardian) to know that I am going to advocate for them.  I want to be known as a teacher who cares so immensely about her students.  I hope that my students know that I want what is best for them.  I hope they know that I love them. 
I pray for these students. I pray that they will know how cared for they are.  I pray that they will see Jesus through me. 
I find myself thinking about them when I'm doing things outside of school.  Do they have someone at home who can provide for them?  Did they get dinner tonight?  Did somebody pay the electric bill so they have A/C at their house? 
My heart is just so heavy with these thoughts lately. I hope that my students understand where I am coming from and why I am the way I am. I'm tough on my students because I care so much. 
I want my students to remember me as the teacher who made a difference in their lives. 

Life Lately (part 2)

What a crazy couple of months it has been since I have written. We have moved, unpacked (kinda...), got a new kitten, started the new school year, and had a hospital stay.  I am so thankful for everyone who helped us with the move! We are so blessed to have people who care about us in our lives. We still have some things in boxes, but I think I will get to those eventually  soon. :) Billy is the newest Abernathy. He is such a feisty little thing. He definitely knows how to get on our nerves, but he makes up for it by being extra cute. He is our indoor/outdoor kitty. Right now, he only hunts grasshoppers, but I'm hoping he will graduate to larger prey. 

I started back at Hutcheson JH this fall. It's amazing what a difference a year can make in terms of teaching experience. I learned so many different things last year and changed a lot of my procedures and how I run my classroom. It also helps that I don't have any "double block" classes. I had to get used to teaching everything I needed to cover in 45 minutes instead of 90 minutes. I love my students so much already. They are interested in learning and I can tell that they care about school. Last year, I did not love my job. I dreaded going to work every day. This year is such a different story. I love teaching, again! 

About a week ago, Thomas started complaining that his stomach hurt on the right side. He said he thought it might be appendicitis, but decided to wait and see if it got better. On Tuesday, he decided to make a doctors appointment. They couldn't seem him until Wednesday afternoon. When he went to the doctor, she told him to go ahead and go to the ER. (He calls me at this point and tells me that he is going to the ER. I'm in 7th period, trying not to panic) I decided to stay at school and get a little bit of grading done while he was still waiting to be seen by the doctor at the ER. When I got to the hospital, he had seen the doctor and had some blood work done. I went to get dinner and when I came back, they had just done a CT scan. The scan revealed that Thomas was right. It was appendicitis.

Wednesday night he had the appendectomy. I stayed the night at the hospital. The couch/bed/thing I slept on was not super comfy, but I was so glad that Thomas was okay. We got to go home Thursday evening. Everyone at Hutch was so great about helping me out with everything while I was out. I am so thankful to have an awesome team!!

Thomas is still recovering, but he is doing really well overall! Thanks for all the prayers and well-wishes!