Priorities

I just read an article on CNN about how The Dallas, Texas, school district laid off 375 teachers to avoid an 84 million dollar deficit in their budget. How sad is that? It described elementary students circling around their loved music teacher who had taught them since kindergarten. They were crying and asking why their teacher had to leave. I am biased because I am a teacher and I have seen firsthand the negative impact of higher class sizes. Where are the priorities of our country? Education should be one of the top priorities because these are the children that are going to lead our country in the future. I keep hearing the candidates talk about competing with other nations. How can we compete when education is not a top priority? It is so sad to me to see the Dallas, Texas, school district lose so many teachers and the saddest thing of all is the students are going to lose. I think this is happening all over the country. I teach in a great school district in the suburbs of CO. We are facing a huge budget shortfall; therefore, they have placed a tax increase on the ballot. If this doesn't pass, hundreds of teachers will lose their jobs. I really don't expect it to pass because of the economy right now. I don't blame people for not wanting to pay more in taxes. How can they be expected to pay more when they are worrying about feeding their families? It just seems like there has to be another way.
My district stated that the specialists, including Literacy coaches and Achievement coaches, will lose their jobs first and then many classroom teachers will lose their jobs. This means increased class sizes. This is going to really hurt kids. This year I have 22 students in my 2nd grade class. Right before school started I was slated to have 29 2nd graders in my class *gulp*. Luckily, our principal handled the school budget so efficiently that she was able to hire another 2nd grade teacher. I can't imagine having another 7 students in my room. I can barely teach the 5 reading groups as it is and do individual reading conferences, focus skills' groups, and collect data on 22 students. My students would not have gotten the best education and it wouldn't be fair to them. I would have tried my best but it would have been difficult. Even the room arrangment would have hard. Trying to move around the room to do activities would have chaotic because there would be another whole pod and a half of students in the room. I know that education can't be the top priority because the U.S. has so many other issues like the economy, healthcare, etc., but I hope the next president realizes what is wrong with our education system and finds a way to help school districts, especially school districts in cities that already don't have the resources other ones do. I also hope No Child Left Behind is reformed. I could write another blog post about that one!

Brrr....

Ahh... a dog's life. Is anybody else jealous? The last few days have been a bit cold in Denver and the last few mornings it has been so difficult to get up early in the morning!

Things have been a little hectic the past few weeks with parent teacher conferences, meetings, and our trip back to St. Louis and Mizzou.

We had a great time last weekend seeing our friends and going to the Mizzou game. We were really sad they lost but other than that it was so much fun. Tailgating and a football game, what else could you ask for? Humm.. maybe to be back in college?

Weekends Through Pictures

The last few weekends have flown by because we have been so busy. Two weeks ago James's parents were visiting and we took a train ride through Royal Gorge and went to the Cliff Dwellings. It was really a neat experience.

The next weekend we went to Mount Evans and I ran a half marathon in Boulder.

Now to the grand finale. This past weekend was just amazing. We went camping/hiking with a few friends in the Flat Top mountains. Wow, it was breathtaking. We started in Boulder and drove through Rocky Mountain National Park, then through Grand Lake, and on to our destination. The elk were out in full force in the park and we had to stop for photos! We had a very secluded campsite (I am happy to report no bears) and the Aspen trees were a vibrant yellow. We hiked to the Devil's Causeway. The pictures don't do it justice. James and I decided not to go across the bridge because we didn't want to take Molly. Okay, we were scared or should I say I was scared. Our friends went across it and at some points they had to crawl and hold on to both sides. I was scared for them!

The mountains have been such a nice escape for us and in some way they remind us that life is wonderful and we should cherish each day. Life seems to be a little slower up in the high country. We love it!

Thinking

We are so happy to read about so many approvals and I truly hope that Teresa and Dave get their approval soon so that they can go get Caroline.

This week has been a little rough. We all had our birthdays during the past few weeks and it is difficult because we thought we would have the babies here to celebrate with us. One thing that has helped us through this difficult journey is a change in scenery. We originally decided to move to CO because James was offered a job that would have allowed me to stay home with the boys, at least for a year. It was hard leaving friends and family, especially because everyone thought we were going to get our babies and live so far away. We felt like we made the best decision for us and now, here we are in CO without babies and I am working full time. It's crazy how life works out sometimes.

Anyway, we made a goal to stay busy and try as many new things as we could. The mountains are a nice distraction. It would have been so hard to stay in St. Louis and constantly be asked about the babies. We haven't told many people in CO about our ordeal. The other day it did come up with a few members of my team at school and I just couldn't hold back the tears. I was telling James that I wish I could get back the feeling of when we first saw the picture of the babies. We were scared out of our minds but we were so excited. The thought of twins felt right to us. The six months when we were waiting for our I-600 approval seems like a bad nightmare and the pictures of the babies will be etched in our minds forever.

We are thinking about our future and we know it definitely includes children. We are praying about it and we know that God will lead us down the right path. We keep thinking about how much better our experiences will be when we have a child to share them with.

Smile Award

I got this award from H. Thanks so much! I am glad that we can be positive together because I do think great things will happen to us both. :)
Characteristics for the Smile Award:1. Must display a cheerful attitude.
2. Must love one another.
3. Must make mistakes.
4. Must learn from others.
5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world.
6. Must love life.
7. Must love kids.
Rules for The Smile Award:1. The recipient must link back the the award's creator
2. You must post these rules if you receive the award.3. You must chose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself.
4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award, as posted by Mere.5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient.
6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.7. You must thank your giver.
The creator of the award is Mere.
Here are my nominations for the smile award:
1) Julie: She has been so supportive during the adoption process. She always had something positive to say and I always smile or laugh when I read her blog. Even during my darkest times, she helped me stay postitive. Thanks Julie!
2) Melissa: I know she said many prayers for us during our journey. She has been through a lot but now has her adorable baby girl home from Vietnam. I couldn't be happier for her and her husband. I know they will be amazing parents.
3) Tammy: She always seems to have a positive attitude towards life; even when it doesn't work out like she planned. She still reads my blog and has nice things to say. I appreciate the nice comments and I know she will make a great mom (hopefully soon).
4) Teresa: She has a hopeful spirit and has handled the rocky bumps during the adoption journey with grace. It is apparent how much Caroline is already loved and I hope that they get good news soon. She will be an amazing mother to Caroline.
5)Kim: Kim and her husband went though exactly everything we went through on our adoption journey. We got to know each other very well through the journey and she helped me get through the really bad days. We laughed, cried, and got angry together. I am so lucky that I met her during this journey. I admire her strength and perserverence. I am so happy for her as she now has her baby boy in Vietnam. I wish them nothing but happiness.

Time, What's That?

Working is definitely overrated! It has been a very busy week and we are both so happy that tomorrow is Friday. It has been so hard to climb out of bed each morning, especially when it is still dark. James's parents have been visiting and last weekend we were busy showing them beautiful CO. We took a train ride to Royal Gorge and saw the cliff dwellings and then on Sunday James and his mom drove up to Mount Evans. I got sick Sat. evening and haven't felt good all week.

I think that I am run down from working too hard and the germs. I do love the kids but I feel like a brand new teacher this year with switching school districts and teaching a new grade. They are so funny and cute, which makes each day worth it. Recently we interactively wrote a letter to the desk fairy. The kids were so excited when the desk fairy wrote them back. My kids were so happy to hear that the desk fairy was going to the tooth fairy's birthday party next week. Let me just say that their desks are spotless every single day!

My birthday was on Monday, Molly's birthday was yesterday, and James's birthday is this coming Wednesday. We are going to celebrate this weekend.

I'll post pictures soon.

Hanging in There

James and I had several conversations about children this weekend. We were prepared for two and it is hard to go from thinking you are going to have two children very soon to not knowing what the future holds. We are researching different options but sometimes it feels like we are still going to bring the twins home. It feels like we have been through so much the past few years and the adoption has really shown us that you never know what life will bring. Things are still tender and whenever we think about it we just feel so heartbroken. It's hard to believe that things ended the way they did. Especially when we think about how everything worked out so perfectly for us at the beginning; like it was mean to be.

We are looking into other adoption choices but it is difficult to think about the adoption path without thinking of negative outcomes. I know there are so many orphaned children worldwide but there is also so much money involved with adoptions. It's scary. The Vietnam adoption program was one of the most expensive yet the country is full of poverty. It doesn't make sense. We did get most of our country fee refunded (x2) but if we had completed the adoptions, I wonder where the money would have gone? How do you find a program that isn't full of corruption or greed when so much money is involved?

We are going to spend plenty of time researching all country options. We still want to adopt and believe that it can be a wonderful experience.

Working for the Weekends

Last weekend was full of great moments...

New adventures (a few falls) on the NEW mountain bike

A nice mountain run

A party in the dog park

A cool mud bath

A Sunday spent chillin in the park

Squirrel banter

Laziness... Need I say more??!!!!

Yay, it's Friday again!

Deadline

I know that today is September 1st and that many people were waiting for a referral. You all are in my thoughts and prayers as you go through this hard time. I know many of us had our hearts set on bringing home a little one from Vietnam. When you have a dream and it doesn't happen, it is easy to get discouraged and feel like it just wasn't meant to be. I believe that we are all meant to be parents and I believe that we will all find a different path to a child. After all, there are millions of orphans worldwide. I think that God has a plan for everybody and just because it didn't work out like we all had planned, I think there is something good in store for us all.

Weekend Escape

I was an emotional wreck on Friday afternoon because I was so tired and overwhelmed. On my way home I called James upset and little did I know, he was trying to stay calm after walking in the door and seeing a disfigured Molly. Her face was swollen and he said that she couldn't even open up her eyes. She does have allergies so he immediately gave her two benadryl. When I got home he asked me if Molly looked okay and I responded, "What is wrong with her?" Within an hour the swelling drastically went down and we decided to wait to take her to the vet. She then got sick on Saturday morning. I shouldn't read the internet because every time I do it causes me to go into panic mode. It made me think about the worst scenarios like lymphoma or other types of cancer. I read that Golden Retrievers are more susceptible to cancer than most other breeds. As I freaked out on Saturday we realized that we were giving Molly new benadryl that was uncoated and that's what was probably causing her to get sick. Bingo! She was fine after we stopped giving her the pills. We didn't have to take her to the vet and she is now back to her normal self.

I fell asleep at 8:30 on Friday night and didn't wake up until 8:00 on Saturday. Does anyone else feel completely exhausted on Friday nights? On Saturday we had to get away but didn't want to go far away so we went for a nice hike near Boulder and then had lunch and shopped. We love Boulder! You definitely see a variety of people there and it is great to sit and watch them go by on their merry way. It must have been move in weekend for students at CU because we saw many college students and their parents wondering around the town. It made me want to go back and start college again (in a way). I can't believe it's been so long since I started college as a freshman. If I only knew then what I know now! :) Everyone looked so young. I never thought I would say that.

We are going to try to stay away from downtown this week except for James having to take the bus downtown for work. The city is buzzing this week because of the Democratic National Convention. James went out for lunch today and saw many protesters and government groups along 16th street mall. You never know what you will see there. I told him to take the camera because he might spot someone famous. You never know, right? We'll post pictures if he gets any good ones. I'm hoping for a shot of somebody. Fallout Boy, Mariah Carey, Everclear, Chris Daughtry, James Taylor, Ani DiFranco, David Crosby, Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck, Black Eyed Peas, Val Kilmer, Oprah, Kanye West, Dave Matthews, Madonna, and many more I didn't mention are going to be in Denver this week. That's pretty good odds for spotting somebody!
Have a great week!

Work and No Time

I have been working an insane amount of hours trying to prepare for those little 2nd graders and their parents. My job is full time this year and wow, it is hard getting acclimated to a new school and learning the new curriculum, procedures, etc. The school is highly regarded and the principal has very high expectations of everyone, which is a little pressure but somehow I will survive, right? Today was the first day of school and the kiddos are so cute and clueless! They were so quiet and looked so scared this morning.
I have been so busy that I feel like I have no life right now and am exhausted. At least I have something to keep me busy! I had thought I was going to stay at home when we moved to CO but decided that I shouldn't be a stay at home mom to Molly. That does sound good at the moment though because I miss the freedom I have in the summer. Maybe someday...

Feeing Down

The last few days have been especially hard on us. We gave one of our cribs to one of our good friends who is going to have a baby in January. We were happy to do it but we did feel our hearts ache. It is so hard knowing our dream of bringing the boys is not going to happen. The events that unfolded during our adoption journey constantly run through our minds and we do second guess ourselves because we wanted those boys home with us more than anything. We think of them every single day and long for them. We are extremely devastated and it is such a hard time.

Lance in Leadville

James and I decided to drive up to Leadville to see Lance Armstrong ride in the Leadville 100. A grueling 100 mile mountain bike race in which we hear the goal is to finish in under 9 hours. As you may or may not have heard this was his first race since 2005. The Leadville hometown hero held off the world famous challenger to win his 6th straight Leadville 100. We heard someone in the crowd say he is 42 years old. Simply amazing!
Hometown winner Dave Wiens.

The one and only finishes second!

It was quite some time before anyone else made their way to the finish line. After watching the press swarm for a bit, we explored Leadville on foot (with Molly in tow). We stumbled across a cute little pizza place. We were NOT disappointed. They were very friendly and provided a most delectable pizza consumption experience. (They get 2 thumbs up and four paws up for letting us sit outside with Molly) Yes, Molly liked the pizza too.

On the way back to the car, we saw a small crowd hanging out on the sidewalk. Upon further inspection, we noticed they were all waiting in front of the "Ugly Cookie" which had a sign that read, "Sold Out of Cookies - will reopen at 2:40) With a loyal fan base like that, we had to give it a try. Mmmmmmmmm.... Can the Leadville culinary experience get any better? We'll have to make another trip to find out. We headed out shortly after the cookies.

I was really impressed by all the mountain bikers. One guy collapsed after he finished and had to have 2 guys help him to the first aid station as he literally couldn't walk. I told James he needs to try to ride it next year. He responded, "You'd have to let me buy a sweet mountain bike first!" We'll see...

Here are some other pictures from the day. Happy weekend to everyone!

Help!

We have been trying to sell our house back in St. Louis for a few months. We are renting a small house in Denver until we can sell our house. If you could send us some positive thoughts and prayers, we would really appreciate it!! We found out that a house down the street is now the cheapest in our neighborhood because the owner defaulted on the mortgage. Ahh.... at this point we really just want to sell it. Thanks for all the positive thoughts and prayers! We would love to be able to move a little closer to my school, especially by winter.

Wow, He Did It!

Before the ride




During and after the ride




On Sunday before heading home we went on a hike near Breckenridge. James' friend Joe came to Colorado and we were able to spend the weekend with him.

James completed the Copper Mountain Triangle. He said he had a great time most of the way until the Vail pass because it had an elevation gain of about 3000 feet alone. He said it was rough and it was near the end of the ride. It was neat to see him coming through the finish line. I was impressed with how many girls I saw finish the ride. Maybe I'll give it a try next year.

We just love the mountains especially when it is close to 30 degrees cooler than Denver. The mountains remind us to take time to enjoy the little things in life. Apparently many other people enjoyed the mountains this past weekend because we were stuck on I-70 for many hours on Sunday. We got frustrated but reminded ourselves that there could be worse places to be stuck in traffic. At least it was cool with amazing views.

I am a little sad that summer is coming to an end. Today I went to my new classroom to begin the process of organizing it for the upcoming year. I was very overwhelmed as I stood in the middle of the room trying to figure out where to place everything. Moving and starting over has definitely not been easy. At times it has been so frustrating dealing with all of the little things like getting our cars registered in CO, finding new doctors, getting lost numerous times while driving, and signing up for new services for the house. I am sure that after some time things will calm down and we will feel more at home.

Mountain Fun in CO

Wow, it has been HOT here in Denver! Today marked the record for the most consecutive days in the 90's. It has been all over the news. It's funny because my friend who has lived here for five years said, "It's not supposed to be like this." The one good thing is that there isn't much humidity so it doesn't feel as bad as St. Louis did. My parents came to visit in this heat last week. We DON'T have an air conditioner but James' mom was nice enough to order a transportable one for us. She is a life saver!!
We had a great week with my parents and were very busy. We went to Rocky Mountain National Park, Roxborough State Park, Manitou Springs, and Pike's Peak. We saw a few marmots, chipmunks, and elk but that was about it for this time (okay with me).

These were taken at Rocky Mountain National Park (Sprague Lake). It was a cloudy day but beautiful!

These are all pictures taken at Roxborough State Park. I definitely noticed all of the wildlife signs. We love nature but not wildlife encounters. We have been charged at by Elk before (in Missouri) and I remember thinking that I saw my life flash before my eyes. Have you had any encounters with wildlife?

The long train ride was worth it to the top of Pike's Peak. We watched for wildlife and felt the temperature get colder and colder. The engineer on the train said that in approximately 550 trips he has seen a bear two times and a mountain lion only once. We wouldn't have minded seeing a bear or mountain lion from the train. James got the whole end of the train out of their seats when he said in an excited voice, "Mountain Lion", but it was just an elk. He truly thought it was a mountain lion for a split second.

This weekend we are going to Copper Mountain so that James can do the Copper Triangle bike ride. He will climb three mountain passes over 80 miles!! James' friend Joe is in town this weekend and we're going to climb a fourteen er on Sunday. Anything to delay the return to the Denver heat.

Have a great weekend.