Sweet Summertime is coming to a close...

As the end of summer "break" is quickly approaching, we are gearing up for another busy school year! Is it really already August 1?! These past two months have flown by, but boy were they busy. I don't think either one of us knows how to "just relax." We now have about a one week break (well, a week where we aren't quite as busy, ha) before everything picks back up. With that said, I'd like to share a few of our last summertime happenings:

We just finished up the summer program with the Inner City yesterday! So, that is where part of our break is coming from. We have about two weeks before the afternoon tutoring program kicks up with the Inner City Learning Center, and the Tuesday night Bus Ministry should start back around September! We can't wait to meet our new group of kinder-babies! With one year under our belt, we feel a little more prepared for this upcoming year! Below are a few pictures of our latest happening with the Inner City (Paul works with the big kids and is obviously not as "photo happy" as I am, so I don't really have any pictures of his group lol):

 

It was a Synonym/Antonym Bingo kind of day for English/reading time at Inner City...complete with glow sticks and bouncy balls as prizes! (They even forgave me for leaving the game pieces (aka Skittles) at home and having to use paper pieces--as long as I promised to bring them the next day!) sweet kiddos...

 

On this day for reading time,  we discussed the lessons we were learning from Aesop's Fables-one being the need to work hard for our future. This little sweetie said, "I'm going to work hard so I can buy you and Mr. Paul lots of pretty things...then, when I get my Penthouse in a few years, I'm going to pay you $15/hr to babysit me so we can play together, Mrs. Courtney." lol Love it!!

  

 

 

On the last day, we played Mad Libs. They recently learned about nouns, verbs, and adjectives, and they enjoyed coloring the bubble gum different colors depending on what part of speech it was.  So, on the last day they helped pick out different parts of speech for the Mad Libs. They couldn't wait to hit "finish" and hear the wacky story they had created. LOTS OF LAUGHING ensued! They loved it!

 

 

On the last day, one of precious girls that Paul worked with brought us a bag of candy and these sweet notes. We don't do it for any praise, but a simple thank you meant so much!!

 

 

We also got to spend some time with our fun nieces this week! They were up visiting with my mother-in-law, and they had a lot of fun crafting and more! They couldn't wait to give me my presents, and I loved them!! I now have a duct tape purse, wallet, coin purse, and bow!! :)

 

 

 

School has also been a big part of our summer and this past week. Paul has finished working on one of the articles he is hoping to publish, and I could not be more proud of him!! (Now, I just have to proofread it - which he bribes me to do with a shopping trip. The truth be known, I would do it anyways....but, shhhh, don't tell him that! Just kidding, he already knows, but who am I to turn down a mini-shopping trip. Plus, I kind of need some back-to-school teacher clothes.) Anyways, he will be submitting it soon. So, please be thinking about him, as it can take months or even years to hear back on whether they accept it for publishing. Also, he is getting ready to start back his doctoral classes in a couple weeks. I am just constantly amazed by my wonderful husband!

 

As for me, I have two more weeks on my grad classes for the summer, and then I am going to take a little break from grad school.  I want to make sure that I am giving my best in the classroom, as my students deserve that, so I will probably wait until after Christmas to pick back up on grad school. After my 5th 10-12 pg. paper, over 9 quizzes, and LOTS MORE, I will be happy to go from student to teacher mode for awhile. I will be just as busy, but I need a little break from grad school. With that said, I am now in full force getting stuff together for this next year! I am very excited about the ideas I have come up with so far, and I plan to share a few of those in future posts and throughout the year!

 

Nevertheless, with all of the business of the summer, we have still managed time for ourselves.  Over the past week, we enjoyed date nights out to eat and out to the ball park! During the week, we were just happy to stay at home when we could to catch up on other projects. 

 

 

 

Lastly, we enjoyed a wonderful time at church last night with a lesson I will never forget. As I study it a little more, I plan on sharing it with you! You will not want to miss this one - the knowledge and understanding behind this lesson was truly life-changing for me, and I believe it will be for you as well. I will post it soon! For now, please be in prayer for Paul as he prepares his lesson for Sunday. He will be teaching our Bible class during the month of August, and I pray that God will speak through him as we jump into Jesus' life and ministry.

 

Until next time...