January.

Life is so good. I haven't updated since we found out Mike's dad has leukemia, so for a quick update... he is doing very well, is back at work, and all he has to do is take a pill everyday. Praise God!!! We had a wonderful first Christmas... went on a road trip, spent a lot of time with family... yeah, it was nice. It's hard to update even though it was only two weeks ago. It feels like eternity has passed already! I feel like a different teacher going into the second semester. I am confident with the minor details (like paperwork and administration stuff) and now I am excited about creating better lesson plans. We are finishing up elements of fiction (which equals lots of short stories) then doing a novel study on "Hoot" (which is a fun book!) Then they'll finally learn how to write, and lastly we'll do a novel study that I can choose! I am really happy about being able to choose, although it's a pretty monumental task. What book do I choose that will 'speak' to my kids as a whole? Do I pick an action-packed book or one with a deeper meaning that will *hopefully* have a profound impact? Can I pick a book that tackles tough subject such as race relations or themes that have the potential to be 'sticky,' or do I stick with the 'safe-stuff?' It's a tough but awesome decision. Let's just say that I have a lot of reading and planning to do over the next couple of weeks.