February 25, 2006

It's been an interesting week. The girls continue to be a joy, and to fill our lives with laughter. For instance, Kayla had a meeting with some catfish this week! Some friends of ours from Mississippi brought us back some fresh catfish last Christmas, and I asked Jennifer to fix it this week. When she did, she also fried up some chicken. The girls, not really being very observant, assumed it was ALL chicken. When we sat down to eat, Jennifer placed a piece of catfish on each of the girls' plates. Kayla was in LOVE! She was enraptured by the "chicken." She said, "Mom, this is so good that you could fix it EVERY DAY FOR A WEEK!" She begged for more and more and more!!! When we finally told her it was catfish, her face fell. She was crushed. She felt betrayed by our "treachery." However, she was informed in short order that we'd have none of this "It's okay, but I don't really want to eat anymore" stuff, and that she was expected to eat catfish WITHOUT COMPLAINT!!! Today, she informed us that it was no wonder she had confused the two--CATFISH TASTES LIKE CHICKEN!!!

Kayla also received the "Good Citizen of the Month" award for her grade. We are very proud of her, and she is leaving big shoes for her sister to fill. She attended the arraignments of several juveniles, and was greatly saddened by the plights in which they found themselves. She was very impressed at the kids in shackles. After her visit, she was required to write a letter to the Judge, thanking him for allowing them to visit and for meeting with her class and answering questions.

Sierra lost a tooth this week. The "Tooth Fairy" at our house is not very quick at compensating the children for lost teeth. Sierra was quite disappointed after day one, and no appearance had been made. She was even more worried on Day Two when she couldn't even find the cup! Apparently, the Tooth Fairy had borrowed everything so that she could put money in AND give Sierra a new headband. Sierra has yet another loose tooth, so the Tooth Fairy will have a chance to redeem herself soon.

Jennifer is continuing to teach two Communications classes at the local community college-College of Southern Maryland. The classes are going well. She is teaching interviewing skills this week, and always enjoys this part of class.

I am also teaching at CSM. I have a Remedial English course and a Freshman English course, both of which I enjoy. I enjoy the students. My problem is remembering what I taught each class! I am also teaching American History to 8th-graders at the local Christian school. It's amazing how quickly they can drain my energy. I'm hoping to do a field trip with them to one of the local Civil War battlefields soon. My really big problem is coming up with lesson plans for three classes every week.

Oh, yes! I have been asked to preach at a local church this Sunday. It will be nice to be back in the pulpit.

And, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . one last thing. We bought Kayla a game, Phase 10, for Christmas, and played it last night. Sierra was on Jen's team, and Kayla and I each played separately. Jennifer usually has really good luck with cards, and last night was no exception. She beat us so badly that Kayla went to bed in tears last night! It was sad. Even sadder was that Jen beat us again today! Kayla and I will be giving Jennifer a "Blanket Party" tonight!!!