Thursday was the 100th day of school and for those of you that are long past elementary school, it's become a day to celebrate the number 100. A couple of years ago, I read that someone blew up 100 balloons and let the kids pop them. Now that sounded like fun to me! Unfortunately, that year I didn't have access to cheap balloons because I was in Niger and the year following that I would have been crazy to even consider it with the group of children I had. But this year, well my kids are great and if anyone deserves the fun of popping 100 balloons, they do. So last Tuesday, I blew up 100 balloons....yes, I had enough hot air in me to fill them all up! ;) I carried them all to school in a duvet cover - surprisely, they didn't take up that much space. Well, I never really considered what 100 balloons popping would sound like within the walls of my classroom until I let the kids jump in there and get started. Yikes! It literally sounded like gunfire. I could just imagine someone outside the walls preparing for dismissal hearing it and running up to the front with the news that there was gunfire in my classroom. It made the goody-two-shoes in me REALLY nervous. :) The kids loved it and it was fun to see them having fun but I can honestly say that I was extremely happy when the last balloon was popped! So FYI, if you ever decide to do something like this be prepared and maybe in today's world you should let the front office know what you are doing!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Planning to Pop 100 Balloons? Here Are Some Things To Consider
Thursday was the 100th day of school and for those of you that are long past elementary school, it's become a day to celebrate the number 100. A couple of years ago, I read that someone blew up 100 balloons and let the kids pop them. Now that sounded like fun to me! Unfortunately, that year I didn't have access to cheap balloons because I was in Niger and the year following that I would have been crazy to even consider it with the group of children I had. But this year, well my kids are great and if anyone deserves the fun of popping 100 balloons, they do. So last Tuesday, I blew up 100 balloons....yes, I had enough hot air in me to fill them all up! ;) I carried them all to school in a duvet cover - surprisely, they didn't take up that much space. Well, I never really considered what 100 balloons popping would sound like within the walls of my classroom until I let the kids jump in there and get started. Yikes! It literally sounded like gunfire. I could just imagine someone outside the walls preparing for dismissal hearing it and running up to the front with the news that there was gunfire in my classroom. It made the goody-two-shoes in me REALLY nervous. :) The kids loved it and it was fun to see them having fun but I can honestly say that I was extremely happy when the last balloon was popped! So FYI, if you ever decide to do something like this be prepared and maybe in today's world you should let the front office know what you are doing!
Monday, January 7, 2008
A Funny Thing Happened at Walmart
A funny thing happened to me at Walmart yesterday after church. I was leaving through the garden center after making a few purchases. I happened to notice a nice looking rubbermaid storage container on the uppermost shelf and thought I would look at it a little closer. So imagine me reaching to the top shelf - face looking up as I reached for the container. Whoosh! Rainwater from several days ago came flying off the lid and doused me good! And I do mean doused. I just busted up laughing...and I wasn't the only one. The Walmart employee in charge of the garden center got a good laugh too. "Ahh, well," I told him, "moments like that one are meant to be shared!"
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Remembering the Past
While we worked on the shed, my mom was sorting through a lot of stuff from her home in West Virginia. 
One night, I came home from taking something to my brother at work and found her with a little beanie on her head. What in the world? It was what she had to wear for her first week as a freshman in college back in 1957. Sheesh…so glad that I wasn’t a freshman in 1957! 
Anyway, we had fun trying out old fashioned toys like this Perfecscope which takes two pictures and makes them into one 3-D picture. And we discovered old favorite toys like my brother’s teddy bear. 
It was a lot of fun to talk to my mom about the old days!
One night, I came home from taking something to my brother at work and found her with a little beanie on her head. What in the world? It was what she had to wear for her first week as a freshman in college back in 1957. Sheesh…so glad that I wasn’t a freshman in 1957! Anyway, we had fun trying out old fashioned toys like this Perfecscope which takes two pictures and makes them into one 3-D picture. And we discovered old favorite toys like my brother’s teddy bear. It was a lot of fun to talk to my mom about the old days!
Cement Mixer Extraordinaire
My family’s Christmas included a project. At our house in Charlotte we have a little shed behind the house. Kent’s been storing his lawnmower and tools in the shed. But with my upcoming move to Niger, I’ll need a place to store things too. So our project this Christmas was to extend the storage unit to make room for more “family” junk. Kent should get a gold star for putting up with so much junk. :) Anyway, Kent didn’t have too many days to help with the project so I got to get my feet wet with a construction project…really I should say, I got my feet muddy because the backyard was so soggy from all the rain. Anyway, I learned how to make and pour cement.
I also helped my Dad with cutting wood and nailing together the frame and installing it. Dad and I made many trips to Home Depot, including one to purchase a door. The door was a little too long for us to close the back of Kent’s truck so we had to leave it open. Well, Dad happened to gun the engine as he tried to make a left. Suddenly, we heard a sound like the backfiring of a car. Yep, you guessed it the door slid out and hit the ground along with a bunch of wood we had purchased. Luckily, the guy behind us didn’t have a lead foot like us and so he didn’t get hit by or run over our door. He was kind enough to get out and help us pick it up and sympathize with us! :) When we got home, Dad and I had to maneuver and manipulate that door until it just fit into the space available. 
That’s where my part in the project ended as I had to head back to Atlanta. But I hear that things are all finished up and it just needs to be painted.
I also helped my Dad with cutting wood and nailing together the frame and installing it. Dad and I made many trips to Home Depot, including one to purchase a door. The door was a little too long for us to close the back of Kent’s truck so we had to leave it open. Well, Dad happened to gun the engine as he tried to make a left. Suddenly, we heard a sound like the backfiring of a car. Yep, you guessed it the door slid out and hit the ground along with a bunch of wood we had purchased. Luckily, the guy behind us didn’t have a lead foot like us and so he didn’t get hit by or run over our door. He was kind enough to get out and help us pick it up and sympathize with us! :) When we got home, Dad and I had to maneuver and manipulate that door until it just fit into the space available. That’s where my part in the project ended as I had to head back to Atlanta. But I hear that things are all finished up and it just needs to be painted.
Monday, December 31, 2007
What about Nigerien Education?
I've introduced you to Sahel Academy which is a school for the children of missionaries who work in Niger and surrounding countries. What about Nigerien children? What is school like for them? I found this video on YouTube which has some great pictures of schools and statistics about education in Niger. I think it might have been created by someone in the Peace Corps. The neat thing about SIM is that they also recognize a great need within the Nigerien educational system. They are currently working to establish Christian schools and train Christian teachers in order to provide Nigerien children with a quality education that will not only give them a good start in life but also give them an opportunity to know Jesus.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Christmas on the Road
Christmas was a little bit different this year. I spent Christmas Day on the road with my Mom and Dad travelling from Toronto down to Charlotte. When I heard this was what we were going to be doing, I wondered if we would even find any places along the way to eat. No need to worry. If you ever find yourself travelling on Christmas Day. You will find the roads relatively empty and you might even find a McDonalds or two open along the way. I guess for us Christmas Dinner must have been the slice of semi-warm Sbarro pizza we ate at a rest stop along the way. Nope, don't really want to hear about your delicious turkey dinners. :)
When we got to Rock Hill, we went by a house that Kent had suggested we look at because of it's decorations. My Mom pulled into the neighbor's driveway and lingered a little bit to look at the display of lights. Next thing you know, there was a police car pulling in behind us. We decided it was time to move on quickly. Well, what do you know this police car pulled in behind us and followed us down the road where it was joined by another car. At this point, we were all wondering whether it was illegal to gaze at Christmas lights. Well, our police escort followed us all the way to Emorywood, our street, and then left us to pursue faster and more dangerous criminals.
When we got to Rock Hill, we went by a house that Kent had suggested we look at because of it's decorations. My Mom pulled into the neighbor's driveway and lingered a little bit to look at the display of lights. Next thing you know, there was a police car pulling in behind us. We decided it was time to move on quickly. Well, what do you know this police car pulled in behind us and followed us down the road where it was joined by another car. At this point, we were all wondering whether it was illegal to gaze at Christmas lights. Well, our police escort followed us all the way to Emorywood, our street, and then left us to pursue faster and more dangerous criminals.
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