TGIF!

Friday was my last day teaching for the year, and it was really hectic, but AMAZING! I finally was able to meet and spend some time with the sub that will be replacing me for the rest of the year. The kids were really sweet, and I received several adorable gifts from students and colleagues.

The principal and I took the students to video competition award ceremony in the middle of the day, and they won! They won huge! We took first and second place, earning WOBN $3000. I still can't really believe it.

The winning video will be shown at the Holland 7 and the Grand Haven 9 movie theaters before every movie this summer. The hope is to neutralize the smoking message that is present in so many popular movies; this has been proven to influence especially teenagers. 4,000 teenagers in the US try a ciggarette for the first time everyday.

One other thing...I have to include a few pictures because they printed out giant checks for us. I've never been on the giving or receiving end of a giant check. I must say it's pretty cool. You should've seen the kids walking around with those things - priceless.

Shower Day - Times Two

Last Saturday, (I realize I'm a bit behind here) I had two showers to attend: a baby shower for me and a bridal shower for my best friend Kim. It sure was a fun day.

The baby shower was thrown by a few of my friends (thanks so much gals!); it was great. It was neat to see some of my friends from different circles meet and interact. I heard many times, "You have such nice friends." Yes, I do! I received such great stuff along with a kids book instead of a card - what a great idea. We have a nice little library started for our "Little Stinker." Thanks so much everyone!

Kim's shower was tons of fun too. It was in Ferrysburg at a clubhouse with many of her girlfriends and her aunts and cousins too. I won one of the games. We had to draw kim in her wedding dress on top of our heads - not looking of course. I did my best, and then wrote "I love Aaron" at the bottom. Some thought I was cheating a bit, but words are my way - go figure...English and communications teacher.

What a fun day with fun women!

Little Stinker Update

I had another ultrasound on Friday, so I took my sister and mom along. We saw what they said was quite a bit of hair, and we watched him suck his thumb - so cute! At one point his thumb fell out of his mouth, and the "Little Stinker" did not like that. His head and hands were moving back and forth quite a bit until he was back at it again. We saw this all on an ultrasound, and I felt it too. Technology is amazing!

According to the baby size equation that doctors use, he already weighs approximately 7 pounds and 7 ounces. I hear that babies at this stage gain about an ounce a day. I think he should join us sooner rather than later don't you?

My doctor also told me that he wouldn't let me go past my due date. That was exciting news. I have a good friend that went 18 days past hers. It's comforting to know that is out of the equation for me. That means he'll be here sometime in the next 3 1/2 weeks!

Everyone is asking us, "Are you ready?" The answer is almost. We'd be thrilled if he would show up tonight. We're ready in that sense. Jon is excited, but I sense he is getting a bit anxious about the actually day or night when it's time. I'm doing okay in that department, but I'm not ready at school. I'm scheduled to work the next two weeks yet (9.5 days!), but I am going to attempt to have everything ready and waiting for a sub in the next few days just in case. This is no small task, but I'm almost there. Ideally, I'd like to meet with the sub, but they haven't found one yet. It's nice to know I'm not that easy to replace. The administration has been telling me not to worry about it, but now they seem to be scrambling. Oh well. My kids will survive, and pretty soon I really won't be worrying about it at all.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. I'll post more about my super fun weekend soon. Have a great week!

What's in a name?

What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet."

Every year I teach Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet to freshmen. I'm teaching it right now. It's a challenge, but I really enjoy it. Most students end up getting a big boost of confidence as they make it through and understand a Shakespearean play. Some of the lines we look at are the ones above about names. One of the reasons their love is doomed from the start is because Romeo is a Montague and Juliet is a Capulet; their families are long standing enemies. As they quickly fall in love, they wish names weren't important. The lines above explain that a rose would still be a beautiful rose even if it was called something else. Unfortunately, it's not so simple for them. I think we all know how it ends.

Names are of course taking on a whole new meaning for us right now. I'm pretty sure we have a name selected for our "Little Stinker." It's a big responsibility! At this point, sometimes I question our choice, but I think it's only when I focus on the enormity of the decision. Jon seems more sure, so that is comforting.

For those of you wondering and haven't asked yet, we have decided to keep his name a secret. I get asked by curious students everyday at school. And my mom wins the grand prize for trying to figure it out. She asks questions such as: "What letter does it start with? How many letters are in the name? The nickname?" In Disney World, she also offered to buy a really cute name print for us, but we would of course had to reveal the name. Both Jon and I have resisted the pressure, and we haven't slipped yet either.

Our three year old nephew, Braden, also weighed in on the name topic this week. When Pam asked him what he thought his new cousin's name should be, he replied "Pablo" without hesitation.

Thanks for all of your concern this week about my cold and Jon's thumb. We're both on the mend, and we are LOVING this warmer weather. We're at the Raterink Cottage putting in the dock and shore station. Well, I'm not any help and Jon isn't contributing 100% either, but on days like today you realize that summer can't be far off.

Enjoy your warm weekend!