Good News and more good news!

Well, we have a new guest at Brannon Manor (aka Funny Farm)! Jeremy came home from three months of training and brought another soldier home to stay with us until they both deploy late summer. Jeremy is a kind-hearted soul like his mother and asked if Harris (of course his last name) could stay with us because he didn't have any where else to go since his other arrangements fell through. With Christopher being overseas, I thought it would be nice to have another "son" around the house for while. It is actually been a blessing to have Harris with us. He is a very kind 22-year-old young man who is very respectful and helpful around the house. We all get along exceptionally well. I actually have no complaints about the current living arrangements. By the way, I finally learned his first name is Brandon.

More good news is that we are losing one member of our household at the beginning of August. It is time to say "Goodbye" to dear Philip and his three vehicle entourage (PT Cruiser, motorcycle and giant work truck). It has been a long three years and to save any level of friendship, the time has come to go our separate ways!

All else is calm and quiet at the moment. Only 8 more days of school; lots of summer travel planned and some much needed time with family and friends is on the calendar. I am headed to Orlando, Florida; Marina Del Rey, California; Houston, Texas; Eagle River (Anchorage), Alaska and Tulsa, Oklahoma at various times this summer!

I am actually pretty excited about my new schedule for school this fall! I am only teaching honors classes! That is an entirely different level of students. I was at first a bit stressed at teaching Language Arts (writing only) since I have taught mostly reading the last six years, but I will have 7th graders in the morning and 8th graders in the afternoon. This is especially awesome since the 8th graders don't have a state test for writing. The 7th graders do, but with the honors kids that won't be a problem. I have already gone through the training this year for the writing program and my "partner in crime", Mr. Marley, will be teaching the same kids for reading! The honors classes will be our own department, we'll be continuing our school newspaper, moving into a brand new building and getting a new principal who has a reputation for being a pretty tough on disciplinarian! WOW!!

For now I am just waiting for this horrible school year to wind down and summer to heat up with fun and relaxation! Call or drop by to hang out with me... that is if you can catch me this summer!

Back to "Normal"

Well, we survived the two weeks of leave. No small matter when you have 8 months of separation to overcome in two weeks. This is inclusive of spending 2-3 days of preparation for his return to the battlefield. Again, an unnecessary statement: I hate the Army!!! I now have six more months of Skype and long distance romance to endure until another homecoming. Next time I will also have to work because it will be right after the new school year has begun.

We managed to squeak out more time together, no thanks to my job (with one small exception I'll explain shortly). We managed to enjoy the time we had left and were even able to spend a few days with Jeremy when he came home a few days before Troy's departure. I miss having a house full of family, particularly my guys! I truly realized this upon Jeremy's return with a friend who stayed with us Saturday and Sunday. We went to dinner together on Saturday and out to breakfast on Sunday as a "family" and it was wonderful. Jeremy and Harris (the Army last name thing) told us funny stories about their training days at Fort Knox, Kentucky and asked Troy about stories and information about his time in Iraq.

I missed my Christopher even more those days, too! I had not heard from him in over a week and was wondering how he was doing when I saw the photos of him and several of the New Orleans Saints Cheerleaders on his Facebook. He appeared quite happy in the photos! Glad to hear he is out of Baghdad for a while and able to have a better change in scenery.

I had to work that last week Troy was home due to state testing. In my contract it states that we are not permitted to miss those days for pretty much any reason other than hospitalization. Troy was scheduled to fly out on Thursday and a few of my co-workers in charge of the testing blessed me with an afternoon off to spend with my husband after the students I was monitoring finished and were moved to another group on Wednesday around 1pm. I was able to spend an extra 3-4 hours at home with him rather than be at work. The small things in life are often big blessings!

This last week I also received a call from Christopher's unit stating he would not be home early as they had anticipated. He now will be returning around October instead of this summer. I'm sad, but it is the way of the Army. Christopher will be home after Jeremy leaves for Iraq or Afghanistan (not sure yet where he is headed). We are hoping Troy will be home by late September and be able to see Jeremy before he deploys in October. All of this means I will not have my family together again for at least a year and a half. Again the statement: I hate the Army!

I am adjusting again to the quiet life at home. Jeremy is at Fort Walter this weekend for range exercises with his drill unit. I have two bridal showers this weekend and a graduation. It is hard to believe that my first group of 7th graders are graduating this year! One of my students graduated today from a Christian private school. She has returned to see me several times over the years and her sister was one of my students last year. She was struggling academically and is now pregnant, so the private school option was perfect for her. I am proud she made the effort to continue and graduate rather than drop out and be a statistic! She has a very difficult home-life and to see her succeed despite her "issues" is wonderful! I plan to attend the Everman graduation this year to see others from my first class of kiddos.

Counting down the weeks and days until school is done for the year. I am soooo ready for summer! I am planning lots of fun stuff and looking forward to trips to Nashville, TN; Marina Del Rey, CA, Houston, TX and Eagle River, AK! I am also expecting family here for the 4th of July! The summer also comes with a Family Day for our unit, a change of command ceremony and an opening ceremony for our new facilities just off base (with a new office for me!)

Lots to tell about in the upcoming months!