Thanksgiving

We went home to Florida to visit my family! We had a blast and are so thankful that we could all be together. I was especially grateful because I was able to see my grandparents who have not been doing well. My grandaddy opened up more than he normally does and was very emotional with all of us sisters (and rest of the family). He told us again that he prays for his family (everyone by name) every single night. He also opened up and told us that he didn't know if he was going to make it to see his grandchildren again. He cried and I cried. My grandaddy has always been such a great father-figure for me and my sisters. I love my grandparents so much and am so thankful for their love for all of us.

Weekend with the Luceros

A little blurry but all four us at their house







Painting Pottery








Our bowls--yay! I painted a rooster and Hannah has a red and yellow design in a black bowl....she messed her's up so ended up painting everything but the design black. ha ha Hannah







Our hunter men!


Josh and I went to visit Mac and Hannah in Lynchburg. The boys planned on hunting and Hannah and I were going to have a day of painting pottery (which is so fun if you have never done it). We had such a good time as always. So Josh and I got there Friday night and we just hung out. Saturday morning Josh and Mac got up bright and early to go hunting. Both of them were stoked to go hunting. Hannah and slept in and then woke up to have breakfast. We were super lazy for a while and laid on the couch and watched "The Devil Wears Prada." Well, when we finally got ready and were leaving around 1pm, low and behold the boys came home. Now we thought that was just strange...and probably not good news. They came inside and were completely bummed because that said they saw not a one deer out in the woods....they even fell asleep in the woods because they must have gotten so sleepy and bored looking for deer. No sight of em' so they came home. Poor boys!

Well, Hannah and I left the boys and went to do our thing...lunch and pottery. We decided to do a large pasta bowl, which ended up taking forever! We watched people come in, paint, and leave as we were there from about 3-9 (I think). We had a ton of fun and I can't wait to see what our pasta bowl look like when they are fired! Ladies, if you have never painted pottery before it is a lot of fun!

Sometimes I forget...

I think most, if not all know that I teach high school Spanish at a great public school in Vienna, VA. There are many days when I simply forget that my students may be struggling in different areas of their lives (i.e. addictions, lonliness, rejection, school stress, peer pressure, abuse, family issues, etc). Yesterday I was brought back to reality and reminded of these issues.

After one of my students received one of her graded assignments I think she realized it was time for her to stay after and speak with me. I could tell she was very stressed and discouraged and she was asking what all she could do to improve her grade. She mentioned she was not doing well in one of her other classes as well.

This particular student is a typical cheerful cheerleader (smiling, laughing, outgoing, etc). Despite her normal cheerful spirt I could tell there was more going on in her life than just grades. I simply asked her if everything was going alright and tears filled her eyes as she began to sob. She stayed for a while through a 30-minute SAP (which is a student assistance period) and through most of her math class. She opened up about her family life (divorced parents, father married new wife and is having a baby). It was clear that she was so very hurt.

I listened to her, but also shared my parents story and my (almost non-existent relationship) with my father. I also shared with her that I thought it was okay if she did not want to be close to her father right now, but may decide to draw closer to him as she heals.

After we finished chatting I just hugged her and hugged her more. She cried again and I just got all teary-eyed because I remember how I felt about my parents divorce (even at 18 yrs old) and the way my dad treated all of us (including my mom).

It was a great reminder to me that I need to remember that these teenagers may be going through so very much and I may never know. As a teacher it is important that I remember that and learn to be a compassionate teacher. I pray that God will give me a compassionate heart for these teens.

Weekend with the Koons

View of the Potomac River looking out of GW's house











Josh, me, Kara, Kurt









Washington's home










Kara and I









Kurt and Kara

This past Wednesday my sister-in-law Kara and her husband Kurt came up to visit. We had a great time! Most of our time was spent eating....ha ha! We toured Mt. Vernon, went downtown
see the National Mall, and relaxed at our house and watched TV and movies. It was nice because we never felt any need to get up early and rush everywhere, which is exactly how I like it!

Zipper

So yesterday morning at school I was rushing around, getting my coffee, and setting up a couple of students for a test. When I got the two students set up in another room I walked into class, got my students attention and reminded them of their test. As I was explaining a couple of things about their test I noticed a couple of girls snickering and I immediately thought to myself, "Oh dear God, is my zipper undone?" I had a gut feeling it was so I stuck to my gut and as I was holding up a paper I made sure it was covering the zipper region. I quickly finished talking and walked outside the classroom (totally non-nonchalantly) to check my zipper. YEP, it was undone! I knew it dangit!

I walked back into class, sat down at my desk and then whispered to a couple of girls in front of me if they knew my zipper was down and they said no. So I proceeded to ask my class who was the culprit that didn't tell me my zipper was down. They all started laughing but then all denied knowing that my zipper was down. I said, "Look, if my zipper is ever down or if I have a giant booger in my nose then just say 'Dude, Mrs. Walker you got a booger!' or 'Dude, Mrs. Walker your zipper is down!'." They thought it was hysterical and claimed that I should have just kept my mouth shut because no one would have ever known that my zipper was down. ha ha

Come to find out, one of the girls that I asked to begin with said she knew and she noticed I covered my zipper region up with the paper. Oh those days...

Safari with the Luceros

Two weekends ago Josh and I went to Lynchburg, VA to see Mac and Hannah Lucero (one of my best friends growing up and still one of my best friends :-) ). We had a great time there...I even skipped a grad paper to go and still haven't turned it in. I guess I shouldn't really be proud of that! :-) Well, while we were there we went to a safari zoo! Can you believe there is a safari zoo in Virginia? Yep....camels, Vietnamese pigs, deer, ostrich, zebras, bison, llamas, and oh so many more come up to your car and you get to feed them out of the window. We had a blast!

Our New Puppy Sadie

We have a new addition to the Walker family! Josh and I got a puppy named Sadie. She is a sweet little Cockapoo and is now 11 weeks old. We were not planning on getting another dog but were in the Amish country and happen to see a sign for Cockapoos and just couldn't pass up seeing what they looked like! Of course the moment we stopped and saw them there was no turning back! She and Annie have now become best buds and I think feels like she is the mama of baby Sadie. They love to play together and are wearing each other out!

Meet Sadie!