An Excerpt

...from a book I'm reading.

"It is worth considering, as we look at repentance and restoration, that although Jesus knew Judas would betray him, Peter would deny him, and the others would desert him, he still washed their feet (John 13:3-5), then shared the bread and wine with them - bread that represented his body and wine that represented his blood. Despite knowing what they would do, he said to them, "I do not call you servants any longer...but I have called you friends" (John 15:15). He did that for all of them, including Judas. Jesus looked past their betrayal, their sins, and their failures and called them his friends. We take comfort in the knowledge that he will do that for us as well."

-Adam Hamilton, 24 Hours That Changed the World, 1. The Last Supper, p. 23

The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

He did this for you. He did it for me. And to think...that He...gave His life knowing full well we'd be unfaithful friends - WHOA! He loves us SO much that He gave His life so that our sins would be forgiven.

It goes against the grain. I'll only be your friend if you're nice to me. And if you laugh at my jokes. If you let me know how cool I am and what kinds of things you like about me. I'll only be your friend if you look like me and if you wear similar clothes as me. I'll only be your friend if your aren't embarrassing and if you never offend me. And if you do all of this for me, I'll do the same for you. Because, really, it's all about me...and in your case you! Right? We aren't in the habit of befriending people who are going to betray us.

Not Jesus. He knew....He knew betrayal was coming from ME! But He still called me His friend.

It is truly astounding!

And just so you know - He really is the greatest friend you could ever have. Not only did He give His life, but Jesus considered you the joy that got him through it (Hebrews 12) - because He did it specifically for YOU.

I've been on a journey with Him since a young age and it's been a good one. I could go on forever about Jesus, but really you should get to know Him.

School Funnies

It is true that kids say the darnedest things!

I've been coming home every night writing down all the hilarious things the kids say and do.

1. One of my kids hears me say something to a Spanish speaking student in Spanish. He says, "Ms. Marquez if you can speak English and Spanish, How do you say my name in Chinese?"

2. I call my students to come sit on the floor to go over the safety rules for Science. I say, "We are going to talk about Science..." A student interrupts and says, "Ms. Marquez, can we talk about God instead. You know He made EVERYTHING!"

3. For the weekly spelling test one of our words was "fat." I read off: "Fat. My aunt has a fat cat." During the time I'm giving them to write the word a student says: "Ms. Marquez does it make you sad that you have a big belly and everyone thinks you're fat?" (HOLY WHAT!?!?! hahahaha!)

4. Our school has breakfast in the classroom. I set a timer so they are busy eating and not busy playing with their food, but sometimes it's inevitable. They had bananas as part of their breakfast one morning and when I turn around one of the girls is using this banana as a phone. She asked her friend on the "phone" to please run some errands for her because she's busy at school and won't get out until it's too late. Girls will be girls!

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Running front:

Running has not happened since last Wednesday. That means it's been a week and three days. :O( It's not like last Wednesday's run was great either....it honestly sucked. But saying hello to first graders, loads of "unexpected" stress, and some really late nights, also means saying hello to germs and a weaker immune system.

I'm using this Labor Day weekend to get myself better.

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Autumn is around the corner and it makes me so.....DREAMY!! I love this season - it's seriously my favorite of all time! It's perfect season to re-read Pride and Prejudice for the umpteenth time and of course to watch YOU'VE GOT MAIL while doing chores or working on stuff for school. Oh - and of course having that Louis Armstrong Pandora station is a MUST!!

I found this song several years ago, when I used to surf MySpace specifically to find music that made my heart skip a beat. This one is perfect for the season.

AUTUMN DAYS Elizabeth Seasons by Empty Songs

Enjoy the summer heat - what's left of it! I hope to be wearing layered apparel soon!! :O)

Happy 200!

This is the 200th post on Delightful Surprises! Should I bake a chocolate cake and make it a party?

School:
First week was good! All my students are getting home to their respective families without any problems which is VERY successful! I had one student throw up and my gag reflexes kicked in, but I made it without following suit! Also successful! I'm getting this question asked by only one student: "Teacher, what's your name again?" It makes me want to laugh every time!

The only thing that was not fun AT ALL this week was having swollen feet at the end of the day. I mean - I'm not even pregnant!! :o)

Running:
Since I've started school. Running has not been as great. Yes, I'm still going out and making an effort. I'm having to adjust to a new schedule and I also have to figure out how much I should eat and when. It's not necessarily been a breeze and it's frustrating, but this too shall pass.

I've registered for two half marathons. One in January and the other in February. Excitement abounds!!

That's all for now. I have to manage my time very wisely these days.

After

This took TWO WEEKS! Are you ready to see it? I'm so excited to share this with you!

Okay - and before I show you the pictures....I have one more thing to share. This past Friday we had meet the teacher. And I wasn't sure what all I was supposed to do or say because it's my first one, but it went over SOOOO well.

So here are the after pictures:

This is to the right of the door when you walk in. I still need to get some fabric to cover up the storage space under these desks.

Bulletin Boards: Expectations and Star of the Week
Things on the table: Dry erase markers, Pencil holders, Trays to turn in their work, restroom baskets that will hold paper towels, soap and hand sanitizer, and other trays for misc. supplies.

The same wall on the other side of the white board.

The Word Wall and the Computer Center
There's also a shelf that stores the work we'll do the upcoming week(s), the casitas, etc.

This is entire wall on the right when you walk in.

This is the wall parallel to the door.

This is my favorite spot. The 'Read'wood forest and the R/LA, Science and Math Centers
I got the tree at a Hallmark that was closing down at College Station.

Inspiration Station (where inspiration quotations and art will be displayed)
Stellar Work! (where the kid's stellar work will be displayed!)The yellow table is where we will have small group instruction once it's cleared off. :o)My desk. The one and only time it will be this orderly!

This picture isn't letting me move it so it's out of order...It's the wall parallel to the windows. It's the calendar wall.

The big picture of the back wall.

There you have it! That's the tour of my classroom. I'm ready for Monday - I think... :O)
I'd appreciate your prayers for the upcoming year!!
Excitement abounds!

During

It's true that it takes a village to raise a child. It also takes a village to get a teacher ready for school. I don't know that what I would have done without my family and friends!

I want to be sure to let everyone know that my favorite thing about my classroom is not necessarily the fact that it looks AWESOME (oh - and it does!). My favorite thing about my classroom is that when I walk in I think of my family and friends who helped me put it together! I'm INCREDIBLY BLESSED!

First, my mom and younger brother came. Mom cleaned EVERYTHING - even the unifix cubes that my students will use for math and science. My brother Tim helped me put the bulletin boards together and he also hung up all the posters that are out of my reach - which is practically every poster. HAHAHA!! My brother Aser came by one day and helped me punch out the pre-cut letters for the bulletin boards. He also had fun writing funny things on my white board.

Look at the difference in the WINDOWS (top right clean!)!!

On this day, I had promised we'd leave early and I didn't follow through.
BUT we had a delicious lunch! The room by this time was lookin' pretty good.

Aser had a lot of fun writing on the white board.
Ask him to read what he wrote to you! You'll laugh because his accent is HILARIOUS!

Another day, Angela was SUPER sweet to come help me with what Tim and I hadn't finished. We got 3M strips and covered up a chalkboard that I don't use. Now I have more "bulletin board" space and everything looks more uniform.

I didn't get a picture of Angela...but this is a cute one of us at a friends wedding.

And finally, this past Thursday I sent a picture text saying: "Are you good with scissors?!? This is how I'll be spending my time tonight. :o)" Look at that! It's a never ending roll of laminated stuff and I was going to do it BY MYSELF!

Looking at the amount of laminated stuff made me want to cry! (not really - I just whined about it until I got help)

It would've taken me all night and I still wouldn't have finished. Luckily, one of my friends - Ryan - said that I should go over to his work place and bring scissors. OMG! I jumped on that! I brought 5 pairs of scissors and put them to work double time!!

Ryan is THE super star for offering the much needed help!

Corey was either cutting out stars or showing off his guns...still haven't figured out which!

Chad was multi-tasking!

Jeremy said he wouldn't help unless he got to use the Christmas Tree scissors. haha!

Real men help first grade teachers cut out stars and such!

There were other people that work with Ryan that helped & aren't pictured.

I feel like saying THANK YOU isn't sufficient. The work EVERYONE did is seriously priceless!!

Before

August 9 was the first day back to school for us teachers. We did have five days off after the 9th but having looked at my room and feeling completely overwhelmed, I took those five days and used them to get my room in order.

I called my mom because I felt COMPLETELY overwhelmed and begged for her to come help! It didn't take much convincing - she agreed.

These are the before pictures...

Gearin' Up

Have I mentioned lately how thankful I am to have a job? And not just ANY job, but one that I really want? I'm a first grade teacher. I...AM...A...FIRST...GRADE...TEACHER! :o)
The only thing that would put sprinkles on this cake is if we added "bilingual" before "first grade teacher" - but I'll wait. I can wait.

I've spent the past week cleaning, organizing, and preparing my classroom. I have before pictures and haven't taken after pictures yet...because it's not ready!! AAAAHHH!! It's almost there. I think I need one more day and I'll be set.

Have I mentioned how it takes a village? I couldn't have done this on my own. I've had the AMAZING help of my mom, my brother Tim and my childhood friend Angela. I'm SO incredibly thankful to have the most incredible people in my life! (of course, this is the SHORT list)

More to come later!