Thursday, September 29, 2011

Seeing God through a Parent Conference

Today, I sat in a parent conference of one of my ESL students. This student has been struggling for the last four weeks. She came to our school speaking no English. The parents really want her to learn English so they have chosen to have her in an English classroom instead of a bilingual. For the past four weeks, this child has struggled. Her behavior is an issue, her defiance is an issue and she is struggling to learn the English language. Talking to her parents today broke my heart. They adopted her two years ago. This child is 5 and before they adopted her, she was in 5 other homes. She has had no structure, no control over her life and she is a broken little girl who has experienced more pain in her 5 years than I have in almost 35. I heard the pain that these parents feel, how much they love their daughter, how much they want for her. The mom described putting her little girl to bed, and than crying because she wants to protect her, to erase those previous years from her daughter's memory. All I could do was grab the mom's hands, tell her how brave she was, tell her what a blessing she was to this little girl, and tell her how God sends people like her to change the course of these children's lives. Coming back to my classroom, I starting thinking about how God feels about us. He is like that mother. He has adopted us and we are a new creation. He takes us in his arms, calms our fears and over us, he says, "let me be your protector. Let me make all things new. I am so sorry that you have gone through your pain, but please, stay with me and we can get through it together." I found a song that says better what I feel.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The Daniel Fast

Right now, I am apart of this amazing bible study on the life of David. Last Sunday, during a video I was watching of Beth Moore's, she described the benefits of fasting. After doing some research on it, and talking with Josh, we have decided to start the Daniel Fast. I am excited about it and really interested to see what God is going to do. It is actually a very clean way to eat, and not bad at all. It usually requires no meat, but because I am in training for a half marathon right now, I am including meat because I really need the protein. If you want to know more about this, you can go to this website.http://daniel-fast.com/about.html.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Meal Plan Monday September 26

Meal Plan Monday
Monday- Buffalo Wild Wings for Jason’s birthday
Tuesday- Baked Spaghetti recipe
Wednesday- Wingless Buffalo chicken pizza recipe
Thursday-Chicken Stir Fry Wraps recipe

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Your Hands

My friend Lareta sent this to me yesterday and I really wanted to share this song with you. I am so amazed at God's love. It is so perfect. There have been times in my life that I have prayed for things to happen or pleaded with Him to never allow certain things to happen. I have walked down some hard roads and wondered, "God are you still there"? He is always with us, never leaving us... I love how the song says, " I never leave your hands." A good reminder to me today.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Ava's Singing Debut at Church




Today goes down as one of the 10 best memories of my life. Ever since Ava could talk, she has been singing. In fact, at Little Hearts when she was two, the class did a Thanksgiving Feast and were given Indian names. The teachers decided that hers should be, "Sings-A-Lot". She has been asking Josh for quite some time now to sing at church. Today her dream came true. I was so overcome with emotion for her. Watching your little girl be so brave when you know good and well she is shaking like a leaf. She started off a little shaking, but when she got it together, she was shining. Josh was awesome with her and I fell more in love with him today. I was truly blessed today. Below is the video as well as some pictures from today. A word of caution though, I am doing my normal "sway to the music" and didn't even realize I was doing it. The video is going to feel like your worst amusement ride. Sorry about that, but what can I say, I was side tracked. You know me!!!







The Jailbreak

On Saturday, my friend Dahlia and I ran the Jailbreak in Roanoke, Tx. Our best friend Nikki had asked us back in April to run. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. It is basically a three mile obstacle course of mud. It was so challenging but one of the most fun things I have ever done. Our friend Nikki couldn't run at the last minute... but we have all decided that next year we are running this again, all decked out with matching outfits.
Before
After


Sawyer's a Soccer Player

Mr. Sawyer has been faithfully watching his sister play soccer since he was two years old. We told Sawyer that when school started, he would get to start playing. All summer he has been talking and now, it just so happens, he is the same jersey number as his sister. Presenting #2, Sawyer Roberts, a player on the Mustang soccer team.


Monday, September 12, 2011

Chores, Chores, Chores

For those of you that really know me, you know how unorganized I truly am. I am scatter-brained to say the least. I lose my keys on a daily basis, I never know where anything is, and I have piles to be filed that just never seem to find their way into a folder. Going back to school has brought with it so many challenges. Half the time, I feel like I am drowning in my own chaos. Last year, I used chore charts with my kids. They would receive a sticker on every chore that they completed, and I would give them a dime for each sticker. They would then collect the money in three jars, a "Save" jar, a "Spend" jar and a "Give" jar. My kids loved it and it really helped me. I felt like the evenings were a little more managable. I wanted to give you the website for you go to to print off the chore charts http://www.goalforit.com/. You can personalize the charts which I love. For example, Sawyer has chores that are more suitable for a 4 year old than a 7 year old. The charts look like this:


So to make a long story short, the charts are back in full force this Monday morning and hopefully the evenings will be a little less stressful at the Roberts house. 

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Meal Plan for week of September 12th

Monday- One Dish Chicken Bake ( click on the link for the recipe)
Tuesday- Green Chile Chicken Soup ( email me for recipe, superrrrr easy)
Wednesday-Biggest Loser Chicken Recipe ( click on the link for the recipe)
Thursday- Biggest Loser Pineapple Pork Chops ( super yummy!!!)
Weekend--- who knows????

If any of you have any suggestions for Meal Plans, let me know. Always looking for new recipes. Have a great week.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Learning A Life Lesson From a Little Girl Named Rachel.

This morning at church, our wonderful pastor, David Alexander, gave us a very powerful message about  God and Suffering. It was one of those messages where I was hanging on every word he said. I can't tell you how many times I have been in a discussion with someone, where questions were raised that I felt ill-equipped to answer. Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? Why are children dying from starvation? Why did my mother die of cancer when she never smoked a day in her life? Why was that young child's life cut short? Why?? Pastor David centered our attention on a verse from Romans.

Romans 8:28
"And we know in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."

God gives us the responsibility over all creation. When you have a world where each human has been given the choice of free will, sometimes things happen that God didn't intend for our lives. Some things we just can't explain, some things are unfair and we want to scream out and say, "Why?" and sometimes there is not an answer. But in those moments of suffering, what are we going to do with it?
" An answer can be an explanation or a response. Sometimes, there is no explanation, but there is always a response." Harold Kushner

The world has so much pain, but it is full of goodness too. That is where the story of a little girl named Rachel comes in. Rachel was a little girl who was moved by an organization called Charity Water. She decided to ask for money for this organization instead of birthday presents. She had a goal, but it was not met by the time her birthday came around. A little over a month ago, Rachel was involved in a car accident and her life was cut short. Please watch this video to see how God made something beautiful out of this family's suffering.
This little girl's story has captured my heart. It inspires me to be a better person, it inspires me to appreciate today and it inspires me to remind myself and others that God is always working for the good, even in the mist of suffering.
If you would like to give to her goal, please follow this link http://mycharitywater.org/p/campaign?campaign_id=16396.

The message today reminded me of one of my most favorite songs. It is "For the Good" by Shane and Shane. Watch this, or listen to the song, hug your family, and say a prayer for the family of Rachel.



Saturday, September 3, 2011

A Lazy Saturday

Now that teaching has started back, soccer, and homework... lazy Saturdays are no longer taken for granted. We got some burgers, hot dogs, and are just enjoying a break from the crazy week. It all started with the boots...
First Ava decides that boots would be a wise choice for swimming in the pool. For those of you that know Ava, I am sure that you appreciate this. 
Josh is having just as much fun as the kids.


Then they decide to have a "garage sale" by the pool. 
No pool party is complete with out a cookout. 

Such a fun day, and I'll top it off with a nap now.

Menu Plan Monday

Okay Family... we have been talking about this most of August. That is why we all went out in a blaze of glory! We will miss Joe's for breakfast on Saturdays and the pizza that we would pick up because I was too tired to cook a meal. The Roberts Family goal for the month of September, no eating out during the week. Mom and Dad have to lose some weight, kids. So, I am giving the Menu Plan Monday a try. If you are curious as to what this is or how to get started, you can check it out here Menu Plan Monday. So here we go. This is what the Roberts will be eating the week of September 5-9th.
Monday: Fish Tacosfish tacos recipe ( from the June All You magazine)
Tuesday: Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken  ( from the June All You magazine)
Wednesday: Tomato Basil Soup
Thursday: Barbecue Chicken Quesadillasbarbecue chicken quesadillas ( from the June All You magazine)
Friday: Make Your Own Pizza with the kids