Friday, February 8, 2013

What a week

It's been a crazy-busy week here on Laurel Lane.

Last weekend we traveled to Washington for Katie's baptism. So exciting to have an eight-year-old granddaughter! Josh, Sarah, and Kat traveled with us. They were really good about the long drive. It makes my grandma heart so happy to see the cousins together.

 A "Kathleen" moment - Kat, me, Katie on her baptism day

 Katie and Sarah 

Seth and Josh

 Kat, me, Becca

 Anson

One of the best things about Katie's baptism was the opportunity to connect with family we don't see very often. Eric's parents, siblings, and their families came from Seattle. The travelers who came the farthest were Katie's birth mom, half sister, and birth grandparents, who came all the way from North Carolina and Alaska for her special day. What a wonderful miracle to have this large and loving family all together around one dear little girl!

We arrived home and I dived into the last-minute preparations for the annual "New Beginnings" event for the Young Women on Wednesday night. The church class I teach was in charge of it this year, and my assistant and I have been working on it for several weeks. Planning fancy parties is not one of my talent areas, but my assistant, Rene', is a pro, and she helped us look good.


The decorations were girly and fun.

 Savannah conducted the event - did a great job.

The girls sang some beautiful songs.

Meanwhile...poor Mark was sick with an intestinal bug on Tuesday and Wednesday. Ugh. In case you're not a teacher and you don't know this, it is much worse to be out sick and have to make sub plans. It's easier to just come in and do it yourself...so you know how sick he was, to miss two days in a row.

Today was inservice day and I presented a 7-hour training to the high school teachers. I had them actually take one of the new standardized tests that our juniors will take in two years. Some of them grumbled about taking the test, but once they got into it, they could see that it really is quite different from the way that our students have been tested in the past. We had some lively discussions about what it will mean in our classrooms, and the ways we can change how we teach to help our students be prepared. The tests will be more rigorous than anything our students have encountered in past state tests. However, a good part of that rigor comes from tests that assess skills in a much more "real world" way, and I think it is a positive, though challenging, change. 

It's been a good week, but daunting at times, and I am drained.

Oh, I am enjoying a quiet evening at home, with no big projects to prepare!


4 comments:

Polly @ Pieces by Polly said...

Thanks so much for making the trip up here. It meant a lot to Katie. I'm glad your training and New Beginnings went well too.

Dorothy said...

What a beautifully, wonderful family you have! So glad you could all be there for Katie's big day! Meanwhile we get to hand out hugs to some of your family here in Verona. :-)

Katie Lewis said...

What a busy week! Love those pom poms on the ceiling. :)

Unknown said...

It was fun to hear the kids talk about their favorite part of the trip up to Katie's baptism. It looks like she had a wonderful group to share that day with.

I am interested in the changes in testing fore the state. I know you are uber-busy right now, but look forward to more posts about hte changes!