an eventful week

School started this week, as most of you know. I came home today completely flabbergasted by my students. They are INCREDIBLE!! I will always feel fondly about my students from last year, just because they were my first, but I have a feeling this group is going to stay with me a LONG time. The majority of them are so respectful, sweet, and respond to directions well. In my opinion, that's about all you can ask for in middle schoolers. I have two examples today that may help illustrate what I'm dealing with:

1. Today I gave them their first pre-test which is A LOT of writing. I did not hear a single complaint ALL day! Not even a sigh. AND most of them finished with about 20 minutes left of class, and all of them followed instructions, returned to their seat and silently found something else to work on or read!! It was a beautiful way to end my first week.

2. Today we had an all 8th grade assembly in the gym to hear expectations from the administrators. We have a rule that you walk, single file, on the right side of the hallways. So my students were following directions well on the way to the gym, when we encountered the guidance counselor and one of our principals having a conversation...on the right side of the hallway. The very first child walked in between them, but after that, every single student politely walked around, not through their conversation. To some of you, this may not seem like that big of a deal; common sense could take care of this. However, most middle schoolers would not notice that they were interrupting something as simple as a hallway conversation.

Needless to say, I am excited about what this year will hold and will keep you updated :)

Now, for those of you that don't know what else happened this week, let me briefly fill you in. Last night Brent and I went to his slow-pitch softball game at the church. About 15 minutes into the game, Brent, who was playing center field and can't do anything half way, dove to catch a ball. He does this a lot. However, this time after he caught it he stood up, dropped his glove, and began walking off the field. That is when I knew we had a problem.

I met him in the dugout where he promptly informed me, "Yeah, it's broken." The guys he worked with were playing against Brent's team, and they already had ice and had pulled the Gator around for him to ride to the car (it's nice to have people care about you!). I then drove him to the ER where he got some xrays and was examined. I was hoping it was just something that could be popped back into place. Unfortunately, we have some bigger problems:

A torn ligament and a separated shoulder. Ouch! After a long time at the ER, who gave us the number of an Orthopedic Specialist and a prescription for Vicodin, we got a frosty at Wendy's (hey, he deserved it!), picked up the prescription and headed home. They put him in a back brace that will keep his shoulders in place, and he has to wear a sling to immobilize the shoulder.


I could tell he was in A LOT of pain, and I tried to be as calm as I could. If you know me you know that things like this make me queasy, and that I hate Dr.'s offices, and "adult things" like this. But I pulled through!! :) I even was able to help Brent change last night (out of his sweaty and grass stained ball clothes), which was easier said than done. He couldn't raise his right arm at all, so we had to talk through everything before we tried to change shirts. I think he felt better in the clean clothes, but it was about all I could do to help him because I knew that while I helped him I was also hurting him! (And he still has some weird protrusion from his shoulder that I didn't really want to look at!)

Today he said the pain killers have helped some, but he is uncomfortable and sore. I do think he slept better than I did last night though! He has an appointment Monday with the specialist and will probably find out a little more than! So, yes, it has been quite the week in our household!! Below is a picture of him today, and a picture of the Xray that he had taken (FAIR WARNING IF YOU DON'T WANT TO LOOK... I DON'T!!!)

[One more thing: Beth received the baby project I worked on, so I will put up pictures of what I made her tomorrow.]