A Funny Story

So, most of you know that my new job is very tough. Today I drove home laughing the whole way about something that happened at school. The laughter was so therapeutic that I had to share it- and record it for when I am wondering why the heck I signed up for this.

I have a student who I refer to as my "special project." I love this kid to death, but he cannot control his behavior sometimes. It is not uncommon for him to yell out, be extremely disruptive, try to get out of work, and he tends to use bad language. He is being reinforced for "calm behavior."

Ok, so he and I are working today on reading. He is reading to me because I am going hoarse (now my voice is gone, but that's another story). I picked out an Amelia Bedelia book because he has a good sense of humor and he had never tried that series.

So here is my kiddo, reading along. He comes to a page that reads:

"Throw it to first base," yelled the boys, "Put Dick out."

So Amelia Bedelia threw the ball to first base. 

When he gets to the name "Dick," he stops. I know he can decode it, so I look up.
He says, "Well, I'm afraid to say it.....I think it's a bad word."
This coming from the boy who cusses out his mom.
Then he sits there giggling to himself trying to decide if he should say it or not.
I tried to assure him that it was a name, and that it would be okay to say because it's a name-not a bad word. I told him it was short for Richard. He could not get it through his head that someone could be called that.
So he skipped it, and kept reading. The next two pages had the name on it, too. and he would come to the word, stop, giggle, whisper it under his breath, and continue reading. It was hysterical. He would also stop periodically and ask questions like, "Why would they name someone that?" "How can he be called that?" "I don't understand why that word is a name."
His laughter was contagious. Such a refreshingly positive interaction!

I love fourth graders! (Today...)

Thanksgiving

This year we decided to so something crazy. We have missed both of our families so much that we wanted to work it out to see everyone over the break. Our plan: leave Knox Tuesday after school. Drive straight to Nashville for a birthday celebration with Jason's family (see last post). Cook-out at Derek's house on Wednesday. Thanksgiving lunch with Jason's family Thursday afternoon, then quickly get in the car and drive to Memphis Thursday night for dinner with my family. The girls shop until they drop (literally) on black friday-the real holiday in my family. Saturday pack up and head back to Nashville in time to watch the bulldogs beat up on the "black bears." Sunday-reluctantly head back to Knoxville and get ready for a long week at school.

We realize this plan is crazy busy-but when else will we be able to do this. It might be our last year like this, so we need to take advantage of the opportunity. Who knows where we will be or what Jason's school will be like next fall!

Here are some pictures from our first few days in Nashville:

By the fire pit at the Caswell's..

At the fire pit at the Caswell's.. (notice the puppy Nola)

At Derek's house, getting some love from Brutus..

So when we got to Memphis we were so excited to see my family-and my extended family (my dad's brother John and his family were there, per tradition). 

Jason holding the sweetest new addition to our family (via Laura), Avery.

We ate Thanksgiving dinner and (per tradition) waded through towering stacks of Black Friday ads. This year so many sales started early, that Jason went home with Hayden and the kids, and the sisters (and honorary sister- Becs) started our shopping! 

From Left: Laura, me, Julie, Becs...
Waiting outside of Target

They handed these out in line at Target--pretty tasty too. 

Chaos at Walmart

Poor Mama, waiting in line to CHECK OUT at Kohl's.. 

We spent most of Friday recovering from our all night shopping spree, watching football, and playing games. Back to Nashville on Saturday to catch the biggest game of the year-when MSU beat "The School Up North." (3rd year in a row I might add..)

Although we got caught up in traffic on the way back to Knoxville, all the driving really paid off. We were so happy to have time with our family. It flew by!

What was the first Thanksgiving all about?
Getting out of your comfort zone-Indians and Pilgrims alike. Praising God for all you have with all you have.
That's what our first Thanksgiving is about too.
All we have known for our whole lives is how our individual families celebrate Thanksgiving. Now we are each stepping out of our comfort zone to experience new things with new people. We have learned a lot about each other, our families, and how big our waistband can expand. Plus we spent a lot of time reflecting on all we have to be thankful for this year- in our opinion, we are most thankful for each other-because being together helps us to get through the things that we find hard to thank God for.

Happy Holidays! :) 

So much to be thankful for!

Greetings, friends and family!
Jason and I have so much to be thankful for this year, it would be difficult to list them.
Of course, since Jason just had a birthday last weekend-I should mention how thankful I am that to have him in my life for one more year!

I started his birthday party early-he hates getting his gifts before his particular birth DAY. That doesn't work too well with me because A) I can't keep things like that a secret, and B) I open my gifts and cards as soon as I get them. (He has started hiding even the cards that come in the mail so I won't get to them!)

Anyway, I made him a canvas for our room. It has similar colors to our bedspread. It has a line from a Bob Marley song that we heard almost on repeat during our honeymoon. Pretty much is was this song and One Love played one after another on repeat.

Work in progress-covering the fabric with paint over  letters I hand-cut!

"Don't you worry, about a thing..."
Wish you could see the colors and the background better!

Friday we went to the house of one of Jason's friends from school. We played wii for hours! (After watching the bulldogs win their basketball game at Madison Square Garden.
Saturday we went to lunch at Genghis Grill, then to Menchie's Frozen Yogurt for dessert- gotta love the birthday specials!
The next part of Jason's gift was that he could spend a certain amount at Earthfare. Usually we just walk around with our mouths watering wishing that we could buy all of our groceries at a health food store-but knowing that we could easily spend double the amount we pay at Kroger. Speaking of health food- Jason's brother, Chad, and his wife, Laura, sent him tons of Franola Granola! (to us, Franola Granola stands for two things we love: healthy food, and Fran.)

We spent the rest of the day hanging out with friends, playing games, watching another heart breaker against Arkansas, and relaxing. 

Sunday of course meant back to studying. But it didn't seem so bad going into another week knowing it was just a 2 day week. Hooray!

Enjoy your break! We have big plans! There will be an update on that soon too! 

Feeling Better

Well! There has been a virus going around the Caswell family this week. Monday and Tuesday I was sick, then Thursday and Friday Jason was sick. So now it is Saturday and we are both taking a break by having a relaxing weekend.
October was a fun month. Jason has gotten into the full swing of things at school. In the past 10 days he has had 8 tests! And he only has 4 classes right now! Needless to say, he is very busy studying.
I have been going to a lot of training sessions through my school district. I have learned a lot, but it is hard to miss school-and plan for a sub!

In other news, we have really enjoyed spending time with family friends. We were able to go to a UT game with the LeGrands, and the Moore's have come to Knoxville to see their sweet grandbaby! It is hard being away from family, but it helps when we get to see these friends who are like family to us.

For Halloween we carved pumpkins at Kate and Rob Moore's house. We didn't do any Halloween parties or anything, but we got ready to hand out candy on the big day. Sadly, we only got 1 small group of trick-or-treaters... More candy for me I guess! :)

Here is what we do every year for our pumpkins: We each buy a pumpkin. We carve it so that the other person cannot see it. We have a contest at the end to see who has the best pumpkin. This year, we both did Mario themes. Irony! 

Jason's parents drove through Knoxville on their way to Baltimore to visit his older brother and wife, Chad and Laura. They took us to dinner and dropped off their dog, Layla, for us to watch for the long weekend. It was fun having a dog-but it definitely showed us that our schedules don't allow for pets very well. Genevieve also dropped off something else: a sewing machine! I have been inspired by pinterest, so I am excited to start trying some of the (simple) things I have seen. She also taught me how to use it, although I don't know if I am a very good student.

 Yesterday, Veteran's Day, I had the opportunity to skype my dad's parents so a fifth grade class could interview real WWII veterans. It was so neat showing them off. How wonderful is technology?! Thank you to all who serve, and the families of people who serve. We know what a sacrifice you make, too.

Jason and I cannot wait for the holidays! (and for the holiday BREAK from schools!) Stay warm!

Starting School

Yes, today is worth two posts. 

Jason started school this week! 

He is already swamped by the amount of work he has to do. It is a Saturday afternoon and he is studying. Fortunately its just a 2 year program. I am confident he can make it through these two years. 

Next week is fall break for Knox schools system, so I will be out of school on Thursday and Friday. I will be at training on Monday and Tuesday. I am quickly realizing that it is easier to be at school then to have a sub. 

Please keep us in your prayers as we start this new chapter in our new chapter of life. It is going to be challenging, but with each other, and of course Christ, we will become stronger and come out better in the end. 

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!

Labor day and lazy weekends

It has been quite awhile since Labor Day weekend by now-but we have been doing so many things that we haven't had time to sit down and tell you all the things we have been doing!

For Labor Day weekend we had many guests. Jason's brothers Derek and Brian came in town, along with Brent (a friend from home who just moved to TN), and our friend Mike from Jackson!

Kathleen, Jason, Derek, Brent, Mike, and Brian at the fireworks show.

We heard from many people that "Boomsday" was the biggest holiday in Knoxville so we were happy that we could be here-and bring friends. We spent most of Saturday tailgating with the LeGrands and hanging out downtown during the football game. We checked out some cool places downtown. Sunday we spent more time in West Knox for the morning, then mid afternoon we headed downtown again for the Boomsday Festivities. We went to Calhoun's to find some space by the river for the big fireworks show. It was great! Did it blow my mind like people had promised it would? Not quite-but maybe because it was raining.

The next weekend Jason and I went to First Friday. 

All the art galleries and little shops have an open house. The weather was perfect and it was fun and relaxing. We went to Kate Moore's studio- she is SO talented. 

On the way back to our car there was a concert in Market Square. It was like a 40's swing rock band. The Knoxville swing dance association was giving free swing lessons, too. 

After another full week of school for me and studying for Jason, ending with a LOT of relaxing and catching up on sleep. On Saturday we decided to go to the Knoxville zoo. While I was getting ready, Jason checked their website to see if there was anything fun going on that day at the zoo. Come to find out, it was teacher appreciation day-sponsored by Kroger. It ended soon so we quickly left. Teachers got in free...AND Kroger had a tent of goodies for teachers. We hit the jackpot! 

Plus we had a blast together. We are still adjusting to the geography of the city.. even the zoo had inclines. Quite different from the flat lands of Jackson, Gulfport, Starkville, and Memphis. 

So after a particularly tough week, the generous speech path at my school gave me this chocolate chip cheesecake cupcake. How nice is that? I work with some really great people. 

Anyway, things are going well here. We miss all of our friends and family, but we really like Knox. 

Thanks for keeping up with the Caswells.. 

More guests!

Greetings!
After another week of school, I had a perfect weekend to recharge me for this week!
Julie (one of my sisters) and her boyfriend Andy came in town.  Andy plays waterpolo and there was a tournament in Knoxville this weekend so they met here and stayed with us.
Turns out waterpolo tournaments are totally awesome! You basically get to lay out at the pool and watch really strong athletes play a sport that I can barely follow the rules. Andy's team barely lost in the championship game.

We had a great time with them visiting. It was pretty laid back. Saturday night I went out with the bride-to-be...Shannon (soon to be Moore). It was a bridal girls night out at a "posh night club" in Old City Knoxville. We had so much fun! 

Sunday morning we went to our church's big community day. They cancelled all masses except for one on Sunday at 10. (And one on Saturday in case you can't make it on Sunday). They had a huge outdoor mass. Everyone was encouraged to bring lawn chairs and a picnic lunch for after mass. The priest had an awesome homily. The mass was half spanish/half english to promote unity between the two parish communities. All week leading up to the mass there was 24/7 adoration where everyone was invited to spend an hour in prayer for our parish. We were also encouraged to take a name/address of a parishioner to visit at their home to introduce ourselves, tell them we are praying for them, and invite them to the special mass. 

All in all it was a wonderful weekend. I already can't wait until next year's outdoor mass!