Exciting NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!

No, I'm not pregnant, but I will take a moment to say that a year ago, today, Shawn had a vasectomy and it's working out quite nicely.....we love our sweet little family, but should God decide to work through the vasectomy then so be it (I say that lightly) :)

Now, on to the big news!!! I can't unpack the news without telling a story to preface all of this...
Back in August I blogged about Ron Clark, Disney's Teacher of the Year and Oprah's, Most Phenomenal Man, coming to our convocation to speak to all of McKinney ISD. He talked about the teachers that come from all over the world to come to RCA (Ron Clark Academy). I remember thinking to myself how cool this would be, but really never entertained the idea after that. Well, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving my principal, Dr. Uribe, told us that she would be willing to use her travel budget (since she doesn't travel), to let two teachers go to the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. She told us that anyone interested would have to write an essay saying why they want to go and how this would benefit our students and faculty. We found out over the Thanksgiving break that the essays would be due the day after we came back from break. So, for a large part of the break...guess what I was doing...writing that essay. A competition that could only ring bells in an English teacher's ears. All week long the subject at lunch and in the hallways was about who was going to win, how many people entered, and a plethora of trash-talking and fooling around. It was rather hilarious! We were told that they would have the essays judged and the results ready by Friday afternoon (today). To my surprise, they interrupted a morning class and announced over the speakers that me and another teacher were selected to see Ron Clark!! I couldn't believe it!!! My hands were shaking all day long and I just kept repeating in my head...Glory to God...Glory to God...Thank you, Jesus!!! I mean, let's face it, this would be top on my list as an educator's DREAM!! So, on February 5th, me and my co-worker, Kelly, will be flying high to Atlanta, Georgia, and staying until February 8th. All expenses are paid...the academy, airfare, hotel, food, etc. I am SUPER excited, but it still hasn't set in completely! Please pray for Shawn as this will be a BIG task for him...I don't think I have EVER left the kids for this long. I think the longest we've ever been away from them is two days, typically when we go to our annual marriage conference. Looking at the whole picture this experience will be good for all of us.

In the meantime, I leave you with this chill-bump video of Ron Clark--follow the link below!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc9TrHlqq_I

P.S. I look forward to the PROM NIGHT where we all get to dress up in our cute dresses, challenge Ron Clark to a dance competition (yeah right), and take our own individual prom pictures with him. No joke...it's part of the agenda that I saw online!