Merry Christmas!

      Christmas this year was so amazing and so bittersweet! The Leewright clan (extended) descended in style on Carthage, MO (home of the Precious Moments Museum and Chapel). Every member of our family was present (except one). That is a big deal since we range from 80 years to 4 months within 4 generations and stretch across the country from North Carolina, to Missouri/Kansas, to Oklahoma, and down to Texas. There were 29 of us there in all including a special guest Grandpa Landers 85 from North Dakota. We spent time eating, and laughing, and just enjoying each others presence.

      My grandparents are amazing examples of Christian strength and blessings.
      My Aunts and Uncles are so loving, kind, generous, and again examples of Christian strength.
      My cousins and their spouses are awesome! So talented! So funny! So sweet!
      And the 4th generation, which I believe are 2nd cousins to me are adorable 4yrs, 1.5yrs, 4 months. All boys all AMAZING!

      We went to Christmas Eve church as a family and had a great time that night and all day Christmas. The games were fun and the food selection was abundant and awesome!
The bittersweet part is because this will be our last time as a large clan visiting that home. They moved to Car, MO in 1989. With my grandparents increasing age comes the desire or need perhaps to downsize. They wanted us to start taking the things we wanted with us, which was awkward but nice to see them ready to do it and share the stories that go with each item.

      What I will remember is the laughter, the games, and the quality time with one another. I love my fam and can't wait to spend time with all of them again in Colorado in July.
Seriously LOVE my family!

40 hour work week?

Happy Sunday!  This week was the final face to face class for my masters ever.  It was slightly stressful but it's over now!  wahoo!  This was also our tournament week for basketball and our craft fair.  I spent 40 hours at basketball this week in addition to work and school.  It was a very busy week!  I'm happy it's over!  I love tournament week and the craft fair is very fun as well but it requires an amazing amount of work by everyone in our program. 
I'm ready for this semester to be over but not for all grading I need to do between now and then. Wish me luck!
I can't wait to see my family for Christmas!  JV basketball plays its first game on Thursday.  I take my final for school law this Wednesday.  OKay, that's all for now. 

Updates

Basketball has begun so my social life has ended.
I am currently in the lead for Cuts for a Cure.  You may know I hate to lose but you may not realize this is not a contest where winning isn't desireable.  Winners have their heads shaved.  This face and body were not made to have a shaved head.  Let's be honest.  :)  Any donations to my competitors jars would be greatly appreciated.
I am working hard on finishing up my masters' classes.  Should be done soon with classes but then I'll have hours, my giant paper, and my portfolio to finish.
I went to black friday sales from 8:30pm-9:30am.  It was INSANE!  I think I'm in the market for the Xbox 360 with Kinect.  It will be a fun Christmas gift to myself. 
Living with my new roommate is going well.  It's an adjustment process but overall it's been good.
Of course I miss living with Sam but we try to hang out whenever we can and she's doing well at work and looking for a house of her own.
We got to see Idina Menzel in concert at the new Kaufman Performing Arts Center earlier this month.  It was amazing and beautiful!  I really enjoyed it.
Sam and I got tickets to the women's final four.  I am hoping that Tennessee makes it all the way this year.  Either way, a week in Denver will be amazing, exciting, relaxing, and much needed in early April.
My family is headed to Carthage for Christmas.  This will be our last Christmas in the big house in  Carthage which is terribly sad but it will be great.  Everyone in the family will be there except Jon.  We will miss him for sure.  All of the cousins will be staying in the house with the grandparents. :)  This should be super fun! 
Well, I can't think of much more to say here right now.  I hope to update more soon. 

Thankful

      Sometimes I forget to be thankful for all of the amazing things I have and none of it deserved.  My list could be days long and still not actually cover everything individually I have to be thankful for.       
      So, I will try to cover it all in a very quick fashion.
I am thankful for my amazing family (even with all it's craziness and extensions, my family is truly uplifting)
I am thankful for my job (sometimes I groan or complain but teaching is exactly where I am supposed to be and I'm so lucky to work with awesome people and havre the coaching jobs I've always wanted)
I am thankful for all of my stuff (house, car, education, etc.)
I am thankful for my friends and coworkers who can always be counted on to keep me honest and help me out, keep me laughing, and support me when laughing is the last thing I want to do.
      My Mom deserves her own special thanks.  She is an amazing example of a hardworking, independent, driven, focused, godly woman.  My mom has sacrificed so much for me she gives until it hurts and would do anything, absolutely anything for me.  Thank you mom for your unfathomable love and support.  Maybe it's just a Mother's Love but I don't buy that.  I think my mom goes above and beyond and I am so grateful for everything she does.
And none of this do I deserve.  I thank God for all of these great things in my life.  I will work hard to earn them every day but I know I never can fully earn it.    

So long!

Oh my goodness!  It has been so long since I've updated my blog!  The reason I am updating right now is actually because I'm at district wide meeting about using technology in the classroom and I am supposed to be an expert on blogs!  I am far from an expert but it reminded me to update!  I need to make it a point to get back on here more often!  Brief over view before I have to return to my group.
Golf is over, one girl went to sectionals, missed State by 10 strokes.  Exciting!  The van was returned, sadly.
Basketball will begin in a very short time and I am already getting sucked in to doing a ton of work and it will only get worse.  I really because the subservient coach in about 15 days.  But, I am super excited for our season.
Teaching is going well still which I am so thankful for!  I have been out of the building about 10 times this semester which is craziness but we are all making it work.  I have to finish grading all giant projects before bball season or it won't happen.
Classes are going well for me, busy busy, school law is super iinteresting and school and community relations is super unorganized.
OK, I need to get back to work.  Talk to you guys soon!

Where were you?

I hope I will never forget where I was September 11th, 2001.  I was 16 years old and a Junior in High School.  It was our Seminar class so I was out and about on a pass.  I remember stopping by Ms. Gough's room where she had the TV on.  The first plane had hit the first tower just moments before.  Ms. Gough is a science teacher and I felt I needed to spread the word so I left.  I went to a teacher who I never had as a teacher but who I loved and respected so much.  Ms. Taylor had not yet heard the news.  I asked her to turn on the tv and she, I and her class watched.  We watched as the second plane hit the second tower.  It was that moment, that look that I will never forget.  I watched this strong, fearless woman turn into a human.  Her face went pale, she immediately picked up the classroom phone and called her mom.  You see, her mom worked in downtown Kansas City at the Federal Reserve.  The Federal reserve is one of the top 10 targets outside of military bases in the United States.  Cut off our money, cut off our power.  Her mom answered "I know, we're being evacuated, I'm okay, I'll call you later."  I left her room to return to my seminar room.  Ms. Murphy and our class watched until the period was over.  The moments that follow this I don't really remember clearly.  The next vivid memory I have of this day was during the next class.  I was back in Ms. Gough's room, my Anatomy and Physiology teacher.  We had a big test coming up and she insisted that we continued with our notes while the tv was on in silent.  I remember the entire class let out a collective gasp as the first tower fell.  Ms. Gough allowed us to stop taking notes at that point.  We watched it the rest of the day.  I think the principals  came on to say continue as usual, keep tv's off.  None of my teachers followed that directive.  I remember nothing else of the day.  Only that I knew the world would never be the same.
10 years later so much has changed personally, nationally, internationally.  Osama Bin Laden has been caught and killed but the war on terror continues.  I went to church this morning passing up free tickets to the Chief's.  I had to go.  I had been feeling so anxious about this day and I found out my mom had been feeling the same.  I'm glad I went to church it was where I needed to be.  I got to go to lunch with my awesome mom and chat about our upcoming fundraiser, school, work, missing days, and possibly getting a new roommate.  All crazy and exciting upcoming events.  I was happy to talk them out with my momma. 
I've got some more homework and a million things to grade today.  Hopefully I will finish my hw and make good headway on my grading.  I hope everyone enjoys this day of remembrance and football! 

Time Flies

      September 10th!?  Really!?  It is hard to believe it is already September 10th.  Where did the time go?  They say time flies when you're having fun.  I'm curious though how fast does time move when your life revolves around work and school work? 
      Golf has been keeping me busy with tournaments nearly every day of the week.  My girls are really starting to shoot well.  I'm very proud of them!  The weather here has been beautiful so it's really been a pleasure to join them at practice and matches.  Can't beat it!  My own game is improving even though I still contend that golf is one of the most awkward sports.  Oh and I have to give up the mini van for two days.  I'm not really sure I will know how to function.  I get it back on Wednesday but it will be tough to part with. I may shed a tear. haha!
      The classes I'm teaching have really been going great!  I have had a few individual butting of heads but seriously best year ever so far!  Next week Psychology is going to be watching One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.  Yay! World History is taking their first test this week so I'm excited to see how that will go.  I'm out of the building so much over the next several weeks I'm not even sure how I will be able to write that many lesson plans.  It is way easier just to be there!  I'm out Sept. 14, 15, 20, 26, 28, and Possibly Oct. 4, 5.  And I'm in charge of the Homecoming Parade by some sort of default when my good friend Colette left the building.  So that's another bit of stuff to do.  Oh, classes are great but the grading of papers, Woah!  :)
       The classes I'm taking have SO much work due.  School Law should really be taken on it's own.  But, I'm in that class and School and Community Relations taught by a first time professor for Northwest so I think he's trying to make the rigor of the class something to be reckoned with.  I am also very slowing working on my hours for Admin practicum.  Exciting times!  Oh and that giant paper, I'm not even going to touch that until next semester!  I can't!
      I have really found a new passion for fund-raising.  It's weird.  I am not very good at saving my own money so this comes as a surprise to me.  I am currently raising money for the amazingly important cause of Alzheimer's research.  My own grandmother is very severely struggling right now.  She's almost all I can think about when I'm not busy.  After the Alzheimer's Walk in October I will be shifting my focus back to Breast Cancer for the remainder of the year.  I, along with some help have talked 6 people in to shaving their heads if they were voted to do so by the students after a major fund-raising campaign.  4 of the 6 current teachers signed up are girls!  That's awesome!  We are hoping to get at least 4 more teachers and raise a few thousand dollars in a "penny wars" type of event.  The three staff with the most money in their buckets at the end of the year will have their heads shaved at an assembly.  All the money will go towards the support of a cure and research for Breast Cancer.  I also think it may impact the students in a very real way.  One of my basketball mom's just finished her chemo intensive treatments and a current student of mine, her mom is in remission.  I'm sure there are more.  The other day at church Pastor asked what our God given goals were and I know I was commissioned to be a coach.  But it's also something I love and maybe hope that it's God's goal for me.  But fund-raising is all I could think of while Pastor was talking.  I can't make a living doing it but I can make an impact.  That's a pretty cool thing. 
      Writing this was a little bit therapy, and a lotta bit putting off doing more school work.  I guess I had better get back to it soon.  Hope everyone is going well!