Happy Birthday, Trinity!

Trinity turns 7 today - where has the time gone? Happy Birthday, sweetie! I love you!!!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Gayle

My friend, Gayle, passed away from breast cancer at 3:10 this afternoon. Rest in peace, Gayle, and God bless your husband and children.

That Zeus!!

For a dog who is supposed to be dying, Zeus sure is living well.

I arrived home later than usual tonight, and he was bouncing all over, anxious to be fed. So, feeling badly that he'd had to wait (and with no sign of Craig having been home) I hurriedly filled his dish and gave him his supper. He accepted it joyfully with great wriggles, happy prancing and big doggy smiles.

Yeah! No wonder! It was his SECOND dinner in less than an hour! But I didn't find that out until I spoke to Craig on the phone later in the evening and he told me he'd been home and fed Zeus before heading to the grocery!

Drama-dog Zeus is now flopped on his side, snoozing contentedly while his double dinner digests.

More on Gayle

Things are happening very quickly for my friend Gayle. They had given her a month to live, but she has gone downhill very rapidly, and now the doctors say it is a matter of days/any time.

I am wracking my brains for something to do for Gavin, her oldest son, who I had for three years in my class. Other than taking him out for ice cream, I haven't been able to come up with any ideas.

Suggestions, anyone?

Winter Wildfowl!

What would you do if it seemed there was an owl in your fireplace? Who suddenly began calling while you were sitting beside it?

This morning I was up early (naturally) and reading the newspaper in my favorite chair by the fireplace. Suddenly I became aware of an odd, rhythmical sound that seemed as though it was coming from the fireplace. As I put down the paper and listened closely, I realized it was the hoot of a Great Horned Owl!

At my house? In a brand new subdivision? Granted, the woods are about a quarter mile away, but there are no mature trees or cover here at my home. But I knew the owl had to be perched either on the chimney, the roof, or my next door neighbors' roof because it was very, very close.

Carefully I slipped over to the front door and opened it, listening intently. There it was again! The owl called several more times, and then I gently closed the door and awoke Craig to see if he wanted to hear the owl, too. Unfortunately, the calls had stopped by the time we got the door open again.

I am guessing the owl has discovered a promising food source: my neighbors and I have bird feeders located in our yards with active populations of birds visiting them throughout the day. Perhaps the owl was hunting, or maybe it was just checking out new locations.

Whatever the reason, it was a privilege to listen to those haunting calls from the comfort of my own couch!

Zeus Update

Believe it or not, Zeus is still with us. He is getting pretty lumpy from all the lipomas growing on his chest, shoulders, and abdomen so he looks odd, but he's hanging in there.

We haven't had a bleed from his nose in several weeks. My sister, Leslie, gave me some Chinese herbs that she had for her dog, Rosie, when she was bleeding. I checked with my vet who approved it, and it seems to be working. I have no idea how the cancer is progressing, but he's not bleeding anymore.

The arthritis seems to bother him, although he's always game for a walk. And tonight he was on dish duty at dinner, ready and able to clean any plates or dishes that needed "washing."

Our goal had been to get him through Christmas, then we aimed for Valentine's Day. Now I am hoping for Easter.

A month or so ago we needed to buy dog food and opted to be optimistic and buy the 40 lb. bag over the 20 lb. one. We just bought another 40 lb. bag this afternoon.

The Valley of Shadow and Death

I met Gayle when I first began teaching at Hershey in September, 2006. Her son was in my class as a third grader, and I then had him for fourth and fifth grade. I'll have her daughter next year and the year after that.

Gayle was diagnosed with breast cancer in August, 2006 just after the birth of her youngest child and she has been battling it ever since. Sadly, her battle is almost over, and it is not the outcome we have all be hoping and praying for.

Steve, her husband, posted the following tonight on her blog. I feel so, so sad. I've called the temple and had Gayle's name put on the prayer roll, but I think it will be more for comfort as the end comes than for healing. I also am praying for her family and that they will be able to deal with this.

Sometimes the Lord's plan is difficult to understand. This is one of those times. Steve writes,

What do you do when there is nothing more to be done? Many times I have heard the scripture, "yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for the Lord is with me." Well the shadows have fallen over us today, and certainly the Lord is with us.

The facts are this: the liver is not responding to chemo, there are no more drugs to try, nor could her liver handle any more chemo. There is now cancer in the lymph node that is in the chest and Gayle has fluid around her lungs and bowels. Of course we are not giving up or losing faith, but it is totally up to God now to step in and show us all what He can do for His glory. Gayle and I continue to just sit and shake our heads in disbelief. When I was 11, I lost my mom. My one and only son is 2 months away from his 12th birthday and I can't help but think this life is just some cruel joke. I know how hard it was on my sister but she was 14 and our baby girls are 9, 7 and 4. One way or another we near the end of this sickness, and we all need to pray that it ends in total healing. Personally I know Gayle and I would appreciate any time you can spend on your knees pleading with Our Father tonight. Steve

This is Emily??

If you know Emily, you probably perceive her much as I do: sweet, kind, a little quiet. She's not afraid to stand up to Cole when he is mercilessly teasing her, though. And therein lies the clue that sort of explains these pictures.

A Swedish-Canadian, I guess it shouldn't surprise me, but I have a hard time thinking of Emily as a hockey player! (She's #27 in the pictures.) I am hoping to attend a game this weekend and watch her play for myself and see if the rumors are true that Emily is quite good on the ice and plays excellent defense. (I hear she's even sat in the penalty box a time or two, too. Hard to believe!)

Photos are from last Saturday's Illinois at Notre Dame game. Illinois WOMPED Notre Dame. Go, Emily, and go Illini!!

A New Take...

... on how many you can cram into a phone booth or a Volkswagon, or a..... You fill in the blank.

While playing Hide and Go Seek at Jessica and Lisa's home this weekend, Vanessa (Curt's fiancee) hid with Braden and Adelaide in a cabinet in the entertainment center!

Oh, to be so tiny and bendable!!

Two Weddings in a Big Family

Having lived in Urbana all their lives until they left on missions, Curt and Cole share a lot of friends. Add into that that Emily is also a local gal, and the congratulations are flying! It seems to be VERY. BIG. NEWS.

Of course, they are all aware that we are Mormons and have a larger family than any of them. Several comments have centered around that. One of Curt's soccer buddies, Mark Bernson, posted his thoughts about what he imagined Craig's and my perspective as parents having two weddings this summer coupled with the fact that we have large families.

Knowing your family... Jokes:

1. Are you and Cole going to get together to create an algorithm to decipher which baby belongs to which sibling?
2. For your parents' sake you might want to invest in the "Hello, my name is..." stickers.

3. At least hand-me-downs wont go out of style.
4. Parents' Visa Commercial: Back to back weddings - 40,000 dollars; Shopping for baby gifts during the holidays - 100,000 dollars; The look on your faces when you see the Curt and Cole families role up in a Charter Bus... Priceless.

Anyway, congratulations!

Curt & Vanessa!

Curt and Vanessa are engaged! Curt dropped by Wednesday evening to show us the ring and tell us he was planning on proposing. (We knew he was flying out to Provo this weekend, it was Valentine's Day, and so we thought this might happen...)

The ring is beautiful! And I was touched when Curt told me it was modeled after mine because he thought mine was so pretty. (As do I; even 33 years later I still wouldn't change it!)

Despite heavy fog that caused him to miss his plane and having to fly standby, he made it to Provo Friday afternoon and popped the question late in the evening. He called Saturday morning to tell us the news. As he announced himself on Facebook,

"SHE SAID YES!"

Weclome to the family, Vanessa, and congratulations to you both!!

Wookiee Cookies

Cole and Emily's engagement has created quite a furor among their friends in Illinois. And one of the neat things is that, many of their friends are MY former 5th grade students! So, I am receiving a lot of emails and Facebook messages from them as well.

Last night Austin, one of my Star Wars buddies contacted me. (He and Danny, another student in the class, were Star Wars lovers and challenged me to an every-Wednesday lunch game of Star Wars Trivial Pursuit. At the end of the school year when students were out for the summer, they dropped in on the teacher work day and asked to play one more time. One of their moms ordered pizza so we could have lunch and one last game together. What a fun year that was with those two guys!)

Anyway, I was on Facebook last night when a chat box popped up. It was Austin. I love his first line especially, but am including the entire text. (Remember, this is my journal, even though I make it public for others to read!)

Yesterday

9:16pm

Austin

If the Isenbarger family wasn't big enough...

9:16pm

Lynn

Pretty cool, huh??

We are sooo excited.

9:16pm

Austin

you bet!

I'm excited for you guys

9:17pm

Lynn

Thanks!!

Cole called me at 2 AM to tell me and I couldn't sleep all night!

Emily is a super gal.

9:17pm

Austin

hahaha

9:17pm

Lynn

They've been friends sicne middle school.

Oops. I mean "since". Haha

9:18pm

Austin

hahaha that'll be a good story for a toast then.

9:18pm

Lynn

While you're on.... I have been wondering. What are your plans after granduation?

9:20pm

Austin

I think there will be a party, and then I'll go to bed. But like a few months after that I think I'll go to college.

I'm between Augustana College and Miami University in Ohio

9:21pm

Lynn

What are you interested in studying?

9:21pm

Austin

I got accepted to both including honors at Miami (i havent applied yet at Augustana for honors)

9:21pm

Lynn

And shouldn't you come do a Purdue visit here?

9:22pm

Austin

Not so sure about that haha

9:22pm

Lynn

Honors?? I am not surprised, but I AM happy for you! Congratulations!

9:22pm

Austin

I don't know how much my dad would be willing to pay then

Thanks!

9:22pm

Lynn

Look at it this way - you could come have lunch with Cole and me during your visit!

9:24pm

Austin

As much as I would love to do that, I'm afraid I am down to two now for good

9:24pm

Lynn

Well, I understand. But if you are ever coming through the area, give us a call.

9:25pm

Austin

For sure!

9:26pm

Austin

Actually I have a friend at Ball State that I may visit in the spring so I know its not directly on the way but I would make a detour.

9:27pm

Lynn

I would love to see you anytime you are able. We're only 2 hours from CU. We have lots of space and I am a good cook, too.

I could make you some Wookiee Cookies.

9:28pm

Austin

That last one is the most important obviously

9:28pm

Lynn

You bet!! I might have to beat Cole off them, though.... But for you, I will!

9:30pm

Austin

haha

9:30pm

Lynn

I am going to have to go. It's been nice chatting with you. And I am serious - you are welcome in our home anytime! Take care, okay?

9:33pm

Austin

Yeah its been nice talking to you, too! And thanks I will. By the way, and graduation day is May 30th and the party is TBA. Consider this your early invite!

9:34pm

Lynn

Count me in!

Today

Cole and Emily!

Friends since middle school, dating since Cole's junior year in high school, and through Emily's four years at Illinois, her year in Sweden, and Cole's two year mission to Russia....

Cole and Emily are engaged and are tentatively planning a June 4, 2010 wedding in the Nauvoo Temple. We were hoping this would happen, and it did!

The whole family is over the moon that Emily is at last going to officially be a family member.

Congratulations, you two! xoxoxox

Being a Kid Again!

There are lots of things about teaching that I enjoy (today's snow day would be one of them...), but every February I get to feel like a kid again and go back to elementary mode and the all important Valentine's Day bash.

Yes, I get to send 25+ Valentines! Every year! I get to shop for them, attach a little treat or pencil, pick out ones in the box that REALLY match a student or two and wonder what they'll think when I write "Mrs. I." in the "from" box... I love it!

Currently there is a group of girls in my classroom that are into pigs. Yep, you read that right, PIGS. One of them lives on a hog farm and so she's familiar with raising them and does so each year for 4-H. She's gotten two other girls in our class to join 4-H with her, and they're keeping their piggies at her farm and working together to raise them. They'll show them at the 4-H Fair in July, and I fully intend to be there watching in the bleachers!

So, imagine my joy when I discovered that some of the valentines in the box I'd bought had pigs on them! And guess who gets them??

Wow, I feel like a kid again.

The Answer to the Second Question

Wednesday I responded to a question which led to this one:

Why do so many of our Mathematical terms have Latin or Greek roots?

Because the Greeks and Romans were instrumental in figuring out mathematical concepts, naming them, and then teaching them to others. (The Chinese, Egyptians, and Arabs did as well.)

The Answer

(Spoiler Alert! If you are still thinking about the Math question I posed on Sunday, don't read any further!)

The answer? All those Math words have Latin or Greek roots embedded within them. We study Greek and Latin roots every other week in my classroom, hence the connection to something we study. (In fact, I even had a request Monday from a student to incorporate more of them into our class.)

But wait! There's more!! (As they say on TV...)

After the students figured out the answer, I asked them another question and I will ask it here, too: Why do so many of our Mathematical terms have Latin or Greek roots?

Do you know? Check back in a day or two and I will post it.

::cue the Jeopardy music::

Drawer: 1, Thigh: 0, Heart: Millions

Today I was working with a student at my desk. I swung my chair to the left to get something, completely forgetting the drawer was open.

WHAM. Thigh and drawer collided.

OuchouchouchouchOUCH!!! It hurt like crazy and I have a nasty scrape and bruise at the site.

My face must've indicated I was in pain because the student said, "Someone needs a hug!" and she leaned over, wrapped her arms around me and gave me one!

I've said it before, and I will say it again: I am blessed to teach these children!