DRUM ROLL, PLEASE..............

Yesterday was report card day, and Nicolette has:

3 B's,

2 C's, and only

1 F!!!!!!

For a kid whose report card usually has flags all the way down, this is quite an accomplishment!!!!  I am SO proud of my daughter; I believed in her, and I always knew that she could do it!  Most of all, I am happy, because it feels good when you can see the fruit of all your labor.  Oh, and she PASSED her reading TAKS test, and math and language arts are what she has B's in, so I am hopeful that she will be passing to the sixth grade next year!

My baby earned $13 in report card money.  That's the most she has EVER taken.  She is very proud of herself, too!  Of course, the other two had decent report cards (Maya earning $20 of report card money, and Angie earning $10), but I made sure that they showed Nicolette support. Angie is struggling in math and reading, but I believe that she will improve.  She's in the first grade, and doesn't have to take standardized tests.  Tutorials aren't offered to her yet.  She is passing, so next year, when those things are available to her, I know that she will improve.

I think that the meds that Nicolette's taking is helping her a lot, too.  She's becoming more aware of herself, her environment, and how she reacts to certain things.  That is a very good sign, because that awareness helps her develop social skills and build character.  Before, it was like, I could not help her understand that there are consequences to her actions, whether good or bad.  For example, she would do something inappropriate, and couldn't fathom why she had to be punished or corrected for it.  Now, she is learning to "put two and two together" and make wiser, better decisions.  She is learning discernment.  We have a looooooooong way to go still, but at her age, this type of awareness couldn't have come at a better time.  She is on the brink of those stormy years called puberty, and I want her to be as grounded as possible.

As for me, job is still going good, and I am preparing the Ford household for the Easter holiday.  That means preparing the menu, the clothes (for church and after), and the activities.  I plan to take off that weekend!  I just don't feel right wearing my "Sunday Best" to work! LOL 

CHECK THIS OUT!

One of my co-workers passed this link along to me, and I wanted to share it with y'all:

http://www.paulsadowski.com/birthday.asp

 

OMG....FINALLY!

Now, y'all know how long I have been trying to resolve an issue between my husband and I.  Well, FINALLY, he got it.  It's like, all of a sudden, he had an epiphany, and immediately went about resolving the matter.  OMG, HOW LONG and HOW PATIENT have I been?!?  I mean, to me, this wasn't a difficult issue at all.  But apparently, it was very hard for him to understand.  But, Thank God, he got it!  I wonder what happened?  What opened his eyes?  Which of the ten conversations we've had really hit the nail on his head?  Boy, I'd like to be a fly on the wall right about now! LOL  Or maybe, one of his brain cells........LOL   

My goodness!  You know, I am beginning to realize that I have NEVER been this patient with my husband, or this willing to have empathy for him and work with him, to this degree.  I was like, you've got three strikes.  If you didn't get it after strike three, then oh, well!  That attitude worked in New Orleans, where we had so many distractions, that we didn't feel a need to really work on our marriage.  But now, we just CANNOT do that.  He and I are literally on our own here, and we need each other.  We need each other for far more than just sex.  We must work together for the benefit of the entire family.  I need him just as much as he needs me.  We need one another's support and strengths.  We must pool our resources together.  Living as separate entities just isn't going to cut it anymore.  We can no longer live totally independent lives.  Intimacy, communication, trust, and teamwork are absolutely essential.  He must "have my back," and I must have his.  Without that camaraderie, we will not make it.   

But, geez.  There MUST be a better, more efficient way of resolving issues!  That simple, yet very important issue almost took FOREVER to be resolved, with a lot of praying on my part.  I almost lost hope, but today, God showed me, yet again, that:

1) He is listening;

2) Nothing is impossible for him; and

3) No matter how insignificant we think a matter is, rather, that the matter is too simple for God to deal with, that He is concerned about EVERYTHING affecting us, even the small things.

Thanks to all of you out there who read my blog, who prayed with me, and who left encouraging words.  I am so grateful for each and every one of you.  I say what I say here, from the heart, because I wish that more people who are married and weathering the storms with their spouses would speak out more and help us; I wish that they would share their words of wisdom, helping us "young-uns" keep on truckin'.  Since I haven't seen many do this, I share, with the hope that someone reading about my situation who may be experiencing something similar will not lose hope that things will get better.

 

Adrian     

HMMMMMMM...I WONDER WHO THE COUCH WAS? LOL

"Sex doesn't have to be with a model to be good. As a matter of fact, sometimes with the model, the actress, the "sexiest person in the world," it may be literally like screwing the couch. Don't count out the average-looking woman, or even maybe the slightly unattractive woman, or the really unattractive woman. There may be this swarthy little five-foot-two stocky woman who just has sex all over her."

-Billy Bob Thornton

FORBIDDEN FRUIT GONE SOUR

It was bound to happen sooner or later.............

 

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4637956.html

Affair with teacher leads to slaying
By DUNCAN MANSFIELD Associated Press Writer

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- In a tragic twist to a familiar story, a teenager
who had sex with his married 30-year-old teacher was fatally shot
outside the woman's home, and authorities have charged the woman's
husband.

"You see all this stuff with teachers involved with their students. It
just comes up time after time on the national news," said Norman
McLean, father of suspect Eric McLean. "Well, this is the first time
where one has actually died over it."

McClean's wife, Erin, had completed half of a one-year teaching
internship at West High School, where she met the 18-year-old Sean
Powell last fall.

Powell's mother, who gave him up for adoption a dozen years ago but
re-established contact in 2005, said her son acknowledged having an
affair with a teacher.

"He wouldn't let me answer my cell phone," Debra Flynn recalled. "I
said, 'Why?' He said, 'Well, Mom, I'm going out with this girl.' I
said, 'So what?' He said, 'She is a counselor at school.' I said, 'Oh,
my God, Sean.'"

Flynn, whose son sometimes stayed at her home in Nashville, said she
later found text messages on her phone. "Come home. Baby, I love you.
You are beautiful," they said. She believes Erin McLean preyed on her
son.

"These teachers are feasting on our children in school and something
has to be done," Flynn said.

Powell "was a great kid, full of life," Flynn said. He had taught
himself to play guitar and just received his driver's license. His
adoptive parents, Scarlett and Jack Powell, had just bought him a car.

But he left school on Nov. 20 and did not return. School officials
refuse to explain, citing privacy laws. Flynn said her son had a
substance-abuse problem and went to rehab for less than a month.

Norman McLean described his son, one of his eight children, as "an
excellent person," who was not violent, but he acknowledged that his
son "had a lot of burden on him for months now," referring to his
wife's affair.

"Now, I am only talking about myself. But I can personally only take so
much," Norman McLean said. "Everybody has a breaking point and there is
only so much you can endure before you get to that place ... where you
lose control."

Norman McLean said his son, once a percussionist in the University of
Tennessee marching band, put his own academic career on hold to support
his family while his wife of 11 years pursued a graduate teaching
degree from the University of Tennessee. He has worked as a pizza
deliveryman while taking classes at the university.

Eric McLean is one semester short of completing a bachelor's degree in
music education. A popular performer in local rock 'n' roll bands, he
hoped to become a school band director.

On the evening of March 10, McLean called police to say an intruder was
at the couple's home. About 7 minutes later, Erin McLean called back to
say her husband had just shot Powell outside in the boy's car.

Eric McLean fled in his car, which was later found at the high school.
McLean was arrested Sunday, walking along railroad tracks about 6 miles
away, still carrying the suspected murder weapon, a shotgun.

Sean Powell was buried Thursday after a funeral attended by more than
150 friends and former classmates.

"I didn't color any rosy pictures," said the Rev. Lee Wallace, who
officiated. "I said, Sean, like myself, is not perfect. He was a boy
who had hopes and dreams and goals in life, like everybody else, and
those were cut short."

Erin McLean has moved in with relatives in Nashville with the couple's
two young sons, ages 11 and 7. She has not been charged with any
wrongdoing. Police say she has hired a lawyer but could not provide a
name.

The attorney for Eric McLean, 31, acknowledges that McLean killed
Powell. "So this trial is going to be about what really did happen and
why -- not who," attorney Bruce Poston said.

Poston said McLean is in a "state of shock. Like watching a deer caught
in the headlights. Literally wondering, 'Have I made a decision that
will ruin the rest of my life as well as others?'"

HERE I GO AGAIN............

Tonight, I will attempt to communicate with my husband, for the UPTEENTH time.  Even though he probably won't understand where I am coming from, or comprehend one word I am saying, I am trying yet again.

What is it about love that compels us to keep on trying, and never give up, no matter how hopeless it seems?  Why do we feel the need to reconcile, make amends, make peace, if you will, even when we feel we have been wronged, don't feel that we are getting what we feel we need or deserve, or just don't see the point of all our efforts?  Why are we so willing to forgive our children, and repeat ourselves to them over and over again, but aren't so willing to do the same for our spouses?

I guess it's because we feel that in our kids, there is still hope.  Hope that they will be better people, better than us, and have richer, fuller, happier lives.

I don't know what the future holds for Matthew and I.  But I guess putting my faith and our future in the hands of a God who doesn't care to tell me what He is doing, or how, but to just trust that He's on it, and that He knows what's best, is the driving force that keeps me from giving up.  My hope is in Him, so I MUST believe that things will work out for GOOD.  And whatever the end result, it is, ultimately, HIS will.

Tonight, I am surrendering my need for control, and trusting that God is in control.

Adrian    

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