Tonight I found out about something tragic & horrible, this coming off of a frustrating couple of days at work. I gun man went into a highschool in Bailey, CO today and took several girls hostage in a classroom. Apparently, they had hostage negotiators out there along with law enforcement. During the press conference I just saw, the Sheriff said that it was very apparent that the girls were in grave and eminent danger. So, they went in with the SWAT Team. The gun man first shot at the SWAT Team, then he shot one of the girls in the head. After that he shot himself. The girl died a short time later. They haven't released why the man took them hostage yet, still under investigation.

It makes me very sad about this world we live in sometimes. Today, I was called out to a classroom, one of my preschool classrooms on Ft. Carson Army Base. When I walked in and found the classroom in slight chaos with children pushing and not listening to the teachers. The lead teacher had sat a child down by himself for a Time Away. She was standing over him telling him that he couldn't come back until he was ready to behave. Her words were intense, so controlled. I knew she was near losing it. When she saw me walk in, she looked at me and said she is about to give her two weeks noticed. When I looked at her teacher assistant, she looked just as strained and tired as the teacher did. I had been called by a parent concerned about what her child was learning in school. Kids were biting, hitting, and expressing themselves with words they shouldn't know yet. Some of the kids were even flipping the teachers off! Preschoolers!! I stayed and wrote some observations and talked to teachers and some parents. I was mostly distressed at how quick to judge everyone was at that point. The teachers both talked about quitting and wanted to have the parents pick their children up when they act up and take them home, short of being expelled, which is what they would really like to do. The lead teacher told me that the school actually expelled 3 kindergarteners recently for bad behavior. She also talked about how parents don't "parent" anymore & kids are not ready to be in school when they aren't ready to follow rules and listen, not to mention the kids who came in not even potty trained at 3 years old. Then there is the parents, who want all the neg. behaviors to stop immediately, and if it all didn't stop right now they were going to pull their kids out. Even though I explained to one parent that it is the beginning of the year kids, especially really young ones, need time to learn how to be social with others, follow rules, learn how to get along & be safe. I also had told this mom that even though I knew the teachers were working on it, I would go out and observe that week to see if I could support the team more. I stressed that I didn't have any quick fixes, that it would take time to get the behaviors under control. I asked her for that time, and suggested that she and some of the other parents could try and volunteer when they can to help support the teachers. She said she would. The next day, yesterday, that parent did volunteer, then pulled her child out of the program at the end of the day. She did not return today. I have parents blaming teachers & teachers blaming parents, and no one will let me even begin to help. It scares me that things can be this way in preschool. It all starts here, the gateway to the school system. All I can do is pray, and hope that God will work through me in someway. Even on this frustrating day. Then there was the News Report, and I am sad........I really don't know what else to say today. Hopefully I will have a better grasp on all this tomorrow. Hug your kids, girls. You all are amazing mothers and have great kids!! A lot of the kids in this particular classroom has a parent Deployed. Other classrooms face other factors. Ok, enough. I need to just go to bed.
PS: Please disregard words spelled wrong. The Spell Check doesn't seem to work on this.

Last weekend my two best friends in the whole world were here to hang out! It has been a long time coming that we three get together just us to just be. It was much needed for me! It was also very important that they get to see my first house purchase. All three of us have been through everything together. It is so amazing to be able to see how far the three of us have each come in our lives! God has truly blessed us all in different but remarkable ways. In the picture above, we hiked the Incline a long side Pike's Peak. No easy feat I tell ya, at least for me! My friend, Yvonne, from work is with us along with Rooby & Millie. Here we are taking a much needed break. Of course, Carey & Karen kicked Yvonne & my butts! They got to rest a lot waiting for us to catch up!! We had a great time getting a really good work out in the process. I am going to try & down load a pic to show how straight up this hike is: and this doesn't do it justice at all! It was a great time. At the top, Karen took the opportunity to pray for someone she knows while the rest of us reveled in the natural beauty around us. It always amazes me that so much time can pass before any of us talks to each other let alone see each other, but it is always as if we are together everyday. I love that God put me together with such amazing friends for life! The rest of the weekend fun consisted of shopping, laughing, eating, a really bad movie, and much talking about our lives. It meant so much to me that my friends recognize the changes in me & how much it means to me to be able to have bought my own house by myself. It was fun to look back at our more wild times & laugh, but more to marvel at how far we have come as people. Ok, I am blubbering a lot here...I'll stop! Anyway, thanks Carey & Karen for coming to see me & for always being there for me! As I am there for both of you!!

9-19-06

Thanks Carey, DeAnn & Jenny for your comments! I'm glad that you all checked out my new blog. This is fun!!

Well, tonight I am going to introduce my pooches to everyone. First, there's my first child...I mean dog, Rooby. You see Rooby here to the right balancing a piece yarn on her nose while fixating on a cat near by...my mom's cat! Rooby came to me at two months old from The Dumb Friends Society, another name for Humane Society, in Denver CO. She was a cute pudge of fur with some obvious spunk. She is a Norwegiene Elkhound Mix. Rooby & I connected immediately, but we had much to learn together. Rooby was my first dog ever! I have always been a cat person, which most people close to me know. Rooby changed my world into a dog world! I woke up with her every few hours when she was a puppy to take her out to go potty until her bladder grew stronger. You moms out there, stop laughing at me!:) Much of this made me feel like most of you felt with your babies, somewhat. I know it is not nearly the same, but it did give me a small sense of what it must feel like to be a mommy. I took Rooby to Obedience School, where she graduated at the bottom of her class! Seriously! She was way more interested in all the other puppies in her class. I think the class was more for me than her really. I really had no idea how to train a dog. Cats are much easier in this respect. Through these last three years, Rooby continues to teach me a lot about patience, and keeps me outside. Ok, enough about Rooby!


And now there's Millie. Millie came to me in a very different way. One day last May, I received a mass email at work from one of our teachers, Debbie. She was reaching out to our agency in a campaine to save Millie & her puppies. Millie was an abandoned dog, who for the past 2 years had burrowed herself under her former owner's trailer for shelter out in Ellicott, which is pretty much a desolate area. As a puppy, Millie was named Pesters because she use to pester her owners to pay attention to her. I hate the name Pesters, so I changed her name right away. When, Millie was 6 months old, her owner kicked her outside because he discovered that he was allergic to her hair. He let her fend for herself as a puppy. Millie had two litters of puppies before coming to me. I can't even bring myself to write about what happened to the first litter. This is why, when Debbie saw that Millie was pregnant again, she decided to take things in her own hands. Debbie began feeding Millie good food, and sent out a heart felt letter to co-workers hoping that someone would adopt her & her puppies. I didn't even have to read the story, I read it later. Instead, I wrote back to Debbie soon after seeing her picture, telling her I would take Millie. I didn't even know if I would be approved for my house yet. I just knew she belonged with me. I am happy to say, that Millie's puppies were all adopted, even the runt puppy she was hiding under the trailer for sometime after the other pups were given away! Millie had never been to a vet, and didn't know there was anywhere else to sleep but outside. I was worried about how she would get a long with Rooby, but it only took them a few days to start playing like maniacs! Now I know they truly are sisters. Millie has also been a learning experience for me. As a former abandoned dog, we deal with anxiety issues, some behaviors (but not many, she is really sweet), and a little motion sickness in the car. I wouldn't change any of it. That wag of her tail & little licks on my ankles make it one of the best experiences I have had.

9-18-06

Greetings everyone! This is my first time blogging ever! I hope you enjoy it, as I am excited to get started writing. I will be making an attempt to update it weeklu, more if I can. Please make comments about what you think about what's going on in my life. You will get to know my two doggies as well, Rooby & Millie. I will be uploading pics of them very soon.

Thank you for visiting my blog!

Chris