You've come a long way, baby Shay!

Whew! Shayla, that amazing child we do not deserve, is way too sweet for me. From taking her BGSU shirts out of her closet and throwing them on the floor last year when I told her I took a new job and she would have to leave her school to now writing to her teacher, "I want to grow up and be an actress and then get my PhD and teach acting classes at BGSU." She is unbelievably sweet, remarkable and adaptable! Thank you, dear Lord!

Yesterday Shay Shay went to campus with me in the afternoon and had an incredible time. One of my students met me in my office and then babysat her while I had a meeting. (Shay had a future middle school teacher help her with her homework and then she went to the computer lab, which totally impressed her, to work on some poster designs for a report Shayla's working on. Then they met up with other classmates in the union where Shayla enjoyed sushi before coming to my class.) She told me my students were so nice to her and some of them told me they couldn't believe how sweet she was saying, "please and thank you".

I think she actually enjoyed the class, waiting for her time at the end to share some books she's read since school has started. I really can't imagine myself as a ten year old standing up in front of 23 college students talking about books and answering their questions, but she seemed to really shine. She told me later is was so much fun. I'm certain Christi would have had a ball doing the same thing too. I'll never forget the kindness of the older grade teachers who would let Christi go to their rooms to share things she had studied or learned. Sweet!

The author visit last night at BG was great (and of course going to "The Cookie Jar" afterwards was really neat too!). On the way home I asked Shayla how many authors she had met before and she told me only one she could remember. Then she said, "How about you? Probably 100?" I laughed and said, "Less than 10, but I have loved meeting every one. They really are amazing people and always have great presentations, showcasing their work." I told her how nice it was to have a special night just with her and a few of my students and she agreed. I am so blessed!

It was so nice of mom and Joe to ride along to campus with me one day this week. I had a meeting and wanted to get my flu shot. I think they enjoyed their time walking around campus while I was busy. I'm glad they "know where I'm at now".

It was also a special treat this week to take two of my former kindergarten and then former middle school students to lunch on campus. I just can't believe they're adults and BGSU students now - wow! They're doing great and it was wonderful to catch up with them. I'm so proud of them!

Paw Paw Joe and mom stood over me in my new office with their sweet hands on my shoulders as Joe prayed. During his lengthy prayer he asked God to put a shield around my office to protect me and to allow me to do His word (and I was thinking, "Could he put in a window too, or perhaps just a skylight since I'm on the top floor?" hee hee). Joe has many gifts and talents and sharing God's love is definitely at the top of his list. I hope you and yours are having a great week!

Today, we went to say our final goodbye to my sweet great Aunt Dixie. My sister and I wanted to pay our share of the flowers mom sent to the funeral home, but mom insisted that dad would not let us pay as he'd want to do that for his Godmother. I envision them playing cards (with one of them trying cheat, hee hee) in Heaven with Christi bringing them beverages and snacks. With our family being so small and with what seems like so many deaths in recent years, I'm beginning to see more of my family in Heaven than are left here on earth, weird!