thoughts and dreams

The Dash

On May 23rd at MHBC, I was able to speak as Pastor Doug was out of town.  This should be the link to that if you're interested in listening, my talk was entitled, "The Dash."  When you walk through a graveyard you see tombstones all around.  When you look at those more closely, you see a name, a date of birth, and a date of death.  But the most important thing is often forgotten about, what separates those dates...the dash. 

 http://podcasts.mhbc.net/Murray_Hill_Baptist_Church/Entries/2010/5/24_The_Dash.html

North Carolina

I went to my sister's graduation a couple weeks ago in North Carolina.  She got her master's in speech therapy from Appalachian State.  We stayed at my cousin's cabin outside of Boone, NC and it was gorgeous.  It was a quick weekend trip, we left after school on Friday, drove for 8 hours, stayed for about 36 hours, and then drove home for 8 more hours.  I definitely plan to stay longer next time, here are some pics.

Mel's name in the program

Mel filing in for graduation...moderately excited

Joel listening to the string quartet by the "masters" degree musicians

Mel after getting her diploma...very excited

Panoramic shot from the front porch of the cabin...not too shabby!

 Happy Mother's Day Mom and Congrats Mel!

Erin practicing how use her baby sling

One participant was not so willing

Newest Ultrasound Pics

Here are the ultrasound pics from 20 weeks

Profile pic, from the belly up :)

Laughing at one of my jokes

The baby skeletor is facing the camera

2 feet!

Erin's Students Questions/Advice

It is now becoming a little more obvious that Erin is pregnant.  This has caused many interesting comments from her 2nd graders, here are a few for your enjoyment:

Student:  "Ms. Stuckey, are you getting pregnant?"

Student:  "Ms. Stuckey, why do all the teachers keep saying you're showing?"

Erin:  "Because I have a baby growing in my stomach, and it's starting to get bigger."

Student:  "Oh, I thought your stomach was getting bigger because of all the bananas you've been eating."

Student:  "Did you know that if you drink orange juice, it will make the baby do flips?"

Student:  "My dad's fiancee is having a baby too, are you in your second trimester?"

Student:  "Ms. Stuckey, are you gonna have a boy or a girl?"

Erin:  "We're gonna wait and find out when the baby is born"

Student:  "Do you know you can have an ultrasound and find out if it's a boy or girl?"

My Ordination

The service Sunday night was great, and I want to thank everyone who was there to support me.  The band played, my grandparents flew in for it, Mel and Joel came in for it, and Dad spoke about the importance of family.  (I reread that sentence and I realized everyone got mentioned except my mom, love you mom!)  My MHBC family was there and it was great to be able to share it with so many people who saw me grow up.  Pastor Doug gave a great charge and can claim partial responsibility for me being where I am today, whether he wants to or not! :)  Here are some pics, thanks to Cooley.

 
 

Weird Biology Question

I'm a biology teacher and I have a weird question for those of you who took Biology in high school.

If you had to give one scientific thing that you remember from your Biology class, what would it be?  For example, something about the cell, or the human body, or bugs, or plants or whatever.

Everytime I talk to someone about what I do, we somehow come around to them all remembering some weird thing from biology class.  And for some reason a very high number of people remember that the mitochondria is the "powerhouse."  

What do you remember?

The Most Important Life Lesson

I'm having a kid in a few months and I need to know the most important life lesson, so I can make sure that they know it, so what is it?

Right now, I'm leaning towards picking the right friends.  As a high school teacher, I see kids with bad home situations thriving in school because of their friends.  I also see kids whose parents are calling and emailing and checking on them, trying to make sure they are doing what they are supposed to do, and because the kids are distracted by their friends, they are screwing around. 

I also know that sometimes, I, as a teenager, wanted to do the opposite of whatever my parents told me, shocking I know.  So where is the line?  You can only really control their friends for so long, then they are away from home for longer than they are at home.

So I come back to the question, how do you make sure your kids pick the right friends?  I think my answer right now is by modeling it for them.  Having friends that encourage you, are truthful, and honestly care about you are three good qualifications. 

I love my friends and don't tell them that enough.  I know that I've failed at all three of those and I'm sorry, just know that I'll try to do better next time.

The Weekend Is Here

It is finally the weekend and I'm ready for some sleep!  We were visited by the state of florida education crew this week so that was everything you can imagine and more. 

I am getting ordained Sun night at MHBC and am looking forward to that.  I don't really know if anything changes officially after that, other than I can perform weddings.  It will be kind of weird being a reverend.  Growing up and seeing some of the inner workings of a lot of churches made me absolutely sure that I would not be a minister.  Moving to Jax and getting involved at MHBC completely changed my mind about the process.  It's a great place that really cares about those outside the church. 

Thanks to everyone who has been a part of my growth process.

Erin at 18 weeks

Here are Erin's pics at 18 weeks, almost half way there.