Where Did You Get That? Linky Party

So, we all have them.  The gloppy, painted clay ornaments that may seem ill formed to the outside observer.  However, be still my beating heart...these ornaments make me weepy eyed every year.  I know you guys have them, too.  So, I thought why not share these wonderful stories/ornaments with the world?  {Insert triumphant music here}  This my first created linky party and I'm calling it, "Where Did You Get That?"--I hope you join in! 

I'm not even sure if I have enough followers to pull this off, so I'm counting on all of you, yes that means you, to blog about your misaligned favorite ornaments and to encourage your bloggy friends to participate. :)  Thanks friends, I knew I could count on you!

My first precious ornament  has fingerprints with permenant marker reindeer embellishments.    I first blogged about this in this post and is what inspired this linky party.  Every year this ornament reminds me of the impact I create just by doing my job every day. 

 

When I pulled, this ornament out of storage this year I flashed back to the day the Girl Scouts pulled several girls out of my class including this little girl. (For the sake of the story and confidentiality, let's call her Josie.) Josie came back from Girl Scouts all excited and handed me this ornament she made with her fingerprints. Josie and I had bonded over the school year and her parents had yet to realize what a gift of a child she was. I exclaimed that her parents were going to love it and she said, "It's not for them, it's for you." I insisted she take it home and she said, "Why, no one cares about me at home like you care, Mrs. Cowan. Besides, if I give it to them, they will just throw it away." So, of course I kept it. Everytime I put up this ornament, I say a prayer for this student and her family. It always brings a tear to my eye. Remember teacher friends, what we do is important to every child...sometimes (whether it is true or not) that child, your Josie, believes we are the only one who cares for them.  

 

This second homemade ornament is one I made for my mom when I was about 8 years old.  We made it at church at an Advent workshop.  I'm close to 40 people and my mother still held onto it for me. 

It now hangs on my tree and it reminds me of how much the little things in life touch the hearts of the ones we love.

This third ornament is one of my sweet little girl when she still openly adored me.  I think she still does most of the time, but it's hidden under all that teen angst and "OMG, my mother is embarrassing me!" attitude.  She's still completely my little Squish, even if she would have me exterminated if I ever called her by her nickname at school.  Thank goodness she doesn't read my blog. :)  Everytime I see this ornament, I remember how sweet and wonderful she is and I look forward to each day with her. I am so very, very proud of the young lady she is becoming!

This fourth ornament is from a student I had when I was his toddler teacher at a mother's day out program at my church.  I still remember how timid and shy Jack was when he walked into my classroom.  I now see him at church and although he doesn't remember how shy he used to be, it still makes me think that I somehow helped him develop into the wonderful young man he is now.  It helps me remember that our time in our student's lives are so short, but our impact is sometimes only remembered by our student's parents.  A big part of our jobs are reaching not just our students, but their parents as well!  Teaching is such a partnership with families and I try to remember this each time I have to broach those sensitive topics with families.

Last and certainly not least is an icicle ornament from my mom.  She LOVES Christmas and always tried to make it special for us.  I didn't always appreciate it and still harbor some anxiety about Christmas from all her efforts to make it so perfect for us.  (Hey, we all send our kids to therapy for something we do. Even if what we do is pretty fantastic.)  This icicle is one of the oh so many ornaments she stored for me and my brothers.  It's a handblown glass ornament that she bought on one of her many after Christmas sales outings.  So, thanks mom!

 

Well, I look forward to reading every one of your posts about your 5 special ornaments!  Just click on the linky button below to join the "How Did You Get That?"  linky party. :)

 

It's also that time of the month where we post in Farley's Currently Linky Party. 

 

It's pretty early in the morning here, I'm all out of whack so I'm listening to the sweet sound of silence before I return to a classroom full of little people saying, "Exuse me, Mrs. Cowan" all day long.  Don't get me wrong, I love my sweet little students, but after a week of excitement I need to get my school game face on. :)

 

I loved Thanksgiving Break and I am counting down to some more time with my family/friends over winter break.  With Christmas fastly approaching, I need to remember to say no sometimes so I can focus on what little time I have with Alexandra before she's off to college. Speaking of which, I need to get her a coat.  It's an ordeal to go shopping for a coat, we've gone three times already.  I hope she's this picky when she decides on what college she decides on or what man she'll marry one day!

 

Our favorite holiday tradition is to look at Christmas lights.  We have a church here in the Tulsa area that really decks the halls.  The church is called Rhema and my parents used to joke that if you stand around too long at Rhema you might get covered in lights.  It's so beautiful and completely free!  So if your ever in the Tulsa area around Christmas, go check it out!

 

Ok, drumroll.....I'm hosting a giveaway for a $10 Target  gift card and $10 Starbucks gift card!  See the Rafflecopter below for details on how to get more entries!

 

 

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway