Fortune Cookie

Last week my in-laws took us to dinner at a nice Chinese restaurant, one of my favorites that I haven't been to in a couple years. It was very good food and good conversation. But my favorite part is usually when the fortune cookies come, not only do I love how they taste, but it's fun to see the fortunes, whether they're silly, fortuitous, or insightful.
Like the Andy Griffith show we watched last week where Aunt Bea opens a Chinese restaurant because of a lucky penny, and then gets out of the business because of a cookie fortune that reads "beware of business ventures, they can be very risky."
So our fortunes for that night were:

• You have a captivating style all your own
• You are the life of any party
• You should be able to undertake and complete anything (JP)
• The strengths in your character will bring you serenity (Marie)

Although mine may not apply completely to me any more than the others I decided I wanted to write about it.

What strengths of character can a person have that will bring them serenity?

• Acceptance
• Forgiveness (and the C. Terry Warner parallel, forgo-ness)
• Strength
• Understanding

The word serenity also brings to mind the Serenity Prayer. These are just some thoughts.

Thoughts on my last job...

Now that my job from last year is finished, and I've had some time to process, here's some things that my student and that job taught me:

• Sign Language- I feel like I could now be confident to sign with someone, I learned so many new signs, and the daily practice helped make things become more fluid. Now I want to keep it up so I don't get rusty.
• Discipline Techniques- I even had the district behavior specialist help me. I learned about setting boundaries, and knowing the plan before hand so you don't overreact. It's not the exact techniques I want to use forever, but it's learning and a starting place.
• Endurance- I often said, "It's ok I can wait longer than you." But then I had to stand by that. And to go to work everyday got difficult by the end, but I went and I endured.
• Parenting Skills- Not enough to get me through 24/7, but enough to realize parenting is an extremely big job. Also the importance of bonding and connecting with your own children, and the power that comes through being the mom instead of the babysitter/teacher.
• Early Reading and Math- I saw how many intermediate steps there are to basic reading and math that we sometimes take for granted.
• Mandt Training- How to physically restrain a child, and how to avoid it at all costs.
• Public School- How much I don't like it there, and how much I'm capable of teaching my children.

I also built friendships and relationships, and was able to bond with an angel child. Although he's crazy and frustrated a lot of the time, he really has an angel spirit (as his mom calls it) and is trying his hardest to be heard and understood.

Grandma Simmons' Wedding Pictures

These are the original photos from my Grandparents wedding that I said I would post. I was able to get them from my mom and finally scan them today. These are the only three photos I know of, so if you find others of Lee and Beulah Simmons (especially of this dress) let me know. (Thanks Richard, for sending the one of the wedding cake.)
The lists of who is in each picture I scanned from the back of the photos and is in my Grandmother's handwriting.