Christmas Family Time

After Christmas Eve service, we dropped dad off at home, them Mom, Grandma and I went driving around looking at lights. When we got back, my sis and niece were here. They spent last night over. We got up this morning, and dad made pancakes for breakfast. My niece read the Christmas story from Luke 2, then she and my sis passed out the presents, and we opened them. One person opens all of their presents at a time. After they were opened, both my niece and I went on a scavenger hunt following clues to find our last presents. My niece had two to find. Then we played Apples to Apples. My dad won the game, then we, without grandma, went to see Timmy. Came home, got food together to eat.







There is a pic of my sis, niece, brother and myself. Another one of my niece wearing her new Elmo hoodie. My brother in his new Cookie Monster shirt, opening another gift. My parents sitting on the couch while one of them is opening a present. We just got him clothes this year.

Merry Christmas

If it weren't for Christmas, then we wouldn't have Easter! Have a Blessed Christmas! Remember the greatest gift that was given to us.

Getting a Crown

For the past month or two, I've had problems chewing the right side of my mouth. I have a dentist appointment in March and knew I couldn't wait until then to see the dentist. I called a couple of weeks ago, and got in this morning, after get blood work done at the Cancer Center, where I saw my buddies. My dentist took an xray of my tooth, and did a couple of quick tests, and he had three theories as to what was wrong. His theories were wrong. He was surprised to see I had a crack in one of my molars. I have an appointment in three weeks to start the process of getting my tooth ready for a crown. He re sized my bite, hoping that I should be able to chew on that side much easier now. The right side is still sore, but able to chew some on that side.

I will be taking my first "sick" day on the 12th to start the process of getting my tooth ready for a crown. I will be at the dentist for 2 hours. The lady there, couldn't find a convenient time in the afternoon or a non school day, so we went with a morning. She said my mouth will be sore for a while when they are done.

Christas Break

First day of Christmas Break!!!!! I had been looking forward to Christmas break. The school year is about half way over. It is hard to believe that. My favorite part of my two snow days earlier this week, was just sitting there reading. I read, Francine River's "Her Daughter's Dream". I had actually started reading it the week before, but with it being over 570 pages and I not having much time to read, I hadn't gotten very far into it.

We had our party after lunch yesterday, and before they got to eat the cupcakes and cookies that were brought it, I played Connect Four against each of my kids. I played against the 17 who were there, and won like 10-11 of the games. They enjoyed playing against me.

I do have a bit of grading to do, and am hoping to get it done this weekend. I had lunch today with two girlfriends, and that was nice. Going to have supper with my best friend Monday night. Getting a couple of massages over break, going to Curves about 3 times each week, getting blood work done, going to the dentist, picking up my new comprehension stocking, seeing the eye doctor, do some cleaning, celebrating my niece's birthday, and spending a lot of time with a friend, and doing some reading. Those are my plans for the next two weeks.

Snow Day

The first snow day of the year! This is the second snow storm this month. We had a storm last week, but still had school. Very few schools are opened today, just about everybody is closed today. It is bitterly cold outside! I know, since I walked down the driveway to get the newspaper and to take pictures. I even got all of my presents wrapped this morning. I did not take any pictures last week. Here are a few of the pics I took this morning. I have gorgeous views outside my windows.

Wordle

I am at a technology staff development, and I used the words to "You are God alone" by Phillips, Craig, & Dean in wordle.net. Here it is.


title="Wordle: You Are God Alone"> src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/2817879/You_Are_God_Alone"
alt="Wordle: You Are God Alone"
style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd">


What do you think? You have to click on the link above, and it will take you directly to the website.

Christmas Tree

Here is this year's decorated tree. My niece and I play a game where I put my two Pittsburgh Steelers ornaments on the front of the tree, she takes them and hides them on the back. I find them and put them back up front. I hide the lowly browns ornaments in the back.

Master's Project Presentation

Here is what my presentation board looks like. I was going to do a prezi on www.prezi.com, but I can't find my flashdrive where my graphs are located. The letters are actually post it letters, and the tops don't stay down very well, even though I used poster tape on the very toop.

I am presenting this Tuesday night.

Still Working on my Project

Last week, I spent about 6 hours, over two nights working on my project. I sent it to my professor to read it and edit it. I took it with me to Columbus, and my friend read it, and suggested some changes. This past Tuesday, I spent about 4 hours working on it, making the changes, and I sent it back to my professor. Some how, the changes I had accepted, that my professor said to make, didn't take. I have no idea what happened. I can't work on it at home, since I typed it up on a PC. I will work on it again Monday.

Next weekend, I will work on my Presentation board and my Prezi that I will do for it. My project is due, Tuesday, November 30.

I'm Related to a Stinker

I went to see my brother this morning. I took a bunch of library books with me so I would have a bunch of books to read. He was awake when I got there a little after 10 am. He wanted to wear my coat, nothing new, so I took it off and put it on him, and zipped it up. By the time I was done reading the third book, he was asleep. I woke him up, and he moved over to the mat to go back to sleep. I made him get up, so I could get my coat back. He is a real stinker!!!!!!!!! Going to sleep on me. I will see him again sometime next week.

Working on my Master's Project

From the thirty-emails I sent out, only 10 responded back to me. I did not ask my principal for permissions, I just told her I was going to do it. I knew she was supporting me. Another school and my own, I had problems sending out the email, but I was able to do so, with some help. I gave the teachers two weeks to take my survey. I got 19 responses, and I am pleased with that. Last week, I emailed three teachers about setting up a time for the interview. I need to call a couple of teachers, and I keep forgetting to do so.

This evening, I spent a couple of hours at Akron U's library. I went through the data of the survey, and made 7 different graphs. The graphs are either bar or circle graphs. I made a graph for the different grade levels being taught, the benefits and challenges of using thematic units, how many people answered certain questions. I also started to change the verb tense from present and future to past tense. I didn't finish that, since I had to email my prof a question. I think I also have to rewrite certain parts, since I made a few changes after I wrote my proposal this past summer. I am presenting my project in 4 weeks from tonight.

Respect Contract

Tomorrow morning, will talk with my kids about respect. What does it mean? What does it look like? How do you show it? ETC. Then as a class, we will write a respect contract and they will all sign it, and I will post it up on the empty word wall, as a visual reminder for them.

I am also planning on being tougher, not accepting talking back, disrespect, and tattling. They act like they are in Kindergarten, when in reality they are in the sixth grade.

God is on the Throne During the Good Times and Bad

The title of this post comes from a Phillips, Craig & Dean song, "You Are God Alone". That song has meant a lot to me for about 4 years. I remember singing it at church, when I was still living in Dallas. It means a lot to me now. I know that what I am going through, God is on His throne. God will be glorified in the end. God will judge these people and they will receive the negative consequences that they have earned. But, until then, it is hard. I have never experienced this before. In all of my years of teaching, I have never had anybody call me "racist". The respect I am getting is not good. It is affecting me, and I am hurting.

Green vs. Teal

This afternoon, I went to my niece's basketball game. It was game 3 of her season. I didn't go to last week's games. The first basket made was 12 minutes into the game. Each quarter is 8 minutes long. At half-time, the score was 2-0. My niece's team scored their first basket in the 3rd quarter. Final score was 14-8. Her team, scored all of their points in the third quarter. Green lost the game.

Both team tried to make lots of shots, but as you can see from the score, not very many went in. A few were close. One thing, I noticed, is that they didn't pay too much attention to who they were passing the ball to. There were lots of steals because of this. My niece stole the ball a couple of times, tried to make a couple of baskets, and did well, driving the ball down the court.

I didn't make it to any games last year. My niece has made lots of growth in her basketball skills in the past two years. She did make a few baskets last week. She has one more game, that is next Monday, not sure if I will go or not.

This Month's Port Flush

Last Wednesday, October 13, I had my port flushed. It had been 5 weeks since the last flush, and so I was concerned, wondering if I would have any problems. I had no problems whatsoever. Maybe that is behind me. Afterwards, I got to see one of my buddies.

Starting My Action Research Project

Last Friday, in the mail, I received my letter saying I was allowed to do my action research project, with stipulations. One, was to contact the different principals and to show the letter, I was sent, to them. This evening, I sent 32 emails to the different elementary principals. I will personally talk to my principal. I explained briefly who I was, and what I am doing. I asked each Principal's permission to contact their teachers next week, asking them to participate in my project. Will see who responds to my email and what kind of response I get. Hopefully, I get a good response, then I can send out my emails to the teachers Tuesday night, while at class.

Anniversary and a Scare

Yesterday, was September 25, which marks my NEDiversary of 3 years of being cancer free!!!!!! I had a scare about 10 days ago. On the 16th, I had my yearly appointment for a mammogram. A mass showed up on the pictures, and 5 days later, I was at the Breast center at the hospital for more pics and an ultrasound. The mass was in my left breast, which I had a biopsy in the spring of 2008. According to the ultrasound, the mass was a 4mm (millimeter) cyst filled with fluid. They said to followup with my doctor and they would see me next year. That is two scares in one year. I am very thankful that I am still cancer free.

It is Kinda Funny Now

Last Sunday and again this afternoon, I volunteered at helping backstage with their current show, "They Are Playing Our House". Next weekend is the last weekend of the show. I opened and closed the curtains, moved props, and the door. That door is hard to move and in the dark hard to see where the door is supposed to placed at. Last Sunday, I kinda shadowed somebody. Today, I did my stuff by myself. The one time, I was supposed to move the door back, I did not get it in its right spot, and when the actor went through the door, the curtain was there, in the way. I couldn't tell if it was in the right place or not. Ooooops, a mistake. Oh, well. It wasn't funny at the time, but it kinda is now. I haven't done backstage since high school. (That is over 20 years.)

Still Don't Have...

...Teacher editions for social studies and part of the science, with only one TE for language. We do have math and the cd for it. We do have a Reading TE and one language TE. We do have science that we are to use for the majority of the time. Did get a social studies cd for teachers to use. We do have our scope and sequences to use. They are helpful, but we really do need all of our teacher resources. They make it easier to teach. The kids do have all of their textbooks, they go them last week.

First Day of School

Today, was the first day of school. I had 21 students show up. I am about even with the number of boys and girls in my class. A few that were on my list, I knew wouldn't show up, and a few more were added to my list. We went over rules, procedures, passed out papers that had to be signed by parents, did an icebreaker, went to gym, worked on leveling colors for 100 book challenge (still have 7 more to do), and after lunch, took a math pre-test of skills. Tomorrow, have to talk about fire drill, because we will have one tomorrow and again on Friday, and I forgot to talk about that today. Also, hoping to start in on the academic schedule that I made, and will do work in both reading, math, science, and social studies.

Still don't have all of our text books and teacher editions. Our AP, is only at the school 2-3 days a week, and she will be there tomorrow. I think the rest of our books were supposed to have been delivered yesterday and we should hopefully get them in our classrooms by the end of Friday.

Did this week's lesson plans today after school. Will do next week's tomorrow after school, since I get to spend the weekend with my best friend and her family.

Let's see how tomorrow goes.

Overwhelmed

Yesterday and today, I went to a 6th grade transition training for the cluster I will be teaching in. Oh my, Oh my! We have to give semester exams and finals, along with 9 week assessments. We were given a pacing guide for all four subjects. They went over the text books, except math. Science is the best, laid out what we will teach every day for the whole year. The text books are thick, except for science. The worse part, is we have no books or TEs. I did get an email this evening, saying a few things were found at school, so I will see what they are on Monday. The rest will be delivered by the warehouse on the day we get deliveries from the warehouse. That makes it hard to do lesson plans for next week. At least we do have the science stuff, so we can make copies and plans for science. Have to give a test in math and reading/language arts to see where they are academically.

6th grade numbers are 20 in each of the three classes. There are two fifth grades, and they have 32 in each class. Depending on numbers after the first three weeks, I could stay at sixth or move. If that happens, then sixth grade will have about 30 in each class. Need some prayer about all of this.

CT Scans /Onc Visit

Two weeks ago, I had a CT scan of my chest, abdomen, and pelvic area. I got the results yesterday when I saw my onc. The nodule in my lung has gotten a little smaller. A kidney stone in my kidney was found. (No, I have no pain whatsoever, and I have told my AP and secretary of my school, have to yet tell my principal, and I will when I see her.) I also had blood work done 3 weeks ago. My blood sugar was a a little high. I had to go back today and have blood work done, fasting for blood sugar. At first, when I was accessed, no blood return. The nurse had me sit forward, then sit back and raise my right arm. Raising my arm, got blood return. Loosing weight will lower my blood sugar level. It is hard to do.

My next CT scan is February 21, and I already have the yucky stuff at home. I am scheduled for a port flush clear into February. I had to move my dentist appointment that was scheduled for February 21 into March.

Vacation

Got back yesterday from a week long vacation with my family. We first stopped in St. Louis, MO. We went up into the Arch. We took a tram ride up and looked out the windows and took pics. The tram cars are very small, sit 5 people in them. You can see Busch Stadium, where the Cardinals play and the other way, can see where the Rams play. Nice views.

Came down the other side, and went through the museum on the westward expansion. After, we left the arch, we went on a tour to see how Budweiser beer is made. Got to see the Clydesdale horses. The tour is free, and afterwards, those who drink were able to get to free samples of beer, otherwise there was Pepsi products and pretzels to have. That was an interesting tour.

Drove down to Branson for the week. We saw three shows, Buck 'n Boards, Cat's Pajamas, and the Baldknobbers, and rode the Ducks. They were all good shows. Both my mom and my niece drove the Duck while we were in the lake. The Duck is an old vehicle from WWII that drives on the road and can go into the water. We also got duck whistles. We were in the pool basically every day. There were a couple of days I didn't go in.

On Friday, I went to the Hollywood Wax Museum and Toy Museum by myself. We left Saturday, and stopped in Mansfield, MO, so I could tour the Laura Ingalls Wilder home and museum. I saw where she wrote her books. Did you know, she didn't start writing her books til she was 65 years old? She was only 4 ft and 11 inches tall, and Almanzo was only 5 ft, 4 inches tall. They slept in separate beds. Not all of the pics are on the computer. It was hot all last week. I mean TX hot! That means I was able to feel the heat, that is how high the humidity was. It reached 100 degrees at times. It was an enjoyable week.

Still Don't Know....

I met my team partners this afternoon. We still do not know how the district wants 6th grade to be at the elementary level. They haven't said if we, the teachers, can decide, or if the district will give mandates about it. The kids start back three weeks from today (September 1). We need to make plans on what we are going to do. We have no textbooks yet. We hope to know soon.

I will be working in my room tomorrow afternoon. I will work on my bulletin boards. I can't do them all, until I know what subjects I will be teaching. I think we will switch in some way, but not too sure how. We will talk some more tomorrow about things.

On a different note, I had a CT Scan this morning. I started at the Cancer center, so they could access my port, just in case I needed the clot buster drug. I didn't need it at all. Good blood return. I haven't needed the clot buster drug since the last CT scan, back in April. They even took me early. I was scheduled for 10:40 and they took me about 10 and I was done by 10:30. That was good.

I turned in my paperwork for my application for graduation, which is in May from grad school. I also turned in my application for doing my Master's project in the district I teach in. I do hope they okay it. I won't know for about 6 weeks.

Going to Meet....

Next week, I get to meet my team partners for this coming school year. I will meet them Wednesday or Thursday afternoon. We have things to talk about. I am looking forward to it. The last time I taught 6th grade was a decade ago. I have subbed at that grade level since then.

This afternoon, I saw my cousin perform in Suessical: The Musical. It was a good show. At times, it was difficult to hear the actors speaking or singing. Our seats were right up front, in the front row to the left.

Blood Draw and Port Flush

This morning, I had an appointment to have blood drawn and my month port flush. (Next week, I am getting a CT Scan.) The nurse did not have orders for the blood draw in my file, and I left the orders I had, were left on the refrigerator at home. But she did it anyway with out the orders. When my port was accessed, the nurse got good blood return. No clot buster drug was needed. I waited for the blood counts to be done, and my white blood count had slightly dropped. It is at 4.0. The last time I saw the counts, I think my white blood count was at 4.3. 4.0 is still good. It is on the high end of the being low.

Science Network

This week, I am doing a week long science staff development that any of the teachers who teach science, in my district, could take. Yesterday, we went on a green print tour of Akron. Today, we were at the Akron Zoo. I went to the zoo Monday afternoon, cause Monday and yesterday were community days for where I live. I took pics both days. Today, I rode the carousel, and I rode the panda, since that is my favorite animal. The zoo has two kids of lemurs, sloth bears, tigers, lion, Humboldt penguins, flamingos, red panda, tortoises, jellyfish, to name some of the animals.

First Visit

This afternoon, I went over to my school to meet the principal and to see my classroom. I had a nice visit with the principal and received a tour of the school. I have subbed there before. My classroom is up on the third floor. Only fifth and sixth grade is on the third floor. The art room and the LRC is up there, as well. My room is smaller than last year's room. The back wall has computers, of which they do need to be check to see if they work. One will become mine, since I will be doing attendance and such on the computer every day, and need access to it at all times. I have lots of bulletin boards. I had very little wall space last year, so this year I have more to play with. There are 32 student desks in my room, but no teacher desk. Don't know yet, how many students I will have. There are no shelves and very little storage space. Will have to figure that out later.

Once I meet my team members will know if I will be self-contained or departmentalized. One of my co-workers, who teaches third grade, was my fourth grade teacher. That is so cool!!!! I plan to work in my room before I go on vacation and after I get back. I would like to have my room ready to go before August 30. That is the day teachers report back. I have asked my mom to help me work in my room, and she said that she will.

Good News

I got the mail this afternoon, and there was an envelope from the school district I am employed at. There were two sheets of paper in the envelope. I read them out of order. I am not getting laid off!!!!!!!!!! I have been placed at one of the elementary schools to teach 6th grade. I do not know if I will be self-contained or departmentalized. I will not know until I can talk and meet with the principal. One of my new co-workers was my 4th grade teacher. That is so cool. I have subbed before for her. I am excited for the new school year.

Celebrating my Birthday

Tomorrow is my 39th birthday. Tomorrow my sis and my niece are coming over to help me celebrate my birthday. I will see my brother Monday morning and get birthday hugs from him. Its been a few weeks since I've seen him. I got books from the library to read to him.

Last night, I was hoping to go to the Indians game, glad we didn't. Way too hot! and rain delays, but they ended up winning! Instead, sis, niece, and friends from church met me at Pizza Hut for supper, and then just down the road went bowling afterwards. We had some fun. I bowled a 98 in the first game, and a 66 in the second game. I had way too many gutter balls in the second game. In my lane, were 3 guys, and none of them bowled a turkey (3 strikes in a row). My sis had good frames, when my niece wasn't paying attention to her mom bowling. 16 people bowled in 4 lanes. We all bowled 2 games.

Here are a few pics.

Master's Project Proposal

I finished my proposal this afternoon! So good to have it done. I also created my power point for tomorrow's presentation. There is a couple parts of the methodology that is no complete and won't be until I find out which school(s) I will be doing my case study at. The teachers involved are basically on a volunteer basis.

A week ago yesterday, I was so overwhelmed with this whole thing. Looking for references frustrated me.

I still have to fill out the application to the school district, I teach in, to get permission to do this research study.

My action research study is on thematic units. Teacher views and perceptions on thematic units. How are thematic units designed and implemented in the classroom. I want to interview and observe two teachers who will be using thematic units this fall. I am hoping my two teachers will be a primary and an intermediate teacher.

Today's Interview

I will not know till next month, whether I will be laid off, or if I have a job. I got a letter last week, about an opening at one of the schools in my district, so I called saying I was qualified and was interested in interviewing for it. I got the call Tuesday afternoon for when and where the interview would be. The interview was at 8:45 am this morning. I had class at 10 am. I got to the Board of Ed building, went to where I was told to go and I waited and waited. They moved the place of the interview and nobody told me, until somebody came downstairs and told me so.

I interviewed for a 7th grade math/science position. I had to teach a lesson and also answered some some questions. I chose to teach my lesson on the water cycle. I found out that the shoes to be filled are very big. Basically, the new teacher would be writing the science curriculum and working very closely with the science department person and the 8th science teacher. God's will to be done. It went okay.

I have taught this grade, but still it would be out of my comfort zone. My mom complained at times of my hours this past school year. If I got the job, my hours would be worse. Will see what happens.

Silly Bandz and Science

I narrowed down my my research question for my Master's Project this evening. I will be looking for a couple of teachers who actually uses thematic units that integrate science in them. I am hoping to find both a primary and an intermediate teacher to do case studies on. I think using thematic units would be something to try at some point in my classroom.

My niece is really into Silly Bandz. I wouldn't be surprised if she had close to 200 of them. I actually have four that she has given me. Mine are all Shrek related. I haven't worn mine for a few days, but I have worn them. Rob Croak lives in Toledo, OH.

Master's Project

I have settled on the topic of my Master's Project. The topic is Science Integrating. The how and the why of integrating science into the other subjects. I have started my searching for articles for my literature review. All of my articles, books, newsletters, etc. have to have been written within the last 10 years, and I have to have at least 10 of them. My proposal and power point presentation is due by Wednesday, July 21. I will study one elementary school, actually their teachers. My data tools will be surveys, interviews, observations and my reflection journal. I will be doing this action research study this fall.

Summer Classes

I am already overwhelmed! That is the short version of my five week classes for grad school. I am taking Historical Geology-both lecture and lab and Action Research. Action Research prepares me for Master's Research. By July 21, I will have my proposal written and presented. This proposal will talk about my project that I will be doing this fall. I have lots of reading, writing, research to do. I will be spending lots of hours at the university library. As usual, no life!

I have a few ideas for my project, but not completely sure. I started looking for journal articles this afternoon, and became frustrated, because I was having a hard time finding journal articles. I found a few, but only 1 or 2 that are actually action research journal articles.

Historical Geology is spending time on sedimentary rocks, which have been reclassified, structures, fossils, and geological time periods. My first exam for that class is next Wednesday. Had a quiz today at the end of the lecture. Will see. We will go on a field trip to the Gorge next month, during lab.

Control

It is so hard to leave every aspect of your life in God's hands. Let Him control everything. When there is something you want (heart's desire), one becomes impatient, tries to move things forward on your own. I have this one area in my life that I give over to God, after awhile take it back. I go back and forth with this. I have been waiting for God's timing when it comes to dating. There are times where I am content at being single, and times when I am not. When I am not, that is when I go looking. I check out different sites looking, and nothing. I know God's timing is better, and that He has somebody out there for me. I get impatient, and become tired of being single. I do not want to settle, I want God's best for my life.

Communication

Relationships and communication are both two way streets. Each person has to work at it. In the past, I got tired of doing all of the work with certain friendships and have dropped them, quit trying to get in touch with them. Guess what? It didn't seem to phase them, because they sure haven't tried to get in touch with me. That does hurt. Why does it hurt? My love language is Words of Affirmation. I need to hear or read positive words about me. My second main love language is time, spending time with me is important to me, in knowing that I am important to that person.

I have a small number of very close friends. We all get busy with our lives. Most of them have kids, married or not, they are busy. Case in point, I would love to see my brother more than I do, but I am busy and I have to plan my visits with him. These friends, we might go a bit of time without talking and when we do, we pick right up where we left off. We might not see each other very often. (One lives in MI, and other two live in TX. One lives locally, and we still are lucky to see each other a couple of times a year.) But here is the thing, we both work at the friendship.

In all types of relationships, one person can not just do all of the work. It is then one sided, and hurt feelings will happen. Each person has to put effort forward if you want the friendship/relationship to last.

Met a Guy

For over 10 years, I have been going back and forth with God about looking or not looking for a guy. God knows the desires of my heart. Sometimes I think it is a sin to look and other times I don't. I give it up to God and wait, and then after sometime, I take it back. I get tired of waiting. I will be 39 next month, and I am still single. I think why I struggle with it is where I look...

For about a week, I was getting on this one certain online dating website. I got on Sunday afternoon, and started talking to this guy online then moved to the phone after my parents left for church. I met him that night. He lives about 30 minutes south of me. We saw Shrek, close to where I live. Spent Monday afternoon/evening together. Then he came to church last night to meet my sis/niece and friends. We have been talking and texting each other since Sunday. I like him and enjoy spending time with him. Going out with him tonight and tomorrow night. He is a Christian, that is number one for me.

I have been praying to God about this, since Sunday. I have been asking for his will. I have given it up to him. I have had this one fear for a number of years, is that I would settle and not wait for God's best, because I want to become a wife and a mother. God's timing is not my timing. I do like this guy and enjoy spending time with him, and look forward to seeing him again.

Even though I have been single for so long, I haven't felt God wanting me to stay single and never marry. That could be because of my heart's desire, and it is still strong and not letting up. God knows, I just have to trust him. That is so hard at times.

God Know What He is Doing

Left school about 10 so I hung out at the main library for about three hours. Went to my meeting and it lasted about 1 1/2 hours. I will get paid through August, have health insurance through August, and I have moved up two to 23 from the bottom of the least. Of the 84 that has been slated for layoffs, 46 are elementary. Of the fifty some that have retired, only eighteen are elementary.

Before the end of the month, I have to go to HR and make changes to my yellow form and add schools, both elementary and middle school for my choices to teach at. Even though, I am saying I prefer certain schools and certain grades, I am certified up to 8th grade, but this should make it more likely I will be placed in an opening next month.

If I do get laid off, I will be put on a recall list, and depending on where I am on that list, determines when I will get called. When I am called and it is for elementary position, I have to say yes, but if it is middle school, I can say no, but the next offer, I have no choice but to accept. If I do get put onto the recall list (laid off), then I have to reapply to sub and will be given first dibs at long-term sub jobs. Then I can also get COBRA for 18 months or when I get a job, whichever comes first.

I have asked God for a job in one of the grades I prefer and in a school I prefer. But, I am also saying, "Your will be done here on Earth, as it is in Heaven." God knows what he is doing. God also knows I need insurance, and can not afford to pay for it myself every month.

The Year is Finished

Today was the last day of school! Yesterday, my kids "graduated" from the fifth grade. They were told that they didn't have to show up today. If they did, then they would be put to work. We were hoping that none would show up. Guess what? Some showed up! I had 5, one teacher had 3, and the other one had 7 (I think). Four of mine worked. I had to clean off the top of my desk, unhook the keyboards and mice from the computers, put thee elmo and projector away. They we had to stack desks and chairs and move them out of the way. My one partner spent yesterday morning and today moving up to my room and put things away and moving furniture around.

We have a teachers meeting tomorrow morning and then I am officially done for the school year.

Am I Laid off or Not?

I got a letter from the Board of Ed today in the mail. Basically, it says that I am one of the teachers who could be laid off come August. After the staffing process is completed in early August, the actual number of reductions will be determined and board action will be taken then, according to the letter. Also according to the letter, included is the right to recall when a position becomes available for which I am certified, also priority assignments to long-term substitute positions in my area of certification if available. I have to go to a meeting at the Union's office this coming Friday at 2 pm.

My Fun Day

There are 3 days left of the school year. This morning, we did two Grammar Minutes, listened to a story about a ballerina, then my kids got ready for our egg drop. I gave my kids one week to find a container at home and materials to use in their container to protect their raw egg for when they let it fall from outside the window. Only 4 people brought something from home. The rest found stuff in the classroom to use. Both volunteer grandfathers and two students went outside to stand outside the window. We used 10 eggs. Only 3 eggs did not break, the rest did. They enjoyed that.

I brought in one of the giant cookies from Giant Eagle for them to eat, after the egg drop. Then we had our final store of the year. I did it differently. First I drew tickets from a bag, and if they had the same number as what I drew, then they could take anything from the table. Not everybody liked that, so after awhile, we kinda did an auction on some items. Then it was time for lunch.

After lunch, all of 5th grade met in the gym, and a guy from The Akron Aeros along with Orbit came to visit. Two of my kids were scared of Orbit. It was funny. I took a bunch of pictures. This guy was supposed to talk to the kids, but he didn't. He just explained what was in the folder they were going to get.

Afterwards, we went back to the room, and I got out the bag of feather boas for my kids to put on and have their picture taken. I thought they would enjoy it. A few did. Then I sent six kids to third grade to help them make their protective containers for their egg drop. The two girls who went became mad, afterwards, because they were helping third grade instead of being outside for Fun Friday. Besides, that room had AC, and it was hot outside. They do not always make sense.

Compliment

This morning, before school started, I was called down to the office. You know how that is, you never like being called to the office. One of my student's parents was waiting for me. They wanted to talk about their child's grade on a couple of reports. We talked and they gave me a compliment. They have a daughter in the class next door, and told me that they prefer how I grade, because I am a tough grader. I liked receiving that compliment.

Is This a But, God or a Yet, God?

The end of April I had a meeting with my principal, who told me that I should think about of going to younger grade, which I won't go younger than third grade. If I am back at my school this fall, I will start the year on an assistance plan. I've been on those before. He suggested I put in a transfer, so I did. Out of the 30+ elementary schools, I chose the top 21 schools that I like and numbered them. Who knows when I will hear about where I will be in the fall.

Last week, I got my contract for next year, signed it and sent it back. At school, we've been waiting for our numbers for next year, so people know if they want to put in an intraschool transfer or what. The district kept putting that off. The Board met on Monday and decided to lay off 84 teachers and other staff members. The union wasn't told in advance and the rest of us found out when we got Tuesday's paper. To top this off, the board is in the process of negotiating the new contract with the teacher's union.

My principal received our numbers yesterday and called a staff meeting after school today. My school is loosing 3 teachers, K, 2, 4. The K and 4 grade teachers have low seniority at the school and have to put in for a transfer, and have to also, while the second grade teacher can move to fifth for that opening.

A couple of weeks ago, my kids took the end of the year district reading test. Only 9 fifth grade students basically passed (over 70%), and 2/3 of those 9 are my kids. The other third is from my one partner's class, the other teacher, her highest score was like number 15 of the kids on the list. Isn't that cool or what?

Layoff notices have already been sent out. I have heard that over 50 have already decided to retire. I should know by end of month if I am getting laid off or not.

Scan Results

Saw my onc today after school. I was weighed, and I need to severely cut back on my pop intake, chocolate intake, and cut back on my portion sizes. He did not say anything about my weight, thankful for that.
I will have a full scan (abdomen, chest, and pelvis) in 3 months, August 11. I will have blood drawn a week before. I will have my port accessed by Infusion Services the morning of my CT scan, since I've been having problems with it. Blood was drawn this afternoon, and I do not have the results. My onc, doesn't think getting my port flushed every 2 weeks will be much of a big difference.
He wants scans in 3 months, because he is watching different lymph nodes. Some are bigger than others, and some have decreased in size, while others have grown. The difference is just by a few millimeters. I have had a stressful year, and that could've been playing havoc with my lymph nodes.

Today's CT Scan follow-up

I was looking at my papers in the envelope that had been on the fridge for today, and realized that I was scheduled to have my port flushed and maybe blood drawn this past Wednesday afternoon, and didn't know, so I didn't go. Oh, well. I was calling around this morning to find out if I was supposed to have blood drawn or not, turns out I didn't. I got to the hospital around 10. Around 10:30 I was given a bag of ice to ice the area of my port. I iced it for about 30 minutes and was called to have my port accessed around 11 am. Guess what? No blood return!! I was not expecting that. Nurse tried a different needle, still nothing. She even looked at both arms to see if she could find a vein, no way was she able to find a vein. She called and spoke of one of my nurses at the Cancer center. They were busy, but was able to take care of me. I was given the clot buster drug, and got back to the hospital around 1:30 and was done a bit before 2 pm.

I see my onc next Monday after school. The nurse from this morning, said to see about having my port flushed every 2 weeks. I will tell my onc that she tried to look for veins and couldn't find any. I even asked her to write a note to him. I'd rather go this mess, than try to find a vein and seeing if it would access or not.

My "ME" Weekend pictures

One of the above pics is one of the Wright's first planes. Air Force starts their history back with the history of planes and the Wright Brothers. A lot of the planes in the museum have nose "jobs", pictures painted on the nose of the plane.


I am standing in front of one of the plans parked in the parking lot.

A pic of the action.


I am holding a Steelers stop sign that was signed by three of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

My "ME" Weekend

This weekend, was my third "ME" weekend of the year. The first one, was back in February, when I went to TX for over Valentine's Day weekend. The second one was the first weekend of March, when I went on a Scrapbooking Retreat, and this weekend was the third one. Each weekend was something different.

Friday night, I ate supper at CiCi's Pizza, then I went over to Green High School to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers Footballers Basketball team play and beat the Summit County Sheriff Deputies in a game of basketball. This game raises money for different charities. One of those charities is the Soap Box Derby. The Pittsburgh Steelers who played Friday night was Harrison, and 5 players who were drafted last year in the 2009 draft. They were good. This is an annual event. During half-time, people got into line to get autographs. I did not get Harrison's autograph, but did get autographs of 3 new players. I bought a poster and a stop sign before the game to have something to be signed. I took over a 100 pics.

Saturday morning, I went to a women's conference with my mom and gma. There was brunch and the food was very good. I ate a lot. The message was from John 11. We got home after 12, and I was on the road before 1 pm, to head down to Miamisburg, which is south of Dayton. I went to Miamisburg Assembly of God last night to hear Carmen. The concert lasted about 90 minutes, where he sang about 10 songs and spoke from John 11. I heard two messages from John 11 on the same day. We were only able to take pics during the first song. I took some pics, but they seem dark, and is hard to see anything. The concert was good, and a good time of worship.

I stayed the night in Miamisburg, and attended Miami Valley Community Church this morning. One of the songs we sang was "Blessed be the Name of the Lord". Both last night and this morning, we sang, "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus". The sermon this morning was on Joseph, and it was good.

After church, I checked out of my hotel, and drove up to Wright Patterson Air Force Base to visit The Air Force Museum. That place is very cool! I really enjoyed it. I took over 100 pics. The planes were so big! I will post pics from the weekend in the next few days.

Pitching

Today's game started off so great, and then ended up loosing, because of our pitchers. They nibble at the plate. They seem to throw more balls than strikes. Walking batters will bite them in the butt. After six games, our record is 2-4, and the reason for that is the pitching. Yes, the bats, haven't always been awake, but the pitchers need to do better. We have too many young pitchers with not enough experience, we need more experienced pitchers.

I said it last year, and I am saying it again this year, Mark Shapiro needs to be fired!!!! Instead of being fired, he has been promoted as of the end of this season. What a mistake the Dolans have made in keeping Shapiro on as General Manager. Get us a new General Manager, and spend some money on some decent pitchers!!!!!!!!

Respect

I was told yesterday afternoon, that a few of my students I have lost their respect. I try to treat them all the same. I have a few who I have to constantly say their name, since they just do not make good choices. They do not follow directiosn very well, don't care about learning. One of those students, I can't stand any more. How do you get control/power/respect back, once you have lost it?

Starting tomorrow, the one tutor who comes into my room for reading and math will take two of my students and do reading and math with them til at least OAT or even past then. She is not here on Fridays, so they will probably be in the room with me on that day. They will still be with me for Science. Will see how that works. I have a few who any negative consequence doesn't faze them at all. They will learn pretty quickly come middle school in the fall.

Todd

Todd lived in the same group home as my brother. They have been housemates since Christmas 1991. Their relationship were like brothers. I was reading the newspaper Tuesday evening, and there in the obits was Todd's pic and his obit. I was shocked to see it. I had just seen my brother Saturday afternoon. Todd died on March 13.
Calling hours was Thursday evening and I went. Todd has a sister names Christina. Todd's funeral was yesterday. I didn't go. We talked about my brother going, not sure if he did or not.

Today's Port Check

I was scheduled to be at the hospital at 10:30 for registration. I got there a few minutes late, no big deal. I was walked back to where I was supposed to be. I was given a bag of ice, and it took longer to ice the are of my port, since the ice pack was different from what I normally used. Once I was ready, I walked over to the X-ray room and after lying down on the machine, my port was accessed. Guess what? The cute male nurse was able to get blood return! Can you believe that? Even though he got blood return, with out a problem, they still took the xray and saw a thin film of something in the port. So I was unhooked for the machine that pumped in some dye, and walked back to the observation bed in the other room. The drug was ordered from pharmacy. The drug was started around noon, via IV into my port.

I am still getting it flushed next week. I need my port in 6 weeks when I get another CT scan. Since the problems I have had, I figured it would be a good idea to get it flushed next week.

Afterwards, I went over to the cancer care center and saw a couple of my nurses.

Port Check

On Wednesday, February 24, I got my monthly port flush. I was scheduled for 4:30, after tutoring. My favorite nurse was there :). My port flushed, but did not return blood. She tried saline into the port, then even saline via an IV into the port, nada. I was given the clot buster drug, and after waiting for about an hour, just a tiny bit of blood returned, enough to say it flushed. She said that she was going to call my onc the next day and suggest I get my port checked to see if there was anything wrong with it.

I got the call on Tuesday afternoon, and she first said for today, and I said I couldn't since I already had 2 half days for subs this week. So it was scheduled for the 12th. I found out yesterday at lunch, that I had 2 days/half days of training next week for this one program. I emailed my principal and talked to him this morning. He said to see if I could get it changed, and I was able to get it changed til the 15th of this month. That means a sub for all day, and a sub for after school tutoring that day, as well. Come the 15th I will be able to post what the whole procedure entailed.

Still NED!

On the 18th of this month, I saw the Dermatologist, to have about a 2 cm area from where the mole was, the one that was removed last month, excised. I got the report yesterday afternoon, that it came back clean. Which means I am still NED!!! I am still getting another CT scan in April, though.

My right knee, actually the back part of it, has been sore and a bit of pain this past week. It is a tender area, and I have to bed my knee to walk and to move about. I can always sit down with my leg up. It is not possible. I am a teacher. I have sat and taught at different times this past week. I get the stitches removed Monday afternoon. Will know then, if I still have to keep a bandage over that area and for how long. I haven't worn my compression stocking since the 17th, and probably won't for a couple of more days after getting the stitches removed.

My New Hole

Actually, I'm not sure if it is a hole, but I did hear the derm say something about doing about 2 cm on Thursday. Thursday morning, I had minor surgery on the back of my right knee. Little more around the area of the removed mole was taken and sent to pathology to be tested for cancer cells. I received 6 stitches with at least a couple of them under the skin. There is a bandage over the area. I gt the stitches out on March 1. I try to keep my leg elevated when I can. I do have to be careful with my right leg.

My TX Visit

I had no problem leaving for TX last Thursday. I left snow for snow. Dallas area received a record breaking 12 inches of snow that day. My sub that I had requested didn't show up, and a different sub got to school about 10:30 on Thursday. Kids didn't' like him, I heard he was like a drill Sargent, which kept them in line.

I had fun with my friend's 15 month old. I took over a 150 pictures. The whole Dallas area had no school on Friday. So we met up with another friend for lunch on Friday at Jason's Deli. I took a bunch of books and a few cassettes down with me to sell back to Half-Price Books and only got $5 for the whole lot. For supper Friday night, we made tacos with ground turkey, and they were good. Saturday afternoon, went over to Stonebriar Mall and met up with our friend for some shopping. We parted ways about 4:30, then we went to the theatre to buy our tickets for "Valentine's Day". That was a pretty good movie. Afterwards had supper at Cristina's which is a Mexican restaurant.

Sunday morning was church at The Heights Baptist Church. Pastor Gary preached from Deuteronomy 6:4-6. It was a very good sermon. I had been looking forward to hearing him preach. I didn't yawn, and I usually yawn during the sermon. For lunch, we ate at Genghis Grill. I like that place. Spent about an hour at Family Christian Bookstore. I bought a movie starring John Schneider and we watched it that afternoon. Made spaghetti with ground turkey for supper.

Monday morning, went for a walk in the neighborhood, was cold. I was at the airport by 1 pm and had no problem getting home.

Saturday, my niece texted me to tell me that she and her mom were in an accident. My sis spent the weekend in the hospital and came home yesterday afternoon. My niece is fine, but my sis broke her left kneecap. She had surgery Sunday morning. They are both here at my parent's house.

Change with my next Derm appointment

During tutoring this afternoon, my phone went off, the vibrating bothered them. After tutoring, I checked my voice mail and it was my derm calling me. They had a cancellation, and now I am seeing her on Thursday, February 18 instead of April 12. She will excise a little more and do measurements around the area where the mole was removed. It will take about 30 minutes. I am going to take the day off from school, but be at school by the end of the day, for interim pick-up. I really need to talk to parents.

I have students who start an assignment in class, don't finish it, but them don't even take it home to finish. I am giving them zeros for that, and grades are much lower than they would otherwise be, because of the zeros.

I am leaving snow and going to snow. North TX is expecting 1-3 inches of snow tomorrow. Praying that I will have no problem flying down to Dallas tomorrow. I didn't leave school til about 5:35 today. I graded papers, redid my sub plans for tomorrow, and for next Tuesday, for just in case.

Getting Ready for TX

We had a snowstorm over the weekend, and in the midst of another one. Today's staff meeting was postponed for a week, because of the weather. I still didn't leave school til about 5 pm. I had to get my valentine's gifts for my kids ready and passed out to their box/bag. My sub lesson plan and papers are ready for tomorrow or Thursday depending on whether we have school tomorrow. I also have plans ready for Tuesday, if I have a problem getting home on Monday from TX. This past Saturday, received about 14 inches of snow or slightly more, and did not get driveway plowed til after 11 am. Will see about tomorrow. I am praying that I will have no problem leaving on Thursday. I still have to pack my suitcase for Thursday.

Deer

I wasn't far from home early this morning. I was driving on Ridgewood Rd when I see deer crossing the road and one hit my car. I have two dents, and the biggest one is on my driver's side door. Will be getting it fixed next week. I am fine.

Why?

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? If my cancer is back, how does it prosper me, not harm me? God says in Jeremiah 29:11, "I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you." Why now? I am teaching full-time. I Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to be thankful for everything. I am not thankful! Some day I will be, not now. Yes, I have still told God thank you. I don't' understand. I didn't understand 3 years ago, and I don't now either. True, I told God last year, that I would rather move up a stage than my sissy be above stage 1. She is only stage 1, and now I might be moving up. I won't know until May if my cancer is back or not. I've been crying and I have been questioning God. I know God has a plan, and I have to trust Him. It is going to be very hard to do. I do not like this at all.

Derm Report: Is it Back?

I was getting ready to leave school to go to my dentist appointment. I had two fillings replaced this afternoon. I checked my phone, and there were two voicemail messages. One was my dad, no big deal, and the other was my derm. I called them back, they wanted to tell me the report about my mole that was removed almost two weeks ago. She said there was no melanoma, but there were some A Typical cells. I now have an appointment for April 12 at 11:45 am for surgery, where she will numb that area of my leg, do an excise of the mole area. Stitches will be used. They will then send that info to the lab to be checked. Please pray! I told the nurse to tell my derm that a lymph node had shown up on teh CT scan, and she will tell her.

Science Fair Judging

This morning, I judged Science Fair projects for the district I teach in. Middle School was kept separate from high school. I arrived and signed in then I got to choose which level and branch of science I wanted to judge. You could not judge your own students. I didn't have any there. I chose middle school chemistry. Of the six I judged, only one was really chemistry in topic. The students were given 15 minutes to do an oral presentation and then my judging partner and I were able to ask questions. Afterwards, we conferred and decided on points for the scoring. We had to write comments on the back, and we made sure we wrote at least one positive comment. I left after eating lunch. I saw two people that I had met last year through grad school. After I left, I went to the library and then to see my brother, since today is his 33rd birthday.

Stress!

Teh behavior of my students haven't been very good. I sent home a letter today, asking parents to go over the rules nad consequences with their child and to sign the letter and return it. I have had 2 P/T conferences and would like at least one more. Certain students' behaviors are making it difficult to teach. One conference I had this week, has led to no changes in this child. I hear a lot of "this is boring", attitude and disrespect. I am not sleeping well.

No clot buster drug was needed yesterday in flushing my port. I am not feeling well, and debating or not to call off sick tomorrow. Saturday, I am planning on judging science fair projects, and I have to be there by 7:30, no sleeping in. Then I have to go and see my brother, since his birthday is on Saturday.

Next Scan

I called my Onc this morning to talk to the scheduler, and my CT scan has been scheduled for Monday, April 26. That is the week after OAT testing. I told my principal and asked the dates that we are testing and he told me.

CT Results

After I got back from the short field trip, I called my onc's office to find out the results of the CT scan I had a week ago. I did not find out til about 3:30 the results. Everything looks good,except for the lymph nodes in my pelvic area. I will have another CT scan in 3 months to see if there is any change in those lymph nodes. I am waiting to hear back from my onc's office to find out when it will be.

Physical

I had my physical this afternoon by my doctor. This is the not fun doctor's appointment. My left ear was almost blocked due to all of the wax. I was told to quit eating potatoes, pasta, and bread. That is going to be very hard to do. I will not completely stop eating those, I will cut way back on them. I like pasta and pizza. If I do pasta or bread at lunch, then try not to eat any of that for supper. I will just have to play and figure it out. I also need to cut back on my salt intake as well. I don;t use as much salt as my dad, though. This is all to help in trying to loose weight. I also need to increase my movement activity.

Saw the Dermatologist

This afternoon, was my 6 month checkup with my dermatalogist. She does a complete skin check on my body. Last spring, a mole popped up on the inside of my right knee. I didn't say anything to her in July. I have checked it periodically since it has popped up. I said something to her today, and she took it off, just to play it safe. She doesn't think it is anything, but she will send it out to be checked. It was just a small mole. I will get the results in a couple of weeks.

Today's CT Scan

I started the preparation for today's CT scan last night at 10:40 pm, by drinking the first third of the yucky stuff. I took a 30 minute nap before then, since I was tired and ready to go to bed.
I was over at the hospital about 10:30, since I was scheduled at 10:40 for my CT scan. I was called around 11 am to go back. I was given a bag of ice to ice the area on my skin where my port is located. The nurse got the needle in, and my port flushed, but it would not return any blood. I called my mom, since she was upstairs visiting a friend. The nurse called over to the cancer center, and talked to one of my nurses. They called the doctor to order a dose of the clot buster. Mom and I walked over to the cancer center, and had to wait about 10 minutes before going back to a chair. I was given the sterilized needle, for my nurse to use, when she accessed my port. I was given the dose of the clot buster about 12:15 pm. I have had quite a bit of water, by that time. 30 minutes later, my nurse was able to get blood to return, and gave me a dose of heparin. I called my mom, since she left to have lunch with my dad, and I walked back over to radiology at the hospital. I got back just before 1 pm, and was done by 1:30 with my CT scan. I left the hospital 3 hours after I arrived. I will call my onc in about a week for the results of the scan.
I am not supposed to see my onc until May, but that might change after he gets the report of my port not returning blood and having to receive a dose of the clot buster. I have a feeling that my port will be coming out sometime this year, which means the nurses will get to have fun, trying to access my veins for blood and CT scans. That I will not be looking forward to.

Master Contents of Each Book of the Bible

OLD TESTAMENT
Pentateuch
In Genesis the world was made.
In Exodus the march was told;
Leviticus contains the law.
In Numbers are the tribes enrolled;
In Deuteronomy again
We're urged to keep God's law alone.
And these five books of Moses make
The oldest writing that are known.
Historical Books
Brave Joshua to Canaan leads.
In Judges oft the Jews rebel;
We read of David's name in Ruth.
And First and Second Samuel;
In First and Second Kings we read
How bad the Hebrew state became;
In First and Second Chronicles,
Another history of the same.
In Ezra captive Jews return.
While Nehemiah builds the wall;
Queen Esther saves her race from death.
These books "Historical" we call.
Poetical Books

In Job we read of patient faith.
In Psalms are David's songs of praise;
The Proverbs are to make us wise;
Ecclesiastes next portrays
How vain fleeting earthly pleasures are;
The Song of Solomon is all
About the Love of God, and these
Five books "Poetical" we call.
Prophetical Books
Isaiah tells of Christ to come,
While Jeremiah tells of woe.
And in his Lamentations mourns
The Holy City's overthrow.
Ezekiel speaks of mysteries.
While Daniel foretells kings of old;
Hosea calls mean to repent;
In Joel, judgements are foretold.
Amos tells of wrath, and Edom
Obadiah is sent to warn.
While Jonah shows how Christ should rise.
And Micah where He should be born;
In Nahum, Nineveh is seen
In Habakkuk, Chaldea's guild;
Zephaniah, Judah's sins.
Haggai, the temple's built.
Zechariah tells of Christ.
An Malachi of John, his signs.
The Prophets number seventeen.
And all the books are thirty-nine.

NEW TESTAMENT
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
Tell of Christ, His life they trace;
Acts shows the Holy Spirit's work;
And Romans how we're saved by grace.
Corinthians instructs the church.
Galatians shows God's grace alone;
Ephesians, how we are "in Christ,"
Philippians, Christ's joys made known.
Colossians portrays Christ exalted.
And Thessalonians tells the end.
In Timothy and Titus both
Are rules for pastors to attend.
Philemon pictures charity.
Thirteen Epistles, penned by Paul.
The Jewish law prefigured Christ;
And Hebrews clearly shows it all.
James shows that faith by works must live.
And Peter urges steadfastness,
While John exhorts to Christian love;
And those who live it, God will bless.
Jude shows the end of evil men,
While Revelation tells of heaven.
These end the whole New Testament,
In all, they number twenty-seven.

The above is from What the Bible is all about Bible Handbook. It is written by Dr. Henrietta C. Mears.