they may never know how much it means.

Yesterday Jose brought in homemade tamales that his mom made for my CT and me. Yummo! We had them for lunch- which was a great treat. Nothing like authentic culture food- straight from a mom!

I also received my first gifts as a teacher Monday morning. Two girls brought in a necklace and a bracelet that they had made for Mrs. Cashmer and I. It was so sweet.....it's amazing how much those little things mean to teachers....the students will never know...

I haven't been good about blogging or journaling this week....life is getting crazier. My allergies are going nuts, which makes me tired and allergy-ie.....you know, just worn out. Lots of people are sneezing, itching, stuffy, etc.....no big deal.

We've got an open house coming up, so we're working really hard to finish autobiographies, interviews, etc. All these fun things to hang up in the classroom and hallways when parents come to visit. I love it.

I'm missing home- missing Nate and my friends terribly. I'm slowly meeting new people....and even some in their late 20's.....the age I want to be spending time with. Lots of the college aged people i'm meeting are still into the party scene....which I'm not excited about. I want to go to coffee shops, have movie nights, go to farmer's markets on weekend mornings, etc. It's slowly coming....and I attended a new Bible study last night that will be good. However, I'll only be able to go to about 4 by the time I leave because they're meeting every other week and some holidays conflict with the dates. At least it's something....

Grey's season 3 is in my possession. I've been trying to get through them the past two weeks. I'm only on disk 2...it's amazing how much time you DON'T have when you have a real job.....it's very strange.

I'd better get back to typing autobiographies. Hope everyone is well. Keep Renae in your prayers- her family needs it right now as they're grieving the death of her grandmother. Martha's family also lost a grandma last week- keep remembering them. It's easy to forget as life continues to be busy.

Lots of love from the lake,
Heather Lea

P.S. There was a little confusion from last time. Riley's mom transferred him to a different school....he didn't get kicked out.

P.P. S. There's a little boy in our reading class named Jacob, who is a miniature Ben Davy. Very cute....makes me think of Benito every day at 9:45... Crystal, you should pass that along.... :)