Tough Teaching Moment

I had the hardest moment of my teaching career last week.

Two years ago, I had to call 911 during class because a kid had passed out. That was scary, yes, but nothing compared to the emotional  toll I took last week.

A student attempted suicide last week. Thank God, it was unsuccessful and the student is going to be okay, but as our principal told us the news during an impromptu staff meeting, I was shaken by the news. I don't have the student, nor do I know who he is, but his two best friends are students of mine, twin boys I have 6th hour. Our principal told us that the twins were going to be very shaken by the news and to make sure they were doing okay.

As 6th hour approached, my heart started to ache for the twins. They are two of my favorite kids, and they are top-quality boys. Sixth hour started and a girl raised her hand: "Um, Ms. Nichols, like, someone told me there are, like, extra counselors on hand today because, like, something really bad happened. But I don't know what happened so will you tell the class why we need counseling?" (This girl, if you can't tell, is a ding-bat and obviously doesn't know the first thing about social etiquette).

I kindly told her if she didn't know what was going on then she obviously didn't need counseling and went about teaching the class.

The bell rang and I grabbed the twins. "Hey boys, I'm just checking in to see how you're doing."

One said, "Ms. Nichols, we have no idea what's going on. We've heard rumors all day about Bob (not his real name), and we've been trying to text him all day but he's not responding. We just heard that he had an accident, and we're really worried about him."

I almost threw up. The twins didn't know what their best friend had done. I was going to have to tell them.

I told 7th hour to wait in the hallway. I sat the twins down and told them the basic facts. Bob had shot himself in the stomach. He was found by a friend in the house who heard the gun go off. He was going to survive with minimal damage done to his stomach, praise God, but the reason he wasn't returning their text messages was because he was in the hospital.

The twins were shocked. (Bob would be the least likely student to do this. He comes from a strong, Christian family, he has a million friends, his family is very close, and he is an A plus student and athlete). His two best friends just couldn't comprehend how and why their best friend from kindergarten had done this.

I eventually sent the twins up to counseling where they spent the rest of the afternoon. I taught 7th hour, but I was sick to my stomach over the news I had just told the twins. My 7th hour was visibly shaken, too, as many of the students in the class were good friends with Bob, too.

At the end of the day, I went up to counseling to check on the twins. They had gone home, and as I talked to the counselor, I lost it. I burst into tears. She burst into tears. We cried together, both for Bob who is obviously hurting in ways people don't know, but mostly for the twins, who were hurt and shaken by what Bob had done.

After getting our tears out, we called the twins to check up on them. They were home with their dad and had plans to visit Bob later that evening.

A week later, the twins are still angry at their friend but doing well. Bob has made it home from the hospital and is going to make a full recovery. Praise God, there is a happy ending to this story, but I never want to have to tell anyone again that their best friend attempted suicide.

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is nearly one of the best days of the year. In two short (but oh so very long) hours, I will get a much deserved, much needed NINE day vacation. Two more class periods to go. I am more excited than my students; trust me, I am.

One of the perks of my job.

One of the reasons why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

One of the only ways I will survive until Christmas break.

For my non-teacher friends and family, you might be jealous of my long nine day break. I would be, too. I need you to trust me, though, that without this break, I (and all teachers, really) would end up killing a student, AND the students would riot against me (and again, riot against ALL teachers). It has been a very, very, very (yes, three very's) long semester; unlike most school districts, we at Jefferson County do not have a fall break, so we have gone from September 3 until now without a break (and if you're not a teacher, don't you dare say, "Oh, poor baby," until you stand in my shoes for a day to see what it is like being a teacher. And I dare you to come on a Wednesday where I begin my day with a meeting full of some not very nice people).

Anyway, I understand that most people do not get an entire week off for Thanksgiving, and again I point to "One of the perks of my job." I am so thankful for this break.

On the agenda for the week:

Fish sit for Shan and Jeff's fish, Bob
UNC/CSU boys basketball game tonight in Fort Collins
UNC football game tomorrow in Greeley
Watch NE football twice!
Watch the Broncos twice!
Sleep
Eat (Thanksgiving meal is my favorite!)
Sit by the fire
Shop
Hang out with Josh

And grade research papers. Ugh. I collected 90 research papers today, and my goal is to grade five a day.

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your much needed break, whether it be one day or several days. I am thankful for you, my faithful blog readers and friends!

Romantic Text

Josh to me (via text): "My days are so dark and dim when you are not here and so bright when you are." (So, so sweet. This definitely made me smile).

Me back: "Maybe you should turn on a light! Hahaha." (I think this is pretty funny myself).

Josh's reply: "This is why I cannot be romantic with you."

Even though this was months ago, I am still cracking up.

Scared

As Josh and I left church yesterday, we were discussing his upcoming teaching gig. Both of us are looking forward to next year for many reasons, some very obvious. We have a wedding to look forward to, of course, a honeymoon to enjoy, AND we will finally get to live together in Littleton! But, in one short semester, Josh will finish his long journey of getting his teaching degree and will be student teaching next fall.

That was our topic of discussion as we enjoyed the beautiful weather on the walk to my car. I made a joke to Josh that his students were probably scared of him because sometimes he looks kind of mean.

(As a side note, if you truly know Josh, he is a goofy, kind guy who is very, very silly. However, when he enters into the public realm, he often puts on his tough guy face which isn't always inviting. So I always give him a hard time about his "mean face" and joke how his students are probably scared to death of him. In reality, the students he works with right now really like him. One girl calls him "Dude," and when Josh tells her Dude isn't appropriate to call her teacher, she says, "Oh, sorry. I meant Mr. Dude." Another students follows Josh around to hear about Josh's time in the military.)

As I teased Josh, he said to me, "These students scare the crap of me." I thought he mispoke, so I repeated what I thought he should have said.

"Do you mean these students are scared of you?"

"No, I mean, these students scare the crap of me."

I laughed the rest of the way back to the car. Josh, tough military guy with a "mean face" is a little bit intimidated of his middle school students.

(And I totally get it. Teaching is tough, and standing in front of middle and high school students is not for the weak. They judge. They laugh. They talk. It's hard standing in front of them daily, but I wouldn't change it for the world).

Josh is going to make the most perfect teacher!

Misspelling

Anthony.

That's Josh's middle name, and I find it lovely. His middle name comes from his grandfather, Tony, as he's called in the family, and I find it perfect for Josh. Joshua Anthony.

I have it on our "rough draft" wedding invites. Shiloh Jordan and Joshua Anthony request the pleasure of your company...

I filled out Josh's passport application the other day for him.

Last name.
First name. Joshua
Middle name. Anthony.

"Hold on," Josh said to me. "I can't remember, but I think my middle name might have an E in it."

"What do you mean, 'might have an E in it'? For three years, I've spelled it Anthony. How can you just now be telling me I am spelling it wrong? And how can you 'think' it 'might' have an E? Don't you know how to spell your middle name?"

"Well, I never write my middle name. I've never officially checked the spelling. But I'm almost positive it has an E. Let me check my birth certificate."

Sure enough, it's Anthoney.

Good thing Josh got two passport applications. The first one I had to rip up. The second I spelled it correctly, Joshua Anthoney.

Good grief, and you think you know a person!

Anything else I need to know, Joshua AnthonEy?

Three Blind Mice, Or a Blind Guy and a Mouse

Cody called Josh the other night and said, "Hey, are you home? Can you come help me?"

Josh was home, so he quickly went down the stairs to Cody's apartment. Cody was standing in the hallway in front of his door, door closed.

Josh asked, "What's up? Why are you outside your apartment?"

"There's something in there. I need your help. I was standing in there, and I heard a noise of something rustling around in there. Then it brushed across my leg. I came rushing out of my apartment because it freaked me out. I need you to go inside and find out what animal is in my apartment."

Josh quietly crept into Cody's apartment. He searched high and low, under the bed, around the kitchen, in the living room, and he didn't find a single trace of an animal. He didn't even hear anything. Josh came back out to Cody in the hallway to report his findings (or non-findings).

"Man, there's nothing in there. I believe you, but I didn't find anything. Maybe it came out when you left the apartment?"

Josh then told Cody the story of the first time Josh came to Nebraska to meet the family. My parents have a slight mouse problem.

(They live in the country with several acres of land, so mice are abundant in the area. Growing up, we always heard the mice in the house, and we used traps to catch them. It was not uncommon to be awakened in the night by a trap being set off).

When Josh and I arrived at my parent's house, I took him downstairs to his weekend bedroom. He decided to take an afternoon nap, so he pulled the covers down and there was bird seed in the bed! All over. Under the pillow, down at the feet, under the sheets. We quickly called mom to inspect the problem, and we reduced it down to two things: Either one of the kids was stuffing bird seed in the bed, OR a mouse was steeling bird seed from the garage and storing it in the bed for the winter. We eventually agreed it was probably a mouse.

Josh told Cody this story, and Cody was comforted (ha, not really. It freaked Cody out a little bit more). Josh did one more sweep of Cody's apartment, found nothing, and came back home.

Cody was left with his own imagination, a story from Josh, and no sight to see what was going on around him. The poor guy probably didn't sleep a wink that night.

Family Pictures

My brother, Collin, took these amazing photos of the entire Nichols family. We weren't missing a single person, which is an awesome feat considering we live in Washington, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado. 

 This is four generations, ranging from 85 years old to 1 years young!

 Grandma and Grandpa Nichols with their three children, Ginger, Doug, and Dallas.

 And their spouses.

(Ginger and Kevin; Doug and Sally; Dallas and Jan)

 All my cousins and spouses

 All the great-grandchildren!

 We have a runner!

 I just adore this picture!

 This is my favorite picture of the day. While we were taking pictures, Grandpa leaned over to kiss Grandma. They couldn't quite reach, so Grandpa got her nose instead. You can see the entire progression of the kiss in the following pictures. 

 What fabulous pictures Collin captured of the entire family. How blessed we are!

(We did take a family picture of my parents, siblings, spouses, and children, but I will save that for a later date since it's our family Christmas photo.)

Family Reunion

In late August, the entire Nichols' clan headed to Cozad, NE for a family reunion and 65th Wedding Anniversary Party for my Grandma Reva and Grandpa Leon Nichols. My cousin from Washington came with his entire family, and we haven't seen him in over five years. My cousin from Wyoming came with his family, and we haven't seen him in years. From near and far, over 50 family members and close friends came to celebrate the weekend. 

My Aunt Jan was in charge of the party planning, and man, can she throw a party!!! Friday night, the entire group went to a Winery where Jan supplied wine and chocolate for over 80 people. There was even a live band! On Saturday, we took family pictures (coming up in my next blog) and then spent the day at Camp Comeca swimming, playing games, shooting archery, and sweating a whole lot! (Have I mentioned it was HOT and HUMID the entire weekend. Josh, who isn't used to the humidity, nearly died).

Saturday night, Jan outdid herself again! She hired a gaming bus to come to Cozad, and cousins young and old enjoyed this fun, fun event. 

Kye and Carson competing against one another. 

Kye is definitely mesmerized.

Case is loving his game!

Corinne is into this game, and even Siahna got involved in the games.

Carson loved playing games with his cousin, Braden.

 

The adults even got into the Dance Party outside the bus (see Josh on the far left?).

 Those Nichols/Anderson girls sure do have the moves!

 Josh became BFF's with my cousin from Washington, Chad. They were inseparable throughout the entire weekend, so much so that they had to have a dance together (this is my favorite picture of the weekend).

 I love this picture so much!

 My cousin Brandee and I were dance partners on this one.

 At the end of the night, Jan had 65 red hot air balloons we attempted to light and set off at 9 p.m., but it was too windy and dangerous. We sent three up in the air, but the wind was whipping them around too much (and there was a flame in the balloon), so we weren't able to set off all 65 of them. It was a great idea, though!

Here are four of my favorite people in the world. On the left and in green are my mom's parents, Grandpa Bill and Grandma Van. They celebrated 69 years of marriage last week. Grandma Reva is in white and Grandpa Leon is in blue. We were in Cozad celebrating their 65th Anniversary. 

Both grandparents are great examples of a godly marriage and both pairs have survived so, so much in 65 years plus, but they are still madly in love. 

It was one of my favorite weekends of the year, and I am so glad Josh and I were able to spend the weekend with my fabulous family. 

Small Font

I was telling my students, "Your short story that you write can only be 2-3 pages. I don't want it any longer than that, so you really need to condense your work if your story is longer. I want to see clear and concise writing."

A student raised her hand. "Ms. Nichols, my story is at 10 pages right now, and I'm only halfway done. Is that okay?"

"No, that's no okay. I want you to edit and cut it down to 3 pages. Please do not turn in a 15 page story."

"Ok, I can do that. I'll just make the font really small so that my story is only 3 pages."

Nope, not even what I meant. Not even a little bit.

Anticipation

I love the anticipation of looking forward to something.

I am like a little kid when it comes to Christmas. I love opening gifts, but I love giving gifts even more. I always want people to open MY gift first because I can hardly stand waiting for them to gasp in surprise and admiration.

I get so excited on Fridays that I can hardly focus on my work because that's the day I get to see Josh.

When my parents come for the weekend (like this weekend), I get so eager for them to arrive that I sometimes can't sleep.

When I think about moving to an apartment or house that will be Josh and my first home, I get goosebumps. I start to dream of decorating and creating the perfect place for just the two of us.

When I think about our honeymoon, I get lost in thought and get butterflies in my tummy. I'm not entirely sure I can wait nine more months to fly to Mexico; I might just burst with excitement before even arriving.

With eight months until my wedding, I have already bought my bridesmaids their gifts, and I honestly don't know if I can keep it a secret. I may or may not have already told one of them what she is getting.... or two of them. But whatever. I can hardly wait.

In order not to fly away into dream world and never come back, I have to make myself NOT think about my upcoming wedding. When I think about it, I become giddy. I lose all focus. I stop working. I squeal in anticipation. I tell anyone and everyone who will listen ALL my plans.

Today as the bell rang and students filed out of my room, I got lost in wedding planning in my head. I was staring off into space thinking about how to make a specific decoration stand up on the table when my friend, Liz walked into my room. I didn't even notice she was present because I was in decoration mode. She thought something was wrong, and I quickly came back to planet teaching earth to tell her I was perfectly fine but was doing some planning my head. That happens a lot.

Eight months is much too far away for me to accomplish anything between now and then. I think I just might burst with excitement before I even make it to June 7.

That is why I try to keep busy, so my mind doesn't wander into wedding and honeymoon thoughts.

In the next eight months, I must:
1. Find an apartment/house for Josh and me to live
2. Pack
3. Move in February (when my lease is up)
4. Coach Lacrosse in March, April, and May
5. Finish planning my wedding
6. Finish all my decorations (homemade, all of them!)
7. Create our songlist for the wedding reception
8. Organize the entire wedding
9. Plan food for 40 people for three days prior to the wedding
10. Plan a wedding reception
11. Sit with Josh and Jeff to plan our wedding ceremony
12. Write the family Christmas letter
13. Move Josh to Denver in June
14. Plan a reception for our friends in Kearney who can't make the wedding
15. Book our honeymoon

And there's more, but those are the major things on my mind. I just might explode.

Can you imagine how I feel today knowing Josh will be at my place in three hours, my parents will be here in 12 hours, I get to hang with Case and Siahna tonight, Kye is coming with my parents for the weekend, mom and I are going veil shopping, and we're celebrating my birthday? That is just too much excitement and anticipation for one girl to handle.

Katie Bee

My very good friend, Katie C., and I go back a long way. I first remember Katie from college, but Katie remembers me from high school youth group.

It wasn't until my senior year of college, however, that Katie and I became good friends. I graduated a year later and moved to Denver, but our friendship was sealed and no distance could break our bond. I visited Kearney regularly to see my girls (Katie, April, Irish, and McGee), and they would come visit me in Denver once a year.

I was thrilled when Katie decided to move to Denver six years ago. In fact, Katie and I lived together for about six months when she first came here before she got her own place, and then we also worked at Enterprise together.

It was in 2002 when Katie and I began our friendship, and I am so blessed to have her in my life 11 years later. She is a person I can talk to about anything. She knows me very well and still loves me!

So I was absolutely thrilled (ecstatic) when she called me a month after I was engaged to tell me SHE was engaged, too! I couldn't have been more happy for a friend and sweet Katie said, "I hope you don't feel like I'm stealing your thunder." Absolutely not! I am so, so excited to plan a wedding alongside Katie.

Katie and Steve are getting married a month after Josh and me. Katie is in my wedding. I am in Katie's wedding. Katie is getting married outside. I am getting married outside.

Those are about the only similarities, though, as Katie and I have very different visions for our weddings, which just makes it that much more special and exciting. Each wedding will be unique. Each wedding will be fun. Each wedding will have our own personal touch. Each wedding is to the man of our dreams.

Yesterday, Katie and I hung out for the afternoon. We got our toes done, we had dinner, and of course, we talked wedding talk. It was such a special moment for me, and I am so excited for my dear friends Katie and Steve, who make a great couple!

I can't wait to help plan two weddings at the same time, one for me, and one for one of my best friends!

Our Lodge

As many of you know, Colorado has flooded. The newscaster last week said the floods are of "Biblical proportions."

Now, I wasn't alive back in the day when Noah built the ark, so I can't exactly say what kind of flooding happened that caused Noah and his family to climb into a boat while it rained for 40 days and 40 nights.

But what I can tell you is that it only rained for five days straight here in Colorado. And we didn't have to climb into a boat.
And while a few people did die during this flood, it didn't quite wipe out the entire population of Colorado.

So I'd venture to say this flood in Colorado wasn't quite of "Biblical proportions," but it DID flood, and several people DID die, and it DID cause quite a bit of damage in our beautiful state.

If you haven't heard the news, check it out. It's quite devastating.

The towns of Lyons, Estes Park, and Allenspark (among many other towns) were completely wiped out. Gone. Underwater. No more roads. No more houses. No more businesses. (So, so sad). They said it might take a year or more to rebuild the roads that connect these towns.

As some of you know, Josh and I are getting married in Allenspark next June. When the rains started, and as they broadcast the complete devastation of the area, I started to have a panic attack. The funny thing is, the panic didn't set in right away. For the first week, I was thinking, "Our lodge sits on top of a mountain. It is totally fine." Then one day last week, it hit me: every single road going to our lodge has probably been completely wiped out. And then the panic set in. I got sick to my stomach. I started to sweat.

I immediately emailed the lodge owners. While I didn't want to sound like I only cared about MY WEDDING, the truth was, I wouldn't be emailing them if it wasn't about MY WEDDING. I politely asked them if they had experienced any damage to their lodge. Their reply was quick and reassuring:

Hello Josh and Shiloh-

Yes, we are fine! Thanks for checking in on us!!
We have been extremely fortunate – no damage to report!!!
Our phone and internet are working and they have opened the road from Estes Park to the Peak to Peak (Hwy 72) to Hwy 119 south to I-70!

We are so blessed!!!!
Cory and Cat

Praise the Lord! Our lodge is fine. Josh and I will be married in June! Our beloved lodge that we have both fallen in love with has survived the flood. (The main highway to get there is currently closed, but hopefully they can get that fixed in the next 8 months).

Please continue to pray for our state, though, as many, many people have lost their homes and belongings.

How To Have a Happy Marriage

From my grandma:

You are in love now! Do you want to stay in love 10 or 100 years? Then today and forever----

1. Be as polite to each other as you are to your friends and others.
2. Tell each other "I love you" several times a day and before you go to sleep at night.
3. Don't be afraid to say "I'm sorry" and "Forgive me" when necessary.
4. Don't ever, ever criticize each other. It hurts! Instead, compliment and build each other up. Very important!
5. Be tender and loving from morning til night.
6. Don't go into a mood. No one likes a moody person. If you have moods, GET OVER IT! It's childish and not very grown up.
7. Keep bodily functions private. There's nothing romantic about it.
8. Go to church regularly. Find a BIBLE believing church and go. Pray together. There's nothing sweeter than to acknowledge and love the Lord together. After all, He brought you two together and gave you life first. He will guide you through life and its storms and happy times. He always hears you when you pray. Pray sincerely and pray, "In the name of Jesus."
9. Read the Bible every day. It is truth and be Blessed. Remember, there's only one way to heaven and that's through Jesus. If you've asked Him to come into your heart and live for him, you will be there some day!
10. Read II Corinthians 13:4-8 now and then, what love should be. If you love that way, the Scripture says, "Love goes on forever." (verse 8).

Perhaps this is how my grandma and grandpa have remained in love for 70 years? I love her words and will hold them dear to my heart and marriage.

More Stories

I have a student with autism. She is high-functioning, meaning she does quite well in a normal classroom setting, and academically, she can do the school work just like all her peers. What she struggles with, however, is social interactions. She doesn't communicate like her peers, and she has very few friends because her peers think she's weird.

One of the ways she is "weird" is she speaks her mind. If she's thinking something that she deems important to share, she will say it, even if I'm mid-sentence teaching. She always raises her hand, though, and when her hand shoots up, I always fear what she may have to say.

The other day, I mispoke. I don't remember quite what I said, but I think I was reading something and I skipped a word. She immediately raised her hand. "You forgot a word. Read it again." I read it again and made sure to include the word.

A few days ago after school, she was sitting by the front doors and it was obvious she was waiting for a ride. I was walking out, so I said, "Hey Kacie, are you waiting for a ride?" She replied her mom was on her way, so I told her to have a good night. I left for about 30 minutes to have dinner and then came back (to work a volleyball game). Kacie was still sitting there, so I said, "Kacie, you're still here? Is your mom still coming?" To which she replied, "She's coming, alright. Geesh. Stop asking me about my ride."

I could only chuckle as I walked away. Note to self, don't ask her the same question twice!

This week, we were talking about the floods to the North of Denver. I said, "The big concern now is the flood water is filled with...(I wasn't quite sure how to say it, so I said chose the first word that came to my mind)....poop. They are recommending that people not walk through the water because it's filled with sewage and is highly contaminated."

I sat down to take attendance, and within seconds, Kacie was standing in front of my desk. With a very serious look and a very direct tone she said, "I don't appreciate you talking about that word (she meant poop). It is very vulgar, and you really should be careful what you talk about. Some of us ate breakfast this morning, and now I feel like throwing up!"

It took everything in my power not to burst out laughing.

Mr. Martinez

Josh has a new friend. This friend is 13, and he's a student where Josh is observing for his teaching classes. It's so cute to me: this young kid finding an interest in Josh and following him around the classroom. Josh has called me with two different stories that totally crack me up.

On Josh's first day at his school, he stood in front of the class and introduced himself to these 8th graders.

"Hi, my name is Josh Martinez. I am a former Marine who served for five years, and now I've gone back to school to become a teacher. This is my last year before I student-teach."

This boy immediately raised his hand. Josh called on him, and the boy said, "I want to be a police officer when I grow up. I have a question for you. Have you ever killed someone?"

The teacher stepped in, "That is inappropriate to ask." Josh chuckled and said, "No, I haven't killed anyone."

The boy took a liking to Josh on that day, even though Josh has never killed anyone. They have a bond, former Marine to future Police Officer.

A few days later, the students were doing a lab and Josh was walking around helping. This boy said, "Hey Josh, come here." Josh corrected him and said, "Call me Mr. Martinez." The boy apologized and said, "Mr. Martinez, I have a question. Do you get pimples?"

Josh, always brutally honest, said, "Sure, buddy. I still get pimples. Everyone has them, even when you get older." The boy nodded and thought this was pretty cool. I think he found comfort in that fact that even adults get pimples.

This boy still calls Josh "Josh" and Mr. Martinez always corrects him. He follows Josh around, and I just think it's the cutest thing ever. Josh is going to make a great teacher!

Spiders

Last year around this same time, I wrote about snakes in our school. This year, we have spiders.

And not just spiders (which I'm not a fan of, but I can handle). These are human sized spiders. These are monsters. These are scary. These are the biggest spiders I have ever seen in my life.

No joke.

Last week, as Liz and I were leaving school, we walked into the hallway to find a boy pacing and talking to himself. "Oh my goodness, I cannot believe this. Biggest. Thing. Ever. Oh my goodness. I am going to faint." He was repeating this as he walked back and forth. His face was red, and he was sweating.

I said, "Are you okay?" He stopped and quickly replied, "There is the biggest spider I have ever seen in my life right there."

Let me first explain that Chatfield is known for its bugs (and mice-and snakes). Our school backs up to a huge golf course, the foothills of the Rockies, and open space. We get our share of nasty looking bugs, spiders, mice and snakes in our building. At this point, most of us are used to seeing spiders in the bathrooms, the hallways, the classrooms, the offices. They have become common place. And these spiders we see are not small. They average in size to be about the size of a quarter.

So, the boy pointed to what was the "biggest spider he had ever seen in his life," I rolled my eyes as I looked at Liz, thinking this boy was exaggerating the size of this sucker, and glanced to where he was pointing.

I gasped. Liz screamed. My heart stopped. Sitting in the corner was the biggest spider I have ever seen in my life. This spider was the size of a tennis ball. It was hairy. Its body was the size of a half dollar, and its legs were the length of my fingers.

(To make a long story short, a fellow male teacher came and rescued the spider by opening the outside door and guiding it outside).

The following day, I got to work around 6:30 a.m. There were only two other teachers in my hallway at that hour, so the school was quiet. I unlocked my door. I opened my door.

I screamed bloody murder.

From under my doorway came (I'm pretty sure the exact same) spider. He had been resting under my doorway, and I scared him awake. As I opened the door, he came crawling at me with such speed that he nearly crawled up my leg before I could even scream.

Then the scream came, and I went running. I knew the teacher next door would be wondering what I was screaming about, so I ran into his room to explain my scream.

I panted (as my hands shook uncontrollably), "I'm sorry to scare you. A spider. Huge. Massive. Come look." Kyle rolled his eyes, expecting me to be slightly exaggerating (or a lot exaggerating). He humored me, though, and came to look.

As he came into the hallway, he stopped dead in his tracks. "Holy moly, that is the biggest spider I have ever seen."

Within seconds, another teacher came running to my rescue. He'd heard my scream. "Are you okay?" he asked as he rounded the corner.

"I'm so sorry to alarm you. Look at that spider. Nearly crawled up my leg. Scared me." (As you can tell, I could barely speak full sentences).

Mark, who is the football coach and a big, burly man, also stopped in his tracks. "Yep, she's a big one."

"What should we do?" Mark had to think it through, but then decided he couldn't ruin his karma by killing the spider, so he decided to rescue to nasty thing. He came back with a cup and a piece of paper. He put the cup over the spider. He slid the paper under the cup. He picked up the monster and went to take him outside.

He came back a minute later. "Are you sure I got him? When I went to throw him outside, nothing came out of the cup. Is he still in your room?"

"Um, no, I'm pretty confident you got him. Are you sure he's not crawling on you? What if you turn around to teach and write on your board, and this massive spider is crawling up your back?"

Mark chuckled and went about his day.

I am forever scared. Now, I am scanning my room. Now, I slam my door with my fist before opening it. Now, I am on high alert.

(Since this incident, over a dozen tennis-ball sized spiders have been found in the building. According to Josh, I probably found one of the babies and the mama is hanging out in the ceiling (much larger than the one I found)).

The picture doesn't do justice to the size of this thing, but you get an idea of how large and ugly it is.

Wedding Laughs

I regretfully inform those of you who thought you may be getting an invite to our wedding....

My 6th period class has asked to attend (all 30 of them), and I said YES.

I just informed Josh that he must uninvite his family and friends, too, so you're not the only one who can't come.

They all cheered and clapped, and they are already picking out my wedding colors and menu!

(I'm only kidding, of course. No students will be attending my wedding, but it was fun to "plan" with them for a few moments. And then school stuff got in the way.)

_________________________

As I introduced myself to my 3rd hour class, I said, "Hi, welcome to English 11! My name is Ms. Nichols. I am excited to tell you that I will be getting married next June."

A kid raised his hand. "Yes, Jake?"

"Shouldn't we call you Mrs. Nichols? We should call you Mrs. instead of Ms., right?"

Bahahahaha.

These kids crack me up!

Grandma Van

My grandma is the cutest person you will ever meet. I hope you have the blessing and privilege to meet her someday if you have not already.

When she learned of my engagement, she had one very important question: "Did he ask your parents' permission before asking you?" I replied that he had taken them out to lunch and asked, and her reply was, "Well, then, I love him already." Josh followed the rules, so therefore she approves!

Also since learning of my engagement, she has started calling me about once a week to hear the latest plans. My grandma has always been great about keeping in touch. About once a month, I receive a letter in the mail from her, and also about once a month, she will call to chat. I always make it a point to write her a letter in reply because she LOVES getting mail and it's her only way of communication besides phone calls. Those monthly phone calls have now become weekly, and I cherish the time I get to speak to my grandmother.

Since she doesn't have access to the Internet, she hasn't been able to see any of my pictures, so she kindly asked me to draw a picture of my ring so she could see what it looked like. I printed a picture of it instead, and she proudly has the ring hanging on her bulletin board. I have no doubt she shows anyone who comes to visit.

I just sent her five pictures of a few wedding details, and I can only imagine her face when she checks her mail in the next day or two. She will be thrilled.

What has me chuckling the most is this: The last time I talked to grandma on the phone, she said she was going to send me a picture of a lady named Diana. I said, "Do you mean Princess Diana, grandma?"

"No, no. Her name is Diana and she lived in England. She died."

"Oh, then yes, you're speaking of Princess Diana. What is the picture of?"

"It's her in her beautiful wedding dress."

Sure enough, within a few days, grandma sent me a letter in which was enclosed a picture of Diana. She wrote, "Isn't it a beautiful dress?" She also wrote, "You don't have to purchase this dress, but I think it's the most beautiful dress ever made."

Here are a few other snippets from her sweet letter. Every ounce of it makes me giggle: 

"Dearest Shiloh, I was thrilled to talk to you the other night and hear how much you've accomplished. I was thrilled to hear who you might have as the minister (my brother-in-law, Jeff). I just hope it will be legal! I'm sure Jeff is a Christian and he will be so good. He sings real good, too!!! (Music notes drawn in the margin). "I'll be loving you always." They sang that at our wedding, two girls in harmony, and it was so perfect. I don't meant you should use it though. I'm just making conversation. ha. I like your location, too! You "done" good!...(She wrote that on Thursday, and then stopped for the night. She picked back up on Friday). This is Friday and I quit writing so I'm beginning again. Hi! And how are you? I am fine....Your Aunt Evie would tell you to get married in the morning coz then you can enjoy your whole wedding day and you wouldn't be so tired by night....Love you a million or trillion."

She also added, "If you can't read this, let me know and I'll write another one just like it." 

Isn't she the cutest, most adorable person you have ever met? My grandpa is also the greatest man you can ever meet, too. You should meet them.

MS 150-2013

I finished my sixth year of riding in the MS 150, and it was by far my easiest, best year! My hard training really paid off this year (I've ridden 680 miles so far to date), and I rode like I've never ridden before. I felt great, which just makes the entire weekend so much fun and worth the cause (there have been a few years when I was terribly out of shape and just wanted to give up). 

Thank you to some very generous donations, I hit my goal if raising over $1,000. Overall, Team Saddle Soar raised over $9,000, which is incredible. Here are a few pictures from that weekend. 

 Team Captains, Kari and me

 My little bro, kicking my butt all 150 miles!

 Team Saddle Soar 2013

Kari, Shiloh, Adam, Collin, Dean

Michelle, Sarah, Sonya

(from left to right, back row to front row)

 Our sweet team jersey we had made a few years ago.

 This is our team right before we started climbing Horsetooth Reservoir near Fort Collins. It's the hardest part of the entire ride. 

 It was raining at the start of day two, but the rain quickly stopped. 

 Isn't he cute?

 My parents, who provide so much support throughout the weekend. I ride for my father, who was diagnosed with MS 8 years ago. 

 Six years of making it to the finish line!

 We all rode in together! It was so neat. 

 Shannon, interested in joining us next year? :)