NEW POST!!!!

It's been quite a while since my last post, so here's the rundown.

We MOVED!!! We now live in an apartment 3 times the size of our old one! We have so much space and it really feels like a home! My wonderful parents came up and brought us a ton of furniture! Thanks Mom and Dad! We also got a hutch, dining room table, barstools, sewing machine and table from my grandmother when she passed away. These things remind me daily of my grandparents and how important family is. I especially enjoy eating around the table.

Ted and I celebrated our one year anniversary pretty low key, but it was perfect! We enjoyed a yummy dinner at home and exchanged gifts. I gave Ted a pretty cool watch, and he got me a grill pan, griddle pan, and 2 place settings of china!!! I wanted china, but we didn't register for it for the wedding. So, Ted is starting my collection. Ted and I drank champagne out of our wedding toasting glasses. We ate the saved wedding cake, which actually wasn't terrible, too!

This weekend Ted's parents are coming to visit. We are going to take them to DC on Friday, and relax around here the rest of the weekend! Ted has a 5 day weekend, and I have a 4 day weekend, so it will be nice. We'll write more about that later!

Work has been pretty tough for me. Getting ready for standardized testing has been stressful, and that puts it mildly. Luckily, my kids test tomorrow, so hopefully scores aren't too bad when they come back to us this summer.

Ted started his summer job with Events and Conferences at JMU. He likes it so far. He gets lots of long weekends, and the people he works with aren't bad. More on that later this summer I am sure.

The biggest story in my life today is work related. This past February, my school received several bomb threats in the form of letters dropped in the 8th grade hallway. The letters were written like a student wrote them, including sloppy handwriting, mention of friends, and requests for teachers to help him/her. Yesterday evening a teacher at my school was arrested for writing those notes. We all found out this morning. It was disgusting, disappointing, discouraging. We all, teachers and students, felt betrayed. But, through it all, I was amazed at the strength and support the faculty had for each other and the students. And our students are wonderful people who displayed great maturity. Tomorrow is Shelburne Day. We are all standing up in our Shelburne shirts and saying that Shelburne is still a great place to be. I'm proud to be a teacher there. Please keep Shelburne students and staff in your prayers as we all cope with this situation.

All our love to all of you!

Dana