Sweet Girl

Dear Ruby,

You ran to Jesus today. My heart is broken, but I am so thankful you are whole again. Your journey on this Earth has not been easy, but you have changed the life of every person you met. I think Mrs. Carren said it best today -

"It didn't take long in her presence to know how amazing she is."

So true, sweet girl. 

I remember seeing your beautiful face walk in my door for the first time. I knew there was no way I could ever fuss at you, give you detention or take away your recess. We spent such a sweet year together in "Team Spobel." You had missed almost a full year of school getting treatment, but no one would ever know it. You grew so much as a reader and you amazed Ms. Robel with your math skills. You taught 32 children all about kindness, compassion and courage. 

I especially loved my "Ruby Days" - introducing you to the new hot dog place, playing Wii, eating ice cream and painting flower pots. You loooooved making your teachers sing karoake - especially when we didn't know the words!  You never ever wanted "stuff" - even though I would've gladly bought you the moon. You just wanted to spend time with the people you loved. I am so blessed and grateful to be counted among those people.

  
Ms. Robel (your other favorite teacher) was so right - "My sweet Ruby-Dooby-Doo, you made this world so much brighter and will continue to shine on us all from above with the Lord. Thank you for showing what it means to have an amazing heart and truly be a fighter. I love and cherish you always my sweet angel.

You fought just as fiercely as you loved. Those five years were not in vain. I know there is purpose in every day you were here.

  Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
      you formed me in my mother's womb.
   I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!
      Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
      I worship in adoration—what a creation!
   You know me inside and out,
      you know every bone in my body;
   You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
      how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
   Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
      all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
   The days of my life all prepared
      before I'd even lived one day. ^{Psalm 139: 13-16} .

I find a lot of comfort in this passage (thank you, Jennie). Each day of your life was prepared. HE called you home at just the right time. 

As Ms. Hailey said, "A special young lady now has a special place in heaven. Her smile and spirit has touched many and she will continue to live in the hearts of those she has touched."

Did you know the impact you had on people? I am amazed at how many of my friends were touched by your life. (It is impossible to meet you and not love you instantly.) 

Mrs. Leavell's family picked out a scripture to remember you by and I think it fits you perfectly:

 ^6-7I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.
 ^8-9You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don't see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you'll get what you're looking forward to: total salvation.
1 Peter : 6-9

I have been constantly humbled by the faith you and your parents exude. I take great comfort in knowing you loved Jesus and trusted Him to carry you through your suffering. When I think of how hard you had to fight, this is a verse that gives me peace. 

You remind us to speak kindly to everyone, to invite people into our hearts and to live life with spice. You are our sweet and spicy girl!  

Mrs. Poncheri is right - "We will miss you sweet Ruby!"

I don't know if there is a right or wrong way to end this letter. As Ms. Fernandez said today, "Some moments in life have no words. Love leaves a memory no one can steal. As always I send you hugs and kisses."

Ruby-Dooby-Doo, I love you. To the moon and back.

And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side, and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live! 

-Come to Jesus, Chris Rice

My New Favorites

My grad school and blog-friend Angie has the most fabulous Etsy shop. I stalk it frequently.Usually closer to payday. I also stalk her blog. It does not require payday - and her stories are pretty freakin' hilarious.

Last week, (not so close to payday) I was etsy-stalking and saw this:

And these:

So I ordered them. And then I went on vacation. Do you know how much I love coming home to packages??
Do you know what's even better to coming home to a package?

Coming home to a package that has a surprise in it!

How cute are these??

I even went shopping today to find more blue shirts. Just for these earrings. Don't tell Bryan. Seriously.

So, I write all this to say thank you, sweet friend!

For the rest of you - go visit her blog:







and her Etsy shop:

You won't regret it!

*All photos by the fabulous Angie as well!

Squir-coonin'

That got your attention, didn't it?

Last weekend, my "Obel" and I joined our sweet friend Leigh at her family's house on Daufuskie Island just off of Hilton Head in South Carolina. We celebrated her birthday all weekend long with her friends Erin and Emily. You know I have stories to tell. But this is not the blog post for stories. This is an opportunity to share my extensive knowledge on squircoons.

Sweet Peas -  there were squirrels, there were raccoons and then there were squircoons. I. am. not. kidding. I have never seen anything like it in my entire life. Every time we went out on the golf cart, it was an opportunity to go "squir-coonin." You know what? I didn't take any pictures of people the entire time I was there. Just the squircoons.

Squircoon Fact #1: Despite popular opinion, squircoons do not travel in pairs.

Squircoon Fact #2: There is some debate, however, as to whether these animals should be called "squircoons" or "squnks."

Do you SEE the SIZE of these things??? They are HUGE!!

Squircoon Fact #3: Squircoons are very speedy, making it almost impossible to get a picture of their squircoon faces.

I hope you have enjoyed your lesson on squircoons, a species known only to this author to reside in remote areas of South Carolina.

Thank Goodness for the 755 Club

On Friday afternoon, I had a text-versation that went something like this:

 "Do we have plans on Sunday?" - B

"I'm babysitting until 12:30 but after that, nothing." - A

side note: I started thinking... It's been awhile since his store did an inventory. They are always on Sundays. They are always horrible. I bet he has to do inventory. Yuck.

"I will make something up if it's inventory. We'll go visit your parents." - A

"We have 4 Braves tickets with parking pass. Behind the dugout. Ask someone. :) - B

Yahoooooooooooooooooooooooo! Not inventory! And fun!!

Ladies and gentlemen, Jason Heyward. Love this kid.

Right after I took these pictures, we gave in to the s-w-e-l-t-e-r-i-n-g heat and headed for the 755 Club. Also known as the Land of Air Conditioning. Within five minutes of us walking in the door, it started pouring outside. We laughed when when we heard Chip Caray call it "sprinkles." They were not sprinkles. But we were dry!

We stayed through the 7th inning and headed back to the seats to watch the last of the game. Do you know how hot it was? All that rain? Gone. Not a drop anywhere to be seen. Ugh. Don't get me wrong - I love being at Turner Field and watching the Braves. I hate being hot. HATE IT.

But you know what I love? People watching.

Baltimore Wildebeast

If you cannot see the amount of hair on this man, it is a crime and a shame. I thought I was miserable. He had an extra layer!! (Note: Had he been an Atlanta fan, I probably still would've taken his picture.) Seriously! If you were setting him up on a date, you would need to include the word "furry" when describing him to someone. Seriously.

The Braves lost (probably because I took his picture and decided to make fun of it) but it was a fun afternoon. I hope we get to go back again soon!

Unwelcome Visitor

The Smyrna Zoo had an unwelcome visitor this past week.

On Tuesday, Bryan and I were hanging out when we noticed pieces of wood coming out from under the coat closet in our living room. We opened the door and couldn't see anything except for MORE wood chips and pieces...

At least 1 inch of the door... gone!

We looked at each other in panic and promptly shut the door. People, I am not a fan of "critters." In fact, I do believe I used that very word. Along with a few other more colorful ones. Bryan, being the manly man that he is immediately called the exterminators who told us they could come out THURSDAY. Whaaaaat? Thursday? Are you kidding me?? Surely you mean NOW.

Nope, they came Thursday. And so there was a definite "barricade" (read: recycling bin) in front of the door until the Arrow man came.

When the very nice Arrow man came, he looked about as excited as I was to find out what was in our closet. I believe he referred to it as "a vermin." {Really? Who still uses that word??} Anyhoo - he set up yet another barricade to guide whateveritwas out the front door and prevent it from running all over our house. He also asked me to step into another room because I was making him nervous and the "vermin" was enough. HA!


This is where the fun starts, lovies. I have never wanted to laugh so badly in my entire life. That nice man started pulling things out of our closet one by one and jumping back about 10 feet each time he did. By the time he had pulled out 7 or 8 things, I saw a SQUIRREL come running out of the closet, through the front door and he did not stop until he was all the way across the street and up Mrs. Housely's tree. That's right, buddy. You stay there and tell your friends too.

squirrel in the closet  = total destruction

Arrow Man started looking for an entry point and couldn't find one. Would you like to know how the squirrel got in according to him? It folllowed us in the house. Yeah, right. Would you like to know how I thought the squirrel got in?

I don't know how he missed this fist-sized HOLE IN OUR WALL, but he did. That's right - the damn thing chewed through the drywall and was feasting on the birdseed I kept in there. {Notice I said kept. Yep, sorry birdos. No mas seed for you.}I am picking up a drywall patch kit tomorrow. Until then, we have found yet another use for plastic grocery bags. Yep, that sucker is packed full of those things. Eat that, you nasty rat with fur. 

Bryan has a new motto: "Stupid squirrel. I hate squirrels." I think I'm going to have it made into a bumper sticker.

Yikes!

Did anybody else know about this?? I'm glad we locked in our plans while we could! You have until July 7th according to the article. Get on it!


Say goodbye to unlimited data

Father's Day

I have to say a few words in honor of my Daddy-Man for Father's Day...

First of all, the man should really be nominated for sainthood. Or some sort of "survivor" award. He managed to survive a household with FIVE women. 5! Until you've managed it yourself, you have no idea how much estrogen that is. No idea.

Daddy Man with his girly girls - 11, 9, 7 and 1.5

Daddy only had eight years with his own father. My grandfather was killed in 1961 in a plane crash in Italy. He was a captain in the Air Force. This means that everything my daddy knew about fatherhood, he learned in eight years. When I think about how good Daddy has been to my mama and his "girly-girls" I am so thankful. I am thankful that Granddaddy Richard had an impact on him, and that he carried on his values and strong character through us.

Capt. James Richard Boone

My Aunt Tanna recently posted the following:

So true!! "Anything worth doing is worth doing right!" I hear those words ringing in my ears anytime I find myself wanting to take the easy way out. Even scarier, I have heard myself telling my third graders exactly that on numerous occasions.

I know that there are many former "band geeks" out there who can also attest to the following: My father is the best teacher I've ever had. He expects the most, makes you work the hardest (to the point of cursing him under your breath) and gets the best results. Every time. I never worked harder in high school than I did during marching band season. I never had more fun doing anything else, either.

D. Sanford Boone, Director of Bands

Happy Father's Day, Daddy. I love you.
I am so glad that He saw fit to make us your daughters!

Zazzle!

My teacher peeps will appreciate this. The rest of you may think I am crazy.

Zazzle (think CafePress) is having a 4-hour 50% off sale on their custom made binders. Even if you aren't a teacher, you can make a binder for other things: recipe book, scrapbooks, etc.. I have two different binders for my conferring notebooks and I l-o-v-e them.

The Spann Clann

The Robel Roundup

Click HERE to check it out and make sure you use the code 50FFHSBINDER when you check out!

Happy! Happy! :)

My New Obsession...

It started with this:

Banana Puddin' Milkshake.Courtesy of Chick-Fil-A. Notice the Nilla wafers. Those suckers are crunched up in there.

I don't know what it is about milkshakes right now, but I am pretty obsessed. Seriously? I think I've had one almost every day this week. It feels like the perfect summer treat. I have even tried them at McD's, Burger King and Zaxby's.

There's just one problem. It's not a treat if you have one everyday. And they're kind of really bad for you. Especially if you sip on one every day.

Anybody know where a girl can get a lower calorie version? Or even better, does anyone have a good recipe?

New Adventure

Hey peeps!

I'm starting a new adventure - a teaching blog. I'll still use this one to keep track of life in the Spann house, but I wanted to try something new.

If you are a teacher or a homeschool mom, please head over to Third Grade Bookworm and check out my challenge. Ok, so it's a plea for help too, but there are freebies involved!

Thanks!

Kadee Ann Boone Primus

Today, my sweet sister Kadee turns 30! 

In honor of her birthday, I'm going to share 30 Things I Love About Kadee!

30. Our phone conversation are always at least 20 minutes long. There are no "short" phone calls with Boone girls. 

29. She very patiently answered all of my questions (and Jennie's!) when I was getting married. Her advice was pretty spot-on too!

28. In the 5 years of dance classes we took together, she never once made fun of me for being completely uncoordinated. :) 

27.She knows how to play A-Team. And she is the best at being Hannibal.

26. Kadee knows how to compromise. It was her idea to have 3 imaginary "Kirk Cameron" boyfriends when we were little. He had imaginary identical triplet brothers. You know, so we didn't have to fight over the real one. When we were 9, 7 and 5. Sorry Nat... you weren't old enough for a Kirk Cameron boyfriend yet.

25. Eskimo nose!

24. She knows the value of a good set of hot rollers. 

23. Kadee is the one of the only people I would want to almost-pee-my-pants with in a CVS. 

22. Kadee always knows which Sunday Shoes make the best Barbie cars.

21. She knows why this is funny.
20. She is the best Ramona-bang-fixer/hider I know.

19. Her boyfriends always made mine look like angels. ;-)
18. She bleeds Tarheel Blue!

17.Without her, there would be no Hayley Bird in my life.

16. If she wanted to, she could make you call her Dr. Primus. Fo' serious.
15. She is a very good snuggler. And she can fall asleep pretty much anywhere.

14. Kadee can tell you what a Lula is... and where it came from.
13. She knows all of my secrets. And she still loves me.
12. Um, because she can do this:

11. She can be serious...

10. Or silly...

9. Kadee is one of the most naturally "brootimous" people I know.
8. We have had 3 of the same boyfriends... and we can laugh about it... and admit that it's kind of weird.
7. Whenever we played school, she always let me be the teacher. She had the best grades in my class. :)
6. She appreciates my nonsense song messages.
5. She made JP my brother. :)

4. She holds me accountable.
3. She is really good at harmonizing. I love to sing with her.

@Kari's wedding rehearsal

2. Kadee has been my roommate more times than I can count. She gets a prize.
1. Kadee has been one of my best friends for 30 years, and I'm counting on at least 30 more!!


Kadee Ann Boone Primus, I love you! Happy Birthday!!

Javier

Today I attended the funeral mass of a 12 year old boy. Javier was one of my after school tutoring students a few years ago. He had the sneakiest smile I've ever seen on a little boy and the laugh to go with it. While I wasn't as connected to him as some of my fellow teachers, I wanted to go in support of the students I knew in his neighborhood.

This isn't is the place to talk about what happened to Javier, but if you want to know more you can go here. I was very thankful for my Catholic Fair Oaks peeps because I didn't understand a word of what was said (it was all in Spanish). With them nearby, I at least knew when to stand up and sit down. (Thank you Cindy, Susan,, Katie and Charlene!)

Looking around the sanctuary, I saw many of my former students. It was impossible not to notice how much pain this has caused Javier's family and community. They didn't just lose one child, they lost two. That kind of grief is unfathomable to me.

So, I am coming to you, blog public to ask for a couple of things:

1. Pray for Javier's brother Oscar. More than anything, Oscar needs people praying for him. He has a long and lonely road ahead of him.

2. Pray for Oscar and Javier's family. They are hurting and need the kind of peace and comfort that can only come from Him.

3. Pray for a safe place for his family to live. They cannot return to their home  and must start all over. If you have any furniture, clothing or home goods you can donate please email me and I will find a way to come and get it from you. If you want to make a monetary donation to help them cover funeral expenses, email me as well and I will direct you towards our school's foundation.

Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Matthew 5:4

Dos Años

Two years ago...

 We met here...

 laughed a little...

shed a few tears...

had a smooch... (or two!)

and called it a day!

After 10 years together and 2 years of marriage, Bryan still finds ways to surprise me and make me feel special. Even when we are grouchy and horrible, I wouldn't want to share my days with anyone else. :) I can't wait to see what the rest of life has in store for us!

I love you, sweet boy!

All pictures are by the fabulous Corey Cagle!

I Needed a Plan B

I went to church for yesterday for the first time in Idon'tknowhowlong.

I didn't want to go.

I have been reallyreallyreally angry with Him. I haven't talked to Him. I haven't been to His house. I haven't had my morning quiet time.

I have been angry and miserable. Angry and miserable does not make for a happy blogger.

But I went here. And this place feels like home.

What's even better is that we both like it.

I walked in the door and I knew He was talking to me.

The new sermon series is "Plan B: What happens when life doesn't turn out the way you thought it would?"

The pastor said a couple of things that I haven't been able to get out of my head:

1. God is most powerfully present when we feel like He is most apparently absent.
2. I can choose to trust in God's IDENTITY, not in God's ACTIVITY. I wept on and off throughout the entire service.

I decided to stop being angry about things that are out of my control. I decided to focus on what I can do: love her, pray for her and rest in His identity.

If you would like to listen to what I believe is an amazing series, click here. The podcasts are free! :)

You should definitely check it out!

On The Night Before Valentine's Day

I had the hiccups.

Right when I wanted to go to bed.

Not my favorite thing.

My sweet boy *might* have heard me moan and groan about the aforementioned hiccups.

I went on with my face-washing-teeth-brushing-contact-cleaning routine before bed.

Just as I am putting on my pajamas, the "sweet boy" sneaks up behind me and SCREAMS.

Ladies and gentlemen, this was not a normal scream.

It was very loud.

It even came with a crazy face.

It was worse. Trust me.

It scared me so badly I cried for 5 minutes.

I was very thankful I did not pee my pants.

(I am not a fan of scaring.)

The "sweet boy" had to hold me until I stopped.

Only he was laughing the whole time, so then I got mad.

I made him promise never to cure my hiccups that way ever again.

It is a good thing he got me this for Valentine's Day:

My new favorite.

Anybody else have a Valentine's Eve story they'd like to share?

Editor's Note: The "sweet boy" would like me to note that my hiccups went away. 
Don't care. 
Scaring is bad.