What a beautiful relief this weekend turned out to be. Saturday morning I sat on the porch watching the birds cavort about in the water fountain. A cool breeze allowed me to sip my tea in peace and clouds filled the sky. I believe there is a passage in the Bible that talks about the bitter disappointment that comes with unfulfilled dreams. I’m not there yet, I’m still looking for my cloud. I thought I saw it coming Sunday. My weather vane was going in all directions but the right one. Then all at once it switched and brought those big rain clouds slowly towards Richland. I felt sure my cloud was here at last, but it just petered out and disappeared. Don’t worry, God is just telling us He can do it no matter what the weather people say. That cloud is coming and we are going to get a big rain, not that little whisper of rain that happened on Saturday.

Farmers and ranchers are shopping for hay all over the country and some have even gone into Canada. Can you believe that? Wayne Powell said his neighbors bought hay from Saskatchewan. It has high protein content, but it has a good high price too. I checked with my sister and she is going to ask the farmer down the road if he has hay for sale. I’m not sure if it would be worth it.

School starts for the teachers on Monday. I get up early anyway, but I hate the thought of that alarm clock going off at 6:15am. At least it will be daylight by the time I leave for school. I’m excited about the new school year, but challenged to make sure our kids get the best education possible. I thought it might be a good idea to put school off for a few weeks until this hot spell passes, but that would mean a June exit. It would certainly save electrical costs for cooling these old rooms. The answer is to go to year round schools and take the hottest and coldest months as vacation. Most people don’t want to give up that long summer vacation. I think it would be cost effective. Some activities would have to be moved, but not many and not far. The advantage to year long school is not losing the material you were taught over a long break. I know it has been done in several states, but it wouldn’t be very popular at this point with the kids. Think about it though, we could take six weeks at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then resume in January until May. I guess the problem here is the fact that so many of our months are hot and only a few are cold. We just can’t seem to get away from the need for air conditioning!

Parents of 5

I’d like to start the school year off with a huge amount of box tops for Mrs. Gossett. I hope everyone will turn out their cupboards and check their purchases for box tops. Let’s see if we can’t rock her socks with hundreds of tops! She was disappointed that so few students showed up on Tuesdays to check out books. I’ll be checking on my students to see if they have completed their summer reading and work book pages. One student informed me that he had finished most of the work, but someone had thrown it out thinking it was old schoolwork. Since I know his work ethic, I believe him. There will be others with that same story that I will be less inclined to believe. They all know the penalty for incomplete work, so we’ll see. Research has proven that students who go the whole summer without reading will lose a whole grade level of ability. That means you start the next grade playing catch up. I don’t like catch up; it’s hard to progress if you’re going over last year’s work. So kids, you have one week! I also left extra work packets with Mrs. Mask, if you can’t find yours.

The quilting Bible study will start back on September 7

It was good to have Susan Luna back in town. She has spent several lovely cool months in Colorado. What a welcome thing to come back to – a record heat wave! Our new teacher Kristin Loudermilk is also back in town. She has spent the summer in Alaska with family. I was just a little worried when I heard she was out in beautiful Alaska. Texas is beautiful as well, but record heat waves are not amusing! All the teachers from the area will be headed for Brownwood on Tuesday for all day long conferences. I must say that I enjoy my time there. It’s a great kick start to the school year.

So keep looking for that rain cloud, it’s coming. Don’t lose faith or heart, God will answer our prayers. Please pray for the sick in our community, for our government, our President and our precious troops. We cannot show a weak America to the world. May God give us leaders to lead us properly, and may God bless America. Have a great week everyone.

th and 6th graders, please don’t forget we are going to the Irving Arts Center on the 25th. I’d like the boys to wear collared shirts, and nice blouses for the girls. We want our best jeans, the ones with no holes, and we want to arrive looking as spiffy as we can look. They will need to bring money for one meal. The other meal will be a school lunch. We should leave before 7:30am and will most likely be home around 7:30pm. We will do research on the Khan before we go. I’ve left a sample of school supplies with Mrs. Mask. Don’t forget Mrs. Mask still has free supplies donated by the Baptist Church, if you have multiple children that are straining your budget. Just go by and ask her, she will be glad to assist you. We are very thankful to the church members for generously donating school supplies for our students.th. The ladies met last week and shopped the quilt stores in Brady. After a frenzy of material buying, we retired to Mi Famillia and ate a wonderful meal. I encourage anyone who wants some fellowship to attend. You do not have to make a quilt. You can come and just be part of the group Bible study. I can attest to the wonderful character of the ladies who attend. If you find yourself with a free hour or two on Wednesdays around 4:00, why not add this to your calendar.