Oh the Life on Lincoln Street!

Oh, so many things that have been going on! So many pictures, yet not on a digital so I can't post them yet! Lets see where to begin....

Last Thursday Jeff and I had a free trip to Magic Mountain. Woo Hoo! I love Magic Mountain, but I haven't been able to go in 8 years. Because you know. Life. But we got to go. And did I mention it was FREE? Actually, Jeff was paid to go. Okay, so we were chaperoning a bunch of 8th graders, but it was fine. It actually worked out very nicely for us. The morning was just the two of us going on rides, and after lunch (Mr. Muller, the principal, had arranged an all-you-can-eat buffet for the El Camino students and staff) there were about 4 students who asked if they could go on rides with us. It was really great.

So because of this Magic Mountain trip, I was able to make a connection with one of the girls, Yasmin. She came over to our house on Saturday and we spent the day making cupcakes. She's coming over again this Saturday. I have a feeling she is just the tip of an El Camino iceberg. Actually, having her at our house had me dreaming. It had me dreaming for the kids that are less recognized (it was nothing to do with her personally, it was more on how my brain operates in a wandering way). And I was thinking, all the "A" students get recognized. And all of those weird kids who never miss a day of school in their life. And that's great. But what about those kids who really struggle? What about those ones who have an "F" and really work hard to pull it up to a "C" or even a "D". I'm talking about those kids who genuinely struggle with concepts and applications. Or who lack the necessary support system at home. The ones who have to fight to keep their heads above water.

According to Jeff, he averages about 7 students a quarter that pull their grade up by at least one full grade. So why can't we recognize the hard work they do? So now we are praying about opening our home once a quarter to those students for a special dinner and game night. Wouldn't that be fun? And encouraging?

And to add to life on linconln street...Stanley decided to show up last night (Stanley is the rat who has taken up residence in our garage, and who I niavely thought had moved on with his life). And a beehive is forming under the eave of the roof right above my boys' bedroom. Or at least a honeycomb is now forming. I must say, it does look kind of cool, not that I want to keep it!