A lovely day here in Pleasant Hill, Iowa!  It seems strange to me to be home at the beginning of another school year.  Every year in the Fall, I've been busy setting up my classroom and visualizing projects and fun lessons for children of many different ages.  This is my first year of not doing that.  My health has made a statement that will not be ignored and I discover that my 20+ years of teaching have come to a screeching halt.  Nonetheless, I am grateful for the many years I enjoyed working with deaf children.  I remember my early years at Michigan School for the Deaf.  That was an awesome experience, because I returned there after having been a student there as a child.  It certainly felt like home to me.  Then, I was offered a job in St. Louis, Michigan to teach high school deaf students for a center-based program managed by the Gratiot-Isabella Regional Service District (GIRESD).  I only worked there for 2 years and accepted a position with the Bloomfield Hills School District.  I taught middle school at the East Hills Middle School.  That was an awesome experience.  Then, when I married my husband, Gus - I ended up moving to Des Moines, Iowa and taught until this past February at Capitol View Elementary School.  I miss my kiddos!!  I loved teaching 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade deaf students there.  It is hard to believe that I am not with them now.  Many turns and bends in my road, but the journey was an on-going path following the Lord's guidance.  I am so thankful for all of it.  Now, I spend my days doing "occupational therapy" with my textiles/fibers - loving the opportunity to explore artistic ventures while trying to recover from some bumpy health issues.