As usual, there 
ends well..." Coffee in hand. Snow Angel made. Life is grand! 
Last night, my parents and I ventured out to the tiny hamlet of Gore's Landing on the shores of Rice Lake to visit my Aunt Edna and Gary! Aunt Edna is my dad's youngest sibling out of nine children born to Joe and Elsie Whalen of Caplin Cove, Newfoundland. I always love being around Dad's brothers and sisters as the "yarns" and jokes come flooding incessently out of their mouths! I hear "yarns" I have never heard before and I also hear the same "yarns" over and over again! I don't mind though as we are always guaranteed laughter, music and great food!!!:) (It wouldn't be a true Newfoundland gathering without a large assortment of food that could feed an entire town!!) In keeping with tradition, my time at Aunt Edna's did not disappoint me!! We had a wonderful evening and I'm grateful for extended family! It continually reminds me of my roots, where I came from and is part of who I am!!
Wishing I was lying on this beach, instead of lying sick in bed! I have the greatest intentions of finishing my last minute Christmas preparations, but I have been down with this horrible bacterial infection. We thought I had pneumonia, but it turns out I have a bad case of bronchitis, with a touch of the flu and touch of a bad cold mixed in!!! I have been off work now for 3 days, but do hope to return tomorrow. Unfortunately, I have had to miss many pre-Christmas celebrations and the pre-Christmas frenzy at the mall! At first ,I was saddened by the decline in my social calendar, but have had a great deal of time on my hands reflecting on the true reason for this Christmas season. If the baking, shopping, partying, wrapping, eating, and other various pre-Christmas preparations don't get done, then I am okay with that! So often we are too wrapped up ( no pun intended!!) in all the goings on of the Christmas season, that we forget why we celebrate!! This sickness has been a good lesson for me to learn to just let go and be in the moment, enjoying the season! For now, I can allow the "visions of sugar plums NOT to dance in my head!!" Have a Merry Christmas one and all, celebrating our Saviour's birth!!!
One item on my "Things I Want to do Before I Die " list is to try songwriting!! I do think songwriting is a gift you are born with, but feel you can learn to write songs! So, I thought I would give it a try. Here is my first attempt at a song! I don't have the music to it yet, although I do have some ideas floating around my head!!! This song was inspired by one of my students who has autism. I worked with her for 3 years and grew to love her like my own daughter. As a single woman, I feel so blessed that God puts children in my life, so I can love them, learn from them and enjoy them, just like they were my own!! This young, autistic student of mine, who is now becoming a woman, delights everyone that crosses her path. She is a gift from God! I dedicate this song to her!!! If you want to learn more about Autism, check out, www.autism.net or www.autismtoday.com.
Here is a photo of our ensemble singing for our Christmas program at church. We sing a song called "Jesus, Jesus, O What a Wonderful Child!" Can you spy me? I am on the far right!! Our group, First Light, has been together for about 3 years now. 
It has been a crazy week both at work and in my extra-curricular life!!! At work, my students have been "challenging" and are most likely ready for the Christmas holidays!! ( Are we allowed to admit we are counting the days until the holidays too!!!) As much as my students can drive me crazy, I have to admit that on many occasions, they make me smile - sometimes even roll on the floor laughing!! For most of my day as an Educational Assistant, I work in a special needs class. The other part of my day is varied, but his year, I am with the grade 4's. I guess in most professions you need to have a sense of humour, but I feel it is especially needed in the education profession. ( Yes, I am biased!!!) I was glad there were many laughable moments in the midst of a chaotic week. Some of the best moments I cannot share here, but I will tell you of a conversation I had with one of my students in the grade 4 class!!! He is just a regular kid that needs some extra help! He makes me smile everyday and I so enjoy working with him, even though he needs many prompts to remain focused!!:) His timing of interesting comments is not great...they usually come when the teacher is in the middle of her lesson. Not surprising, a few weeks ago, in the middle of a math lesson, this student leaned over to me and asked me, in a loud, booming voice ( I think he has a bit of a hearing problem:)) , what my blood type was. He proceeded to tell me his blood type before I could re-direct him to listen to the lesson! Now, the whole class knows his blood type and that he thinks his blood type changed last summer when he got bitten by a mosquito!!!:) So, this week, in the middle of a science lesson, this student looks down at his hand and asks me, " Miss Whalen, why is your hand a different colour than mine? What are those things on your hand and arm? ( Dont' be alarmed...he was just referring to my freckles!!!) " For those of you that know me, you know I love to talk too and was dying to answer his question right there in the middle of the science lesson, but I had to tell him to wait until we could talk at recess. Little did this sweet boy know how profound his question and the implications to it was!! Oh the innocence! He has known me for 2 years and only this week noticed the difference in the colour of our skin. He never passed judgement nor will he, I believe. He accepts me for who I am and he knows I accept him for who he is...who God created him to be. I'm so glad God uses children to teach me lessons. He gently reminded me, through the ramblings of this little boy, that He accepts me for who I am -- everthing about me, even when I disappoint Him. For that, I am grateful! Amazing grace!!
I thought I had died and gone to heaven today! A handful of tall, handsome firefighters showed up at my parents senior's condo shortly after I had arrived!! (What is it about men in uniform!!!:)) We heard the fire trucks stop outside the building, but weren't too concerned as we thought it was just a medical call. But, I had smelled smoke in the corridor earlier and thought it was just the aroma coming from the chimneys of the nearby homes. Incidently, we were wrong and there was an actual fire outside on the patio. The fire inspector suspects young people set the fire on purpose. As fun and exciting this little adventure was, I realized things could have been far worse. The fire was set near a gas barbeque , which was under the roof of the apartment. building. It saddens me to think that the young people who purposely set this fire thought this prank was a funny thing to do. I realize the majority of young people don't think of the consequences ( after all I used to be a teenager not that long ago!!!) and just want to have some fun. But, I wish they would come up with alternative pranks that won't endanger the lives of innocent people, especially senior citizens. I am grateful that we were spared and am grateful for the fire fighters who saved the day!!! My heartfelt thanks goes out to all the firefighters who risk their lives daily to protect us from danger!!
I was immediately intrigued by this elderly couple as I was nearby basking in the summer sunshine and breathing in the aroma of the salt air. I LOVE the ocean and was taking every advantage of that glorious August day on the Cape. 
