Happy Fall Y'all!

Nothing makes me happier in fall than taking a few pictures of my "pumpkins" in the beautiful scenery.  After they spent two nights camping on their fall break with Moo and Doo at their beloved Lake Lanier, I whisked them away to a fall farm tucked away off the beaten path.

The perfect seat in the fall

Stair-step boys on an adventure

I could have spent the whole day looking at the unusual pumpkins and gourds.  It was probably a good thing that we were packed down with they boys and all the extra camping luggage or I would have filled my car with cornstalks, mums, and breads and jams!

Granddaddy would have appreciated the beauty in this "ugly" pumpkin....

.....and the unusual shape of this one.

Enjoying the simple things - relaxing in a wagon while picking out her pumpkins

 I think one of the reasons I am drawn to the beauty of fall is because it reminds me of Grandmama and Granddaddy.  They both marveled through the years of the changing of the seasons and found comfort in its constants even when the world around them changed so drastically - technology, telephones, debit cards, automatic engines, satellite tv, email, and internet were things that caused their heads to spin.  But the simplicity and predictability of the seasons was something they could always depend on to be the same.

On the hunt to find the perfect one

Beautiful view - beautiful children!

Granddaddy shared my October birthday and was a lover of nature's beauty in every season.  I remember his showcase of gourds in his backyard.  He collected the most unusual ones.  Going to a farm reminds me of going back in time when life was a little simpler - the kind of life both of them enjoyed. The apples, the homemade breads and jams, put me right there in their simple kind of place.  I know Granny could have whipped up any of these delicacies and made it look so easy.    She loved to see the different colors displayed in the leaves and the scenery.  Perhaps she took her decorating inspiration from the fall backdrop of colors - she had a way of pulling random things together in an artistic kind of way.

They would have laughed at this display
and said that it was modeled after the two of them!  

This year, more than any other, when I don't have either one of them here to physically take me back to the simpler pace of life, I will cling to the memories I have of the many falls with them.  I will enjoy the cooler temperatures as I sit on the porch.  I will drive a little slower so I can see the beauty in the changing of the leaves.  I will treasure the time spent with my family.

Tailgating

Tailgates used to be a common occurrence for us.  Even when Cam was a little fella, we tailgating almost every time the Dawgs were in Athens.  However, since a little girl has come along, our tailgating experiences have been rather modest.  So, when Tennessee came to town, the McCullers decided to tailgate in true fashion - camper, grill, tents, the whole nine yards (or maybe I should say 100 yards).  

Georgia Family Fun

Tailgates=Playing

Nothing prettier than some Georgia Girls

Not really into posing for Mama's camera

Who knew polka dots looked so good in red and black?  

Maeve went to a camper tailgate last year, but in her two year old state, she didn't remember it.  She was excited to dress in her red and black and play with her friends.  Cam loved the feel of the tailgate.  I know he felt so old throwing the football with the guys.  

Instead of hanging around a making a whole day of it, we opted to come on home when the game began.  Maybe I am showing my age, but nothing beats watching a game at home!  

TOTY

These four letters have popped up in titles, in conversation, and in just my regular life over the last few weeks.  I am honored and I feel highly appreciated.  In many ways it has given me new confidence in what I do on a daily basis - not doing anything different, just a little more secure in the day-to-day instruction decisions I have to make.  Afterall, I have the confidence of me peers, and those are the ones who are right there in the trenches with me, weeding our way through the next big idea (currently known as CCGPS).   I am trying not to let the calls from the newspapers and the rockstar parking space go to my head!  The extra attention has been fun.

On the night of the banquet which honored all ten of the TOTY for the county, I definitely felt like a princess.  I arrived to a table decorated in my true fashion.  It was filled with pictures of my teaching in action over the course of the last 11 years.  Wow did some of those pictures take me back!  The table was yellow - my favorite with trendy gray chevron.  It was indeed the prettiest table there.  At my table were my guests of honor - Tony, who has been frequently referred to as my husband and past TOTY at NOHS, Cam and Maeve, the ones who sacrifice the most because of my career, and Moo and Doo, the ones who have been cheering me on the longest!

I was overwhelmed with emotion when Mrs. Roper described me.  I tried to maintain my smiling glow that she talked of instead of the sobbing mess that I felt like showing.  I was honored for her to share my own words and feel like everyone who heard it know me on a deeper level now.  They know what my daily goal is and that this is not just an ordinary job - it is my mission.  

I feel so blessed to have this honor.

These Are the Days

In the hustle and bustle of the daily grind- the never ending clothes to be washed and put away, the grocery list that always has something else to add to it, the book bags to dig through each night- I have been reminded in the last few days that these quite possibly are the best days of my life as a parent. Although everyday is not extra fun or quarrel free, I have realized that our problems now are easy and simple. One of my good friends quoted, "Little kids, little problems. Big kids, big problems." I am currently fretting over a few missed spelling words and a rash on the back of a leg. We have also had to worry over a chunk secretly cut out of hair and bucky teeth from sucking fingers.

The backseat madness - heading home from a busy day

Slumber party with the Meelers

In the years to come I can only imagine how the needs of our children will change. In every reaction we have now and every choice we make for them, we are setting an example for them to follow. The way we react and respond to their current quandaries will be their guide for the future when things are bigger and harder. When the choices are no longer ours to make, I hope our children will be equipped to make choices that will lead them in the right direction.

Thankful for these days.

Community Helper Project - You are looking at Cam's interpretation of his daddy

Footprints on the backseat - one of those "little" worries

Every Single Detail

On Friday, I was nominated as Malcom Bridge Elementary's teacher of the year.  Smack dab in the middle of a routine spelling test (typically a less than momentous occasion) we paused while Mrs. Roper came over the intercom to draw everyone's attention.  I knew I was one of the nominees, but did not know what the next moments would hold for me.  Mrs. Roper is so eloquent when she speaks over the intercom.  She built up the moment by saying, "I have a special person with me to help me announce this year's teacher of the year" and then passed it off to a much smaller voice who said, "my mom, Julie McCullers."  She obviously knows how to pull at my heartstrings!  Of course I had to shed a tear or two.  I have had mixed emotions- humbled by the nomination, honored bythe title, inadequate to represent a faculty that brings such a wealth of expertise to our profession.  

Hearing my son announce my name on Friday was overwhelming. It was a full-circle kind of moment.  I flashed back to my very first visit to this school.  I was in my ninth month of my first pregnancy,carrying him.  I waddled in to my interview with Andrea and Billy.  I think they were scared, not by my resume, but by my condition.  I don’t know this for certain, but I am pretty sure they skipped a few of the normal questions for fear that I could go into labor at any moment. 

The reason I was interviewing was because of my Cam.  I had taught four years at a sweet, sweet school that was about 40 minutes from home. As the wife of a teacher, I knew I would not be assuming the role of stay-at-home mom. And although I had yet to meet him, I could not imagine being so far away from my baby.  Being here would put me much, much closer to him. 

One week later, I was in labor, and had not given the interview too much thought, considering the many preparations underway for the life-altering event that was about to take place.  However, I was reminded that God is in control of every detail of my life – every single one.   

The nurse who was with me asked me about my job.  I told her all about being a teacher and all about my students, much more than she ever needed to know.  I even remember telling her where my students were at that particular moment in their school day schedule.  She told me about her own children and where they went to school, which just so happened to be Malcom Bridge Elementary.  We were taken aback by our common thread –MBES – and how I had just interviewed there the week before.

Nurse Tiffany was so complimentary of my demeanor during labor.  She noted that if I could be so pleasant during labor, she could only imagine what kind of teacher I was.  She even planned to email Mrs. Roper to give her own recommendation.   And that she did.  Before I left the hospital, she checked in on me and brought me a copy of the email she sent. 

That moment in my life is pivotal to my faith.  I was reminded that He has it all worked out for His purpose.  I didn’t have to fret over my uncertain future as a new mother who didn’t even know where she was going to teach upon her return from maternity leave.  He had it all planned according to His purpose. 

And I have felt His presence guiding my footsteps while at MBES.  He is with me each day – in the deep relationships I have built with colleagues, in the faces of the many children who have called me their teacher, and yes, even in the moments of frustration and despair.  I am so thankful He led me to this place and put me right where I needed to be.  

I pray I may use this moment...this platform...this honor...this title for His glory.  

First Day Like No Other

Beautiful Life

With each passing summer season comes a new school year- my babies getting older and moving to the next grade, excitement for what the school year will hold in its new beginning, a new crop of third graders who teach me just as many lessons as I teach them.

Perhaps the first lesson I needed to learn this year was to not be all consumed. As this is my eleventh year, I have struggled with this year after year. I do believe the stereotype of an old maid teacher is accurate. Teachers who put their hearts and souls into their students can lose themselves in the endless tasks of each day. There is always more you want to do and more that needs to be done. My personal children have helped me to distinguish between tasks that are necessary and those that I can put on the shelf for another time.

This year amidst the busyness of the beginning, my life outside of teaching took the first place seat. I had to say goodbye to my Grandmama. And although I had the whole summer to prepare for the moment, I found myself unprepared- like someone who left the house without an umbrella on the rainiest of days. Sorrows like sea billows rolled up inside of me whenever anyone spoke to me about losing her.

On the very first day of the new school year, I was only there for the first half of the day. Something, before now, that was unthinkable. The first day of school is just as much a milestone for the teacher as it is for the students. You have to welcome them in, remember how to operate the machine known as the classroom again, and get them all home safely. Not typically a daunting task, but on the first day, it is all about the basics. Instead of fretting over these small but huge details, I had to totally change gears. The rest of the day was spent honoring my Granny and the love she instilled in us by her daily devotion to her family -perhaps the Godliest person I will ever know. What a legacy she leaves behind- one that will continue to reveal itself to me as I am reminded of the lessons I learned from her and as I aspire to be the same kind of woman she was.

Cam - First Day of 1st Grade

I told many people who came to pay their respects: If I could hear her now, she would be saying, "I am sorry for doing this on your first week of school, Sugar. You don't have to leave those children to come to my funeral." She always put others' needs above her own. And as inconvenient as it was in the life of a teacher, all of my students made it home safely on the first day, and all those extra little things I would have been working on so diligently really weren't necessary after all.

Maeve- First Day of Preschool 3Day3s

Granny, please continue to help me remember the only thing that should ever be all-consuming is my relationship with my Savior. Thank you for putting my priorities in line for this school year and for making it a first day like no other.

Oh My Soul

Songs have a way of touching my heart just when I need them.  I think the song "Springsteen" gets it just right when it says, "a melody sounds like a memory."  And it is through music that I have felt a stronger worship than any other time.  I love being able to sing a song and recall the worship I experienced through it.  All summer we have heard this song on the radio every time we get in the car:

"10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)"

Bless the Lord, O my soul

O my soul

Worship His holy name

Sing like never before

O my soul

I'll worship Your holy name

The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning

It's time to sing Your song again

Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me

Let me be singing when the evening comes

Bless the Lord, O my soul

O my soul

Worship His holy name

Sing like never before

O my soul

I'll worship Your holy name

You're rich in love, and You're slow to anger

Your name is great, and Your heart is kind

For all Your goodness I will keep on singing

Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

Bless the Lord, O my soul

O my soul

Worship His holy name

Sing like never before

O my soul

I'll worship Your holy name

And on that day when my strength is failing

The end draws near and my time has come

Still my soul will sing Your praise unending

Ten thousand years and then forevermore

Bless the Lord, O my soul

O my soul

Worship His holy name

Sing like never before

O my soul

I'll worship Your holy name

Jesus, I'll worship Your holy name

Lord, I'll worship Your holy name

Sing like never before

O my soul

I'll worship Your holy name

Jesus, I'll worship Your holy name

I'll worship Your holy name

Of course I belt it out, and now my kiddos do too.  I usually end up singing the chorus for the rest of the day.  Each verse has spoken to me.  The first one that really grabbed me this summer was the last verse. When it says, "my strength is failing and the end draws near,"  I see my sweet Granny.  This summer has been tough on her and tough to watch.  A kidney stone has put a huge damper on her frail body.   She's been in the hospital, in the nursing home, back in the hospital, and now at a personal care home.  This summer she has lost all of the the little bit of independence she held on to since losing Granddaddy.  It has been like watching her fade away just a little bit at a time.  She sleeps so much and the little bit that she talks is spoken faintly.  But, in true Granny fashion, she is holding fast to Him.  I crawled up beside her in her hospital bed, and as we lay there together, she sang "Jesus Loves Me" louder than I have ever heard her sing it. Worshipping and clinging to His promises all the way to Heaven.  Although it is so hard to let go of the Granny I have known all of my life - her home where we could always find a welcome greeting and humble feast, the little spot on the church pew she filled up every Sunday, the talks on the telephone when you could reach her without getting a busy signal -  I find great peace in knowing that she set an example for me in so many ways.  I know I want to be like her and sing His praise unending.  She will have a seamless worship as she leaves this life and enters into her eternal life with Him and all the loved ones there who are anxiously awaiting her arrival.

Now as the summer draws to an end, I relate to the first and second verses.  Although work is work, I am so fortunate to know that my work is also my mission.  I don't just punch a clock and complete a task.  And sometimes, I admit, I would like the simplicity of a job like that.  Each and every day, I have a huge task that awaits me.  I have 40+ children waiting on me to lead and guide them.  Yes, I do teach them, but a huge part of my work with them is leading and guiding them in life - in all of its choices and in all of its consequences.  It is my prayer this year that I start my day singing praises to Him and end it in the same way:  "Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me. Let me be singing when the evening comes."   I hope I reflect His qualities of being "slow to anger" and having a "heart that's kind" to all my students and to my family as we settle into our new daily routines.   


My soul is so thankful for this life-changing track.