Friday's Favorite Family Foto

Welcome to Friday's Favorite Family Foto hosted by Deborah. Click on the Foto button in the right sidebar to view other wonderful family photos.

This first photo is of my daughter, Karen, on her wedding day. She got dressed in a room at the Ritz Carlton where the reception was held, and in this photo she is looking out the window waiting for the limousine to take her to the chapel. She is so relaxed and happy.


This next photo is of my grandson, Brandt, getting ready for an Easter egg hunt.

Brandt is forever exploring his surroundings! Here he is checking out the rocks in the planter.

Brandt loves playing with the hose and pouring water all over the place. In this photo his hair is wet and he has a snotty nose. Doesn't get any better than this for summer fun.

Visit other participants who are sharing their photos and have a wonderful weekend.

The Gifts of the "Gifted"

I retired from the teaching profession 5 years ago after teaching elementary school for 31 years! I sub now and I'm enjoying every minute of it. I think that I enjoy teaching more now because I don't have the added responsibilities of conferences, lesson plans, testing, endless meetings, and all the other "junk" (I'm being nice here) that goes along with the daily grind of being a dedicated teacher.

I've been subbing where my sister-in-law teaches (5th/6th grade gifted students) and I feel very much at home in this particular school. I've subbed in all 3 of the 5th/6th gifted classes and I'm in awe of these kids. Here is a small sampling of a compass rose assignment that goes along with reading Treasure Island. I'm amazed at the detail these kids have included in each compass rose! The children also have to keep "sea logs" and summarize each chapter and use vocabulary words correctly.

~~~~~~~~~~The following are in the final stages of completion~~~~~~~~~~

One day I was explaining subject pronouns and object pronouns and one boy said, "Mrs. Fulton, you're killing me here. You're destroying everything I learned in kindergarten"! Apparently he was taught to use the pronoun "I" whether it was the subject or object of a sentence. When I showed him how pronouns can be placed either before a verb or after, he understood that "I" or "me" could be used depending on their placement in a sentence. These kids learn at a phenomenal pace and they thirst for new concepts and challenges everyday.

The primary directions have to be added to this colorful compass rose!

This compass rose was done using math and a lot of detail.


~~~~~Simply stated but nicely done~~~~~

These children have their heads buried in books that are at the high school reading level. I saw some "book reviews" today that were 3 and 4 typed pages long. Alleluia!

I really look forward to being with these kids because they continue to amaze me with their enthusiasm and their ability to learn so much so quickly.

Happy Easter

He has risen

Happy Easter

Pink Saturday and Happy Easter!

Welcome to another Pink Saturday celebration hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. Please stop by and visit other participants who share their lovely pink treasures.

Since Easter Sunday is tomorrow, I decided to go with a bunny theme this Saturday. The following are two bunnies from Rabbit Works by Bunnies by the Bay. The lady on the left is Rainbow Bunny and the lovely lady on the right is Rose Rabbit. They are decked out in their finest outfits to celebrate Easter.

This next photo is of another rabbit with glorious ribbons, roses, and beads. She is all set for the Easter parad
This next pretty bunny is dressed in her Easter finery with lace, flowers, and ribbons. She was a yard sale bargain for $1.00.


Finally I have a photo of two darling bunnies in a watering can. I made this about 8 years ago when several teachers got together to do some much-needed craft therapy. We also made other seasonal crafts and found this "crafty" gathering to be quite relaxing.

Happy Easter to all of you.

Pink Saturday Delights

Thank you, Beverly, for hosting another wonderful celebration of Pink Saturday. Please visit other participants by clicking on the "Pink Saturday" button in the sidebar.

My first photo is an embroidered pillowcase that my grandmother Rose made for me. She did all the needlework and added the pink crocheting on the edge. She couldn't read or write in English so my mother wrote my name in pen and my grandmother followed the lines to embroider my name. Her work was always so precise and delicate and I treasure the things that she made for me.

This next photo is of my jr. college soroity sweatshirt. I was a member of Theta Chi Delta Sorority and I have wonderful memories or those days. I remember these words from our song, "Pink and black, a pink carnation, snow-white pearl and golden key"..... I made a scrapbook of my days as a Theta and I'm sure the song is tucked in there somewhere. I loved being a Theta and the sisterhood was so special.

This next photo is of a dresser scarf handmade by either my mother or my grandmother. I think that my grandmother, my mother and all of my aunts had dresser scarves on almost everything in their houses....I think that it was some kind of Italian law!!!! Again you can see the delicate detail on both the embroidery and crocheting in this piece. I was taught to embroider as a child and I think that I can still do these stitches, but the crocheting is beyond me!

Here is a cute white bunny between two roly-poly pink rabbits. These pink rabbits are adorable and they were a yard sale find a few years ago.

Please visit the other participants and leave a comment on their blogs and also on my blog. It is a lot of fun to view so many "pink" photos from so many special people. Enjoy......

Friday Favorite Family Foto, Cultural History, a Mystery, and a Happy Birthday

I've been away from Friday's Favorite Family Foto hosted by Deborah for several weeks now, but this week is special to me in a couple of ways. March 19 is St. Joseph's Day and it is also my daughter's birthday.

St. Joseph was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and he was a carpenter. Celebrating his day goes back to the Middle Ages when Sicily was in the middle of a severe drought. The people prayed to God through St. Joseph asking for rain so that they could plant their crops. The rain came and the Sicilian people promised to have a special feast honoring St. Joseph. These feasts "festas" have been going on for centuries with some traditions changing here and there. As a child, I remember going to several feasts and hearing the older people speak in Italian. There was much celebrating with tons of traditional foods placed on 3 tiers or tables of different heights. These 3 tables were symbols of the Holy Trinity. A statue of St. Joseph holding the baby Jesus was placed on one of the tables along with lighted votive candles, vases of wheat, flowers, breads and sweets. No meats were served because St. Joseph's Day falls in the middle of the Lenten season. Many of the vegetable dishes were made with bread crumbs symbolizing the sawdust of St. Joseph's profession. Like I stated previously, many of the traditions have changed and going to Google to read about these altars and St. Joseph would be a better resource than my limited knowledge.

This is a postcard of St. Joseph (S. Giuseppe in Italian) who was the "protector of Roccamena" which is a province in Sicily. At least one of my grandparents came from Roccamena but I'm not sure which one.
This is a photo that one of my parents took when I was a child. It is a St. Joseph table/altar complete with the food that we all ate. Notice the candles and flowers along with tons of food for the guests.

March 19, is also special because that is the day that the swallows return to the mission at San Juan Capistrano in California. This is a photo of me age one along with my cousin, Carol Nancy, and my father. Notice the swallows coming up to us looking for the food that Carol and my dad are holding in their hands. No one knows why the swallows always return from Argentina on March 19. Some say it is a miracle, some say it is a mystery....whatever it is, it has been happening for many years without fail. The birds always leave on Oct. 23, and return on March 19. Another Google inquiry perhaps........


Here is a baby picture of my daughter, Karen, who was born on March 19, 1980. After my mother calmed down from becoming a grandmother, she looked at me and said, "She was born on March 19, St. Joseph's Day"! I'll never forget that.

Baby Karen wants to crawl in her crib

What a beautiful face with gorgeous blue eyes!

Karen, age 4, sitting on her canopy bed.

Fast forward to the Fall of 2005 when Karen and Joe celebrated their engagement. He is so handsome and she is truly beautiful.

A breathtaking bride admiring her bouquet at the Ritz Carlton where the reception was held. Karen and Joe married February 4, 2006.

My baby girl has a baby of her own on February 9, 2007.

I never knew how special March 19 was until I sat down and realized how much happens on that date. A saint's day, a miracle/mystery and my precious daughter's birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KAREN. We love you very much and we are so proud of the woman you have become. You are such a ray of sunshine and your day is special indeed just like you.

As a postscript to this post, my daughter told us on her 29th birthday, March 19, 2009,that she is pregnant with her second child. This date just keeps getting more special all the time.

Yard sale delights

I enjoyed my Saturday morning yard sale excursion and I came home with some nice treasures.

I couldn't pass up this darling heart and star angel that just needed a new home. She had sisters in different dresses and sizes but, of course, when I went back to buy them they were gone!!! Will I ever learn?

This birdcage needs another bird and a nest but I thought that it was cute and unique. I also have to glue the ribbon down in a different way and this birdcage will be winner.

This needlework is so pretty and delicate....I just couldn't pass it up.

Here is the framed picture of the needlework that cost a grand total of $2.00. I thought that was a good deal.

I felt pretty good about today's finds because I haven't found anything interesting lately at any garage sales that I've gone to. I feel like I'm getting back into the swing of things now.