Last Friday, December 14 began like any other day. Friday is my choir day at school, it was our last rehearsal in class before our concert which is this Thursday. My assistant director, Jessica had to be at OHMS for a performance there so I was a little stressed that morning. On my way to work, my mind was consumed with all that I had to do that day, and everything that goes into teaching 300 kids by myself. On my way to work, I saw this sunrise and it gave me a reminder that God is with me through everything...every moment of every day.
The fact that I took this picture on that particular morning is now very ironic to me. At about 10:30 that morning, I called Brian to see how his day was going. He said it was going well except for the school shooting in Connecticut. I asked him "What shooting?" because I had been teaching all morning. He told me some armed men went into an elementary school. He didn't know any more information. I went to msnbc.com to see what was going on. They had a live video feed and were focused on the school and parking lot, but weren't reporting any loss of life. By the time I got out of school that afternoon at 2:40, it was reported that 26 adults and children had lost their lives. I was on my way to watch Kayla's Christmas play at her school. I cried the entire way there. Once I arrived, I just wanted to give her a huge hug and tell her how much I love her. It was fresh on my mind there are 20 sets of parents in Connecticut who will never get to hug their child again.
The performance was in the chapel of Central United Methodist Church. Here's a full view of all the kids. There's something wrong with my camera lens though, because it was blurry every time I tried to focus. Kayla's class were the sheep and shepherds.
She was one of the cutest sheep I've ever seen.
And of course, she got to see Santa, and told him "I want a purple pony puzzle."
Once we got back in her classroom, she got to open her present from Miss Lisa.
It was a chocolate penguin and she was so happy about it!
It was a tough day, but I felt fortunate that I got to end it with my baby girl in my arms.
