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Welcome

Welcome to my little corner of the world. I am so honored by your visit today. My name is Kristi and I am married to my college sweetheart(I refer to him here as "Mr. Incredible"), momma to my 2 beautiful girls who are growing much too quickly, a high school computer teacher, photographer, and a gardener (at times~right now I'm growing weeds). I love to laugh, drink strong Starbucks coffee, take pictures, and be anywhere my family is. Jesus is my Savior and I try so hard to be the wife and momma that He has called me to be. I often fail but He lovingly picks me up, dusts me off, and encourages me that with Him all things are possible. Feel free to join me on this journey of faith, stop in and say hello, look around, and leave a comment~I love comments. Why "Kiki's Corner?" My nephews call me Aunt Kiki and I love that too.

Happy Memorial Day!


You Might be a Teacher If...

A fellow teacher sent this to me and I laughed out loud on several of them so I thought I would post them here on my LAST DAY OF SCHOOL! woo-hoo! School's out for summer!

Jeff Foxworthy on School Employees

YOU might be a school employee if you believe the playground should be equipped with a Ritalin salt lick. (Remember I didn't write these...Jeff Foxworthy did).

YOU might be a school employee if you want to slap the next person who says, 'Must be nice to work 8 to 3:30 and have summers off.

YOU might be a school employee if it is difficult to name your own child because there's no name you can come up with that doesn't bring high blood pressure as it is uttered.

YOU might be a school employee if you can tell it's a full moon or if it's going to rain, snow, hail....anything!!! without ever looking outside.

YOU might be a school employee if you believe, 'shallow gene pool' should have its own box on a report card.

YOU might be a school employee if when out in public, you feel the urge to snap your fingers at children you do not know and correct their behavior.

YOU might be a school employee if you have no social life between August and June. YOU might be a school employee if you think people should have a government permit before being allowed to reproduce.

YOU might be a school employee if you wonder how some parents MANAGED to reproduce.

YOU might be a school employee if you laugh uncontrollably when people refer to the staff room as the 'lounge.'

YOU might be a school employee if you encourage an obnoxious parent to check into charter schools or home schooling and are willing to donate the U-HAUL boxes should they decided to move.

YOU might be a school employee if you think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.

YOU might be a school employee if you can't imagine how the ACLU could think that covering your students chair with Velcro and then requiring uniforms made out of the corresponding Velcro could ever be misunderstood by the public.

YOU might be a school employee if meeting a child's parent instantly answers this question, 'Why is this kid like this?'

YOU might be a school employee if you would choose a mammogram over a parent conference.

YOU might be a school employee if you think someone should invent antibacterial pencils and crayons...and desks and chairs for that matter!

YOU might be a school employee if you know how many minutes, and seconds, are left in the school year!


Here is another list from Jeff Foxworthy.

You know you're a teacher when....

1. You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line.

2. You get a secret thrill out of laminating something (that is so true!)

3. You walk into a store and hear the words "It's Ms/Mr. _________" and know you have been spotted. (and its usually when I don't have my hair fixed or my makeup on....oiy!)

4. You have 25 people that accidentally call you Mom/Dad at one time or another. (This happens ALL the time~even in high school!)

5. You can eat a multi-course meal in under twenty-five minutes.

6. You've trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times of the day: lunch and prep period. (So true...so true!)

7. You start saving other people's trash, because most likely, you can use that toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the classroom. (or VBS~right Mom?)

8. You believe the teachers' lounge should be equipped with a margarita machine.

9. You want to slap the next person who says "Must be nice to work 7 to 3 and have summers off."

10. You believe chocolate is a food group.

11. You can tell if it's a full moon without ever looking outside.

12. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says "Boy, the kids sure are mellow today."

13. You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public. (I totally do this!)
14. You believe in aerial spraying of Ritalin.

15. You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form. (Come on Starbucks!)

16. You spend more money on school stuff than you do on your own children. (I disagree with this one)

17. You can't pass the school supply aisle without getting at least five items!

18. You ask your friends if the left hand turn he just made was a "good choice or a bad choice."

19. You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils

20. You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer and finally,

21. You understand instantaneously why a child behaves a certain way after meeting his or her parents. (You know the old saying the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree!)

Ya'll have a blessed Friday!

Senior Sweetie on Board!

It's official! Rachel is a senior...pardon me while I go cry buckets of tears! How can this possibly be? Didn't I just bring her home from the hospital? Or take her, while dragging my feet (not hers) to her first day of Kindergarten where she sat across from a guy names "Jesus" (pronounced Hay-seus)? She was so proud to tell me when I picked her up from her first day of Kindergarten, and yes I was the first Momma there, that she sat by Jesus all day long...and oh, yes she did and she sat by a boy named "Hay-seus" all day too.

I'm going to stop the flood of memories before I cry all of my makeup off my face and scare everyone of my students.

Yes, precious Rachel Ann will finish her last final at 11:00 this morning and then she is on to her Senior year! My parents wanted to surprise her today by decorating her car. And wouldn't you know? I left my big girl camera at home. I am so thankful that I had my I-phone. So here is Rachel's car all decorated Senior style~with much love and joy from Granny and Grandpa:

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She was so excited when she saw her car...and then she cried tears of joy too! Thanks Mom and Dad/Granny and Grandpa! We love you soooooooooooo much!

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Another Photo Shoot and a Lesson

Ya'll are the BEST! Thank you so much for your comments and emails to me about me possibly starting a part time photography business. You really know how to lift a girl up. Thank you so much!


So, in the middle of my crazy, full week, I decided to help "Chita," by taking her senior photos as a gift to her. This girl has been through a lot lately and she was upset that she didn't have any senior portraits. So, I told her that I had an hour on Thursday afternoon to take some senior photos if she liked.

She was excited and I was too. Thursday afternoon came and no Chita. I finally texted her to see what was going on. She wasn't finished with her hair and she needed a ride. So, 3o minutes later, we started the photo shoot. Oiy!


There was no way that I was going to miss Hannah's band concert (I so wish that I had pictures of Hannah playing her flute but we sat on the wrong side and all I could only snap pictures of the back of her head). So, I kicked it in to full gear and started snapping a way. I was doing Chita a favor and I wanted to give my best effort.


Five minutes into the photo shoot she informed me that another photographer had taken hundreds of photos of her around town already that afternoon. They had used my in-laws yard and almost stopped at my house (no they didn't ask my permission). Hmmm...this explains why she skipped my 8th period class...and why Chita's mother came to my classroom that morning and wanted to see some of my photos. I thought that it felt a little like an interview but I just shrugged it off because I was not charging Chita a single penny!


Needless to say, it took me just a little bit before I realized that I was starting to smell a skunk. I reminded myself that I was doing this as my senior gift to her, so I kept taking photos. But, to be honest, it bugged me!


We finished up after taking about 75 photos instead of the 100-200 photos that I had planned to take. I had to drive her home and then head to the band concert. Thankfully, I made it to Hannah's concert on time.


I sunk into my seat next to Mr. Incredible, a few minutes before the concert began, and nearly cried. I was exhausted. I was simply trying to do something nice and it wasn't appreciated. No, I wasn't doing it to be appreciated, but being thanked is always nice.


I worked on the images to make sure that she had them Friday afternoon so that she could order the pictures in time for the graduation on the 28th. As I presented the photos to her, she showed me the other photographer's photos and they were very good. Clearly, this wasn't a little photo shoot...and that stung a little bit.


I have to remind myself that my goal was for Chita to have senior portraits to treasure for a lifetime...and now she does regardless of whose photos that she chooses. And that is a good lesson to remember. If God blesses me with a part time photography business then it will be just that...His business and for His glory~not mine!


Whew! Are you still with me? I am going to go ahead and post a few of my photos of Chita. They are certainly not as polished and posed as the other photographer's are but I think the main reason is that my style is more natural and I am okay with that.


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Thanks for dropping by my little corner of the world today! You are a blessing!





Our Miracle Happened 6 Months Ago Today!

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I could absolutely sob as I type the title to this post. Yes, it has been six months today since the Great Physician intervened and healed our precious daughter. Six months!

Six months ago today:

* I completely placed Rachel in His hands and pleaded for Him to heal her

* I felt a peace come over me that I had never known before

* I felt completely covered in prayer by so many precious souls that I may never get to thank in person on this side of Heaven

* I watched in complete awe and amazement as our daughter fully trusted in the Great Physician. Her strength, quiet trust, and complete faith were more incredible then I could ever put into words.

* Was the absolute worst and best day of my entire life

* I saw God do what only He could do!

* I saw an absolute miracle with my very own eyes!

* I saw mercy and grace and God's great glory!

...and we will never stop praising Him for all that He has done!

Rachel continues to be headache free~praise You, Father! And we continue to marvel at the way God so mightily moved on that day...6 months ago.

(You can read Rachel's story by clicking on my "Rachel's Story" link above. The links start with the most recent posts but her story really began on January 2, 2009).

Cue the Rocky Music

Happy Monday! I woke up this morning with the theme song from Rocky playing in my head. Remember that song? If you don't remember the song click here.

I woke up the girls singing that song and throwing my hands up in victory as if I just ran to the top of the stairs like Rocky did and they both giggled and threw their hands up in the air too. I did the same thing as Mr. Incredible and I made the bed together this morning and he just laughed. Yes, it is our last Monday before Summer break~yippee!!!! Our last week of school and we are rejoicing. We made it! Woo hoo!

Ya'll have a blessed day!

Rejoicing! Student of the Year!

Oh, Ya'll! What a full week this has been; a full but blessed week!
Yesterday I was asked to attend the middle school awards ceremony because my baby girl was getting a special award. The award ceremony was going longer than anticipated and I was starting to stress because I had 19 freshman in my computer lab without their teacher. Thankfully, one of my sweet friends checked on them until I could return.

I am so thankful that I was able to stay because....

Hannah was voted STUDENT OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Yes, I am proud, if you can't tell). Woo hoo! What an honor.

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We also have had 2 band concerts this week. Here is Rachel playing the saxophone (her daddy played this one when he was in high school):

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And.....Rachel is co-drum major for the band next year! Woo hoo!!!!!
My good friend and I are fellow drum major mom's this next year so I told her that we were going to design shirts that say, "Major Mom!" on them. It is going to be so fun.

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I am hardly ever in any pictures and wouldn't you know the one time that Mr. Incredible offers to take a photo, I wear my hair al-a-natural. It's a little crazy...he calls it hot...I call it easy-as in wash and go easy-where is your mind?!

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And Rachel with her daddy:

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Rachel was chosen as the student of the year in Music Appreciation. (Yes, that's Mr. SHS on the right aka "Sissie").

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All week long we have been waiting on the much anticipated TAKS score release. In Texas, the students have to pass these state mandated tests in order to promote to the next grade but the pressure really falls on high school juniors who must pass all of the TAKS tests in order to be on track for graduation. They test in English, Social Studies, Science, and Math.

Many have been talking about how difficult the Science TAKS test was this year and many students and teachers and parents have been holding our breath, so to speak, waiting for the results.

My good friend called me in to her office this morning to tell me that both of our girls, our future drum majors, passed all of their test. We hugged and cried and shouted praises to the Lord...I'll never forget it and then she started calling in the Juniors one by one to give them their results.

It was so fun to stand outside and see the students jumping up and down and hollering and crying tears of joy and relief as they discovered that they passed! I couldn't find Rachel and I was so anxious for her to know.

I finally found her and ushered her in to the counselor's office,yes we cutted in line, where she gave Rachel the good news. Not only did she pass but she was was commended in two subjects: English and Social Studies. Rachel jumped up and down, hugged us both, and then burst into tears of joy!

My dear daughter is cleared to graduate next year, after she completes her senior year courses and we are so thankful and so very proud of both of our daughters! "This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it!" Psalm 118:24.

A Senior Portrait Session and a Question for You!

This past weekend I had the blessing of taking Brandon's senior pictures. Brandon is dear to our hearts and he hadn't taken any senior portraits. I offered to take some photos for him as my graduation gift to him.

He was a good sport~I took 137 pictures in an hour. Don't worry! I'm only posting a few of my faves. He started off in his football jersey on the high school football field:

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And then I encouraged him to take a few pictures in the stands where his parents sat at every home football game:


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He changed into a different shirt and we found a few spots in town to capture some random shots.

I like this picture of Brandon not only because it shows where he came from but also that his future is wide open and filled with choices:


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I had fun applying a few fun photoshop effects to this photo:


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Brandon started relaxing a bit when I reminded him of all of the times in class where he begged me to go to the locker room early. My answer was always "no" until one day.

It was after a big football win, and after he had finished his computer assignment, that he looked at me and asked once again to go to the locker room early. I told him sure but only if he won a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors...and to both of our surprises he won!

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In this picture it looks like he is contemplating his future...dream big dreams for your life, Brandon, your Heavenly Father is.
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We took a few pictures in front of a pond too:


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and then at the railroad crossing:


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It was a fun day! I am going to be taking another senior's portraits this week. Mr. Incredible smiled and said, "Are you getting paid to do this one?" to which I replied, "No" because it is my gift to these two seniors. And he just shook his head and smiled.


Here is where my question to you comes in!

I am kind of thinking... about possibly trying a little part time photography business...but I'm not sure. It sounds funny even saying it out loud~hello insecurity!~and especially writing it on my blog. What do you think?...honestly....I can take it...I think! Okay, I can take it...tell me what you think, please! You can leave me a comment or send me an email which is kristiatkikiscorner@gmail.com Thanks for your help in the matter. I love you more than my new shoes!

Honor's Banquet 2010

This is our last full week of school before semester exams next week and we are busy! Last night we attended the annual high school honors banquet. My heart is so full this morning as I look at these photos and remember that a week from today will mark 6 months since Rachel's brain surgery. I am in absolute awe of God and all that He has done for our precious daughter! Oh, there is no other God...He is awesome, He can do the impossible, and His grace is sufficient.

(The following photos were shared with me by our yearbook teacher.) Here are the A honor roll Juniors. Rachel is on the far right. Straight A's...amazing! I have to brag on God some more...she is ranked #4 in her class and apparently the race for the top two is too close to count for next year. The school counselor told us that the top 4 are so close that it is anybody's game next year. God is so good!

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Here are the Student Council officers for 2009-2010. Rachel is second from the left. She was the STUCO secretary this year:

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She got tickled last night when her friend Sammy wore the exact same dress. True to Rachel's character she laughed and said, "Let's just tell everyone we planned this!" and then they both giggled and asked Mr. A to take their picture.

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I took this photo of my girl who was awarded for her service in STUCO, for competing in Spelling at the UIL academic meet, and for straight A's.
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And then Mr. A shared this photo of me giving an award to a few of my students who competed on my Computer Applications team this year. One of my students made it all the way to state as an alternate and I was so proud!

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I finished Brandon's senior photos last night so I'll try to post a few tomorrow. Ya'll have a blessed day!

Our Weekend

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Ours started off a little scary. Friday afternoon the storms rolled in and the weather warnings began. We ended up taking cover with all of our high school students for over an hour when we were under a tornado warning.

Most of the students handled the lock down very well...although a few were really afraid. After forty-five minutes this hallway really started to smell. The air was not circulating but we were safe and sound and I am so thankful for God's mercy. The tornadoes did not touch down in our area.




One of the teachers took this picture of me and emailed it to me this afternoon. Here I am trying to keep the peace in the midst of the crazy storms outside (no, I don't always wear my jeans but we are more casual on Fridays):



We did receive a lot of hail and rain. Many farmers fields are flooded even this morning. The girls and I headed home to find my vegetables, that I was hoping to plant this weekend, looking like this:
Would you like to see my garden? I grow Bermuda grass like no other! Yes, it has taken over my raised beds this winter and it is time for it to go.

While Hannah was at a band competition and Mr. Incredible was doing inventory at work, I grabbed my handy dandy helper and we went to work on my 7 raised vegetable beds (I took all of these with my I-phone so they are not as clear as I normally like them to be).



We worked and worked to dig out all of the dirt and grass...and finally finished ONE bed! Really? Rachel helped me lay down newspapers and weed block. There was a picture of Elton John on one of the newspapers and she kept me giggling as she tried not to cover him up. Eventually, the weed block won. Somehow we even buried the rake under the weed block. Oiy! It was looking a little lumpy and then we realized what we had done.


A few minutes later we heard my dad's voice call, "Kristi, Rachel...time for lunch!" Instantly I was a child again being called from playing outside with my friends to come home for lunch. We thought he was kidding but much to our delight he was serious. Mom had fixed a delicious chili soup on our unseasonably cold spring day and the soup and sweet fellowship hit the spot. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Saturday evening the girls went to see the new Letters to Juliet movie, which they really enjoyed, while my man and I ate dinner with his parents. We helped set up his dad's new blue-ray player complete with netflix. He was pretty excited that he could watch movies on his television through live internet streaming.

Yesterday morning was a wonderful time of worship where my dad's sermon really stepped on my toes...but I needed to hear it! We enjoyed lunch together as a family, I had a quick nap and then I had the privilege of taking a senior's portrait pictures this weekend. I'll try to post pics tomorrow but for now I better get myself ready for school...we only have 10 more days! Yipee!!!