A Middle Schooler's View of Mr. Nobles

Each week the Rome News Tribune publishes a section called Young Romans. This features art work, activities and writings from various schools from the area. Rome Middle School was the insert this week, so I was reading it closely since that is where Randy teaches.

This is his 31st year of teaching middle schoolers. He is ready for retirement, but still enjoys the interaction with students...it's the administration and all the hoops that are TIRING! I have always been proud of what he does as a teacher & coach, but this little narrative by one of his students solidifies what I know.

A Noteworthy Role Model (written by an 8th grader names Michelle)

One word describes the one and only Mr. Nobles: character. he is THE best teacher I have had in a very long time. The captain of Stardust! (that is his team) That old man over there! The one who can talk forever and ever --- non-stop! But most importantly, Mr. Nobles is dedicated to his profession. His thirty-one years of teaching experience helps students to understand our state, Georgia.

After being in his class for a few weeks, everyone starts to notice how much he cares about his students. I have never seen a teacher more supportive of the goals in his student's lives than Mr. Nobles. He teaches more than Georgia Studies; he teaches life itself. I don't know of any student who doesn't appreciate him! He treats his students fairly and equally in all situations. Not only is he a teacher, but he's also a caring role model. One of the best teachers ever, Mr. Nobles.

Thanks Michelle for the nice article about a fabulous teacher, coach, husband & dad.

Miss Them Already

It happens every year, college students that we love & care about graduate, and move away. Every now and then we get to keep some longer because they take a job in Rome. Tommy Murphy, Jonathan Shaw, Tracy Morgan Batchelor, and Hailey Stovall Burns all stayed longer than their college years. Tracy lives in my neighborhood, Hailey is not far...but Tommy & Shaw live far, far away.

Michael & Dana Van Sant also stayed in Rome after graduating from Berry. Michael taught at Rome High for a year, then worked at Winshape Retreat before becoming the student minister at Calvary. Michael's journey at Calvary began his freshman year. His journey in the ministry is now taking him & his precious family to Florida.

Our church will miss him, but the Nobles will miss him terribly. He & Dana were regulars at the Nobles home. We even borrowed a high chair to use for Sadie! My kids have been blessed beyond measure to have this sweet Godly couple as an integral part of their lives.

Kate was honored to be the flower girl at their wedding in March 2005.

Michael was already ready for games at the Nobles house. We love to hear him laugh!

Michale & some college students that he influenced. He actually performed his first wedding for Emily Kettering..now Liles. The guy with Michael & Emily is Chad Rowell (not Emily's husband Chris). Chad is also far away, in Texas at Southwest Seminary. Chad, Chris & Michael were ALL Winshapers.

Dana getting in on the Catch Phrase. I love Dana's approach to life...it's a common sense approach, no frills. She is the perfect minister's wife, always joyful & positive.


Dana with Emily & Rachel before the annual Christmas caroling. I think Dana is popping one of her favorite sweets, Chocolate Oat Bars, in the picture.


The Van Sants were at our house so often they made the family Christmas picture!


We LOVE Sadie! We will miss watching her grow up. She has amazing parents!


We plan to visit Michael, Dana & Sadie at the beach once they get settled...but we'll look forward to seeing them at Mountain Day!! When you live in Rome, Mountain Day is easy. Those that travel - have to plan for it. Please plan to come to Mountain Day!


This picture now adorns our refrigerator. We wish they were really in the kitchen with us, as they were so many days...but I guess the picture will have to suffice.


Thanks for sharing in our lives, you taught us a lot. We love you!

Cookin' up life

It's been awhile since I posted...in fact, not since the big snow in January. Well, life is happening all around me and no time to blog. I'm either teaching, preparing to teach, practicing, or cooking. Well, there are other things like laundry & vacuuming, but cooking is my favorite. I really am happy when I'm in the kitchen.

If you have eaten at the Nobles home, then you know I'm not a gourmet chef. I like home-cooking that is easy to prepare, and tasty for my family. Over the years my repertoire has increased, and I thought I would share some of my menus here. I recall when the rotation included: Manwich, spaghetti, tacos, hotdogs, and a roast on the weekend. I also remember when most everything I cooked came from a box!

Cooking is like everything else in life...the more you do it, the easier it gets! It also helps to have some girls that can help prepare it. I do the prep, they finish cooking it and get it to the table. Today I had Aaron put the chili on! I had made it the night before in the crock pot...mixed it together. He just had to take it out of the frig and turn it to low before he left for class. (On a side note, Aaron is no longer working at Chick-fil-A, but is a host at Olive Garden...hoping to get some of those recipes soon!)

Here are some things we have had over the past 3 weeks. Note that nothing has been repeated! With the mouths I feed, there are not typically enough leftovers for an entire 2nd meal, but they make for great lunches for one or two people.

Potato Soup

Chicken Marengo

Lasagna

Hamburgers/hotdogs on the grill

Pork Chops, sides include potato & broccoli

Chicken Pot Pie

BBQ (quick meal...buy from Sam's!)

Southwest Soup (also known as taco soup)

Chicken Tetrazinni

Pizza & salad (I make my own dough)

Stir Fry

Chicken & Rice

Tortellini Soup

Jambalaya (in the crock pot - Carrie's speciality)

Tilapia & potatoes

Chili

Chicken Parmigiana

Chicken Wings (buy from Sam's, serve with vegetables)

Whenever we have soup, we have grilled cheese!

Do any of these look good to you? Want the recipe? Email me or leave a comment. Some of our favorites (like the photo at the top of the post) aren't even on this list! I can't tell you that these are economical, because I'm cooking for 5 - 8 people on a regular basis. But, it's certainly more cost efficient than eating out, and tastes better than Sloppy Joes.

Yes, I even cook when we are on vacation!!

Beethoven and a 3 year old

A friend sent me this video, and I have watched it numerous times. It is about 4 minutes and quite entertaining. Enjoy!

Snow Day

It snowed on Christmas, and now 2 weeks later it snowed again! We got about 4 inches. Before the snow came, we were storm prep central. Shopping for bread, milk, eggs, and all the essentials. Cooking lots of food, in case the power went out. Moving the grill to the front porch so it would be easier to cook. We found out the generator didn't work, so stocking up on firewood was an important task.

Two of Alyssa's Winshape friends came on Sunday. They drove in so they could get to Rome without getting stuck in the storm. Classes are to start on Wednesday, and they wanted to make sure they were in town. They are supposed to move in the dorm on Tuesday...we'll see. So, we had 2 extra college kids to add to the fun. The snow started about 10 p.m. on Sunday night. They all ran outside to see, and I knew today would be busy.

I think Aaron was the first one up today, and that is definitely not the usual! He couldn't wait to get out in the snow. Randy got the sled out. In fact, he was the first one to use it this morning. It's his sled from when he was a kid, vintage 1961!! Here are a few pictures from today.

Neighborhood from the Nobles house.

Lots of neighbors came out to sled on Lynn Haven Drive. This was sledding central & a good way to meet people in the neighborhood.

Aaron coming up the hill after a good run on the sled.

Brandon Williams wiping out. The trash can lid wasn't the best choice for sledding.

Randy on his sled while the neighbors watch.

Backyard snowball fight.

Carl the snowman with creators Alyssa, Kevin, Kate, Alesa & Carrie. Yes, Alyssa's friend is Alesa!

Small World Story

I grew up near Gainesville Florida. The town was Hawthorne, not very big. You know most families, and many have been there for years.

Fast forward to 2003. Randy & Aaron are with the church youth group, and arrive at Centrifuge. A young guy hops on the bus to welcome them. They make connections because he is from Shorter College, which is in Rome...rival to Berry. Randy calls me later to tell me about this kid, Jonathan. He happens to be a pianist, and at Calvary we are always looking for a college student to play the piano. That has been my goal for many years, get students to play, get involved and gain experience while in college.

After that summer, Jonathan started playing at Calvary. One Sunday, Aaron noticed a gators tag on his truck and asked him about it. Turns out that Jonathan Shaw has relatives in Orange Heights Florida...6 miles north of Hawthorne. That presents a whole new relationship. I know Jonathan's mom, Cheryl...she is a few years older than me, but in a small community you know families.

As Shaw continued to play at Calvary, his family would visit, reconnecting with Cheryl and meeting his dad & siblings. Jonathan spent many Sundays at our lunch table, and he can eat! Many days he talked about the future Mrs. Shaw. I'm thankful for the time we got to spend with Jonathan as a young man, and it was wonderful to watch him grow and mature in his relationship with God, and to grow as a musician. This past weekend he got married, and we got to meet the new Mrs. Shaw. It was good to see the family, and catch up with him. Jonathan & Aleesa are following God's call as he takes a church as minister of worship & relationships in Denver Colorado.

Christmas SURPRISE

In 22 years of having children I have always had an aversion to video games. I'm not exact in the gaming timeline, but since the late 80's there have been names like Atari, Sega, Nintendo, Playstation & XBox. My kids have had computer games that were educational, but never has our household had any game system. Not even a DS. I don't even know what that stands for, I just know it's a handheld thing that keeps kids quiet while parents drive!

My number one reason not to buy a system - I didn't want my kids to be addicted to games. So, over the years they have become addicted to bad TV, and social media!! I have read numerous books & articles that encourage media management. One expert, Edward Hallowell, sums it up: "They need a lot of positive human connection and not too much electronic connection." (from Different Learners by Jane M. Healy)

The week before Christmas I told Randy that I had been thinking about buying the kids a Nintendo Wii. Thinking that ToysRUs had a good price, I sent him to buy it. Of course, I had no idea that you had to buy extra stuff to make it work! Therefore the price was more than advertised. No surprise there!

After 22 years, why the decision to buy a game system? My main goal was to get Kate off the couch. Kate's a swimmer. She swims a lot, but when she is not swimming she is sitting on the couch, eating cookies & ice cream.

The Wii had Kate's name on it. The controllers were to Aaron & Alyssa. Carrie got a game, Wii Sports Resort. Alyssa is the nosy, sniffer of gifts. A few days before Christmas she commented that one of her gifts looked like a Wii controller. The other kids just laughed. We made them open the Wii last on Christmas morning. Alyssa was still smiling, Aaron was the naysayer..."no way Mom would buy a Wii."

Here are some of the Christmas pictures that include the surprised Wii children.

Aaron did not get a Snuggie, but I wrapped one of his gifts in a Snuggie box. Carrie got a purple Snuggie for her birthday.

Carrie passing out gifts to the family.

Alyssa knows & Aaron is shocked!

Carrie with Wii Sports Resort.

On New Year's Eve the Carver family joined us for the festivities, and brought Just Dance and Just Dance 2 for the Wii. WOW! That was a hit! They also brought their two controllers, so 4 could play. Alyssa's former college roommate, Lisa, was also visiting for the weekend. Lisa transferred to Tech this year. It was good to have her join the party!

Look closely, Aaron is sweating. He really likes the Just Dance game.

Here's a short video to show just how much they like dancing. It is definitely a work out.

When the kids opened the Wii, I told them there were limits. So far, so good. What have been the advantages? The kids have played together...ok, sometimes there is yelling! So, instead of sitting in separate rooms and texting or Facebooking, they are interacting. They have played some pretty fun sports games that require hand/eye coordination. Many of the games, especially Just Dance, provide for a great work-out. Randy likes archery & bowling. I have tried numerous sports, but I'm terrible. My Wii fitness age is like 68! When I did golf, it actually told me to GIVE UP...I was 11 over par.

Am I happy with the decision to buy a gaming system? Ask me again in a few months, but for now I would answer yes!