Why I Teach

I often wonder what I would be doing if I didn't become a teacher.  I can never come up with a good answer...nursing I suppose, although the thought of needles just gives me the chills so I don't think I would be all that great.  So why did I go into teaching?  Well, having summers off and a Christmas break is a definite plus!  I also enjoy working with kids and trying to make a difference in their lives.  But some years you wonder if you ever really reach any of your students?  Sure, I may have taught them about the atrocities of the Holocaust during our Anne Frank/Night study, or they may have learned how to solve equations in Algebra, but teaching goes so much deeper than that.  Its about teaching life lessons as well.  This year at school has been one filled with quite a bit of tragedy.  Just about a year ago we lost a 6th grade student in a car accident while he was traveling with his boy scout troop.  In the fall, one of our students lost his mother unexpectedly to an anyerisum, another student lost his mother to infection and another student lost his brother to a lengthy illness.  What I have really tried to teach my students is to appreciate life, do the things and say the things that you would if you knew it were going to be the last time you were going to see someone.  We never know when life is going to throw us one of those curveballs.  I'm not sure if I ever got through to them or not with this message, but with her permission, I wanted to share a letter sent to me by one of my students.  This is the reason I teach...


Dear Mrs. Duve,

    I am so grateful for everything you have done for me over the past year! I know that you were my Math teacher, and the best one I ever had, but you taught me so much more than that! You taught me to accept everyone, even those who do not learn as quickly or the same way as I do! You also taught me something no one else could have ever taught me. You taught me that there are kids out there who need my help, who are fighting everyday and not enough people realize that! You are the best math teacher ever, but you teach so much more!
    I do not learn math fast and I do not understand things very well, but you never got frustrated or gave up on me! During my year with you, I began to understand. I may not be the fastest person to solve the problem, but I know how to do it and when I take my time to solve it, I can get the right answer. I have never had a Math teacher who took the time, even before school, to try to make me understand the math. When you did that it made me feel like you really cared if I succeeded! You took the time and because of that I now understand and have more confidence in myself!
    Along with Math, you taught me that everyone is different! Everyone has things going on in their personal lives, but somehow you carry on anyway! When I did the Heart Walk, it made me feel like I was helping people who were going threw a difficult time in their lives! It amazes me that you can be a great Math teacher and great mom to Ellie and Lily! Your girls should be very proud of their mom and who she is to her students! I learned a life lesson I wouldn’t give up for the world when I found out about Lily. Lily is truly an inspiration for me, and I thought you should know that! Lily never stops fighting, but neither do you! I hope that someday I will be able to appreciate life and good health half as much as your family does! Ellie is also an inspiration for me, because she goes along with it. She continues to allow Lily to have attention and she never complained during the Heart Walk! What this means to me is that you are a strong enough person to be a great mom to the two most deserving little girls and be the most inspiring and best Math teacher ever!
    You have taught me so much more than I ever thought you would! All kids out there deserve to know you and see how great you are! You should know that you gave me confidence and the willingness to achieve in math which I never thought was possible! Please continue to carry on, both in teaching and being a great mom! I don’t even know the rest of your family that well and I can tell that you are an amazing relative to your family. If everyone could have you as a teacher, we would have a smarter population in both math and life! Please say Hello to Ellie and Lily for me and know that I think they are two of the cutest kids I have ever seen! I will continue to pray for your family, look at you carepages site, and check-in on your blog! Know that your family is in my family prayers even long after I am gone!

                        Thank You So Much for Everything,
                                Kayla Schueller


This letter reaffirms to me that this is where God has chosen me to be...in the classroom.  This is my calling!  The letter to brought me to tears and made my day.  This school year could not have ended on a better note!  Happy Summer!!!

Family Pictures

We had our family pictures taken for the 1st time since Lily was born.  I picked out a few of our favorites to share...Enjoy!

Schools (almost) Out For Summer!

What a busy time of year.  The school year is just about over.  Today would have been our last day of school but due to snow days the kids have to go until June 9th and us teachers have to go until June 10th.  There is so much to do to wind up the end of the school year...grading papers and tests, report cards, cleaning the classroom, and for me moving classrooms.  You would think I would be getting used to it, this is the 6th year in a row I have moved rooms.  I am almost a pro at it!

We have some exciting things planned for this summer.  Every Tuesday and Thursday from 9-12 Ellie is going to attend Tot Lot.  This will give me time to take a Stroller Strides class with Lily.  For those of you who don't know what Stroller Strides is, it is an exercise class that involves you, your baby and your stroller.  I can't wait!  We have a few "mini" vacations planned for the summer as well.  Over the 4th of July weekend we will be heading up to Winona, Minnesota.  This has been a tradition for a couple years now.  Last year we didn't make it since Lily was so little, but this year I have no doubt she will love running around the campground, getting rides on the golf cart and spending time with her sister and cousin Emmy!  In late July we are having a Hartmann Family Reunion at Spook Cave Campground near McGregor, IA.  We were supposed to do this family reunion last year, but the family decided to postpone it since we knew it would fall near Lily's Glenn surgery.  This should be a great time!  There are so many great-grandkids that are all within a year of each other that there should be no shortage of fun and adventure!  I am teaching a few classes this summer through the YMCA.  These classes are all geared towards infants/toddlers/preschoolers and I can't wait to get started.  It will be quite a switch going from teaching 8th graders to teaching preschoolers.

This past weekend we were able to get out on the river for the 1st time!  Ellie loves riding in the boat and playing in the river.  She is definitly a little fish!  I think her favorite part was hanging on to her floaty and having the waves push her to shore.  Lily wasn't too sure about the boat ride at first or the river.  She was pretty indifferent about the whole experience.  Her favorite part was the snacks!

We had our family pictures taken just about 3 weeks ago and we got the proofs back this week.  The pics were Ah-Mazing!  Thanks to Amy and Kari from Life Photography for offering to take our family photos at no cost!  I will post some of the pics as soon as we get the copyright release.  I can't wait to show them off.

I hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather.  We can't wait to get summer started and enjoy the nice weather out on the beaches of the Mississippi!  Take care!

The Duves

One Year Ago!

One year ago yesterda Lily was released from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics following her birth and two open heart surgeries

                                                          Getting ready to go home!                                                             

                                                            And here I am today!!

I wish that I could share with you Lily's newest adventure but I just can't seem to get the video to upload so if anyone has any suggestions please share.  Keystone AEA came last Monday to see how Lily has been progressing.  We are glad to report that she is right on track in every way.  Last night she showed us just how determined of a little girl she is...she wants to walk!  She would get up on her feet, take a step and fall and get right back up, take a few steps, fall and repeat this over and over until she had made her way over to me!  All of this I got on video.  It is just amazing to see how far she has come in one short year!  We are so blessed that Lily has been as healthy as she has been.  She is one amazing little girl!

We had our family pictures taken on Saturday so as soon as we get them back I will share!  I can't wait to see them.  We had pictures taken back when Ellie was a baby and they turned out awful so these will officially be our first family photos since Lily was born.  Thanks to Amy and Kari from Life Photography.  They were absolutely wonderful with the girls!

A Beautiful Day for a Walk!

Today was the 2010 Heart Walk and we could not have asked for a more beautiful day!  We are so thankful for everyone who joined us today to walk, anyone who purchased a t-shirt and all who donated to Team Lily!

         Team Lily raised $1,425.00!!!

I continue to be amazed at the support that we have received from our family, friends and co-workers!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

                                           Our attempt at a family photo!

                                           Half of Team Lily

                                           And the other half!

                         CHD survivors-all born in 2009 and looking fantastic!
                         Matthew (2010 Featured Survivor), Lily and Kennedy

                                    Lily and Great Grandma Hartmann

Thank you to the following people for their support of Team Lily at the 2010 Heart Walk:  Becky Hauder, Jolene Hedley, Jean Sawvel, Sandi and Sam Hough, Kalyn and Leah Decker,
Grandma and Grandpa Mihalakis, Jed and Becky Hurst, Kelly and Sarah McDermott, Sharon Loeffelholz, Trish Taylor, Kayla Crane, Mary and Natalie Fury, Jake and Katie Mihalakis, Shirley Koppes, Dawn Ellis, Jenny Stork, Tony Konrardy, Kristen Hurley, Vicki Huff, Jane Northrup, Kate Dean, Rachael Goedert, Becky Zurcher, Deb Finn, Cindy Hedrick, Linda Crawford, Kim Muntz, Michelle and Luke Hartmann, Courtney Smith, Tyler Wernimont, Great Grandma Hartmann, Lynne Millman, Catherine Kremer, Jon and Nikki Decker, Carla and Kayla Schueller, Emily Moes, Sarah Ochs, Lindsey Chapman, Brightin Kisting, Ron, Laurie, Austin, Alex and Kayla Helbing, Randy Swenson, Tony Burgmeier, Joanne Kintzle, Cheryl Runde, Karen, Russ and Sarah Duve, Katie Ford, Elizabeth and Caroline Ott, Jessica Ward, Valerie Stecher, Jill and Kayla Hohmann, Susan Meier, Deb McGinnis, Elizabeth Burgmeier, Erin Collins, Brittany Tashner, Kim, Holly, Emmy and Jack Kunkel, Tina Weber, Chris, Pauline, Aaron, Amber, Bridget and Elizabeth Duve, Kelly and Bree Garmen, Buelah and Gabrielle Lape, Ana Schmitt, Tracy Bechen, Jamie Pluemer and Mary Geisler, Jake Hammerand, Cyndy Billmeyer and Sharon Hefel.

Thank you to the following businesses and groups for their support of Team Lily:  Rich and Junnies Coin, Thermo-Fisher Scientific and Ladies Clutch

We are forever grateful for all you have done for us!

Love,  Jesi, Russ, Ellie and Lily Duve

Cake, Horses and the Heart Walk

 A little late, but here they are!  On April 25th we had Lily's first birthday party.  Everybody came to help us celebrate this little miracle turning 1!  She had a great time with everyone!  She was a little weary of opening presents, but big sister Ellie was such a great help with that!  Once Lily got a little taste of her cake she didn't want to let it go.  She was actually pretty neat about eating it, but then she started getting tired, and started rubbing the eyes and soon cake was everywhere. 

This week the girls got a special treat!  A good friend and co-worker of mine had asked me if the girls would like to come out and see her horse Samara.  Well, Ellie has been talking about ponies for the past two months since there are quite a few that live very close to us and we see them on our drive home everyday.  I thought this would be a great opportunity for her to see the horses up close.  I honestly never thought she would get on one, especially once we got there and she wouldn't even touch the horse.  But to my surprise they both rode with Kristen.  And when Lily wasn't on the horse she kept herself busy by eating grass and munching on the gate!

 

Just a last minute reminder that tomorrow is the Heart Walk.  Registration begins at 8 am and the walk begins at 9 am.  If you are interested in walking with Team Lily please meet us at the Thermo Fisher parking lot between 8-8:30.  I am so excited that we were able to see 101 Team Lily t-shirts.  In addition, Thermo-Fisher, staff from Mazzuchelli Catholic Middle School, Ladies Clutch and relatives have given additional donations.  I really think we can reach out goal of $1000!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Lily!!

Yesterday was Lily's 1st birthday. It is amazing to see how far she has come in one year. Prior to Lily's birth we met with cardiologists and neonatalogists who all said many of the same things: your baby will probably have feeding problems, your baby will thrive to grow, sickness will be very tough on her. She has overcome each of those. Lily is 20.2 lbs, she eats more than her sister most days and she overall has been a very healthy baby. She is our little miracle.

For Lily's birthday we went out for pizza at Pusateri's and as usual her bright red hair made her the center of attention and she was just eating it up! After pizza we went up to Beecher's for ice cream. I was kind of disappointed they didn't have my favorite-Old South Fudge Pie. Now if that does scream "unhealthy" I don't know what does? Finally we took the girls over to Asbury Park and let them play, although it wasn't for long since it was getting dark. Both Russ and I thought it would be Ellie we would be pulling away from the park kicking and screaming, but it was our little birthday princess who was the one that was upset. By the time we got home it was time to clean up and go to bed.

On April 16th our family attended the Loras College Dance Marathon.  The Dance Marathon raises money for the University of Iowa Children's Hospital.  The Dance Marathon provides things for the families staying at the U of I such as the healthy food vending machines in the family waiting rooms.  We were so exicted to be able to share Lily's story to give the students a reason to continue to dance through the night.  The Dance Marathon went from 8 pm-8 am.  It was amazing to see so many college students giving up their Friday night to benefit our families  Ellie really got into the dancing, even went up on stage with dad a few times.  Lily was asleep for most of the time we were there so unfortunately I have no pictures of her.

The girls have had to start at a new daycare since Amy (our daycare provider) is due to have a baby any day now.  I know the girls miss going to Amy's but they are having a blast out at Stacy's.  Ellie is there with her friend Addelyn who also happens to be in the same gymnastics class as her.  It was funny, Addelyn's mom and I were sitting in the waiting room yesterday waiting for the girls to be done and the only names we could hear were Ellie and Addelyn.  Seems they get a little goofy when they are around each other.  And to make things worse, Ellie's gymnastics instructor is one of my current students, but she swears she wasn't misbehaving in class, just being a goofy 2-year old!

I almost forgot to mention:  The Heart Walk is on May 1, 2010 on the RiverWalk behind Klauer Manufacturing.  We would love to have everyone join us that morning.  We have Team Lily t-shirts available for purchase.  They are $10 with the proceeds going to the American Heart Association Legacy of Life.  So far we have sold 83 t-shirts!!!  How awesome is that?  Please let me know if you are interested in walking with us or if you would like to support Team Lily by purchasing a t-shirt.

I will leave you with a few random pics from the last couple weeks!  Have a great weekend.

With Love,  The Duves