Past Halloweens

My new Addiction!

I made these on Scrapblog.com!
Aren't they cute! Then you can save them and upload to Walgreens or some place like that and get prints for less than .20 each!

Iola ISD

I know its long but I just want to share this with everyone. A quick recap: In Feb Kelsey was told to take off her shoes in PE because the floor was newly poished. She was running in socks, and slipped and fell, breaking both bones in her lower left arm. The school sent home and accident claim form for me to file with their insurance. I used my insurance as a primary insurance, and the schools as a secondary. Im still getting bills from the doctors, so I contacted the school. This is the response I got from the superintendent at Iola ISD. Basically what he told me was yes, we were willing to take responsibility when we thought we had insurance to cover Kelsey, but now that we found out we forgot to buy insurance, it is not longer the schools problem! The total balance, after my insurance paid, and I paid my deductables is $1300.00. The school refuses to help me pay this!
Please feel free to forward this on, let everyone know how helpful the school district is when there is a problem.

From: Brandy Coneley [mailto:brandy@scarmardofoods.com] Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 12:14 PMTo: ddevine@iolaisd.net
Subject: Kelsey Coneley

Hello.

This email is in regards to an incident that happened February 1, 2009. Kelsey fell during PE class while running with
socks on. She was taken to the hospital by ambulance, suffering a broken arm. I was given a copy of the schools insurance
by Cindy Bratton and was told it will act as a secondary insurance, covering what my insurance would not.

I am still receiving statements from doctors offices and the hospital stating that I have a balance. My insurance (United Healthcare)
covered their part on all 4 of the statements Im receiving. I received a letter from Ms Baca this month stating that the school is not responsible because the incident was not a UIL event. It sounds like St Joseph is calling the school directly to collect payment.

Attached is a worksheet showing the balances still owed.

I would appreciate your help getting this paid. If need be, Iola ISD can pay this directly. I feel I have been very patient with the school on this incident that was clearly the schools fault. I have taken many days off of work, losing my pay and also using my gas money to drive Kelsey to her check-ups, weekly during the first month! I feel like the school has shown no concern over what happened, aside from Mrs Bratton calling several times to check on Kelsey and expressing true concern. My insurance has done their part, paying what they should, and I have dedicated plenty of my time on this, I now need to know what action the school is going to take to help clear up this problem.

I would appreciate a response letting me know what is going to be done to help.

Brandy Coneley
Scarmardo Produce
979-779-7209 ex 17

From: Douglas Devine
To: 'Brandy Coneley'
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 5:17 PM
Subject: RE: Kelsey Coneley

Ms. Conley,
It is unfortunate that there has been a misunderstanding concerning the student accident insurance coverage in effect for the 2007-08 school year. The secondary insurance, in effect last year, only covered athletes. Iola ISD did not purchase accident insurance for non-athletes, however, parents were given the opportunity to purchase accident insurance for their children. There is no legal requirement for school districts to purchase accident insurance for students. Iola ISD is not responsible for Kelsey’s medical bills and cannot pay them. I am extremely sorry that this misunderstanding occurred, but I cannot authorize payment of her bills.
Douglas Devine
Superintendent
Iola ISD

From: Brandy Coneley [mailto:brandy@scarmardofoods.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 1:53 PMTo: Douglas Devine
Subject: Re: Kelsey Coneley

Mr. Devine,

Please explain how Iola ISD is not responsible when Kelsey was told to take her shoes off during PE? This is cleary the schools fault that the incident happened. During the week of February 1, 2008, I was given a copy of a student accident claim form completely filed out by Mrs. Braaton and Coach Carrell. I also received an attached note from Mrs. Braaton stating "This is an accident claim form from the school. It's a supplemental insurance that can help cover if your insurance doesn't cover 100%. If you want to use it, just fill out the parent information part at the bottom of the form. The instructions on how to file the claim are on the back of the form. If you have any questions please call me at the school 394-2361, ext 241."
I do not understand how it is that I received the Accident Claim Form, handwritten instructions on how to use it, and now you are telling me that the school is not responsible to help pay for an Accident that was caused by a teachers poor judgment.
I am willing to continue forward with this. At this point I am not requesting reimbursement for the time off of work and other cost I incurred, just
payment for the balance of the medical bills that my insurance did not cover, as I was informed would happen.
Copies of all medical bills, completed student accident claim form and handwritten letter from Mrs. Braaton are available upon request.
I will be be waiting for your immediate response.

Brandy Coneley

Ms. Coneley,
Ms. Braaton was following procedures in place at the time of Kelsey’s injury; however, she was unaware that the supplemental accident insurance covered only athletes. At the time I thought we had supplemental accident insurance for all students. In the past Iola ISD did have accident insurance that covered non-athletes, but through an oversight it was not in effect during the 2007-08 school year.
School districts are protected by sovereign immunity from liability for students’ medical costs and other damages resulting from injury. Sovereign immunity protects the school districts from both suit and liability for damages. Furthermore, school teachers and other professional school district employees are not personally liable for an act within the scope of the employee’s duties that involves the exercise of judgment or discretion, with narrow exceptions. Thus, with rare exceptions, neither a school district nor a teacher would be liable for damages for an injury sustained by a student during a classroom activity. (Texas Education Code 22.051).
It is unfortunate that we did not carry the student accident insurance last year and it is extremely unfortunate that Kelsey suffered an accident and was injured, but Iola ISD is not liable for her medical bills. If you have any further questions concerning this matter, please, feel free to contact me.
Douglas Devine
Superintendent
Iola ISD

Itsy Bitsy Church

Here's the churchand here's the stepel
Open the doors...

and where's the people??? Oh, here they are!
This is Kelsey signing the guest book

Lukes grandma passed away last week
and on our way home from Shiner Tx we
stopped to have a look inside the Worlds
Smallest Catholic Church. Kelsey and I

have driven by this many times and have
always wanted to stop. Well we finially did!

It was very small!

These are my save the date cards...Not sure on the green color,

but then again, Im not sure what green im using anyway!

Did Someone Call A Cab?

This is Emma and her little cab. Isn't she cute!
She LOVES to have her picture taken!

Here Comes The Bride, All Dressed In White

This is one of my old co-workers and a dear friend, Elena.
She got married this past weekend. Isn't she beautiful??

The happy Couple

I wish you both a lifetime of Happiness!

I've Learned...

What we are is Gods gift to Us,
What we become is our gift to God.I have been attending RCIA class at St Marys for several weeks. St Marys is the church that Luke has attended for quite some time, and the church Kelsey and I have been attending since we've known Luke. It is a beautiful church and Im glad that we are having our wedding there! RCIA is a class for those wanting to become Catholic or for those who are curious about the catholic faith. Since this is all new to me, I was going to blog after each meeting to share what I have learned. Well I am 4 meetings behind, but I guess better late than never.

Please HELP!!! Major Decision to be Made!!!

OK, I need HELP!!! I can not decide on a color for my wedding..
These are the invitations I bought. They are cream colored, not white.
It is just hard to tell in the pick...I like the black and cream design that
is on the side..I plan to use this in my reception decorating...(the ribbon
will be whatever color I end up chosing)
MY problem is that I can not decide between the two colors below.
The first is kiwi green and the second is watermelon.

This is KIWI green. If I decide to go with this it will be
this, black and cream.

If I decide to go with the watermelon, I can still use
some green, but I still like the black design on the
invitations. Is this pink too common? Should

I go with the green, or do you like the pink?

PLEASE HELP!!!!

This Weekend= Lots of Hard Work!!!

Well this is how I spent my weekend...

Luke's backyard was not in the best shape
when he bought the house...We knew it
would be a long long road before it

started looking the way we wanted it to.
Here are some before and after pics...

This was the pool after working with if for several
weeks. This actually looks good compared to the
"Pond" that we started with. You couldn't see 3
inches into the water. Here it is looking a
little better, still murky, but not black!

And here it is after LOTS of work! You can
see straight to the bottom!
The previous owner had an obsession with
Thorn bushes. Now don't get me wrong, I
love a rose just as much as the next person,
but I've never felt the need to cover my yard
in them! This is the picket fence that
divides the pool area from the rest of the
yard. Guess what the fence was covered with?
Yep, Rose bushes...or should I say Thorn
bushes, we haven't seen a rose yet!

After cutting the rose bushes down, we planted
these tropical looking Palm Trees. We also
planted s hibiscus on each side of the tree.
It is hard to see in this pic since I took it
at night...but this is on each side of the gate.

This was their lattice work...which I though
was a good idea, since the pool pump is hidden
behind it..the wood was rotten, so it had to go.
Take one guess at what was growing all over
this, yep more roses!
Here is what it looked like after we tore the
lattuce fence down...see the pump, that is
what needs to be hidden..

We chose these plants to do the job. They
should grow to over 6 feet tall and they have
red tropical looking flowers..Oh, we are going
to plant them into the ground, we just ran out
of time!
Next Project: Moving Banana Trees!
Stay Tuned! :)

For you Hayley, my new car!

This is my new car. I finially traded in my gas
guzzling truck for this! It is an Acadia. It
gets much better gas mileage!

This is the inside, hopefully I can keep it
this clean!And, this is the back....Notice the 3rd row
seat. It folds down, perfect for Shopping!!

Church Carnival

We went to Lukes parents a couple of weekends ago. The church

was having a carnival so we went and had a good time!

Here is Luke with Paul Joseph.
He is one of our ring bearers.This is one of my flowergirls Hannah.

They also had a friendly volleyball tournament.
This team plays to win though..Kelsey and Ashlynn
The kids playing with toys they won at the carnival

Peter with his prizes
One of the things Im most looking forward to
when I marry Luke is becoming his nieces
and nephews Aunt! They are all so
adorable and sweet!

All Smiles!!

Children are soo cute, especially when you catch them off guard, unposed...
This is little Emma, looking so sweet....

And then this is Emma when I told her to smile for the
camera...
SILLY GIRL!!

My going away party...

Ok, Im a month behind...but I wanted to post pictures from my going away party at Monterey....

We had a pot luck and I got to be first in line...

Some of my co-workers

I miss these crazy girls!!!
They kept me sain!!