You Don't See That Every Day

Spring is coming! I know its only January but I can see the daylight growing earlier and longer each day, offering hope of time outside not shivering. Our holiday break is over and we are back to the routine. Which is a good thing! The first day back to school was a lot easier for us than the second. We were up and going on time, with the only fussiness when it came time to do math. One child has a little problem with wanting to DO math. She's very good at it, and when she is in the right attitude, she can fly through it. The second day ... well, at 9am and I was just starting to eat breakfast, instead of starting school. And now that we are in week 2, well, I'm dreaming again about break time But about our break .. We packed it in this time. It felt like it to me even if the kids might not agree. The week before Christmas we took off from homeschool, although the older kids still had class at away-school. Choir concerts, singing at the Capitol, dentist and ortho appo...

Sometimes something amazing happens once in a great while. Like Halley's Comet. I still remember my 7th grade teacher's excitement over this flying ball of gaseous rocks. The work in progress This past weekend I had amazing idea come to life. That is something that rarely happens. So, it wasn't quite as ethereal as Halley's Comet, or any comet really. But it was cool enough for the Mr and I to look at each other and go, Oh yeah. I'm glad we made this happen.  Back in November I began to anticipate the Christmas break. Two weeks to sleep in a little, and not run around so much. I know my kids like the break from school, but not necessarily the break from friends. As my mind was whirling with to-do lists, I came across a Facebook post from a relative who has a tradition of decorating graham cracker "gingerbread" houses each Thanksgiving break. A lightbulb began to glow in my mind. Why not get my kids and their friends together to do this?!...

Funerals can be inspirational. Or rather, the memorial service can be. Today the Mr and I attended a memorial service for a dear man, a great man, a wise man. Over and over again those were the words used to describe this older friend of ours. And it wasn't just platitudes being said about a life well lived. We knew this man, the Mr knew him more than I, but those were also the words my husband used to describe him. As I sat listening to brothers talk of their sibling, grandchildren talk of a grandpa, and friends reminisce on a friendship, I thought How would I want to be remembered? How will I or our children speak of my Mr when that day comes? I hope we will run the good race (figuratively and literally). I hope we will find strength in the hard challenges, and display grace in tough times. And I hope that it is a celebration of Life not just a mourning. Deuteronomy 30:19 " ... choose life that you and your children may live ..."

A week has passed since our spring break ended and I am finally getting to this. It went by too fast! We kept busy enough to feel it, but no so busy that we didn't sleep in. Oh, that felt good. And yes, Monday morning of back-to-school was very painful for all of us. We started the break with a wedding - friends' children who we've known since our kids were little. We all enjoyed the wedding .. it was simple and beautiful. Our Boy got a chance to serve - scooping ice cream at the reception.  We all enjoyed the dancing - The Boy and I joined in on the Mom and Son dance; The girls showed us their moves to songs we had no clue on; and The Mr had some great tango moves. It made me miss our ballroom dancing days. That evening we picked up The Cousins. What a giggle-filled three days those were! We took them to a local children's museum one day. There was an exhibit there for streams - and just like an engineer's grandchildren would do, they each start...

Dear Brother , Well this week it happened. My oldest child graduated from high school, my middle child graduated from middle school, and we added a couple of parties, and a funeral in the mix. Our Boy has been gone most of the week attending senior parties, or just impromptu get-togethers with his friends, enjoying every last minute with his buddies that he can. On Thursday we had a little discussion as to what would be worn under the graduation robe .. a compromise was struck mainly because he has no good pants, and he took the tie off once he saw that none of his friends were wearing one. But at least he had a nice button up shirt on, and good jeans. I didn't cry during graduation this time! It was definitely a celebratory evening. Our Boy was one of 6 valedictorians, so instead of having them all give a speech, 2 of them gave the speech, our boy opting out of that. The Girl who Swims is starting the countdown for her graduation in two years... The next evening...

Dear Family and Friends, A BIG thank you to those of you who made it to our son's graduation party! It was so fun to see everyone, and yet, we feel like we missed out a bit because we couldn't get around to talk to everyone. The Boy has been incredibly blessed by all of you, not just with the cards you left for him, but for your input in his life. I know that someday he will look back and see just how you played a role in his growing.  Thank you. To those of you who could not make it, I totally understand. I didn't make it to some friends' parties this weekend either. And so for you, I have pictures of what you missed: Good friends, Good food, Good family, I must say, having company over is quite an impetus to clean up the house and yard! It was sparkling on Sunday after days of 'spring cleaning'. The kids all pitched in to help ... ok, maybe it was more like mandatory volunteering, but we worked on it as a family, and then got ...