Always glad when that is over

Today was our annual meeting at the church.  It is always the least favorite Sunday of the entire year for me.  When I first started in this role, there was a couple there who made it their mission to point out any errors that were made or to question just about everything, and it was questioned in a tone that made it feel like we hadn't done our jobs correctly.  There was also to be a new church constitution voted on, and there were some people unhappy about that.  Overall though, it was very positive and I'm pleased with how it went.  I wasn't at all sad when it was postponed from last week due to the snow storm, but I sure am glad to have that finished for another year!

Whew!

There are just a few more days remaining in May.  And what a month is has been!  We had the wedding, which was a crazy weekend itself.  That was followed by musical week which requires extra evening work for school.  By the end of that week, I was absolutely exhausted.  For Mother's Day weekend, I just wanted to be able to sit, which I did because it turned out I had a touch of a bug.  The next week brought our end-of-year ceremony, but the night it was scheduled we were in a very severe weather pattern.  We ended up having to scramble and reschedule some things.  It made the week marginally easier, but meant the following week was tougher.  We so much rain in May it was crazy.  The last day of school is always the picnic, and every year we hope it will rain so we can cancel it.  After the rain had played havoc with our schedule the entire month, I was soooo annoyed that although rain had been in the forecast for days, the last day of school was dry, so the picnic was on.  Our boss fell and broke her hand right as the picnic started, which meant responsibilities fell more to me.  That was kind of how May went at school this year...not quite according to plan and just a bit of added work.

In the meantime, our pastor at church is retiring.  He has been pastor of our church for 25 years.  The man has been an incredible blessing in our lives, and I have no doubt that I would not be the faith-filled person I am without this pastor.  He baptized me eleven years ago, and I'm just so grateful that I've been able to not only attend, but work for, a church that, well, I can't even describe it.  He'll be missed, and the work is going to increase not only for myself but also for Andrew who is now our council President.  There are a lot of conversations and decisions that need to be made regarding the future of our church.

But the nice thing is...it is the end of May and school is out!  I know there is still going to be plenty of things to do, and there will be church craziness, but we have a lot of fun planned, and for the next eleven weeks, there are no students at school.  The time to relax is upon us!

It's real

I know I haven't written for a bit.  It's been really crazy in our world, but that is a different post.  Today, on the day before Easter, this is a post about church.  And it's going to be long

Catherine is currently dating a man who was raised an atheist, and still considers himself that to this day.  I don't think less of him, but I do feel a bit sad for him, as my faith has been one of the greatest comforts of my life.  It also makes me a bit sad that my grandchildren (someday, no hidden info there!) may be raised without faith, but I can continue to pray on both counts.  It's not for me to judge.  I raised my children to love and be accepting of all.  Her boyfriend is really a fabulous young man, and she could do (and has done) so much worse.

Tomorrow morning, my wonderful husband will get up really early so that he can take his mother to Mass.  The kids are all staying over here and joining us for church at our regular service.  This is the "hard" part of faith.  My mother will not go to church with us.  Our church doesn't "count" in her church.  I won't lie, it can be difficult not to take that personally.  And when we go to church with her, and we always do when at her place and often on holidays here so we aren't attending twice, we aren't allowed to fully participate.  And even partially participating can be challenging as their are no bulletins or "programs" provided.  So you either know it or you are just sitting there.

I know I sound a little bitter about this.  And that is because I am.  I tried to attend church regularly with my husband, but on more than one occasion I would leave in tears.  I understand there is church trauma out there, and I completely understand how it can hurt.  I am so, so grateful that we have found a church that makes both of us feel so incredibly welcomed and served, and we serve as well.

As we begin the season of Easter, I pray for church peace in the hearts of all.  I pray that all feel the peace and comfort that my faith brings me.  I pray that we love all, whether they are of the faith or not.  I pray for healing faith of all kinds.  I pray that the optimism and joy that we feel tomorrow lasts through the entire year.  Happy Easter.

It's my favorite thing about our church

This evening we handed over the gifts for the Giving Tree that we do at our church each year.  Over the years, this has become "my thing".  I am the one that gets the information from the school, creates the gift list, and gets the gifts to the school social worker.  Our church has members that are becoming much older each year, and many of them wish to simply give a financial donation.  That means I am also the one that does the shopping for those gifts and wraps them as well, then gets everything sorted and handled.  I love it!  It is my absolute favorite thing we do at our church each year.  I am so grateful that our church is so supportive and generous with this activity.  This year we were able to provide 61 gifts to two families that included a total of seven children.  It is such a blessing!

Sixteen years of blogging

It's my blogversary!  Sixteen years of recording memories here on the blog!  I'm so grateful I started this sixteen years ago, and I'm so grateful for the memories recorded here.  I can't really think of a better way to have recorded my kids' childhoods.

We are well into the holiday season.  Today was one of those days when I began to wonder if I'm going to find time to sleep at all between now and Christmas.  In addition to my jobs, this is the busy time with the church job with it being the end of the year.  I'm also in charge of the Giving Tree at church, which I love!  This year, though, most of the gifts are being purchased by financial donations to the church rather than members doing shopping.  It is truly, truly a privilege to be able to provide Christmas for two families including seven children.  It brings me great joy.  I think almost everything is purchased, now I just need to get everything wrapped.  I love seeing the stacks of gifts pile up!

We had lunch with our good friends today.  We haven't been able to get together since August, and we didn't want to wait until Christmas Eve for our next visit.  Friday evening was a gathering with some of Andrew's colleagues.  It's the most wonderful time of the year!

It's been a really nice weekend in the middle of August

This has been a really lovely weekend, especially with the weather.  We've had the windows open since Thursday, and Friday was almost chilly.  It's really been awesome weather.

I'm especially grateful for it, as we had several outdoor activities this weekend.  High school football started Friday.  I didn't go to the game, but Andrew is still doing stats so he was there.  Yesterday morning he had to work at the JV game.  Last evening we had several members of his staff over, and we all sat around outdoors.  It was such a truly lovely evening.  The staff members brought kids along with them, and as my friend pointed out, she loved that everyone felt so completely comfortable here.

This morning our church had a picnic after holding an outdoor service.  The weather was absolutely perfect, especially since there are big trees and we sat in the shade.  I was so grateful to not only get to experience my faith, I loved doing so in the public realm just across from the university campus.  It was a lovely way to have a Sunday morning service, and the weather was absolutely ideal.

We are heading in to our first full week of school.  I can't imagine a more peaceful way to begin the week.  I must note though, that the heat index is going to be over 100 several days this week.  I suspect grumpiness is headed my way!

We had church this morning

Our church decided to hold an outdoor service this morning.  How absolutely wonderful it was to gather with so many others from our congregation to share in the service together.  We have a large towering cross on the corner of our property, and I am so grateful that we had that as the cornerstone.  In addition, Andrew (church council President) was able to present our Pastor with a plaque and many gifts in honor of serving our congregation for twenty years.  This morning was such a blessing, and I'm so grateful for it as we head into a crazy week!

I miss going to church

Every week since church shut down in the middle of March, our Pastor has been sending an email showing the bulletin as it would've been printed, as well as a video of his sermon.  Today, Thomas even figured out how to mirror our computer so we can watch it on TV and not all squeeze together on the couch.  In times of crises, it is so difficult not to have the opportunity to share our faith with others during service, but I am so grateful that we live in the age of technology where we still have options.  I so look forward to the day when we can all go back to church.  I truly miss being in church!

Life in our house on Day #3 of virus shut down

Things continue to evolve by the minute.  I assume most states are similar to Ohio, but honestly, there is so much Ohio news that I'm not seeing much from anywhere else.

I ventured to the grocery yesterday.  I thought with the students gone it wouldn't be so bad, but it was.  There was no parking without being patient.  I had hoped to pick up some meat, and there is none.  There were also no onions or mushrooms, but I was able to get some fresh fruit.  I picked up the last package of hot dog buns.  Not of the brand I wanted, but of any kind.  There was no toilet paper, no paper towels, no facial tissues, no disinfectant wipes, and no anti-bacterial cleanser.  Fortunately, we didn't need any of that.  My hope is that by the time we do, people will have already done their hoarding.  All bars and restaurants are closed, but open for take-out.  I think we will try to order something later this week.

I never felt unsafe at the grocery, but I have realized that my thought of "we'll make one trip a day" as a reason to get out of the house isn't the best.  Right now we are making sure that we eat our perishable food first.  That way, if it goes on for weeks and food becomes an issue, we aren't eating now food that will keep but have to throw away the food that won't.  It's definitely changing our perspectives on things.  We ALL ate leftovers today because we are truly being much more conscientious about our food and waste.

I had a medical test that needed to happen at the local hospital today.  I was pretty uptight about it, but because I am being monitored I wanted to get it done (I am happy to report all is stable).  It was definitely weird being at the hospital with very little activity.  We all had to enter through the e/r doors, and we were asked about our recent health and travel history, and they took our temperature.  I'll be honest, I was pretty happy to just get out of there.

Andrew is fighting battles trying to get his school assignments converted to online.  It's not just converting the lessons to a different method, it's also figuring out how to use the technology.  It doesn't go "live" until tomorrow.  With next week being spring break, I suspect this week is just going to be experimental, and then after break it will become more "real".

We've also just received word that the Bishop of the Southern Ohio Synod of the ECLA has ordered the elimination of in-person services for EIGHT WEEKS.  That means the soonest we could return church would be Mother's Day.  That seems forever from now.

Right now, I'm just trying to keep our spirits up.  I emailed my grandma (I'm so lucky to have one still living), and I plan to make a concerted effort to keep in contact with her.  She is doing puzzles and is still able to take some walks outdoors.  To that end, it will be so nice to have some nicer weather so that we can at least sit out on the porch.

We will get through this.  As we saw on a meme a few weeks ago: "This too shall pass.  It may pass like a kidney stone, but it will pass."

Lots of emotions this past weekend

Now that things are resolved, I can write a little more about the emotions of our weekend.  Obviously, we were dealing with the emotions of recognizing our senior at her final school athletic senior recognition.  Our young lady is amazing, and I'm so thankful for her everyday.

Friday after school, we also received a call from a Principal that an accusation had been made against Thomas.  We knew without a doubt that it wasn't true, but we also knew there would be an investigation and he would be questioned by principals.  The police even contacted us about the situation.  Of course we know all these people, and they know us so it was as best as it could be, but it loomed large over our entire weekend.  Things looked like they were really falling apart for him this morning, but finally video evidence proved what I knew all along.  My sixteen-year-old son who needed a hug from his mom because his best friend's dog died last week wouldn't hurt anyone.  In the meantime, my heart is broken that kids can be so incredibly mean to others.  It was an eye opening experience, but it also reaffirmed what I have known all alone...I have a good kid, and others know it as well.  After an unbelievably stressful morning, I feel like I can breathe again.

We also had a major church meeting yesterday morning.  It was my first year preparing the budget entirely by myself and presenting it to the congregation.  It went really well, and I was thrilled that I had the answers in my head to questions that were asked.  When I sat down, Andrew said he sometimes forget what a great accountant I am.  It was really sweet.  The previous treasurer had handled the duties for 30 years (yes, 30 years!) and before her was a man who I had as an accounting professor in my college days.  I had a woman tell me that she knew he was good, she knew the one before me was good, and she'd find out whether or not I was any good yesterday.  Talk about some pressure!  Fortunately, that part went well, although there were other items of the agenda with contention.  Two hours after it began, we were finally finished.

And of course upon arriving home in the afternoon, we learned about the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant and his daughter.  As a parent, I can't imagine what was most likely a realization that not only are you going to die, but your child is going to die with you.  I suppose the fact that she was with her dad is of some comfort, but not enough.  My heart breaks for the family.  It is unimaginable.

And "yay", today is Monday!  We have an incredibly busy week this week this week.  We really need a snow day, but there is definitely not one on the horizon!

Friday, senior night, and another weekend

We have made it to another Friday!  The weeks are flying by.  Next week at this time will be the last day of January.  I am rarely sad to see January end.  Can't really complain about the cold this year since we haven't had much, but still ready to move into February.

Tonight is senior night.  My heart is breaking a little, as this is Catherine's final high school senior sport recognition.  Wasn't she just finishing preschool?  I am still completely heart-broken that no one is coming for her special evening.  My sister was very apologetic about it, and there is nothing I can do about it, but it breaks my heart just the same.

Tomorrow the kids and I get to sleep in, and Andrew doesn't have to be up terribly early although he does have baseball.  Because of that, the chances of me getting to sleep as late as I would like are pretty slim, because even if he doesn't wake me, the dog will.  I don't have to leave my house tomorrow if I don't want, and I'm excited about that.  The kids have an all day away swim meet, and Andrew has to work at the hockey game in the evening.

Sunday is going to be a long day at church.  We have a meeting at 9, then the service at 10, and finally the annual meeting is after church.  The last two years things have gone fairly quickly, but there is a new "vision statement" that is expected to be somewhat controversial.  Shouldn't be, but the older members don't like change, and everyone who does want change has their own idea of what should be said.  I anticipate this being longer than I would prefer.

Life is moving along so very quickly.  I am grateful for the moments I have with my family!  And I am especially grateful that today is Friday!