Praying fervently

I am sitting here crying and praying fervently...begging God to bring my sister's dog back to her.  Rockne went missing this morning.  My sister got Rockne in February, and she is an old English Sheepdog, just like her previous dog.  Unlike Nuxie though, Rockne is just the sweetest little thing and absolutely loves people.  My sister has sent me text after text with pictures over the months, and I'm just devastated that she could be lost.  My mom has been out looking, and has even stopped trash people to ask, but so far no luck.  My sister is single with no children, and her pets are such a huge part of her life.  She's been gone for a few hours now, and I'm continuing to pray and pray that she is found safe and sound!


Update:  Rockne has finally made it home after being gone for over five hours!  I'm so incredibly grateful and can't even put it into words.  Apparently she had a tour of the neighborhood, and then spent several hours in a garage until connections could be made.  Such a huge relief!

Even crazier this week

Last week was definitely crazy...and this week is crazier.  I made the comment to several people last week that May is becoming one of my least favorite months.  The schedule of everything is absolutely insane...just crazy!

Today I have a 9:30 meeting at work.  I am definitely hoping this doesn't take forever because I have tons of things to do.  I need to pick Robert up from school at 2:30 and drop off the 28 2-liter bottles I have for tonight's dessert function.  I have to get Robert to his volunteer shift at 3, then pick Catherine up from drama at 4:30.  I am picking Robert up at 5:30 and then going straight back to the high school to drop off the 600 desserts.  I have to be at the middle school by 7:00 to Catherine's student recognition night.  I am so proud of her for being recognized for her hard work and her grades!  Tonight is Andrew's evening class he is teaching so I'm on my own.

Tomorrow isn't as awful, although Andrew has a meeting after school and then I have a meeting tomorrow evening.  On Wednesday, Robert has a meeting after school.  I will need to pick him up from that and get him to a doctor appointment.  That evening, I have a meeting and Andrew has one as well.

Thursday is my day to make hay!  I may not have to leave the house the entire day, and that is fabulous.  I will need to be working on the house...big time!  Catherine is being confirmed this weekend, and many relatives are making a trip to our house...for many it is the only time of the year they are here.  The house needs to not only be picked up, but CLEAN.  Not weekly clean, but vacuuming window sills and washing windows clean.  Hopefully Thursday will be a day to really get that accomplished.

Friday I have a haircut, and I'll need to get Robert after school again for his volunteer shift.  When we pick him up from that, he'll need to head to work and it's going to be a rather late evening.  Catherine also has her 8th grade "formal" dance (I'll post about that at another time) and I need to make sure she looks decent.  On Saturday Thomas needs to go to our former town for a birthday party, Robert has a crack-of-dawn scouting event and also has to work all of the day.  If my in-laws are able to be here they will arrive on Saturday, although some things have developed that might keep them from coming.

Sunday we need to retrieve Thomas from our former town bright and early and then will spend the day celebrating Catherine's confirmation.  I'm trying not to be annoyed that of the 30 people we've invited that all of one person has responded to let us know about attending.  Communication folks!  I'm looking forward to spending the day with whomever can be here and celebrating my beautiful and kind daughter.  Next week she heads to D.C. for her eighth grade class trip.

Life is absolutely crazy, and I'm so grateful for each and every moment!

How I spent Mother's Day

I've never been a huge fan of Mother's Day.  I think mostly because I have questioned my worth as a mother.  I don't think that's uncommon...I think most moms do.  This past year has definitely been a tremendous challenge as a parent, and yet, I realize that all moms struggle.  Mom's are never "on it" all the time, but I know that I'm doing the best I can, and my best isn't that bad.  I recognize that right now the kids think I'm a terrible person because they aren't getting away with things, and maybe they'll never be grateful for our guidelines and discipline, but it means we are making good decisions as parents.  I decided not to expect the "storybook" day that you see in commercials, and it was the way to go!

I was able to sleep in, and then I got up and started baking.  I am in charge of a dessert function this evening for my volunteer job, and since I hate spending the organization's money, I decided to bake 600 desserts.  Yes, it took me absolutely all day, but I got it done.  There are several varieties of cookies, two kinds of muffins, some bread and some brownies.  I'm grateful Andrew was willing to handle dinner (grilled steak) and everyone just left me alone to get it done.  I'm happy that is over, and I thought it was a perfect way to spend the day...baking a doing laundry...exactly what mothers do!

Not my favorite day

Today, Catherine is off to a band competition and then gets to spend the day at an amusement park.  She is beyond excited.  Many local people have a season's pass to the park, but it's just not something we enjoy all that much.  Even as a child, I didn't really care about going.  It was fun, but not something I'd like to do all the time.  The thing about this day is that it requires Catherine to be at the school even earlier than she would normally get on the bus...yikes!  I remember three years ago when Robert was going to school here but we were still living in our former town.  My fabulous husband left home at 5:15 AM to get Robert here on time...meaning there was still a "4" on the clock when they got up.  Ugh.  Selfishly, it also requires a ridiculous amount of work on my part for my volunteer job (although thankfully ahead of time, not this morning), and it's just not my favorite day of the year.  The nice thing about being up though is that I can get to work in the flower beds!

Ladies lunch

I've been wanting to write all week about my plans from last weekend, but as I wrote on Monday, the craziness of this time of year has begun.  This is nothing compared to next week, but that is another post...this one is about the fabulous time I had with some friends last weekend.

When my best friend Stephanie married her husband, I gained an entirely new set of friends.  Pat had a group of friends since high school that were very close and had stayed in touch through the college years and beyond.  Many of them had stayed local for college, and had local college friends, and the group just kind of kept growing.  It was through this group that Andrew and I met.  At our wedding, we had a picture taken of our group, and the group has been added to by additional spouses and children.  Of course, the "children" part is what can make getting together so very challenging.  Several weeks ago I attended a baby shower of the "newest" friend, and because everyone's life was so crazy, I was the only one there.  I decided this just couldn't be, and so I sent out a message about a ladies' lunch and proposed a date.  Our husbands have often been together, but the ladies always are home with the kids or just being the the "responsible" ones, so I decided it was our turn.  Ironically the date I proposed suited everyone, and the plans were made!  We spent several hours just hanging out and chatting, and I truly can't explain how much I needed that time.  I've never been one to particularly relish "girl time", but as I've grown older I recognize how important it is to maintain such special friendships.  It was a dreary day, but I was cheered immensely by getting to spend the day with these fabulous ladies.  Our friendships are such blessings!

It starts getting crazy

May has arrived, and the end-of-school-year craziness is also upon us.  I kind of forget each year how ridiculous it becomes as everyone tries to have a meeting/ceremony/recognition to wrap up the year.  Today Robert has a doctor appointment and then I have a meeting in the afternoon.  Robert has a volunteer shift after school and Andrew teaches his night class.  Tomorrow Catherine has drama practice, and that is our easy day of the week.  On Wednesday, Robert has another appointment, Catherine has a band concert, and I have a meeting.  Thursday Robert has extra study help and Catherine has a track meet.  Friday Robert has another volunteer shift and Catherine has a track party.  On Saturday Catherine has an all-day band function and on Sunday Robert works all day.  Really this isn't all too bad...frankly it is nothing compared to next week!  I'm grateful my kids have these opportunities though, and I'm grateful that we can work it all out.  I know the day is going to come when things seem so quiet and uneventful around here.  At the same time, I'm looking forward to our summer days and not having to run through the morning "check list" each day!

New bike

Thomas is the proud owner of a new bicycle.  I am really excited for him, and it is so excited to see how excited he is as well.  Of all of our kids, he enjoys bike riding the most.  Robert received an "adult" bike for his 15th birthday, and I think he's ridden it once.  Catherine received one her uncle had at the house that he purchased for a girlfriend before they broke up and had never been used.  So far, Catherine hasn't been too excited about using it either, although now that Thomas has one, maybe she will be more so.  We are really strict with what the kids are allowed to do with the money in their savings account, but this seemed like a decent investment.  Even though I'm not in love with bike riding myself, I am looking forward to a couple of family rides around the block this summer!