One year later

One year ago today, my dear friends lost their six month old son. It's almost impossible to believe. I was able to talk to Tommy's father a few weeks ago, and they continue to amaze me with their strength and grace. RIP Tommy.

Unexpected snow day

Today the kids and I are home with an unexpected snow day. We really didn't get that much snow at all, but I think it was the timing of it that made things complicated. I have to say, although I'm missing out on an opportunity to work at school today, the timing of today is kind of nice. The last two weeks have been really crazy, and for all of us to have a completely unscheduled day is very nice. Of course this school day has to be made up somewhere along the line, but for today, we are enjoying the gift of time!

Space shuttle launch

I had totally forgotten that today was the space shuttle launch, but my this afternoon my brother-in-law sent a text suggesting that I have the kids watch it if we had a chance. I'll be honest, to say that I haven't exactly followed the space program would be an understatement. It's just not my thing. I knew, however, that the shuttle program is nearing the end, and I also knew that my kids had never seen a launch before. HT especially loves all things related to any form of travel, either on the ground or in the sky, so I found it on the TV and called the kids to gather around the TV. Strangely enough, I found it somewhat difficult to watch. I was 12 when Challenger exploded, and for me it was really the first national catastrophe that I truly understood. Twenty five years later, I still vividly remember watching the TV for hours that evening, watching the launch and subsequent explosion over and over and over again. I found myself praying for the safety and well being of the crew, and also for my kids...that they wouldn't see what I had seen all those years ago. I was so relieved that all seemed to be a success, and I was really able to see it with new excitement through the eyes of my kids. Every day I find myself amazed (and grateful) for the perspective my kids bring to my life!

Things to write down

Occasionally I tell a story about my kids and people ask if I write these things down...that's what this blog is sometimes about!

Last Thursday, the kids were eating a very quick dinner between conferences and scout meetings, and we also had an extra little guest to help out a friend. JR mentioned that at school that day they had discussed "Mary" and "Johnna". I was perplexed. I asked JR to repeat again what he had said. He again repeated, "Mary" and "Johnna". I looked at him and asked, "Do you mean marijuana?" He excitedly replied that was it. I then said, "Please tell me that this was in DARE class." JR said that it was. JC then asked, "Who are they?" I so wish she could always stay that innocent!

Dulcimer concert

Tonight was the third grade dulcimer concert for JC at her school. She did a nice job and was very excited and pleased with herself. My sister, mother, and grandmother all made the trip down to watch. I'm very grateful for them coming down...it's a 40 minute trip and the weather is icky. I was also very proud of the boys for being good listeners at their sister's concert. My amazing kids are growing up so fast!

Busy as ever!

Things continue to be crazy here, but a good crazy I suppose! I spent two full days cleaning and scrubbing our house before the appraiser came yesterday. It felt good to have things really clean again, but it was definitely exhausting to tackle EVERY room of the house in two days. My parents came down Sunday evening for a quick visit and also brought additional supplies for the project I'm working on for my father in my "spare time"...which has quickly diminished the last couple of weeks between cleaning the house and all the days I've been subbing. He also mentioned that they would like to have it as quickly as I can get it to them. Yesterday, I was scheduled to work in the morning, and then had this vision of happily sitting on the couch yesterday afternoon, watching the pouring rain come down, as I was toiling away on the project. As soon as I got to school though, they asked if I could stay all day. I HATE to turn down the opportunity for the extra money, and I really, really enjoy subbing and getting to know the kids. So of course I said yes. My husband was wonderful yesterday. His school chose not to use yesterday as a make up day for all the "over" snow days we've used and so he was home and took complete charge of dinner and helped with the kids' homework. I was able to get another four hours in on the project, and I was really able to get a lot accomplished. Today I ran to the grocery, and I'll be babysitting this afternoon. Hopefully I'll also get a chance to work on the boys' scouts shirts because this Saturday is our annual banquet. We also have karate and girl scouts this evening and my wonderful husband has conferences so I'm soloing. We'll get through though, and I might even remember to breathe!

Feeling refreshed

A good night sleep was exactly what we all needed in this house, and generally speaking, I'm happy to report that's exactly what we all received. It's so nice to wake up and actually feel rested and not quite so overwhelmed by the day's events. And I'm sure that is also helped by the fact that there is nothing on our calendar today. We had some invitations but decided that our family needed time to re-connect and just relax, and I'm so glad we made that decision. Today there is lots and lots of cleaning and laundry to do, but with the sun shining so brightly even that seems like a pleasant task today!