Sunday, May 31, 2009

Trapped

We're trapped inside today. M has been running a little fever on and off since Thursday. We knew something was up when she fell asleep on my lap in a restaurant Thursday evening. For anyone who knows us, M falling asleep in public is unheard of. She's just too darn inquisitive. On top of the fever, she's got a nasty little wet cough and a drippy nose.

Saturday morning we had a make a quick trip to the pediatrician's office. Because she woke up with pink eye. Poor girl. We thought she was doing better during the day, but at bed time last night, the fever was up to 101.7. Poor girl!!!

Today she's got her normal, sweet personality, but the cough is still nasty. Her eyes look white again. She still won't eat much.

So, we're trapping ourselves inside for a few days until she gets completely over this. It's just so sad to start our summer vacation this way!!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Disconnect

I'm working hard on breathing deep tonight.

My house is dark and quiet. My classroom is packed and moved, the door locked. M is tucked into bed, working hard on breaking her fever. H is relaxing in his chair, watching his TV.

And I feel so disconnected. Panicky, almost. The strangest thing is that I have no idea why.

Usually I feel so content when I finish school, a weight lifted from my shoulders. The entire summer before me to spend with M and H. That feeling hasn't come over me yet.

I feel like I've got SOMETHING to do, but I can't quite figure out what it is that I'm supposed to be doing. Like I've missed the directions and everyone else is already busy at their task. What am I missing?

Have you ever felt that way? I want to be still and listen, waiting for the direction from above. But my mind is racing, my fingers itching to DO something, my feet twitching to get moving.

Tomorrow was going to be a fun filled day: the morning at the pool, some good snuggle time with M, a movie with H and a few friends. Instead I'm going to hang out at home with M, snuggling and reading, having a picnic on the deck. I'll take time to be quiet. To wait for the direction from above.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Weekend Fun

If you want some weekend fun, we have the recipe for you:

You need 1/2 c. of some cousin lovin'.

You need several gallons of warm-ish water, 3 pool toys, 2 giggly girls and 1 c. of patience.

Add to your mixture 40ish pounds of girly goodness on a white blanket on a sunny, warm afternoon.

Now, top off your weekend fun with some Sesame Street live action.



We had a great weekend with Nona, OB, Uncle Zach, Uncle Trey, Aunt Lindsay, and Cousin R.
Changing topics:
Yesterday was my last day with second graders. I graduated all of my precious kids to third grade. I can't say I feel relieved yet because I've got so much work to do at school next week, in addition to moving my classroom. Hopefully I will finish by next Thursday and can enjoy several weeks off before I need to go up and unpack everything in my new classroom.
And hopefully I'll be back to dedicating some time to all my bloggy friends! I've missed you.
Prayer request: Please pray for my friend, Ana. I can't go into details here, but she and her family need to be lifted up in prayer.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day

"Jingle Bells!!!!!

Jingle Bells!!!!!

Jingle All The Way!!!!!!

To you!!!
Happy Birthday to you!!!!!

Happy Birthday to you!!!!!

Happy Birthday to you!!!!!"

As my eyes and mind slowly (very slowly) became aware of the world around me this morning, I heard M serenading me from her bed. This is her new way of letting us know she's ready to get up in the morning. She has quite the repertoire of songs:
Father Abraham
Jesus Loves the Little Children
Go Tell it on the Mountain
Happy Birthday
The Wheels on the Bus
Jingle Bells
They usually get mixed up somewhere in the middle, so we never know what's coming. Her understanding of singing is somewhere between rock star and trying to wake the dead volume.

What a, ahem, joyful noise.

There are so many amazing things about motherhood. The spontaneous "I love you, Mama." "You're my BEST friend, Mama." "I can help you."
Cooking together.
Watching our vegetables grow together.
Taking family walks together.

There are a million reasons I love being M's mama.

There are a millions reasons I LOVE my own mama. Her compassion. Her sugar and her spice. The way she loves my dad. That we have so many things in common.

Motherhood is the amazing circle that is passed from generation to generation. I wonder if my mom felt the same way about me when I was a little girl that I feel about M. And will M one day feel the way about me that I feel about my mom now that I am an adult.

Just for a moment today, I encourage you to think about motherhood and what it means to you. I know I will.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Catching up

This has been a week of catching up.

I'm catching up on sleeping. Actually, doing LOTS of sleeping. In fact, I was so tired, I thought MAYBE! MAYBE? Could it actually be? But, no. It is not. It's just exhaustion.

I'm catching up on spending time with my precious girl. She definitely got the short end of the stick the past few weeks. I can tell in her behavior that she needs some serious one-on-one time. Good thing I'm out of school in three weeks. We've had some good snuggles this week and some fun stories.

I'm catching up on lots of "behind" school work and barely wading through the current end of the year responsibilities. Good thing school is over in three weeks!

I'm catching up on reading. I've read THREE books in the past few weeks. My wallet and I can't wait to visit the public library the very first day I'm out of school.

I'm catching up on cooking. Oh, wait. That's H. As I've been catching up on all the other stuff, he's been cooking some wonderful dinners! Lucky girl am I!

I'm also catching up on my blog reading. My, oh, my have you all been busy!!!

Tomorrow is a super busy day: Our final garage sale. Two birthday parties. Hopefully some sewing. I don't know if I'll be able to catch up on my P365 pictures, but I have been keeping up with those.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Photo Shoot

I've got my P365 pictures to update, but H has my car and my camera is in my car. Lesson learned: upload pictures every couple of days.

So, I'm tickling your retinas with some of the pictures from this photo shoot. The family hasn't even seen them yet, so this is just a little preview.

The family home. Is this not the most welcoming home ever? When I pulled up, I thought, I want to live here. What a precious family to greet you, too!

The men in the study. Father and son.


The whole family. I just want to pour myself a cup of tea, pull up a chair and listen to their stories! They could not be any more precious!


The shining star. The reason for the whole shoot: this precious angel. I literally could have packed her up and brought her home with me.


There are MANY more fun pictures from the day. I had so much fun spending time with this family. I hope we can get together again!