Recitals and Moments

And just like the snap of our fingers, the month of February is here! This month we will have a birthday party for Chandler, enjoy winter break from school, and hopefully,  sneak in a winter getaway as a family to go snow tubing. We will also have our 100th day of school celebration, and lots of classroom Valentine parties! Roger and I were discussing that our family gives a valentine to every student in our school and to one classroom twice!! Since I help in the preschool classroom, I’ll give those students a Valentine, and then each of our kids will give valentines to their classmates. Since Travis and Wyatt are in the same classroom, we will give those students a Valentine twice! I’ll be having simple valentines this year! But having mostly boys in our family, it’ll be a food Valentine. Travis says all the valentine cards are dumb, and  he just plans to give food to his friends...no note or card, just food! Sounds like a boy, right?

Last Thursday night, we went to a piano recital for Wyatt and Garett. They were by far the most inexperienced piano players at the recital, and they were the first on the program. Garett gave a huge grin of relief when he finished up his songs, and Wyatt was relieved too. They’ve worked hard this past semester, and we were thrilled to go to their recital. The rest of the recital was a bit long and uninteresting to the kids, but they had good manners. I had warned the boys that there would be some voice performances at the recital and to not making any faces! They did very well, but Chandler  let out a huge sigh when we made it back to our vehicle! He said, “English is a hard enough language to speak and understand, why on earth would anyone want to sing in Latin or German or some other  language that no one has any idea what they are singing?!” Well, I don’t know, but he does have a point. Of course, to be honest, I feel that way about some Christian music. Honestly, if I can’t understand the words that they are singing to “praise and worship the Lord”, I’m not too interested in listening  to the song again. I totally realize that not everyone has that opinion, and that’s okay too!

On Friday afternoon my friend, Allison, and I were able to get away to the hospital to visit a brand new baby! You forget how tiny they start out!!! Baby Ruth is an adorable little squish, and it was so nice to see her and her mama for a few minutes. We did not stay long as Claire wasn’t feeling well, and she needed to rest. Allison and I were able to have a quick lunch together before the afternoon was practically over. I’m thankful for Allison as this year has been full of changes and transitions for me, and she has provided a listening ear or a hug on more than one occasion!

By Friday evening, Roger and I were both emotionally drained. We had gone to a meeting earlier in the week, that had left us with quite a bit of information to process. With Rogers work schedule and having our children getting older, it’s harder to find moments when no one is around to overhear our conversations! As my dad used to tell my mom, “I’d tell you something, but the ears are in the cornfield.” Meaning, us kids were around and listening! We really needed to have a date, but that just wasn’t an option. We were able to have a few moments of conversation early on Saturday morning before Roger left for work.

I had a wonderful conversation with one of my dear friends from Wisconsin last week, and it was so good to have a deep conversation about things on my heart. Jenna and I have a friendship that is one that can be picked back up whenever we both have moment. We might go weeks....or even months, without really corresponding, but then when we do it really is an “iron sharpenth iron” friendship. I am very thankful for her.

Roger worked on Saturday, but Garett was able to spend part of the day with him. We are so thankful for a job that provides an opportunity for our kids to spend time with Roger. Roger was done a bit early due to the weather and a slow schedule, so we went bowling on Saturday evening. The bowling alley wasn’t too crowded, and it was fun to bowl with our kids. They have the opportunity to go bowling through the school, so they are all better bowlers than I am! Chandler was in the lead for most of the game, but Garett managed to pull off a win in the last frame. Chandler tends to be a methodical and smooth bowler, while Garett puts a lot of power behind his ball. They are such different bowlers, but yet they managed to stay within a few points of each other. It was a fun night, and fairly cheap family fun!

Travis was having a rough time in school, but then his teacher gave her students a “fun” learning day! They were still learning but they didn’t realize that they were learning. She played learning games with her classroom, did her teaching a bit different, and that seems to have helped Travis out tremendously! He seems to have turned a corner, and he is back to enjoying school again. I am so thankful for teachers that are willing to “think outside the box”! Travis and Wyatt have a great teacher who works very hard to teach her students, but yet sometimes uses different approaches to learning. We are so blessed to have our children attend such a great school.

Life is full of mountain too experiences and valleys. These opportunities are each designed to draw us ever closer toward our Heavenly Father. I might not always appreciate the challenges as they come, but I know that Gods ways are not my ways. Emma’s Bible verse this week is Psalm 103:14 “For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.” I’m so thankful for mercy!

Love, Sarah