Almost...Almost!

 Trying to find a quiet or spare moment to write on the blog has been challenging at best, and when I do have a spare moment these days, my brain is going 500 directions! This week we have mid-quarter reports that need to be prepared, kindergarten screenings for next school year, pet-sitting for some friends of ours, Patriotic program practice, teaching gym class to some students, plus just the normal day to day activities in our family. But...we have only 20 days of school left! We are in the home stretch, and I think both the students and the teachers are feeling it! 

We’ve been pet sitting for some friends of ours, and while I miss my own bed, it’s been a good experience for the kids. The pond in their yard is an attraction for all our kids, and a lot of time is spent looking for frogs, turtles, and seeing who can fall in the most times in a day! It’s a little farther from school than our house, but we are making it all work. 

Sunday was Mother’s Day, and it was a blessing to be back with our church family. We went out for lunch after church, and then a quick stop at Lowe’s for a Mother’s Day present. Travis picked out my Mother’s Day present. A few weeks ago, I had seen a yeti cup that keeps your can cold. I had admired it because I like sparkling water and Diet Coke, but I’m always drinking it at room temperature by the time I finish it. I had mentioned it to the kids, and they decided to get it for Mother’s Day. Travis picked out the color of the cup, and it’s a beautiful teal color. He said, “I know you really like pink, and they had a pink cup there. But I know you like teal too, and if I get to use your cup, I’d rather it'd not be pink!” Alrighty then! I do enjoy the cup though! All our kids created cards for me too, and that was very special also. I love reading homemade cards. 

Last week was teacher appreciation week, and I found myself on both ends of the spectrum as parent and teacher! I worked with several moms in our parent group to help create some special events for our dear teachers. I ordered Amazon gift cards on behalf of the parent group and wrote out the thank you notes to our staff...didn’t write myself a note though! Tuesday the parent group handed out the teachers favorite candy bars, and I had my kindergarten class deliver those to the teachers. They really enjoyed that! Wednesday was a teacher’s luncheon. It was a special time for our teachers to enjoy lunch and visit together. Thursday was thankful Thursday with notes from the students to the teachers. And Friday we had coffee, fruit and yogurt for break time. My amazing friend, Bethany, coordinated some parents to help cover morning recess for the teachers. I made the teachers some blueberry muffins on Tuesday evening but I failed to tell my children that the muffins were not for them! Guess what? We did not have any blueberry muffins to take to the teachers on Wednesday morning! Instead we made more blueberry muffins on Wednesday evening and the kids took some to their teachers on Thursday.  Roger came to help out with playground recess on Friday as well handle some matters with the school board. He’s been working about three full time jobs with his regular job, the school board, and our family, as well as helping with teen group on Sunday nights.  We are waiting patiently...actually, I’m not waiting patiently, but I’m trying...as we continue to wait on God’s perfect timing.  

Last Sunday afternoon, the neighbors barn burned down. It was a fairly large fire, and we are thankful for the Lord’s protection. The family and pets are all safe, but it was quite the afternoon of excitement. Garett and Chandler have been hired by our neighbor to mow the grass once a week, so they started that job last week. They are very excited about their job, and the neighbor man told them that he was impressed with the boys mowing skills. He didn’t think that they’d do as good of a job as they did. Ha! I remember when Garett was about eight years old. I was trying to back my dads zero turn lawn mower out of the garage, and it wasn’t going well. Garett says, “Mom, I can do this. I’ve helped Papa (my dad) lots of times”. So I let him get on, and he proceeded to back it out carefully and correctly. Since then, I’ve never gotten on a riding lawn mower again as the boys just do it all. Now if it’s a push mower, I’ll do that because that’s great exercise! 

As with every year, we are faced with changes and challenges in our little Christian school also. It can sometimes be a bit overwhelming, but I am so thankful to rest in the promise that God goes before and beside us. Our administrator had her baby last week, and I snuck away from school today to go see the baby. Travis was having a very rough morning today and told me that he wanted to be done with school and that he didn’t like it at all. We chatted for a bit, and he told me that he just feels like he can’t get away from the difficult people in his class. I’ve really been trying to do better lately about LISTENING to my children instead of offering them a quick reply. I also recognize that I am WAY better about listening in the morning than I am in the evening! Anyways, I told Travis that I would take him with me to see the baby, but he would have to come back to school as I have kindergarten screenings. He was so excited about the opportunity, and he told me that he’d love to see the baby but he couldn’t hold the baby. I said yes, well the baby is really little. He said “That’s not it, mom. We boys had a playoff golf tournament to see who would get to hold the baby first, and I didn’t win.” This baby is so loved by our children already! It cracks me up that they created a way to see who would get to hold the baby first! 

While the week has been long, there is always something to rejoice in every day. I’m thankful for my salvation, my family, my spouse, my kindergarten class, our church and school. We are blessed.