The Day I Was the Sub

This past summer I got my sub license for grades K-12.  In the Spring our elementary secretary, who is a friend, asked me if I would get it as they are always short on subs.  So I did, knowing this year would be hard to ever make it work with Max home and in preschool 3 half days a week.  But about a month ago I saw an email go through looking for a sub for Jack's class.  I couldn't resist.  Scott was going to be in town and working from home, Max had preschool in the afternoon so it all worked.

It was odd to be back in a classroom.  I haven't taught in almost 18 years.  But it all came back, like riding a bike I guess.  (although I don't like bikes so that is probably a bad analogy)  It was a fun day. I had Jack's class first and then rotated in the afternoon through the other 2 6th grade classes.  We did reading, spelling and language in the classroom I was in.

I asked Jack at the end of the day if he enjoyed having me in there or not...he said he did.  I am signed up again to teach on February 26th in the 6th grade.  So much fun to get to see that side of Jack's life.

We snapped this picture during indoor recess...most of the class, not quite all were there.

Scripture Prints

I have a slight obsession right now with beautiful prints of Scripture.  These are some of my favorites from the Naptime Diaries site...She Reads Truth also has a stack of them I would like to order.  I don't have enough wall space or they would be everywhere.  I love beautiful prints, but I especially love them when they have words with meaning and truth.  I love that it allows scripture to resonate in my head and heart when I see them.  I have a few, and if I had more walls the following ones would hang on them.  Some of them remind me of memorizing verses with our boys, I can still see their little faces working hard on memorizing for school, or for Awana.  I hear songs in them.  I so believe that God buries scripture into our hearts for when we need it most.  So rich are His words...

Vows

We have several weddings coming up this year and a few bridal showers.  I purchased this printable online from Lindsay Letters.  It is my go to for gifts this year.  I am printing them and framing.  Words that have such deep meaning to me.

Scott and I will celebrate 20 years of marriage in April...I know...20!  Yikes that sounds like a lot to me, especially when I still feel like I am 25 years old most days.  We are still trying to figure out how we will celebrate.  A weekend away somewhere, sometime this spring.  It is just a matter of making that happen.  It will be somewhere we can drive to...it needs to be quiet...and calm.  Maybe Colorado like we spent our first anniversary?   When we were in Hawaii on our honeymoon and again in Hawaii for our 10th anniversary we had BIG plans of taking our ENTIRE family back to Maui for our 20th.  Well, that is not happening this year.  That was a huge dream.  But reality says, that cannot happen.  My heart is so grateful for Scott...for our love, our marriage, our family, the life we share.  I tell him all the time I love sharing life with him.

These are the words that I don't think I can ever hear too much...

Catching up

I hope to get some catching up done on the blog the next week or so and then get back on track with regular blogging.  The days go by so fast and my intentions are always so good...

Our house is busy with basketball seasons wrapping up...kindergarten sign ups...snowy days...laundry....closet cleaning...photo organizing....conferences...spring sign ups...

There is never a quiet day it seems.  Although Sunday when we had 12 inches of snow it was a lovely thing.  It quieted our entire house and kept us home.  There is something so WONDERFUL about a snow day.  School or no school.  I LOVE it.

I am in the process of sorting through old photos on our computer.  I need a new computer as this one has moments that cause me GREAT anxiety about crashing.  It is FILLED to the max and has 2 external hard drives.  It is slow and makes my photography work harder than it needs to be.  But before we get that new computer I am determined to get this one cleaned up so I only transfer what absolutely needs to be transferred.  As much as a FREAK as I am about photos, this is a major undertaking.  I have not thrown away ANY negatives in the past 20 years and in the past 8 of having gone digital I don't think I have gotten rid of many photo files.  It is time.  I have a photo from nearly every single day of the past 8 years and some of you may think I am exaggerating.  I assure you I am NOT!  Nope.

I also love to use this indoor time to get closets in order...I need to tackle the storage rooms.  But that is always such a HUGE undertaking.  But it does need to be done before Spring is here.  We are in the process of doing some refinancing of our mortgage and while we do that I don't want the house to be destroyed before an appraiser comes.  :)

Max is all registered for half day Kindergarten.  Sigh, I am SO grateful it is only half day for him. He will be going to the same church where his pre school is at...they have an amazing Kindergarten program there.  13 students to 1 teacher.  I have gone through this "send your baby off to Kindergarten" stuff, and I don't do so well.  We had thought Jack was our baby, our last so when I sent him off I almost needed therapy.  Not kidding at all.  And with this sweet "Bonus Baby" of ours I will need to go through it all over again.  And this time the emotion of a Kindergartner will be matched with the emotion of sending off a Senior to high school at the very same time.  YIKES!

I have Christmas pictures to upload here, basketball photos, funny Max one liners and other stuff.  I will get it done slowly but surely.  I would like to get my 2014 wrapped up on the blog so I can get it printed off into a book.  I love those blog books we have on the bookshelf.  They are treasures of memories to me.

Thanks for hanging in there reading this....

Meet Keneth

Meet Keneth

He lives in India and is becoming part of our "family" today.  We are beginning to sponsor him through Global Fingerprints.  An organization our church is a part of.

Yesterday in church our Pastor told us about and showed us videos and photos from his recent trip there earlier this month.  The film showed the 90 children that families in our very own church sponsor learning about Jesus there.  Walking barefoot into the Logos center (which our church built) to learn about Jesus.  He told a story of the man, Ravi, who lives in the slums with HIS family in order to KNOW these families that don't know Jesus.   This man Ravi nearly went to prison for 7 years for taking these children to Logos center to be with our church family on the missions trip.  He was arrested, and people came to the police station in his defense and he was set free.  Wow that made me think.

And for $35 a month we can help ONE of these children.  That's a meal at Wendy's for our family.  ONE meal.There are over 200 children on the waiting list for sponsorship.  While we cannot sponsor EVERY one, we can sponsor ONE.

We welcome him to our family, oh how I wish I could see his face when he finds out HE has been CHOSEN to be sponsored by a family he doesn't know.  He joins our other sponsored children whom we love and pray for....Yenenesh and Tilahun.  Both in Ethiopia.

Welcome Keneth

God and Pizza

Here is my cool God and pizza story from yesterday....

It was small group day for chapel at our school.  Typically that is the day kids can bring food to share with their small groups.  I decided to surprise Drew's group with Little Caesars pizza since I was getting some for Tommy's small group already.

When I opened the door to his small group the boys went nuts.  CRAZY!  But THIS is  the cool part of WHY they were going crazy.  The boys weren't organized and only one boy brought something to share to eat, 1 bag of Doritos.  Their teacher had just said to them "Boys we need to pray that this 1 bag of Doritos multiplies like the 5 loaves and 2 fish, somehow we need to make this 1 bag work for all of you.  God can provide."  and that is precisely the time I knocked on the door holding a stack of pizzas with pop for them.  SUCH a great example to them that God provides....

As much as the teacher was half making a joke about the Doritos working for all 13 of the boys...He wasn't joking in the fact that God can provide over and over and over.

Blogging in bed

As much as I have this daily goal of catching up on our blog it hasn't been happening.  So I have resorted to blogging in bed...I am laying in our bed with Max as he falls asleep.  Yep he falls asleep in our bed now most every night. Bad habit?  Yes.  4th child?  Yes. Tired Mom?  Yes.  

Today was a long day. It was supposed to be a day for me to get some things done but alas MY plans were thwarted.   It's okay. I started the day with some amazing reminders from a blog about raising boys that was around 3 am when I could not sleep, then a little but later I read amazing devotions from the book of John. Continued by an amazing blog sent to me by a friend. I started the day in a good place therefore when the day shifted...I was okay.  God's plans are where I need to live. 

Scott, Drew and Jack headed to Iowa City first thing this morning to watch the Buckeyes play the Hawkeyes. Tommy had a day basketball tournament in Pella, an hour from home.   When Tommy realized around 10 am that his basketball shoes and uniforms were all in his bag in the back of Scott's van,,which was now almost to Iowa City. 

We called Scott and devised a quick plan. My Pajamas were thrown off and our quiet snuggle morning was turned into a race for Max and I to get the basketball bag.   Luckily I have mastered the art of the 5 minute-get dressed/pony tail-and go look. We were off. Tommy had to catch the bus at school at 11:15 so we were on our own. We got the bag in Williamsburg at the Nike store where Scott left it for us and turned around and drove the bag to Pella (90 min) just in time for Tommy to get dressed and be ready to warm up at 2:30. Nothing like an unexpected 3 hour morning drive to get your day going. The JV team lost by 1.  Tough.  We ran Tommy and a friend to the local Bakery in Pella for their amazing Dutch letters. Dropped him back for the Varsity game and headed home. 

In the meantime Scott, Drew and Jack had an amazing day in Iowa City. Court side seats again thanks to Scott's customer.  Tunnel access to meet the players. So fun. The Buckeyes lost but that's okay.  I think the glory of the football National Championship will take the sting off of most losses for awhile. 

Some pictures from their day. 

We met back at home for dinner and Jack had a game of his own at 9 pm. Ugh. Max and I stayed home.  Tommy just walked in the door from the Varsity game and bus ride home. He's making a pizza. 

Another full day.  This is why I say I love my life in the locker room.❤️

Mundane

Today was a snow day for our boys, but not for snow for cold.  I don't remember as a child in Minnesota EVER having a day off from school for COLD.  But that's the thing these days and not just in Iowa,  even Minnesota had a "cold" day today.  I love a snow day.  I love snow and I love cold...but I am also privileged to have a warm home and a "job" as a Mom that allows me to be home and not have to go out to work.  So I get that not EVERYONE appreciates a day off from school.  But I really did today, I appreciated HOME and being a Mom and making hot chocolate, and watching a movie...

We had a great Christmas, a great break, a great 2 weeks off from school.  Some great family time.  Some fun days at the cabin..which I will post about as soon as I get the photos all organized and off of my camera. I enjoy our boys, I truly do.  I enjoy that they all get up on their own and do their own thing and some days I get to stay warm and snuggled in my bed while the early birds have risen.  They are at fun stages, challenging in some ways, but every age has its challenges I have learned.  There is NO perfect or EASY age.  NONE...well at least not 1-17 years old.  Every age has such perks and joys to me.

I LOVE Max's age, I love that he loves to snuggle with me, that he WANTS to kiss me, he wants to be held.  He is SO excited for his birthday this weekend.  Everything is wonder to him.  He wants to figure it all out.  How was he born.  How did his belly button get there and how did that "pipe" get him his food when he was in my tummy.  He loves to tell me he was the last baby ever in my tummy. He asks a zillion questions a day.  He is in his own world and can play and play and play in his own mind.  I love that about 4.

Jack is at a fun age, 12.  He gets all of the humor, he is on the inside scoop of Santa, of jokes, of secret Christmas gifts and hiding spots.  He is independent, he can make meals...he can bake.  He loves to read and study.  He has great questions.  He knows more about sports than I do.  He knows WAY more math than I do.  He is fun to watch with Max.  They are the best of friends most of the time.  He has settled into some friends.  He has one best friend now that brings out the very best in him.

And Drew...ahh 15 is fun, most of the time.  He is helpful and understands when I need help.  He loves to talk movies, and jokes and repeat lines from both over and over and laugh just as much as the first time.  He wants to explain sports to me.  He is independent, stands his ground when he wants us to hear his side of something.  He has opinions on most everything, which is great, MOST of the time.  You can really hear his passions for life and his love for people.  His desires to be involved in physical therapy, or being a sports Dr, or a team dr.  Somehow he wants to mix his passions for sports and people and helping all into one.  He has a heart for those things.

And 17, Tommy is 17.  Oh my somedays he looks 5 to me, and most days as I hug him and stand on my toes to kiss him I realize he isn't so little anymore.  He is a young adult.  He has STRONG desires for his future and has really come to have a passion this past month for that. Visiting colleges has brought out a side of him I had not seen.  The reality of school, and career and what he really desires to do in his life is fun to hear about.  I love hearing him talk about what he wants in college and beyond.  He has strong direction.  He has always wanted to work for nike...since he was about 6 and discovered shoes.  Once we had a RAGRAI biker stay with us, he happened to be a Nike Exec and Tommy was maybe 7 and he couldn't ask this guy enough questions about Nike....he has NOT changed direction.  Sports Marketing is his passion.

I love being a Mom.  I love sneaking moments with each of my boys whether it's an errand, a Dr appt, or a late night chat.  I love hearing their hearts.  I want to sit more in 2015 and HEAR my children.  I want to LISTEN more.   I want to rush less.  I want to worry less about everything.  I want to simplify my commitments to really BE PRESENT.

I ran across this quote and it has really resonated with me this week...."What will you do in the mundane days of faithfulness?"  -Martin Luther.    Yes I feel like so many days are mundane, I do the same things...pick up, make a meal, clean up, do laundry, pick up, fold blankets, do laundry, pick up, run to school, run home, run to a game, run home, forgot your lunch, back to school, laundry, make a meal, empty the dishwasher, pick up, load the car, unload the car, pick up, make a meal....mundane.  Over and over and over.  But when I think of it has a way of faithfulness?  as a gift to be a Mom?  to have a husband who loves me?  to have parents who are healthy and I can call any hour of the day?  to have a God who longs to know me and hear from me daily?  That is what I consider a blessing and it makes the word mundane have very different meaning.  I want this year to be full of mundane faithfulness.  

Happy New Year

Happy New Year...Happy 2015!  I am far behind on blogging, I promise I will get it caught up.  But for today Happy New Year.  I write this with the sound of Sport Center behind me and boys shooting nerf guns in the basement.  Never a dull moment.  Never.

This year our Family Verse is from Micah.

I pray we can truly live this out this year.  I will admit I have been a little "scared" to choose a family verse.  Last year our verse...

 Teach us to number our days so that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12 

...came to life more than I perhaps ever wanted it to.  With my Mom's cancer, my Grandma's death and Scott's parents illnesses...numbering our days became all to REAL for me and to all of us.  I realize God got us through it, and it was all a part of His plan...but if I am being real it was a verse that truly made our year.  I pray we learned from what He taught us.  

In 2013 our verse led us to missions in Costa Rica and a heart to truly serve others more, at home and abroad.  With family as well as others.

 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 

1 John 3:18

This year our prayer is that we would be more humble, that we would show mercy to each other and to others, to judge less, to love more, to do what is wise and to walk with God.   Daily.  To WALK with God.  Those words can really resonate.  WALK. WITH. GOD.  To hear him, to listen, to really listen.  To be more patient.  To go to God first in all things.