More from my school friends...

Well, my little friend J has some new gems!

When asked if he sleeps with a teddy bear at night, he said, "No, but I do have a glow stick". 

Me: a glow stick?  

J: Yes.  it lights up at night and we put it in the freezer in the daytime.  It gives me luck.  

Me: Seems a little cold.

J: yep, it is, but the cold gives it good luck!

It seems that J was leaving for a doctor's appointment one day and was quite excited about it.  That was all he could talk about, all he could think about, all he could write about.  So the next day, I naturally asked about the doctor's appointment.  

I am still not sure why he was taken to the doctor in the first place.  

Me: so, you went to the doctor yesterday.

J: Yep.  It was fun.  The doctor wanted to trade me for another kid.  He liked me the best.

Me: (yeah, some days I would like to trade you too... *just my thoughts people!) Really, that is really nice.  So what did the doctor do?

(still trying to figure out why he went to said doctor) 

J: Well, he poked me in the stomach and then he smelled me.  

Me:  He smelled you? Do you mean he checked your nose to see if you could smell? (he has had quite the runny nose lately...that would make sense.) 

J: No he smelled me.  Then he checked my smelling thing.  

Me: your smelling thing, you mean your nose?  The thing that helps you smell things?

J: (with a disgusted look on his face) Uh, NO!  My smelling thing.  

Ok, have fun with that smelling thing buddy.

My new friend M was drawing a picture of his family for me as an intro activity so I could know more about him before I start working with him.  I like to know how many siblings, pets, the kid has.  It helps to do writing later on in lessons.  So he is drawing his four brothers and little baby sister who's names all also begin with M.  Then he draws his mom and his dad.  

M:  My dad lives with us.  But the other dad's don't.  

Me: Other dads?  What other dads?

M: Well, My dad who lives with us, he is only my dad.  He isn't everyone else's dad.

Me: Oh, I see.  Other dads.  How many other dads are there?

M: Well, it is like ice cream!  We each get our own!

Ah, of course, the way it should be with ice cream and dads.  You each get your own.

Sure.

Homeless the Guard Cat.

In one of the Harry Potter books, not sure which one, Harry is at the home of his Aunt and Uncle.  (Isn't that the beginning of almost every HP book?) Anyway, outside, sitting under the porch light is a tabby cat.  Just sitting there.  Watching and guarding.  Soon, once the cat believes all is well, she shape-shifts into Professor McGonagall and runs away.  

Since about October, we have had visits from this white cat that lives in the neighborhood.  We haven't picked it up, so we aren't sure if it is a she or a he.  We made the classic mistake of feeding it once and it has come back often ever since.  Sometimes it helps BT outside with watering the plants, other times it just meows at the door over and over again.  B even got a small dog house to put on the back porch for it to live in when it was so cold so the cat wouldn't freeze.  I call him Homeless.  B calls him Mooch.  He really is too fat to be truly homeless.  

He went away for a while.  I hadn't seen him for a month or so until he showed up last night when our friend George came over.  Homeless loves George.  They are buddies.

So now, ever since, Homeless/Mooch has been parked underneath our porch light just waiting and watching.  Like Professor McGonagall, checking to make sure all is well.  

I am half expecting to peek outside and see him shape-shift into a person and walk away.  

Is it too much to imagine that person to be God?  or at least Dumbledore?

A girl can dream right?

  

Yep...

  I didn't make this but I wish I had. This just about sums it up!  If one more person reaches out to touch my belly fat, I am going to hit them. 

Baby is hiding deep inside there.  Right now it is just fat.   

And I don't want to hear about how painful other people's pregnancies are.  NO THANKS.  I am stressing enough.  I would like to live blissfully stupid when it comes to pushing a human being out of me. Thankyouverymuch.

More from my friend J.

Ok, so yesterday, we were reading a book titled The Water Park about animals going on the water slide.  So in writing, I suggested we write about playing in the water...

I thought that would be simple enough...

Me: So, J do you like to play in the water?  Have you ever been to a waterslide?

J: no.  Never.

Me: Really? How about a pool.  In the summer do you ever go swimming?

J: No. I don't have a pool at my house. 

Me: Me neither but sometimes I swim at other pools.  You don't?

J: No. I don't. (shakes his head like I am the craziest person on the planet)

Me: How about in the summer, do you like to play in the sprinkler or have water balloon fights or play with water guns?

J: No, I just play Goddess of Weather.  I told you this already.

Me: Yeah, I remember.

J: Oh, and I like to play the "pee outside" game.

Me: The pee outside game?

J: Yeah, I pee on trees.  My brother pees on trees.  My sister tries to pee on trees but it doesn't work. 

Sometimes here at school I pee on trees. 

So, friends, if you see a kid out in your yard, holding a stick and peeing on your tree, just tell him to get his power of rain and get off  your lawn.  Or throw a water balloon at him.  Then at least we will have something to write about on Monday!

Now for something completely different...

Because I am even boring myself with this pregnant girl talk...

I entertain you with stories from my school.

My new little boy who is truly an "odd bird" and I were talking about what he likes to do when he is at home. 

J: Well I love pink.  Did you know I love pink?  It is my favorite color of all times.  I love it all the time.  I love pink (insert Jazz Hands here).

Me: That is really nice.  I like pink too.  But I was asking you about what you like to do at home. 

J: Did you know spiders shoot webs out of their butts?  

Me: Interesting.  So are you going to tell me what you like to do at home?

J: Sure!  I like to go outside with my sister and my brother and we like to play, (Insert Superhero announcer voice here) Goddess of (not sure, he has a speech issue... sounds like Leather) 

Me: Goddess of Leather?  How do you play that game? (I am wincing as I wait for an answer) 

J: Not Leather! (rolls eyes like I am an idiot!) Goddess of Leather Leather!  (I swear that is what it sounded like to me) 

Me: I don't understand,  Goddess of Leather? 

J: You know, like winter, spring, Summer, you have rain and snow and...

Me: Oh!  Goddess of Weather!  I see!  (with quite the relieved voice) 

J: Yeah.  But you need sticks to play. 

Me: (furrowed brow) sticks?  What do you do with sticks?

J: You each pick one up and hold it in the air and you get the power of whatever weather.  Mine is the power of rain/wind.  (yes, he said slash!) 

Me: Ah, I see. And what can you do with the power of rain/wind?

J: You blow things up of course!  

Me: Of course! I should have guessed that!

J: And my sister has the power of snow.  My brother has the power of ice.  

Me: So could I play if I had a stick?  

J: No. You can only play at my house.  If you came to my house with your stick, you could play.  

Me: Oh, I see. 

J: Did you know what I did in the bathroom today before school started? 

(another wince moment... what do I say?  Sure! Tell me?  Uh NO! but he doesn't wait for me to respond)  I threw up.  It was gross.  It was that yucky donut from breakfast.  

Me: Yeah, I have that issue with Nacho cheese lately.  (but I am pregnant, what is your excuse?) 

On cafeteria duty this morning at breakfast.  

Me: (to a very round little boy) You need to come sit right here in this spot.  (To a smaller version of the round little boy) And you can sit right here with your brother. 

Round Little Boy: How did you know we were brothers?  

Me: Gosh, I don't know.  I guess I am just smart that way. (It has nothing to do with the fact that you could be twins!) 

RLB: You must be super smart to figure that out! 

Me: Yeah. That's me!  Goddess of Brilliance!

If J can be Goddess of Weather, I can be Goddess of Brilliance!

I think I might be understanding now...

When B and I lived in Indiana, we had the cutest little duplex.  We were young and married and loved to throw dinner parties.  I know. we were young and had all the time and energy in the world!  Oh to have some of that energy now just to clean the house!

So, one dinner party, we invited this couple who worked with B.  He was a nice guy, seemed down to earth and then there was the wife.  Ugh.  They looked JUST like a Barbie and Ken couple and she acted a little Barbiesque if you ask me.  She would complain about her husband in front of the group.  She told us a story about how a year before, husband had gotten her a blender for Christmas.  That was the big gift.  A blender.  She was a health nut and loved smoothies, so he got her a blender.  This gift made her so mad that she actually threw the blender at him while he was on the treadmill running one day.  Yeah. She was not my favorite person!

So at one particular dinner party, she was pregnant.  Not HUGE 8 months pregnant but like 4 months kind of pregnant.  Not really showing yet other than a little baby bump.  But she embraced being pregnant.  She sat in her oversized maternity shirt talking about her acid reflux, her back pain, and her morning sickness.  At one point, she made we rewash strawberries that were in a salad because she was worried they weren't quite clean enough for a "pregnant girl" to eat.  

I pretty much had decided she was an unpleasant person anyway, so it didn't surprise me when she griped so much about being pregnant.  Ugh. "You have acid reflux.  I get it!"

A friend of mine recently found out she was pregnant.  Two weeks later, she was announcing to everyone her baby news and started wearing big maternity shirts.  At the time I thought, "You are like three weeks pregnant.  Do you really need that shirt right now?"  

Both of those times must have made such an impact on me that I vowed not to be  like them.  I vowed not to wear maternity clothes until I HAD to.  (they are pretty ugly anyway) And I vowed to never talk about throwing up, acid reflux, or any other pregnancy related problem in a crowd.  

Yeah. Yesterday I broke all of the rules, I am ashamed to say. 

In the middle of the meeting, I started feeling bad.  Really bad.  But it was a familiar feeling.  Something I am used to by now.  Same sort of feeling I get when I drink any kind of lemonade.  Yep.  The dreaded acid reflux.

I couldn't avoid it.  I couldn't fix it.  I just had to sit there.  Now I will say that I didn't announce it to the planet..."Hey everyone!  I have acid reflux because of the baby!"  But when asked by the people sitting around me what was wrong, I did tell them.  Ugh. One step closer to being THAT pregnant girl.

Thursday, I tried on three shirts.  All of them a little too snug.  I could wear them but I would feel like a stuffed stuffed sausage.  I don't feel pregnant.  I just feel fat.  Ugh. So Friday, I figured what the hell?  I will wear the maternity shirt.  Why not.  Friday is a day to not worry about how I look and just be comfortable!  And HOLY CRAP!  I was so comfortable the entire day.  Maternity clothes are sooo nice.  Why don't they make stretchy maternity clothes for people who just ate too much for lunch?  OOOH. The best.  Even though I am not showing really, (I can still fit in to my regular jeans, thank you very much) I wore the shirt.  

I am beginning to get it.

And unfortunately, I am becoming "the pregnant girl".

OY.

Who am I?

I was reading Exodus last night.  Cramming you might say, for our church small group.  Every Tuesday night we get together and ask similar questions of one another.  Every once in a while, the question comes up, "What have you been studying lately?" and I almost never have an answer!  I am a slacker!  So I figured I would do some study and actually have an answer.  

So I started reading about Moses.  I mean this is a big major super hero of the Bible right?  He has movies made about him!  Although he will never have his picture on the cover of an Entertainment Weekly or a People Magazine, he is pretty famous man.  

So imagine my shock when old Mr. Moses, in the midst of talking to God and getting directions, stops and says, "Hey, don't you think you picked the wrong person?  Who am I to do this big job?  Do you realize how big a job this really is?"  And God with infinite wisdom kindly pats him on the back and reassures him. Sort of like, "Dude, I wouldn't have picked you if I didn't think you could do a good job. Duh."  Yeah, God talks like that some days, I am sure.

B and I found out in November that we were expecting.  Two pregnancy tests and we were pretty sure of the answer.  Since then, we have heard the heart beat, watched the baby wave and do back flips.  Each time I think about it, I get freaked.  There is a baby inside me!  Do you know what this means?  We are going to have a little human that we are responsible for!  A little human to take care of and make sure they learn and grow and become the best person they can be.  I am not going to lie about how much that freaks me out!  The magnitude of the freak-out is immense!  I keep thinking less about the baby part of this and more about the raising a human part.  What if I screw up?  What if I don't do the right thing?  What if I just suck as a mom?  It is possible, you know.  I am so used to my way of doing things, my quiet time, my schedule.  All of that is nul and void very soon.  What about that?  

I have asked God several times... "Who am I that you gave this baby to? You trust me?  Really?  Are you crazy?"  

And I never really got an answer.  Not till I read about Moses.  Even Moses got scared.  Even Moses was unsure of himself and his role in the world.  Even Moses questioned God.  And God just politely and kindly said, "You will do fine.  Just take it one step at a time, and trust me to do the rest."  

Just take it one step at a time and trust Me to do the rest.  

My friend Heidi was talking about shopping with her daughters the other day when they saw a friend of theirs with a very little baby.  The daughters both, being little girls, ooed and ahed over the baby asking their mother if they could have one.  Heidi joked saying, "SHHHH!  Not too loud!  God will hear you!"  

When she told me that story, I realized that God had heard me.  God had heard B. God had understood our desire to have a baby.  And God believed in both of us.  Each time I ask God "Who am I to take care of this little human coming in to the world?"  God always says in a kind way, "Just take it one step at a time and trust Me to do the rest."

Faith

This past Tuesday, I got up early and wandered into my closet to find the perfect clothes for the day.  As I got ready, slipped into the flag sweater and drove to the polling place, I could feel a pit in my stomach.  I had been debating for a long time about who to vote for.  Quite honestly, I didn't like either one of them.  I didn't want to vote for either one of them.  

As I stood there and colored in the big square next to a name in dark print, I prayed silently.  I prayed for God to give whomever takes the job guidance and understanding.  I prayed for our country to work together and for things to get better.  

And as we sat and watched the polling information come in that night, I prayed again...for clarity for people of our country.  For Hope, and for good will.  

I watched as people (some of my great friends) cried, and laughed, chanted and celebrated. They have so much faith in one man, in the fact that he will produce change.  I didn't celebrate.  Not that I am not happy that he won.  I didn't celebrate because quite honestly, I have no faith in either one of them.  I have no faith in politicians to do what is right.  I have, quite frankly, very little faith in people.

My mom told me early on that I hold people to very high standards.  Then I get disappointed when they don't meet those standards.  She is so so right.  That is me.  Hence, my lack of faith in people.  They just disappoint me.

But God on the other hand, God I have faith in.  God is the one thing that I feel comfort about.  God is there.  No matter what.  

Don't get me wrong.  There have been days when I was PISSED at God.  When I wanted answers.  When I wanted to know WHY and WHEN and HOW and WHAT.  And I wanted those answers then and now.  

When BT lost his job was the first time I felt it.  I mean really felt it.  God was there, but I didn't want to speak to God.  Its like a good friend, who comes to see you every day and you sit there refusing to talk to him/her.  The friend calls you every day and you don't answer.  God wasn't gone.  I was.

And then there was the latest issue with God...

Every year, our church has a labyrinth.  As I walk through it, I talk to God. I love to get to the center of the labyrinth and just sit, listening for God to speak to me.  As I slowly walk out, I leave feeling a sense of clarity.  A sense of Grace.  And a sense of Peace.  

This past January, I walked into the labyrinth looking for answers.  I wanted a relationship with God.  I wanted to sit in the middle and soak up God's love.  But as I prayed, I watched myself as in slow motion walking out of the labyrinth.  Never once in that prayer time, in my walking, had I reached the middle.  I had walked in just as confused as I left.  

Even then, in the midst of chaos and confusion, I didn't doubt that God was there.  

I did doubt why God walked me out without full clarity.  But I didn't doubt that God was still there.

My prayer for you friend, is for you to know in the core of your being that God is there. 

You may be pissed at God.  You may be unsure of God's plans for you.  But know... beyond a Shadow of a Doubt, that God loves you.

Have faith in God.  The faith in people will come later.  At least I hope so.

Quote of the week...

So Braylon came in recently for his Reading Lesson.  Stopped mid walk, put his nose up in the air, and sniffed.  He then made a face and walked over to the table, books in hand and said with an indignant tone, "It smells like ball in here!".  

Ball?  Like a sweaty dance Cinderella attended?  

Or like a football?  Basketball?  And can it really smell like ball?

Ah, must be my  new Ball Perfume I got at the mall!

My other job...

My afternoon duty requires me to stand outside in the elements in front of traffic and make sure that cars are moving and kids are getting picked up safely.  Not an easy task when parents scream and curse at you for not letting them park their car in the drive through.  Not an easy task when parents lead their children into ongoing traffic.  Not an easy task when it is 900 degrees outside.  Not an easy task at all.

Days like these make me want another job.

So Thursday I was walking through a classroom to get to my "office" (My office is just a closet behind someone's classroom.  I have to actually walk through this classroom to get to my space...fancy huh?) and I am carrying a stop sign.  Maybe this time people will look at me as more official if I have a stop sign?  Maybe I would get yelled at less with the stop sign in my hand?  Maybe as soon as parents start yelling obscenities, I can flash the stop sign and the mean nasty comments will act as a force field, protecting me from meanness??? OK so I can dream right?

So I was walking through the classroom on my way to outside duty when this little girl jumps up from her seat and runs over to me.  In her very loud 6 year old voice, she shouts... "Oh, I know you!  You work on the streets!!!"

Yes folks.  My new job... working on the streets.  And I was wondering why I made extra money this month in my paycheck... I said I wanted a different job... just not sure I would want that one. 

:) 

Saturday Love Fest

Since I was in such a bad mood on Friday, I wanted to perk myself up with some lovin'

things  that make me laugh/smile

*Halloween

*anything referencing pirates

*children's laughter

*my friend Saba

*good news

*peppermint ice cream

*my fat baby boots

*texts from George

*reading 4 books at the same time

*being married for 10 years.

*my cat who will sit on the computer desk just to hang out with me

*extra money in my paycheck (cause I am worth it!) hee hee.

*impressions of people

*tests that come back negative.

*have I ever mentioned sonic ice?

hope you find something to make you smile today.

My two cents...

So I hate to make phone calls. Just something I hate to do. I don't like calling to order a pizza. I don't like calling to make inquiries about things. And calling a student's parents is the WORST! I just don't like to do it. It's not that I am afraid that someone will be mean to me or that they will think badly of me. I just don't like to do it. But sometimes it is necessary. Sometimes it HAS to happen. Like it or not.

So today in church, we read a parable about brothers that Jesus told. Oh that Jesus. He always spoke in parables. Love that! So Jesus told about these two brothers...the father asked them to work for him. One brother refused, but then repented and did the work. The other, readily and happily told his father he would do the work, but then got distracted and never actually followed through and did the work. What was the difference in the two brothers? Besides their desire or lack of desire to do work? Action. It is all about action and actually doing what they needed to do.

How many times are we the ones who don't actually take action? The ones who say we are happy to do what needs to be done but then make excuses? I think we easily fall into the trap of making excuses.

Oh gosh, I couldn't call. The phone will be busy. I don't have enough time to spend on that phone call... excuses.

But ultimately, it is all about Action. It is about what we DO, not what we say we will do.

So if you are miserable, if you are tired of living the way you are living, do something about it. Action.

If you are wondering why our world isn't the way it is, do something about it. Action.

If you are tired of the world being the way it is? Do something about it. Action.

Rob Bell's new book, Jesus Wants to Save Christians, talks a lot about this. From the book of Exodus, God suggests and wants action. God wants us to complete the life that He started in Genesis. God wants action. God needs action. God wants us to change the world.

Sometimes it is hard. It requires things from us we didn't know we could do. Sometimes it is easy and all it requires is a phone call. What are you willing to do?
Make the call? Or sit around and blame others? It is all about you. It is all about me. It is all about action.

Quotes from a new school year....

Well, we have had 9 days of school so far and all is well.  The new batch of first graders are so cute!  

Here are some recent quotes that made me laugh...

Ean is my new best friend.  He is so serious all of the time.  Due to his shaggy Beatles hair cut, his eyes are hard to see.  He looks like a grown up in a little body.  He speaks in a monotone voice and rarely shows expression in his face.  

So when he was asked to tell me about his favorite food, he told me fish.  He loves fish.  Then I asked him to draw a picture of himself eating fish. 

He drew flowers, plants, grass, trees.  (Ok, so you catch fish?) Then he drew a little stick figure body with some hair standing by a tree.  (you have picnics eating fish?  Is that allowed in the picnic rule book?) And on his little stick figure arm, he attaches a box.  One white box.  I am quite confused at this point and I say, "so, where is the fish that you love to eat?  He points to the white unlabeled box.  "There," he says.  "My fish is there."  His teacher tries to help by asking if he goes fishing.  "NO" he says with a certain look.  "Oh," his teacher says, "your fish doesn't look like this?" she asks, drawing a pond and a quick little circly thing that looks like a cartoon fish.  

"No. My fish never looks like that" he says as serious as his little 6 year old face can be.  "My fish comes in a box and it is delicious!"

OH MY.

Yesterday, he came to school in tears clutching his stomach in pain.

He demanded he see the nurse.  

In order to assess whether a pass to the nurse was needed, his teacher and I did some investigation...

Teacher: Do you need to go to the bathroom?

E: No.

T: Do you need to get a drink?

E: NO.

T: Did  you eat breakfast this morning?  (this is the cause of stomach pain most of the time at our school in the mornings) 

E: Yes.

T: Here at school or at home? (Sometimes breakfast at school could cause WAY more than a stomachache. ) 

E: At home.

T: What did you eat for breakfast?

E: (the most exhausted sounding and with the most expression he could muster... which wasn't much but enough to notice)   Stuff!  That stuff!  You know...the stuff on a plate!!! 

Ugh.

Of course.  The stuff on the plate.  How could I have been so stupid?

Oh Ean.  You are my new friend.  I can't wait in the next 170 days to hang out with you and gain more wisdom and knowledge.

Things I love...

In the middle of all of the drama and stress... I could spend my blog time venting about life.  I could vent about work and about manipulative people, but no.

I choose to write about things I love...

Not in any particular order...

laughing

Sonic Ice

BT and his wit.

BT and his kindness

BT and his face

singing loudly in the car to musicals

Avenue Q

My parents

My laptop named Hobbes

That Saba got an iphone for her birthday

The way George and I make mean faces at each other in the hall

Thai food yummmmmm

drag shows

bingo

not going to Graduate School ANY MORE!

Watching snails.

playing with Owen and Miles

Shopping with Ginger

Debating theology with Sharon

Shaking things up.

Speaking my mind

Loving other people with my whole heart.

first graders

going to the movies on Sunday afternoons

the way my cat snuggles with me every night

grace

teenagers

kindness

immodium

boots

watermelon

corn on the cob

street meat

festivals 

craft shows

Canton

my life...

What do you love?

Hi there

Yeah, I know.  It has been a while.

Sorry for that.

I have been writing a paper and such.  

Really, I have just been wondering if it is worth writing here anymore.

Still thinking.

Till then, let me tell you about a few things I am excited about...

* GRADUATION!!!  Yep. It is about freakin' time.

* REATA after said graduation.  hhhmmmm... cheese grits.

* seeing my friend Owen. Oh, and his mommy Ginger

* going to movies on Sunday afternoons again. (this was a past time during Christmas break...when I had time) 

* knitting again.

* The Gods Aren't Angry DVD. (one day I will write about that experience.  It was amazing)

* Vacation in July.

so, what are you excited about?

:) 

Church... Good God, what is it good for?

I have been thinking a lot lately about church and its purpose or lack-there-of in my life. Don't get me wrong. Deep down I love my church. I love the people within my church. I love my Renewal small group and I love the fact that we have been adopted by the "other Thompsons".
I love that when we have trouble or something that needs praying about, we can call them at a moment's notice and they will be there or they will drop everything they are doing to raise up our names to God. I love that.

What I don't love however, is the fact that nothing seems to be changing in the church. No one wants to grow. No one wants to learn or talk about God. No one. No one wants to talk about and wrestle with their faith. They don't want to think about the fact that we spend less money helping people than we do on the electric bill. They don't want to see that the world is messy and we should all look at fixing it. They don't like to think about how they are being fed spiritually. They like being starved.
And the music. OY VAY. The music in the church is going to be the death of me. How long can we sing funeral hymns and call them spiritual? B and I look around on Sundays to see who out of all of them in the sanctuary, who is being lifted up by the music from the 1800s. NO one.
My friend HH tells me that is normal in the church. It is a Type 1 church, he says, and I should get used to it, as most churches around are Type 1 churches.
Well crap. That is helpful.

So I am posing the question here... What good is the church as a whole? What is the purpose of church? Greg tells me that the purpose of the church is to be the body of Christ. Why then would I want to be a part of a body that is dying?
Why is it that our churches very quickly are dying? I have an idea...

Just a few ideas at least. One has to do with Christians and the other has to do with televangelists, but I could be wrong...

Prayer

The BT wrote this prayer just in case he felt called to say it at my grandfather's funeral...
I think it is beautiful.

Psalms tells us “As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who hold God in awe. As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you, says the Lord.”

There are two things that I know Lonnie missed the last few years. Lessie Vee and pouring concrete. I hope God likes concrete.

Please pray with me.

God, in this time of loss, we turn to you, trusting in your loving mercy and grace. We thank you for Lonnie and for all he meant to us. We thank you that because we knew him, our lives are better. We pray that you will strengthen us in our loss and help us to remember his life with joy. Help us to remember our good, happy memories of him, which will comfort us in the days to come. Help us to rest in confidence that You love us and will help us grieve. We commend Lonnie and commit his body to the grave, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. We humbly pray that with Lessie by your side, that You welcome him, a sheep of your flock, a sinner of your redeeming. Receive him into your merciful arms, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace.
Amen.

Rest in Peace

My grandfather died today.
He was a good man who worked hard for everything he had. I am proud to say that I am his granddaughter.

Grandpa,
I prayed last night for you to have peace. I am glad, after all this time, you finally got it. You lived a great life. Thanks for leaving a legacy of family and love.
love, Me

ODE...

My grandfather is sick. Really really sick.
We went to see him this weekend since it may be the last time.

In honor of him, I post this old Bloghead post. I think it is still my favorite post yet.

We have hard wood floors in our house. They are real hard wood floors, not the kind you have to sand down twice a year like my grandfather had years and years ago, but the kind you can clean by rubbing a nice clean sock on the spill. I don’t have to think about the upkeep of the floor, really. I just spend a few minutes on them every once in a while, with an actual mop, and I forget about them for the next several days. Considering the level of slactitude in my house, it is amazing that it even gets done once a week. Needless to say, I like them, I am glad I have them, and they are considered very special when visitors see them, but I don’t really think much about them on a daily basis. Who would really? I am sure there is some internet site out there about someone’s obsession with hard wood floors…

My grandfather was in town recently, and we had quite a few conversations about our hard wood floors. I hadn’t really thought much about them till those conversations. Funny how you our thoughts work when you really focus on something.

I have also been thinking about my grandfather lately. Again, funny how you our thoughts work when you really focus on something. He is a hard man, who had a hard, hard life. You can tell by his calloused hands that he was no stranger to working hard. He is hard to talk to, not because he has nothing to say, but because you have to scream at him to have him hear you. As hard as he is, there was something soft about him, a shine in his eyes, like the shine on the hard wood floors, I don’t remember noticing until this visit.

He didn’t want to come on this trip, I know. His bones ache and his arthritis is so bad, that travel is not fun for him. He is set in his ways and likes his own space, so the trip was not his idea of a great time. So the fact that he was actually coming was a big surprise to everyone, I think. But as the trip progressed, as he visited with family and friends and talked about old times and times to come, I could see that spark in his eye. He was actually glad he came, I know. And I am glad he came too.
You see, my grandfather, like those hard wood floors, is tough, and a relationship with him is something I take for granted, something I hadn’t worried too much about maintaining. I realized this weekend, that family is the most important thing to him. It is the thing that makes him shine. I also realized that I needed to not just rub a clean sock across my relationship with my grandfather, I need to get rid of my slactitude and work hard at polishing and maintaining my relationship with him. Maybe one day, I can stand back and look at my relationship with my grandfather and admire it, like I now admire my hard wood floors.

Not just a job. It's an adventure!

About a week ago, all of the teachers at my school got an email in
their inbox telling us to be on the look out for Mr. G's hamster that
was officially on the loose. Every once in a while, I would check in
with Mr. G and ask him if anyone had found the lost little friend. No
such luck. So of course, none of us were surprised when we began our
day on Friday and noticed a little brown creature hurrying and toddling
on little legs down the hall. All kids were silent and strangely still
as they watched the hamster make her way down the edge of the hallway.
Luckily, three teachers were there and were ready and waiting to catch the
little friend and return her back to Mr. G, who had of course fixed the
cage in preparation for her return.

I happened to be picking up Isabel for our lesson when this whole thing began and we were able to stand from the sidelines and watch the action. Boy did she and I feel
important in the fact that we could give first hand information about
the capture of the lost hamster! "Wow!" I said, "What an exciting
day!!"
And Isabel and I spent our morning feeling pretty happy we had experienced some excitement.

About 1:30 pm, I began to hear noises. Was that a helicopter? Teachers were
quickly leaving their classrooms during planning time to run outside
and look. Helicopters were circling our playground in a very frantic
fashion. Then we heard that the school right next to us was onlockdown and no one was able to leave their rooms.
Shouldn't we not do the same?, we wondered as we stood outside.
One check of the news on the internet let us know that there was a killer on the loose. He had murdered his wife and step children, dropped off his own bloody 3 year old at a
church, and headed down the road. Police had him cornered in his car in
a driveway down the road from us.

We were on full alert. Excitement once again was in the air.
We spent the rest of the day trying to deal with dismissal and ways to get
kids safely with their parents and at home. This meant not letting the
walkers walk, and only letting kids go when their parents showed up.
Trying to arrange this was not fun, but with all of us working
together, we made it happen. At 6:15 we only had four children left, so
we were able to go home and leave them with the administrators.

Friday morning, Isabel and I were feeling pretty special that we were part of
the action. By Friday night, we were all very thankful we were pretty
far away from it.

Our jobs, each day, come with lots of different challenges and excitement. Each day we teachers are called to do some things that are out of the ordinary. On Friday, we had to go
above and beyond and do more. It isn't just a job, it is an adventure
and I am thankful for every exciting and boring time of it.