Spring?

Wow! Indiana weather at it’s craziest.  This weekend we had severe storms, flooding, low 30’s, snow, and high 60’s.  Welcome to Indiana!  I’m crossing my fingers and my toes that spring has finally arrived.  It seems to be awfully slow coming this year.  

We’ve taken full advantage of the warm days – using them to work in the yard.  I’ve even mowed twice with our reel mower.  (Thank you rain)  We’ve also added sand to the sand box and gotten out all the patio furniture.  We’re in the process of setting up a raised bed for strawberries.  I think the last couple of steps are filling it with just a little more dirt and planting the plants.  This week I’m hoping to finish that bed and get my garden cleaned out and tilled up.  I’ll need to add some compost to the garden this year too.   Maybe I can work on the planters next week – if the warm weather sticks around. 

In other news, we’ve done some rearranging throughout the house.  We’ve also worked on some serious spring cleaning.  I’ve gone through WeeMan’s clothes and pulled his spring/ summer stuff. (What can I say I’m hopeful)  I’ve got two girls coming this week to look through the too small stuff and maybe buy some for their littles.  We also moved his train table out of his room – kind of a sad moment for this mama.  My wee man isn’t so wee anymore.  

Big plans for next month – kitchen organization and I’m going to be wild and crazy and try to plan May’s menu ahead of time.  (Yep the entire month)  Here’s hoping.

Daddy’s Hands – My Daddy’s Legacy

4 years ago today we lost my hero. I try to keep his memory alive for my WeeMan with stories about his papaw that he will never really get to know. It breaks my heart that they will never go on the camping trips that dad planned, they will not hunt mushrooms or arrowheads, or debate history or the Bible. But then I look at my miracle boy – named for my daddy – and I see my father in his eyes that are often compassionate sticking up for the smaller kid, in his hands digging up treasures – rocks, worms, bugs, plants, and in his wisdom beyond his years as he asks us to tell him a Jesus story and then pipes in with an insight that you don’t expect from a 4 year old child. So even though my father went to Heaven 4 years ago today, I know that he lives on in his grandson.

My Word for 2013

I’m jumping on the bandwagon.  No resolutions for me this year.  Instead I’m going with a word for the year.  I’ve been thinking a lot about the next couple of years.  Where my family will be and where my WeeMan will be.

This has been a tough year for me at school.  I love being back in my own classroom, but my class definitely has some issues.  I come home a lot of nights tired, aching, grumpy, despairing, and hopeless.  Day to day I’ve let my joy get sucked out by the stupid things.  The things that in the end won’t matter.  So I’ve decided it’s time to turn that around.  It’s time to make a change.  For me, for my family, and for my kiddos.

All that being said my word for 2013 is “SHINE”.  I’m going to start shining His light at school everyday – even on those gloomy, naughty, tired, grumpy days.  I’m going to shine for my kids and for my family.  I need to be that example to my WeeMan and to my class.

WeeMan has another year of preschool and then it will be time for kindergarten and public school.  Hubby and I have done the homeschooling discussion dance. When WeeMan was born – my stance was we either had to move or I would need to homeschool him.  You see I live in the school district I teach.  My school is considered the worst by most of the people in our county.  Many of my kids have home lives you would expect in a larger city.  Our Free and Reduced lunch students are around 85% of our school population of around 500.  Our kids use words I hope to never hear my WeeMan say.  They have experienced things no child should ever have to live through and for some of them that is the only life they have ever known.  So the overprotective mom in me planned to keep my baby away from all that.  But sometime in the past year I have felt my heart change.  I’ve looked around my neighborhood and my classroom and I’ve realized I need to send my WeeMan to my school.  I need him to see the life other kids live, but most of all I need to send him in to the classroom and know that he’s going in there as a Light – that he can shine and maybe make a difference for some of the kids in his class.

So to wrap up my rambling – I’m going to start working on shining now.  I need to give WeeMan the example I want him to live.  I need to stop letting life beat me down and dim the light.

Part of my morning prayer for 2013 is that God allow me to Shine in the darkness of some of my kids lives.  I may never known that it mattered, I may never see the results – but I need to believe that it just might make a difference for some.

“Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times – when one only remembers to turn on the light” Albus Dumbledore Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Christmas – in Pictures

Well, the tree came down today.  With WeeMan’s birthday party being on Saturday and our house being a little too small for a whole crew of pirates, something had to give.  It always makes me sad to take the tree down and store it away until the next year.  But I’ll be leaving some of the sparkle around and of course the Nativity will remain in place for a while longer. 

We had a wonderful Christmas.  It was quieter than Christmas’s past, which was nice and I feel like maybe we focused more on the meaning and less on the getting.  Many of the gifts we gave were things that were needed and a few were purchased second hand.  In fact the favorite gift of two of the littles was bought off our local craigslist type site.  I’m just glad the lady had two! Otherwise there’d have been some tears.

So here’s our Christmas in pictures – of course WeeMan is the star of many of them.

We visited with Santa at story time at the library.  WeeMan had no fear and even volunteered to go to the front during the story and sing.  Such a brave little man!

WeeMan all dressed up for his Christmas program at school.  He did such a fantastic job.  He sang to all the songs and did most of the motions.  Not bad for his first real program!

Playing the Wii on the first day of Christmas break

WeeMan and his cousin at Grammy’s for Christmas on the 23rd

WeeMan enjoyed baking and decorating Christmas cookies – the sprinkles were his favorite part!

 

WeeMan and his other cousin made a gingerbread house on Christmas Eve.  I think they ate more candy then they put on.

 

According to the 4 year olds – the best present ever – ginormous dinosaurs!

Conked out on Christmas day!

Our day after Christmas surprise – Snow! We built a snow pirate.

Snow!! Remember when snow could bring that much joy to your face? I’m going to spend the rest of break trying to recapture some of that joy,

My Blessing

The greatest gift I could have is for my son to live in this world but not OF this world. To live his life fully committed to Christ, to have the courage to be different, to be an example for others, to show Christ’s love to others and be saved. There is not a greater gift for me.