more sky

Well, I'm home.

Christmas was terribly fun. We all decamped up to the cabin, and patiently waited for Christmas to get here. And get here it did. We played games, opened presents, played games, played with toys, ate snacks, played games, and then ate more snacks.

Tree, presents, stockings, and the train.

It was truly great to have everyone all together. But we had to stay inside because we got a LOT of snow. Beautiful, but snowy. And I had to shovel. But it was fun to be all together.

Snow everywhere.

As I was driving home, I had to drive back through the canyon. For most of that part of the drive, the canyon walls are pretty steep. You can't see a lot except the river, and the canyon walls going mostly straight up. But as you get toward the end of the canyon, like for the last 5 minutes, you start to be able to see a lot more sky. You see much less mountain, and much more sky. The sky grows bigger and bigger, and after only seeing a little strip of it for the past hour, it is so breathtaking to see the huge expanse of deep blue.

As I got to see more and more sky, as it opened up before me, I was thinking that life is like that sometimes. Sometimes you can only see the steep mountains, and it seems like they block out everything else. But you just have to get through the canyon, and you eventually will be able to see the sky. Eventually the mountains back off into the past, and the sky opens up before you.

I just wanted to throw that out at'cha, because the hard times will come. But just remember to hold on 'til you can get through the canyon. Eventually the mountains will recede, and the sky will get bigger and bigger and more beautiful each moment.

Here's to making it through life gracefully, even when it feels like the mountains are closing in.
K

penance

Last night I had Taco Tuesday at my house.

Taco Tuesday is a night for High School girls from Youth group to hang out, eat dinner, talk, whatever. So last night I had 8 girls over, and it was a blast. Nothing big happened - we just ate and hung out and then watched a movie.

But sometime in there, one of the girls pulled my high school yearbook off the shelf, and started going through it, looking at the hairstyles.

Which was actually entertaining, because I graduated in 1990, so it was '80s hair all over the place. As I was in the kitchen doing stuff with dinner or dishes, I would hear talking, but then all of a sudden there would be a shriek and then dissolving to giggles, then comments like, "What were they thinking?" and "That hair is CRAZY!"

It was fun to listen to them, but I had the distinct feeling that this was my penance for showing old pictures of my parents from the '70s and laughing at them. :)

Here's to hairstyles from 20 years ago...
K

sleeping in

I just want to publicly say how wonderful it is to NOT wake up to an alarm clock.

This morning I woke a couple times, and rolled over to get some more sleep. At one point, I woke (back) up, thought that my neck was kinda stiff, and looked over at the alarm clock. It said it was 10:03 am.

Holy cow!

I got up pretty quick after that, but it was so nice to get sleep without any reason to be up and ready at any specific time.

Yea for sleeping in!
K

one reason i love my job

This is a picture of something I received from a student this week:

In case you can't read what it says, here's a translation:

"Dear Mrs. Edwards, We made a paper chain with links that name people we care about and want to pray for. We prayed for you today! Here's your own link. A Merry Christmas to you! Love, the _____ family. "

And then of course is the drawing of the manger with the "Hark! the herald angels sing" above it.

I just want to say that I really enjoy the time I get to spend with my students. I enjoy the accomplishments we make together, like singing some great music or putting on a great concert. I really enjoy having the summers off. But this is definitely the best part of my job.

Getting these little missives of love is the thing I enjoy most about my job.

It warms my heart to know that this family prayed for me. And it blesses me even more to get this letter from one of my sweet second graders.


What a privilege is it to touch the hearts of sweet kids, and to be a part of their lives.
K

breath

There is a verse in the bible that says, "Let everything that hath breath, praise the Lord.".

Well, I'm here to say that having breath is no small thing, and if you have breath, be thankful.

This week I did not have breath in some capacity or another, and I am SO grateful that that has been remedied. There is a cough-thing going around, and my lungs are my weak spot, so I inevitably get every lung thing that's going around. On Monday, I felt like I was coming down with a cold. On Tuesday, I was fighting to breathe, and I felt funny so I went to the school office and asked them to take my oxygen level. (Note: NORMAL people have an oxygen level of 92% or higher.) She put the thing on my finger, and my oxygen was about 80. And it was not staying up there very well, either. So the school nurse almost had a fit, and went to get my inhaler. She made me drink some hot water, take my inhaler, and drink some hot coffee, all in the hope that it would open up my lungs and help me breathe better. After sitting in the nurse's office for about 20 minutes with the thing on my finger, I was up around 90. Pretty good, for me. So I went back to my classroom. But 10 minutes later, she brought the measurement thingy, and I was back down around 80.

Well.

That was it for her - I was to go to the doctor RIGHT NOW and get listened to. AND, I was not to drive myself. Either I got someone to take me, or she as calling an ambulance. So I called my mom, and she drove me to the Dr.'s office, and to the pharmacy to get my steroid.  End of that story - all's well that ends well. A huge thank you to Mom, for rescuing me.

Today I was in church, just enjoying the music, because I didn't want to start coughing again.  But then THAT song came on.

And I just couldn't help myself. I had to sing. :)

But as I was singing the chorus of that song, I thought about that verse: "Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord". And I was supremely grateful for my having breath. I was grateful that I could even sing that one chorus. I was grateful that I could sing in my concert last Friday, even being sick. Because I had worked on the music since August, and NOT singing it would have been such a disappointment.

Because there are times when I cannot sing, I am supremely grateful for those times that I can sing. Even if they are limited. I'm grateful that I most of the time I can sing, and the sick times don't last forever. I'm grateful that God gave me the ability to sing, and that I enjoy it so much.

Let everything that hath breath, praise the Lord!
K

whew!

Well, even though the month of thankfulness is past, I am going to be thankful again. What a great habit to have!

Today I'm thankful for several things:

Concert went great. 

4th, 5th and 6th graders sang their concert 2 days ago, and they did a great job. I picked some hard music, and they really rose to the occasion. I'm pleased with the result, and proud of how hard they worked to do such a great job.

Christmas Shopping is done.

I know, I'm weird. But I like to start shopping early. Not to get it over, but because I love to give gifts, so when someone mentions something they'd like, I go ahead and pick it up. I started shopping for Christmas in August, and just finished a day or 2 ago. But I'm done. :) And most of it is wrapped. I know, it's OK to be jealous.

Christmas is coming, and the family will all be together.

This Christmas, we all are going up to the cabin for a couple days. I'm excited that we all get to go away, and that we all get to be together. Even my adopted sister is coming from Texas, so I'm looking forward to having everyone together.

I've got my lights up outside, and Christmas shopping is done, so I'm looking forward to Christmas. Christmas Advent services at church. Christmas holiday from school. Christmas giving. Christmas away with the family.

And lastly, the Christmas Concert season is upon us.

This coming weekend I will be singing with the Colorado Springs Chorale in our Deck the Hall concert. And the week after that, I will be singing with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic in their Christmas Spectacular. So I get to celebrate Christmas in a big way.

Let the holidays begin!