let me just tell you...

intestines

2012-02-13T21:28:00.000-07:00

Well.

I have SO much to say...

There is no way I can describe all the things that happened this weekend, so I think this will come in installments, like a loan or a mortgage. But better. :)

This weekend was High Altitude, which is our High School winter retreat at church.

There were 48 kids and 10 adults who went.

I am not positive, but I think the camp was at about 10,000 feet. So the name fits. My asthma was not happy, but everything else was!

Our speaker was Chris Simning, and I can't say enough about what an awesome speaker and man of God he is. More on this later.

I had about 9 hours of sleep the whole weekend, and might be getting too old to handle that very often...

Intestines were mentioned several times over the course of the weekend.

I refereed lots of games of Dodgeball, and lived to tell about it.

OK, the deal with intestines:
At family time (where just our youth group gets together and talks about the speaker and sessions), the subject came up about how God often works in weird ways. Like sometimes He will work in our lives through something we didn't even realize was happening, or those "coincidences" where someone we meet talks to us about the very thing we are struggling with.

I said that that was like intestines.

Bear with me.

God created intestines. Who would have EVER thought that making a tube-y thing super long, and then coiling it up in our abdominal cavity would be a great way to process waste. And if you stretched intestines out they would be ridiculously long, but all curled up they fit perfectly.

Who would have IMAGINED that as a great idea? But God did. Point: we cannot know what God has planned, or how He is going to work. His ways are not our ways. We can't know how He is going to bring people (or Youth Retreats) into our lives, and change us for the better.

I guess that the example didn't have to be about intestines, but we had talked about intestines on the drive up there (before the blizzard over Berthoud Pass - I didn't talk during that AT ALL.) so it seemed like a fitting analogy.

But really, have you ever thought about intestines? And how amazing they are? And I once knew someone who has Crohn's Disease, and she had some of her intestines removed and replaced with plastic. Wait, not on topic.

But really, God is amazing, and worked in the lives of our kids all weekend.

I'm grateful for this retreat. I'm grateful for our Youth Group kids and their realness. I'm grateful that we made the drive up there. I'm grateful for intestines.

More to come.
K

death is everywhere

2012-02-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

Well there's nothing like a positive outlook, is there?

Today I went to teach a piano lesson, and I found out that my piano student had passed away. This is the 76 year-old Vietnamese man who has been taking lessons for the past couple years. He was one of my best students ever. He was dedicated, he was committed, and most importantly he was excited to learn new things each and every time we had a lesson.

I really enjoyed teaching him, and every so often he would pause and tell me something very profound. Or give me a moon cake.

I want to do something to tell his family how much I enjoyed the time we spent together learning piano, and how much I will miss that now, but I'm not sure of the Vietnamese cultural protocol.

I am glad that his daughter answered the door today, because she can speak English, and I could tell her how sorry I am for her loss, and ask her to let her mother know how sorry I am for her loss as well. I could never say that, because Tuan Le's wife doesn't speak English. But I'm glad that I could at least pass the message on.

I can truly say that my life has been better for knowing Tuan Le, and I have been blessed by the time we spent together. Here's to you Tuan Le, and thanks for all the great conversations about piano, life, religion, and so many more things. Thank you for sending rice to needy people in Vietnam, even though you did not have much yourself. Thanks for allowing me to be a part of that.

We will miss you.
K

rock n roll

2012-02-03T16:39:00.000-07:00

This week I found out that someone I used to know has died.

We weren't best friends, or anything like that. In fact, I would call him an acquaintance. But I did know him when I used to live across the country, and now he's dead.

And in a weird twist, he actually died 7 months ago, but a (real) friend of mine sent me that article this past week and I didn't look at the date, so I THOUGHT he had just passed away recently. This has all been very surreal.

When I found out about his death, I looked up the article in the local paper where I used to live, and then several articles popped up on local blogs about his death and how he will be missed. I read the obituary his family put in the paper and it was very touching. And sad because he has 2 kids that he left behind.

In one of the blog articles, it said "he lived the rock and roll lifestyle". I would say that was true, especially considering that I met him and knew him through a tattoo shop. He was the owner, and a fairly well-known person about a fairly small town. And he did live that kind of a life. He was heavily tattooed, and was out on the town often. So I guess it's not unbelievable that he had been out drinking with a friend, and rolled his car into a concrete embankment and was killed. But that comment about the "rock and roll lifestyle" really struck me.

And it made me sad.

There is a profound sadness in the fact that he searched for fulfillment in living that kind of life. In living hard and dying young. In rolling your car at 3am after being out drinking. And I know that people have to make their own choices.

But it makes me so sad that he never found the real source of fulfillment. It makes me sad to think that he was constantly chasing things to fill his life, and never had the opportunity to know the only One who can provide real and lasting fulfillment.

Being a musician, and person who is very connected to music, it makes me think about the "rock and roll lifestyle", and how very sad and empty that is.

It makes me pray. Pray that I have the courage to tell my friends that are searching that they really can find peace in the One who came to bring peace.

And it impresses on me that the "rock and roll lifestyle" is a life of futility, because there is no way to find Peace unless you find Redemption out of that lifestyle in the end. And it makes me sad that Mitchell never found that.
K

assessment

2012-01-26T21:23:00.000-07:00

Today I sat through a seminar on assessments.

No, not the scantron, fill-in-the-bubble kind. This is the annual Music Teacher Conference. (Well, they don't actually CALL it that, but that's what it is.) So the presenter was talking about how she assesses her kids, and what she assesses them on. Then we talked about the CO State Standards, and how we include those in what we teach and what we assess.

I know, right about this point you are moving your mouse toward the little "x" in the upper right corner of your screen, and thinking about what you are going to have for a snack in a minute. It felt about that exciting to me at some points too. But stay with me.

Isn't it important to assess?

Isn't it important to take some time on a regular basis to assess? Not just in state standards and music lesson plans, but in life? In your family life? In your spiritual life? In your home life? In your work life?

Isn't this the basis of New Year's resolutions?

What if instead on assessing on December 30th, and marginally thinking that "I'd like to read more books this year" (which is an admirable goal, by the way) we stop on a regular basis and asses? What would happen then?

What if we regularly built into our life time to reflect and assess whether we are where we want to be, or way more importantly than that, if we reflect and assess whether we are where God wants us to be? What if we put our lives into perspective, and took our eyes off the daily grind to focus on the long-term?

I think that assessment is a great tool, and we should move it to the top of our life's toolbox.
I'm going to head off to do some assessing right now...What do you need to stop and look at with new eyes?
K

jazz

2012-01-23T14:58:00.000-07:00

Right now, I'm sitting in my classroom, listening to Jazz. Well OK, I'm watching my 1st graders also, but we are talking about Jazz.

I get to answer questions about Jazz:

"Who started Jazz?"

"What kind of instruments play Jazz?"

"Why did people always dance when they heard Jazz?"

I get to teach little people about this quintessentially American art form, and we get to listen to it.

We all get to talk about how much fun it is to listen to Ella Fitzgerald sing "Old MacDonald Had a Farm".

We get to learn what scat is.

I get to enjoy their gasps when I play "It's a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong, and inevetiably one of them says, "That song is in ____________________" (insert name of movie here).

I have the best job in the world. :)
K

masterpieces

2012-01-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

OK, the first thought: I just put clean, warm sheets on my bed. That could be one of my *favorite* things, like in the song. I could hardly walk away from the bed, and not just crawl in RIGHT NOW!

The real thought for today: I am SO lucky to have access to great music. In staff meeting last week, my Principal was talking about one part of our core values, and how important it is for kids to have access to original and classic literature. I said that the art teacher and I deal in original and classical works all the time. We teach art and music that has been around for hundreds of years and has stood the test of time. These paintings (the Mona Lisa, etc.) and this music (Mozart, Beethoven, etc.) has not only been around for a long time, but has stood up to countless tests of quality. And it is still considered valuable enough for us to teach it to our students.

A couple days ago, my choir got back to practicing. After the Christmas concerts, which I was sick for most of, we always take a couple weeks off and then reconvene in January to work on music for the Spring concert. Well, this was that week. We got our music out, and sang through the whole program. Predictably, I didn't immediately connect with all the pieces, but it was a fun program and I think I will enjoy preparing for it.

As I was driving home, I thought about our school discussion about original and classic works, and then I thought about all the music that I sang that night.

I am so lucky to get to sing music from composers like Mendelssohn, and Copland, and Purcell, and Handel.

I am so lucky to get to own these pieces of music. Earlier in the week I got down on the floor and pulled out all of my music to get out any pieces of music I own, mostly just so I don't buy it again. But as I was sitting there with hundreds of pieces of music spread out around me, I thought about how lucky I am to have sung all these songs, and to have enjoyed so many of them.

I think it is incredible that we can go to museums whenever we want, and get right up close to art masterpieces, but that is not nearly as close as when I get to sing a masterpiece. I get to get INSIDE the song, and be the one (of many) that get to put that music out to the audience.

I'm the one who cries whenever I hear Beethoven's 9th Symphony finale. That song is almost 200 years old and one of the most famous pieces anywhere. And it's in German. But still, it makes me cry whenever I hear it.

What a gift to not only have access to masterpieces, but to get to be a part of them. Where else can you crawl into the arts and become them?

family

2012-01-07T18:10:00.000-07:00

This week, we all went back to school, after the Christmas Break. I always like to hear a little about their break, and what they did, and such. But if I let everyone tell everything about their break, it would go on FOREVER! So I call it "one fun thing". It could be a present, or it could be something you did, or it could be somewhere you went. But this way, everyone gets to share at least one fun thing about their break. I shared about going up to the cabin before everyone, and the huge accomplishment that was buying/unloading/setting up the Christmas tree, and unloading the car,and shoveling the driveway all by myself. I even got applause in one class. :) Made me smile and take a little bow.

Anyway, I realized that after hearing about everyone's break, the most important thing in everyone's share was family. Either family that came to see them, or family they went to visit. Everybody shared about their christmas, but I can't think of one student that didn't talk about their family.

It makes me glad to be a part of these kids' lives, and it gives me hope for the future. One would think that an open-ended invitation to share about Christmas would be a litany of presents received. But lots and lots of kids didn't even mention presents. They shared where they went to see family, or their family that came to visit. They shared about how special it is that their family got to all be together.

I not only realized that family is important in my life, but that it makes any holiday. It's not a question of whether I will see family, but when. I feel so blessed to have a great family, and a family to whom family is important. That means not only are they important to me, but that I am important to them.

And I'm glad to hear about my students families, and not just their toys. :)
Here's to family, wherever they may be.
K

more sky

2011-12-28T17:25:00.000-07:00

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

2011-12-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

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

2011-12-19T17:08:00.000-07:00

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

2011-12-17T16:08:00.001-07:00

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

2011-12-11T20:51:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-12-03T21:33:00.000-07:00

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!

day 29 blanket

2011-11-29T22:28:00.000-07:00

All this month, the month of Thanksgiving, I'm linking up with my friend Dawn to be thankful.

Today I am going to be thankful for something small. I'm thankful for extra blankets.

It's been cold at night lately, and last night I put 2 extra blankets on my bed. I'm thankful that I live such a bounteous existence that I have a number of extra blankets just lying around. Well, some of them are lying on my bed, but, you get the idea. I'm thankful that worrying about having an extra blanket is not a stress for me. I'm thankful that I enjoy so many blessings in my life, that having several extra blankets is a very small thing.

I'm thankful that I don't live in a place where having an extra blanket is a huge thing. And I'm saying some extra prayers tonight for those who don't enjoy several extra blankets.

Tonight I'm thankful for all the things I have, and that I don't live without. That I don't go without.
I'm thankful for that blanket,and now I'm headed off to crawl underneath it.
K

day 28 grace

2011-11-28T21:33:00.000-07:00

November is the month for thanksgiving, so I'm linking up with my friend Dawn to be thankful all this month.

Today I'm thankful that, every-so-often, we are given grace. Today I was given a little grace.

This week is the concert with my older kids at school. We have been preparing for this for the past 3 months, so as this week rolled around, it's been pretty exciting that it is actually here.

But...

Last week I got together with my accompanist, and discovered that I had rehearsed part of a song wrong.

And I had taught it to all my 5th graders wrong.

Oh no......

So today I had to go in there and just say, "Have you ever read a word wrong? Just looked at it and said a totally different word? Well, that's what I did with this song. So now we have to learn this part again.".

It was pretty humbling.

So we got to work. But the really good news - the part where I received some grace - was that after we sang it about 4 times, one of my kids looked up and said, "That's not very hard at all."

And that was the end of it. We sang through that song, and everyone was pretty fine with it. I felt like I totally got a huge portion of grace. Like it could have been a big fat deal, but no. It all was fine.

As I was all relieved that it wasn't a big deal, I realized that I had just gotten a huge gift of grace, and was spared any big hoo-ha over the matter. That it could have really been difficult. That we could have struggled with it for the whole class, and still not gotten it right.

But they got it.

And I was spared. What a blessing, to have things work out like that, when it could have been so much worse. So today I am thankful for grace. For the grace that God gives to us, but also for those little gifts that we randomly get. Right when we need it.
K

day 27 grandpa glenn

2011-11-27T16:38:00.000-07:00

Since November is the month to be thankful, I'm linking up with my friend Dawn and being thankful all month!

Today I am thankful for my Grandpa Glenn.

Grandpa Glenn passed away in 2002, but I'm thankful for all the wonderful time I had with him. I'm thankful that he was a part of my life for so long.

Grandma Annie and Grandpa Glenn, my Mom's parents

Today I was flipping through the channels on the TV, and Pearl Harbor was on. You know, the movie with Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale. I didn't start at the beginning, but got sucked in and watched the last hour and a half.

Whenever I watch Saving Private Ryan, it makes me all teary, and emotional. The reason for this is Grandpa Glenn. He was in the army during WWII, and he chose to go into the Airborne. He ended up jumping behind lines in Okinawa and Japan. But he told me once that if he had chosen to go into the Rangers, his company was the one that landed on the beach at Normandy, and he most likely would not have survived. Almost all of them were killed in that invasion. So, at the end of Saving Private Ryan, when the actor is standing in the cemetery looking at the graves of his fallen comrades, that very easily could have been my Grandpa. That's why it makes me all emotional and teary.

The same thing happened today when I was watching Pearl Harbor. Grandpa was never stationed at Pearl Harbor, but those guys that were killed could very easily have been him, but for a small difference in age, or where they were from, or when they enlisted. I watched that movie, thinking about my Grandpa Glenn, and what he went through in service to this country. And I'm grateful that he came back from that alive, because it would have altered the course of his history. My Mom's history. My history.

So today I'm thankful for my Grandpa Glenn. I'm thankful for his service, but mostly I'm thankful for the lessons he taught me. I'm thankful that he worked hard, and taught me to work hard also. I'm thankful that I got to spend lots of time with him while I was little, so I can remember that time now. I love you Grumpy.
K

day 26 people

2011-11-26T17:24:00.000-07:00

Whoa! It is November 26 already! How did the past month fly by so fast? This whole month I'm linking up with Dawn and being thankful.

Today I want to be thankful for the people that I've been blessed with.

This afternoon I taught a piano lesson, and it struck me how blessed I am to have so many great people in my life.

I have great piano students, wonderful staff that I work with at school, enjoyable students, a great church family, and a few really good friends.

I feel so thankful that so many of these people are such wonderful people, and that I truly enjoy them. I really had fun with my piano students today, and just thought how miserable it would be if you didn't like the people that you spend time with. My friend Jenn called earlier, and we had a great time talking about nothing in particular. But I thought then how awful life would be if you didn't have any friends that you enjoyed talking to and spending time with. Wednesday I took those awesome High Schoolers down to our service project with the Rescue Mission, and I had a GREAT time. Yes, we served, but we all came away saying how much fun we had. What a bummer that would be if you were doomed to spend time with people that you don't like?

I truly am blessed to have so many great people in my life. And I feel like my life is better because they are in it.
K

day 25 rest

2011-11-25T19:24:00.000-07:00

Since this is the month to be thankful, I'm linking up with my friend Dawn at theGoodlife all this month to be thankful together!

Today, I am thankful for rest.

Specifically, I'm thankful for last night's rest, and that there was no need to set an alarm this morning. I rolled out of bed at 9:30! But that extra rest sure felt good.

Generally, I'm thankful for the rest that Thanksgiving break provides. There's 3 weeks of school after we go back to school on Monday, and I really do think those 3 weeks are the busiest weeks of the year.

For example, I am helping put on the Christmas party at our school. I have Christmas concerts with the Chorale 2 weekends in a row, and both of those involve 2 days of concerts. One weekend is a Friday/Saturday deal, and the weekend after that is a Saturday night/Sunday afternoon situation. Which also means several dress rehearsals before those concerts. I have a concert at school with my 4th, 5th and 6th graders. The Christmas Formal is happening with Youth Group. And...I'm sure there is something else going on...but I can't remember what at this moment.

So today I'm thankful for rest. After sleeping in, I watched the movie "elf" with Will Farrell - one of my favorite Christmas movies. And then proceeded to watch all the DVD extras and specials. I did do a little "Black Friday" shopping, but I didn't leave the house until 3pm. :)

So here's to rest. And the rejuvenation it brings.
K

day 24 thanksgiving

2011-11-24T21:09:00.001-07:00

Well, today is Thanksgiving. All this month I'm linking up with my friend Dawn and being thankful.

I have so much to be thankful for.

Today was a great day. Not because it was special, but because it was not.

I slept in this morning. Nothing earth shattering about that.

I sat around for a little bit, watched the Thanksgiving Day Parade, and read some. Again, usual stuff.

Then I made pumpkin pie. That was my assignment for Thanksgiving dinner. And the most special thing about that was that it made my whole house smell like pumpkin pie. Fantastic! But pumpkin pie has been my assignment for several years now, so that's not really anything new or exciting.

Took a shower. Got ready. And did not even get particularly dressed up. Went over to Mom and Dad's house. Helped get things ready. Ate Thanksgiving dinner with the family and some friends that don't have any family here in town.

No, as Thanksgivings go, it was pretty low key and usual. But that's what I'm thankful for. That a day with family is usual. That even though the dishes are not always exactly the same, the day usually is. That spending a day with my family is not a special occasion. That hanging out for a whole day at Mom and Dad's is not a chore, or something that I dread. That a family get-together is pretty stress-free. That the family enjoys each other.

No, today I'm thankful for the uneventful-ness of today. And I'm thankful for my family that makes it that way.
K

day 23 serving

2011-11-23T20:51:00.000-07:00

Not only is this the month to be thankful, but TOMORROW is Thanksgiving! What a great time to give thanks for the blessings in our lives. My friend Dawn at theGoodlife is hosting 30 Thankful Days, and I'm thanking right along with her.

Today I am more than thankful for the 9 High School kids that went with me to serve at the Rescue Mission's Great Thanksgiving Dinner. These kids are awesome. They got up early, gave up most of a day off school, went downtown, and basically did whatever was asked of them.

2 of them were greeters - they stood at the door and smiled at everyone that came in. They greeted the guests warmly, and made sure they had a place to sit. They shook hands with the guests as they left, looked them in the eye and said "I'm glad you came. Have a great day".

2 of them were up on stage, helping the local TV news lady who was giving things away.They took pictures, helped in giving away the raffle items like sleeping bags, coats and blankets. They did whatever she asked them to do.

4 of them were in the children's area, and just played with the kids. They painted faces, gave piggy back rides, built towers of blocks, and all those kinds of things. Then as a couple kids were leaving, they grabbed up the kids and loved on them a little bit more before they left.

The other sponsor that went was designated as security, and he just walked around and made sure things didn't get out of hand anywhere. But I'm extra thankful for him, because he took a day off his real job to help make this happen.

One of our Seniors and I cut and plated slices of pie. 2400 slices of pie, as best we can count. At one point, we couldn't plate pie fast enough to keep up with the demand. The Rescue Mission guy working next to me said "Are those people eating any food, or are they just eating pie? I think they just eating pie!" It was crazy.

But what I'm most thankful for is these kids' attitude. They hopped right in, and had a willing attitude to do whatever it took to make it work.

I'm so proud of them. And I'm proud to be a part of them. I'm proud to serve alongside them. I'm thankful that these kids are willing to serve.
K

day 22 nephews

2011-11-22T18:22:00.000-07:00

Since this is month to be thankful, and because we have so much to be thankful for, I am linking up with my friend Dawn to collectively be thankful. Let the thanking begin!

Today I am thankful for my two nephews.

This morning we all went bowling.

This is them, watching the little one's ball to see what happens.

The little one is 3 and a half years old. The big one is 7. Both of them are fun. :) Most of the time.

No, we all did have fun this morning. Though because they slept over at Nana and Pop Pop's house last night, they didn't sleep as well as they might normally, so I would say there was a little crankiness going on. But we all had fun.

I'm thankful that I get to see them on a regular basis. I'm thankful that I was the older one's regular babysitter until he was about 4. I'm thankful that they get along with each other. Actually, I think they get along with each other better than my sister and I did growing up.

I'm thankful that we can all be a family, and when they say "family", I'm a part of that.

I thankful that the older one is enrolled in my school now, so I get to see him at least twice a week, and sometimes more.

I'm thankful that we all go to church together.

I'm thankful that we have such a good relationship - two years ago the older one and I flew out to GA all by ourselves to visit my Brother-In-Law's parents (Mimi and Grandpa). He stayed with them, and I visited friends. That was a really fun trip, and he is a great traveler. Toted his own little suitcase behind him, and even did fantastic getting on and off tons of escalators. Suitcase and all.

So here's to little hands to hold, and little hugs.
K

day 21 bounty

2011-11-21T12:58:00.000-07:00

Well.

Isn't it lovely to not wake up to an alarm??? That's not my thankfulness today - I'm just sayin'...

This is the month to be thankful, so I'm linking up with my friend Dawn all month to be thankful together.

Have you ever heard a prayer? Like on a TV show, or at someone's house? You know, the one that goes something like "Lord bless these gifts that we receive out of your bounty..."

Today I'm thankful for the bounty that He has given.

I know that sounds generic, but as I look all around, I see blessings that God has bestowed on me. A couple days ago I was thankful for my shower. That's one of them. Right now I am eating a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup, and I have a meal in the crock pot for tonight. That's another. Yesterday afternoon I was in my garage spray-painting some sticks that I'm going to use for a crafty project. That's 2 right there - the garage itself, and that I have money to even DO crafty projects. I even have a freezer in my garage to hold all of my bounty. And after I'm done eating, I'm going to go downstairs and load the dishwasher so I can lazily have clean dishes. How can I NOT see all the bounty around me?

I have SO MANY things to be thankful for, so today I am thankful for all those things. God had blessed me with a job I love, a warm house, a car that runs well, a garage to keep that car in so I don't have to scrape snow, a family that loves me and gets together on a regular basis, good friends, and so much more.

In two days, I'm taking a group of awesome High Schoolers down to the Rescue Mission's Great Thanksgiving Feast. The Mission is providing a free Thanksgiving meal to anyone who wants to come. There will also be clothing given away, an area for kids to play, hygiene kits for anyone who would like one, and other things given away like sleeping bags and blankets. One year they even gave away haircuts.

As I look around me at the bounty that I enjoy, I can't help but think about those who do not enjoy those same blessings. And I know that there are people who aren't technically homeless who don't enjoy a lot of my same bounty even though they have a roof over their head.

So today I'm thankful to God for all that He has given me, and I acknowledge that all good gifts come from Him.
K

day 20 family dinner

2011-11-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

Since November is the month of Thanksgiving, I've been linking up with my friend Dawn and being thankful.

Today I'm thankful that we have family dinner.

Each Sunday, our family gets together at my Mom and Dad's house (or Nana and Pop Pop, as they are now called) and we have Sunday dinner together. This is usually after church, about 11:30am.

I'm thankful for family dinner because for a long time we didn't have family dinner. I was living 2000 miles away, and my sister and brother-in-law were in lots of different places, due to his being employed by the Air Force.

I'm thankful for family dinner because we all get to talk and hang out together. Today we talked about what we are going to do for Christmas: who's house to be at; when to get together; who to invite, etc.

I'm thankful for family dinner because I get to play with the nephews. Today I went into the bedroom with the little nephew (3 1/2 years old) and played with some blocks. We built a tower together and then knocked it down.

I'm thankful for family dinner because it is a great time to be together as a family and work together. Today I set the table, Dad made the pancakes, Brother-in-law made the poached eggs as well as doing most of the dishes, Sister and I got all the syrup and butter out, and filled the water glasses.

I'm thankful for family dinner because Mom's dining room table is the "train station" for all things that get passed around out family - some things departing, and some things arriving back.
Today I got a staple gun that I'm borrowing from Dad, Sister got a bag from me, as well as a check from Mom for some vitamins she had gotten, and Brother-in-law got some CDs. I always know that if there is anything on the table, it is my job to go look and see if any of it is for me.
Sometimes there is clothing that Mom found on sale. Sometimes there are random garage-sale finds. Sometimes there are articles that I would fine interesting. Sometimes there are books that I would enjoy reading. Sometimes there are books that I've loaned, and are now coming back to me. Sometimes not - once I loaned Mom a book, and the next weekend she put it in her garage sale. No, she didn't return it to me, she just put it out in the garage sale. Now I have to be careful to say if I want stuff back or not...

I'm grateful for all the things that make up family dinner, and how it makes our family closer.
Mostly I'm grateful for the "family" part of the family dinner, and that we all do it together.
K

day 19 the shower

2011-11-19T17:27:00.000-07:00

Since this is the month to be thankful, I'm linking up with my friend Dawn and being intentionally thankful all month.

Today, I am so thankful for my shower.

I just took a long, hot shower. It felt SO good! I'm just thankful that I have a shower, and hot water heater, and that they work so well together.

I've had lots of cold showers in my life, and lots of times that I went without a shower, thus today's gratitude for the cleanliness.

Two summers ago, I went on a mission trip with the Youth Group, and that whole week I only had 1 shower. The rest of the week we all huddled up in the driveway of the church wearing our bathing suits and washed off with a garden hose. When I was in Mexico on a mission trip about 10 years ago, I had a shower each day in the "hotel", but it wasn't warm at all. And the water pressure was kind of iffy. And for almost a whole semester in college, our water heater was broken, and they couldn't seem to keep it working. I took LOTS of cold showers then. And they were short too! Cold water sure makes the time go faster!

So today, I'm thankful for my shower. It was hot, and relaxing, and now I smell good.
I think this is a blessing that some people do not enjoy on a regular basis. So I am thankful.
K

day 18 break

2011-11-18T23:17:00.000-07:00

All this month I'm linking up with Dawn at theGoodlife to be intentionally thankful. Now I have not always been in the best of mood for the thankfulness (see here), but I am thankful for the thankfulness. I love that it really gets me thinking about how awesome I have it, and all the blessings God has given me.

Today I have many reasons to be thankful: I have wonderful bosses that let me leave school for a personal reason, as long as I make up the time. I got to go to chapel at Focus on the Family today, and hear Aaron Shust sing. He's a friend from when I was teaching college in GA, and it was nice to reconnect. In going to chapel, I got to take a break out of my day to focus on God. During the days of forced Chapel in college, I didn't really appreciate it, but now I do. I got to talk with my sister today, since her son goes to my school. I'm grateful that we get to talk, and spend time with each other often, now. That has not always been the case, so I'm thankful for our relationship.

But at the end of the day, I'm thankful for the break. You see, I'm off work all next week for Thanksgiving Break. And I am SO grateful. I was really feeling the need for a break, so this comes at a very opportune time. No Drama next week; no chorale rehearsal next week. This is a true break.

I'm grateful that God has built in these breaks, that I may prosper and love long in my bed each morning.

It makes the thankfulness for the bed all that much more timely! :)
K

day 17 my job

2011-11-17T18:31:00.000-07:00

Wow.

I just read that last post again, and I have to publicly apologize. I should have been cited for PWT - posting while tired. Maybe I should have gone to my lovely bed a few minutes earlier! :)

This is the month to be thankful for the many blessings that we enjoy, so I'm linking up with Dawn at theGooodlife and and being 30 days worth of thankful.

Yesterday, I read my friend Beth's post of thankfulness for her job - you can read it here.
Today, I'm going to pile on with her, and be thankful for my job. I really do love what I do. I adore my principal. I enjoy the ladies I work with. I really enjoy my students, and sometimes even love them. Sometimes not. :) I love that they are supportive, and that I often get some nice, girly hugs. I love that they can rise to the occasion - I've given the 6th grade some REALLY hard music, and they are really stepping up and doing a great job on it. They are embracing the challenge. I love that they make me laugh, like this.

But seriously, I really do love my job. I am blessed that since God moved me out here to CO from GA, I really love my job. Wouldn't that stink if I got all the way out here and hated it? Wouldn't you know that God would have planned something good for me? Isn't that just like Him?

Today was not my favorite day at my job, but mostly that's because we had a fire drill in the middle of the afternoon, right when classes should have changed and smack in the middle of my 5 minute potty break. Yes, I have 3 hours of class after lunch, and there is a 5 minutes potty break built in there. OK, truth be told, It isn't really CALLED a potty break, but I call it that because that's what I do in that 5 minutes each afternoon, and also because the last 2 hours are miserable if I don't.
It made this afternoon terribly chaotic, but I'm home in my jammies now, so it doesn't seem so bad at this point...

Anyway, sorry for that moment of rambling there. I really do love my job. And I'm grateful that I'm where I am. And I'm so glad that I'm not in a lot of other places.
K

day 16 my bed

2011-11-16T23:40:00.000-07:00

OK...thankful...linking up with Dawn...all that. I'm so tired that I can't type straight, or be responsibile for spelling errors.

Right now I'm thankful for my bed.

So thankful that I will be there in about 2 minutes.

So thankful, that I was thinking about my bed on the way home from rehearsal.

It has been a long day, and tomorrow is the end of a long week, so I am extra thankful for my bed tonight. I am only regretful that I can't spend more time in it.

Off to bed. Good night.
K

day 15 my team

2011-11-15T17:55:00.000-07:00

Wow! It is hard to believe that I've been thankful for half a month already! :)
I'm linking up with Dawn over at theGoodlife and being thankful all this month.

Today I'm thankful for my team. There are about 10 music teachers total at my school, but there are only 3 of us that do my exact same job. And they are my team. I'm thankful for my team. I'm thankful that I even HAVE a team.

I was saying this same thing to my principal today, because for a long time, I didn't really have a team. Yes, there were people that did my job, but because of schedule limitations we literally NEVER could get together. Now, we have built in collaboration time, and can have lunch together most fridays. It is SO NICE!

I said that I was The Lone Ranger for so many years, that it is wonderful to have a team. And he said, "And you didn't even have Tonto." That's the truth!

So today I am thankful for my team, and especially that I like my team, and that we all get along wonderfully, and that we all like working together.

Yea for teamwork!
K

day 14 a cup o' tea

2011-11-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

All this month I'm linking up with Dawn at theGoodlife, and being thankful. Even though it is for something small, I'm thankful.

Today I'm thankful for a cup of tea.

Mondays are a long day for me, mostly because I have several piano lessons after school. By the time I get to Erin's house, I'm tired. And I'm not finished.

But for the past couple weeks, she has made me a cup of hot tea. And she has a friend that is a beekeeper, so she adds fresh, local honey. It makes it just that much better.

It is so nice to relax with a cup of hot tea. Yes, I'm still teaching a piano lesson, but that tea is such a blessing.

So for today, I'm thankful for a cup of tea.

What are you thankful for?
K

day 13 listening

2011-11-14T13:27:00.000-07:00

I'm linking up with my friend Dawn at theGoodlife, and being thankful all this month. And it's been fun! Head over there to see what everybody is thankful for.

Tonight I was at Youth Group, and one of the questions I asked my small group of girls was "when was a time you responded to a 'nudge' from God?"

After they shared, I shared with them about this student I have had some difficulties with in the past. I told them about how one day I was working with that class, and I thought to myself that I needed to really give him a new chance every day. That every day is a new beginning, and so I should grant him a new beginning each day.

And then God spoke to me, like he leaned down an audibly said in my ear "Like I do for you."

Wow.

He does, you know. Every day, God looks on me and give me another chance, another do-over, a brand new day. He never holds stuff against me. He never holds a grudge. He never looks at me and sees the stuff that I've done wrong in the past.

And that's what I need to do for this student.

So this is what I'm thankful for today: that God still speaks to me.
And that I have ears to listen.
K

day 12 and a good friend

2011-11-12T12:38:00.000-07:00

I'm linking up with my friend Dawn for our 30 Thankful Days. What are you thankful for?

Today I'm thankful for my friend Jenn. Last night we went out to dinner and then went to a movie. It was just a fun time, and I am grateful that we could just hang out together as friends. I'm grateful that she loves Jesus, and teaches at my same school. Jenn got married last year, but I'm grateful that we still can hang out together.

Nothing deep or extra-meaningful here, just simple gratitude for a good friendship. :)
K

day 11 with a ceremony

2011-11-12T12:27:00.005-07:00

Today, as with most days this month (hopefully!), I am linking up with Dawn at theGoodlife to be intentionally thankful. Head over there to see what thankfulness is going around!

Today I am thankful for my school, and that they intentionally make a big deal out of Veteran's Day.

Today I went up to our North campus for the Veteran's Day assembly. As part of my job, I went because my 6th graders sang God Bless America, and I had to be there to direct them. Which, actually I love. All of the 6th graders from all of the campuses sang together, and it was great. Great experience for them, and it sounded great as well.

But, I'm not thankful for our little 6th grade performance. Nor am I thankful for the 5th grade's recitation of the Gettysburg Address. Nor the singing of the Star Spangled Banner, though it was a lovely 4-part version sung by the women's choir.

I am thankful that this assembly is such a big deal altogether, and there is so much put into it. I'm thankful that the MC explained to the crowd what to do at the presentation of the colors, and why. I'm thankful that he asked the kids to be silent during the playing of Taps, and then explained why that is important. I'm thankful that they got such an interesting and engaging speaker, and that during his talk all the students were quiet and listening intently.

Yes, I wish I had brought a tissue. Yes, it was moving and a very respectful tribute to our Veterans. But I'm thankful for the effect in our students, and that it educates them on the importance of the sacrifices our Veterans made so we can enjoy our freedom. I'm thankful that this assembly is intentional in bringing our students in on the gravitas of a Veteran's decision to serve our country, and how we should show our respect for that.

I'm grateful that the next generation is learning how important Veterans are. And how important it is for us "regular" people to be thankful for their service.
K

day 10 and a laugh

2011-11-10T20:56:00.000-07:00

I have been really enjoying the thankfulness so far this month. I'm thinking about it more, and that means that I'm more aware of the blessings in my life. Thanks to my friend Dawn for the thankfulness challenge.

Today I'm thankful for a laugh. Specifically I'm thankful for a joke that one of my students told me. Not so much for the actual joke, though it IS funny.

I'm thankful that this particular student told me the joke, because we have not always gotten along. He doesn't like music class, and I'm fine with that. I don't like algebra. But I often have to talk to him because he will make fun of the songs we are singing, or refuse to participate. The bottom line is that we have had a rocky relationship for the past couple years.

But today he told me a joke. And it made me laugh out loud. I actually threw my head back and laughed. I'm grateful that he told me the joke, and that I honestly thought it was funny. I'm praying that this is a crack in the glacier that has been our past couple years.

So my thankfulness today is for that joke. And the smiles that came after it.

Oh yeah - the joke?

"What is the most common sound a pig makes?"

(Insert various guesses here: oink, squeal...)

...

Answer: "Sizzle"

K :)

day 9 with music

2011-11-09T23:17:00.000-07:00

My friend Dawn is hosting 30 Thankful Days, and I have been trying to be intentionally thankful all this month. Hop on over to there to see what she's thankful for.

Today I am thankful for music. For Beethoven. For John Rutter. For the Beatles.

Earlier today I was listening to the Beatles, and it cheered me up. It made me happy, and uplifted my spirit. Then in second grade, I was teaching about Bach, and one of those little guys came up to me as class was ending and said, "Teacher, you must really love a lot of different kinds of music."

I smiled, nodded, and whispered, "Yes, I really do."

He paused, then said, "More than a thousand?"

And I nodded again. And smiled about it for the rest of the day.

Tonight I had rehearsal, and we sang through the first 2 movements of the Beethoven Mass in C (written in 1807). As we sang and sang, I was thinking about how much I enjoy singing Beethoven, and how happy it made me feel. I should know, because I have sung the Beethoven's 9th Symphony Finale several times. I think it is 4 total, but I've lost count. Usually when I teach it to my kids, I sing a few phrases of the German,and they are impressed, even though my German pronounciation is not impressive. :)
Then we sang through the Gloria by John Rutter. This is also a piece that I love to sing. It makes me happy, and usually gets stuck in my head for the next few days. Had to sing it a little as I typed that...

As I sat in rehearsal singing, I should have been thinking about the music, but instead I thought how all those different musics made me so happy, and how lucky I am to have sung so many pieces. So many different, interesting, fun, happy, challenging, and epic pieces.

Including school and rehearsal, I think I've sung for over 5 hours today. So I'm tired and going to bed. But here's to God's great gift of music. The thing that makes me excited to get up tomorrow and do it all again.
K

day 8 with friends

2011-11-08T22:20:00.000-07:00

My friend Dawn is hosting 30 Thankful Days, and I am making an effort to be intentionally thankful each day this month. Thanks to Dawn and her encouragement, without which I probably would be thankful, but not motivated to write it down each day. :)

Today I am thankful for friends. Especially new friends.

For the past 7-8 months, I have been involved in the Drama Team at church. I originally got invovlved on a whim, but found that I really enjoyed doing the skits, and even the practice was fun. So I stayed. Tonight, instead of our usual drama practice, we had a party. A get-together.

It really was fun, and I had a fantastic time hanging out with these people from the Drama Team. We don't usually hang out together, with the exception of Tyler who is a fellow Youth Group sponsor - one of the great people I wrote about yesterday. But tonight we did. Just hang out, that is. And it was fun!

I really did enjoy getting to know these people better, and I am thankful for the new friendships that we have formed.

I consider myself to be a pretty friendly person. I can talk to people easily, I'm not nervous in a group of people I don't know, I get along with most anyone. And yet...

I don't think I have a lot of friends. Well, I have Jenn, but I'm going to be thankful for her another day, when I can write a LOT more! :) But as I ate and fellowshipped and talked with my new friends tonight, I was grateful for a truly good group of people, and the fun we had together. I realize that I have many good people in my life.
That my life is not the sum of the things I've done, but the total of the quality relationships I have.

People, not accomplishments or things.
K

day 7 in youth group

2011-11-07T21:55:00.000-07:00

Today I want to be thankful for my fellow Youth Group sponsors. I have been working with the Youth at my church for about 7 years now. Like anything, I don't love it all the time, but most of the time it is great. Last night at youth group, we were playing a game of pictionary. In the middle of that chaos, I realized how much I enjoy hanging out with them. Yes, the kids. But also the other sponsors.

Even though a lot of things have changed in the past 7 years, there are 3 of us sponsors that have been there for that whole time. And even though we have had different youth pastors, I am so blessed to truly like each one of them and enjoy serving alongside them.

The kids grow up. They graduate. They go off to college. Yet, here we are. Still growing along with the kids we have now. Still taking advantage of our time together to learn more about Jesus and to be more like Him.

You'd think that I'd have an advantage, what with all the time I've spent in Youth Group. But, no. I'm still learning. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
K

day 6 an hour later

2011-11-06T22:08:00.000-07:00

OK, today is an easy one. I am SOOOO thankful for the extra hour of sleep last night. I headed off to bed, then almost jumped up and down when I remembered that I hadn't changed my clock, and it was actually an hour earlier. What a lovely thing, to get an extra hour of sleep!

I hadn't changed any of my clocks, but I did change the one next to my bed, and that's the one that matters because it's the one that gets me up in the morning!

Going back to standard time is like a snow day. It's "found time". Time I didn't plan on having to myself. Time that otherwise would be spent on other stuff, like cleaning, doing laundry, working around the house. If I had remembered the time change, I probably would have planned out how to use the time more efficiently. Or, I would have stayed up later to "use" that time.

But no, it was a gift. It was a beautiful hour that was given almost as an afterthought.
But I am grateful.
K

day 5 in my house

2011-11-05T17:31:00.000-06:00

No introduction today - I'm getting right to the the thankful.

I am thankful for my warm, cozy house. Outside the wind is blowing, it is intermittently raining, and the weather is just not good. Last Wednesday we had a blizzard situation which resulted in a snow day. In both times, I am thankful for my warm and cozy house. I am thankful that I don't have to be out in the weather. I'm thankful that I am in a position where I don't need to go to the soup kitchen for a meal. I am thankful that my washer and dryer are right next to my bedroom, and I can easily be clean.

Last week I read "Land of the Lost Souls" by Cadillac Man. It is his story of living on the streets of New York. After reading that book, and his "adventures", I am so grateful that I am not in that situation, even though there are lots of people who are.

There but for the grace of God, go I.

I think I was meant to read that book in order to give it to a friend of mine. Her brother is homeless, and living on the streets. He is dealing with mental health issues, as well as legal ones. He has had people steal his belongings, meager though they might be. When I read that book, I immediately thought of this friend who is walking the line between wanting to help her brother, but not allowing him into her home for the safety of her small children. She is torn between trying to help him get into transitional housing, and letting him stay where he wants to be, which is on the streets. My heart breaks for her, and for the help that she wants to be but that he won't accept.

After reading this book and looking out the window at the stormy skies, I am very thankful for my house.
And I'm looking forward to going to the Springs Rescue Mission's Great Thanksgiving Feast. Maybe there I can look upon someone who IS in that same situation, and make them feel like the most special person in the world. Because that's how Jesus sees them.
K

days 3 and 4

2011-11-04T09:54:00.001-06:00

Today I am going to be thankful for yesterday and today all rolled into one. Don't get me wrong - I was actually thankful yesterday, I just didn't get a chance to write it down. Thanks to my friend Dawn, and her spurring me on to be thankful, and to be deliberate about it. If it weren't for her, I probably wouldn't be making the effort.

Day 3

Yesterday I was thankful for my second graders.

I know this might come as a shock to you , but I am not always thankful for my students. :)

Sometimes, they get on my nerves, and I have trouble being patient with them. But yesterday, my 2nd graders were singing. I was teaching them a bunch of songs to go along with their Westward Expansion unit that their teachers will do soon. Home on the Range was a hit with one of them, as I noted here.

So we sang.

We started with the song they had learned most recently, The Erie Canal. Then we sang through all the others in a random order. Some of those featured were: Clementine, Goodbye Old Paint, Old Dan Tucker (cheering and clapping when I pulled that one out), Home on the Range, I've Been Working on the Railroad, and Casey Jones.

What I loved about these 2nd graders is that they sang with gusto. They sang with everything they had. They sang like they meant it. And the singing was not always the best, or always on key, but they had so much enthusiasm that it made me actually smile. Several times. They sang their little 2nd grade hearts out.

For a moment, I saw the unfiltered joy that comes when you can sing with everything you have, and not be concerned about who is listening, or how they might be judging you.

We all need to do this kind of singing more often - it's good for the soul.

Day 4

Today I am thankful for Becky.

Becky is another music teacher at my school. She and I have the same job, but at different campuses. My school has 3 elementary campuses, and a Jr. High, and a High School. There are only 3 people in the whole place that have my same job, and Becky is one of them. She came over today to borrow a Guiro because she needs it for her upcoming concert. But that's not why I am thankful.

She sat and talked for awhile, and shared some things that are going on in her family. And we talked about some changes coming in our school. And I'd like to think that we solved all the world's problems. Actually we only made each other feel better about our own problems, but isn't that what friends are for? I'm thankful for her friendship, and that we can pray for each other. I'm thankful that we care for each other, and don't just have a surface-y relationship that is thrown together because we happen to be working at the same place at the same time.

We truly are good friends, and for that I am thankful.
Here's to God's gifts to us, especially in the realm of friendship.
K

november

2011-11-02T11:55:00.000-06:00

Not to be Captain Obvious, but it is November! Are you as bowled over as I am??? I know I say this every year, but this year has just flown by.

My friend, Dawn, is hosting 30 Thankful Days, and I want to be a part. You can check out her blog here.

Usually I write whenever I have something to say or when the whim hits me. But I am going to make a concerted effort to write much more this month and to find things to be thankful for. So buckle up, and let the thankfulness begin!

Today is easy - I am SOOOOO thankful it is a snow day! Yesterday I was exhausted, and as I dragged myself home, I did wish in my heart that we would have a snow day, or at least a 2-hour delay. But then I said to myself, "There is no way we will have a snow day. Last week 'they' said we would, and there was NOTHING. So, I'll believe it when I see it.". Aren't you glad you tuned in for that riveting inner monologue??? :)

Anyway, I was THRILLED to turn off the alarm and sleep for an extra 2 hours. What a blessing!

I will always be thankful for those little unexpected gifts of time that come in the form of a snow day. It is so nice of God to send the weather so I can rest and rejuvenate!

What are you thankful for?
K

the non-snow day

2011-10-26T18:33:00.000-06:00

Well.

Today was quite possibly one of the most disappointing days in a very long time.

We did NOT have a snow day.

Now, if you had watched the news in the past week, you would have thought that not only would we have a snow day, but maybe more. The dire predictions of the snow were not to be ignored. The flashy graphics on the weather segment spelled out exactly how many inches of accumulation everyone would get. The anchors this morning wondered why they had not heard from several school districts in the area. And wouldn't you know...NOTHING!

Yes, some districts had a 2-hour delay. And one up in the mountains was CLOSED today. Did we have a delay? Did we have a snow day? NO!
I'm still a little bitter...

I just wish the newsies would realize how much the disappointment hurts after you get all psyched up to be off school for the day. It's painful.

So here's to more accurate weather forecasting...
K

where has the courtesy gone?

2011-10-21T19:51:00.000-06:00

I witnessed the saddest thing today. I went to pick up some dinner, and was standing off to the side waiting for part of my order to be ready. I stood there and watched several people pay, and then sit down to eat. One of these ladies paid for a bottle of seasoning to take home and then proceeded to walk off with her dinner, leaving that bottle behind. The cashier kindly said something, but the customer didn't hear her. After a minute, the cashier had a break between customers, and so she picked up the forgotten bottle of seasoning and dashed out to the ladies table and delivered it to her. The lady's response:

"Oh. My bottle."

No "thank you", not even a "thanks". I watched her for a minute, waiting to see if she realized what she'd done and then maybe she would say thank you to the cashier that went out of her way to bring her the bottle. Nope. She continued right on with her conversation.

How sad is that???

I just shook my head. I thought about saying something to the lady, but she was with her whole family and I didn't want to cause a scene. But if I ever do that, I hope someone calls me on it.

What has this world come to?
K

home on the range

2011-10-18T13:53:00.001-06:00

Today, I was teaching my 2nd graders the song "Home on the Range". Nothing new there - as an Elementary Music teacher I get to do this all the time. In fact, I have big lists of songs to teach each different grade level.

Anyway, We finished singing "Home on the Range", and one of the little guys looked up at me and said:
"I think that is a really excellent song."

He he - they make me giggle sometimes!

You should come hang out in elementary with me sometimes - we have lots of fun!
K

fall color

2011-10-16T15:22:00.000-06:00

This weekend I went up into the mountains. It was about a 2 hour drive from home, and even though the trees are starting to drop their beautiful leaves, some of the scenes were amazing.

Here are a couple pictures:

The Arkansas River

Old railroad tunnels, north of Buena Vista, CO

North of Buena Vista, CO

Cottonwood Lake


Family rockskipping championships at Cottonwood Lake!

Howard, CO; taken on the drive home

It was a great family weekend.Very relaxing, and lots of fun playing with the nephews. A fine way to end Fall Break, if I do say so myself! Thanks for stopping by.
K

seasons

2011-10-08T19:32:00.000-06:00

Well, the change is coming.

No, not THAT change, but I guess it would be accurate to say that it is coming too. Just not right now...

What I am referring to is the change of seasons. For the past month, I have had my heating and A/C system turned off. It was cool at night, and I just opened the window and enjoyed the fresh, cool, night air. Before that, I had the A/C on. Granted, it didn't run a lot, but it was on. And sometimes when I came home from school all hot and bothered, you can bet that I cranked on that "down" button to cool my house off.

But now, the change is coming.

Today my friend Dianne posted this picture on Facebook, and I stole it. But I AM giving her credit, and it is a great representation of what everything looked like today. Dianne's backyard:

Now today is October 8, and it pretty much snowed all day. It didn't snow hard, but it did snow.

...

I have mixed feelings about the snow.

I love that everything looks so fresh and new. I love that the weather is cooling off, and that even though it will warm back up, the heat of the summer is gone. God Bless America, I am SO ready to not wear summer clothes to school. But this is a mixed blessing, because now Mr. Bob will turn on the heater. My school has an old-fashioned boiler to heat the school, and it really does a good job. Often times, TOO good of a job. And then sometimes the (insert name of mechanical part here) will stick open and oh my word the heat. I have learned to never wear sweaters to school, because it may mean being stuck in a HOT room with 20 kids and an over-working heater while wearing a long sleeved sweater.

I bet that's what hell will be like...

But I am looking forward to being cozy inside,while it is all blustery and snowy outside. THAT is my favorite part of fall and winter.

So, here it comes people. Get out your snow boots, snow shovels, emergency car kits, and gloves.
Get out there and make a snowman! Throw some snowballs! Drink some hot chocolate!
K

invisible

2011-09-28T21:23:00.001-06:00

The other day I had the weirdest experience. I went to my local Subway to get dinner. So I walked in, and stood behind the father and son that were in the process of having their sandwiches made.

There was only one person at the counter, so I just stood there.

Then a different guy came out from the back and rang up the father and son. Then he went back into the back room. I figured at that point he was in charge, and had some big, important job to do in the "back".

So I stood there.

And I do want to take this opportunity to pat myself on the back - I was pretty patient. I didn't try to look like I was in a hurry. I didn't sigh, fold my arms, or tap my foot. I just stood there.

At this point, a couple walked in the store, and got in line behind me. And we all stood there.

Then, in a truly surreal moment, the guy from the "back" came out to the counter. He walked up to the couple behind me, that just walked in, and asked what he could start for them.

As I continued to stand there, I was a little bit incredulous that he didn't even acknowledge me, and started their sandwiches.

I looked at him, then looked at them. I looked back at him, then at them.

At this point, there was an entire inner-dialogue that I won't bore you with, but it did involve a selection of words, and whether I should say them...And I didn't say any of them. I'm SO proud of myself. :)

Suddenly, the guy at the counter looked right at me, and asked "are you with them?" Meaning, the father and son that were leaving, and at this point standing about 20 feet away from me. I answered "nope". And he proceeded to apologize profusely for not helping me. Everything ended up fine, and all's well that ends well.

This whole episode got me to thinking. At certain points in our country's history, there were entire groups of people that were treated the exact same way that I was. They were invisible.

Even today, people that don't fit into our same social groups or in our same social-economic group, sometimes they are invisible. It made me think about if I've ever walked downtown and treated a homeless person as if they are invisible. Then it made me think about if I've ever treated ANYONE else as if they are invisible, for any reason.

I'm sad to say that I'm sure I have at some point or another.

I have vowed to take this encounter with invisibility, and make it ensure that I never treat anyone else as invisible. No matter what.

Here's to being blind to status and anything else that we use to judge others.
K

moon cake

2011-09-17T18:48:00.001-06:00

This is a moon cake.

I teach piano to a 76 year-old Vietnamese man.

Today he gave me a moon cake. And he told me to eat it with my mom.

...

I've got to be honest, I really do not know the significance of the moon cake. And, since the wrapper is totally written in Vietnamese, except for "moon cake", I can't even find out.

I do know that on August 15th, Vietnam has a Fall Festival, and it is an almost universal holiday to celebrate the past successful harvesting season. People chip-in offerings, and families gather together to celebrate. I just learned this from Vietnam Online. :)

So I'm guessing that his gift of moon cake is a celebration of Fall festival. But really the amazing thing in this story is that he is still excited to learn. We have a lesson every week, and he almost never misses. Except last week, because he was in the hospital. HOSPITAL!

But, this week we were back at it, counting out rhythms, and learning new musical terms like triplet.

I can only hope that I am as dedicated to something, and determined to excel at it when I am 76.
K

UPDATE: My roommate from college just posted on my Facebook page about the moon cake. She is an English teacher living in China now, but she did live and work in Vietnam for 8 years. She says:

"I just peeked at your blog and saw the part about the mooncake. Yummy lard. :) I'm not so fond of the preserved egg in the middle, but I like the lotus paste. The legend is that a mortal woman offended the gods by desecrating a banyan tree. It grew up around her, pushing her up to the moon and leaving her there as punishment. Children light lanterns every mid-autumn festival to light her way home."

Thanks Kim for the firsthand knowledge and cultural information. It makes that lard taste so much better! :)

another reason why I love my dad

2011-09-10T18:15:00.000-06:00

After graduating from the University of Georgia and living in Athens, GA for 10 years, I am still a huge GA football fan. Today I had some things I had to do and since I don't get ESPN at my house, I wasn't able to watch the game. UGA is playing South Carolina, and Dad is texting me updates on the game.For example:

SC drives for a TD. 38-35. 3:30 to go.

Hold on. Murray throws a 40 yd TD! 45-42. 2:15 to go.

These are the texts I'm getting as Dad is watching the game, and keeping me up to the second on all the big plays. As much as I'm saying "Go Dawgs!", I'm saying "Thanks Dad for taking the time to text me all the big drives and scores".

He's a great dad, but this just puts him over the top.
Thanks Dad!
K

adventurous saturday

2011-08-27T21:55:00.000-06:00

Wow! Today was about as much adventure as I would want to have on a Saturday. A fun day overall, but definitely not an everyday thing.

First, I slept in this morning. It was my reward for surviving the first full week at school. And the week was good, but I needed the rest.

Then I met my friend Jenn for breakfast. We went to the North End Diner and the biscuits and gravy were AWESOME! We both had the biscuits and gravy platter, and oh my word I cannot say enough good things about it.

Then I went over to the hockey rink, because the older nephew (7 years old) was playing in an in-line hockey tournament today. It was a pretty big deal to him, so I wanted to watch at least one of his games. Here he is at a face off:

And then, because I was taking pictures of the older nephew, the younger nephew (3 years old) wanted me to take a picture of him. Here HE is:

Thank you for that.

Then I watched some more hockey.

This was the view for a good bit of today. I think we might have to have a talk about finding some more "gettin' up and goin'" after the puck...

After that game I left the arena and was going to go home, but I called Mom and she said her vet's office was having a big open house, and the little nephew was in the bounce house. This was not to far from my house, so I stopped by.

There were HUGE iguanas there:

And there were snakes. Nana was NOT to thrilled about the snakes, but little nephew and I got right up close and he petted the "fat" yellow snake (a Burmese Python, for any of you who were wondering):

And then they got him all dressed up in a surgery suit - exactly what they wear to do surgeries:

And then he got to do a surgery on a teddy bear:

Someone needs to have a talk with that teddy bear - nephew pulled 2 balloons, a screw, and a nail out if his tummy!

After that Nana took nephew back out to the bounce house, but I had to head home and take a nap - this day wore me out! There's nothing quite like a day with family.

K :)
PS. I want to have a scrub suit like that...

laughter

2011-08-22T18:42:00.001-06:00

This weekend, I laughed.

Not just laughed, but laughed until I cried, and couldn't breathe, and had tears streaming down my face.

The most memorable time was while listening to Car Talk - the NPR program featuring Tom and Ray Magliozzi answering questions about cars. But the guys like to laugh, and laugh they did. One of them was reading a "Washington Post Invitation-style thing", where readers were invited to propose ways to make modern life harder than it needs to be.

I don't remember all of them, but here's a couple:

Replace the computer mouse with two Etch-a-Sketch knobs.
Drive-on-the-left-side-of-the-road Thursday.
ATMs require a urine specimen.
All pills must be suppositories.
Bicycle-pedaled flush toilets.
Sell tires only in multiples of seven.
HOV use now requires three humans, a dog and a family of chickens.

Well.

The one about the ATM got me really laughing, but the one about the HOV lane really got the guys laughing. And then they got to laughing so hard that they couldn't even talk to each other. Not great news for a RADIO show.

Then one of them started making a high-pitched wheez-y noise as he gasped for breath. And then that noise got me laughing even harder.

Finally, I had to pull over to the side of the road, and turn off the radio just to be able to breathe again.

...

I'm chuckling right now, just remembering it.

Well I said all that to say this: It sure feels good to laugh. To laugh deep, and to laugh long, and sometimes to have a hard time stopping the laughter. My mom says that good laughter is like aerobics for your heart.
In that case, I am SO heart healthy...

Here's to good laughter.
K

friendship

2011-08-12T21:49:00.000-06:00

I am going to take this opportunity to be thankful for my friend, Beth. She writes a blog too, and you can read it here. But today is to say how much I appreciate Beth.

We got together this week for coffee, and just talked. Not unusual for us, but the last time we did this was...

...

...

a year ago??? It's hard to believe that we haven't really spent too much time together in a year. Wow.

But, that's one of the things that I like about Beth. No, not that we don't spend time together, silly! It's that whenever we DO spend time together it is like we do it all the time. I appreciate her candor, and I know that if she thinks I'm off on something she will tell me. And we are real.

I think that this is the definition of a true friend. That you can not have to be together all the time,and still be real with one another. That you enjoy spending time together, whether it is on a regular basis, or on a MUCH more occasional basis than regular. That you can feel free to admit to your shortcomings, or struggles, and be secure that you will be corrected but still loved and comforted.

Thanks for the coffee, Beth, and let's do it again. Soon!
K

high drama

2011-08-02T17:09:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I went to an opera. To be fair, as a music teacher it's kind of in my job description. But this time was not for me, but to support one of my students. She is in a summer intensive and the performance yesterday morning was the culmination of their work composing, writing, rehearsing and performing. It really was a great performance, and I enjoyed it very much. Then, to finish out the camp, they all go to the opera. I've gone before, and my student's mom loved having someone along to enjoy the student performances and the opera with her. It's nice to go with someone who is relishing it as much as yourself.

We saw "Carmen", and it was performed by the Central City Opera. It was fabulous!!! I can't say enough great things about the fantastic performance. Here's a picture, courtesy of the Central City Opera website:

Carmen: Central City Opera, 2011. Photo by Mark Kiryluk

Playing the role of Carmen was Kirstin Chavez, and playing the role of Don Jose was Jon Burton. These are the people in the above picture. They were FANTASTIC! The whole performance was amazing. Even though I have been in 3 operas and have attended several more, this was outstanding, and possibly one of the best. Oh, the DRAMA!

And, considering that Carmen was written in 1873 and first performed in 1875, it amazes me that the stories and lessons learned are still applicable today. Relationships haven't changed a whole lot since then. Carmen is a story about two people and the course their relationship takes. There are good times, but there are rough times too, and (spoiler alert!) even love is not able to overcome all, because Carmen is killed in the end.

I was moved, and very impressed by the stellar performances put on by the entire cast. Central City did a wonderful job, and I would highly recommend their opera season to anyone who is so inclined to be taken on a fascinating journey.
K

vacation

2011-07-29T12:15:00.001-06:00

So, I just got back from California.

It was a lovely trip, and sunburn notwithstanding, I'm not sure how it could have been better.

Mom and Dad at Moss Landing State Beach

We started on the the coast, a little bit south of San Francisco. Moss Landing is between Santa Cruz and Monterey. It's right on the water, and fishing is BIG business here. Maybe that's why the food at our lunch spot was so good. We ate at Phil's Fish Market, and oh my land I could eat there everyday. They WON Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and I think we all know why. I would fly out there now, just to eat there again.

Phil's Fish Market: hard to find, but easy to eat their awesome food.

The next day we went to San Francisco. And we outdid ourselves on the tourist agenda. Not to mention we took my Auntie Carolyn with us. Carolyn is 80, but she's incredibly fun to be around. I had a great day seeing the sights, and hanging out with her.

Dad, Auntie Carolyn, and Mom at Pier 39

We went to Pier 39, ate Chowder in a Sourdough Bread bowl, and the took a driving tour around the city.

The Golden Gate bridge, socked in by fog.

We went over to the ocean, and the Cliff House. From there I could look down the coast where the boardwalk used to be. Now, it's all been developed into housing.

Where the ocean meets the city of San Francisco.

Then my dad drove us up over Twin Peaks, and because the fog had started to burn off we could see the whole city.

San Francisco, as seen from Twin Peaks.

San Francisco

Then we drove through the city, and after some shopping we drove down Lombard St.

The Cable Car that was dropping people off at the top of Lombard.

Going down Lombard: the crookedest street in America.

What a great day!

The next day we took a drive through the Napa valley, and saw all the vineyards and wineries. It was beautiful, and a relaxing day for everyone except Dad, because he drove. :)

Since our time in the bay area was done, we drove up the coast to Mendocino. Even though there was a music festival going on, we had a nice time walking around the town and looking at all the little shops there.

Mendocino coastline

Then we drove a little bit more, and stayed in Ft. Bragg for the next day. On the north coast it was gray and overcast, but that made the weather really cool and nice. It was a welcome change from the heat of the Napa Valley the day before.

The rocky beaches of Ft. Bragg.

We didn't do much in Ft. Bragg. We looked around the town, slept in, and Mom and I went hunting Sea Glass down at Glass Beach. Here's Mom with her treasures, coming back over the "difficult access".

And here's me, in front of the rocks and water.

And a fun time was had by all. :)
K

wedding

2011-07-15T16:21:00.000-06:00

Hanna dancing with her Dad, my Uncle Mike.

Yesterday I went to a wedding.

My Mom's brother, Uncle Mike, married off his oldest daughter. And it actually was his first child to get married.

We all had a lovely time, and the two little boys were very well behaved.

My nephew Noah, dancing with Bernadette.

Hanna talking with my Dad.

In the past, there has been some family drama. (Isn't there always???) But yesterday was lovely. Everybody had a great time, everybody got along, and everybody had a great time with the rest of the family.

The Bride and Groom: Hanna and Louis.

Now, look at this next picture, and tell me that Hanna and my sister don't look like they could be sisters themselves. It's shocking!!! Angie and I look nothing alike, yet Angie and her cousin look SO much alike it is crazy. As Uncle Mike said, "It's all in the Genes."

Hanna and Louis with my sister.

Mary and Drew dancing. (He's the 3 year-old!)

My two nephews, dancing with their cousins, the bride's sisters.

I asked Noah (the 7 year-old) if he had a good time at the wedding yesterday. His response?
"Yes. It was really fun. (pause) Especially the dancing."

And a good time was had by all.
K :)

Lincoln, Nebraska

2011-07-12T15:15:00.000-06:00

Where has the summer gone???

This is the big news of the summer so far:
2 weeks ago, about 70 of us hopped in several identical 12-passenger vans and went to Lincoln, Nebraska. There is a baby church there, and our church here in the springs wanted to support them. So, we went and did our WHOLE Vacation Bible Experience (VBX) at their church. And, we had about 6 or 8 guys that did construction or repair work around their church while the rest of us did VBX.
It was really a great week.

There were about 140 kids total that came, and only about 25 or 30 of those are affiliated with their church in Lincoln, so the rest came from the neighborhoods and community centers around there. There were 50 kids that made a decision for Christ that week, so that in itself was worth the trip. My mom went, and helped with the cooking, and it was fun to have her there, even though we only saw each other about 5 minutes a day.

Painting

Getting ready for VBX

Construction on the ceiling of their Gym

Evening service with our group, me playing the drum

Group Picture!

I had a fantastic trip, and I'm glad we went. It was worth it to encourage the Lincoln church, and most of all to see lots of lives changed for Christ.

dad

2011-06-15T20:42:00.000-06:00

So, I guess I've been on a "break".

I wasn't really meaning to, but school ended with me being sick and then after getting over that for a week or two it was time for VBX and I've been working that like crazy this week. Next week we pack and get ready, for the next week where we take the whole kit-and-kaboodle to Lincoln, Nebraska to put it on at a church plant there. It will be a great trip (my MOM is going!) but will cause some work nonetheless.

Anyway, sorry I've been away. I didn't mean to ignore you, but I didn't want to cough in your face...

:)

OK, now for the real topic of discussion today. My dad is awesome.

I know, I know, Father's Day is coming up, and we SHOULD be talking about Dad and how great he is. Except that my dad really is.
Here's a picture:

This is Dad and Mom at The Broadmoor on their 40th anniversary. Isn't that tender, that they've been married forever? You may recall that we might or might not be allowed back at the Broadmoor, due to an unfortunate incident in the ladies. I wrote about it here. If you click on it, get a tissue because it is FUNNY.

One thing I love about my dad is that he did such a great job of raising 2 girls. I truly believe that a lot of the good qualities I have come from my dad. From his great example, his patient correction, his teaching me to drive a stick, to everything else.

This picture is of my sister (on the right) and myself (on the left) when we were young. We both turned out pretty great, if I do say so myself.

I used to live a ways away from my family, and for 14 years I only saw them once or twice a year. But now I live in the same town, and I consider that a blessing. We belong to the same church, and we have family lunch on most Sundays. This last Christmas we went up to the mountains for a week of together-ness. That might have been a bit much, but we all still love each other. And more importantly, we still talk to each other.

This picture is my dad in his natural habitat: with the dog on his lap.

Just wanted to say how much I love you dad,and what a fantastic dad you are.

Thank you,
K

the hair dryer

2011-06-05T14:21:00.000-06:00

I would just like to take a moment and say that I am not really looking forward to the weather this summer. For the past week, it has been really dry, and kind-of hot here. But, this is only the first week of June, and the "summer" hasn't officially even started yet. What is it going to be like in the middle of July?

I am not looking forward to living in a hair dryer this summer. I'm going to start doing a rain dance right now...
K

tower of blocks

2011-05-29T18:50:00.000-06:00

When my oldest nephew was about 3, his favorite thing to do was to build a huge tower of building blocks (taller than him!) and then knock it down. Now, he could build the tower, or you could build the tower, but he was going to be the one knocking it down! For a few years I was his regular babysitter, so I built lots of these block towers, and then picked then up again. But this could go on forever. He never tired of knocking down that tower, and watching it fall all over the floor.

Recently I have felt like I was under that tower as it fell all over me. Like everything came crashing down. Now, don't get concerned. I'm no heading off to Nepal to find myself, nor am I going on the "eat, pray, love" tour. But I do feel like I've been toppled over.

I think that the end of school, and having more on my plate than usual at work, and then getting really sick, and feeling obliged to go to the graduation parties and graduation ceremonies of all my graduating seniors in Youth Group has put a little pressure on. But, I've missed a bunch of that because I got a nasty cold that almost immediately turned into bronchitis. On Friday I should have been at our school's graduation, but I was at the doctor. Today I have 2 grad parties that I really want to go to, but I'm home taking my inhaler.

Really, there's no happy ending here. I'm sick and have to deal with it. I have missed several obligations, and still have work to do at school, but life goes on. I guess the end of this story is that I have to crawl out from under these blocks and go on.

And I will.

Thanks for listening...
K

spider

2011-05-19T21:34:00.000-06:00

Today in my class:
Student: (while I was speaking) There's a spider!
Me: Go get it!
Student: (brave 6th grade boy) OK, what should I do with it?
Me: STEP ON IT!!! (much volume)
Him: OK, I've got it. Wait...it's still moving.
Me: STEP ON IT AGAIN!!!!! (more volume)
Him: OK, it's dead. Now what do I do?
Me: (Much less volume) Go get, like, 12 Kleenex and pick it up. Then throw it in the trash. But, please make sure it is dead first.

Oh if you could have been there... you would have laughed SO hard at me.

I'm just sayin'...
K

performances

2011-05-08T20:27:00.000-06:00

Today I went to a concert. It was the spring concert of a youth orchestra here in town. Several of my students play in this group and had invited me to come listen.

I really enjoyed it. The music was great, and the kids did a fantastic job playing. Now it was not perfect, and in fact, it was far from it. There were notes that were missed. There were people who played out of tune. There were wrong rhythms.

But, the important thing, the thing that made me smile was not the correct-ness of the notes, or the percentage of playing that was in tune. It was the fact that these kids were doing it! They had practiced, they had worked on the music, they had worked together, and now they were performing.

The thing that makes music special is that very thing - the doing of it that bring us together as people. It's the thing that leads us into a relationship with others. It's the working together. It's the cooperation we find in each measure that makes those performances special.

May you find, or continue in, something that gives you that same experience. The practice, the cooperation, the rehearsal, the performance.

Way to go PYO! Great job today!
K

the changing of the guard

2011-04-29T10:43:00.000-06:00

Today is the big wedding. William and Kate got married this morning, with all the pomp and circumstance that an occasion like this requires. This morning I did not get up at 2am to watch said event, but I do remember getting up with my Mom 30 years ago to watch Diana and Charles get married. If it didn't involve that special 2am time, I probably would have gotten up to see at least some of it, but I am pooped. Just could not make it out of bed that early, and still work today.

I've seen the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, and it is pretty impressive. Today marks a big change in the line of succession for the British monarchy. It also happens to mark that we only have 4 weeks of school left. This, I am celebrating! I feel the changing of the seasons, even though we are in the middle of Spring, and Summer is officially a long way off. We are starting to talk about the things we are going to do this summer, such as planning for trips, and making lists of supplies for VBX at church.

I love that feeling of having something to look forward to - something to anticipate. I love the eagerly waiting before a trip or vacation, of seeing if it meets or exceeds what I have been expecting. I also love anticipating summer vacation. But I am also acutely aware that this means that time is passing as well. Time is fleeting, and flying by faster than I can handle sometimes.

I'm not sure that I am taking advantage of the time that I have, or if I am using my time wisely. As I get older, it occurs to me that time really is precious, and if I'm not making the most of what I have then I'm not being a good steward. Good stewardship applies to time, and not just money. Just as we should carefully consider how we use our money, we should carefully consider how we use our time.

I sure wish I had known or realized this when I was younger, and had more time! As I get older, and hopefully wiser, I realize how valuable time really is, and how my decisions about time matter.

Here's to the changing of the guard, and the seasons, and life...
K

the end of an era

2011-04-13T14:40:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, my Auntie Crystal died. Well, techincally, she is my mom's aunt, more accurately my mom's mom's sister.

This is me, Auntie Crystal, and my cousin Kasey, taken on a trip out to CA a couple years ago. We are standing in Shuberts (look them up!) in Chico, CA and it's the ice cream and candy store that Uncle Charles and Auntie Crystal ran for a bajillion years. Really, I don't know how many, but I do know that in 1938 it was started by Charles' Uncle Leonard Shubert, and then Charles and Crystal ran it forever, and now their son, my uncle Chuck owns it, and his son Nate actually runs it. My mom worked there when she was in college!

Anyway, Crystal's sister, Grandma Annie passed away a couple years ago, and Grandpa Glen passed away a couple years before that, so Crystal was the last of that generation who was still around. She was 92 when she died.

Even after Grandma Annie and Grandpa Glen passed away, I could still talk to Auntie Crystal. And she was SHARP! She remembered tons of things, and was very active, even up to a couple months before she passed away. This is not a great picture, but it's me and Auntie Crystal playing cards. And I recall that she beat me several times. I blame mom for the bad photography...

Auntie Crystal and Grandma Annie had a great relationship. They were friends, lived in the same town for, like 50 years, and raised their kids together. Now that they are gone, I realize what a blessing it is to have that kind of familiy relationships. My sister Angie and I have always had a good relationship, but now that we are adults, it really is great. This morning I got up at 3am to take Angie and Dan and the boys to the airport. Here they are all ready to go (at 4:30am!):

I am grateful for the richness of my family, and the deep history I have gotten from them. I am grateful for the experience growing up with Grandpas and Grandmas, and aunts and uncles, and the weighty respect I have for their generation.

I'll close today's family thoughts with a couple more pictures. This one was taken in the summer of 1926. Crystal is on the right, and Grandma Annie is in the middle (in the crib). Their sister Gracie is on the left.

This one is the same 3 sisters many, many years later. Crystal is on the left, and Grandma Annie is on the right.

Goodbye Auntie Crystal. Miss you already.
K

spelling

2011-04-08T09:38:00.000-06:00

Today, I took a 3rd grade spelling test.

I was going down to third grade to talk to one of the teachers, and she announced that it was time for the weekly spelling test. I was feeling silly, so I jumped up and down excited for spelling test. Maybe I should have thought before being silly (story of my life) because she invited me to take the test with them. In CURSIVE.

I have to say, I think I did pretty well. In fact, I think I got 100%.

And I had a little flashback to when I was in elementary school, and taking those kind of tests on a regular basis. Gave me a little warm memory.

This makes me grateful for all the education I have received in my life. I finished High School, have a bachelor's degree, as well as a Master's Degree. And then I think about all the people in the world that don't even have the opportunity to go to school past a certain level, or even at all. Education is a great gift, and privilege.

When's the last time you took a test?
K

little things

2011-04-03T13:48:00.000-06:00

Today is a gratefulness post about the little things in life. It's kind of funny that I realized this in a bathroom yesterday, because I am mightily grateful for indoor plumbing. I watched Slumdog Millionaire with some friends a bit ago, and thought about the fact that many people do NOT live with indoor plumbing. I don't know if this comes out of my mom's porta-potty phobia, but that's neither here nor there.

My first little thing comes from that bathroom trip yesterday. I was at Starbucks, because someone had given me a gift card (thanks Ang!) and went to the bathroom. I am grateful that Starbucks always has nice bathrooms. I've been to Starbucks in several places, in lots of cities, and they always have nice bathrooms. And God bless whoever invented the hook on the back of the door to hang your purse on. I just can't stomach putting my purse on the floor of a public bathroom. Who KNOWS what has been on that floor???

My second little thing is for fabric softener. I like soft towels, and when I dried off from today's shower, I thought about how nice it is to have soft, fluffy towels to dry off. While we are on the subject of fluffy towels, I am thankful for my washer and dryer IN MY HOUSE. For many years, like a lot of people, I did not have a washer and dryer, so I hauled my laundry to the laundromat each week to get it clean. I got pretty efficient at it, but I'm just as happy to have a washer and dryer. And that I don't have to do laundry in a river...

My third little thing is for books. I just finished reading a book, and it was really good. I was engrossed for the whole last third of the book. I'm grateful for the access we have to books and information. Because as we all know from schoolhouse rock, "it's great to read because knowledge is power".

I guess I could do this all day, but I really am thankful for that purse hook that started all this. I'm going to end with this thought: It doesn't matter where or how you live, but that you are grateful for the good things that make up your life.

It really is the little things.
K

spring break

2011-03-25T11:24:00.000-06:00

This week has been Spring Break for the school in which I teach, and I have decided that Spring Break (as it shall be known from here on out) is so important that it deserves capitals.

To say that I have been pretty quiet this week could be an understatement. I would characterize this week as "sheer laziness". It has been lovely...

Now, in my defense, I have had at least one thing planned each day, and this required me to get out of bed (albeit NOT in a timely manner) and shower and get dressed and presentable to go out in public. Tuesday I went bowling with my 2 nephews and my mom, and then we went out to lunch. Great fun, if I do say so myself. Nana was the big winner, with a 133, and I just cracked 100, and the boys didn't quite make it that far. But we all still had a great time. Wednesday was Chorale rehearsal, and I signed up to make snacks, so I went to the store and then came home to prepare chicken salad sandwiches before going to rehearsal that night.

The main thing, the big thing, the thing to focus on about this week was not necessarily the "spring" part, but the "break" part. Don't misunderstand me - I RELISH the springing of spring. I love spring colors, I love to look for the blooming of flowers and budding of trees. I love the nice weather. Spring is in a tie for my favorite season, right up there with fall.

But the thing I have enjoyed most this week is the break. The rest. The margin. The setting aside of the schedule. The living without an alarm clock. No needing to keep a list to make sure I get all of my list done for today.

I have relished the break this week, and am so grateful.
K

jacket

2011-03-18T08:06:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday, my classroom was SO HOT! I had both doors open all afternoon, and could not get cool no matter what I did. This often happens in the early part of the school year, August and September, as well as at the end, in May. But in the middle of March?!?!? I think the actual temperature outside was about 75, and with all the little bodies in my small room I'm sure it was MUCH warmer.

So, the memory of this mini heat-wave was fresh in my head as I got dressed yesterday morning, thus I was wearing appropriately summery attire - short sleeves and a skort, with my Chacos sandals. It felt great all day! Until...

As I left school, I walked out to the parking lot and noticed all the clouds and the overcast sky. And I thought... "Hmmmmm".

As soon as I stepped outside, I knew. I just KNEW. I should have brought a jacket.

All those times my mom said "take a jacket" were ringing through my head, and I felt like I would never grow up. If I can't even manage to bring a jacket, how can I manage my life???

Fortunately, when I moved to Colorado, my mom gave me a lesson on weather preparedness, and the vast array of things that you must always keep in your car. Blanket, snow shovel, cat litter for traction, extra water, a candy bar for sustenance (is that snickers bar still back in my trunk? probably not...) and a JACKET!

So the ending of the story is a happy one. Today is is about 30 degrees colder than Wednesday, and I DID wear a jacket. Also, it snowed last night a little, so the grass is really pretty with the white blanket on it.

So the moral of today's story is to listen to your mother. And always bring a jacket.
K

the dentist

2011-03-14T14:48:00.000-06:00

Today I am thankful for the dentist.

I know that might seem weird, but I really did go to the dentist today. No x-rays, thank heaven, because that plastic thing they put in my mouth to hold the film for teeth pictures always makes me gag. But I got my teeth cleaned, and the dentist poked around in there, and said I look good. He should say that, because he fixed a broken tooth of mine a couple years back.

The hygienist that cleans my teeth is the mom of 2 students at school, so we always get to talking about school, and friends in common, and other stuff. But while she was really in there cleaning, we couldn't talk very much. And I just laid there, thinking about...lots of stuff. Like, why that weird wallpaper border is up there? And, about the gap in between two of the ceiling tiles. But then I got to thinking about how lucky I am to get to go to the dentist. So many people don't have regular access to dental care, or even regular access to health care for that matter. So in spite of the poking, and flossing (blleeecch), and the gritty-minty tooth polish, I am grateful.

I just wanted to say that I realize how lucky I am, and that I appreciate my dentist.
K

dirt

2011-02-28T20:34:00.000-07:00

Have you ever thought about dirt?

Yesterday, I was doing laundry,and I got to thinking about dirt. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE laundry. Really, I do. I love that it is an easy task, it relatively quick, and it smells great when it is done. I don't love putting the clean laundry away, but a few deep sniffs of clean laundry makes the putting away go pretty quickly.

Anyway, dirt. I like to not wear shoes, and often have dirty feet. Not yesterday in particular, but still. And then there are the "dirts" we get on our clothes. As the ladies I eat lunch with will heartily attest to, I spill on myself all the time. Often I go to do laundry and have to pre-treat a spill.

Then there are dirty dishes. These I REALLY do not like. I take care of them, but not always in the timliest of manners...

How do we get so dirty? How do I start off clean EVERY SINGLE MORNING, and still end the day dirty? How does my house get so dirty, with not much living in it? Are we generally dirty, and have to work at getting clean? Is the rest of my life going to be spend getting clean?

Do you see yourself as mostly clean with just a little dirt? Or mostly dirty, and just barely getting clean sometimes?

Have you ever thought about dirt?

Aren't you glad that when God looks at you, He doesn't see all of your dirt?
K

the fork

2011-02-18T08:37:00.003-07:00

On Wednesday, I was driving around with a fork in my hand.

I know, it's a little weird, and it struck me funny too. But I was headed to rehearsal and had stopped to get dinner, and I was hungry. So, as I stopped at red lights I would take a bite of dinner. Thus, I was driving around with a fork in my hand. I wondered what people thought as they looked over at me holding on to this fork.

Then I got to thinking about forks in general, and it reminded me about the story my pastor used to tell.

He told about a lady who was at the end of her life, and asked to be buried with a fork prominently displayed in her hand. When asked about the fork, this is what she said:
When I was little, and dinner was over, my mom would go around clearing the dinner dishes. If she leaned over and said in my ear, "keep your fork", I knew that this meant the best part of the meal was still to come - dessert. In my life, the best part is yet to come - heaven. So I want to be buried with a fork in my hand, and when people ask about the fork, you tell them that story.

I don't think I will ever look at a fork in the same way.

This morning I'm linking up with the Company Girls: check them out here. (They're a great group of ladies!)
K

friends

2011-02-14T21:46:00.000-07:00

Twin Lakes, CO

Twin Lakes again, and maybe you can see the ice fishermen, driving in their TUCKS across the "frozen" lake. Something about that seems really wrong...

This weekend, I went up to the mountains with my friend Beth, from Like a Day Off, and her hubby. I had a GREAT time. It was relaxing, and we didn't have any agenda. on Saturday, we went for a drive in the mountains, up to Twin Lakes. It is beautiful up there, what with all the snow and all. The whole ice fishing took me by surprise, but i guess if they are crazy enough to do it then more power to them.

And when we got there, the sun was just setting over the mountains. It made these pictures just that much more gorgeous.

It was so nice to spend time with friends, hang out, watch movies, relax and just take in the beauty of Colorado and God's beautiful creation.

I'm just sayin'...
K

the gift of time

2011-02-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you are given the gift of some unexpected time?

Do you feel obligated to make it "worthy" time and do something great with it? Or do you see it as a gift, and spend it relaxing when you wouldn't otherwise?

I was thinking about this today, because it is a snow day. Now I LOVE me a snow day, because it is a whole day that I spend at home relaxing, when I wouldn't otherwise. But I was thinking that maybe I should see this time as a special gift, and do something worthwhile with it, instead of "wasting" it sleeping in and relaxing.

I'm torn between feeling obligated to do something excellent with this time, and using it to catch up on sleep and some vegging out that I NEVER would do otherwise.

Does this mean that I don't have enough margin in my life? That I'm too busy usually and don't have enough "catch-up" time built in?

I don't know that I have the answer. I was just thinking about it today, and wondering if a change is in order.
What do you think?
K

turkey

2011-02-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

I was chased by an angry turkey.

Now, this is not a picture of the actual turkey, because I was MUCH too rattled to take a picture in the moment, but this is what that devil-turkey looked like.

Several years ago, I went to Mexico on a work trip with my church. We built a little church for a lay-pastor out in the hills. We flew into Vera Cruz, and then drove out into the mountains, in generally a south-eastern direction for a couple hours until we got to the town of San Andres Tuxtla.

This is the Cathedral of St. Joseph in the center of the town square. We stayed a block and a half away. San Andres Tuxtla is a larger town, so there was lots to explore, when we had time. There was a market 2 blocks in the other direction from the church, and we checked that out before leaving. There was also a pharmacia, where I pantomimed the itch on my arm, and the pharmacist gave me a clear gel that to this day I have NO IDEA what it was, but it worked. Alas, most of the time we were working so we didn't explore much. Each day, we drove for about 15 minutes on dirt roads until we got to the little village where we worked.

We built a cinder block building, about the size of my parents' living room, then put up trusses, a simple roof, and plywood walls. We made rustic benches out of 2x8, and cut square windows out of the plywood. When we got done, it was a simple building, but it worked great for their little church congregation.

Down the road from this little village, there is the beautiful Salto de Eyipantla waterfall. Which I'm sure is redundant, but I don't speak the Spanish, so let me live in ignorance. Here's a picture:

We actually went down to see the waterfall - paid the 5 pesos and walked down the rope/slat bridge to get there, and sure enough, this picture is exactly is what we saw.

OK, now for the turkey.

Right behind the church build, there was a "banyo". You know - the Mexican version of a porta-potty. But the banyo is just a hole in the ground. Yes, there are 4 sticks in the ground, around which is strung some tarp, or something to block the view, but the tarp/sheet/blinds only go up to about my shoulders. This is the usual banyo that we used, hopefully while no one walked around the corner and passed RIGHT BY while you were trying to do your business.

Now, after a day or two at the build, some of us ladies discovered that an easy walk down the dirt path there was a really nice banyo. Now, when I say "really nice", I mean that there was a little roof, and a door made out of sticks and scrap material. But still, better than having EVERYBODY walk past you while you were in the banyo. So Nolia, Kay and I walked to the "nice" banyo one afternoon. As we walked and talked down the dirt path, this turkey started making noises that would lead me to believe that it was not happy with us. Possibly this was because we were walking through his front yard, but I don't know. I'm not an expert in turkey psychology.

As we continued, the turkey got louder, and louder, and more agitated. We decided that we should ignore the turkey, and just keep walking. This was a fine plan, until the turkey started coming after us, making a LOUD noise that I would make for you now, if you were here. Be grateful that you are not, because is it LOUD. Just in case you didn't get that.

At this point, I got a little scared, because the top of the turkey's big "tail" feathers were about at my belly button - this was a BIG turkey. I was a little afraid that if it came after us, it would start pecking at my knees, and I would have to run. And I still had to go to the bathroom.

Suffice it to say that with a little fast-walking, and side-stepping, we got out of the turkey's front yard and eventually made it to the "nice" banyo. But Nolia was a little rattled, and almost dropped the ONLY set of keys to the rental car IN the banyo. Don't worry, we grabbed them before anything bad happened, but I'm sure you can see how this would be a very bad thing.

In the end, we didn't walk to the "nice" banyo very often, for fear of the turkey. The church did get finished, and no one was hurt. Tired, sunburned, and sore, but not hurt.

In a nice postscript to the story, we went back to a nearby village the next year to do the same kind of build for another congregation, and got to see that our little church was thriving. They had decorated it, and built some more benches, and it looked fantastic.

So I guess all's well that ends well.

But I will tell you that I keep my distance from turkeys now. I've learned my lesson.
K

car keys

2011-01-26T10:42:00.000-07:00

My keys, with the BRAND NEW car key prominently displayed!

OK, Here's the end of the story, that began here. on Monday morning, I trucked downtown, on icy streets, I might add, and in my Mom's car to talk to the guy at the key place. When I walked in, he asked if that was my car in the lot, and I said yes and laid down my car key on the counter. He said, "Well, you don't even need to tell me what happened. I can tell just by looking at the key." And he proceeded to tell me exactly what happened over the weekend. He then said that they would take the entire ignition out of the car, and remove {something} that had worn down, and replace it with {something} that would not catch on the key anymore. Like my grasp of the technical jargon??? And, oh, by the way, my driver's side door is going to be the next to go because it is the next most used lock. And then the trunk. So I asked him to cut a new key while they were at it so I had a fresh key to work with from now on.

I handed over the keys, and he said he would call me when it was fixed.

I headed mom's car toward home, at a rather leisurely pace, and stopped close to my house to replace some of the gas I had used over the past couple days I had driven her car. As I neared my house, the phone rang, and it was the lock place - they were all done!

Mom and I headed back downtown and picked up my now working car. Turning that car key was the most blissful thing I had done in a long time. And the kicker: the whole deal only cost me $71. Amazing!

Lesson: Don't give in to the knee-jerk reaction of freaking out when something happens to your car. Or when something happens in general.

Lesson: Ask people who are knowledgeable and see what they recommend, instead of imagining the worst. God put people in your life for a reason.

Lesson: Lean not on your own understanding, ESPECIALLY when it comes to cars or other technical matters.

Lesson: Be grateful. I am SO grateful for my parents, and their help. For so long, I lived 3000 miles away from any family, and got very used to being self-sufficient in almost everything. I am grateful that I have a loving supportive family that graciously helped in whatever I needed.

Here's to learning what you can in every situation, and for God's grace in my life, making me teachable and flexible. And to not freaking out next time...
K

healing

2011-01-22T18:58:00.000-07:00

My facebook status update from 2 minutes ago: cannot even deal with a broken car right now...

This whole thought of dealing with my car that won't start is really stressing me out. It's not the battery, or anything else engine-wise - it's that the key physically won't turn. I fiddled with the steering wheel and got it to turn once, but then I got to church and parked it. As soon as I took the key out, that was it. No more turney-key.

So I am home, safe and warm, but with my mom's car in my garage instead of mine. Mine is still at the church.

Yes, yes, I know that car troubles are not the end of the world, but it just feels like that right now. It makes me all stressy and unpleasant.

The upside of this is that my parents live here in town, and came to my rescue. Dad came and picked me up, mom let me borrow her car, and they are going to help me tomorrow when I try and get it started with a different key, and hopefully drive it down to the lock place with me. Otherwise, I will have to get it towed there.

{breathe...breathe...}

Really, in the big scheme of life, this car thing is not the end of the world. My parents are helping me willingly with getting it fixed; I am safe and warm at home; I AM able to take off on Monday if I need to deal with it then.

I just need to get some perspective, and talk myself into NOT having a panic attack over nothing. To be able to deal without losing my cool. As if I had any cool to begin with...

I subscribe to (in)courage by e-mail. (in)courage is a blog written by a group of christian women, and I love reading them. There always seems to be something pertinent and timely on there, and I get an e-mail each day with the day's message. Today, as I came home all twitterpated over this car thing, I opened up the (in)courage e-mail, and Mindy Carlettini had written about her 10 year anniversary as a follower of Christ, but this happened to also be her 10 year anniversary of being off narcotics. She was pondering the times when she could escape reality by getting high, and she said that she didn't tell anyone this for a long time. Finally she talked to her husband about it, and realized that she didn't really want to go back to that escape like she thought she did. And then she writes:

"The difference now though is that when the storms of life come, when I turn to my father in Heaven, I don’t feel the need to escape from reality. God’s love gives me strength and a confidence that I never could have imagined. He gives me the will and the desire to keep on going. He reminds me that He loves me with a love that is so huge and so encompassing that I don’t need to get high when everything around me seems to be spinning out of control. He gives me peace.
I am so thankful for the ways my father loves me. I am so thankful for the ways He is healing me and transforming me. I am so thankful for His spirit that is always with me and I am never alone."

Yes, I realize that her experience is very different than my car thing, but it still applies. I AM thankful that my Father loves me, even when I am stressing over my car. I have unimaginable peace, knowing that He even cares about the things that otherwise seem insignificant. I can turn my eyes toward Jesus, instead of having my eyes on the rear view mirror in worry.

So, I am praying that He will heal my car, using the guys at the key place. And I'm praying that He will give me peace in the middle of the key situation. And I'm thankful that God heals in big ways (broken lives) and in little ways (broken cars).

You should check them out: www.incourage.me
K

clean

2011-01-13T21:18:00.001-07:00

My front step was clean.

Recently, we had some snow. Since the temperature sat below freezing for a couple days, the snow never melted. My front step was covered in snow, except the small area that I shovelled so I could get out to my garage and get to work.

Today when I came home, the sun had come out and melted the days old snow on my front step.

My front step is now clean.

As I unlocked the door and headed inside, a brief thought flitted through my brain: this is kind of like how God works in our hearts. He shines the sun on us, and it gently sweeps away the stuff that we have left sitting around our lives for the past who knows how long. As welcome as my clean front step was, it was beautiful to see a picture of how God works. And amazing to think that He can sweep away the junk that we hold on to, the stuff that we cover ourselves in. The blanket of snow that has hung around for the past week.

Just was thinking about that heartening picture, and how happy He must be when we can open our hearts up to Him. When the snow is gone.

Here's to letting Him clean up a little.
K

on joy

2011-01-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

This is my hand.

Yes, that is the word "joy" written on it in sharpie. It is a little faded, because I took the picture in the evening, and I wash my hands a bajillion times a day. But God bless the sharpie, it hung in there all day.

I had a lot of joy over Christmas break - 2 weeks off school is sure to bring joy every time! But on Monday morning in staff meeting, my principal was talking about having joy. Being joy-full. If we are joyful in our teaching, then the kids learning will be joyful. The atmosphere of our whole school can change, if we approach everything with joy.

I was thinking about this as I started teaching Tuesday morning, and just on a whim wrote the word "joy" on my hand. All day, as I was teaching, talking and waving my hand around in the normal course of a day, I often saw that word on my hand and thought about being joyful, and having joy in my teaching. It really did make a difference.

Just wanted to share my joy with you, and encourage you to be joy-full. To have joy in everything you do.
Joy has made for a great week back to school.
K

christmas!

2010-12-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

This year the family went up to the mountains for Christmas. I'd like to share a couple pictures:

Nana and the little nephew made ornaments for the tree.

I took both nephews to the park to play.

Brother-in-law made an origami manger scene.

We had fun opening presents.

Some toys had to be put together.

Some toys had to be played with right away!

I read with nephew from his new Kid's Adventure Bible.

We opened stockings on Christmas morning, and then played in the ball pit.

Little nephew and I decorated the gingerbread house and managed to not eat very much!

He DID eat the chocolate fondue, as you can see!

And we took a family picture.

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you also had a great time with family.

thank-yous

2010-12-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

I've decided to apply a little "WWRD" to my life today. For those of you who are NOT company girls, that's "What would Rachel Do?"

Today at school is the last full day before Christmas Break. Praise the Lord!

Anyway, I always get some nice gifts from my students for Christmas. Today I decided to bring a stack of thank-you cards to school. As I had a moment or two, I wrote a thank-you note for a gift. As of this moment I am proud to say that I have written 17 thank-yous so far, which is 17 thank-yous that I DON'T have to write over Christmas Break.

Don't you think that this will make my break much more relaxed???

I do. :)

Here's to having a break, and to being thankful.
K

selfless-ness

2010-12-06T21:25:00.000-07:00

In youth group, we are talking about serving, and how we can help others.

I really am touched by this, not only to see what God can do through a group of High Schoolers, but how much He is asking me "how are you serving others?"

Not to say that I thought High Schoolers are incapable of serving; I never thought this. I just never realized the extent that they would jump on board. I have really enjoyed serving with them (see previous post), and learning in the process.

Our next project is making hygiene kits to give to the Rescue Mission. These will go to homeless people in our community, and hopefully be of help to them.

Our small group just finished a babysitting night, to help out families with kids. We babysat the kids, and gave money to the parents to go out to dinner, or to go Christmas shopping. Even though it was "just babysitting", I had a good time. I think we all did!

Just goes to show that you're never too old to jump in and serve others.
Here's to having a servant's heart.
K

on thankfulness

2010-11-25T13:52:00.000-07:00

I am so grateful for my life.

Here in town, the Springs Rescue Mission does just what it sounds like it does. Member of the association of Gospel Rescue Missions, they help people who need help. This help comes in many forms: evening meals every day that come after a brief church service, donations made available to people who need them just for asking, a New Life men's program for men who commit to the recovery journey, job training for these men, and big free community meals for each holiday. Yesterday was the Great Thanksgiving Dinner. The mission rented out the city auditorium and put on a free Thanksgiving dinner for whoever wanted to eat. People were offered bibles, prayer, but also the most talked about, food. There was a child's area with games, and lots of people to serve.

Here are a couple of my awesome high schoolers that went with me and dished up food:

I'm not sure why Daniel looks like that...

And Stephen was snapping the turkey tongs - that's why they are blurry!

The 2 Ms: Megan and Michaela

and Zandy, cheerfully serving all day.

These kids went willingly, served cheerfully, and were a delight to be with all day. I am thankful for them.

I am so grateful that there are people and organizations that do this.

I'm grateful that there are people that donate to make this possible.

I'm grateful that there are people like my kids that willingly and cheerfully go and serve others.

I am SO grateful for my life, and that I'm not in a position to need the generosity of the Springs Rescue Mission. I feel that quote very deeply right now: "There but for the grace of God go I."

Here's to being grateful for the blessings in your life. As my pastor said on Sunday, "If there are any blessings in your life, it is because of The Blessor."

K

gonna have to face it, I'm addicted to...dairy products?

2010-11-13T18:44:00.001-07:00

Well, I am confessing.

I'm addicted to dairy.

I don't really love milk, and almost NEVER drink it straight, but it's great on cereal and cheese is my FAVORITE thing ever. I would eat cheese over sweets almost anytime. Butter = AMAZING!

I really think that this situation is caused by my lack of dairy for the first 18 years of my life. From the time I was little, I was SEVERELY allergic to dairy. I didn't ever have regular dairy, and the dairy we DID have was all goat milk, or soy milk. Gross.

Over the course of college and living on my own in my 20's, I gradually ate a little cheese here and a little milk there, and eventually I think I either 1) grew out of the allergy or 2) introduced it slowly enough to become OK with it a little bit at a time. I don't really know - I'm not a doctor. BUT, I can eat a little dairy now and not have it bother me.

You know that commercial from the '80's: "Cheese, glorious cheese!" Well, that's my theme song. I LOVE cheese and could eat it on almost anything.

This speaks greatly to the human condition - always wanting what we can't have, or desiring that which is harmful to us. Dairy is really not great for me, and I would be better off if I went without for the rest of my life. But, I CRAVE it. It is the thing I want most, and whenever I have a craving it most likely involves bacon or cheese. (Let's discuss my cholesterol another day, shall we?)

What is your cheese? What is the thing you want, but avoid because it isn't really good for you, either physically or spiritually?

I hear people ask this rhetorical question all the time: "Why do I want this so badly? It is terrible for me!"

Or even sometimes: "I seem to only be interested in the guy/girl that I can't have."

I believe this is an ingrained part of our fallen human nature, and will continue to be a curse until the days of a new heaven and a new earth. We always seem to want what we can't or shouldn't have. These desires of the flesh often turn into behaviors, attitudes, or actions that are sinful. (" I know I shouldn't __________ but I just enjoy it so much.")

I am so grateful that God makes us whole, even in our broken state. I'm grateful that His love overcomes our human-ness. I'm living in His grace.

And going to eat a grilled cheese sandwich.
K

western skies

2010-10-29T08:00:00.001-06:00

I live right next to the Rocky Mountains, and sometimes we get the coolest skies I've ever seen. Last week we had a storm, and there was a bunch of rain going on. As I was driving home, I saw the most beautiful sky with huge, puffy clouds and light shining through. It really looked like God was painting. I took all these pictures on my cell phone (NOT while driving - I pulled over!):

That last one features Pike's Peak. I've decided to take pictures of Pike's Peak every so often, and here's one I took last Sunday on the way to church - the sun was rising behind me as I took the picture.

Sometimes I'm amazed at the beauty of God's creation. Who are we, that God would create all this beautifulness, just for us?

Here's to getting out and enjoying His creation today.
K

fall break

2010-10-22T18:07:00.001-06:00

I LOVE fall break! It comes just at the right time, and I surely needed a break this year. For part of break I went up to the mountains. My mom and dad just finished building a cabin up in the Rockies, and the leaves were beautiful! Here are a couple pictures:

South Fork of the Arkansas river:

And here's the cabin - from the side:

And standing in the driveway:

What a break! Beautiful mountains, gorgeous color, relaxing...ahhhhhhhhhhh!
K

more family news

2010-10-02T16:56:00.000-06:00

This is my famous uncle:

He's the one on the left.

OK, he's not really famous, but he was on the Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson this week. I just think this is pretty cool! Uncle Dennis is a drummer, and has been forever. When he was younger he travelled full-time and played for several different bands or singers. Now, he just plays on the weekends around LA where he lives. But, I still think this is cool that he got the chance to play on a nationally televised TV show.

Way to go, Uncle Den!
K

family

2010-09-24T10:53:00.000-06:00

This is a family picture from a few weeks ago. It's my Mom and her family (dad, sister, brother-in-law, and 2 nephews) and Mom's brother and his family (aunt and 5 cousins).

One of the reasons this is such a cool picture is that Mom and Uncle's parents passed away several years ago. Grandpa Glen passed away in 2002, and Grandma Annie passed away in 2004. We were very close to Gram and Gramps when we were growing up - always had Christmas there, went to their house about one weekend a month, always was there for at least a week in the summer. Even when I was in college, I went to Gram and Gramps house over the summer and stayed with them.

We hung out.

Like we were friends. Which we were. I don't know many people that have as close a relationship with their grandparents, outside of those that were raised by them.

For the past 15 years, we haven't had much contact with Uncle and Aunt and their kids. They had, until recently, lived in a part of Northern CA that wasn't close to any of the family, so there were occasional calls and letters, but not much regular contact.

Recently, Uncle and Aunt and cousins moved near where we live - about an hour away. My mom was excited to get together with them, and have a restored relationship. So, a couple weeks ago, we did. It really was a fun time. I'm so grateful that we can see them on a more regular basis.

Here's to family.
K

day of my birth

2010-09-18T15:00:00.000-06:00

So, today is my birthday. It's been pretty low key, because the family all celebrated last night. We all went out to dinner, then to a game of Putt Putt golf, with my 6 year old nephew learning for the first time that there is scoring in putt putt, and what those scores mean. Needless to say, he did not win. Mommy and Pop Pop tied for the win. Brother-in-law beat me by 1 point. Then the 6 year-old cried when it was time to go home.

After that was dessert at my sister's house, and the opening of presents. My adopted sister sent a present from TX, where she is living now, along with presents for the nephews.

It was such a cool night.

I have no desire to go out and "party" tonight, even though it is my actual birthday today. I realized that hanging out with family, enjoying each other, and getting to spend time together is all I need. I feel like I've had a fairly complete birthday.

But when that new dishwasher is installed, I will enjoy it very much!

K :)

Mozart

2010-09-06T16:13:00.001-06:00

Well, this little video makes me smile. Much like the drawing for the I chord.

Hope you enjoyed!
K

the hearse

2010-09-03T10:56:00.000-06:00

Last night, as I was driving home, I looked in my rear-view mirror and a hearse was following me. Not the one above, but I couldn't take a picture last night as I was driving and all.

I had the weirdest feeling, because this hearse stayed right with me, all the way until I turned into my driveway. At that point, he kept on going, and I was so relieved that he was going to get someone else.

I just got to thinking that life is kinda like that. Even if we don't think about it all the time, there is a (metaphorical) hearse in our rear-view window. I don't think that death is imminent, or coming to get us at any moment, but shouldn't we live with the end of our life in mind?

When that hearse comes to pick you up, will you have done everything you wanted to do? What will your friends and family say about you? Will you have any regrets? You never know when that hearse will actually show up, and I want to have been happy with my life up to that point.

I'm just sayin'...
K

broken

2010-08-27T20:16:00.001-06:00

This is my toe.

Pleas excuse the morbid close-up. I took this with my camera phone, while balancing on one foot. Trying desperately, I might add, to not fall and hit my broken toe.

This week at school, the broken toe has been a huge asset. I usually am standing all day, or singing with my kids while dancing around, but never resting. But, enter the toe.
Because on Monday it was hugely swollen and totally black and blue, our school nurse made me sit and put ice on aforementioned toe. This has been great because I've spent most of the week sitting in front of my class, with my foot elevated on a bar stool.

Besides, my kids think it's cool. They ask every day if it's still purple, and if it still hurts me.

Still a little purple, but doesn't hurt unless I bump it.

...

Really, the broken toe got me thinking yesterday. I am a klutz, and have had several broken bones in my life. Several casts, splints, braces, and taped up toes. My friend Cathy said last weekend that she has never had a broken bone. I really was stunned at that, just because I have had so many.

But the main gist of my recent thinking is that we are all broken. Eventually my toe will heal, and I won't even feel it anymore. One of my students is in a boot; she will heal up, be out of the boot, and be all fine at some point. But regardless of your broken-bone history, everybody is broken. We all have baggage. We all have hurts in our lives that affect us every day.
Even Cathy of the "never-broken-a-bone" fame.

Our brokenness affects everyday life, jobs, relationships, the way you treat the person ringing up your groceries.

Even though we are all made up of basically the same stuff, our baggage and our brokenness has a great deal to do with how we live our lives.

I am SO grateful that Jesus was broken so I have a way out of brokenness.

I am SO grateful that because He loves me, I can be whole. Regardless of the toe.

K

scars

2010-08-11T22:33:00.001-06:00

Since it is summer (no school), I've been reading a lot. I think the total since we got out at the end of May is 27 books. I have two going right now, so does that make a weird non-whole number? Like 28.3298714?

Anyway, I was reading a book the other day, and part of the plot involved the main character talking about a scar they had.

This got me to thinking about scars.

Also got me thinking about my scars. And where they came from.

I have a scar on my left pointer-finger, where I was playing "Yan Can Cook" with a meat cleaver cutting carrots. Ended with a scar, but I kept my finger.

I have a strange scar on the inside of my right foot where I was pushed into a sprinkler head. It ripped open my foot and when it "healed", the nerves were still rearranged so I couldn't swim all that summer. The water flowing over that place gave me the willies and I had to get OUT OF THE POOL. NOW!

Those are the major ones, but there are minor ones too, like the last knuckle on the right pointer finger. It is shaped funny because once when I was catching in a softball game, Dana Baldwin was pitching and I had to do a throw-down to second. I was a little nervous about getting that throw-down in time to get the runner out so I ended up with my right hand in the glove a split-second before the ball. It totally crushed my right index finger. It took me a year to grow a "normal" fingernail on that finger, and you can still tell today that my 2 fingernails and last knuckles look different.

I also have a couple tattoos, which I consider scars too. They are part of my life, and I guess if you look at them in the medical sense, they are scars with ink in them.

Here's the deal with my scars:

I would not give up one of them, no matter how small or how major they are. Every scar on my body comes from my life, and I love my life. Every scar or experience has taught me something, and every scar has made me the person I am today.

I don't want to be flawless or without scars, because that would mean I didn't live MY life. Every scar is a memory. Every scar is a reminder of the life I've lived and the experiences I've had.

Here's to claiming all of your scars.
K

my fortune

2010-08-05T11:30:00.000-06:00

I got Chinese food for dinner last night.

Nothing weird about that - there's an Asian restaurant near my house that makes Chinese and Vietnamese food, and I wanted to try it. It was good, even though I got the same thing I always get. Dialogue in my head, while standing at the counter, looking at the menu:

"I really should try something different."

"Ooooh, that looks good."

"THAT looks really good."

"Maybe I should try the Pho - I've heard that's tasty."

"Well, I can't decide, so I guess I'll get the same thing as always."

...

It's sad. Really sad.

Anyway, I'm a little off topic.
Last night, after finishing dinner, I opened the fortune cookie. My fortune said..."Practice an attitude of gratitude."

Now I think this is a really weird fortune, but I think it is fabulous advice.

I'm going to take it to heart. I'm not sure how well I will practice an attitude of gratitude next week when I have to go back to school, but I am going to try. I'm going to put this little fortune on my desk as a reminder that I should be grateful for all the wonderful things in my life.

This is one fortune that will have an impact on my life.
K

so much to learn

2010-07-29T15:54:00.000-06:00

So, I know I've mentioned that I teach piano to a 70-year-old Vietnamese man. Now I have to revise that statement, because he and his wife had their 60-year anniversary this past weekend.

60 YEARS!!!

I was floored. Anyway, I asked him about the party, and being married 60 years and such things. He told me that usually marriage is arranged much younger than in his case. He was 17 when he got married, and his wife was 16. So I did some quick mental math, and realized that he is 77.

Wow.

I just got to thinking about his life, and the things he's seen and been through.

I know he was a political prisoner at some point, he speaks pretty good english, and he and his wife have several kids. Like, 6, I think.

I'm still floored by being married for 60 years.

But, we still have lessons. He still wants to learn. I have to teach him, and help him discover how to play the things he wants to play without seeming disrespectful. It's a good learning experience for me. Today he said that he learned a lot, and he wants me to keep going in the same way, so he can keep learning.

I still have so much to learn.

He is inspiring to me.
K

LIFE

2010-07-17T13:05:00.001-06:00

So, here's the deal on LIFE. The church denomination I grew up in and go to now has a HUGE youth conference every three years, and it's called LIFE. I went twice when I was in High School, and it was awesome. The best quick description I could give you is that it's like church camp, but on steroids.

The main attractions for LIFE is that everything is awesome. The speakers, the worship leaders, the bands and concerts, the seminars, the things that are available in the activity center, and even the "services". They are actually called sessions, but most of the time it's like church. Fun stuff to start off, singing, special presentations, and speaker, all designed to speak to teens where they are. But, I will tell you that I am NOT a teen, and I loved every minute of it.

So, some examples of this awesomeness would be...

Speakers: Francis Chan, Derwin Gray, James Grout

Worship: Logan Martin Band. They are from Salem, OR, and if you haven't heard of them yet, you will soon. They were GREAT!

Special Presentations:Trace Bundy (guitarist), Bradley Hathaway (slam poet), Carlos Oscar (comedian), Danny Ray (illusionist), and lots more.

Bands: Hawk Nelson, Kutless, Proxy (hip-hop artist), Flynn Adam (DJ before each session)

If you want to know any more about these awesome people, you can check them out, but I just don't have the time to tell you about each one. I loved them, the kids loved them, and a good time was had by all. It all combined to make the sessions less like "church", and more like a fun get-together. Very entertaining.

The theme for the week was "collide", and all the speakers talked on this theme, and how it relates to us. The first day was on the collision that was creation - God spoke and everything we know came out of his mouth. He created eating! Francis Chan talked for several minutes about how weird eating is. But God chose to create eating, rather than creating us like trees, sucking up nutrients and water from the soil. This was all very vividly demonstrated with a Kit Kat bar!

The second day was the collision that was incarnation - Jesus' choice to become human and messy, and take on our sins. That Jesus came down to earth to live outwardly through us.

The third day we talked about the collision of our Faith with our lives, and what it means to live out our faith. James Grout talked from James 1, and basically said that we need to live out our faith - if there is no evidence of our faith in our day-to-day lives, then our religion is useless.

That really struck me - what evidence of my faith is there in my every day life?

Friday night was the Project night, and we got to choose from all of the concerts or performers. It was pretty cool, I thought, that there were so many choices. The Hawk Nelson concert was a big draw, but several of my kids went to different shows, like Danny Ray the illusionist, or Carlos Oscar the comedian.

Saturday, the last day was on the collision that is the church. James Grout talked from Luke 10, and reminded us that our "job" is to love God with everything we have. Often we get so busy doing the "work" of the church, that we forget to love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, etc. If we love God with everything we have, we will act as the church should act.

This morning, was pretty cool as well: there was a missionary parade, with Alliance missionaries carrying flags from all the countries where the Alliance has workers or a missionary presence.

Here's what it looked like from above:

Saturday night was the last meeting, and Jason, our "pastor" for the week gave us all glow sticks! It was pretty cool to see 6500 teens waving glow sticks. Here's a picture:

It just reminds us that in order to bring light to the world, Jesus had to be broken. Such as it is with a glow stick.

So, I haven't even touched on half of the things going on at LIFE, but I think you've got the idea. The most amazing part of this week was that God put a call on several of our kids' lives to go into the ministry. I am SO grateful that they were in a position where God could speak to them, and they listened.

Any time God can grab ahold of a teenager's life and change it for good, I'm all about that.

So, now LIFE is over, and until 2013 in St. Louis, I guess we will have to look back at the pictures and notes on the speakers, and continue to apply all that we've learned.

Thanks for reading, and here's to living out the collision in your life.

so much to say...

2010-07-16T15:04:00.000-06:00

wow.

wow. wow. wow.

I'm not sure I have words for all that's happened in the past 2 weeks, but here goes. I feel the need to write about it, and get it off my chest. (Really off my brain, but that's for another time!)

To start, I went away for a week to Louisville, KY with the Youth Group for a huge youth conference. That, I will have to tackle in another post, because it's a whole thing unto itself.

Let's start with the good news/bad news, shall we?

First off, I came home from the trip sick. Not really a major deal, but the cold that about 8 of us got on the last day or two of the trip. I rested about 20 hours the day after returning, because I was so tired. All well and good so far. Until the next day...
I work up and KNEW that something was wrong. Called the Dr. and got in that morning. Turns out that the cold had worked its way down into my chest, and I had bronchitis. For me, this is the usual course of action, so I wasn't dismayed. When I went to the Dr., I had a temp of 101.5. No WONDER I was feeling so bad!

I'm on the usual drugs now, and feeling a little better every day.

In this situation, I am so grateful that I didn't get bronchitis while ON the trip because that would have been terrible! I'm grateful that my Dr. understands what's going on, and that there are cheap drugs that will fix me right up. I'm also grateful that I had time to rest and get better.

OK, next situation.
On Tuesday night, my downstairs toilet exploded. This is the 2nd time in 3 months, and it was hellacious to clean up. I shop-vac-ed almost a whole canister of "water" off the floor before it was all over, and then had to clean up after all of it. I called Roto-Rooter and they couldn't come until morning, so the next morning I had the Roto-Rooter guy at my house bright and early. He listened to me, and immediately called the HOA to tell them that the main sewer line needed to be cleaned out.

So, the sewer clean-up was not the greatest experience, and at one point during I was dripping sweat, and crying because I didn't feel good (bronchitis, remember?) and didn't want to be doing THIS! But I pulled up my big-girl panties and did it. Gave me a sense of accomplishment, actually.

For this I am SO grateful for a couple things:
First, that it didn't happen while I was out of town. Blllleeeeeeech. I cannot even imagine that sitting on my floor for days.
Second, that the Roto-Rooter guy didn't even fiddle with my toilet, because he KNEW that the problem was in the main line. This is a blessing because the HOA won't randomly fix things unless they KNOW that it is not anywhere inside one of the units. If I called and talked to them about this, it went nowhere. But when the Roto-Rooter guy called them directly...well, he's my new favorite person.
I'm also grateful that I didn't have to pay for any of this huge repair and be reimbursed - since he called first, the HOA just took care of it totally.

Yes, it was an inconvenience to not use water at all during the day while it was being fixed, but when I step back and look at the whole picture, everything really did turn out good in the end.

I'm taking a cue from my friend Beth over at Like a Day Off, and looking at all things with JOY.

Next, the skinny on LIFE, and all the LIVES it changed.
K

the birds

2010-06-29T10:44:00.000-06:00

So where I grew up was about 30 minutes from that creepy church in Hitchcock's movie "The Birds". We drove past it every time we went out to the beach, and someone always had to say, "Hey! That's the church in the birds movie." Usually my mom.

But today I am thankful for other birds - the 10 or so outside my window this morning. I'm sitting here writing, and talking to people on facebook, and those birds are singing away! Happy, and letting everyone within a mile know it. They are singing back and forth - one will sing some, then another will sing something back, then a third one will chime in. Being a singer, I know how this feels! If I understood what they are saying, I'd go out and join in!

Alas, I don't speak bird. Nonetheless, I love sitting here listening to them. The joy. The (bird) stories. The happy flapping as they move from tree to tree.

Makes me joyful just listening to them.

Here's to the birds!
K

rose-colored glasses

2010-06-23T21:49:00.000-06:00

OK, this is it. I have decided that from this point I will be unbearably happy. Tomorrow is my last day of "summer work", and then I'm pretty much finished for the summer. Until I have to go back to work in August.

But until that point, I am going to be happy. I am going to see the best. I am going to look for the positive in each situation. Negative Nelly no more!

Seriously, I'm not really a negative person. I just think it's been a hard couple of weeks. But that's a moot point, because from now on I'm the happiest person of all. So happy that it hurts to be around me. So happy that you can tell outside my house how happy I am. :) See?

I just have to take a moment and say that "moot point" reminds me of the episode of Friends where Joey says "it's a moo point. Like a cows opinion - it's moo." Makes me laugh every time I think about that. "It's all moo."

OK, I'm not being happy to be annoying, though I DO think it could deteriorate into that. I'm am CHOOSING to be happy, because I really do believe that your outlook on life colors the way you live. I believe that if you choose to see the best in things that you will be a much happier person. And, conversely, if you always see the negative in things, you are destined to live out your life being miserable.

I do not want to be miserable, so I choose happiness. I choose a positive outlook. I choose to :)

K

the gutter

2010-06-13T14:48:00.001-06:00

It has recently come to my attention that often people will let you down. Not you, dear reader, but in general, people may let a person down.

In contrast, there are people who will be there when you need them, like to clean out a gutter perhaps. Today my Dad came over with a ladder and helped me clean out the gutter over my garage. It was fully clogged with pine needles and gunky leaves, and I'm sure there was some mold and other nastiness up there. Anyway, we got it all out, and then ran some water through to make sure that it drained - all good!

Yesterday, my Dad went over to a different person's house and helped with house stuff, like installing a screen door and grouting a tub.

I know that I can always count on my Dad, and not just 'cause he's my Dad. I believe that I could count on him even if we weren't related - he's just that kind of person.

It's hurtful to me when I am kind to someone, and they are not kind to me - It's just human nature, I know, but it's the kind that is personally painful to me.

Now please don't misunderstand: I am not always kind to people. I'm human too, of course. I know that people are broken, not perfect, and prone to take that out on each other. Not only do I know that but I sometimes do it to others as well. I'm not perfect, but that doesn't make it any less painful when someone is hurtful to me.

This has just underscored to me that only God is truly faithful to me. He wants the best for me, He provides for me (even if it is through Dad cleaning out the gutter!), He always is there for me and loves me no matter what, even when I am not so lovable. And often I am not so lovable. But even (especially) in those times, God is faithful. Even when I am unfaithful.

So now I cling to the fact that I am loved by God, and regardless of the hurts I experience in this life, both now and those to come, He loves me. He wants the best for me.

I am very grateful for the family that God has given me, but I am infinitely more grateful that He loves me.

K

what day is it?

2010-06-04T19:51:00.000-06:00

I was SO excited to be out of school.

And I must admit that it is pretty sweet - no real schedule to speak of, lots of freedom, sleeping in, reading ALL DAY, and other summer-type stuff. Good times.

But, for the past 7 days, I must have asked 3 or 4 times a day, "What day is it?"

3 OR 4 TIMES A DAY!

How is it that once I don't have my insane school schedule, my brain can't keep track of what day it is? I feel like such a dolt to ask (again) "what day is it?"

One of these days my goal is to be able to keep track of stuff like that. But for now, I'm going to read some more.

Happy Summer!
K

this chair hurts my butt

2010-05-28T22:42:00.000-06:00

So today I've been sitting here much more than usual, because I'M OUT OF SCHOOL! Right now, I'm at home on the computer. As I have been much of the afternoon. What a lovely time, to not have any obligations and to feel such freedom. I love that feeling!

But seriously, the chair is hurting me. It's cutting into the back of my thighs, roughly around where my hamstrings are located. I've been sitting here too long.

But it got me to thinking -- sometimes I sit there too long. I think there are times in life where what we really need is to get up and go somewhere. To head off in a direction. Any direction. And yet we sit.

I know I'm guilty of sitting when I should be doing something else, or working toward a goal somewhere that's NOT right here next to my chair.

Is there somewhere you should be headed??
K

a special gift

2010-05-17T22:31:00.000-06:00

This is Drew.

I LOVE my nephews.

K :))