more sky

Well, I'm home.

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

Tree, presents, stockings, and the train.

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

Snow everywhere.

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

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

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

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

penance

Last night I had Taco Tuesday at my house.

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

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

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

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

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

sleeping in

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

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

Holy cow!

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

Yea for sleeping in!
K

one reason i love my job

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

breath

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

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

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

Well.

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

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

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

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

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

Let everything that hath breath, praise the Lord!
K

whew!

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

Today I'm thankful for several things:

Concert went great. 

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

Christmas Shopping is done.

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

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

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

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

And lastly, the Christmas Concert season is upon us.

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

Let the holidays begin!

day 29 blanket

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

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

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

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