It is graduation month at our house!

 Ashlynn Mae...our first chair filler is getting ready to spread her wings!  I can hardly grasp what is about to happen! The day were long but the years have been short!  God is so good to us...and when we are looking back as we look forward...we are reminded of all that God has done and is continuing to do in our family!

 Plans are being made.  Announcements put in the mail today.  Special treats being arranged.  Open houses scheduled.  Finals still to be taken.

 Most of the this class attended WCS from Kindergarten to Senior year!  Ashlynn joined the group in sixth grade.  Mr. C came back for high school.  Miss A joined this year from Brazil.

 They are on their senior trip this week with Uncle Pastor and Aunt Mari.  I know they are having a wonderful time down in Gatlinburg, TN area.  I am thankful for the time that is still being invested in their lives!

The year our first five year old graduates from high school!

 We have been working on senior stuff at our house!  We finished pulling pictures from the years for Ashlynn's part in the senior slideshow.  Seems like so long ago!  And right now...I am preparing these little friends for their K5 graduation.

One little girl said, "My mommy is going to cry!"  I am sure she will...because mommies cry when we are happy, sad, remembering, tired, and many other reasons!  Been there...done that...and I still cry every year when we are practicing.  These kiddos "have it".  They are ready to move on and be challenged at the next level.  Oh...there will be growing pains still...but it is always so fun to look back at where they started...and see where they are now!

Sitting pretty!

Getting real-er every time I turn around!

It is that time of year again...

 standardized testing has begun!  Uff da!  Lots of coffee and brain breaks!

 Enjoying the arts/crafts stash that my Momma passed on to me when they moved south!  We have pulled from the buckets countless times!  Blessings to share!

 I seem to have never-ending piles on my desk lately.  This project to do, that to take care of, and don't forget that one...such is the plan of the K5 teacher looking to wrap up another year without forgetting something!

 Loving a chance to cuddle with the puppies and enjoy the fireplace on a cool spring night.

Alisa and Teddy got back from their trip to Florida (PCC) and now they are trying to catch up on life and sleep.  Ashlynn is now back to normal as healing of her mouth surgery is progressing nicely.  They are all working to finish school and at Dairy Twist each night.  Here is to that time of year again...where we look at the calendar and plan...and then realize we will still have to scramble at the end!

A legacy

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words.  The true value of this picture...are the two men who left it for our children to see.  Papa's well worn Bible...the one he used on a daily basis for reading and study.  The pages are well worn and marked up with notes and underlining.  It also seems that there are some pages with tear stains...you can see that something had been wet and changed the paper.  The cover taped back on to protect the pages.

"It's a well of pure water when I'm thirsty and dry.  And bread when I'm hungry and worn.  When the battle is raging, it's my faithful sword, a shelter from life's troubled storm.  It's a light to my pathway and a lamp to my feet, when this world gets so dark I can't see.  And I've not made a change in one word that is says, but it sure made a change in me."

And then Ted's glasses that he left out...sitting on top of the Bible he was reading before he once again left for Mexico for two weeks.
I came home from school last Monday after he had already been picked up for the airport and walked into our room to see this.  My heart flipped flopped.  Ted sits in this chair every day and reads.  I don't always see what he is reading or doing...but sometimes...I walk in to see him.  I feel like I am interrupting those quiet, personal moments.  I miss him when he is not here.  I miss hearing him share what he has read.  

"This blessed Old Book that I hold in my hand.  It's true from beginning to end.  It's the solid foundation where I firmly stand.  Sin kept me from it, now it keeps me from sin."

Lately, I am reminded that those moments are what take us through the difficult times in life.  "Life is hard, it is messy, and if Christians don't show and share that...they are making a big mistake!"  Ted shared those thoughts with me on Saturday night and I can't stop thinking about them.
So many men and women in the Bible...real people, living in real places, with real problems.  Jesus met people in their struggles of life!  How many of us have put on a face for everyone to see...and have hid what is truly happening in our lives and hearts?  Jesus said, "Come unto Me, all you who are heavy laden..."  Yet, in our pride we think we have to always present this perfect little checked box of a Christian life that isn't touched by problems and pain.  We are missing the point of the Gospel.  We are missing out on opportunities to touch people.  We are misrepresenting Christ to a lost world.

"When I think what it cost just to hold in my hand, I'm reminded I owe a great debt, to all of the martyrs who'd gone to the stake, and quote it with their dying breath.  Now its critics are many, believers are few, but one thing I've found to be true.  If you find when you read it that there's something wrong, there's something wrong with you."

When you see the things that are left behind by people who gone Home to Heaven, very few things are more personal than someone's notes and thoughts shared in a Book written by the Creator of the Universe.  Glimpses of struggles and lessons learned from their Savior and Friend...left behind for those who are striving to live a life pleasing to God.  That is what a legacy looks like to me.

Taking time to stop and spend time

I have been reminded that life changes us and sometimes we don't see the results of those changes in the ways we expect.  

I believe God orchestrates events in our lives to make us slow down enough to see or hear the changes that we need to see or hear.

Alisa and Teddy are gone on a school trip to PCC in Florida.  Ted is once again in Mexico.  Ashlynn needed to stay home due to the mouth surgery recovery.  The puppies are loving the all day freedom and having someone around the house to cuddle.

 Ashlynn is still recovering from having her wisdom teeth taken out...a week ago already!  Things are healing nicely from what we can tell.  We will go back for a check with the surgeon next week.

Ash has struggled with wanting to eat because nothing tastes good.  

Today...she was ready to eat something and she was hungry for chicken parmigiana from Olive Garden.  We had a fun and long lunch...because she had to take such small bites.  We enjoyed our conversation and the yummy food!  I was so glad to see her eat something other than slushes and water.  "I'm down 10 pounds...so I guess it isn't all bad."  Her bruises are now a nice yellow color.

Life is changing for all of us as we look forward to this girlie graduating from high school next month!  The realization of those changes is getting hard to ignore and projects are on a checklist now!  We are praying for Ashlynn as she grows through the changes and as she seeks the direction that is best for her.  Thankful for a God who knows what we need before we need it...and this week was one of those times that He led us in the decisions that were made...for a purpose!

We are getting ready...

                                 to move from a season of rest to one of perpetual motion!

 Spring is trying to make its presence known in Michigan, but winter butted back in on Saturday night.  Waking up to this scene on Sunday made me whine with Chica.  She did not want to go outside!  And then...this morning as we left for school...the sun reminded us that it always shines.