A new experience!

Teddy signed up to play club soccer with most of the guys from school.  Cool thing...his basketball and soccer coaches are coaching the team.  Right now...practice is indoors.  I think this might be a fun thing to go watch!

A lasting legacy

One year ago...Papa met Jesus!  We are left with memories, pictures, and his Bible...full of notes that stir our hearts.

Snow Day...second edition!

 Our first snow day was back in November.  Our snow accumulation this year has been limited!  So we were excited to hear the call off for Wednesday and then again today!  Yesterday, we woke up to about an inch and a half on the ground and made fun of the call off by hundreds of schools based on "forecasted storm".  As the day went on...the snow kept falling and the wind picked up.  Finally, it didn't seem so lame!  The wind is howling today and the temps are colder...but I saw my first robin and several female cardinal friends in our tree eating the dried berries!  "No winter lasts forever..."

 We just wanted it long enough to get a snow day!  An unplanned set of hours to catch up on sleep, movies, house keeping, baking, and general all around relaxing.  Thank you, Lord, for the beauty of winter...and snow!

Valentines Day

 We went out on a date to Ann Arbor and tried a new place!  It was a cold night...so no walking around to explore downtown.  But still fun to be together!

 Lame mothering moments...baked the sugar cookies before Valentine's Day...but with sickness and being run down...the cookies sat till the following week.  All the fancy I had dreamed of doing...ended up in a quick frost while waiting for dinner to cook one night...a week after Valentine's Day!

Spirit Week 2020

 Character Day...This year, after debating it each year, I bought an easy on and off costume to re-use each year.  "If you give a mouse a..."  Teddy was Si from Duck Dynasty.  Alisa was Little Red Riding Hood.

 Tuesday was school color day...red, black, and white!  I got the prize for being a teacher who dressed in school colors.

Senior class helps judge and hand out prizes during the morning pep assembly.

 Wednesday was comfy day...I forgot a picture of myself.

 Thursday...red carpet day!  It was supposed to be fun and different...turned out to cause a lot of stress...caused by adults.  It is always a bummer when people have to be complaining and negative.

 The students did their best to deal with it.  It is one week out of the school year to be crazy...and these guys...nailed it!

 In Kindergarten...we had fun being fancy!

One more day...retro day...and I'm still trying to figure out what to do!

I love Kindergarten...and what is grows into!

We have had so much fun this year!  I love all the different learning opportunities I can do with my class.  I love that my friends always say, "This is the best day ever!" (So far we have had many! by that expression)  I love looking back to see what they could do...and now what they can do!  I love sharing in the lives of my friends...the good, the bad, and the ugly!  I love cheering on the parents...for I know the hard work will pay off...because I see what our children are doing now!  They flourished in the NLCS kindergarten program...which laid the foundation for their learning.  I am so proud of them!  I love sharing that kindergarten is more than reading, writing, and arithmetic!

 Senior and Junior enjoying student life

Crown Cosmetology- first year...first uniform and this week...her first client!

Yes! Sometimes...you just have to look a little harder!

A visit from a friend reminded me...

 of how friendship begins and grows through the years!  We had almost 36 hours to visit as they came through our town on their way home from ministering to friends and family in the time of loss.  The fact that they made time for us refreshed my heart and helped me remember to reach out and touch other people's lives.  God brought two opportunities to me...one on Sunday and one on Tuesday.

 And so...I prepared my heart to be to these women who I needed when I was first starting out in  marriage and as a new momma!  "We need to write things down so we can look back and be thankful for what God has taught us and done for us!"

Dearest friend of mine, thank you for speaking encouragement to my heart and reminding me to touch people's lives...where they are at in even small ways!

Back on track!

 Getting grades entered for the end of second quarter already!  Looking forward to the weekend...time with friends and some rest...

and some extra cuddle time with the puppies...all freshly groomed and sleepy!  It is always so nice to have time off for vacations, but there is also fulfillment in having a schedule and routine.  I am trying to practice being at peace with things that come into each day and acknowledging the One who orchestrates every part of my day.  I had a week full of unrest and stress...yet I was able to be at peace in the middle of it all...knowing that God had something for me to learn and teach through it all.  It wasn't easy or fun...because I got the blame for choices that I had no part of creating or enduring or continuing.  

I went back to my verse for this year...Romans 12:18..."If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."  Not according to other's choices...but according to what is in me!  I have Jesus!  He gives peace!  I must trust Him...no matter what!

Ashlynn left us again!

Ashlynn is back to Tennessee for her second semester of classes!  We so enjoyed having her home for the Christmas and New Year holidays!  What a blessing to see our children spread their wings and take flight!  Thankful that they all three still love to come home to find love, peace,  and comfort in our nest!

We are all remembering today...

our Papa!  

Today is Papa's first birthday spent in Heaven!  

How do you celebrate that?  

Our chair fillers that are still living in our home brought love in the form of flowers and a birthday balloon for their Grandma.  The words shared a love so kind and sweet.  

How do you celebrate a life that doesn't need birthdays anymore?  

We aren't sure...

but we all have had our own thoughts and feelings as we remember the love Papa showed to all of us!  The memories have brought some warm tears trickling down our faces.  Stories have brought a tightness to our throats.  Pictures bring a smile and an ache.  Words bring a mixture of joy and grief swelling up all at the same time.  The emptiness is still as stark as it was when we got the call that Papa left for Heaven.  He is experiencing the joys of Heaven and we don't wish to take that away from him.  We just wish that we knew what to do and how to do it as we come to this day...

the day of his birth...

and as we near the day of his death.  

We continue to trust the One who knows the number of our days.  

We continue to trust the One who knows the grief of loss that fills the human heart.  

We continue to trust the One who leads our footsteps through this new year...

and we ask Him to give us the peace...

a peace that passes all understanding!

It is a Happy New Year...2020!

 I saw this post and it made me laugh!  After time with Dad and Mom in Minnesota, it was just a fun reminder of our heritage.  Oh how many "Uff Das" we face each day!  And all these years, the Lord has protected and provided...more than we deserve!

We enjoyed a quiet beginning to 2020...with twinkly lights and lots of rest!  The older I get...the more I like those kind of days!  We all stayed up late and watched the ball officially drop.  We don't do so well with late nights now...so sleeping in was perfect!  Coffee was hot and strong in the quiet of the morning. I made Swedish pancakes for our brunch.

 We enjoyed time with cousins the day after New Year's Day.  Pizza, games, laughter, talking, football, and coffee.

 We took down Christmas and filled the tree with snowflakes and snowmen.  

I painted the picture for the mantel with my word for this year.  Last year's thought...joy in the journey...as we looked forward to all the changes that were coming with Ashlynn's graduation from high school.  We had no idea that our joy would be tested as we walked the road of grief when Papa died and then Grandma-great. The load is heavy on our hearts...but we found that even in grief...there can be joy.  Joy is an attitude that we can choose.  The opposite is misery and worry.

I was struck by the fact that in the journey of our life, God has given joy...and He has given a deep settled peace as we continue our journey.  Psalm 46:10...I have to be still, listen, and wait.  The opposite is to rush around, fuss, and fight.  It is more than just words I say.  I must trust Him in the little things of each day.  He adds to the joy and peace...as I yield to Him.  Already this new year of 2020,  satan has rattled the peace I find and had in my teaching life in the K5 classroom.  As I look forward to going back to school tomorrow, there is a situation that may or may not be peace-filled...but I know I can have joy and peace even when circumstances will not be settled.  I can find peace in my God...for He knows what He is doing in this journey He has given me...us.