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.

Losing wisdom teeth

 Ashlynn did a great job this morning!  She was calm, cool, and collected.  Me, on the other hand, felt all wobbly inside!  It is one thing to go through something like this...it is another to watch your child have to do it...knowing that every day won't be easy.

 We had to wait longer than expected at CVS and she just snoozed.  No crazy talk or goofiness...to the disappointment of her siblings.  I had trouble interpreting the gauze talk...to which she added hand motions.

 All comfy on the couch with pain meds.  She did ask me if I had the teeth.  I told her, "No, they didn't offer them to me."

Ice packs on her cheeks after changing the gauze and taking the antibiotic.  The puppies are keeping watch over her.  Praying for a quick recovery for her!  Another teenager moment in our house...check.

Sunday...our travelers came home!

We spent the week in Illinois and got home on Saturday.  

The kiddos flew into Toronto on Sunday morning.  We were ready to be together as a family.

                                                      Cool picture taken by the girls!

 They got back and came into the morning service about 11:15am to say, "Hello!  We are back and had a wonderful trip.  Thanks for praying and giving so we could go!"  Uncle Pastor prayed and then dismissed the families.  We took our travel weary kiddos home.  We started laundry, they took showers, and we ate dinner together...and they talked for almost two hours!

 It was a good trip...they had things to deal with...but they were so glad they went!  We are glad that God provided and protected through the many miles.  I think my favorite Teddy quote was, "There were many dangerous things that came up while we worked, but it was ok.  We were fine."

Time with Geega (Grandma...Mom)

Ted and I made the trip to Illinois on Saturday with the puppies to spend the week of our spring break with Mom...our Geega...our Grandma.  We went to the early service on Sunday at NLBC and then had a coffee and donut date.  It has been good to be together.  Not all times are easy as memories tend to overwhelm our hearts as we go through things and walk through the rooms of Papa and Geega's home.  One of the hardest places for Ted is the garage.  "Every tool in that garage has a story for me especially...time spent with Dad learning and helping and sharing in life.  So many things..."

After Sara and Penelope left to fly home on Monday, the house got very quiet.  Ted and Mom worked through some things.  We rested.  We went for a drive later in the day to look at the flooding in the area.  Supper was enjoyed at Chik-fil-a!  

 Between times of taking care of business and sorting through things, we are making sure to take time out to do something fun!  So thankful to reconnect with dear friends from years gone by!  As we have sat around the table with friends, I am scrolling back through the years and memories of how each person has touched our lives and I am so thankful!  And then to hear their memories...I had no idea of how the birth of Ashlynn touched this dear friend's heart.  Patty, thank you for sharing that with me!

 Geega...Grandma is getting cuddles from the puppies when the little girls are not around.

 And as always...naptime at Geega's is always comfortable!  Rest is so important during a stressful time of life change...even when you think you don't feel stressed.  You have to let yourself have down time!  Everyone deals with life changes differently.  I am watching and learning the balance between jumping in with a helpful hand and sitting back to give space.  There is not a right or wrong way to do things...when to eat, when or where to sleep, where to go, what to sort, how to do each day...it is about just being there.  The change of daily schedule hurts...passing a building...daily chores...
nothing will change the hurt that you have to deal with...that empty feeling.  I am learning that time is what you can give...a hug, a call, a text, a card, a walk, help with little things, a coffee, a laugh, a shared tear...time doing something or doing nothing!  I am learning that time is needed to find that new normal...and it doesn't come in a neat little box tied with a bow.

 This guy is such a testimony of God's grace!  He has much to do and think through and handle.  He is doing it with such love and patient understanding.  My heart is filled with love and prayer for him every hour of every day.  His best friend and counsellor is no longer here to talk things out with, advise, or just listen.  His car, handyman guru, and tool guy is not a phone call away anymore.  It is hard!  It is heavy!  Saying a final goodbye on this earth is not something you think about every day. Finding a new normal is not easy...But God gives grace and strength for those times.  There is a peace that comes in the dailyness of life and in the middle of the night when you can't sleep.

 Another evening out with laughter that gives a balm to hurting hearts...girls who have walked some rocky roads and yet they share their hearts with tears and laugh freely because God is good...all the time!  I tried to capture the night so I won't forget...my heart needed this and I really didn't know it till today.  My tears won't stop as I to write what is in my heart.  These girls have been there through some very important times in our life...and they are still there!  A few seats were empty because of miles and responsibilities.  I am reminded that I need to do better at staying in touch even when life is crazy!  These girls took time out for us...and that is something dear and not to be forgotten or neglected!  Ministries change, jobs change, relationships change, locations change...but God knits hearts together...and that doesn't have to change!  "What happens at Meg's stays at Meg's!"  probably is a favorite line of the night as we shared what is going on in our lives and how it affects us.

Our evening ended too soon...what coffee shop closes at 8:00pm!?!  Goodness!  I guess we needed to be reminded that life does go on and job responsibilities need to be a priority.  My poor teacher friend had to finish standardized testing today...the last day before their spring break.  When we walked outside...there was the moon...as full and bright as anything!  

Oh how we laughed...at...I mean with her!

 "Anybody else ready to give back your adult card?  Life is hard!"  

And once again...I think...But God!  He gives us people in our life to sharpen us and refresh us...and make us laugh till we cry...that time is precious!

The birds are beginning to sing around our yard again!