A Day in Our Life

Well, it seems like everybody's doing "Day in the Life" posts this week, so I decided to jump on board.  

Here's what yesterday was like.

Yesterday was Tuesday. Co-op day.  Co-op ends next week, and I'm kind of happy about it.  Tuesdays are stressful because we have to be at church for classes around 12:00.  That's the goal, anyway.  We're always late because we live 30 minutes away and we have to eat lunch sometime.  I just can't seem to get it together most Tuesdays.  :(

I woke up late and didn't get to have my quiet time, which always is a bad start to the day. We usually do not do a lot of schooling at home on co-op days.  Just some reading and math.  We didn't even get that accomplished yesterday because Chris burned some boxes outside before he left for work, and of course the boys wanted to help.  For anyone who is concerned, they will make up the work they didn't do, probably over the weekend.  One of the perks of homeschooling. 

Yesterday we had to go in to co-op earlier than usual, at 11:30, to help set up.  We stopped at Burger King on the way.  The boys saw an advertisement of the "Rodeo Burger" in the window and had to try one because they have onion rings on them.  They're only a dollar, so why not?  Shaun loved his.  Jordan loved his, too, until he discovered that it came with bar-b-que sauce.  He put up a fuss but ate it anyway. 

 Everything was already done when we got to church, so the boys played on the playground and Violet had lunch with her Daddy. 

Co-op began.  Today was a little different because the middle and high schoolers had a special guest speakers and were not in opening announcements.  

Here are Jordan and Violet, listening to Mrs. Ryan give announcements.

As you can see, Violet did not make it to the end of announcements and we went on to her class early.  Violet's "class" is really the nursery.  Since she'll be two (!) when the new semester begins in September, we will be moving up to a new class.  Hard to believe.  Today though, we were in the nursery.  She played.  The moms talked.  And I got to hold this sweet little bundle.

  Little baby Joseph...so sweet I had to take a selfie.  He's almost enough to give someone baby fever.  

Shaun came into the nursery when his classes were over.  He was a big hit with Joseph's brother, Matthew.  

He's always so kind and patient with younger kids.  I'm so proud of him. 

At three o'clock, it was time for us to leave, but not before I received a gift from my Secret Sister. Pak Shack money and, more importantly, the MOST encouraging note. 

She's really not so secret anymore.  I figured out who she was a few weeks ago and confronted her.  Ha!  I'm fortunate to have her, as a friend and as my secret sis.  She's been so encouraging to me during this semester.   

  Then the kids and I picked up my niece Jaycee from her class and drove to Dahlonega for chorus rehearsal.  During rehearsal, Violet and I ran some errands.  We hit Cato, The Dollar Tree for science project supplies, and Wal-Mart for deodorant, lotion, a snack for the kids, and onion soup mix.  Violet insisted on taking her dog, who is also named Violet, in with us to every store.  

Things got kind of hairy then.  The Children's Chorus was supposed to be rehearsing an extra 30 minutes yesterday to make up for "snow days" but the kids in our family still had to leave early.  My sister had sent a text to the director explaining things, but when it was time for the kids to leave, the director had no idea what was going on.  Yikes!  As it turns out, the text didn't even get delivered to her phone until late last night.  

I picked up the kids and met my mom at work. We transferred the 4 kids into her car and then they left for my other niece's first softball game.  I left to meet Chris.  We had a class in Dawsonville, but had some time to kill first so we went out to dinner.  By ourselves! I can't really remember the last time that happened.  We went to Ruby Tuesday, which we used to love, years ago.  This time...not so much.  It really was just not good.  Great service.  Bland food.  But at least we were together!

After dinner we went to our class at the our chiropractor's office.  We've been taking Shaun and Violet to him for a few weeks and have decided to get the whole family involved.  The doctor offers a discount if you attend a wellness class, so we went and it really wasn't as bad as Chris thought it was going to be!  Ha ha!  

When the class was over, it was freezing!  We drove home in snow flurries.  We picked up the kids and came home.  Chris and the kids played around a little while I cleaned up that morning's breakfast dishes.  At 9:30, it was bedtime.  The boys watched movies but Violet fell right asleep.  I was finally able to read what I should have read in my Bible that morning while Chris got his music together for Wednesday night church, then I started watching the latest episode of "Resurrection" on Hulu.  I'm intrigued.  But, I couldn't concentrate so I switched to an old episode of Law and Order: SVU.  I fell asleep halfway through.

And that was our Tuesday. 

Waiting.

I actually started this post a few weeks ago, but it kind of stalled.  I finally felt like finishing it today...it's a work-in-progress, but I felt led to share, for whatever reason.


*************


Today was co-op day.  I was in the nursery with all of the other moms who have babies.  We were chatting.  I was, honestly, half-heartedly involved in the conversation because my  brain was pondering.  I nodded in all the right places and added, "mmmhmmms" when they were appropriate.  Suddenly one of the moms threw the subject for a curve and declared exuberantly, "I don't know if any of you guys are experiencing this, but God is moving so mightily in so many people's lives.  I mean, like, eight of my friends are just having all of these breakthroughs and miracles and God is speaking to them.  It's great!"

I kept quiet because I just didn't have anything to say to that.  Not that I'm not glad that there are people out there who are getting their miracles and living out their harvests, but...that's just not where we are right now.  I didn't want to be all sour grapes and burst this sweet girl's bubble, so I kept my mouth shut.  

Then the girl beside me said, "That's so awesome for them.  Not really happening in my life, though."

Well, that made me laugh out loud.  "My thoughts exactly," I said.  Only I wasn't gutsy enough to say so!

And then there was this awkward silence where everyone stared at us.  

Seriously, I think I even heard a few crickets. 

I felt a connection with this mom who's feelings mirrored mine that day.  We're both going through stuff.  I've been praying for her ever since.  And, most of all, I'm so glad that she was brave enough to voice her thoughts.  We shouldn't be afraid to share when we're in a "desert", but most of the time we are afraid.  I know I am.  Opening ourselves up and voicing our issues out into the open makes us so vulnerable.  And honestly, when I'm in a dry place (spiritually, physically, financially, whatever) it's hard for me to listen to folks who are prospering.  Not that I'm not happy for them.  Not that I want everyone to be struggling right alongside of me.  I suppose hearing about breakthroughs and miracles should encourage me and tell me that my time is coming.  Sometimes it does, but lately it just discourages me more.  

I'm a pretty private person, but maybe I don't need to be quite so private.  Just something that I feel like God's been whispering to me lately.  

I came across this verse back in December and I've been chanting to myself ever since.  

Psalm 6:6-10 from The Message

"I'm tired of all this- So tired.  My bed
has been floating forty days and nights
On the flood of my tears.
My mattress is soaked, soggy with tears.
The sockets of my eyes are black holes;
nearly blind, I squint and grope.

Get out of here, you Devil's crew:
at last God has heard my sobs.
My requests have all been granted,
my prayers are answered.

Cowards, my enemies disappear.
Disgraced, they turn tail and run."

This verse is so dramatic! 

But I can relate.  Yes, I've been crying a lot lately.  I'm surprised my bed hasn't floated away on the flood of my tears.  (Oh, how I love The Message!) Something about the melancholy flair of this verse spoke directly to my heart and I realized, once again, that:

Yes!  God knows.  He knows when I cry about the big stuff.  He even knows when I cry about the petty things, too.  He does.  And He cares.  He doesn't see even one of my "tear-jerkers" as silly or unimportant.  He understands my need to be a little dramatic. He knows I'm emotional. After all, He created me this way.  He cares about what bothers me the way any loving parent does.  

I recently re-read this verse on a particularly hard day and my pillow was, literally, wet with tears.  I started laughing out loud at the "floating mattress" part.  Then, I made it to the end.  
"At last God has heard my sobs. My requests have all been granted.  My prayers are answered."

Amen.  

What a promise!

I'm going to go ahead and say it now...I really cannot wait until my prayers are answered!  I have a feeling that what's coming for us is exciting and wonderful and I can't wait to celebrate and give God every ounce of the praise He deserves.  This verse picks me up, even while I'm still waiting on whatever's in store for my family, and reminds me that I need to be praising Him now, even while He's still working everything out.  

Saying that sometimes this is more easier than others is an understatement. I know.  But hang on, friends.  Keep praying.  Keep praising God for what He's doing right now, behind the scenes.  

I have this theory that one day when I'm in  Heaven God will show me what He was actually doing when it seemed like He was doing nothing down here.  And we'll laugh together about the crazy, dramatic, tear-filled antics of my days on Earth. Then I'll thank Him for what He did over and over again.  

It'll be THAT good.  

 

The Best Teacher. Ever.

So, I had THE BEST teacher in the world when I was in 4th grade.  Her name was Mrs. Westmoreland, and she was... amazing.  

Sigh. 

I pray every day that I will be just a fraction of the teacher she was to me, and I still fail miserably.  

I've been thinking about her a lot lately, probably because of the books my boys are currently reading:  Where the Red Fern Grows for Shaun and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing  for Jordan.  Mrs.  Westmoreland read both of these books aloud to our class.  We cried and laughed right along with her during the reading of these gems.  

Shaun is just getting started on Billy's adventures with Dan and Ann, but I know what's coming.  I think I'll let him read the final chapters alone in his room in case he needs a moment to gather himself after he's done.  :)

Jordan finished reading about Peter and his annoying little brother, Fudge today.  I read it with him.  We took turns chapter by chapter, laughing all the way.  It was wonderful to share the book with him.  I loved watching him throw his little head back and chuckle with his mouth wide open.  I taught him to read.  Me.  Or rather, I introduced him to the tools he used to teach himself to read.  This will always be one of my greatest accomplishments.  

We went out to lunch today, the kids, and I. Shaun and Violet had an appointment in Dawsonville that ended right at lunchtime, and of course everyone was starving.  I had planned to just go home and have last nights leftovers, but the boys saw the "Ryan's" sign and got really excited.  Violet got a little squirmy as the meal went on and at one point Jordan asked, "Mom, did you ever notice that Violet is starting to act an awful lot like Fudge?  I  mean, next she'll be smearing mashed potatoes on the wall".  I laughed out loud and said I really hope we never let it go that far!  

I thought of sweet Mrs. Westmoreland again on the ride home.  I really had the best time in her class, all year long.  She was every student's dream.  We learned, and had fun while doing it.  We were "out of the box".  I was already a book lover when I came to her class, but by the end of the year, you could say I was obsessed.  She introduced me to the wonderful feeling of being deliciously scared when she read Wait Til Helen Comes to our class.  On rainy days we would sometimes forget about "book learning" and do center work all day.  Because, you know, there's nothing more cozy than doing center work while the rain pounds down outside.  

Once we even had a potluck salad bar in our classroom so that everyone would learn to enjoy a good salad and practice etiquette.  Maybe there was another reason for this, but I didn't care what it was.  I've always loved salad and I was in heaven! 

One thing didn't love, however, was math.  I always struggled with it.  Reading was my thing, not numbers, and I always felt stupid when I opened my math book.  It was time to learn something complicated... I think it was long division.  Of course, I had a hard time grasping this terrible concept that, by the way, I never, ever had to use in my adult life until it was time to teach it to my own son.  After a few weeks of trying, trying, and trying again to understand which steps to take and where to put the numbers, our class did something horrifying.  We were called to the chalkboard to work out a math problem.  Three students at a time, in front of the rest of the class!  Seriously, a living nightmare come true for me.  When it was my turn, I trudged up and took my place at the board.  Of course, with the added torture of my peers' eyeballs boring holes into my back, I couldn't even finish the problem.  I got flustered, lined my numbers up incorrectly, and just gave up.  Right then and there, with  lots of laughter and encouragement involved, Mrs. Westmoreland helped me understand what I was doing wrong.  In front of everyone. She was so good at it that I didn't even care.  She made me understand! This may or may not have involved smacking my arm when I made a wrong move to keep me on track!  A few minutes later, well, I wasn't exactly a pro, but at least I knew what I was doing. Ha! And, for the record, my 14 year old son has become an expert at long division under my teaching.  

I could write about so, so many more memories from what I learned in fourth grade.  More important than math and spelling, though, are the life lessons.  Mrs. Westmoreland taught me to appreciate all of my blessings.  Especially my parents and how hard they worked to give me everything I needed and even most of what I wanted.  She also taught me empathy and the value of being kind...she wasn't afraid to call me out when I was being a snotty turd.  Still, I loved her.  She taught me to find my true self and value it.  She made me see that even though I struggled with math, math didn't make me stupid.  She cared about us, our whole class, and we cared about her.  Our softball team won a tournament once and the first thing my classmate and I wanted to do when we got back to my house was to call Mrs. Westmoreland. 

She inspired me to be a teacher. I never dreamed that this inspiration would lead to the honor of teaching my own children.

  

The only thing bad about having Mrs. Westmoreland for a teacher is that she ruined all of my future teachers.  They didn't have a chance!  Every year after the first day of school, I'd call my mom at work and she'd ask about my teachers.  "Is she nice?" mom would ask?  "Well.  She's not Mrs. Westmoreland," was always my reply.  After a few years of this my mom finally said, "Well, no one is."  In case you didn't know, Mrs. Westmoreland was a big hit with my mom, too.  

Thinking of her still makes me smile.  I'm so thankful for her!

Haircuts and Pouts

Last week Violet's Daddy announced that it was time to get her hair cut again.  I agreed.  Her hair had become unruly and just crazy!  Curly, but all different lengths and that "baby mullet" was threatening to come back.  

So, Shaun and I took her back to Katrina.  She gave Violet her very first haircut back in November.  That haircut was easy.  A piece of cake.  Silly me, I just assumed that this meant that every haircut would be just as easy!

Ha!

As soon as we got in the chair, Vi turned into a wiggle worm.  And a whiney worm.  Katrina really had to work hard for her money this time!  

But, at the end of our appointment, Violet looked like this:

As a general rule, I'm not really a fan of bangs.  But really, we didn't know what else to do... her hair was in her eyes.  I have to admit that they're pretty cute.  Those curls aren't half-bad, either. 

After the haircut, the five of us went out to dinner.  The boys asked for El Sombrero.  During the meal, Violet attempted to throw a piece of her quesadilla across the table.  Granted, a very small piece, but we're not going there!  Chris swatted her hand.  Patted her hand is more like it, and then this happened:

Little Drama Queen did this for about ten minutes.  She wouldn't eat.  Wouldn't talk.  Wouldn't drink.  Just pouted.  

Wow.  

Of course, it probably didn't help that the rest of us couldn't stop laughing or taking pictures.  

Boone!

Last week I took Jordan and Violet to Boone, North Carolina to visit my friend Elissa.  The last time I saw her, I looked like this:

Yikes!

I really miss her a lot and she has been inviting us to visit, so I took her up on it.  Chris and Shaun stayed home to have Man Time, whatever that is.  I think they both had a good time doing whatever men do.  Ha!

I was a little nervous.  Okay, I was really nervous about this trip.  I'm not a great driver and I have no sense of direction.  I panic a lot. I think Chris was a little nervous, too.  Thank goodness for "Lola", the GPS.  

According to Lola, the trip should have taken around 5 hours.  I knew it would take a little longer because I was going to be traveling with two children.  Things were going GREAT and then Lola didn't tell me to turn!  I was talking to Jordan...he didn't bring any sort of electronic entertainment not his trip because he wanted to "learn patience".  So I had to entertain him.  We were in the middle of a conversation while I was driving around a mountain and I wasn't paying attention to Lola.  She indicated that I needed to take an exit, but she didn't SAY it.  And I missed said exit and that mistake cost me almost 3 hours!  

It was a very pretty drive, but I really want to know one thing:  Why is it that mountain gas stations all dispense their gasoline out of these old things?

We finally reached our destination around 8:00 that night.  Right before we arrived, Violet got car sick and threw up.  That put her in a bad mood, but she gobbled up some of the lasagna that sweet Elissa had ready for us.  Then she proceeded to cry.  And cry.  She was SO tired and confused because she was in a new place.  Or so I thought.  She finally cried herself to sleep.

The next morning, she woke up crying and proceeded to cry for the entire day.  I do mean the entire day, save about an hour.  So not like her.  The rest of the kids played while Violet cried.

I tried to downplay all of the crying, but eventually I knew that something was wrong.

She fell asleep like this...coat on upside down and laying on top of some blocks.    

I thought maybe her ears were infected again, so I wound up spending most of that evening in the emergency room.  She cried and cried in the waiting room and the exam room until finally she pooped. And then, instantly, she was back to her old self.  I kid you not.

The next day was a fun day.  The kids played some more and then we explored Boone a little bit.  We stopped for candy and souvenirs and then went to this great antique shop that had a little bit of everything.

 I really wanted to have this horse shipped to my sister!

 My grandmother used to have records like this one.

 I'm not sure what this is about...A few days before our visit, Elissa posted a picture of this creepy mannequin on Facebook and promised to take me to meet him (her?  we weren't sure!).

"Mrs.  Erin, Mrs.  Erin!  You should buy this for Violet!"

This was a great trip.  We didn't have any big things planned.  We didn't have to!  The company was enough.  The kids played.  We ate.  We sat around in sweats with no makeup.  We drank too much coffee and talked about life.  

I'm so thankful for the friendship I have with this girl.  She gets me.  God knew what I needed when He put us together.  I miss her already!

On Saturday, after we were already back home, I was shopping with the boys and received this voicemail from Chris:  "I'm so glad you're back and that you had a good time.  You deserved it.  And hey, I'm really proud of you for making it there and back in one piece. I love you!  Thanks for all you do.  I appreciate you!"

I was SO flustered when I listened to this message...the youngest 2 kids were fussy and hungry and Shaun was moody because we couldn't find any shoes he liked.  The voicemail was right on time!  I laughed out loud.  Loudly, embarrassing my kids, but I didn't care.  What encouragement!

A perfect ending to our trip.