First Day of School

Jacob on the first day of sixth grade.

I had to drive him over to the bus stop at his dad's because he and his friend Alec needed to stake their claim to the back seats of the bus now that they are in sixth grade. :-)  It made me kind-of sad seeing him at the bus stop alone because just a few years ago, there were about 7 or 8 kids at this bus stop. 

Here's the big girls going off to high school.

Getting in the car and driving away.

And, last but not least, it was also MY first day of school.  I have one class this semester... Research and Writing.  And since no one took a picture of me :-) here is a picture of my stylish book bag that my BFF Misty gave me for my birthday.  LOVE this bag! 

So, my kids are getting older and it's bittersweet.  But, a funny thing happened that put things into perspective for me.  On the second day of school, Libby forgot her math book at home and texted me asking me to bring it to her.  Since I was half way to work, I was less than excited about this.  Being the second day of school, though, I growled and took pity and turned around.  I stuck a sticky note on the front cover with her name and took the book to the office of the school.  The sweet receptionist with a "kindergarten teacher" voice told me to hand it to an office assistant and she said to him, "Take this book from her, please.  It already has the baby's name on it".  That made me smile all day.  The receptionist must be a mother because she knows that my high school student is still my baby.  They will all three always be my babies.  That is something that will never change.

My Creative Libby

Libby loves Pinterest.  And she is always finding neat ideas there.  A while back, she made these flower ball thingies to hang from the ceiling of her room.  She took styrofoam balls and stuck silk flowers in them.  Then tacked a ribbon to them and hung them from the ceiling.  They are very cute. 

Today she spread glitter glue on her light switch plate.

She's always thinking of some neat little idea to make her room and our house super cute!

On this day in August...

Outside my window...night is falling.  The temps are cooler than they had been.  It is still summer, though.  I wish it was raining.

In the kitchen...Libby baked a carrot cake.  And I made Hamburger Helper for dinner. And the dishwasher is running.  All is at peace.

I am thinking...about my job. And the people I get to meet.  And the disappointment I feel when they leave.

I am grateful...for my home (because someone I know was happy to move from the Rescue Mission into a hotel room this week) and for freedom (because someone I know is looking at jail time) and for a job (because I have met many this week who don't have one).
I am praying... and praying and praying and praying.....

I am wondering...if my mom and sister are having fun together without me. :-P

I am studying... nothing!  I am now on a two-week break before Fall semester starts and then I will be doing nothing but studying.  :-)  Civil Law, Wills & Estates and Legal Writing.  Exciting.

I am resolving...nothing!  I am not resolving to do anything because I am sick of resolving and failing.

I am wearing...a "Navy Mom" t-shirt I got at my store and a pair of Minnie Mouse pajama pants. 

Around the house...laundry is needing doing.

I am reading...a Chicken Soup book with real-life stories of God answering prayers in amazing ways!

I am going...crazy.  Want to come?
I am looking forward to...Christmas Break!  :-)

A picture (Libby got the idea from Pinterest for my birthday last month)....

Letting Go, Moving On....

1) I had an interesting conversation with a young friend of mine this week in which I realized there are two kinds of people in the world.  Those who expect you to get over your problems quickly and move on (because they do) and those who understand that for some of us, it takes a long, long time for us to work through our issues.  I am the type who... if I invest alot of time and emotional energy in someone/something and I get hurt... you can expect a lengthy period of time of me dealing with it.  And that's just how it is.  And that's okay.

2) I am coming to realize that I love far more people than I dislike.  And I believe God is as real as the keys of the keyboard I can feel beneath my fingers as I type.  And he is a God of Love.  And I need to work on giving people the benefit of the doubt, looking for what is good in them, listening rather than judging and condemning, being honest and straightforward (perhaps I don't really need to work on that one as much), allowing people to be where they are, but doing my part to encourage them to move forward.  Everyone is one bad decision away from destruction.  Everyone.

3) Jesus came to redeem our souls and not our flesh.  Therefore, I shouldn't be surprised when my flesh fights my redeemed soul for what it wants and wins.  However, the more I grow, the more I know that greater is He who is in ME than he who is in the world... and theoretically, my flesh never has to win.

4) I have lost 7.4 pounds in the last two weeks!!!  Go me!!

5) I saw Barry Manilow last night in Nashville with a sweet friend of mine.  I was surprised at how many of his songs I was able to sing along with!  :-)  I have to give him credit for being able to get up there and do what he does at his age!  It was a fun time!

6) I can't wait to see my girls tomorrow!  They have been gone to Alexandria, VA on a mission trip for TEN days and I have missed them soooooooo much!

That is all I have time for.  I have to get ready for church now!

Decorating

I got this little Bistro set really, really cheap on clearance at Home Depot.  It is the perfect size for my back porch and if it wasn't so stinking hot out there, I would go out there and use it.  :-)

 I got this four-place-setting dish set at my store for cheap.  It came with four each of dinner plates, salad plates, bowls and mugs.  I always wanted to have dishes out on my dining room table simply for decoration, but never could really afford to have special dishes just for decoration.  That is until I started working at a thrift store!!!  :-)

We never really use the dining room much.  It's the one room in my house that just stays pretty.

A gorgeous vase from the store... flowers from Hobby Lobby (on sale).

 Not a great picture, but a big basket floral arrangement from the store.

 And this particular morning, I just like the way the light was shining through the closed curtains and took a picture.  :-)

Recent Vacation

Oh, for more time to blog.  But, here are some highlights from our recent trip to Michigan....

Cousins in church with their grandparents.

 Me and Melissa in church....

 David, in church, not pleased with our goofing around....

 Cedar Point dinner at Famous Dave's.... our food came served on a garbage can lid....

 It was kind-of cool, I thought.  We ordered a big family buffet thing and they put all kinds of food on the garbage can lid and everyone got to pick what they wanted.  It was very tasty and a reasonably cheap way to eat dinner.

Libby and Claudia enjoying dinner.

 Jacob and Kelli.

I rode this..... Top Thrill Dragster AND the biggest roller coaster EVER, Millenium Force.  I put both of these items on my Post-Divorce Accomplishment List (PDAL), right after buying a house and getting and A in Statistics.  :-)

 This is The Maverick, I think.  I sat it out because it was near the end of the day and MaxAir had made me kindof queasy.  Libby is in the car second to the last in the picture, looking at the camera.

This guy..... was behind me in bumper-to-bumper traffic in Louisville on the way up to Michigan and actually honked at me when I didn't move up 15 feet.  He later flipped me the bird for THEN driving as slow as I possibly could just to make him mad.  He really enjoyed having his picture taken.

And he thoroughly enjoyed us pointing at this billboard!

 My mom and the kiddos in a Mirror Maze in Frankenmuth.  It was a nice day!

That's about all I have.  Other than the delicious CONEY I got to eat after church.  And the Beef Stronganoff David and I made to surprise Melissa.  Yummmmm.  :-)

Christina Perri

I find spiritual comfort in strange places.  I have fallen in love with secular singer Christina Perri and in particular, two of her songs... "A Thousand Years" and "Jar of Hearts".  She has a lovely voice.  In the throws of a bad night... little sleep and a headache, I was listening to these two songs back-to-back on my Ipod while lying in bed with a pillow over my head.  "A Thousand Years" first.  And it occurred to me it could be a conversation between me and God.  (Forget the Twilight connection).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9ayN39xmsI (Go there to listen)

ME: Heart beats fast
Colors and promises
How to be brave
How can I love when I'm afraid to fall
But watching you stand alone
All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow

One step closer

JESUS: I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more
ME:  Time stands still
Beauty in all he is
I will be brave
I will not let anything take away
What's standing in front of me
Every breath
Every hour has come to this

One step closer

JESUS:  And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more

One step closer
One step closer

Now.... "Jar of Hearts", a song I have loved a long while now, in a whole new light.  I envision it as me speaking to the Enemy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nChO-PibN9A (Go there to listen)

No, I can't take one more step towards you
'Cause all that's waiting is regret
Don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore
You lost the love I loved the most

I learned to live half alive
And now you want me one more time
[Chorus:]
And who do you think you are?
Runnin' 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don't come back for me
Who do you think you are?
I hear you're asking all around
If I am anywhere to be found
But I have grown too strong
To ever fall back in your arms
Dear, It took so long just to feel alright
Remember how to put back the light in my eyes
I wish I had missed the first time that we kissed
'Cause you broke all your promises
And now you're back
You don't get to get me back!