69, 70, 71, 72....

This is what Monkey woke up at 6:30am to do, dressed and ready to go. Yesterday (his first half day of freedom) he mastered the pogo stick (which is a cool way to start the summer I think). Now he cannot get enough of it despite the bitten tongue and the scraped shins. He normally wakes at 8am OR LATER if he could have his way, so you know this is important stuff. I had to break the news to him that pogo sticking cannot commence until after 8:30am (or later if the neighbors could weigh in).

Please note the attire...yes it is THAT COLD on June 19th to have to wear long pants and long shirt probably all day...this is not the summer weather I knew as a child.

School's out for summer

queue music http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xBNAwwqjkw&feature=related

Well actually at 12pm school is out. Princess is frantically deciding what her "outfit" should be for the last day. Monkey is trying to write a nice note to his teacher. I am actually looking forward to summer and having fun with the kids. Some people are poised to put their kids into camp the minute their feet hit freedom. For some reason, I am not that way. Ask me how I feel about the summer in August, I may be forking over a small fortune to put them into overnight camps to get them out of my hair...but I somehow don't think so.

A star is born

Friday night was the Variety Show at our school. I was one of the co-chairs and Princess was a participant. Well let me tell you, she put on a show. Everyone else definitely performed, but Princess took it to a whole new level. She sang AND danced. The other singers would do a hand gesture here and there, but my girl, she took control of the stage and went for it. Of course I'm not biased. She made us all proud. It makes me want to give her more and more of those very experiences that she seems to take on with such grace, conviction and bravery. I for sure could not and would not do that. In fact don't EVER ask me to sing Karaoke. I won't do it...no, no, never, nuh uh uh! And that is my final answer.

All fun and games

Last night I worked my fingers to the 'nub' filling and tying 90+ water balloons. Princesses class is having a field day today. Try stretching a rubber band over you wet hands over 100 times (some broke, some spilled, some wouldn't tie right). Let me know how it feels!

Gratitude X 10: Special Edition

This episode of my Sunday gratitude is dedicated entirely to my husband. My guest writers are his children:

1. He's nice (princess)
2. He's funny (princess)
3. I love him (princess)
4. I'm grateful that he is my dad (princess)
5. He takes us to fun parks (princess)
6. I love him (monkey)
7. He's nice (monkey)
8. He's funny (monkey)
9. He's cool (monkey)
10. I'm grateful that he lets me get exercise (monkey)

So, I see that there is a consensus that daddy is funny and nice and that his kids love him. I think that this performance appraisal shows that he has been doing a great job this year. I'm sure next year his review will be even better : ).

The picture is of our 'breakfast in bed' for daddy today.

A beautiful thing

A beautiful thing happened today. A multitude of familes from our school community came out to help and honor the family who lost their mom/wife. One of her last wishes was to have a swing installed in the backyard for the children. She specifically requested a park quality swing. Their yard needed some changes to be prepared for said swing...so we all came to pitch in. Many of the men set to work to solve the 'riddle' of how to level the earth to make the area ready while many of the other men and women set about to tackle the front and back yard which had become overgrown due to the fact that the family's focus was understandably elsewhere.

When we first arrived it felt like an overwhelming and 'impossible' feat to be able to pull up all the weeds and overgrowth, and to plant some annuals to add some color to their front yard. Well, we left that house 5 hours later and the front yard looked fabulous and by golly the back yard looked 100 times better than we had started. It was an amazing feeling to see all of the families rally. Many of us mom's couldn't make direct eye contact or we might cry, or we would make eye contact and share a knowing tear. Whenever the family's kids came out, it was hard not to weep, but we didn't let them see, we included them in our activites and made them feel special. What an amazing day it was.

We made so much progress and the yard looked fabulous. While we were working, I kept thinking about the men who were involved and wondering how it felt to them. The act of helping this family was rewarding in of itself, but to help one of "their kind" in this time which they would NEVER want to be; losing their wives, losing the mother of their children, being left a single dad, having to have others "help you", having to have people see you in the worst pain you can ever imagine. I guess today put a totally knew spin on Father's Day for many of the Dads who helped. I hope that the husband can look at his yard tomorrow and feel as though his wife had sent him her own special Father's Day gift through our busy little hands today.

Today I am at both ends....

For everything there is a season,

And a time for every matter under heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die;

A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal;

A time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to seek, and a time to lose;

A time to keep, and a time to throw away;

A time to tear, and a time to sew;

A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate,

A time for war, and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

My day starts with: A time to mourn. The dear mother from our kids' school has, as her husband said "fought the good fight and is now with God and likely making him laugh with her humor and stories." Pray for these motherless children and for the father who has lost the love of his life. They need strength.

My day ends with: A time to dance. The school's Variety show is tonight which has dancing, singing, and laughter.