The Saturday Before Vacation

Today was a good Saturday... the kind of Saturday that makes you bone tired at the end of it because of fully living within it. We are in pre-vacation mode which means laundry, cleaning, shopping for snacks, shopping for a few summer wardrobe necessities (going to Texas after all), paying bills, finding a temporary home for Rosie our bad dog, washing and vacuuming the van, getting the oil changed, mowing the lawn, etc. We did get a good bit of that accomplished already which is nice. My sister and Baby Lucy will be coming in tomorrow night to caravan with us to Texas while Darin is there on business; I can't wait!

Dance recital went beautifully. The theme was heaven, and Emma's ballet class danced to the song Wish You Were Here by Mark Harris. It was a tear-jerker, actually. I did a fine job backstage, no nervous breakdown, I even had to open the curtain once (which was a terrifying surprise, but I did it!). I'm still a little fuzzy on which is upstage and which is downstage, but I've got stage left down pat.

Abby made it through having her TAD put in by her orthodontist. This stands for temporary anchoring device, but Abby has affectionately dubbed it the "torture afflicting device." It was put right into her gum to help anchor her braces between the roots of her teeth. Once the sensitivity subsided, Abby is fully appreciating the response she gets from showing it to people; it looks pretty wicked.

I just had to pay our local library $30 for the VHS version of Anne of Green Gables. That's the movie we watched way back when we all had pink eye. I know I took it back, but I just can't remember where. That part is the problem; it seems that libraries want you to actually return what you check out to them. Bummer. Maybe they can get the DVD now.

Back to our lovely Saturday... Greg and I went for a run this morning and then sat out back on the porch swing. I had to share my view from the swing, I love it!

We had homemade oatmeal cream pies today, because I was needing them (turns out we all were):

And, our baby robins grew up already. They're gone. I'm feeling rather nostalgic and a little sad about the whole thing. I felt a kinship with this Mama robin. She was so faithful to her role to protect and care for those little helpless babies. On Mother's Day, I woke up, walked out to our big window, and told her Happy Mother's Day!

We all shared in the experience of watching her feed those little ones. In no time at all, we were amazed at how big the babies were getting - they barely fit in the nest, and we waited in anticipation of watching them learn to fly. The next morning when we checked on them, only one was left. She had three babies, and two of them were gone. We missed it; all three were there the day before.

Throughout day the mama came back to this one remaining baby bird, bringing her worms until Abby looked out and said, "Mom, the robins are gone."

And sure enough, I looked at the nest, and it was empty... completely abandoned. All I could think was, "They weren't ready! How can they be gone already? They never learned to fly; we never saw it." Obviously they were ready, perfectly prepared, the whole thing went off without a hitch.

I just wasn't ready. I miss them.

Catch up

Grace turning her lunch into an airplane with wheels:

I haven't been terribly good about posting lately mostly because I haven't felt terribly eloquent or profound (not that I ever really am, but sometimes it bothers me more than others).

Life has kind of taken over also, so I find that I am less apt to make good post-worthy observations about life around me. Here's what is coming up in the next week and a half:

• finishing up our school year
• physical therapy for Abby (a knee issue due to sprouting up within the last several months)
• physical therapy for me (see last post)
• Abby starting to attend YOUTH GROUP!
• working at the coffee shop a couple of times
• Emma's ballet recital this Saturday (she has four dances with three costume changes) and again on Sunday

Taken at dress rehearsal from stage left right before they went on


• my first experience as a backstage mom. I have stage left, wing duty which means I must make sure the right girls go onstage at the right time in the right order from stage left (my first question at dress rehearsal was, "Which is stage left?")
• Abby's tour of the middle school in preparation for starting 7th grade at Hesston Middle School in the fall - Go Swathers! (that would be a piece of farm machinery)
• a sewing lesson with Jenny
• Abby babysitting for some neighbors
• a few graduation open houses to attend
• Emma's 5th grade middle school orientation; yes, middle school starts with 5th grade here - but they have their own hallway
• A parent meeting for new middle school students starting in the fall
• Emma's violin program at McPherson College
• one last ballet class for Emma before recital this weekend
• Emma's violin lesson
• A trip to Wichita to pick up I.T.B.S. results for Abby and Emma during a 3-hour time slot
• Mother's Day
• an orthodontics appointment for Abby

After the above week and a half, WE GO TO TEXAS FOR VACATION!!!!!!!

While in Texas, Greg and I will spend one night, just the two of us in Austin to celebrate our 15th anniversary! I am so excited. The nice thing is that after vacation, summer break will bring an open schedule.

One thing, in the midst of the end of the school year chaos, that I have been able to observe and has been a great source of joy and blessing to me is a robin family nesting in our pergola. I am thankful that God hasn't allowed me to miss this one; He brought it right to us outside our window. We all get up on the dining room chairs to watch the mama robin and her mate take turns bringing worms to this eager nest full of humongously wide little yellow baby beaks. We've seen the whole process from the mama building her nest, to the endless sitting on her eggs, to the endless flying back and forth finding worms. Emma got out our Handbook of Nature Study to read about robins and found that each of these little teeny guys will consume up to sixty-something worms a day. We watch this mama sit there in the pouring rain covering her babies with her fluffed up self. I love it. I am thankful for this invasion into my busy-ness that lifts my eyes again to my Creator and His amazing creation.

WHY I HATE P.E...

I'm attending my second physical therapy appointment tomorrow, because I've had tingly pinkie and ring fingers on both hands up to my elbows and loss of sensation. The culprit has been identified as, to put it non-medically, my neck being all out of whack. Apparently my neck muscles are so terribly tight that my cervical spine is leaning it the WRONG direction.

The physical therapist is wonderful, and she asked as she was exclaiming over my way too tight muscles, "So, do you have some significant stress in your life right now?"

No, I really don't. But I did have P.E. in high school. She asked about injuries, yes, even back to high school, and was particularly interested in the incident that involved teenage boys AND girls being told to go out on the soccer field and play soccer for P.E. I happened to be a not quite extremely athletic type who found myself standing right where a large and hyperactive boy was running extremely fast for no apparent reason (he didn't even have the ball), and right about the moment I thought he was going way too fast to change his course, he hit me head on and I fell right down on my back really hard. He didn't help me up.

After that little bit of exercise, I could not move my neck for several days. I had to get some kind of medicine that I remember made me feel better and was told my neck had terrible muscle spasms.

My nice physical therapist wonders if this is related in some way to my current condition. Probably, P.E. and stress have pretty much the same effect on me, I think.

Emma Creek Classic

We had perfect weather for the Emma Creek Classic 5K walk/run today. Abby and Emma each had a personal best time, we had doughnuts and fruit at the finish line, and we cheered on our dear friend Brandey who won 1st place in her age group! Emma is always recognized for being one of only a few if not the only "Emma" in the race. There were 1,023 participants this year - WOW!

On our way to the race I turned on our "running music" to help us get nice and PUMPED for the big race. There were cars everywhere, and I of course, couldn't sit still while listening to inspiring running music, so I "arm danced" in the minivan while singing loudly. Abby looked back and said, "Mom, Emma like completely shrunk behind you."

She did come out of hiding once we parked, and she was confident I and the music had stopped.

While we raced, Greg and Grace had bonding time buying mulch and cereal at Wal-Mart. Once they came home, Greg put a promised Little Bear video in for Grace while he did some work in the garden. After a bit, he tried to open the front door to check on Grace but found it locked, then he tried the garage door, same story, and finally he went to the back door, and yes, our little brilliant 4 year old had decided to completely lock herself in the house. Not one of those doors was locked to begin with. Greg banged and yelled until she let him in, wondering what the neighbors might be thinking. Movie privileges were definitely over right then and there, and Grace had to stay with Daddy outside until we came home.

We'd love to host anyone who wants to join us next year!

Signs of Spring

I do believe spring has indeed sprung, and I am filled with gratitude to my Creator. It is gently raining at the moment (between some much more powerful thunderstorms), and I'm sipping coffee, feeling rather content that my new flowers are being sovereignly watered. Saturday was the BIG FLAT SALE at our fabulous local nursery that also happens to be located right next to our neighborhood. Greg and I picked out two flats of vinca, trailing vinca, salvia, petunias, portulaca, and tall grasses that I planted in lovely spring weather on Saturday while the girls all played in a nearby giant mud puddle.

My newly planted pots; here's hoping and praying they'll only get better:

The progress on the side garden Greg has been working on (I love it! It's like a childhood secret garden dream come true. Grace and I go hopping from stone to stone again and again):

The bouquet of dandelions Grace picked for me:

The wild tulip Emma picked for me near the mud puddle:

This Saturday is the big Emma Creek Classic 5k walk/run held right here in our little town. The purpose is to promote fitness for women and girls, so it is an entirely female event, and last year there were over 600 participants. I have jogged one time since, um fall, I think; so I'll be walk/jogging at Abby and Emma's pace (if I can keep up). We're looking forward to it, especially because there is a yummy doughnut and fruit breakfast thing right as you cross the finish line (it is for chicks, after all). We'll miss my mom and sister who have joined us the past two years and the cute "Bluebonnet" team t-shirts we have specially designed for us. Maybe next year.

Mr. Rude and the beautiful day

Today was absolutely gorgeous: warm sun, no wind (major thing for Kansas), green grass, budding and leafing trees... I made my very first from scratch bierocks today. I'm not sure exactly where they originate, but this is a VERY LOCAL thing. We sell them at the coffee shop where I work and they are generally highly sought after wherever they can be found. A bierock is a beef, onion, and cabbage mixture inside delicious, homemade, sweetish dough. Mine came out YUMMY! It felt like a big "living in Kansas" accomplishment.

Tonight was the weekly women's Bible study I'm helping to lead, and it was wonderful. I treasure these women and their openness. I always come into the evening tired after working at the coffee shop from 1-6 and leave refreshed and energized.

Sandwiched in between making bierocks and going to Bible study on this beautiful day was an encounter with MR. RUDE. I truly enjoy my barista job. I love my fellow employees and the delightful people I get to talk with who come into the shop. I love coffee. I love our fabulous bakery items. I didn't so much love MR. RUDE (but I tried).

He walked up to the counter, and I super cheerfully greeted him, "Hi there! How are you doing today?"

He didn't say anything, looked at me with an undefinable expression, and finally held up his hand like the letter "b" in finger spelling and said "That's the best I can do." And then he laughed heartily at his joke.

I had no response to that - at all. So, I smiled and waited quietly for his order.
He ordered.
I rang it up, and told him his total.
The REALLY BIG PROBLEM was that I accidentally hit one wrong key, and so his total was not right. This was a REALLY BIG PROBLEM, because it made him super duper angry.
So super duper angry was he that he yelled right at me very loudly about how when he added up what the cost on the menu board was it came out to..., and he doesn't care what my register told me, and many more super duper angry things. I was feeling quite terribly flustered at the great intensity of his anger, but I began to turn the screen, so we could figure out what I had entered incorrectly together.
This somehow threatened him and made him EXTRA SUPER DUPER ANGRY, so he began yelling that this was MY MISTAKE and I needed to fix MY MISTAKE. This was his favorite saying for awhile.
Until about now, I had not really had much of an opportunity to say anything, because he could not use his ears while his mouth was yelling.
So finally, I said as nicely as my red-faced self could, "I UNDERSTAND THAT I MADE A MISTAKE. I am simply trying to find what it is and thought you could help me identify it."

What is funny is that when I finally said that, he realized something. I don't know exactly what it was, perhaps that I am 35 years old, perhaps that EVERYBODY COULD HEAR HIM, perhaps that maybe he wasn't being very nice. But he back-peddled very much and said all at once, "O that's fine, (smile with lots of icky syrup) all I need is for it to be made right, that's all I ask. Boy it's just beautiful today, isn't it?! Way too pretty to be spending it inside working, huh?! By the way, I hope you don't think I was grumpy at you. I'm not grumpy at all. All I ask is that it be made right, that's it! (BIG, BIG SMILE)"

He then proceeded to put almost the amount that was the difference between my mistake and my "making it right" into the tip container. Go figure!

The moral of the story is "Don't let MR. RUDE spoil a beautiful day," and "Even if I was 17 and a high school dropout, no one should be spoken to that way," and
"Never take your own revenge, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. "But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." Romans 12:19-20
Okay, slightly out of context, but we did give him a mocha.

The Great Emma Post

THIS IS THE GREAT EMMA POST:

Emma turned 10 on Sunday. She had a small party on Friday (a pseudo sleepover involving pizza, ice cream nachos, fun crafts for their bedrooms, pajamas and watching Pollyanna), then I drove her two guests home at 10:45 to sleep in their own beds).

FUN ROOM CRAFTS:

Here is the scoop on Emma:

FAVORITE DINNER: fish tacos

FAVORITE DESSERT: flan

CURRENT FAVORITE BOOKS: the Lily series by Nancy Rue

INTERESTS: ballet, violin (she had a recital on her birthday), crocheting, sewing, cooking, reading, playing tennis, anything creative, playing with friends

HOBBIES: collecting Breyer horses

FAVORITE MOVIE: The Parent Trap with Haley Mills

FAVORITE BIBLE PASSAGE: Psalm 23

PET PEEVE: tight shorts

CURRENT FAVORITE SONG: They will Know we are Christians by our Love

FAVORITE BANDS: Jars of Clay, Jennifer Knapp

We love you, Emma, and we are so proud of you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!