Spring Break Musings

Two weeks of spring break should provide new teachers with two full weeks to catch up on lesson planing, right? Well...spring break is over, and the only thing close to lesson planning I've done is fill out an NCAA bracket for our stats class pool. I have, however, slept (a LOT), relaxed, served, played, cheered, visited, and completed every spring project on my list (such as purging every room in the house, coordinating major construction projects, completely catching up on scrapbooks, getting family members to our DC, dentist, and GP, hosting guests, celebrating & shopping for 11 birthdays this month, completing & filing our time consuming tax returns, cleaning baseboards, and even lining & reorganizing drawers). I've done anything and everything but school. I love these students with all my heart, but it is normal to take a "break" from the books when given the chance, or am I the only one with priorities so backwards?

Parenting Observations & Kid Quotes

With the kids home with me for two weeks, I had the opportunity to make more parenting observations and overhear their funny conversations.  (Gift #990)

You know your kids are beginning to empathize with you as a parent when they tell you, "We're going outside to get our crazy out."

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You know spring break has taken it's toll when Muffin is outside of her pen keeping watch over the kids who have put themselves into time out inside the bunny pen.

Muffin was introduced to a fan for the first time that day.

I was reminded of how photographers will use a fan in the studio to make the model's hair look like it's blowing in the wind. With Muffin, her ears just blow out to the side like the wings of an airplane. She does like the cool air blowing against her back side, though.

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Prayer should draw us nearer to God, so I find it ironic that our kids got into an argument over whose turn it is to pray first.

"..and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your servant just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20: 27-28)

True, dat!

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Whenever I serve something quick and easy for dinner, the kids are complimentary and leave few leftovers (especially if it is something unhealthy and/or processed). But when I spend hours creating a new recipe from scratch, I usually hear comments like I heard over spring break:

From the kids:

• "Did you sneak fish into those enchiladas? It sure doesn't taste like chicken."
• "It's too spicy. It doesn't look right. I can't eat this."

From my husband:

• "I like it, and since I love my wife, I will eat it all, thank you very much!"

I can't cook, but he still loves me anyway!  (Gift #991)

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While cleaning, I found more evidence of how different girls are than boys, especially when it comes to written expression. Note how each signed a card for their dad.

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We had a big scare this past weekend when my hairdresser insisted I had lice.  So we dumped pesticides on all of us and insisted a friend who had been near us do so as well...threw out all our linens I had just washed, sanitized the entire house, and hardly slept with the sensation of bugs crawling all over us.  The next day, I got a second opinion since we didn't see any nits and could not figure out where we could have gotten it being in isolation so much during spring break.  We went to a certified lice treatment center, and the technician could not find a trace of anything...no bites, egg casings, nothing. Relieved, we resumed our busy schedule.  While in the waiting room, however, my son read that lice prefer clean, sweet smelling hair, so now he wants to know if he can get away with not washing his hair at all this week. Nice try, buddy!

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While driving through a new part of town, I mumbled, "These houses are so big that they make our house look like a hut." Then my 8-year-old said, "Mom, you told us not to compare ourselves with others because it either results in pride or envy but never does any good." So parents, even if your children do not obey your instruction, you know they are at least listening when they call you out on it.

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I am still enjoying my morning study of the book of Proverbs with the kids.  They say the most convicting things (see previous quote from my son about making comparisons). (Gift #992)

Yesterday

Me:        What does it mean to be "proud in heart" (vs. 16:5)?
               What's the difference between pride and self confidence?

Tween:    I know! I know! Self confidence is when you know inside that you can do something.
               Pride is when you boast about it to others.

Me:         Who helps you do that something? Hey Look! They just painted that house bright blue!

Tween:    Mom! How dare you look at house paint when we're discussing God's holy word?"

#‎Humbled‬ ‪#‎Distracted‬ ‪#‎NotaMorningPerson‬ ‪#‎SpringBreakEndedTooSoon‬ ‪#‎SassyTween‬

Today

Tween:       "A gray head is a crown of glory; It is found in the way of righteousness." (Prov. 16:31)
                   Mom, I think God is telling you to stop dyeing your hair."

This verse led into a discussion of the sanctity of human life and how we must stand for both the unborn and the elderly when society treats them as if they are less sacred than anyone else. We talked about how important it is to show special honor and respect to the elderly not only for the wonderful wisdom they can share, but also because they are sacred, made in God's image . We must defend all human life. Then my 8-year-old said, "This world makes me so sad. The way some people treat the unborn and the elderly reminds me of when the pharaoh tried to kill all the male Hebrew babies out of fear the Hebrew people would grow large in number and rise up to overthrow him." Wow! Perhaps, I underestimate the power of a child's mind and need to show more respect for his age as well.

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Haircuts are a dramatic experience for our tween, so last time I took her to the most popular, trendy salon in town where she received a beautiful haircut, but she still cried with each snip that sent a lock of fried, sun-damaged hair cascading to the floor. This time, her most trusted confidant and friend, "Grandma Susan", came to the rescue by cutting her hair at home while Muffin comforted her, and this experience was all sunshine, roses, smiles, and relaxation, even as dark clouds surrounded our home and rain poured from the skies. (Gift #993)

Miracles

The fact that my husband would invite me to go running with him is nothing less than a miracle. The fact that I could even go running at all after the doctor said I would never run again and after 4 years of running restriction is yet another miracle. So, given that I have gone running at least 6 different times over the past few months without back pain and without significant knee pain and that two of those runs happened only because my husband invited me to go with him, what is the probability that God still works miracles? My stats students better know the answer to this one! (Gift #994)

The fact that my expert hair dresser saw lice, and then they magically disappeared is a miracle in my book because she is not the type to deceive me in that way. (Gift #995)  Although she did tell me to never contact her again when I told her the second opinion showed none whatsoever.  I notified her so she would not worry about any risks she may have been taken and so she could bring all the towels and scissors out of quarantine, but she took it as the rudest insult imaginable and will not let me apologize or make things right between us.   Thankfully, I've already found a new hair dresser who is like minded in faith and affordable. 

When Susan came over to visit our daughter (and cut her hair!), she kidded me about the state of our garage.  She knows I'm a neat freak (she is not!), so she was surprised to see our garage in such disarray.  All the sledding and winter weather activities plus the cold temperatures made it hard to get out there and organize everything.  I told her my husband had to organize it anyway because he would not like not knowing where all his tools went, but it may take forever for him to find the time, for he doesn't get a spring break.  Then the next day, he purged the garage, so I got my 3rd miracle for the week! (Gift #996)

I love the way my daughter respects, appreciates, and loves the miracle of God's creation, particularly with regard to animals. (Gift #997)

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all. ‪#‎CritterLover‬

Bunny Happenings
Muffin was asked to serve as a prop for a professional photographer's Easter photo sessions.  As soon as I let her know about her modeling debut, she began primping for the occasion. :-)

We also gave her a bath to help her with the parts she could not reach.  Then I let her "hang out and dry" with  our daughter and the sight of them together was too precious not to photograph. (Gift #998)

Muffin did great during the 7 or 8 photo sessions, and she only tried to hop away into the woods once, and I managed to catch her.  Whew.  It was a gorgeous day and lots of fun for the kids as they played basketball and rode the photographer's zip-line while I help the photographer and took care of Muffin.   (Gift #999)

If you ever see a girl in a dress and barefooted while playing basketball like a pro or a boy on a zip line or shooting hoops in his dress shoes, then you know those kids are probably ours.

Here are some photos I took with Muffin in their yard and in the woods behind it between photo sessions.

Update:  The photographer just posted these photos from that day's spring shoot on her website.  The kids are gorgeous, but that bunny sure is cute, too. :-)