Wing Haven Gardens, part 3

We highly recommend this lovely retreat -- if you have a spare hour or two, it is well worth it. And it appeals to three generations! How many activities can claim that?

Wing Haven Gardens, part 2

More photos from Wing Haven Gardens. The very large tree was the ONLY tree on the property in 1927, when the couple first bought the property and built the house. It was a small sapling then. Julia enjoyed trying to approach a rabbit.

Wing Haven Gardens, part 1

Wing Haven Gardens is in Charlotte. It was built by a man and wife all through the 20th century as a private garden and sanctuary for birds and other small animals. We enjoyed our two hours in this tranquil, healing place. Mother and I strolled and sat in leisure, while Julia dashed up and down the paths, discovering short cuts and new niches.

Philip's Graduation

Here he is, the graduate (well, this is actually BEFORE the ceremony), giving the thumbs-up. He just HAD to wear the bow-tie.

You know how troublesome those relationships are, between a dad and his 18 year old son . . . think they will be able to smooth it out finally? Hm.

The graduating class of 2009 toss their hats in the air!

Philip crosses that all-important stage, and shakes hands with the headmaster. Yay!

My parents were here for the event. Thankfully, Philip gave a NORMAL smile, while sitting next to his grandmother.

THE CARD

My Absolutely Fabulous 10th grade class surprised me today with this amazing card that they made themselves. So that you can tell how LARGE this card is, I've put my toe in the lower left corner.

They traced all their hands on the front of the card, wrote lovely notes to me inside, and included fun pictures of the group on both.

And here's another picture they gave me. They all gathered outside and had this one done, and developed. Aren't they sweet? This is their silly picture:

Julia's last day

At the 4th grade Awards Day, Julia (on the left in pink) sings "I Am a Promise" with her classmates.


Then the students recited all of Isaiah 53 from memory. Julia was one of the leaders of this recitation.

Julia received her "Fruit of the Spirit" award - JOY! Yes, she does have plenty of that! Those are her two teachers with her.

Julia with her home-room teacher.

Anna's Art

Anna took an art class at our school this past semester. I must say that our Art teacher is an extremely talented and diligent teacher. I will miss her dearly, and her impact on my kids! Here's one piece, painted on fabric. I love the way the light filters through:

And another still-life. Bear in mind that Anna has NEVER been considered an artistic child (much like her mother). Aren't these great?

Life was put on hold for a few minutes this afternoon when this drove across my path. Don't see many of these anymore:

Good-bye, Students!

Oh, how I love them :)
I've been teaching almost all these kids for 3 years now, and have grown rather attached to them. And many of them have developed into excellent literature students. This is their "serious" picture.

And this is their "silly" picture.

Memorial Day/Labor Day

We really worked today!

The major efforts accomplished today were:
1. Cleaning Julia's room
2. Sending out job information to churches

Julia's room is MUCH better. Picture, if you will, a sea of crumpled clothing. Not an inch of floor in sight. The round, purple chair in the center of her room piled high with more clothing and junk. Her bed also a mass of jumbled bedding, clothing, stuffed animals, and the usual mysteries.

And TRASH. So much little, itty bitty trash.
(And lets not forget all the ants, because Julia is a girl who loves to stash her sweets away in obscure places where only ants can go.)

At first, I just had to hand it over to Adam because I knew I was going to lose my temper even WORSE than I already had. Then later, I had to bite the bullet and do that undesirable necessity: sit in her room and give very specific instructions. "Pick up that piece of trash. Put it in the bag. DON'T set that on the floor! Do you want to keep that book? That's trash! Why do you want to keep a zip-lock bag with dirty kleenex?"

And she's almost 10.

Adam had major success today. Altogether, he has sent information to 24 churches. Today he sent information to 12 (8 via mail, 4 online). 2 of the churches were asking for a second round of info, which is very encouraging -- a church in Missouri, and a church in eastern NC. The farthest church? Bolivia. Ahem.

Philip is back from his senior class mission trip to the Dominican Republic. They had a great time, did extremely useful ministry in a medical clinic and with children, and visited an orphanage. Philip, for 2 days, was assigned to take people's pictures, print them, and give them to the folks. Many of these people did not own a photograph of themselves or their children. Some of the mothers cried as they saw their children's pictures. Can you imagine not owning a photo of your baby, especially in a place where infant mortality is high? I'm so thankful my son had an opportunity to go on this trip, and so proud of ALL these seniors that they chose to do ministry instead of sunning themselves on a cruise for a week.

So, all in all, a very productive day. I only have 2 class days left in school: tomorrow I'm giving a test, and Wednesday I'm having a review day for the exam, which is on Thursday. On Friday, I'm just doing graduation stuff with my son.

Sunday Evening Snacks

How we lose the Scriptures:

What a loss that is! If we truly believe that God has spoken to us, specifically and clearly, in a form that we can comprehend, wouldn't humanity do all things possible to prevent losing such a gift?

But instead, we participate in this loss.

I'm reminded of my Daddy's stories from when he was a younger man, involved in the Presbyterian church of his day, with other conservative pastors and elders. So much conflict, so much division was experienced. And much of it came down to one question: What is this Book?

So many Christians fought, and separated, because some honored it as the very words of their God, and others others did not. And in this way, some kept his words and didn't lose them, and some have lost them entirely.

How does a church lose the Scriptures? I'm reminded of a story from Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography. He tells the painful tale of trying to attain perfection in various virtues. Franklin had quite a list of virtues he (supposedly) strove to perfect, the most difficult being "Order." He began with the best of intentions. He compared himself to a man who took his axe to the axe-grinder's shop. The man wanted a beautiful axe: he not only wanted the edge of the axe to be sharp and shiny; he wanted the WHOLE HEAD of the axe to be bright from grinding and polishing.

"Fine," said the axe-grinder. "But you'll need to help me. I'll polish the whole axe, and push the surface against the grinding wheel. YOU turn the wheel."

And so they proceeded to polish. And, of course, the axe owner decided soon enough that a perfect axe wasn't really what he wanted. "I think I like a speckled axe best," he said. And Ben Franklin agreed - striving for virtue was harder work than he wanted.

The Scriptures are a standard of perfection against which we set ourselves. And when we fall short, that's called sin. It's painful to find sin in yourself, much more painful than the ache in the axe-owner's arm from grinding away. And occasionally, the brutal standard of holiness that God's Word exerts over us, is more than some can bear.

And they reject part of the Word. Just a little bit. Maybe just a verse or two, in a particular situation. They say, "It doesn't apply."

Now I do admit that there are valid, theological arguments that go on between denominations over interpretations of Scripture, and occasionally a passage (stoning children?? wearing head coverings??) that seems culturally limited to its time in ancient days; people disagree on these.

But most passages in Scripture are not vague like that. But squirming Christians wiggle free of them nonetheless. God's clothes seem to bind us, when we are too fat with sin.

Adam and I have seen this happen recently with dear Christian brothers that we love. If you'd ever told them that they would question the authority of God's Word, that they would ever set it aside for their own preferences, denying the validity of a passage that was clearly designed for the VERY situation in which they found themselves -- they would have been shocked.

But they did it anyway. And they lost the Scripture that day.

It is a warning to us all. God's Word is not intended to conform to us; we are intended to conform to it.

If you need to sell a house,

you need to clean it first, right?
I am not sure that Julia agrees.

Today we did quite a bit of bathroom and bedroom cleaning. Believe it or not, she rebels against cleaning the clothes in her bedroom (putting them away after folding, particularly) worse than she hates the potty-cleaning.

I thought I'd share this lovely pic with you. This is an outfit that Adam's mother made for his sister when she was a girl (she's now about 40). Gloria gave it to Anna, and now Anna (who's outgrown it) is giving it to Julia.
It's made with pillow cases. Gloria is very creative and gifted, so I know she whipped this together with no pattern. But see the pillowcase edges along the bottoms of the shirt and skirt? So cute!

Surviving

I don't know why that word popped into my mind, as a post title today. We're surviving the last few days until school is out. An era is ending in our lives - the 3 years when our whole family of six went to the same school all day, every day. It'll never be that way again.

We're also just in survival mode a bit, emotionally, as we wait, and wait, to see what God wants us to do next. I don't want to give the impression that we're just sitting around on our duffs -- Adam is very actively seeking work.

It's just that I can't remember ever feeling before such a strong sense that God was PUSHING us OUT of a place. I feel downright ejected from the school, lock, stock and barrel. And the situation at our church is so downright intolerable right now, that it's difficult to go on Sundays.

With no school, and no church connections left, we feel loose here, as if we have no ties at all.

But we also have no ties elsewhere. Where do we go?

Please continue to pray that God will give direction. He's assuredly telling us to leave. How can we leave when we don't know where we're going?

God seems often to tell his children to step into the dark. I'm reminding myself of that. I know Adam is feeling it, everyday, as well. We're both on emotional pins and needles all the time. And it's the time of year when usually we're relaxing, exhaling from a long school year, looking forward to the unwinding of tensions in the summer.

Quiet the heart. Trust. Pray. Wait. Repeat.

Here's some more:

It never fails: when I read the opening chapters (so short they are hardly chapters) of E. Elliot's book, I find nuggets of gold. Useful years ago, and useful now.

She asks me, "Have you ever put heart and soul into something, prayed over it, worked at it with a good heart because you believed it to be what God wanted, and finally seen it 'run aground?'"

Yes, Elisabeth. I've poured myself into this school for 3 years. Why did it end this way?

"Heaven is not here, it's THERE. If we were given all we wanted here, our hearts would settle for this world rather than the next. God is forever luring us up and away from this one ...."

I'm too easily settled in here, trying to form a little Eden about me.

And I know that some of you reading this have much bigger ships "running aground" in your lives right now - huge, life-shattering disappointments. Mine seems small to yours.

Mrs. Elliot's next "chapter" tells about a woman she met who suffered with a huge disability: she was born without legs. This passage caught my eye today:

"What we judge to be 'tragic -- the most dreaded thing that could happen,' I expect we'll one day see as the awesome reason for the beauty and uniqueness of our life and our family."

Oh my. I look at our precious family, how we have dragged these kids around. A student told me last Friday that, if his parents told him he had to move away from our town, his life would fall apart. He was trying to imagine what our kids are feeling -- but he has lived here all his life. His security is in a place. Our children's security is in other things: the family unit, our faith, the church. Yet . . . we do feel dysfunctional to me sometimes. Why can't we stay in one place, even when we WANT to, and we PLAN to, and we say that we will NOT move again? It just doesn't seem to work for us! Is it true that this uprootedness could someday be seen as a positive thing, the thing that sets us apart and makes us wonderful, unique?

She talks about the witness of Christians who are publicly suffering with great trials: "As the world watches, these people persevere. They live, love, trust and obey Him. Eventually the world is forced to say, 'How great their God must be to inspire this kind of loyalty.'"

I wrote this note to myself at the end of this chapter: "What is your biggest personal disappointment, tragedy, inadequacy? Do you fight it as an enemy? ONLY SIN IS AN ENEMY."

I need to fight the sin within me, and allow God to use the seeming tragedies and disappointments.

Tidbits

Here are a few nibbles that God threw to me this weekend. I found this on a piece of paper on our floor, while I was vacuuming. Don't know the writer, or the book.

"We all face tragedy. . . . Like wrecked cars in a junkyard, they clutter up our hearts with memories of bad days." The writer mentions a number of inescapable physical reminders that some Christians carry around with them. It's hard to escape your past.

"...God can turn any tragedy into a triumph, if only you will wait and watch."

I see this as God's REDEEMING character trait, coming out in force. He does more than just redeem us out of the bondage of sin. He also redeems the sorrows of our lives, altering them into joys.

So many Christians and churches today talk only of GRACE. Grace in salvation. Grace in forgiveness. Grace in wiping away all pain or sorrow, overlooking all offenses. This description of GRACE is all sunshine, all smiles, all happiness.

This is not the grace I know, from the God I know. He said to Paul, when Paul cried out for a horrible sorrow to be removed from him: "No, Paul. I won't remove it. But I will give you grace instead: grace to tolerate and to bear up under the pain." Grace doesn't change the pain; grace changes you.

Grace is more than the simplified variety preached so often today. I define GRACE as anything that God does in my life that makes more like Jesus. Occasionally these are pleasant acts. More often they are painful, because I'm not much like Jesus yet.

The writer uses the Apostle John as his example of someone who "waits and watches." This is John, between Jesus's crucifixion and his resurrection, on that silent Saturday. Between the sorrow and the eventual joy. Before he had any idea that any joy was possible.

I'm there right now. I'm in a state of sorrow, as are some of you. Life is painful. We are called to wait, and to watch for what God will do. I cannot see which particular result of joy is in the darkened distance. I don't want to wait. And I don't want to watch either.

"When it's Saturday in your life, how do you react? When you are somewhere between yesterday's tragedy and tomorrow's triumph, what do you do? Do you leave God -- or do you linger near Him?"

John stayed for the miracle, the miracle he did not anticipate.

I think God sent me this little chapter from a book to encourage me. It has calmed my heart just a little bit more. He is gradually helping me to let go of all the pleasures, and then all the worries, of life right now. The worries are harder to release.

Hungry?

Here are a few more tidbits from Chef Elliot:

"All of the past, I believe, is a part of God's story of each child of His -- a mystery of love and sovereignty . . . never a hindrance to the task He has designed for us, but rather the very preparation. . . ."

The very parts I'd highlighted and underlined a decade ago are still the ones that strike me hardest today. This shows me I'm learning the same lessons again {sigh}. Is it true that ALL OUR PAST -- all the trials we've been through? -- will not HINDER us in the ministry He has planned for us?

Is it true that all those trials are our preparation?

Sometimes that feels true. And sometimes it feels as if those trials are weights on our feet, and black marks on our faces, that they hinder us.

Another little hymn in this book:

"Be quiet, why this anxious heed
About thy tangled ways?
God knows them all, He giveth speed,
And He allows delays."

He allows delays. We have occasionally seen Him give GREAT speed. We often see the delaying tactic also.

We are winding down our school year. My seniors are all done, exams and papers and all. My other students have a handful of days left. I'm taking things off my classroom walls, tidying up for the year's end. Stacking textbooks, finalizing grades. I'm organized at work.

Home is a different matter. Next Saturday a realtor will come look at the house. I know he will tell us to de-clutter. We have stacks of: books, papers, clothes, among other things.

This is the effect of work on me. I do my teaching work very well; I throw my energies into it. And my home-work suffers. The kitchen is messy, the house is cluttered, the cleaning is behind, the laundry climbs.

And those priorities are wrong. I know that my paycheck is helpful. Helpful to what? Having a home -- but the home is the first priority, or else the work wouldn't be needed. And somebody needs to tend to the home.

This is one of many reasons that I submitted my resignation when Adam lost his job. It was difficult enough, as a homemaker and woman, to be one of 2 of us working, but neither Adam nor I wanted for me to be the only one working. It's one thing to have your family priorities a bit askew. It's a different thing to have them totally out of whack.

I don't know, but I wonder if this is one area of my life that God wants me to ponder now. It doesn't mean that working is wrong for me; I may do it again. But this particular job had certainly become almost all-consuming.

Time to let go.

New Old Reading

I'm reading "Keep a Quiet Heart" again. This wonderful devotional book by Elisabeth Elliot was a huge help and encouragement to me in my Christian walk about 10 or so years ago. Mrs. Eliot has that calmness of disposition that I so envy -- at least she seems to in her writing. Here are some tidbits from the Introduction:

"Our task is simply to trust and obey. This is what it means to love and worship Him."

[A poem she wrote as a young woman:]

"Lord, give to me a quiet heart
That does not ask to understand,
But confident steps forward in
The darkness guided by Thy hand."

She continues:

"This was my heart's desire . . . A willing acceptance of all that God assigns and a glad surrender of all that I am and have constitute the key to receiving the gift of a quiet heart. Whenever I have balked, the quietness goes. It is restored,and life immeasurably simplified, when I have trusted and obeyed."

A few minutes ago, I read those words over and over: glad surrender of all I have; willing acceptance of all that God assigns; a quiet heart. I have learned many times to accept what God assigns. Move to Iowa? Sure, Lord! Move to Massachusetts? Surely, Lord! Teach high school? Yes! Homeschool? Of course, Lord.

Be unemployed? Uh. Please no, Lord.

But perhaps we have to surrender what is IN our hands, before we can accept what God is giving to us next.

I desperately, certainly long for that quiet heart, and I have definitely not had it lately. My heart has been disquieted to a degree that I can't sleep through the nights. I wake up worried at 4:00 AM. I'm exhausted. I can hear my Christian friends saying,"Trust, Mary Kathryn. Just trust Him." I know that is true. But it has nothing to do with knowledge. I am utterly exhausted already from having to do this before, over and over again. And I know that we haven't even started the hard trusting yet.

But as Mrs. Eliot says, the quiet heart will NOT come, until I decide to trust. Those of you who know me well, know it isn't because I haven't done this before. It's because I have. I was hoping I wouldn't have to do it again.

So, I'll read this little, helpful book, and maybe occasionally let you know what morsels of sweetness, or tartness, I find.

Update on Covenant

I heard from a friend who works at the college, and wanted to pass on some more accurate information about the faculty changes happening soon at the college. As you can read in this page from the Covenant College website, they have decided to phase out the 25 year old Quest Program, a program designed to help older, working adults to finish their college degrees. 25 years ago this was a great, new idea, but I can't help but wonder if the huge advancements we've seen in online technology and distance learning have made this program a bit obsolete. These days, anyone can get any degree they want, online, from hundreds of universities.

Anyway, many of the faculty positions that are being cut are apparently coming from the demise of this program. Now, these are still people who are losing jobs, and it's the end of a valued program at the college. Still, it was helpful to me to hear the reasoning behind the lay-offs. This makes more sense to me that some of the other information I'd read.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window...
the air is moist and cold, unusually so for mid-May.
I am thinking...
a jumble of thoughts, on our lives, on our son's graduation, on trends in education, on troubles at our church.
From the kitchen....
I prepared quite a supper this evening! Meatloaf (one loaf, and two small rounds for Adam, who prefers them that way), 4 baked potatoes, a casserole of leftover macaroni and cheese (revived from dryness with a little water in the bottom, fresh cheese on top, and a slow, covered cook), corn, a small salad for me.
I am wearing...
a turtleneck and fuzzy socks because I'm chilly! But haven't changed out of my work pants yet.
I am reading...
Summer at Fairacre by Miss Read
Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot
about 40 papers from students
I am hoping...
Do you really want to know? I'm hoping that in some miraculous way we will be able to stay here and live in our house, and not move. Not likely, but that's my wish!
I am hearing...
Birds singing. The dishwasher churning after Peter cleaned the kitchen, whistling as he did so :)
Around the house...
I have a "Fresh Cut Roses" candle burning that I was given on Mother's Day, I'm accumulating books for homeschooling next fall, otherwise not much freshening going on until I'm done with teaching.
One of my favorite things...
The cool, comforting sound of rain pattering in the trees. I love rainy weather.
A few plans for the rest of the week...
Exams for my seniors. Short story writing for my other students. Choir rehearsal. Finalizing plans for Music Conference this summer. Trying to keep my spirits up.

If you're interested in education

-- then think some education thoughts with me.

What do people want from education these days?

As I contemplate the educational institutions I've been associated with over the years, I notice that this element of education is changing.

We see it when academics are replaced with athletics.

We see it when classroom instruction is "dumbed down" to the level of the least-gifted or least-motivated child.

We see it in the huge numbers of parents choosing to home-educate.

We see it in schools that seem to fluctuate back and forth (and back and forth again) from supporting their academic excellence, to neglecting it.

We see it in each student who thinks that his educational world is supposed to revolve around himself.

We see it when faculty are shuffled around to teach in a jumble of fields, not allowed to focus on their specialties and strengths.

We see it when students are undisciplined at home and families expect the same at school.

There was a time when parents expected that schools would take their children, teach them valuable information and how to use that information, and conform those children to a standard accepted by society: the well-educated person.

Now, if you want to be a well-educated person, you'd better look to some other source, because schools no longer offer this product. Why? Because parents no longer want it.

And I'm sure the parents reading this will shout that this is NOT TRUE for them! But I want to say that the parents I often deal with, and the ones who have the most influence on school administrations, demand that schools conform the education to fit the child, ensure that the child enjoy himself in sports without an opposing burden of study, and are incensed when anyone dares to discipline the child (or even suggest that he needs it).

Not all parents, but many.

And, I'm sad to say, administrators tend to agree with them.

Not all, but most.

And that's because professional educators tend to get their ideas from the world, an increasingly pagan world with ungodly ideas about children and how they should be raised.

And most Christians don't feel that it is the administation's place to oppose the parents, regarding how their children should be raised.

Sigh.

Next fall, I will again join the ranks of the homeschooling moms. I'm looking forward to it. I may feel differently next May, but I'm excited to explore how much excellent education I can feed my children next year. They're already ahead of their peers in many ways, and often bored at school. How far can I challenge them?

If you're a parent with a child in school, I'd encourage you to be informed and vocal about your administration's opinions on the children in their care. Go to meetings. Listen. Evaluate worldview. And if you're dissatisfied with what you hear, take your child out of that school, or work to change it.

20 - 30 years ago, we all learned that the public system was no longer an educational system we could trust. Unfortunately, the Christian school system is now this way. Know your school. And don't forget, along the way, to re-examine yourself.

Anna finally has a party :)

Her birthday was almost a month ago, but this weekend some of her friends decided it was HIGH TIME to surprise her with lunch, cake, a makeover, and a trip to the mall.

And I have to say it again: these are GREAT KIDS - and I know because I teach them every day, know their little foibles and spats, and see their wonderful hearts.
Happy (Late) Birthday, Anna!

News Articles about Covenant College

Here are the links to the 2 articles I read about the faculty changes at Covenant:

Chattanooga Time article

Inside Higher Ed article

Of course, these are the views of the news institutions, but direct quotes are given from the college administration as well. And the best way to hear their views is to have direct dialogue with the administration, which is what some folks are attempting to do with the alumni letter being sent.

If you love Covenant College,

Then you might be concerned to find out that the college is going to lay off 10-15% of its faculty. These are hard economic times. However, the college isn't doing it because of a money crunch. They are "right-sizing" -- compensating for having TOO GOOD of a student/teacher ratio in the past, I suppose. The funds that are saved from this change will go partially to boost the athletic program and hire more coaches, that is, if they get the new student-athletes to play these sports.

At least, from reading 2 articles on these changes, this is what I gather.

If you're a Covenant alumna, and want to contribute to the conversation with the administration on this issue, go to this site.


There's a gracious letter there that you may sign, directed to the administration, board of trustees, and faculty. I've very concerned for long-time faculty who will find out in a few days that their teaching days at Covenant are over.

A little conversation with God

I had one of these this morning. Driving alone in the car is a good time to talk with God. And right now, we have a lot to talk about.

The deafening silence of NO NEWS on the job front for Adam, is worrying. We both plod from day to day at school, aware that our days there are very numbered. And then the summer stretches ahead, uncertain. How long do we stay here? When do we put the house up for sale? When should we start packing? And where should we go? These are questions that swirl around in my mind ceaselessly.

I did decide a while back to inform my boss at the school that I would not be returning next year to teach. This may come as a shock to some of you -- why would ANYONE give up a perfectly good (well, that's debatable) job right now!? There were many contributing factors that played into the decision. But in the final assessment, one teaching job at our school could in NO WAY provide for our family, and would only tend to tie us down to a location where Adam has little hope of finding work. But the larger consideration is Adam's call to be a pastor. It is a strong call, a persistent call, and one that he does not want to ignore. He wants to pursue this calling doggedly and see what the Lord does. And that means (as has always been true) that Adam's work and ministry is more important that any career I might pursue. My calling in life is to assist and help him, period. And I'm not helping his calling to a pastorate by slogging it out in a grueling job next year, while he puts his call on hold.

Which is what I talked with God about this morning. After all, the call is God's. He's the one doing the calling -- "Hey Adam! Come and pastor my sheep!" The call on Adam has been so plain: it's within him, it's demonstrated in his service in the church, in preaching and visitation and teaching, it's verified by many Christians around us who clearly see his calling to be a pastor.

So I told the Lord, "You've called the man. Be honest - be a truthful God - finish what you've started! If you don't validate this call, then you will look like a liar, and that You cannot be."

And I took a deep breath and wondered if I'd overstepped my bounds a bit. Except that many of God's dearly-loved saints in Scripture have said similar things to him.

And I think it is more than an honest, blunt statement; I think it's a true one. If God isn't true, and truthful, then he isn't God. He must, by definition, defend his character, and I believe he will. We've always known that he will do this in his own time, and in his own way. His definition of the call that is eventually completed for Adam may not look like what we expect.

But it will use his gifts, and serve the kingdom. And my prayer is that God will use the acting out of that call for the support of our family.

I wanted you to know where we are. We are waiting. I am both worrying and hopeful. I identify with the man in Scripture: "Lord, I believe! Help thou mine unbelief!"

The Flower Child

Julia's been designing flowers again this year:

"And why is she not blogging?" you ask...

Because there's so little to say!

Take yesterday, for instance:
-at school at 7:30
-If you really want to know everything I've ever thought about T.S. Eliot's "Murder in the Cathedral," please leave a message :)
-leave school at 3:00
-dash home, brush teeth, and drive in a hurry to the doctor's office
-(you know, THAT doctor, ladies)
-and sit in the doctor's office for 2 hours and 20 minutes. I'm Not Kidding.
-that is nothing you want to write about, because it's nothing anybody wants to do!
-quick dinner which Adam had to cook
-grocery shopping because we were down to NO MEAT
-fold and put away the laundry that's been sitting downstairs on the ironing board for 3 days
-fall into bed

And if anything MORE exciting than that happens this week, I'll be sure to let you know!

Prom Night

Philip with Amanda, his lovely date.

We took LOTS of pictures at the home of friend who lives nearby - their daughter and her date are also going. Here's a little closer shot of my handsome son!

Philip with Smitty and Charles, one of his best friends. Note the boys nervously holding those corsages, "What do we do with these things?"

The whole group that met for picture-taking. I've been teaching these great kids for 3 years and really love them. I hope they have a fabulous time tonight! And I hope Philip doesn't step on Amanda's toes!

Dogsitting

Here is Tasha, my parents' dog. She's a Welsh Corgi, and about 10 or 11 years old. She's spending the week with us.


She and Lacey have been good buddies for many years and are perfectly comfortable with each other.

If Lacey looks a little different, it's because I gave her a haircut. The kids had lost her dog brush, her fur was OUT OF CONTROL, and she was VERY hot in the weather. So, I took out my hair-cutting scissors and went for it. It's a pretty ugly job, but she is much cooler and happier.

We've had to teach Tasha that she can NOT rush out the door when she wants to, cannot come into the dining room while we're eating, and cannot hang out in the kitchen. She's not used to these rules, but she's learning! Adam showed her that he is the head dog of our pack by "crowding her out" of her path to the door. It was funny to watch. But she sure got the message!