Not Alone

I stepped back in time today.

No, I didn’t visit a museum, or some historical colonial settlement. 

I stepped into my junior high classroom.

One day we were there, teaching and inspiring and leading, doing our best to deepen the faithful lives of these young children, getting ready to cheer on 3rd and 4th graders for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Basketball game....  And then suddenly we weren’t.

With Memorial Day right around the corner, today was “pack up” day, but there were no students to gather their things.  Lockers still had notebooks and binders, desks still had papers to complete.  Library books, now long overdue, were stuffed in cubbies with too small P.E. shoes.  

And on my bulletin board was my March calendar, waiting… waiting for me to see this: 

“It is in the company of Jesus that you work for the glory of God.”

In the days and weeks that followed our abrupt departure, the demands of teaching and learning dramatically changed, even intensified. How do you teach without students?  How do students learn without teachers?  It was a lonely, confusing time.  How could I possibly make the faith formation of students relevant without being present, without relationship?  

What followed was extraordinary though.  Teachers were intent on making learning meaningful by determining what was essential and purposeful. Students stepped up and trusted the process.  Parents found ways to support and encourage their children.  

I found myself “surrounded” by people who were determined to find a way, and the learning didn’t stop:  we just refocused on our priorities and adjusted to the circumstances.

And I wasn’t alone. We weren’t alone.  We were very clearly being led.

When our daily work is focused on Who we serve, then every obstacle becomes a means of growing in relationship, with Him and with one another.  And the results? They are amazing.

Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, 

by the power at work within us,

to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus 

to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians: 3:20-21

Testing.
Testing.

This is a test.

Can this lady write?  Still?

Testing.

Good Eggs

I will admit it.  On more than one occasion, our children have helped give our family some visibility, as well as something for on-lookers to talk about.  This is even more true when we are all gathered in the same pew, for Pete's sake, but it also, redemptively,  includes some neat awards and accomplishments.

But our family has achieved another "FIRST", and I'm still processing the implications.

Kieran, our lovely, 6 foot/opera-quality voiced/ fashion-minded/ Broadway loving daughter, announced to us recently that she had made the Poultry Judging team and will attend the state competition as an alternate.

I laughed. A big ol' Belly laugh.
Long and loud.

And Kieran laughed with me.

See,  I grew up in Chicago suburbia.

For me, that meant every 5th house looked exactly the same.  Dads used edgers on their lawns so the manicured grass didn't creep up on the sidewalk.  Moms parked their station wagons in the garage so the kids could draw hopscotch and sky blue on the black sealed asphalt driveways.  Every yard had a swing set, and the trees had all been planted at the same time as the houses were built, so they all grew at the same rate.  They were little, like us.

My kids are getting an entirely different experience in Central Illinois.

Instead of Big Wheels, they are surrounded by John Deere tractors (and there's an official "Drive Your Tractor To School" day here... Really.)  Instead of trekking out to Jewel-Osco for a pound of hamburger, we run over to the local meat locker for some grass-fed beef, and the grass and beef are just as local.    Shoot, we don't even have a stop light in our town, so my kids can't fathom what it is to have a 10 mile/33 minute commute.

So, Kieran's news delighted me to my very core for the singular realization that my kids are NOT ME.
And through their experiences, I continue to have my world enlarged and enriched.

Who EVER would have thought I would be this close to caring about chicken parts and egg standards?
RTC carcass grading?  Sounds bad-ass to me.  3/16" air cells, pronounced ridges, thin albumen?  Not A-listers, for sure.

The teacher/advisor of this prestigious group is a little leery about my enthusiasm (even asking Kieran, "Oh, nuts.  Your mom's not the kind to want to BE THERE, is she?").  Oh yes... and I want a team promoting t-shirt too.  Where's my camera?

Winner winner, Chicken dinner!

Cream Cheese

I get surprised sometimes by little things, like a personal note in the mail, "found" change in the bottom of an old coat pocket, or, in the case of life in the Krenz House, all socks matching up after 6 loads of laundry.

But I got a little surprise when I posted the following on Facebook today:
"We currently have 8 packages of cream cheese in the house.  Why?"

No, I wasn't surprised about finding so many cheese bricks in the house.  No, my surprise was not that they were all in fact still sealed.

My surprise was that within a few short hours my Facebook post was "Liked" a bunch of times, and there were 48 comments on it! Forty-Eight!  (Okay, okay.  One of those was mine.  An update, noting I had found another two bricks).

I had no idea people cared that much about cream cheese or my family's fridge finds, even enough to pull themselves away from their jobs to comment while they were still at work.  It was, after all, midday and still nap time here.

That amused me, and it got me thinking:  People sure can be moved by silly little things.

I was inspired then to hunt for an old link to a blog I loved writing about MY silly little things, but, well, I'm easily distracted and have not written in a while.  I was much more than surprised to see my last post was dated in April... of 2011.  Two. Thousand. Eleven.   Really?  In that time a lot of life has happened, like my father died. I went to Italy. I celebrated 26 married years. I had a baby. 

I was surprised to see the pictures of my children who have changed so much since I last updated the blog.  I looked over an old post, and it reminded me of a memory I had forgotten.  I flipped through other posts and thought, "Dang, some of this stuff is well-written."  I went back and revisited one of my favorites, and yep, I still loved it. 

Writing is very very hard, and crafting the words and ideas can be torture.  But, I wanted a venue for the things that touched and moved me, here in the circumstances of my life.   I wanted to write because I didn't want to forget.

Simply, whenever I finished a post, and with angst hit "PUBLISH",  I was printing something of me.

Would anyone care?

Perhaps. Hopefully someday my children will want to read these entries, and a few other folks in the interim might too. 

Afterall, I learned today there are quite a few who are willing to help out a lady with an abundance of cream cheese.  And I've got more where that came from.

Palm Sunday

It's been a long Lent, and we are finally really close to celebrating Easter and The Risen Lord. 

But in spite of looking forward to a spiritual miracle in a matter of a few days, today we are celebrating a special feat of a more human nature.

Ally palmed the living room ceiling.

We've had a small index card taped to our 9 foot ceiling for quite some time.  In fact, I've actually blogged about it before... in a post entitled "Motivation" in October of '09. (See post here http://pbjfcs-photographicmemories.blogspot.com/2009/10/motivation.html ) 

The smudges and proof of attempts on my ceiling are numerous. But tonight after she arrived home from a strenuous practice, Ally said she knew she could do it... and to authenticate her claim, we painted her hand green. 

Well, the proof is in the picture. 

You go, girl!!!

To "make good" on the index card promise, Dad had to turn over some of the Italy savings.... a crisp Ben Franklin.... but, honestly, he was really happy to do so!

It marks the affirmation of a tremendous amount of hard work on behalf of this kid, who has spent the last year impassioned with a love for volleyball excellence and a drive to be the very best player she can be.  She has put in many hours of sweat with a club travel team, The Illini Elite, which meets for four hour practices 3-4 nights a week.  Tournament play nearly every weekend involves at least six matches over the course of two days.  In addition to maintaining excellent grades, she works at Dairy Queen to pay for her own club ball. 

We could not be more proud. 

Happy Jumping, Ally. 

Should we move the index card to the moon?  The sky's the limit for this girl.

Applause Applause

I love Facebook, if only for the opportunity to catch little snippets of people's lives.

One of my own recent status entries noted:  Andy is practicing his Christmas program songs for me this morning, and says, "MOM! We are going to sing this in front of the WHOLE school!" And he thinks about that a minute and adds, "When people clap for me, I just have to smile."

Oh, what a feeling to be applauded!

Well, that innocent sentiment stayed with me all day, and I've since thought about it several times afterward. 

I had so much anticipation the night of the program, not just for the 8th grade presentation of the Nativity, or the singing of traditional Christmas songs, or the big Flashlight Finale of "Silent Night", or even laying bets on the expected Fainter/Puker count.   

What  I really wanted was to see that smile.

When it was their turn, the little first graders entered the church, lined up in single file, hands set prayerfully in front of them.  They approached the risers, and on cue, set their hands at their sides.  The spotlight popped on, and their faces literally lit up.

During the entire first song, it looked to me like Andy was going to bust.  Kel leaned over and whispered, "He's gonna bust!"

He looked so purely and entirely HAPPY.  Down to his toes. 

Enthusiastic first graders really don't need microphones.  Like his classmates, he sang his heart out: "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "O Little Town of Bethlehem".  Despite his concerns, he remembered all the words.

I know in my head that a Christmas program is really supposed to direct our attention to the birth of a Savior.  But my heart swelled because these children are given the opportunity to shine, to have their efforts appreciated, to be applauded. 

And then, even though the singers were supposed to be looking at the director, Andy quickly stole a glance at his mom and dad.

I caught it... that blurred but memorable image of a happy happy child.

And I thought,

surely this is part of what God had in mind

when He sent His Son.

Ghost Writers

Hi.  I'm Brownie.  I'm great at creating and baking and, according to Kelly, leaving messes in the kitchen.

I dropped in with Charlie at the Krenz house about a week ago, and boy have we been having fun.  Monday night we left 24 candy canes hidden all over the house.  After the big kids left for school, Rosie and Finan found most of them, and that was their breakfast.  I wouldn't mind the sticky hands as much as Kelly does.  She's a little fussy like that.

Being a handy toymaker, Charlie is really good at technology stuff too.  He can work a GPS, any Wii game, or a computer printer/scanner/copier...like this Epson right here with the blinking green light: 

Boy, do we love this family. 

We love Brennan because he is so sincere and has lots of integrity.  We miss him when he is not around.  We love Camden because he is such a hard worker and he STILL always makes time to play.  He is such a generous person too.  We love Ally because she is so determined and focused, and she is always willing to whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookies or take us to McDonald's for sundaes.  We love Kieran because she sings us to sleep every night and she has taught us so many Broadway tunes we have never heard of before.  And boy, is she brave to perform like she does.  We love Maddie because she is so loving and so light-hearted and makes us laugh when she sings with her mouth closed or does splits on the living room wall.  Oh, she's a great leader too.  We love Merryn because she is such a terrific helper in the kitchen, and she will read us any story at any time.  She also plays Christmas music on the piano which we absolutely love.  We love Andy because he has the cutest dimpled smile and is so playful!  What a friend!  He is so good especially at setting up forts and towers.  He is also getting to be such a good reader and speller!  We love Finan because, well, there's no word for Finan except to say he is such a people-connector.  And when anyone visits it's an instant celebration and reason to party, and he just loves to serve others.  And we love Rosie because she is so sassy and she lights up the room with her big smile and sparkly eyes.

And, even though they think we are just here for the kids, we love Kel and Kelly.  We know how hard they work, and the big responsibilities they have, and, well, sometimes they just forget what the point of all this is... that the reason they have such a wonderful family is because LOVE and JOY are at the center of it. 

And we know where THAT comes from.

Hey, this has been fun!

I think I might be a real life writer if I click on this button labeled "Publish Post". 

I've always wanted to write something worth reading.