A Little Worn Out

These little shoes say it all.
At last Saturday's game, little mr. j's soles came loose.
It was hard for him to run and even after my mr. taped them up (again and again), he still ran a little awkwardly.

The last few month's my souls been a little loose. My glued expectations came off. We taped me up the best we could and I think I am becoming more comfortable.

little mr. j used his regular school shoes in tonight's game. They worked fine. His little team was seated 5th in their tournament and they ended up winning 3rd place.

my mr. taped me up. Helped me create an impressive resume from a life where I thought not much had been accomplished. Encouraged me and has been patient. I feel like I almost have my regular shoes on again.

Thank heavens!

I will be going to work tomorrow at a job perfectly suited to me and I will be back home to give hugs when school gets out, make sure the backpacks get cleaned out and put away, and take care of the dear souls I'm blessed to call family.
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Ok, friends, this post is something new for me. I'm typing it on a smartphone and hope all turns out alright. Please let me know if you see anything wonky.

I write

but not lately.

Just wanted you to know that I have not fallen off the face of the earth.

Real life's just needed a lot of my attention.

I miss here.

I will be back.

Love,
the mrs.

Sunday School

Since I have been away, the snarky bugs have taken hold.
That and my computer is now mute.
Not deaf, just mute.
little mr. b asked me if I would like him to fix it.
I declined.
This poor machine has been through enough.
You have been warned.

For today's Sunday School, we are watching a video.
One that makes me laugh and laugh and laugh.
I especially love the second verse.
Have a beautiful day of rest.

___________________________________________

{{Hugs}} to my Tebow loving friends-

I do appreciate the faith, just not what the world has warped his outward expressions into.

(I hope I added the correct video.)

Oh Dear.

The computer wasn't the only one with a virus over the holidays.
I was gifted with one too.
And it was a doosey.
One week long high fever (and the pains that came with it) over Christmas was not a beautiful experience.
2011's holidays are a very sad memory for me.

And apparently along with the weakness I still feel, I am not alone.
Because there's a message at the top of the screen that's telling me my browser is no longer supported by Blogger. Whatever that means.
So I don't know if my computer is still not feeling it's best or if it lost something during it's stay at the computer doctor or what or if something in the Blogger world changed during our absence, but soon I hope to be feeling good enough to figure it out.

Till then - don't get sick.
It's not fun.

And

Happy New Year.

Sunday School Special & a note

Today we went to a branch (congregation way smaller than a ward) far away in Western Oklahoma. (Our stake - larger congregation made up of many wards & a couple of branches - is really big.)
We drove and drove and had a great time on our way there.
The boys deleted miss s's phone/toy battery at lightening speed on the way there.
my mr. and I had a nice two hour plus conversation with our other adult traveling companion.
miss h arrived home from college last night, so she came along.
She and miss s slept most of the way there.
(We left a little after 7am because we had to pick up our traveling companion. And there was a little confusion as to which street that traveling companion lived on, so we lost a little bit of time.)

When we got there right before 10am, I had something pressing to deal with - even though the meeting was about to start.

So I dealt with it.

And my mr. made faces at me when I came in during the opening hymn and didn't come sit with him and miss h and little mr. b at the front of the congregation. I chose to sit with the congregation with miss s and little mr. j because sometimes those two can really push each other's buttons and I didn't want any of that silliness during the meeting and probably really because I didn't want to sit up front and have people looking at me.

Anyway, I am glad I sat with my kids with the congregation.
I was kind of hoping that maybe because my son, my daughter, my husband, and our traveling companion were all speaking that maybe I could get out of it. But, when the man conducting the meeting announced the speakers and read my name I waved to let him know I was actually there.

I kept it short and because my talk was about living a Christ like life, I told my crazy gym lady/substitute teacher story and said that I was glad that I acted in a kind way. (And used some quotes from this wonderful message.)

All the other talks were awesome of course. Our traveling companion concluded the meeting by asking us to remember the first time we really, really felt the Spirit and told a wonderful story of a childhood Christmas when he first remembers feeling that wonderful thing.

But the part I liked best about the meeting was what happened next.  When he asked that question, little mr. j nodded his head yes. So I leaned over and asked him if he would tell me when he'd felt the Spirit.  He said, "Last Sunday at the Cantata."  (Last Sunday we attended our Stake's annual Cantata - an hour of inspiring music and words about Christmas.  There was also a huge display of over 600 nativities & a children's room where little mr. j got to make his own precious manger and baby Jesus with a styrofoam cup, crinkled up paper and a tiny piece of wood & fabric.) I could tell his heart was touched that night & we had talked about what that warm, peaceful feeling in his heart meant last Sunday. 

Then on a little notebook I had given him to draw in during the meeting, he wrote,

"I do not theke Flute crsmets .is .ubat santa it is ubat Jesus."

And I did not cry, but oh did  that sweet message warm my heart.
He knows.
He really knows, at his young age, what Christmas is really all about.


I asked him to please read me his note and he said,
"I do not think that Christmas is about Santa. It is about Jesus."
I'm so glad I sat in the congregation.


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Note: miss h is graciously letting me use her computer. (Thank you, miss h!) Mine is very, very ill. I am planning on taking it to the computer doctor tomorrow, but have no idea what the diagnosis will be. You might not be reading anything new here for a short while & sadly, I have fallen off the photo challenge. Hopefully my old machine and I will be back at it very soon. Thanks for your understanding!
 

Days 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, & 13

This is where you get to see how awesome creativity can be:

Day 7: 7 Things

(7 white stripes - yes, there is a 7th - look very, very closely screen left one third down)

Day 8: Close up

(Can you guess what it is?)

Day 9: Black and White

(I heart instagram.)

Day 10: Someone I love

(Did you guess what it is? If not, here's a hint - it's being worn by someone I love)

Day 11: Body Part

(to cover up a body part)

Day 12: Skipping it for now

Day 13: Something Orange

Here's the lesson:

It's good to do the things you want to do.

Sometimes you will accept 6 days in a row of substituting jobs

and not get any of your 'wants' accomplished.

But, if you are creative, you can try.

Two more lessons:

It is very advantageous to get 'things' done ahead of time

and

dry shampoo rocks.

School Days, School Days & Sunday School: Remember Who You Are

I've been having school days.
Six in fact.
In a row.
And wow, what an education.

I have learned that the "word" in 6th grade is "freaking."
I used to say that word for a brief moment somewhere early in my middle aged life.
I don't like that word, it's just a substitute for the real "f" word.
At least now I know why my son is saying it sometimes.

The fifth grade girls are totally into knitting.
And one named little miss m said that if I brought the supplies in next time I substituted, she'd be happy to teach me how to make her way awesome scarves.
There were a lot of little knitted headbands and fingers about to fall off because of misguided finger knitting.
Thankfully none fell off.

The girls liked my boots and even the boys admired the colorful beads on the one colorful bead necklace I own. Some sweet child told me I looked like I was 30 years old.

And the rest is all turning into a blur because I met so many new faces in such a short amount of time.
But there was one exchange that I will never forget.

(Just to help you understand this story I am going to give you a short prologue. Facts of which many of you already know -but just in case- here it is.  I serve as the youth leader for the young women (ages 12-18) in our congregation.  That means most Wednesday evenings, I am at the church with our very many in number young women. We share our building with three other congregations. Three other congregations whose youth groups meet on Wednesday evenings as well. Three groups that meet and in theory have set times and places where they are supposed to be so that we can all fit. Then we get to add in everybody's cub scouts & 11 year old scouts, the activity day girls and various other people who decide Wednesday night is a convenient night to meet because everyone's at the church already so it's no big deal. Well, guess what- it is a big deal. There's no space and dealing with the chaos of all those people takes a quarter of our time before we can even begin. I've become a bit obsessive about and protective of our time and space.)

(Oh, you also need to know that I am substituting at our neighborhood school. The neighborhood school and it's district is in our congregation's boundaries. If there is a child at our school that attends our church, I know or know of them.)

At the beginning of one of my 5th grade classes, a friendly whistling boy came in and asked my name.
I told him and as greeted the other kids in the class he said, "Hey, I know you."
And I said, "How?" because I certainly didn't know him.
And a few minutes went by and he said, "What church do you go to?"
And I said, "I don't think you know me from church, because I know most all the kids at our church."
And he said, "Really, what church do you go to?"
So I told him and he said, "I knew it."
"Oh - no," as it dawns on me, "I'm the crazy lady who kicked you out of the gym aren't I?"
And he said, "Yes."
"But you did it in a real nice way."

(He'd gone to scouts with a friend of his from a different congregation.)

So I guess I never know who's watching, so I better always remember who I am & act accordingly.
This new week, I know I am not a substitute.
I will act accordingly.
Thank goodness.