We are getting closer and closer to 6 years old with Ezra.

I love the beauty of the 5 and 6 year old mind. My baby is a fabulous reader, thanks to great teachers. This morning I got the ever lessening privilege of spending a morning reading with him. We opened to Acts 22, which is my area of devotions at present. I was struck that he could keep up with me in reading. When he got to verse 14 and it said "His will", he said that doesn't make any sense now does it? He didn't understand the use of the word will like that. I told him how the apostle was sharing the difference between knowing God in his mind and knowing God with his heart. His will became a beautiful opportunity to explain how we grow in our knowledge and relationship with God, when we are privileged to grow up in a home where God is taught to us. There is a time when God reveals Himself in truth and we prayed together that this would be true for him also. This has been a regular part of the growing process with our children and it is a wonderful blessing to see God working in their hearts and minds.
I am weeping that I have to grow past this childhood time, now for the very last time, attempting to write When we were 6 by AA Milne ever since Ethan and Christina were at that tender age. I may never have this completed, but I rejoice that I have had my mind and heart touched with infancy and toddlerhood very intimately for most of my life and I hope I never outgrow that innocency, though I must grow up and grow old. God keep my conscience tender, even now that my children are older.

Thank God for small mercies.

At night, it is very easy for me to forget that I will have to wake up at 1 to go get my sweetiepie. The other night, I went outside and realized that I had left my windows open all night. That is not good!:( In our neighborhood that could be a haven for a little animal. Well, I looked inside and yelled at any kitties that might have been asleep in the car in the dark. Trying not to wake the neighbors.
As I drove down the block a storm came and there was alot of rain. Oh my, oh my, I would have been sitting in the water, if that storm would have come 15 minutes earlier. God takes care of every detail.
Driving in the darkness and the rain has become fun, out here in "the boonies". Home on the range, we are not, but there are deer and antelope playing in the night. I am learning the difference between driving 20 Mph and 25mph in the night so as not to incite a police report. LOL
I say to myself every night, Dad would have been right at home driving this slow. He drove as though he lived here all the time. I keep hearing him tell me take you foot off the gas and let it glide. That is a lesson. Everything is slower and fun and the minutes are 60 seconds long. We talk with fondness about the speed of "the Old Country"(where they will deport us to if we don't catch up to following the speed limits). Culture shock!

Rain and sun and back to school rituals!

Why is it always a learning process, every year? Getting back into the swing of things as though we don't know how to get ready for school, every morning. We are helping one another and hopefully, we will get into a routine soon. It is a difficult season, getting back into the school routine.
Boys and girls and man and women and work schedules and life goals and...
It seems endless, the items to consider.
One day at a time

The Graduate! "The only man who could ever reach me!"

Was the son of the Preacher Man!Isn't He adorable? He graduated from a 2 year course at church on the entire Bible!
What a man! Continuing his spiritual course and journey, with added study and work in the scriptures.
With all of his other responsibilities, he finds the time to study and work for the Lord!
We are so proud of him. And we wish him all of the success and added usefulness from this endeavor. Here he is with his teacher Mr. Busey.

I had my very own Old lady's "bachelorette" Party! Otherwise entitled "Madea goes to jail"

I was out there at night. I think it was 1:30 and I was probably speeding through Davidson(doing about 28mph). No kidding, that is speeding in Davidson. His job is at a beautiful old fashioned school, private and classy. It is beautiful over there.
I pulled into the parking lot and in behind me come 3 (count em) 3 cop cars with their lights on. Maam, says the handsome white officer, looking like Enoch's age or so, at least Elyse's age. I said where is my daughter when I need to introduce her to somebody? Why are you here? He said with a flashlight in my face. I don't even remember if I was fully dressed. I run out of the house at 2 am, you know. I didn't even think about that. He was soooo cute. I told him that my husband, that's right I have a husband, I reminded myself:). My husband works here. Oh he said and took my license. After him, a beautiful black officer came with the flashlight. Oh my goodness. They are going to take me to jail. Every other night Ben is right there by the window looking out. This time, he waited till they turned their lights out and waved goodbye to them as they left me. Now I was really fully awake, if I wasn't before. They didn't know that someone worked there. They didn't tell me that I was doing 30 in a 25mph area, I probably was. But they said, they didn't realize anyone worked there at night and it looked suspicious.
Now, we have a school emblem on the car. Shucks! :) I call that, my skirmish with the law! All the same day that we had the flat tire!

To the beat of the Rhythm...

of the night! These days, I get delight in picking up my sweetie from his night job at about 1 or 2 in the morning; whenever he calls me. Tonight it was night taxi job. With Em hanging out in the city, to be picked up at 11 which was okay, because I had to pick up Dad(Ben) at 1. (I am usually not the one who does those things. I hate night driving, but not as much now that I can SEE.) The night is full of sights that I have never seen before. Possum crossing the road at a very slow pace and deer dancing in the moonlight. I see everything at night, except people. People here, go to sleep at a supposedly "normal" time. It has taken us years to get used to this. We would be heading out food shopping at 9pm and couldn't find a store open. Now we know that only Walmart can handle our night shopping sprees.
I do miss the night life of New York. But, tonight, I saw a real group of young people in town, on the way to get Ben. It was a sight for sore eyes and in the midst of the group was a young couple, looking intently into eachothers eyes. It is not even Spring and there they were. Love in the midnight hours. I used to think old people were nosey to stop and look at us young people as they did. Now, here I am, peeking at their fun from the outside. I still try to hold onto that look. But the new look in a young couple's eyes when there is a budding romance in real life and in a rural town is breathtaking.

Oh yes, It is Friday and College is in session!

Grow Young With Me?

I think that we were older when we were little than we are now. How could my baby sister be 40 years old, again, or 28 or whatever age that she is claiming now.
My eyes are older, my knees are older, my bloodpressure is older, but not me. I am young. Maybe the fountain of youth is down here in North Carolina. I don't know. My sister is 43 and I remember the day, my mommy gave her to me. I remember the angelic little face that we were allowed to chase and kiss and love. That was the year that I made up the legend of the elevator. I said, we were waiting in heaven for the elevator and we ran to the elevator and I am the oldest because I was the first one to the elevator. The elevator or escalator came back every year or so and we all ran to catch it. We looked into that baby's eyes and knew that we knew eachother forever. Those eyes were exactly the same eyes that we see today and the soul is the very same soul that we know now. We have learned so very many things. I remember before Jo knew how to read. I remember before Jo knew 2+2. But, I don't remember before I loved her. We treated her meanly and excluded her from the older sister's club and now I am glad we did, because she is always teaching us how to stay young. Who would want to be one of the "big girl's" club? Who would want to be "old". I am always happy when somebody thinks that I am younger than my baby sister. At Kew Forest, somebody said, are you Amy's little sister? I almost kissed the person. I am the Big Girl. I am always old. Now, since my 45th birthday epiphany, I am convinced that God intended us to grow young. Dr. Lang grew younger and younger and I intend to follow him and Jo in learning to grow young! Happy 1st birthday of the rest of your life, JO! Thanks for being you!

Aren't Men so Beautifully Primitive?

I am so grateful for civilization, because I, for one, have entirely too much uncivilizedness when it comes to men. They are beautiful doing things like that and then getting upset about women walking around in bikinis. Thank God for clothes! I was so entertained by your comment and I couldn't tell you how many wonderful men are in my life, at work and at the schools and in my neighborhood. We have one or more wonderful specimens who jog. I haven't had this much fun admiring the beauty of God's creation of men since Fontbonne. Mine is the best, but there are so many beautiful ones all over. I admire that you can enjoy the sights and not have to own any of them. (heeee, Heee,)back at you!
My children say why do you always say, right back at you to men when you talk to them? I said I do? Whatever they toss at me, I toss it right back. Isn't this a great age!

Okay, Jacqueline, we will stop being fresh:).

What a day of learning to admire the beauty of the men around me! :)

I don't have AAA on this car. Instead, Elyse and I were laughing about how the angels are watching us. We imagined that they were blowing into the tire at 2 am yesterday, when I picked up Ben at work. There was no sign of the flat until the morning. Halleluia. The whole day, there were beautiful men. The tire guys, the Police officers and some knights in shining armor who helped throughout the day. Men are wonderful and it is so beautiful to watch them do what they do. I did get to work and he did get to work and the tire got changed and fixed and everything is back well with the world.
An eventful day...

God is good,

Even when you wake up to a flat tire! ACHHHHHHHHH! I go to work at 8:30 and we were all in the car. Guess what? A flat tire! What a great and super husband that I have, to change the tire and take care of these beautiful mundane distractions of life. I just love him. And I am also grateful for the man who helped this damsel in distress, this morning.
Everybody got to school and I hope to get to work: although late, some time today. ACCCHHHHH!