Sad Monday Night.

We are all a little bit sad around our home tonight. We discovered that one of our pet bunnies, Daffodil, gave birth to her first two babies. My husband found them both in the cage tonight, and they were not alive. We didn't even know for sure that she was pregnant. It's funny how attached you become to these critters. We were honest and up-front with Kennedy, who was sad but immediately turned to Jesus. She prayed, "Jesus, please help Daffodil to be OK. And Jesus......next time, help her to have lots more babies!" Death is never easy to deal with, but I am inspired by her optimism and, especially, by the fact that she turned her hurt and sadness to Jesus. A lesson we can all learn from, definitely.

Puppy Goodness.

So.....today we went to a family get-together two hours away at my in-laws, and this is what we are taking away from the day. Yes, this is the sweet little addition to our family that we didn't expect but that stole our hearts away. A sweet chocolate lab ball of puppy goodness. Now, there is a bit of history here.......we got a lab puppy, Cooper, when Kennedy was a new baby, but basically, with a brand new baby, and then soon getting pregnant for our second, we just didn't have the time to train and socialize her properly. So, sadly, we adopted Cooper out to another family.

I know that my family will think that I have absolutely fallen off rocker to allow this. But how can you resist this sweet face? Or your daughter saying, "Mommy! My dream is coming true!"

This little puppy--who has the brightest blue eyes you can imagine--crawled up into Kennedy's arms and fell asleep. How can you resist?

So, now we are in the process of choosing a name, which is adventure in itself. We will pick her up next Sunday after she has had her shots, so that will give us a week to name her, get all the supplies, and puppy-proof the house and yard. So far, my daughter's favorites are Brownie, Cocoa and Jasmine. Matt's pick is Mocha. And mine is Chai or Skye. If you have any other names that would be good for a chocolate lab, let me know in the comments....but no references to poop, please! I'm sure we'll have enough of that in our near future......

May 5th.

Today was a very busy day around here for me....lots of festivities and busy-ness. This morning was the university graduation, where we graduated 600+ students. It is always bittersweet....very proud to see another group of my students going off into the world to make a difference, but very sad to see some amazing young people leaving. It's almost like they are all my kids in some strange way.....so much potential, and I am very proud of them.

Today is also Cinco De Mayo (thought I should acknowledge that, given my attempts to learn Spanish and all!) as well as.....National Scrapbooking Day! I didn't even get to scrapbook today, though I did stop by the local store to pick up some new KI goodies and some Bazzill cardstock, since there were some good sales. I also entered a contest with a cute "Glimpses of Summer" mini-album that I made. I will post photos when I get it back. I just started it last night at 9:00 pm, so I didn't put a lot of time into it. It was a good example of just playing and experimenting and seeing what would happen....and I am really happy with the result, win or no win.

Well, gotta go scrub my very dirty played-outside-all-day-long-and-then-some kiddos. Then, it's another chapter of "Sherlock Holmes" for my daughter before I tuck them into bed and dive into my new issue of Creating Keepsakes.....looks like a good one. Tomorrow, don't forget to genuinely praise Jesus right from your soul, and thank Him for one thing that He has done for you this week.

Glimpses of Summer

It's beginning to look a lot like.....Summer! Just wanted to share some views from our home over the past few days.....like kids practicing roller-blading....... and catching the first toad of the year.....

And juicy, dripping, sweet slices of watermelon eaten while sitting on the fresh green grass........And this moon last night which reminded me of a hot-summer-night moon........Come on, summer, we are ready for you!

Landon Update

Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU for all of your prayers said and pleaded on Landon's behalf. Landon's doctors had estimated that yesterday's surgery could last 8-9 hours. PRAISE GOD....he was out of surgery before NOON! Doctors have given only positive reports, and his recover has gone very, very smoothly to date. One really cool thing: Due to poor circulation in his little body, Landon's fingernail beds have always been bluish. Yesterday, for the first time, his mom and dad saw him with pink fingernails! It seems like such a little detail, but it is really such a huge VICTORY! Landon and his family will stay at U-M for his recover--up to two weeks--so please continue to pray for complete healing, traveling safety for friends and family traveling to see them, and sensitivity for the doctors and nurses working with them. Also, please pray that God will bring people who need to hear Landon's miraculous story and see his family's tremendous faith.

10 Random Facts.

OK, several of my fellow bloggers are passing this little game around, so I thought I would join in and share 10 rather random facts about myself. Most of them are doing "7 random facts" but, hey, one of my random facts is that I just like to be a little bit different. So here are 10, in no particular order......

1) My favorite guilty pleasure in life is fountain Diet Coke from McDonald's (Caffeine Free, preferably). It is so crispy and snappy and icy......beats cans or bottles hands-down. And it bugs me when waiters in restaurants assume that Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi are interchangeable.....no comparison.
2) I HATE the feel of fuzzy fleece blankets.....can't stand it against my skin. It feels dirty and nasty and irritating to me. Give me the cool smoothness of a cotton quilt any time. I am all about high-thread count.
3) My favorite candybar is a Hershey's bar--the plain chocolate one. No nuts, no caramel, just give me those plain squares of chocolate. I guess I am classic that way.
4) I travelled on a ministry team in college sharing Christ with kids through sports at summer camps across the MidWest. So I basically lived in cabins out of a suitcase for 3 months. But it was an awesome, stretching, and spiritually alive time.
5) I sometimes buy scrapbook embellishments just because of the adorable packaging....come on, I'm sure some of you scrapbookers out there can relate!
6) I love to sleep with the window open year-round.....fresh air just lulls me into the deepest and most calming sleep.....in the winter, it just means you have to pile on the down comforters. My husband thinks I have seriously gone off the deep end.
7) I can't stand wearing socks. Detest them. Give me a pair of sandals or flip-flogs, and I am a happy girl. Relatedly, I do have a bit of a foot issue.....I hate people touching my feet, and a footrub equates to torture in my book.
8) I would rather hang my children's art on my walls than any fancy "professional" piece of art.
9) I was voted "Smartest" and "Teacher's Pet" by my graduating class. I also graduated as class president, student council vice president, athlete of the year, and class valedictorian. See where I got that "Teacher's Pet" designation? I could brown-nose with the best of them.
10) I hate grading multiple choice exams; which is why I like to hire a student grader to do those assignments. (Can you tell that I am in the midst of grading final exams right now? Actually, writing this list has created a good diversion from the piles of grading.)

Want to play? I would love to see some random facts about you.

May Day Memories.

I have many fond memories of May Day growing up. In school, we would make paper baskets and fill them with tissue-roses (remember those flowers we used to make with Kleenex and pipe cleaners). We would then run around our little town, leave the baskets on the elder people's door stoops, and run away before we were discovered. Ah, what joy!

We also used to do a May Pole dance. This involved streamers wrapped around a volleyball pole. We then learned an intricate dance whereby we wove and unwove the colorful streamers around the pole. I do remember that the boys in the class were not very coordinated in doing the weaving and made fun of it. Apparently, this is a custom that originated in Sweden and may have roots as some sort of fertility dance, but I'm sure we didn't know that as school-kids growing up (otherwised, the boys might have paid more attention)! I think I'll go home tonight and help my kids make up some little baskets to leave around our neighborhood.

Please keep praying for Landon as the night goes on. As far as I know, he is still in surgery and at this point, no news is good news. We have a 16-hour prayer vigil going on until 11:00 tonight, so if you join in, you're are joining with many others who are lifting this little boy and his family to the throne of God. Thanks again for joining us in this amazing opportunity to make a difference for this family as we EXPECT a miracle.