Amazing grace?

Well this week has escaped me, but non the less, I felt like I needed to check in. Our first week of school was a bit of a strange one, sickness, moving dear friends, and just the whole business of starting is a strange thing. This week brought helping hubby at the family business, pointe shoes and the beginning of ballet. My all time favorite thing to do with my own self. Now that said, the pointe shoes are not mine, they belong to my very adept dancing daughter. I on the other hand...find myself in great need of abundant grace. This being my second ever year of dance should say much. Dancing is serious hard work. It requires something from you. A trust first of all, that you believe you can make your body move in a way that feels completely foreign but looks completely beautiful when someone else does it. And an understanding of rhythm...which I thought I possessed until last year. The whole counting thing in dance is lost on me. It's all I can do to stay upright without every part of my body shaking under the stress my muscles feel. Once the quiver begins, it's not pretty. Then the toe cramp kicks in and finally the butt cramp..yep, I said butt cramp. Honestly, my lovely teacher, Ms. Hannah, makes it look so graceful. She is lovely and strong. So in my minds eye, I pretend I am she and float and move with as much grace as I think I own. And it feels amazing. Grace? Not so much.

I'm listening

It's hard to be still, but the benefit is enormous. The payoff is sweet and so worth it. Stillness, I covet you and invite you into my busy stuff. Open my ears so I can hear the Divine, the lover of my soul, speak words of life and truth to my spirit. "Meet me, in the quiet of this room." Wanda Mann. Have you found that song that can bring you into that space, even when the chaos is running around you? Meet Me, by Wanda Mann is that song for me. It's the kind of song that when I close my eyes, I can hear silence even on a busy street corner, in the grocery store, anywhere. So today I pray Lord, you'll Meet Me, as I meet you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLUhIBelcxg

I win

A noticeable drop in workout buddies this week as we all return to our fall schedules. But I am not deterred. This should maybe be a tweek it post, but, it's a win instead. Learning to change direction and make something work is so important for the win. Knowing I need motivation to get the job done is the biggest thing for me. So when something isn't working, change it. It's okay to do that. If you make the rules, you can change them too. And...here's news...it's okay to say 'no, that doesn't work for me.' Try it with me...it starts with saying, no. Out loud now...say it...no. NO! Feel better? I'm excited for change. I'm excited for new beginnings and I'm most excited to be able to say, No. This isn't working for me. I need to change it. And, for my sisters in Christ to know that freedom too, blesses me beyond measure. So sisters, say it with me again...NO. Now, go out there and practice. If it sounds like a great blessing but isn't lining up with your best plan for your family, then say it like you mean it. "No". You win. I win.

Tender times

This morning was bitter sweet. I let my daughter go from the homeschool to the highschool today. The first time she's been in school since ending grade one! Wow! She looked beautiful in her kilt and uniform shirt. The picture of confidence and loveliness. And her brother, off for a victory lap in highschool. Sorting out his courses and confident he'll do so. So that leaves just me and Johnny P. A tiny homeschool family of one student and one child. Sweet. Bitter sweet. It's so quiet as I type this. It's a different quiet. Almost lonely. Well, here's to some excitement. I don't want to miss a thing, so I'm off to celebrate the first day of school with breakfast at gramma's and then off to begin our school day. It's a crazy life, but it's our life, someone once said. I like it's a full life instead. Full to overflowing somedays. I'll take it. Every stage, every season, every moment.

Labor Day

To me it will always be labour day. The day I became a mom for the very first time :D
Enjoy your day off...I am! School starts tomorrow. Grade 7, Grade 11 and Grade 12B which is another way of saying Grade 13. :D Ahhh, routine!

full on friday more like it!

It's actually Saturday, I couldn't post yesterday due to traveling to Huntsville to collect the man child. Yep, I have an adult child. First one too. I'm not sure exactly what that really means, and what actually changes, but whatever it is, I'm excited. I'm excited to have arrived at this place. It's not just a milestone birthday for him, but for us as well. Mom and Dad...successfully rear a child to this point. News flash, it CAN be done. And right there...freedom. How do I get freedom in this moment? Well, there's a certain level of satisfaction in bringing a newborn through all those stages to adulthood. Even though, this is the baby end of being an adult, he's here, he's made it. So I'm good with where we are. I'm sure there's more to come, so many 'mores' to come...finishing the next level of education, jobs, weddings, grandbabies...yep gotta slow down, but I look forward to these events. It's with great joy that I celebrate that I'm old enough to have a child this age. That I've arrived right along with him. Freedom for me, is knowing whose I am and knowing my kids are His too. Freedom is peace, that surpasses all understanding. So, even tho it's been a busy weird week, it's full of joy. Happy Birthday Simon, my first born. You bring me such joy and pride. I'm so blessed and pray that blessing into your life. As an adult...welcome to a very cool place. And I pray you know the same peace that I do. All your long, long life.

weary or dog tired

Have you ever been so beyond tired that thinking is an event? I'm there. More than weary? I'm there. I thot. Because that got me thinking...what is weary? What I'm feeling is dog tired. You know, the kind of satisfied at the end of the day, get a good shower, cozy bed and relax kinda tired. Weary doesn't leave. Weary won't quit, it's like a fog that won't lift. And it never really will unless...you go to Him. When Jesus said, 'come to me all who are weary and I will give you rest', I don't think he meant, come to me if your dog tired and I'll make you fall asleep fast. Jesus is the only way out of the fog. The only way. And when we go to Him first, he'll direct us in the ways we should go to seek help. To medicate or not to. The scriptures remind us that He is the WAY and the TRUTH and the LIFE. So if I want life and good life at that, I gotta know the truth to find my way. Weary is a tough place to be. I'm grateful tonight for dog tired.

You would not believe what happened!

So, we go to Huntsville on Friday last week to take our son to camp and get stuck in this MONSTER traffic jam. I'm talking people getting out of their vehicles, walking around, going for jogs, you name it. No moving. In park on the 407. 3 Ambulances, 2 Tow Trucks and an OPP go by... crazy. Then an hour later we go from 0 to 100 in however fast a minivan can...people were scrambling to get back to their cars, hilarious! So we're thinking there's gonna be bodies all over the road, a huge crash scene...nothing. No evidence of anything at all. I'm completely baffled.
So we get to Huntsville, have a lovely evening and drop the child off at camp. Only I leave my teen son and pick up an adult son. On Saturday he turns 18. Trying to wrap my head around that still. So Monday, as I'm pulling out of the driveway to go register my daughter for highschool...I see this hole in the soffit of my roof. Raccoons. Ugh. So I call the guy to come and take them out but on the other side of my house is an even bigger hole that I could climb in! Freaked out. Right there. So, $1000.00 later I have 2 doors on my roof that let the critters out but not back in. Good thing too! Cause that's nasty! In a week the guy comes back to take it all down, disinfect and repair the damage. So, my projects are falling behind. I'm okay with that.