Last day of Kindergarten, Part 2

the “I’m a 1st grader” pose….

After she got off the bus, Kajsa struck this pose… woo hooooo!!! No longer a Kindergartener. On to 1st grade. She LOVED Kindergarten. I loved her class, her teacher, her school… all in all, very excited for this kid and her educational future.

This morning when I told Kajsa I was a bit teary-eyed because it was her last day as a Kindergartener, she jumped into my arms, and said,

“But mom!… It’s a good thing that it’s my last day of Kindergarten!”

“It is?” I asked.

“Yes! It means I get to spend more time with YOU now!”

“Welcome to Summer!”

Balloons!!!!! She loves balloons.

Last day of Kindergarten…!

Peas and Mr. Peacock (but not together)

Jim heated up peas this evening, as part of our supper. But Kajsa requested her peas to remain frozen and not be heated up. So Jim obliged. He set hers aside, and she ate most of her peas frozen. She tossed a few peas into her soup, just for the novelty of it, I think.. but the biggest novelty was her new creation: frozen peas on a cracker. Strange, but true.

And, in other news… he’s back!! Mr. Peacock, that is. As I write this, he is roosting in one of our backyard trees. We’ve heard his cawing noises off and on for the past couple of weeks. But today we heard him a lot. The cawing got louder and louder and we realized he was in our backyard again. So how does one respond to Mr. Peacock visiting again? Grab your camera, naturally.

Happy roosting, Mr. Peacock…just don’t wake us up in the early morning with your cawing!

Lent 47: Easter Joy

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

I realize that not everyone feels this joy today. Not everyone is celebrating the resurrection.. some don’t believe, some are too tired, some are alone and feeling that loneliness… some are suffering through other hardships that make celebration difficult. Which makes the day even more painful–that so many are celebrating, and yet joy is hard to muster up in the midst of some circumstances.

I realize that Easter doesn’t solve all the problems of the world. Far from it. Things still go wrong, awfully wrong, all the time. Life can be so challenging and frustrating and all sorts of … “ing”s.

I realize that tomorrow is Monday, work begins again, the same to-do lists we had sitting on our desks and dining room tables and other flat spaces in homes.. these to-do lists will still be there. And no amount of peanut butter eggs, or lasagna, or ham, or turkey, or whatever… will do the work for us. No matter how creative our dyed eggs are–or aren’t–stuff is waiting for us tomorrow. And even today.

And I realize that in all these situations and in every situation, God is still good. Christ has still risen. And my hope and prayer today is that I, and you, can reflect the joy of knowing the risen Lord, whether we feel joyful or not.

May the Easter Joy bring you strength and peace today, and every day.

Lent 46: dark and blurry

Lent 45: It is finished

Good Friday: It is finished.

 

 

Good Friday.

Lent 44: Christ following

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35, TNIV)

On that evening before Jesus died, he gave his disicples the above command. To Love. Before that he had washed their feet. Talk about love. Those feet had to be smelly. But that would be nothing compare with the love they’d witness the next day.

So I’m brainstorming some ways that we show love to one another… some of these examples are things we do within our families or circles of friends… some are within the body of Christ, many overlap. They’re the ones that are coming to mind first.

Love one another: foot washing, care taking, truth telling, hand holding, diaper changing, bus stop waiting, stomach feeding, gas grilling, fridge cleaning, shoulder for crying, errand running, coffee making, meal making, meal serving, dish washing, toilet scrubbing, bread providing, trash picking, attitude changing, wrong admitting, outreach participating, big kid sitting, worship coordinating, after worship or other event cleaning, before events prepping, sign fixing, leak patching, bulletin copying, creative gifts using, sound monitoring, instrument playing, hand shaking, breath holding instead of temper flaring, letter mailing, encouragement giving.

Christ following, Body of Christ being, circle of friends being, family living… love.