August 26, 2016

I woke up and started my morning with my First 5 devotion.   It went along very well with My Prince's sermon from last Sunday morning.  We need be willing to do whatever it takes to carry the salvation message to a lost and dying world.  Paul says in I Corinthians that he became a slave to reaching others with the Gospel.  I don't know about you.  But that convicts me.  To my core.  I must be more proactive in reaching others with the Gospel of Christ.  I finished getting ready while letting that sink and and meditating on those thoughts.

The Youngest Princess wanted us to match, so she had our matching outfits (t-shirts) all planned out.  I think it is sweet that she does not have a problem with matching her mom.  It made me happy to match her all day.

School went well.  Music class was cancelled, so I had an extra 30 minutes that I had not planned for.  I was excited though, because I thought we could fit in an art project.  But, alas, that was not meant to be.  We took longer to get things done than I had wanted, and we ended up finishing our regular work right on time, so we did not get to do the art project.  I was a little bummed, but hopefully as we move along and the girls get the hang of how things work, they will finish things faster and we will have time for some fun things like art.

I hung the new curtain that the Oldest Princess made for my classroom window while the girls were at PE.  My Prince came a little early and helped me finish hanging it.  They were so excited when they came back to the room and saw it.  I really do like it, and they do too.  It is super cute.  The Oldest Princess did a great job!

After school I ran into the mom of one of the students who graduated with the Oldest Princess.  She has been at college for a little over a week now.  We talked a little about it and how they were all doing.  Ugh!  I so do not look forward to this!  But I am trying really hard to be stay positive and upbeat.  I know we will survive, and adjust.  I know it will all be fine.  I just have my moments.

After school, I got home and the Oldest Princess and My Prince were both here.  They suggested we go out to eat at one of our favorite local restaurants.  So we did.  Just the girls, My Prince and I.  The Young Prince was at football practice.

We came home, and the Young Prince came in right after us.  My Prince took a quick nap on the couch.  The Young Prince told me about something that is going on at school about him being "chosen".  Pretty interesting.  I am eager and interested to see how this turns out, and just who is behind it.  I have my theories.  The Young Prince has his (some of his theories made me laugh).  I love a puzzle and a mystery, and this has the elements of both.  I'll let ya know how it ends when I know...

The kids got ready to go to the local football game.  I planned on staying home and having some quiet alone time while they were gone.

The Oldest Princess hooked up her computer to the television so that I could watch PureFlix (it's like a Christian version of NetFlix - if you haven't ever heard of it, you should definitely check it out).  I thought a series called Sue Thomas FBI (eye) looked interesting, so when they left, I got some chips and dip and snuggled up under a blanket to watch a few episodes.  It is a cute little show.  About 10 minutes into the first one, I lost it.  I had a good cleansing cry (cause I was by myself and I could - for our friend who passed away recently, for the pictures I've seen of the Oldest Princess's friends moving into their college dorms, for a loved one who has been making terrible choices and is now reaping the consequences, for our sweet Tiger - stupid national pet day on Facebook! - and for the fact that we only have one more week with the Oldest Princess before we are taking pictures of HER moving into HER dorm room and hugging US all goodbye.  I didn't cry long, but I did cry hard, and allowed myself a few minutes of emotional release.  After that I was okay, and I relaxed and watched several episodes of my new little show before everyone came home from the football game.

The Young Prince came home to get his truck because he was going to spend the night at a friend's house.  He came in the house just to give me a hug, tell me he loved me and goodnight.  That made this momma's night.

The rest of us went upstairs to call it a day and get some rest.

Until I blog again...

August 20 - 25, 2016

Okay, I have been a bit busy.  I will do my best to remember the highlights...

8/20 Saturday - It was a relaxing morning.  We had a Sunday School fish fry that evening.  It started pouring about the time we left for the fish fry.  We got soaked getting out of the car.  The food was great, and the company was the best.  We had a good time, and really enjoyed playing Dutch Blitz.  It was a great time, and I look forward to doing it again next year.

8/21 Sunday - It was a good day at church.  I went early and met with my Bible Drills helper, Mrs. S, and we cleaned out some things and did some reorganizing.  It was wonderful.  I really enjoyed my Sunday night small group, we have gotten comfortable with one anther, and have really started sharing our hearts and how the Lord is working in our lives and I am really enjoying it.  I had a great night in my Bible Drills class as well.  I know I say it often, but I seriously mean it.  I LOVE Bible Drills class, and the kids that are in my class, and my sweet helper!

8/22 Monday - It was a good day at school.  We were able to get everything accomplished that I wanted to get done.  I am loving my class of all girls!  After school, we went to the hospital to see my friend, M.  She was off of the ventilator, and doing better.  It was good to see her and talk to her and know that she was going to be okay.  We also went to visit another friend who was in the same hospital.  We love her, and she is always so sweet and such an encouragement.  We left feeling blessed for our time with her.  We did a little shopping for the Oldest Princess.  She needed some school supplies for college, and then she needed some things to finish a few projects that she is working on.  We ate at Chick-fil-A, and then came home.

8/23 Tuesday - It was a good day at work.  Honestly, there is nothing to talk about, because my girls are so good!  When My Prince asks, "How was your day?"  I have nothing to say but, "It was really good.  How was yours?"  I love it!  The Oldest Princess left to go to an away game with the volleyball team.  The Youngest Princess and I came home, and the Young Prince got out of school early, so he had already gone to get a haircut, and beat us home.  My Prince finished with a meeting that he was in, and came home.  My Prince and I then left to go to a pre-viewing of the movie I Am Not Ashamed.  It is a movie about the life of Rachel Joy Scott, one of the victims of the Columbine school shooting.  It was not what I expected it to be, but it was very good.  I believe that it will be an effective tool to reach teenagers with the Gospel.  I also think that it will open the door for many conversations that will help many teens.  When the movie was over, they introduced the main actress of the movie.  She was there!  It was pretty neat.  They held a quick question and answer session with her.  She was so cute and sweet!  Then we came home to our children.  The Oldest Princess had made it home from the volleyball game, and the Youngest Princess was in bed asleep.  Oh, and I talked to my brother a couple of times.  The cleaning people at his office had run into the building, with someone on top of the car (seriously).  The world has gone crazy.  Absolutely crazy.

8/24 Wednesday - It was a good day.  School went great.  My Prince came and did chapel for me.  He taught about Salvation.  A much needed message, even at a Christian school. We managed to squeek everything in, even with chapel and a lot of other things going on.  After school, I went with the Oldest Princess to pick up trays of chicken sliders for the youth event that night.  Three members of my Wednesday night group could not be there, so that left two of us.  We met and shared our hearts with one another.  I shared with her about a difficult situation that I am facing, and she promised to pray for me.

8/25 Thursday (today) - I woke up and did my First 5 devotion.  It was very good.  A great reminder.  I got ready and the Youngest Princess and I went to school.  It was another good day.  Did I mention that I love my class of girls?  We shared lots of prayer requests, and took some extra time to pray for all of our requests.  The girls all did very well on their tests and quizzes for the day.  The Oldest Princess came to visit during lunch.  Then My Prince took the Oldest Princess to the dentist.  We found out that she has a cracked back tooth, and will have to have a root canal.  We were all bummed by that news.  But at least we found out in time to get it done before she goes to college.  My Prince said that the dentist was trying to set the Oldest Princess up with one of (either one of) his two eligible sons.  Too funny!  Anyway, they got her set up for her root canal.  I know we will all be glad when that is over and done.  They came home, and by that time Grammy was here.  We sure were glad to see her!  It seems like they have been gone forever.  Poppy still is not home, but we hope he is able to come home soon.  We all went out to eat with Grammy.  Then the oldest two kids went to a local football game.  My Prince brought me home, and then left for a meeting.  Grammy and the Youngest Princess ran to a local store to get the Youngest Princess some fudge pops.  They came home shortly thereafter, and then Grammy left.  The Youngest Princess did her homework.  I worked on some school related things.  Then I came upstairs to help the Youngest Princess get ready for bed. My Prince made it home from his meeting.  I am going to read to the Youngest Princess, and then get some rest.

Whew!  And that catches you up on the week.  Well, at least some of the main details of the week.  I will try to do better this week at blogging each day.  I don't enjoy playing catch up.

Until I blog again...

August 19, 2016

I woke up and did my First 5 devotion as always.  Then I got ready for work.  Casual Friday!  Woo hoo!  I love casual Fridays!  We got a call from a friend/church member to let us know that his wife (who is in my Wednesday night small group) had woke up in the middle of the night having what they thought was an allergic reaction.  They rushed her to the hospital.  They ruled out everything, and were thinking that it was a reaction to her blood pressure medicine.  My Prince and our youth pastor went to the hospital.  I sent out a text to my group to let them know that we needed to be praying.

The Oldest Princess left the house to go babysit.  The Youngest Princess woke up and had a better morning than the morning before.  I think we actually made it to the car before I heard, "I miss Tiger, Mommy" for the the first time.  There were a few tears on the way to school, but not uncontrollable this time.  Just sad tears.

School went okay.  I taught Bible, and it was one of my favorite lessons to teach.  Then we did math. The lesson was on averaging.  It was taking a long time, because they have to add several numbers together, and then divide.  Most of them were making simple mistakes with their addition, so then they would not get the right answer when they divided.  And then they would have to start all over again.  We had to stop and to break.  Then we came back and worked on it some more.  It was taking forever, and we had to move on, because we had other things to do besides just math.  When we got to the review section of the page, I accelerated things a little, knowing that not every student would finish every problem on the page.  Most of the students rolled right along with me.  Except one.  That would be the Youngest Princess.  She had a come apart, because she was not done with the section that we giving the answers to.  I tried to get her to understand that it was okay, but she would not stop trying to state her case to me long enough for me to get through to her.  I finally had to send her out to the hall, and we had a heart to heart chat.  I explained that because it was review, and that I knew they know how to multiply, and because we were three hours in to our day and had only done Bible and math, and that I knew how much more we had to do to cover everything, as well as the fact that they had music later and we had to be finished even earlier than normal, that it was okay for her to trust me that it would be all right if she did not finish every multiplication problem on the entire page.  And I let her know that arguing with me and back talking to me in class was not acceptable, and that we were going to go back in that classroom, and that she was going to relax and follow along with me.  She said "Yes, m'am."  So I motioned her back into the room.  She passed by me on the way in, and whispered, "But it's hard!"  So I sent her right back out into the hall.  I then let her know that "It was hard" because she does NOT have all of her math facts memorized.  And that if she would work on them at home when I tell her to, instead of giving me excuses and lip, that she would have them memorized and THEN, it would not be "hard", it would be a piece of cake!  And sent her back to her seat.

The rest of the day went very smoothly.  My Prince text to let me know that he and the youth pastor were on the way home from the hospital.  There was no change in my friend.  I really wanted to go to the hospital, but I had to teach, and that evening, was the Young Prince's first football game of his senior year.  My Prince told me that she was sedated, and would not know that I was there, so I felt better about not being able to go.  But she was on my heart and I prayed for her and her family fervently all day.

After school, the Youngest Princess and I came home.  The Oldest Princess had gone to lunch with the Adopted Princess.  The Adopted Princess brought a gift from her and a family friend to the Oldest Princess.  It was a shadow box with a poem, about friendship, written by the family friend.  The poem was about two vines - signifying the two girls - and how they grew up separately at first, and then their lives were intertwined and they grew together equally strong, and winning the game of life together, because they were friends.  It is a beautiful, touching poem, and it is very special to the Oldest Princess.  She wanted me to see it as soon as I came in.  I know she will treasure it, as much as she treasures her friendship with the Adopted Princess.

We were home for just a few minutes before we left to grab something to eat, and then go to the Young Prince's ballgame.  We went to eat, and had a nice dinner and time of fellowship with our girls.  Then we had a few minutes, so we stopped by the store and picked up a few things that the Oldest Princess will need for college.

Then we headed to the football game.  We were not matched up well.  The other team had several players that were bigger than our boys and they had about (the way it looked to me) twice as many players as we did.  The Young Prince is the only senior on our team.  Not too far in, one of our bigger players got hurt, and had to sit out the rest of the game.  It was a tough game.  They were pretty much killing us.  Then there was a lightning delay.  We went out and sat in our cars for about an hour.  Our friends pulled their car over next to ours, and we talked through the open windows and that helped the time to pass faster.  It started raining lightly, and they started the game again.  So we sat on the bleachers in the rain, and watched the rest of the game.  They allowed the clock to just run.  There was no hope at this point of us making a comeback.  The Young Prince was able to make one touchdown, and put us on the scoreboard.  I was very thankful for that.  I knew that he was going to be totally bummed.  But after the game, one of his teammates came over to me and asked me to please make sure that I told the Young Prince that the loss was not on him (because he takes it personally), but to tell him that he played his hardest and stepped up his game, and it was not on him.  I told the young man that I would tell the Young Prince, but I didn't know if he would listen to me or not.

The Youngest Princess asked if she could go spend the night with a friend.  It was okay with the friend's mom, so we let her go.

When we got in the car, I was telling the Young Prince what his teammate had asked me to tell him, and My Prince said that the same teammate had given him the same message to give to the Young Prince.

The Young Prince was in pretty good spirits on the way home, even though he was bruised up and beaten from nose to toe.  He was talkative, and I loved it.

When we got home, I told the Young Prince to take some ibuprofen and put all of his stinky clothes directly in the washing machine and to hit the shower.  We all went directly to bed.  We were exhausted.  Especially the Young Prince.

Until I blog again...

August 18, 2016

I woke up this morning with a heavy heart.  I was afraid that there would be more tears from our girl. I got up and did my First 5 devotions.  Then I got ready for work.

The Youngest Princess got up in a pretty good mood, almost as if she had forgotten what had happened.  And when we left, there were a few bees around our front door.  We have been talking about bees in science, so the Youngest Princess and My Prince were all excited to show them to me. We looked at them for a while and wondered why they were there.  So, that diverted her attention at least until we got to the car, and then the tears came.

We talked about school and tried to think of other things on our way to school.  I prayed for our day before we pulled into the parking lot.  The Youngest Princess was good when we got out of the car, but then she saw one of her friends, and wanted to walk with them.  When she got to the classroom door, she was in tears again.  I am sure she told her friend what had happened.

Many of the wonderful people I work with were very sweet to let us know how sorry they were for what had happened.

School went well, until we got to reading.  Of course, today of all days, the story would be about a dog.  The Youngest Princess cried again.  I think she pretty much cried all day off and on.  We took a spelling pre-test, and the Youngest Princess made a 100 on it, so she does not have to take her spelling test tomorrow.  I was very proud of her.

I received a very sweet Facebook message from a friend about how her family had been praying for us, and how our tragedy had touched their lives in a special way.  She wanted me and the Youngest Princess to know, so that we could remember that everything happens for a reason.  It was very sweet.

My Prince and the Oldest Princess came by and ate lunch with me.

The last couple of hours went by very fast, and we were busy trying to get everything done before it was time to go home.  We did manage to get it all done, but barely.

The Youngest Princess and I headed home.  I dreaded going home, because I knew that getting home would bring more tears from the Youngest Princess missing Tiger.  My Prince had promised to take her out back to show her where they had buried him.  When we got home, she was tearful going in, because Tiger was always there to meet us and get his belly rubbed on our way in.  She went straight to the back door and out to the back porch where she loved on Houston for a few minutes.

When she came back in, I shared the Facebook message that I had received earlier with her.  I got choked up reading it to her.  About that time the Oldest Princess came home from the store.

At the same time the Oldest Princess got home, a sweet friend pulled into the driveway.  She brought a hyacinth bulb to the Youngest Princess.  She told her that when she was a little girl, and her dog died, that she planted a hyacinth by its grave, and every year when it bloomed, she was reminded of her beloved pet.  She wanted the Youngest Princess to have one to plant.  She also gave her a little memorial stone, and a card.  It was such a precious gesture on the part of my friend!  How thoughtful was that!  It brought sunshine to an otherwise pretty blue day.

The Youngest Princess and My Prince went in to do homework, and the Oldest Princess and I went by to visit Mrs. B to check on her and let her know how much we love her.  We had a sweet visit with her and her granddaughter.

The Oldest Princess dropped me off back at the house, and then she went on to the school to help with the volleyball teams.

I came in, and My Prince went out to grill hamburgers.  The Young Prince came home from football practice.  We ate dinner, and watched something funny on television.

The Oldest Princess got home.  We all got ready for bed.  Everyone is exhausted.  The Youngest Princess cried in the shower.  When she got done, I read the next chapter of Mandie to the her.  I helped the Young Prince with some of his homework. The Oldest Princess came in to show me a drawing of one of her favorite verses that she had done.  My Prince fell asleep waiting on all of us to get settled.  I worked on my blog off an on during all of that.  And now, I'm done with the news from today.

Until I blog again...

August 17, 2016

I woke up this morning, and like every other morning, did my First 5 devotion.  Then I got ready and the Youngest Princess and I headed off to school.

School went very well.  We were able to get everything finished in time for the girls to go to cheer practice.  My three remaining students played with legos while I recorded grades.

The dentist called and said that they had had a cancellation and wanted to know if I could come in and make up my appointment that they had to cancel back a few weeks ago.  I told them that I could.

After school I came home, and My Prince went with me to the dentist.  I got my teeth cleaned.  I have a spot on one of my back teeth that needs some attention, so I had to make an appointment to go back in a couple of weeks to get that fixed.

We ran and got the kids something to eat.  I warmed up leftovers.  My Prince and the Young Prince left early for church.  The girls and I came later.

I finally got to meet back with my Wednesday night small group.  I have for many different reasons not been able to meet with them for a long time.  It was good to be back together - except we missed S.  We had a good time sharing prayer requests and what we had learned from our study of Acts Ch. 1.

After church we talked for a while, and then I asked My Prince if we could stop by the store and pick up some ibuprofen because my teeth were sore.  We stopped and My Prince and the Youngest Princess went in and got the ibuprofen and a few other things.

As we were driving home, My Prince suddenly sucked in his breath.  He does this often while he is driving, usually when he thinks there is a close call and someone was about to have a wreck.  I looked up at the car pretty far in front of us wondering what was going on about the time we hit something.  I asked him what it was, and he did not answer.  I had to ask about three times, when he finally answered that we had hit a dog.  The Youngest Princess in the backseat immediately begins to cry.  She is an absolute mess.  We drive the last minute home quietly.  When we get to the driveway, My Prince says that he is going back to "take care of it".  I knew that this meant that he knew he had killed the dog.  The Youngest Princess is a crying mess.  I looked around and realize that our Tiger is nowhere to be seen.  I sent the Youngest Princess into the house, and asked My Prince, "Was it Tiger?!?"  He said yes.  We had hit and killed our own dog.  While My Prince was getting everything ready to go back and get him, I had to go inside and explain to the Youngest Princess that it was our dog.  Terrible. Horrible.  No. Good. Very. Bad. way to end a day.

There were many, many tears.  The oldest two children had gone to eat after church.  So they did not know exactly what had happened until they came home.  The Young Prince went out to help his daddy bury our dog.

Tiger was just that.  He protected his territory fiercely.  He refused to stay in the backyard after our golden retriever died, and we brought home a black lab.  He would get out of anything we put him in, and he claimed the front yard as his home.  He barked at everything that moved, like he was going to eat it alive, but he was ALL bark and NO bite.  He and the cats had a love/hate relationship.  He would roam a little, but he always came home.  I have never known him to wander as far as he did tonight.  I don't understand why it happened, but it did.  We all feel terrible, especially a little girl who is absolutely heartbroken.  He was a great dog.  We loved him, and he will be dearly missed, especially by a little girl who is absolutely heartbroken.

While the men were burying Tiger outside, the Oldest Princess and I were doing our best to divert the Youngest Princess's attention inside.  We got her showered and ready for bed.  I let lay with me and we read our chapter of Mandie.  We watched funny youtube videos.  Anything to try to get her mind off of it.

The guys came in and got showered and cleaned up.

Now we are all tucked in, hopefully for the night.  With our hearts a little sadder, and our front yard a little lonelier and lot more quiet.

Until I blog again...

August 14 - 16, 2016

Sunday, August 14 - It was a good morning.  Everything went pretty smoothly.  The Sunday school lesson was an interesting lesson on I Peter 3:18 -20, and how different people believe that those verses are talking about different things.  It was deep, but very interesting.

My Prince preached on faithfulness.  It was a good service all the way around.  We announced that we have decided to hire two ladies to work together to be our Children's Directors.  We are excited to get things moving forward on that.  After church, we went to a local Mexican restaurant, and ate lunch.

We came home, and My Prince did some studying, and I prepared for our first Bible Drills class of the new Bible Drill year.

We went to church early, because we all had things we had to do.  I was able to get some more Bible Drill things together.

Then I went to my Sunday night Bible group.  We had a good night of study and just talking about things that God has laid on our hearts and how to proceed once our study is over.  Some of us shared our hearts about how the group has been helpful in the last few months.  It was a very good night.

Then we had our first Bible Drill class.  I had nine children!  I was so excited!  We barely had room for all of them to line up across the room!  It was awesome!  They did great!  I hope that they had as much fun as I did.  I LOVE Bible Drills!  It is one of my most favorite times of the week!

After church we came home and ate leftovers and then got ready for bed.  My Prince had a hard time unwinding and going to sleep.  He was very tired, because Sunday's take a lot out of him, but he tossed and turned trying to relax.  Then he received a text that held a heavy burden, and it made it even more difficult for him to unwind and get some rest.  But eventually he was able to get some sleep.  And I was too.

Monday, August 15 -  I woke up and did my First 5 devotions.  I got ready praying all morning for the situation from the night before.  It wore heavy on my heart.  I wish that people could understand that everything they do has an effect on others.  Satan tries to make us believe that the choices we make don't hurt anyone else.  But how very untrue that is.  So I prayed.  And got ready for work.

On the way to school, the Youngest Princess and I prayed for our day, that we would be able to work together and have a good day as teacher/student, and mother/daughter.  That we would both respond properly.  My friend who teaches 4th grade brought me a little surprise.  It was an adorable decorative hedgehog.  I love it!  It now lives on my desk.

My Prince brought the hedgehog, so my class could see it.  The hedgehog stayed in our class all day.

The Oldest Princess text and asked if I wanted her to bring me some lunch.  I told her that I didn't feel like I could eat anything, but that she could come and sit with me for lunch.  She went and got Subway for her and came and had lunch with me.  I really miss having her at the school.  If I am in the hall when the high school changes classes, I find myself looking for her.  Or if we are in the lunchroom when the high school kids come in, I find myself looking for her to come by just to say hello and tell me how her day is going.  I will really miss her when she leaves for college.

It was a pretty good day overall, but at the end, when we started Penmanship the Youngest Princess had a little bit of a struggle.  We worked through it, and then it was time for the girls that cheer to go and eat before the game.  That left me with two students.  I have three that do not cheer, but one of those three checked out early, so then there were two.  I let them work on homework, while I graded some papers and got some things ready for the next day.  Before I knew it, it was time to go home.  Some of the ladies in my group text back and forth about some of the things we were thankful for.  It made me smile.

I ran home and met My Prince.  We ran to Taco Bell for a quick dinner, and then headed back to the school for the football game.  My Prince was supposed to call the game, but they had technical difficulties with the sound system, so he ended up not calling it after all.

The Youngest Princess and all of her little friends cheered.  They did a great job!  I was very proud of all of them.  The Oldest Princess helped to coach them, and she also did a great job.  The Young Prince stood on the sideline with the team, since it was a junior varsity game, and he plays on the varsity team.

After the girls finished cheering, we went in to the gym to watch a little of the volleyball game.  One of my students did not finish copying her notes, so the Youngest Princess got out her notes and I took pictures of them to send to her so that she could finish copying them.  We didn't stay at the volleyball game for very long.  I wanted to get home and let the Youngest Princess get her homework done.

We went up to my room and got the hedgehog, and then ran by McDonald's to get the Youngest Princess something to eat.

When we got home, she ate and then wrote her spelling words.  Her daddy helped her study for her history and science quizzes.  She took a shower and we read Mandie and then we went to bed.

Tuesday, August 16 - I was sick several times during the night.  Probably sicker than I have been in a while.  I am just so ready to feel better.  So, that made it very hard to get up and get going this morning, but I did.  I did my First 5 devotion.  We have moved from the book of Acts to I Corinthians.  I think it will be a good study.  I am looking forward to it.

We had a pretty good day as far as school work goes.  We were able to get all of our work done, and I had time to read a chapter of the Josiah books.  The Youngest Princess still says that it is just as bad as The Little Princess, and now she adds, "maybe even worse!"  I can't wait to get a little farther in, and see what she has to say about it then.  I am sure there will be days when she loves it, and days when she hates it.

At one point, there was a knock at my door.  I opened it to my find my friend standing there.  I started to tease with her, because that is what we do.  We give each other a hard time, and then I realized that she was crying.  She told me that she had just received news that her father had passed away.  My heart broke for her, because I have been there.  I know that no matter how old you are, you will always be your daddy's little girl.  I also know how it feels living far away and getting news like that. It is terrible.  She talked to me for a few minutes, and then she was able to go back to her class.  I told her that I would do whatever she needed me to do to help her.

The rest of the day was pretty much normal.  I had one student leave early because her sister plays volleyball and they had to travel to the volleyball game.  So far, in five days of school, we have yet to have all of us there for a whole day.  Hopefully tomorrow will be the day.

After school, the Youngest Princess and I came home.  The Young Prince and the Oldest Princess were at home when we got here.  My Prince was still at work.  I sat down to relax for a few minutes and I was so tired, that I ended up falling asleep.  I took a nice little nap on the couch, and the kids were great to be quiet and not wake me up.

My Prince got home, and I still slept for about 45 minutes.  He got a call that a relative of one of our church members was in the hospital and not doing well, so he ran out and grilled some pork chops and hot dogs for dinner, and then jumped in the shower and headed to the hospital.  I woke up in all of the commotion, and was able to talk to him for a few minutes before he left.

The kids and I ate dinner, and the Youngest Princess finished her homework.  The Oldest Princess helped the Youngest Princess study for tomorrow's Bible quiz.  The Young Prince took it upon himself to go out and mow the grass.  I love it when he sees a need and takes care of it without being asked.  Makes me proud.

When she finished studying, I sent her upstairs to get her clothes ready for tomorrow, and to begin getting ready for bed.  She asked me to text my friend and tell her that she was on her heart and that she was praying for her.  So I did.  My sweet girl.  She surprised me by asking me to do that.  I love her little heart for others.

I straightened up a little and then came upstairs also.  We read our chapter of Mandie.  Then I got her settled and started working on my blog.  She had a million and one questions.  She said her prayers and finally fell asleep.

My Prince got home shortly thereafter.  Now we are all tucked in and ready for some rest.

Until I blog again...

August 12-13, 2016

Friday, August 12 - I woke up and did my First 5 devotions.  Then got ready for work.  Even though it was casual Friday, I went ahead and dressed for the funeral, because I would not have time to come home and change.

We had a good morning.  We were on the third day, finally all there.  The Oldest Princess stopped in at about 9:40 to tell me goodbye.  She was going as an "assistant coach" with the volleyball team to a tournament.  I received a very exciting and encouraging text from one of the ladies in my Bible study group.  

We did our classwork a little out of order, so that I could leave some of the easier things for my sub.  I worked until 12:00, and then left to go to the funeral.  

I dreaded the funeral.  I did not want to be having to go to this funeral.  I got there as the family was finishing up eating.  I was able to talk to the daughter-in-law first.  I explained to her that the Oldest Princess had wanted to be there, but she had already made a commitment to go to the volleyball tournament.  She told me to tell the Oldest Princess that "Big Daddy" would have wanted her to go, and that he would tell her she was where she needed to be.  So sweet!  And she was right, he would have told her just that.

I was finally able to see Mrs. B.  My friend, my sister in Christ, and Big Daddy's wife.  She has been the object of many of my prayers the last few days.  I love her dearly and my heart hurts to see her hurt.  I mourn with her.  I hate it when people I love hurt.  I gave her a huge hug and told her that I love her and have been praying for her.  She is probably one of the strongest ladies that I know.

I also was able to talk to his sweet sister who is also a member of our church.  She is precious, and I know she loved him and will miss him greatly.

Then I went and sat in the back corner of the church, so that I could get out quickly and meet My Prince at the car after the funeral so we could be on our way to the graveside in the funeral procession.  I watched the church fill up to the brim with people who loved this family.  Another church member and friend came and sat by me.  She told me stories of "Big Daddy" from knowing him while she was growing up.

I thought of several things that stood out from our four years of knowing them...

The time that we were about to have the Oldest Princess's 16th Birthday party, and a storm knocked the electricity out. I posted a request on Facebook for people to pray that the lights would come back on before time for the party.  Thankfully, before too long, the lights came back on, and I posted again a thank you to those who prayed.  The next day, a Sunday, Mrs. B told me that when "Big Daddy" heard that we were without lights, he had gone down to the shed and was dragging his generator up the hill to bring it to us. And when I posted that the lights had come back on, she had yelled out and told him that we didn't need it after all.  But the fact that he was willing to go to all of that trouble to help us really meant the world to me.

The time when he told me that Princess Kate and I resembled one another.

The first time that I heard about him working in the church nursery, and how stunned I was.  Not many men work in the church nursery, but he loved to sit and rock the babies.  He was a big, strong man, and it was precious to walk by the window and see him sitting in there in a rocking chair with a baby bouncing on his knee, or asleep on his chest.

Of the times that he spent no telling how much time cutting out wooden shapes for us to paint on our craft nights.

And most recently of his running joke about there being no rain, and it being My Prince's fault, and how maybe the church needed to get a new pastor, that could bring rain.  Just the day before he passed away, there was a little rain shower, and My Prince ran out to take a picture and text it to him as proof that it was raining.  He text back wanting to know if it was raining, or sprinkling.  My Prince told him that it was more of a sprinkle.

As the funeral ended, there was a good steady rain falling.  It rained on us all the way to the graveside, and through the graveside service.  About the time the graveside service ended, the rain did as well.

While we were driving home, I let the Lord know that I was a little miffed at Him.  I guess I didn't really let Him know, He already knew.  But I had a conversation with Him in my heart.  I know He is sovereign, and I know that He has a reason and a plan for everything He does.  But I was not ready for Him to take "Big Daddy" from us.  Not ready at all.  It just did not seem fair for him to take such a big hearted, fun loving, hard working man.  I wanted to rewind back a couple of days and ask for a re-do.  But God doesn't do that.  And death is a part of life.  And I have to come to terms with it, even though I don't like it.  I just have to trust that our all knowing, all loving God knew that in the big picture this was what was best.  Even if it is hard. And sad. And hurtful.  And God is still good.  In every situation and in every circumstance.

We got home and the Young Prince and the Youngest Princess were asking to go see the movie "Pete's Dragon".  My Prince was not very excited about it, but we needed a night to just chill with the kids, so we decided to go.  We went to eat, and then to the movie.  The movie was good, but I was a little disappointed that it did not stick to the story line of the first "Pete's Dragon".  We all had a little trouble with our "allergies" as My Prince likes to say when his eyes water during a movie.  We drove through and got ice cream for an on the way home treat.

When we got home, the Youngest Princess and I read our chapter of Mandie, and then snuggled and fell asleep.

Saturday, August 13 - I woke up and relaxed a little while.  I text back and forth with the Oldest Princess some.  The Youngest Princess woke up and we talked and watched a show.  

A friend text me to ask if I knew about a conference that was coming near us.  I had not known, but was excited to learn about it.  I don't know if it is going to work for us to be able to go, but I am praying that it will.

At one point she was laying with her head on my left side, and she said, "Mommy, I can hear your heartbeat, and it comforts me."  And her comment melted me.  I love my sweet girl!

I text my Bible study group member back when I realized that I had not answered her text from the day before.  We exchanged several texts back and forth after that.

I worked on my Bible study.  My Prince got up and studied some too.  Then he left to go to another funeral.  This time a for a brother of one of our church members.

I did some laundry.  The Young Prince went to spend the night at a friend's house.

My Prince grilled chicken for dinner.  We ate and then got ready to go to a retirement party for one of the members of our church.  It was a nice party, and we enjoyed getting to talk to and visit with some of our church members that we don't always get to spend time with.  And after "Big Daddy's" sudden death, I want to treasure every conversation with friends and loved ones.  None of us are promised tomorrow. We need to remember that and make each and every moment count.

We left the party and came home.  I did some more laundry.  The Youngest Princess found a shirt that she needs for Monday, when she cheers at the first football game of the year.  The Oldest Princess did some more packing and cleaning out her room in preparation of her move to college.

The Youngest Princess emptied out her piggy bank, counted her money, wrote the total on the inside flap of an envelope, and a note on the front of the envelope, and gave it to her sister.  She wanted the Oldest Princess to have it "to help with college" (good thing that college is a 5th grade spelling word!).  It was very sweet.  They talk big, and they tease one another, but they really do love each other.

Now My Prince is studying, I am blogging, and the girls are upstairs watching a movie.

I am going to get off here and put a load of clothes in the dryer and then head to bed.

Until I blog again...

August 10-11, 2016

Wednesday, August 10 - I woke up and did my First 5 devotional.  Then I got ready for my first day back to school with students.  The Young Prince and the Youngest Princess also got ready for their first day back to school.  The Young Prince for his senior year.  The Youngest Princess for her 5th grade year.

As I was getting ready, I got a text from the mother of one of my students.  Her daughter had passed out that morning, and they were taking her to the hospital to have her checked out, so she would not be at school that day.  I was texting her and praying for my student, when My Prince come up and handed me his phone for me to read a text he had just received from one of our church members.  If we were reading it right, it meant that her brother (another one of our church members) had passed away.  We both just stood there and stared at each other, trying to wrap our minds around the message and what it meant.  My Prince decided to call the wife of the man that the text was about.  We just could not believe that it could be true that he had passed away, but we both knew that the text was no joke.  It was just so sudden and so totally unexpected.  And so very heartbreaking.  My Prince talked with his wife for a few minutes and then prayed with her.  I finished getting ready, just going through the motions, my heart and my mind a million miles away praying for a precious family who had just lost a very special loved one.

The Young Prince left for school, and the Youngest Princess and I left right after him.  I was a few minutes early despite everything that had happened that morning.

We had a great day in class.  My girls were great!  

My Prince and the Oldest Princess brought the Youngest Princess and I lunch.  I ate about half of my sandwich, and I could tell that my stomach was not happy.  So I quit eating.  My Prince finished it for me.

I checked in on my student that had fainted that morning.  Her mother told me that she was doing well.  That they had run some tests, but did not have any results.  They also have her scheduled for another test in a few weeks. 

We got settled in and did everything that we needed to do before all but two of them had cheer practice.  The two that were not cheering and I went down to the gym to watch the others cheer.  

The Oldest Princess came to help with cheer practice.  So when cheer practice ended and school was over, we came home.

I was sick when I got home.  My stomach has not been right for days now.  I am so ready to feel better!  I had been doing great, after starting Plexus, but over the summer and all of our travels, I had not been doing Plexus on a regular basis.  I have been trying to get back on it regularly, and I've done good this week.  I am hoping that it will help like it did before, that maybe it is just taking it a few days for it to start working again.

But, there was no going to church for me last night.  I stayed home while everyone else went.  It made me sad.  I wanted to be at church.  I dozed, and tried to just feel better.

When everyone got home from church, we watched some of the olympics - gymnastics - because the Youngest Princess is enamored with it.

After that, I read Mandie to the Youngest Princess, and then we went to bed.

Thursday, August 11 - I woke up and did my First 5 devotion.  It was very good this morning. 

The Oldest Princess came in and laid down in our bed.  She was not feeling well this morning.

 I got ready, and so did the Youngest Princess and the Young Prince.  I got another text from a mother of one of my students telling me that her daughter had been sick during the night before and then again this morning, so she would not be at school.  So, my student that had fainted the day before would be there, but I would be missing another student.  So, so far this year, I have yet to have a full class. Maybe tomorrow?

Anyway, we had a good day.  It was a little tough on the Youngest Princess.  She is having a hard time separating "Mommy" from "teacher".  She expects me to act like "Mommy", when I need to act like "teacher", because I have a classroom full of other kids.  So today, we ran into a little trouble, and she gave me a little attitude.  I talked to her about it, and we both know that we have some adjusting to do.  Please pray with me that I have wisdom in dealing with her.  We have a really good, close relationship, and I do not want me being her teacher this year to change that.  My prayer is that it brings us even closer. But today was definitely a trial.  Hopefully we will work out the kinks and be able to move ahead full swing the rest of the year.

After school, the Youngest Princess and I came home.  The Oldest Princess was glad to see us.  She said that it had been lonely and quiet around the house all day.

I lined up my sub for tomorrow afternoon, so that I can go to the funeral of our friend.

I ate some cheese crackers and had water for snack and lunch.  I did not want to be sick again.

My Prince came home and brought fried chicken for dinner.  I did not eat any, because I was still not feeling good.  I did take some medicine that I had from when I had some tummy troubles several months back.  Finally, I was so hungry, that I decided if I was going to be sick anyway, that I might as well eat.  I knew the chicken would be too spicy, so I heated up some steak tips that I had left over from a few nights ago.

The Youngest Princess did her homework.  I didn't feel that tired, but we started watching the Olympics, and I could barely hold my eyes open.  So I settled in on the couch, and promptly fell deeply asleep.  

My Prince sent the Youngest Princess up to get her shower and get ready for bed.  I woke up.  I started working on my blog.  The Youngest Princess went to bed.  The Oldest Princess and the Young Prince and I are watching the Olympics as I type.  And that, pretty much sums up the last two days.

Until I blog again...

August 9, 2016

I woke up and did my First 5 devotion.  It was really good this morning.  Then I got up and got ready for work.

We had a short meeting this morning, to go over a couple of things, and then we had time to work in our rooms. I had almost everything done already, so I didn't have to work for very long.  My Prince came and helped me out with finding something on the computer that I was having trouble finding from dropbox.  He also printed out the cover sheets for my prayer journals.  I was excited because they look great!

My Prince and I went to lunch.  When I came home, the house was empty.  The Oldest Princess and the little girl she babysits were with Grammy, and the Young Prince and the Youngest Princess were with Poppy.

Poppy took the Young Prince and dropped him off at practice, and then brought the Youngest Princess home.

The Youngest Princess and I hung out for a while.  I worked on some things for school tomorrow, and the Youngest Princess got her school supplies ready to go.

The Oldest Princess called to see if the Youngest Princess wanted to go to with them to get an ice cream.  Well, of course she did!  So they came and picked her up and took her with them to get an ice cream.

Then My Prince and the Young Prince came home.

The Oldest Princess dropped the Youngest Princess off, and went back to babysit.

My Prince went and picked up our dinners that we had ordered from a fundraiser that our local high school was doing.  He bought them home and we quickly ate dinner.

The Oldest Princess got off work, and came and picked up the Youngest Princess and took her to the nail salon to have her nails done for her first day of school.

My Prince and I left to go to the school for parent/teacher orientation night.  We got there early so that I could be sure that everything was in order to go.

I talked and visited with the other teachers until it was time to start.  We met in the auditorium of the church with all of the parents first, so that we could be introduced.  Then we were allowed to go to our classrooms while the principal talked to the parents about a few things that they all need to know. Then he dismissed the parents to come to our rooms.

I talked to my parents about things that are specific to 5th grade, and had them fill out some forms.

My new student was interested in cheering, so I took her and her step-mom down to meet the cheer coach Mrs. M, but the High School parents and teachers were still in their general meeting, so we did not get to talk to her.  They just decided that they would talk to Mrs. M at cheer practice tomorrow.

I went back to my room to get everything put away and ready for our first day tomorrow.

We came home and watched the Olympics again.  This time it was girls gymnastics - the Youngest Princess's favorite!  And a little bit of the swimming.  It was exciting to watch Michael Phelps win his race.

After that, we knew we had all better get in bed.  So that is where we all are, ready now to get some rest for our big first day back to school tomorrow.

Until I blog again...

August 8, 2016

I woke up this morning and did my First 5 devotions.  Then I got up and started getting ready for my first day of the 2016-2017 school year.  My Prince fixed my Plexus for me, and even ironed my shirt. He is awesome!

It was good to get back and see everyone.  We had a devotional first thing, and then the elementary department had our meetings.  We went over several things and then we were able to go to our classrooms and work.

I got a few things done, and then My Prince wanted to meet for lunch.  We were going to meet at a local restaurant, but he text and told me that they were closed on Mondays.  So plan "b" was to meet at a different restaurant.  But, I could not find my keys.  So, I hiked all the way out to my car (we had to park on the high school side of the building because they were repainting the parking lot stripes on our side), only to find that I had locked my keys in my car.  What is up with that?  I NEVER do that!  Anyway, I text My Prince to let him know that I had locked my keys in the car.  He got lunch to go, and brought it to me, along with a hole punch that I needed and he got my keys out of the car on his way in.  Have I mentioned lately that he is the greatest?  I am sure it has been too long since I have sung his praises.  He truly is the greatest!  But due to all of the craziness, he did not have time to stay and visit with me while I ate.  He had to go and get some more supplies for more backpacks that were needed.

I quickly ate lunch, and then got back to working and getting things ready for the parents tomorrow night and the students Wednesday morning.

I finished all that I could do, and went downstairs to wait for the Youngest Princess to finish cheer practice.  I talked to some of the other moms that were down there.  The Oldest Princess was running cheer practice for the young girls.  When they finished, we came home.

About the time we got home, the Young Prince was leaving for football practice.

The church secretary (at the school) had given us some okra.  Yay!  So when we got home, I cut some of it up, and the Oldest Princess and I fried it, while My Prince grilled pork chops.  It was a simple but very good dinner.

After we ate, the Young Princess helped me finish putting together the prayer journals for the girls in my class.  I am so excited about them!  I can't wait for them to document and see how God answers prayers and for them to get excited about their prayer journals as well.  Then I know that they will pray even bigger prayers and expect even greater things from God, and He will answer, and it will grow.  I am praying that it will start a fire in their hearts that lights a lifelong love of prayer and that they will be able to see how powerful prayer can be.

After we finished the journals, we turned on the television to watch the Olympics.  Diving was just coming on.  The Youngest Princess who is all about the Olympics this year looked at the television, and saw the men divers in their very small swim suits and held up her hand to block her view of the television and said, "Oh!  Tiny shorts, Mom!  Tiny! Shorts!"  We continued watching, fast forwarding through most of it, because the American divers were Christians and I was rooting for them.  I was glad in their interview at the end that they again gave glory to God.  You don't see much of that anymore, and I am glad that they are vocal about their faith.

After that, the Youngest Princess and I came upstairs to read Mandie.  We are on the book that tells about her college years now.  I feel like we have grown up with her.  We have been reading Mandie books since way back when the Youngest Princess was in the first grade!  If we read without missing a night, we should be finished with this one in about 12 nights.  Then I don't know what we will do.  I am thinking about the Anne of Green Gables books?  But I am open to suggestions.  A while back, we took a break from Mandie and read A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and the Youngest Princess was mad at me for months over that one.  She thought it was a "horrible" book and that I was terrible for making us read such a "sad, horrible" book that made us cry.  So, if you know of any great girly books, I am open to suggestions.

We finished reading, and the Youngest Princess went to bed.  My Prince came upstairs, but decided to lay in the Young Prince's bed while I worked on my blog.  The Young Prince is downstairs watching one of the Spiderman movies.  The Oldest Princess, still a working woman for one more day, is also in bed.  And now, I too am going to get some rest.  Full day tomorrow.

Until I blog again...

August 7, 2016

I woke up and started getting ready for church.  All went fairly smoothly this morning as far as Sunday mornings go.

My Prince left a few minutes earlier than us, because we were having an appreciation breakfast for our area teachers, and he wanted to be there a little early to greet anyone who might come.  The kids and I got finished getting ready and went to the breakfast ourselves.

After the breakfast, My Prince and I quickly fixed the little teacher appreciation gifts that we wanted to pass out after church.  We would have had them put together earlier, but we were waiting on one thing to add to them that was picked up Saturday evening.  Which meant putting them together Sunday morning.

We got them put together quickly though.  And I think everyone liked theirs.  They all got really excited about the chocolate and the sticky notes.  So, if you want to give a teacher a little pick-me-up gift, just know that you pretty much can't go wrong with chocolates and sticky notes.

During the service, My Prince challenged us from Galatians 6:7-9.  He encouraged us not to be weary in well doing, but to be faithful even on the days when it seems like what we do does not matter.  It was a good sermon.

After church, we went to eat, and then back home.  I worked on my Bible study.

The kids left for drama.  My Prince, the Youngest Princess and I left a little while after them.  The Youngest Princess went to choir.  My Prince went to a youth parent meeting, and I went to my group meeting.  I am glad we were finally able to meet on a Sunday evening again.  Hopefully now, we will continue to meet on Sundays as we get back into our routines.  Our lesson was on lies that Satan would have us believe about our children.  It was an eye opening chapter, and it brought about some good discussions.  K, we missed you!

After our class, my friend shared with me that she saved the picture of the sunrise on the beach from my blog.  The one on the morning when I spent time praying for our children.  She said that she used that picture for when I text her, and that every time she saw it, it reminded her to join us in prayer for our children.  Wow!  That means the world to me!  She didn't just tell me that she would pray for us.  She really does, and has a tangible reminder to do so.  So encouraging!  And what a blessing!  And what an encouragement for me to do the same - think of unique ways that I can remind myself to pray for others!

She can be guaranteed that I will be diligently praying for her children as well.

We went on into the evening service.  My Prince just told us how we would be doing the prayer walk, and gave us a few specific things that we could pray for at different areas of the school.  We dismissed, and passed out cards that we could sign and slip under the doors, or in the lockers to let people know that we had prayed specifically for them.  I hope when they get there tomorrow and open their doors that they are encouraged beyond words by those cards.  I wish they could have seen the people praying.  Older folks, other teachers, their co-workers, members of their community, teens who will walk those halls each day praying for their peers, children on their knees before their doors praying for the teachers and children of that classroom to have a good school year.  One little one who watched her older brother, who will be going into the 1st grade, pray and wanted to pray too.  The cards don't do justice for the precious sweet spirit that was in those halls tonight.  It is one of my most favorite nights of the year.  And then we were joined by another church, and we joined hands and hearts and stood there in the hallway and man after man prayed for God's hand to be on that school this year.  How awesome it is to know that our prayers have no time restraints, and that God could start a revival of epic proportions in that very place this year.

When we finished praying, the Youngest Princess went home with a friend for one last summer sleepover before school starts again.  The Oldest Princess and the Young Prince went out with some friends for dinner.  My Prince and I ran by a local store and then came home by ourselves.

The Youngest Princess called to say that she was coming by and needed her pillow and her Buddy Bear.  I got that together as well as sleep clothes and clothes for her to wear tomorrow.  She also wanted to show her friends the hedgehog, so I got him out of the cage and took him out to the car so her friends could see him.

After they left again, the older two came home.  My Prince was ready to go to bed, so I got ready to come upstairs as well.  The older two children came into the living room and told us that since the Youngest Princess was gone, they were going to supply our entertainment for the night.  My son turned on his music and lip synced and danced to "Johnnie B. Goode".  And he did a really good job of it too, I must admit.  I told the kids I have heard the song many times, and I know the chorus, but I have never really listened to the words of the verses.  Then he went on to do several other songs for us as well.  We were pretty impressed.

I came on up to blog, and My Prince got distracted by shiny things, and stayed downstairs to watch part of a movie with the Young Prince.  Now, he has joined me, and I'm going to finish this up and go to sleep.  Because...I...have...to...go...to...work (breaks into tears) tomorrow!

Until I blog again...

August 5 - August 6, 2016

Friday, August 5 - I woke up and did my First 5 devotion.

I had a message on Facebook from a friend whose son is a young football player at our school (he was actually a student in my class last year).  She wanted to tell me that her son had been paired up with the Young Prince at football practice the evening before, and that he got in the car all excited because the Young Prince had been such an encouragement to him, and had taught him several things that were really helpful to him.  She wanted me to know.  So exciting to me, especially since just the night before (after said football practice), I had talked to the Young Prince and told him that I wished he could see what I see when it comes to the influence that he has on the people around him.  I wish he could see how others look up to him. I had told him of a person that I had heard recently that he had had an influence on, and he was surprised, because he had no idea that that person looked up to him.  The Oldest Princess had chimed in on how she had known about his influence over that person as well.  So, I reminded him how much influence he has, even when he has no idea, and how he should always strive to use that influence for good.  He seemed to be soaking in what I said.  And then I wake up to this message.  I shared it with the young Prince.  It made me proud, but it also helped him to be even more aware of his potential to be a leader for good in his sphere of influence.

My Prince left for a meeting, and the Young Prince left to go finish painting a fence that he and several friends had started painting back before we went to World Changers.

The Oldest Princess and I got ready to go to a conference about an hour and fifteen minutes from our house to do our Bible Drill in a Box.  The teachers of the younger students could not go, so the Oldest Princess said she would go with me and make their box for them.

Grammy was sweet enough to come and sit with the Youngest Princess while the rest of us were all over the place doing different things.  Grammy got there, and the Oldest Princess and I left

We had a nice trip.  It was good.  Just the two of us.  No distractions.  Time to talk, and laugh, and even cry a little.  We stopped and had lunch before we got there.  We may have had to turn around a couple of times on our way there.  The Oldest Princess was the driver and I was the navigator.  But we made it with plenty of time to spare.  I went to check in where My Prince told me to go.  It was the wrong place, and we had to go back to a different place to check in.

We still had plenty of time, so we browsed around in the gift shop for a while.  I found a waterproof bag like one my friend Special K let me borrow when we went tubing a few weeks ago.  I bought it, because I thought that it might come in handy to have should we ever need one.  We still had time to spare (we got there REALLY early), so we sat in the rocking chairs for a few minutes.  Then we went to our class.

The class was wonderful as always.  The lady who does it is always very organized, and she has everything we need to be able to make a game for all 24 verses, and then some games for review, for learning the books of the Bible, and for learning the key passages.  It is basically preparation for a whole year of Bible Drills taken care of in 2 hours.  Okay, well, we didn't completely finish everything, but we got a lot of it completed, and have the tools to finish it all.  It is a wonderful class. It has definitely been a blessing to me for the last two years.

After the class, we headed home.  I had not felt great all day, and I had a really bad headache.  The Oldest Princess told me to take a nap, so I did.

When we got home, I grabbed something to eat, and took some medicine in hopes that it would help my head to feel better.  I also laid on the couch for about 15 minutes hoping to feel better.

Then we went to the church, and met one of my friends who offered to help, and we packed the backpacks we bought on Thursday with the supplies that we also bought on Thursday. I knew we had about an hour and 15 minutes to get it done, and was hoping that we would be able to get them all done in that amount of time.  The Oldest Princess, the Youngest Princess, my friend and I all worked very fast, and had most of them done by the time My Prince and the Young Prince came to join us.

When we finished, we took them up to the auditorium and put them on the stage so that everyone can see what their donations were able to accomplish.

After that, we went to the fellowship hall to visit/help out a little with those who were decorating for the youth pastor's wife's baby shower.  Our youth pastor loves to drive in races, and they know that they are going to have a boy, so they did the shower in a race car theme.  It was really cute!

After that, we left to go to a birthday party.  It was my friend's daughter's 14th birthday.  It was a swimming/glow party.  The Youngest Princess had a blast swimming with her little friends that were there.  The Oldest Princess just stayed for a few minutes, and then left to go to her D group's campout.  They actually slept in a tent, y'all.  In all of this heat.  Yuck!  The Young Prince sat around and talked with the adults for a while and then played some with my friend's son who is going into the third grade this year.  My Prince and I enjoyed getting to catch up with friends we have not been able to talk to much this summer.  So a good time was had by all.  I was still feeling a little puny.  I hoped that a good night's sleep would make me feel much better.

When we got home, I pretty much went right to bed.

Saturday, August 6 - We slept in pretty late this morning.  I guess we were all tired.  When I woke up, I watched the First 5 weekend wrap-up video.  Then I got up.  Today was the day of the Home and Farm expo.  I was a little excited because I have heard about it for several years, but we usually have some kind of volleyball something or other, and we are unable to go.  This year it worked out that we were going to be able to go. At least for a little while.  So I got ready.  But I was still not feeling good.  I felt a little sick to my stomach, and my head hurt pretty badly.  But I pushed through.  The Oldest Princess came home, got a shower, and promptly fell asleep in the recliner.

My Prince, the Young Prince, and the Youngest Princess all went to the home and farm expo.  The Oldest Princess stayed home.  It was extremely hot.  We tasted peaches.  We could have sampled honey.  We saw goats.  The Youngest Princess petted a snake.  We got free corn (they wanted to know if we wanted mayo and Parmesan cheese on it.  That is a first.  I had never heard of that.  We opted for plain.  We visited with friends we haven't seen in a while, and friends we see on a weekly basis.  The Youngest Princess and her friend held baby chicks.  I thought we would never drag her away from those chicks!  We sampled blackberry ice cream, and peach ice cream.  We watched a machine turn a log into boards.  We learned about fire ants.  If it had not been SO hot, I would have enjoyed staying and learning more things, but we were melting (and the heat was not helping me to feel any better), and we had a baby shower to attend, so we had to leave.

When we got home, the Youngest Princess and I got another shower, and got ready to go to the Youth Pastor's wife's baby shower.  We had a good time visiting with everyone there, and seeing all the cute gifts that she received.  We are excited for the baby to get here, so we can all spoil him.  We helped to clean up a little at the end, and then we came home.

When we got home, Grammy and Poppy where here.  They came over because we were going to grill out.  They had everything almost ready.  I took some medicine and came upstairs to lay down and see if I could get my headache to ease off some.  I was hurting across the back of my head, and usually when I get those kinds of headaches, I just have to sleep them off.  I did feel a little better by the time dinner was ready, and I hoped that eating would make it feel even better.  But no such luck.

After dinner and cleaning up the kitchen, I laid down on the couch.  Poppy and My Prince joined the girls and I and we just visited for a while, while the Young Prince and Grammy ran to the store.  When they came home, Grammy and Poppy went home to where they are staying.  The girls and I watched some of the Olympics.  I tried to blog and watch the Olympics, but that was going nowhere fast, so I came upstairs to finish the blog so I can go to sleep and hopefully get rid of this headache and queasy feeling once and for all.  Two days of feeling like this is ENOUGH.

*I have to add a story from last Thursday that I was reminded that I had forgotten to blog about.  Last Thursday while we were at the Young Prince'a football practice, I was standing in the gym talking to some friends.  My Prince came in the door and made a sarcastic remark about one of my friends ("Aunt D") and not being surprised at finding her talking.  She playfully kicked at him and hit his watch with her foot.  He grabbed it and acted like he was hurt, and gave her a hard time.  When we got home, he googled a picture of a bruised hand/arm, and sent it via a group text message to her and me pretending that it was his hand/arm and that she had done that when she kicked him.  She text back, "Ha, no way!!"  I didn't want her to worry, so I quickly told her that she could not believe him.  Then she wanted to know where he got the picture.  I told her that he had probably googled it.  She was glad that it wasn't his arm.  She said she had actually worried that it was his arm at first.  And he just wanted to mess with her a little and give her a hard time.  What are friends for?  I love that we have a good relationship and can tease with one another from time to time.  Speaking of, I know it was her husband who moved our trash can when we first moved to this house.  Even though I don't think he has ever admitted to it.  But that is a story for another day, another blog.

Now, I am going to get some rest and try to feel better.

Until I blog again...

August 4, 2016

I woke up and did my First 5 devotion.  And I got up and got ready because I had an appointment to get my hair cut and colored first thing that morning.

While I was getting my hair done, a momma came in with a special needs little girl.  There was an older lady in there at the same time.  The older lady turned off her hairdryer and walked over to talk to and encourage the little girl.  It was very sweet.  Then she came back over to me and was telling me that she had two nephews that had special needs and how we may not understand what God is doing, but that he has a plan.  Very true.  Very true.  Then I watched the lady that does my hair get down in the floor with the little girl and play with her for a few minutes while her momma was getting her eyebrows waxed. It was precious.  I wanted to talk to her too, but I had color in my hair, and I was afraid that I would scare her (seriously, mid process is not a pretty sight), so I just observed.  But it warmed my heart that the little girl was treated almost like royalty, even though she was different.  Her difference did not scare or make those around her feel uncomfortable.  No, it brought them together in their shared love for her.  It was a sweet few moments that we don't get to observe very often anymore.

After I got finished with my appointment, I came home and got busy doing some things for school.  I wrote in my prayer journal - I wanted to get a few days done, so the girls will have an example and know what I expect from them when they start theirs.  I had to get my grade book ready and do some things like that.  All the while texting back an forth with My Prince, to get the flyer done for a women's conference that we are hosting soon.

The Young Prince woke up and I had him wake up the Youngest Princess for me.  I helped the Youngest Princess find something to eat.  Then went upstairs to get ready to go shopping with My Prince and our youth pastor to buy school supplies and backpacks for our church's Operation Backpack - back to school ministry.

My Prince brought me and the Young Prince some lunch.  I ate mine quickly and with a few instructions to the Young Prince and the Youngest Princess, we were off.

We went to the church to pick up the youth pastor and the church van.  We went to a local office supply store and loaded up our buggies with all kinds of school supplies.  I was also able to pick up a few things that I needed to be completely ready to start my special project - prayer journal - with my class.  We were able to buy enough supplies to fill 25 backpacks for children who would not be able to get new supplies otherwise.  It was fun to pick out supplies knowing that they would bless the children who will receive them.

We left from there and went to Walmart to buy the backpacks and a few other little things we still needed.  I didn't think about the fact that the poor lady checking us out was going to have to check inside each of the backpacks we bought.  We bought 25 backpacks.  My Prince and the youth pastor realized that she was unzipping each backpack, so they got busy unzipping the rest so that the lady would not have to do it herself, and it helped make the process go a little faster.  They would unzip the backpack, she would look inside and then scan the backpack and I would put it in the buggy.  We had a little assembly line going, and it worked out great.

In the middle of all of that, the Young Prince got the Youngest Princess to cheer practice for me.

We had planned to go on to another store, but ended up changing our plans, and going back to the church.

The Oldest Princess brought the Youngest Princess home from cheer practice, and then they had to go back to the school for the Oldest Princess to help with volleyball practice.

We went back to the church and unloaded the van.  One of our church members saw us and stopped to help us unload it all.  It was nice to have an extra set of hands.

We left the church and went straight to the school.  I had some things to take to my classroom, and some things I needed to pick up from my classroom, and we had to pick up the Youngest Princess.

When we got there, Poppy was there watching the Young Prince at football practice.

My Prince stayed outside and talked to Poppy and watched practice too.

I went to my classroom to drop my stuff off, and talked to a couple of people who were upstairs for a few minutes.  Then I went back down to the gym.  My good friend was there talking to another mother whose daughter will be new to our school this year,  so I stopped to talk to them.  While we were talking another new friend (A) came up and joined us.  She had a daughter enrolled in our school last year, but I never had a good chance to get to know her.  This year she has enrolled her other three children and I am sure we will have many opportunities to get to know one another better.  I had just recently connected some dots to see the big picture, and had read one of her blogs (she's a blogger too!!), and asked her to be my friend on Facebook, so I was glad to have the chance to talk to her and get to know her a little better in real life.  Listening to the moms talk about their children and their anxieties about going to a new school reminded me that I need to be praying for our new students and their transition into our school.  I also want to remind my children to be as welcoming and as friendly as they can be to the  new students to help them feel as comfortable as possible.

I walked outside, and sat with Poppy and My Prince for a few minutes before My Prince said that he was ready to leave.  We went back upstairs and found the Youngest Princess who was running around playing with a friend, and then we left to go by the grocery store.

We picked up a few things at the store and came home.  My Prince wanted taco salad, and he made spaghetti for the kids.  I heated up some grilled pork chops from the other night.  The Oldest Princess and the Young Prince came in, and everyone ate dinner.  The Young Prince did not want spaghetti or taco salad, so he fixed himself some ramen noodles.

While we were eating, I told the Young Prince that I had been talking to another lady at church about how I wish that he could see the influence he has on the younger kids.  I think he would think of himself as more of a leader if he could just see what I and others see.  I often teasingly call him the Pied Piper, because kids just love him!  The other lady told me that she had even seen his influence on another boy close to his age.  I was sharing this with the Young Prince, and the Oldest Princess chimed in about how he had influenced this other young man.  The Young Prince was surprised, because he had no idea.  We talked about how even when we don't realize it, that people are looking up to us, and that we need to be careful to be the example that Christ would want us to be.  The Young Prince seemed to genuinely listen and soak in what I was saying.

We all pitched in to fold some clothes and do some dishes and just generally straighten up around the house a little.  We have been running like crazy and have let a few things go that needed to be tended to.  The Oldest Princess painted my toenails for me.  She is awesome!

Then we all headed upstairs for bed.  About one o'clock in the morning, the Youngest Princess came into our room to let us know that the air vent was leaking, and that there was a puddle on the bathroom floor.  My Prince checked it out, and it was where the overflow of the air conditioner had backed up.  So we spent the next hour taking care of that.  The Young Prince got out of bed and helped too.  The Youngest Princess thought it was an adventure, and wanted to help as well as ask a million questions.  My Prince and the Young Prince did a great job of working together and fixing the problem quickly and efficiently so that we could all get back to sleep.  I was very proud of them both. They both had a great attitude even though they had been awakened in the middle of the night in order to fix a problem.  The Youngest Princess was a little anxious about waking us up for it but we assured her that she had definitely done the right thing.  My Prince took a shower (because he had been up in the attic and was all nasty) and we all finally got back to sleep and some much needed rest.

Until I blog again...

August 3, 2016

I woke up this morning and did my First 5 devotion.

My Prince left for work.  The Young Prince left for football practice.

I took advantage of the quiet house and blogged about yesterday's crazy day.  My Prince texted me that he had finished the Senior page.  We emailed it to Mrs. B.  I was very glad to be able to get that done.

I did several loads of laundry.  I still love my new washing machine.

The UPS man made a delivery that made me very happy.  Two boxes.  One with a heavy duty electric pencil sharpener for my room.  Woo hoo!  No more dealing with the mechanical one!  And one with 10 small three ring binders.  Those are for my students to use in a year long project that makes me very excited.  I am praying that this project changes their lives.  I know it has the potential to. Because prayer changes things.

The Youngest Princess woke up, and we talked for a little while, and then we both ate a bowl of cereal together.

I went to get ready for a funeral that we were going to attend.  My friend's step-mom.  My friend's daughter read a poem, and did a great job.  My friend wrote a beautiful tribute that was read at the graveside.  The graveside service ended just as it began to steadily rain.  We walked through the rain to get back to our cars.  My friend's youngest daughter thought it was great fun to walk in the rain.

After the funeral, My Prince took me to eat lunch.  It was nice to sit down and be able to talk to one another without very many interruptions.  Especially after yesterday's craziness.

We came home, and I worked on my Bible study.

Mrs. B text and told me that the Senior page was great and that it worked the first time, so we did not have to do anything to change it.  It is done.  I hope the Oldest Princess is happy with it.  I guess I put it off for so long because I wanted it to be perfect, and I really had no idea how to get started on it, or what pictures to use, or what to say.  I put too much stress on myself over it really.  I just wanted it to be perfect for her.

My Prince went back to work.

The kids came home from the movies.  Actually the Oldest Princess dropped off the Young Prince and the Youngest Princess, and then went back to finish babysitting.

The Young Prince got ready for church.

My Prince came home.

The Oldest Princess came home and got ready for church.

The kids left for church.

We left shortly after them.

My Prince helped me out on formatting some things for my special project for my class.  He is awesome!

My small group meeting went well.  It was a good chapter, and a good study that we could all relate to, and learn from.  Several things that I need to be better at putting into practice.

After church, My Prince and I had a meeting.  Actually My Prince had two meetings.

After our meetings, we came home.  The kids had gone to Subway to get dinner.  Now they are all upstairs in bed, and My prince and I are downstairs.  He is doing something on his iPad, and I am about to finish this blog and head to bed myself.

Until I blog again...

August 2, 2016

I woke up and did my First 5 devo.  Then I took my time getting ready.  Knowing that I needed to go back to the school to do some more work, but not really in a hurry to get there.  My Prince got ready and left for work.  I woke up the Young Prince to let him know that I was leaving, and that he was in charge of the Youngest Princess, as the Oldest Princess had already gone to babysit.  I went downstairs, and realized that I was hungry.  So I ate some chips and salsa before I left.  I know.  Great breakfast.  But it was quick and easy.

Then I gathered up all of the little things that I had laminated and the Oldest Princess and I had cut out, as well as my bag, and left for the school.

When I got there, I was able to get my bulletin boards done.  But, I realized that one little piece, a really cute little snail was missing.  I figured that I had dropped him somewhere between my front door and my classroom, and that I would never see him again.  I was sad, because he really is a cute little guy.  I think the old classroom is looking pretty spiffy, and ready for a new year of school.  I took a few more things down to laminate them.  I must be crazy.

On my way to the office, I saw Mrs. S, and thought I would give it a shot and ask her if she had seen a little lost laminated snail.  She said she had!  Then she had to think about what she had done with it. And when she remembered, she said she had put it on top of the cabinet in the nursery.  So we walk in there and she reaches up to get it, but can't feel it.  So she looks at me (we are both vertically challenged) and says, "Can you see it?"  I look her straight in the eye.  One short girl to another and laugh.  But I pulled over a rocking chair, and stood on it and could see it.  I was pretty sure that I could reach it from the ground, so I was able to reach up and get it.  Yay!  My little lost snail was found!

I got the jump drive out of my box that Mrs. B had left for me.  It had pictures of the Oldest Princess. I thought I might need some of them to complete her Senior page for the yearbook.  We have had great intentions of getting it done forever now.  But we have been busy, and I would think about it, and then forget about it, and it still hasn't been done.

So, I took my laminated stuff and the jump drive and stopped by the church, because My Prince is much better with computers, and has been telling me that he would help me get her Senior page done. It was crunch time, and we needed to get busy.

When I got there, he plugged in the jump drive, and then asked me if there was a template or something that he needed to use.  Well, now, that is a very good question.  I didn't know!!  So I text Mrs. B to ask her.  She told me something that meant nothing to me, that another mom had used.  My Prince knew what she was talking about and went there.  He still did not feel like that was what he needed.  So I text the mom that Mrs. B told me about.  She said she used some program that we did not have.  She also told me that we could buy a template from Etsy.  And she very sweetly told me that she would even do it for me, if I wanted her to.  I was glad to hear that she was not finished with her daughter's page either.

So, we bought a template from etsy, and began trying to narrow it down to 5 pictures.  How does one narrow down 12 years into 5 pictures?  I text the Oldest Princess who was out to lunch with friends to ask her if she just wanted to use her Senior pictures, or if she wanted me to try to pick pictures throughout the years.  She requested Senior pictures, so that narrowed it down.  My Prince realized that to use the template, he needed some program that was not on his church computer, but was on the Young Prince's computer at home.

I got a text from a young lady that I have been discipling asking me if we were still going to meet. Um, yes.  Of course we are!  I had completely forgotten about it, because it was not our normal day to meet.  We had had to switch things around because of our busy schedules.  Okay, that gave us an hour to get home, use the program on the Young Prince's computer, get a book I needed, eat lunch, pick up the Youngest Princess, and get back to the church for my meeting.

At home, My Prince got on the computer, and I warmed up a hamburger for lunch.  I sent the Young Prince up to wake up the Youngest Princess who was still asleep.  And to tell her to get ready for cheer practice.  He woke her up, and then asked me to help him find a shirt to wear for his Senior athlete pictures.  They were supposed to wear a white shirt.  The boy has a ton of white shirts, but he is tough on clothes, and most of them have stains on them.  So he held up about 4 shirts before we finally found a winner.  I told him that he would probably need to iron it.  He said he was on it.

All of that reminded me that the Youngest Princess was supposed to take her cheer uniform to practice that day to make sure it wasn't too small and that she would not need to order a new one. She had come downstairs in the middle of us trying to find a shirt for the Young Prince, complaining that she was sore from head to toe.  I told her that if she was sore from cheer practice that she must me doing it right.  Then I had her go back up stairs to get her uniform from her closet.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking closer to my meeting time. My Prince is realizing that he is going to need assistance from our youth pastor who knows the program that he was trying to use to continue working on the Senior yearbook page.  I am wolfing down my hamburger.  The Youngest Princess comes back downstairs with full cheer uniform (all four parts present and accounted for - praise the Lord), looking for socks.  Oh, boy!  It's that time of year again.  The time where we have the great sock debate every morning.  Every. Morning.  They are too tight, or too loose.  The are too tall, or too short.  They are not the right color.  They hurt her toes.  They make her feet sweat.  It is a struggle. Every. Morning.  Every. Morning.  So she cries out, "UH!  I HATE socks!"  And My Prince and I look at each other and say, "Here we go again!"

She finally finds a pair that make her happy.  I finish my hamburger.  She comes into the dining room with brush in hand, lays it on the table by my plate (my mom would have had heart failure) and asks me to help her fix her hair.  I quickly pick the brush up, and tell her I would be glad to help her.  In the bathroom.  So we get her hair fixed, and grab all of our stuff, and head back out the door so I can make it to my meeting on time.

We actually got to the church a few minutes early, and Poppy was there, so the Youngest Princess and I got to spend a few minutes talking to him before my meeting.

I had a good meeting with the young lady that I am discipling.  We had a great study on how we have victory over sin.

During my meeting, the Oldest Princess came by the church to pick up the Youngest Princess and get her to cheer practice.  We thought it started at 2:00.  But it didn't start until 3:00, so come to think of it, I am not even sure where the Oldest Princess went after that, but when I finished with my meeting at about 2:00, I headed back to the school.  I still had all of the stuff that I had laminated that morning, that I needed to cut out and I figured there was no time like the present.  So I drug it all back inside.  The church secretary teased me telling me that it looked just like it did when I carried it out a couple of hours earlier.  I know.  I know.

I went to my classroom and began cutting things out.  The Oldest Princess text me and asked me if I could use help.  I told her yes, so she came up with the little girls and helped me cut out the rest of the stuff I had laminated that day.  We sent the little girls to the gym for cheer while we finished up, and then we went down to the gym too.

The Oldest Princess helped with cheer practice, while I filled out medical release forms and talked with some of the other mothers.  Two of them will have girls in my class this year.  I am trying out a new app for my class this year called Remind, so I asked the two moms if I could go ahead and put their numbers in.  We did.  One of the mothers is also a teacher, and she is heading up getting all the info out to the cheer parents, so she said she may try it well.  I will let you know how I like it, after I have used it for a couple of weeks.

While we were sitting there, three of the girls who are Seniors all walked into the gym in their white shirts and blue jeans.  Oh. my. word.  I got all teary eyed!  I know as a teacher, you are not supposed to have favorite students, but, as a whole group, this group was my favorite class to teach.  I love these kids!!  Now, last years Seniors were definitely special in my heart as well.  And maybe it is because I have kids in both of those classes, and I know them better because they have been to my house, and we have done life together.  But as far as teaching goes, the senior class this year, was definitely a delight to have and to teach.  They got along, and they laughed and they had fun, and many of them have grown up to love the Lord and I see them going on to serve Him full time in the future.  I hated losing the Seniors last year, the school will not be the same without them.  And I feel the same way about this class.  They are very special kids.  Did I mention that I love them?  Eeek! Anyway, I had to fight tears, and the Young Prince wasn't even there yet!

Cheer practice was winding down, and the girls went to try on their uniforms.  The Young Prince arrived, and I went outside to watch them take pictures.  The Oldest Princess and I were on Pinterest trying to help them find cool poses.  I completely forgot the whole reason I stayed through cheer practice was to check the Youngest Princess' uniform to see if if would work again for this year or if we would need to buy a bigger one.  Thankfully, some of the other cheer moms and grandmothers inside checked her out and okayed it for me.

We found a really cool picture with a football and the kid in the picture had on his championship ring. Which made me think...I asked the Young Prince where his ring was.  He told me he thought it was at home in his room.  I called My Prince to see if he could bring the ring and hurry, because it was overcast and beginning to sprinkle.  I forgot that we had all the cars, and My Prince did not have a way to bring the ring. So I sent the Oldest Princess home to get it.  Meanwhile, they took pictures of the girls.  The Young Prince is the only Senior boy playing fall sports this year.

I went back inside to check on the Youngest Princess, and they told me her uniform looked fine to them, and she had already changed back into her practice clothes.  I told them thank you for checking it for me.  I had figured it would be fine, because she is tiny and really did not grow a lot over the summer.

The Youngest Princess wanted to go play on the playground with her friends.  The Oldest Princess returned with the Young Prince's ring.  And we went back outside to take his pictures.  He is a mess, and likes to be silly, so it was a little difficult to get him to focus and do some of the serious shots, but I think overall, we got some good ones.  At one point, we had him run back into the locker room to get his helmet.  It was at this point that the Oldest Princess confessed to me that after the great white shirt hunt this morning, and after I left the house, that the Young Prince had opened a coke, and spilt it all over the one approve white shirt.  Luckily, he found a package of unopened white t-shirts in his room, and was able to use one of those instead.

T took some of the group (the Young Prince and the three young ladies), that turned out really cute.  I am excited to see how they all turned out.  I had a text regarding school matters in the middle of all of the picture taking.  One that required more thought than I had the time to give it, so I will have to put some thought into it and answer it later.

My Prince text me to see if I wanted him to start dinner, because he had a meeting that night that I had forgotten all about.  I really need a personal assistant during the school year!  I told him yes, to please start grilling, and I would be home soon.  I rounded up the Youngest Princess, left the Young Prince doing football practice and the Oldest Princess helping with volleyball practice, and came home to help finish up dinner.

While dinner was finishing, the Youngest Princess tried on her cheer uniform for me. She really wanted my approval.  It was fine.  If we went any bigger, I am afraid it would fall off of her skinny little self.

We ate dinner, and My Prince went to get ready for his meeting.  The Youngest Princess and I chilled for a while, until it was time for the older kids to get home.  I got the Youngest Princess started getting ready for bed.  While she was in the shower, the oldest two came home from practice.  After she finished her shower she was in a playful mood, and the two of us had a little wrestling match. She thought that she could take me.  But she was wrong!  It has been a long time since we have played like that, and it was good for both of us.

My Prince came home, and got the computer and we began to finish the work on the Oldest Princess's Senior page.  I helped him know which pictures and words to put in, and he did all the technical stuff. We got it done, and he told me he would clean it up and straighten everything up the next day so that we could send it to Mrs. B.

We were all tired and ready for bed, so we headed that direction.  It did not take me long at all to fall asleep.

Until I blog again...