Last night Matt told me I had until the end of this week to post something on my blog.
I realize it has been quite awhile since I've had the time and/or inspiration to write.  I've written numerous blogs in my head.
There is the one dedicated to the hilarious things that my students say like the kid who told me this: "I'm going to put this coat in the lost and fountain"
or the student who said this:
Teacher: Who is in charge of this group?
Student: Santa.  Santa is in-charge.

And then there was the blog about the worse day of work ever.  That was the day when two students showed up at school for the first time in their lives at ages 7 and 9.  They have been "lost" in the system, living in unhealthy conditions and had limited exposure to anyone other than their deadbeat parents.  They were hoarding food in the lunch room, don't know how to put on a coat, use a computer or hold a pencil.  They both had fevers of over 100 degrees, were coughing incesantly and put through hours of testing to determine their academic grade level....and they persevered.  The same day that the Sheriff arrived at school to investigate a 1st grade boy with visible bruising from his mom's boyfriend who beat him the night before.

There was a blog about our Thanksgiving trip to Florida.  We had so much fun relaxing on the beach, spending time with our family, and spending time together.  It was our first real getaway since Matt came home and it was a very special time for so many reasons.  The boys fished from the beach, I laid in the sun, Matt went golfing, I laid in the sun, we went for walks on the beach, I snuggled with my niece, Matt went fishing on a charter boat, I laid in the sun, and we ate delicious food.  Matt and Eli slept out on the upper balcony one night under the stars with the sounds of waves as a lullaby.  Matt and I coerced...or encouraged our family to run with us in a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning.  His dad, step-mom, brother, Eli and Matt and I all got up early Thanksgiving morning to run a 5k.  We had a great time on the run and at the little after party at the finish line.  The boys played Gin Rummy with their great grandparents, Gabe cooked, the boys did the dinner dishes a few nights, we watched movies, threw things at the TV when the Niners failed to play offense against those pesky Seahawks, and we were truly thankful for our time together, our time with family and the blessing of spending a week on the beach in Florida.

There was the blog about our advent lesson that spoke to my heart.  We talked about how Joseph must have felt when the Angel came to him and said "hey um so Mary....she's already pregnant but go ahead and marry her because she is going to give birth to the Savior, the long awaited Messiah.  You're good with that right?"  How did he feel?  Who knows?  But if I were him I would have been a little disappointed.  My 5 year plan did not include my not-yet wife getting pregnant before I "knew her" (I love that description).  God interrupted Joseph's life.  He gave him a new path. Not just a little detour but a very big one.  Often when God interrupts our plan, we don't realize that the new path he has for us may lead us into a place that we couldn't have ever imagined going on our own.  A better plan.  A life changing, history making, plan.

I could also write about the fact that I have been home from Florida for over a week and still haven't really gone grocery shopping, or that I picked up 1/4 of a cow the other day and now my kids are panicking because they think we can't eat anything else but steak, roast, and ground beef until Bessie is gone, or I could write about how darn awesome my house looks when it is all shiny and bedazzled with Christmas loveliness.

But instead I'll write about this:
Today I got a text from my babysitter asking what time she needed to be at my house tomorrow to watch the boys so Matt and I could go to his work shindig.  I text Matt and asked him the same question to which he responded "the party is tonight...we need to leave in an hour".
So, I didn't go to the party.
He headed off looking all dapper, I dropped Eli off at youth group, and I took Gabe, and a laptop to Panera.  We had dinner together and then he played on the computer, and we did our advent lesson for the night and I did some Christmas shopping on the iPad.  At least 4 times he looked up from his dinner, dessert or computer and said "mom, thanks for bringing me here tonight" and once he left his work station and curled up next to me to give me a hug.  And for that moment, all was right in the world.
The kids with crappy parents, the laundry, the lack of food in the house, missing the party, having to leave the house on a windy wet night to take Eli to church when I'd rather be at home....all far from my mind as this kiddo was genuinely so happy that I forced him to join me at Panera instead of leaving him home, so we could have some soup and sandwiches, some laughter, some learning and most of all a sweet memory of that one time that just mom and Gabe went to Panera just because.


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