No more storage!

We moved all our junk that was in storage in Kenora to our house today. Hooray! This accomplishes that goal we have been working on for three weeks. Long story and I don't want to go there again. The good news is that all our stuff is under one roof and Fiona has a dresser now. What to do with all the boxes...

Perhaps another purge of junk is in order...

Quickly...

Report cards are due tomorrow. It is also the school-wide Halloween celebration, as Friday is a PD Day. I have been marking, reporting, baking, costuming, teaching, mommying, and trying to breathe deeply since 7 am. I was at it all until 11:30 last night. It has been like this all week. I am tired. I will be delighted when this week is over. However, I am really enjoying it as well.
There are moments in all the busyness that are priceless...

• the sunset over the lake (I still cannot believe that I get to look at this every night)
• more stars in the sky than I can count at night, and only a few man-made lights around
• crisp autumn morning walks to school and the energy that comes from morning fresh air and exercise
• laughing with my students
• the joy of work hard and realizing that it is fun
• Jo's welcome home face, just like his big sister's when she was that age
• the "Oo-oh" from Jo when he sees something that intrigues him
• seeing my daughter in the halls every day at school, and walking around the playground with her
• the words, "Don't worry about it, just get your work done." from my husband on days like today
• dinner on the table every night faithfully (not cooked by me) and laundry done (also not by me!!!)
• a big hug from LK when I am at my end
• and the sweet sound of singing in harmony to start our Small Group Bible Study each Monday (the sweetest worship of my week)

Amid all the frustrations of daily life (which I am slowly coming to accept as permanently full of wrinkles that no level of personal organization can ever iron out) I am very thankful for these blessings.

Now, if I could just get my costume sorted out...

We're In!

It's done. We are officially moved in. Wow is the three bedroom house HUGE. You can't even hear someone playing upstairs in their room from downstairs.
I have not lived on more than one level since I was a student at RUC eons ago. Stairs are a lot of fun for kids. They bump down on their bums like my sisters and I used to as kids. I was worried that Jo would fall... I don't know what I was thinking. The boy is part monkey and sees them entirely as a new play structure.
Fi is delighted to have her very own room (a privilege she has been anticipating for months). She can go inside, shut her door and have time to play quietly by herself. This makes her so happy and eases some of the tension between she and Jo. She takes after her father and needs substantial doses of quiet time to recharge.
We have space for our desk and computer, the piano, and (drum roll...) a scrap booking table! I hear angels singing! I could not be happier, unless we had heat and water that was safe to drink. Minor issues, though. The school will take care of those concerns. I am just enjoying being moved before Thanksgiving.
I am thankful for our new home.

Moving!!!

We are moving tomorrow! Hooray!!! No more boxes in every room. The kids get their own rooms. The bad news is, no phone for at least another week. I feel so cut off from the world. It is amazing how I have come to rely on telephone and Internet to stay connected with people. I can only grab a few minutes here and there to get online at school. We also have e coli in the water.

This move is a good ending to a difficult week. I am really getting to see what working with students who have multiple undiagnosed issues (learning and emotional) is like. It is a huge challenge. I come home most days exhausted and emotionally drained. However, it is awesome to have a safe place to go home to and I love going home to my family.

Please support us in prayer this weekend. It is hard to be far away for the first Thanksgiving in twelve years that LK isn't working. We miss our family and friends a lot right now.

Animal I Spy

To date we have seen...

• bear
• wolf
• many bald eagles
• foxes
• ravens

When we are driving, LK sits (if I am in the drivers seat) with his camera in his lap ready to stop and shoot when we see something cool. Unfortunately by the time I pull over most critters have disappeared. He is ever hopeful.

I know he is doing okay as long as he is shooting. When the camera doesn't come out for a few days, then I worry. He is shooting more regularly now and working on slide shows for family. After we get settled in the new place (in a while) he will finish them up and pop them in the mail.

What doesn't kill you...

You know the expression, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." I am not sure how much I agree with it as it doesn't leave much space for grace, however this week it was quoted to me by one of my grade 4 students. In my experience this is not a usual 8/9 year old idiom. It brought home home to me how much of adult life and its problems my students have to deal with many years before they should. Death, chronic illness, addictions of family and themselves, abandonment, and the list goes on.

I am struggling with how to handle my children being exposed to these things. Fi came home from playing outside with a classmate several days ago saying, "There was a drunker (drunk) in the woods, so we had to get away." Why does my four year old need to know about drunks, and how do I answer her question, "Mama, what does drunk mean?"


It has been a rough week. We were supposed to move to new housing today. Last night we were all packed (as LK and I like to be; duckies in a row and all) and got our key from admin. We drove over to the new place after supper to take a little load of things and check it out. They were still working. The baseboards are all ripped off the walls, the baseboards heaters are scattered about the floors, there is no water, only half the place is painted, and the kitchen is covered with 7 years' worth of dust and grime. We were somewhat discouraged.


After some recovery time and talking it out, I called the Director of Education and explained my reluctance to move my family in when the house is clearly not ready. She was okay with that and we will wait until the work is finished and the cleaners have been through. Problem solved at that end. Now we lived in a small apartment with everything packed in boxes (except the clothes we kept out for three days and 3 bowls, spoons, plates, and 1 pot) for a while (which is my new phrase for 'who knows how long'). Last night was my lowest point.


So I called my Mom. What else do you do when you need a motherly shoulder to cry on. She said, "You guys are doing so well." in response to my tears. She is not unloving, but she is able to see the big picture better than I. Big picture, we are not homeless, unemployed, separating, in danger, or hungry. We are simply frustrated, tired, and people-sick for the family and friends that feel a long way away right now. Those we will get over.


So, we just keep swimming. And when we are too tired to swim any more today, we curl up in each others' arms and go to sleep. God can carry it all until morning.