A proud mom

My oldest son got married to his best friend on Saturday, May 4.  It was a wonderful wedding.  I admit that I was nervous as I didn't really know much about what the weekend had in-store.  But it was wonderful.  It rates up there with my own wedding and the birth of my three children.  I am so proud of the man my son has become.

I was admittedly very weepy most of the weekend.  Even sitting here, my eyes are moist.  It is not a sadness, but a feeling of accomplishment and pride, as well as the rush of memories from a lifetime of happy times.  The mother of the bride put together a DVD of pictures from both the bride and groom lives.  I couldn't watch it without crying.  There are so many parallels in their lives pointing to the fact that these two belonged together.  The pastor even pointed out they scored the highest he had ever witnessed on their pre-marital screening.  They have spent 3 plus years truly getting to know each other.  I am so grateful for the opportunity to get to know them during the 6 months before they graduated from college and for the football weekends they stay with us.

There are so many memories from the day I want to hold on to...

*how beautiful my children looked

*how symbolic was the blowing out of the family's candle after the unity candle was lit.

*how my son held me during "our" dance

*how my son played with the new ring he wore on his finger

*how my son held me during my viewing of the DVD

* how I danced with my younger son

* how my son and daughter embraced the members of the bridal party and danced and danced.

*how special it was that my parents were the longest married persons in the room

*how much fun I had driving the bridal party around to various photo ops

*how my husband stood by me all day. Kissing me, holding my hand and smiling at me.

and finally,

*how sad I was to take the hair pins out of my hair before I crawled into bed 19 hours after I got up.

I'm so proud... as my son said,  "one down, two to go.... "  I don't know how my husband and I are so lucky.  We have great children!!!!

J.A.M.

Life gets in the way

As I predicted when I decided to try this blogging thing, I probably can't do it every day.  I have several ideas about what I want to write about, but not the time to sit and type.  Preparing for school has had me out of the house for a lot of the week.  And now my inbox is full of e-mails to look at.  This might be the place to confess that I enjoy reading card making and crafting blogs.  It helps sooth my frustrated craft person.

Tomorrow is another early day!  So I'd better get to bed.  The dog probably has my side of the bed warmed up and my PJs are clean!!!

-J.A.M.

P.S.  My family enjoyed hosting a our new pastor and some friends in a meet and greet.  Wow, what fun to reminisce about the last 16 years of our lives.  I was moved to tears by the shared prayers of the children in our group.  With the help of God, we have raised wonderful children.

Thank you, Lord, for our many blessings!  Amen

New School Year

In less than two weeks my children will be back at school.  I am a teacher so I have already started getting my classroom ready.  I have one week of summer left.  I will spend some time this week finishing up and trying to get ready for the beginning of school.  However, there is always last minute stuff to prepare or figure out.

With the beginning of school, I always have new worries for myself and my children.  Will my new class mesh?  Will I be able to meet some of the special needs in my classroom?  Will my children have supportive teachers?  Will my children have continued academic success?  (I had this same worry for myself as a student oh so many years ago.)  I try not to let these worries be known, I keep them all in.

I know my husband gets that there is a lot on my mind, but he is less of a worrier. I need his steadiness as I enter the new school year with questions and worries swirling around in my head.  He is my rock!

This month during worship, our minister is preparing us for "A Fresh Start."  It probably relates to the fact that she is new to our congregation.  However, it applies to the start of the new school year.  I must remember to give these worries to God and take God with me as I start this new journey that is a new school year as both a teacher and parent.

-J.A.M.

Should I or Shouldn't I?

Should I or shouldn't I?  I have a lot of thoughts I'd like to share.  But do I have time?  I am a mom, a wife, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend, a dog owner, a teacher, a very frustrated crafter.  Do I have time to sit and blog?  During our vacations the past several years I have created share pages at Shutterfly.com.  I have been able to document our activities on a daily basis and share them along with pictures with family and friends.  This means I have sometimes stayed up after everyone else has gone to bed.  I need my sleep or I get cranky.

There seems little risk with Blogger, so I may give it a try.

-J.A.M