Rise with me Sunshine photo edit :)

When sleep works out and I get to follow the sun’s example everything works and looks better. It just does.

We had open house at the school Saturday which for me meant that I had a great excuse to stop and look at my classroom and decide what I could do to make it better.  It is the same as when you are having  company over at your house. You are glad for the motivation to do things that have been put off. The parents of one of our new students came and when they were in my room looking at my puffer fish the dad told me that a friend of his was moving away and had tried to give him his very large saltwater tank.  The dad didn’t want it so I told him that if he was still interested in giving it away I would love to have it in my classroom. I must be nuts, but oh well. The husband of the founder of our school was in on the conversation and I was really tickled when he jumped in and encouraged the man to talk to his friend for us and to tell him he could get a tax deduction if he donated it to our non-profit for the school. We’ll see. I will be excited if I get it and relieved if I don’t so either way it will work out. 

With progress reports and open house behind me I have entered a different sort of zone. Amid the fraucus of deadlines, pressures, frustrations and failures I kept Christ, my peace. Actually, held him close, focused on him and knowing his peace and just as foreseen the other stuff wore away along with time and vanished. There is peace in the storm but the peace after the storm feels different.  Is it just that I no longer hear the storm? Is that the difference?  Yesterday I was bouncing off the walls. I was so excited about getting to clean my house and that I didn’t have to go anywhere or do anything ‘out there’ , that I literally bounced around and squealed with delight before I could even get started. 

The sun was warm enough that Tortillious got to go out for a jaunt in the back courtyard and hide himself in a pile of leaves. The Babe told me that he could hear her thoughts. He sneezed and she thought how odd it was that they both had the sniffles. He looked right at her and rolled his eyes, as if to say, "I know, right?"  Then she asked him why, if he could hear her and use a sign like rolling his eyes to communicate, didn’t he go ahead and use other signs to answer when she was talking to him so they could communicate more. I asked her what his response to that was.

"He just stared at me with sparkly eyes."

You can see my smile, right?

I guess I’d better go wake up the other sunshine and get her arrayed for the day.

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In Sandy soil I plant this seed, If even only I do heed.

In death is life; won’t be denied, grown by tears of sorrow cried.

The truth is harsh, the babes are dead, I’ll hold mine closer in their stead.

It’s all I have and know to do. I don’t admit those lives are through.

I will not waste this plot of land, it will not wither ‘neath my hand.

Come here my Love, look in my eyes,

Do you know how dear you are to me….?