My Ebenezer

 Me: "So what did you do in preschool today?" Eden: "We did grilling. But there wasn't a real fire in it." Me: (incredulous) "Grilling?" Eden: "Yes, grilling. I already said that."  Me: "Did they cook food?" Eden: "No. There wasn't a real fire." Me: "Can you tell me what they did?" Eden: "Well, they lined us all up outside and we sat on the walkway and beed quiet." Me: (what?!)  "Really? What was the teacher doing?" Eden: "Looking at a Ipad." Me: (more perplexed than ever) "Do you do this every day?" Eden:  "No, just today. There was this really loud ringing sound and we all went outside and sat on the sidewalk. The teacher said we grilled." ***Silence for a minute while I tried to figure this out**** ***Then it dawned on me*** Me: "Was this a FIRE DRILL?" Eden; "Yes, that's what I said!" *Facepalm*

For the first time in over 9 years, all of my kids are now in school. Three different kids, three different schools; this can get logistically complicated, but that's just how we're rolling. Noah rides his electric scooter to and from his high school (!!! When did that happen?), Seth is attending 3rd grade at GRASP Academy (his last year there, perhaps, before he switches to Harvest?), and Eden is enthusiastically enrolled in morning Preschool at a church down the road from us. But my point was that for the first time in nine years, I finally feel like I can breathe again for a minute. Like I can come up for air. Maybe mop the floor and listen to classical music, a sermon, or an audio book while I do so. Draw, paint, blog, dust the furniture (I think I remember how to do that?), purge a closet, shower uninterrupted, and b r e a t h e. It's magical.  I think it's marvelous how the Lord works differently in different people's lives, giving them graces and even person

The last several years have continued pretty similarly and pretty routine, and then all of a sudden in the last year or two the pattern of our life has shifted--in mostly good ways--and we've opened the chapter on a very different...(dare I say?) new adventure. We bought a camper. We enrolled the kids in brick-and-mortar schools. I rediscovered the joy of making art (and have even sold a piece or two!). Covid happened. A new president has been elected. Josh began shifting his focus to stock options after 15 years of property management. I signed up for a ballet class. We changed churches. Mid-life crisis? No. New opportunities to trust the Lord? Absolutely. I feel like each of those listed items needs a whole post attached to it detailing the Lord's hand in it, the thinking behind it, and responses to it. All in good time. I think I've already written about  our camper , our decision to put the kids into  school , art, and even Covid. I'm not planning to elaborate on th