Less Like Scars

My sweet friend, Elysa, shared this youtube video with me. It's Sara Groves singing "Less Like Scars." If this song doesn't perfectly define this past year for me, then I don't know what does.

I hope this blesses you as much as it has blessed me tonight. (I'm copying the lyrics below in case you want to read them as you listen.)



LESS LIKE SCARS by Sara Groves

It's been a hard year
But I'm climbing out of the rubble
These lessons are hard
Healing changes are subtle
But every day it's

Less like tearing, more like building
Less like captive, more like willing
Less like breakdown, more like surrender
Less like haunting, more like remember

And I feel you here
And you're picking up the pieces
Forever faithful
It seemed out of my hands, a bad situation
But you are able
And in your hands the pain and hurt
Look less like scars and more like
Character

Less like a prison, more like my room
It's less like a casket, more like a womb
Less like dying, more like transcending
Less like fear, less like an ending

And I feel you here
And you're picking up the pieces
Forever faithful
It seemed out of my hands, a bad situation
But you are able
And in your hands the pain and hurt
Look less like scars

Just a little while ago
I couldn't feel the power or the hope
I couldn't cope, I couldn't feel a thing
Just a little while back
I was desperate, broken, laid out, hoping
You would come

And I need you
And I want you here
And I feel you

And I know you're here
And you're picking up the pieces
Forever faithful
It seemed out of my hands, a bad, bad situation
But you are able

And in your hands the pain and hurt
Look less like scars

And more like
Character

Summer Adventures begin ...

School is already out for the summer vacation. The boys are excited about that, though I'm not sure what wonderful adventures they have planned for themselves. N6 calls himself a "Firstergardener" since he is already through with kindergarten (and therefore no longer a kindergartener) but not yet in the first grade (and so officially not yet a first grader). J8 says that he is a First/Second Grader. It's all rather confusing!

J4 is looking forward to beginning Kindergarten next fall. Hard to believe that I'll have children in 2nd, 1st and Kindergarten ... all back to back grades! I'm already praying for how I'll manage when they are in high school.

Some of our summer activities and plans include: Summer Reading Program at the Library (and J8 hopes to volunteer there again this summer as he really liked organizing the books on the shelves last summer), FBC Boot Camp (a weekly kids' program that our church offers), VBS, swimming in Aunt S's pool and lots of other things. J4's dance recital is June 7th and sometime in July she will attend a cheer day camp (which she is totally excited and thrilled about). I'll have to throw in a week at 4-H University on the LSU campus and another week at 4-H camp. Fortunately, my parents are able and willing to stay with the kis during those times.

As you can see, it is shaping up to be a busy summer. I'm sure before we know it, summer will be drawing to a close and we'll be scrambling to buy school supplies and clothes. I believe school starts again on August 15th.

Happy summer!

Math Bee Winner

I am the proud mother of a math champion! J8 is the school district's 1st grade Math Bee Champ!

On May 2nd, J8 represented HES in the parish Math Bee. He was a little nervous that morning. But as he sat and watched the 3rd grade competition, he realized that he knew all of their math problems. Then he watched the 2nd graders compete and again realized that he could answer all of those math problems as well. So by the time the first graders were called to the stage, J8 was practically dancing out of his skin.

Sure enough, he got every problem correct on the stage. There were 5 students left, so they all went back to take a timed test. Whoever worked the most problems in 1 minute would be declared the winner. I wasn't sure how well J8 would really do on a timed test. I knew he would know the answers, but would he stop daydreaming, humming and tapping his pencil long enough to write them down?

Apparently so, for when the winners were announced, J8 was the first grade champion! I extremely proud of him, for when it comes to math, J8 is definitely not his mother's son.

Six Year Old Boys and Fairies

N6's been in the business of losing teeth ... so much so that the tooth fairy has been a frequent visitor in our home. I guess all that teeth losing/tooth fairy excitement rubbed off on J4.

One recent morning, J4 decided that she was a fairy. She was flitting around the house, cheerfully annoying everyone else, while we busily tried to get ready for the day ahead. After a while, N6 had had enough. He turned to J4 and said in a grumpy way, "I wouldn't want to be a fairy! Fairies are just insects."

Of course, J4 was devasted and immediately began to protest. But N6 stood his ground. With his hands on his hips, he said, "Fairies are too insects! All insects have wings. Ladybugs have wings ... insect. Dragonflies have wings ... insect. Grasshoppers have wings ... insect. Fairies have wings so it must be an insect."

So perhaps his logic is off just a bit ... I still thought it was a pretty good arguing point for a 6 year old.