Kathleen turns 12

For most of us, it's the Monday after spring break. It was HARD to get up this morning. Keith, however, has the week off for vacation, so he was still sleeping when I left for my substitute job.

This time I subbed for a teacher who went to go help his daughter after she was in a car wreck. She's fine, but evidently she's done this before because one of the students thought that maybe she should get her car taken away from her! A student teacher was in charge of the class, a 25-year-old guy, and I basically took attendance and observed. It got me to thinking that sometimes, maybe even a lot of times, experience as a mother and homeschool teacher, is valuable in the classroom setting. And I was reminded once again how closely related parenting and teaching are. For instance, if you threaten a consequence to an action, you carry it out . . . Just sayin'.

I've been forever telling myself that I need to have people over for dinner, maybe even once a week. We're a social bunch, but we let the week's activities, exhaustion and general laziness get the better of us. So yesterday, I bit the bullet and invited a neighbor family over for dinner. I cooked Ginny's Chicken Parmesan, that I enjoyed so much while the Kings were here. We ate and talked. The kids played together. It was nice to get that adult interaction.

Now I'm thinking, what we need is a game night or maybe a game afternoon. We invite whoever wants to come. Our house is set up for a lot of kid movement. Not a lot of breakables. Nothing that hasn't been chewed on or kicked "by accident". We could order pizza for whoever is there. People can bring snacks if they want. It just sounds like a lot of fun. And it sounds casual. I'm all about casual. Martha Stewart I am not.

We may or may not do the game night this Saturday. In the afternoon, we'll be having a digital picture scavenger hunt/birthday party for a certain member of the family.

I mention this last thing because I'm in denial. Kathleen has turned 12. That much closer to being our fourth teenager. I'm not happy about this at all. I'd just as soon wish that she, and the rest of the kids, would stop growing, but they don't listen. Instead, she turns 12, right on schedule. She continues to blossom into a beautiful young woman. She loves to work on masterpieces in the kitchen. She loves the dog and considers him mostly hers. She's got a lyrical heart spending a great deal of time writing poems and songs. She's graceful and lithe. She's always dancing and singing in the bathroom and often records these sessions using the video feature of our digital camera. She's getting "just a tad" boy crazy. She's a good student. Most importantly, she loves the Lord. I love to hear her sing to Him.

Happy birthday, Kathleen! Daddy and I are so proud of you and we love you very much!