Thank God for mini-vacations!

A couple of years ago, our school began splitting our Spring Break up into two separate weeks, one in February and one in April.  What a stroke of brilliance!  We get to enjoy a week off school on two occasions, get caught up on housework (yeah, right!), spend some family time (going shopping), and recuperate from the various viruses that are always circulating amongst the student body.

So far, we've managed two out of three items from the list above.  We spent yesterday going from thrift store to thrift store, searching for bargains, and came home with some nice purchases.  Each of the kids got something, and I was able to buy my class a chess set. They've been asking for one, and they assure me they know how to play.  I've never gotten the hang of it!  Anyway, we had a really great time out shopping in the pouring rain.  We stopped at Sonic on the way home and indulged in their $1 hot dog/chili cheese dog special for Presidents' Day and then went home where the kids spent a blissful half hour trying on (again) all their clothes.  The kids and I haven't had the chance to go thrift store shopping in a long time, so we really enjoyed our day out.

We are also enjoying the down time away from all the sniffling and sneezing of everyone at school.  Katie especially is needing this week off to get over (hopefully for good) this cold she's been nursing.  It seems she's been getting sick every other week this school year.  She's already missed a lot of school, to the point that she really can't afford to miss any more.  I've been very glad for her sake that we get a week off so she can catch up on her sleep and stop being so sick.  She already seems better, only coughing a bit and blowing her nose.  It's so good to see her smile again in decent health!  The rest of us have had sniffles and coughs but nothing like hers.

Our varsity teams are on their last sports trip for the year.  The Presidents' Day Tournament is always an exciting climax to the season, one which everyone looks forward to.  Since Katie isn't playing volleyball this year, no one in our family is gone, but it's still fun to send the team off with a bang.  Last Friday, our school had a pep assembly with lots of cheering, posters, and fun competitions.  The senior varsity members led us in a couple of cheers before announcing the winners of the poster contest:  6th grade!  Then, those elementary classes who chose to could compete in a cheer competition, and my class won!!!  So both 6th grade and 3rd grade will get a pizza party!  There was a guys-against-girls varsity seniors obstacle course; the guys won……but barely!  Bro. Minge then announced each team member's name and had them line up, at which point the elementary classes handed them goodie bags we had put together for them.  We had a lot of fun getting our teams razzed up for the trip.  They left after Sunday morning church because the games started Monday morning.  It's a good thing they left when they did; there're some nasty snowstorms moving through the passes, and this tournament is held over the mountains.  The main pass was closed soon after they crossed!  Please pray for their safe return Wednesday late afternoon.

God is so good to us, daily, weekly, hourly.  Our world is so busy, so frantic, so minute-by-minute, that it takes conscious effort to stop and purposefully thank God for what He does and is.  Don't forget to display an attitude of thankfulness---not just say the words but feel them.  You'll find this thankfulness will spill over into your children's lives and your spouse's and your coworkers'.  God bless you this day especially!

Colossians 3: 16  "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."