In a nutshell -

An update of sorts---
-my Mom is improving slowly. She has been moved to inpatient rehab to work on ot, pt, and speech. My brother and sister-in-law are ROCKSTARS and are handling everything beautifully. Thank you for your continued prayers and well wishes.

-Maggie is finishing up 8th grade; looking forward to her 'graduation' next week. She made the decision to change her mind and she is going to play french horn in high school for concert band (maybe symphonic if she's good enough). She has received some strong encouragement from her teachers (past and present) and I was definitely on board with the switch. Now if I could just figure out a nice gift that is within reason.

-Sean is finishing up 6th grade; excited and sad to have his last kindergarten buddy meeting tomorrow. He adores his two little buddies and has said how much fun they are. He has improved his reading lexile and worked so hard to finish strong. He's anxious about middle school, but after the first day I'm sure he'll be fine. Looking forward to a summer of playing baseball and lots of swimming and beach time. (and LOTS of watching the Angels!)

-Amanda is finishing up 4th grade; working SO HARD and never giving up. It's hard to imagine that she missed 4-1/2 mos. of second grade and that she is doing work alongside her classmates. She struggles but with a few accomodations she is seeing results. She is enjoying tae-kwon-do and we are seeing consistent improvements in her. She has a strong mothering instinct and wants to take care of every baby she comes across; she is a nurturer. I can't wait to see what she has in store.

-Ian is finishing up 2nd grade; getting an award on Friday (shhhhh, don't tell him). I'm just hoping it's not for Class Clown or the Child Who Tells The Most Bad Jokes. He has LOVED 2nd grade and says his teacher is "the BEST ever!" (I think she's pretty awesome too, but that's not as important.) She completely 'gets' him and has encouraged him to blossom. I hope he maintains his positive attitude toward learning throughout the summer. He is also looking forward to a summer of playing baseball and living in a bathing suit at every moment possible.

Me? I can't believe I will have a freshman next year. I remember vividly freshman orientation when the seniors sang 'Welcome' to Micheal Jackson's Beat It; blisters from my new saddle oxfords; sitting in Mr. Danton's homeroom my freshman year; and stressing about forgetting my name tag. How is it possible that MY 25th reunion is this summer?

The phone call changes it all.....

Something as simple as a phone call can change your perspective so quickly. With the news that my Mom had a stroke today, I almost immediately went into survival mode. There is NOTHING I can do from 2000 miles away except to pray for healing and thank God for the miracles of modern medicine. But I had to go on with my day and function. And I did. Just with a better perspective on what's important.

So, I'll continue to be grateful...........

• GRATEFUL that my husband just happened to be landing on a plane THERE literally 30 minutes before I got the phone call. He was able to get to the hospital and give me some piece of mind
• Grateful that I have a calm sister-in-law and brother who handled a tough situation so gracefully
• Grateful that my Aunt instinctually knew something wasn't right and raced to my Mom's rescue
• Grateful that I was able to visit in February and spend some time with my Mom
• Grateful for the beauty of text message and modern technology

and Grateful that I have four healthy children that functioned right along with me, did their homework, and didn't argue at bedroom. And they let me snuggle each of them for an extra minute, no questions asked.

A jam-packed end-of-the-year dash......

Just for today I am trying to be grateful.

• Grateful that my kids are able to have music education in elementary and middle school. They have amazing teachers.
• Grateful that I have a working washing machine and dryer because baseball laundry is endless.

Grateful that I have a job that I love and it reminds me that EVERYONE feels the year-end crunch. (not just me)

• Grateful that I have a reliable car with working air conditioning.
• Grateful that I live right across from a pool and 20 min. from the beach!

SUMMER is a comin!