you.are.my.sunshine: MIA

so, we've been missing in action for a while ....

and for good reason

its the end of the school year

the very end

j just wrapped up his season coaching the pole vaulters on the varsity track team and came THISCLOSE to sending one of his kiddos to State!

i've been correcting finals and entering grades like it is my JOB (oh wait...it is!)

we've been running to end of the year picnics, potlucks and parties

and we've had some serious sunshine.....

for the love of all things adorable....while i was hanging up clothes on the line, Peach made her own hopscotch with squares so tiny, her little size 9 sandals barely fit inside

and to top it all off, we've got a preschool graduate!

countless people are asking me if I'm ready for her to be in kindergarten.

two people have actually asked: "are you bawling your eyes out every time you think of it?"

ummmm......no

it got me thinking....

should i be bawling my eyes out?

surely i am not a good mother if i'm not?!?!

back the train up.

i guess i'm not too worked up about it.

i haven't shed even one tear.

i'm actually really excited.

the thought of me being ready didn't really enter my mind.

she's ready.

super ready.

she's excited and prepared.

she knows that we love her and expect her to rise to difficult challenges.

we've talked to her about how we expect her to obey her teachers and other adults in the building...that school is just an extension of home. the same expectations apply.

we know that she will make mistakes.

we know that she will soar.....and stumble.

it's like watching a thrilling movie and we are on the edge of our seats waiting to find out what happens next.

we have prayed Philipians 2 over her every day this year,

"Lord, grant her the attitude of Christ Jesus, humble and obedient, not only in our presence, but much more in our absence, doing everything without arguing or complaining so that she may shine like a star in the universe as she holds out the word of life."

and 1 Peter 1:5 over ourselves as parents,

"Holy Spirit, we know that you give wisdom to those who ask for it. Prepare us to shepherd Norah as she enters into her school age years."

i'm not nervous.

should i be?

i'm really, really jazzed.

i think that elementary school is going to be a blast.

and then, middle school?

middle schoolers are my JAM, people.

i'm not saying it will be easy.

but real adventure isn't just a walk in the park.

i jumped out of an airplane once.

it was crazy.

and wild.

and fun.

and i'd do it again in two seconds.

i'm not afraid of school or nervous for her.

i feel like i'm standing at the open door of that airplane again, ready to jump and scream and feel the rush of a thousand emotions.

yes, her little days are fleeting, but i feel like things just keep getting better.

there are new obstacles, different problems, but the same Lord.

and if He is navigating this ship, then i'm down with whatever course we're on, be it the baby years, toddler-hood, kindergarten or whatever wild, crazy unknown is up ahead.

and really, it isn't as "unknown" as we make it out to be.

i've got some fabulous friends in my life who have walked this path already and others who are in the midst of it.

i look up to them and respect the way they are raising their kids.

i know it won't be the same for me, but i'm totally planning on picking their brains for wisdom....often.

now I get to be a resource to moms in our church and community who are just entering the baby stage of mommyhood (anyone want to know how to survive 5 ENTIRE years on a total of 6 hours of sleep? i'm yo' girl.)

AND i get to lean on the veteran moms who are sharp as a tack at raising elementary littles.

i'll end by quoting some of the best advice i've ever received and something that i think about daily:

"your greatest contribution to the kingdom of God may not be something you do but someone you raise."

let that one soak in....

it doesn't happen by keeping them little.

it only happens along the path...walking and growing and moving.

we are RAISING them...not pressing them down and keeping them little

the baby years are so precious...and maybe that's easy for me to say since i'm still waist deep in baby days.

but the goal is to lift them UP... in wide eyed wonder

with mouths hanging open and astonished at the length and depth and width and height of HIS love for us.

He who delights in who we are and who He is GROWING us to become.

okay, so...that was a lengthy answer to a loaded question, but now that we've established that i'm pumped for petunia number one to get her school groove on, let us explore another reason to be hap-hap-happy:

we've got SUMMER in focus

and who can be teary when 3 months of JOY EXPLOSION is staring us straight in the face?

we started things off right with a fairy garden....