Graduation Chaos & Candy!

Hi wild world of cyber space!  Thank you, all 7 of you and the various texts I received for the positive feedback on my blog!  As to be expected I made a few errors on my first blog, so let’s clear those right up.  I said give me a week, well I should have said give me “fifty-two weeks.”  Yes I will need a little patience & grace to get this just as it should be.  Also, I did not disclose the number of times I would blog.  My goal is to bring something reader worthy ONE time a week.  I’m assuming with all the new hipster, cool, relevant talk these last years, and all the “changing” in the world going on, a week is still Sunday-Sunday!  It’s seems to me anymore everyone tries to reinvent the molds and make it current or their own.  So if your week is Tuesday-Tuesday then that is so fine & cool with me, but my week is Sunday-Sunday.  So I have the rest of today, May 24 to complete my goal.

My three for today is well in the title,  graduation, chaos & candy.  Let’s start with Graduation 2014.  It’s May people and it may as well be December if you have a graduate.  It is chaotic, busy and emotional, which is why I eat candy a lot.  This past week especially chaotic for us because on top of the mass chaos, my sweet, grown, stud husband had Montezuma’s Revenge.  Nothing puts a man down like sickness, wives we all get that right?  He was officially going to Heaven this week!  We were crazy enough to go to Cabo the weekend before our 8th grader graduated.  And he came home with a Fun Party Gift in his intestines!

I mentioned my 8th grader, now she’s a “freshy” the new reinvented name for freshman.  Like I said earlier life evolves, never stays the same and even our kids are on a quest to do life new & different from us.  Weird.  Anyways, our daughter Olivia graduated YAY from 8th grade.  She is our last child of four.  These last two years have been difficult for her.  Her parents-oh yea, that would be ME,  ruined her life by moving her after the first quarter of her 7th grade year to a different school.  So for most of you reading you already know the story but hopefully my story will encourage someone new.  It was not an easy decision for us, it was bathed in prayer, don’t do that as often as I should but because  I did, I was very confident that it was the right decision.  We pulled her from a school where all her older siblings, cousins as well as herself had gone from Kindergarten through 8th grade.  The two older girls started there in 4th & 5th grade just to be accurate.  Our family had been a part of the school for nearly 14 years.  I was involved, very.  For various reasons my husband & myself decided to put her at a different school.  The next 3 quarters of 7th grade was a very contentious time for our family.  It was difficult. My daughter felt Defeated.  There was Loss.  There was Discouragement. There was Yelling. Screaming. Hate. Tears. It was one big Huge magnificent   T R I A L.  Half way through it I wanted to send her back (thank goodness for my manly husband). I questioned our decision. I questioned if I actually heard God right. I thought His yes was a yes, but maybe it was a NO.  There is nothing more heart hurting than watching your child hurt. Period. I used all the lines with her.  “God doesn’t give us more than we can handle.”  “All things work together for good to those who love Him.”  “Consider Trials Joy, perseverance matures you.”  “He turns Ashes into Beauty.”  You get my drift.  Well she just looked at me like I was a Jesus Freak  or worse, Lucifer.  My sweet Jesus loving daughter was getting her first array of brokenness, hardship & trial. All my encouraging words fell on deaf ears.  Her eighth grade year got better.  Praise Jesus.  She graduated  this past Wednesday night.  Smiles.  A dress. Make up.  Hair.  We did it all.  It was chaotic.  I was a mess.  I was Running in circles trying to do what we mommas do & hold it all together including a sick husband, who is usually very helpful I found time to give him what he needed me.  I nursed him back to life!  Heaven is not ready for that Stud yet!  I’m still stuck with him.  Between us, that’s a Really good thing!!  But don’t tell him.

This morning I was reading Oswald Chambers for May 22, I thought today was May 22!  He mentions how our trials will either make us sweeter, better, nobler men & women or they will make us more critical, fault-finding & more insistent on having our own way.(1)  I am still praying that Olivia will one day look back at these past two years and see the Beauty instead of the ashes.  That she saw Jesus.  That at times He was all she had.  That she will be sweeter, nobler as a result of this time in her life.  Let me admit something I told her a month ago.  I said Olivia, your dad & I are not perfect.  She agreed whole heartedly!  I continued admitting that only time will tell if we made the right decision.  I explained that in our heart we feel we did.  WE made the best decision we could with the info we had at that time. We made THAT decision for Her.  NOW she will begin to make her own decisions and will live with her choices.  I told her from now on she will have input into her life and her desires, our job is to simply guide her with our wisdom for her to make those decisions.  I reminded her that we are Crazy in Love with her.  We are Crazy PROUD of how she has handled this trial. That We only want the best for her. It’s what all good parents say, right?  But not all parents admit to themselves or their kids they may have been wrong.  I pray one day she sees it as right too.  Isn’t that  how God works in our lives. He let’s us make our choices. He just tries to give us guidance that works according to His own plan for us, He tries to accomplish what is Best for us. Thankfully his wisdom & guidance IS perfect, He never has to say, “time will tell if I made the best decision.”  His decision. His plan. Always accomplishes what is Best.  It Just is who He is.  I Praise God that I know how to do life with Jesus.

All of this chaos has left me in candy crisis.  On Tuesday I went to CVS (I was working on a project for Olivia that required some photos).  I purchased the .50 cent bag that when you buy two bags, it’s only a Dollar!  Go figure, their is no savings there people, but I bought two anyways.  Smarties and Spice Drops.  I ate both bags that day.  I ate everything that week.  My husband couldn’t eat, so I ate for him.  I can’t remember if it was Tuesday night or Wednesday night, but one of those I ate 24 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, the bite size, one right after the other! Yes it was stress- candy- eating, in all its glory.

Air Hugs,

CiCi

1.  My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers- updated edition

That’s my Book recommendation too!