The "Triumphal Entry".....

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday.  I am thinking about what it would have been like to actually be there in the city of Jerusalem, seeing Jesus riding in on a donkey (the symbol of peace).....Can you imagine it?  Waving the huge palm branch you went all the way to Jericho to purchase just for Jesus' arrival.  The palm branch that had such deep symbolic meaning to the Jewish people in Jesus' day.  The palms were symbols of victory and triumph. Laying down your cloak and covering someones path was an ancient eastern custom to show the highest honor. 

With a heart full of hope and promise that Jesus would deliver them from their Roman enemies, they shouted "Hosanna" translated "Please save us!"....Can you hear it?

You can almost feel the energy of the joyful crowd, standing, singing and shouting shoulder to shoulder, anticipating this Prince of Peace..

Do you think they had doubts that their hero would come?  Doubts that he would, indeed deliver them and bring peace to the whole world? Was this human man really the messiah?

What an amazing day that must have been...What a greeting....Jesus must have felt very loved and welcomed.  He must have been able to see the desperation in the crowds faces, maybe their relief, maybe even some faces of doubt.  What a humble sight Jesus must have been.  Yet days later, Jesus would be called a liar, beaten and nailed to a wooden cross.....Its hard to imagine that would happen only a short time after tomorrows celebration....

Wishing you a joyful Palm Sunday as we begin Holy Week.

"Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"

Gone but unforgettable...........

Well, my freshman's musical is over and what a culmination of endless effort and countless hours of passionate dedication.  These productions really do take quite a village and this experience has been so invaluable to my freshman actor.  Although it is finally behind him, we had such a wonderful time at all six performances and each one was fresh and carried its own unique story that ended with such fun and and standing ovations every night!!  It will take a very long time to delete the songs from playing in my head.

It really was......unforgettable!!

My firstborn is home (but not home) from college on his spring break.  He is enjoying time with friends and we hope we get to spend alittle time with him before he has to go back.  It feels like the earth is spinning back on its correct axis when all my babies are home with us and sleeping in their own beds.

Today I am just trying to catch up on all the things that didn't get done this week because of the play.

Laundry, bills, return e-mails and phone calls, refill the empty cupboards and frig.  

All three of my children have different spring breaks this year.  That makes it hard to spend any family time all together in one place.  I guess we will have to wait and see if we can get a week together this summer.  Easter is coming up so quickly and we look foward to celebrating our risen Lord!

The weather here has become even more strange lately.....it feels more like winter now that it is offically spring, than it ever felt in the actual winter season.....but my trees and my flowers are loving it!  I am grateful for the emrgence of spring and the signs of "new life".  It reminds me of our own "rebirth" and the promise of Jesus.

May the new season of spring bring you new life and the promise of new things to come!!!

A Splashing Success......

Tonight is performance #3 of 6 of my freshman's high school musical "Anything Goes"!!!  It is a sensational!!!

Tomorrow there will be a matinee and an evening show. Yup, that's correct, #4 and #5!  I feel like its groundhog day the last three night's. However, there isn't any place in the world I would rather be than seeing my son doing what he is so passionate about!! (and so good at, if I may humbly add!)

I am too tired to read tonight but here is what is on my nightstand at the moment.....

A prayer book, a devotional, a book of quotes and wise words and a book I gave my daughter for Christmas "How to be a Lady".... I thought maybe there was a thing or two in there I might learn as well...

What is on your nightstand at the moment?......

A Spectacular Voyage on "Anything Goes"....

Here is my freshman "sailor"

He was absolutely incredible!! I am always completely amazed how these high school students pull off such amazing productions!! The work and the dedication involved is just out-of-this-world!!! Last night I truly felt like I was downtown watching a major production!!  Incredible!!!

Tonight is performance #2 of 6.  

My Firstborn comes home today for spring break, straight from the airport to his brother's show.  I love how much they love each other!! It is one of my greatest treasures to see the love between them.  I hope they always nurture it, value it and never take it for granted!

The cookies were a success!! Lots sold and hopefully selling lots tonight!!  I should be able to finish all the cookies today, finally!!! Then my family can finally get back in the kitchen!!

Happy Thursday!

Better keep my day job.......

Well, tonight is my freshman's opening night!  He is thrilled and exhausted all at the same time but we are so very proud of him.  He is working very hard and very long hours.  He is completely dedicated and giving 110%!!

The cookies are finished, packaged and here is the final outcome:

Do they remotely resemble cruise ships???

Well, they look completely amateurish but I think they are presentable!  I just hope they are sellable!!

Wish me luck!! Oh, and my freshman, too!!

"Anything Goes"....quite literally.....

My Freshman is in the high school musical:

We are thrilled for him!!  

In my moment of thrilldom, I VOLUNTEERED to make 3 dozen cookies for each performance.  There are 6.  They will be sold to raise money for the theatre department, so......... my sometimes high achiever, alter ego made the decision that they cannot be just run-of-the-mill chocolate chip cookies, oh no!!!! They must be some rolled, cruise-ship shaped sugar cookies with royal icing in 4 colors with pearl dust.......wrapped in individual cellophane bags cleverly tied with ribbons with a glittered label copy of the poster above......... Hmmmmmmmmmm......isn't there medication for this????

Soooooooo.......I, not my alter ego i might add, baked 240 cruise shaped sugar cookies.  Tonight I made the black royal icing (a nightmare) and outlined 112 of them.  They now look like this:

 I am hoping they will turn out like this:

At this point "Anything Goes".........

Wish US luck!!!

Its in the Music......

There once was a voice on the phone that belonged to the man I would spend the rest of my life with.... I would end the conversation with a simple "goodbye" that would be the beginning of the rest of my life.....

We would build a love, a life and a family that was so true and sometimes unbearably gifted....

Our relationship would begin and remain a threesome.....a triangle of trust, relationship and commitment...without our individual hunger for a oneness with God, we would never be here....

There would be profound gifts.....three......our hearts would grow three times the size to accommodate the joy they would bestow...and our hearts are growing still, as our love expands with them...

The orchestra of our family would begin and continue with a precision that could only be genuinely appreciated by a Chief Conductor (and us, of course).....with every instrument's placement so integral to the concert that would continue to play out in movements, sometimes harmonious, others contrasting, but all in accompaniment of each other.

And the music grows louder at times in more dramatic tones and oh so much softer with barely a hum in others...

But we keep our eyes focused, focused on Him....the Sacred Conductor who so graciously and tirelessly leads us on....we trust His purpose, His sometimes visible gestures and His direction....we trust Him to set the tempo, clarify and unify us as we move forward in this melodic ensemble..... We wait for His cues, the precise direction, as He encourages us to keep our eyes focused on Him.

And He leads us on.........