another weekend

It's Saturday morning.  Another busy week is over.  Work was full...MCA math retakes (poor kids--poor me), speech-language presentation (when will I ever get used to public speaking??), IEP meetings, and my regular speech therapy schedule. Today we are heading over to Grand Forks for the last basketball tourney.  Game today at 4 and then all day tomorrow.  Great group of 8th graders but I'm glad to be done. 

 

But before the busy weekend got started, I settled in with my first cup of coffee and my Kindle Fire. I downloaded my first book--The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy. And it was free! But that's not the best part...I did it all by myself and it is one of my favorite stories ever (this and The Lord of the Rings)!   I CAN NOT wait to start reading it. I've posted briefly about the dvd collection and will post about it in the future in GREAT detail!:)

 Soames Forsyte is my favorite character.  Despicable and pitiful... unforgettable.

And I will own the dvd collection someday.  A must see!!

Guess what I will be doing this weekend between games... and whenever I can get away with it!

happy Friday

I'm looking forward to the weekend and spending time in my home and with my family...  

...something I never get enough of.  

birthday boy

My boy turned 19 on Sunday.  19!  Ben was home for spring break this past week and went back to college on his birthday.  We managed to go to church, make a big breakfast, open gifts, and grill before he left!

I used Isaac's ipad to snap a few pictures of the framed photos we have of baby Ben in our room.  Wow!  19 years went by quickly.

On Monday after work, I walked through the family room and there lay paper, boxes, and bags.  My 19-year old boy did not clean up his mess. :)  But I was glad to come home and see the remnants of our day with him.  It didn't even occur to me to take pictures of him with his family and gifts on his birthday!  Forgetting to take pictures happens more and more these days.  And so I took pictures of the evidence... the evidence of our attempt to show him how much we love him. 

...his cards full of wonderful words that express how much he means to his family.

We celebrate you, Benjamin Marvin.  Our darling boy...

wonderful words

Read this on eletheowl.  Love it...

This one from sunflowergalore makes my heart sing!

"...spread them out in the sunlight..." :)

end of a season

The last regular season basketball game for the Prowlers was played at the Ralph.

Bittersweet season for this mama.  There are a lot of reasons for my feelings.

I can never recall the score following a game or even tell you what our record is.  It's a little embarrassing --- I just don't easily 'file away' that kind of data. I don't know stats but I can tell you what I "thought" of the game... did they play as a team, did they box out, did they rebound well, did they pass, etc.  I can give you an opinion on those things.  And then after a week or so it's a blur.

But the feelings linger and are difficult to describe... I'm fiercely loyal and committed.  That devotion may blur my ability to be objective.  Maybe?  Maybe not.

And then the season is over.  Don't ask me any questions about stats.  Ask me what I thought of the season.  Ask me what I think of our team.  And then let me ask some questions because I feel confused.  Like I said, this mama is struggling.  And in and out of all that, I will tell you how much I love this game and the exceptional boys that play it.

winter beauty

We had some beautiful frosty days several weeks ago.   I felt anxious to record those lovely, quiet days with winter photos of our yard. Today, the sun is shining and the snow is quickly melting!  Spring will arrive soon.

Frost, snow, and sunshine contrast against a winter garden in a compelling way.  There is unique beauty in the colors and structures of a winter garden.  

This is a popular spot for snapping photos during the summer.  This is what it looks like when it's quiet and still.

The road to home... always lovely.

a new day

Hooda Math

Found another great website-- Hooda Math.   

A student of mine had earned 10 minutes of "game time" and chose the game, sugar sugar.  It's super fun and super clever! 

Last week, another group played goat crossing.  It is similar to a puzzle I played as a kid.  It's pretty challenging.  We had to watch the "walkthrough" on YouTube to solve it. :)   But they keep asking to try it again! 

This is great motivation to complete their speech therapy tasks and earn more "game time"!

modern sentiment

I read an interesting post on brainstorming on the blog, Modern Sentiment.  I like the way Sara Martin writes and her ideas strike a chord.  Sara writes, "This is a really contentious issue among creatives and artistic types.  I know plenty of people who herald brainstorming as the acme of innovation (I just happen to think they are wrong).  What about you?".

“Sara Martin is an artist and writer based in Knoxville, Tennessee. Learn more ways to maximize your creative life at ModernSentiment.com/blog.”