My 2nd Birthday!

This morning was the morning we go in to help at Gabriel's school. Annalina is a gem and usually sits and colors and when I ask her to help clean up a mess of Ross' she jumps in and helps. Ross on the other hand is Ross the Destroyer and piliger. He knows exactly where to find the snacks which the kids in the class got a big kick out of! It was the first thing Ross went for! And then he found the children sized gardening tools and was handling a rake (metal rake). I must say this was not a wise thing for Ross to have. I managed to keep any of the students from receiving a rake in the back of the head. Don't think I'm joking! It was a time of jumping up and down from the table I was working at to stop mayhem from breaking loose followed by shrieks of anger that I would enforce such strick rules upon him! You might think that Ross is not welcome there but that is on the contrary the kids AND teachers just LOVE him! He is a little celebrity at the school. Praise the Lord! Truly, praise the Lord! That makes me much more comfortable!

Ross fell asleep on the way home from school . . . surprise, surprise!! Annalina came to me while he was napping and said "I am making you another birthday because I love you so much. Do you like blueberry cake?" Well, WOW, did I ever have a party and what a hostess Annalina was! First, was the blueberry cake which I was to cut and serve (she had a knife and fork ready that she pulled out of her pink and purple purse! Annalina sang me Happy Birthday and gave me "pretty" presents. Each present was covered with a blanket and in a basket. I received a variety of fruit, a hanger with a pink bow on it, and some new pink pots and pans given to me to make mini pizzas in. (We have mini pizzas on some Friday nights). I was also offered the choice of Banana or Cranberry ice cream, of which, I chose banana and it was quite delicious! I was informed by my hostess that it did not have any sugar in it! During the party I was served both tea and juice both being refreshing and tasty. She took my new pan and made me Mexican Mini Pizza which was a GREAT addition to the whole party. We then left the party for awhile and went to read some books (the story of Esther, and the story of some very poor people and a Journey cake). I became exhausted and laid down on the couch to rest for a few minutes while I could. The blanket I had covering me was pulled back and under it was slid a pink stuffed mouse to comfort me during my nap. What a GREAT "2nd Birthday" as Annalina called it!

Well, I wrote last night about our devotional on "Trust the Lord, and do good". The kids grasped that and did so much better today. As I dropped off Gabriel at school I said "Trust the Lord, and do good" he got a smile and enthusiastically answered "Yes, Maam!". When we came to work in the classroom in the morning Gabriel showed me the work he was doing and later came and told me "I am doing my work". Annalina saw the trouble I was having with Ross in the classroom. He kept coloring on the table. She got up went to our bag and got him his own coloring book! That is maturity. Later in the day after Ross' nap we went to the Commissary to get our groceries. She was such a big, helpful, well behaved girl!! Praise the Lord! Sharing the faith of Christ with my children is a joy. Were they perfect today? No, but they desired to do the right thing and they were MUCH improved through the help of Christ!

Great to hear Annalina singing today "it's me, it's me, it's me oh Lord standin in the need of prayer".

I noticed my spirit was still a little off today. Easily aggravated like with my $270 some dollar water bill and we haven't even turned on the water sprinklers yet! Hmm, always something to work on.

Oh, exciting news of the day! The playground the kids and I had seen going up and wanting it to be completed is now done!! We are so excited! Saturday morning after our doughnut run to Safeway we are going to hit the new playground near our house! Annalina thought that might be to long to wait! Gabriel was excited that I already saw someone playing there!

I look forward to tonight as I am taking it completely off . . . no bike ride, no finishing up 160 pushups, etc. . . . I am going to rest and have a peanut butter malt which is a favorite treat Babe and I enjoy sharing after kids are in bed!