Life and Times of the Sharp Family

Unexpectedly, my meet in Coldwater was cancelled tonight.  So, instead of an afternoon and evening full of running around, I had plenty of free time to fill. I called my dad to let him know that he didn't need to watch the girls tonight, and he suggested attending Western's "Chilly Jazz" dinner to support the Western Bands.  I have tons of kids in the jazz band, so we packed up the girls and headed out.  In addition to some tasty chili, bread, and brownies, we had the opportunity to listen to some great jazz.  It was fun and wonderful to see my students in this capacity, and I had the feeling that they were happy to see me there too.  I was thankful for the time and ability to support my students and to have fun with my family. Thank God for the Chilly Jazz Dinner! Lord, thank you for fun events that allow me to see my students shine in areas outside of the classroom.  Thank you for a job that is meaningful.  Thank you for a free evening do spend...

I had to judge a meet at Jackson High tonight.  I was sort of expecting it to be awful.  Great attitude, huh?  Yeah, sorry about that.  It was just that I was judging with a new judge, which typically means I have to do a lot more work explaining, verifying, and training.  It's requires a significantly greater amount of brain energy than judging with another experienced judge.  It also makes the meet take much longer, meaning a late night getting home.  Additionally, Jackson High is typically a very low level team, which means that their routines are difficult to judge, not to mention a little painful sometimes. To my pleasant surprise, the new judge did an absolutely incredible job.  I did much less tutoring than what I expected and the meet progressed nicely, wrapping up at a very reasonable time. Similarly, the Jackson High team showed some impressive improvements over years previous.  Many of the girls took on a greater...

I was ravenous when I tore open my lunch bag today.  I was horrified when I found that my sizable portion of chicken broccoli alfredo was, shall we say, less than fresh. I was devastated when I realized that my lunch actually contained very little in the way of edible material. I was thrilled when my colleague told me there were packets of ramen noodles in the cupboard of the teacher's lounge that were free to any one who wanted them. I was antsy as I waited for the microwave to cook my noodles. I was joyful as I took my first bite and full by the time was done. I was thankful for something tasty to eat at lunch. Thank God for ramen noodles! Lord, thank you for my back up lunch today.  Thank you for all the ways you provide every day.  In your name I pray, Amen.

It has been a long time since we had a snow day, but today we got to stay home and spend the day cuddled up on the couch in pajamas. Lord, thank you for giving us one more day of rest this week. In Your name I pray, Amen.

For some reason that's mostly unknown to me, I tend to change our bedsheets on Sunday morning.  That means when I crawl in for a Sunday afternoon nap, I get the sensation of fresh, tight-fitting sheets.  It's truly a delightful feeling.  Today I got to take a much-needed nap after a morning of snowboarding.  I breathed in the clean smell of fabric softener as I drifted into a deep, refreshing sleep.  I felt like a brand new person for the rest of the evening. Thank God for Clean Sheet Sunday! Lord, thank you for small things in life that bring us joy.  In your name I pray, Amen.

After a long day of judging, I was hanging out with AJ on the couch, doing some general snuggling and catching up.  At one point, she turned to me and said, "Do Roast Beef Toes, Momma!"  What? It took me a few moments to realize that she wanted me to do "This Little Piggy Went to Market", because, you know, the third little piggy had roast beef (and the fourth had none).  I laughed and and was filled with joy at the shrieks of delight that followed every "Wee, wee, wee all the way home!" I was so thankful for this time with my daughter this evening. Thank God for Roast Beef Toes! Lord, thank you for funny moments and for my children, who bring me joy every day.  In your name I pray, Amen.

As is becoming fairly typical, I feel asleep on the couch tonight shortly after getting home.  The girls were bouncing around the house on an apparent sugar high, but their incessant chatter, jumping, and giggling didn't prevent me from nodding off for a little while.  When I woke up, I saw that nestled up next to me was my snoring, sleeping son.  While I slept, he had crawled up onto the couch with me, wriggled around to the back, snuggled up under my blanket and fell into a deep sleep.  I was so thankful to be able to share this sweet moment with my son. Thank God for my nap buddy! Lord, thank you for giving me a chance to share a nap with my son.  Thank you for sweet moments like these that I will remember for the rest of my life.  In your name I pray, Amen.

The new game at our hose is called "Monster". Colby hides and when the kids come running he screams, tackles them, and tickles them. Tonight AJ started calling herself "Baby Monster". She follows Colby around mimicking his monster moves. Lord, thank you for my baby monster. Thank You for making time with her such a joy. In Your name I pray, Amen.

I thought I had to judge a meet in Sturgis tonight.  I was expecting to leave school shortly after it got out and be back at home around 10 pm. Guess what? I was wrong.  It happens. I didn't have to judge tonight.  The meet had been called off earlier, I just forgot, in the craziness that is my email inbox, to make that change in my calendar. All of a sudden, I had the whole night in front of me. Instead of wearing nylons all day, I got to do things I was never expecting to be able to do today, like write the final exam I'm supposed to give tomorrow morning (whoops).  Instead of being in a car for a long, dark drive, I got to go for a long, cold run.  I got to meet my family for dinner at the Full Moon diner instead of eating whatever I had leftover from my lunch.  I got to take a bath, put my kids to bed, and read a book. The gift of unexpected time was such a huge blessing, one that I am especially grateful for tonight.  It's amazing...

Tonight the kids all crawled into bed with me to read their bedtime stories together as a family. We read a story from Breslin's little kid bible and then we read the letter "C" in his Dr. Seuss dictionary. It was awesome. Lord, thank you for giving us a few minutes together as a family tonight before bed. In your Name I pray, Amen.

Our boy lost his first tooth today. He was biting into one of Papa Bob's leftover meatballs with gusto, and by the time he was done, so was his tooth. We never did find it, so he probably swallowed it (ick) while he wolfed down his pasta. Since we had no tooth to place under his pillow, he wrote the Tooth Fairy a nice letter explaining the situation. I have mixed feelings about the tooth loss. It makes me feel like the mom of a big kid. On the other hand I am thankful that my boy is growing up the way he is supposed to and that I get the privilege of watching his bright future unfold. Thank God for our first lost tooth! God thank you for this big milestone in our son's life. Thank you that he is growing up healthy and for allowing me to be a part of it. In your name I pray, Amen.

I had a giant stack of papers to grade. Those papers are now graded, and I didn't have to give up any family time to grade them. Tonight I'm feeling very thankful that I was able to get my papers graded during our drive to my mom's. Lord, thank you for helping me get some things done tonight in the car so that I didn't have to give up time hanging out with my family.

Tonight I got to watch my dad teach my 3 kids how to play Trouble. All four of them had a blast. Lord, thank you for allowing my family to have such a nice night at my dad's house. In your Name I pray, Amen.

This has been a very very busy week, and I am so happy to have made it to the weekend. Lord, thank you for helping me through this week. Help me to have a great weekend with my family. In your name I pray, Amen.

Today I felt especially blessed to have a friend and colleague like Mrs. Shore.  We have been student council co-advisors at Western for the past two years, and every time we get to a day like today, I am so thankful that I have her in my life.  Not only are we very close as friends, but we complement each other well while working and make a pretty fierce team.  Today was pretty hard.  Tomorrow is Snowfest, so there are an overwhleming number tasks that have to be accomplished, a substantial group of students who need things from us, and a considerable amount of situations that demand our attention.  I felt blessed today to be facing all of this things with my friend.  I truly don't think I could do it without her.  Having Mrs. Shore around not only makes these kinds of days possible, but I find myself looking forward to the time I spend with her because of them. Thank God for Mrs. Shore! Lord, thank you for a good friend...

This afternoon, I made a decision to stay at school in between the end of the day and the time I needed to leave for my gymnastics meet at Jackson Northwest.  The reason I chose to stay an extra 3 hours beyond my contract time? I desperately needed to get some things done.  For the past week or so, I have been feeling an overwhelming sense of being buried with things that need to be taken care of.  I have also felt helpless to do anything about it because, try as I might, I couldn't carve out enough uninterrupted time throughout the day to get down to business.  This was my opportunity. Three solid hours I worked in my room.  I turned on some music, locked my doors, and slowly but surely began crossing things off of my to-do list.  I won't lie.  I was working my hind end off.  But when I walked out the door, I felt much better; as though I could finally unclench my jaw, push my shoulders back, and take a deep breath again. I am thankful for th...

Tonight I am thankful for being able to eat the best chocolate covered pretzels I have ever had.  I know that might sound incredibly shallow and ridiculous to you.  If it does, YOU OBVIOUSLY DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW I FEEL ABOUT CHOCOLATE COVERED PRETZLES.  I was judging in Coldwater this evening.  Normally at gymnastics meets they put out goodies of one variety or another for us judges, but the spread tonight was out of control.  Jelly Bellies, cupcakes, Chex Mix, and pretzel rods that looked as though they had been hand-dipped in chocolate laid tantalizingly on the table.  I waited in agony at the chocolate covered pretzels, seeing them out of the corner of my eye during each vault. I didn't eat a single one until we had completely finished the event.  Then, while we paused for bars to complete I nabbed one and took a bite. Seriously.  This chocolate covered pretzel was so good.  It was amazing. Later ...

Today marks the beginning of Spirit Week at Western High School.  Since Friday is Snowfest, we will spend each day of this week participating in silly dress-up days.  Popular days in the past have been "Bad Hair Day", "Class Color Day", "Decades Day" and one of my absolute favorites, "Pajama Day".  I can't even describe to you the genius of my student council in planning Pajama Day on a Monday.  My Monday morning was infinitely better because I got to spend the day teaching in a pair of pajamas.  Even my slippery drive to school was made better because I calmly and cozily drank my hot coffee while lounging in my pajamas in the driver's seat.  My prep hour was magical.  I am thankful that I got to spend the entire day in jammies today, even if I still had to work. In fact, I think I might be a much better, happier teacher if I could wear pajamas to school every day, but I digress.  I am grateful for a job that allows us to have a b...

Our children have been spread throughout the state over this weekend. Breslin was at his Grandma Kathy's, Dharia was with her Mimo, and AJ was with her Great Grandmommy.  Unpacking is something that I usually dread, because it means that it's back to real life.  It's also a ton of work.  As I opened their bags this evening, however, I noticed that every single of my kids was sent back with their clothes laundered and neatly folded.  Instead of fishing out clothes from several bags, separating them into clean and dirty, and then run a few loads of laundry, I simply opened up the bags and put them away. Additionally, since Colby and I had rented a condo with a washer and dryer, we had literally no dirty clothes to worry about tonight. It was lovely!  I am so thankful for these wonderful, generous family members who were not only willing to love and take care of my kids for the weekend, but were so thoughtful...

Colby and I spent the entire day and evening snowboarding at Nub's Nob in Harbor Springs, Michigan.  Our Christmas present to each other was to stay overnight in a little condo on the slopes, where we could literally walk out the back door and onto a chair lift.  It's been a wonderful day on the slopes.  Colby and I went down every run we could find and took a break every once in a while to sit by the fire in our condo and have a snack.  The Big 4-0 is one of our favorite runs on the mountain.  It is fast and curvy and interesting.  But, is is also the first run that we truly conquered on our boards for the first time several years ago, so it has special sentimental value.  I love that snowboarding is something that Colby and I genuinely share as a hobby.  From the very first time we strapped on our bindings to today, neither one of us has ever been snowboarding without the other person.  We learned together, improv...

I am thankful for the three pieces of media I received regarding my children today. Exhibit 1:  Breslin on the Warner Elementary Morning Announcements Breslin read for the announcements on camera today and my mother-in-law was kind enough to send me the link.  My heart swelled with pride at his sweetness, especially at around 2 minutes and 20 seconds in. :)  Exhibit 2: Dharia at Mimo's House Dharia is spending the night with my aunt, her Mimo, tonight. She has been excited about this all week. Even though I left her in tears this afternoon, when I asked my aunt how my Lou Lou was doing, she said "great" and send me a picture of her being a goof. Exhibit 3: AJ at Great Grandmommy's House in Great Grandpa's Lap AJ is spending the night with my grandmommy -- her great grandmommy. After we dropped her off, we received this adorable picture of her cuddled up with my grandpa -- her great grandpa -- reading books in the rocker. All of these media ...

Friday night Dharia is attending her first ever friend Slumber party with the girls from daycare.  To say she is excited would be an understatement.  Tonight, I packed up her bag while she slept, mouth open, legs and arms stretched and splayed.  I thought about her snuggled up to her little friends, giggling when they should be sleeping, and I got as excited as she was for her first of what I am sure will be many nights sleeping over at friends' houses. I am grateful for the joy this experience has brought already and thankful for the (brave) parents who are making it possible. Lord, thank you for giving Dharia such great friends and an opportunity to spend time with them overnight . In your name I pray, Amen.

I got home from Sturgis a little earlier tonight than I expected and was thankful to see that the girls were both laying in bed, still awake.  I missed them greatly so I almost cried with happiness when I walked into their room and saw that both sets of their beautiful brown eyes were wide open.  I got a chance to hear about both of their days (they went sledding) and give them plenty of kisses and hugs (and high fives, of course).  It gave me a lot of joy to see their sweet faces tonight. Thank God for being up! Lord, thank you that I got a chance to see my girls tonight before they fell asleep.  Thank you for letting me talk to them and love on them.  Thank you for the boost it gave to my spirit.  In your name I pray, Amen.

Picking up AJ from daycare after a long day of school is one of the best things in my life.  When she sees you, she instantly drops whatever it is she is playing with and takes off at a dead sprint across the room to give you a huge hug.  Since the room is usually full of strewn about toys, this quite often entails a significant stumble or two along the way.  Nothing makes me feel better than seeing the look of pure joy on her face that is all because of me.  I am so grateful for this pick me up at the end of the day. Thank God for picking up AJ! Lord, thank you for the way my daughter makes me feel.  Thank you that she is so excited to see me at the end of the day.  In your name I pray, Amen. PS -- I found this cool necklace if you're looking for a gift for me.  If you didn't read my post yesterday, this will be weirder than it already is.

I was brought up well. And by that, I mean that I was taught to appreciate a good grilled cheese sandwich dunked in some piping hot Campbell's tomato soup. In fact, I vividly remember my mom serving grilled cheese and tomato soup on a special plate/bowl combination made especially for this purpose.  I would love to have serving ware of my own like this someday...perhaps after Colby and I complete baby step two on our path to financial peace.  They run $30 a piece on uncommongoods.com.  Yeesh. Anyway, since I was young, I have thoroughly appreciated a good grilled cheese sandwich paired with some tomato soup.  For some reason, when I am sick, which I was today (insert ironic comment about getting horrifically sick on the last two days of Christmas break here), it tastes even better.  So, today I am thankful that my husband makes a mean grilled cheese sandwich and that I was able to delight in a hearty meal despite feeling miserable.  Als...

Every time Christmas comes around, I get a bit nostalgic because my husband proposed to me on Christmas Day 10 years ago.  He whispered, "Will you marry me?" in a choked, nervous voice.  I cried and screamed "YES!" hysterically in a half laugh-shout.   I think about all of the excitement and promise that time held for us.  We looked out on our future, hand in hand, and saw that it all but sparkled with possibility, dreams, and romance.  We could do anything.  We were unstoppable.  It was an amazing time, one that I look back on fondly. Tonight I am so thankful that two very special people get the opportunity to experience the same thing.  Colby's younger brother Casen proposed to his long-time girlfriend and kindred spirit, Jeanette, a couple of days ago, and we had the chance to meet and congratulate them today. Granted, it was at a birthday party for Breslin with 10 other kindergartners and their parents, s...

For Christmas, my uncle gave each of my kids a gift certificate to one of our all time favorite places: The Toy House in downtown Jackson.  Tonight, we decided to take a little trip into town, let Breslin ring the birthday bell, and let each of the kids pick out their own toys. It was incredibly fun to watch the kids walk up and down the aisles, finding and playing with the vast array of toys.  I vividly remember pulling into The Toy House as a kid with butterflies of excitement in my stomach, walking those same aisle ways, similarly awed by toys as far as I could see.  To my amusement, each of the kids chose a toy right in line with their personalities.  It took Breslin virtually no time to find a castle logic puzzle, Dharia found a genuine Hula Hoop shortly thereafter (we actually had to talk her into getting something else too, since the Hula Hoop was so cheap), and AJ wanted to play with everything that the Toy House put out, so it took her a little longer...

For a family treat and Breslin's birthday, we went to Surfari Joe's Hotel and Waterpark in Watervliet, Michigan. We had a blast splashing and swimming in the water park for hours last night and this morning. All three kids even went down the big yellow waterslide...over and over and over, climbing all 55 steps to the top with a large tube each time. Trust me, I know because Breslin counted--naturally. We watched a movie in our room together and ate junk food. Breslin opened his presents and built his new Lego helicopter. My favorite parts of the whole trip involved watching my kids interact with each other. They played "Duck, Duck, Goose" and "Baby Jesus" in the water park, which was essentially a complicated nativity re-enactment. They shot water guns at each other, and climbed a net while singing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" together. In the room, they piled up together to watch the movie and snuggle-shared one big bed for the rest of the night a...

Tonight, I'm thankful that God doesn't ever, ever give up on us.  I'm thankful that no matter where we are at in life, it's never too late to go back and do it right.  Given the New Year and all, I've done a lot of  reflecting on the way that I am living my life and given a lot of consideration to things I think God wants me to work on . I won't bore you with them here.  But I will tell you that I'm so glad that I get the chance to learn and grow in these areas and for His promise that He will give me the strength to do it. Because, honestly, I'm just a mess sometimes.  I feel like what I actually get right is ludicrously small in comparison to what I do wrong.  But, I'm so grateful that none of that can separate me from His grace. Grace is good.  God is good. And I'll probably never get it completely right.  But I'm a work in progress, so that's okay.  God loves me for who I am, even knowing full well that I enjoyed ...