Monday Mumblings

THE GREEN BAY PACKERS ARE GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!!!!!! YIPPEE!!!!!!


Well as you can see this past week ended on a high note for me. But actually this week was long and difficult for many reasons.


Last Sunday morning 4 high school boys from Manheim Central were killed in a car accident. This news broke in the community within hours. The kids already had Monday off of school due to MLK's birthday. However, we received a district wide phone call to inform us of the school being open for counseling. This tragedy broke our hearts but since we are new we did not feel a strong sense of grief.


Tuesday brought us ice and snow and in turn another day off school. The kids and I had a great day of hanging out. But I have to admit that after 4 days off of school I was ready for spring. The kids were on each other's nerves and cabin fever was settling in.


Wednesday the kids went back to school. Alex came home with a note. Two of the boys killed on Sunday had a sibling in Alex's class. (Not in all of the 5th grade classes combined but in his immediate classroom. Tough stuff!) Needless to say, Alex stated that it was a long and sad day. His class in addition to the other 5th grade classes are collecting money to put together remembrance baskets for the students and their families.


In honor of the boys killed and out of respect for their family and friends, the district cancelled all extra curricular activities for the week. This meant no basketball practices or games for the boys. While the circumstances bringing this about were tragic and sad it in turn was a blessing for our family. It allowed us to all attend Aaron's team's game on Thursday evening and to have a few days of just being together as a family.


Friday, the school had announced that they would be releasing early to allow family, staff and friends the ability to attend the memorial service for all of the boys. Since we ended up getting snow Thursday evening what would have been a 2 hour delay became a cancellation for the boys. Emma still had school (her school follows a neighboring district). So the boys came into the church/school with us and hung out while I worked and Emma was in class.


We enjoyed a "Snow Day" party that Aaron planned for Friday night. He got pizzas for the kids and wings for us adults. We then all played "Beat the Parents". It was great to hang out together and laugh. (The kids did NOT beat the parents though.)


Saturday, I stayed in my pj's until it became necessary to make lunch (I think it's too weird to make lunch in my pj's). After lunch I took a nap and then found my spot on the couch again. It was a wonderful day of not doing anything. (I did some laundry and cleaned the kitchen a bit, so some stuff did get accomplished.)


Sunday was busy. Our church is currently without a Senior Pastor and we have a 7 week series that kicked off this week with a short term interim speaker. He will be teaching on the book of Ruth and it was amazing that his topic (picked months ago) dealt with loss and grief, especially in light of the accident a week ago. I love how God's hand is always at work.


And of course, then came playoff football. I had a few "moments" during the game, as it was not one of our better performances. (Like I really had anything to do with it, but yes, it is personal.) But we got a win and a chance to play for the Lombardi trophy. To celebrate we went to Taco Bell. (I know what you're thinking. We are not typically huge Taco Bell fans we do occasionally enjoy it. We do not have one that is just up the road, in fact we have to go into Lancaster City to find a Taco Bell. So this was a BIG deal. And in addition it was the kid's first Taco Bell experience. They loved it. In fact Stephen mentioned that he thinks we should eat there every night. I don't think that will happen.)

So our week while long in some regards it was also filled with many blessings. Family time is so very precious. A point driven home by the tragedy. I know it's cliche but love your family well, you never know how much time you have with them.


Oh and by the way: THE GREEN BAY PACKERS ARE GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!!!!