Is it wrong...?

...to say that, on this first day of school in Madison, that I don't miss teaching?? Are there a few kids that I miss and students who I will miss having the opportunity to teach? Yes... Do I miss my friends at school at the opportunity to socialize daily? More than ever... Do I miss the stress of getting a room to look like a classroom? Not at all... Do I miss the stress of carrying home a bookbag full of work and playing with my wonderful daughter all evening and carrying it back out to the car the next morning, never even unzipping the bag, day after day? No way... Do I miss the stress of teaching but not making my "goals" for the day? No...
I will say, however, that I will miss the moments of learning in the kids' faces...and them knowing that I really love them... Now, I have a precious student here who is loved beyond words and is learning new things by the minute...and the look on her face is so worth this decision to stay home... :)

I'm a blessed mother... :) My heart is full... :)

I love surprises....

I think it's neat how people grasp onto things that remind them of times in the past. I am that way...I guess you'd call it nostalgic, huh?
Anyway, I have many incredible and wonderful memories of my grandparents, and I'm truly blessed to be 32 years old and to have my grandmother in my life still... As a pre-teen and teenager, I spent several weeks during the summer in Illinois with my grandparents... During those summers, this incredible flower would bloom next to my grandparents' house. They are a breathtaking transparent pink...and I swear they glow...

Whenever I'd ask my grandma about them, she'd refer to them as surprise lilies... They have that name because one never knows when they'll bloom. So, sometime in July, they usually appear in one day. There isn't any foliage...a long green stalk just emerges from the ground with little cocoon-like pods waiting to bloom.

Of course, when we moved into "our own" house, in my nostalgia, I had to get some of these surprise lilies... After searching for awhile, I finally found the bulbs...and let me tell you, they're pricey little buggers ($20 for ONE bulb!). So, I bit the bullet and ordered 2 for me and two for my mom (who is also nostalgic :))... We planted them...probably 4 years ago. For 2 years, nothing appeared...and I'll admit, I was sad. I so wanted to have these flowers next to MY house, too...

Last year, the surprise lilies surprised me in early July. They bloomed again this year... :)

For some reason, these surprise lilies just give me warm fuzzies... And yes, they really do take your breath away... :)