Bye, Bye Kindergarten!

Ok, off topic already but I just glanced at the ticker at the bottom of my page and it said only NINETEEN days until surgery! Yikes!

Today was our last day of school. The kids had a half day and I put them on the bus without any tears. :) I worked in my room for a while, but it's not all the way packed up yet. I'll have to go back on Monday and finish it up. Still, it's weird to think that I'm not a kindergarten teacher anymore. I've defined myself that way for over 7 years now... The hardest part for me was having to turn in my computer. This is bizarre because I hate my computer. I'm still better about those people forcing me to use a Mac. My wonderful tech woman made me some DVDs to give to my new computer guy that she says will make my new computer look just like my old one. Still, handing in that computer with all my pictures and videos of sweet Abby knowing they're going to be wiped away before I can see them on a new computer was the one thing that choked me up about this day. I know, it's strange. what can you do?

My parents leave tomorrow for a two-week mission trip to Africa! I have their itinerary so that I can follow them wherever they go. They also left a prayer calendar with voices to read and topics to pray for them each day. It started today. I'm going to try and post the verses and topics daily both as a reminder to me and as a way of documenting their trip from my end. I would love your prayers for them as well.

Today's topic was Preparation and verses were:

Philippians 2:2-5
"....then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped"

Galatians 5:22
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness..."

Ephesians 4:1-6
"As a prisoner of the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

Based on the leadings of these readings, I have prayed for team unity and humility to follow God's leading wherever it takes them. Even if takes them to being chased by men with spears or to being kidnapped. My parents aren't worried. My dad says that he can outrun several of the people on the team, so there's no need to worry about the spears. And he tells me not to worry about feeling guilty if he gets kidnapped, I can't pay the ransom and they get killed. He says, "If you don't have the money, you can't pay it." He's so practical. :)


(By the way, for those of you rational thinkers who are wondering how I'm posting if I turned my computer in, my mom is letting me borrow her laptop while she's in Africa. Is she a great mom or what?)

I cried when I said good-bye to my parents tonight. (just a little bit) You would think I would be old enough to handle it, wouldn't you? But I talk to my mom every day and it's going to be very hard for me not to talk to her for two weeks. My poor sister is going to have to listen to a lot, although I normally talk to her almost every day as well. Plus, going to Africa is kind of scary. There's a big war going on near where they will be, and several Americans have already been killed. So I'll be glad when they're safely back home.

I'm off to bed now - WITHOUT SETTING MY ALARM CLOCK. How cool is that?