I'm kind of in the mood for some rambling.  It's time anyway, don't you think?  It's been over a week and what a lot of ramblings have filled my mind.  From my dad, to my girls, to new beginnings, to graduations, to work, to balloons... oh my oh my.  I'm just gonna dive right in... this may be all out of order but I will write as I think... in non-chronological order :)  My week so far (haha.. and it's only Monday!!) has actually been filled with sunlight and laughter.  My sweet kiddos from Sunday School as we said good bye to this season of Sunday School...what a crazy morning that was... I'll tell you this right now... I sweated :)  It started on Saturday when I decided (brilliantly, I might add) to blow up 30 balloons with my little portable helium tank and have them all ready to go for Sunday morning...we were going to release balloons to tell the kids to let their light (balloon) shine for Jesus all summer long...  great idea?  Absolutely!.... until my 30 helium balloons lay forlornly on the floor on Sunday morning...they were no longer floating...boooooo!  I suppose I can just say that now I know what to do the next time.... wait until Sunday morning to blow up the balloons!!  Anyway, sweet Miss Kari ran to Hy-Vee and replaced my limp balloons with super heliumized (good word, eh? :) balloons.. the day was saved!  As we said good-bye for the last time before summer, their sweet faces, goodbyes and thank-you's were enough to make every moment of teaching them totally worth it.  After church the girls and I went home... for lunch.. or should I say we made it into the driveway to make ourselves some lunch when suddenly we all realized that we REALLY wanted Pizza Ranch for lunch.... yum... what can I say.. I worked there for nearly 8 years and I seriously could STILL eat there everyday... oh the concoctions we came up with.. one of my favorites is still to this day Garlic Chz bread with pineapple & green olives... oh oh yummm... or Saturday mornings with a large cheesy gooey garlicy buttery pizza with pepperoni and parmesan sprinkled on top.... dipped in ranch dressing..... ugggggggggh... how I miss that!!  Haha, that was a little random.  Apparently I'm hungry which is where my mind went.  Figures :)  ... ANYWAY, we did go to Pizza Ranch for lunch on Sunday... then naps .. oh yes, very healthy, I know.. but the girls and I did some active stuff later :) .. we decided to drive out to Oak Grove and have a picnic supper and check out the river.  It was cool.  The weather was perfect... our picnic was delicious, the girls' faces were happy, I caught the tiniest baby catfish I've ever seen in the entire world...AND he completely swallowed my hook... let's just say I'm sure there is a puny dead little cat fish being whisked down the river at this very moment.  It was simply a relaxing and fun night.
What else has happened.. hmm, let's see.. oh, my smallish brother Caleb graduated from High School last week.  That was interesting.  I remember the day that kid was born... us kids got to choose between Ryan & Caleb for his first name... sheesh, where does the time go??  I'm glad I get to be a part of this kid's life.  He is unique... I love him quite a lot :)  anyway, that evening actually was a little tough to get through.  It was a time when I really wished my dad could be there to see his youngest son graduate with honors...to see the entire row full of his family.. a few tears may have been shed... it was just a little bit bittersweet.
Ooo, I just thought of something else that I totally enjoyed last week.  Mexican for lunch TWO times...  same item of food each time?  ABSOLUTELY.  Seriously I can't get sick of the Quesadilla Fajita .. I am quite positive that I could eat it every day... well maybe not everyday.. but like every other or something like that. :)  anyway, Monday I had lunch with a friend .. always good!  And Friday lunch with my mentor/friend.. always refreshing! .. Lately it's been feeling so good to laugh that I've been seeming to find myself searching for moments and places that I know I can laugh...it feels so much better than the sad and angry places that I've been stuck in for so long..  Trust me.. there are those days, but the good ones are coming too.  In fact, tonight was a good one.  Day went fast at work... those days are always good.  Made a yummy parmesan chicken spaghetti for supper then we headed to the park.  Push me mommy!  Watch this mommy! .. my back was hurting but their happy squeals erased the pain.  Natalie, tell me 2 words that start with the letter "N" ... "Aidyn!!" .. hmm, looks like we need to work on that a bit... no worries, Bethany helped her out.. :)  My kindergartner is graduating on Wednesday.  I'm not sure if I should be happy or sad about this... I could be sad because my baby girl is growing up... I could also be happy because I have a healthy beautiful brilliant daughter that is learning so much that it almost blows my mind.  I am so proud of this kid.  She has learned and grown this year more than I can even begin to describe.  Sheesh!  I love her! Anyway, we're finished at one park so we make a stop at the cemetery to tell grandpa what's going on in our lives.  Bethany tells him about kindergarten graduations, Natalie says she misses sitting on grandpa's lap.  I say I miss his whiskers.  How it tickled your face when he gave you a hug & kiss....  I pointed out to Bethany that from where Grandpa is, he should be able to see her playing in the playground at school.  She thought that was cool.  We talked about the years on the stone, what they represented, then we walked down to see baby Leah too.  Bethany, full of drama, sighs sorrowfully and says oh how I miss you Leah... a little cute humor for me to giggle about later :)  She means well, I know, but sometimes when she starts her "announcements/speeches" there is usually a deep mournful sigh, or a fake happy "what-evs", or a lilting giggle... to begin the dramatic speech she will be producing... she is definitely my actress... she loves acting and dancing .. not like ballet, but like Rocky & CeCe on Shake It Up Chicago.. seriously, she's got some of their moves DOWN!
Okay, so back to the rest of tonight. After we left the cemetery (after I went into great detail of what Memorial Day is... Bethany didn't know :) we made one last pit stop at a different park.  Well worth it.  We layed on our backs and found "things" in the clouds.  One girl on each side of me with their head resting on my arms.. tucked in close to my side. BEST 10 minutes of the day.  Pushes on the swings, giggles from the girls.. time to go home for showers and bed.  Okay mommy... they're getting sleepy.  These 2 little girls are the sunshine of my life.
That's all for now.
Peace.