Here we are two weeks into school and my last post was from the first day of school!  Oh well...tis my life right now.

Below is why I have not been able to post.

It is true...Colin has started football.  Good Lord...these days everything must be rushed.   I'm less than thrilled about this whole football thing...but I'm pretty sure I'm the only one feeling that way...

Colin is excited, Ty is jealous {"it's no fair that Colin gets to play football and I don't!"}, and Chris is acting cool but I can tell he's super pumped about it.  Practices are 3...T.H.R.E.E....times a week until the first game on September 11th.  Oh, and they run from 6-7:30pm.  And did I mention that Chris is helping to coach and that means he has to be there at 5:30?  

Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.  It stinks.  Last week Chris and Colin ate dinner at 8:30.  I mean, really...is this necessary in the third grade? 

What do I know?

I'll tell you what I know.  I know that when you get this look at 18 months old...

...it spells trouble...T.R.O.U.B.L.E.!

{Yikes!}

They're baaack...

It's August 15th.  

The first day of school.

I know.

Early, right?

And, here it is...the annual "First Day of School" photo!  

Ty's first day in Kindergarten {he was so e-cited}.  Oh, how bittersweet it is!  He is ready though and, honestly, so am I.  Give them wings and let them fly, right?  The kid needed some stuff to do!

And, Colin's first day as a 3rd grader.  So grown up!  Not as e-cited to go back to school, but he went with a smile {and I think he kinda was once today actually got here}.  He was nervous about two things, but I cannot tell you...mother-son privileges and all.  I think this will be a great year for him.  He's a wonderful boy...we are so proud of him!  And, this year he gets to play football and basketball...what could be better?

And, Miss Eden...well, she's off to a whole new world at Gigi and Dad-Dad's with no pesky brothers, thank you very much!  {she loves them a ton, but let's just say sometimes they cramp her style a bit}.

Now, I need to go set the table for breakfast and get my really, tired self prepared for the 5:30 a.m. alarm bells!

Back to school reality...

Colin is being so sweet and "allowing" me to use his camera until we can buy a new one.

And, I must say, it has reminded me how very differently children view the world.

They see the beauty in the ordinary...always.  

And I love that...always.

While doing some of my "light reading" this summer, I came upon a quote which I've quite literally repeated in my head 100,000 times or so since I read it.

I'm pretty sure I've read it before.

" A point worth pondering:  Upon completing 

the Universe, the Great Creator pronounced it "very good."    

Not "perfect."

- Sarah Ban Breathnach

It's been said that when the student is ready the teacher appears...apparently I'm ready to learn this, because when I read it this time it seemed to scream out at me from the page.

I've struggled with perfectionism for many, many years.  It's stunted me in ways I never would have believed it could.  How I dress.  How I decorate.  How I learn.  How I teach.  How I communicate.  How I live.

Nobody is perfect.  I'm never going to be perfect.  Not the perfect Mom, or wife, or friend, or co-worker {surprise, surprise}...and it's taken me damn near 40 years to really start to get it. 

Notice I said start.  I still cringe when Ty picks his nose in public because of how I feel it reflects on my parenting {even though lots of 5 year olds pick their noses}.  I still won't trust my ability to put together an outfit...I keep things very boring safe.  There are times when I feel so socially paralyzed that I come off as completely not worth getting to know.  I let other people make me feel inferior.  And yet I know that nobody is perfect.  Nobody.

God created this amazing, beautiful universe...complex, astounding, incredible...and proclaimed it "very good."  

Not perfect.  

And I'm starting to get it.  I can be "very good" instead of perfect.  God said so...

"And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good."

                                                                          - Genesis 1:31