Easter

My sister, Kitty.

My best friend!

She doesn't like her picture taken, and least of all in a blog posting, but
I don't care. I think she looks beautiful!!!!

(Noone reads this blog anyway!!!!)

Here is her daughter, Chantel.

Spring tulips!

Evan on the Easter egg hunt.

Grandma Kay's Dutch cookie jar.

...and Grandma's Dutch figurines.

Ricky, the Phillips' carver of all things meat.

The girls...

Emma

Ezra

Evan

She gave me a heart shaped rock.

Great Grampa, Emma & Ezra.

Easter at my sister's house.

They always put on a great feast, year round.

I really appreciate all they do to get the family together for feast & fun.

Happy Easter!

A Sign of the Dimes and a Heart that Rocks!

Walking in to work today...

I spied a dime that worked it's way into the groove of the pavement.

It have been driven over so many times that it had bent into the shape of that groove in the pavement.

I picked it up, suddenly feeling a whole lot lighter and luckier.

My story is about the Sign of the Dimes.

You might not know about my story, but it's about how dimes come to me to give me a sign that the divine powers that be are with me, in my dark and bright days.

As if that bent and beat up dime wasn't enough...

We had an assembly today. I sat on the old wood floor of our gym alongside the students. A girl behind me made a little sound, and when I looked back... the coins in her pocket had fallen out. Two dimes lay there smiling at me.

And it gets even better....

The kids I work with know I love rocks, especially heart shaped ones.

A particular boy brought in a particular rock to show me this morning.

He walked in with a plain rock, but it had a slight heart shape to it, which was exciting enough, to me.

But then, his hands went to the rock, as if prying it open like an oyster with a pearl inside.

I had no idea.

He opened it and showed me the two sides of this rock... a fossilized shell.

He went to the beach last week.

And found the two matching pieces...

about a mile away from each other.

What are the odds of that?

I was awestruck! What a wonderful, simple, lovely thing. And he brought it in to show me.

Three wonderful and needed gifts this morning.

Someone's looking out for me.

Loves Me Like A Rock

This is very HEART felt story.

Toward the end of the school year last year, Elena brought a rock to school
and stopped to show me. This is the kind of stuff kids do, but Elena is no ordinary kid.
I told her it was a "cool" rock. It was heart shaped and I told her how
I collect heart shaped rocks.

So she told me she wanted me to have the rock.

I happened to have a book about HEART SHAPED ROCKS that my rockin' niece Kristina gave me for Christmas this last year. (she's so thoughtful!)

That book is on a shelf in my room. So I told Elena to come by and see the book I have. I placed the rock on the book and took a picture of it. I was so touched!

Then....

It is back to the new school year. On the first day of school, Elena comes to find me. She says
she has a present for me. Into my hand she places a small bag with some rocks in it that she has collected for me over the summer. I thank Elena and tell her I will look at them in a little bit.

When I get back to my room I open the little baggie and place the rocks on the shelf by the book and the other rock Elena gave me last year. I wasn't expecting what I found when I poured the rocks out of the bag.

They were all heart shaped.

*** and then my cup runs over***

I love working with kids.


*name has been changed for privacy*