Celebrating FREEDOM!!

The children and I went to +Smiley's former school to watch their celebration of Black History Month.  They read poetry, excerpts from famous speeches, and performed songs.  I had fond memories watching +Smiley participate and after five years, I was ready to watch another performance. ( I missed Mr D's and Ms Janean's rhythm sticks with their students, though! I'll have to get them to get back to that!)

The students did a wonderful job!  They sang a song incorporating Dr Martin Luther King, Jr's words from his "I Have a Dream" speech:.  When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Tears streamed down my cheeks and my thoughts drifted to my +Smiley and my heart ached as I thought of his true freedom... free from pain and sorrow, irritations and aggravations, inconveniences and frustrations.  His is truly Free... and I thank God Almighty every day for that. 

The last song at his funeral was the African spiritual, "Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King..." way to go, precious son! He LIVES with the King!

Mr K, the awesome art teacher, found this photo to give me.  This is the smile I remember best.... we called it his Gazillion Dollar smile! And I know he continues to smile down on all of us as he dances with Jesus.       

* * * Winter W*nderland! * * *

Let it snow!  We are being greeted this morning by a lovely blanket of snow!  The boys were all ill last week thus the onslaught of CaBiN FeVeR.... remedy???  Make snow men!  After the library visit today ~ where they will work on  president and animal reports,~ they can frolick 'til their hearts are content in the white playland out the back door.  (I'll post the pix a bit later...)

After our last major snowfall, I had just left a mini-retreat with the Trinitarian Sisters of Mary in which we spent over an hour in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (our beloved, Jesus).  I felt so close to God and very grateful for being abundantly blessed.  On the way home, I stopped at the cemetery, trudged through the foot of snow, and placed a blanket at Smiley's headstone.  I spent time thanking God for my precious son's life and for the wonderful memories I have of him. After almost a half an hour of 'visiting' my kiddo through tears, laughter, and silence... I jumped up, went over to the other side, and laid down on his grave.  He was almost as tall as me when he died.  I remember all the joyous times we had in the snow... and gave him a little gift.  A made him a snow angel. * * *

Remember that each day we have with one another is truly a gift.  How will you GIVE yourself to others today?  My goal is to spend time this week with the children making Stations of the Cross scenes to adorn our home.   

Feeling a bit blue today....

The little boys are enjoying a heavy dose of mother nature's bounty -- wild blueberries!! :)  Okay, when I say WILD, I'm just copying what the bag says.  No, we didn't find a whopping goldmine of berries (it IS February, ya know!).  Instead, we plucked a 4# bag from the Costco freezer!  Check out these stained faces! 

And, aren't I blessed to have such an amazing laundry helper!  Sort those socks, baby!