Leaving them out of it

Do you talk to your kids about violence? Does it matter how old they are? This week, I'm happy we no longer have cable.

On Tuesday, there was a mall shooting here. And now today, many, many children died in a school shooting in Connecticut. And I haven't said a word about either to my boys. It's not easy - especially today, when I'm crying my eyes out over the poor families who have lost their children. As a mom and even more so as a mom of kids that age, it's just unthinkable. I can't imagine in any capacity what they are experiencing right now.

Aiden has been home sick from school all week and I have to say that I'm happy about it, because it has probably kept the news of both shootings from getting to him. I know I can't shield him from it entirely, but I can sure as heck try my best.

Maybe some of you are speaking with your children about it and that's absolutely your choice. But for me, I just can't. They are too young. Aiden doesn't need to be worried about that happening at his school. Let's keep some innocence around a little longer.

If you have kids, hug them. Play with them. Praise God for the fact that you are able to do those things with your child today. And pray for those families. They are going to be hurting for the rest of their lives.

Done

The finals are done. Finally, finally done. I know I have A's in two out of three courses and should have a third A, provided I didn't just completely bomb my library procedures exam.

I am so looking forward to finishing up getting ready for Christmas and spending some real, not stressed out time with my family. My family who deserves a ton of credit for bearing with me through this massively insane term. I honestly don't know how we got through it.

Here's to a relaxed upcoming month.

Almost There

Thank you to everyone (friends, family, and the staff at our church who asked if there was anything I needed prayer for) who said a prayer for me. Just a few hours after my post, a professor from another class offered a five-day extension on a large project out of nowhere. It was perfect timing and I was able to devote that time to re-doing a huge project for another class. I now have just four (FOUR!!) assignments left to complete the term, and while they are all on the larger side, I feel so much more at ease and able to get this done.

I suppose I've learned what my limit is for classes through this whole thing: two. No more than two classes per term, or else everything tends to snowball and I develop "crazy homework face". One of the moms at the preschool took one look at me and said, "Finals week, huh?". Great....

Now, time to get back to homework. I fully expect to hear the Hallelujah chorus the moment I submit my last project.

This Week

I could really use some prayer about making it through the rest of this week and getting all of my final projects done. I've had a rather large setback in one class and have very little time to fix it, if I'm able to at all. I'm sleep-deprived and overwhelmed and have spent a majority of the afternoon in tears. I'm not feeling very capable regarding school and parenting at the same time. It's frustrating to say the least. I anticipate many more very late nights in order to get everything done this week (1-2am has been my standard bedtime over the past week, then getting up 4-5 hours later to get the family up for the day). In short, I'm struggling big time. At least I've discovered my limit when it comes to classes, I suppose. Anyway, I would really appreciate some prayer. The end is so close and yet feels so far away.