All I wanted was a cute picture of the kids with Santa. You know, the one with the classically jolly Santa with a twinkle in his eye, my perfectly groomed offspring looking in the same direction towards the same camera, loving smiles on their faces. This, so that I could prove to myself and the world that I had it all together. Look at how precious we are.

Why this was so important to me, I have no idea, because we don’t even do Santa. We don’t NOT do Santa, we just generally don’t make a big deal of Santa. This wasn’t an intentional decision we just tend to focus more on the history of St. Nick and the birth of Jesus. But Santa’s cool and I wanted a cute picture. The perfect picture. And this is what I got of the two of them. Hello sun.

But you know what? It’s alright because we ran into some really good friends and that was a surprise and awesome!

So thanks, Santa and that glaring sun, for reminding me what’s really important this season. Grace, love and Merry Christmas!

We are abundantly blessed. We have our freedom. We have family, friends, food and a home. Access to education and healthcare. We can worship without persecution.  We have 1000s of cable channels and can wirelessly stream movies to our phones. To our phones, people. We’re blessed. So when our son starts in on how he has nothing to do, nothing is good enough, that he is bored and frustrated and mad and wah wah wah I lose it. I send him to his room and tell him he can’t come out until he lists all for which he is grateful. This is what he came up with and it’s pretty good. So as we are heading into this season of Thanksgiving I thought I would share. And challenge each of you to stop for a moment during all of the busy and think about  your blessings. They’re all around us.

So here it is, an 8 year old’s list of gratitude:

1. Food
2. TV
3. Mom
4. God
5. Dad
6. Bed
7. House
8. Games
9. Toys
10. Friends
11. Family
12. Sister
13. Freedom
14. Hats
15. Stores
16. Love
17. Karate
18. Basketball
19. Grass
20. School

I made the top three! Sorry, Dad. And God. Better luck next time.

Picture day was this week at the kids’ school. We’re blessed they get to attend a great charter and part of the deal is that they wear uniforms. But on this day, picture day, they got a free dress pass. This is huge. Epic. It was a Wednesday and they could wear whatever they wanted. FREEEEEEEEDOM!

But let’s not forget about the picture part. Mom didn’t necessarily want them picking out their own outfits. And let’s be honest. I’m really not concerned about them. I’m thinking about him and the likely ensemble of a Darth Vader t-shirt and camo shorts my son would choose. So I did what all Love & Logic parents do… I bribed him. I told him I would give him $2 to wear the shirt of my choice. Which he quickly and gladly agreed to. Success! Right?

Wrong. My kid sold out his heart’s desire for a lousy 2 bucks! And I set him up for it! It all flashed before my eyes and I see him as a rising business executive making crass and unethical decisions because back when he was 7 his mom showed him to value the dollar over conviction. So I immediately regret this transaction and tell him that if he truly feels led for Darth Vader to join him in his 2nd grade photo, then by God, no amount of money should influence him. But it was too late by then. The dollar had won. I had won. And I felt terrible. Still do, but life is a lesson and I learned mine this time.

So parents, hang in there. We’re not always going to get it right. In fact, I think some of the best lessons come from when we get it wrong.

They don’t look like they’re doing too bad, right?

My youngest had her kindergarten round-up this morning. She’s a Fall birthday so one of the older ones and she’s ready. I’m ready, too! I’m not sad about my baby growing up. That’s what babies are supposed to do. They grow and learn and become who they are meant to be. I’m overwhelmingly excited for her. It’s a great school and one I proudly support. I see leadership qualities in her that I know this school environment will foster.

And this post is for all the other parents and caretakers who are happy their child is going to kindergarten! It’s okay to be happy. Don’t feel bad that you don’t feel sad! Celebrate this achievement. You made it! They made it! And they’re going to be fine. I expect even great!

Yes, my heart clutched a little when it was time for the soon-to-be kindergarteners to line up and head to another room for a lesson and snack. But then it burst with pride when I saw her overcome a bit of shyness, put her head up and head off… without looking back. That’s what I’m talking about.

I want to build into her confidence, self assurance, compassion, leadership, good humor and common sense. And I want her to believe that through faith and hard work she can accomplish great things. Her own things. And I need to model this for her. So although she’s starting a new phase of her life where her sphere of learning will be expanded, teaching her is still part of my job, too. So next time fear tries to get a hold of me about <insert challenging life thing here> I’m going to think of my little girl, put my head up and believe in myself.

…without looking back.