We had a victory in our house yesterday when we found a MISSING library book. Huge cheers from Mom! But when I was just about to close the lid of the drop-off container at the library, I noticed … a torn page! In one of the picture books!

What to do … what to do …

I had two kids in my car, and our dog, Jasper. (He gets excited about riding in the car with us.)

What would Jesus do? I know. I know. But Lord, I’ve got kids in my car, and I’ve got three more errands to run. And a million things on my mind. And it’s just one torn page. And they may not even notice. What would Jesus do?

OK. So I didn’t leave that book in the drop-box. I drove to the Dollar Store, bought a roll of scotch tape, taped the page back on both sides (Man, did that thing look shiny and sharp). Drove back to the library. Left the book. And no guilt! Whew.

Maybe God smiled on me because later in the day when I brought in our mail, there was a surprising check addressed to me. But oh no — it was from the church that is sponsoring a marriage retreat I’ve signed us up for this summer. I’ve always thought marriage retreats sounded dorky and boring, but after 12 years of marriage, the whole concept seems fascinating to me. We’re moving to a new season, a new chapter, and I’m excited about all the things God has in store for me and my husband as a couple.

So! Why did I get this check? It was for over half the cost of the retreat! There wasn’t a note of explanation with it, so I emailed the pastor right away and asked if the retreat had been cancelled. He wrote me back and said, “No, we’ve just decided to lower the price, and we’re sending out refunds to those of you who have already paid.”

Wow — so this is really a great deal. Thank you, Lord.

Here’s what else is going on in my life. My kids are out of school tomorrow — summer is here! Today is my kindergarten daughter’s SIXTH birthday (got that, all you aunts and uncles who read my blog?) She’s growing up!

This morning, my fourth grade son is going to receive an award at a ceremony at his school. Here’s a child who hated doing his phonics with me. We homeschooled him three years, and I didn’t know if a more reluctant reader ever existed. Today he’ll receive an award for having won the “Readers Digest Word Power Challenge” for the whole fourth grade. And he said, “Mom, I may get another award for AR points — I think I was pretty close to finishing first, but I’m not sure.”

Yeah. I’m proud. God’s been good to us lately. Sometimes a mama just has to brag. Ain’t that the truth?

[Edit: We just got home, and what a good blogger I am. This is for the grandparents, who are allowed to brag without having to blush: Your grandson got awards for earning All A’s the whole year, 3rd highest average in Language Arts, 2nd highest average in Math, 2nd highest average in Science, Silver Medal in Math Olympics, Top Accelerated Reader points, Super Lion Award, Readers Digest Word Power Challenge, and (my personal favorite) Most Dependable Award. The “most dependable” honor is going to come in very handy when it’s time for him to feed the dog and cats.]