Nineteen days! If anyone is wondering, we are down to 19 days until school is out! We are looking forward to summer break. It’s been a good year, but the first year in a new school is generally full of challenges and changes, so it’ll be nice to have this first year behind us. We’ve surely learned a lot! (A lot of academics yes, but also a lot about how the school functions and operates.)
These past few weeks have been full of activities! Two weeks ago, I went with the high schoolers to a state competition. The competition was across the state closer to Charlotte, so the drive was a bit of a hike. One of the music teachers and I ended up traveling on the boys bus with 36 boys! To be honest, it didn’t phase me a bit. My life is already full of telling boys to “make good choices”, “stop being annoying,” etc., so having 36 more to give a few directions to was fine. Mrs. Lawanda and I made a good pair and it was such a blessing to me to get to know her better. We left on Wednesday morning around 7:30am., and made it to the competition for the opening assembly and then right away the choir sang. Garett and Chandler were both in the choir, and it was a special blessing to me to hear them sing with the choir. I know that singing is not always their favorite, but they’ve learned a lot through choir, and I’m thankful that they had the opportunity to be a part of one. It was a crazy few days at the competition with athletic events, singing, drama, music, and keeping track of 70 plus kids!
Thursday was a very warm day at the competition and by the afternoon it was hot! Chandler was competing in the one mile run, and both boys were in the soccer shoot-out. The soccer shoot out had to consist of at least two girls on the team. Our school does not have a girls soccer team so finding two girls who were willing was a bit challenging! However, two girls were found that were willing! I don’t think anyone of the kids from our school really knew what they were doing or were supposed to do, but they had a good time. This was apparently a first time event, new this year, so everyone was new to it. Next year, they’ll have a better idea of what to expect. It was so warm that a lot of kids were starting to get headaches, and there was not enough water available for the athletes. By the time Chandler and Eli (another kid from our school) started the mile, they both looked a bit dehydrated! Chandler did very well in the mile run, and he did place first in that event. That was exciting!
We traveled back after the awards ceremony on Friday morning. It was a full three days of activity and not a whole lot of sleep! However, I was very thankful for the opportunity to spend with my own children as well as other high schoolers. Roger and I were also very thankful for those that were willing to watch our kids while I was away. Roger is in the middle of fire season, so we weren’t sure if he’d be available to pick up kids from school, get them to school, etc. My friends (both named Laura) were willing to watch our kids. Wyatt and Travis were happy to spend two nights at Gabe and Enzo’s house, and Emma certainly didn’t mind spending time with the Everett family. Our kids know that we are very particular about houses that they stay overnight at (or spend time at period), and they were excited about the few days out of the “norm”. We are blessed with some great friends.
Wyatt also turned 14 since I’ve last written on the blog! I can’t believe that our smack-dab-in-the-middle child is 14! Time has flown by! Wyatt is smart, competitive and friendly. He loves to play sports, learn new things, and spend time with his friends. Wyatt is very good at golf and basketball. He sometimes struggles to be content with where God has placed him in our family, and I pray often for his heart to be sensitive to the Lord’s leading. We love him dearly! My friend, Laura, spoiled him rotten with a cake, special activities, and dinner of his choice! I’m thankful for others that also invest in the lives of our children and point them to Jesus.
Last Saturday evening, we went to a rodeo with the Everett family. It was pouring rain when we left our house, and we were unsure about how much “fun” the rodeo was going to be! However, about 12 minutes after we arrived at the rodeo, the skies cleared and the sun came out! It was a beautiful night for a rodeo! We had a great time of laughter, memories, and fellowshipping with each other. It was a fun night after all.
This past week, we hosted an elementary fine arts event at our school. It was for 3rd-6th graders. I worked with our students that were going to participate in the Bible Sword Drill event. I’ve grown up doing Bible Sword drills, but the rules for this competition were intimidating! I had no idea what to expect, but I knew that the kids needed to be able to find the books of the Bible quickly. My friend, Jennifer, and I worked with the 3/4th graders and I worked with the 5/6th graders. We started out at the beginning of March wondering how this was going to go! However, we improved a LOT! The sixth grade team placed second, the fifth grade team placed third, the fourth grade team did not place, and the third grade team placed fourth. I was so proud of all their hard work, and I can breathe easier knowing that’s behind me! Whew! If I get asked to help with that event again, I’ll have a much better idea of what to expect. The first year of anything new can be very intimidating. I had mentioned to several of my friends that my prayer was that we would not be last and that the students would not be embarrassed. And God answered that prayer- Praise the Lord!
Also, I ran into one of my college friends during fine arts. That was an unexpected suprised, but it was good to reconnect with my friend, Melanie. I look forward to seeing her next year! On Thursday, my friend, Jennifer and I helped out all day with the Bible Sword Drill competition. We were both a little nervous about what to do, but we quickly figured it out. I was a line judge which meant I needed to watch for the first and second person to the line and then check to make sure that they had the right reference. Sometimes it was really clear who was first and other times it was a bit harder. Jen and I were able to run out for some lunch and to get coffee to make it through the afternoon. I brought some back for my friend, Tamela, as she was running around playing the piano for a bunch of events. It was a full and busy day!
The Fine Arts competition continued into Friday, and I wasn’t quite sure what my role was going to be. I generally can always find something to do, so that’s generally not the problem, but I wanted to be a blessing to someone. I worked in the library for a while, and then I got a text asking if I could help in the lunch room. That kept me busy for a while! I helped serve 291 sack lunches, so there was plenty to do for a while. I was thankful that Tamela had brought me coffee that morning as I needed it! We had two days of rain during fine arts, and the kids were showing the effects of being cooped up for a few days! Thankfully the sun came out and it turned into a beautiful evening.
On Saturday Roger was able to get off work around 12:00. This was a pleasant surprise as the boys have been wanting to play golf with Roger. Justin Everett and his son, Brody, also went to play golf, so it was a fun afternoon for the boys. Wyatt was, by far, the best out of the boys, and it was fun to see him excel in something. They played 18 holes of golf, and it was a hot afternoon. They came home needing some water and food, but they had fun.
While the boys were playing golf, the girls went out shopping. We went to TJ Maxx, Old Navy, Target, and Sam’s Club. Per usual, I spent most of my money on groceries at Sam’s Club! Oh well, we are thankful to have funds to fed our tribe. It was a fun afternoon with lots of laughter and memories. Emma woke up on Saturday morning eager and ready to go, so it was a long wait until 2:00pm for her. She had a great time with Ava and Savannah and when we came home, she asked when we were going to go again! Um…not for a while!
We are on the “home stretch” for the last few busy weeks of school. Baseball season will be over this weekend- praise Jesus! Then it’ll be the last few weeks of academics and activities to the finish line. We keep telling our kids that we have to keep going strong. We can’t give up, and we have to press on doing our very best! I saw this quote this past week, and I was reminded that we have to be diligent and work hard. We need to “redeem the time”. These are some wicked and dark days that we are living in, however, God is still on the throne! Praise His Holy Name!
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