November- So Blessed!

 

November! Here and gone would be the title of this month’s book. We’ve survived our first basketball games, a tournament, a trip to see family on the other side of the state, a kids cooking competition, making Christmas ornaments, and lots of things that  I don’t even remember doing!

Our family photos were taken the first weekend in November, and they turned out so well! The kids were happy that it didn’t take too long, and we’re happy that we have an updated family photo. As everyone gets older and busier, it gets harder and harder to squeeze in time for family photos. I don’t know when we will have the next one taken, so I’ll rejoice in the fact that we got it done this year. 

We enjoyed having the day off for Veteran’s Day, and we set up a little cooking competition for our children. We divided them into teams with the Everett’s kids and gave them a budget. They had to come up with their own menu and cook for Roger, myself, Justin, Laura and Jen. It was so fun to watch them come up with their menus, shop for ingredients, and cook and prepare! We told them that they could use any ingredients that we already had on hand at our houses, so that helped them out with their budget a lot! Ava, Chandler and Travis were on a team together, and Savannah, Garett and Brody were on a team. Wyatt helped on both teams with a variety of things. One team had their menu planned early on and made minor changes. Another team made so many changes, we weren’t sure that they knew what they were going to make! Savannah and Garett were going to make a cheesecake for dessert, but then realized that they were not going to be able to get that done in four hours! So they made a cake instead. Laura and I had a hard time not commenting when we saw that self-rising flour was being used instead of all-purpose flour, but that’s part of the fun! (And the cake actually wasn’t too bad, but there was enough sugar in there to make your teeth chatter!) It was a fun evening, but whew! The cleanup! Every counter in Laura’s kitchen was covered with ingredients, pots, pans, and mess! But with everyone working together it didn’t take forever. Chandler and Ava and Travis won the event for the evening, but Garett and Savannah did pick much harder dishes to make. Next time I think we will give them the same menu and see what they do with making the meal. It was a good experience for all of us. We also realized that our kids need some additional instructions in the fine dining department. The table was not set correctly, they forgot to give us napkins and neither team served the dishes to the adults with utensils! They just picked up the biscuits, potatoes, etc. with their hands! Haha! Oh well. We love all those kids dearly, and we were thankful for the memory. 

I’ve been busy in art classes with trying to help the students create Christmas ornaments for their parents. Since many children are coming from split homes these days, I felt it was important that we create at least two ornaments. Oh wow! Do you have any idea the amount of materials needed to create any ornament for 225 students!? And since I don’t want every grade to create the same ornament, it’s been a hot mess! I’ve been so thankful for my Art assistant, Kaycee, as she’s helped wash several 100 paintbrushes, hot glued together 100+ wooden popsicle sled ornaments, scrubbed tables, and endured all my crazy ideas! (But, I’m also excited for the kids to have these ornaments to give for Christmas presents) I am so thankful that God brought her to art this year, and I’m going to miss her as she fills in for Emma’s teacher who is leaving for maternity leave. 

We’re into our third week of the sports season, and wow are we tired! This past week, we had our first basketball games. The cheer teams are responsible to cheer for the JV Girls, JV Boys, Varsity Girls and Varsity Boys teams, so it’s a full afternoon! The JV Cheer team cheers for the JV teams, and the Varsity cheer team cheers for the varsity teams, but since Laura and I coach both teams, we get to stay all evening! Twice last week, we had meals from the crock pot at school. I brought a crockpot of Taco Soup on Monday, and Jenn made potato soup for the kids on Tuesday, which was game day. Since we spend a lot of time at school, and going out is expensive so it’s better to just bring along the crock pot of food. 

Wyatt got to start in the JV boys basketball game, so that was exciting for him! Chandler didn’t start, but he did get some playing time. He spends a lot of time trying to improve his game, but he does seem to get nervous when he plays. I’m guessing he probably just needs to get more comfortable with being in the game. The boys are enjoying playing basketball, but whew- it was about 9:30pm when we got home! Then there was a tournament this weekend, so the varsity boys had an 8:00pm game on Thursday! I didn’t know if the cheer coaches would be able to stay awake through it all! We made it. Thankfully, Jen took home the four kids that weren’t involved in the basketball game, so it was just Chandler and I with a super late night. Roger was happy to come get the kids, but they were all eager to stay the night at Aunt Jen’s so that’s what they did. 

Friday was a crazy busy day with teaching library, a doctor’s appointment for Travis, and then heading to the basketball tournament to coach cheer with Laura. Laura and I have learned a lot about cheer, our team, different personalities, coaching these past few weeks. We’ve prayed (a lot), cried (quite a bit of that too), and have also laughed and created memories too. I’ve watched more cheer videos and read more articles on stunts and cheers in the past few weeks than I have at any other point in my life! Laura is an amazing cheer coach- I’m just kinda along to support, encourage, pray and and assist however I can. I try not to think about what’s going to happen when they need to move, and instead we just take it one day at a time. We’d appreciate your prayers as we continue to try to invest, pour into, and point our cheer girls to Jesus. 

The boys and Roger left for Wisconsin on Saturday morning. The original plan was to leave on Friday, but Chandler had a basketball tournament, and it was a long week without a moment to get anything ready for the trip. I left at 6:15am to be at the basketball tournament with the cheer team, so I missed seeing them leave. (However, it was like the rapture had occurred when I came home as there were definitely signs that they had packed up and left! Haha!) Emma and Jen picked me up from the basketball tournament as we were headed to my Aunt Lisa’s house to celebrate and early Thanksgiving with them. We ate dinner with them, enjoyed some time outside soaking up the sun’s rays, and then decorated their house for Christmas. It was fun to decorate the Christmas tree, and we enjoyed the time together. (Emma wasn’t feeling well last week, so I had spent the afternoon decorating our house when I was home with her. I don’t usually decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving, but the season is so short and my time is very limited!) We’ve enjoyed having the Christmas lights shining on the tree as we prepare to celebrate the real reason for the season- Jesus. 

My friend, Allison, told me that one of the older folks at our home church in Maine passed away this past week. Clayton Dorr was one of those “heroes of the faith” in my eyes. He was easy to talk to, had a ready smile, loved Jesus and really did seem interested in pouring into the next generation. Both of my older boys have fond memories of working with him at cleaning up his yard in the spring time or work days at church. Sometimes I fear that we aren’t being diligent enough to raise up the next generation to be “men and women of the faith”. We entrust the care of our children to perhaps good people, but are they vibrant and invested in pointing our children to Jesus? I want to be that person, whether it’s in teaching art, library, cheer or anything else, I want to be the person that is genuinely interested in others and points them to Jesus. Really there is nothing more important than preparing people for eternity because it’s going to happen…either eternity in heaven or eternity in hell, but those are the only options. 

Also in news from Maine, the company that Roger worked with for the years we were in Maine is selling out to another person. So much changed in such a short amount of time, and I look back at our early years in Maine with some of the most precious memories. God brought along a job for Roger at Penobscot Island Air and working for Kevin Waters was a blessing. This is a quick video of a snapshot of what Roger did in Maine. God brought us to Maine for a reason, and I am just as sure that he has a purpose and a plan in bringing us to North Carolina. 

The boys and Roger left for Wisconsin on Saturday morning. Oh boy! The boys were so excited about going to visit Nana and Papa and go deer hunting. I’m not sure if Travis went along because he wanted to see Nana and Papa and hunt deer or because he wanted to get out of school! However, he did finish his hunter’s safety course, and he was going deer hunting! They arrived in Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon, and went out hunting on Sunday night before church. Guess who shot the first deer? Actually the first 2 deer? Well, it was Travis! He was in a hunting stand with Roger and they spotted a doe. Roger said that the doe meandered up close enough to shoot, and Travis got ready to aim. He was all set up and ready to shoot the deer when he leaned over to Roger and asked, “How badly is this gun going to kick?” Haha! He did just fine with one shot right through the lungs. The deer went right down, and there was still plenty of light, so they just sat and waited. Within the hour another doe walked right up and Travis dropped that one about 20 feet from the first deer! It was an exciting event for Travis! The other boys haven’t seen anything yet, but they are waiting and praying for more deer. Travis texted me on Monday morning from my mom’s phone. He said “Lights are up (referring to Christmas) and I’m smiling and you are crying because you’re working and I’m not at school.” It wasn’t the clearest sentence ever, but you get the idea. We are thankful for this opportunity for them, and I’m positive it will be a memory for the rest of their lives. Please pray that they will get a few more deer this week as all the boys would like to shoot one. 

It’s a quiet week for Emma and I, and that is okay! I’ve made such a mess in the art room this week that I can’t imagine having left today’s activities for a substitute teacher. Emma’s not really in a good position to miss school, and I also work to provide for the school bill. There were a lot of reasons why Emma and I didn’t go to Wisconsin, but we are going to enjoy these moments at home together. Since our friends, the Everett’s, are also away for the week, Emma is watching their dog. Emma would love to get a dog- it’s the rest of us that don’t know if it’s a good idea! However, this is good for Emma as it shows her that having a pet is not all fun and games! 

God is good. As we approach Thanksgiving Day, I hope you take a few moments to take some time to reflect on some of the many blessings that God has bestowed upon you. I’m thankful for salvation. My future is sure, and for that I am so very thankful.  I’m thankful for Roger- not many men could put up with some of my crazy ideas and still be sane! I’m thankful for the five children that God has entrusted to our care, and I pray that they will grow in grace and knowledge of their Lord Jesus Christ. I’m thankful for meaningful friendships. I have a lot of acquaintances, but I’m thankful for the friends that pray for me, invest in me, and also encourage my walk with Jesus. I’m thankful for Roger’s job. It’s not been perfect, and there’s a few more challenges than we would’ve hope for, but God is good. I’m thankful for my sister, Jen, who helps out with feeding my kids, driving them where they need to be, and investing in their lives. 

I am blessed. 

October Wrap-ups and November Beginnings

 Four weeks have flown by since the last time I wrote on the blog! We’ve finished up the fall sports seasons for both soccer and cross-country. We’ve also enjoyed some beautiful fall days here in eastern North Carolina, and the boys are prepping for the winter sports season. 

The boys soccer team made it through the first round of the soccer play-offs, so that was exciting! That hasn’t happened in a few years, so it was especially exciting. Unfortunately, we lost our first game in the play-offs, so we played in the consolation game the next day, Saturday. It was probably the worst game of the season, and we lost- by a lot! This was especially hard on our older boys, and Chandler actually ended up benching himself in that game because he knew that he was going to start yelling at his teammates. It was not a fun way to end the season, but it was definitely a memory! One thing that I am constantly reminded of is how short our time with our children really is in the grand scheme of life. As we listened to the boys expression their frustration on the way home with lots of tears mixed in, it became a teachable moment. We talked about not quitting when things get rough. We talked about praying for change, but also being diligent while asking for change. We talked about leadership and why it matters. I’m not sure that anything we said will stick with them, but we tried to point them to Jesus through it all. 

Two weeks ago on Monday, Wyatt and Chandler had their final race of the cross-country season. I think they were both happy to be wrapping up the season, as they’re ready to move on to basketball (we’re not, but they are!). Wyatt ran his middle school race exceptionally well, and he won the race…by .07 of a second! We were excited for him as he’s placed about 2nd or 3rd for all the races this season. It was an exciting day for him. Chandler placed third in the Varsity men’s race. He ran a good race, and he was narrowly beaten on the final stretch. However, he also did run his race well. I’m thankful for all the miles that we made them run over the summer as that helped them run well throughout the season. We praise the Lord for bringing us through the season for both soccer and cross-country. God is good. 

Two weeks ago,  both Wyatt and Chandler tried out for the basketball teams. Wyatt tried out for the JV basketball team, and Chandler for the varsity team. Garett was not going to be convinced to play basketball this year no matter how hard anyone tried to convince him! Actually, I’m kinda proud of him. He tried something new last year, and he stuck with it. And he decided that basketball was not something he wanted to do this winter. Wyatt did not make the JV team last year, but this year he succeeded in snagging a spot on the team! He was very excited about that, and we are hoping that he will have a teachable, moldable spirit, and learn a lot this year. Chandler found out last year that he actually does enjoy playing basketball, and he has been working hard on improving his basketball skills these past few months. He did make the team, and we are mostly excited about that. (I say mostly excited because practices aren’t done til 7:30pm!) As for cheerleading, well, we started that too! 

Last Monday was the first day of practices for everyone, and it’s going to be very interesting getting everyone where they need to be and picked up on time. We have Varsity cheer practice right after school and that is followed by JV cheer practice. We get done with cheer practice around 6:00pm, but Chandler isn’t done until 7:30pm. Wyatt has practice directly after school and he is done at 4:15pm. Thankfully, Jen is able to help kids get where they need to be, and she also feeds them! I’m so thankful for her!

I’ve also been busy with art, library, meals, laundry, groceries, church, family, and the rest of life! A few weeks ago, I didn’t have one of my finest parenting moments, but it’s definitely a memory. One of our children struggles with knowing when to just be quiet in a conversation. He had gotten in the car in a bad mood, and he was taking it out on the rest of us. I told this person to stop talking, and I had had enough. This child continued to keep talking, so I put on the brakes and told him to get out. To be fair, we weren’t on a busy road. We were about a mile from home, and I knew that he could either walk home or call his father. After this child realized that I was very serious, he got out of the car and started walking home. I called Roger to tell him that one of HIS sons was beside the road, and I proceeded to head to school. That particular son learned a valuable lesson that day, and while we can look back now and laugh, it surely wasn’t funny a few weeks ago! I struggle with knowing how to parent teenagers, and I mess it up often. The only thing that I know to do, it to ask for forgiveness and move on. I’m not doing it perfectly and I don’t even think I’m doing it well, but as I stand before God, I am surely trying to point our kids to Jesus! I’m thankful that God’s mercies are new every morning. 

November is here, and I feel like this month will fly by! We have our first basketball game the second week in November. The boys are headed to Wisconsin for deer hunting over Thanksgiving break, and they are very excited about that. I’m thankful that they will have the opportunity to go hunting, and we are praying for a successful and safe hunting experience for them. My parents are looking forward to having the boys for a few days, and I’m very thankful that this opportunity is available for the boys. 

We made it through our first week of cheer practice, and Laura and I are both super tired! Laura has done a ton of work in preparing for cheers, chants, stunts, etc. as well as making up cheer notebooks for each of the varsity girls. We’ve implemented a devotional schedule for our varsity team, and I’m excited to hear what the girls choose to share. On Monday, Laura shared her personal salvation testimony, and on Tuesday, I shared mine. It was good to take the opportunity to write it all down again and to share what God has done in my own life. On Thursday, we asked each girl to write down a prayer request on a note card. We are going to pray for those prayer requests, and then revisit those prayer requests in a few weeks to see what prayers God has answered. I think it’s important to teach the girls about the power of prayer and also to take the time to reflect back on all that God has done. We are excited about the season, but we sure are tired this week! I’m thankful for Jen taking care of the kids that aren’t in sports and for feeding us many times!

Travis has a praise! The school started a middle school basketball team, and Travis made the team! He is very excited about the season, so we are praying that it will be a good experience for him. He struggles so much in school, so I am very, very thankful for this outlet for him. 

We are in the beginning of the second quarter of school, and it’s hard to believe that the first quarter is a wrap! The boys passed each of their classes as well as Emma. I had a meeting with Emma’s teachers last week as we are a little concerned about her progress. She is still struggling more than we would like to see her struggle in school in spite of lots of efforts at home and with Aunt Jen. She can memorize the spelling list (most of the time), but struggles in math and on tests. We are going to try a few different ideas to see if we can help her succeed a bit more. She’s got a wonderful teacher, and we are very thankful for Autumn. We just wish that school wasn’t quite so hard for her. We are praying for wisdom, yet again, as we strive to help yet another child with learning struggles. (I really want to go back to school to pursue that Master’s in Special Education!) We know that God has a perfect plan for her, and we covet your prayers as we try to help her. We want her to succeed but more important than school is her relationship with her Heavenly Father. Please pray that she will grow in grace, be sweet, be kind, and love Jesus. 

We had our family photos done yesterday as it’s been several years since that happened! The boys were not particularly excited, but I told them that it was part of my Christmas present so be happy! Michelle did a great job, and we were done in about 40 minutes! The boys and Emma were thrilled about that part, and I’m happy to have Christmas presents to give my parents. These years are flying by, and next year Garett will be taking senior photos- I’m so not ready for that!

I have a special prayer request as our friends, the Everett’s will be moving soon. Please pray that I’ll be able to learn a lot about cheer really quickly. Also, please pray for the hearts of all our children. We’ve been best friends for almost a year now, and it’s going to affect all of our children. We pray for strong, solid relationships for them, and that they will see God through it all. Please pray for this winter sports season- it’s hard to not feel overwhelmed!

God is faithful! As I wrote out my salvation testimony this past week, I was again reminded of the goodness and faithfulness of God. He loves you. I hope that you feel wrapped in God’s love this week. 

Photo credit: Michelle Dawson (I took only the one in the bottom right corner)