Christmas Break!

 

We blinked. Just like that Christmas break is over, and tomorrow we are going back to schedules, routines, school, basketball, and another semester of school! Tomorrow morning is probably going to be a bit of a rough wake-up call as we get back to school and work, but we made some great memories. It was a good break for our family, and it provided a much needed reset for my mental health and clarity. 

As you might remember, I mentioned in our previous post (Here), we planned to take a trip to Maine over Christmas break. We left on Christmas Day about mid-morning, and made it to New Haven, CT., on Christmas Day. We arrived in Maine on Thursday, and we were all excited to see snow on the ground! My boys had been praying that there would be some snow in Maine, and when we arrived, there was snow! God provided safety in our travels, as we went through many of the major cities on the east coast including, Washington, DC., Baltimore, New York City, Hartford, and Boston! Thankfully, traffic was moving right along, and we did not run into any bad weather or traffic. We arrived in Maine on Thursday afternoon, and we headed right to Hannah and Josh’s house. Our kids were all excited about seeing their cousins, and they tromped around outside for a good chunk of the afternoon. Hannah had arranged for a photographer to take family photos while everyone was together. Originally the pictures were supposed to be on Monday afternoon, but it was supposed to rain on Monday! We were able to reschedule the pictures for Friday afternoon, so that meant coordinating clothes for fifteen people. We did have to take a trip to Sam’s Club, but we managed to get clothing that didn’t completely clash. Josh had cleaned out his closet, and Hannah had saved the bag of clothes instead of hauling it right to Goodwill. She saved it as she thought some of our boys could use some of the items. They sure did! The boys borrowed clothes, boots, and coats from the bag all week long! We ended up trading with some of our jackets, and that Goodwill pile sure did come in handy! 

Our family headed down the coast towards Owl’s Head for Thursday night as a friend of Roger’s had offered to let us use his house for a few days. It worked out really well as we were able to catch up with some of our Maine friends over the next few days. I met with my friend, Allison, on Friday morning, and we chatted our way through a quick two hour visit over coffee and a walk around town. It was good to catch up in person. We are terrible about actually calling each other, and we are not much better at texting! The boys’ friend, Austin, came over to spend the day with them on Friday, so that was a fun time for them. Roger and Garett went to visit Penobscot Island Air (where Roger used to work) on Friday morning, and they even caught a flight out to Matinicus. Since we’ve been gone, the company has undergone some changes. Roger’s boss passed away in 2020, and our life was abruptly turned upside down. Through a series of events, Roger took a job in Michigan in the fall of 2021 while the kids and I stayed in Maine as I was teaching and the kids were in school. We didn’t end up in Michigan as we had planned, but instead we arrived in North Carolina in the summer of 2022. We were a little battered and bewildered as to what God was doing, but God is always good. Anyways, back to our Maine visit…it was good to see the company thriving again. They have a new hanger, lots of new faces, and I think it was also a time of healing for Roger. Roger was able to see in person that the company was doing well, and that several needed and good changes have taken place. I stopped in for a visit on Friday mid-morning, and I was able to say “hi” to a few people that I recognized, and I was introduced to the new chief pilot who promptly told me that if Roger ever wanted to come back, he would have a job. While I surely don’t know that that is what God has for us, it’s always nice to feel welcome and appreciated, and it was good for Roger to hear that. 

We survived family pictures on Friday afternoon…in the snow…with all fifteen of us. The weather was actually quite nice as the wind wasn’t blowing, and the sun was shining. Since we were already paying for pictures, we asked the photographer to shoot a few extras of Garett for his senior photos. (Might as well get it all done at once!) Also, for all those that sent us a Christmas card- thank you! You can expect a family card and Garett’s senior photos all in the same envelope around April! :) We had a great photographer who was able to get all the photos we needed or wanted in under 90 minutes. We are excited to see how they turned out, but everyone was also glad to go back to Aunt Hannah and Uncle Josh’s for pizza!

Saturday morning found four of our kids and I visiting with some school mates from Travis and Emma’s classes. We didn’t really plan anything ahead of time for our time in Maine as I wasn’t sure how the week would unfold. However, I reached out to my friend, Claire, and she welcomed the kids and I for a morning of visiting. It was good to catch up on school events, her kids, life, and the kids seemed to just connect right back. Roger and Garett were able to catch up with another one of Roger’s pilot friends, and that was a good time for them. We had invited our friends, the Davis’s, for supper on Saturday evening. I made a big pot of soup, and we sat and fellowshipped for several hours. Jess and I had taught at the same school our last year in Maine, and we had really hit it off. Tim and Jess have four kids, and our children also seem to really enjoy visiting together.  Allison and Jason and their girls came over in the evening as well, and we fellowshipped and laughed until 11:00pm! Our family had made several really great friends during our six years in Maine, and it was good to catch up in person. While we were all a little tired on Sunday morning, it was an evening well spent together. 

We flew around in a flurry of activity on Sunday morning, as we cleaned up the house we had been staying in and prepared for church. We were able to worship with friends at our home church on Sunday morning. Lots of smiles and hugs as we were greeted by so many that remembered us. “How the kids have grown!” That was the most common statement, and yes, the boys and Emma have grown a lot in 2 1/2 years! Several faces were missing as we greeted those we knew as several of our older dear friends have passed on to Heaven. I saw grief-filled faces as I hugged a few of my older friends, and it was a reminder that whether we like it or not, time marches on. Heaven grows sweeter every day. 

Our friends, Nick and Hannah, invited us over for lunch after church on Sunday morning. Hannah and Nick have five of their own kids, we have five, and Tim and Jess have four! The house was brimming with laughter, voices, the smell of delicious food, and families fellowshipping together. Whew! It was a fast visit as we knew that we needed to get to Hannah and Josh’s house later that afternoon. Before we left the Rockland area, we made on more last stop. We pulled into the driveway of Terri Waters later that afternoon, and so many memories came flooding back. When Kevin was alive, we had spent several holidays together, time at their lake cabin, family birthday parties, dinners together, and so many precious memories. Terri welcomed our tribe with a smile and a hug, and we wish that we had had more time to visit with her, but it was good to see her. She sold the company last year, and I think it was a good move for her. Life can change in the blink of an eye, and that is certainly what happened in 2020. It is so comforting to rest in the fact that God doesn’t make any mistakes. His plan is always the right one. I may not like His plan at the time or perhaps even for years to come, but He doesn’t make mistakes. I’m thankful that we were able to stop in to give a hug and a smile to Terri while we were in Maine. 

We spent the rest of the week up by Hannah and Josh. A friend of theirs had offered to let us sleep at their house, so that was really helpful. We love each other, but fifteen of us in the same house can be a lot! Monday was a rainy, dreary day, so we pretty much puttered around in the morning talking and drinking coffee at Hannah and Josh’s house.  Everyone was kinda getting a little stir crazy in the afternoon, so we went out and looked around at a few different places. My parents stayed at Hannah and Josh’s house, and they probably were not sad to see us leave with eight children in tow! 

Tuesday was a beautiful morning, and while the ground was wet and muddy, the sun was shining again! We ended up on a hike with my dad, Hannah and Josh, their kids, Jen, and all our family. It was about a three mile hike through the woods in a preserve. If we had been quiet, we might have seen some wildlife, but certainly not with fourteen of us! Travis shouted loudly at his brothers, who were ahead on the trail, “GUYS, WE HAVE TO BE QUIET TO SEE A DEER!” Um, son…there are no deer for miles around after that! It was a fun morning and everyone got some fresh air. Roger and I, and Garett and Chandler, met up with another couple for lunch in the afternoon. The Peabody’s have been good friends to Roger for years, and they are a special couple to our family. Chandler told me later that he didn’t really remember the Peabody’s but he figured that lunch would be good. He said that he was glad he had come along because after visiting with them, he did remember some good memories…and lunch was good too! 

Garett and Chandler drove down for a youth event that they had been invited to by some friends on Tuesday evening. It ended up being one of the highlights of the trip for them as they were able to re-connect with some of their friends. Soccer is pretty big in that area of Maine, and that is right up Chandler’s alley! They ate food, played games, participated in a soccer tournament (but were unable to finish it as they needed to drive back), and came back tired but refreshed. I’m thankful that Levi extended the invite to them to come, and that Garett and Chan were able to go. 

We packed up our belongings, washed sheets and bedding, and headed for Hannah and Josh’s house on Wednesday morning. It was raining again on Wednesday, and it was a good day to leave as everyone was tired. Hannah fed us (again) and we got on the road to head back to N.C., around eleven am. We made good time, and we stopped around 7:30pm in Bordertown, NJ. That is not a stop we will make again! The pool was not heated, the hot tub was broken, and the room was so dirty that I told my kids not to take off their shoes! We were able to get a different hotel room, but it still wasn’t super clean. We aren’t picky people, but I don’t like some else’s hair on the bed or mud on the floor! Oh well! We survived and continued on the way to home on Thursday. We arrived back around 4;30pm, and everyone was glad to get home. It’s a lot of work to unpack, do laundry, and prepare for reality, but we did it. It’s been good to be home for a few days before heading back to school. We have two weeks of school before we are going to spend a weekend with my Aunt and Uncle in western NC.! 

So…it’s a new year! I’ve been thinking about my goals for the year, the goals for our family, the goals I have for our children, and all the dreams and expectations for the new year. I have a list, and I have plenty of ideas for the new year, but I really want God to be glorified in and through me. I want to encourage and point others to Jesus. I want to help our children understand their need for a personal and growing relationship with Jesus. I want to help them be able to defend and understand what they believe and why. I have a lot longer list of ideas and goals, but these are my starting points. What about you? What are your goals, dreams, ambitions for the new year? I was reading an article that stated that one of the number one ways to succeed in something is to write it down. So…write it down! 

Happy New Year! 

Christmas Break! (December Events and Life)

 “A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices…” I am so thankful for hope in Jesus Christ. These days in December have been flying by so quickly, and it’s hard to believe that Christmas break is here! 

We started off December with a “Night in Bethlehem”. A local church puts together an evening of activities and re-creates what a night in Bethlehem might be like. There’s the opportunity to visit the potter’s house, the spice shop, the jewelry, and the bakery and host of other spots. At each place, you can do a small activity or craft. It’s a fun event that we went to last year, and I planned for us to do it again this year. Emma is still of the age that she enjoys these types of things, and the boys usually do, but whew- the night was an epic failure! I did not set us up well for success as I planned this for an evening after basketball practice. Wyatt and Chandler were very hungry, and it was quite a chilly evening for North Carolina. Everyone was in a rather sour mood by the time we left, and I was mad because no one appreciated Christmas events (in my opinion). After a rather lengthy discussion, I apologized for planning an event on top of an already busy day, and the boys apologized for not having as much patience and grace as they should’ve had. While the evening did not go as I envisioned it in my mind, it was a reminder that we are still in the trenches of parenting these teens, and we have lots of things to work through! 

We have had some fun events that did work out more smoothly! On one Sunday evening, we invited several families over to our house to make cookies and have supper together. Jen made a big pot of chili, and we created lots of sweet desserts and treats! I made caramelized pecans as teacher gifts this year, and while it’s the simplest recipe, these pecans are so delicious! You can see the recipe Here. I double the amount of pecans to the sugar part, and I add some real vanilla extract. I’ll definitely be making this recipe again. 

We also had several basketball games that we attended to watch the boys play this month. Chandler has become quite a good defensive basketball player, and it’s easy to tell that Wyatt enjoys the game. Travis plays on the middle school team, and while they are not that good, it’s fun to watch them play. I’ve been happy to support the cheerleading coach in whatever ways that I can, but I’m also relieved that I’m not responsible for practices, routines, uniforms, and hours of being away from our family. The one thing that I don’t really like about basketball is that the season is very, very long. But ya know, we’re already at Christmas break! Garett and Travis both were chosen to represent their classes on the Homecoming Court in January, so I’ll be going to consignment stores over Christmas break to find them a sport coat. This is an event that takes place in January in which each class from 7th-12th grade picks their classes representatives. In the senior class, several representatives are chosen and Garett was one of them. Travis is the class representative for his class again, and while he’s not exactly excited about dressing up, I’m happy for him. It’s usually a really quick ceremony done at the end of the basketball games. It’s a lot of work and effort for a very short ceremony, and it’s not the way that I would do it, but ya know…no one asked my opinion. Ha! However, it is an honor to be chosen to represent your class, and I’m thankful that Travis and Garett were chosen. We will do our best to have Travis not looking like he’d rather be at the dentist than wearing a suit coat! 

We went to Virginia the last two weekends. The first weekend up there, we helped our friends, the Everett’s move onto the Air Force Base. Garett was helping with a teen event, so he stayed home, but the rest of us went. We worked hard to load the U-haul, drive to the base, unload the U-haul, and we got a lot done in a day! The Everett’s surely could’ve managed without us, but that’s what friends are for, to come along and share in burdens and praises. We came home tired but with full hearts. This past weekend, we all went up on Friday night and on Saturday to enjoy Christmas together. Laura made lots of delicious food, we played racquetball at the gym, decorated gingerbread houses, and shared in laughter and fun. It was a good way to start our Christmas break. 

On the art side of things, we managed to help each student create at least one ornament to give away at Christmas. My middle school class created two ornaments each, and the middle school participated in an art show on the last day of school. Garett is my Teachers Aide in the mornings, and he has sealed and sprayed  a lot of ornaments for me! I am so, so thankful for my art assistant, Kaycee, as she has helped me be organized with all these ornaments and trying to help keep the art room picked up. I am very thankful for all of her help, and the fact that she doesn’t complain about all my crazy ideas! 

On the Library side of things, we focused on library books about Christmas and this season. We played a scavenger hunt in the library by hiding all the pieces of the Nativity for each of our classes. They enjoy looking for the pieces, and placing the character back in the scene. One character did get dropped, and Joseph’s head fell off, but we glued it back together! If you’re familiar with the Mercy Watson  books, there is a Christmas book about Mercy the pig. We also read Christmas in the Big Woods, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and a bunch of other books. I feel like library has had to take a little bit of a back seat this year as I balance out Middle school art and Elementary art, but again, I have a great assistant in library too. Jennifer Wade has helped keep the library organized and running smoothly, and she keeps up with books that need to be returned, and she has managed to extend the shelf life on some of our most popular books with lots of book tape and glue! I am very thankful for her too. 

We have plans to go to Maine for part of Christmas break to see my sister, husband and their kids. My parents are also planning on coming to Maine, so all of my families side will be together for the first time in probably almost ten years. I’m excited about all having all of us together, and the boys are hoping for snow and ice. 

Continued (12/25) 

I had plans to finish this blog post before Christmas, but here we are and I’m still writing! We are currently in the van traveling north towards Maine. We’ve savored and treasured our first few days of Christmas break, and created memories with our family. 

On Sunday evening, we were invited over to our friend’s house, the Kennedys. We enjoyed delicious food, fun games, and even a time of singing Christmas carols. It was a really great way to start Christmas break. Jen ended up with three of our boys going home with her, and Chandler asked me if his friends, Nicholas and Eli, could spend the night at our house. I was thankful that I was able to say “Yes” on a whim. Sometimes I feel like these three boys struggle to fit in with the youth group, and while they all have different and unique personalities, I’m glad that they were able to play video games, eat more food, and share laughter together. 

Jen and I did some Christmas shopping with Emma on Monday also. We pick names in our family, so each family member has to pick gifts for someone else in our family. I usually end up finding out who everyone has just by the process of helping finding gifts or getting a bargain for someone. Emma had Chandler’s name, and while she had a few little things for him, she wanted to get him something else. We used to put a monetary limit on the gifts, but now that all the boys have their own jobs and money, we kinda just let them pick out the gifts that they think they’re person would like. I was pleasantly surprised to find that several of our children really did go above and beyond as they really thought through what their person might like. One day last week, Garett took Chandler to Dick’s Sporting Goods as Chandler needed to find something for Travis. Garett does not like shopping so he did all of his shopping online. Chandler wandered around Dick’s for about thirty minutes, and then bought a sweatshirt for Travis. However, by the time, he got back to school, he asked me to return it. Chandler said that he thought that Travis would like the sweatshirt, but since he couldn’t wear it to school, Chandler wanted to look for somethings else. I told Chandler that I would return the sweatshirt, and we could look for something else. Travis had hinted around that he would like like a basketball backpack that he could put his shoes in. So Chandler and I went online on Thursday evening to try to find a backpack that would be perfect. At first the only color that was available was in white, and if you know anything about Travis…white is not the color for him! However, we were able to find a backpack in navy blue. I told Chandler that I didn’t think that the backpack would arrive in time for Christmas, but much to our surprise the backpack did arrive in time!

 Travis had my name for a gift, and he kept telling me that he and dad were going to do shopping together. My sister, Jen, offered to help him, but Travis wanted to go with Roger. Finally on Tuesday mooring, Travis and Roger had the opportunity to go Christmas shopping. Travis already knew what he wanted to get for me, and he brought his money and his ideas along. Roger said that he pretty much was just the driver, as the first place they went to did not have exactly what Travis was looking for. Travis bought me AirPods with his own money. It really was one of the sweetest gifts I’ve ever received as he really thought about what I might like, and he was willing to spend a good chunk of his own money to get me AirPods. He could’ve bought me the off brand, and that would’ve been fine, but he told Roger that he wanted to get mom something nice. I really do love that sweet boy! (He can drive me crazy faster than lightening, but I love him so much!) 

We also had some “not so Christmasy” moments on Tuesday, and we ended up having a bit of a loud family discussion. I didn’t think the kids were being helpful around the house, and I told them they were acting “entitled”, which led to a whole conversation! After much discussion, I finally had all the kids sit at the table and write down their blessings and praises from 2024 and their goals for 2025. It was a much needed reset for all of us, and I was blessed by reading over their lists. One son said that one of his goals for 2025 was to “not be such a grinch”. One son said that he wanted to not eat so many sweets. They had lots of praises in family, teachers, food, etc. It’s just so easy to develop an ungrateful heart, and we needed to reset our hearts and attitudes on what really matters…loving Jesus and loving others. 

Christmas Eve found us at Aunt Jen’s for delicious food, fellowship, playing on the Wii, and opening gifts together. Having Aunt Jen live close to us has been a gift in and of itself. She pours into our kids, feeds them often, and we are so thankful for her. We are very much looking forward to spending time with my other sister and her family in the next few days as well as my sister, Jen, and my parents. 

We woke up this morning, and savored some family time together over coffee and conversation. I’m reminded so often of how quickly these years are fleeting by, and I just want to stop and treasure these moments. God was so good to provide a Redeemer for us in sending His Son to earth. While I love the story of Jesus’s birth, the story is incomplete if we fail to recognize that this is the Saviour of the World. Without Jesus, I would have no hope for today, tomorrow or eternity. But I know that Jesus provides hope, peace, security, redemption, forgiveness, grace, mercy, sanctification and so much more. I am confident that my eternal salvation rests in Jesus, and that I have a home in Heaven. I serve a great God! 

I had big plans to write a Christmas letter, create cards, and send them out. But here we are, and not one of those things has happened! We are planning on taking family photos in Maine, so at this point in time, I’ll be sending a letter, family photo, and Garett’s graduation announcement all in one envelope! But, we love and appreciate each one that has invested in our lives and the lives of our children. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

This is one of my favorite songs this season. 

November Moments: Wisconsin, Hunting, Voting, & Grateful Hearts

 

Update: I started the post on the way to Wisconsin, and I’m trying to wrap it up on the way back to North Carolina. This post will feel a little “muddled” and messy, but I don’t really want to go back and change the subject and verb tenses in what I already wrote! :)  Jen, Emma, Wyatt and I arrived in Wisconsin on Wednesday afternoon, and we froze for the entire time we were in Wisconsin! It was cold while we were there, and I no longer have the jackets and winter gear to be dressed for the elements. I went for a run on Thursday afternoon, and I was quickly reminded that it’s been a minute since I’ve run in 26 degree weather!

The other three boys and Roger arrived in Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon, and the boys spent lots of time hunting this past week. We ended up with five deer total over the course of the week, and I am very thankful for that as it’s meat in the freezer. Wyatt got to shoot his first deer on Friday afternoon, so that was exciting for him. The older two boys are definitely more into hunting than the younger two. I’m pretty sure that Travis came along with his older brothers last weekend because he wanted to miss two days of school rather than the opportunity to go hunting! Wyatt had decided to stay behind until Jen and I and Emma left on Tuesday afternoon as he wanted to play in Monday night’s basketball game. We left on Tuesday afternoon, and we drove until a little after eleven pm. We turned around to leave Wisconsin around noon on Saturday afternoon. It was a quick visit, but I’m thankful for the opportunity to visit with my parents, and spend time with my family. My dad recently had an “unsettling” doctor’s report, and it was good to visit with my parents. Every time we visit, it is a reminder that we are all getting older and that time is fleeting. 

A few highlights from the trip would include the fact that Chandler got a really nice buck on Wednesday morning. Garett had sat in that exact stand the previous two days, and he decided to switch stands with Chandler on Wednesday morning. Of course that was the morning that Chandler got the buck! Chandler ended up with two does and a buck. Wyatt shot an anterless buck, and Garett got a doe. Travis didn’t shoot at anything and neither did Roger. Garett and Chandler both missed a deer earlier in the week too, but we are thankful for a safe and successful hunt. It was a long and tiring week for the boys as they got up every morning at 4:30am to go sit in the stands for a few hours. They would come home and eat, process any deer that had been shot, and then go back out in the afternoon for a few hours. My dad has invested some time, energy and effort into making a few nice deer stands. I always tell the kids that times sure have changed! When I was a kid and  went hunting, I had to sit on a metal tree stand in the woods that barely held me, and I remember dropping my book out of the tree stand and just having to sit there and count leaves! Now the boys have the opportunity to sit in an enclosed stands and a few of them even have a little heater in them! Times have changed! :) I’m thankful that the have the opportunity to hunt, but I’m more grateful that they have the opportunity to spend time with their dad and Papa in this way. They made good memories this past week, and I know they’ll look back on these moments with fondness. We are coming back to North Carolina with tired minds but full and grateful hearts. I’m thankful for my parents and their investment in the lives of our children. 

One of Emma’s highlights from the trip would be getting a pair of Ugg boots! Now if you don’t know what those are, no worries! (I didn’t know until Emma told me about them a while ago) There’s a sweet dear lady who attends my dad’s church, and she loves on Emma. She was chatting with Emma over Thanksgiving dinner, and it came up about these Ugg boots that a lot of kids in Emma’s class have at school. Emma mentioned that someday she would like a pair, but her mama had said that they were too expensive (true story!). Well, this dear Grandma decided to get Emma a pair of Ugg boots. She gave Jen some money to take Emma to the store to pick out a pair of boots. Emma was over the moon excited, and when we took her to the store, Emma tried on several different pairs. I liked the black pair, but Emma picked the traditional brown pair. The boots cost about $65.00 on sale, which is more than I’d ever pay for a pair of shoes for a growing girl! However, Emma came right back to my parent’s house and asked for a thank you note to write to Miss Mary. I’m pretty sure Emma will get her use out of those boots as she’s hardly taken them off since she got them! 

I had a short, very short, visit with one of my best friends on Friday morning. It was the fastest hour and forty-five minutes of the entire year. We rarely talk on the phone, and we aren’t even good at texting each other, but somehow we always fall back into quick conversations when we get together. I’m thankful for Jenna because we always have conversations that make me think. We don’t have superficial conversations, and we talk about things that really matter in life- personal relationships, our relationship with Jesus, deep personal struggles, and laughter and tears. It was a balm to my soul to sit and visit with Jenna, and it was a reminder of how deeply I’ve missed her. We would’ve needed about 24 hours to catch up, and we got less than two, but I’m thankful. 

Roger mentioned on Thanksgiving day that he is thankful for his job. I don’t think I’ve been as thankful as I should be for his job, and it was a reminder that God has been so, so faithful. I didn’t want to leave Maine, but it was a necessity. Roger ended up in Michigan for about nine months while I was in Maine with the kids. The job in Michigan ended abruptly, and God quickly steered us to N.C. What I envisioned and what has been reality have been two very different things! However, God provided a job for Roger that brings him home every night. The job provides for the needs of our family, and maybe, just maybe someday N.C. Will feel more like home. The area that we live in is very much a culture of “born here, raised here, married here, and plan to die here”. It sometimes feels hard to make meaningful relationships because everyone already has enough friends, and truthfully,  we don’t always fit in. We have created a few friendships with others, and friendships take time to grow…and I’m not always very patient! While the boys may fight and scrap with each other, they do have each other. Our family has become closer in the past few years, and I’m beginning to have a sliver of hope that maybe they’ll end up liking each other! We, as a family, are very thankful that Jen has moved to North Carolina. She’s invested in the lives of our children in an irreplaceable way, and I’ll forever be grateful for God’s mercy in moving her into our lives on a daily basis. We have so much to be thankful for on a regular daily basis, and sometimes I fail to be as thankful as I should be. My heart is filled with selfish tendencies that tend to outpour of me and into our children. Whew- if ever I see my shortcomings, it’s when I look at our children! I want them to be like Jesus, but so often I fail to point them to Jesus. I do know that He is the only One that can change hearts, and I have a child that I am find myself praying for more often. These teen years can be hard, and did you know that by the time a child is fourteen they will have mostly decided what they will believe in for the rest of their lives?! I have no time to waste, as I desire to help our children grow in their personal relationships with Jesus Christ.   I am thankful for Roger. He’s a faithful and patient man, who loves his family with all his heart. He sacrifices for us on a regular basis, I am so thankful for his consistency. I am blessed to be his wife. 

Thanksgiving is behind us now, and with just a mere three weeks til Christmas break, it’s going to be a wee bit crazy! The older I get, the faster time seems to fly. And I just want to hang on to all the memories, but it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season. I’m doing an Advent devotional book with our family, and I’m praying that our children will grasp the importance and significance of this season. There’s a lot of shiny, sparkly babbles dangling in front of us every day during this season, but I want to make sure that we spend time with Jesus. 

The post below was written on the way TO Wisconsin: 

Here we are almost through November, and it’s been a crazy busy month! Although to be fair, I feel like that is often my opening statement when I’ve gone a while without writing a post! I would love to do a better job of keeping up, but the truth of the matter is that I am often tired after a day at school- shocker! 

In the past month, Roger and I went on a cruise with some dear friends of ours; we had dear friends from Wisconsin visit us; we started basketball season, hosted a book character day at our school library, made lots of lesson plans, started some Christmas baking, and did a bunch of other things that I have no hope of remembering! 

The day that the boys wrapped up their soccer season is the day that Roger and I left along with Laura and Justin for a six night cruise in the western Caribbean. Some would say that it’s not ideal to cruise during the hurricane months of September and October, but I’m here to say that we had a fantastic experience! We had beautiful weather, the cruise was much cheaper because it was during hurricane season, and the ship was a great one. I’d definitely cruise again during hurricane season. Yes, I know that some people do have rough seas experiences, and that definitely could have happened to us. But since our anniversary is at the beginning of September, and we usually can’t get away to celebrate til after soccer season, I’ll just continue to take the cheap cruises and pray hard for nice weather! Roger and I are the most un-loyal  cruise line people as we don’t base our trips around cruise lines, destinations, or the ships. We base it off  what is cheapest around the time we’d like to go! This time we cruised with Carnival Cruise Lines, and for this particular cruise, it was nicer than the Royal Caribbean cruise we went with last time. We visited the ports of Ocho Rios, Jamaica as well as Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico. My favorite stop was at Grand Cayman. It was very clean on the island, and it felt like a very safe environment. We did not book any excursions at any of the ports because this was a trip on a budget, but you don’t always have to have a plan to have a fun time! I kinda wanted to go snorkeling at one of our stops, and we were able to do that at Grand Cayman. We got off the ship and wandered around, and about a half-mile from the port, we came across a little dive/snorkeling shop. Justin asked about the cost, and the cost was $15.00 per person to snorkel for as long as we’d like. Yes, please! The water was beautiful and warm, and we saw so many colorful fish! It was one of the highlights of the trip for me, and I wouldn’t mind going back some day. Has anyone ever cruised with Margaritaville at Sea? They offer “free” cruises for emergency responders, which Roger is, and I’m tempted to check into it.  Dreaming of my next cruise is always a fun things to do, but meanwhile, we are back in the thick of reality! 

We came back from our cruise on a Saturday, and we jumped right back into the craziness of the winter sports season. The following weekend after our cruise, we had our friends, Jared and Beka, come for a visit for a few days. We don’t see them nearly often enough, and it was so good to catch up on each other’s lives for a bit. The hours went by way too quickly, but it was a reminder of how dear these friends are to us. 

Our school library hosted a “Book Character Day”. This is our third year doing this event, and it’s always a fun one for the students. The students that are in fourth grade and up have to bring their book along with dressing up as their character. The younger students just get to pick a book character. The character can be real or fictional, and it’s so fun to see their creativity. I was “Anne of Green Gables” this year. We have the students go around in a “parade” on the outside of our school building, and the parents get to see all the costumes. It a fun, quick event that is relatively easy to do! I’m thankful for my library assistant, Jennifer. I know she’s taken on a lot this year as it’s been a challenge to balance lesson plans for both art and library. She’s been a blessing to me this year, and she has stepped up many time to help me prepare and plan for our library lessons. 

Of course we also had a very important presidential election that took place in early November. This was Garett’s first time voting, so that was a special moment for him. His one question after doing early voting with me was “Why can’t the people writing the referendums use plain and simple English?” Haha! Well, I’ve also wondered that a few times over my voting experiences. Most of the time, not all the time, but a lot of the time, I feel like I can safely vote “no” on the referendums. I don’t want anything that states “ a million dollar bond over x amount of years”…that’s code for “your taxes will increase to pay for this”. Although, there was a referendum this time that we did want to vote “yes”on (at least in my opinion). I do think that you should need to be 18 years old to vote and that you should be a citizen of the United States of America. I’m very, very thankful for the opportunity to vote, and I think it’s a privilege that many American citizens take for granted. Garett has put in a request via the Senator’s office to attend the Presidential Inauguration, but I’d be shocked and amazed if he was able to get tickets to attend. But I think it’s pretty cool that he wanted to attend. We will see. 

One person that I am also thankful for this Thanksgiving season would be my art assistant. Kaycee has put up with many, many crazy ideas as we teach art to 230 kids on a weekly basis! It’s important to me that our students realize that Christmas is not all about “getting”, so we try to help our students create an ornament that they can give at Christmas. This means craziness as we mixed up salt dough for our kindergartners thru second graders to make ornaments! But Kaycee supports me in this crazy adventure and just smiles and mixes more dough for each class. I didn’t know who would be my art assistant when I took over teaching art two years ago, but God brought Kaycee into my life. I pray that I’ve been able to pour into her, support her as she raises young children, and pray over her and her marriage. As I teach my students the names of God, or tie in Scripture to art projects, Kaycee and I have had many conversations about God and His Word. We need people to mentor us, and we need people to pour into. There are days when I know I exasperate Kaycee and drive her crazy, but I am thankful for a great co-worker. Sometimes it’s easy to feel not included as “just a specials teacher” as someone recently told me, but yet God gently and kindly points me back to what matters right in front of me and that’s pointing my students to Jesus on a daily basis. 

In closing, we have much to be thankful for on a day to day basis, and when we take time to reflect back over the last year, we wouldn’t be able to remember all the goodness that God has bestowed upon us. May we have a grateful heart this season, and I’m praying for opportunities to show others the love of Jesus in tangible ways this Christmas season. I’m open to suggestions! 

I know that I shared this song in a post not long ago, but I really have enjoyed this song. 

Soccer Championships and Reflections on the Month of October!

 What can I say?! We’ve been busy! The month of October has flown by at an alarming speed, and we are finishing up the first quarter of school. We also had a visit from my parents this month, survived “senior” night at school, played in the Championship game for soccer, entered 36 pieces of art in the regional fair, worked several weekends, and now Roger and I are headed away for a few days of rest and relaxation! 

I’m going to work my way backwards through the month, so I’m going to start with the most recent event first! This afternoon, Roger and I are headed towards Miami with our friends, Laura and Justin. We booked a cruise for our 19th anniversary, and we are excited about a week away. Jen is supervising our children, and three of them will stay at her house over the week. Garett and Chandler will stay at home to watch the dog and keep an eye on the place. We had planned to leave around two this afternoon, but the CHAMPIONSHIP soccer game went into double overtime!! 

Yes, for the first time in over two decades the team from our school went to play in the championship soccer game! This was huge for our team, and there were a lot of emotions going into the game today. Roger has poured heart and soul into these boys, and while its had its challenges, the team has come so far over the season. We played the game at noon, and at the end of 80 minutes the score was 1-1. That meant there would be 2 ten-minute halves and then it would go to 5 minute intervals with sudden death (first goal would win the game). We went through the first two ten-minute periods without anyone scoring. Then shortly into the 5 minute interval, the other team scored and the game was over. While it wasn’t the outcome that we would’ve picked, the team should hold their heads high as they played great! They worked together as a team, and they held their own against a team that has been in the championship game  the last three years. My favorite highlight from the game was after the game was over and both teams gathered together and knelt on the grass. As the team knelt on the grass, the parents gathered around. It was just a really sweet moment to see two teams that worked so hard in 105 minutes of soccer come together to pray together. While I’m disappointed that we lost the game, the spirit was sweet today and the atmosphere was so much better than yesterdays game. At the awards ceremony, Garett was one of two players from our school team recognized for as an all-conference player. I’m happy that he was recognized as Garett has been a solid player on the team both in his leadership and ability. We will miss our seniors next year, and I”m especially going to miss watching that kid play. He was in tears today as he wasn’t able to play in the championship game- read on as to why. 

Roger has been coaching the soccer team this year along with another young man from our church, Armando. They’ve made a good team, and while the team has certainly had some bumps in the road, the team played some of the best games of their lives this past week! Our team was the #5 seed in our tournament, and they made it to the championship game, which was played today at noon. It’s been a crazy week as we played our first play-off game on Tuesday. We won this game with a score of 1-0. This meant  that we got to advance to the next round, and that game was played yesterday at four pm. We played a team that was not expecting to lose to us, but our team showed up to play and to win. And the team won that game 1-0. It was disappointing to me how ugly some of the comments from the other team were after the game. We are both supposed to be Christian schools, and yet the scene that unfolded after the game was not Christ-like at all. One of the parents from the opposing team was yelling at the referees, and then yelling at our players, and basically yelling at everyone. It was a very poor representation of that school, and we ended up telling our team to “walk away and get in the van. Just walk away”. I understand wanting to win- I like to win! However, at the same point in time, the game won’t matter in a month or a year, but people will remember the actions of someone. Yikes! 

Two weeks ago, my parents drove down from Wisconsin for Garett’s senior night in soccer. They wanted to surprise us, but I figured it out. But I didn’t tell our kids, so they were surprised to see my parents. My parents were able to watch two soccer games, and it was a fast week with them. I didn’t get to spend much time with them, but I’m thankful for the moments that we did have together. The boys won the game that my parents attended on Tuesday night, and that was exciting as it was “senior night”, which was a night to recognize the three seniors on our team. I was able to get a picture of Garett with Nana and Papa, and I’m thankful that they were there for that game. The boys had another game on Thursday night (10/10) and at about 30 seconds into the game, Garett went down with a bang! He laid on the ground for a minute and then hobbled off the field. He was in so much pain for several days, and I took him in last Sunday. 

I’m realizing that this blog post might be confusing to read, but if you’ve made it this far, I’m now writing about Sunday, October 13th. Garett was still in pain, so I decided to take him to the walk-in clinic. We went to the walk-in clinic and they sent us to Emerge Ortho. Thankfully it wasn’t too busy, and Garett was seen in about thirty minutes. The doctor asked what had happened, and then felt on the back of Garett’s hamstring. She said that it wasn’t torn, but he needed to rest it for a while. She said that since he’s 18 years old, he might bounce back quickly. But he needed to keep it wrapped, iced and on crutches for a while. Ugh. Garett was disappointed to hear her say that he couldn’t play for the rest of the season most likely, but I think he knew that was most likely going to be the case. Garett hobbled around on crutches for a few days, and he quickly figured out how to not use them. He’s healing, but not as quickly as he’d like. On Wednesday,  he hopped out of the van when we got home. He turned back towards the van and said, “oh, that hurts.” The next thing I knew he had passed out right beside the van! He dropped like a rock from the intense pain! So yes, he is healing, but it’s slower going than he would like. He was disappointed to not play in the championship game today, but he sure did help the bench players stay engaged in the game and cheer on the team! 

The western side of our state was hit hard by a hurricane at the end of September. The destruction and loss of property and lives has been incomprehensible. Roger flew out to Asheville a few days after the hurricane, and he came home a bit overwhelmed by the amount of destruction and debris everywhere. The clean-up will take longer than we can imagine, and we are praying and looking for opportunities to serve our neighbors in the western part of the state. It’s hard to imagine losing family members, property and earthly belongings in a flood that was a complete surprise. I had my art students write letters of encouragement to those in the western part of our state.  It’s easy to feel disconnected when it’s not your personal struggle, but I want my students to sympathize and show love towards others.  Our church has been busy with gathering supplies and to supply some relief in those areas. 

In my art classes, we’ve been busying studying the 7 elements of art, as well as the names of God. The students know about six names of God inducing, Elohim, Adonai, Jehovah, Jehovah- Jireh, Jehovah Tsaba, and Jehovah Shalom. We took 36 pieces of art to the fair, and we came home with a wide assortment of blue, red, and white ribbons. 

I am so thankful for my art assistant, Kaycee, as she will be filling in for me this week. It is a lot of work to be gone, and I’ve tried to cover everything I can think of as much as possible. I’m sure I missed something, but I’m confident that they will figure something out if I messed up. It’s a lot of work to miss school as a teacher, but we really, really need some time away together. Roger has been busy coaching soccer, and I’ve been trying to keep up with meals, laundry, lesson plans, kids playing soccer (even Emma), cheerleading tryouts,  and working a few Saturdays here and there to help pay for Garett’s upcoming senior trip- whew! I’m excited for a few days away! I’m thankful that Jen is willing to make sure the kids get fed, and that Garett is able to help with transportation. 

It’s been a month with a lot of activity, to be sure. But God has been good, and He’ show Himself strong and faithful. I’m excited to have a few days of rest and relaxation, and to unwind from business to spend time with the man I love and the God I serve. God is good- all the time. 

September Moments and Memories

 The first day of fall has officially come and gone, and today we are experiencing temps in the high 80s! I’m not sure we’re ready for flannels, boots and pumpkin spice, but all those things are out in full force! 

September has been a busy month for our family as the boys have played on the school soccer team, Emma has been playing a little volleyball on Saturdays, plus all the other activities of the school year and season of life.  

The boys have been working hard a school and playing soccer. Roger has sacrificed a lot to be able to coach the boys soccer team, and while I don’t think the boys recognize that to the full extent, it has been a mostly good experience. We are not happy when we lose, and with four boys and a soccer coach all in the same house, sometimes we have to walk away from each other after a lost match! We have one son that is fiercely competitive and wants everyone else to be equally competitive and play the game with the same tenacity that he does. We have one son that is also competitive, and he works hard to become a better player in whatever sport he’s competing in. We have one son that really enjoys the sport, and probably thinks he’s better than he actually is at it, but he enjoys the game. We have one son that is fairly decent at soccer (actually quite good for his age and size), and he shows up and works hard at games and practices, but is often run over by larger players. And we have one soccer coach that wants all his players to do their very best, encourage each other and play the game. Whew! Yup, it’s a lot! We’ve learned a lot this season, and I’m reminded at every game that this is Garett’s final season playing for the team. 

We had several games that have been canceled due to rain, and this past week we had two games back to back. We don’t typically play on Mondays due to the cross country players, but it was necessary this week. The team played terrible on Monday, and no one was happy. However, the team showed up to play the game on Tuesday, and it was a great game to watch. I feel like the soccer refs have been so inconsistent all season, and we never quite know what will or won’t be called. Roger tells his players all the time, “to play til the whistle blows”, and they did just that. There was a lot of whistle blowing at Tuesday’s game, and we ended up with a yellow card for the first time in a long time. A yellow card in soccer is just a warning, but it’s not something you want to get either. I think the ref gave out two yellow cards in the first half so that was a little unusual in itself. In the second half, Garett ended up with a yellow card! I think I was more surprised than he was as that is not Garett’s personality at all. He and another player had been going for the ball, and the ref said that Garett was too rough. Garett got a yellow card for “retaliation”. Now, if this was against his brothers- absolutely! But anyone who knows Garett knows that is not his personality at all. He’s like the gentlest teenager I know, except when riled up by his brothers! But oh well, he got one. Later in the evening, while the team was having supper, our Athletic Director came over to talk to Garett. All yellow or red cards have to be recorded, so he asked Garett about the yellow card. Stephen then told Garett that there was a $75.00 fee per yellow card, and Garett would need to bring the money to school on Monday. Garett looked so crestfallen, but he nodded his head and said, “Yes, sir. Okay.” Stephen pulled it off with a straight face and Garett swallowed it- hook, line and sinker! It was a funny moment, and I’m thankful for laughter and smiles! 

This month I’ve been working hard at preparing art for the regional agricultural fair. I’m teaching Middle School art this year, and whew- that’s a lot of prep, PowerPoints, and trial and error! I wanted the middle school to submit some art to the fair, but we found out that all the art for Middle School and High School had to be submitted two weeks prior to the fair! I was able to round up a few art projects for the fair so at least the school will be represented, but next year we will be better prepared. Our elementary students also submitted art for the fair, and all that had to be dropped off this past week. I breathed a huge sigh of relief to have it all dropped off at the fair! Kaycee (my art assistant) and I matted 24 pieces of art for the elementary art exhibit, and it’s hard to pick out four from each grade when there are 40 kids in some of the grades! But we are excited to see how the art places at the fair this week. 

Any other elementary/middle school art teachers on here? How do you get it all done?! I have a curriculum, but the PowerPoints for each lesson need to be created so that I can use them for future years. Then there’s the prep time for the lesson, the cleanup time, capitalizing on the lesson, while also teaching them about one of the names of God. Throw in preparing for library classes on top of that, and sometimes I think all I dream about it is school! Thankfully, I have a great assistant in both areas, but the amount of time to prepare and plan is sometimes overwhelming. My goal is to get to the place where each class does their own art projects each year and there is no crossing over of lessons from grade to grade, but we aren’t there yet! And I love curriculum and following a lesson, but it doesn’t take too long to figure out that not all the lessons will work for either the supplies on hand or the students. Life is an adventure and teaching can be a wild ride! I never, ever envisioned myself teaching art classes (and I’m sure my family didn’t either) but I’ve actually really enjoyed the challenge for the most part. I know that even my first graders can tell you the three names of God that we’ve learned about this year and that there are 7 elements of art! (We are a work in progress!) I love it when my kindergarten class can tell me that “Elohim” means “mighty Creator”, and my upper grades can give a Bible verse to go with that. I know that education is important and learning art it’s important, but the most important thing that I can teach them is about Jesus. I want each of my students to have a deeper relationship with Jesus when school ends in May than they do right now. And so while it’s a lot of hard work, I am thankful for the opportunity to invest in the lives of these students right here and right now. (But, I’d also appreciate your prayers for wisdom and direction.) 

Per usual, we’ve been busy! I worked a Saturday at the farmer’s market earlier this month, and Chandler worked at a pumpkin stand last Saturday. This week we have three days off of school due to fall break, and we are all working at various places the next couple of days. Wyatt, Chandler, myself and Travis are going to be working at an event and then the fair grounds. Garett will probably be able to get a few days working on gutters, and Emma is coming along with someone! Garett is a senior this year, and we are working hard to pay for a senior trip for our family over spring break. All the kids are pitching in a certain percentage of the cost, and we want to pay cash for this pretty big trip…so we work! It’s really been nice that work has been available for our children, and because they’ve worked hard this past summer, they’ve been able to “get their foot in the door” so to speak on jobs for the future. The jobs we are working this week are a direct result of working this past summer. We’ve already picked out Garett’s senior trip, and we’re looking forward to spring break! 

Lest anyone think that all we do is work, we don’t! Roger’s brother, Nate, came for a weekend with two of his kids earlier in the month. While Nate was here, all the boys and Roger and Nate played in a golf tournament for church. Each of our boys was on a different team, but they all seemed to have a really good time. Roger and Nate were on the same team, and it seems like a good time was had by all. Emma and Karis spent the day grocery shopping with me, playing with Sam, and making mud pies in the yard. 

Another weekend this past month, the kids and Roger went to Virginia to visit the Everett’s. I stayed home as I had already committed to work at the farmers market, but it was really nice to have a quiet evening at home. While I missed the opportunity to visit with the Everetts, I was very thankful for the time spent at home by myself. 

After fall break, we have the wrapping up of the soccer season in October, and then then next sport right around the corner! We are planning on going to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving, and all the boys are dreaming of deer hunting and time spent with Nana and Papa. 

We’ve had some very warm days in September, but it looks like cooler weather is coming soon. We had a lot of rain this fall, and that was a blessing for Roger. It’s easier for him to take off of work to coach the soccer team if fires are not blazing. And since we’ve had a wet fall, it’s been quiet at Roger’s work. 

We have three names of God that we’ve been working on learning in Art classes. Elohim, Jehovah, Adonai. 

“Elohim” - Mighty Creator. Genesis 1:1

“Jehovah” - I am Who I am (God’s personal name and a reminder that He is enough) 

“Adonai” - The Lord is my master (Even the mountains will melt like wax at the name of Adonai) Psalm 97:5 

Celebrating a Birthday, an Anniversary and an Adoption! God is Good!

 Good by August and hello September! Summer is fading and fall is coming. (We’ve had a few cooler days, which has given us a taste of fall days to come.) We’ve had four soccer games, and we’ve won one, tied two and lost one. The three oldest boys are at the annual High school retreat, so we are soaking up some time with just two at home. 

Garett turned 18 last Friday, and I’m still trying to wrap my mind the fact that he is 18 years old. We were supposed to have a soccer game on his birthday, but it ended up cancelled due to thunderstorms. It was a bit of a mixed blessing as then we were able to go out to dinner for Garett’s birthday, but it was a bummer that the game was cancelled. 

Last Thursday, Jen and the three youngest kids had planned to fly out to Maine for the adoption of Hannah and Josh’s kids. We ended up leaving right from Thursday’s game (before it had even ended), so Wyatt and Travis were hot and smelly, but they had a plane to catch. I took them to the airport, while Roger finished coaching the team (we ended that game in a tie). I dropped them off at the airport in plenty of time and headed home. The airport is just over an hour from our house, and I was almost home when Jen called me. The flight leaving Raleigh was delayed, and flights were grounded in Washington D.C., due to storms. Jen said that the flight delay might cause them to miss their connection in D.C., unless that plane was also delayed. She said that the gate agent said that they would make an update at 8:30pm. (The flight was originally supposed to leave at 8:03pm). I said that we would pray that the flight would take off, and I was going to continue home. At 8:30pm, Jen called me to tell me that the flights were still delayed, but it was unlikely that they would make the connection in D.C. She had asked the agent when the next flight to Maine would be, and the agent said that the next flight in would be on Saturday morning! Um- the adoption was Friday at 3:00pm! Jen asked the agent where the closest flight to Maine would be…Boston, Portland, ME, etc. The agent said, “we can get you to Philadelphia by about 5:00am on Friday morning.” That’s the closest?! Apparently due to the holiday weekend, and overbooked flights, there were not any options. The agent said that at 10:30pm, they would make one more update to see if the flight would leave that night. Jen called me around ten pm,  and told me that nothing was looking promising. She said that I should probably think about heading back to the airport to pick them up. Roger offered to go with me to the airport, so we told the oldest two to go to bed, and we headed back to the airport. We arrived to pick up four very disappointed people at about 11:30pm, but there was nothing that could be done. Maine is too far to drive on a whim, and it would be about impossible to get there by the adoption at 3:00pm. Jen said that she was not planning on going into school on Friday since she had already made sub plans for the day. Emma quickly asked if she could stay home with Aunt Jen! Wyatt and Travis asked if they could come into school later, early enough that they could still play in the soccer game, but late enough that they could sleep in. It was 1:30am by the time we had dropped Jen off at her house as well as the three youngest kids. It was a short night on sleep as Garett, Chandler and I were back out the door to school by 7:00am! I’m not sure why God didn’t allow them to get to Maine for the adoption, but I know there’s a Master plan in there somewhere. We were all disappointed as well as Hannah and Josh’s kids, but it is what it is. We had already planned to spend some of Christmas break in Maine, so we are all looking forward to that.  We are thankful that the adoption went off without a hitch, and that now we officially  have two nieces and a nephew! Praise the Lord! 

Chandler had the opportunity to attend a Duke football game on Saturday evening with a few other boys from school. Nicholas had invited Chandler to come with them to the game after the soccer game. Well, the game ended up being cancelled, so that worked out well for the football game. I’m thankful that Chandler has a few good friends in his class that he can spend time with at events like these. I’m thankful for Nicholas’s parents investing in Chandler’s life as well. The older I get, the more I appreciate those the mentor and invest in the lives of our children. 

On Saturday morning Roger and the two oldest boys went to play golf with the Everett’s. Travis, Wyatt and Emma stayed home (since they originally thought they would be in Maine). Emma and I went grocery shopping, and spent some time cleaning the house. We made plans to go to the beach on Sunday afternoon with the Hardison’s, so we gathered up all the beach stuff for that as well. 

Sunday afternoon found us looking for a parking spot on the beach! I had no idea that half of the state of North Carolina would also be at the beach on Sunday afternoon before Labor Day! Roger and Stephen ended up dropping us off by the beach, and then parking the vehicles a ways away. We found our spot and got all set up around three pm., and by 4:00pm, there was a shift as people started to leave the beach. We enjoyed the afternoon fellowshipping, relaxing, eating, and playing in the ocean. Another family also joined us at the beach, and there were nine boys…and Emma! We stayed until around 7:00pm when everyone was water logged and filled with sand. It was a beautiful day to be at the beach, and I’m thankful that we took the time to go. Since everyone was working so much this summer, we really didn’t get to the beach at all. Even though it was crowded when we arrived, a good time was had by all. 

Monday was our 19th wedding anniversary. Whew! And where did time go!? It was nice to have the day off of school for our anniversary since it was Labor Day. When we got married 19 years ago, I definitely wasn’t thinking about a school calendar to work around down the road! It was not the most exciting anniversary in the world, but ya know…it’s okay. We have plans to celebrate our anniversary by getting away for a few days in October (after soccer season is over), so it is okay to have a very low key day. Roger had to get some goalie glove glue for one of his soccer players, so we made a trip to get that. We brought along the “tribe”, but I’m recognizing more and more that these moments of all of us together are quickly fleeting! 

We had a soccer game on Tuesday night, and it was rough! Last week the team had three games and no practices. They went right into the game on Tuesday without a practice, and it was rough. Lots of miscommunication,  frustration, and aggravation amongst the team. We don’t like to lose in this household,  and with having four players and the coach in the same house…well! We had a lot of big emotions and feelings last night! Some hurtful things were said to each other, and apologies had to be made, and sometimes the best thing to do is to send everyone to bed!! The four boys share a room, so sometimes we have to say, “You can’t talk to each other until tomorrow.” Usually the boys will stay up for a while talking, but its typically about the day or an event, and I don’t mind as their usually in bed plenty of time to have a little conversation with each other. However, last night was not that night. Last night was the night where we say “just stop talking. Stop talking. Not another word. Brush your teeth and go to bed.” Just happens in our family or yours too?!  

I had a special moment on Sunday morning when another mom came up to me. She mentioned that she has a son in 7th grade, and Garett had gone out of his way to include him during teen evangelism. (Teen evangelism happens on Wednesday afternoons, and Garett hasn’t gone in a while. But the youth pastor asked him to go last week, so Garett went.) She told me that she was just so thankful that Garett had been kind to her son and included him and didn’t seem annoyed. It was just so kind for another mom to take the time to speak kindness to me. We are so, so far from “having it together”, and I’m on the struggle bus every single day. But it encourages me so much when someone else speaks words of kindness and encouragement to me about our children. It made me tear up, but it was a special way to start the day. It was also a reminder to me to speak kindness to other moms around me. We all need encouragement and uplifting from time to time, and I want to “speak love and light” to others. 

This week found us in full swing at school as middle school art started this week. I have 37 middle school students that are in Middle school art. This is a whole new ball game from teaching elementary art, and I want to do it well. I’m taking the same principles of introducing the names of God to these students as well, and we are working through elements and principles of art. Travis is in one of my middle school art classes, and he’s sure to keep me humble on the job I’m doing. :) I never have to worry about what Travis is thinking as his face will show it or he will just say it. But it’s good to have feedback, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to invest in my own child as well as in the lives of 200 plus other ones! 

Through it all, God is good. Life is full of uncertainties and disappointments, and we faced some of those this past week. But we also celebrated Garett’s 18th birthday and our 19th wedding anniversary. God is good. 

Names of God: Week #1 

August - School, Soccer & Lots of Birthdays!

 Somehow I thought I’d manage to squeeze two blog posts into August, but since there’s only about three days left in August, don’t hold your breath! Life has been busy, but when is it not!? I’m trying to live with intentionality as this is Garett’s last year of high school, and we are facing 4 graduations in the next five years!! I tell Garett often that I’ve never done this before, and he should expect me to cry a lot this year. He said, “okay, mom. But you sometimes cry a lot on years that I’m not graduating.” Um- true that! 

Earlier this month we celebrated Emma’s 11th birthday, then Travis’s 14th birthday and in a few days, Garett’s 18th birthday! Emma had a few friends over on a Sunday afternoon for her birthday, and she was excited about the Barbie dream house a friend had passed on to her. Emma picked salad for her birthday meal, so we had salad with all the toppings and of course, Ice cream cake! Emma is entering fourth grade this fall, and sometimes I struggle with the fact that she is much older than the rest of her class. However, so far that hasn’t seemed to bother her too much, and I pray that will continue to be the case. I remind myself often that she’s exactly where God wants her to be. Our prayer for Emma this year is that she will understand school, love others, be honest, and live for Jesus. She loves to play with younger children, and can often be found playing ‘teacher’ at home. We are so thankful to have her in our lives. 

We started school on August 15th, and I’m not sure that any of us were entirely ready to go back to school, but off we went! As we pulled out of the driveway on the very first day of school, Travis announced, “Well, we only have to do this 175 more times until the school year is done.” One of his brothers promptly told him “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t talk!” Haha! School is not Travis’s favorite thing, but we are praying him to have a great school year and to lean into Jesus. 

I’m teaching elementary art classes to kindergarten through 5th grade as well as a middle school art class and teaching library to elementary students. I’ll be honest, it’s a lot, maybe even too much, and it stresses me out, but I’m going to do my very best at it all. I have a great art assistant as well as a wonderful library assistant, and they’ll help me however they can. But at the end of the day, it’s still a lot of lesson plans, prep, and thinking. I sometimes dream about art classes and books, but I know that God will give strength and energy for every day. I started out the school year with a few days of prep, and that has helped me settle my mind immensely. This week I started teaching students, and we are already starting to work on art projects to enter in at the county fair in just a few short weeks. I tell my students often that I am passionate about God, family and country. Therefore, the art for the fair will be patriotic in nature. I’m excited to see how the projects turn out! I love teaching, but my prayer is that I will pour into my students and point them to Jesus. I start my lessons with prayer and a Bible verse, and this year I plan to focus on the names of God. I remember learning about the names of God during my school/college years, and it impacted me. I am praying that my students will leave the school year knowing Jesus better than when we started the school year. I’d appreciate your prayers!

We had our first soccer game on Friday, August 23rd, at the end of our first full week of school. There is nothing quite like “first week of school tired”, but the boys soccer team started their season with a win! Roger is coaching the soccer team this year, and he has poured a lot of time and energy into the team. It has pros and cons to be coaching the four boys, but for the most part, I think they all enjoy having Roger as their coach. After the soccer game, we hosted the team for a spaghetti supper. Jen had the idea to have supper with the team at school after the game, and we had several parents offer to bring desserts or tea. Most of the team stayed for the supper, and it was a positive way to start the season. There’s been some rough moments, to be sure, but I’m excited for Roger and the team. Garett would especially like to have a winning season as it’s his last sports season, but we will work hard, play hard and give God the glory. 

Travis celebrated his 14th birthday on Sunday, August 25th. He had asked to have over a few families for supper, and he picked out tamales, beans, rice, and chips and dip for his birthday supper. We had about 21 people over for dinner, and it was a lot of boys! I think we had eleven boys here, and they played outside most of the afternoon and evening. Travis seemed to have a good time, and we are thankful for friends to share a meal with at our house. And now for about a week, the boys are 17, 16, 15, and 14…and Emma is 11. Garett will turn 18 in a just a few days, and that’s another thing I’m just not ready for in my life, but here we are! 

The boys had a soccer game last night, and while they didn’t win, they did tie the game. It’s been unusually hot here the past few days (even for N.C.), and they have another game tomorrow evening. Tomorrow Jen is leaving with our three youngest kids to head to Maine. They are flying out tomorrow evening for a very special occasion. (More about that in another post). I had also wanted to go, but with Garett’s birthday, senior pictures for him, a soccer game, and it being such a quick trip, we decided that just the younger kids would go with Jen. We are all planning to take a trip to Maine over Christmas break, so that gives us something to look forward to in December. 

In other news, I’m looking for some advice. I’m in my 40’s now, and I’m getting older every day. I exercise regularly (very regularly), and I eat fairly well. But…yikes! Why is the scale going so fast in the wrong direction?! I know hormones, age and all that, but has anyone found an actually solution?! I’d prefer to not gain any more weight, and I’d love to lose a few pounds (at this point, I’d settle for even losing ounces!). It’s the most ridiculous and frustrating thing I’ve ever encountered! I’m open to any and all suggestions…and I’ve tried some crazy ones! 

We’d appreciate extra prayers as we try to parent older teenagers and point them to Jesus. I realize that so many decisions that they will make in the next few years will have to be their own personal choices and not something I can make for them. They’ll be deciding for themselves to love and serve Jesus.  Statistics  show that 7 out of every 10 church kids born in “generation z” (1997-2012) are walking away from Jesus and the faith. That’s not okay! I’m praying hard and passionately for our children, and please, please pray for our children. Please pray that they will be steadfast, unmovable and abound in Jesus. Please pray that they will understand how to love people and point them to Jesus without being pressured into making bad decisions. Yes, I know that they will make mistakes along the way in their lives (I still do and often), but that they will guard their hearts and love Jesus. 

Thank you for your prayers. 

 

                                                The first name of God that I’m introducing this year. (Genesis 1:1)