A Full Week- Champions, Disappointments, and Life!

 

Fall sports are officially over! Whew! It was a crazy season with lots of ups and downs, but our children certainly learned a lot. We are so thankful for coaches that have invested in their lives. As parents we are so appreciative of each one that invests in our children’s lives for eternity.  

The boys’ soccer team was disappointed to not make it past the play-off game for the tournament, but they are a young team with several years of growth ahead of them. I’m excited to see what the future will hold for them if they work hard and continue to play together. 

The cross-country team finished their season with an amazing grand finale! Yesterday (10/24)  was the state cross-country meet so we pulled all of our kids out of school to watch Chandler run his race. Roger has been busy at work (24 days without rain in this part of N.C.), so he wasn’t sure if he would be able to get off for the race. He did mange to get off for the race. He drove over an hour to watch Chandler run and then an hour back to work. Now that’s a committed father! I don’t think that Chandler probably fully appreciates the sacrifice that Roger made, but someday he will remember that his dad worked hard to come to his state cross-country meet. The boys race was at 1:00pm, followed by the girls race and then the middle school race. It was an afternoon full of races! Chandler had a great run, and so did several of the boys on his team. The boys team finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd as well as 5th and 7th! It wasn’t Chandler’s best time of the season, but he did win the race by quite a few seconds. The boys took home the state trophy for the boys team, while the girls team had a great performance as well that put them into the second place spot. It was an exciting afternoon and a full day!  Chandler also received an award for  having the lowest average of race times all season at just under 20 minutes. We are thankful for the cross-country coach  and the time invested in our child. 

A few other highlights from last week would include lunch with my new friend, Laura, a quick date with Roger, Emma’s opportunity to play at a friends house, the Homecoming Sunday for our local church, and time spent together as a family and with new friends. Last Monday I had the opportunity to have lunch with Laura. We went to this little hotdog place that was literally like stepping back in time. In North Carolina, hotdogs often have chili or coleslaw on them. The prices were reasonable, the food was good, and the company was great! It’s been fun getting to know Laura and her family a little better, and the time flew by! 

Last Saturday, Roger had to work as the fall fire season has been busy. There has not been enough rain this fall, and everything in the area is dry. I took the boys and Emma into school on Saturday morning to watch the championship game for the soccer tournament. After the tournament game, two of the boys went home to play with Laura’s boys. It’s fun to have friends to play football, basketball and be outside with, and we are thankful that Wyatt and Travis have made new friends. Travis especially seems to have a rough class (for yet another year in a row!) and it’s been a challenge to encourage him in the school realm. Both he and Wyatt were disappointed at the Middle School Retreat last week, so we’ve been trying to encourage them to “stay the course” and to be faithful. It’s hard when our children are disappointed are discouraged. While we want them to know that life is not all about them and that life is full of disappointments, we also want them to know that we are looking out for them and advocating for them if necessary. Middle School years are hard! They don’t fit in with high schoolers, but they also don’t feel like they fit in with the “little kids”. Please do keep praying that Travis will be encouraged and continue to work hard even when he’s discouraged.  And also please pray that Roger and I will have wisdom and discernment to be Godly parents! 

On Saturday night, we had kids going in all directions! Garett had been invited to the birthday party of a classmate, Chandler, Wyatt and Travis were going to a teen event, and Emma had been invited over to her friend, Lily’s house. Roger and I had planned to have a date together, but then Roger needed to work. So I dropped off all the kids at various places, and I went grocery shopping! That’s almost like a date when I get to go by myself! Laura and her husband drove my kids and hers to the teen activity, so that was also an added blessing. Roger was able to get off work by six pm, so he came into town to have super with me. It was a quick date, but we were very thankful for the time to have dinner together. Sometimes it feels like we are going many different directions, so getting to actually finish a conversation is a real treat! 

On Sunday our church was hosting it’s “Homecoming” Sunday. That was a word that I wasn’t familiar with being associated with churches until we moved here. I had always heard of “Homecoming” in relation to a high school prom and not a church anniversary Sunday! But apparently fall is the season for “Homecoming services” in the area. I’m pretty sure that we could attend a “Homecoming” service for several weeks straight if we were looking to do that! It was a blessing to fellowship with other believers, hear preaching from God’s Word, listen to good music, and also enjoy a good meal. The church meal featured Eastern North Carolina bbq, which is pork seasoned in a vinegar based sauce (I think). I thought that the meat was okay- probably not my favorite, but I would try it again. Three of my boys thought that the meat “tasted funny”. However, we’ve now been introduced to another North Carolinian food! 

On Sunday night, we had a family from church over to our house. They have four boys and one girls also, so we have a lot in common! Some of their boys are older than our boys, but they all enjoyed playing soccer in the yard together. Our house is nowhere near as “homey” and finished as I’d like it to be, but if I wait until everything is “ready”, we might not ever have people over to our house! We enjoyed an evening of getting to know this family better, and it was nice for our teens to see older young men (out of high school) that are desiring to live for Christ. We need those people in our children’s lives also. 

Yesterday the boys had tryouts for basketball. Travis, Wyatt and Chandler all tried out for the JV team, and  so did a lot of other boys! I know that the two younger boys were disappointed to not make the team, but they are young. It’s hard though when you enjoy sports to not have something like practices and games to help the weeks go by. And it feels like one more disappointment for them. I’m telling you what- middle school is hard! Garett wasn’t sure if he wanted to play basketball or not this year, but he did end up trying out for the team. I’m not sure if he will make it, but he did try out. For our kids, playing sports is an added motivation to work hard in school and keep up their grades. A few of our boys (actually all of them!) have to work hard at school to keep up with grades, homework and all their other responsibilities. I’m thankful that November is just around the corner! 

We are having a “Book Character” day at the school on Monday hosted by the library people. It’s a hard battle to encourage kids to read these days, and we are working hard at encouraging reading. Kids today are so used to being entertained every moment of every day, and I’m pretty sure that some of them have forgotten how to use their imaginations! We are hoping that many children will participate on Monday. Emma has decided to be Laura Ingalls Wilder and I’m going as Mary Poppins. It’s for students in Kindergarten through 5th grade, and these ages are usually pretty easily excited about most things! I’ll give you and up date next week! Last week we had a “pumpkin” themed library day. Jennifer and I made over 200 mini pumpkin muffins. We read a book on growing a pumpkin and the students tasted pumpkin seeds. It was a lot of fun, and the kids seemed happy to come to library so that’s a good start! 

In closing, please keep praying for our children especially. School does not come easily for most of them, so we are trying to help them learn good study habits and how to take good notes! Travis is discouraged about a lot of things , and it’s not his personality to be an “Eyore”.  Please pray that we will know how to encourage him or what to do about his schooling. God is faithful, and I’m so thankful that we serve a God Who never changes! 

Another great song! 

Soccer, Sportsmanship, and School!

 

The last two weeks have been so busy that I wouldn’t be able to say if we were “coming or going”! Soccer is about to wrap up for the season, and I have to say that I am actually looking forward to that! The last two weeks, we’ve had a soccer game or a cross country meet every day of the school week except Wednesdays! At the Monday game last week, Wyatt forgot his game shorts (thankfully, he had an extra pair even though they weren’t quite the right color!). On Tuesday, Travis came to school and realized that he had one soccer cleat and two feet! Um- yes! Thankfully, Roger was able to swing by home to get the soccer cleat before coming to the game. So, we’ve been making it through these long days, but I don’t know that we’ve been thriving! 

Two weeks ago on Saturday, (10/8) signaled  the last of Saturday’s soccer games for Travis and Emma. They were happy that they had the opportunity to play and even Travis ended up enjoying those Saturday mornings. He’s the youngest player on the school’s traveling soccer team, so he doesn’t get a lot of playing time. After the Saturday game, we had our first introduction to Krispy Kreme donuts! We’ve become friends with the Hardison family (they have three boys), and they invited us to come to Krispy Kreme. The boys thought that Krispy Kreme had better donuts than Dunkin Donuts, and we had a great time of laughter and fellowship. 

Nearly two weeks ago, Chandler had a cross-country meet. This one was different than cross-country meets in the past as there were over 500 runners at the meet. The boys race had over two hundred boys running in the race. It was a good race for Chandler as it came him some good, stiff competition. We’ve been wondering if Chandler could break 19 minutes if he was pushed, and he did it! Chandler came in 7th in the meet. He had a time of 18:27, and it was his best run of the season. Roger, Emma and I had to leave after his race so that we could get back to pick up the other boys from soccer practice. Chandler said that he thought he’d like to come home with us, but we encouraged him to stay to get his award. Chandler does not do great getting up in front of people, but this was a positive thing for him to do. We are proud of all the hard work he has put into the season. He has one more race this season, and it’s for the state cross-county meet coming up in a week. 

This past week I’ve felt like we spent a lot of time washing uniforms and finding clean soccer socks. The boys had an away game on Monday, Tuesday, and a home game on Thursday. Chandler had a night cross-country run on Friday. The soccer team got to play a game “under the lights” on Tuesday night, and that was a fun experience for them. It was made even better by the fact that they won the game! We haven’t won a whole lot of games this season, so a win was very exciting! The team is young, and I’m excited to see what the next few years will bring for them as they continue to play together. 

However, if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the season its that I’d rather coach a team of “not the greatest” players than be the coach of some of these teams that have such poor attitudes and a poor testimony. It’s very sad to me that all the teams that we play are in “Christian” leagues, but they surely don’t all act like it. Last week, the referee called out a player for making fun and using poor language against some of the other players. Attitudes like that are often “caught and not taught”. If poor sportsmanship, bad language and poor attitudes are allowed during practice or off the field, that will certainly be carried over into the games. One of our sons made the comment this past week that some of these players act worse than some of the public school kids he played with last year. My word! These things should NOT be! It’s led to some interesting dinner conversations around our table though in the last few days. A student asked me, “Is it morally wrong to be a poor sport?” My answer: “Yes, it is, actually. If our lives are to be a reflection of Jesus Christ, then so should our words and actions.” I was reading a devotional by Charles Spurgeon once and the statement was made ‘Preach the Gospel always, if necessary use words.’ I want my life to be a reflection of my relationship with Jesus Christ. My prayer would be that others would see Christ in me. 

I was able to substitute teach in fifth grade last Friday, and I really enjoyed it. It’s good to get to know the students, and fifth grade is a fun grade- most of the time! It was a long day, and then it was followed by soccer practice and a cross-country meet. Wyatt and Travis had the opportunity to go home with some friends after soccer practice, and that was such a good thing for them. Finding good friends and building new relationships can always be a challenge, so I was glad that they had this opportunity. I often find myself sitting with Laura (the mom of these two boys) at about every soccer game, so it’s been a fun time of laughter and fellowship as of late. Speaking of late, it was a last night! Chandler had a rather rough run on Friday night, but he did it. I don’t think he ate enough during the day, and then running a 5k at 7:30 at night was rough.  But he survived it. Garett, Emma, Roger and I made it to the meet, while Travis and Wyatt were able to hang out with their friends. It was a very late night, but Saturday was on the horizon! 

Also this past week, Garett did his driving with the instructor. He drove the 6 required hours and observed for six. He is now ready to proceed to the DMV to get his permit! (I’m not sure that I am ready for that, but here we are already!) I think that Garett will be a very cautious driver, and it will be nice to not have to sit around for sports practices to be done! I am excited for him, but I’m not sure I’m ready for this new transition! 

Speaking of transitions, the pastor spoke on trusting God on Wednesday night. He was referring to the Israelites getting ready to cross the Jordan River and how that was a time of transition for them. Sometimes during transitions, it can be hard to trust God.The pastor referred to many different types of transitions, and whew- our family has been through a lot of them in recent years. Here are a few:

1) Loss of a loved one (in 2020, Roger’s boss and dear friend died suddenly. It shook the company and his death was the first one that greatly impacted our family)

2) Geographical change- this has happened twice just in the last two years. Last October Roger was taking a job in Michigan. This October our family is in North Carolina. 

3) Family separation- Roger was working in Michigan last school year and I was teaching in Maine. Our family was separated for weeks at a time and that was hard on everyone. 

4) Changes in finances- when God began to reveal that Michigan was not His long-term plan for our family, there was a shift in our financial situation. God has always been faithful. 

5) Family changes- we are transitioning from parenting children to young adults. This is a huge transition as we navigate through uncharted waters. In some ways, parenting young children was easier. The days seemed so long when the kids were young, but now we are working through much deeper issues of the heart. 

6) Church changes- we attended the same church for the six years we were in Maine, and now we’ve had to work at finding a new church home.

7) School and academic changes- we’ve changed schools; I’ve changed job positions; we’ve experienced a whole new set of academic changes and procedures! 

However, through ALL the transitions, God has been faithful. I’ve had my moments where I’ve wondered what God is doing or how this is going to bring glory to His name, but He has been so faithful! I’ve doubted and worried, and God has given peace in the midst of the storms. We serve an amazing God! What a privilege to live my life for Him! 

We spent the weekend recovering from the week! It was nice to have a low key day at home. Of course, I did have to go grocery shopping because everyone still likes to eat! As I mentioned, we are entering the last week of fall sports. The boys have a soccer game tomorrow that they would really like to win. I’d like to see them win this game, butI want them to give God glory no matter what the outcome may be. Wyatt and Travis will be going on the Middle School Retreat tomorrow, and we are praying that God will work in their lives. Middle school can be a challenging time for children, and we are praying that they will be encouraged to live their lives fully for God right now! 

Thank you for your prayers.

Fall Break, Visiting Friends and a Hurricane!

 Happy Fall!! We’ve officially experienced a few fall temps here in North Carolina, and the kids even had to dig out a sweatshirt! Last week was fall break from school, our first introduction to a hurricane, our first visitors (other than family) a few minutes with Roger’s parents, and enjoying a few days off of school! 

So last Tuesday evening (9/27)the boys had an away soccer game. I generally manage to get to all their games, and Roger has been able to make it also. But on Tuesday, Roger was running late so Emma and I left for the game before him. The boys have been playing hard all season long, but the soccer team has yet to actually pull off a win. We’ve tied some, lost by one, lost by more than one, but we haven’t yet won a game. Anyways, Roger’s parents surprised us by meeting us at the soccer game! It was nice to see them again, and Roger was able to get to the game for the second half. Roger’s parents treated us to supper and ice cream after the game so that was a real treat! It’s always nice when I don’t have to think about what we are going to have for supper when we get home after a game! Roger’s parents hadn’t been planning on staying overnight, but as long as they don’t mind a bit of a mess, we were happy to have them! 

On Wednesday morning, Roger went to work, his parents left and we headed to Raleigh to meet some friends from Maine. Claire, and her three children came to visit us for a few days. Travis and Emma were particularly excited about that as they have been good friends with Abel and Lucy for a long time. We had originally planned to eat at Mr. Beast Burgers, but that turned into a total flop! Instead we ended up at a mall where we found a Lego store and a food court! Sweet! 

We had planned to go to the beach on Thursday into Friday, but a tropical storm warning was in effect for those days. Oh well. We went anyways. It wasn’t raining on Thursday so we spent time walking on the beach, roaming around a small beach town, playing mini golf and enjoying each other’s company. We found our beach house around 4:00pm, and we went for a walk on the beach. Travis, Emma, Abel and Lucy all enjoyed getting wet by the waves coming onto the beach. The water was warm, and they didn’t get in past their knees, but they loved it! The rest of us scavenged the beach for shells, cool stuff and just enjoyed God’s creation. The beach is one of my favorite places as the water can appear angry, or peaceful, agitated or serene. It’s always amazing to see God’s handiwork at work, and I love it! It rained ALL DAY on Friday, but Claire and I went for a walk on the beach anyways. Chandler, Wyatt and Travis started off with us, but they decided that they did not want to be soaked. So, Claire and I wandered on the beach for a while. Going with the wind and rain was fine, but once we turned around to head back it was a wet, wet walk back! We enjoyed the moments though, and we created some fun memories with our children. On the way back home, we stopped at a trampoline park. The entire area was empty! We had the place to ourselves, and the kids were able to run around and jump and wear themselves out some more! The ride home did have some tense driving moments, as the rain continued to pour down, but God kept us safe. We were happy to get home!

Our friends left on Saturday morning to head back to Maine. We enjoyed having our friends come for a visit, and I know that Travis was especially encouraged. He is really struggling to make friends in his class, and it’s not because he isn’t friendly. He is a bit quiet, but when you get to know Travis you’ll discover that he is sweet and kind. He needs a good friend, and please pray with us for that for him. 

We are always thankful for the opportunity to host friends and family in our home, even though our home still needs work. If you’re ever coming through North Carolina, we will be happy to have you stay with us!

Saturday was a quiet day around the house as I worked on laundry, the boys fixed their dirt bike (again), and we enjoyed a mostly quiet day at home. (It’s never really quiet with five kids around!) 

Sunday we spent the day worshipping with other believers. We’ve been enjoying our Sunday school class, and the boys have mentioned that they’ve really enjoyed their classes as well. 

Emma headed off to Second grade on Monday morning. She seemed relieved about the transition, and she even picked out a gift for her “old teacher” and her “new teacher”. Emma’s love language seems to be gift-giving, and while we currently foot the bill for that at times, I am thankful for her sweet spirit that thinks of her teachers. She picked out chocolates and a candle for both of her teachers, and she seemed to have a great first day. I tend to try to pick back up my worries, but I know that I need to just leave them at Jesus’s feet. What about high school? Emma will be 19 all of her senior year! What about events that are by age/grade? Will Emma feel awkward or embarrassed about that? I know that for now Emma is confident in this change. I’m praying that she will mature into a sweet, Godly young lady who is far less worried about her age or “if she’s in the right grade” but rather concerned about her relationship with God and others. We sure do love this daughter of ours, and we thank God for her every day. 

Chandler had a cross-country meet yesterday (Monday) and it was a chilly day! It was about 57 degrees, which is the first time that it felt like FALL temperatures. I was unable to make it to the meet as it was 55 minutes away, and I wasn’t able to leave school until after 3:00pm. The boys were going to be running first yesterday, so I knew that I probably wouldn’t be able to make it. Thankfully, the athletic director did give me a call towards the end of the race, so I could see Chandler’s finish. Chandler ran a great race on Monday with his best time of the season. He has now officially broken my fastest time for a 5K, and he reminds me that he’s a freshman in high school and I was in college before I broke 20 minutes for a 5k! Haha! Its another reminder that I am getting old! Chandler was happy to have the opportunity to ride back to school with the cross- country team, and I’m glad he enjoyed that. It was nice to have a short conversation with the athletic director about Chandler on Tuesday, and hear that someone else is also pouring into our children’s lives and pointing them to Jesus. We are thankful! 

Tuesday was a beautiful day for a soccer game! The boys were thankful for another opportunity to play, and it was nice to have a beautiful afternoon to watch them play. It was our first win of the season, and that was a big encouragement to the team. Three of the boys got to start in the game, and it was exciting to see the team play together for a win. I had the opportunity to sit and watch the game with a few school moms, and it was so nice to have someone to laugh and chat with during the game! It was a blessing and encouragement to me. I’m so thankful that God provides us with encouragement, new mercies, and constant reminders that He knows exactly where we are…I might not always be delighted with the way things are in the moment, but God has continued to be faithful. I’m reminded often of the song that we sang in my kindergarten class last year- “Jesus, Strong and Kind.” 

God has been good and faithful for eternity past, and I know He will continue to do so. I was so blessed and encouraged this week by friends who sent a text to say that they were praying for us, or conversations with both of Emma’s teachers to encourage us.