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!
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