It’s been a chilly week to welcome the official start of baseball season! This past week we hosted a family and friends event at our house, began spring cleaning, choir practice, dinner with friends, baseball practice, a game, a visit from some of Roger’s family, more baseball practice, sick kids, more baseball practice, another game, impromptu dinner with friends, suit shopping, and life! 

Last weekend there were a bunch of teens from our church/school that traveled to the mountains for a ski/tubing retreat. We never really entertained the thought of letting the boys go because at over $200 per kid that adds up really quickly! None of our boys seemed too bothered by the thought of not going, but we decided that we would have a few other families with teens over to our house on Friday night. There were a few families that also hadn’t sent their kids, so we invited whomever we knew wasn’t going to the retreat to come to our house for tacos, games and fellowship on Friday night. I think there were about 16 kids and 10 adults at our house- surprisingly, there was also plenty of food! It was a bit of a cooler/rainy day, but the kids still tromped around outside for a good bit of time. We played that card game with spoons, a couple other games, but mostly we just visited and fellowshipped. It was a fun night for all, I think. The best part was that we didn’t have to get up and go anywhere on Saturday morning, so we got started on some spring cleaning projects! That was not the favorite part of the weekend for our kids, but it was very productive! 

Roger is on his fire schedule, so that means that he works on the weekends. However, it was rainy last Saturday, so he unexpectedly got the day off on Sunday! Yay! The younger kids were appreciative as that meant that they could come into church with Roger and not have to be there so early for choir. It did feel like an early morning with the whole “spring forward” thing! But we made it to choir practice even if it did feel dark, rainy and early! It actually did snow for a few brief moments on Sunday morning. It was interesting to see all the people at the windows peering out at the few flakes that were falling! We had a family over for dinner on Sunday afternoon. I had made two pans of lasagna, and we were happy to have some dear friends over to enjoy the afternoon with. 

Monday was another long day of school, baseball practice, and the drudgery of Mondays! But we made it through by the grace of God. I’ve been walking/running a few times a week after school with some other moms as we wait for practices to be over. It’s been a good opportunity to use our time wisely. I’ve also been tutoring a few students after school twice a week, so my days have been full per usual. I’ve resorted to fast and easy meals like grilled cheese sandwiches, things that can go in the air fryer, cereal, and eggs and toast. No one has starved, and I’m thankful that the kids are pretty easy going as long as we eat something! 

On Tuesday the boys had their first official baseball game on both the varsity and middle school teams. It was really cold (for North Carolina!)  Also, we had a surprise visit from Roger’s parents and his brother, Dale. The middle school baseball team played at 3:00pm, and the varsity team at 4:30pm. The middle school team lost 2-10 (I think), but the varsity team won 15-0. It was a cold afternoon to watch baseball! It was after 6:00pm when we left the field. Thankfully, Roger’s parents picked up pizza on the way home, so we could eat and visit a bit. The boys were excited to listen to Dale talk about some of his adventures in Japan over the past few years. It was good to catch up with family for a little bit, and these memories are special. I knew it would be a bit of a later night, so I asked my administrator if I could come into school a little bit later on Wednesday. She graciously agreed, and that was a big blessing. My in-laws and brother-in-law had to leave by 7:00am, but the kids didn’t even get up until around 8:30am, which is very late for them. We had a fairly easy and non-stressful  morning, and headed into school around 10:00am. It was nice to not have to rush out the door, and the kids appreciated it also! On Wednesday afternoon, I did tutoring and then we spent the afternoon at the Everett’s house. Garett and Wyatt had wanted to go to teen group, so I allowed them to go. I don’t always let the boys go because it makes for a long day and it’s not always as organized as I prefer, but we let them go. It was a good afternoon for all of us, and Roger got off work in time to meet us at church. 

Thursday was another full day with school, baseball practice and Garett getting sick. I felt like he was coming down with a cold on Wednesday night, but he went to school anyways on Thursday. Around 10:00am, he asked me if I could take him home. Well, I couldn’t take him home because I was doing library and then study hall. So I texted my friend, Laura, and said that I needed help! Immediately she asked how she could help. She came and picked up Garett and took him home. Garett was so glad to go home. His throat hurt, his nose was runny and he needed a nap. I’m so thankful for friends that will help me out with my kids! It was a blessing to have Laura be willing to take Garett home. After school, I spent some time walking with a few friends and waiting for baseball practice to be over. The middle school baseball team is usually done around 4:45/5:00ish, but the varsity team doesn’t get done until closer to 6:00pm. It makes for some very long days for all of us! Chandler isn’t sure that he will play next year as I think he misses the activity level compared to basketball and soccer. Garett seems to be enjoying it, and Wyatt and Travis are undecided yet also. The season is still young, and they have a lot that they would like to learn. 

Friday was another longish day with a middle school game and a varsity team game. I was so thankful that the sun was shining and we didn’t need to wear coats! The middle school game starts promptly at three, and I have a hard time making it out to the field for the start of the game. By the time I finish up with what I need to do at the school and get Emma, it’s usually about a quarter past three. However, we did make it out to watch part of the game. The weakest part of all of the boys seems to be the batting part and I think a lot of that is just lack of experience. When they play ball with Roger, they bat, but Roger doesn’t pitch like a pitching machine or as fast as the pitchers. However, we will just keep working at it. Wyatt and Travis both did get to start in the middle school game so that was fun for them. The Middle school team lost 4-8, but mostly Travis and Wyatt were just happy to have gotten to play. The varsity team won their game also (I don’t remember the score). Chandler has been starting in the left outfield position for the last few games, and he did catch a pop fly, so that was fun for him. 

After the game, Emma got to spend some time with her friend, Cynthia. The boys and I gathered up all our stuff to head home, but then we got an invite to have an impromptu dinner with some friends. I was going to say “no” because Roger still wasn’t home from work. But then Roger called and said that he had just gotten off of work, and he would meet us at our friends house. So we went to the Everett’s for dinner. We find ourselves doing things often with their family, and we’ve connected with them. Justin and Roger have had the opportunity to have a deeper friendship than most guy friendships, and Laura and I share the same passions about trying to raise kids for Jesus. Neither of us are doing life perfectly, but we are working imperfectly to point our kids to Jesus. Laura and I have had some hard and challenging conversations about parenting, teens, relationships, school years, and the struggles are real and deep in both of our lives. We frequently pray for each other’s children, and I have come to treasure our friendships with their family. God is good. He knew that Roger needed a friend that would encourage and challenge him. I’ve been praying for a good friend in North Carolina since before we moved to North Carolina. Making friends is not the challenging part for me, but finding deep connections is a bit more challenging. I need someone who will understand when I’m losing my mind, pray over my kids, tell me to fix something in my life, or just bring me coffee and give me a hug. Somehow in every state we’ve lived in, God has provided a close friend for me. I don’t always find them right away, and sometimes once we move, it might be months between texts or phone calls, but I do have several friendships that run deep. I know that God has blessed me abundantly. 

Today (Saturday) Garett and I had a date together. The kind of date that is not his favorite, but we succeeded! Garett needed a suit for a formal school event, and the event is two weeks is away. Suits are expensive, and our budget is limited. Our first stop was a consignment store where we found black dress shoes. Garett found a suit coat that I thought was a little small but Garett was already ready to be done shopping! I was like-“um, it’s going to take a bit!”. We ate lunch and then went to JCPenney. Garett found a great suit coat that fit him great and it was so much nicer than the first one he liked! We also found a dress shirt, and I found a coupon for the JCPenney purchases! Yay! Garett got the suit jacket for about $80.00. Then we went to our friends house (the Everett’s) to look at Justin’s suit coats. Because my plan was to return the one we just bought if one of Justin’s fit Garett. The suit coat didn’t fit as well as Garett would’ve liked, and I could tell that he liked the one we had bought at JCPenney. Justin did have a tie that would work great for Garett and a black belt. Whew! So we ended up heading back to the mall to look for dress pants, and we found some at Belk. The pants were more than we wanted to pay, but God is good and He provided a coupon via their website! So at the end of the day, Garett now has shoes, pants, shirt, suit coat, tie and belt for about $160.00. Garett was happy with how he spent his money, but he was probably happiest to just be done shopping! It was a bit longer than Garett would’ve liked to have spent looking, but since I’m a huge fan of saving money and coupons, it took a bit. It’s hard to believe that Garett is growing up so fast! Ahh…I’m not ready! 

We are done with the 3rd Quarter in school! Praise the Lord! Next week is Achievement tests for the students, so that always makes for an interesting week. Roger is keeping busy with fire season, and we are thankful for his job. It’s hard to believe that a year ago, Roger and I came down to view the job and check out the area. God has been faithful, constant, and He continues to provide for our needs. We are looking forward to spring break in a few weeks. Thank you for praying for us. Please continue to pray for our family. Also, please pray for the students in our school. Our country desperately needs Revival, and God can use our young people. I’m excited to see what God continues to do in our lives. We serve a big God, and I want to live my life with no regrets as we press forward to love God and love others. 

Here is another song that I really enjoy:  “Behold, Our God”