February is already gone! Often it feels like the longest (short) month of the year! It's probably due to the fact we are now in the time of the school year when we don't have any days off til Spring Break! And sometimes, the month of February just isn't that exciting...we just faithfully plod along!
We had off the last Monday in January due to an "ice day", and it was already a short week due to the marriage retreat that weekend. However, sometimes the "short" weeks at school can feel like very long weeks indeed! But regardless, we made it to Thursday, which was a 1/2 day. I had taken the day off of school on Thursday as I needed to take Wyatt to an appointment that we've been waiting to get into for about 2 months. The appointment was at 8:30am, but it was a little over an hour away, so it was an early morning for Wylie and I. Thankfully, the appointment went fairly quickly, so that was a blessing. Wyatt saw a male doctor, and the doctor looked a little surprised when he poked his head in the room and saw Wyatt. I was trying to figure out why, but after a few minutes, the doc looked at Wyatt and said, "I think I know the answer to this, but I have to ask. It says on the paperwork that Wyatt is a female, but that's not correct, is it?" Wyatt looked completely mortified at the question as he quickly replied, "No, I'm a male." The doctor chuckled and said, "That's what I figured, but I've put my foot in my mouth a few times, so I just needed to clarify!" Whew! We got that straightened out!
After school, Jenn and the kids headed to the mountains for the weekend. Roger and I were heading to the Marriage retreat on Friday in the late morning, and it was completely weird to be at home without any kids in the house! Roger had gotten some money for a date night for a Christmas gift, so we decided to go out to a local steakhouse for supper. We arrived at the restaurant about 5:30pm, and it was very crowded for a Thursday night! But we had no place we needed to be, so we stood in the doorway chatting with another older couple while we waited for a table to open up. In about five minutes, the waitress came and said that a booth had opened up for the couple ahead of us. The older lady turns to us and says, "Ya'll want to eat with us? We can share a booth and that's less waiting for you." Roger and I weren't worried about the wait, but they were so nice and friendly that we agreed to share a booth with them. God knew it was exactly what we needed! The older couple was so sweet and easy to talk to, and they told us about their potato packing warehouse, how they met (56 years ago), the church they attended and everything else. It was such a great evening of fellowshipping, and when it was time to go (after about two hours in the restaurant), the older gentleman told Roger that they would be paying for the bill! Say what!? He told Roger that we had talked about potatoes, and he could just use it as a tax write-off, for which we were very thankful for. Roger and I had just expected a simple dinner with the two of us, but God had something much more in store for us last Thursday. I'm still pondering the details of how God worked all of that out...something only God could do!
On Friday, January 29th, Roger and I headed to the marriage retreat in Myrtle beach. The boys and Emma had made it safely to the mountains, and the boys were looking forward to skiing on Friday evening. Myrtle Beach was cold this time, as all of NC was bracing itself for a snow storm that was supposed to be coming Friday evening. The Saturday morning session for the marriage retreat was canceled, but there was a Friday night session. I was sitting in the session when I got a notification on my phone. We have all kinds of security set up on the boys phones, so when they download an app, I know about it. I leaned over to Roger and pointed to the app installation. The three boys that have phones had all downloaded a GPS Speedometer app. I'm not a genius, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why the boys had downloaded that app on the night they were going skiing! I will say that the boys going skiing definitely challenged me to increase my praying! The boys had a great time, and Garett called Roger to tell him that they had a lot of fun skiing! Praise the Lord!
Roger and I had a leisurely breakfast on Saturday morning before heading out to visit with Roger's aunt. We stayed for a few hours visiting about many things and then headed home. It was beginning to look like the weather people had gotten it wrong again as we didn't see any snow on the way home! We arrived home about three pm, and then went to check on Jenn's chickens, and it finally started snowing! Sunday morning greeted us with about 7 inches of white fluffy snow! That's a lot of snow for this part of N.C.! We spent some time shoveling the snow, but of course, first we had to find the shovel. We haven't needed one while here in NC, and it felt a bit like Maine with the seven inches of white snow. It was beautiful, and it was nice to get out and enjoy it.
So we started out our first full week in February with two snow days! It’s been an unusual winter with several snow and ice days, and I’ve been ready for spring for a while now! My parents came for a visit the second week of February, so that was a nice break for the kids. Emma loved having Nana and Papa pick her up early from school while they were here! Faith Church also had revival services that week, and we all really enjoyed the services by Kenny Baldwin. He is a gifted speaker, and it was encouraging to see our children make several spiritual decisions as well. Also that same week that my parents were here, Travis had his JV Basketball tournament to close out the season. It was a rough season for the team, and I think Travis was relieved to see it come to an end. I’m not sure that they won a single game, but Travis played hard, and some of the team made improvements over the season. I always enjoy watching the kids play sports, and this season flew by. Typically I feel like basketball is a long season, but the season seemed to go by so quickly!
Additionally, my parents stayed for “Senior Night” for Chandler on the last home basketball game of the season. It seems surreal to think that in just a few short months, we will have yet another senior cross the stage to get his diploma. Feel like we were just here with Garett! Usually, Chandler starts in the basketball game, and he has been so fun to watch play. Compared to the ninth grader that came four years ago and barely knew anything about basketball, he has come a long way! He enjoys the game, and he plays with a lot of heart. On senior night, the seniors get to start in the game, but this year there were six seniors on the team. Only five players can be on the court at a time, so which senior wasn’t going to start? I was sitting in the bleachers a few minutes before the game started, and one of the senior moms leaned over to me and said that Chandler had almost made her cry. I asked what had happened, and she said that Chandler had given up his senior starting spot so that her son, Nicholas, could start that night. That did bring tears to my eyes as I know how much Chandler enjoys the sport, but yet had the kindess of heart to give his spot to someone else. I love that kid! (Sometimes, he drives me crazy, but then he does something like that, and my heart melts!) It’ll be a moment that I’ll remember for a long time.
My parents left to head back to Wisconsin on February 19th, and the boys basketball varsity team had their season end tournament at Campbell University. It was a crazy few days with several trips to the college, and lots of games of basketball. The boys team ended up with 2nd place for the season, so that was exciting. It would’ve been fun for them to win the tournament, but they placed second. And just like that Chandler’s senior basketball season is over…on to the golf season!
For the first time, our school is having a girls soccer team this spring. Jen and I are helping with coaching the team, and our first two practices were frigid! It was so cold! The team has their first game on Friday, and I am looking forward to seeing our team grown and mature this season. I am also praying for some warmer weather for practices! One of the coaches that helped Roger coach the boys team is also helping coach the girls team this season. It is nice to have someone else to plan practices, drills, etc., so Jen and I are thankful for that.
The boys have started playing golf for their spring sport season. Chandler and Travis were both very excited about the golf season, but Wyatt needed a little convincing to play golf this year. I’m not exactly sure why he wasn’t as excited, but he did it anyways. Wyatt is a decent golfer, and the team will need him this year. I am thankful that the boys get the opportunity to play, and I am looking forward to seeing how their team does this season.
Last week of February! This past week Chandler took a trip to Pensacola Christian College. He went with another senior from school. A few other students from school also went on the trip but they were on different flights to and from Pensacola. Chandler and Eli seemed to have a great trip, and they visited several classes, and did come back with a little information! Chandler ran into some friends of ours from Maine, so that was fun for him! Archie was a good friend of the boys when we were in Maine, so it was nice to hear from Mandie (Archie’s mom) that Chandler and Archie were hanging out some during college days. Chandler is feeling the pressure of making college decisions, but we are definitely praying that God will give clear direction. Chandler did text me on Wednesday night to tell me, “Mom, I’m keeping an open mind, but this college is very conservative. Very.” Haha! Well, I already knew that, but there are certain things that sometimes you can deal with especially as getting a solid Christian education is important to us. We will keep praying.
We are in the month of March! February was actually not nearly as long as I thought it would be! Praise the Lord! My dad is traveling about an hour every day to take radiation for his cancer. He has made it through the first week, but there are six more weeks to go. If it comes to mind, please keep praying for him. In this month, we are frantically preparing for a Christian school art competition. These entries are all due on March 16th, and I’m hoping that after that deadline, I will be able to sleep a bit better! Travis is in my art class, and he has been working on a craft which includes pouring a tapered candle. Oh my- it’s been interesting!
The church youth group is planning a ski/snowboarding trip to the mountains the second weekend of this month. It’s a little bit pricey to go, so none of the boys were planning on going even though they really do enjoy skiing and snowboarding. But out of the blue, one of my best friends in North Carolina, asked if my boys were going on the trip. I replied no, not this year. She asked if they were interested in going, and I said yes, but since there’s three of them…it’s just a lot. This friend said that God had prompted her to reach out to me, and she offered to pay for Chandler and Wyatt to attend the youth retreat! I was completely floored, and the boys were amazed and thrilled. That same day I found out that Travis’s trip to the youth retreat was also covered. Sometimes on the days that seem the bleakest, God sends a small light to brighten the day and sometimes God sends a flaming blaze that encourages me for days and weeks! I hadn’t even prayed about the boys attending this youth event simply because it just seemed like a pipe dream, but God had other plans. I’m excited for the boys to have this opportunity, and praying that God will speak to their hearts at this event.
This month will also be achievement testing for our students, and I can’t say that anyone is necessarily super excited about that. But spring break is coming- Praise the Lord!
Also this month, Chandler will be going on his senior trip. We recently got an email from one of Chandler’s teachers saying that someone had offered to put money towards Chandler’s senior trip that the school is taking to Disney. But Roger and I have made the decision that a trip to Disney would not be best for our children, so we are doing something different for Chandler’s senior trip. It was a painful and difficult decision to make, and there are many reasons for our decision that I will not discuss here. If you’d like to know, you can surely reach out to me. It was so encouraging to know that someone thought highly of Chandler’s character and work ethic and wanted to help out with his trip. We wrote a really positive reply regarding our decision about his senior trip, but it seems like a monetary donation was only for the school trip to Disney. But it is not a conviction if money can make you change your mind, is it? We are going to continue on with our plan for Chandler’s senior trip, and we are praying for him to have a wonderful trip and also God’s continued direction. God is so good!
In closing, I’m asking for prayer for the same things that have been on my list for the past several months- our children, my dad’s health, school, Chandler’s college decision, Garett and his flight training and job, and the list could go on and on. Thankyou for those that pray for our children or our family regularly. The older I get the more I realize what a precious gift we have in approaching the Father’s throne with our needs, requests and praises. I’ve been convicted lately about be sure to spend time in prayer for our family. We have a lot of changing things happening in the next few months, and we covet your prayers. We are blessed.
