April Wrap-ups & May Musings

 

Happy May! The month of May brings about the close of many school related activities, and a whole host of new transitions as Garett prepares to graduate. We ran out of the month of April with Wyatt’s 16th birthday, Easter dinner at our house, the Junior/Senior banquet for Garett and Chandler, the state golf tournament for three of the boys, Emma’s piano recital, getting a few chickens and whatever else happened at the end of the month that I can’t even remember! We burst into the month of May with the state baseball tournament, Garett’s senior trip, and the wrapping up of the school year. Whew- no wonder I feel like I need a nap most afternoons! (And the fact that I’m getting old also contributes to that idea!) 

Wyatt is now officially 16 years old, and my mind has a hard time wrapping my head around that idea! Roger has tried to take him to get his permit twice now, but the lines for the DMV are absolutely ridiculous around here. The last time they tried to get the permit, they went to a smaller town. Roger and Wyatt were in the parking lot by 6:30am, and the lines were already long! At 7:30am, the DMV worker came out and told the first 14 people in line that they could enter the building, but there was no guarantee that they would get seen that day! One person ahead of Roger in line said that he had been in line since 1:00am that morning! I’m not sure if the lines are so lengthy due to the requirements for the Real ID or the DMV is just that short on people. Either way, Wyatt does not have his permit yet! Hopefully, he will be able to get it soon. Chandler has an appointment for his drivers license on June 2nd, and we’ve had that booked for him since March 2nd! 

Aunt Jen bought a few more baby chicks, but we are currently babysitting them. I do not have anything to do with the chickens, but Travis and Emma love the chicks! They take care of them completely. The day that Jen bought the chicks, she called to see if the chicks could live in our shed for a bit. I said, yes, and she, Travis and Emma bought the chicks and brought them over. Jen told me that on the way over to our house, Emma announced that this baby chick was her “social security pet”. Jen was completely lost at sea until she asked, “Emma, do you mean your emotional support animal?” I about died laughing when Jen was telling me the story. Oh Emma, you do our hearts good! 

The last Friday of April was the night of the Junior/Senior Banquet for the boys. Both Garett and Chandler invited dates with them to the banquet, so it was a fun opportunity for them. I have some great pictures of the boys and their dates. Garett invited a girl named, Kate, from the Junior class, and Chandler invited his girlfriend, Ava. Jen went along to the banquet, and she was willing to go along with the boys to the after activity as well. When we found out that there wasn’t really a plan for an after-banquet activity for most of teens, a few moms put our heads together to see what ideas we could come up with. Thank the Lord for Groupon! We found a groupon for bowling, and it was right down the road from the banquet. Chan invited everyone in his class to come bowling, and I think about 13 of them ended up going bowling. All the kids that went seemed to have a really great time, and after bowling a few of them came over to Aunt Jen’s for more snacks and fellowship. It was a late night, but a good night for our kids and their friends also. The boys had a hard time getting up on Saturday morning to work at the Pickle Festival, but they made it! 

Wyatt, Chandler, Garett, and I, all worked at the Mount Olive Pickle Festival. It’s basically a full day of all things pickle related! We sold fried pickles, chocolate covered pickles, a pickle lemonade to name a few items. The boys worked hard at squeezing lemonade, frying food, and breading pickles. I worked hard at taking money and giving correct change. It was a long day, but it was a good day. Travis told me that he needed to start working again as his money box was getting a little low after the winter. Haha- oh yes, Travis is discovering the importance of budgeting wisely! 

A little over a week ago, the three younger  boys competed in the golf tournament for our conference. They’ve enjoyed playing golf this season, and we are thankful for the coaches that invest in them. Their team placed third at the tournament, and they only lost by a few strokes. The boys are already looking forward and talking about next year. Roger was able to get away to see their tournament, and I was thankful that he was able to go. It’s hard to get away from school this time of year, but we wanted one of us to be there. Roger went from the golf tournament to then watch Garett’s baseball game, and then to Emma’s recital! Emma was excited about her recital, and I wasn’t sure we were going to be able to make it there when I discovered that the van had a tire with a nail in it! However, Emma and I used the air compressor to pump up the tire. Then we filled the air compressor with air, hopped in the van, and drove to Aunt Jen’s. We put more air in the tire at Aunt Jen’s and we made it to school safely and on time! Praise the Lord! Garett was also supposed to be in the recital with his guitar, but through a series of miscommunication, not enough guitar lessons, and a long baseball game, he did not make it into the recital. He was fine with that, and it was the best solution. Emma had worked hard on her piano piece, and she did a good job. We are thankful for music teachers! 

Last Wednesday, the boys asked to go golfing after school. I agreed to drop them off, but before that happened, we ended up with six golf bags and six boys in the mini van! Gabe and Enzo are friends with the boys, and everyone wanted to go golfing. I dropped everyone off at the golf course, and then came home to do a few things. I picked them up on the way back to church, and they ate pizza on the way. These are the moments that life is made up of, and I am thankful for these memories. 

Last weekend was the baseball tournament for Garett. Roger was kept busy with a fire for the entire weekend, but the rest of us stayed busy at the tournament with helping with collecting admission fees, concessions, trash, or whatever else needed doing. It was a beautiful weekend for a ball tournament, and it was an exciting end to the season. Roger was unable to go to the tournament as he was busy flying on fire patrol.  We need rain quite badly, and while we got a little this past weekend, we already need another shower of rain. But the baseball championship game went to ten innings, and it ended on a home run hit! The school baseball team had won the game! It was exciting and emotional for me all at the same time. Garett is done with baseball. No more watching him play first base with ease and confidence,  and then praying he will be able to hit the ball when he goes up to bat! I’ve watched him display leadership skills, confidence, humility, kindness, and compassion as he’s played this season. I was an emotional basket case as I hugged him in his smelly, sweaty jersey one last time. I am so incredibly thankful for this young man. He doesn’t know exactly what God has for him, but I am confident that Garett can and will do great things for God as he focuses on Jesus. Please pray that Garett will have wisdom and discernment as he continues to pray about his future. 

Speaking of futures, Roger and I have some decisions of our own to make regarding our future. God is always at work, even when we can’t see or feel it. Sometimes, I wonder why God is moving so slowly, but it’s not slowly, it’s perfectly. Please pray for clarity and direction. 

As we head down the final weeks to gradation, we are talking and considering summer plans. Garett has a job lined up for the summer, and then he will need to make some more decisions in the fall. He is planning on taking a missions trip in early June and then working the rest of the summer. The younger three boys are planning to go to Teen Extreme Camp at Pensacola Christian College. Chandler, Wyatt and Travis are also considering a soccer camp at Bob Jones University this summer. Everyone has a job lined up for the summer, and we are thankful for opportunities of employment. The summer flies by, so we really do need to be intentional with our time. 

Thank you for your prayers, support and love to our family. 

Mountains and Valleys (Highlights and Lowlights)

Where to even begin?! We are quickly wrapping up the school year, and it’s been a year to remember. I still can’t wrap my around the fact that Garett will be a senior in the fall! Where has time gone? I want to soak up the moments and the memories, but sometimes I feel like I’d just like a moment to breathe! 

So much has happened in the month of May, and we are just a few days into the month. First, I want to capitalize on the highlights, cause ya’ll might run off if I start with the overwhelming stuff! So blessings and highlights are at the top of my list.

 Two of our boys, Chandler and Wyatt, competed in a golf tournament on April 29th. This was the final competition for the golf season, and the meet was held in Virginia. Travis and I were able to go to the tournament as we stayed overnight at the Everett’s house in Virginia. The meet started at noon, with it being a nine-hole round of golf. The golf team had come down on Sunday night as originally the meet was scheduled to start at 10:00am. This was the first meet that I had been able to attend as the golf meets are on Mondays, and I’m always busy teaching art classes on Mondays. I watched Wyatt hit his first golf ball, and I was like “oh dear!”. He was off to a really, really rough start, but he managed to overcome and he was the second place golfer for his team. I was thankful that both Justin Everett and his coach, Chance, were willing to talk to him during the meet to encourage him to “keep at it”.  I was proud of him because Wyatt struggles with defeat. Once he messes up or has a bad play, he often can’t overcome to make a comeback, but he did at this meet. The golf team placed third in the meet, so that was exciting for the golf team as this is the first time in a while that the school has had a team. I’m thankful that Chandler and Wyatt had the opportunity to play on the golf team, and they both said that it was kinda nice to be a part of a smaller team for a change. I’m thankful for their coaches that invest in them, help them enjoy the game, and are willing in to give of their time and energy to the golf team. Travis and I left a little early from the golf tournament, so that we could make it back to school for Emma’s piano recital. Wyatt was also supposed to be in the piano recital, but the golf team barely made it back in time. Since Wyatt was dressed in sweat pants and a stinky polo shirt, he escaped having to perform- and he wasn’t crying about it! I’m thankful that Jen was willing to pick up Emma from school to help her pick out a nice dress for the recital, get flowers for her piano teacher, and get Emma back to school for the recital. It was a long and tiring day, but we made it!  

Another highlight would be that the Elementary Fine Arts Competition is behind us! Whew! We entered 29 projects into the competition, and four received ribbons. This was my first year teaching art, and we learned a lot at the competition. Personally, I think the categories are way too broad for elementary students. All the painting is lumped together, but if you’ve ever painted, you know that acrylic paint and watercolor paint are not even close to the same! I was a bit disappointed in some of the placings (or lack thereof), but hopefully we will be a little better prepared in the future. Some of our students art underwent quite the transformation before the event. While their art still may not have placed, I know how hard they worked and how much they’ve improved. I also help with the Bible Sword Drill teams for 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. We made it into the second round of playoffs with all the teams except third grade. Our fourth grade team placed third in the competition, so that was exciting for them. And while third grade didn’t place, they’ve come a long ways in a short amount of time! When we first started practicing with them, they were using the table of contents to find the books of the Bible. They improved so much over the past few months! It was an exhausting few days, but I did learn a lot. Hopefully, we will be better prepared for future events. 

Last weekend was the baseball team’s tournament hosted by our school. It was a bit of a crazy weekend with the tournament on Friday and Saturday. The Everett’s came down for the tournament, and we all pitched in to help with concessions, taking admission, and helping pick up trash. Many hands make light work, and thankfully we had seven kids between us to help the Hardisons. The weather was beautiful for the tournament, and the baseball team made it to the championship game! It was a good game, probably my favorite one to watch all season. The team that they played had beaten our team earlier in the season. It was back and forth throughout the seven innings, but at the end of the game, our team won! The score was 8-7! It was fun to watch the team play in the game as they really did work hard and together to win the game. It was a bit of a long and tiring day, but it was a good day. 

Also last week (first week in May), Garett ran for student body president! He worked hard at helping create posters, coming up with ideas, and his brothers helped him come up with slogans for his campaign. Garett was up against some tough competition from two other girls also running for student body president, so he had his work cut out for him. He wrote a speech for his campaign, and I listened to him present it to the student body on Thursday afternoon. He did a good job, and while he didn’t win student body president, he did win Vice President. I asked him if he was disappointed, and he replied that he was a little disappointed, but “Kate is better at speaking to a bunch of people than I am. This way I can just back her up and still be involved. I’m really glad that I got picked for something.” Me too. I am proud of the man he is becoming, and while I often wish he was still a little boy, it’s exciting to see God at work in his life. 

An additional highlight in the past two weeks would be God’s protection over Emma as she ran into a tree with her bike. Her face was pretty scraped up on Saturday evening, and she stayed home from church on Sunday morning with a black eye, but God protected her as it could’ve been much worse! Boys get all excited about battle scars liked a scraped up face, but Emma was so nervous about school on Monday as she didn’t want to be the center of attention. Her face is almost completely healed up now, so we are thankful for that. God is good. 

Mother’s Day this year was also a highlight for me. We decided to take the day as a family, and do something a bit different as in visiting a different church, and going out to lunch on Mother’s Day. We went to a church in Wilmington, and then ate a nice lunch at a casual place, walked around on the riverwalk in Wilmington, and visited a few thrift stores. It was a very enjoyable day for all of us. The church service was a blessing to me as the pastor talked about moms (pretty typical for Mother’s Day), but he also had all the moms stand while he prayed over the moms. It was a special way to honor the moms, and I appreciated the intentionality of his prayer for moms. The message spoke to me too as the pastor spoke about not letting “your barrenness turn to bitterness”. He was referring to Hannah in First Samuel, and how she held her tongue when Peninnah was provoking her; Hannah waited; Hannah prayed; Hannah worshipped. To be completely honest, I have felt like I’m in a season of “barrenness”- waiting for God to move in a big way. I’m going to move on to touching on a few deep disappointments, so if you only want positive news, just stop reading here. 

Waiting on God and waiting for God to work in and through us to orchestrate His perfect plan is a challenge. As many of you know, we applied for the North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship. Due to the number of hours I’ve worked in the past year, we were over the limit for Tier one families by a mere 4K. Early in April, we had been informed via email that there would not be enough funds for all the families in Award Tier Two, and that the families would be selected by a random drawing and notified via email. We prayed through much of April asking God to provide the scholarship funds for our family, and I really felt like that’s what God was going to do. I mean, why wouldn’t He want to help us continue to give our children Christian education, save for college and retirement, pay off bills, etc.? Surely, this is what God would do…but…it was not God’s perfect plan. Two Fridays ago, on April 26th, we received the email from the state notifying us that the scholarship funds had been depleted, and we had not been selected. I was stunned. But why? Roger and I have sacrificed much over the years (and many have helped along the way!) to keep our children in Christian education, and why wouldn’t God make this easier on us?! I cried - a lot. I’m tired and weary, and I just couldn’t understand God’s plan. I’m not saying that I understand it now, but I’m determined to continually give it over to God. Every.single.day. His plan is still perfect, and He didn’t forget where we are or what we need. I talked with my mom last Sunday morning and poured out my woes to her. She reminded me that we aren’t the only ones praying for God to work, and that they were praying too. And I know that many of you are as well. I guess my prayer in all of this would be that I would remain faithful to do whatever it is that God has for our family. If that means homeschooling, online learning or continuing on, then we will be faithful to do what God directs. Roger reminded me that we’ve wondered what God was doing before and God has always shown up right on time. (It’s also a reminder that I shouldn’t gamble. The opportunity scholarship families were selected through a random drawing, and since we weren’t selected, I clearly shouldn’t gamble- I’m not a lucky person! JK!) 

A lowlight for Travis would be that two of the chickens have disappeared! Somehow the chicken coop wasn’t quite latched, and two chickens escaped during the night. Travis was pretty upset that two chickens are now missing as he’s been so faithful to feed, water, and clean the coop. It may seem trivial to some, but it wasn’t to Travis. The chickens have given Travis something to pour some energy and attention into, and that has helped some with his school anxiety. He still asks me every single day if I will sign him out of school, but having the chickens has helped him press on to finish out the school year. 

There’s been a few other lowlights in the past few weeks, but none of which I’m going to mention currently. We are working to finish well. We are praying diligently for jobs for our children for the summer. Chandler was supposed to be notified on Friday about his job application, but we did not receive any news. So please pray that he will be able to figure out a job. 

Last week was teacher appreciation week, and we worked on teacher appreciation gifts. Emma’s love language is giving gifts, and thankfully her teacher never bats an eye at what Emma might bring for a gift! I had my art students work on teacher appreciation letters, and it was fun to read their responses! (We didn’t finish the letters as we had to get our Mother’s Day projects done, but I’m hoping it’ll provide some laughter and love for the teachers). It was nice to have lunch provided twice this past week and three students surprised me with a small gift- it’s always nice to be remembered. We are quickly approaching the end of the school year, and it’s hard to believe that we only have ten school days left. 

I received a sweet note in my mailbox from my other friend named  Laura this week. It was a good reminder that others are lifting my name before the Lord in prayer. Prayer truly is our greatest resource, and the older I get the more I realize what a special privilege it is to bring all our concerns and praises before our great God. “Heavenly Father help me to lean on you more. Thank you for the blessing of being able to boldly approach your throne.” This song has especially encouraged Roger and I over the past couple of weeks. 

New Life, New Memories and Moments!

 

(Started on 3/29)

Praise the Lord- spring break is finally here!!! It’s been a long time and coming, and I am looking forward to a bit of reprieve over the next few days. We are looking forward to celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on Sunday. Our church is having a Good Friday service tomorrow night, a community outreach event on Saturday morning, and services on Sunday. We are looking forward to the opportunity to reflect on what Jesus has done as well as point others in our community to Jesus through our community event. Also on Saturday our oldest boys are coming home as well as my sister and my dad! Yay!!!! 

My parents arrived in North Carolina last Monday evening, and while my dad has been in the Dominican Republic, my mom has helped with getting the boys where they need to be, reading with Emma, and enjoying time with her family in the western side of the state. Last Tuesday afternoon my parent came to watch Garett play in his baseball game. However, Garett had said on Monday that his arm was hurting him a bit. By Tuesday afternoon, he was in quite a bit of pain, and he was unable to play in the game. That was disappointing to him and my parents, but clearly he had strained something in his arm. Hopefully he will have some time to rest his arm over spring break, and be ready to return to baseball after break. 

Last Wednesday my parents checked the younger three out of school a little early to take them to lunch. Whenever Papa is around, things happen! Jen and Travis have devised a plan to raise some chickens for eggs. Jen suggested to Travis that perhaps she would get some chickens after the missions trip. However, by the time Jen and I arrived home from school, the chicken coop was built and the chickens were in a tote with a heat lamp! The plan is for the chickens to live in Jen’s backyard, but currently, we are babysitting half a dozen chickens. Travis has done very well with taking care of them, watering them, cleaning out their pen, and even helping to find a different pen for them as they are growing quickly. The chicks cannot be outside yet, but thankfully, they’ve been moved to the shed at our house. Originally Travis had the chicks in the tote in our mudroom, but I told him the chickens were smelly. He replied, “It’s fine, Mom. They don’t smell that badly.” Um, son, the chicks are moving out! 

The boys stayed overnight at Jen’s house on Thursday night since they were leaving at 2:15am on Friday morning. Chandler did not want to miss his last golf practice, so I told him I would finish his packing as long as he didn’t care what he was wearing. He replied, “Oh, I already packed most of my clothes. Mr. Hardison (our athletic director) gave us some old jerseys and shorts. I’m just going to wear those and then leave the clothes there. Then I have less to pack!” However, in every picture I’ve seen of him on Facebook, he’s wearing the same orange shirt and gray shorts! I finally sent my sister a message and asked if he’s changed clothes this week. She said that outfit was his painting and concrete work outfit as he doesn’t want to wreck his other clothes. But he has showered and changed clothes this week- thank the Lord! They’ve been busy with moving lots of dirt, mixing and pouring cement, helping with Vacation Bible School, and a lot of other things. I’m sure they’ll come home exhausted, but we are so very thankful that Garett and Chandler have had this opportunity. We are praying for them to be a blessing and get a blessing. Missions trips can change your life. 

Emma has been praying about getting a dog for about a year now. She’s been praying specifically for a German Shepherd. Roger and I have been saying that God will provide a dog in His perfect timing. I couldn’t imagine adding a dog into our lives, but guess what? Here we are! A co-worker of Roger’s mentioned to him last week that she had a friend that was trying to get rid of some puppies. The puppies were pure-bred German shepherds, and they were selling them for $1,000 a piece! Um- no thank-you! However, the co-worker continued on to explain that this family had two (14 week) puppies that they just wanted to give away to good homes. I was pretty sure that I didn’t need a 14 week puppy in my life, but the pup would be free, and it was a German Shepherd- should we go look?! So on Friday, March 22, we went over to see the puppies or we tried! They had let the puppies out to run off some energy, and the puppies were no where to be found! The pups had run off with the two older 6 month dogs and there was one puppy left to see! The pup that was left at home had a hernia, and we knew we didn’t want to start off with vet visits. We decided that we would come back on Saturday to see the other puppies. Wyatt, Travis and Emma were thrilled with the thought of getting a dog, Roger thought it would be a good idea for our family, so I was the one holding out! We went back to see the pups on Saturday, and there was Sam. Sam was one of the 14 week old pups, and we could’ve chosen one of the six month old dogs, but at six month they’ve already learned a lot of bad habits. Sam was the one that we picked out, as he seemed calm and collected. Sam came home with us, and while the trip home was a bit rough as Sam got car sick, we made it home. Sam was very reserved the first few days, but he’s been a good change for our family. Roger has worked with Sam a lot, and Wyatt and Travis are very good with Sam. Emma loves Sam, and he puts up with her. God answered Emma’s prayer, and I hope that she never forgets that! 

My mom came back from visiting her family on the western side of the state on Tuesday, and we surprised her with showing her Sam! It was nice that my mom was around this week as she could take the boys and Emma right home after school to check on the pup, and the boys and Emma were excited to get out of school a little early twice this week! Also, since my mom has been in town this week, I asked her to come to read to my library classes. She was willing to read, and my assistant (Jen) and I were happy to have her read! It’s always nice to have a guest reader in the library, and I’m thankful that my mom was willing to read. 

(Continued 4/2) Friday was our first official day of Spring Break! It was a day of lots of activities as we prepared for guests in our home for Easter Dinner. The boys began their trip back to the U.S. on Friday, and arrived home on Saturday afternoon. Our church had sent out an email saying that there would be a baptismal service on Easter Sunday. Emma has been asking about baptism for a while, so we contacted Pastor. After the Good Friday service, Emma went to talk to Pastor Powell. Roger and I went with her, but she talked with Pastor Powell on her own. She cried a little as she talked about her salvation and how she knew that Jesus had died for her sins. After a short conversation, she asked about being baptized on Sunday. It was arranged that Emma would be one of the four to be baptized on Sunday. She was so excited (and nervous), but she wanted to surprise Papa, Nana and Aunt Jen. We tried to surprise her older brothers too, but Travis let the cat out of the bag on Sunday morning! 

Saturday morning found Emma and I back at church for a community event for Easter. I had been asked to face paint (something, I’ve never done before!). I was completely nervous for most of the time while painting faces, and I passed on anything harder than flowers and hearts to my friend, Kaycee. Yes, I teach elementary art, but it’s different when I’m following along to written directions, have practiced the art project, and it’s not on a person’s skin! Whew! We made it! I’m thankful for my friend, Kaycee, who was willing to help with the face painting. There were quite a few of us that were face painting, and there were a lot of kids that wanted their faces painted!! Emma enjoyed the morning playing with her friends on the inflatables, participating in the egg hunt, and enjoying the beautiful day. God blessed us with a beautiful day for the event, and there were a lot of people that came out for it. 

After the morning event, Emma and I went home to get Sam and Travis. Wyatt decided to stay home, but Sam needed to go to the walk-in clinic at Tractor Supply to get a rabies shot and a check-up. I wasn’t thrilled about the amount of time we spent waiting in line, and neither was Sam, but we made it! Sam now has the shots that he needed, and he probably won’t want to visit Tractor Supply again any time soon! On our way back from the clinic, we stopped at Jen’s to pick up Garett and Chandler. Yay! Both boys were completely surprised that we had gotten a pup while they were away, and it was a good surprise. Sam has been a good dog so far- he’s calm, gentle, and gets along with all the kids. I didn’t want a puppy, but Sam has fit in quite nicely. 

Sunday was a full, tiring, but great day! We were going to be having about 40 people over for lunch, which dropped to about 35, but still a full house! We had been praying that God would give us beautiful weather so that everyone could be outside, and He did! Our friends, the Everetts, came down on Saturday evening, and Laura and I were up early to prep and cook. We surprised ourselves with everyone being ready for church super early. Emma and I needed to be at church by 9:15am as she was singing with the kids choir. She was a little nervous about the baptism, but also excited. Emma and I headed to church, and the rest stopped for coffee before church. It was a full service with lots of singing (I love that part), the baptism, and preaching. It was a great service! 

Around 1:30pm, we had Easter dinner at our house. Our house was full, but so were our hearts. There was PLENTY of food, and it was all delicious! We had my parents, Jen, Everetts, Harrison’s, Tamela’s parents, Carrillos, and the Lee family over for lunch. The kids spent the entire afternoon outside with basetkball, golfing, and playing together. The adults fellowshipped together and kept track of little ones and puppies! The Everett’s had their dog, the Harrison’s had their pup, and we had Sam! The Hardison’s dog, Marley, and Sam wrestled and played together for hours and then would flop over for a nap. It was fun to watch them play, and the kids enjoyed holding the chicks, walking the dog and being outside. We are so thankful that God blessed us with a beautiful day, and I am thankful for Ressurrection Sunday. Food is good, fellowship is great, memories are wonderful, but the most precious and awesome part of it all is that Jesus Rose Again! What a day to celebrate! Death was defeated and Jesus conquered the grave! Praise the Lord! 

We are looking forward to a few days off of school! These first few days are supposed to be warm and beautiful, but then it’s supposed to turn chilly again. We will also be working on a few school projects that need to be finished up before we return- such as a science project, animal notebook, and fine arts project- never a dull moment!

In closing, God is good, so good. I’m starting a devotional book on the names of God, and the first one in the book is God- Elohim, meaning the Strong Creator. How much we have to be thankful for in this life! Looking at the choices of those in leadership in our country and what’s happening around the world, would cause me to be depressed in a hurry! But we can rejoice that our confidence is in God and not in mankind! 

Spring Sports, Missions trips, and “Christian Education”

 The month of February felt like a year long, but March is steaming full speed ahead! We’ve begun spring sports, had revival services at church, survived with about half of the school being sick, began spring yard work, and are enjoying some warmer temperatures this week! 

Wyatt and Chandler are both on the golf team, and they are enjoying that immensely. The boys had their first match yesterday and while it wasn’t their best game for either of them, their team placed fourth out of seven. So it wasn’t terrible! Both boys are relatively new to the game of golf, and I know about nil! I didn’t know what a “boogie” was or if it was a good or bad thing- I still don’t completely know! I’ve decided that I need to learn to play golf as all the boys seem to enjoy it, but I’m a fair weather golfer. It can’t be too hot, too cold, too buggy, too muggy, basically I guess I’ll learn when I feel like it! Haha! I’ll learn eventually! My friend, Laura, and her daughter, Ava, went to watch the boys play their golf game yesterday, so I’m glad that she was able to go and take some pictures. With both boys playing, I think I’d need a golf cart to get around the course. I gather that it’s a shot gun start with different players at different holes on the course. The teams are all split amongst each other and keep track of another players score. Since Wyatt and Chandler can’t keep track of each other’s score as their on the same team, they were at different holes on the course yesterday. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot about golf over the next six weeks! 

Garett is playing baseball this spring. He likes golf too, but he decided to play baseball this year. He likes baseball, but his mama doesn’t like the long practices! Wyatt and Chandler are generally done with golf practice around 5:00pm, and Garett isn’t done til about 6:30pm, so it makes getting everyone home a wee bit interesting! We are working on figuring it all out, and hopefully Garett will be getting his license in the next couple of weeks. Garett’s first game will be on Friday, and the weather looks like it will be beautiful, I also like watching baseball when it’s warm and sunny! I guess I’m a fair weather fan! :) 

Travis is anxiously waiting his turn to play spring sports, and that should start happening at the end of the month. He will be playing youth soccer, and he is very excited about that. Emma is happy to have warmer weather, and more time outside. Spring is a fun time of year!

We’ve survived a week of feeling like everyone was either getting sick or getting over being sick! Last week, I took Wyatt to the walk-in clinic as he was running a fever and his throat was hurting really badly. I’m not one to run off to the doctors, but there have been several cases of strep throat going around! He had the flu, but not strep. He missed a few days of school, and Emma was sick for a day or two, but so far the rest of us have remained relatively healthy! We praise the Lord for that! I’ve felt very tired, but daylight savings time also has that effect on me. 

Two weeks ago, we had grandparents day at school. This event is for the elementary students, and they sing or say a poem for the grandparents that attend. We host a book fair where the grandparents can buy a book for the library. They purchase the book in honor of their grandchild, and the library gets a few new books! My friend, Jennifer, and I host the book fair for the library. This year we set out 59 books to sell, and at the end of two hours we had five books left over! It creates a lot of work to get the new books barcoded and labeled into the library, but it also helps bring in new books for the library. We live in an era where kids are not reading nearly enough, so we try to incorporate ways for the students to enjoy reading. I enjoy reading, but I find it hard to engage a lot of students in books these days. If you have any suggestions about great books for young readers, we are always open to ideas! 

We are still waiting to hear back about the opportunity scholarship for our children. Originally we were supposed to receive word in March about whether or not we would get any scholarship help, but now that date has been moved into April. Please continue to pray with us about this scholarship. It would be a huge blessing to our family. God has always provided, and we are so very thankful for that!

Garett and Chandler have the unique opportunity to go on a missions trip to the Dominican Republic in just a little over a week! We are so excited about this opportunity for them. Garett has been to Haiti a few times on missions trip, but that is a very unsafe country currently. God opened the doors for the boys to go with my sister, Jen, as well as my Dad on this trip to the Dominican Republic. We are praying fervently that God will work in their hearts. The boys are praying that they’ll be able to host a little soccer clinic down in the D.R., and our athletic director from school gave the boys some old uniforms to take with them. It would be an exciting opportunity to incorporate sports and the Good News of the Gospel, so we are praying that God will make a way for this to happen. They will also be helping with work on various projects, helping with Vacation Bible school, and whatever else needs doing. If you feel led to help them financially, I am including a link in this post. This link is for Chandler, but the money will go towards both boys. We appreciate your prayers for our sons as they travel, serve, and bless others during this week in the D.R. The link below is the donation link for the boys trip. 

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/0a8c5c8a-10ea-418a-8f8e-ed635f6b3e3a

We are also looking forward to spring break! We have about two and half weeks til break, and I am very much looking forward to having a break from school. I always have a lengthy list of things I think I’m going to accomplish over break, and I never complete the list! However, it’s good to dream big! 

In art classes, we are doing lots of spring art! Since tulips are one of my favorite flowers, we are doing a lot of “tulip” art. I have a great art assistant, Kaycee, who willingly helps me with whatever messes we are creating in art. I’ve been blessed to work with her this year, and God knew it would be good for both of us.  We are also trying to drive home to our students the importance of loving God with all our hearts, glorifying Him with our lives, and being intentional. It’s a big job to teach young hearts and minds, and I don’t take the opportunity lightly. 

Recently, I needed to write out my philosophy of “Christian Education” for something I’m working on. I reflected back on what I had written in college, and while I’ve taken some of that through the years, I was very young. :) I  believe that the importance of Christian Education is to glorify God. If we were created for His glory, shouldn’t that reflect in our teachings to our students? As a Christian educator, my calling is to point my students to Jesus as well as to educate them to the best of my ability in their academics. This should be done whether I’m teaching art, library or anything else. Because we live in this world, I also need to prepare my students to reach certain academic standards, but Christlikeness  should be seen in both my educational teaching and my interactions of with my students. Both should reflect a desire to glorify God as that is why I was created and so were my students! There are certainly a lot of educators doing “Christian education” in our public school systems, and we need that. We need teachers to pray for their students in those classrooms, point them to Jesus through their actions, and disciple them. I’m thankful that I can pray out loud with each of my classes, correct them with what the Bible says, point them to the Scriptures, and pour into their lives. I don’t know how long God has for me in Christian education, but if ever I lose that passion and desire, it’s time to be done. For now, I’ll do my best to teach intentionally and glorify God. Obviously, my Christian education philosophy is much longer than those few sentences mentioned, but the gist is there. I learned so much about “Christian Education” from being mentored by a fabulous older and wiser teacher. Garett and Chandler both had the privilege of being taught by Mrs. Becky Martz in their junior high years. She taught them academics, but she taught them so, so much more than that. Through her example, I learned so much about how I wanted to have my approach to my students when the opportunity presented itself. Oh, teaching kindergarten is different than junior high, but loving Jesus and pointing kids to Jesus is the same. I’m so thankful for her investment in the lives of all our children, but especially Chandler and Garett. 

As Resurrection Sunday approaches, I hope and pray that you take some time to reflect on what Jesus has done for you. God loved you so much that He sent his son, Jesus, to die on the cross for your sin and mine. But- praise the Lord- Jesus rose again! The invitation to accept Him into your heart is open for all of us, and I hope that you’ve taken the time to accept the free gift of salvation. We certainly cannot get into Heaven on our own, and our only hope is in Jesus. Praise the Lord for salvation! 

A Hundred Thoughts and Memories

 Merry Christmas! (I feel like I don’t have enough hours in the day right now, so I better say Merry Christmas first!) It’s hard to believe that it is already December, and it’s been so warm around here! Today (Sunday, 12/3) it was about 76 degrees! This Northern girl has a hard time remembering that it’s December when it’s so warm outside!

The boys (and Roger) had a wonderful time hunting up in Wisconsin over Thanksgiving break. They are already making plans for next year, and they’d like to make it a yearly tradition! I don’t know about that, but I’m glad that they had a great time. Travis got two doe and Chandler also shot a doe. That was exciting for Travis as I figured he was the least likely to get a deer as sitting still isn’t his favorite! Roger said that he’s never seen two deer act so dumb as those two doe that Travis shot, but I think God was showing His love and grace to Travis. They arrived in Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon, ate lunch, and went hunting. Travis sat in the deer stand with Roger, and eventually the first doe came into sight. Travis got his gun all lined up for the shot, and then leaned over to Roger and whispered, “Is this gun gonna kick hard?” Roger said he had a hard time not chuckling, but Travis shot the doe right through the lung. Since there was still some daylight left, and the deer dropped right down, they waited a little longer. About twenty minutes later, another deer walked into sight. The doe stopped about ten feet from the first dropped deer, so Travis shot that one! We were excited for him, and the next morning Travis slept in while the other boys got up to go hunting. He was pretty excited to have something to smugly remind his brothers that not only had he shot the first deer, he shot two deer! The next morning, Monday, Travis sent me a text from my mom’s phone. He said, “I’m smiling and you’re crying. I’m not at school, but you are. Love, Travis” Ahh! That boy! It was really, really good for him to have a few days off of school and be away from the stresses that he’s been facing. It was a good week for all of the boys, and they had a great time with my parents. My mom said that she had forgotten how much the boys could eat on a regular basis, and I just laughed. Our grocery bill was much lower that week with it just being Emma and I! We are so thankful that the boys had this opportunity to spend time hunting and with my parents. Education is important, and I absolutely believe that. But I also believe that life experiences, family, and relationships are also important. God is so good to allow the boys to have this privilege to travel to Wisconsin, and they’ll forever treasure the memories. 

Emma and I also enjoyed Thanksgiving break. It was nice to have a little bit slower pace and to savor a few special moments with just one child. It was a weird week as our friends, the Everett’s were gone, the boys were gone, Roger was gone and Jen left on Wednesday for South Dakota. I wasn’t sure what we were going to do for Thanksgiving dinner, but I figured that even if we had just cereal, it was gonna be fine with me! However, my friend, Laura Guelfi, invited us over to her house for Thanksgiving dinner. That was a nice change for me as usually it’s my house that’s a bustling place on Thanksgiving day! It was nice to go over to their house, enjoy dinner and fellowship, and help clean up, and then go home. I’m thankful that they extended hospitality to Emma and I, and we are so very blessed to have friends to give thanks with and for. 

Emma and I did go do some Black Friday shopping! We went to Michael’s art/craft store as I needed some supplies for the 500+ ornaments that the kids are making for gifts for their parents. Such is the life of a teacher- buy it when it’s on sale! But Emma and I ran into some freinds during our lunch at Chick-fil-a and Emma was thrilled to have lunch with another little girl from school. That was the highlight of her day, and I’m glad that God orchestrated that detail for Emma. 

The boys got home on Sunday afternoon, and we whipped right into a busy and full week of school! We are on the countdown to Christmas break, but these are some long and full days with cheer practices, basketball practices for three of the boys, and the endless job of trying to keep up with all the school work and projects that are due. We’ve been very busy in the art room, and while my regular art assistant is filling in for another teacher, we’ve been busy! I am thankful for the TA’s that help on Monday and Tuesday with art as we’ve been in the middle of a million pieces of popsicle sticks, hot glue, pictures and ribbon! I’m thankful for help that is willing to pitch in and do whatever is necessary! 

It was a mentally exhausting week for me. It felt like a dogfight to get up and go to work towards the end of the week, and I don’t like that feeling. We’ve faced some pretty serious attacks from Satan head-on this past week, and I’m still waiting for God to work out the details of what His perfect plan looks like. To be completely honest, Friday was a terrible, horrible no-good very bad day. Laura and I were both in tears on the bus ride back to school, and an older, much wiser coach looked at us and said, “You gotta let it roll like water off a duck’s back. Just remember Jesus loves you and press on.” It’s not that easy for me, but after going home and talking through a lot of it with Roger, I was able to get back up on Saturday morning and head to the basketball tournament. Chandler was playing in the tournament this past weekend, and they had a 9:00am game, which meant an early morning departing from the school! Roger and Garett came along to the tournament, but Emma and Travis stayed with Aunt Jen. Wyatt was at Brody’s house. We got home around 2:00pm, and it was good to catch up on some household chores that badly needed attention! 

On Saturday evening, we had the opportunity to attend a “Night in Bethlehem” put on by a local church. We’ve been to something similar in Maine, but yet completely different! We met Jen and the Everett’s at the event at about 6:30pm. The church had set up  “Bethlehem” in a field complete with many shops that would’ve been in Bethlehem, camels, sheep, the Inn, the stable, etc. It was really a cool interactive experience for Emma especially but we all enjoyed it. The weather was beautiful, and it was a fun, free activity. The kids all enjoyed it, and it was a good reminder of why we celebrate the season. It’s not just about the Baby, but about the cross! I am so very thanfkul that Jesus was willing to come as a baby in a manger, but He didn’t stay a helpless baby. He is indeed the Risen King of Kings and Lord of my life. 

We had several families over for supper on Sunday night as well as to bake, cook, and create Christmas treats! Whew! It was the most chocolaty mess ever, but it was fun! The kids ran around outside, ate food, ran around some more, ate treats, and played hide-n-seek in the yard. About the time that the parents were ready to go, the kids had all disappeared! We spent some time looking for them, and then realized that they had walked down to the pond and around on the gravel road by our house. It was a flurry of activities with parents yelling for kids, car horns honking, and lots of excitement! Two of the neighbors checked in with us, but I was happy to tell them that the excitement was over. We had just temporarily lost 13 kids! Oh well! It was a fun memory and lots of baking, cooking, creating, and chocolate dipping! I am thankful for good friends to enjoy fellowship, laughter, and baking together. 

The Middle School Basketball team had a game on Tuesday evening, and with some scheduling arrangements with Laura and the cheer schedule, I did make it to his game. Roger was able to get off early enough to watch the game too, and it’s fun to watch that age play basketball. None of them are very good, but for the most part they work hard and have good attitudes. Travis has been able to have quite a bit of playing time the last two games, and he works hard at it. We are thankful for the coaches for his team, and that Travis has this opportunity to play. Chandler has had a few games also, but not quite a much playing time. He tends to get nervous in the game, but I think part of that is just lack of experience. He is learning a lot, and we are thankful for his coach also. 

This week Garett’s junior class is putting on a Christmas play, and wow- Garett has been stressed! He’s been in Christmas programs before and involved in lots of things on a stage, but this is a major responsibility for him, and he wants it to be well done. After many long conversations with him, helping him learn lines, and listening to him, we just told him that he is responsible for himself. He doesn’t like to be embarrassed and if he’s involved in something he wants it to be done well. So, he would appreciate your prayers for his class tomorrow night! 

We are coming down the homestretch to Christmas break, and this mama is looking forward to break. For the first time in many years, I don’t have a Christmas card to send out or a letter. That was hard for me to accept as I like to stay connected with people, and I like to get and receive mail. However, at the end of the day, it’s not a priority this year. But I do need to make cards at some point because we had our family pictures done! I think most of the 500+ art ornaments are done, and other than picking up two more pictures from Walmart, we are wrapping that project up too. Literally on Monday, we will be wrapping and packaging the ornaments during our art class time for the kids to take home. Most of the kids have been really excited about having a present to give to their parents, and it’s a way to help the students understand that Christmas is definitely not all about getting something! 

The cheer team is prepping for a pep rally on Friday, and whew! Laura and I have been working hard on a lot of details behind the scenes to help prepare for this, and we’d definitely appreciate your prayers! We want to glorify our Heavenly Father, encourage school spirit, have fun games, not have any injuries, and show a little Christmas spirit. (I think I’m tired already!) 

December is such an exciting month, but it can also be an exhausting month. I’m learning that I can’t do it all, and that sometimes, I just have to let things go. It’s okay that Emma’s clothes don’t always match - she picked them out herself. It’s okay that we won’t send out a Christmas card- listening to Garett’s concerns was more important. It’s okay that I didn’t get up all the Christmas decorations- we have a tree and the real reason for Christmas is Jesus anyways! I’m thankful that God is always faithful. I am thankful that regardless of my “feelings”, God never stops loving me. 

A favorite song of mine this Christmas season! Emmanuel, God with us!

 

Broken Bones, Baseball Finish, and 11 School Days to GO!!

 In a house with five kids, our lives have never been exactly “boring”, but this week we added some extra excitement. We wrapped up the baseball season with a tournament on Friday/Saturday. The boys played frisbee(disc) golf with some friends on Sunday afternoon, while Emma and I went to the park with our friend, Tamela, and her son, Jace. Then Travis broke his foot, Chandler got a very sore throat, the older boys sang with Ava and Savannah for Wednesday night church, and we have eleven school days to go! Whew! (No wonder I’m tired!) 

Also, last week our school celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week, so that’s always a fun time. We didn’t do anything extravagant for our teachers, but I hope that they know that we love and appreciate them! I made chocolate covered strawberries for the teachers last Wednesday. And while they look pretty, I sure can make a mess in our kitchen in a hurry! We do very much appreciate those teachers that invest and pour into our children. We recognize that our children are certainly not perfect, and that they can be a challenge at times! But we appreciate those that invest in them and point them to Jesus. These teen years can be challenging, but we sure do love these kids that God has blessed us with. 

On Friday, the baseball tournament started around noon. The baseball team didn’t have to come into school right away, but Garett and Chandler just decided to go ahead and come in with me. They helped with some projects that needed to be done for the tournament, and watched the other spring sport games that were also playing- girls soccer, men’s volleyball, girls softball, and boys baseball. A lot was happening on the school campus! 

Friday morning was also my first meeting with the special education department here in North Carolina. One of our sons has a current IEP from the state of Maine, and I have a son that I suspect may also have some learning challenges. I asked for this meeting as Garett’s IEP will be expiring in October. We don’t know what God has for him, but we do know that school is hard and challenging. Travis does not have a current IEP, but I suspect that he may have some learning challenges. However, getting the testing done can be a challenge. The specialists all made the comments that we must have some great boys as all the teachers put rave reviews on the evaluation. In the course of conversation, it almost seems as if the boys would have an easier time getting the proper evaluations done and faster if the boys were terrors in their classroom and rude! However, the special education department did agree to test the boys, but it will take a while as in we don’t know how long! Please pray that the testing that they do will be an accurate representation of the boys learning and  comprehension levels. Both boys have passing grades in all subjects, but like I told the teachers, those grades do not represent ALL the hard work poured in at home. It doesn’t show the little 12 year old boy crying often at the kitchen table about how school is so hard and he really, really doesn’t want to go. Those grades don’t represent the 16 year old boy that realizes that he’s not exactly like his peers, and “why can’t I just be smarter?” I know that I know these boys better than anyone else in the world, and I will advocate for them. I know that the testing would probably be easier and faster if they were in the public education system, and sometimes I do get frustrated by teachers that don’t really get to know their students, but at the end of the day, I believe that our boys are exactly where God wants them to be for right now. However, we would appreciate your prayers for wisdom about their future education. I know that God can use anyone that is surrendered to His Will, and above all else, we want our children to love and serve Jesus. 

We spent Friday and Saturday at the school for the baseball tournament. I helped out some with concessions, collecting money for admission and picking up trash. It was beautiful weather for a baseball tournament, and many people came out for the games. The girls softball came in fourth, and the boys baseball team came in 1st. Chandler did get to play in the last game, and he had a great bunt. Garett didn’t get to play as much, and I think both boys are relieved that they can come home earlier now that they don’t have practices. We learned a lot and we had our share of struggles, but God brought us through it all. 

On Sunday afternoon, we met up with our friends, The Hardisons. We spent the afternoon playing disc golf, playing at the park, eating lots of food at their house, and lots of laughter and conversations. We had a great time! Emma was the only girl out of 8 kids, but she can hold her own. The kids all played outside for the majority of the afternoon. We headed home around 8:30pm, and everyone was tired and ready for bed. Monday morning dawned with a new week of school, except Travis could walk on his foot! His right foot was swollen! We asked him how long it had been hurting, and he replied that he had stepped on it wrong while playing basketball at the Hardison’s house. I asked him why on earth he hadn’t mentioned it to us the night before! He replied, “Mom, I was really tired. I just knew that you would probably tell me to take some medicine and drink more water!” I had a hard time not laughing, but that is generally my go-to response! It’s currently easier for Roger to take a day off of work, so he and Travis ended up going to a walk-in clinic. They first went to the walk-in clinic that Roger had taken Chandler to for his episode with poison oak. They arrived at 7:30am, and there was already a line. They spoke to the receptionist around 8:30am, and she told them that they no longer treat pediatrics in this office! Well…what now? So Travis and Roger had to travel to another walk-in clinic that would see pediatrics. After seeing that doctor, she referred them to a sports doctor for an x-ray and further evaluations! It was an all day affair! I’m so blessed to be married to a man like Roger that will take it all in stride and keep on doing the next right thing. Eventually, they saw the sports doctor on Monday afternoon, and he is concerned that Travis broke the bone that is on/near his growth plate in his foot. I don’t know. I didn’t really understand it all, except the fact that Travis now has a cast for at least two weeks, and then probably a boot for 5 more weeks! Not exactly what we wanted to hear right before school gets out, but God is still faithful. Travis was in tears when he realized that he would have to not participate in gym class or the school field day events which will be tomorrow. It’s been a rough week for him. 

On Wednesday night, Garett and Chandler sang special music with their friends, Ava and Savannah. I was probably more nervous than they were about singing as I haven’t exactly been playing the piano on a regular basis! Chandler looked a little bit like a deer in the headlights, but they did it. We are proud of them for getting up in front of people to sing for the Lord. I know that they can build experience and confidence over time, and maybe next time Chandler will hold the microphone close enough that we can hear him! We are very thankful for the Everett family, and God has blessed us with a special friendship. 

This week in library, we hosted a “strawberry” theme day. Since fresh strawberries are in abundance right now, we focused on that berry. We did a trivia contest, learned about the plant, and sampled fresh strawberries with homemade whipped cream. It was a hit with almost all of our students, and I hope they all learned something! Did you know that the strawberry is the only fruit that grows its seeds on the outside? Or that the average strawberry has 200 seeds? Or that strawberries are a member of the “rose” family? How about the fact that North Carolina is 3rd in strawberry distribution? It was a fun lesson, and it helped engage our students a bit more as we wade through the last few days of the school year. 

Fire season seems to be coming to an end, and it was a fast season. We got more rain this year than we’ve had in past springs, so it kept the fire season shorter than normal. We are looking forward to having him back on his regular schedule of Monday thru Friday and home on Saturday and Sunday. Roger and the older boys are looking forward to playing on a co-ed softball church team this summer. I think I might could be persuaded to play, but honestly, I need some serious practice time and right now I can’t even keep the laundry folded! 

We are thankful for all that God does in our lives. We have  been very blessed. We’ve had some rough moments in the past few weeks, but God has shown Himself to be faithful and true. The boys are planning on working for the neighbor again this summer, and they are looking forward to that. I”m looking forward more time at home, outside, and being with our family. Thank you for your love and prayers. 

Birthdays! (And 19 Days to Go!)

 Nineteen days! If anyone is wondering, we are down to 19 days until school is out! We are looking forward to summer break. It’s been a good year, but the first year in a new school is generally full of challenges and changes, so it’ll be nice to have this first year behind us. We’ve surely learned a lot! (A lot of academics yes, but also a lot about how the school functions and operates.) 

These past few weeks have been full of activities! Two weeks ago, I went with the high schoolers to a state competition. The competition was across the state closer to Charlotte, so the drive was a bit of a hike. One of the music teachers and I ended up traveling on the boys bus with 36 boys! To be honest, it didn’t phase me a bit. My life is already full of telling boys to “make good choices”, “stop being annoying,” etc., so having 36 more to give a few directions to was fine. Mrs. Lawanda and I made a good pair and it was such a blessing to me to get to know her better. We left on Wednesday morning around 7:30am., and made it to the competition for the opening assembly and then right away the choir sang. Garett and Chandler were both in the choir, and it was a special blessing to me to hear them sing with the choir. I know that singing is not always their favorite, but they’ve learned a lot through choir, and I’m thankful that they had the opportunity to be a part of one. It was a crazy few days at the competition with athletic events, singing, drama, music, and keeping track of 70 plus kids! 

Thursday was a very warm day at the competition and by the afternoon it was hot! Chandler was competing in the one mile run, and both boys were in the soccer shoot-out. The soccer shoot out had to consist of at least two girls on the team. Our school does not have a girls soccer team so finding two girls who were willing was a bit challenging! However, two girls were found that were willing! I don’t think anyone of the kids from our school really knew what they were doing or were supposed to do, but they had a good time. This was apparently a first time event, new this year, so everyone was new to it. Next year, they’ll have a better idea of what to expect. It was so warm that a lot of kids were starting to get headaches, and there was not enough water available for the athletes. By the time Chandler and Eli (another kid from our school) started the mile, they both looked a bit dehydrated! Chandler did very well in the mile run, and he did place first in that event. That was exciting! 

We traveled back after the awards ceremony on Friday morning. It was a full three days of activity and not a whole lot of sleep! However, I was very thankful for the opportunity to spend with my own children as well as other high schoolers. Roger and I were also very thankful for those that were willing to watch our kids while I was away. Roger is in the middle of fire season, so we weren’t sure if he’d be available to pick up kids from school, get them to school, etc. My friends (both named Laura) were willing to watch our kids. Wyatt and Travis were happy to spend two nights at Gabe and Enzo’s house, and Emma certainly didn’t mind spending time with the Everett family. Our kids know that we are very particular about houses that they stay overnight at (or spend time at period), and they were excited about the few days out of the “norm”. We are blessed with some great friends.

Wyatt also turned 14 since I’ve last written on the blog! I can’t believe that our smack-dab-in-the-middle child is 14! Time has flown by! Wyatt is smart, competitive and friendly. He loves to play sports, learn new things, and spend time with his friends. Wyatt is very good at golf and basketball. He sometimes struggles to be content with where God has placed him in our family, and I pray often for his heart to be sensitive to the Lord’s leading. We love him dearly! My friend, Laura, spoiled him rotten with a cake, special activities, and dinner of his choice! I’m thankful for others that also invest in the lives of our children and point them to Jesus. 

Last Saturday evening, we went to a rodeo with the Everett family. It was pouring rain when we left our house, and we were unsure about how much “fun” the rodeo was going to be! However, about 12 minutes after we arrived at the rodeo, the skies cleared and the sun came out! It was a beautiful night for a rodeo! We had a great time of laughter, memories, and fellowshipping with each other. It was a fun night after all.

 

This past week, we hosted an elementary fine arts event at our school. It was for 3rd-6th graders. I worked with our students that were going to participate in the Bible Sword Drill event. I’ve grown up doing Bible Sword drills, but the rules for this competition were intimidating! I had no idea what to expect, but I knew that the kids needed to be able to find the books of the Bible quickly. My friend, Jennifer, and I worked with the 3/4th graders and I worked with the 5/6th graders. We started out at the beginning of March wondering how this was going to go! However, we improved a LOT! The sixth grade team placed second, the fifth grade team placed third, the fourth grade team did not place, and the third grade team placed fourth. I was so proud of all their hard work, and I can breathe easier knowing that’s behind me! Whew! If I get asked to help with that event again, I’ll have a much better idea of what to expect. The first year of anything new can be very intimidating. I had mentioned to several of my friends that my prayer was that we would not be last and that the students would not be embarrassed. And God answered that prayer- Praise the Lord! 

Also, I ran into one of my college friends during fine arts. That was an unexpected suprised, but it was good to reconnect with my friend, Melanie. I look forward to seeing her next year! On Thursday, my friend, Jennifer and I helped out all day with the Bible Sword Drill competition. We were both a little nervous about what to do, but we quickly figured it out. I was a line judge which meant I needed to watch for the first and second person to the line and then check to make sure that they had the right reference. Sometimes it was really clear who was first and other times it was a bit harder. Jen and I were able to run out for some lunch and to get coffee to make it through the afternoon. I brought some back for my friend, Tamela, as she was running around playing the piano for a bunch of events. It was a full and busy day! 

The Fine Arts competition continued into Friday, and I wasn’t quite sure what my role was going to be. I generally can always find something to do, so that’s generally not the problem, but I wanted to be a blessing to someone. I worked in the library for a while, and then I got a text asking if I could help in the lunch room. That kept me busy for a while! I helped serve 291 sack lunches, so there was plenty to do for a while. I was thankful that Tamela had brought me coffee that morning as I needed it! We had two days of rain during fine arts, and the kids were showing the effects of being cooped up for a few days! Thankfully the sun came out and it turned into a beautiful evening. 

On Saturday Roger was able to get off work around 12:00. This was a pleasant surprise as the boys have been wanting to play golf with Roger. Justin Everett and his son, Brody, also went to play golf, so it was a fun afternoon for the boys. Wyatt was, by far, the best out of the boys, and it was fun to see him excel in something. They played 18 holes of golf, and it was a hot afternoon. They came home needing some water and food, but they had fun. 

While the boys were playing golf, the girls went out shopping. We went to TJ Maxx, Old Navy, Target, and Sam’s Club. Per usual, I spent most of my money on groceries at Sam’s Club! Oh well, we are thankful to have funds to fed our tribe. It was a fun afternoon with lots of laughter and memories. Emma woke up on Saturday morning eager and ready to go, so it was a long wait until 2:00pm for her. She had a great time with Ava and Savannah and when we came home, she asked when we were going to go again!  Um…not for a while! 

We are on the “home stretch” for the last few busy weeks of school. Baseball season will be over this weekend- praise Jesus! Then it’ll be the last few weeks of academics and activities to the finish line. We keep telling our kids that we have to keep going strong. We can’t give up, and we have to press on doing our very best! I saw this quote this past week, and I was reminded that we have to be diligent and work hard. We need to “redeem the time”. These are some wicked and dark days that we are living in, however, God is still on the throne! Praise His Holy Name!