OCTOBER- Is the Month Finally Almost Over?!

 October was a really long and full month of activities, events, “last moments for Chandler”, my parents visiting and a whole host of a lot of other things that happened in our lives. I’ll admit, I’ve felt a bit like a “failure” mom as I haven’t posted many pictures of Chandler’s last senior moments to Facebook or even shared a whole lot of what’s been happening in our lives. But the blog is the story of our lives, and I’m trying to keep most of our memories and events in one place…even if it’s currently at a once a month post! 

Photo credit: Chance Howard 

All good photos- credit to Chance Howard! 

Photo credit: Chance Howard

We started off the month of October with a visit to the regional fair. The boys had soccer practice so Emma and I had the opportunity to go to the fair with one of Emma’s classmates (Cynthia) and her mom. Emma is quickly learning that there are some advantages to being the only child to attend certain events! Emma and Cynthia had free student passes, and I had free fair passes from entering art at the fair, so the we didn’t have to pay any admission fee. Maria and I decided that Emma and Cynthia could get wristbands for the rides, and the girls  rode so many rides in the 3 hours we were at the fair. We did take them into some of the show barns to see the fair art, but we walked quickly. Maria and I had many conversations while the girls were busy on the rides, so it was a good evening for me too. After the fair, we took the girls to McDonald’s for supper, and they were thrilled with that too. It was a fun and full day for them. 

When I went to pick up all the school art work from the fair the Monday after the fair ended, I about had a panic attack as one of my high schoolers was missing his art piece! I was about to probably cry when one of the fair workers came by and said, “Oh, I think his piece is in the front office.” I was a bit confused as I was worried that it had been broken or something, but no, he had won “Best of Show” at the fair, and his project was heading to the North Carolina State Fair! Well, praise Jesus! I was so relieved and thrilled! Kaeden’s project continued on to the state level, where he won “Best of Show” at the state fair! I had nothing to do with the project, and I only coordinated the efforts of getting it to the fair, but I am so proud of his hard work and representation of the school. That was a highlight for our art department at school. 

Soccer season is completely wrapped up for another year, and it marks the ending of another chapter of soccer for another of our sons. Chandler had a great season, along with the team. They were 16-1 in the season (that’s 16 wins and 1 loss for those that did not know). And Chandler scored 30 goals over the course of the season. Roger and Armando Jr. did a fantastic job coaching the team, and while it certainly wasn’t without its moments of frustration, we are so proud of the team! The boys high school soccer team won their state conference match on October 18th for the first time in a very, very long time. They had seven seniors on the team, and we will miss them next season. However, we are thankful for the great season that the team had, and the Lord was merciful as we did not have any serious injuries. Chandler won the MVP award for the tournament, and two other boys were also named to the All-Tournament team. I do think that the awards in the conference can be a bit biased or based on who knows whom rather than skill or performance at the games. The boys soccer team should’ve had more than just three players named in the all-conference awards and the all-tournament awards. But ya know, at the end of the day, it’s just a plaque or trophy…and I also have a box of those from high school days. The memories, the moments, the relationships will far outlast the trophies or plaques. But, that being said, we were thrilled when the boys team also won the “Christian Character Award” in the conference! It’s often hard to keep your “cool” on the field or with the refs, but for the most part, both the players and the fans did fairly well. I am proud of Roger’s hard efforts, sacrifices to make coaching work, and his willingness to keep at it even when it was hard with three boys and a coach all living in the same house! 

The boys and I have worked several Saturdays at various fairs and festivals this past month helping the family that we work with during the summer months. No one necessarily loves getting up on a Saturday and going to work, but life is expensive! Chandler has been busy looking at several different colleges and trying to figure out his options. He would like to go on a deep sea fishing trip for his family senior trip at the end of the school year, and we are looking into our options for a family vacation when school is out. 

This month Wyatt had an appointment with the doctor as I wanted to ask about a bump on the back of his head. I’ve noticed it for a while now, and I wanted the doctor to check it out. It’s a hard lump on the back of his skull, so the doctor asked if we would get it xrayed. He said that he didn’t think it was anything serious as the lump is hard and not soft, but to go ahead and get it xrayed. I took Wyatt in the next morning, and I figured it wasn’t terribly serious as the doctor didn’t call until the following afternoon. Apparently, it’s just part of how his skull is formed. He probably shouldn’t ever get a close cut on the back of his head, but there’s nothing wrong. I am thankful for that. Wyatt does have another concern that we are getting looked at later in the year, but we’re not ready to cross that bridge yet. 

Chandler gave blood at the school blood drive this month, and while he managed to give the blood, he might be a “one and done” type of person. He finished the blood donation, sat in the chair, apparently said, “I don’t feel good.”, and he passed out! I wasn’t there as I was finishing up teaching, but our guidance counselor called me to tell me that Chandler was fine, but he was feeling a little woozy. I walked down to the donation room, and the Principal and Pastor were in the hallway. Pastor Powell told me that Chandler was about as white as a sheet, and when I looked in the room, he sure was white! Chandler was laying on the floor with his legs up on the chair, sipping juice, and looking a little out of it! All is well, but Chandler did come home that afternoon and took a nap! 

Let’s see…what else happened this month? Lots of art, teaching, instruction, and trying to make it through the very long month of October! There are not any days off of school, so it makes for some loooong days! My parents did come from Wisconsin in the beginning of the month, and it was good to see them. It’s been a while, and we don’t see them nearly as often as we would like. They came for Chandler’s senior soccer night, and stayed a few days. The boys were happy to get out a little early from school a few days that week, and we enjoyed meals and fellowship with them. The boys and Roger will be heading to Wisconsin for deer hunting at the end of November, and they are all looking forward to both the experiences and time together. Maybe someday my parents will move a little closer! (Did you read that, Dad and Mom?) :) 

Also this month we took the time to remember Charlie Kirk, Emma’s field trip was cancelled due to the government shutdown, and we made it through the first quarter of the school year!

We’ve also had some not-so-wonderful experiences as that’s what life is made of. Reality is that we cannot always protect our children from hard or unpleasant situations (nor should we want to), but sometimes these moments of growth are hard on parent and child. There’s been a situation this past month that caused us to wonder if we are just those “really weird parents” or if we just need to be “steadfast and unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord”. I know I’m talking in riddles here, but we really could use some extra prayers. One of our children was faced with a situation that is out of their control, but yet a bit of a situation where the repercussions will be felt for a long time. The truth is that at the end of the day, Roger and I need to protect, prepare and nurture the heart of our children to love and serve Jesus. We surely do not do it all perfectly, but as I tell my art students all the time, “Progress over perfection.” How do we best prepare our children to live lives that honor and glorify their Heavenly Father? Perhaps I’ll be able to share a bit more about this situation later, but honestly it’s been hurtful and overwhelming, and we are still trying to process it all. 

 One of the attributes of God that we are teaching in our art classes is that God is holy. Did you know that the word “holy” is mentioned 611 times in the Bible? The word “love” is mentioned 310 times. I’ve been telling our art students that we are surrounded by a culture that screams “God is love.” “Love like Jesus”, etc. All of which are true statements, but we equally need to ask ourselves, “Is this holy?” “ Does this action/deed cause me strive to be holy?” Sometimes in my art classes, I think I’m far more convicted than my students! Haha! 

We are very much looking forward to the month of November. A few of my art students worked on a “thankful” tree for Jen this past week as we want to encourage thankfulness in the hearts of our students. I’m excited to see what our students are thankful this month, and hopefully encourage that attitude of gratitude. God is so good, isn’t he? I’m hoping to write a bit more on the blog next month about several things that I am really thankful for in my life. 

I really love this song! 

March News! (Nothing to do with March Madness!)

 Spring Break! It’s hard to believe, but we’ve made it through the long stretch of school from Christmas to spring break- Praise Jesus! It’s been too long since I’ve posted on our blog, so I’ll just give a few highlights, and post some pictures. 

Fine arts projects 

Kindergarten art

Fifth grade- warm and cool colors

Middle School-acrylics 

I love this man! He got up at 4:00am one morning to make sure that I had everything I needed for a project for art class. Then he went and visited his mom on her birthday - so thankful for him. Happy Birthday to Roger 

1) We finished up basketball season. Hooray! Basketball is a looonng season, and while it was a good season for the boys basketball teams, I am glad it’s over!

2) We’ve started the spring sports season. Garett is playing baseball, and while I think he sometimes wishes that he was playing on the golf team with his brothers, he is a good first baseman. The other three boys are all on the golf team. Travis is the youngest player in 8th grade, and he was a little nervous for their first match. Chandler, Wyatt and Travis are enjoying golf, and they’ll even go practice on days when there is not a practice. 

Baseball and Golf 

3) Achievement testing was last week, and we made it through! Garett and Chandler took the ACT testing,  and Garett was a little overwhelmed with that. Testing makes for a long week for everyone, and it makes teaching afternoon classes a little more challenging than normal. All brain power has been used up by the afternoon! 

4) Our junior high and high school students had their Fine Arts competition this past week. We sent 19 projects in the Junior High division, and we placed with 8 of those entries! I was thrilled with that, as it’s my first year sending art to this competition, and I had no idea what we were doing! Roger helped Travis get an idea for a wood working project. Travis’s project wasn’t perfect, but he did the work himself, and he did get a blue ribbon on his project! Travis doesn’t usually show a lot of emotion, but I am thrilled for him! I do feel like there are a lot of rules and guidelines for this competition, and reading through it all can be tedious. However, we did not get disqualified in an of our entries, so that’s a win in my book for this first year. 

Travis’s wood working project

5) Please pray for Garett’s car situation. He’s got a great little vehicle, but the engine needs replacing. The body of the car is in great shape, lower miles, etc, and he has the money to get the job done, but we are having a hard time finding someone to replace the engine. I’d really like for Garett to have a vehicle, as it’s a lot of hanging around at school waiting for practices to wrap up! 

6) Garett graduates from high school in about eight weeks! I asked Garett the other day if he was ready to graduate, and he said, “I am kinda ready to graduate, but this last year has really gone by quickly. I’m trying to enjoy where I am, but time is going by fast!” Get ready, boy! This is only the beginning! I’m trying to figure out how I got old enough to be the mom to a senior! Garett caught me in tears the other day, and he was like, “Are you okay? Mom, it’s just a graduation!” Awww, son! I cry often these days as I feel like my hormones are all over the place, but I am so thankful for Garett. He can get mad at his brothers in an instant, often butts heads with Roger, and can be arrogant and not know when to stop talking. But…he’s also one of the kindest and compassionate teenagers that I know. I am thankful for him. 

7) Roger’s birthday was yesterday, and I am so thankful for him. Roger is not flashing or flamboyant, but he is faithful, loyal and kind. He has been working many long hours during this fire season, and I don’t know of many men who would come home from a long day at work and then go play golf with their sons, or cut wood for their wife’s  art projects, or play a game with their daughter, or make lunches for school. We are so blessed to have Roger in our lives, and we are looking forward to a few days away this next week! 

Art Project Sculptures- still working on them! 

8) My friend and co-worker, Jennifer, and I hosted a book fair for the library during Grandparent’s day recently. It’s so fun to get new books for the library. The way we run our book fair is that we purchase books for the grandparents to buy for the library. They buy the book and a sticker goes in the book stating that so and so purchased this book in honor of so and so. It’s worked out fairly well in the years we’ve done it, and we were able to add 76 new books to the library. 

9) We are going on a cruise this week for Garett’s graduation trip. Everyone has been counting down the days, and we are looking forward to some relaxation in the sun! We’ve been planning, saving and scheming for a long time now, and it’s finally here. I know that not everyone likes cruising, but for us, it’s one of the cheapest ways to see different ports, and have lodging and food included! Our tribe likes to eat food, and they aren’t necessarily picky about food, but they eat a lot of it! For me, I look forward to reading books out in the sun, not having internet, and making memories with our family. From here on out, it’s going to get harder and harder to get all of us together to do these kinds of trips as Garett takes on a full time job or school or whatever God has for him. He was offered a job to work for the gutter company again this summer, so he’s going to do that. After the summer, he’s not really sure what God has for him, but we’ve been praying for wisdom and direction. 

10) As we pray for Garett to have wisdom and direction, we’ve also been praying for direction for me as well. Every year about this time, I feel like Roger and I are faced with decisions about “next year”. We are asking God for wisdom, direction and discernment as we navigate through changes, challenges, and adventures. 

11) I am so thankful for the faithfulness of God. I am thankful that He is unchanging, never grumpy or tired, and He never gets tired of His children. I am such a work in progress, and I often feel like I’m not consistent, tired and grumpy! I’m thankful for forgiveness and grace too. 

In our church in Maine, we sang a lot of Getty hymns. This one popped up on YouTube the other day, and it was a blessing to me. Enjoy. 

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! 

November- So Blessed!

 

November! Here and gone would be the title of this month’s book. We’ve survived our first basketball games, a tournament, a trip to see family on the other side of the state, a kids cooking competition, making Christmas ornaments, and lots of things that  I don’t even remember doing!

Our family photos were taken the first weekend in November, and they turned out so well! The kids were happy that it didn’t take too long, and we’re happy that we have an updated family photo. As everyone gets older and busier, it gets harder and harder to squeeze in time for family photos. I don’t know when we will have the next one taken, so I’ll rejoice in the fact that we got it done this year. 

We enjoyed having the day off for Veteran’s Day, and we set up a little cooking competition for our children. We divided them into teams with the Everett’s kids and gave them a budget. They had to come up with their own menu and cook for Roger, myself, Justin, Laura and Jen. It was so fun to watch them come up with their menus, shop for ingredients, and cook and prepare! We told them that they could use any ingredients that we already had on hand at our houses, so that helped them out with their budget a lot! Ava, Chandler and Travis were on a team together, and Savannah, Garett and Brody were on a team. Wyatt helped on both teams with a variety of things. One team had their menu planned early on and made minor changes. Another team made so many changes, we weren’t sure that they knew what they were going to make! Savannah and Garett were going to make a cheesecake for dessert, but then realized that they were not going to be able to get that done in four hours! So they made a cake instead. Laura and I had a hard time not commenting when we saw that self-rising flour was being used instead of all-purpose flour, but that’s part of the fun! (And the cake actually wasn’t too bad, but there was enough sugar in there to make your teeth chatter!) It was a fun evening, but whew! The cleanup! Every counter in Laura’s kitchen was covered with ingredients, pots, pans, and mess! But with everyone working together it didn’t take forever. Chandler and Ava and Travis won the event for the evening, but Garett and Savannah did pick much harder dishes to make. Next time I think we will give them the same menu and see what they do with making the meal. It was a good experience for all of us. We also realized that our kids need some additional instructions in the fine dining department. The table was not set correctly, they forgot to give us napkins and neither team served the dishes to the adults with utensils! They just picked up the biscuits, potatoes, etc. with their hands! Haha! Oh well. We love all those kids dearly, and we were thankful for the memory. 

I’ve been busy in art classes with trying to help the students create Christmas ornaments for their parents. Since many children are coming from split homes these days, I felt it was important that we create at least two ornaments. Oh wow! Do you have any idea the amount of materials needed to create any ornament for 225 students!? And since I don’t want every grade to create the same ornament, it’s been a hot mess! I’ve been so thankful for my Art assistant, Kaycee, as she’s helped wash several 100 paintbrushes, hot glued together 100+ wooden popsicle sled ornaments, scrubbed tables, and endured all my crazy ideas! (But, I’m also excited for the kids to have these ornaments to give for Christmas presents) I am so thankful that God brought her to art this year, and I’m going to miss her as she fills in for Emma’s teacher who is leaving for maternity leave. 

We’re into our third week of the sports season, and wow are we tired! This past week, we had our first basketball games. The cheer teams are responsible to cheer for the JV Girls, JV Boys, Varsity Girls and Varsity Boys teams, so it’s a full afternoon! The JV Cheer team cheers for the JV teams, and the Varsity cheer team cheers for the varsity teams, but since Laura and I coach both teams, we get to stay all evening! Twice last week, we had meals from the crock pot at school. I brought a crockpot of Taco Soup on Monday, and Jenn made potato soup for the kids on Tuesday, which was game day. Since we spend a lot of time at school, and going out is expensive so it’s better to just bring along the crock pot of food. 

Wyatt got to start in the JV boys basketball game, so that was exciting for him! Chandler didn’t start, but he did get some playing time. He spends a lot of time trying to improve his game, but he does seem to get nervous when he plays. I’m guessing he probably just needs to get more comfortable with being in the game. The boys are enjoying playing basketball, but whew- it was about 9:30pm when we got home! Then there was a tournament this weekend, so the varsity boys had an 8:00pm game on Thursday! I didn’t know if the cheer coaches would be able to stay awake through it all! We made it. Thankfully, Jen took home the four kids that weren’t involved in the basketball game, so it was just Chandler and I with a super late night. Roger was happy to come get the kids, but they were all eager to stay the night at Aunt Jen’s so that’s what they did. 

Friday was a crazy busy day with teaching library, a doctor’s appointment for Travis, and then heading to the basketball tournament to coach cheer with Laura. Laura and I have learned a lot about cheer, our team, different personalities, coaching these past few weeks. We’ve prayed (a lot), cried (quite a bit of that too), and have also laughed and created memories too. I’ve watched more cheer videos and read more articles on stunts and cheers in the past few weeks than I have at any other point in my life! Laura is an amazing cheer coach- I’m just kinda along to support, encourage, pray and and assist however I can. I try not to think about what’s going to happen when they need to move, and instead we just take it one day at a time. We’d appreciate your prayers as we continue to try to invest, pour into, and point our cheer girls to Jesus. 

The boys and Roger left for Wisconsin on Saturday morning. The original plan was to leave on Friday, but Chandler had a basketball tournament, and it was a long week without a moment to get anything ready for the trip. I left at 6:15am to be at the basketball tournament with the cheer team, so I missed seeing them leave. (However, it was like the rapture had occurred when I came home as there were definitely signs that they had packed up and left! Haha!) Emma and Jen picked me up from the basketball tournament as we were headed to my Aunt Lisa’s house to celebrate and early Thanksgiving with them. We ate dinner with them, enjoyed some time outside soaking up the sun’s rays, and then decorated their house for Christmas. It was fun to decorate the Christmas tree, and we enjoyed the time together. (Emma wasn’t feeling well last week, so I had spent the afternoon decorating our house when I was home with her. I don’t usually decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving, but the season is so short and my time is very limited!) We’ve enjoyed having the Christmas lights shining on the tree as we prepare to celebrate the real reason for the season- Jesus. 

My friend, Allison, told me that one of the older folks at our home church in Maine passed away this past week. Clayton Dorr was one of those “heroes of the faith” in my eyes. He was easy to talk to, had a ready smile, loved Jesus and really did seem interested in pouring into the next generation. Both of my older boys have fond memories of working with him at cleaning up his yard in the spring time or work days at church. Sometimes I fear that we aren’t being diligent enough to raise up the next generation to be “men and women of the faith”. We entrust the care of our children to perhaps good people, but are they vibrant and invested in pointing our children to Jesus? I want to be that person, whether it’s in teaching art, library, cheer or anything else, I want to be the person that is genuinely interested in others and points them to Jesus. Really there is nothing more important than preparing people for eternity because it’s going to happen…either eternity in heaven or eternity in hell, but those are the only options. 

Also in news from Maine, the company that Roger worked with for the years we were in Maine is selling out to another person. So much changed in such a short amount of time, and I look back at our early years in Maine with some of the most precious memories. God brought along a job for Roger at Penobscot Island Air and working for Kevin Waters was a blessing. This is a quick video of a snapshot of what Roger did in Maine. God brought us to Maine for a reason, and I am just as sure that he has a purpose and a plan in bringing us to North Carolina. 

The boys and Roger left for Wisconsin on Saturday morning. Oh boy! The boys were so excited about going to visit Nana and Papa and go deer hunting. I’m not sure if Travis went along because he wanted to see Nana and Papa and hunt deer or because he wanted to get out of school! However, he did finish his hunter’s safety course, and he was going deer hunting! They arrived in Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon, and went out hunting on Sunday night before church. Guess who shot the first deer? Actually the first 2 deer? Well, it was Travis! He was in a hunting stand with Roger and they spotted a doe. Roger said that the doe meandered up close enough to shoot, and Travis got ready to aim. He was all set up and ready to shoot the deer when he leaned over to Roger and asked, “How badly is this gun going to kick?” Haha! He did just fine with one shot right through the lungs. The deer went right down, and there was still plenty of light, so they just sat and waited. Within the hour another doe walked right up and Travis dropped that one about 20 feet from the first deer! It was an exciting event for Travis! The other boys haven’t seen anything yet, but they are waiting and praying for more deer. Travis texted me on Monday morning from my mom’s phone. He said “Lights are up (referring to Christmas) and I’m smiling and you are crying because you’re working and I’m not at school.” It wasn’t the clearest sentence ever, but you get the idea. We are thankful for this opportunity for them, and I’m positive it will be a memory for the rest of their lives. Please pray that they will get a few more deer this week as all the boys would like to shoot one. 

It’s a quiet week for Emma and I, and that is okay! I’ve made such a mess in the art room this week that I can’t imagine having left today’s activities for a substitute teacher. Emma’s not really in a good position to miss school, and I also work to provide for the school bill. There were a lot of reasons why Emma and I didn’t go to Wisconsin, but we are going to enjoy these moments at home together. Since our friends, the Everett’s, are also away for the week, Emma is watching their dog. Emma would love to get a dog- it’s the rest of us that don’t know if it’s a good idea! However, this is good for Emma as it shows her that having a pet is not all fun and games! 

God is good. As we approach Thanksgiving Day, I hope you take a few moments to take some time to reflect on some of the many blessings that God has bestowed upon you. I’m thankful for salvation. My future is sure, and for that I am so very thankful.  I’m thankful for Roger- not many men could put up with some of my crazy ideas and still be sane! I’m thankful for the five children that God has entrusted to our care, and I pray that they will grow in grace and knowledge of their Lord Jesus Christ. I’m thankful for meaningful friendships. I have a lot of acquaintances, but I’m thankful for the friends that pray for me, invest in me, and also encourage my walk with Jesus. I’m thankful for Roger’s job. It’s not been perfect, and there’s a few more challenges than we would’ve hope for, but God is good. I’m thankful for my sister, Jen, who helps out with feeding my kids, driving them where they need to be, and investing in their lives. 

I am blessed. 

October Wrap-ups and November Beginnings

 Four weeks have flown by since the last time I wrote on the blog! We’ve finished up the fall sports seasons for both soccer and cross-country. We’ve also enjoyed some beautiful fall days here in eastern North Carolina, and the boys are prepping for the winter sports season. 

The boys soccer team made it through the first round of the soccer play-offs, so that was exciting! That hasn’t happened in a few years, so it was especially exciting. Unfortunately, we lost our first game in the play-offs, so we played in the consolation game the next day, Saturday. It was probably the worst game of the season, and we lost- by a lot! This was especially hard on our older boys, and Chandler actually ended up benching himself in that game because he knew that he was going to start yelling at his teammates. It was not a fun way to end the season, but it was definitely a memory! One thing that I am constantly reminded of is how short our time with our children really is in the grand scheme of life. As we listened to the boys expression their frustration on the way home with lots of tears mixed in, it became a teachable moment. We talked about not quitting when things get rough. We talked about praying for change, but also being diligent while asking for change. We talked about leadership and why it matters. I’m not sure that anything we said will stick with them, but we tried to point them to Jesus through it all. 

Two weeks ago on Monday, Wyatt and Chandler had their final race of the cross-country season. I think they were both happy to be wrapping up the season, as they’re ready to move on to basketball (we’re not, but they are!). Wyatt ran his middle school race exceptionally well, and he won the race…by .07 of a second! We were excited for him as he’s placed about 2nd or 3rd for all the races this season. It was an exciting day for him. Chandler placed third in the Varsity men’s race. He ran a good race, and he was narrowly beaten on the final stretch. However, he also did run his race well. I’m thankful for all the miles that we made them run over the summer as that helped them run well throughout the season. We praise the Lord for bringing us through the season for both soccer and cross-country. God is good. 

Two weeks ago,  both Wyatt and Chandler tried out for the basketball teams. Wyatt tried out for the JV basketball team, and Chandler for the varsity team. Garett was not going to be convinced to play basketball this year no matter how hard anyone tried to convince him! Actually, I’m kinda proud of him. He tried something new last year, and he stuck with it. And he decided that basketball was not something he wanted to do this winter. Wyatt did not make the JV team last year, but this year he succeeded in snagging a spot on the team! He was very excited about that, and we are hoping that he will have a teachable, moldable spirit, and learn a lot this year. Chandler found out last year that he actually does enjoy playing basketball, and he has been working hard on improving his basketball skills these past few months. He did make the team, and we are mostly excited about that. (I say mostly excited because practices aren’t done til 7:30pm!) As for cheerleading, well, we started that too! 

Last Monday was the first day of practices for everyone, and it’s going to be very interesting getting everyone where they need to be and picked up on time. We have Varsity cheer practice right after school and that is followed by JV cheer practice. We get done with cheer practice around 6:00pm, but Chandler isn’t done until 7:30pm. Wyatt has practice directly after school and he is done at 4:15pm. Thankfully, Jen is able to help kids get where they need to be, and she also feeds them! I’m so thankful for her!

I’ve also been busy with art, library, meals, laundry, groceries, church, family, and the rest of life! A few weeks ago, I didn’t have one of my finest parenting moments, but it’s definitely a memory. One of our children struggles with knowing when to just be quiet in a conversation. He had gotten in the car in a bad mood, and he was taking it out on the rest of us. I told this person to stop talking, and I had had enough. This child continued to keep talking, so I put on the brakes and told him to get out. To be fair, we weren’t on a busy road. We were about a mile from home, and I knew that he could either walk home or call his father. After this child realized that I was very serious, he got out of the car and started walking home. I called Roger to tell him that one of HIS sons was beside the road, and I proceeded to head to school. That particular son learned a valuable lesson that day, and while we can look back now and laugh, it surely wasn’t funny a few weeks ago! I struggle with knowing how to parent teenagers, and I mess it up often. The only thing that I know to do, it to ask for forgiveness and move on. I’m not doing it perfectly and I don’t even think I’m doing it well, but as I stand before God, I am surely trying to point our kids to Jesus! I’m thankful that God’s mercies are new every morning. 

November is here, and I feel like this month will fly by! We have our first basketball game the second week in November. The boys are headed to Wisconsin for deer hunting over Thanksgiving break, and they are very excited about that. I’m thankful that they will have the opportunity to go hunting, and we are praying for a successful and safe hunting experience for them. My parents are looking forward to having the boys for a few days, and I’m very thankful that this opportunity is available for the boys. 

We made it through our first week of cheer practice, and Laura and I are both super tired! Laura has done a ton of work in preparing for cheers, chants, stunts, etc. as well as making up cheer notebooks for each of the varsity girls. We’ve implemented a devotional schedule for our varsity team, and I’m excited to hear what the girls choose to share. On Monday, Laura shared her personal salvation testimony, and on Tuesday, I shared mine. It was good to take the opportunity to write it all down again and to share what God has done in my own life. On Thursday, we asked each girl to write down a prayer request on a note card. We are going to pray for those prayer requests, and then revisit those prayer requests in a few weeks to see what prayers God has answered. I think it’s important to teach the girls about the power of prayer and also to take the time to reflect back on all that God has done. We are excited about the season, but we sure are tired this week! I’m thankful for Jen taking care of the kids that aren’t in sports and for feeding us many times!

Travis has a praise! The school started a middle school basketball team, and Travis made the team! He is very excited about the season, so we are praying that it will be a good experience for him. He struggles so much in school, so I am very, very thankful for this outlet for him. 

We are in the beginning of the second quarter of school, and it’s hard to believe that the first quarter is a wrap! The boys passed each of their classes as well as Emma. I had a meeting with Emma’s teachers last week as we are a little concerned about her progress. She is still struggling more than we would like to see her struggle in school in spite of lots of efforts at home and with Aunt Jen. She can memorize the spelling list (most of the time), but struggles in math and on tests. We are going to try a few different ideas to see if we can help her succeed a bit more. She’s got a wonderful teacher, and we are very thankful for Autumn. We just wish that school wasn’t quite so hard for her. We are praying for wisdom, yet again, as we strive to help yet another child with learning struggles. (I really want to go back to school to pursue that Master’s in Special Education!) We know that God has a perfect plan for her, and we covet your prayers as we try to help her. We want her to succeed but more important than school is her relationship with her Heavenly Father. Please pray that she will grow in grace, be sweet, be kind, and love Jesus. 

We had our family photos done yesterday as it’s been several years since that happened! The boys were not particularly excited, but I told them that it was part of my Christmas present so be happy! Michelle did a great job, and we were done in about 40 minutes! The boys and Emma were thrilled about that part, and I’m happy to have Christmas presents to give my parents. These years are flying by, and next year Garett will be taking senior photos- I’m so not ready for that!

I have a special prayer request as our friends, the Everett’s will be moving soon. Please pray that I’ll be able to learn a lot about cheer really quickly. Also, please pray for the hearts of all our children. We’ve been best friends for almost a year now, and it’s going to affect all of our children. We pray for strong, solid relationships for them, and that they will see God through it all. Please pray for this winter sports season- it’s hard to not feel overwhelmed!

God is faithful! As I wrote out my salvation testimony this past week, I was again reminded of the goodness and faithfulness of God. He loves you. I hope that you feel wrapped in God’s love this week. 

Photo credit: Michelle Dawson (I took only the one in the bottom right corner)