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)

A Little of This and Too Much of That!

 We’ve had a some really great moments in the last two weeks amidst two very busy weeks of soccer, cross-country, teachers conventions and school. We’ve had a little bit of down time and too much of being busy, but in two more weeks the soccer and cross-country season will be done. It’ll be a wrap for Garett’s junior year, Chandler’s sophomore year, and Wyatt’s 8th grade year, and Travis’s 7th grade year for fall sports, and that’s so hard to believe! 

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a teachers convention. I was very thankful for this opportunity as I’m in the middle of teaching 200 plus students twice a week through art and library. I had planned to return to school this fall to begin my masters, but I’m really, really thankful that I didn’t try to take a bite out of that elephant! Attending a teachers convention is a little like drinking water from a fire hydrant as the water is good, but it’s fast and heavy! My favorite sessions were the ones on “ADD and ADHD” and “Read -alouds for children”. There was one that I attended that made me regret my choice. Sometimes the title sounds intriguing, but watching paint dry is more exciting! I found a few great ideas that I want to implement in either art or library, and I’m always happy to listen to other teacher’s perspectives.

While I was at the Teacher’s convention, the boys had the opportunity to attend the local fair in our county. They went with the Everett’s on Thursday night, and while it was crowded, they seemed to have a great time. They took pictures of the art that our school entered, and we did alright- I think. We entered 24 pieces of art and we took home 8 blue, 8 red, and 8 white ribbons (1st, 2nd, 3rd). I’m glad that event is behind us!

We went golfing last Saturday! (I did not golf, but I went to watch the boys golf!) Emma was able to spend the afternoon at Cynthias house which she much preferred to going golfing, but the boys were excited to go golfing. The Everett’s had given Travis a game of golf for his birthday, so he was eager to use that! It was a fun afternoon watching the kids interact with each other and laugh and make memories. Laura and I had a great time driving the golf cart and hunting for golf balls. It was a beautiful afternoon that made us think that perhaps FALL weather is going to come, and we enjoyed the moments. 

I had the rare opportunity to run a cross-country practice this week, and it was a good reminder of why I enjoyed that sport so much during my college days. It’s such hard work, and running is such a mental thing; but when you see and feel yourself improve, it can be so rewarding. Some of the runners had a cross-country meet, so our AD asked me to run a practice with the runners that had stayed behind for practices in soccer or volleyball. I went out on my lunch break to walk out a trail that I wanted the runners to run. Cross-country is an easy sport to get beat at mentally, so I wanted the runners to run a trail where I could see them almost constantly. If you know someone is watching, typically, you’ll keep running! I was happy with practice went, and I was thankful for the opportunity. I got out for a run on Wednesday evening, and it was probably the best thing I did for myself all week. It was a mental reset, and it helped clear up a lot of “brain fog” in my brain. 

The rest of the week was crazy busy with three soccer games with teams in our conference. The boys lost on Tuesday, but the teams won on Thursday and Friday. Garett, Chandler, Wyatt and Travis all got to start on Thursday and Friday’s games so that was especially fun for Travis. Jen had us all over for supper after Tuesday nights game, so I really appreciated that! It’s so nice to have her close enough to have supper with and enjoy life experiences with her. 

On Friday night there was also a night cross-country run. I wanted Chandler and Wyatt to run in the race, but I could see that they were both really exhausted. Chandler has played 240 minutes of soccer this week, and Wyatt probably close to the same. Chandler stayed up late on Thursday night working on a paper, so he was really dragging by Friday after the game. We did go to the race to support the team, and that was about what we could manage. Chandler said that if he laid on the ground, he would fall asleep and neither boy wanted to run. So even though I kinda wanted them to run, we decided that it was enough that they had come to support their teammates. A person can only do so much before burnout, and it’s been a long week. 

Jen, Emma and I left around 8:00am on Saturday morning to head towards the western part of the state. My cousin, Faith, was having a baby shower, and we wanted to go and show our love and support. It’s a bit of a drive across the state, but it was a good opportunity to visit with family. Emma and her second cousin, Lainey got in the swimming pool in the afternoon on the 7th of October! BRRR!!! They didn’t stay in long, but they did get in the pool and swim! 

We drove back today after church to prepare for another week of school and sports. My aunt mentioned that there is a possibility that the Opportunity Educational Scholarship will become available for all families in North Carolina that want to send their kids to a private school. This would be HUGE for us! I love teaching, but what would it be like to teach simply because I enjoy it, and not because we need to pay a school bill?! I have no idea if it will actually come to fruition or not or how long it would even last, but it’s definitely a big one on my prayer list! 

Through it all, God is faithful and good. We’ve had a lot of really great moments in the last few weeks, and I’ve had a few more awful moments than I care to admit. But in the midst of the doubts, discouragement, and depression, God has sent encouragement through His Word, His promises, and His people. I found a sweet note in my mailbox this week from an older teacher that has encouraged me in the past. A friend gave me a much needed hug this week and brought coffee. Sometimes no one can actually solve the problems, but God reminds me that He is the God of the “Parter of the Red Sea”, the “Protector of Daniel in the Lion’s Den” and the “Provider for Elijah”…He will never fail to supply our every need. 

The weather this week held the faintest touch of Maine, and it made me miss some of the really good times we’d had there. Maine is a beautiful state (so is North Carolina, but there’s nothing quite like fall in Maine!)  I miss the closeness I shared with the teaching staff and the feeling of being included. I miss teaching Kindergarten. I miss  Becki Martz teaching and pouring Jesus into our children. I miss  singing on the Praise team for church. I miss all the crazy ideas that Allison and I came up with together. There are some things that I do NOT miss, but in a few quiet moments of reflection this week, we did have a really great six years in Maine. But God is still faithful. He is still guiding and shaping our lives. May we live for His glory! 

I was reminded of this song this week…”Weak made strong..through the storm, He is Lord. Lord of all!” Oh, Praise the Lord! 

Sports, Trips, and Challenges

Another two weeks have flown by! September is coming to a close, and we’ve had our first few feelings of “fall” temperatures. By fall temperatures, I mean that the humidity has dropped some, and we don’t feel the sweat dripping down our backs at the soccer games! 

Life is full- very full. I ponder sometimes whether or not it’s “too” full, but I haven’t come to any real decisions on that at the moment. I want to be present for our children and the events in their lives, but I find balance to be hard. So while I ponder and pray, I press on (ooh…look at all those “p”s. Ponder, pray, press-on!)  We are in the middle of the first quarter of school, so we are  in the thick of things so to speak. School is getting harder, and as teachers we’ve discovered which children shouldn’t sit next together, which ones might have a harder home life, which ones have academic struggles, which ones need some extra encouragement, and we pray that we don’t miss anything that we need to catch! I’ve enjoyed teaching art (so far). It’s fun to see the kids experiment with line art, color wheels, and work on projects for the upcoming county fair. We decided to make all the art entries “patriotic” this year. I’m amazed that not everyone thinks that they are blessed to be an American and that we live in a great nation! Oh yes, there are things that grieve my heart and soul also, but we are still so very blessed. So we had some of the students paint fireworks, some drew and colored the Statue of Liberty, and some drew the American flag. It was fun to see the art work in the various stages, and it was such a relief to finally get it all dropped off at the fair this week! It was a craaaaazzzzzyyyy week as we wrapped up the projects and delivered them to the fair this year. I want the students to do well as it’s a good representation of the school, but more than anything I want them to use their talents for God’s Glory. We are created for His glory, and we don’t magically reach an age where we need to start living that way. We need to live that way every day no matter what our age! I teach in Christian education because I value the opportunity to point kids to Jesus. I teach not just because I enjoy it, but because it’s a discipleship opportunity. If these kids don’t remember anything else from art or library classes I want them to know that I love my God, my family, my country and I love them. Oh, I want them to learn, but I want to point them to Jesus. As our college president used to say, “Life touching Life”. 

Last week, Jen went to Washington D.C. with Chandler’s tenth grade trip, while Roger and I left on Wednesday for the trip to Williamsburg with 8th graders. I don’t think Wyatt was exactly thrilled that his parents came along, but he handled it well, for the most part. We got to see him interact with his classmates outside of the school walls, and that was good for us as parents too. I had never been to Jamestown before or Colonial Williamsburg, so I was happy to have the opportunity. Jamestown history feels a little old for me to relate to, but I really enjoyed walking at Colonial Williamsburg. Hearing the interpretative speaker talk about the Continental Congress and the sacrifices that those brave men made for our baby nation was enough to bring me to tears. Meanwhile, much of the class looked bored, unfortunately! To think that we got to visit the house that Thomas Jefferson and George Washington both visited and shared meals at was really neat. I would’ve enjoyed spending more time at Colonial Williamsburg, and I think I’d like to take our kids back there as a family sometime. Roger and I were thankful that we had the opportunity to go, and hopefully we were a blessing to some along the way. It was nice to come home and sleep in our own beds though! I think I’m getting old!

In the past week, we’ve had cross-country meets and soccer games to add to the fun. Wyatt continues to thrive in the middle school races, and he generally places in the top 4 in the races. His friend, Kaden, is usually not far behind. It’s been a little discouraging for them as the points are based on the top three finishers per team, and there’s not been a third runner that has been close to Wyatt or Kaden. Chandler struggled after returning from Washington DC. As it’s hard to get back into running if you haven’t run in about 2 weeks! He struggled a lot in his race this week as he finished ninth, but perhaps it will be a good motivator too. This time of year always brings back my own memories of cross-country season and all the seasons that I loved my experiences. I’m a little bit bummed that I don’t think either boy will run next year, but we will see what next year brings.  I have a number of reasons on why I think this is the case, none of which need mentioning here. For now, we encourage the boys and press on. 

To be completely honest, it’s been a hard school year. Literally Satan has thrown darts at every turn and worked to discourage us. Travis is struggling in school, and we are trying to figure out what is BEST for Travis. Our best friends are moving away. I struggle to find the balance between school, family, and life. The boys have experienced some personal disappointments this year, and I’m constantly reminded that we need to put our rest in Jesus. Roger’s had some struggles at work too, and while I’m not trying to sound like Debbie Downer, it has been rough…that’s putting it mildly. However, God is unchanging, faithful and true. I was reminded this week of the faithfulness of God as I had a moment to drink some coffee and talk with Roger. It’s not that God is unfaithful, but rather that I am faithless. He’s constant, trustworthy and kind, while I struggle to respond Christlike. 

Yesterday, the soccer/volleyball games were canceled due to the rain storm. It was kinda nice to have some extra time to work on a few other projects. Roger came into the school to do some scrimmage practice with any boys that wanted to stay and play in the rain. We were invited to the Everett’s for supper, and we are going to miss them when they move.  I don’t know why God is moving them away, but I have to trust in His plan. As Laura and I sat in the driveway in the van and shared our concerns and burdens, I was reminded that deep friendships are a gift. I wasn’t looking for a like-minded “mama” bear, but God brought one into my life. I wasn’t planning on losing my best friend in North Carolina so soon after we arrived, but God knows. This is the first time that we’ve been on the other end of the moving side. Generally, we are the ones that are doing the moving, but in this instance, we’re staying and they’re moving. I’m not even going to pretend that I know what God is doing, and I’ve really, really struggled with this. But we trust. We wait. We pray. We surrender and we press on. He is faithful. 

I like this song. I’m so thankful that we serve a Good, good, Father. 

 

Birthdays, Anniversary, “Hurricane” Day, and Life!

Too much has happened in the past few weeks to possibly give an accurate update! However, we’ve celebrated Travis’s 13th birthday, celebrated Garett’s 17th birthday, had a “hurricane” day at school, celebrated our 18th anniversary, multiple soccer games, our first cross-country meet, and a host of other things! 

                                                            Photo credit: Michelle Dawson 

First of all, a school update for those that have been following along. As far as Travis is concerned, it’s not moving along as smoothly as we’d like but it could be worse. My sister helped me write out his 504 plan and now we are trying to figure out a meeting time with all of his teachers. We cannot continue another 33 weeks of frustration and tears over school that is for sure! We are thankful for those that have reached out to us to tell us that they are praying for Travis or to assure us that we aren’t the first parents to have faced these struggles. God is still good and He’s still in control. I rest in that. 

Travis’s 13th birthday was just a few days ago, and he had a soccer game on his birthday. He doesn’t always get a lot of playing time, but he is the only 7th grader on the team and he’s still kinda small. He did get to play in that soccer game on his birthday, and even though the team lost the game, it was good to watch the team play. Ever.single.day. That we’ve had a soccer game there’s been a heat index of over 100 degrees! It’s been hot to play and hot to watch them play! Garett got a cleat to his ankle during that game, and he’s been struggling with some pain ever since. He actually didn’t play in yesterday’s game because his ankle has been bothering him. We went out to dinner with the Everett’s after the game, and Travis was greatly embarrassed when Aunt Jen announced to the waitress that it was his birthday and the wait staff came out to sing to him! It was a memory for sure! One of his very best friends, Abel, from Maine, sent Travis a Dude Perfect hat for his birthday, and that totally made Travis’s day! I’m so thankful for this young boy. School has never come easily for him, and it often seems like he gets stuck in a rough class, but he’s sweet and kind.  He sees the world in very “black and white” and we’ve learned that he takes things very literally. Please pray that we can help him learn to enjoy school a little bit and that his teachers will help him with that also. 

So many memories!! 

For five days the boys were 13, 14, 15, and 16, then Garett had a birthday! His birthday was on a Wednesday, which is a hard day to have a birthday with having church at night. But he got to go out to eat at his favorite restaurant, which is either Mexican food or Zaxby’s. Since it was a church night, we went to Zaxby’s. It’s still hard for me to believe that our oldest son is 17!! Where has time gone?! He’s come such a long ways in his academic studies, and while school doesn’t come easily for him, he’s figured out how to adapt. He’s a confident young man who works hard, enjoys working in teen church, loves the game of hockey, gets along with almost everyone (except siblings :) )  and generally displays a good attitude and servant’s heart. Garett is a junior in high school now, and I can honestly say, I’m not ready for this! I was in tears on the first day of school and Garett was like, “Mom, what is the matter?!” I told him that time was flying by and Garett practically replied, “Mom, this is like the first day of my Junior year. You can probably save those tears for next year!” We’ve yet to actually celebrate either Travis’s or Garett’s birthdays, but we will do it soon, Lord willing! We’ve been busy with school, soccer, cross-country, church and adjusting to new routines. 

Also last week we had a “Hurricane” day! This was a total surprise to us Northern people, but a day off of school is a day off! It was weird to have a day off of school when you’re only about ten days into the school year, but we didn’t complain! School was called off on account of flash flooding, rain torrents, etc. but really nothing exciting happened at all. We slept in, played outside, worked around the yard, and such. It did rain some, but it wasn’t hard or long. The hurricane helped cool down the temperature for a few days, so that was nice! Saturday and Sunday were in the 80s, and it was great to be outside and not feel sweat pouring off. Roger, Garett and Chandler went to play golf with a friend from school. Emma went over to a friends house to play for a bit, while Jen and I spent some time checking out a few thrift stores. 

On Saturday evening, Roger and I went out to celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary. Like everything else related to time, the years have flown by. Oh, we’ve had our share of struggles, disagreements, miscommunication, and all the other things in marriages, but God has been faithful. Roger has put up with many of my crazy, crazy ideas and has helped prevent me from doing some really dumb things. He’s quiet but faithful. He’s dependable, trustworthy, hard working, patient, and I am so blessed. We went out to eat at a Japanese cuisine restaurant, and our kids stayed home. Wow! It’s hard to believe that we’ve reached the place where the kids are independent and self sufficient for several hours! I didn’t even tell them what to make for supper, but they all found food to eat. They’ve been on their own here and there for several years, but this was the first anniversary that we officially left them at home while we went to celebrate. While at the restaurant, we had a pleasant surprise. We saw a couple that we know (barely) from church. They greeted us, and we exchanged pleasantries. When we got up to leave the restaurant, our waitress told us that the other couple had paid for our meal! What a blessing! I don’t think that has every happened to us before, so it was a special memory for our 18th anniversary. 

Monday was Labor Day and an official school holiday. We spent the day puttering around our house, and then Roger and I went to find a piano. With two kids taking music lessons, it was time to replace our piano. The piano in our house has been moved from Wisconsin, to Maine to North Carolina…and those are the moves that we’ve made with it. We had a piano tuner access the piano, and it was going to be several thousand dollars to get the piano back up to speed. My parents recently gifted us with some money, so we decided that we would put that money towards a piano. Roger and I visited a small, local piano store and after much discussion, we invested in a digital piano. It is way smarter than I am, but the most important feature is that there is a headphone jack or it can be connected to Bluetooth headphones! (I don’t always want to listen to everyone practicing piano!) We are so thanfkul to have an “in tune” piano again, and I’ve even squeezed in a few minutes to practice here and there. Wyatt told me, “Mom, I didn’t know that you were that good. It never sounded like that before.” Well son, having an in-tune piano does help!! (I’m not that good.) 

We’ve been enjoying having Aunt Jen at school, and she’s been a lifesaver in helping with homework sometimes! She will be moving into her new house on Saturday, and we are going to be helping with that this weekend. She’s excited about moving in to her house, and my kids are excited about Aunt Jen having a house! It’s not been the best or smoothest transition in the world, but God knows exactly what He is doing. He is molding and shaping us continually. 

Thank you for your prayers. We need them. I’ve been feeling overwhelmed with all that is on my plate this year and spreading out my time between school responsibilities, our family, school activities, laundry, feeding people, and trying to do my very best to point those around me to Jesus. My brain really starts to come alive around 11:00pm, when I need to be sleeping! However, God gives grace for every moment and I’m learning to lean more on Him for every bit of His strength. God is good. 

First Week- Challenges, Tears, and God’s Goodness!

 And…back to school we go! I don’t think any of us were ready for Thursday morning, but we survived the first 1/2day and the second full day of school. So much work (i.e. blood, sweat and tears) goes into the first day of school and the preparation for it! 

Every year brings about changes for all of us, and this year is no exception. Time marches on and I am not ready to have a junior, sophomore, 8th grader, 7th grader and 3rd grader. I tend to be a tad emotional these days as my children grow older and taller than me every day! 

 My sister, Jen, joined the school to teach history. I wish I could say that it’s been smooth sailing, but the truth is that it’s been a hard transition for her. I know that God is at work, and even though my flesh wants God to work faster, I know that He has a plan that He is working through. We’ve adjusted to a lot of different things, prayed, cried, and got back to work. We serve a good, good God regardless of how my feelings might feel. That is why I do not base my salvation in “how I feel”, but what I know! I know that Jesus died for me, loves me unconditionally, and is working out His perfect plan for my life. 

This year also brings about changes for me as I take on elementary art, library, and cheerleading! It’s a lot, but again God is showing Himself strong. I’ve been busy writing lesson plans for art and library as well as playing with all the cool tools in the art room like the document scan, overhead projector, and connecting wireless speakers! I am excited about teaching art even though it is WAY outside of my comfort zone! God is stretching and challenging me in new ways every day. It’s over 200 students for art every week and the same 200 for library. That’s a lot of “life touching life” and I really want to impact and change lives for eternity. My passion is to help students discover a love for their Heavenly Father as well as develop talents that God has given them. While art isn’t necessarily in my background, I’m thankful for a husband and several sons that art come easily for them. I’ve had my family practice several of my art projects and whenever I start to get out supplies one of our kids will ask, “Experimenting again, Mom?” Oh yes! 

The first day of school was a 1/2 day with cheerleading tryouts for the Junior Varsity Team immediately following school. It felt like a long day, but we were excited to see the girls who came out for cheer. We asked the girls to write out a few sentences describing their personal salvation testimony as well as why they wanted to be a part of the cheer team. The answers were “enlightening”, and Laura and I have plenty to pray about and work on together as a team. We know that God placed us in this position for this year, and we will work hard at coaching the JV and Varsity cheer teams for God’s honor and glory. It’s another opportunity to pour into students and point them to Jesus. We would surely appreciate your prayers as we work with the teams. 

Travis is struggling in school and that would be probably the understatement of the year. He asked me on the second day of school, “Mom, how many days are left in the school year?” Honestly, it breaks my heart. I’ve cried; he’s cried; he’s stressed; I’m stressed; he looks so sad most of the time; and we need a lot of prayer on how to help him. He doesn’t feel like he has any guy friends at school, and he’s a very sweet boy. He loves outside play, golf, digging holes, soccer, swimming, and building things in the yard…see a pattern? He enjoys outside time, and a large majority of children these days are spending a lot of time on video games. Travis likes one video game. Want to know what it is? It’s a farming simulator game in which you build a farm, take care of animals and plant fields. That is his favorite game. He’s coping at school and beyond frustrated at home. He’s agitated, wild and frustrated. We need wisdom. We are planning on some additional testing for him, but the earliest available date is the end of November! That seems like a really, really long time away! 

I don’t want to seem like a “Negative Nellie” in this post and that is certainly not my intention. It’s just that sometimes there are really heavy things on my heart. It’s been a “heavy week”. However, God also answered our prayers in allowing us to enjoy some extra family time this week, spend time swimming, working together, and loving these years. Garett wrapped up his time at his job, and he was actually sad about it. God provided the perfect job for him this summer. Garett worked with two other Christian guys, and the job was about a mile and one-half from our house. He worked with a seamless gutter team, and he would say that one of the perks of the job was getting to go out to lunch everyday! If you know Garett, he loves food! He told Roger that he was going to need to start running more if he kept his job because the food was really good every day! We are thankful for his job. 

I’m also thankful for my friend, Jennifer. We’ve been working hard at getting the school library up to speed for the school year, and we are enjoying the results of some hard work. Oh, the work isn’t done yet, but we’ve done some things that have created a soft and welcoming space for our students. I’m thankful that Jen is so easy to work with, that we share some common dreams and goals, and that she enjoys working in the library with me. God is good. (If you want to contribute to our library, we are always looking to add updated books - especially non fiction genre! Also, we are looking to update some technology in the library.) 

I’m also thankful for my friend, Laura. God brought Laura into my life when I wasn’t even really looking for a friend. She walked into my life with her three sweet children and I can’t imagine our lives without them in it. We share Sunday lunches, play dates with our kids, walks, prayers, tears and laughter. She kept my kids all day on Wednesday when I needed to be working at the school. She loves and prays for our children just like I do for hers. I’ve been blessed by her friendship. 

This morning we were late to church. It doesn’t happen terribly often that we miss Sunday School and are late to church, but we were. Roger has been busy flying a fire for the past two days, and that always makes Sundays harder. We got up in time this morning to make it to Sunday School, but then Travis needed help with some homework and then there were tears, and then frustrated children and then trying to get lunch ready so that we could eat when we got home, and then, well you get the idea! On the way to church, I about lost my mind over the boys arguing about something dumb. Then when we arrived at church, I couldn’t let one child get out of the car with his attitude so I made him stay in the car. It was a longer conversation than I planned, but it was necessary. I don’t think the Holy Spirit works on the same schedules that I might, so when he is working in my life or my child’s, I need to take advantage of “moldable moments”. It wasn’t fun, and it was painful as we talked through some of his struggles. I love this young man and the person He is becoming. God has gifted him in ways that I can see as well as ways that I know that God is still developing. So yes, we walked late into church, but ya know…it’s okay. As I get older, I get less concerned about what people might think. I’d much rather be sensitive to the needs of our children and the whisperings of the Holy Spirit than being on time. I’m not saying that not being on time isn’t important- it totally is! But there’s a time and place for everything. 

So, in wrapping up this post- whew! All I can say is that my confidence is in God and God alone. He’s my Rock and Fortress. 

Another of my favorite songs: “Who am I?” 

Beach Days, Memories, Meetings, and a 10th Birthday!

 Next week we go back to school! How is that even possible?! The summer has literally flown by, and I am not ready to see it go. We’ve had a busy last couple of weeks as we’ve wrapped up our final cheer camp, the younger boys and Roger took a trip to Wisconsin, we spent a few days at Myrtle Beach and now in-service for school! 

We’ve spent a lot of time swimming and being outside this summer. With two kids running cross-country this fall,  I’ve tried to make sure that they run a least some during the summer. Garett has stayed busy with his job with the gutter company and his favorite part is that they go out to lunch every day! His boss generously pays for meals, so Garett has enjoyed that immensely! They often go to the same Mexican restaurant, and Garett gets the same thing. The owner recently told Garett, “You don’t need a menu. I know what you order.” It’s been a good experience for Garett, and we are so thankful that God provided a job for him. 

Chandler and Wyatt have tried hard to do odd jobs here and there. They were paid very well by a man in our church for spreading pine straw, and that was encouraging for them. Chandler would’ve liked to have found steady work, but it is what it is, and God knew that this would be the plan for Chandler this summer. Wyatt has kept our pool clean and he helps monitor the water chemicals and vacuum it out. We’ve been thankful for his help this summer. 

Two weeks ago, I had a meeting with the IEP team with the school district that the kids are enrolled in. The people in the meeting were very friendly and kind, but it’s so much information to take in! Neither Garett or Travis will qualify for an IEP, but they both are needing some modifications for education in the form of a 504 plan…which means another thing that needs to get done before school starts! There’s a certain score that a student must fall below in order to get an IEP plan or funding. One of the boys was 3 points away from that marker and 10 points below average range. The IEP team said that both boys scored high on their adaptive behavior testing (which basically means that we are doing our job as parents). I have some concerns regarding the testing of one of the boys, and there were some markers for some other things that are concerning. I need to get a pediatric visit set up, so please pray that can happen quickly. While the scholarship funding would’ve been nice, I’m more concerned with how to best meet the educational needs for these boys. We’ve got some things to figure out, and figuring out how to do it in Christian education can be trickier. I’m not complaining as that’s the best option for our family, but it can pose a challenge. We are just a few short days away from school starting, and I have a lot of ducks that need lining up. (Currently, I don’t know where my ducks even are and they’re certainly not in a row!) We’d appreciate your prayers as we try to figure out how to best help our boys. 

After the boys and Roger got back from Wisconsin, we headed to the beach on Thursday morning. Emma’s birthday was on August 8th, so we kinda made plans to go to the beach for her birthday. We weren’t there on her actual birthday, but we had such a good time together with our friend, the Everett’s. We’ve become very dear friends with their family, and we share a lot in common with raising teens, moving a lot, and life experiences. We are thankful for them! Jen was able to come with us to the beach, so that was an unexpected blessing. The kids (except Garett), Laura, Jen and I left on Thursday morning. We arrived at the beach in the afternoon in time to use the water park for a bit and go to the beach. The lodgings weren’t the world’s finest accommodations, but they were workable, and the company was so fun. We had left Garett at home because we figured he would be working on Friday. However, he called me on Thursday night and said that he didn’t have to work on Friday. He asked me to come and pick him up so that he could spend time at the beach. (Roger and Justin were coming on Friday night). I made plans with Roger and I left early Friday morning to meet up with them. I picked up Garett around 6:30am, and he was able to spend the day at the beach with us. It was a full day of swimming, beach, shopping, mini golf and laughter! We soaked up the sun and the memories! On Saturday evening we went to the Pirates Voyage dinner show with the Everett’s and Jen. It was so fun! I would definitely do it again, and all the kids enjoyed the show too. We’ve never been to a dinner show, so that was a special treat for us. We also had relay races in the lazy river at the hotel, played mini golf, and did some school shopping. It was a great weekend away, and I don’t think that any of us were ready to come back to reality, but here we are! 

Emma’s 10th birthday was on Tuesday! I can’t believe that our baby is 10 years old- where did the time go?! The Bible says that “life is a vapor” and it surely is! We blink and the years pass by. We made an ice cream cake for Emma’s birthday, and it was similar in taste to Dairy Queen’s except much cheaper! The boys said it was good, but the cookie crumbs weren’t smashed enough. Emma thought it was delicious and she especially liked the frosting. It wasn’t hard to make, but it was a little time consuming. Travis has already asked for one for his birthday which is also just two weeks away. We celebrated Emma’s birthday with cake and she decided on shrimp, pasta, breadsticks and fruit for her birthday supper. She had gotten her ears pierced for her birthday while we were at the beach, but she also got some legos, jewelry, clothes and art supplies. She was thrilled. She did tell me that the only thing that would’ve made the day better was if she had gotten a dog for her birthday. She is convinced that we need a dog, but Roger and I are certainly not convinced! I love this girl so much! School doesn’t always come easily and she struggles with a lot of things. But she is sweet- hearted, loves hugs, and spending time with her daddy. We are so thankful that she is a part of our lives! My specific prayer requests would include the following: that she will understand salvation fully, and that she will understand school this year. Also that she would make good friends and be a good friend.