Odds and Ends

Between basketball games, work, church . . . there hasn't been time to blog. But if I had time, here are a few things I could have blogged about since my last post.

Bible Quizzing takes a road trip!- Our trip to Downer's Grove, Illinois, was pretty much a whirlwind event. Our quiz teams didn't make it into the finals, but the kids can consider it good practice for their upcoming competition in March. It was freezing cold there, and I had hopes that Brian and I could sneak off and go to some quaint coffee shop - didn't happen. But thanks Andrea Jennine for the tip on where to go should we have had time. The best part of the trip was probably the way home - we had a van full of choir/ensemble members who blessed us with music the entire way home!

I'm tired of winter! - The older I get the more I can't stand the winter. When we home schooled, I loved winter. I had the kids to help me keep the upstairs fire place and the basement wood stove puffing out cozy warmth. There was nothing better than being snug in the house with the kids curled up on the couch or chair reading - all the while snow was falling outside. Winter is great when you can stay at home! Scraping cars, worrying about icy roads, hauling wood in myself . . . I am really ready for spring!

Levi's bad day. - Levi wrecked the Jeep twice in one day! Joel told him driving a car wasn't like riding dirt bikes where you wreck and then just get back on only to wreck again - a fact of which Levi was only all to aware. To Levi's credit, the roads were horribly icy that fateful Saturday morning. Had Brian and I ANY idea that the roads were that slick and icy, we would have never let him leave that morning. Praise God for His protection in keeping Levi from physical harm. The Jeep, on the other hand, now has two cracked turn signals and the front says EEP instead of JEEP!

Levi and Hope

I love Scooby! - Nothing new - just always something good to post about.

What a trip to a children's oncology clinic will teach you. - I went with Bridget to Lauren and Meagon's appointment with the hematologist. Sitting in that pediatric hematology/oncology clinic waiting room was a sobering experience. We watched child after child go through those doors - some looking obviously ill, others looking perfectly healthy. My heart ached for the children and their parents, and as I sat there and waited I prayed for each one of them. If evolution were true, we should be getting better, stronger, healthier as a people - with each generation our children should be better, stronger, and healthier. But evolution is a lie from Satan himself. We live in a fallen world, and Adam's sin started creation on a downward spiral of decay and destruction. Our bodies and our children's bodies are experiencing the effects of the Fall.

Counting their blessings with them. - Friends of ours lost their home to a house fire. As I stood beside my friend looking at her destroyed home just hours after the fire department left, I was at a loss as to what to say. Blessings to count with them - it happened during the day when everyone was gone and not in the middle of the night, the neighbor ran over and unleashed the dog who was tied on the deck, the fire department got there quickly - allowing them to salvage a few things, and they have insurance.

The pain of letting your kids reap what they sow. - I love having teenagers. I loved having little kids, but I have to say I really, really love my teenagers. I love seeing them grow independent and into adulthood. What makes this so easy is the fact that I like who my kids are - they are truly enjoyable people to be around. What is hard is seeing them pay the price for bad decisions or watching them go through struggles. As a mom, it is hard to step back and not fix everything - to let them "bail their own boat out." But I know in the end, they will be better off for it. Thank you Peggy for my pep talk the other night!

Joel's amazing game! -The JH season ended last Thursday. Joel dresses up to JV, but because our JV team has several really good players as an 8th grader Joel doesn't usually get much, if any, playing time. This past Friday, however, was an exception. There is a wicked stomach virus going around the school and two of the JV starters missed the game because of it. This gave Joel his opportunity. From the minute the coach put him in, Joel played his heart out. It was amazing! I am so proud of him - way to go Joel!

Megan and Joel

Thank you Mrs. Parker. - Megan has taken voice lessons from Mrs. Parker since 7th grade. Mrs. Parker has always been so much more than just a voice teacher though - she has been a mentor and a friend. She is always there to help Megan sort things out - friends, future plans, love. Mrs. Parker epitomizes these verses - The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things. That they teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Titus 2:3-5.

Megan and Hope

There's much more on which to think and reflect, but Scooby just buried himself under a blanket which most likely means the fire has died out and he would appreciate me fixing that problem!

Joel just called and said the basketball games are canceled tonight because of icy roads - yeah! A night at home instead of on the run - I'll take it!