Every evening when my husband comes home, our bunny vies for his attention. After rubbing her head to the point that her fur parts down the middle giving her a most amusing look, he usually joins me on the couch. Determined to get him back, Muffin will then jump up high, soar through the air, pounce on us both, and then nuzzle for him to pet her. Sometimes, she is so determined to win him back that she will claim him as her own by peeing on him which gets her immediately banished to her cage thereby establishing me as the winner. It's a funny love triangle drama to behold, but with a valuable life lesson: Choose a girl who loves you for all that you are on the inside, not just for how you look or what you do for her. If you pick a girl who only wants to be with you because you make her feel good, then she will eventually pee on you.
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| Sporting the Beyonce-esque middle fur part |
It's gotten too cold around here for Muffin to live outside in her hutch, but I do not want her living indoors full time, so I suggested that my husband wrap her hutch in that thick plastic wrap used to seal crawl spaces. Instead, he built her an insulated igloo. A friend warned that she would chew on it, and sure enough, as soon as we tested it out inside before moving her outside, she had shredded it. Time to buy some plastic...
Top 5 Reasons Why I Need a New Workout Partner
#2: She gets sassy, rebels, and/or hides whenever I introduce a new workout regimen.
#3: When I'm doing floor flys, she crawls onto my belly. As her claws pierce my skin, she licks the salty sweat off my face and tickles me with her whiskers which puts me at great risk of smashing my face with the dumbbells. After all that effort spent annoying me, she is so tired that she cannot even hold her own face up without propping it up on the sides of her litter box.
#4: She likes to crawl underneath me when I'm doing push-ups so that my fingers will brush across her head, for her #1 purpose in life is to have her head scratched. This practice puts me at great risk of falling on top of her.
#5: She hogs the treadmill and clogs it with the fur she always seems to be shedding.
Teacher of the Month
Over fall break, I was thinking about how much I appreciate our son's teacher. She has been so supportive when I asked the principals and board members for more challenging work for math/science/STEM inclined students even though my bold request could have been perceived as a negative complaint toward her although I praised her immensely during those meetings to make sure they knew how much I value her. She goes to great effort to train the boys, who can be obnoxious, in her class to become strong men who will eventually be spiritual leaders of their homes. I have seen a change in our son since he started in her class as he seeks to serve with a more willing heart. So I wanted a way to say thank you and remembered the Teacher of the Month program sponsored by our local radio station (which interestingly enough....is an extension of the station I loved so much in South Carolina that I was most concerned about leaving when my husband proposed because it had been such a source of spiritual encouragement to me...the new station in our area opened right after we moved here which seemed to be a timely confirmation from God). So I submitted a nomination to the radio station and tried for over an hour to send an email to all the parents encouraging them to submit nominations as well and even providing suggested things to say.
My son was sick most of this month, but as I was rushing back to school to teach one day after getting him settled at home with his dad and on new antibiotics, I bumped into Brian Scott from His Radio as he was exiting my son's classroom with the principal and some cameras. My boy's teacher had just been awarded the November Teacher of the Month. I heard clips of her receiving the award on the radio throughout the month. She was so surprised and seemed extremely encouraged and not the least bit embarrassed as I had feared. She received lots of nice prizes, too, and now the award plaque hangs in her classroom. I wish my son had been there to watch the radio host come in and give her the surprise, though.
Throughout the month, I have enjoyed watching people congratulate her or say they heard her on the radio. I have tried to keep my little part in all of that a secret, but I have felt so warm and fuzzy when she gets recognized at staff meetings or such. I love a good surprise. She and I have a joke that I am always stirring up trouble at the school. I'm glad she liked this particular incidence of trouble making. I don't know how many parents submitted recommendations, but I know they all love and appreciate her so much. The radio station posted a picture of her and the following write up which quoted the words I wrote with my nomination. I feel like I received a reward as well since they used my words. :-)
HIS Radio appreciates educators! Teachers are vital to our future. They are sometimes overworked and underpaid, but dedicate their lives to making a difference in the lives of our children. And that's why HIS Radio offers a Teacher of the Month recognition program each school year, specifically for teachers who don’t usually get recognized otherwise - those who teach in our Christian schools!We are happy to recongnize and honor the hard work and dedication of our November Teacher of the Month, Barbara Bloodworth.....
We don't have the beautiful fall vistas at our new house that we had at our previous golf course home, but the newly planted maples will be glorious some day. At least the vacant lot across from us still has some trees left. So, we took a few pics of the kids before church as a reminder of the fall colors surrounding our new abode. This pic may appear on our Christmas cards...assuming I find time to send out cards this year. These pics may also serve as "before" pics when the kids get braces, for both need braces desperately. Our son already has brackets on two teeth in back, and our daughter only needs to lose two more teeth before she gets braces on all her teeth.Mrs. Bloodworth teaches Second Grade was nominated by parents of the students in her class. Some commented that she "...is a prayer warrior and advocate for each and every student" and that she "equips and challenges the boys to grow toward biblical manhood and become effectual leaders in their homes".
Kids' Shenanigans
I love listening to books on my tape with my 2nd grader. But what I love even more is when he indulges me in a little discussion about those books. Today he showed himself theologically astute for his age as he described the differences between the Wizard of Oz and the one true God, but as soon as he finished with his explanation, he said in a hurry while trying to hide any impatience with me, "Can you PLEASE turn the tape back on now?" Dear little children, we know it takes some effort to let your parents peek inside your heart, but do you know how much we cherish those grown-up conversations with you?
We set up a really nice study nook with a window facing the wooded lot across from us for our kids to use for homework, writing, reading, etc. But that wasn't good enough for our daughter. She wanted to build her own office right smack dab in the middle of the recreation room where she practices her tumbling runs and beam stunts. One evening she had an office set up. The next morning, she had already expanded it to include an art studio. That zany girl is always up to something.
Ponderings
"Isn't it true that by their fruits ye shall know them? (Matt. 7:16) Yes, but it is also true that by their roots you shall understand, and not judge them." - David A SeamansI lost another friend who is close to my age yesterday. As I have been praying for the twins, husband, family, and friends she left behind, I was reminded once again to stop rushing, breathe, savor, laugh, forgive, love, pray, invest in that which lasts forever, and keep growing closer to the Savior. Who knows what tomorrow may bring.
Sadly, my last memory of this friend & roommate is when she agreed to buy my car as I was moving out of state. She wrote me a check, and I said my farewells, and then when I deposited the check, it bounced. She never paid me for that car, but she knew my circumstances were better than hers at the time, and I knew I should let it go. I had totally forgotten about it until I learned of her untimely death. Now my heart grieves for her and the family she left behind which includes a husband and two twins with autism. She died of liver failure. I wish I could have seen her again in person and told her that I forgive her, and I so wish I could have hugged her and prayed for and with her. She's faced so many trials since then. I'm so sad that she is no longer on this earth, but I do believe she knew Christ as Savior, so we will see her again.
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| Rhonda, Me, and Sue in New Orleans during the summer of 1995 |
[Last year she was on a fabulous, low-stress, Christ-honoring, team that only practiced 4 hours a week, yet she still won several 1st place medals at the state meet without much stress on the family at all, but it's over an hour from our new home and no longer feasible.]
The gym owner tried to convince us to stay the course by informing me that we would still have to pay all the coaches' fees for the rest of the season even if she quits (in addition to over $1000 already sunk into the mandatory competition leo and missed meets). She then started the peer pressure sales tactic of saying "but she has potential to be amazing!"
She seemed shocked when I told her that my goal is not to turn our daughter into a gymnastics superstar, but rather to nurture her growth into a well rounded young lady with a healthy body (ie, no life long sports injuries from over-training, please), sound mind, healthy family life, and a fruitful, faith-filled soul (ie, knows her Savior, loves Him passionately, and lives a life to please Him).
Youth is the most privileged and beautiful time in a person's life to explore, discover, and gain new experiences. She also has potential to become a great actress, student, musician, artist, athlete in school sports, and just about anything else God gives her a passion to do for His glory if she does not let gymnastics steal ALL her time and energy. She's balancing all those things surprisingly well right now, but it is not sustainable long term, and it seems her health is already suffering. In gymnastics the hours only increase. The next level requires 16 hours a week at the gym (and additional few thousand dollars) followed by 20 hours a week at higher levels. It's crazy.
In the "Book of Eight' survival guide she wrote for her brother's 8th birthday, most of her tips were wise beyond her years, but one was disturbing to me. She wrote, "You are 8 now. It's time to specialize. Focus on one sport." While we did ask her at age 8 to narrow down her activity interests from what seemed like at least a dozen to only a handful, we did not mean she had to become a slave to just one. That pressure came from the youth sports industry. It's just wrong for a child to think of specializing at age 8 or 10.
Can we parents stop bowing down to those who try to pressure us into pushing our children so much? Can we stand up to the nonsense and let our kids be kids? They will face the rat race soon enough. Let's give them room to breathe. Whatever the sport, I'm sure the same pressures are present. As concerned parents, should we not take a stand?
But alas, we are committed to this season, so we might as well try to finish. She did attend the second meet this past weekend. I thought she did great and was pleased with the progress she made given the she missed more practices than she attended and that she missed the first meet. She was very disappointed however. She tied for first on the beam (she was the state AAU beam champion last year), tied for third on the vault and came in fourth on the floor (she was robbed...her performance was more solid than the 1st place winner IMO) and the bars and 4th overall.
She cried in disappointment, but I know she'll come back stronger at the next meet. She's driven like her mother, but I am trying super hard not to push her. In fact, I may be hurting her by having such a laissez-faire attitude about gymnastics, but I do secretly hope she'll decide to quit at some point. At least her team came in first place! It was a long and late meet. We were there for 4.5 hours with an hour drive each way. We arrived home at 11:15 pm.
Here's a compressed version of her floor routine:
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