September & October 2016 - Catch-up

Labor Day

We seem to be developing a tradition of hosting a cookout on patriotic national holidays for long time friends.  Most recently, the Wises have been here for Memorial Day and Labor Day, and the Stark and Stephenson families joined us on Independence Day. The menu doesn't seem to change much each time. We grill chicken and burgers from the Fresh Market, veggie burgers, and corn with sides of fruit and my southern baked beans with bacon followed by S'mores plus cheesecake for dessert. Our daughter made a hugely popular 7-layer dip as an appetizer which everyone devoured while the meat was grilling.

We rarely get to see the Wises now that we live in a suburb so far away from them.  We attend different life classes at church, and our kids are at different schools, but we treasure their friendship more each year. They have three girls.  The two oldest girls are two grades a part with our daughter in the middle, so they make a terrific threesome. They've invited our daughter over for elaborate play dates many times over the years.  Three is usually not a healthy number since it seems one person gets left out, but for whatever reason, those girls are happiest when all three of them get together.

We had so much fun talking, I did not think to take pictures until it was dark outside and we were roasting marshmallows for S'mores around the fire pit. Their mom is gorgeous model material with perfect fashion sense, Martha Stewart domestic skills, and amazing entrepreneurial expertise.  She turned a new blog into a national sensation in less than a month and got asked to speak on national talk shows.  She turned it all down and shut down the blog when it disrupted her family time, which  she, unlike most moms, recognized as a direct disruption to her quality of life.  How fitting is her last name!   Her E-bay business is remarkable.  In this pic, she has no make-up on and had just arrived after a day on the lake.  Isn't she lovely?  I'm so blessed to call her friend.

Our poor boy was so outnumbered with all those girls there.

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Since school started the first week in August, our kids' days have been filled with school, music, church, and sports.  Out daughter stayed busy playing AAU basketball and middle school field hockey, while our son keeps up an active football schedule.

Field Hockey

Our daughter's field hockey team had the best season ever.  They won nine games, and only lost two games while one ended in a tie. They lost the first one narrowly by a one goal (and they would have tied it had a new layer not been inside some goal line) to an elite Ivy League feeder school, but they came back and beat them on their own turf during the second game.  They also lost to the top school in the state (also the most expensive) which has a feeder program that trains kids in early elementary for field hockey, (whereas our girl's team is comprised of girls who never played field hockey before). No one in our family had ever seen a field hockey game much less understood the rules when she went out for the team.  We are still mostly clueless about the sport.

Here's the team at yet another elite school with over 130 acres of land upon which to practice.  Our school owns only 10 acres and two small fields which are used for all field sports.  They beat them at home and on their opponent's turf.  So far, the team has 8 wins, and 2 losses.

Training at home, last game near the flooded region of the state, and fun bus ride home

Our daughter gives 110% at each and every field hockey practice or game.  After all that exertion, the coach and team mom noticed her wheezing, so we took her to the doctor for asthma testing.  Her other sports (gymnastics, volleyball, swimming, and basketball) have been mostly short sprints stop/start activities without the long term endurance training field hockey requires.  She did test positive for exercise induced asthma and must now use an inhaler before each practice and as needed. We were hoping she escaped all the ailments that plague her brother, but now she has asthma and what appears to be seasonal allergies (although no food allergies yet).

Football

Our son had a great first football season without injuries.  His team only won one game, the last game, but they all had fun.  He received an award for being best in defense. He may be small, but pound for pound, he was the toughest lineman on the team, according to his defensive line coach.

 Last Game

 

Awards Celebration

"Lead Linebacker" with his coach

Food

Our daughter is still enjoying experimenting in the kitchen when she has time.
The tween made homemade meatballs one night, but each person got meatballs stuffed with ingredients representing a different country. We had to guess which country she selected for each of us.

Thank you, Lord, for a daughter who likes to cook and has a knack for mixing spices and other ingredients for the perfect flavor. Thanks also for letting me forget to teach her proper food group ratios with vegetables comprising the bulk of the meal, beef secondary, and bacon added only for accent flavor because she reversed the order to create the tastiest stew I have ever had.

I was trying to talk to the kind lady at Great Harvest Bread Company one day (of many...I love that place!), but she seemed distracted. Apparently, my boy's smile had captured her attention because when she heard him say how much he likes lemon blueberry scones, she wrapped one up for him as a gift. His love language is food.

Critter Updates

Bunny Bath Aftermath

Muffin has been making up new Pilates moves again.

Orwell likes to do what Muffin does. He sits in Muffin's cage, hops around the house, and even eats Muffin's leafy greens. He has a plethora of resting positions of his own, but this pose is the quintessential bunny sprawl, likely copied from Muffin as well. Now let's see if he makes his ears lop for his next ape trick.

I buy my husband's cat all his food, litter, multiple deluxe scratching posts, litter box, toys, etc. I let him live here even after he destroyed all the carpets, expensive area rugs, leather sofas, recliners, chairs, bar stools, etc. which I spent countless hours shopping for to find just the right match for our new home. I even just bought him blue soft claws with shiny sparkles for his next spa day instead of getting him declawed. I organize play dates for him with his pal Boo. I discipline him gently and hang out with him all day long. I even let him take a portion of my husband's affection which should all belong to me. 😍 The cat sheds hair everywhere, but I'm the one to clean it all up. I even let him sleep on or under my luxurious sateen bedspread. But this cat still despises me. I try to be nice to him and play dumb cat games with him, but all I get in return are claws in my skin and sinister hissing. So how fair is it that I am also the one who gets to take this cat to the vet? This fall, he got a boatload of shots, and I continue to be his arch enemy. When can I trade this monster in for a dog?

One compromise we've made since my husband will not let let me get that monster declawed is that my husband has to keep his claws capped with soft claws.  I buy.  He and our daughter apply. This month I chose a blue hue with sparkles. Isn't he pretty with his new pedicure?

School Fun

4th Grade Science Day

4th Grade Fall Assembly

Our boy was so cute in that Neil Armstrong costume, I asked the mom who loaned it to the class if I could buy it from her. She gave it to our boy whose father's dream is to go to outerspace.

Tween Happenings

She's taking selfies now.  Have mercy!

She loves Refinery, our church's youth group program.  She enjoyed the 6th-12th grade girls' Bible study this summer and the weekly Bible study meetings during the school year.  They also do lots of fun activities as well like the Powder Puff  Bowl.  The 7th grade Green Chilis may not have won (or may have come in last), but they had fun while tailgating and playing football at the PBC Powder Puff Bowl.

State Fair

I can't stand going to the loud and crowded state fair where disgusting, dangerously unhealthy foods are overpriced, lines are long, animals are cruelly caged and make everything at the fair smell like feces, and high priced rides make me nauseous. But the kids love it.  So the best kind of friends are those who invite your kids to come with them to the state fair so you don't have to.  Some parenting roles are best outsourced.  And we all had fun!  Thank you, Christine!

Kids Disciplining Kids

I asked my kids why they didn't have as much fun at their friends' house today as the usually do, and the 9-year-old replied,"because [kid's name] would not submit to authority" despite repeated correction from his mom. (He had exceeded his daily screen time allowance and was instructed to "unplug".)

So I asked them how they responded to his behavior, and the 9-year-old said, "I wrestled him for the mouse and hid it so he could not keep playing computer games."

The 12-year-old separated the boys and took the batteries out of all the remotes and electronic devices with screens.

While giggling over their newfound appreciation for the Biblical commands to obey one's parents and to submit to authority, I made a mental note to employ their wrestle, hide, and deactivate strategies next time they abuse their screen time limits.

Then the child's parents called asking where the mouse was for their computer so the father could use it. Oops!

Great Quotes

"The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell or a hell of heaven." - Milton

I know I write about a lot of serious topics, but I hope my writing honestly about the injustice, pain, suffering, loss, tragedy, heartache, evil, corruption, and trials we all encounter at some point in this fallen world does not mask my joy. Joy comes from God and is completely unaffected by circumstances, whereas happiness is conditioned on circumstances or on getting whatever we think we want in life. This quest for happiness often leads to manipulation or coercion but never provides lasting fulfillment or true joy. As we pray for those affected by Hurricane Matthew, I am also praying for others to find true and lasting JOY, whatever the storm.
(Romans 12:2)

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"Legalism is self-centered; discipline is God-centered. The legalistic heart says, 'I will do this thing to gain merit with God.' The disciplined heart says, 'I will do this because I love God and want to please Him.' The true heart of discipline is relationships - a relationship with God." - Barbara Hughes

In other words, legalism never pleases God!

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During the long drive back from his last football game, my 9-year-pld noted all the road construction (NC road projects never seem to end) and asked, "Where does the government get the money to do all these projects?"

Imagine an election cycle in which registered voters (both dead and alive) actually pondered that question.

Articles to Ponder

God Has Not Called Us to be Nice