March Birthdays

If I'm going to keep this family blog journal going, I need to start with November 2016 to catch up, but I seriously doubt that time for that will ever come, so I'm just going to post when I feel like it henceforth.  Family, church, ministry, maintaining my health/fitness, work, and other writing venues have scooped up all the time I once allocated to blogging.  And now that I can print my Facebook feed, it has become my new source for family scrapbooking.  So for this private blog, I'll focus primarily on things I would not feel comfortable sharing with my Facebook friends.

March feels like Christmas for our family.  We have family members celebrating birthdays on March 3rd, 7th, 9th, 20th, 19th, 25th, two birthdays on the 29th, and 31st. I should probably also include our bunny whose birthday we also celebrated on March 22nd.  It's non-stop partying around here in March.

We traveled to China for 10 days this month, so that felt like one long festival as well.

Our daughter turned 13 this month.  Her celebration began early when Nana and Pops came up to help her celebrate. They brought her a cookie cake and took her out to eat at Chipolte.

 

They also brought gifts from family and friends from my hometown.

Since her actual birthday was the day before we left for China (when I knew I would be scatterbrained and VERY BUSY packing) and the same day as her basketball team's final celebration party, I had coordinated with the coach and team mom to make it a joint basketball/birthday party.   But I somehow managed to put the ending time of the party as the starting time in my phone calendar, so we arrived right after everyone had left. I had this huge cake to share with all the teammates and family members, and we were catching a flight for China in less than 12 hours.  What a waste.  We were both very disappointed, and I earned the Mommy Fail award for the year.

So we took her out to eat at Moe's (she's apparently into Tex-Mex these days) and opened gifts at home, and I got almost no sleep that night before our early departure the next morning.

Then on the last day of the month, which was our youngest nephew's birthday (on my husband's side), we had a belated birthday party for her which involved dinner at Which Wich, homemade cookie cake (that makes 3 birthday cakes for her 13th not counting the gourmet cupcake just for her) by her mama who has zero artistic talent and minimal domestic skills, shopping at one of the very popular, very large shopping centers nearby that looks "cool at night" in her estimation, makeovers at Ulta, buying matching, obscenely overpriced water bottles/canteens at Omega Sports, teens terrorizing Target, and feasting on more dessert at Smoothie King and Yolo.

Her party idea seemed simple enough in terms of planning, but I felt like I was wrangling toddlers at times and was exhausted by the time it ended...which was much later than I planned because the girls kept calling their parents to tell them to pick them up later. I'm realizing more and more how our ability to control our kids diminishes as they grow older.  They were actually well behaved, but I think the store workers get freaked out anytime a mob of talkative teens walk in. The Ulta staff were afraid these girls might steal something.  They don't know our girls at all.  They would be much more likely to buy all the staff lavish gifts, even if it meant skipping meals just to afford it.

The next birthday within our own family was Muffin's!  She turned three years old.  While we had plenty of cake leftover from our daughter's birthday, she obviously could not eat it, so our daughter made her a muffin shaped, muffin sized, Muffin-safe cake comprised of pellets, lettuce, carrots, hay, and green pepper seeds to look like sprinkles on top.

 

My husband celebrated a birthday on the same day as our youngest nephew on my side. Here is photo of the two birthday boys back in 2011 and a collage of old photos my mother-in-law provided. What a handsome boy and young man my hubby was/is!

I made him a pathetic looking lemon pound cake and served it with icebox lemon pie ice-cream.  As always, he wanted to to go Chili's for dinner.  When we arrived, I realized my son was wearing a silly silkscreen t-shirt with a cat inside a cheeseburger that reads, "Cheese-purrger".  Just as I was telling my son he should wear something nicer than play clothes when we go out to eat, the waitress brought his entree and commented on how well his dinner matched his shirt.  He also noted that his father was also wearing a silkscreen t-shirt.  I lost that debate for sure.

I also wrote my husband a cheesy poem for his birthday but was too embarrassed to share it on Facebook for more than a few minutes, so here it is in a more private setting for our amusement.

Thank you, Lord, for this awesome man.
Whom I met as a result of your sovereign plan.

I was drawn to him when our eyes first met.
On that fateful weekend we will never forget.

I wanted him then, but You told me, "No."
"For you have much to learn and seeds to sow.

When your satisfaction is wholly in Me,
And you know the truth that will set you free, 

Only then can you wed and unite as one.
With eyes ever fixed on your Savior, My Son."

Four years went by, and we stayed far apart.
While the Spirit kept molding me and filling my heart.

I met someone else who I thought I would wed,
I told the sailor, for my hopes for "us" were dead.

But that handsome sailor who I had loved so long.
Suspected I might be completely wrong.

We were meant for each other, it had to be true.
So four more years later, he found me, out of the blue.

I had remained single, and the timing was right.
Now I could wed the one I "loved" at first sight.

As we said our vows, we felt God's pleasure.
The love we've shared since has been beyond measure.

He knows when I'm wrong like he did back then.
And patiently leads me to the truth again.

He treats me far better than I ever expect.
And deserves all my devotion, love & respect.

Happy birthday, beloved!

High School Mini- Reunion

I helped coordinate a small high school reunion in October.  This reunion was intended to be casual.  The next one in five years will be big and fancy.

I've aged 20 years in the last five years, but I skipped having my hair and make-up done, for truly, why should I care what everyone else thinks about my outward appearance anyway? My value is found in Christ alone and any beauty that truly matters should come from the Spirit radiating through me, not from outward adornments.

 ³ Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— ⁴ but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. (1 Peter 3:3-4)

With the most divisive presidential election in my lifetime involving nationwide violence and heated exchanges on social media and across the extremely biased and corrupt mainstream media networks, I was concerned that the reunion would be filled with political conflict.  One classmate in particular had shared some fighting words with me over social media, so I was especially concerned how conversations would go with him, so I prayed that politics would be kept out of the evening.  And for the most part they were.  Actually, what happened that evening was miraculous.  My political polar opposite classmate greeted me warmly and asked me to say a blessing before our meal.  What public school has ever had a group blessing before the meal?  The thought of praying corporately never occurred to me.  This guy who attended "church" with Hillary Clinton, majored in religion, and insisted I was wrong when I simply stated that all God's words were true.....calling me arrogant while acknowledging that he is essentially shaking his fist at God and insisting that He was wrong when he wrote the inspired word and that the church could win a lot more souls if He had left out the unpleasant parts....you know...about sin and judgment...the whole reason Jesus came to earth and what the gospel of salvation is all about.  But I digress....

So on the fly, I publicly thanked God for the roots we all share....same experiences, same hometown, same school, same teachers, same commitment to unity and to loving one another.  Something like that anyway.... and the evening was so much fun without any disputing whatsoever.  Thank you, Lord!

Our primary reunion planners (I just took care of registration & internet marketing)

I was known as the goody-goody in high school.  I never really felt like I belonged in any one clique, and we certainly had a cliquey school.  I just tried to be a friend to everyone without labeling myself or others.  I may have felt distanced as a result, but God used it for my protection.  The ladies shown below were always nice to me, however, both then and now.

Such sweet ladies

I really wish I had spent more time getting to know A, the nice lady in blue pictured above.  Maybe she was just making flattering small talk, but what she shared with me at the reunion touched me deeply.  She said she always watched me in high school and knew I was different and was inspired by me.  She said she reads my blog posts as part of her devotional time and that she has been hosting international students as a form of ministry for the past 12 years, since she did not expect to have the resources to travel globally.  I never hosted an international student for a lengthy period of time at all, so I'm not sure how I could have influenced her to do that. No, the Lord both inspired and prompted her to love the nations in that way, but if she saw the Lord in me, then all glory to God because far too often, I find myself quenching the Spirit and speaking or acting in the flesh and not the Spirit.

I shared how she had encouraged me with the 12 and13 year old girls in our Bible study group as a reminder to them that others are always watching them and learning from them, and that if they choose selfless love over self-interest and do the hard thing God wants them to do, even without any reciprocation or maybe even being persecuted for it at the moment, their classmates will grow-up and develop immense respect for them when they are older. And God will always reward them for their faithfulness.  How I want to encourage them to keep that eternal perspective!

Ben (who traveled from Arizona to attend) & Pete

I haven't seen Christine since high school, but I was thrilled to learn that she is teaching now.  No doubt she is called by God to that vocation.  Teachers are heroes!

The guy pictured below in red may disagree with me on politics, but we both agree that his Boy Scout Troop makes some delicious venizon chili.   I'm so glad they shared their cooking talents with us.

I never expected to bring a spider bread plate to an event, but Halloween was approaching!

 I always have to give props to my long time friend, Craig (pictured at left in photo below).  We attended church and school together since 6th grade.  We went through confirmation together, co-led the high school youth-group, served together in student government, did music ministry together in nursing homes, and I even accompanied him on the piano during his All-State music competition.  He made it!  My closest friends had crushes on him, so I was often playing matchmaker for him, but oddly enough, he is the reason I met my husband!   The whole story is summarized in the Our Love Story series on this blog in which I referred to him as "Curly".

Our colors were black & gold, and our mascot was the bulldog.

Feasting and Fellowship with Fun High School Friends

Our table where I did talk faith & politics privately with the guy in yellow (upon request)

Our Mini-Reunion Guests Attending

A time to dance...

Chris's fiancee' is a dance instructor!

Great Wolf Lodge Survivors - Take 2

Long lines, mind numbing noise, crazy crowds, rowdy munchkins, price gouging, greasy grub, and manic mayhem awaited us once again at Great Wolf Lodge.  GWL is like heaven for kids, but it can feel like torture for the parents. It's one of those things you endure and survive for the sake of the kids you love so much.  We took our daughter there for her 10th birthday, so our son asked to go for his 10th birthday.  We never wanted to go back, and while we've tried to instill in our kids a clear understanding that life isn't fair, we want them to enjoy some sense of fairness during their youth whenever possible, and God is a such a giver of grace, so to GWL we went!

All joking aside, the trip really wasn't all that bad. We allowed our son to bring a friend, and the boy he chose is at least 10 times more hyper than our son. This friend had never been away from his parents for more than twelve hours, but he was generally well-behaved.  Having our tween daughter there to help keep watch over the boys was a tremendous help.

Since our daughter is currently playing two sports simultaneously, school field hockey and AAU basketball, and the boys are playing Pop Warner football, they wanted to join me in the hotel's exercise room.  The gym had no free weights whatsoever, so I had to make do with whatever they had to add weight to squats and lunges.

 

So will the wee athletes-in-training with me ever believe me again when I tell them, "That's a tool, not a toy"?

Ben proved to be quite the gym rat. When my kids were done, he kept lifting and pressing.  He could not get enough, so my kids left him with me while they went on more Magiquest adventures.

The twilight sky was just stunning that evening. I'm so glad we decided to go out to eat instead of eating at the lodge because we would have missed this gorgeous sunset had we stayed inside.

The next day, my daughter, our little Ninja warrior, showed us all up on the lily pad course.

Big Ninja vs. Little Ninja on the lily pad course and Daddy/Daughter wave pool fun

Ninja boys

Field Hockey Surprise

Our daughter's middle school field hockey team is having an amazing season.  After two years of no wins and I think no points at all, they are having quite the winning season. I'm sure she's glad she picked a winning season to experience this new sport.

Record: 5 wins, 1 loss, 1 tie

Goals For: 11

Goals Against: 2

Nana & Pops surprised our daughter by showing up at her field hockey game last week. When she saw them, she turned her fierce factor up a notch and scored her first goal ever (as she is a rookie player). 

Nana & Pops must have inspired the entire team because they delivered their best game yet winning 4-0. That makes 3 wins in row after only one loss which was almost too close to count. Go Lady Knights!  Nana and Pops treated our girl to Yo-Lo yogurt to celebrate after the game.

On a side note, earlier that day before I knew Nana and Pops were coming, I posted the following sarcastic update on Facebook:

For those who view me as traditional or non-rebellious, I have a confession to make. Except for a summer study abroad experience and various short-term mission trips, I have lived my entire life in the South and was raised with deep southern traditions. Yet today, three days AFTER Labor Day, I've been to 10 different venues, including a Bible study comprised of respectable, southern, Baptist women, while wearing....(wait for it)......WHITE capris pants, and I wore them on purpose.

So, when Mom arrived wearing white Capris as well, I had to laugh!

On another side note: 

Since the kids call my mom "Nana", I found this random historical fact to be especially interesting.  Nanna was the name of the moon god and patron god of the city of Ur when Abram lived in Ur with his polytheistic family. When Abram beheld the glory of the one true God (Genesis 12), however, he knew in an instant that there is no god like the one true God who possesses all the attributes the Chaldeans looked for in many gods. He discovered that this God is good, loving, and just and calls mankind into a personal relationship with Himself.

Then this week, there was a game that none of us could attend due to piano lessons and a football scrimmage for her brother and a leadership dinner at church that I had to attend.  But much to our surprise, "Grandma Susan", a family friend and her former childcare giver when I worked part-time during her first few years of life, showed up last minute surprising us all.  What a gift from God her unexpected arrival and perfect timing were.

Playing field hockey as a 7th grader and a rookie has been quite the learning experience for our daughter, especially as she learns to play the other supporting positions which are essential to helping the forwards push the ball in for a score when all she really wants to do is be the forward who scores.  The prized positions are reserved for 8th graders who need more playing time to get ready for the more competitive varsity team next year. Her time will come.   She did get to play forward when Nana and Pops attended, since the starter was out that day, so I'm glad she got to score when she had her time in her favorite position.

There is also a difficult personality on the team who God is using to refine her.  This player shares much in common with our daughter.  Both were competitive gymnasts. Both are rookies. Both are driven, fierce, competitive, intense firstbornswith a tendency to boss others.  This girl has three younger siblings, however, and is an 8th grader, so her tendency to boss our girl around is more extreme.  Still, our daughter recognizes that part of what bothers her so much about this girl is something she sees in herself, and I'm praying she will remember how it feels to be on the receiving end. At times, my daughter's humble confessions and wisdom in recalling Matthew 7:3-4 about pointing out the speck in another's eye when you have a plank in yours, and just the way she is learning from this trial have amazed me.  Then there are other days when she's throwing fits, and I just have to remind myself that mood changes are all apart of adolescence and that the mature side of her will win in the end. 

I've been referencing the verse below with her as well as a reminder that we all have to work our way up in life, learning and experiencing all the different roles of a team or an organization before we can get the role we want or effectively lead others. Through these trials, she must cast off her frustration and give her worries to the Lord until He chooses to lift her up.

⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, ⁷ casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-8, ESV)

Football: Let the Games Begin

Our son's first scheduled football game got cancelled after a tropical storm flooded out the fields, so the first official game the team got to play took place last weekend.

Go Chargers!

Well...technically the games began four years ago when football games required less equipment, fewer players, and only a short "commute" up to the 3rd floor rec room of our last house.

He was chosen to be one of the captains for his team based on his character, obedience, respect for authority, leadership, and team-building, so he got to walk out on the field for the coin toss.

Coin toss

He played cornerback for defense, rotated between guard or wide receiver for offense, and also served on the punt team. Notable moments from his first game included a nice open field tackle for a loss on the opposite side of field and forcing  a runner out of bounds to prevent a touchdown by the opposing team.

 

See that red cleat sticking up just over the top right of #63's helmet in the photo below? That's our boy, one of the team captains, making his first tackle at his first football game ever.

 

He had a scrimmage this past week, so my husband tried to take a few pictures (below) with our SLR camera. If our kids continue field sports, we will need a nicer telephoto lens.  Even his iPhone takes better action shots than the SLR.

So far, playing football has brought out more toughness, discipline, endurance, and speed from our son. He set a PR last week for running, coming in 2nd place. The other kid who beat him is in his 5th year of Pop Warner football, so for this to be our son's first year, I think he's doing really well.

After that game, and after weeks of trying to find sports drinks that did not have food dyes, corn syrup, excessive sugar or other toxic chemicals, I decided to make my own for the kids to drink the rest of the season. My batch included sea salt, organic coconut sugar,magnesium, calcium, potassium, zinc, B vitamins, kale, chia seeds, and spinach. And as is typical of healthy drinks, it looks like bile. Did they drink it?

Our son liked it.  Our daughter wasn't too crazy about the gritty texture of the chia seeds floating around undissolved.  Oops!