Happy Birthday Bro!

Today, St. Patrick's Day, is my brother's birthday. Poor guy - for his entire life his birthday has always been celebrated, not with the traditional primary colors for a birthday, but with GREEN! I seriously remember a leprechaun cake around the age of 5. That green dye didn't come out of his blond hair for weeks.

I truly appreciate having a brother like mine. He is married to a great girl, has 4 (yes 4) beautiful children, works, is active in his church, always there for others, and somehow manages to keep it all together and make it look easy. He's always been there for me; always supportive; and always ready to give me medical advice when summoned. So today, Matt, here's to you. Thanks for being the best brother a sister could ever have, or ever want to have. I love you!

Here's my little brother and our dad back, well, it was a long time ago!

My son likes a girl.....now what do I do?

Cry? Throw up? Cry? Cry? That's what I feel like doing. It all started a couple days ago. My 8 year old comes home and asks where the nail clippers are? "The nail clippers?" I ask. "Why do you need those?" With a look only a highly intelligent 8 year old can give his idiot mother, he says "because I want to clip my nails. They are dirty". Oh, ok, well that's normal for you I thought.......if hell is about to freeze over! He then proceeds to waltz his little hiney into our bathroom and clean out his nails. About an hour later he asks if he can take a shower........at this point I wanted to fall to my knees and beg God to give us a little more time. Surely Jesus was coming right at this very moment. This is the same kid who would go weeks without bathing unless I told him to, right? "Well sure you can take a shower honey" I respond trying hard not to look like I'm trying hard not cock my eyebrows in a way he will know that I know somethings up. Get all that? I told this to my husband, to which he had the same eyebrow raising reaction. "Do you think it's a girl" he asked? "Oh my heaven's no!" (Alright, for the 3 of you that read this and know I don't say oh my heavens, I'll confess I didn't use those exact words. But let's not split hairs during my life's greatest crisis, shall we? No way was my little man interested in a girl. No way. No how. Those other delinquent boys at our Christian school may have been talking girls since 1st grade, but not my little angel. But alas, my little world today has been shattered. My little man comes home and tells me his friend Danny likes Elise (names have been changed to protect the innocent). He proceeds to tell me how shocked he was that Danny likes this girl. "What's wrong with Elise?" I ask. "Nothing really, I'm just shocked he likes her" is his response. Then I, for whatever reason, ask the question that forever has changed my life. "Do you have any girls you like?" Why did I have to ask? Why couldn't I have just lived in this bubble a few days more? "Yes". And with that little word, my heart forever lays on the floor. "Well, who do you like?" is the only response I can muster. "Guess" he says. So I start naming off some of the girls I think would make good wife material. After a few "no's" and one "no way, she's too tall", we reach the object of my son's crush. I must admit he made a good choice. My husband's first response when I told him who the person is was "what does she look like?" Leave it to a man to respond that way. I mean really - he's eight for crying out loud, and so is she. But she is cute. Tonight as I ponder this change in our life, that annoying Nationwide commercial rings in my head. "Life comes at you fast". It sure does. Yesterday my little guy was playing Lego's and riding his bike; today, we're talking about girls. It's one of those moments in life that slap you in the face and say "wake up - pay attention - this won't last forever you know!" And yet, it also is one of those moments where I feel God standing behind me, hands on my shoulders, as he freezes a moment in time and says "hey, this is your son. I've only given him to you for a short while. Embrace these days. Take time to spend with him. Relish his innocence while he still has it. Teach him the path to walk on, and how to stay there. Make me a part of your family's day. Talk to him about me. For the next time I freeze a moment for you, he'll be a man." My goodness how quickly time goes by. We do only have these precious ones for a little while. I just pray that amidst the ball games and swimming lessons; school and church activities; friends and playdates, that we are loving him in a way that he will always want to come back to; encouraging him in a way that builds his self-esteem; teaching him the love God has for him. I pray we always keep our eye on the man we want him to become, and that God gives us wisdom for each day......and that tomorrow we can go back to talking about Lego's.

Adapt to Change - 0

Years ago, BC (before children), I worked at a large bank in town. Every year we would have our annual review, which consisted of the usual laundry list of items you are ranked from 0-5 in (0 being the lowest rank, 5 being the highest), as well as several areas for written criticism or praise. I worked for a lady who happened to like me - good for me. My friend, however, was not so fortunate. I will never forget after my friend had her review. It was a scathing one, to say the least, but I will never forget one thing that really irked her. One of the categories we were ranked on was "adapt to change". She showed me her review and next to this category was a big, fat zero. "A zero!" she exclaimed. "What in the world is that supposed to mean! I can't adapt AT ALL to change? That's total crap!" Words were changed and this has been summarized to protect the innocent. This review hurt my friend a lot, but over the years it has become a joke between us. If she's not liking something I will tell her "you need to adapt to change". Or if she's upset over something she'll quip "well, you know, I DID get a zero on adapt to change..." The truth be known, if I were to get this review today I would probably get a zero as well. Things in my life are changing around me - family, housing, church. Some of these things I can't control, and that upsets me. I am a control freak by nature, so when I see changes going on at my church, I want to say "hey wait, you didn't ask for my opinion!". When I see my children caring less and less about what I think about something, I want to scream " You have to listen to me, I gave birth to you, see the scar!" Some of the things in my life I can control, but I worry about the decision. Is this the right time to buy a house? Should we tighten our finances even further? The truth of the matter is, change is constant. Whether you have control over it or not, it's going to happen. You can't always control what happens around you - job loss, children's actions (God knows that's true!), school or church decisions, but you can control how you are going to respond. Am I going to hold on to the security of what is safe - what I am used to? Am I going to kick and scream like a child that I am not getting my way - how could the Lord do this to us? Or am I going to trust the Lord and pray for his wisdom and guidance for myself and those around me? I admit, I fail so many times in this area. Sometimes my pride gets in the way and my first reaction is to get upset or panic. I have always resisted change. But in all honesty, the changes that the Lord has allowed in my life have always been for my benefit. As hard as they were to deal with, I wouldn't give anything in the world for the impact they made on my life. God is like that you know. He's not as concerned about our comfort level as he is our relationship with Him. Rarely do we grow without moving or being challenged in some way. Rarely are we on our knees more than when we feel the greatest need for him during times of uncertainty. So to these changes that are happening in my life, I pray that I will be ready. I know who holds the future and I trust him. I know he will guide me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. I pray he will forgive me for my heart not being right; for resisting change; for being pessimistic and negative instead of positive and joyful. May the Lord continue to guide me, and those around me, through these decisions. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrews 13:8

The Spelling Bee - round 2

Today was a day we have been anticipating for months. The regional spelling bee. My son David was top speller in his class, so he got to go to the regional spelling bee in Winston Salem today. The top spellers and the runners up from each class got to go. Seven regional Christian schools were represented there today and I was amazed at the sheer number of them. We met at the school at 6:30 a.m. (yes, a.m.!), loaded up and headed out. We reached Winston Salem at 8:30 and had time to get ready before 9 a.m. Each grade level was broken off into their own room to do the spelling bee. No parents are allowed to watch. Only the spellers and the 4 judges are allowed in the room. Most grades had over 25 students competing. Even though I couldn't watch David, I was able to be a judge for the 5th graders. I actually was grateful I didn't have to watch my son. I was a complete wreck just for these 5th graders I didn't know. You want them to do so well, and honestly, most of them did. I seriously couldn't spell most of the words these kids had to know. As I watched each of these children get up and attempt words I couldn't pronounce, much less spell, I was struck at the camaraderie among the students. Of course you had the high fives and "good job" spoken among students from the same school. But you also had encouragement from other students who didn't know each other. These children were visibly disappointed when someone missed a word. We had a few tears from the girls, and even the boys after the contest. These children have worked hard over the last few months, and to leave disappointed was not on their minds. It broke my heart when a child was eliminated. But the encouragement they received from their peers was amazing to watch. David did really well and made it to the 7th round. I could tell he was disappointed in himself and I asked him if he cried. He said "just a little". :( Kids are resilient though. He bounced back really well, with the encouragement of his friends, and by the time we sat in the auditorium, he was happy again. I am grateful for this experience. I am thankful my little boy, who just a few years ago wouldn't go into his Sunday school room without crying, is now standing up in front of total strangers with the wherewith all to spell hard words. I am thankful for our school, and other schools, that teach good sportsmanship and values Jesus taught us to have. I am thankful for all the hard work our teachers and volunteers put into this. I am grateful to my husband for working so hard so that I may help out at our school on a day like today. Most of all, I am thankful I got to spend the day with my son. To hear him laughing with his buddies in the back seat of the van; to watch him pull himself up out of disappointment and look at the bright side; to be proud as he said "mom, I want to run upstairs and tell Mrs. Dukes how I did" when we could have gone home. I am sure the Lord was proud of those children today. And he most certainly was glorified in all that was done today. The most glory for him came in the actions of these children, which we can all learn from. I know I did.

It's only temporary

If I had known that living in our "dream home" would only be for a short while, I wouldn't have spent so much time worrying about the cabinet color, granite type and hardwood floor finish. If I had known my children wouldn't grow up in the house we built, I wouldn't have spent so much time planning their rooms out. If I had known I would only drive my car for a couple short years, I wouldn't have worried so much about the color and the features. If I had known I was going to go to sleep one day with my infant asleep in his crib, and wake up the next morning with him turning 9, I wouldn't have spent so much time cleaning. If I had known how quickly my hair was going to turn grey, I wouldn't have complained about it so much when I was younger. If I had known my dad wasn't going to be around very long, I would have told him every day how much I loved him. And I would have spent hours just asking his advice that I desperately need now. If I had known the turbulent time we went through was only going to make us stronger, I would have trusted more. I didn't worry about what the apartment looked like before we rented it....it was only temporary. I didn't care that the rental place didn't have granite countertops or brand new carpet.....it was only temporary. I didn't care how small the car was we drove in Colorado.....it was only temporary. The shot didn't bother me so much.....I know the pain was only temporary. Everything in this life is temporary. Does it matter what house we live in our the cars we drive? The Lord allows us to have these things for our enjoyment, and I love Him for that. But if I am wasting my time worrying about these temporary things, I have missed the point. The trials in this life are temporary as well. But through those trials I have become stronger, and learned to trust him more. 2 Corin. 4:18 "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Thank you God that you are eternal. Your love for me is eternal. Everything else is just temporary.

My new favorite drink

I have been really trying to cut back on sugar the last week or so, and it has definitely paid off. I have lost a few pounds just by doing it. I always struggle with what to drink in my house. I love 1/2 sweet, 1/2 unsweet tea, but other than that (and a good glass of wine) I really am stumped. I am not a soda drinker, but I did find this great recipe for a non-alcoholic mimosa that I revamped to my liking, and boy do I love it! Here it is: Sparkling water (like Perrier) 1 slice of lime 1 slice of lemon 3 leaves of fresh mint splash of Crystal Light Lemonade (or just a little Splenda) Yum!

So behind on things....

Oh my gosh I can't believe how long it's been since I posted. Yikes! Sickness, and well, not having much to say has kept me away. Two snow days in one month has been a dream come true for my husband and our boys. We went to Banner Elk last Tuesday night and they got over 1/2 a foot. It was so much fun and the boys loved snowboarding and sledding. I can't believe how well our 4 year old snowboards. It is frightening! Our sweet little Sunday school class of four year olds brings me joy every time we teach. There is always something that comes up during our circle time. This week our lesson was that God can do anything. We asked the children to name some things God can help them with. Some said God could help them when they were sick or afraid. Others came up with God helping them when they were sad, but the best one came from one little boy......."God can help you when you are playing Wii"......yes, well, ok - what do you say to that? This week is filled with Colonial Times projects, Valentine's parties (I'm still not sure how I got roped in to doing two for my 4 year old's preschool class....I though I was done with the Fall party), and trying to get over this nasty cold, as well as caring for my sick husband and little boy. Thankfully David is still well, for now. Although he informed me one little girl in his class threw up before Spanish on Friday. Great! Something to look forward to. Still hoping to get to Zumba this week and I am very excited to start a new bible study at church on the Love Dare. Although I am embarrassed I haven't seen the movie yet (will I get kicked out for that?). Anyway, we are plugging along over here and praying for everyone to be well. Looks like the president has finally stopped talking, so I'm off to watch "24".