Nice surprises

We had a nice surprise last night. Last week in Matthew's football game, he had like 5 sacks, 2 of which resulted in fumbles, so he did very well. He was not able to go to practice last night because he sprained his ankle at church on Sunday (looks pretty gross). One of his coaches called after practice was over and wanted to come over and make a presentation. They receive stars for their helmets (they are the Cowboys) for good play. Well, he received one for his numerous tackles but also received one for being the overall best defensive player of the game. We thought that was pretty special. Now if we can just get the ankle healed up for the game this week (doubtful).

Life Moves Way Too Fast

Sometimes I sit and look at my children and wonder where has all the time gone? I remember being a child and wishing I was all grown up and my mother telling me to be patient. Life moves faster the older you get. How right she was.

I have four beautiful children ranging in age from 3 to 14. My oldest, Mariah, is now in that stage of wanting to be older than she is and I find myself telling her the same thing. It seems like yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital and now she is a freshman in high school. I have at most, 4 more summers with her and she will move off into the world of young adulthood. I realize now how short a time that is. She has her first homecoming dance this Saturday. We went shopping yesterday for her first dress. It made me feel a little sad watching her try on all of these dresses and to realize how grown up she really is. She is a beautiful girl and she looks amazing in her dress (I'll post pictures after the dance). Somehow it made me long for the days when I was the one picking out her clothes and fixing her hair. Now she does those things on her own and doesn't need me as much, which is the way it should be.

It also makes me remember how precious every minute is and how, even when the daily grind gets me down, I need to cherish every minute because I will blink twice and they will all have moved on. I will be left with only memories so it is my job to make as many as I can while I have them home.

This is the Day...

Psalm 118:24
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

This is my verse for the day. I should claim this verse everyday, I know, but it is especially true today. Everything in my world, for the moment, is very, very good.

My husband is currently at training for his new job. He is excited, as we all are, about what the future holds. When my husband is happy, I am happy. It has been a long road for him, but he has been a true picture of what integrity and faith look like. I believe God has led us to this place for a reason and I am extremely optimistic about the future.

I wrote last week about my sick child, Marlee. Well, she is finally fever free after 4 days and feeling like her old self again. I have to admit, I kind of like how snuggly she is when she doesn't feel well because she isn't normally like that. However, the misery she was feeling wasn't worth it and I'm glad she is feeling better. All of my children are doing well and feeling good and that makes today a good day as well.

And to top it all off, Marlee and I went shopping today and bought real big girl panties!! She is finally potty-trained and our bank account should be able to feel the difference very soon.

So, needless to say, life in my little corner of the world today is very good. This IS the day that the Lord has made. I choose to rejoice and be glad in it.

Pulled in Different Directions

With four children it is inevitable that I will have to be two (or more) places at the same time or have to choose which child will get my presence when it is required by more than one. Tonight is one of those occasions.

Matthew has his second football game of the season tonight but I have a child (Marlee) who has been running fever all day and doesn't feel well. Therefore, it is not advisable for her to be outside running around while I desire to cheer my son on. So, I had to make the difficult decision between two children who I want to believe need me equally. I know that in reality Matthew is a big boy and he understands the situation. Blake is there watching him play so it's not as if he is all alone. I know that with my brood there is no way under Heaven that I will ever be able to attend all of the activities my children are involved in, but as a mother, my heart desires to be there to support them and cheer for them whenever I can. Tonight it is much more necessary for me to be home tending to my sick child, so why do I still feel so torn?

I think as mothers, we desire to be superwomen who can do 50 different tasks exceptionally well and take care of everyone who resides under our roof with a smile always on our face. The reality is if we try to devote ourselves to perfection in every area we will fall miserably short. We can only do so much before we lose our sanity or make ourselves ill.

My heart longs to be cheering my son on the football field tonight, but my baby needs me at home. So I will accept the situation for what it is, wish my son good luck and pray that everyone will be well next Thursday night.

Tackle Football

My son, Matthew, played his first tackle football game last night. I have to admit that I always dreaded that day. I was afraid I would be the kind of mom that worried over every little bump and bruise and would totally freak out if I saw my son leveled to the ground. I have to say I surprised myself.

Here's my handsome little man in his uniform before the game.

 

And with his game face on...

 

Matthew plays on defense which basically means he's the one trying to do the tackling rather than getting tackled like if he was the quarterback or something else. That greatly helped me keep my cool. I have to say I was very proud of him. His team lost (badly), but he never gave up. He is loving this game and it showed last night. He had 1 sack of the quarterback, 2 quarterback hurries and 1 assisted tackle. I think this game can teach him alot about life. That even in adversity, we keep our head held high and continue to do what we are called to do without giving up. Look for the finish line (or goal line in this case) and never let up before you get there and the final whistle blows. I'm sure that I will have some nerve wracking moments as he continues to play, but as a mom, I am so excited to see him excelling at something that brings him so much happiness. He's my little man that isn't so little anymore. It's time to start standing on the sidelines and cheering him on as he finds his way in this world.

He's number 2..

 

Trials and Tribulations

James 1: 2-4
2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

It is with pure joy this evening that I write about the end of a long trial in my life.

My wonderful husband was downsized from his company almost sixteen months ago. It has been a long, difficult road of uncertainty, questions, waiting, wondering and hoping that has finally come to a wonderful conclusion. This afternoon, Blake was finally offered and accepted a position with a new company and will begin his tenure with them toward the end of this month. God has shown us many wonderful things along this path. He has deepened our faith and our dependence on Him. He has met our needs in countless ways and we have seen many miracles along the way. It would be impossible to describe everything that He has done for us over the last year and a half. It has not all felt good. We have realized that God has used this time to smooth out some of the rough edges in our lives. We have learned that pride has been an issue that we have had to come to terms with. We have learned that we cannot go it alone and it is okay to have to depend on others and seek help from them. We have learned that we tend to be judgmental at times of people who have found themselves down on their luck thinking that we are somehow better than them, but no more.

Bad things happen to good people. Sometimes they have some control over it, but often times that is not the case. My husband has worked harder over the last year and a half then he has in a long time trying to find a job to no avail. He is a professional, but was not above working a minimum wage job; Target wouldn't talk to him. He tried to find entry level jobs but they wouldn't talk to him either. He had too much experience. Sometimes the mere will to work is not enough. We have had to put our pride aside and realize that we cannot do it all. Sometimes you have to rely on a power greater than yourself.

God has revealed to us over this time the true nature of His people. We have been blessed over and over again by the prayers, concern, encouragement and generosity of people He has put in our path. There are too many people to name in this space but they will forever hold a special place in my heart. We are excited about the future and what it holds. We are grateful for the vision we have been granted and cannot wait to be able to pay forward what we have received from countless others. I vow to never again forget who I belong to. I do not know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future. I vow from this point forward to live my life grateful for what I have been given and the opportunity to share that with others.

God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD.
Jeremiah 17:7

And so it Starts....

Well, we are beginning our fourth week of school this week. I already find myself wishing for the lazy days of summer. It seems that during the summer all I can think of is how many days til school starts? with all of the fighting, whining, boredom that comes along with having four children cooped up in the house all day together. Now that school is in session, my days are much quieter with just Marlee at home, but the evenings are crazy busy. My oldest, Mariah, who started high school this year, wants to go to the JV football games tonight to watch some of her friends play. My son, Matthew has football practice tonight and a game on Thursday night. We have youth group on Wednesday and the first home game of the high school varsity season on Friday night. Add to that the housework, meetings, and places that I have to be this week and my calendar is a little full. Between homework and making dinner and getting everyone where they need to be it's no wonder I feel a little frazzled at times.

Don't get me wrong, in some crazy way I enjoy the chaos that my life becomes every fall. I do enjoy being busy and am so grateful to have four wonderful, healthy children to keep me so busy. I feel that my husband and I do a good job of limiting activities for our children. My children can each pick one activity outside of school to participate in at any given time. That is all we can handle. But with four children (two of whom have no extra activities at this time), even one activity apiece adds up to alot of time and energy. But I know that all too soon the time will come that one by one they will fly the nest and I will be left to wonder where the time went and long for the days when they were here to keep me busy. So, therefore, I choose to thank God for the blessings that my children are and embrace the life that we live. I will take a deep breath and dive right in. And will be counting the hours until Saturday when I can relax a little.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Come again another day. You're familiar with the old children's rhyme. Well, I'm living it. It's been raining here for almost 48 hours non-stop, compliments of Hurricane Gustov. It came on shore with a fury, quickly moved thru Louisiana and then parked it on top of Arkansas. Thankfully, it doesn't have all of the strong winds that it did but it sure is dumping the rain. Two days with no sun and non-stop rain are really beginning to take a toll on me. I can just feel it. I enjoy the rain in moderation, but too much and the depression starts to settle in. The gloomy skies seem to settle into my inner being and it just drags me down.

Sun is once again supposed to be in store for the weekend and I am eagerly waiting for it. It reminds me of the promise that we have from our Heavenly Father. He never promises that the rains won't come or that there won't be grey skies. But He does promise that He will never leave us, even in the darkest of times. His mercies are new every morning and the sun will come out again. So, even though I want to curl up and bury my head under the covers, I will choose to hold up my head and look to the horizon.

Gustov will eventually rain itself out, just a memory of a few very rainy days, but my heavenly Father is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. I will cling to that promise and look forward to the future.

Potty Training Update

Well, I think we have just about reached the end of the road. Marlee is doing very well with her potty training. She has had no accidents for a few days now. It's not completely smooth sailing but the end is in sight. I feel my bank account growing as I type this. My oldest, Mariah is mortified that I would blog about potty training. I guess she's right, but hey, this is my life right now. Just keeping it real.

Say a Prayer for Gulf Coast Residents

My husband and I are having dinner tonight with an old manager of his from New Orleans. They have traveled up to Arkansas to escape the storms and we are having a reunion of sorts with some of the people who worked with Blake under this manager. They survived Katrina a few years ago with minimal damage, but I know every one from that area is on pins and needles to see if the levees will hold this time. It makes me stop and think how thankful I am that my home and family are secure. I don't have to leave wondering whether or not my home will still be there when I get back. Offer up a few prayers tonight for people from that region who are still trying to recover from the devastation of three years ago. They may have to start all over again.