Geez! I am so, so far behind on blogging! The quickest thing to catch up on is my year in reading. This was not my best year in books, only a few that I REALLY loved wholeheartedly. Here is my list for the year, remember I rate them on a 0-5 rating (5 is the highest). The ones in bold print are the ones I would recommend the most.
"The Language of Flowers" by Vanessa Diffenbaugh 4.75
"Fireproof" by Alex and Stephen Kendrick 4.25
"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot 4.75
"A Secret Kept" by Tatiana DeRosney 3.75
"The Dry Grass of August" by Anna Jean Mayhew 4.50
"Faith Bass Darling's Last Garage Sale" by Lynda Rutledge 3.75
"God's Adventurer" by Phyllis Thompson 4.25
"I Will Carry You" by Angie Smith 4.50
"Killing Kennedy" by Bill O'Reilly 4.50
"The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald 3.25
"Six Ways to Keep the Little in Your Girl" by Dannah Gresh (still reading...it's good)
"The Reading Promise" by Alice Ozma 5.0
"The End of Your Life Book Club" By Will Schwalbe 4.50
"The President's Club" by N. Gibbs and M. Duffy 4.0
"The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls" by Anton Disclofani 3.75
"And The Moutains Echoed" by Khaleid Hosseini 4.50
"Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline 4.75
"Looking For Me" by Beth Hoffman 4.50
"Bridget Jones's Diary" by Helen Fielding 3.0
"The Red Thread" by Ann Hood 3.75
"Home is a Roof Over a Pig" by Aminta Arrington (still reading...kind of tedious)
"When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit" by Judith Kerr 3.75
"Running For My Life" by Lopez Lomong 4.75
"The Funeral Dress" by Susan Gregg Gilmore 5.0
There is nothing like sitting down to a good book at the end of the day. Some people have a glass of wine...I have my reading time. Okay...sometimes I read AND have a glass of wine. Even though my year took on some major changes with a new work schedule, I still love to have my "me time" with a good book to wrap up my day.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Monday, July 29, 2013
Some thoughts on my boy...
Our big, hairy-legged boy has been gone to Beach Week in Florida for a week and now he is off working as a leader at Kids Kamp. I'm kind of missing him. Okay, I'm really missing him. Our church has a live stream set up so we can watch the messages and worship services during camps. It was awesome watching the high school kids last week at Beach Week. God moved, you could feel it even watching on the computer. Lots of kids gave their lives to the Lord. Several more repented and made a fresh commitment to serve Him wholly. Lives were definitely changed. And thanks to technology, I could sit with Clara on my lap and worship with them at Beach Week.
Tonight I logged on to see the service at Kids Kamp. As they were worshipping, the camera landed on Harrison who was freely worshipping. And beside him...a row of little boys, looking up to him and worshipping along with him. I have to admit, it made this mama a little weepy. I remember just adoring my counselors at camp when I was a kid. And now my baby is a counselor. Kids love him. He's a natural with them. And I love to see him interact with them. While I was watching the video, I got a text from him...it made me smile and giggle a little bit too. It said "Supposedly I brought a kid to Christ tonight, but I just don't know if it's genuine. We'll see how the week pans out."
When Harrison was little, we prayed that he would become what his names mean...Harrison David, strong leader, follower after Christ. It's pretty fun watching him learn to lead. He is pretty confident in most ways. But I was glad to see that he didn't take that lightly tonight, he wants to make sure that this kid truly understands and is making a genuine covenant with God. I'm so grateful for the opportunities that Harrison has to learn under wise leaders at our church. It makes me so aware of how important it is to bring these young people along side us in ministry and training. I've really had my heart tuned to that lately. How we should respect and honor those who have gone before us in ministry and leadership in the church. AND, how we should respect and encourage the young believers who are rising up as leaders. Yesterday was an awesome example of that. One of our senior citizen flocks came and provided breakfast for the high schoolers at church yesterday since they had all just returned from Beach Week. I loved that the older generation reached out to these kids to encourage them.
I really needed to write these thoughts down so that I can look back on them on those days when I just want to bean Harrison on the head! I'm learning (I'm a little slow sometimes) that it's really all about perspective! He is a good kid! And despite the fact that, at times, his room should be condemned or that he produces more laundry than the rest of us put together each week...he is really a great kid! The big picture is, he loves Jesus, loves his family, loves others. I should remember that the next time he has 5 stairs stacked with stuff to take to his room. With that being said....NO ONE...I repeat, NO ONE will show him this post! Got it? ; )
Tonight I logged on to see the service at Kids Kamp. As they were worshipping, the camera landed on Harrison who was freely worshipping. And beside him...a row of little boys, looking up to him and worshipping along with him. I have to admit, it made this mama a little weepy. I remember just adoring my counselors at camp when I was a kid. And now my baby is a counselor. Kids love him. He's a natural with them. And I love to see him interact with them. While I was watching the video, I got a text from him...it made me smile and giggle a little bit too. It said "Supposedly I brought a kid to Christ tonight, but I just don't know if it's genuine. We'll see how the week pans out."
When Harrison was little, we prayed that he would become what his names mean...Harrison David, strong leader, follower after Christ. It's pretty fun watching him learn to lead. He is pretty confident in most ways. But I was glad to see that he didn't take that lightly tonight, he wants to make sure that this kid truly understands and is making a genuine covenant with God. I'm so grateful for the opportunities that Harrison has to learn under wise leaders at our church. It makes me so aware of how important it is to bring these young people along side us in ministry and training. I've really had my heart tuned to that lately. How we should respect and honor those who have gone before us in ministry and leadership in the church. AND, how we should respect and encourage the young believers who are rising up as leaders. Yesterday was an awesome example of that. One of our senior citizen flocks came and provided breakfast for the high schoolers at church yesterday since they had all just returned from Beach Week. I loved that the older generation reached out to these kids to encourage them.
I really needed to write these thoughts down so that I can look back on them on those days when I just want to bean Harrison on the head! I'm learning (I'm a little slow sometimes) that it's really all about perspective! He is a good kid! And despite the fact that, at times, his room should be condemned or that he produces more laundry than the rest of us put together each week...he is really a great kid! The big picture is, he loves Jesus, loves his family, loves others. I should remember that the next time he has 5 stairs stacked with stuff to take to his room. With that being said....NO ONE...I repeat, NO ONE will show him this post! Got it? ; )
Sunday, June 23, 2013
My boy! (Catching up)
I feel a little panic setting in! Why? Because, two years from now my baby boy will have graduated from high school and will be getting ready to head off to college. I know, it's two years. But almost seventeen years have just flown by. I have a real taste of how fast two years go. And I don't like it! I keep thinking "there is so much more I want to tell him, show him, teach him." We went to graduation ceremonies for some of his friends this year. It is just getting way too real. So, I'm just going to have to embrace the time he has left at home with us and try not to miss anything.
Harrison's sophomore year was a really fun year in almost every single way...except for AP European History. But....that is over and we will just look back on all the fun! This boy of mine, he is a person who was just meant for high school. He really enjoys every aspect of it (except for that one little class). He loves the challenge (except for that one), the social aspect, the traditions, the athletic teams, vocal concerts, really just about everything. He has awesome friends who make me smile just thinking about them. These runner boys are hilarious and a breed all their own! I couldn't have asked for a better group of kids for Harrison to connect to. Which is good, because he spends a lot of time with them.
In April a portion of the track team made a trip to Austin, TX for the Texas Relays. It was a big time competition and quite an experience for all the boys. Harrison had the best time hanging with his buddies and making lots of memories (some I'm sure I won't hear about for awhile). I flew down to see him race the 4X800 relay on Saturday. It was a really cool environment. Then, he and I got to spend Easter with our good friends the Ingles. It was just like old times having Harrison and Bradley (or Dave and Wade as they used to call themselves) together again.
Texas Relays 4X800 first leg
Very cool event!
Brad and Harrison together again!
And as a bonus, I got to see one of my bff's, Christi, too!
These two....what can I say?
They used to write comic books "The Adventures of Dave & Wade"
Of course, the boys had a little egg hunt/fight and Ash got the brunt of it.
Track season was full of lots of fun meets, and quite a few VERY cold ones this year! Harrison had a blast running the 4X800 with some of his best friends and also competing in the mile race. They were thrilled to win conference, regional, and....
STATE CHAMPION 4x800 RELAY!!!
Oh my goodness, it was seriously one of my favorite days ever! Harrison had dreamed of this, trained for it, prayed about it. He was focused, nervous, excited and I think we all pretty much felt the same way. A bunch of us parents were sitting together, enjoying the meet. Then it was time! For us, it was Harrison's first state meet. For one set of parents it was their son's last. I headed down closer to the track for pictures. Joe and Clara found a spot to videotape. And then they were off. Harrison led off on the first leg. I knew we were in good position when he had a personal best time for his 800meters. The other three boys are incredible runners and I knew we had a good shot at winning it. But anything can happen at state. These boys, they did not disappoint! Everyone of them ran great races and they came out on top. It was pure joy for all of them...and for us too! It's so fun seeing your kids accomplish something they have dreamed of.
It's show time!
Heading to the hand off!
Great hand off....great times!
Some happy boys!
Fun memories!
To top off the meet...the team was state runners-up! And the girls team won the state championship! It was an awesome season!!!
On top of all the excitement of the track season, Harrison stayed pretty involved at church and was really looking forward to summer so he could work at middle school camp and kids camp for our church. We are really blessed with great youth pastors and flock leaders who pour into Harrison's life.
I don't want to be one of those bloggers who paints a perfect picture and pretends there are never hard days. There are still days where Harrison gets his car taken away for one reason or another. And there are some hard days. Like recently, when his best friend/girlfriend moved to Kansas City. It was hard!!! There have been some ugly days! But, that's pretty normal I'd say. And in the big picture of life, he is a really great kid. He loves Jesus, has a heart for others to love Jesus, he makes me laugh a lot, and occasionally he makes me cuss (keepin' it real)! And like Clara, he still says some pretty darn hilarious things! "Like what?" you ask. Well, like when he was watching tv and he told us "that guy is mouth syncing". Seriously? Lip syncing! Or when he told us "I want to watch this show, it's on European history." Great...but it was a show on Biblical history. Or when he and Clara were comparing how many letters are in their names and he announced "well, I'm a double D." That ranks right up there with one night at dinner when he proudly told us "I'm glad I'm not a geniuis!" Well...we're proud too...I think!!! I love that kid!!!
Harrison's sophomore year was a really fun year in almost every single way...except for AP European History. But....that is over and we will just look back on all the fun! This boy of mine, he is a person who was just meant for high school. He really enjoys every aspect of it (except for that one little class). He loves the challenge (except for that one), the social aspect, the traditions, the athletic teams, vocal concerts, really just about everything. He has awesome friends who make me smile just thinking about them. These runner boys are hilarious and a breed all their own! I couldn't have asked for a better group of kids for Harrison to connect to. Which is good, because he spends a lot of time with them.
In April a portion of the track team made a trip to Austin, TX for the Texas Relays. It was a big time competition and quite an experience for all the boys. Harrison had the best time hanging with his buddies and making lots of memories (some I'm sure I won't hear about for awhile). I flew down to see him race the 4X800 relay on Saturday. It was a really cool environment. Then, he and I got to spend Easter with our good friends the Ingles. It was just like old times having Harrison and Bradley (or Dave and Wade as they used to call themselves) together again.
Track season was full of lots of fun meets, and quite a few VERY cold ones this year! Harrison had a blast running the 4X800 with some of his best friends and also competing in the mile race. They were thrilled to win conference, regional, and....
Oh my goodness, it was seriously one of my favorite days ever! Harrison had dreamed of this, trained for it, prayed about it. He was focused, nervous, excited and I think we all pretty much felt the same way. A bunch of us parents were sitting together, enjoying the meet. Then it was time! For us, it was Harrison's first state meet. For one set of parents it was their son's last. I headed down closer to the track for pictures. Joe and Clara found a spot to videotape. And then they were off. Harrison led off on the first leg. I knew we were in good position when he had a personal best time for his 800meters. The other three boys are incredible runners and I knew we had a good shot at winning it. But anything can happen at state. These boys, they did not disappoint! Everyone of them ran great races and they came out on top. It was pure joy for all of them...and for us too! It's so fun seeing your kids accomplish something they have dreamed of.
To top off the meet...the team was state runners-up! And the girls team won the state championship! It was an awesome season!!!
On top of all the excitement of the track season, Harrison stayed pretty involved at church and was really looking forward to summer so he could work at middle school camp and kids camp for our church. We are really blessed with great youth pastors and flock leaders who pour into Harrison's life.
I don't want to be one of those bloggers who paints a perfect picture and pretends there are never hard days. There are still days where Harrison gets his car taken away for one reason or another. And there are some hard days. Like recently, when his best friend/girlfriend moved to Kansas City. It was hard!!! There have been some ugly days! But, that's pretty normal I'd say. And in the big picture of life, he is a really great kid. He loves Jesus, has a heart for others to love Jesus, he makes me laugh a lot, and occasionally he makes me cuss (keepin' it real)! And like Clara, he still says some pretty darn hilarious things! "Like what?" you ask. Well, like when he was watching tv and he told us "that guy is mouth syncing". Seriously? Lip syncing! Or when he told us "I want to watch this show, it's on European history." Great...but it was a show on Biblical history. Or when he and Clara were comparing how many letters are in their names and he announced "well, I'm a double D." That ranks right up there with one night at dinner when he proudly told us "I'm glad I'm not a geniuis!" Well...we're proud too...I think!!! I love that kid!!!
Saturday, June 8, 2013
My girl! (Catching up!)
Since I am forever behind on blogging, I'll try to get a blog in for each of my kiddos. This one is for my little ballerina. What a wonderful year she has had! It is hard to say out loud (or type out loud) that Clara is officially a second grader. First grade was a blast! And we were blessed that Clara got to have Mrs. Crutchfield as her teacher, the same teacher Harrison had. It was Mrs. C's last year to teach....whew! Barely made it!!! First grade was full of fun and learning. Clara loves math and has really taken off in reading. She loves having lunch at school with her friends and has lots of friends. This girl loves to be on stage, so she was thrilled that she got to be in her first music program at school. The Dinosaur Stomp was absolutely the cutest first grade program ever. And Clara loved every second of it!
We love Mrs. C!!!
Sweet Friends!
Program time!
Cutest bunch of dinosaurs!
Earlier this winter, we celebrated Chinese New Year. We have so many friends who have Chinese children that we have fun each year celebrating. Clara loves getting all dolled up in her Chinese silks. This year, we just had some friends return from China with their little angel and they brought Clara the most beautiful outfits.
Beautiful friends at CNY!
Happy to lead the Dragon Dance!
More fun celebrating with friends.
Clara and Charlotte (they call each other Kakoo).
Clara still loves dance and was so excited to get to perform two dances this year, ballet and jazz. As they were learning their dances I found out that the jazz dance would be to Funky Town (one of my personal favorite songs). One of the little girls in Clara's class asked her mom if she knew the song and started singing "Taco body, taco body, taco body". If you know Funky Town, you should know that it says "Talk about it, talk about it, talk about it". But to us, it will forever be "Taco body"....apparently all the girls thought it was taco body. I giggle everytime I hear that song now! When is came time for the actual recital, it was quite an experience. Just as they were about to go on stage, we had to take shelter in the safe rooms at the church due to a tornado. Probably a good thing, since it went just a couple of blocks from the church. So....we rescheduled for the next night. BUT...that was the day that the horrible tornado hit Moore, OK. So, we rescheduled for the next night. And finally, the little ballerinas took the stage. What a fun night! It's funny to me that Clara loves the stage so much. She is really pretty quiet in school, dance class, Sunday school. But put the child on stage and she is ON! Harrison is the talkative, chatty one anywhere else, but he hates to be on stage. Go figure!
She takes my breath away!!!
Such little sweeties! Love them!
Oh these silly girls!
She LOVES it!!!
Besides being a darling little dancer! Clara is also a pretty awesome sister and goes to a LOT of track meets. She was willing to skip the Mother's Day Tea at her school to go to Buddy's state track meet. We were pretty glad we went, since his relay team won 1st place!!!
Then it was time to say good-bye to first grade. We had a fun last day of school celebrating friendships and especially honoring Mrs. C on her retirement. Clara was just as excited to go to school the last day as she was the first. That says a lot about what a wonderful year she had.
What a blessing this special lady has been to our family!
Last day of first grade for these friends!
Our girl still supplies us with plenty of Clara-isms. One night we were all riding home in the car. Clara and Harrison were just bugging each other. Apparently Clara hit Harrison and it really hurt, he was quite irritated with her. She said "sorry" in a very "teenagerish" way and he was not impressed. She sat there for a minute and then real sweetly said "Buddy, do you want to sing the Barney song?" We all just burst out laughing! Even her irritated brother couldn't help but laugh! The other day, she asked me why she gets so many mosquito bites. I told her it's because mosquitos like sweet things and since she is SO sweet, she gets lots of bites, WAY more than me. She thought for a minute and said "Mommy, I'm sure you get lots of mosquito bites too."
I cannot imagine life without this silly, sweet, sensitive, helpful, caring, snuggly girl!!! She is the delight of my heart!!!
Earlier this winter, we celebrated Chinese New Year. We have so many friends who have Chinese children that we have fun each year celebrating. Clara loves getting all dolled up in her Chinese silks. This year, we just had some friends return from China with their little angel and they brought Clara the most beautiful outfits.
Clara still loves dance and was so excited to get to perform two dances this year, ballet and jazz. As they were learning their dances I found out that the jazz dance would be to Funky Town (one of my personal favorite songs). One of the little girls in Clara's class asked her mom if she knew the song and started singing "Taco body, taco body, taco body". If you know Funky Town, you should know that it says "Talk about it, talk about it, talk about it". But to us, it will forever be "Taco body"....apparently all the girls thought it was taco body. I giggle everytime I hear that song now! When is came time for the actual recital, it was quite an experience. Just as they were about to go on stage, we had to take shelter in the safe rooms at the church due to a tornado. Probably a good thing, since it went just a couple of blocks from the church. So....we rescheduled for the next night. BUT...that was the day that the horrible tornado hit Moore, OK. So, we rescheduled for the next night. And finally, the little ballerinas took the stage. What a fun night! It's funny to me that Clara loves the stage so much. She is really pretty quiet in school, dance class, Sunday school. But put the child on stage and she is ON! Harrison is the talkative, chatty one anywhere else, but he hates to be on stage. Go figure!
Besides being a darling little dancer! Clara is also a pretty awesome sister and goes to a LOT of track meets. She was willing to skip the Mother's Day Tea at her school to go to Buddy's state track meet. We were pretty glad we went, since his relay team won 1st place!!!
Then it was time to say good-bye to first grade. We had a fun last day of school celebrating friendships and especially honoring Mrs. C on her retirement. Clara was just as excited to go to school the last day as she was the first. That says a lot about what a wonderful year she had.
Our girl still supplies us with plenty of Clara-isms. One night we were all riding home in the car. Clara and Harrison were just bugging each other. Apparently Clara hit Harrison and it really hurt, he was quite irritated with her. She said "sorry" in a very "teenagerish" way and he was not impressed. She sat there for a minute and then real sweetly said "Buddy, do you want to sing the Barney song?" We all just burst out laughing! Even her irritated brother couldn't help but laugh! The other day, she asked me why she gets so many mosquito bites. I told her it's because mosquitos like sweet things and since she is SO sweet, she gets lots of bites, WAY more than me. She thought for a minute and said "Mommy, I'm sure you get lots of mosquito bites too."
I cannot imagine life without this silly, sweet, sensitive, helpful, caring, snuggly girl!!! She is the delight of my heart!!!
Sunday, January 27, 2013
WAY behind....bad, bad blogger!
So...I'm a bad blogger, I am so far behind! I am always writing in my head, but apparently it doesn't make the trek from my brain to my fingers as often as I think it does. With that said, here are a few pictures from the fall/early winter. I'll get to Christmas in another blog (could be Easter by then).
Clara and her friend Jack.
Clara's 1st grade class ready for the Storybook Parade.
Ready to watch the parade.
Clara and her friend Jordan at the Christmas party.
A little pumpkin racing after the parade.
The Christmas picture with Mrs. C.
Clara had lots of fun with the Storybook Parade, the Thanksgiving Feast and the Christmas party at school. Being homeroom mom I enjoyed getting to experience it all with her. What a sweet class of kids she has this year. And I will just gush about Mrs. C if I get started...let's just say she is fabulous!
There's really no explaining these two!
The guys got all cleaned up...
....for this very serious group of girls!
These two friends have met their match in each other!
H & Sloan
Again...no real explanation for these guys!
So...the teenager had a couple of big nights in December too. He went to North High School's formal with his friend Sloan from church and a bunch of other church friends. It was a fun night and lots of memories were made. They not only got all dressed up, went out to dinner, to the dance and party...but they got to practice their mechanic skills too. In their suits, they got to jump one of the guy's cars.
Then, a week later, the formal for EMHS took place. Another fun night with good friends and more memories to be made.
Harrison and Madelyn, his sweet formal date.
I like to think I'm still his #1 girl though!
Much ado about nothing!
A handsome group of guys.
The girls and guys all looked really nice!
Harrison and one of his best friends, Jaclyn.
It is fun watching all these kids grow up, but it happens way too fast! We are blessed by the good friends that Harrison has. They make me smile!
And to add just a little more fun to the season, Clara started playing basketball for the first time. Clara is having a blast! It is hilarious to watch, since none of the girls on our team have ever played before. Clara is very focused on "all-time defense". She is guarding her girl at all times! I mean ALL times, even when we are on offense. Harrison helped the coach a little with the girls on game days. But to be honest, he found their team name "The Snow Leopards" a little ridiculous. It's better than the other option. When Clara got her jersey (from the YMCA) she was so excited to see what she assumed was her team name on the front...it said "Y". So she was trying to talk her teammates into being called the Y's. Bahaha!!! And honestly, the team was split 50/50 on the Y's and the Snow Leopards. You gotta love her!!!
Coach Tara has the patience of a saint!
Flying piggy tails!!!
Our little baller!
And she is happy as a clam!!!
What a fun year! I love being their mom!!!
Clara had lots of fun with the Storybook Parade, the Thanksgiving Feast and the Christmas party at school. Being homeroom mom I enjoyed getting to experience it all with her. What a sweet class of kids she has this year. And I will just gush about Mrs. C if I get started...let's just say she is fabulous!
So...the teenager had a couple of big nights in December too. He went to North High School's formal with his friend Sloan from church and a bunch of other church friends. It was a fun night and lots of memories were made. They not only got all dressed up, went out to dinner, to the dance and party...but they got to practice their mechanic skills too. In their suits, they got to jump one of the guy's cars.
Then, a week later, the formal for EMHS took place. Another fun night with good friends and more memories to be made.
It is fun watching all these kids grow up, but it happens way too fast! We are blessed by the good friends that Harrison has. They make me smile!
And to add just a little more fun to the season, Clara started playing basketball for the first time. Clara is having a blast! It is hilarious to watch, since none of the girls on our team have ever played before. Clara is very focused on "all-time defense". She is guarding her girl at all times! I mean ALL times, even when we are on offense. Harrison helped the coach a little with the girls on game days. But to be honest, he found their team name "The Snow Leopards" a little ridiculous. It's better than the other option. When Clara got her jersey (from the YMCA) she was so excited to see what she assumed was her team name on the front...it said "Y". So she was trying to talk her teammates into being called the Y's. Bahaha!!! And honestly, the team was split 50/50 on the Y's and the Snow Leopards. You gotta love her!!!
Ahhhh, brotherly love!
What a fun year! I love being their mom!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)