An explanation

I thought you might appreciate an explanation for my extended absence.... which is different from my previous extended absences...and who am I talking to anyway, if you actually read this blog, then I'm sure you have come to expect extended absences from me. So as I was saying (or over-saying as the case may be), the reason for my prolonged absence is that I have a NEW JOB! I was at my old company for going on 14 years and due to a variety of circumstances which can only be credited to the creator of all circumstances, I decided to move on and move forward. This is my second week at the "new job" and everything still feels a little awkward. Not bad mind you, actually really great considering that change of any kind is always hard and after being in the same place for THAT long it is even harder. I don't see how people change jobs every 3 years - I don't know if I could do it. I consider myself a fairly free spirit but man I realized what a hermit I can be in some ways too. Getting out of that comfortable skin that I had been living in so long...a challenge for sure.

One of the best parts about my new job is that I have the opportunity to pick Jackson up from school every day. There is something about seeing him running out of the gymnasium door where the sea of car-rider kids wait for their number to be called. He comes bounding out, backpack flying behind and then he looks, his eyes searching the line of cars for that familiar silver shape. There are few tings (aside from that first sip of coffee) that have give me such a palpable sensation as his reaction when he finally sees me and I wave. If I could bottle up that look on his face and the sparkle in his eyes...ugh - I could live an utterly fulfilled and happy life!

Yesterday when I picked him up I asked about his day and had no idea the story that I was about to hear. He had art class and I said "so tell me about art - what did you do?". As close to word for word as I can remember it - this is how the conversation went:
"well mama....say like that your legs didn't work and so you were retired and you lived in Mexico..."
"wait honey start over what did you say?" (because surely I didn't hear right since A. You don't know what it means to be retired and 2. why would we be living in Mexico)
"I said - say that your legs didn't work and you were retired and you lived in Mexico."
Biting my lip to keep from laughing out loud - partly out of humor at how serious he was and partly out of sheer confusion I said "uh...okay - go on"
"so you're retired in Mexico and your legs don't work so you have all the sisters take care of you"
(okay right because NOW the story is making sense!?!?)
"and since the sisters were taking care of you, I wouldn't have anything to do to help so I would go to the silversmith and get a 'milagro'..." (okay are we even talking about ART class anymore - I'm confused!?! He has A brother - not sisterS and while I have one sister, I'm pretty sure she doesn't plan to live in Mexico with me. He used words like 'retired' and 'silversmith' that I don't think he even understands and words like 'milagro' that I'm quite certain I don't understand! PRICELESS!)
"...and then I would get a milagro in the shape of a leg and put it on the miracle tree and then I would bring the other milagro to you and everyone would say 'wow it is a miracle'..."
Through a bitten lip to keep from bursting out laughing I said "so that was what you did in art class??" (you know - just checking to make sure I asked what I thought I asked)
"yeah...we're gonna finish tomorrow."

And with that - the story was over. I resisted the urge to call the school and ask for the phone number of his art teacher....and her parole officer who should know about her recent drug relapse.

Kids - I tell ya...if it isn't the look on their faces that melts your heart it is their stories that leave you in stitches. Either way - it is really good and really cheap therapy when you are feeling a little out of sorts...like me.

NOTE - I did go home and check that he wasn't completely in left field and "milagro" does mean "miracle" in Spanish. Not that it explains his Mexican retirement plan and strange injury tree - but I'm just saying.

First Day of College

Just thought I would go ahead and admit how long it took me to make this first day of kindergarten post since he might be in college by the time you read it. It was an awesome milestone and being the perpetual crier that I am, I was very surprised and proud that I didn't even shed a tear (cue the flying pigs). The only time I got a lump in my throat was when I heard the principal come on the intercom for the morning announcements and pledge of allegiance. We were walking back to the car and we could hear him on the outside speakers. Just made it all seem so real and so "old". But no actual tears (cue the devil's home freeze over). Truth be told there were probably two reasons for my ability to keep it together, one was that I was WAY too busy taking an obsessive amount of pictures to cry over later (I'm only subjecting you to the highlights) and Jackson could not have been more excited. When I went into his room to get him up, he was already awake and said to me "mommy this is the day that I've been waiting for"...I don't know where he gets his dramatic tendencies (ahem).

We had our first day of school breakfast - the requested "triple stack" pancakes

Then we went outside to take the obligatory first day of school pictures. These are just a few of the ones before his smile started to take on that "I'm smiling because I have to" look.

We woke Gavin up at the very last minute and he couldn't quite decide what all the fuss was about with pictures and pancakes but everyone seems so excited so he thought - hey I'm game for whatever.

Then it was off to the school and into the cafeteria to wait for the teacher to come get them (the standard morning routine). Jackson has a boy from his baseball team in his class and was excited to have him to sit next to while he waited.

Then Mrs. McNulty came and took the class down the hall and back to her room. Once there, they put stuff away in their lockers and Jackson showed some chivalry by helping his lockermate Ashley put her backpack away. Mrs. McNulty started the day with a little playdough and Jackson was excited about that. I tried not to linger too long since CLEARLY he didn't need me.

I could hardly WAIT for the end of school to pick him up. Normally he will be a "car pick up kid" so I let him follow the usual instructions of going to the gym (all the while his camera crazy mom snapping pictures). Then I just walked into the gym and got him. I was so proud of him and he just handled it all like a pro.

The first day of school has turned into the first week and he absolutely loves it! Thanks Mrs. McNulty - you're the best!

Meet The Teacher

I know school started last Monday but is anyone reeeeeally surprised that I'm running about a week behind on posting pictures on my blog.... uh yeah - didn't think so. At any rate, last week we had "Meet the Teacher" for Kindergarten and it was great.

Jackson got Mrs. McNulty and she seriously is the sweetest teacher. She told us that her grandson was named Jackson so she knew she would remember him. When we arrived, she had a "Treasure Hunt" word game for the kids to play to get to know the room including their lockers, their cubby, and table. It ended with a little treat bag in her library section.

Jackson was so excited about the whole thing and it was cracking me up that he kept referring to it by the "full" name - "Bridlewood Elementary Broncos". He really couldn't wait until Monday to have his first day of Kindergarten. Pictures and a post on that coming soon...but be warned the pictures were slightly borderline obsessive....okay yes - obsessive - but again is anyone reeeeeally surprised - uh yeah I didn't think so!

The Minor Leagues

Normally I have long sinced moved on and am eagerly awating the first football game of the year but for the first time in a long time, it is about to be September and I find myself still interested in baseball. Our team has a chance to make it into the playoffs...try explaining "the Wild Card" race to a 5 year old sports junkie (another post for another time). We seem to have a good minor league system and have developed some good young players. As I undertand it, the minor leagues of baseball are set up as follows: Single A - Double A - Triple A - Big Leagues (Majors).

With that long and seemingly unrelated opening, I spent some time in the "minor leagues" myself this past weekend. No not baseball - photography. A dear friend of mine is pregnant with twins and on bed-rest at a local hospital. She has brilliantly survived six weeks of this and aside from the obvious limitations, I got to thinking that one thing she would be missing is getting some maternity pictures taken. So I offered my ultra minor league photography skills, which I assured her were somewhere in the Single A category...although one could argue that my camera, in more capable hands, could bat clean up in the majors - but enough with the sports analogies. I took over a hundred pictures and I think we really hit a home run on a few of them (okay sorry - last one I promise). Below are a handful of my own favorites.

(Keep in mind that these are just image captures and haven't been edited for the best quality)

And now a word from Andy Stanley

My husband and I not too long ago led a video Bible study on direction by Andy Stanley with our church small group. For me he has a way of narrowing it all down and speaking both directly and really practically to my heart. I ran onto this summary of his latest book and I can't wait to go get it! I love to read but my life right now leaves very little time for pleasure reading...except for books on tape due to the ridiculous amount of time I spend in my car. I'm going to see if this one is out on tape and if not I may have to just get it anyway and make the time to read it. I don't know about you but there were some words even in this short summary that I really needed to hear!!

* Direction–not intention–determines our destination.
* You don’t have problems to fix; you have directions that need to change.
* Our problem stems from the fact that we are not on a truth quest…We are on a happiness quest. We want to be (as in feel)happy. And our quest for happiness often trumps our appreciation for and pursuit of what’s true.
*Choosing the right path begins with submission, not information…Specifically, submission to the One who knows where each path leads, as well as where it doesn’t lead.
*Don’t trust your heart, trust God with your heart.
*God’s will for your life will always line up with his law, his principles, and his wisdom.
*It is next to impossible to hear the voice of wisdom if we are not really listening for it to begin with.
*What gets our attention determines our direction and,
ultimately, our destination.
*…the principle of the path in 3 words:attention, direction, destination
*The things you give your attention to function as the directional beacon for your life.
*When we resist God’s will for our lives, we are in essence resisting God. When we resist the priorities he has established for us through Scripture, we resist him.
*Knowing doesn’t make the difference. Doing does.

July Trip Part 2

Yes there was an actual part 2 to our trip and just pretend that these posts were only a day apart (you can do it - try). We left Great Grandma Kelly's and went out to the farm...where my other side of the family lives. This is a true family farm and has been in our family for 6 generations. I have been going out in the summer for harvest since I was a kid and I have only missed a couple of summers. I was talking to a colleague here in Dallas and said I was "going to Kansas for harvest" and he said "oh - what kind of festival is that?". Silly city people....harvest is not a festival it is HARVEST as in 'harvesting the crops'. Honestly that comment is part of the reason I go out there. It is a part of who I am, who my family is, and that kind of life and those kind of people....simple, smart, hard working, don't complain...that is what I want my kids to see - THAT kind of life. Honestly though, one of the main reasons I go is to spend time with my family. We are a close knit group and I couldn't think of a better way to spend my vacation then investing in my own heritage. I just love to listen to my Grandma and Granddad talk, laugh, tell stories. I am one of the few lucky people at my age who still has healthy active grandparents....and I just want to soak myself and my kids in every ounce of them that I can!

This year the "soaking up" included a new favorite game of Jackson's that is as entertaining to watch as it is to play...Old Maid. Granddad's facial expressions and overall card dramatics were priceless and we ended up playing it every night. We didn't get to ride horses this time as they are down to one horse and due to some sort of illness, it isn't a riding horse anymore. They were just starting to cut the wheat and although it was a little wet still, it looked like it was going to be a good harvest this year...if they could just get it out of the ground. We rode in the combine with my cousin and one of his kids who is close to Jackson's age. She had a 4-H calf that Jackson helped feed - Gavin on the other hand kept his distance. His kind of cow was the stuffed kind which he tried to guard against sharing with one of the other cousins. We also got to go to one of the cousins baseball games, which Jackson could NOT stop talking about and of course we brought our glove in case there were any foul balls. We got our now mandatory picture in the wheat and overall just had a great time! These days the trip does leave me feeling a little tired - like I need a vacation from my vacation but then I look at these pictures and I wouldn't have it any other way! I miss them already!

July Trip ~ Part 1

I decided that the sheer number of pictures, stories, etc that I have from this trip requires me to break it up in parts (otherwise, let's be honest, I might not get a post done about it). I do want to point out, even if I break my arm patting myself on the back, that I am actually blogging about something in the SAME month that it happened! Are you proud or what!? Once slice of humlbe pie - table 4 please....ummm pie - wait I think I'm loosing my train of thought.

Back to the trip. It was just the kids and me and we left on Friday morning at about noon. Our first stop was at their Great Grandma Kelly's (about 6 hours). They did great on this leg of the trip but after 6 hours in the car (with only one very short potty stop), Gavin was ready to be out of the car - for sure! We had a fun time though at the house, at a local park, and then at a little water area adjacent to a park only a block from her house. Quite a fun filled 24 hours!

School Pictures

Can you believe it - two days in a row...pace yourself Kara blogging is a marathon not a sprint. Oh who am I kidding, if it was a marathon I would be dead on the side of the blog at mile 13 (okay mile 7...okay so it might be mile 5 but I am in much better shape these days!!). If you are keeping track (you know who you are) this is TWO DAYS IN A ROW that I am posting something. One could argue that being gone from blogging for so long I have lots to post about and while one might be right, one might also just quit analyzing it and enjoy the post! One might also quit talking in obscure tenses where it is difficult to read... yes I know.

Wanted to share this year's "school pictures" that I got recently from J&G's school. There weren't a lot of choices so if you are wondering why I would select a picture of Jackson where he looks like he's grown an ivy tail and is participating in the world's most elite smile staring contest, just know that it was the only one I got. He redeemed himself (or at least his smile) in the picture with his brother...but let's talk about that brother...is it just me or does he look like he is about six years old in his individual picture!?! If I had any misconception that I still had a baby because I could legitimately still count his age in months - that was out the window when I got these pictures. The 'cap & gown' picture killed me too...mainly because it reminded me of what he said as we were driving home from the little graduation ceremony they had. We were no more than out of the parking lot and he asked "so...do I start Kindergarten tomorrow morning??". He is so excited and I am glad that we only have just over a month to wait!!

"Life Happens" and then you Blog...

I have come out of my blogging hiatus to bring you the following: I would like to title the picture on the right below as "I Fought the Cabinet and the Cabinet Won". While I won't bore you with the incidents that surround this unfortunate picture, I will tell you that the past couple of weeks will forever be known as "The Bloody Nose of 2009". Poor Gavin!

Being ever so smart for his mere 19 months of age, he has employed a new security system....and yes I suppose I should tell him that he has it on backwards but it wouldn't be nearly as cute!

Overall, he rebounded well though and continues to seek out healing waters (also known as any pool - or "pooo" as he says). He LOVES the water and is enjoying his summer. I will hopefully have more pictures from our harvest trip (and no it is not a festival - it is actual harvest you city people) coming soon.


Many apologies for the long hiatus, as I like to say "life happens and THEN you blog". Thanks for staying tune....uh hello....Bueller?...Bueller?....anyone there???? (crickets chirping)

Picture Pages

Since I seem to be developing this terrible habit of taking long hiatuses (is that a word?) between posts, I thought I would attempt to redeem myself. On a side note (man, one sentence into this post and I am already derailing myself - further proof of my lack of literary prowess....except I did just use the words "literary prowess" - that's gotta count for something right? Okay now I'm just talking to myself...actually - worse I am typing out my conversation with myself - okay stop it...seriously back on track - or at least back to the side note)... did anyone else read the title of the blog and start singing to themselves the little jingle "Picture pages, picture pages, time to get your picture pages, time to get your crayons and your pencils"....No? No one watching "educational television" in the late 70's early 80's??? Okay yeah - me neither! hmmm....

Now, I do know the hierarchy of the blogging world, particularly as it relates to my own little corner of cyberspace. Personal stories are above copied ones, kid stories are above adult stories, and PICTURES are above all else. So since I wanted to come back from my long absence with a bang, I thought I would post these pictures from our family photo session weekend before last. The pictures were taken by a young up-and-coming photographer who is a friend of a friend and she did a great job, check out her website for more information. She took over 100 photos but these are a few collages I created of my personal favorites. Keep in mind that Jackson was "trying" to smile most of the time (hmmm...) and Gavin, well he's 16 months people - enough said. Even still, my family is truly one of God's greatest blessings!

The two "M" words

I know I know, it's been a long time between posts and no I didn't die from taking another spin class (although I do have my first workout with my new trainer today so stay tune for what I'm sure will be some entertaining recaps on that sweaty endeavor). Today's post is going to be much shorter (you're welcome) but was just something that struck me as funny. It was one of those moments when I had a glimpse into the future of my life as a mother of teenage boys and I couldn't help but be a little sick to my stomach. For those who may not know me well enough, I am a card carrying member of COA (Compulsive Overanalyzers Anonymous) and this is only further triggered around my children when I am trying to figure out if I have in any way lost my chance at a card for the PMA (Perfect Mother's Association).

I picked up my kids from preschool and as we were traveling to and from the grocery store, Jackson asked me a few of his priceless questions. Jackson is always talking, thinking, asking questions - it is just his nature....poor thing - he is just a little too much , well, ME. I am never surprised by the breadth and depth of his questions but sometimes, as in this case, the subject matter does give me a pause. We were driving along with the radio on and out of nowhere he says “Momma, have you ever gotten a mass-ah-judge?”. I ask “A massage?? [brain processing: quick check of the radio – nope nothing about spas or massages….where could he be going with this?] Well, yes, mommy has gotten a massage before”. I know him well enough to know I don’t want to just leave it at that and I add “What made you ask that bud?”. “Well today Patty (girl at school – names changed to protect the innocent) and I were playing and giving each other haircuts and then massages”. The last massage I had was when I was pregnant with him so I have to wonder… “Was this Patty’s idea?”. He says “Yeah, we were just pretending…we mass-ah-judged our backs”. I know Jackson is a very loving kid and is not afraid of showing emotion but kids are inherently innocent so I didn’t know quite how to take this recent development. Always staying on my toes during a Q&A with Jackson I figured I would throw something back for good measure and said “Well remember how Ms. Nina says we need to keep our hands to ourselves so maybe we should just stick to haircuts so we don’t get in trouble.” “Yeah – I know momma”. Okay, well that went well…I guess…no sign of trouble.

Then after going in and out of the store, we were back in the car and headed home. Then this little gem of a question came out… “Momma, the next time I get my hair cut…can I get a mohawk??” I replied “A mohawk? [brain processing: quick check of the radio – nope nothing about rock bands or mohawks….where could he be going with this?] …really?” “Yeah, and then when I walk into Ms. Nina’s class all the boys will say ‘Dude – COOL’ [said with both arms extended into number one signs above his head]". Use of the word 'dude' - is this kid 5 or 15??Trying to maintain my Q&A toe balance, I said “Maybe we could just comb it into a Mohawk after your bath tonight and use some of that cool gel?” “Yeah – and if it breaks during the night then daddy can fix it in the morning”. Oh boy….no literally oh THAT boy!

So as a card carrying COA member, I am currently trying to purge the mental image of my son sometime in the future wearing a mohawk and giving back massages?!?!? I had only one sister growing up so having only boys, I fear we are headed for trouble....big trouble.

And yes….”short post” is a relative term.

You Spin Me Right Round

A little 80's music reference in the title for ya, but believe me - there was nothing RIGHT about the spinning I did on Friday! I went to the gym on Friday morning as part of my normal ritual but when I got on the treadmill and began to jog, I pressed play on my iPod and I got....nothing. Now let me explain the life shattering implications of this statement. I am one of those people that are figuratively and literally moved by music. Without some sort of encouraging tunes (today I was looking forward to calling on "all the single ladies...all the single ladies") the treadmill becomes some sort of medieval torture device and I become almost entirely void of motivation. Ugh...well now what? Clearly leaving was not an option so I began to look around for what else I could do. As you may know, I am on a weight loss journey and while elated to have lost 23 pounds to date, I seem to be stuck and with sickness and the busy pace of life, I have been holding on that number for a while. With this and the absence of my iPod, I thought one way to add some variety, trick things up a little, and get my much needed music would be to take a class of some sort. So I head over to the studio rooms to see what is on the board. Hmmm....let's see, no- I'm too late for that beginner step class, and no- that next conditioning class starts too late... guess I'll go check out the other studio. Oh my - what are all these people doing in line? Oooh this must be a really good class let's go see what it is....huh "Studio Ride" - well that sounds harmless, let's read the description "Studio Ride classes are fun, athletic, cardiovascular workouts. You’ll burn a ton of calories, get lean, increase lower-body strength and improve your cardiovascular endurance.". Okay - that sounds good I'm in!! I've been wanting to try spin classes so this is perfect! NOTE: You will not see the words 'perfect' and 'spin class' in the same sentence from here forward...I'm just saying.

So I'm not kidding when I say there are about 30 people in line for this class and most of them look in fairly good shape with their bike shaped water bottles in hand, special shoes, and biker shorts. Now thanks to my lovely sister, I am fairly appropriately attired in my Nike workout clothes but I was still feeling a little intimidated already and we hadn't even made it into the door yet. I must have screamed 'first timer' because this very sweet lady behind me in line tried to strike up a conversation about how she had never seen the line this long and hoped there would be enough bikes (I have to admit, part of me was hoping there wouldn't be). I told her that I had never done a spin class before and she launched into a soliloquy about the merits of spinning and how I was going to love it and want to come back over and over (someone drank their purple kool-aid this morning!). All kidding aside I was so glad she was so friendly because it was a mad house when we got in there and she told me where to go, how to move the bike (I won't even go into that awkwardness) and then she helped me set it up. There were no less than four settings on the seat and handles and after all the adjustments, I thought well, this bike's just gonna feel perfect! NOTE: You will not see the words 'feel perfect' and 'bike' in the same sentence from here forward...I'm just saying.

Purple kool-aid girl told me to tell the instructor that it was my first time so I went up and introduced myself. She was very nice, if not over excited (she drinks purple kool-aid by the gallon) and told me to just do what I could, know that the seat would take some getting used to (I'll get to the laughable nature of that sentence in a minute) and just to have fun! So my first sign of real trouble was when the previously friendly instructor turned on the music and welcomed the class by saying "Today we are going to do HILLS...and what do we know about hills? Hills are not easy, hills are not medium, hills are HARD. And I don't want to hear whatever excuse you came in with today because I know you've got them and I'll tell you where you can leave them - right in this trash can (yes she actually had a trash can up there). I don't want to hear it, whatever it is just leave it in there! I know you have it in you today, it's Friday, and it's gonna be 70 degrees today so let's GO!" (I swear to you that is word. for. word.) Where was the sweet person from 5 minutes ago that said to just have fun??!!?? (the kool-aid must have just kicked in). I might have started to cry except I was too focused on trying find a comfortable position on this seat....oh wait did I say seat - I meant jagged ROCK! I had wrongly assumed that since I seemed to have more padding back there then most of these people that the seat would not be such a factor for me. The physics of it all didn't make a bit of sense but suffice to say that I was dead WRONG!! It wasn't until about 30 minutes into the class that I found myself riding without thinking about how to sit. When climbing portions of the hills, she would instruct us to come up out of the 'saddle' (or seat...or rock) and I was so thankful...except that it only hurt that much more when I sat back down. My legs were burning, I was sweating like crazy, my mouth was open sucking in air and then she mercifully told us that this was our last hill. Actually she said "I'm only asking for eleven more minutes...eleven more - what is that - it's nothing!! Now come on find your strength in there and DIG IT OUT". I wanted to scream back 'please stop yelling at me, this is my first time' but she had already given the 'don't go get your excuses out of this trash can' speech so I just closed my eyes and kept moving my legs. My 'friend' had to leave the class a little early and gave me some encouraging words as she left and said she hoped to see me back next Friday (she must be assuming I have no short term memory). After the class was over, I could already feel soreness in places where no person should be sore! I managed to drag my bike back to its place which gave the instructor time to catch me as I was going out. She asked me what I thought and I quickly tried to come up with something positive that wasn't a lie and sputtered "it was a really good workout". She said "well you did great - I saw you working and most first timers don't make it through an hour long class". Well why didn't you tell me THAT sooner - was all I could think! I commented on the uncomfortable feeling left by the 'saddle' (she seemed proud of my use of the correct terminology but of course I was thinking JAGGED ROCK) and she said "Well you need to stick with it for about a month and then that feeling will go away". I had to cough to keep from laughing out loud - a month!?!? On the way home, I considered purchasing one of the seat pads she suggested and reflected on the overall experience. Once I got in the house though, I did what any sane person would....I went straight to the computer and CHARGED MY IPOD!

Biggest Game of the Year

I was "iced in" yesterday so found myself giving the kitchen a thorough cleaning and came upon the article below. My friend has also been waiting for me to do a post on the return of Friday Night Lights (a favorite show of hers and mine). While the Super Bowl is this Sunday and is known as the biggest game of the year, I would argue that this one could take the cake and would make a great episode of FNL!!

There are some games in which cheering for the other side feels
better than winning.
by Rick Reilly

They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas. It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down.

For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through. Did you hear that? The other team’s fans? They even made a banner for players to crash through at the end. It said, “Go Tornadoes!” Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions. It was rivers running uphill and cats petting dogs. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gainesville side and kept cheering the Gainesville players on—by name. “I never in my life thought I’d hear people cheering for us to hit their kids,” recalls Gainesville’s QB and middle linebacker, Isaiah. “I wouldn’t expect another parent to tell somebody to hit their kids. But they wanted us to!” And even though Faith walloped them 33-14, the Gainesville kids were so happy that after the game they gave head coach Mark Williams a sideline squirt-bottle shower like he’d just won state. Gotta be the first Gatorade bath in history for an 0-9 coach.

But then you saw the 12 uniformed officers escorting the 14 Gainesville players off the field and two and two started to make four. They lined the players up in groups of five—handcuffs ready in their back pockets—and marched them to the team bus. That’s because Gainesville is a maximum-security correctional facility 75 miles north of Dallas. Every game it plays is on the road.

This all started when Faith’s head coach, Kris Hogan, wanted to do something kind for the Gainesville team. Faith had never played Gainesville, but he already knew the score. After all, Faith was 7-2 going into the game, Gainesville 0-8 with 2 TDs all year. Faith has 70 kids, 11 coaches, the latest equipment and involved parents. Gainesville has a lot of kids with convictions for drugs, assault and robbery—many of whose families had disowned them—wearing seven-year-old shoulder pads and ancient helmets.

So Hogan had this idea. What if half of our fans—for one night only—cheered for the other team? He sent out an email asking the Faithful to do just that. “Here’s the message I want you to send:” Hogan wrote. “You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth.”Some people were naturally confused. One Faith player walked into Hogan’s office and asked, “Coach, why are we doing this?” And Hogan said, “Imagine if you didn’t have a home life. Imagine if everybody had pretty much given up on you. Now imagine what it would mean for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you.”

Next thing you know, the Gainesville Tornadoes were turning around on their bench to see something they never had before. Hundreds of fans. And actual cheerleaders! “I thought maybe they were confused,” said Alex, a Gainesville lineman (only first names are released by the prison). “They started yelling ‘DEE-fense!’ when their team had the ball. I said, ‘What? Why they cheerin’ for us?’” It was a strange experience for boys who most people cross the street to avoid. “We can tell people are a little afraid of us when we come to the games,” says Gerald, a lineman who will wind up doing more than three years. “You can see it in their eyes. They’re lookin’ at us like we’re criminals. But these people, they were yellin’ for us! By our names!” Maybe it figures that Gainesville played better than it had all season, scoring the game’s last two touchdowns. Of course, this might be because Hogan put his third-string nose guard at safety and his third-string cornerback at defensive end. Still.

After the game, both teams gathered in the middle of the field to pray and that’s when Isaiah surprised everybody by asking to lead. “We had no idea what the kid was going to say,” remembers Coach Hogan. But Isaiah said this: “Lord, I don’t know how this happened, so I don’t know how to say thank You, but I never would’ve known there was so many people in the world that cared about us.” And it was a good thing everybody’s heads were bowed because they might’ve seen Hogan wiping away tears.

As the Tornadoes walked back to their bus under guard, they each were handed a bag for the ride home—a burger, some fries, a soda, some candy, a Bible and an encouraging letter from a Faith player. The Gainesville coach saw Hogan, grabbed him hard by the shoulders and said, “You’ll never know what your people did for these kids tonight. You’ll never, ever know.” And as the bus pulled away, all the Gainesville players crammed to one side and pressed their hands to the window, staring at these people they’d never met before, watching their waves and smiles disappearing into the night.

Anyway, with the economy six feet under and Christmas running on about three and a half reindeer, it’s nice to know that one of the best presents you can give is still absolutely free.
Hope.

Sometimes there is crying in football right??!!

Picture Challenge

I was reading my sweet friend Heather's blog and she issued a picture challenge. I am posting from work so I was a little afraid of what my choices might be but I must admit that the picture made my heart smile. I followed her directions and below is the picture I landed on:

The picture was part of a collection of pictures I used to make one of those photo bracelets for my Grandma (Jackson's Great Grandma). I needed ones that had good clear pictures of the kids faces and weren't too big. Clearly, Jackson's love of sports started at an early age, I think he was about 18 months in this picture. Eric had taken him to visit his twin sister in west Texas and her husband had a tennis camp going on that weekend. Perfect entertainment for our little ball boy! The other funny thing about this picture is that I have absolutely NO idea who the little friend is in the background. No relation and not even a friend of a friend. I also think it is funny how Jackson would wear a baseball cap all the time, forwards, backwards, whatever! My other son I can't keep socks and shoes on let alone an unnecessary accessory like a HAT! Oh well - still a cute picture and Heather was right - it seems like forever ago and just yesterday all at the same time!

Wanna play along? Just follow these rules:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer

2) Select the 4th picture in the folder

3) Explain the picture

GREAT FUN!

New Twist on an Old Verse

I got this in an email from my friend StacyA (she is my "anonymous" commenter - come on...you didn't think I would be cool enough to have someone I don't know reading my blog do you?! Silly you!) and thought it was definitely "blog worthy". She had no way of knowing but oh how I needed to read certain parts of this.....{[SIDENOTE: Am I the only one that sometimes finds myself working really diligently towards a goal that seems like a good thing only to realize that isn't the most important thing? I'll talk more about that later.]} Anyway, I know this is meant to be lighthearted but I hope this speaks to you in some way too and puts a new twist on an old verse.

Perspective from 1 Corinthians 13

If I decorate my house perfectly with exquisite flowers, pristine vases, perfectly leveled pictures, and fine rugs, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of cakes, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, sing at the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.

If I bake meals for friends in need, attend a myriad of social gatherings, attend church regularly, and sing in the choir, but do not focus on Christ (and share Jesus), I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated china and table linens.

Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way.

Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can't.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.

Ocean of Emotion

I find it so fascinating to watch children learn and deal with their emotions. My children are at completely different ends of the spectrum when it comes to the ocean of emotion. One is just dipping his toes in the surf and mimicking every point of contact that he sees. While the other has his wet suit on and surf board tucked under his arm - staring in awe at the cresting waves all the while keeping in the shallow waters. Both get their emotional cues though from those around them not the least of which is us as parents.

Take for instance with Baby G. He is just starting to really show a personality and on Sunday when we were at the grocery store, just he and I, he kept leaning his head out over the cart towards me and making a "mmmm-mah" sound - for those of you who don't speak Gavinese - that is a big ol' KISS. He did it over and over and it was just so precious that it sent a wave of warm emotion over my heart. So much so that I almost directed my cart to customer service and asked for a copy of their video surveillance of the frozen food section just so I could keep that memory for posterity. Fearing child protective services and the "Code Pink" (crazy lady on premises) on my next visit, I obviously just tried to take a mental picture of him for when he is in the throws of the terrible twos and exhibiting no redeeming qualities what-so-ever! Not to mention that he is exhibiting many of Eric's personality traits so if that continues, I know these unabashed displays of affection will not last forever.

Jackson on the other hand is my loving one. Which unfortunately for him means that he inherited his mommy's ......ahem...."passion" (that is the word that E always uses when he gets the "describe your wife in one word" question). I will admit, it has it's good points and bad points - both of which we have already seen in him. Because I prefer to focus on the positive, both for his sake and for mine, I wanted to tell you a cute story that happened Monday evening. I picked the kids up from school and Jackson was already charged with excitement at the thought of picking up his new battery powered Jeep. He had been checking our email (funny in and of itself) waiting to see when it was available at the store for pick up and just about leapt through the phone when he called to tell me we could pick it up the next day. By the time the store clerk brought it out, he was grinning from ear to ear and almost yelled when he saw the picture on the box "Mommy - it's BLUE!!!" (his favorite color). I admit, I was excited for him and as I got in the car and made my way through the parking lot, I launched into this soliloquy about how much his great grandparents loved him (it was their Christmas gift to the boys) and how he should feel so blessed to have such a generous family and how thankful we should be to God for these blessings, etc. etc. (yeah - I was having one of "those" mom moments). I looked in the rear view mirror both to make sure he was listening and to see that big toothy grin and I was surprised to find him with his hand over his mouth, appearing to be close to tears, and taking these short little breaths. I said "Jackson, what's wrong??" I swear I am not making this up...he looked right at me and said "I'm just...just...filled with joy". Obviously as my son, he has seen me choked up and I've had to explain that people sometimes cry when the are happy. Looking at him, it occurred to me that the hand over his mouth was as much trying not to cry as trying to hold in all joy - he didn't want any to escape. I probably should be embarrassed that this happened over a "toy" but I just took it to mean that he got what I was saying - he literally FELT blessed. Wherever my kids are on that ocean of emotion, I'm happy to grab my own surf board, scuffed as it may be from thirty some odd years of catching waves of my own and meet them right where they are at! As a mom, there's almost nothing that beats getting back some of the emotional energy that you put into your kids! LOVE IT!

Catch up Post #1 - The Haircut

Well since my oldest son has declared his intent to be the next Vidal Sassoon, I thought I would show you what my youngest thought of his first trip to the salon. It was blissfully uneventful (praise God) and we were the only customer there when the haircut started. In fact, the only time he seemed to even show emotion was for approximately one minute when he dropped the duck he had been holding for security. He looked like such a big boy and took it all in stride....

With brother there to show him the ropes (J reminded me that he wasn't getting his hair cut here - "I go to Sportclips"- mental rolling of the eyes)

The "before" picture....did I really let it get THAT long?

"Hey - check out my new ride!"

"A car, a cape -this place is pretty cool"

The first CUT...

"So pretty much I just sit like this the whole time? Well this is easy!"

"But I dropped my ducky...."

"...oh good, blue ducky is back- continue on with whatever you're doing"

"what about clippers?? - I hadn't even noticed.."

"I'll just look down here while she cuts the back...you know me Mr. Accommodating"

A little gel...and more importantly, a BALLOON!

Tah Dah! ALL DONE!

"Mommy says I'm a pretty handsome fella"

I would say I just got lucky that time but I have been back for another haircut since (remember this is the first of many needed catch up posts)and he was just as unimpressed with it the second time. YEAH! I know I am completely and shamefully biased but who wouldn't love this face!!

A New Year through a Child's Eyes...

New Year's Eve is different things to different people. For some (early 20's folks), it is a time to go out on the town and kick up your well dressed heels. For others (late 30's crowd), maybe it is a nice dinner with friends and celebrating with the Californians before heading off to bed (ding ding ding - we have a winner!). Have you ever wondered what New Year's eve means to a toddler? Well thankfully the teacher at Jackson's school thought to ask her class about it. When I went to pick him up yesterday, I found the class bulletin board filled with papers where each child answered the questions she asked and she dutifully wrote down exactly what they said. I have talked to her before about another version of this exercise (remind me to tell you later about their "recipes for Thanksgiving" - hilarious) and I know she writes absolutely word-for-word what they say and doesn't try to explain the question in order to get a "right" answer. It's no accident that they used to have a whole television show based on the funny things that kids say because there were some laugh out loud funny responses. Here are Jackson's...

1. What does New Years Day mean? It is the first day of the first new year. [I know it seems like a straight forward easy question but there were very few kids who "got it". One kid put "It's a day to sleep"...(I'm guessing his parents were over 30 from my examples above and tried to pretend they were still in their early 20's)]
2. What do you want to do more of at school that you didn't do last year? I want to play more in the morning first. [Okay so my kid who seemed so smart after the first answer now thinks that he should have more time to play....learn - no, improve handwriting - no, better behavior - no... well okay good to know that our expectations are the same - hmmmm]
3. How old will you be this year? 5 [As all kids do, there were a couple kids who attempted to be more specific and add a "and a half" to their age. I can remember the week after Jackson's fourth birthday he told a neighborhood friend that he was "almost five".... close.]
4. What is your New Year's resolution for 2009? I want to go to church more. [This could be good or bad....either all his classmates parents will think that we NEVER go to church or we have a church that is so fun and it is back to the whole "more playing" thing again. I chose the later and personally I think it has something to do with the fact that he is only a few "attendance tickets" shy of one of the prizes he thinks is so cool.]
5. What did you do for New Years? I was sitting and throwing the football. [I didn't glance at the other answers on this very well but I can only hope every other kid's family was being equally as "lazy".]
6. What would you like to be when you grow up? First I will be a haircutter and then I'm gonna be a football player. [Okay seriously - where to start with this answer...."haircutter" - what!?! First let me say that he has never mentioned it before and I think it is only because of his new found obsession with Sportclips where his teenage cousin got him hooked on - watching sports while doing anything is right up his alley. Secondly, how do I break it to him that I don't know a single beauty school dropout that played football or even vice-versa. I know, I know - I don't break it to him....instead I just smile, chuckle to myself, and file this little paper away to pull out at the football banquet when he is a high school senior and embarrass him mercilessly! Incidentally, the most comment answer from his class was "teacher"...probably because they are lucky enough to have a GREAT one!]

Another post for another day...

I suppose I should start with an apology for my lengthy absence. I've started this post about one million times in my head. My reason(s) for not putting thoughts to electronic paper is a little bit of thousands of "reasons" which include (and as usual in no semblance of order or sense) thoughts of "who cares - no one is reading it or commenting anyway", "there are way more important things to do", "I'm so busy that my head literally hurts" (side note: I hate the word 'busy' since it is so overused, completely relative, and truth be told could almost always be avoided - but that's another post for another day), "I'm not that funny/interesting/noteworthy/[insert any other self deprecating adjective]", "my problems seem so minor compared to what some of my friends are going through", "I'm sad", "my kids need more of me", "my house is a mess", "I need to go buy one more Christmas gift", "I can't write", "I have 350 pictures that need uploaded and my computer is starting a coup against me and refusing to work at anything above a one-legged turtle's pace".

I am aware that no one was asking for a reason but I know I am not alone in the feeling of always being compelled to justify everything. If someone asks us to do something we can't just say "no I can't", we feel the need to list of our day's itinerary so they can see for themselves and know that we REALLY can't. When someone apologizes, we want them not to just say "I'm so sorry", we want to know "I'm sorry for 'X' and 'Y'" just to make sure that if they didn't know they needed to apologize for 'Z' - well they do now (again - another post for another day). Part of my trouble starting this post was just that - knowing where to start!?! It is sort of like me in my scrapbooking. I have these wonderful pictures in my new camera (OMGoodness - I got a Nikon D90 for Christmas and it absolutely rocks - another post for another day) that I would love to make pages with but the engineer in me feel the need to keep going in order which would mean that I am on year 2 of Jackson's almost 5 years of life. And poor Gavin - I promise mommy will make you a scrapbook too....as a second child myself - I am truly ashamed - ASHAMED!

So there you go - not knowing where to start led to a bunch of rambling and thinking of a thousand things that I want to say... but at least I have let you know that I am still alive in the blogging world, I LOVE your comments, I beg your forgiveness for my hiatus, and I promise to catch you up with the goings on at the Huffman House....but that's another post for another day!