Basketball starts this week (as well as football)

I know this has some of you scratching your heads but you see we are in the realm of Jr. High and High School sports so no more of this practice a couple of times and then play games. We now have year round basketball and spring training for football.

Monday starts 5 day a week conditioning for football for Caleb, this will last for 7 weeks. Heather starts back with her skills coach twice a week and a weekly practice. She will have several weekend tournaments a month until the season kicks off again in November and for some odd reason Heather wants to do football conditioning with Caleb.... we'll see how that goes.



Competitive sports is just that "competitive" and to keep your edge you have to be doing something year round.



All this chaos became worth it with one phone call - the recruiter from a Kansas college called us after we got back from our big National tournament. The recruiter and college coach call us on a regular basis now... it looks as if Heather will have her school paid for by doing what she loves- playing ball. What a blessing!

My husband is acting strange.

My phone just rang and I expected the usual "I'm on my way home, what's for dinner?" Instead I got some kind of garbled music playing....

"Do you hear that?" hubby asked

"Music?" I respond very confused

"It's our song!" He continues

"What song?"

"Oh good grief... our song..... Against All Odds, it came on the radio and I wanted you to hear it!"

"Have you done something wrong and need to confess?" I am very confused by now at this sudden turn in our relationship, you see basketball season has been going on for the past 6 months and I was pretty sure he had all but forgotten my first name.

"Nevermind"- he sounds pretty disgusted with me

Heather comes in the room about now, "Who's on the phone?"

"Your Dad"

"What does he want?"

"He wanted me to hear our song"

"What song?"

This picture pretty much sums it up...

I was in a pretty blah mood most of the day on Easter Sunday- Chris had to work, the weather was cold and windy, when I got to church there wasn't anywhere to park or sit, I didn't get to eat ham and the worst part.....THE MAVERICKS LOST TO THE SPURS!

On a positive note, the kids got to go to a egg hunt at the Pilot Point church and found LOTS of eggs, I got a few good pictures, there wasn't any parking or a place to sit at church ( I know, I know, I have that listed as a bad thing also), I did get to eat turkey which is better for me than ham, and TEXAS BEAT MIAMI (barely).

There, that's better.

EASTER

One of my favorite Easters I helped with the Good Friday service at our church. Pastor Daniels had the sanctuary dark with just candle light. Four of us read different passages that led up to Christ's death. By the end all the candles had been extinguished and we all left in the dark.... it was an awful feeling, all day Saturday we still felt it. On Sunday morning we streamed back in the sanctuary and now it was full of light, white drapes spilled from the cross that was now surrounded by white lilies. It was an incredible feeling.... we felt the despair, the discouragement that the disciples must have felt and then we felt the joy. I have had quite a bit of despair in my life in the last few months and this week I began to see the "light". I do see God working in miraculous ways around me and I see his favor on me and my family.

Why do I doubt him?

This video is hard to watch, it has violence in it... violence toward my Savior, my rescuer. If you get queasy easily don't watch. The song for the background is one of my favorites by Hillsong.

I have been rescued.

First day of spring

Today was the first day of spring and we celebrated (sort of). We went to Grandma Nancy's house and had the traditional "first day of spring all-you-can-eat waffle lunch", we piled our waffles with the most beautiful strawberries and whip cream (Grandma Nancy remembered halfway through her meal she wasn't supposed to eat strawberries so that could come back and haunt us). We all watched Enchanted..... again...... and now I am just waiting for my boys to start singing and dancing randomly.

I love spring ... because it means summer is next and that means.......... (wait for it)... I CAN TAN!! To all you easy tanners- don't laugh, it took me 40 years to realize I could tan. I got my first tan last summer and now I can't wait to do it again. Don't lecture me on how unhealthy it is and bad for your skin..... I have been snow white for 40 years!!! Let me have a few years of tan, I promise I will stop (maybe).

Oklahoma City- where the streets have no names!

Trust me.... I'm not comparing OKC to heaven. The streets really don't have names there. How many numbered streets can they have? Just changing the directions in front of it doesn't make it less confusing -NW 23rd, SW 23rd grrrrr.... I had someone driving all over Oklahoma City looking for a gym on 36th before we realized they were talking about Edmond!! I thought of several bumper stickers while we rode around the city-

Did I just blow out a tire or am I driving in Oklahoma?

Oklahoma- where merge does not exist!

I've just blown in from Oklahoma

I paid toll for this?

Colton's 10 and under basketball team

I have been in OKC for the last week for one of the largest homeschool basketball tournaments in the nation. They had over 300 teams participating which means a little over 3000 players, when you add all the family for those players (and these are typical homeschool families) you have between 15,000- 20,0000 people descending on Oklahoma for the week. This was our 8th year to attend and one of the most exciting. Colton played on the 10 and under team for the first time, Heather's team (coached by Chris) battled their way into 6A with a miracle shot at the buzzer that put them into overtime which they then won by 5 points. 6A consists of the top 8 teams in the nation. Caleb's 12 and under team was undefeated and won the whole thing- a 6A National Championship. Caleb won a Christian Character award.

Caleb's team getting the "gold ball"

Here is a link to a great NY Times article on the tournament.



http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/sports/16homeschool.html?ex=1206244800&en=eef2f54b52fd0a32&ei=5070&emc=eta1



The highlight of the week was on Wednesday night when they had the first ever Showcase- a time to show off the best talent in the homeschool community. Our own Heather was chosen out of over 400 girls to play in the All-Star game. The 5000 seat gym at SNU was overflowing and Heather was nervous but she played great and got the attention of a recruiter - this has been a pretty big thing around our home and has caused us to make some major changes for the upcoming year.

Heather getting a kiss from her Papa at the Showcase

Before the start of Caleb's championship game we stopped and watched the kite surfers at Lake Hefner. The kids were thrilled at the sight and Colton wanted to try it right then and there.

"That's why God made wind!"- Colton

We came home exhausted and without voices but after 3 straight days of sleeping we are recovering. We are also not taking our smooth, well lit roads for granted ever again.

My thoughts on Disney... or now I know what's wrong with all those people!

You know the people I am talking about... they wear Mickey shirts, have Tinkerbell purses, and put mouse ears on everything! I have to admit I just didn't get it.... until I went to Disney World. As a surprise to Heather for Christmas I planned a mother/daughter trip and now that I have been there I have been disneyfied (and yes that is a word). After just three days in the park all I can think about is putting mickey on everything I own... even my camera! I have Minnie Mouse on my purse, I drink coffee out of a Mickey mug, and I have my eye on a Disney camera strap on Ebay.





I have to admit my trip to WDW was incredible...everything was perfection. Animal Kingdom was just like being in the jungle except it was VERY clean and no stinky smells. The Magic Kingdom was just that.... magical. I am already trying to figure out how to get back there but this time with the whole family.





I came back and found myself humming silly tunes, using "princess hands" to talk to people, and randomly yelling "Oh boy" in a squeaky voice. I now understand you crazy people and I am proud to be one of you.





Of all the magical things I could come home with this is the power I would like to possess around the house.

I'm pretty sure I live in Texas!

So why am I getting a million SNOW pictures in MARCH??!!

On Monday we got our light dusting of snow that made the kids happy, now they could say they played in the snow even though it was all melted before noon. I ran out and took my "snow pictures" making sure I had enough for a 2 page spread in my scrapbook.

Fast forward to today when the weather man predicted it might snow Thursday night...well, it moved in a little earlier than planned and alot more than anyone thought possible!! A little know factoid about me (it will be on the test) is that I hate snow!!

I didn't always hate snow but two years ago I was stuck in Washington State in a blizzard on Snoqualmie pass and drove for over 8 hours in the miserable stuff. One year later I found myself in another blizzard in Colorado Springs at 2 in the morning with a crazy woman at the wheel (yes Rose I am talking about you and you know you were a little insane that night so just own it).

Here is the view out my back window!

Yes I am a horrible mother and let him run outside without a coat but I needed a visual to show just how large the snowflakes were!
Here is a snowflake just after it landed on Jordan's arm.... they were HUGE!! Now I am bundling up to go back outside and get REAL snow pictures!

Grumble, grumble, grumble... did I mention I hate snow?

Did I do something wrong?

I wonder how many times a mom asks herself this? It doesn't take a lot for us to ask it.... it can be something as simple as finding the toilet unflushed (with no toilet paper in it) for the umpteenth time or more serious as having a kid refuse to give his offering over at church because he wants to buy a coke when church is over.

I have decided this year to focus on all the things I have done right, as moms I think this is a good challenge for all of us, it is to easy to get drug down with the negative so lets start working on the positive.

I read aloud to my kids a lot- currently Mr. Poppers Penguins
I love to play board games with my whole family
I have been to almost every sports game they played (and have a tailbone out of alignment and chiropractic bill to prove it- I hate bleachers)
I feed them nutritious meals
I take them everywhere they want to go
I listen to their music in the van.... and it has grown on me though I still don't get that whole screamo thingo
I dress them well (I don't think any of them have ever been made fun of "ha ha you're weird and your mom dresses you funny")
I let them wear their hair in all kinds of crazy styles
I take them to church
I hug and kiss them regularly
I tell them I love them
I pray for them continually

Please leave me a comment on what you have done right... I would love to hear it!