Thursday, May 31, 2012

like gold

My day has been hurried and chock full of back to back events.
It has gone smoothly and found unexpected inconveniences but,
I have yet to say it was a bad day or
that there are things that can't be overcome.
In the middle of it all,
I sat down and I read this and instantly,
I was high on God's utmost goodness and mercy.

Job 23:10

Monday, May 28, 2012

First Annual SYA Cardinal Classic Memorial Day Tournament

We traveled to Centreville this weekend to play in the
First Annual SYA Cardinal Classic Memorial Day Tournament.


The first game, they tied 1-1.


Nerves caught them off-guard and the field wasn't what they were used to.


It was small, the grass was short and the ball bounced and rolled with such speed.


 They overcame those obstacles and went on to win the next three games...


capturing the title of SYA Cardinal Classic Memorial Day Tournament champions.






A little birdy told me there folks were looking for these.
Sorry, I hadn't worked on them yet.
I admit, I fell in love with
my in-between-games shots more than anything.
My apologies.


Thursday, May 24, 2012

dear c,

I didn't mean to make you sad.  Here, I post what I'm feeling.  A bit of stressed/depressed/aggravated/agitated.  A good bit of happy, good times.  So, I'm sorry.  My intention was never to darken your day or make you second guess what we're doing.  That's the enemy creeping in.  No, my goal was to say, "I love you, M.S. and we may be traveling 800 miles away, but we will not forget you and my hopes are that you will not forget us.  We do not plan on abandoning your friendship, not for a dag-gum second.  And I will refuse to not be friends or not send Christmas cards, etc. just because we're not in this county anymore.  There's facetime sister.  And I expect to see your bright eyes and smiling face there!"

I believe God has a plan for us.  It may seem complicated right now, but thank God, we don't get to see the big picture, because wouldn't we really feel overwhelmed.  So a while ago, I agreed to take life day by day and while the strange smell wafting through our kitchen is eery and has been for two days now and I may scream from time to time at our children almost daily, I'm just getting through today and I'll worry about that weird odor tomorrow and I'll hug and kiss our monkeys every night and sing songs and be silly until I run out of patience and voice.  No worriesThe smell - It's most likely the full bag of garbage that's been waiting to go outside all week.  The kids - I bought a new CD of sing along fun that we've been rockin' and Miss K and I have been bonding amidst french-braiding.  We'll make it through, you'll see.

So these are for you...

- Ann Voskamp

Romans 8:14
Romans 8:28-30
Romans 8:31

Gensis 50:20

- Mary Coleman

Philippians 3:12-14

Philippians 4:4-9

Philippians 4:11-13
Romans 5:3-5

These are some of the most treasured passages in scripture for me and they always give me reassurance.  I may have to read them over and over and recite them to myself all day, but they remind me of the hope that is found only in our Lord who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and he will not fail us.  So my hope is that you can find reassurance in them too.  Don't forget that God has gone before us and prepared the way.  If it is meant for us to be there, we will be.  Put your worries away and put your trust in him.  And remember, "Don't tell God how big your problems are, tell your problems how big your God is."  I love that.

One more thing, I was talking to a friend this afternoon and she was asking how things were coming along with the job/move, etc.  We talked for a while and she said, "I'm so excited for you guys!  We've thought about moving but, I just couldn't.  Now, with you guys doing this, I think we should just do it, just move."  She's like me - grew up here, never left, everything's familiar.  I thought that was kind of cool.  She encouraged me by saying that I encouraged her, but I never knew I was doing anything besides having faith in God to get us through.  See, his light is shining in us and through us.  Keep your head up. 

I LOVE YOU.


bittersweet

I'm off.
The first Thursday in two weeks.
(Sigh.)

My house looks like a tornado hit it.

But in the stillness of this one quiet morning,
I am going through mail
and making breakfast,
and I find this...



and it reads...


It is sweet.
Like sugar.

Bittersweet though.
Because in the same bit,
I want to cry.

I love this child.
{like my own}

Miss K has grown up
with her since preschool.
When they were 3,
they spent their first (real) sleepover
together at a friend's house.
Ahhh, the memories.

I told her,
when we leave,
she can come stay with us
for a week or two.
And I meant it.

I don't want this to be the end.

Really,
it only feels like the beginning.

So, please, please,
don't say "last".
Or goodbye.
We'll be back.

And we'll mail you something
on your next birthday.

Or perhaps,
we'll surprise you by coming home
and taking you to Bounce 'n' Play
(even though you'll think that's goofy because
you'll be "way too old for that kinda stuff.")
Then, we'll eat lunch "on the terrace" at Red Robin.

Or hit McDonald's for breakfast.
(After we've already had breakfast
because you have that same insane metabolism
that makes me instantly claim you as my daughter.)
Then go to the library and end with thrift store hopping.

Just to reminisce.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

am i the only one

who's got this stuck in my head?

I am guilty of my fondness
for catchy songs.

This song for instance,




"Just a shy guy looking for a two-ply
Hefty bag to hold my-y-y-y-y-y-y love."

Really?

It doesn't even matter.
I'm head over heels for it.
I'll be singing it for weeks now.

Tell me I'm not crazy?



Tuesday, May 15, 2012

thinking of you

On the way home tonight,
oddly,
I changed the station.
This song was on...


and immediately,
I thought of you.

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and
Just forget the world?

Monday, May 14, 2012

i had nothing else.


You're very, very welcome.

I have gradually realized throughout this short period
of being apart there are so many things I adore.

Someone at work frequently uses the word "ain't" and it reminds me of you.
I corrected you, now I savor just hearing it.  And think of you.

As the weather gets warmer and warmer, I miss seeing you in shorts with boots.
And your sexy sock tan.  Ha.

I realize that it may be convenient to warm the bed with the electric blanket before I hop in, but nothing compares to laying smack dab against you and waking up in your arms.

Coffee just isn't the same when you make it.
It's better.

I miss your egg sandwiches.  Mine are just blah.
In fact, I haven't had one since you left.
So while I take the cake in the cooking department. 
You have your own specialty and it can't be beat.

I took for granted how much you really did here.
Like, how we would tag team the kids at bedtime after sports and church.

How much it sucks to watch movies by myself.

The list goes on and on.
But it's late.
And we both have big days ahead of us.
I hope yours is the best.
I can deal.


I love you Daddy-O.
To the moon and back.

{By the way, the man has that beat.}
Not that it was ours from the start.
"I love you up to the planets and all around them and back."


Now,

I don't have as many "money shots" of Miss K because...
One, it's inevitable that I'll forget my camera.
Two, soccer is so fast-paced I catch myself watching
the game instead of photographing it.
And three, sometimes it's really hard to get
awesome shots because they move so fast.
(They're comparable to gazelle.)
I kid you not.

I promise, I'll get more.
We have a tournament coming up and
I'm super psyched.

But this girl, she rocks my socks too.
She's one of the scrappin'-est,
knock-down-drag-out, crazy fightin' soccer girls ever.  Ever.
She's a wicked beast on the field, with fancy feet to boot.
She's come into her own and she's kickin' butts and takin' names.
There's no other way to put it.
She's bad.

Her stubbornness send us into battle.
Yet, she curls up in bed with me when it storms.
And then she asks six hundred times for me to braid her hair.
To cook her ramen noodles.
(blaaa! because she's like her daddy and even though I'm a superb cook,
- not to toot my own horn -
she loves gross school food (i.e. chicken patties, hot dogs, bologna, Vienna sausages)

Her clothes have to be perfectly matched.
And she always has to accessorize...rings, bracelets, necklaces.
And then, she'll say "Which necklace looks better?"

And I can't help but love that insane, hormonal chick.
Because she's mine.
And she's so sweet and beautiful.
And CRAZY.
All at the same time.




Truly...

...a picture is worth a thousand words. 
So collages must be worth more.


I connected my camera tonight and found over 200 pictures.
Yes, shamefully, over 200.
So excuse me if I must share.
This tiny boy who rocks the faux-hawk so well.
Who sports soccer cleats on the baseball field.
Who refuses to wear his grey pants.
And slides in shorts.
Who smacks homers every game.
Who is a clone of his daddy-o.
He rocks my world.


Sunday, May 6, 2012

if you've been wondering...

I'm still alive.  Life's been crazy.  Insanely crazy.  And I'm turning the computer on for the first time in weeks, not to help with end-of-year projects, but to come here and do some 'splainin'.  I haven't abandoned this place {in fact, I'm quite fond of it Thankyouverymuch.}  I just need the summer to take care of some things and get settled.

First off and most importantly, we spend a fair amount of time at church - kids' choir, ladies' Bible study, regular prayer and Bible study and AWANA.  Tonight was the last night of AWANA and choir will be ending early June.  Secondly, there's soccer and t-ball where we hit the field 2, sometimes 3 nights a week.  T-ball ends this Saturday and soccer follows also in early June.  And, of course, there's work.  Work has been boring me to death lately and sadly, I've dreaded the days there.  I am excited to be working an upcoming event.  Though, I think this will be my last month there. 

School's ending soon and so we've begun to pack.  I won't say I'll be sad when all of our activities shut down.  I need to come up for air.  I need to get serious about packing, concrete our plan, bring in the volunteers.  It's all seemed a little overwhelming but, I realize that everything is in God's perfect time, according to His perfect plan.  Not mine.  So, for now, I'm just going with the flow, doing what I need to do to get through each day and that's it.  I'll pack a little here, pack a little there and when the time comes, we'll pack it all.

The man and I are still overjoyed about moving.  Miss K, not so much.  She doesn't want to hear it.  I know she'll come around, I just hope the Spirit can move in her heart to be accepting and not resentful.  To see it as an adventure and not being cut off from all those who we know and dearly love.  I wonder if we'll ever not call this place home.  We'll come back for holidays and summers.  We'll bathe and soak ourselves in the love and laughter of family and friends.  We'll invite them out to stay with us and feast on meals fit for kings, I promise.  You know I don't can't do small well.

One more thing, I'm having a problem with photos.  Google's saying I've met my limit for "storage" and so, I really don't have the time to mess with that and I'm certainly not paying for more.  {Seriously?}  And you know how much I despise these posts with no pictures.  Awful, awful, I say.

With all that being said, please excuse my absence for I will not be here for a while.  (If I do appear for half a minute it will sadly be photo-less.  {Sniff.  Sniff.}  May be August-September-ish before we meet again, I make no promises.  I hope everyone has an awesome summer and think of us while you're laying by the pool, out in the lake, toes in the sand.  Yep, we'll be packing our stuff and driving a huge moving truck 800 miles.  Yippee, sounds like fun, huh?  Yeah, I didn't think so either.  How about a car full of dogs?  OK, really, there's just 2, but 14 hours with them?  Ugh, it just gets better all the time.  Oh well, that's just life.  Farewell for now and until we meet again...