Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Spring has sprung!

Before spring break Andrew and Jack's school had career day.  You were supposed to dress for the career you wanted.  Andrew told me he wanted to be a drummer or a soccer player.  So, he dressed as a drummer.  I'm not sure where this desire to be a drummer came from, but oh well...
 Before spring break officially began, we had an event at church called Disciple Now.  Basically, teenagers stay in homes of church members and they have a fun weekend of studying the Bible and spending time together.  I had 10 middle school boys.  My friend Stephanie had 7 middle school girls.  I was sure to send her some ice cream to her house.
 Once all the boys finally went to sleep at FOUR AM, we all settled in for a good two hours of sleep before I had to get up to make breakfast.  This group of boys ate 30 pancakes, 24 piece of bacon, 24 pieces of sausage, and 24 scrambled eggs...in about 12 seconds.  Gone.
 I also cooked meals for the entire weekend.  For lunch on Saturday, I thought I would come home for a leisurely grilling session. Instead of leisurely grilling my grill caught on fire.  Whoops.  Thankfully, our good friend, Benjamin, was close by and helped me extinguish it.  For the record, those hamburgers and hot dogs are a little overcooked.
 After Disciple Now, the boys and I headed to Dallas, Texas with our friends and Fred went to Vancouver on a mission trip.  Our main purpose was to go to Six Flags.  Our friends that moved to Texas even met us at the park.
 The theme of the day was money and lines.  We spent money and waited in lines.  This was the line for the bathroom.  It was intense.  There were a lot of people at Six Flags.
 Four of our crew rode the pirate ship.  They are in the middle.


 We closed the park down at 10:00 pm.  If you know me well, you know that this is way past my bedtime, but we made it through.




 Another thing we did was eat at In and Out Burger.  The boys have heard about this burger place since we ate there in Utah last year.  It is delicious.  Jack was a fan!  Actually, everyone was a fan of their burgers.
 The next day we went to the Kenny's house.  The Kenny's dog, Fenway, thought he was a lap dog and made himself at home in my friend's lap.

 Between the three of us we have nine kids.  While staying inside is fun with 9 children...not really...we decided to visit a park.  Do you know how difficult it is to get a picture of 9 children??  Here's a taste.









I think we finally found some keepers in the picture taking arena.  A good time was had by all in Texas.  We enjoyed our time together.  Once we got home, we hit the ground running.  Andrew was the only one that wanted to run errands with me.  

 And then later that night, both brothers were busy doing things so Andrew and I had a date.  He told me that "he was really glad we went on this date so he could practice his manners".



While we were in Dallas, Fred was in Vancouver with a team from our church.

They were helping with his brother's church.  It was the new year for this people group.  One of the things they do is jump over fires for the new year.  It's an old tradition that is believed to ward off evil spirits for the upcoming new year.  Our church's team helped man the event.  Around 5000 people attended.


While we were all off traveling, Dash stayed at the Hotel Shackelford with Pawpaw and a few cats.  He seemed to adjust well them, which is ironic.  When we see cats on our runs he loses his mind, but I guess it's okay to sit on a comfy couch with them??


 One of my goals for this month was to have the boys make supper one night.  They have to pick the menu and give me a grocery list.  Then they have cook it and clean up.  Clayton chose burgers and guacamole.  He did a great job.  I may be completely turning it over to him pretty soon. Fred helped oversee the grill since my previous experience had not been the best.  




Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Man, I can't keep up

We've been gone from Paris for about three years, but Jack and Bennett still miss each other.  So when Bennett's birthday rolled around we knew we had to meet in the middle for some sort of celebration...of course, Melody and I NEVER mind getting together either.  We decided to meet up at Sky Zone in Jackson so we could talk the kids could jump and celebrate.  And celebrate they did.  We finished the night off with Krystal burgers and we each headed home.  Sniff.  Sniff.  We are always sad when our time with them ends.  


 The Sunday after that Andrew was baptized. All of our family came in for the occasion and we were thrilled.

We have quite the crew surrounding us.  While I've never taken this crew for granted...the older I get, the more I appreciate them.  They love us, surround us, celebrate with us, and we are grateful.  It's because of the people in this photograph that we are where we are today. 

We had lunch afterwards and my man in the middle helped himself to a brownie right out of the middle.  I laughed.  He's a funny guy. 

 Several days later, Andrew came down with a stomach virus.  If you know me, you know I loathe a stomach virus.  In fact, I'd rather eat dirt and die than have a stomach virus.  This one was no exception. Andrew started Thursday and by Friday, I had it.  It's the worst.  The worst.  Thankfully, we were the only two victims.


 Fred goes into full on haz-mat mode.  Any time he came into our bedroom, this is how he looked.  I was quarantined to the bedroom and would just text him if I needed something.  Ahhh, text messaging.  How did we survive stomach viruses before that?!?
 Dash the Dog was very concerned about me and became my ever faithful companion.  He stayed by my side for days.  I'm pretty sure he liked me laying around, but whatever.  It was pretty much me, Andrew and Dash hanging in my bedroom for several days.  Good times...minus the stomach virus.
 As I mentioned, Dash was very concerned about me.  His need for personal space is not as great as mine.  He really wanted to check on me and be vigilant.  He was up for the task.  I was a little unsure.
 This was my view...bed to couch...couch to bed...bed to couch...and repeat for 36 hours.

I'm not sure what Clayton was wanting, but several days after I was sick I came into the kitchen to this note on the wall.  Well if that's not the sweetest thing you've ever seen?!?  He also came in from school and told me I looked like I needed a hug.  He was right.  I did need a hug.  And he gave me one.

At dinner one night we were just sitting around the table.  I asked the boys a question, "If you could meet with anyone for 10 minutes, past or present, who would it be?"
This was the answer: 

Clayton and Jack spoke simultaneously:
Clayton: Jesus
Jack: Steph Curry
Jack, upon hearing Clayton:  I'm just kidding. 
Jack: Mark Gasol

I laughed until I almost fell out of my chair.  

It is so rare that we have a night at home that I took a picture.  It was leftover night and everyone was just helping themselves, but I think these are the days and the moments I will want to remember.  


The night we were all home, we played several games of basketball outside with our boys and several neighbor boys.  We had the best time.  In fact, we played until it was dark.  Then Andrew suggested ice cream.  Who am I to turn down ice cream?!?  Of course we went!

I get up each morning to read my Bible and spend a little time in prayer.  One morning I woke up and it was storming.  I love a good early morning storm.  However, Dash does not share my affection for storms.  The 50 lbs. dog turned into a lap dog as he jumped up in the chair with me.  Funny dog.
 I don't get Starbucks very often, but when I do, it's going to be really good!  This iced coffee is great.  I'm pretty sure I didn't sleep that night because of all the caffeine.  Worth it.

We finished up basketball around here.  Jack's team remained undefeated.  He was pumped about the game.  They almost didn't win, but in the end they were victorious.
 Mimi and Tee came in for the game.  They made it around the third quarter.  Jack was not having the best game, but when he saw my dad it was just what he needed.  Those two are birds of a feather.

 Clayton had a game after Jack's.  It started in the middle of the night...8:00 pm.  What in the world??  Who starts playing basketball at 8:00 pm?!?
 Fred and Renee came for both games too.  We always have a cheering squad with us.  Basketball is over just in time for Andrew and Clayton to start soccer and Jack to start in another basketball league.
 I got crafty.  I know it doesn't really warrant a picture, but I got crafty.  That never happens.

I do yoga several times a week.  When I do it in the living room, Dash thinks it's a team sport.  It's not.

Speaking of yoga...I played around with it one morning while all the boys were gone and took a picture outside.  What you need to know is that when I started yoga several months ago, I could not touch my toes.  I was a sight.  It's been fun to see my progress.  I can tell I'm so much stronger and flexible.  I just love it. 


Fred preached at Union this week.  Mun, Janice, Mimi, Renee, Fred, Elzie, Francis, and Billy (Fred's roommate/our friend) all came.  It was a really good time.  The boys wanted to come as well. I'm sure it was so they could skip school, but whatever.  It was a fun family day.  
If someone had tapped me on the shoulder at 18 and told that 20 years later I would be sitting in this chapel listening to my husband preach surrounded by not one, not two, but three sweet boys I never would have believed them.  To say that this moment was surreal is a gross understatement.