GNO

While Larry & I were on staff at Rose Heights, there was a month when both Paul Baloche and Anthonys Evans (yes, both junior & senior) came to the church to do a concert. A month before, Larry was able to meet Max Lucado at a funeral for a church member....apparently Mr. Lucado was a relative of this person & he did part of the service for them. I missed all three events due to a sick child or scheduling conflict...or something. I was disappointed in all three cases because I'm a fan of all three (well, four!) of these guys. {Of course, I wouldn't have attended a funeral JUST to meet Max Lucado. That would be tacky after all. Maybe I could've just waited outside by the hearse.}

So anyway, early this month, we did THIS song at church and I loved it! I asked our worship pastor who sang it. He pointed me to Jared Anderson and then said "Guess what? He'll be in concert on 2/26 with Paul Baloche." And, as it turns out, the concert would be held at our old church, Rose Heights.

To be quite honest, my very first thought was "ouch....you go & enjoy that concert & let me know how it was." I mean, when Larry & I left there just about a year ago, we left on good terms. No one there is angry with us. We've had lots of sweet people call, email, write, etc to tell us they miss us, but no one's ticked off. That we know of. Still, I haven't stepped foot inside that building since April 5, 2009 so it was a very awkward feeling to think about going back there. For anything. Fear kicked in. Would I break out in hives & have a panic attack the doorway? Would I feel like I was being glared at from across the auditorium? Would it just be weird to be there? If the concert had been held anywhere else, I would've immediately looked into tickets & such, but because of the location, I hesitated. I hemmed & hawed. (Does anyone know what that saying means anyway....hemmed & hawed.....hmmm....maybe I should google it. And why does blogspot tell me that it's misspelled if I put 2 Ws in hawed? Seems like there would be 2 Ws.)

A few days later, I heard the concert advertised on KVNE and decided that I really did want to go and I'd just have to pray that it wasn't weird for me to be there. And then it hit me. It fell on 2/26. The day after one of my very sweetest BFF's birthday! Hooray! It could be a birthday night out if we could pull off! A few quick emails later, I had tickets and a very excited BFF ready to go!! Hooray!!!!!!!

Fast forward to Thursday. Out of the blue, a work thing came up for Larry that would mess up him being here in time for me to leave and get to the concert. With the kids just recovering from the stomach virus from He...., my sister didn't feel comfortable having them over to her house. (I don't blame her--we avoid stomach viruses like crazy, too!) Mom was going out of town to attend the Feminar. I was afraid everything was going to fall apart on getting to go at the last minute, but my dad saved the day (err...night) when he offered to come over & hang out with the kids til Larry could get home. Yahoo!!!!! I rented he & the kids Up and they LOVED hanging out with Grandpa for a couple of hours last night. I'm so blessed with sweet parents!

Last night, for the first time in I don't know how long, I went out after dark with a girlfriend just for fun. I do go to the grocery store, sometimes with this same friend, every week to get groceries. After dark. But that's not quite the same thing! ha ha! We went to the concert & then stopped at Taco Bell at 9:45pm for a Coke. (We'd sound so bad if we said we went out for tunes & a drink....ha ha!)

When I pulled into the church parking lot last night, my heart did race a little. Would I run into a thousand church people who would use their laser beam eyes to shoot me from across the room? Would I throw up on the auditorium carpet from nerves? But my nerves were quickly layed to rest when I walked through the doors with my BFF & began to hug the necks of those who approached me. Honestly, there were only a handful of Rose Heights people there. It was mostly people who came specifically for the concert & the worship conference that was being held today. I think that helped. If it had 'felt' like a regular church service at Rose Heights, it would've unnerved me more. But it was just a building for the concert I went to. And that worked for me.

When Paul Baloche began singing, I closed my eyes & all the walls of the building fell away. I was no longer in the building where Larry & I served for several years, I was in His presence. God is still God no matter what building I am in. I was reminded that no matter who is standing around me, my Creator still deserves my attention, my affection, my praise. He drew me in last night. He helped me to shut out everything that surrounded me. The Spirit was present and moving and it was a beautiful night of worship with 2 great singers and a sweet friend at my side.

I'm glad I went. As usual, the anticipation was far worse than the reality.

The flash REALLY washed me out. I don't glow QUITE that much in real life. :)

If you click on this one, blow it up & squint your eyes, you might be able to see Paul Baloche on stage. He's at the front with his guitar.

The Stomach Virus from He.....well, it wasn't good.

On Thursday night (2/18), Savannah's stomach didn't feel right when she climbed into bed. She was nauseated & I prayed that it was something she ate. No such luck. She was up half the night & continued to throw up into Friday morning...about 12 hours altogether. Poor kid. She had the weekend to recuperate and get back into the swing of things. By Sunday, she seemed to be better.

On Saturday, Sarah & I both had a funky tummy...not quite nausea, but not really "right" either. I couldn't put my finger on it, but we survived the day without getting sick and just figured it was our way of fighting off the 'bug'.

Everyone seemed fine on Sunday, so we went to church like usual.

Sunday night, Samuel went to bed feeling nauseated. He stayed home from school on Monday because he still felt sick. By the day's end, he was better.

Just about the time I wiped my brow & thought "Phew...it's finally all over!", I got it! Monday evening I felt REALLY bad, so I went to bed early. I'm glad I did. I got a little rest before it all started around midnight. From that point on, I was up all night long throwing up. Ugh. Yesterday (Tuesday), I stayed home from work & slept the whole day. I had no energy and was too exhausted to move. In fact, I stayed in bed til 5:30pm, only getting up to go potty and to go pick up the kids from school. That little road trip wore me out...I took a 2 hour nap when I got back! I think I ran a little fever last night, too.

I'm at home today. I'm not ready to move much and since I am still pretty wiped out, I decided that I needed one more day of rest before I go back to a classroom full of silly 3 year olds. I love the kids, but I know there's no way I'd make it today. I'm praying that NOW we're really D-O-N-E with this stomach virus.

Now...yawn...time for a nap.

What??? More snow?

Just a couple of weeks ago, you'll remember my post about our snow. The record-breaking, shocking, fabulous snow!! We were stunned & amazed & missed a day of school because of it. We loved it! It only happens once every generation or so.

Or does it?

Our forecast for tomorrow says:

A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM 3AM TUESDAY TO 9PM TUESDAY FOR (edited) COUNTIES. SNOWFALL TOTALS MAY REACH 4" TO 6" IN THE WARNED AREA. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE SAME TIME PERIOD OF 3AM TUESDAY UNTIL 9PM TUESDAY FOR HENDERSON, (edited--where I live!) COUNTIES. SNOWFALL TOTALS MAY REACH 2" TO 4" IN THE ADVISORY AREA. Most areas south of I-xx could see between two and four inches of snow with over 6 inches possible in the warned area. Areas north of I-xx should see 1" to 3" with a few areas near 4" possible. Please stay tuned to your East Texas news leader as we fine tune where the heaviest snow will fall.

The snow should end late Wednesday...but the liquid that remains on the roadways will likely freeze over as temperatures drop below freezing Wednesday morning. This will be the tricky driving conditions from this storm system.

Holy moley! Snow in East Texas. Twice in one winter. Who knew??

Food fights & laughter

After church today, we went to the China King buffet. We were eating like a nice little family...and then it all went south. Larry has a knack for encouraging others when it comes to embarassing situations, taking the edge off & helping them to not be so embarassed...all while giggling. Once when I was pregnant with one of the kids, we were eating in a restaurant & I dribbled ketchup down my shirt & it landed on top of my gigantic tummy. I looked up, shocked & embarassed. Of course it was a light-colored shirt so there was no hiding this giant smear of ketchup. I grabbed a napkin & tried to wipe it away but it just smudged & smeared it further. I dipped the napkin in my glass of water & tried to get it off that way, but it just wasn't happening. In a moment of despair, I looked up at Larry & he could see that I was embarassed. He grinned, stuck his finger in the BBQ sauce on his plate & rubbed it down the front of his shirt. I swear, even now, 10+ years later, I can't help but grin ear to ear re-telling the story. It was his sweet way of making me not stand out in the crowd...showing me that he was in this with me & would be embarassed right along with me if he had to. I remember sitting at the table giggling at his sweet gesture, feeling so very loved. He just grinned back at me & kept eating like it was no big deal. I swear, the man has NO concern where public embarassment in concerned. He would've dumped a cup of tea over his head if it made me feel better that day. (Ahhh...I love him!!)

So anyway, we went to China King today. Sarah was on the far side of the booth & when she came back with a plate full of curried potatoes, Samuel & I got up so she could get to her spot. She "walked" on her knees across the bench & just as she was turning to sit down, her plate went flying into the booth behind us. A friend was standing at the end of the table talking to Larry & she was so embarassed that she began to cry. Luckily, no one else was in the booth where her plate spilled, but she was mortified that she'd clumsily dropped her plate in front of our friend. I went to get a new plate for her & to let an employee know. When I came back to the table, her tears were gone & the giggles had begun. In an effort to make Sarah feel less embarassed, Larry had picked up a (very small!) piece of chicken off his plate & flung it over his shoulder. (There was no booth there, just a waiter's stand where they'd get drinks or write up tickets.) The kids roared with laughter at the sight of their very well educated, intelligent, mature (well...maybe?) father tossing chicken. But it worked. Sarah was no longer embarassed & it cheered her up.

As I sat down with Sarah's replacement plate, the food fight began. No one threw food out of the booth, but Sarah's shrimp tails (the part you don't eat) went flying at Larry. Larry's rice was flung at Samuel. Samuel attempted to toss a noodle, but when it didn't make it across the table, I gave him a stern look and said "Samuel! Don't toss noodles. That's gross. If you're going to throw something at Daddy, go for a chunk of Jello." He thought he was getting into trouble, but my silly statement made the giggles begin all over. Before it was all over, everyone had tossed something. Savannah was laughing so hard she could hardly sit upright. Larry elbowed her in a teasing way & she fell right out of the booth onto the floor. Of course that made the rest of us laugh hysterically. Then there was the conversation about Sarah tossing her "shrimp butts" at Larry. Oh yes, all sense of etiquette was gone. By this time, it was just us and 1 other occupied table in the whole restaurant so "public manners" pretty much went right out the window.

The waiter delivered our fortune cookies to the table about the time we all quieted down. Samuel got a rare 2 in 1 fortune cookie. His 2 fortunes were "You will experience great success in medicine." and "You will experience great success in entertainment." Since those were the 2 he got, conversation turned to his ability to become an entertaining doctor. Songs were sung about telling a patient they have a cold while playing an instrument....another child suggested tap dancing while rhyming a prescription "take two of these tomorrow!".

Around this time, we decided that it would be best for us to leave...before we got kicked out. ha ha!

There are days like this when I am horrified at the behavior of my goofy family, but most of the time they DON'T behave like this, so when we have a day like this, I try to keep my head on straight & remember that these are the days that build memories. These are the silly times they will remember into adulthood. These are the days I should cherish because all too soon, my two 9 year olds and my 13 year old will think we're dorks for having fun with them like this...all too soon they will be grown up & gone and I will wish we had one more silly lunch with them at the chinese restaurant.

Thank you, Father, for food fights & lots of laughter.

Stomach viruses & awards

For weeks, Savannah's been preparing for Solo & Ensemble competition. She first signed up to do a solo, which really surprised me. She's not much for getting into the spotlight alone...but she was OK with this. And then there were several other French Horn players who joined together to form an octet. Shortly after forming the group, 1 of the members had to drop out so Savannah was asked to join in. Together they practiced a million times to get the ensemble piece just right.

And then it happened.

Savannah got a stomach virus. Late Thursday evening, she said she felt nauseous. She sat in the bathroom waiting for it to 'hit' for a long time....she finally gave up & got in bed. Half an hour later, it 'hit'. She was up over & over that night and into the morning hours on Friday -- the same day as Solo & Ensemble. She had to pull out of the contest. She was SO disappointed to have to back out on the group at the last minute and to have to skip her solo as well! In fact, about 1am as she threw up for the 2nd or 3rd time, she looked up at me through tears & said "They have to have EIGHT people for the octet...I can't be sick!!". Her band director was able to pull another player into the group at the last minute. I'm not sure that he really knew the music, but if nothing else, he filled a seat in the octet. The group really missed her being there, though, because she knew the music really well & would've made the group sound even better! Still, somehow they made a 1!!! She was very pleased to hear that the group did so well....and even more thrilled when her band director emailed to let me know that they brought her home a medal as well!!! She'll get it on Monday. Despite the fact that she was at home, huddled in front of the toilet at the time, she was a part of the group & they felt like she deserved the award, too! How cool is that?!


Tonight was Samuel's annual Cub Scout Blue & Gold banquet. It's the annual award ceremony for Cub Scouts where they are recognized for all their hard work all year long. If you're my friend on Facebook, you've already seen these.

This is from the Blue & Gold banquet LAST year, Feb 2009:


And this was tonight. My sweet little Webelo scout has grown.

The boys are given a pin to put on their mother's ribbon each year as they advance through the ranks of the scouting program. Every year, the boys all giggle & make jokes about how they're going to stab their moms with the pins. Goofy boys...none of them actually do it, but they all pretend to. ha! It never gets old to them. This is me saying "don't stick me, please!".

There was a professional photographer there to take group pictures of each den. Of course, all of us moms were standing there with our regular cameras to take a picture -- no need for the expensive professional one! :)

Click this one to blow it up real big...you really need the full effect. ha! Samuel tried to make THIS face during the professional pic, but I made him STOP IT. Even the photographer laughed about it, so I had to get a picture of it afterward. ha! We're so proud of our little nut!

Overwhelmed

I know I've shared this song before, but I want to do so again. It is exactly how I'm feeling this afternoon. Loved, blessed, completely overwhelmed by how amazing He is. I can only sit back & say "wow".



You see, over and over and over, God has taken care of my EVERY need, EVERY desire, EVERYthing. I don't just mean financial blessings, but like I mentioned in a recent post, that seems to be the area where Larry & I have to learn to trust Him over & over again. As little as a month ago, we were searching for a way to feed the kids and pay the bills. It was a very trying time, but today we're in a different place. Larry got the raise we'd been waiting for and while we don't have money to throw around, we're comfortable now. We can pay the bills, there is plenty to buy groceries, no one is going without anything.

I find myself continually in awe of God's grace in our lives. We've been given a couple of very sweet gifts since the time that Larry got the raise, since we've been in a place of relaxing a little & having some breathing room. I am SO very grateful for kind and generous and caring friends & family. But I'm even more THRILLED to be in a position to share some of His blessings with others now.

For those of you who've given to us, THANK YOU. I can not say enough how much it means to me to see friends & family reaching into their pockets to help someone else who is in need. And when that someone is ME, I am completely stunned. THANK YOU for loving our family. THANK YOU for sharing what you have. THANK YOU.

And to God above, THANK YOU. Your love is overwhelming!

In honor of Valentine's Day

An online pal did this on her blog & I loved it, so I'm stealing her idea & sharing my own "Things I Love" in honor of Valentine's Day. (Thanks Jen!)


Things I Love (in no particular order)

*Sunday afternoon naps
*Days when I am off work & everyone else is at work/school, relaxing & reading, writing, watching a movie, napping & snacking...bliss!
*Bubble baths
*a new issue of People magazine
*quiet times alone with God, feeling His presence and drinking it in
*worship
*celebrating things with my kids
*listening to the kids giggle, even if the source of their laughter is something that only 9, 10 & 13 year olds can find the humor in!
*finding the "Jesus spot" at Walmart on Friday nights (a few of you know what I'm referring to...and if ya don't, email me & I'll fill you in!)
*payday....because I feel wealthy for a few minutes :)
*snuggling into a cozy bed when I'm drowsy
*backrubs
*making eye contact & smiling about a private joke from across the room
*being able to crack 'grown up' jokes with my 13 year old daughter & have her "get" them (Note: NOT dirty jokes, but ones with a little more of an edge to them!)
*snuggling with my kids in my bed, especially when they're sick or after a bad dream
*holding my husband's hand
*laughing til I snort & my cheeks hurt
*hearing the very first few raindrops fall
*building a snowman with my family (didn't even know about this one til Friday!)
*watching my sweet daughter raise her hands in worship, without the slightest hesitation or concern about what others think
*good music
*friends
*secrets & "inside" jokes with family & friends
*seeing the 'lightbulb' come on over the heads of the kids I work with
*seeing past students run to say Hello & give me a hug on Meet the Teacher days...and then watching them look back over their shoulder as they walk away to go meet their new teacher
*knowing someone well enough that I can cry with them without feeling weird about it
*girl talk
*chocolate, baked mac n cheese, chicken, veggies, berries, quiche
*ice cold water
*watching movies with Larry after the kids go to bed
*going for a walk with Larry
*just hanging out & talking with Larry
*sitting around a campfire with my family
*sitting alone at the water's edge & listening to the waves at the lake
*the smell after it rains
*Mom's chicken & dumplings
*holding a sleeping baby
*writing

If you should choose to repost a list of things you love, let me know so I can come read yours!