Attention Beach Children

Attention All Beach Children!

When listening to instruction being given to your sibling, please take note of said lecture.  It will apply to you someday.

Help yourself by listening to the instruction given to your sibling and applying it to your own life.  Immediately!

Repetition of instruciton causes migrain headaches in  parents.  Multiple repetition of the same linstruction to the same child can cause aneuryisms of optic nerves in said parents.

When choosing to ignore instruction, please choose wisely.   Some instruction, is given too frequenly, may cause parents' heads to spin, projectile vomiting and disturbing voices to come from their throats.

Failure to head instruction in children may cause anger, resentment and tears.  It will lead to the correction of lessons and possibly further discipline.

Do not be alarmed if this happens.

Stay calm.  Flee to your room.  Open your Bible and consult the instruction manual:

Proverbs 8:33

Listen to instruction and be wise;

don't ignore it.



Little Moments

After the bustle of the past 5 mionths, the hurry of packing and traveling for surgeries and tournaments, and then playing 4 soccer games in two days, the kids and I headed to the pool this evening. We played tag, Marco Polo, and just enjoyed general silliness. After a bit, I headed to the hot tub (oh, yeah) and watched the kids continue to play together.

I was amazed to think that I gave birth to those two wonderful creatures! Being their mom is such a joy. Not always easy, but always done with much love. Their laughter just makes me smile from the inside out! Their smiles warm my heart. I am a most-blessed mom.

We've settled into the room, following Papa John's pizza with the grandparents at the lobby tables - love Drury Inn's free pop and coffee and tea service available 24/7! Kids are tired. It's been quite a roller coaster since last October.

But we're still here. No one jumped off the ride, we just buckled our belts and hung on to each other. I am very blessed that through everything life has given us, the four of us have clung together, prayed together, laughed together and sometimes cried together.

A peace just settles over my soul. I'm sitting at the computer, they are each in a bed and it is quiet. We miss their daddy - did I mention this family likes to be together? God will keep him safe and we'll see him next Saturday!

Together. What a beautiful word.

Fatigue and Sickness

I didn't realize how tired I really was until Sunday afternoon. After dinner, we came home and everyone found a couch while we attempted to watch a movie. Attempted because there was nothing decent to see so we watched a movie on TV - which I slept through.

Chris was sick on Sunday and the first diagnosis was strep. Wrong. The antibiotics helped none on Monday so first thing Tuesday, off to the doctor. It's a virus. A bad one. Their body temps are low and they are very, very quiet. Very unusual in our home.

With them both sick, I took a nap on Monday after cleaning on the house all morning. Company is done for awhile so I was able to get the house back to pre-passion play status. Almost. But the laundry is done. That's a miracle.

Slept all night Monday. And today I'm thinking of a little snooze.

Hopefully tonight I'll post some pics from the play. This cast deserves all the credit we can give them. They are awesome!

My thanks to each on of them and all of you who prayed for them as well. It takes us all rowing together to get anywhere!

Sentimental Holidays

I love Traditions. And dishes. And decorations.

And this holiday I was more sentimental about both.

Growing up, my Grandma Roork had a cut-glass jelly dish that sat in a silver holder and held a tiny little serving spoon. I loved that dish. It usually had cranberry jelly in it. Dinner was almost ready when the dish made it to the table. This dish meant family gathered on Christmas Eve - and then friends and family and whoever else happened by (usually most of Chouteau, Oklahoma!) on Christmas Day. My grandparent's door was always open. I think we ate most of the day!

There was also a green Christmas Tree candy dish. I think my Aunt Sharon made it one year. It usually held cholocate creams. The kind that churches used to put in their candy and fruit sacks. To me it meant Happy Holidays.

And then there are the three choir boys. Little ceramic statues. Dressed in white choir robes with red ribbons. Two hold handles while the other holds music. My Grandma had them. Then my mom. Now I put them out every year. They mean the sounds of Christmas - it's music and laughter.

And lastly, the ceramic Santa boot of my Grandfather's. It usually held candy canes - and still does.

These items mean Forever. Traditions. Some traditions I will pass to my children. They will take them, modifiy them, embellish them and ultimately create their own with their families and their children. But one Tradition will always stay - Love.

That's what these baubles mean. They remind me of the love behind each tradition.

Fall at Rancho Mira Sol

Cold Season Emerges!

It all started with David. Normally the kids bring it home, but this time it was him. Then I had the sore throat, runny nose, cough, ickiness all over. We drove to Grand Junction - the four of us sharing air in one vehicle. We checked into a hotel. One bathroom. Two beds. One breathing space.

Crawling into bed Friday night, I wondered why I had come.

Then Saturday I felt better. Sunday even better. Stood under a tent in the drizzle and watched Chris play some great ball.

Drove home Sunday. The long way through Moab in case the snow on the passes proved thick. It was only an hour further and a gorgeous drive!

Home safe. Laundry started. Nice dinner with Chris and Kayle.

Monday morning - Chris is sick. Same stuff.

Zinc lozenges. Zicam swabs. Vitamin C. Lots of water. Chicken soup. Nose sprays. Vicks.

Monday night - he feels better.

Good! I had a million things on my calendar for Tuesday - Parent Meeting; Telephone Conference; Book Fair; Spreadsheet to prepare; Parent-Teacher Conference.

Tuesday morning - Ashley is sick. Yup. Same stuff.

Here we go again.

My plans were derailed. Plans that I thought were on my "trail" (see earlier posts). I guess my calendar was the detour and being mom and at home was my path the past two days. I'm fortunate that my work allows me to be at home. Research can happen anyhere and reports can be typed at home. Days like these make me a better advocate for families - if it's hard for me imagine the single mom working and supporting kids and not having the option to miss work for the day; or the two income family barely making it and illness has used all their sick days.

Lord, thanks for this Trail today. I'm enjoying the view. Not that I want my kids sick, but there's still great conversations and loving moments and teachable times in illness. Father God, please take away this illness from our home - it's made the rounds and we're done! But mostly, thanks for the peace that comes despite the sickness. You are indeed awesome. K

Relationship and Redemption

There's a certain peace that comes in knowing who you are, accepting it, rejoicing in it and being content. I am a teacher. I am so thankful to those attending the "Dream Releasers" class for helping me see that. Or at least reminding me of that.

If you've not read this book by Wayne Cordeiro, I highly recommend it. We need to remember the dream God has placed inside of us.

I can see the creativity God has placed in me as I teach others. I love teaching my kids, too.

When they were little, I was notorious for my charts. Potty Charts. Cleaning Charts. Behavior Charts. Reward Charts. To Do Charts. But they were so useful! And I still have most of them. But it let the kids know what we expected, what they needed to do and it kept us all on track.

This week, I posted an Expectation list for everyone in the family. It included the topics of Home, School, Spiritual and Behavior and in each category were things such as keeping your room clean, going to Bible studies, completing assignments and keeping a positive attitude. Even Mom and Dad got a chart! This morning, Ashley asked if she needed to check things off each day (see, I trained her well!) Though this is not a Check-off chart, she still wanted to track where she was in light of our expectations.

The Bible is like that for us. It's a Check-Up Chart - not for God's expectations for our behaviors, but for Relationship with Him. Our behaviors align with His attitudes when we keep our relationship right with Him.

I am learning this about God - it's all about Relationship and Redemption. If our Relationship with Him is correct, He can redeem the pain that living in a fallen world brings. If our Relatinship with Him is out of balance, He has already purchased the Remption to correct our fallen status.

Lord, I thank you for sending your precious son to Redeem my life. You see me as your precious child - I don't know how worthy of that I am sometimes. But because I am your child, I am worthy. You love me when I am unlovely. Thank you, Father.

Thank you for seeking relationship with me. I really like that idea. You are my friend. You want to be with me. How awesome. Thanks.

Standing in Line

Ashley and I started the school year off with a bang! Or rather a virus. She seems to have bounced back well, but it's keeping off my feet. I work 'til noon and then I'm so tired, I have to lay down. I hate this! I have too much to do!

I spent my morning working with the Health Team to do assessments for Kindergartners, 2nd graders and 1st graders. Of course, that could be why I'm tired, too! I shuttled kids up an down the hallways for 2 hours!

One teacher asked her kindergarten students to "get in line behind your friends!" A little girl refused to be line but stood one step to the left of everyone. I repeated the teacher's request to her and asked her to get "behind her friends." She looked at me with big eyes and replied, "No one in this line is my friend."

There's a lesson here. Sometimes we feel we have no friends. That no one likes us or agrees with us. But, where are we? Are we standing one step to the left where no one can reach us with friendship? Are we refusing to let people love us?

Lord, let me be willing to be loved, even when I feel unlovable. Let me adjust my attitude so that you can reach me. So that other people can touch me. They need me as much as I need them. THX, XO KB