What's Wrong With This Picture???

Those who know me well know that I'm not terribly choosy about the television shows that I will watch. Last year, I got into a series called Friday Night Lights, about a football team in Texas. Although I am not a fan of football itself, the show had all the right elements for me - some action, drama, occasional comedy, and several love interests. I had been anxiously awaiting the series premiere which came on last night. This coincided with a surprise birthday party for a friend - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RUSTY!! No problem - the DVR was already set to record. I'm sitting on the couch reading today when Clint reminds me that we have that first episode to watch. Excitedly, I tell him that I'm almost at the end of my chapter. A few pages later, I put my book down and am pumped about finally watching Friday Night Lights (a show about football, I say again). He says..."Hold on, America's Next Top Model is almost over. I gotta see the end."

The laundry

fairy

STILL

hasn't

shown up...

:-(

THINGS I'D LIKE TO DO TOMORROW

Sleep late...go out for breakfast...get a pedicure...start book #3...discover that the laundry fairy put all the clean clothes away...talk a walk...on the beach!...watch (another) Matthew McConaughey movie...visit Zac or Tyler or Bryan...go to GapKids...visit a SuperTarget with an escalator to the 4th floor (thanks, Hannah!)...finish the Disney scrapbook...eat a cinnamon crunch bagel from Panera...with the cream cheese spread...

What will I do tomorrow???
Sleep late...cook breakfast...maybe watch a movie...grade the five sets of reading & English tests I brought home...go to the Gathering...go to bed...start another week...

It's a vicious cycle...vicious, I tell you! ;-)

A Little Goes a Long Way...

With approximately $90 worth of steak, chicken, rice, and vegetables from Hibachi, you can...

• Feed six teenagers before a homecoming dance


• Feed two parents who are hosting the dinner


• Make chicken-fried rice for a family of three


• Make a mean steak & cheese sandwich for a hungry carpenter


• Make one Jack Russell terrier very happy!

Lessons from a Soccer Mom

Today was our first real soccer game of the season. Let's just say it was a TRAINWRECK! Our team of 4th and 5th graders - some of whom have never played soccer before this year - was put up against a team of 6th & 7th graders who have supposedly played together since they were 3!! The "white team" had their stuff together. They knew their positions, played with strategy, and had superb teamwork. It was obvious they had been well-coached, and knew their game. The "red team" never stood a chance. I felt so bad for them. I've been thrown into situations before where I knew I was in over my head, where it was obvious I was unqualifed for the task. I know the discomfort and humiliation that follow.

This got me thinking...have I done enough "coaching" with my own girls? Have I taught them the skills they need to know for real life? Have I taught them "strategies" for living out there in the real world? I don't want my girls to just sit on the side lines and watch life pass them by. I want them in the game, living life to its fullest. But I want them to be prepared for whatever life throws their way. To quote the coach from the movie We Are Marshall, I want my girls to be ready to "play to the whistle." I think I've got some more coaching to do...

HIS Perfect Timing

On a day otherwise marked with sorrow, HE sent me a ray of sunshine. After spending days trying to wrap my brain around a tragic situation, HE gave me hope. Today, my friends Amy Lynn & Daniel are at the hospital, anxiously awaiting the birth of their first baby boy. That only puts a smile on my face. I remember very well the joy, elation, excitement, and yes - fear - that they, too, are experiencing. No tears there. Just hope and joy! Congratulations, Amy Lynn & Daniel - can't wait to meet your baby boy!

Sad

I am sad today. I am emotionally spent. Drained. The friend that I referred to in my previous post will never have the opportunity to put the pieces of her "fairy tale" life back together again. She will never get to try to "work things out." They found her husband yesterday. He had taken his life. And left behind a beautiful wife, two daughters, and a son.

My relationship with this family goes back about 12 years. When Cassie started kindergarten, their oldest daughter was the first friend she made. And they have remained close through all these years, through the ebb and flows of friendship, they still call out to each other when one is in need. She and I were pregnant at the same time with our youngest children. I taught the middle child several years ago, and am teaching the youngest child now. While I can not say that I have ever been especially close with this friend, she was always someone to turn to for daughterly advice, someone to count on for help at school, or with social plans for our girls.

This just makes me sad. How desperate must someone get to see no way out? To feel no hope for forgiveness? To see this as the best option for their family? How can you choose to leave your kids without a father? I don't how to help with this heartache. All I know to do is to say that I will forgive. I will not stand in judgement. I will not condemn. I will love. That's all I know to do for this family right now - to love. I loved on sad children all day long. Every hug, every "Will you pray with me, Mrs. Nobles?", every sad face was precious to me. I'd like the chance to love on you, too, if you need it. Or maybe even if you don't. And someday, I may need you to love on me too. After all, isn't that what Jesus would do?

Please pray for my friend, her family, and all of their friends who are hurting and loving on them.