BREATHE.

This was one of those days....up before 6 am and hit the ground running.....meeting, teach 3 courses, 4 more meetings, kids to karate, school open house, football game. No....chance.....to......breathe. We now have football win #2 under our Bulldog belts (great win, Honey!), we have met my daughter's first grade teacher (looking forward to the year, Mrs. Hill)....enjoyed some half-price appetizers at Applebee's after the game (yummy nachos and cheese sticks)......but now, there is nothing else left but to fall into bed and be thankful that tomorrow......WE CAN SLEEP IN!

MIA

This has been a TOTALLY CRAZY week.....starting a new semester, getting kids to karate, meetings for Children's ministry, housefuls of kids wanting to wring the last few drops of summer out of the week, school open houses, football games, post-football game parties......I'm tired. And I picked up a new class to teach, and it is ON-LINE, so this is a new adventure for me. I love the social experience of learning and teaching, but have been wanting to learn more about what on-line education has to offer.....so this will truly be a journey of learning for me. And now, I'm going to bed because I have another choc-ful day tomorrow........hopefully I don't have more dreams about my mom dying like I did last night.........funny how those "anxiety dreams" seem to hit when I'm at my busiest....Hmmmmm......what would Freud say? :)

We All Need A Little Pink!

My 6-year-old daughter has turned into my new "blog consultant".....she came downstairs as I was on the blog this morning, and said, "MOM, you really need to turn your blog PINK! OK, Sweet Girl, just for you, here is a new look for the start of a new school year coming up......I guess everybody needs a little shot of pink joy on their last Monday morning of summer vacation!

Living Life Together

I am a firm believer that we were not made to do life alone. God made us with a deep need for connection with Him and with other people; for the past several months, we have "done life" with an amazing group of people we call our "small group." In actuality, the group isn't very "small", because we have 5 families which adds up to 10 adults and 17 kids.....with 2 more adults and 4 more kids joining us soon! When we all get together.......it's crazy.....crazy wonderful, that is! Laughing, studying God's word, sharing joys and struggles, praying, crying, more laughing, and EATING, always good eating. As a group, we have supported one another through several periods of unemployment, new babies, financial struggles, life-threatening illnesses of children, relationship struggles, and just the down-and-dirty of every day life. Not only have we gotten to know each other as adults, but our kids have forged new friendships that are sure to last a long time. So today, we are celebrating the gift of these amazing people and urging everyone to get connected in a group like this....yes, it can be scary to be vulernable to others and share your life, but the benefits are life-changing and life-enhancing. Here is a photo of a few of our kids enjoying a cool dip in the pool today:

Don't you just love it when.....

.....you see God at work. He is all around, if only we seek the evidence. Today, I had the privilege of joining with a fun and wonderful group of woman, all of whom love scrapbooking and many of whom, as I learned over a late-night Perkins dinner together, love God and desire truly to live it out for Him. We laughed and scrapped and ate.....and shared God's goodness. So many testimonies of what God is doing; evidence that when we are transparent, God allows us to connect with each other and with Him on a deeper and deeper level. Thanks, God, for such rich blessings on this sunny Saturday.

Who Let the DOGS out?

Can I just say.....WHAT A GAME! And WHAT A RUSH! After going down 0-21 in the first quarter, our Bulldogs rallied back and then see-sawed back and forth throughout the remainder of the game. In the fourth, we stopped a drive in the red-zone, scored, then recovered a fumble and scored again to WIN THE GAME!!! What a feeling! Like I said in the previous post, my husband gives more than 100% to his coaching, so it is awesome to see his investment pay off.

And, I was so excited to get to the game that I left my lights on and ran my battery out. SO, my son was thrilled that we got to ride the players' bus home. We'll have to go get my car tomorrow.

So, the lesson here is.....don't give up, even when the going looks impossible and the chips are stacked against you. True character hangs in there and perseveres and give it their all.

Great game, guys and Coach M! And did I mention how sexy your calves are when you coach?!!

Opening Night.

The days of my husband's football games always find me a bit queasy. I know that he gives it his full heart and soul, and I put myself right out there with him. So it makes the stakes a little higher. It's been two years since he has been the head coach, so I'm getting used to being back in the throws of the high school season. We love so much about high school football........the community excitement, the band, the steam rising off the sweaty guys, the strategy, the passion. I'm sure I'll have a full report on tonight's game after the fact......are you ready for some football???