"Lasting" On

I truly thought I was in the busy stages of life when I had little kids.  There was always something to do, make, fix, clean up, wash, change, disinfect, repeat.  Time was frozen certain days, and life was simple.  It didn't seem that way at the time, but it's very clear to me now (especially when the kids want to pop in old home movies) that those were actually the easy days.

I was with my extended family over the weekend, and many of my cousins have younger children while mine are the oldest in the bunch.  One of my cousin's asked me if I felt like my kids were easier at this stage??  Good question.  Yes, they are easier in some capacity because they are independent and can do things for themselves.  But, this stage is harder in the sense that we are literally on-the-go at all times.  Maybe it's because I'm working full-time and no longer stay at home?  Maybe it's because the load is much heavier with commitments and school work?  Maybe it's both and a lot of other things?  It feels like life is moving faster than ever right now, and there's not much I can do to slow it down. Matt used to tell a story in his sermons about Mobert the Fish.  Mobert was a fish that belonged to a little boy who just loved him.  Mobert couldn't do much but swim around in his fishbowl and entertain the little boy.  Like all fish, one day Mobert died.  The little boy wanted to give Mobert a funeral, and his mom asked him to write the obituary.  He said, "I want it to say: Here lies Mobert the Fish, he was good while he lasted."  That story has stuck with me and probably will forever--the point of the story - be good while you're "lasting."  Right now, I am in the "lasting" phase of life - trying to capture and enjoy every single moment with the kids - who are growing up quicker than I can document (notice the lack of blog posts recently).  I'm running all over the place and crashing into bed at night totally exhausted.

Basketball consumes most of our time these days.  Three kids on three different teams, playing in different places at different times, and Matt coaching one team and assistant coaching the other team, makes for a long, run-on sentence.  Karson had a game last night at 5:30 PM and Isaac at 6:30 PM.  All I have to say is thank goodness for grandparents!  We couldn't manage without them.  I was able to watch most of K's game but left in the 3rd quarter (my Dad stayed at the game with her) so I could rush over to Plano to see Isaac play.  I don't get to watch many of his games because Miles is usually playing at the same time.  Since Matt is the coach of Isaac's team, we don't get to divide the games up (like last year).  We plan to make things easier on ourselves next year and put the boys on the same team.

I can't think of one week night that I've had free in the last two weeks.  Fast food and concessions have become our diet unfortunately.  Juggling practices, games and other school events makes for a busy holiday season.  AND, we are adding an additional sport into the mix this year.

Karson made the 13U BRAVO nationals volleyball team. Practices this month aren't mandatory but encouraged.  K' will have basketball after school tomorrow until 4:30 and then have BRAVO practice from 5:30-7:30.  BRAVO officially starts in January though - her basketball season ends January 16.  Hopefully, there won't be much overlap with the two - if nothing else, she'll be in excellent physical shape.

Did I mention that we had BETA inductions last week?  We did.  Karson was invited to be part of the Junior BETA club at South Middle because of her academic and leadership at school.  Part of that commitment requires students to acquire 20 service hours, 10 of which we've already done through SKyPAC events and working volleyball concessions.  I'm proud of her ability to juggle two sports and maintain such a high GPA (without a batting an eye).

Completely unrelated, I LOVE Amazon and Prime - not sure how I'd get any Christmas shopping done without that website.  Cheers to "lasting" and Happy Holidays!!!

Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving FUN

The ministry at Community Church was a big chunk of our lives, and the friendships we've made with many of the families still continues to remain strong (even after our departure).  We've made an effort to get together each month since the summer.  We had a Friendsgiving Meal last Sunday at the Duck Shack.  It was a blessing getting together.  The event actually piggy-backed Sunday night Thanksinging at Greenwood Park church which made it extra special.  We've been going to Greenwood Park the last couple of Sundays and feel very at home there.  It has and always will hold a special place in my heart.  I started in the cradle roll program there and was a member through my college years. I taught in the preschool program there for eight years.  It's home, and I think Matt and I will probably stick around there for a while. 

Karson's pals, Tucker and Tanner - always a 3-pack!

 Cannot BELIEVE it's already Thanksgiving.  This month, like all the other fall months, has just SPED on by.  Something about this time of the year feels extra quick - maybe it's the time change?  maybe it's having three kids in basketball at the same time?  Who knows!?!  We had our traditional meal at my mom's house.  Afterwards was flag football, volleyball with a water hose net (right) and a game of Family Feud.

Getting some snuggles in with Buggy and Mae Kathryn at Pap and Nana's!

 Christmas is right around the corner and to get in the holiday spirit, the kids decorated some gingerbread homes.  We had an inaugural event at SKyPAC called Gingerbread Homes for the Arts, which was a community fundraiser for our education department.  We had lots of kits left over from the event, so I brought some home for the kids.  They were excited to each have their own house to decorate.  Each year I usually buy just one house for us all to decorate. 

 More Christmas spirit - taking some pictures in Santa's sled with Mae Kathryn.  Nana wanted a picture with her four grandkids.  Laura brought her dad's sled out to the house, and we got some cute shots of them.

 

I've already done some decorating around the house and got a big chunk of shopping done today.  Whew!  That always feels good.  I think we'll put up the tree tomorrow! 

Friends 4 Life

 It's hard being a middle school girl (can I get an amen?) or at least it was when I started at Bowling Green Junior High back in the day.  I was taken down quite a few notches on the "cool" barometer.  I am incredibly thankful that my daughter has made some pretty amazing friend choices.  She's met some new friends and hung on to some of her dearest old friends. It's a blessing knowing your child is surrounded by a peer group that you love and approve of.  I wanted to do a quick blog about all of her fantastic friends.  The picture above is from the SWMS Volleyball Banquet last Monday night.  This team of 7th graders is at the top of her list of friends.  A wonderful group indeed!

Her friend Annie invited some girls over for an early morning breakfast at her house last Friday.  SO sweet!

Karson has lots of 8th grade friends as well.  Her friend Amelia (in the blue shorts and top) is one of her favorite people in the world.  They met in 5th grade at 212 Academy and became instant friends. 

Amelia and Karson are so much alike, it's a little scary. She celebrated her 14th birthday on Friday night, but Karson didn't stay for the sleepover because...

She had a basketball invitational on Saturday.  These four friends continue to play basketball together.  I love Karson's friends!  They are the best! They make middle school a little easier on the social-front!

Rec League (last year- if only sweet Kayla was in the picture. She is actually in the background of the picture with her mama.)

Time to FALL Back

It's already that time of the year, yep, that time where the clocks are turned back an hour, everyone is on allergy medicine, throats are sore and the weather is changing - it's FALL Y'ALL!  We had our annual pumpkin painting party at Shannon's house to kick off Halloween.  Karson and I decided to do M&M's this year.  We started a few days early so we could give our pumpkins layers of paint.  That's the hardest thing about pumpkin painting is waiting for the paint to dry.

 We like carving pumpkins with the kids too and have learned not to share pumpkins anymore.  Everyone gets their own.  Miles and Karson opted for traditional jack'o'latern looks and Isaac chose to do Clarence.  We ended up with five pumpkins on the porch this year.  Thankfully, there's a nice little shack up the road that sells pumpkins.  It's neat (like a playhouse) and you leave money in an envelope and write down your purchases.  The pumpkins were perfect too.

Of course we have pumpkins on our porch, but we are NEVER home on Halloween. 

Miles decided to be a ninja this year.

Matt and I went as American Gladiators to our annual adult-version Halloween party at the Evans's.  It's scary putting on leotards when we're nearing the age of 40?!?  I painted some 2-liter bottles and attached them to PVC pipe and borrowed the costumes from Matt's cousin.  Add some red tights, a wig and bandanna and viola a cheap costume =)!

We had some snuggle time with our niece/cousin Mae Kathryn on Halloween.  Cutest.pumpkin.ever!

 

The Halloween crew.  I found Isaac a gorilla mask at Kroger on clearance the week of Halloween.  We're putting less and less effort into our costuming as the years roll by.

Miles won the award in our family for most candy collected.  He hit it hard this year and covered a lot of ground.  His pumpkin bucket was overflowing!

Plano Fall Festival Goers.  Tis the season for parent/teacher conferences, fall festivals, book fairs and endless amounts of fundraising.  Whew!

A sweet note that Miles had in his Student-Led Conference folder:

 

Isaac's class got to come to SKyPAC to see the Lightning Thief.  It was treat having him (and the 5th grade group) there to see our school day matinee! 

 

A little go cart riding at Meme's!

Crazy HAIR day!