Sometimes, You Win.

We've been having a little trouble with sneakiness from our almost 14 year old daughter. Nothing big, just sneaking stuff into bed after bed time and texting when she is not supposed to be. We've had some 'talking too's' and taking stuff away etc, but when Dave found Ev writing in her notebook (that she passes back and forth with a friend) and listening to her ipod LONG after she'd been sent to bed, again, we knew it was time for something different. Dave told her she had to write a report for him on how sneakiness effects trust in a relationship. I think she got it.

Report for dad:

Recently I have been charged with the task of writing a report about how ‘sneakiness effects trust in a relationship’, because I have been caught in such an act. So this is my payment for my disobedience. Enjoy.

Obedience has always been a problem for me. It is, likely for other people as well, but only my obedience /disobedience applies (directly) to me. For some people obedience may be harder than for others, for various reasons. But we all know we should obey, one way or another. The way we act on that thought shows if we really care that we need to obey, shows self-control, if we want to do what’s right and be who God wants us to be. I have definitely learned that I need to obey and should work harder at it because God wants us to obey because Jesus first obeyed him. I will tell you a story to prove it (sadly this is a true story).

Once upon a time, there was a girl who got into bed one night, and laid there for a moment. She decided she would not be able to fall asleep for at least the next hour (Which was probably not true, she didn’t even try; this is where it all went wrong…), so she took out the notebook that she and her friend shared and started writing. No more than about 20 minutes later, her father walks in, takes the notebook, and says “You’re not doing this right. Then she went to bed.

And her father was absolutely right. This girl knew when her parents told her to go to bed, she should do it right away, not piddle around and write in notebooks. She learned that the way she acts affects the trust in the relationship she has with her parents, and God. She learned that she needs to obey her parents because Jesus first obeyed God, in dying for our sins. If she is striving to be in the image of Jesus, then she needs to do as He did, and obey. So she will work hard every day to do what her parents say, and become exactly who God wants her to be.

P.S. She also learned that writing a paper on the subject of disobedience is a good way to learn the lesson, even if it is a punishment.

Sorry dad.

Love you,
Ev




And sometimes...you get a win.

My Spot

This was my spot last weekend.



Well, there and here...


While I was there, I watched this...
Yes, that is two grown men pulling another grown man in a kayak while laughing hysterically.

And this is what happens when an man sized boy tries to lay on a hammock strung up by a 12 year old girl. This also made me laugh uproariously.


And this made me sing the nursery rhyme Rub a Dub Dub, Three Men in a Tub.
And this made me smile. I will try to picture this lovely view when those two take to bickering again.

The Year Spring Break Died

We didn’t go on a camping trip this Spring Break for the first time in years. It feels weird to be home over Spring Break. We didn’t go for a couple of reasons. One, the Fireman in Training does not get Spring Break. Apparently, they over at the Fire Academy don’t think it’s important. Apparently, they think they are preparing these young men for ‘real life’ where there is no Spring Break. Rude.

And son number two, is busy working like a little bee. He had several jobs lined up this week and he really didn’t want to miss them. He would miss out on literally hundreds of dollars if he went with us. That reminds me, I’ve got to talk to the boss about a raise. My 16 year old son makes WAY more that I do!

Another reason we didn’t go camping is that our camping buddies (Dave’s Brother and his wife) went and left the country for spring break! They choose, instead of RVing with us, to go to the beautiful beaches of Panama, where my sister in law spent some of her youth as a missionary kid. Well. Rude again! Really, I mean, who picks the beaches of Panama over the Texas Hill Country…oh, yeah, never-mind.

We did try to find someone else to go with us, but we were unable. So it would have just been Dave and I and the girls. For us the whole point of camping is the family togetherness. Since it would have only been half of our family, it just seemed like we should stay home.

Oh, and also, I had the flu. Which kicked my butt! Even if we’d planned something, I would have been hard pressed to do anything or go anywhere. I couldn’t make it up the stairs without sounding like I was about to cough up a lung. (Pretty word picture, no?)

Interestingly, the Fireman in Training also got the flu. He sat in class all day Thursday feeling worse and worse and worse. He came home, crashed on the couch and didn’t move. For three hours. Finally I went over and felt his head. Wow. He had a temp of 104. I knew there was no way he was going to Fire Academy the next day, so I took him down to the CareNow. If you miss a day at Fire Academy, you must have a note and of course it was long after 5 so CareNow was our only option. I must say, that internet check in is the way to go. We waited an hour at home, they called, we went in and waited 5 minutes in the waiting room.

Once there, the guy who saw us, a paramedic, talked to Bryce about Fire Academy, apparently he went to the same one. They talked shop while we waited for the official results to come back on the flu test. Sure enough, Type A Flu. The guy asked Bryce if he’d been in class today. Bryce said yes, he did his PT’s and felt okay, but as the day wore on, he got worse and worse and worse. The guy said, “Congratulations, you probably gave half your class the flu, because it’s highly contagious at this stage, and because you have to take a doctor’s note in, they are all going to know exactly who gave it to them!” then he laughed. Fun for Bryce.

We went back home with Tamiflu, codeine cough medicine, and orders to rest, drink lots of fluid and stay out of school until Monday. I clarified this. It was Thursday night. I’d had this flu for a week already and if I had to do PT’s right then, I’d probably lie down and die. (Of course, that’s the case when I don’t have the flu, but I digress.)

Well, that doc was right. Bryce came home Thursday night and went straight to bed. He slept on and off all day Friday. Saturday he puttered around the house. Sunday he was fine. FINE I tell you. Tamiflu is magic. And so is a 19 year old immune system.

He went back to Fire Academy on Monday morning, right as rain. He did the PT’s with no problem. The Chief even said to feel free to slow down and not push too hard. He didn’t want to set him back. The idea is to get stronger not sicker. But Bryce did fine. He was a little weak but he still managed to do everything required of him in PT’s. Amazing.

Now it’s Wednesday. I am still coughing, and Bryce is climbing ladders, running, carrying heavy hoses, and all manner of other Firemanly activities. Ahh, to be young.

Enjoy the rest of your spring break! And may it be more eventful and healthier than mine!

The List

Today I shall write in list format. Sometimes, it's best not to reach too high.

1. My youngest daughter turnes 12 in exactly one week. I love her to death. She has a lot of words. A. LOT. OF. WORDS.

2. Evelyn is entering an art competition. She is an amazing artist. This is an official art competition held by a city nearby. With adults.

3. Gunnar does this...



Often. It makes a momma nervous. He wants to buy a street bike. This makes a momma really nervous.

4. Bryce does this now.



Yes, that's my firstborn driving a fire truck. I'm sorry, lets pause a minute and contemplate that statement. My child. Driving. The Fire truck. Do you know what that means? Shortly, they will expect him to do stuff like run into burning buildings, and stand out on the interstate at accident sites...all stuff I've spent the majority of my life teaching him NOT to do. This all feels very wrong.

And yet, look. My baby's driving the fire truck!

5. I had the flu last week, for the first time in years. It was unpleasant. I wish to not repeat that experience. The flu kicked my butt.

6. We are in the process of selling our house. This is not a fun exercise. Turns out, when one sells a house, one has to occasionally show it. To strangers. And it needs to be clean. CLEAN!!!

7. It is very difficult to keep a house clean with this many people in it. And momma has the flu.

8. The guy at the junk yard where Gunnar went to get a part for his truck yesterday told him he thought it was great to see a young man doing something productive and working with his hands. I believe his exact words were... "Better to be working on stuff than smoking stuff." Well said, Junk Yard Man. Well said.

9. Dave got a new truck. It's a company truck, so technically it's not his. But he loves it anyway. It's a giant white Ford. It's manly. We now own 4 Fords. How strange is that?

10. I have a kid in Fire Academy. And another taking college classes. And another entering adult art shows....and a baby turning 12. Dude.

My Precious

For my 20th anniversary, Dave got me this...



Or, more accurately, Dave said, "You know that book reading thing you wanted? Go ahead and buy it." To which I replied, "You know those car parts you wanted to make the car have more power and be louder and more manly? Go ahead and buy those."

Hey, we've been married for 20 years. It's a good system.

Then I went here and bought this adorable case to keep My Precious safe.



I may never surface. I love My Precious. And the biggest perk? My Precious has an inner illumination that allows me to read while Dave drives at night in my powerful, loud, and manly car.

Go Cheese Team!

This is how Annika, my left handed, dyslexic child showed her team spirit...with a backward 'G'. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time!



And Ev, while not so much a football fan, and really not much of a Green Bay fan, IS a big fan of cheese! One of her cousins doctored this photo of her for the big game. Ev spent most of the evening cheering on the 'Cheese Team'.

Happy Monday!

20 years!

20 years ago today, I said "I Do." It was bar none, the best decision I've ever made. But it's strange, because I'm only 29 and I am sure I did not marry at 9, so how does that work? Weird.


And, in case you were wondering, those are sleeves, not wings. It was 1991, what can I say?

A Little Jane

I seem to be on a Bronte kick. It all started when someone recommended the book Jane by April Linder to me. I read it rather quickly. I liked it fairly well. It is classified as a young adult fiction, I think, but I'd rate it as a pg 13. I don't think I'd let my young teen daughter read it, but for an adult book, it's pretty clean.

After I finished that book it dawned on me that, while I've seen several movie adaptations, I've never actually read the classic! So I hopped my happy little self on down to the library and got the original Jane Eyre. Um, WOW. How did I make it to the ripe old age of 29 (shut up), having never read Jane Eyre? Well, of course, now that I've read the book, I need to watch the movie again to see how it compares.

I found this version it Costco and snapped it up. Honestly, it's my favorite version. I think Ciaran Hinds makes the best Mr. Rochester. But, well, Masterpiece Theater did make a newer version recently so of course I had to request that from my library. That guy is way too young and handsome to be Mr. Rochester, but overall it's nicely done.

Then someone told me about this book, Romancing Miss Bronte! That is now next on my 'to be read' list.

I have 5 million other things to be doing. This is not the best time for my little foray into the Bronte sisters. Yet here I am!

I will leave you with this, my favorite quote from Jane Eyre...

Laws and principals are not for the times where there is no temptation: they are for moments such as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigor; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? They have a worth- so I have always believed; and if I cannot believe it now it is because I am insane-quite insane: with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs. Preconceived opinions, forgone determinations, are all I have at this hour to stand by: there I plant my foot.

I think Charlotte Bronte could teach us all a thing or two.

Teetering

So, can you stand one more ‘woe is me, my children are growing up’ post? No. Okay, I promise, I’ll keep it light.

Bryce started EMT/Fire Academy yesterday. By the end of May he’ll be completely certified and ready to hire on to a department. Which is weird because he’s only 5. He’s still just a cute little blond thing wearing Osh Kosh overalls and playing on a fire engine…



Sigh, I guess that was a while ago.



Gunnar is swift on his heels. His classes at the community college started today and the minute he turns 18, he’ll be at the EMT/Fire Academy as well.



This is a fun and exciting stage for a momma to watch. It’s hard and bittersweet to watch your babies grow up, but it’s also exciting. They both stand there with their feet on the edge, their wings fully outstretched, their bodies teetering, any minute now they’ll sail off from my nest. I can’t go with them, I can only watch. Do momma birds get to yell directions from the nest? I shall have to research this.

I couldn’t be prouder of my boys. Really. I suppose if they have to grow up into men, they are at least doing a good job of it. I hear all the time of their hard work, their willingness to help, their kindness to others, and occasionally their inclination to do donuts in the church parking lot late at night. But we’ll forgive that last part.

Finding Joy

I am weary of being frugal. I am weary of being cautious. I am weary of being sensible. I am weary of hearing ‘wait’ and ‘not yet’ and ‘maybe, someday’. I want my someday now.

Is that selfishness speaking? Possibly. Probably.

I don’t feel my motives are selfish, or not wholly so anyway.

And yet things don’t change. Things never change.

I can try. I can push. I can endeavor to make something happen under my own power. But that never ends well.

So I wait, and I watch, and I see others prosper and I try not to grow too discouraged.

Then I feel guilty because so many have it so much worse than I do. And yet I whine about my misfortune. Ungrateful wretch that I am, I want more.

It’s ironic that the word I chose for 2011 (Or should I say, chose me?) is Joy. I don’t feel joyful. It is beginning to dawn on my dim mind, that joy is not a feeling, or not always. Joy is a choice, and one often made in spite of feelings.

I have a lot to learn this year.