Another Basketball Season

Last night Zack had his first basketball game of the 2011-2012 season. 


But before the game...a few pictures:


first, normal pose:

Clay Matthews pose:

See what I mean:

And finally Tebowing:

The game itself went well.  Zack did the opening tip-off.

He scored 10 points, had a few rebounds, and a steal.  He played very well...as did the whole team.  They won 38-27

A (Crazy) Day in the Life of Us

5:30 a.m. - I get up.  I usually get up at least a half hour earlier than usual on Mondays because we have a morning staff meeting.  Also, I usually get up at least a half hour earlier than I really need to so that I will have time to sit back, sip on a cup of coffee, do a devotional, watch some T.V., and peruse the internet.

6:40 a.m. Wake up Zack.  Again, about a half hour earlier than other days because of the meeting.  I also wake him earlier than I need to so that he will have time to relax before having to start morning rituals.

6:45 a.m. I finish getting ready.  Blow dry hair completely and get dressed.

7:00 Zack finishes getting ready.  Gets dressed, brushes teeth, combs hair, etc.  While I tranfer my coffee to a travel mug, feed and water the dog,  finish loading the dishwasher, and set it to run a load.

7:15 a.m. We are out the door and on the way to school.  Again, on any other day, push this time back about a half hour.

7:30 a.m. Arrive at school

7:30 - 8:00 a.m. Our once weekly staff meeting.  Today we just took prayer requests and prayed for each other.  We also talk about wins we see with the children; when we see them displaying one or all of the following: 1). academic excellence, 2). servant leadership, and 3). discipleship

8:15-9:00 My first class - 7th graders.  They are working on a zoo project using Microsoft Excel, Word, and Publisher.  Today they created a maze in Excel, and a matching game in Word for their Educational Packets.

9:05-9:50 My second class - 8th graders. They are creating websites using html.  Today they inserted a hexidecimal color into the background of their 4 pages.  They learned how to mix colors to create a unique hexidecimal.

9:55-10:40 My third class - 6th graders.  Sixth grade is finishing up a unit on Microsoft Word so  today we reviewed shortcuts using ctrl and they edited a Bible verse complete with borders.

10:40-1:05 I have absolutely nothing during this time.  I usually look ahead into lesson plans or troubleshoot problems with the computers.  Today I got things ready for the 4th and 5th grade lessons this week.

1:05-1:50 My final class - 4th grade.  4th grade is also working in Microsoft Word, only on a simpler level than 6th grade.  They, too, reviewed shortcuts today, typed out this week's Bible verse, and then edited it using the shortcuts ctrl A,ctrl C, ctrl N, ctrl V, ctrl E, and ctrl P.

2:00 - the thought of spending another hour and a half in the room with nothing to do bores me so I head home instead.

2:15 - Home.  I empty the diswasher, talk to C.J. about our upcoming trip to Florida, and sit down to watch a half hour episode of The Office with him.

3:15 - Leave to go pick up Zack from school.

4:00 - Home, after also picking up McDonalds for Zack - a Monday night tradition in our house.

4:00-5:00- I let Zack eat and relax while I get things ready for tomorrow, i.e. set the coffe, get clothes out, lunches packed, and check Zack's planner for his homework.  I also correct a few papers that are lying around.

5:00- 5:30 - make Zack sit down and write two journal entries and then go over his English homework with him.  He is not too great at self completing homework in the evening because the effect of his Concerta is starting to wear off.  Therefore, his mind drifts and I need to sit next to him to keep him on task.

5:30 - 6:00 - Hubby is home from taking Jon back to college so we sit and talk about how our days went while Zack has some video game time.  I also move beds around as Zack will now sleep in Lauren's old room while C.J. sleeps in Zack's room (because his room has the T.V.).

6:00-6:30 I take a quick bath while Zack gets his practice clothes on.  I will usually take a bath at night and then just wash my hair in the sink in the morning. 

6:40 - Leave for basketball practice.  This is the most inconvenient time for practice, especially for those of us that live 15 miles from school and cannot go back and forth easily. 

7:00-8:30 - Practice time.  I drop Zack off at school, make a Taco Bell run for a $.99 chicken flatbread sandwhich because I realize that I haven't eaten yet today! **sigh** How I wish that would translate into losing weight but it never does....so may as well go with the Taco Bell.  Then it's back to school where I sit in my room and review some html anchoring and linking which will be coming up in a couple weeks.

8:50 - Home again.  Take our nighttime pills.  Both Zack and I take melatonin and I also take 90 mg of Allegra before bed.  Zack also has a cream that needs to be applied to his face every night.

9:00-9:30 Relax, watch T.V.,  and have a snack (Zack does...not me...still full from the flatbread snadwhich)

9:30 - Bedtime! 

Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays are usually this busy, then it settles down a bit.  Also, once December is over, basketball settles down too.  But for now...we are in overdrive!

Ollie

These pictures were taken without a flash so the light quality is bad but just too cute not to share.


Anytime I try to get a picture of him using a flash it turns out something like this:

Just a little too bright for him I guess.

Putting Up The Tree

Traditional day to put up the tree in our house.


Lights strung across the floor waiting for a spot on the tree:

The tree halfway done.  Pay no attention to that big gap at bottom..we'll fix that later.

The finished tree - again, ignore the gap:

Treasures under the tree:

Trick of the Eye?

Nope, it is real.  All my boys under one roof at the same time.  I love Thanksgiving!

Luck...Or Something Else?

I'm going to start this post by saying that I am a HUGE Tim Tebow fan.

My love for the Florida Gators extends far back into the...ahem...80's... but I was never a raving, maniacal fan until Tim Tebow came along.  (Short bio: he was born to missionary parents in the Philippines.  His mom was considered past her child-bearing years and doctors encouraged her to abort the pregnancy.  Instead, his parents prayed for a healthy child that they could raise to "preach for the Lord."  Not unlike the story of Hannah and Samuel in the Bible!)

Anyway, two National Championships and a Highsman Trophy later, Tebow is now playing in the NFL for the Denver Broncos.

In his second season he has just 5 starts and is widely criticized by analysts for his throwing style (or lack thereof) and his accuracy.  And...I have to say that I agree!  Shocking, I know!  

His throwing style is unconventional.  His accuracy has been a 50/50 shot.  He has never passed for more than 150 yards in any of his starts...never had a QB rating of over 100...or even close to 100.  But HE WINS GAMES!  Somehow, despite all his shortcomings, he is 4-1 as a starter which has to make the average person shake their heads and say "what?"

Indeed it does warrant at least the question "how?"  Which brings me to a comment I overheard the other day by a fourth grader regarding the very subject of Tebow.

The comment went "Tebow is winning because he is getting lucky."

Sorry, bro, gotta respectfully disagree.  Luck insinuates that things are left up to chance and I believe that every single thing that happens is done and ordained by God, because that is His plan.  Luck has not a thing to do with it. 

The NFL may or may not be Tebow's "pulpit" for spreading the Word of God, only time will tell. But I know God has a plan for him and right now, his plan includes winning football games against all odds... to bring glory to Himself! 

And Tebow, being the amazing Christian man that he is, will see that this happens! 

No, luck has nothing to do with it.

Stream of Thoughts

As I am typing, it is snowing lightly and even though the weekend has promised warmer temps that should melt all this white junk... I can't help but wonder if the nice fall days are behind us. 
...like this one last Friday...

Looking forward to a long visit from C.J. in 10 days!  Can't wait to spend time with him watching episodes of The Office and munching on Tortilla Flats chips and salsa!  We may possibly be able to watch a Packers game or two!  


Florida trip minus 5 weeks and counting.  We don't actually have a leaving date pinned down yet.  Both Jon and I have to do some re-arranging of schedules - especially Jon who is supposed to be available for final exams right through the 23rd!  And that would mean we wouldn't even get to Florida until the night of the 25th...and that will not work!


Zack has started basketball again and has been busy with practice almost every night excluding the weekend.  His first game is not until the 29th.


Life seems too crazy lately and hubby and I have found ourselves in a rut lately.  Not in a "we're not getting along" rut, but a "we haven't been able to spend any time together" rut.  Between my parents visiting, working different schedules, a five day hunting trip up north (him...not me), and visits by Lauren in between, we haven't been able to spend an uninterrupted evening together in nearly two weeks.  I'm craving an evening along together...which for me means 'I lie on the couch and read or work on my computer while he sits in his chair, watches T.V., and rubs my feet!'  


Not going to dwell on this but I am still coughing on and off.  Just sitting tight and awaiting the pulmonary appointment on December 2nd... but also not expecting any answers from that testing either.


That is about all...I'll end with a picture of this adorable face.

Well, you may not think he's adorable but I do!!!!

Ugh! Not Already

Even though this will all melt by the weekend...it is still too early for these snow-hating eyes to see.

Birthday Post

19 years ago today - at 10:08 a.m. to be exact - the most precious blessing was placed into my arms.


Today I am left wondering how 19 years could go by so quickly. How this beautiful baby could have grown into this amazing young man.  And how I was fortunate enough to be picked by God to be his mom.  


I am amazed every day how blessed I have been by the mere presence of my sons in my life.


Happy Birthday, Jon.  For the very first time we will be spending your birthday apart.  I hope you have a day filled with happiness and fun...and know you are loved beyond measure that words can express.

Haircut

Someone finally got a haircut yesterday.  And even though it was of the "haircut by mom" variety, I still think it is cute.

It is getting so hard to get a good picture of him because he wants to make all these faces he thinks are "cool".  


After several attempts like the first photo up there, I was finally able to make him laugh about something - resulting in the second photo.


Then in an unbelievable coincidence, he bumped into me, I dropped the camera - you know, the one I just bought last week, yeah - and the lens broke!  No joke!


Thankfully, I was able to fix it this time.  So the third picture was a test photo after the fix while he was watching T.V.

So here is


BEFORE:

And after:

Platteville Revisited

My mom and dad were visiting these past couple days so we decided to make the nearly three hour trek to Platteville to visit Jon... which turned into mostly just taking him out to lunch.