Let It Snow... Let It Snow.... Let It Snow

Oh, the weather outside is frightful!!!

Very, very frightful

But inside it is so delightful! 


Yes indeed, outside we are having a good ole blizzard right now... 10-15 inches of snow tonight with high winds and lots of blowing and drifting. 
But inside, thanks to a roaring fire, it is a roasting 80 degrees and I am sitting here in shorts and watching one of my favorite Christmas movies - White Christmas.  Life is good.

The dog looked back at me like I was crazy for putting him outside... he took two steps... took care of business... and ran back inside to resume his nice warm spot on his blue blanket (as in the picture above).

Another Day... Another Game

Thursday Night

The above pictures were taken at halftime when our boys were losing 12 - 8.  However, in the second half they had an explosion of points and ended winning by a bunch.  Zack had a great game on defense, as is usual, and earned himself the nickname "velcro-man" by his coach for his ability to "stick" to his man.  However, he still didn't score any points - but came very close.

Friday Night


Another game... and guess who had the first two points of the game?  Yessssss.. he FINALLY scored.  It was a full court steal and lay-up!!  Later in the game, he scored again... and again it was off his own steal, which he passed to the point gaurd.. who passed back to him for the score.  Immediately after that the other team took a time out and Zack got mauled by his teammates which made him feel great.   Besides finally scoring the elusive points, he had about 15 steals and a blocked shot!  He really played an awesome game and has had some extended playing time this week with one post out because of illness and another post out because of grades.


This game was again close at half... tied in fact.. 12-12.  But the seond half was ALL OCS as the ending score was 35-13!  So now they are 4-1 with a 4 game win streak.  And the best thing is... they are getting it done by playing EVERYONE - a lot.  So the victory can be enjoyed by all!

Groomed

BEFORE

AFTER

I actually like his "crazy", furry, curly, look better - but we've learned that if we let that look go too long, his fur becomes so matted and he has to be shaved..... and trust me... THAT is ugly! 
So, he went to the groomers on Monday and he turned out pretty good.  The only thing I'll have them change is not take off so fur around the nose and eyes.

Really... I Have to Wear This?

I feel silly

Clearly I have too much time on my hands!!   But there IS a reason for this.... this year Ollie is coming to Florida with us and my mom is hoping that by bringing Ollie with her to ring the Salvation Army bell at the local Publix... donations will increase... especially if all the older folks see an irresistable dog dressed up in a ridiculous costume!   Now I just hope he will keep it on.

Another Game

Zack had his third basketball game last night.  The second game was last Tuesday night but I didn't take any pictures during that game... mostly because I was trying to recover from the trip to the game.  Due to a misprint on the game schedule and an e-mail I didn't get (open), we did not know where the game was being played.  And to make a long and stressful story short, we arrived at the game exactly as it was starting.  This also prevented Zack from starting - or playing much of the first half. 


Yesterday was nearly a repeat as I again ended up calling another parent for directions but this time we were able to get there on time.  Zack played very well again and they won the game but he still has not scored any points and is getting anxious.  In fact, it is bordering on frustration so we had a discussion about God's provisions and having a grateful spirit instead of a complaining spirit.  There are many other ways to contribute on a team and he has been doing those (turnovers, rebounds, assists) and the points will come in time.

Going for the rebound

He was guarding #34 - he kept him from scoring

He has two more games this week - tomorrow and Friday - so we will be busy!

Lifetime Commitment

I remember when the boys (meaning C.J. and Jon) were babies and I was a walking, sleep-deprived, zombie.  My biggest focus at that point was "when do they start sleeping through the night?"  Of course, they eventually caught on to how wonderful an uninterrupted night of sleep can be and that stage of our lives was gratefully left behind!

My next focus became.. "at what age do they go through a whole day without crying?"  Now this took a lot longer than I thought it would.  I don't exactly remember when this happened but I want to say probably around 3 years old.  Good thing they were so cute.

 




C.J.





 

 

 



Jon

The next big question for me was "when do they start becoming responsible for their own homework?"  Whew!   I had no idea!  having a firstborn who was a natural leader, planner, and self motivated person - if, at times that bordered on obsessive - I did not have to do much with him at all.  I don't remember studying with him for any tests - including Spelling - and he achieved straight A's pretty much all though Elementary School.  Jon was every bit as smart as C.J. but not motivated or organized enough to do much on his own.  Normally, toward the end of each quarter, his teacher would present me with a list of work he hadn't turned in.... at which point I would make him bring home the entire contents of his desk.... at which point we would go through his folders and books.... at which point we would find 95% of his missing work completely finished and just never turned in???  After turning all missing work in, he would pull through the quarter with all A's and B's.  Unfortunately, middle/high school teachers cannot be as forgiving so he went through quite a string of failing/close to failing semesters before he finally got his act together about two years ago. ***Big Sigh***


Now, we are in the stage of our lives where we are asking ourselves "when does our financial commitment to our children end?"  Despite the older two having summer jobs... they are still financially dependant on us.  C.J. is much less since 1). his father has taken the bulk of that responsibility the past few months and 2). C.J. still has money left from his summer job.  Lauren, however, blew through her job money in a matter of weeks... weeks that I can count on one hand!!!!  So, that responsibility is still ours. Is that normal?


Oh well.. regardless.. there is one commitment to our children that will NEVER end... the commitment of the heart.  No matter what "stage of life" we are in... I will never ask when THAT commitment will end... because it NEVER will.


And...just because... here are pictures of my other baby... when he was a baby.

Zack

Lovely

I'm having a root canal today... like in an hour and a half... how  lovely.  Words cannot desribe how much I despise... hate... loathe... going to the dentist.  I would really rather go through childbirth again.



Oh well.  I don't have a choice.  Gotta go.