That's Using Your Head

Abigail's CHANT Chargers finished off their fall season with another double header.  They won the first game and on the second game the other team forfeited.  That gave them 7 wins and 1 loss for fall.  

Because the second team forfeited, the girls took the time to scrimmage on the ball fields. They were playing 8 on 8.  Abigail was running from third to steal home, In the process, her friend Sarah went to tag her she got Abigail on her chest, but because Abigail was sliding feet first into home, Sarah's glove caught on Abigail's mask.  This jerked Abigail's head back and the back of her head hit the ground. 

Fortunately, one of the CHANT coaches is an EMT.  He checked her out and said she had a concussion.  So Abigail sat out the rest of the scrimmage.  

After the game Abigail and Sarah goofed off, recreating a better story about how Abigail got a concussion. The girls have played ball together and been buddies for several years.  Sarah was apologizing profusely, but honestly, she did nothing wrong.  It was just a risk of playing ball.  Looks like we'll be at the pediatrician's office tomorrow. 

Be not wise in your own eyes;

    fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

It will be healing to your flesh

    and refreshment to your bones.

Proverbs 3:7-8

Teach Them Diligently

Bible Class Betty would approve of our morning!  Even after Abigail making it home around midnight, she was back up bright and early this morning to help me in the nursery.  After nursery duty and worship, the girls and I moved on to our second week of Bible Bowl.  

This week we were in chapter of Acts where the Holy Spirit arrived on the apostles waiting in the Upper Room; Peter showed using the writing of the prophet Joel and King David that Jesus was the fulfillment of the promise and many were added to the church!   

After a full morning of teaching we had a quick lunch and a little nap before it was time for Abigail to head to three hours of softball practice.  I'm pretty sure I napped longer than she did! 

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.  II Timothy 3:16-17

Hoco 2016

Tonight was homecoming for homeschoolers in the North Texas area.  Over 700 homeschoolers attended the event at the Frontiers of Flight Museum.  This year's theme was Flight: Take Off with Us. 

Abigail headed over to Gracie's house to get ready for the big event.  The girls did hair and make-up together.  And then headed to Hannah's house to meet up with friends for dinner. 

The group then headed to the homecoming dance together.  I'm looking forward to seeing all the event picture when they're posted! I'm really grateful Abigail was surrounded by good friends for the evening! 

When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. Luke 15:25

Our Daily Bread

Our Thrive ministry at church met up at the Avenue F Church of Christ to pack bags of fresh fruits and vegetables.  We loaded up over one hundred adult bags and seventy kids bags that we delivered to residents in McKinney.  The girls and I joined friends from church in packing bags full of apples, oranges, bananas, onions, potatoes, jalapenos, tomatoes, and carrots.

McKinney has one of the few homeless shelters in the area, it also has government assisted housing for low income families.  Each adult bag was about $40 worth of fresh fruits and vegetables.  At Fitzhugh park we greeted the guests as they came through, checked them in and then loaded them up with goodies.   McDermott runs the Thrive ministry in McKinney on the first Friday of the month. 

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind,  for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Psalm 107:8-9

Fairly Good Friends

When your friend text to say they are willing to drive from another state to come hang out with you, you adjust your schedule so you can play!  The Gungans made the trip down so we could hang out at the Texas State Fair.  My first trip to the Texas State Fair was with Donna as my tour guide. She navigated us through the Little Kids on the Farm, Kids Barnyard, and through the food vendors.  I remember her explaining that I had to have a Fletcher's, and I was confused because I couldn't image why I needed a corny dog when there were so many other great fried foods.  But she was right, and every year we've hit the Fletcher's stand! We may have stopped at a few other food stands, too! 

This year for the first time ever in America, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel was on exhibit. It is a photographic reproduction of Michelangelo's work, displayed in its original size.  I was fortunate enough to see the real thing, including David when I was younger traveling with my parents.  But I wanted the kids to see the amazing master pieces.  The girls freaked out a little that so much nakedness was included in painting that were done at the direction of a Pope. 

We hung out at the Fair all day, it's crazy because we still didn't see everything.  We never made it to the arts and crafts building or to any of the animal barns.  But we had a blast hanging out with our friends and are so appreciate their coming to hang out with us! 

The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not,

 and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, 

for God has accepted them. Romans 14:3

Luke's Diner

This morning was a special day for all fans of the tv show Gilmore Girls.  Netflix partnered with 200 cafes and coffee shops around the country transforming them into Luke’s Diner to celebrate the shows 16th anniversary.  Every state had the Stars Hollow nostalgia and served Lorelai and Rory’s favorite drink of choice – coffee!  The Luke’s Diner pop-ups opened up from 7am to noon and the first 200 visitors at each location was treated to a free cup of coffee. 

The girls and I met up with the Baileys and Ms. Kathy for our Gilmore Girls experience.  The baristas were wearing Luke’s traditional flannel shirt and backwards baseball caps.  The line was incredible; we stood in line for about an hour and a half talking Gilmore Girls moments! 

If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning, 

it will be taken as a curse. Proverbs 27:14

Spice of Life

Our banana pepper plants are still producing a plethora of peppers! Yesterday Jon pulled about 12 pounds of peppers off of our bushes. Armed with a 12 quart stock pot and a paring knife we went to work. Three hours later we had 4 pints of garlic banana peppers, 4 pints of sweet banana peppers and 4 pints of jalapeno banana peppers. 

Afterwards I went to grab a shower and when I returned Jon had cleaned up all my mess in the kitchen. That’s the best way to can! 

Stay tuned, I'm pretty sure I'll be putting up jalapenos next week! 

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. Matthew 23:23

Good Sports

Ir's Monday night so my girl is at it again hanging out behind home plate at the CHANT Chargers double header.  The girls went into the first game undefeated.  They played Legacy Christian Academy Lady Eagles and unfortunately CHANT lost 6-2.  LCA brought in a pitcher that wasn't on their rooster, who was throwing hard and fast.  Abigail had one at bat and hit straight to second base.  

Abigail caught the second game against John Paul II with her buddy Sarah pitching.  The girls have played together for several years and make a good pair.  Abigail had a base hit up the middle and CHANT won 12-1.  

One of the things I really appreciate about Abigail's coach is that when we are up, the coach holds the girls back from stealing bases or advancing.  Tonight he encouraged the right handed batter to swing left handed to practice slapping at the ball. The girls got to try their hand at new skills and encourage the other team to improve. 

Opponents must be gently instructed,
in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them
to a knowledge of the truth  II Timothy 2:25

Random Acts

Texas Bible Bowl starts today, the beginning of six months of in depth studies of the book of Acts. We started off with thirty-one students and six moms preparing to take the test in April.  

Jon kicked off the parents meeting in one room and I began lesson one with the kids.  I had intentions of getting pictures of the kids but the best I did was a photo of my study materials. For Texas Bible Bowl each teacher is responsible for preparing their study material.  I've spent the last six months getting the Bibles highlighted.  In addition I write a Study Guide for Texas Bible Bowl.  It is up on the website for other coaches to utilize for their classes too. 

Other things I find helpful with my class is flash cards for games.  The girls helped me write questions for people, places, colors, quotes and numbers in our study.  Technology is a great aid to this generation too.  I've been able to upload the flash cards to Quizlet, an online flash card game site.  Quizlet even offers apps where students can play on their phones. There is also a website called Dropbox where I've uploaded audio files for book of Acts and file games.  

The kids were full of excitement today, it's always so encouraging to see a room full of kids who are eager to study the Bible!  It still takes me by surprise that they get excited about hanging out with me, knowing I'll be giving them homework, tests, and more tests! 

Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin,

 it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; 

you will only find yourselves fighting against God. Acts 5:38-39

Think on These Things

Our little blog is kind of simple, it's not a how-to do anything type blog.  It wasn't written to inspire or motivate greatness.  It was created, over a decade ago so that our younger children then five and nine years old could keep in their out-of-state family up to date on our daily activities.  It was created in an effort to let the family know was things were going on with us, so that when they talked to the kids on the phone they could ask questions about an event that happened earlier in the week.

  

As time passed, the blog has also served as just a backstage look at homeschooling with all the goings on available to this generation of homeschoolers.  It has also evolved into a fun way for Frankie to look back at the places we've been and the fun things she's done with her siblings.  I'm pretty sure she is my biggest fan.  

Last year the blog took on a new importance, it allowed Caleb, who is away at college to keep up with his sisters.  Much like we wanted to keep out of state family members engaged in the children's lives, the blog now allows Caleb to feel included.  There are times that I will post a field trip on the blog and a few hours later Abigail will get a text from him asking how she enjoyed the field trip. 

There are Grandparents who may never see Caleb's new home at Lubbock Christian University but I love that they can view it through glimpse of posts here.  Today we spent another day on campus with the boy hanging out with him.  He took us around campus to areas like the office where he's tutoring Algebra student; where they have their Student Senate meetings; where the Kyodia club meetings are held and just let us in on his life as a college student.  

It's heartwarming to see how at home he feels at LCU and to see the maturity in m young man.  I hope that when our friends or family stop by to check out our little blog spot that they come away with same warm feelings.  

This isn't a blog to tell you how to do anything, or to express political views, or even promote religious affiliations, although I've really blown it if you've read several of my posts and you don't get that our Christian faith dictates our behavior.  It is simply an invitation to join our lives, celebrate the good things, and maybe at the end find a scripture or a verse that can inspire each reader, including my own children, to do things better.  I will admit that some days I fail in big ways and the scripture is simply a reminder to me of how I wish the day had gone! 

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable
--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.  Philippians 4:8