February Formal Dinner

I love the kids in our youth group! They continue to show me, time after time, how amazing they are! We have been blessed with a fabulous group of hard-working young people.

Last night's fundraiser dinner is a perfect example. My husband came up with a spur-of-the-moment idea in January to have a dinner (served by the youth) to help them raise money for summer camp. (Believe me, they need the money; we heard how much more camp is going to cost this summer = yikes!)

So, we crafted this idea. The kids would dress in nice clothes and become the waiters in our "candle-light" restaurant. Hubby served as chef, and made a delicious meal of chicken parm, Italian potatoes, herb spaghetti, plus salads and cheesecake. I dubbed it the "February Formal", so it wouldn't be too "couple-y", and the kids really enjoyed getting dressed up.

We had a terrific turn-out! We are so thankful to all the adults of the church who came out to support the kids. Certainly more than we expected. And such a great response -- several people asked if we could do this again soon! :) I think we will, but we need time to recuperate before trying it again.

The best part of the evening, though, was watching the kids serve. They were sweet, attentive, prompt, and just generally showed the Christ-like attributes we try to teach them in church.

We are so blessed to know these kids, and to be part of their lives.

To top it all off, we ended the evening in the sanctuary at the Ash Wednesday Service. Great to see all the kiddos in church being serious, as well as serving others at the dinner. (Proud!)

Precious Moments

What an amazing weekend! We took 14 kids, grades 1-6, to church camp over the weekend. I know, that sounds crazy, but it truly is an awesome experience!

I wanted to write about one of my highlights from the trip, before I forgot! On Saturday evening, we had a unique worship experience. Each one of the small groups planned and led a portion of worship. My small group was assigned communion.

My small group was a different group -- my kids were the youngest campers there for the weekend. All were in 1st or 2nd grade, with an extra kindergartener thrown in. (Her dad was the other adult leader in our small group, so though she was still a bit young for the weekend, it all worked out.) We also had two high school kids who helped with our small group.

So, perhaps you can imagine what I was thinking as I sat down with the group to plan our part in worship. I find I am always surprised by something new that God has to teach me. Remember that Bible verse that encourages us to "let the little ones" come to Jesus? Sometimes, they just get things in a way that is difficult for adults to understand. It's that amazing childlike faith.

Yes, the first graders served communion. And not only did it mean a lot to them, it brought some of us adults to tears.

And yes, the second graders and kindergartener spoke the words of institution over the bread and cup. Did they know what they were saying? Yep! And watching the light in their eyes during this experience certainly made the moment mean even more to me.

But the best part of our communion experience, to me, was watching our tiny kiddos bravely stand in front of the rest of the campers (who were ALL older than my group) and lead the camp's favorite communion song, Sanctuary. This was the first time that most of the kids in my small group had heard this song (and we practiced a lot during our small group time to learn it!). But their sparkle and joy was certainly contageous! All the "big" kids joined in, and carried the song on. What a wonderful worship moment.

On a personal note, what a treasure it was for me to be served communion by my own little first graders that I teach at school and in Sunday School. And what a treat for me to offer them communion at the end of the service, as they had offered communion to the large group and waited patiently for kids and adults alike to partake.

"Lord, prepare me
to be a Sanctuary
pure and holy
tried and true
With thanksgiving
I'll be a living
Sanctuary
for You.
Lord, teach Your children
to stop their fighting,
start uniting,
live as one.
Let's get together
and live forever
as Sanctuaries
for You."

January Sicknesses and Winter Camp

January has been crazy.

First, my daughter got sick and had to miss two days of school. Quite unusual for her. She also had to miss the final basketball game of the tourney, which was also her last basketball game of 6th grade.

Then, my son got sick. As per the usual, he was sick for a week.

During this entire time, my husband was also sick. And when he wasn't sick himself, he was staying home with the sick kids. So that was not so cool.

I figured, since they have all been well and attending school this week, I was probably going to get it.

I was right.

I spent the last two days at home sick. Ugh.

I had no choice but to feel better today, though. This afternoon, we are taking our kiddos to Mid-Winter Camp. This is the awesome church camp our kids attend every winter about this time. This year, we are taking an even dozen with us. So cool! Can't wait for them to experience this! Two of them are just old enough this year, so this is their first time. We also have two others who have never gone with us before, either.

So, I hope I continue to feel better and make it through the weekend!

Just for fun, I've been reading a cute book called Encyclopedia of Me, by Karen Rivers, about a middle school girl who is grounded during the summer and decides to write an encyclopedia to keep herself occupied. Cute book, I think all 12-13 year old girls will love. It's been good to have something to keep me occupied.

Basketball Boy

My son only plays basketball because I make him. That's what he tells everyone, and it's actually the truth. In their elementary school, the 4th-6th graders play basketball during this time of the year. If the kids choose not to participate on the basketball team, they end up sitting through all of gym class. Well, I figure he does enough sitting during the rest of his day; he needs to be up and active during gym class. So, yes, I make him play basketball.

The hardest part of playing basketball, for him, is that the rest of the boys in his class are incredibly talented. It's like they were born with athletics in their genes. They live and breathe sports. So my son doesn't get to play in the games for very long (although his coach is awesome and lets every boy have some minutes of playing time in every game).

Last night, though, my son got plenty of playing time. The team was ahead by a ridiculous number of points. (I think the final score ended up being something like 45-8.) And somehow, something in my son's brain finally clicked. He actually took 3 shots -- something he's NEVER done in a game before.

And he actually MADE a BASKET! In fact, it was the final basket of the game, though it wasn't a "buzzer-beater" or anything fantastic like that.

I was probably the most excited person in the stands at that point. I'm so proud of him. He's stuck with it, and improved as a player, even though he really doesn't like playing basketball. And that makes me proud of him as a person.

A great basketball book: Summer Ball by Mike Lupica

Dreams Gone By

Well, Mother Sugar (mothersugar.wordpress.com) has done it again. She's asked a question that caused me to take a "sentimental journey".

The question? What dreams will you never see fulfilled, and why do you think they won't be fulfilled?

I've been pondering this question since it was posted last Friday. It's a difficult question, because we all want to believe that phrase "Dreams can come true". After all, don't we tell our children this? I encourage my kids to dream big dreams and work to make those dreams come true. One of my favorite tomes, Walden, has always been an encouragement to me, to keep building my "castles in the air" and the "foundations under them".

Yet, this question begs for an honest answer. So here it is.

My dream that will never be fulfilled is for my children to have their grandmothers at their graduations, weddings, and other lifetime achievement moments. I have been so lucky. I had both of my grandmothers beside me through most of my life. I even knew my great-grandmothers. And yet, my children will not have this same joy. My mother passed away before my children were born. My husband's mother passed away when my children were in 1st and 2nd grade. It's true: my kids will not have their grandmothers beside them the way I did.

My kids have been lucky enough to have close relationships with their great-grandmothers -- all four of their great-grandmas! However, in the past 3 years, my kids have lost 3 of the 4. In fact, my kids' last remaining grandma just turned 93. It makes me sad and a bit nostalgic when I think of all the red-letter days that my kids will have to experience "grandma-less".

Don't get me wrong. My kids are certainly not alone in the world! They are surrounded by loving parents, aunts, uncles, and grandfathers. They even have a step-grandma who cherishes them. They have plenty of extra grandmas at church and in our tiny community who come to support them in all their endeavors, whether it is a piano recital or a football game.

But that dream of mine, of my children proudly walking across the stage at high school graduation with their grandmas beaming from the audience. Well, that dream will be unfulfilled. Not a thing I can do about it. Except to remind them (and myself) that we are not alone. That we are loved. And that somewhere, their grandmas are looking down on them with love and pride, no matter what.

A Strange Way to Spend a Holiday

This weekend was supposed to be my big Christmas celebration with my Kansas family. The plan was that we drive to my cousin's house Friday and spend the night, then have a huge celebration at my brother's house on Saturday, then drive home Saturday night to get ready for Christmas Eve at home.

Well, that certainly was not the way the weekend went.

It all went well, to begin with. We had an uneventful trip from Oklahoma, a nice 7 hour car trip. We arrived just on time, Friday afternoon, at my cousin's house. We got to spend some family time together. My aunt and uncle brought my grandma over to visit. That was so nice, since grandma lives so far away and, at 92, it's difficult for her to travel. We got to see my cousin's three little kids, and I was very excited to meet the youngest, just 6 months old. What a cutie!

But then, things went all wrong. I felt sick, thought maybe it was my cousin's spicy chili soup that was responsible. I should have known better. It was really a kidney stone. Great timing. My cousin the nurse helped diagnose, and she helped Hubby and I get to the ER.

Yep, that's right, I spend the majority of my Kansas Family Christmas in the hospital. I was there all day Saturday waiting for my turn in surgery to get the stone removed. I got a good night's sleep Saturday night at my cousin's, before we set out Sunday morning to pick up the kiddos at my brother's.

My family is so amazing! While I was in the hospital, they all made sure the kids still had a good Christmas time.

Friday night, the kids stayed up late at my cousin's house playing with the baby cousins and (hopefully) not worrying about mom. They slept well, then they got picked up Saturday by their grandparents to go eat lunch and spend the rest of Saturday at the Big Family Christmas. All the cousins were there, as well as Great-Grandma. They had a really great time! Then, they got to spend the night (with the twin cousins) and wake up to mom & dad's arrival for the trip home to Oklahoma.

I do feel better now, and I am certainly thankful I was near the hospital not on the road! I am especially grateful for the doctor on call Saturday, who not only operated quickly and efficiently, but gave me dietary tips and hope for the future for maybe not so many kidney stones in the future!!

After all this, I got to thinking. Maybe I read this somewhere, I can't remember, but the gist is this: The first Christmas didn't go exactly the way Mary had planned. She certainly didn't plan to give birth in a stable, surrounded by shepherds, with only Joseph for help. But that was God's plan. No matter how our Christmas events turn out, God is there.

That, to me, is the true miracle of Christmas.

Christmas Eve picture at Church! (notice the big bruise on my arm from the iv!)

Holiday Rush

The rush of December is upon us. It seems that there is no rest until the new year begins. Each day is full -- rushing to and fro from one busy event to the next.

This weekend, we're having our second family Christmas celebration. Two down, two to go. We've also had several Christmas plays and programs, as well as basketball games and dance practices/recital.

With all the busy-ness, we haven't finished our shopping. We're just taking things one event at a time. Therefore, we have finished shopping for the kids' gift exchange taking place tomorrow. We have NOT, however, finished shopping for this weekend. Or any of the future Christmas events. Procrastinating? Not really. We just haven't had the time.

Somehow, it will all be accomplished. It will! And then we can slow down and breathe -- but not until after the 28th.

If I had time to read, I would curl up with a good book. Guess I will have to do that after the 28th. When I have time, I think I'll read Stealing Air by Trent Reedy. It just came in at my library, and looks interesting.

Oh, and Merry Christmas!