Getting a new view on life

Abby asked me recently how to get a new view on life. She is struggling with enjoying the things she must do like school and driving. I said that the end goal of the day or her life wasn't the education and the success of that or the getting of her license and then driving. But that those things were means to something bigger and better. And that the "failures" in life were just as important as the successes in making us more whole people. If we were never sick, why would we need a doctor? If we never fail, why would we ever need Jesus?

I've been struggling with the idea of embracing disappointment as just as important as joy in making me a more whole person. I want to fight against the events and people who disappoint and ask why and what are you doing God to make this happen. It may be no more than life has ups and downs and I need to understand that both are important to making me whole. Some days it feels so random; things happen, we react. Life goes on. But just like Abby I need a view on life. It isn't the daily activities that give me purpose in doing them. It is the reason I do them and for whom I do them that give me meaning and fulfillment.

It has been almost two years since I've posted a blog. In that time, Ben has grown about 15 inches, Zach is now a boy scout, Maria has lost all her baby teeth, Abby has learned to drive and Rose is taller than Zach. We've read and seen all the Harry Potter books and movies. We've moved four times. Buster is with a new family. Scott spent a year in Korea and is now deployed again. Lots of life has happened.

But some things don't change. I am still married to a great guy- 21 years! My kids are healthy and growing and they are all so smart and beautiful. Jesus is still active in my world and showing me that challenge and adversity are also things of which to be thankful. (My heart is still softening towards that lesson.)

I still don't know if our family is blog-worthy; we seem so ordinary some days and I suppose we are. But I am looking for the extraordinary in this season and hopefully my eyes can see it clearly.

Zachary earn his Bear rank

On February 26th Zachary earned his Bear rank badge in Cub Scouts. We did some good work to accomplish this rank. A few things he had to included making a birdhouse, learning about folk tales, baking some cookies and learning what to do if our house catches on fire.



Zach really loves Cub Scouts. He likes earning badges, getting patches and doing the fun activities like pinewood derby and day camp. I really like scouts because it gives Zach and me a chance to do something together; it challenges him to go beyond just schoolwork to exercise his brain. We are currently working on finishing the World Conservation patch.

Buster turns two

Our cocker spaniel Buster turned two this week. He is black with just a bit of white on his chest. We got him when he was only eight weeks old and weighed five pounds. He was so small he could sit in Scott's hand. We'd always told the kids we wouldn't get a dog for quite a while because we had so many kids. But our military house was scheuduled for demolition and so training a dog to not chew or pee or dig up the yard would be easier in a house that didn't matter. And I think Scott really wanted our family to be complete with a dog.

Buster is really a very good dog. We have not had to throw out, refinish or fix any furniture due to his chewing. He doesn't shed. He only barks at strangers or loud noises. He doesn't pee in house. He is very good with our family and once he smells a person he is good with them too. He only doesn't like toddlers very much. But my relationship with Buster can be a love/ annoyance one. I love it that Buster follows be around the house and sits at my feet when I dry my hair. He can be so comforting when he sits next to me on the couch while I read. He can be so cute when he looks at me and cocks his head to the side wondering what I am saying to him. But there are days when I can't stand his constant going in and out, especially on rainy days. He still pulls on the leash when we walk. And his favorite place to sleep is curled up next to my back. We have to have a babysitter for him when we go on vacation and we can't be out too long or he might have an accident inthe house.

I told the kids I wouldn't cry if we had to give Buster away, but then I had a dream in which I cried and cried when we had to give Buster away. I guess I'm too afraid to admit I really am attached to him.

Family Game Night

We just finished a great night of playing a game together. We've done this many times before, but tonight seemed particularly good for us. The game we played is called Sequence and is a card and chip game where a team tries to get five in a row. It is some chance and some strategy. But I think the reason that tonight was so satisfying was that we were all able to play. It wasn't too long, didn't require too much heavy thinking and even Maria could join in and make good contributions to her team.

It feels so good to have us working as a team. There wasn't too much competition that made feelings get hurt or emotions out of control. We all left the table knowing that we had a good time with each other. It is these kinds of nights that I live for as a parent. I want to know that my kids like each other and can play together and root for one another. It is the small event that I know will prepare them for the larger life events that will come along.

Life Moves Fast

I've decided that life moves pretty fast and if events and ideas aren't paused over, then they are gone. It takes time, but I'm thinking it is worth the effort.

Between November and February the kids had 50 basketball games and about 75 practices. Most games were on Saturday with occasional ones during the week. And then of course practices were most evenings. It is comparable to a part time job getting the kids to practice and watching their games! But what fun we had! Rose played her first year and had a tremendous time learning the game. She is quite the player, one game she had over 20 steals! Rose had a natural feel for the court and where the play should go next. Scott and I had lots of fun cheering from the stands.

Zachary played with all boys and had a winning season! They only lost one regular season game and came out the winners of their Little Dribblers divisiontournament in Lompoc. Zach is big, but can move quickly and one of the boys on his team calls him "Big Country". Ben was a late addition to basketball deciding at the last moment to sign up. But he would have missed so much if had thought he didn't have enough skills to play. He learned so much about being the big man down under, and he learns so quickly! We didn't realize how tall he was compared to other boys his age. We look forward to seeing him get even better next year!

This year Scott was able to coach Abby's team. For the first time Abby played on an all girls team. She enjoyed that a lot, the highlight being a sleepover at the end of the season. They didn't win many games, but the motto of the team was effort. And they improved so much over the season, they were a pleasure to watch by the end. Scott was a tremendous coach, p0uring his time and effort into making a bunch of early teen girls into a team. Maria decided not to play this year, but maybe next....

Home Again

We arrived home on Friday after being gone for about three weeks. It was a good trip and we had plenty of time to visit friends and family. However, Scott was home alone for two of those weeks and he was thrilled to see at drive in and had dinner ready for us! I think the thing we all missed the most was our beds.

A few of the things we did included hiking up little Mt. Si and experiencing all kinds of weather from sun to rain, seeing fireworks on the fouth of July from the waterfront in Seattle, seeing Kung Fu Panda, mini-golfing once with the AF Thunderbirds flying overhead and once in the dark with glow in the dark balls, seeing Wall-E and driving 15.5 hours to get to our first stop in Oregon on our trip up.

The kids learned how to play Speed and at first I was the speed champion, but they all soon surpassed me. My fingers just aren't as nimble as they used to be.