Play...Not a Trivial Pursuit

Have I mentioned I take great pleasure in seeing my kids active and healthy and stretching what they think they are capable of? I missed nearly all of the basketball season last year, making this year especially sweet. Weekends are fun with four separate events, Shaun and the three littles.

Something clicked and Amanda has been involved and pays attention and is passionate about playing for the last two games. New year, new her. :)

Aiden gets to be on the same team with his cousin Alayna and they always try to guard each other. :)

This girl plays both tough and smart.

Of course we find fun with the snow, but I'm partial to no snow on the ground and sweatshirt temps in January.

H said, "Lisa, I'm going to jump...catch me in mid-air!"

January's 10 on 10

10 pictures on the 10th day of the month,  (Sunday)!

{Document a snapshot of your life & find beauty among the ordinary things in your day! }

Still no running, but I really enjoy starting my day with strength training and modified cardio. I did a fun 5-day challenge to start off the new year.

Working through a Bible study I got for Christmas.

We are decorating Shaun's new office (he moved one door down) so I did some "shopping" around the house for items that might fit his motif.

The three littles returned from their sleepover with Grandma and we had a chill rest of the day. We're trying to soak in our time with Shaun before he disappears with tax season.

H took a liking to Shaun immediately and has a ton of respect for him, already recognizing him as an invaluable resource. They've had some interesting discussions on politics and racism (mostly Shaun trying to get H to think for himself and be ok with having his own opinion) and being a man and future hopes and dreams. H is very smart and appreciates that in Shaun. Shaun is so good about investing and teaching and imparting wisdom and H is hungrily taking it all in.

Legos.

Mixed fractions.

Baking bread with my number one assistant.

Grocery store run, trying to keep milk and other essentials in the house. Since we were out, we got ourselves a little treat. :)

I used to dislike ironing (very much) but I trained myself to be thankful for the task. I'm thankful that we have money to buy the clothes and I'm thankful for the man who wears them and for his good job and how hard he works. I'm thankful for a place to keep an ironing board set up and for electricity. It took some time but now I'm happy to iron and I spend the time praying for the handsome guy who will put his strong arms through the unwrinkled sleeves.

Bedtime.

Shaun spends a great deal of time studying and learning and perfecting. I love him for that.

For The Win

Last week there was a free throw contest in town for 8-13 year old boys and girls. We wouldn't have known about it or attended, except Amanda's coach asked the team to do that instead of their regularly scheduled basketball practice.

Amanda stood on that line and tossed up air ball after air ball...0 for 25 in front of her teammates and bleachers full of fans.

When her group was finished, she walked over to me, "participation certificate" in hand, nearly in tears from the embarrassment. I hugged her, looked her in the eyes and told her how very proud I was. So proud that she gave it her best. That she stayed with it and didn't give up in the middle. And most especially because she reached out to a teammate who was sobbing because she had not made any baskets either. Amanda rubbed her back and talked her through it, being strong for this girl when really Amanda wanted to be in tears herself.

That was Tuesday. On Thursday they held a similar event, this time sponsored by Knights of Columbus and going up to age 14 so both girls and H entered. Amanda again made zero shots, Avery made several (and overcame her fear of getting up and trying in front of all those people) and both came out with their participation awards.

H competed in the 14 year old boys category and beat out the other participant to win first place. He was excited but nervous and kept glancing over to be sure we were watching. Shaun had had a really important presentation to give that evening, but made it to the gym just as H took the line.

H got a trophy, a t-shirt and an invitation to the next event in a couple weeks. He was so happy and proud...it was really beautiful to see him get a win and be celebrated for it.

You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.  The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:8-9

Project 365, Week 2

Happy Monday! Aren't new weeks so exciting?? We get another chance to get it right, to do it better and I'm so grateful for that!

I spent some of this past week sulking, discouraged by how elusive complete healing seems. Shaun bumped into someone who was asking about me. How's Lisa? We heard you are all done...she's back at 100%? Yeah, not quite. Shaun and I would put me somewhere in the 60-70% range. There are still so many things. I feel like I've been patient, but for whatever reason, this week it wore thin.

But...with a fresh week comes a fresh outlook. I have more blessings than my heart can contain....that is the truth of it.

January 4
I attended the funeral of a woman who died of colon cancer at the age of 59 after battling it for six years. We were co-workers 20 years ago and I hadn't seen her since until God set up a divine meeting for us. During this past year, though it was a limited capacity for both of us, we reconnected over our mutual battle. I went to visit her several times and sent her cards and towards the end it became clear her body had had enough. Still, it was a shock when I found out she had passed. What I would have given for just one more conversation.

It was difficult to be at the funeral, listening to her loved ones contend with the reality that they would now be doing life without her. I'm so thankful for the Comforter.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

January 5

This is what happens when you set bread on the floor to rise near the heat register and the kids come home and get an afterschool snack. Thankfully the foot made contact with the towel covering the dough and not the dough itself. Though, being honest, I would've eaten it anyway. After all, its bread!!

January 6
We ran an errand after school and drove by the park. The kids thought 40 and sunny made for a perfect day to play so we stopped.

January 7

I delight in finding new creations all over the house. If you've got the time, Aiden's got a full story to go with each one.

January 8
Amanda went missing...I found her studying in her room. She looked so sweet (and too teenager-ish!) diligently working on her report.

January 9
We were out of the house at 8 am for basketball and all three kids had games but we arrived at one of the schools a little early so the kids played on the beautiful playscape.

January 10
Such a fun, quiet family day.

Signs of Life

Now that I regularly get to places around the house other than my bed and the couch, I want to start posting "signs of life" again. My love for all things imperfect grows.