B's Senior Pics

My sister and her boyfriend's senior pics are up... I absolutely LOVE them!! Another great job by Rachael Leigh Photography.

What's Poppin'?

Cameron's first solo Science Fair project was due this year. (This should read: Mom's 5th grade Science Fair project was due.) Seriously, what are these extremely time consuming and difficult projects for? Are they to make sure parents are helping with the learning process at home? Because, really, the hour or so of homework every night is plenty enough. I prefer they play outside when they get home, not stay cooped up inside working after they have been at school for 8 hours.

Anyway, after talking Cameron out of a volcano (no originality here) we decided on trying to find the brand of popcorn that leaves the most unpopped kernels. Fun! We popped three different brands and found very interesting data. Without going into all of our research, I'll just say don't buy Pop Secret. It's on the more expensive end and leaves WAY more unpopped kernels. But Act II is cheaper and leaves far fewer unpopped popcorn kernels. Way more for your money!

Also, for those of you who helped with your opinion of your favorite popcorn, THANK YOU! The most favorite flavor is (drum roll please)....... movie theater butter. Here are some pics of his project:

Bow & Arrow

Courtnie had to make a bow and arrow for school (this reads: Mom and Dad had to make Courtnie a bow and arrow for school). Cameron hunted for the sticks, Dad made the bow and Mom decorated the bow. Courtnie, well.... she learned to shoot it. Cameron and my brother went on a stick hunt at one of Courtnie's cheer games and found enough sticks to help three of the other girls with their projects. The moms and daughters all came over this past weekend to decorate them and the girls were nowhere in sight! Us moms found ourselves having fun gabbing and making the bows and arrows very pretty. They may not win with the arrow shooting the farthest, but they sure are cute! (Which is VERY important to my daughter!!)

Christmas Projects

Aunt Cathie sent the kids some Christmas art projects. Courtnie created the Christmas tree, and Colton created..... the manger maybe? Cameron tried so hard to help Colton but he wanted to do it by himself. As you can see, the manger has hay on only one side while the other side has Christmas tree ornaments (which he stole from Courtnie's project), the faces of Mary, Joseph, Jesus and the wisemen, snow and other random project pieces. The same is true for the inside of the manger. We tried to tell him that baby Jesus slept in the manger but he was very insistent that Jesus was a pirate, a pirate with a patch on his eye. (Dear Lord, please forgive me!)

Child of Determination

Courtnie - our head-strong, determined, will never lose a battle, child. Last weekend, the weather was super cold and Courtnie had her last cheer game at 9am that morning. We woke her up and told her how cold it was going to be and asked her to put on a pair of leggings and her blue gym pants. She comes out about 15 minutes later with her cheer uniform on and her black leggings. (I already know how this morning is going to turn out, I heard the thrashing around in the room.) I walk her to the front door, push her out and shut the door. Through the window I am telling her to keep walking, keep walking, keep walking, until I feel she is far enough out in the cold and wind to actually "see and feel" how cold it is outside. She comes back in crying saying she wont look cute in the pants (because the black leggings with her blue and white uniform look GREAT!). I snap back that it's 40 degrees outside and cold, no one cares how cute you are only how warm you will be. She argues, runs to her room and hides and refuses to come out or get dressed. If you are laughing trying hard to picture my sweet little Courtnie doing this, try harder. This is a normal routine. She cares only about her appearance, not about warmth and we go through this same routine about once a week throughout every winter season. Anyway, Jason and I are laughing at her telling her to get out of her closet and get dressed. She isn't moving. So I tell her I am going to grab my camera. As I was running to get it, I can hear Jason telling her to get up quickly because if I actually got a picture of her I was going to post it on my blog for everyone to see. She does not care. So I snap away!

Jason finally convinces her to get up, dress as we want her to and when she gets to the game if she doesn't think she needs to dress warm, she can take some of her clothes off (great idea!). She agrees with this but continues to frown and stomp around.

Dad did good! I had to stay behind with Colton because he was not feeling great and he and I only had about 4 hours of sleep, off and on. But he took some pictures of Courtnie and sure enough she took off her coat and gloves. She had taken off the piece that covered her ears but Dad put his foot down (again, great job!). But do you notice the pants are still on? Even though she says they don't make her look cute? lol. After the game her hands were frozen and her nose and cheeks were super red. But she insists she wasn't all that cold!

Cheer Pics

Courtnie cheered for the Falcons this year, her second season of cheer. She loved it this year!! Here are some pics I was able to snap throughout the season. She has turned into quite the difficult child to tkae pictures of. Her smile is half there, her eyes wont un-squint, she just doesnt want them taken, etc. All of the pics we were able to get are posted on our online album.

Baseball Pics

Cameron's team split from last year and this year the new team name was the Seminoles. We had a great coaches and definitely needed a wonderful season!!! The boys had a great time and learned so much in the short season that it was. I tried to get a few shots throughout the season but there were always random people in the background, a fence in the way or just boys acting goofy and uncooperative, lol. A mom on the team, Angela, took the boys out on a cold Saturday morning and snapped some incredible pictures for us. Here is her photography website: http://www.artisticimagesbyangela.com/. Thanks Angela!! There is also a surprise for Cameron for Christmas; I will be sure to blog about that at a later date. All of the pics Angela took and that I took this season are posted on our online album.

Dinner-Strike Nearing...

I'm about to go on a dinner strike. I've done this once before, when Courtnie was around 2 yrs old. I got so sick of hearing complaints about dinner and never hearing a dinner suggestion from anyone, that I just went on strike. Jason and the kids ate sandwiches (which they made themselves) for 2 weeks when they finally came to me with apologies and begging for real food. After this, things were better.

Until now. Is it too much to ask that Jason cook dinner on Thursday nights since I am at dance with Courtnie from 5:30-7:15? I think not! He doesn't know what to make, nothing he makes the kids like, we have nothing to eat (ever!), and he knows I don't approve of eating out all the time. He also likes to complain (and this isn't the particular word I would like to use right now) about the kids complaining about his meal preparation choices. Hello.... isn't his complaining to me the very same as the kids complaining to him? If he doesn't want to hear it from them, what makes him think I want to hear it from him?

Pick something to make, make it, if they don't want it, then they go without dinner. Stand your ground once, and they wont complain anymore. As if we haven't been doing this for TEN YEARS NOW........

The Armor

The current fiction book I am reading talks about how a mother would walk her girls through a series of gifts that God had given her girls. She told them this everyday. I thought it was neat! My sister and I were talking about it and the book writes about it over several pages so I thought I would condense it all so that I could see it all together.

Put on your helmet of salvation, your belt of truth, your breastplate of righteousness, and your shoes of peace. As you head out the door, grab your shields of faith and your sword of spirit.

"The helmet of salvation - you got that the minute you gave your life to Christ. You don't have to pretend to put on some imaginary steel cap on your head in the mornings. It's already there. The belt of truth is in God's Word. You get it from studying it, learning it, knowing what it says. Not whipping it out of some pretend closet. As for your breastplate, you do have that protection, because you exchanged your sin for Christ's righteousness.... and your shoes of the gospel of peace. Again, you study God's Word, make it a part of you. But the shoes are about spreading the word, telling others about the peace you've found. You have something they need. The shield of faith - you have to feed it the things that make it grow stronger. Again, you have to study God's Word as if it were your very lifeline. Because it is. As you get to know the Word of God, front to back, layer upon layer - hunger for it, breath it - that sword will get sharper and become more effective. The truth is, you have to build upon these weapons before you need them, so you'll be ready when you're face-to-face with someone unkind, or un-Christlike."

Compassion

Compassion: sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it
Forgiveness: allowing room for error or weakness
Integrity: firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values; honesty

These are just a few things many people lack these days. I realized today that sometimes people do not think of others or the trials they may be facing before criticizing or judging them. This is so sad. Anytime someone has done me wrong (whether it be cutting me off while driving, saying something hateful, or just giving a wrong look) I try to imagine something that has caused them to do this. I guess it's my way of hoping they did something wrong because of a stress in their life or even just not thinking altogether. I would not feel so great if I found out someone did something to hurt another deliberately. And the truth is, none of us are perfect!

After I was extremely offended today and noticed that this person lacked these incredible things, my anger was just fuming inside. How do people really lack compassion for others? My heart goes out to people who are less fortunate than I am. And it's times like this that I'm reminded that my house doesn't really need to be decorated exactly so, I don't need extra money to go out to eat, I don't need a new car just because I cant stand the one I drive. Those reminders put me in my place - I have food on the table, my bills are paid, there are clothes on our backs and shoes on our feet, a roof over our heads, and above all we are a healthy family who loves each other unconditionally. What more could a girl need?

Then I get this wonderful letter from my Dad. In his letter he reminds me of the forgiveness I have shown to him. This made me cry again (I cant even begin to guess how many times Ive actually shed tears today. Too many to count!). Isn't it funny how God works though? How he uses someones words or actions at the most wonderful time to remind you how you are supposed to act in a particular situation?? I sat there reading his letter and it struck me that I am supposed to use that same forgiveness to those who do not have compassion or forgiveness towards myself or others. And there isn't anything I can do for those who lack those things, other than pray for them. So I sit here now praying for those who do not have the kindest of words or actions and for those who have hurt me today. My prayer for them is that they will realize how often and how much people are hurting around us and that life isn't about them all the time. Its okay to show others forgiveness and its okay to let the little things slide. My prayer continues for myself - that I may forgive others and find the great qualities they have and that my example of compassion and forgiveness helps others to do just the same.

By the way Dad, I am looking forward to more letters!! I will never forget the incredible ways God uses and works through others.