Caleb's hockey

 Our son Caleb decided to join the local recreational league hockey this March. It has been fun to watch him compete in a sport again. He's played golf the past few years, but that is not a spectator sport! He was a little nervous to join, partly because he'd never played a real game. He could definitely ice skate, and he played lots of hockey in our garage (on roller blades) with his sisters.

He has done really well and enjoyed it a lot! He's made lots of goals and learned as he's played. We've also enjoyed seeing him indoors, instead of freezing in the wind, rain, or boiling in the sun (like in baseball!).

He's played the lower levels in his league, which are C and D. They had similar guys on two teams. The last night that they played this season with the D league was their championship, and they won! They even had an imitation Stanley Cup that they got to hold and skate around with. It's been fun to cheer with his girlfriend (now fiancée), our niece, and his sisters. We take a bag of blankets with us to the ice rink.

His first jersey was an old loaner that said "JIM" on the back, so that's what we called him when we cheered.

He got a New Jersey halfway through the season with our last name on it. It was spelled wrong, but he wore it anyway. 

The skates make him seem really tall!

Even if he has grown up, we're still his parents cheering him on!

Genesis 18:3-4
He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree."

Job 37:9-11
The tempest comes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds.

The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen.
He loads the clouds with moisture; He scatters his lightning through them.

Marching band 2024

 In the heat and sun, my two teenage girls began marching band practice at the end of July. They just finished their season this past weekend, and it wasn't too, too cold here in Colorado! It was about 50 degrees for a low, which was lovely! It didn't snow at the state championships but it was windy. 

This year my husband and I rode the students' bus as chaperones. It was the first year that we had done so, and it was GREAT! We were pleasantly surprised at the kids' manners, the noise level was not too bad, and we were able to watch movies! We saw "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (haven't seen that one for a while!),  "Rise of the Guardians," and then on the way home we saw "Cars" and "Pirates of the Caribbean." Our 15-year-old daughter sat behind us with a friend. 

We stayed in a different hotel than usual, and it was a good experience. We quickly learned our way around and got acclimated to it. The continental breakfast was comparable. We slept well, and it was pretty quiet even though there were 80 kids in the building!

After a practice at a local church, the marching band performed in the quarter-finals and earned 7th place, one-tenth of a point above another band from our town. The following day, they performed in the semi-finals and earned 8th place, which was high enough so that they could perform in finals that evening. Last year the finals were canceled, so they were excited to be able to perform in them this year.

That evening, our band played in the finals competition and again earned 8th place. It was a great experience for the whole band. I felt bad for one student who ended up sick with the flu. We are so proud of all of the students, and our daughters for performing well and giving their best to the team. There were many tears after the final performance of the year, especially for all of the seniors, which was about 25 kids! Our older daughter is a senior and said that she wants to perform in the marching band in college!

We missed having Joshua's mom and sister attend with us, but medical problems got in the way for them this fall. We will hopefully travel together again with them next fall. Maybe our son will come with us too.

Enjoy the pictures!

daughter (middle) with friends

two daughters together, one mellophone and one synthesizer

Love these two so, so much! I'm glad that I get to be their mom.💙💙

showing the glitter on her face

Enjoying some performances and awards together

Performing "Across the Mirror's Edge"

Drums lined up

Performing "Across the Mirror's Edge"

Performing "Across the Mirror's Edge"

My hubby with me and our younger daughter

Lunch and water all lined up

Older daughter and friend

practicing at a church parking lot

Goodie bags all lined up

Front ensemble/pit performing "Across the Mirror's Edge"

We will miss the marching band performances for the rest of this year, but there are still a few pep band nights at football games and two parades this fall.

What are your kids involved in? I'd enjoy hearing about it!

Ephesians 2:8-9 
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Numbers 10:9
When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the Lord your God and rescued from your enemies.

Psalm 150:4-6

Praise Him with timbrel and dancing, praise Him with strings and pipe, praise Him with the clash of cymbals, praise Him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the Lord.

Praying for your teen's spiritual health

 As a Christian parent, I often pray for my children. At times, my prayers seem stagnant or almost insincere. I feel like I pray the same things over and over and over. So when I read something that talks about a different way to pray for my teens, and especially for their health in any way, it sparks some interest. I recently read an article by Crossway about ways to pray for your teen's spiritual health. I really appreciated the article and found it to be thought-provoking. It called me to action on behalf of my teenage daughters.

You can read the full article here: https://www.crossway.org/articles/how-to-pray-for-your-teens-spiritual-growth/

I will sum it up for you below. 

1. Pray for their salvation, and/or that they will be a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

2. Pray for gospel friendships, and for others that will follow Jesus together with your teen (1 Samuel 18:1).

3. That God would give them a growing appetite for His Word (1 Peter 2:2–3).

4. That their faith would move from their head to their heart (Psalm 42:1).

5. Pray for influential voices in between your age and theirs (Titus 2:1–6), that would speak into their lives and reinforce the truths that parents teach.

6. Pray for a growing love for the church, for fellowship with other believers (Ephesians 2:19-22).

7. That they would have the courage to live for Christ in a pagan culture, treasure Christ above all else, and not conform to the pattern of the world (Romans 12:1-2).

So parents, let's pray.

I took a few moments and wrote the above list on an index card. I like this list because I can pray for one thing each day of the week. I hope that by sharing these ideas you will join me in praying for your children each day. What a privilege that we have to bring our child before HIS throne each day!

Romans 12:1-2

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.

1 Peter 2:2-3
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

My dad

On Father's Day several years ago.

 My father passed away on May 1, 2023. I still cannot believe it. I feel some days like I am in a state of shock, or numbness. Other times I am okay. I read somewhere that it feels like everything is cloudy, or like a wet blanket has been placed on me to carry. It is not surprising to me, and his death was expected, but that doesn't make it any easier. 

His memorial services were this past weekend. My three brothers were here, and I was so glad. I really needed them here. My sister came the night that my Dad passed away, she came just 4+ hours before his death. My Dad's health had been slowly deteriorating over the past year or two. He began to lose weight. He was in stage 4 COPD, there is no stage 5. He had a harder time breathing most of the time. If he did anything slightly strenuous, he was out of breath. Even if it was just walking from his chair to the kitchen to get a glass of water and back, he was breathing hard. He was a smoker for 15 years when I was younger. He smoked when he was in the Army, and for 13 years afterward. It was difficult to see his health decline. 

He told me many times that he was ready to go home, to go see Jesus, to go to heaven. It made me sad when he said this, but it also told me how he was suffering. A doctor explained it to me: Since he needs more calories just to take a breath, he was losing weight. His body couldn't consume enough calories to make up for it. He just wasn't hungry much in the last six months. He saw a doctor in January that was worried about his weight. He told him to eat more ice cream-- a scoop before lunch and dinner. He did do that, but by that time it didn't make much difference.

He was in the hospital for most of the last 5 weeks of his life. The doctors and nurses were wonderful. He was depressed, and honestly, I can't blame him. His quality of life was very low. He couldn't do much besides sit and sleep. Toward the end, it got harder for him to stand, or to feed himself. This was a struggle for me because he was always so strong and capable. He was moved into the hospice center just two days before he passed away. It was a beautiful place, but he never really saw it. He slept all of the time then. He passed away at about 6:15 a.m. My mom and sister were there with me. I'm so thankful that they were. My husband came right away.

My siblings all live in other states or towns, more than 4 hour's drive away. I took care of my Dad and Mom a lot in the past year. I saw them nearly every day for the past 6 weeks. Now my Dad is just gone. It is hard to wrap my brain around, and my heart too. He was ALWAYS there when I needed him. He prayed for me every day. If I asked him to pray about something, I knew that he did it. 

My Dad was my hero, the first man that I ever loved. He was understanding, compassionate, a great listener, a great advisor, the best Dad EVER, and a great friend.

Here he is trying on my glasses!

He was funny and loved a good Dad joke. He made us laugh all of the time. He passed it on to his children. We all enjoy laughing, puns, and jokes and we laugh often when we are together. My dad would often pick us up after sports practice, play practice, or whatever activity we were involved in. If we walked in front of his truck, he would honk the horn to scare us, and then laugh and laugh. If the passenger door was locked, he would wave at you from the driver’s side before he unlocked the door. And you know what? I do that to my kids too.

All I can say now is that I just miss my Dad. I miss his hugs, his laugh, his voice, and his smile. I wish I could hug him one more time. Will you do something for me? Will you hug your kids, husband/wife, and parents a little longer for me? 

I'll try to post more about his memorial service next week. Please pray for me and my family.

 

Mother's Day pictures

 I had a lovely Mother's Day this year. After church with my family, we had a nice brunch, a nap, and time to read, rest and relax. We had my parents over to our home for dinner. My sweet husband gave me a new belt with fun belt buckles (Grip6), my son gave me a watermelon bowl and towels, and my daughters gave me a Cinderella t-shirt. It says, "A Dream is a Wish your Heart makes." It was a lovely day spent with some of my favorite people. And those marinated pork chops were so, so good!

Oh and a few days later, I got a gift card in the mail from my sweet Rebekah girl and her hubby Nick. It was fun to shop at HomeGoods, get some things for our kitchen and imagine that we were shopping together. Miss her bunches!

My Mallory is growing up... she is just barely shorter than me!

Just little old me...

My sweet college boy still gives his mom hugs!

The family at home this year. 

My sweetie and me

Me and my great kids...

What did you do for Mother's Day? Do you have any traditons? I really enjoy our pictures that we have taken over the years!

Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love, he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Exodus 20:12
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Psalm 113:9
He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord.

Psalm 116:16
Truly I am your servant, Lord; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains.

Psalm 139:13
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

Rebekah's bridal shower

 We had a lovely bridal shower at our church for our oldest daughter recently. Her wedding is under a month away! Our sweet church ladies came and showered us with blessings of love and encouragement. Our wonderful pastor's wife shared a devotion about growing up, milestones, and loving our neighbor, oftentimes our closest neighbor is our husband.

I made a vanilla cake with chocolate icing, which was all dairy-free.

My teenage daughter made brownies for the shower, and I had extra icing, so I added words to it too!

Our beautiful bride-to-be...

My sweet girls...

My bestie came and celebrated with us!

Hanging out and chatting...

Rebekah introduced her bridal party (minus one) and explained their plans after the wedding.

We had fun playing games... one was famous couples, and the other was "Who knows the bride better?"

Our pastor's wife giving the devotional...

Opening gifts... my mom, sister, and I surprised her with a KitchenAid mixer! We love ours!

Her maid of honor worked very diligently making her ribbon bouquet for the rehearsal...

A nice picture frame...

She got a teacher mug filled with her favorite chocolate from her longtime friend Kim (they've been friends since they were born!)

Sweet friends!💚

Love these ladies!

My daughter with her future mom-in-law and sis-in-law...

It's me and my girl! We love her SOOOO much! We are thankful for the gift she has been to our family. We can hardly wait to celebrate her big day!

It had been several years since we had a bridal shower at our church. We all really enjoyed the celebration. We are excited for her!

Genesis 24:67
Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

Isaiah 61:10
I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

John 3:29
The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.