Gettin Squirrely

This is deer season, and the mighty hunters take to the woods (aka Parker and Papaw). They are dressed warmly...camoflauged and orange-vested. They are armed with two kinds of guns, various liscense and tags, and plenty of snacks.

They sit in the woods for hours...and they see NO deer.

But a great hunter will not be deterred. There were squirrels aplenty. And Parker shot a few of them...making his first official kill and so reaching the True Hunter Rite of Passage.

But that wasn't the end of the fun. Later we all took a walk. When we passed a persimmon tree, Papaw stopped to introduce the grandkids to the taste of the ripe fruit...and cut the seed open to find a "spoon" meaning that we will have a hard winter with enough snow to need a shovel.

All in all - it was a great weekend!
Unless you happened to be a squirrel!

Life Song

Why do we expect our kids to be just like we are?
Thank God they're not!
Recently, I was scheduled to sing the solo at church. I tried not to think about it til Saturday night. When I finally got around to choosing a song, it was one that sounds better with harmony. So I asked Hillary if she'd mind singing with me. Her face lit up...and with not a second of hesitation she said, "Sure! What's the song?" There was no sense of duty or obligation. There was only pure joy at being asked, and open-hearted pleasure at the chance to share her talent.
I've been singing in front of people since I was two. I can't remember not performing. I took it for granted and assumed everyone could sing. I was often asked to do it, and sang for weddings, funerals, revival services, and even a local TV telethon once. But as I got older, the fear got stronger. What if I mess up? Forget the words? Miss a note? Show the world that I'm not as good as they think I am? So I masked my fear with confidence and tried to convince myself it was real.
Then came a time in my life where I became unworthy for the church platform. My sin was evident for all to see. And I suddenly had an excuse to refuse requests to sing. For years I sat back, only using my talent occasionally, when someone pressed and begged and made me feel guilty enough that I couldn't refuse.
And finally...through many tears, prayers, sermons, messages in tongues, and sessions with a wise Christian counselor...God and I came to a solution. We made a deal. I didn't have to be worthy. I only had to be willing. And if I was willing, he would do the rest. I wasn't singing for me. I wasn't singing for others. I was singing for him.
So now, when I'm asked, I try always to say yes. But it doesn't come easy. And that's okay...for it keeps me dependent on Him instead of me.
And I'm sure there will be something in Hillary's life that makes her hold onto God with both hands. But for now, she shares her multiple talents with joy...and an unscarred heart. She sings and dances and writes and draws and takes pictures...and loves it! Her exuberance overflows onto those of us around her.
And it heals me.

Joy on the Journey

Parker is the kind of guy who enjoys his leisure time. Lying on our bed, watching TV is his idea of the perfect Sunday afternoon. However, his dad had other plans for him. He needed him to mulch up the leaves in the front yard. Parker didn't complain...he just started to get ready.

I was sitting in the chair, making a grocery list, while Parker turned dressing warmly into a 30 minute James Bond vignette.

He lay his coveralls on the floor and rolled around, sliding into them a centimeter at a time, grunting and frowning as if he had just been shot and was crawling back to the bunker.

Then he s-l-o-w-l-y zipped them up...

all the way to his chin, dramatically grimacing and panting (and clearly enjoying himself).

Until he had finally conquered the life-threatening challenge and was ready to defeat the leaves and ride off into the sunset on his mower...a hero.

How often do I approach my to-do list with grumbling and grouching...making the job twice as hard because I'm hating it the whole time and I'm just mad that so much has to get done. How much nicer to prepare with singleness of mind...making it into something fun. Yes, it took him as long to get ready as it would have taken him to finish the whole front yard. But what else would he be doing? I'd rather see him acting out his own imaginary movie than sitting in front of one on tv. And his job did get done before the sun went down. I hope he keeps this ability to have some joy on his journey.

That's my kid!

As I was doing parent teacher conferences I often got skeptical looks from the parents when I showed them the pluses in the behavior column of their child's report card. "Are you talking about my kid?" they would ask incredulously. They couldn't believe that the whiny, forgetful, rambunctious child they knew could be quiet and compliant and responsible at school.
And I have to admit, sometimes I'm the same way. Living with my children, I see all of their warts and blunders and sometimes I expect too much. So it's really nice when other people let me know when they see my children being wonderful.
A lady who helped out at the church Harvest Festival bragged on Parker. She said he and his friend helped her carry things and clean up afterwards. He was polite and respectful. And his dad and I weren't even there! So he did it without being prompted. I was so proud of him.
Then several people told me how wonderful Hillary was in the skit she was in for a revival service. And a young, newly married couple commended her for staying in her skirt and not changing back into jeans like so many other youth who help out with the music on the platform at church. I know how hard that was for her!
Things like this make my heart burst with pride and joy. We've tried to instill godly values into our children, but ultimately, it's up to them whether or not they live them out. And it's great to know that they are growing into responsible, respectful, and reasonable young people.

The Votes Are In

Our elementary school held a mock election yesterday. Each student got to vote for president using the computer. So today, we wrote about it in our journals.
Here are some of their thoughts: (I edited the spelling, but left a few of my faves just for fun!)

"I voted for Barack Obama because my holl (whole) family voted for him."
"I voted for Barack Obama because I like him. He is a united Amerucn."
"I voted for John McCain because John McCain is old and he would know more."
"I voted Barack Obama because I want he to be the president."
"I voted for Brk Bomm. He likes chili with crackers."
"I voted for John McCain because he looks like George Washington."
"I voted for Barack Obama because he is nice. Because he plays basketball."
"I voted for John McCain because he is nice."
"I voted for Barack Obama because he is good."
"I voted for Broc Obamu because he duz not kill babys." (Wow)

We actually had quite a bit of discussion about baby killing...and the war. I'm all for exposing the kids to the democratic process and how it works, but these are not conversations I really want to have with my first graders. They can't even tie their shoes.
If there were a proposition on the ballot to keep children innocent, I'd vote yes.

What's the Rush?

After a good Sunday morning service, a great lunch with friends, and coffee and chocolate chip cookies, Hillary and I sat down at the computer so she could show me the latest pictures she'd found of potential prom dress patterns. I asked her if she'd mind if I checked my email really quick. Of course she didn't. So I clicked and entered passwords and clicked again...and waited...and jiggled my leg...and tapped my fingers...and shook the mouse around.
Hillary looked at me and said, "Where are you going?"
"Nowhere, why?"
"Well, what's the rush?"
And she is so right. I tend to be the kind of person who reads while she watches tv, does a crossword puzzle while she cooks, and makes the grocery list during church services. Why? I don't know. I just do it without thinking. I constantly feel as though if I'm not going so fast I can't breathe then I must be forgetting to do something. Something really important that I'll be sorry for later. But regardless of my breathless vigilance, we occasionally run out of toilet paper or pay a bill late. And the world doesn't end.
Thank goodness I have children to remind me of that.

Scary

It's Halloween.
And even scarier than me wearing Parker's Damon Bailey basketball jersey to school and walking through the elementary parade carrying one of my student's fake-blood-filled hearts (which also happened to be leaking all over my hand), is the fact that my son is getting texts from a girl called "Rock".
He's been 13 for five minutes!
My husband saw the phone vibrate where it lay on the bar in the kitchen. He picked it up, but neither of us knew how to view the message. (It's a new phone). So I took it to Parker and said, "How do you view your texts?"
He just looked at me and said, "Why?"
WHY?
"Because I want to view your texts, that's why!"
He showed me and I quickly scanned all 9 texts he's gotten in the last week and saw nothing inappropriate. "Rock" just wanted to know if he was coming to the football game. He wasn't. He wanted to go to the youth group's Harvest Festival bonfire thing.
The fact that "Rock"s text didn't change his mind only gives me small comfort. There is probably some cute young thing at the bonfire! I knew I should have made him dress up as the Wart-Faced Man. Oh well...Maybe the fact that he put his dirty underwear back on after his shower "I turned them wrong-side out, mom!" will keep the girls at bay for now.
Dirty underwear...now THAT's scary!