Here Kitty Kitty. . .

This post has been a long time coming as the actual event nearly put me and Cameron in an institution or perhaps the parents Hall of Fame (ahem Shame). See that sweet little face snuggling the kitty up there? Well let me explain the look of terror you see in the Kitty's eyes.

One Saturday afternoon, as I was leisurely cleaning the house(that always puts me in a great mood :( ), Cameron comes in from the garage screaming like he has lost a limb. Since we were still nursing his dislocated elbow, I just knew we were headed back to the ER. Kurt was not home so I was going to have to TRY and be the calm one. I ran to see what has happened and while Cameron appeared to be in one piece, he was still screaming in such a way that my heart seriously stopped. When I finally got him calmed down, he explained that he had been playing with Kurt's tools and accidentally dropped a screwdriver on the stray baby kitten we had brought home just two days earlier to nurse its injured leg. Whew. I mean how bad could a little screwdriver hurt, right? I thought something terrible had happened. Cameron kept saying through tears, "You're going to kill me. I am so sorry." Okay Chill out kid. I am sure it is okay.

So I head out to the garage to check on baby kitty. Upon first glance the kitty looked fine. No big deal, right? Wellll. . .upon closer inspection, I realize it was the electric screwdriver and maybe, just maybe, Cameron didn't drop it as the screwdriver was at the kitten's side. I bent down and pulled the screwdriver and well, it was stuck. To say I was freaking out, would be an understatement. Now you need to understand that crisis are not my thing, AT ALL. I jumped back and tried to gather myself because I was not sure I could get the thing out of the kitten without throwing up. I cried. I prayed. And then with some of the best parenting I have ever done, I ran in the house and confronted my crying son. "What have you done? Are you freaking crazy?? Oh my gosh. You need professional help!" (yes people I said it.) He's crying. I'm crying. He said, "I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I wasn't trying to hurt it. I didn't think it would work."

Afraid of what I might do, I put Cameron in his room and went back to the kitten with resolve, determined to remove the object that had impaled this poor, defenseless animal. I grabbed the screwdriver and pulled. It came out more easily than I had expected. Now at this point, Jackson has heard me screaming at his brother and has come to see what all the hub bub is about. Now is where some more good parenting comes in. I asked Jackson to pick up the kitten and have a look at it. (He has no idea what has been going on.) The kitten was fine. There were no open wounds oozing with blood or guts. (Thankfully. And don't judge me. I told you I don't do blood.)

Now you need to know that Cameron thought he had impaled the kitten too. So, we had to take the kitten in to show him that it was okay. During my tirade I had managed to ground him for the rest of his life from pretty much everything but breathing air. (Kurt keeps saying I tend to overreact, but I don't see it :)

We have managed to get over this unfortunate accident and it would appear that little boys are curious and do some really crazy things for reasons that even they don't understand. Cameron and Ben 10 (kitty) have become great friends and all is well that ends well, right?

Here's to many more years of great parenting moments and learning as I go.

Later.
B

If I were on a sitcom. . .

Have you ever had one of those days. . .or months where you seriously start to wonder if your life is a pilot for a sitcom? Welll, I am having one of those months and it got me to thinking, if I were on a sitcom what would it be. I think that I would be a modern day Lucille Ball (which she can be so annoying, but always had a way of getting herself into such hilarious situations). For example, last week, while trying to take some initiative with car care (Kurt was so proud) I decided to run my car through the automatic car wash. They had added these new doors to the car wash that read "Doors open automatically." O.K. Whatever. I drive in and the car wash does its thing. The last cycle is completed and I wait. . . for the "door to open automatically". It doesn't. I pull forward and back up. Still nothing. Have I told you that I hate enclosed spaces. I seriously start to feel like I might hyperventilate. I call my friend Rachel and tell her I am stuck in the car wash and being the super supportive friend that she is, she laughs. . hysterically! Thank you Rachel. She then suggests that I blow the horn, which I do and she laughs even more. So while I continue blowing the horn Kurt calls. "Hey honey, what are you doing?" I say, "Well I am freaking out! I am stuck in the car wash and have been in here for about 5 minutes!" He laughs. So not funny. Did you hear the part where I said I am FREAKING out?

My knight in shining armor says that he will come to my rescue, but it will take him about 10 minutes to get there. I continue honking the horn. Still nothing. Where is that dang attendant? Finally, and for no apparent reason, the door lifts and I have been set free, but as you can imagine, by now I am more than a little irritated. I tell my friend Rachel (still on the phone supporting me) to start praying because I am going to find the car wash attendant and I am sure this will shock some of you, but sometimes I find it difficult to act Christ-like :) I find him standing outside next to the car wash, probably laughing his head off, tell him about my peril in the carwash, with all the sweetness I could muster, which wasn't much to which he replies, "Well, did the door finally open and let you out?"

Oh the things that ran through my head at that moment, "No, I am merely a figment of your imagination" or "No, I just rammed my Tahoe through the stupid thing and here I am!" Of course it did you precious silly man. Then, he offers me a token for a free car wash for my trouble. Are you kidding me??

Oh the fun my friends and family have at my expense. At the end of the day I went to pick up my boys from school and my friend Jenny met me in the hall singing "At the Carwash".

Stay tuned for more stories of mayhem, with new tales developing daily!

Hope you have a good one!

B

Husky Homecoming 2008

Last night we had basketball homecoming at Northfield (a little over the top I admit, but fun all the same). As fifth grade ball players, Jackson and all his buddies were recognized. They looked so cool.


Here are the boys and girls 5th grade ball players. It is so nice to see them all dressed up.






This is Cameron and his buddy Sarah Roberts who were 2nd grade class representatives. I know I am partial, but I think they looked so precious! (I would date him, if I wasn't his mother of course!)

We had a great time. I cannot believe that this will be Jackson's last year in elementary school. We will be reaching many milestones this year. It is bittersweet to see my boys growing up so quickly, but they are growing up to become such fine young men. I know that God has got great things in store for their futures. I cannot wait to see how he will use these precious gifts he has blessed us with.

I Am Really Losing my Touch.

Well, there will be no pictures for this post because I have really become a slacker. Gone are the days where I annoy my family greatly by taking 200 pictures of every event. To be perfectly honest, I have really wanted to soak up the moments with my kids and Kurt, and therefore have come out from behind the camera, to instead enjoy memories where the mental picture may sometimes be even better than the story the picture would have told anyway.

So, here goes. . .the Northfield Huskies defeated, the unbeaten for 7 years, Woodland Park Panthers!! Go Huskies!

I know it is no secret that we are a sports loving family (which by the way many of my childhood friends find hilarious because I was not competitive and would have never sacrificed physical harm to win anything), that is, until I had two boys. I love to watch them play any sport, but our current sport is Basketball. Our school league basketball can be very competitive and as crazy as it seems sometimes we love it. I cheered for the East Sparta Broncos as a little girl and when we are getting ready to go to Jackson's games, it sometimes feels like yesterday I was pulling my hair into pigtails and putting on my knee socks and saddle oxfords to get ready for the big game. I still love it!

This week we were playing the Woodland Park Panthers (a.k.a. the evil dynasty). This school is twice the size of Northfield and every other school in the county and has been undefeated for 7 years! Jackson and his group of friends have had one goal since they started playing; beat Woodland Park. This was their year. It was the kind of moment every little boy dreams of. . . we were down by 10 points at the half. Our boys came out of the locker room hungry and ready to play. We slowly began creeping back and by the middle of the 4th quarter we were down by 1. You could sense our boys starting to get excited as they realized the momentum had swung and they were about to take the lead for the first time in the game. We took the lead and the gym was literally shaking with noise.

With 3 seconds remaining, we had a 1 point lead and a player on the free throw line. Jackson was standing at half court with a teammate and they were literally jumping up and down with excitement at what was about to happen. The final seconds ticked off the clock and our boys went wild(and maybe I did too, just a tiny little bit). It was so much fun and I can still see their little faces and all the excitement they felt. It was like a moment out of the movies they have all watched and dreamed of their whole young lives.

After the game, the boys and girls teams and cheerleaders all went to McDonalds to celebrate. I pity the people who were in there hoping for a relaxing late night supper or cup of coffee, because we took the place by storm. Jackson and his buddies were cheering so loudly you could probably hear them from wherever you are reading this. I will not need a picture to remember the image of their little faces and the sound of their voices singing "Celebration" as they enjoyed victory.

Lesson learned: Dare to Dream. . . ."for all you know tomorrow, the dream that you wish will come true."

Hope this finds you all dreaming!
Bev

Please stand by. . .

We are experiencing extreme busyness, and while I have much to say, regrettably I do not have time to say it! I am eager to post some really cute pictures soon and update on all the boys have been doing.

Stand by for updates in the very near future!

Fall "Break"

Imagine, if you will, the cartoon violin music you hear setting a peaceful nature scene when a Bugs Bunny cartoon opens. That is the music I hear when I think about the beginning of our Fall Break.

We went camping with some of our friends at Defeated Creek in Carthage, TN and let me just start by saying, this is one of the most beautiful places you will ever visit. Also, before some of you freak out at the thought of me camping, let me put your mind at ease by telling you that we were in Kurt’s brother’s beautiful camper, complete with a fully functioning bathroom and electricity.

We had a great time as a family. We have gotten so busy that it was wonderful to pull away from everything for a few days and just enjoy one another and God’s creation. We hiked for several miles. Jackson loved every second of it. Cameron was quite a trooper considering the steepness of our climb. Kurt practically had to drag him straight up for a ½ mile. Imagine our trip down. Can you believe I only fell once? And Jackson, by the way, gets really silly when those endorphins kick in and boy did they kick in. This is when he gets what I like to call . . . diarrhea of the mouth. (and he also gets really loud!) We were seriously disturbing the peace!!



Afterwards, we rode bikes for miles. They have the most wonderful bike trails at Defeated Creek. At one point on the trail, we traveled over a precious little bridge and around a sharp curve to see the most beautiful gold and orange Sugar Maple sitting on the edge of a very still, blue lake. I am not exaggerating when I tell you it brought tears to my eyes and my heart was so full of amazement at the beauty of God’s creation there are not adequate words to describe it.




The boys swam in the lake and played for about an hour.



At this point I was ready for a nap and this is the point where we put the BREAK in Fall BREAK. Jackson had begged all day to go to the outdoor basketball court and shoot. Meanwhile, the little guys were playing on the playground directly behind us, when Cameron’s friend Dylan came over and very calmly said, “Cameron is crying and he thinks he broke his arm.” I took off in a dead run for the slide and I didn’t even need .5 seconds to see that we had trouble. I, being the calm and rational first responder that I am, immediately screamed frantically for Kurt as I was beginning to feel sick. As Cameron laid helplessly in the dirt and sand, I was unable to help him because he couldn’t be moved. His elbow was dislocated and was already blue and swollen and I was terrified that even touching him would cause him incredible pain. Thankfully, I married a rational man who is calm in emergencies. To make a long story short, we spent the rest of the evening in the ER taking care of Cameron. I won’t even tell you how agonizing it was to hear him scream when they “replaced” the dislocation.

In any event, his is doing better and loving all the attention his is getting for his injury. During the ER visit, I promised him any number of things he has been wanting such as a new Webkinz and all the Mt. Dew he could drink and he is holding me to it.

So. . .that is the story of our Fall “BREAK”. I will never hear that phrase the same way again. And for the record, we truly did have a wonderful time up to that point.

Bev

Death in Them Thar Hills

I love a good mystery, and Kurt would probably tell you that I always get it right because at some point in the process I guess every person in the story. When we used to watch Law and Order I would have at least 15 theories on who did it and why. Kurt would usually say (with love in his heart, of course) “would you just shut up and watch the show.”

Well, this weekend, we got to put our sleuthing skills and our really bad acting skills to good use. Our Sunday School class had a murder mystery party. It was set in the Wild West and was titled “Death in them Thar Hills.” The picture is of all of our friends who played a role and were murder suspects. None of us knew who was guilty so we all got to investigate the murder as well. I should be honest. At one point, I was truly beginning to think I may have been the killer. And. . . I would love to tell you who was, but we are going to be doing this for another group at church and we have been sworn to secrecy.

So I will leave you with these questions. Who would have wanted to kill Dusty Jones and why? How did they kill him? Did I kill him? (now would be a good time to imagine some diabolical music in the background) What a great time! If you are looking for something fun to do with a group I highly recommend a visit to www.mysteries-on-the-net.com.

Hope this finds you doing well!
Bev

Pressing on

I am getting a new office roommate, so to speak. So, I prayed and asked God, as I always do, to send me an amazing, dynamic, encouraging, Christian friend to work with. He is sending me someone who is so totally not of the Christian faith it is not even funny. My first instinct was to quit my job, just take it to the house and never look back. I wanted to run away and sit down and cry because I am so not up for this persecution right now. I can’t even believe I just said that considering all the persecution Jesus endured for me, but there it is, brutal honesty.

Then, a still small voice spoke to me yet again, and said, I wouldn’t give you this if I didn’t think you were up for it. And then I really wanted to cry because I am amazed that he could ever think I could be a part of his plan. I am amazed that he could use me and wants to use me because I know the real me. But the thing is, he does the work. We just have to show up.

That’s when I saw this little pink jewelry box that says princess with little broken sequins on it. It sits in my office as a reminder of why I am here. There are days that I just want to go home and be a mommy to my own kids and not feel the hurts and sorrows of all the kids I work with, but then I see the pink box. It reminds me of Lydia. Lydia was in one of my groups. She is a precious, smart and resilient young lady. She is strong. Her sunshine was that we were having our group and her cloud was that she didn’t get to see her mommy any more. Before Christmas, Lydia came in with a present. . . for me. It wasn’t wrapped up perfectly with a beautiful bow, but it was wrapped by the hands of a child. She was so excited to give me her present and to see me open it. Inside was the pink jewelry box that said “princess” and had a crown on top. The sequins were loose and broken and I knew that she had given me something that was very special to her. I fought back tears with the realization that all I had to do was show up and love as Jesus loved me. They will know we are Christians by our Love! That isn’t so hard is it?

So, I am not going to retreat, but I am going to keep showing up and loving and watch God do His thing! In the words of one of my favorite Casting Crowns songs. . . “How refreshing to know you don’t need me, how amazing to find that you want me. . .

I am humbled.

Beverly

Playing with the Boys. . .

Boys. Boys. Boys. I love boys! And frankly I always have. Nothing against girls. I love them too, but I have always found boys very amusing. Maybe it is because I am a girly girl that they amuse me so.

This weekend my house was full of boys. Actually, it is pretty much full of boys every weekend. Jackson and Cameron always want friends over, and one friend is never enough. Now you know my house is small, but I say the more the merrier. Growing up, because my dad was an elementary school principal, the last thing he wanted was a house full of kids all weekend (and I so totally get that now!), so I vowed my door would always be open. I love that these boys love coming to our house and want to hang out right where we are. I love that they talk to us about the day to day drama at their schools and I hope they always do. Because (and Kurt would tell you I am not lying) I want to know that Tanya likes Tyler; and that Tyler doesn’t like Tanya. I like hearing them dream about where they will go to college and what professional sports they are going to play. I love watching them jump on the trampoline in the pouring rain and hearing their hysterical laughter break the quiet. I know I have said it before, but I LOVE THIS JOB! It is what I was born to do. There is NEVER a minutes doubt in my mind.

I don’t want to miss a single hilarious, stressful, joyful or drama filled moment!



Jackson after a pie in the face.


Cameron at flag football



Jackson and our friend Jack Jack with the down marker. He loves Jackson and follows him everywhere. I loved this sweet picture!

Stay tuned for more pics of the the cutest kids ever! :)

Bev

Bring on the Cotton Candy!

Well it’s not the Grundy County Auction, but it is the White County Fair… the biggest event to come to White County every year. There is just something about life in a small town that I absolutely love. It’s really funny that at one time all I could think about was leaving, and now I can’t imagine leaving what is essentially a really BIG extended family, for better or worse, that is our small town community.

I loved the fair as a child and my kids have followed in my cotton candy eating footsteps. They love the lights, the rides, the sounds and the smells. That’s right folks, I said the smells, which consist of cow and horse manure and grilled burgers! Last Saturday night the fair opened and Cameron was begging to go. I told him we weren’t going on Saturday and he said, “well I know we can’t go tonight, but Mommy you have to just drive by and let me see it with the lights on.” I can so remember the anticipation I always felt as we would drive by and see the lights all twinkling. It’s fun to see my boys experience some of the experiences I had as a child.

This year both my boys participated in the school track and field events and had a great time. Cameron did the beanbag toss and well, he tossed it like a pro. Jackson ran the 100-yard dash and the 200-yard relay and was a standout in both events. I, of course, was cheering like he was about to win the Gold medal in the Olympics. He actually got 4th place in the 100-yard dash and his team got 2nd in the relay. These events are countywide so he was really proud of himself and of course we were proud too.


Jackson was as quick as a whip in his two events.


Cameron threw the bean bag with great skill (hee hee). I can't wait until his age group gets to run because he is a fast little dude!

A moment with my Father. . .

I had a God moment not so long ago. I love those moments when he uses your kids to really teach you a lesson he's been teaching all along, but for slow learners like me, he gives you a hands on lesson, so you can see what it really looks like.

Jackson is so like me and he is highly suggestible. He had seen something on the news that upset him, so of course, he dreamed about it. He woke up shaking and breathless and immediately came to the place where he knew he would find peace and comfort... Mommy.

I immediately got up and went into the living room to snuggle him up and try to settle him down. I pulled him into my lap and prayed with him and as he settled into my arms, I felt his breathing return to its normal rhythmic pattern as he had fallen back to sleep.

I felt powerful! I love that. I love that he knows he can come to me for comfort. I love that he seeks me out when he is afraid and that he trusts me and believes that I will keep him safe. As all these thoughts ran through my mind, God spoke into my worry-filled heart..."I love that too. I love it when you come to me with all your worries and fear and let me give you the rest you so need. Trust me. The love you feel for your children pales in comparison to the love I feel for mine. Climb into my lap and tell me all about it."

Are we lucky or what? So, I am taking my worries to my Father today because he is ABLE!

Love you all!
Bev

Pray with me

Wow, it's been one of those days where you feel like you are at your breaking point. Generally speaking the first week of school is usually like that for us. To add to the Back-to-School drama, Northfield was on lock down all day yesterday because a prisoner had escaped and was in the area. So...there were helicopters, police cars and a swat team, oh my! The kids were pretty much loving it. Kurt is really getting broke in quickly. Everything was alright, but still a very stressful day. All that said, pray for Kurt and our family. The boys are adjusting to daddy being the boss of their whole world too!

Next, our house has been on the market since late October, so....about 10 months now. We have property and would like to build, but we really need our house to sell first. The market isn't great right now, but we have had some pretty serious lookers, just no deals. We want God's best. We trust his timing. I am just so ready to have a little more space. I feel like the walls are closing in on me somedays and this is definitely one of those days. Not to mention, it is really hard to keep it clean enough to show with two incredibly dirty boys and a cram packed schedule! Pray for our house to sell.

Lastly, pray for my boys. Friends. This is a hard one. We have alot of good friends. They have always been like a brotherhood, but we are at crossroads. I keep thinking of the verse that says. "we are to be in the world, but not OF the world." We are working hard at this, but it can be lonely. Pray for strength and understanding for us and the boys. The road less traveled is not always going to be popular, but there's "no better place on earth". . . We are keeping our eyes on the prize. . .pressing on to the prize before us.

Thanks for praying! We love you all.

Bev

Back to School

It's Back to School time again. Oh how I hate to bid summer farewell, but I guess we wouldn't really appreciate it if it were everyday. All my boys have gotten off to a great start. Cameron has already been moved across the room from his buddy Holden. Seems he had a talking problem and for the life of me I can't imagine where on earth he gets it from. When I questioned him about talking in the classroom, he very matter-of-factly, replied, "Oh yes, I talked all day yesterday!" Pray for Cameron and Mrs. Whitson. I am not sure who will need it more.

Jackson is in the fifth grade and is finally top dog. He and his friends think they are so cool this year. As you will note in the pictures from the first day, Jackson is very unhappy about having his picture made. He informed me that I was "humiliating" him and "embarrassing" him. Well I hate to inform him, but that is my job and I am sure it is going to get worse before it gets better! I didn't realize they got "too cool" at the age of 10.

Kurt is loving the new challenge of being "large and in charge". I truly believe this is what he was born for.

We are looking forward to the start of flag football. I hope to post some pictures of that soon!






Now you tell me who is embarrassing who?

Later!
Bev

He's always right on time. . .

My God is Always right on time. There is a song that says just that. It talks about how impatient we can be at times in our lives, but God sees the big picture and he acts at just the right time. The song goes on to say. . ."too soon and we take it all for granted. . ." In the words of another song, I tend to have an "I want it all and I want it now" kinda attitude.

I never want to take it all for granted.

As most of you know, Kurt and I have prayed for 3 LONG years that he would have the principals job at Northfield, but God had other plans. I would be lying if I said we didn't struggle during that time, but we also learned to trust and to walk in faith. God has once again given us the desires of our hearts. In May we found out that Kurt would be the principal at Northfield. I cannot begin to describe the emotions we felt at hearing that news, not just because it was what we wanted, but because once again God blessed and moved in our lives and we had such a sense of his hand on our path. It was overwhelming.

Here is a picture of a day that we have dreamed of for the past three years.


To God be the Glory!

Pray for Kurt as he starts this new endeavor.

I will post more first day pictures soon.

Love you all!
Bev

My Bubbie is 7!

I can hardly believe 7 years have passed since Cameron Heath was born! It seems like only yesterday I was snuggling him up in his snuggly sleepers and rocking him to sleep. I so miss those moments, but make no mistake, he is still my little "Cammy Bear." He is such a precious young man. He is growing to love the Lord more everyday which has been our prayer since before his was born.

I was looking at my favorite picture of him yesterday. He was 2 in the picture and had the most adorable curly blonde hair you have ever seen. He had this smile that I am sure could melt Anarctica. It reminded me of the little boy that he was at 2. He was an absolute ray of sunshine and had an infectious love of life. Every morning he would wake up and come into our room and pull the curtains back and say, "Mommy, Daddy, wake up! It's sunny day!" Cameron continues to bring sunshine into our lives every day! At 7, he loves his friends, he has a great imagination and the wit of his father. Not a day goes by that he does not have us doubled over with laugher.

Lord, we thank you for the sweet gift of Cameron. I cannot imagine life without him. Every day he teaches us so much about your love for us. We are so blessed to know him.

Happy Birthday Cameron!

I'm Back!!

Well, I checked out of blogging for a while, but have been peer pressured to come back. Hopefully I will be able to stay current this time around. We have had a very busy summer filled with baseball,camps, vacation, church activities and trips to the pool. I have already headed back to work and the boys are about to hit the books again. Surprisingly, they are excited. Even Cameron, who is not a huge fan of school and all the structure that goes with it. (I couldn't agree with him more!) Kurt has worked all summer as he FINALLY got the principals job at Northfield!!! He has worked very hard all summer, but has loved every minute of it. We are counting our blessings.

It's been a great summer, but it's back to the real world.

We'll talk soon!
Bev