Day one Summer Vacation. . .

My kids slept till 9am.  Yahoooooo!!!  I didn't of course.  For some reason I could not sleep today.   Normally I could have and would have pleaded to have slept that long.  Today we have been lazy bones, staying in our jammies till two.  I did make the boys help me with laundry and do some reading.  I have decided I am tired of the huffing and puffing when I ask  them to do something so, I have been making them do push ups when they start.  I can't really tell if it has helped just yet.  They are getting very good at their push ups though.  Jack can knock out 20 in a snap with perfect form.  Thomas takes a little longer.  I figure they will either be the best mannered boys in town or they will have arms like "the Rock."    I am just so tired of the sassy mouth they have at times.   I figure the push ups will help them get ready for football this fall too.
We are officailly done with baseball and on the last game of the season Thomas hit a home run.  A legitimate home run, out to right center.  He brought in 2 runs with that hit.   He was so excited and so was everyone else.  He had been in a bit of a hitting slump.  What a way to come out of it?   I was trying to video tape it.  I got the hit and him running to first base then all you see is the chain link fence and you hear me screaming run!  I then pick him back up again running from third base home.  I did get him crossing home plate with his hands over his head jumping up and down.  It was pretty funny.  I am glad I have that though.  I have one of Jack when he played t-ball and he is floating around the bases like a butterfly, flapping his arms.  That one I think I will show when he is in High School.

First Anual Crater Water Balloon Fight. . .

Yes, you read it right.  I decided that I would engage in  a water balloon fight with my kids.  Today was their last day of school and I thought this would be a good release.  I helped do the water balloons for the class party yesterday and the kids had so much fun I figured why not.
I left 4 balloons filled up on the porch with a note telling the kids to each take two and meet me in the back yard.  I heard them at the door I ran outside to surprise them.  Boy were they surprised.  I lay in wait to ambush them.   I had about 40 balloons that we threw like crazy at each other.  They are not as fragile as I thought they would be, the balloons I mean.  Some did not bust when they hit you. 
Our Summer is off to a loud start.   The boys are so glad to be out of school.  Thomas has a game tonight and then a make up game tomorrow.  Then we will be officailly lazy summer folks.  Yeah!!!

Gearing up for Summer

Well, as school comes to a close, we look forward to a long lazy summer.   My kids are looking forward to being able to sleep in and stay in their pjs' longer.  They love to lounge in their jammies.   Other than Mark getting up to go to work I to might get to sleep in.  Huh?  HA HA HA HA!!  Something tells me it will snow mid July before that happens.

Jack has already decided he wants to do art camp this summer.  Thomas has said no thanks to that one.  They will both go to our Church camp.  This will be the first time at sleep away camp for Thomas.   Jack has already invited my Mom, Sister and the girls to go gem mining again with us.  I do believe I have a little treasure hunter on my hands.  
We will also be spending some time at the local Library to keep our reading up to speed.  Jack is also a book hound.  He does not like checking out from the Library he wants to own them all.   He owns several different series that he has read.  His Daddy is like that too.  Mark has a collection of Stephen King that is incredible.  He even has some that he published under another name.   I collect cook books, go figure.

I will be posting more regularly this summer to keep everyone up to date.   So check by and see what we are up to.

Sorry for the long gap. . .

Our house has been crazy.  Sorry for such a long gap in posts.  I  hope with summer fast approaching that I will be able to do better with my posting.  The boys have been playing baseball like crazy this year.  They both have improved greatly.  It is rather funny that they both had a hitting slump at the same time.  Thankfully they are both on their way out. 
Thomas hit a home run last night, 3 RBIs' and a single and I did not get to see it.  I was across town at Jack's game.  Both teams got beat.  Jack has begun pitching and has really gotten very good at it.  I think anyway.  Of course you all know I am a little bias.  That is a mom's perogative you know.  Last night Jack pitched the last two inings and did quite well.  He struck two kids out.  When he is not pitching he plays third base.  At third last night he made a great play (what else would I call it) and got the kid out at first.
We have been consumed by baseball but our season is winding down.  We have been playing for a different group and it has been a good experience.  They only play an hour  on school nights and we rarely have Satruday games.  I think Jack has had one Saturday game and Thomas had one scheduled as a make up game.  This leaves us free to play on Satruday as a family which is great. 
Our Summer is going to be crazy too.  Why shouldn't it?   We have lots of things planned so I will be blogging to keep everyone up to date.
I enjoyed my time as a substitute teacher this year too.  I enjoyed working at the High School.  I thought it would be more difficult than Middle School but it was not.  I think next year I will get to work even more since they know me.  I learned a lot during this time too.
I am finishing up my 40 week Bible study.  It has been an experience.  I have learned  a lot about my self and my  relationship with God.  I am in the process of writing my "Rule of Life."  This is part of our program.  This is to be the way we want to  live our life.  The rules by which we will guide ourselves to live a more Christian life.  Like I said, I have learned a lot.  I do think I have a better relationship with God and I think I have grown as a person during this time too.  My kids are learning too.  They  see me reading my Bible and studying it and they have also been doing that at night before they go to bed.  Jack has always been interested in the Bible and since I got him a new one that is written more in lauguage that he can understand he is reading more and more everyday.  Thomas on the other hand, has just gotten started reading his.  He likes it though, he also likes reading it to me.  Jacks' Bible is "God's Word for Boys"  it is an adveture Bible.  The one I got for Thomas is also an adventrue Bible and is more for his age.   So my Bible study has benefited everyone. 
Isn't it funny how things work out? 

My Dear Sweet Patches. . .

Patches was my dear sweet horse that I practically grew up with.  He  passed away on Easter Sunday.  What a day to go.  He was nearly 40years old and as my sister reminded me he only had one bad day in all  those 40 years.  My sister and I grew up riding horses and showing all the time.  That was a family thing with us.  We have shown everywhere.  We always ended up in Raleigh at the State Fair.  My Daddy always joked that Patches was the only horse he knew that would get a check every year from the Fair.  When Janice and I showed we usually earned some money in some of our classes.  We figured up one year back in the 80's that Patches had paid for himself several times over with all the money we had won showing him.

He was a great horse.  He wasn't much to look at but man could he ride.  He had the slowest jog of any horse ever.  He got so used to riding and showing that he knew when to jog, walk or lope  when he heard the crack of the PA system.   He has beaten horses that were professionally trained and shown.  He has beaten horses that some folks were ashamed to admit how much they had paid for their horse.  He was like a big ol teddy bear.  You could do just about anything with him.  We used to carry the flag in the local parades with him.  He never offered to bugger or balk at anything.   They even used him to let the preacher at one of our shows ride in to the ring and give the opening prayer.  Patches felt he was a little long winded so he began creeping toward the gate.  I will give it to that preacher he kept praying until the cord from the microphone ran out. 

We rode him on trails a lot.  He liked that and he knew his way around.  You could feel him going just a little faster when he was headed for the barn.   If you ever got lost you always  knew Patches would find his way to the barn or the trailer.  
My Daddy has been offered a great deal of money on many occassions for Patches, thank goodness he never accepted.  My Sisters' husband wrote a great Epitaph for Patches:

                                                              "Son of Patch"
                                                Waiting Patiently at Heaven's Gate
                         "When you get here, climb up in the saddle and drop the reins, I know the way
                           to the barn."                   Patches

Youth Retreat. . .

I went on my first Youth Retreat the other weekend.  It was an eye opener to say the least.  This is my first retreat as an adult.  I went on youth retreats as a kid in the Church I grew up in.   We went to our Church camp and stayed in a cabin more like a dormatory.   The ride up was very twisty turny and made me a little weak in the knees.  I don't do well on buses.  Once we arrived we unloaded the bus and picked our rooms.  I decided that the kids and I would stay in one room together.  There were four beds to a room.  I won't make that mistake again.  My kids talk in their sleep.  Jack was screaming in his sleep that first night.  I think he was fussing at Thomas but I am not really sure.  Thomas grumbles and groans in his sleep.  They were both so loud I did not sleep much.  We got up the next morning and two of our adult leaders had begun breakfast.  Now Moravians know how to eat.  They were fixing:  bacon, sausage, biscuits, sausage gravy, and cinimon rolls with a variety of cereals and fresh fruit.  Now is that a breakfast or what?   After everyone had stuffed themselves completly we were off on our mystery trip.  We drove to the Mass General Store.  If you have never been to one you should go.  It is a really neat store.  They offer a wide variety of candy at $5.99 lb.  You would have thought my kids had a blank check.  They walked in and began filling their buckets full of all sorts of junk.  They came to me and said we're ready to go, each with a bucket full.  I pulled out a few items they could keep and I told them the rest would have to go back.  What were they thinking?  We went up the road a ways and had a picnic in a park with swings and slides.  Fun was had by all.  Once we got back to the camp some of the kids  wanted to go on a hike to a grave yard.   Thomas and Jack were in this mix.  The hike was about an hour or so and pretty intense.  I am thankful for the adults that had gone along and for the one older child that went.  I will call him Big Z.  Big Z was a great help that weekend with the kids.   I have never seen that side of him at Church.  He usually very quiet and never says a whole lot to anyone.  But he took charge on the hike and took care of Thomas.  He and Thomas were first to the grave yard and the first to retrun.  I did not make the hike for fear that my back would go out.  Jack was the last one to come in from the hike.  I thought that was strange he is usually first in everything.  Well, Jack ended up getting sick that night and I had to call Mark at 9:30 to come get us.  He was not very happy but he loves us so he came.   That is true love there.  He was supposed to fish in a tournament that next day but instead he was on the road in the wee hours of the morning to pick up his sick little one.   We are all better now.  I think the candy got to Jack.  What a weekend.

Some days. . .

There are days that I feel I have not done my kids justice in their raising.  Some days I feel maybe I am to strict on them about what they eat and when they go to bed and such.   Then some days like Thursday I feel it all falls in to place and maybe I did do something right.   Jack has been taking Communion classes at Church for the past several weeks.  Thursday, Maundy Thursday, he got to take part in his  first Holly Communion.   Those that know me, know that I cried through the whole service.   I am sure part of it was that I was just so proud of him and the other part was the fact that we were reading about the day Jesus was crucified.  For all the days that I feel like I have been the "mean Mommy,"  I have Thursday to reflect on.  For all of those "Some days"  when I feel I can't do anything right, I have Thursday when my baby grew in his relationship with God. 
Thomas did not participate in the Communion classes this time but he is very interested in it now.   He asked on our way home from Church on Thursday when he would get to take the classes.  I told him he may be able to when they offer it next year or so.  I was very proud of Thomas too.   He followed along in the service with the reader in his book.  He even sang some of the songs.  He doesn't do that in Church. 
We had a very deep conversation with the boys that Thursday night.  The service opened all kinds of new questions from both of the boys.  Nights like that make me forget all of my "some days" that I feel I made my mistakes.