Thanksgiving 2008-Day1

Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday. I love the fact that the meaning hasn't been lost in an over-commercialized rush, like Christmas. (I think I've actually begun to relish the fact that most stores skip over Thanksgiving all together.) I love the fact that we slow down, appreciate God's goodness in our lives, spend a weekend at my parents' house laughing with family, playing games, and eating GREAT food. What could be better than that?

We drove down to my parents' house on Wednesday night so we could wake up in their house on Thanksgiving day. The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins all morning. Titus couldn't wait for Ryan to arrive so he could "pound" him! (Picture his 14-year-old cousin picking him up over his shoulder and throwing him on the couch...then pretending to do WWF wrestling moves on him.) I wonder if he'll ever outgrow that? :) I doubt it.

Erin, Justus, and Sheridan on Mimi's swing.
Richard (my brother) and I enjoying Mom's homemade soup for lunch. We are 7 years apart in age, but I think I look like the big-haired, make-uped version of him. Do you think we look alike? He has curly hair and there are some junior high pictures floating around to prove it!
Playing Apples To Apples.
Richard & Jennifer's family.
Sheridan, Erin, and Audra waiting on the front steps for the Riners to arrive.
Mimi & Gramps--We all love you so much, Mom and Dad. Thank you for your commitment to each other and to us all these years.
The whole family.

My favorite photo! This is Ben's sorority girl pose...which is a perfect representation of his personality and hilarious sense of humor. Later at dinner, we announced that after dinner we were going to have time for everyone to share what they were the most thankful for this year. Ben immediately raised his hand and announced, "I call 'Jesus.'" The room erupted and I giggled about that for three days. He has such quick wit.
Mimi and Gramps with all the grandkids.
My other favorite! Dad putting the finishing touch on his mashed potatoes.
The Feast! This picture really doesn't do it justice. The food was awesome. We had Smoked Ham, Lemon Pepper Turkey, Cornbread Dressing, Gramps' Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Asian Slaw Salad, Veggie & Avocado Salad, Hashbrown Casserole, Bread, Sweet Potato Casserole, and then two tables full of desserts! My brother actually made a chocolate pecan pie that was AWESOME! (He was inspired when he saw Emeril on Good Morning America.) Mother, what was the name of that heavenly dessert that you made? Mmmm.

After dinner we had a sweet family time of reflecting on God's goodness in our lives this past year. I loved having time to hear every one's heart and was especially touched by the things that my teenage nieces and nephews shared. Ben shared that he had a "God experience" this summer at camp that really challenged him in new ways. He then ran for VP of Student Council this Fall and shared his faith in God in his video-taped speech. In it he asked Christians in the Student Body to be bold and take a stand (literally stand up) for Christ. His principal made him edit much of his speech, but he was still able to deliver the point of his message. The word spread throughout the student body and many students stood up throughout his speech. That is the thing that courageous leaders are made of. I admire his boldness tremendously.

My other nephew, Ryan, plays quarterback for his junior high football team. The boy loves sports and LOVES football. They have football practice every morning before school and during first period. This Fall, his church youth group planned to meet before school one Monday morning for the national "See You At The Pole" to pray. His football couch announced that, just like any other practice, if players skipped practice to go to "See You At The Pole" they would not be allowed to play in Friday night's game. (The coach thought they would use it as an excuse to skip practice.) This was a tremendously difficult decision for Ryan. He knew it was important to take a stand for his faith, but he didn't want to be benched for the game. He went to talk to the coach. In the end, the coach respected Ryan's convictions so much that he allowed the entire team to go and went down there with them.

I am so thankful for the example that my brother and sister have been to me in the way that they have raised their children...and I am enormously thankful that these are the cousins that my children have to play with, laugh with, watch, and admire. Thank you.

The adults and big kids finished the evening off by playing Apples to Apples late into the night. I'm so thankful to have such a fun family that enjoys being togehter!

To Be Continued...

A Poem About Providence

A 5th grader at Titus' school wrote this poem...


The School For You

There is a school that is so cool
And the teachers are so so sweet
All the little girls and boys
Only go twice a week

The school is patriotic
Just like me and you
And like the flag of our nation
Our uniforms are red, white, and blue

It will prepare you for college
It will prepare you for life
It will teach you about Jesus
And His beautiful sacrifice

I love this school called Providence
I think you'll love it too
If you love to learn about Jesus
Providence is the school for you.

-Taylor Cassar

Photos by Trish

My dear friend, Trish Smith, was in town from Nashville this week and took pictures of my kids. Isn't she talented? Trish is on staff with Campus Crusade and discipled me when I was at Vanderbilt. To this day I can still imagine the taste of her Garlic Cheese Grits or Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup! Here are some of my favorite pictures that she took:

"Working"

I accepted a very part-time job this summer managing our neighborhood pool. I figured it would be a good way for me to make a little extra money since the kids and I are at the pool three to four mornings a week during the summer anyway. I mainly just train and staff the teenage kids that serve as pool attendants. This afternoon while Justus was napping and Titus was playing a computer game, I decided to get the pool attendants' time sheet done to turn into the POA Treasurer. Audra "worked" beside me while I worked. I was so impressed at how her coloring and knowledge of letters has improved. I read the instructions to her, but she did all the "work" by herself without help. Good job, little girl!

Have you noticed that Audra is wearing either this pink tutu or her Cinderella dress in every picture taken inside our house? She disappears then reappears in one of them at some point almost every day.

Karaoke

Scott had some work to do tonight so I decided to put Justus in the stroller and take a long walk with the kids over to the new Flying Burrito restaurant at the entrance of our neighborhood. We feasted on chips & salsa, quesadillas, and chicken taco salad. Then it wasn't too difficult for the kids to talk me into getting some ice cream from Shake's next door. It just opened and it is SO yummy. Vanilla with hot fudge and roasted pecans--my favorite!
I couldn't get Justus to look at the camera. He was too busy trying to get more of Titus' ice cream!

We had such a fun, relaxing evening. On our way home, we heard some music as we walked by Buffalo Wild Wings. It sounded like a live band and the singer had an impressive voice. The kids were curious and I love live music, so I let them peek through the gate. The people inside waved the kids in and I looked in to see what was going on. It wasn't a live band--it was karaoke!!! You can imagine what happened next.

Audra asked, "Mommy, may I please go up there and sing, too? Please, Mommy?" I couldn't resist. I figured she'd be pretty cute up there and I knew she'd love every second.

I didn't realize we were going to be 6th on the list, so we had to hang out until it was Audra's turn. The kids had a blast dancing in the back of the patio while we listened to the music. I quickly realized that there must be a Northwest Arkansas Karaoke Circuit of people who travel around and sing karaoke every night. They definitely all sounded like professional singers whose careers didn't make it for one reason or another. A couple of them brought their whole family and there were two elementary age girls that got up there and sang a Hannah Montana song and Pat Benetar's "Love is a Battlefield." I hope she didn't understand the lyrics.

When it was finally Audra's turn, they asked me which track she wanted to sing. I knew that she wouldn't know any of the songs they had, so I just told her she could any song she wanted (and that she didn't have to have the background music).

She walked up to that giant microphone stand and belted out...

"Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah
Praise ye the Lord!
Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah
Praise ye the Lord!

Praise ye the Lord,
Hallelujah!
Praise ye the Lord,
Hallelujah!
Praise ye the Lord,
Hallelujah!
PRAISE YE THE LORD!" She won the hearts of that rough crowd. I sat there with teary eyes admiring her sweet innocence and passion for life. As soon as she sang her last note, she sat the microphone on the ground and raced over to bury her head in my lap. I'm proud to be your mama, Audra Joy! May you spend your life singing to Him with all your heart!

Block Tower

After breakfast each morning, the kids go into their own rooms for "playtime." I gave Audra some blocks to play with and when I went to check on her, this is what she had built:

I was really impressed!

Titus' Last T-Ball Game

Titus' favorite part of T-ball this summer has been batting...as evidenced by the picture above. Look at that intensity!
A proud pose from 1st base.
"Woo! Good job, Titus!" Audra loves coming to the games and entertaining all the parents in the stands. Justus is typically content to chill in his stroller.
"Good game." "Good game." "Good game."
GooooOOOOOOO...
DEFENDERS!!!
Titus with baseball buds.
Titus' 1st trophy!

Jeanette's Baby Shower

Mark and Jeanette Maines are in town from Pasadena, California! Jeanette was my "Little Sis" in the Chi O house at CU Boulder. I met her on Bid Day in 1995 and still remember my first impression of her. She was this very cool snowboarder from California who was gorgeous and loved Jesus. (Things haven't changed much.) There weren't that many Christians at CU Boulder (and the authenticity of that culture was refreshing to me at the time), so we bonded immediately. We became close friends during those years and were even bridesmaids in each others' weddings four years later. I'm so thankful that she married a guy whose parents now live in Northwest Arkansas so we still get to see each other!

Mark was hilarious at the baby shower. They were taking opinions on baby names and Mark kept "trying on" a new name as Jeanette opened each present: "Oh, Jude will love playing with that!" or "Travis will look adorable in that!"

Congratulations Mark and Jeanette!

July 4th

July 4th turned out to surprisingly fun for us. I didn't think I had much planned, but tried to come up with a couple of things to make it a fun holiday. It turned out much better than any of us expected and we had a great evening. Titus, Audra, and I spent the afternoon decorating their bike and scooter for our neighborhood's annual bike parade. It is the first year that we've participated--last year we were in Florida and the year before we just watched because the kids were still so little. Scott and I inadvertently ended up participating in the parade because Titus wanted Scott (with Justus in the stroller) to go with him and Audra was terrified (with good reason) that she was going to get plowed over by the bigger kids, so she wanted me right next to her. Here is a picture of Titus and Audra after the parade sporting their bikes:
Afterwards we went to a neighborhood block party. I was surprised when I got there that they really meant "block party". There were 5 neighbors that gave this party in the ally behind their houses. Everyone that attended brought a side, dessert, drinks, etc based on the first letter of their last name and they provided the meat. Check out this grill:
Cool, huh? Only in Arkansas. Woooo Pig Soooie!
The kids loved eating hot dogs and cupcakes. I promise that I really did try to get a good picture of all three of my kids in their matching July 4th outfits, but it obviously didn't work. Justus was way too focused on his cupcake...and then he spilled food all over the front of his shirt. At that point, I decided to forget it. Oh, well.

I attempted to face paint fireworks on Titus and Audra's faces just to be festive. It's the first time I've tried it and that is about as artistic as I get. I have friends that do so many creative crafts with their kids, but that is definitely not my strength. It's good for me to try, though.

One of the highlights of the evening for me was seeing a childhood friend that I've known since 8th grade, but hadn't seen since high school...except at my 10 year reunion. She was one of the "wildest" girls I knew growing up. She has become a Christian in the past year and completely quit drinking and partying at bars. She is the only Christian in her family now. It was so precious to listen to her heart and her story and see the radical change that knowing God has made in her life. It was like meeting someone I'd always known...but for the first time. It made me fall in love with the Lord all over again...that He pursues us, rescues us, and perseveres with a tenacity that our human hearts can't seem to survive. It reminds me of this song, which I've cried out many times:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpcNHCTs7QI

Waiting for the fireworks felt like waiting for Christmas. Audra is usually in bed before 7:30, Justus at 7:45, then Titus at 8:00. The fireworks didn't start until it got dark at 9:00. The kids did well and kept themselves entertained by playing ping-pong with Scott. (One of the hosts brought their table outside!) I also learned that my husband is a really good ping-pong player and got 2nd in a ping-pong tournament in college to an Asian guy who stood 6 feet behind the table and shot curve balls at him the entire game. Scott knew all these ping-pong techniques and everything. Who knew?!?!?

The fireworks finally came and were worth the wait. Justus was terrified after the first ~*BANG*~ which worked out fine because I covered his ears and he hid his face in my chest then fell asleep. The fireworks show was AMAZING! I was so impressed! It was as good as any professional one I've seen (next to KBCO's at the University of Colorado football stadium). Apparently, one of the hosts has a good friend that sells professional fireworks shows and sold it to him at cost. It was awesome and lasted for 50 minutes!!!!

We went back home and it didn't take much for the kids to talk Scott into launching his own fireworks display. Scott loves Christmas and the 4th of July and he does a great fireworks show every year (even the time Titus and I watched it from inside his bedroom window because he was afraid of the loud screeches, bangs, and explosions. Safely inside his bedroom window, he squealed with delight at every one.) After the big fireworks, the kids had a great time with the sparklers. That's always my favorite part, too!

Happy 4th of July!

Ode to Dr. Suess by Justus

One shoe,
Two shoes.
Orange shoe, blue shoe.
I can wear these shoes of sister's.
I sure hope these don't give me blisters!
I can wear one inside another.
I can wear these shoes of mother's.
May I try your shoes on, please?
Ooh! What in the world are these?
I can wear these cheetah slippers.
I think I'd like some shoes with zippers!

Shoes are my favorite toy this week.
Find yours, find yours. Hide and Seek!