The Huddle

I always have a little angst when it comes to my kids.  Are they well adjusted?  Do they have good friends?  Are they nice to people?  Do they mind their manners when we're not around? Will they grow up happy?  Will they be free-spirits?  Will they always love school? Will they be angsty (not a word) teenagers?  Will they keep reading even when most kids start to hate reading?  Will they always have Jesus in their heart?

In all of these "Let Go, Let God" kind of worries, one concern about these two sisters and one older brother have been in the forefront of my mind lately and that is:  Will they always be friends? 

On any given free day, you will find Lydia and Lanie off in their own world pulling every toy we own into a different room play-acting.  They are fine.  Best Friends.  On the other side of the house, we have Elijah who dearly wishes he had a brother who was just like him and at every moment of the day wanted to play football or baseball or trampoline ball (which is a game we made up).  Unfortunately, me and Kenny can't always be outside with him, so he moves in on his sisters.  There's a 50% chance Lydia will join him, but that leaves 50% of the time, when she doesn't and that makes an antsy kid. And a slightly frustrated parent, this gal, who is always offering inside suggestions. 

That's why when moments like pictured above, take my concern away.  Here we have the Elijah/Lydia football huddle.  Elijah calling a secret play while Lydia plays the best quarterback princess. She is still getting the hang of catching the ball, but the girl can throw a nice spiral. 
And hopefully soon enough, Elijah will teach Lanie the ropes and their friendship can be cemented too. 

Not all brothers and sisters wind up best friends as adults, some aren't even acquaintances.  But sometimes they do.  I know I can't make that happen for them no matter how much I push them to "play together," but I can pray the sibling huddles don't end any time soon.

The kids played football last night while we were eating at Natachee's with Grammie, Grandpa and Uncle Jim.

Here Everything's Better

       Today was Lanie's HEB field trip and I will admit, I was a tinge excited.  I've done the theatre field trips, the zoo trips and the Rodeo field trip but I've never had a chance to see the behind-the-scenes at the grocery store field trip.  This one was a bit last minute and Lanie didn't know why her class was going.  Were they studying farms? Were they studying food groups?  Were they studying consumerism?  Lanie didn't have an answer to these questions.  She really just cared that she was going to school on a non-school day for her (Tues and Thurs) and riding a bus.  And like a mom who doesn't have a job to run to and no little kiddies at home, I happily followed the LSA bus all the way there and got out just in time to snap a picture of Lanie carefully leaving the Big Bus.

        When I saw the jovial tour guide, Miss Sherry with a Tinker Bell lanyard around her neck, I had a feeling she may have been a preschool teacher at one point in her career, or maybe a really good grandma.  She was totally ready for this group of 25 four-year-olds and the chatty chaperone moms who really go on field trips for some friend-time and because, like me, they were hoping for some free samples.

Sherry moved the kids around the store stopping to smell lemons and limes, take a shot of fresh-squeezed orange juice, watch how tortillas are made, and my favorite and theirs, meet the deli and meat ladies who loved, absolutely loved showing off the lobsters.  The kids gathered around the glass and ooh'ed and ahh'ed at Fred and Larry Lobster.  Lanie turned to me and said, "Mom! They are Alive!!"






Miss Sherry was totally thrilled that she could bring the kids back in the storeroom area to hop aboard a real HEB truck that had just been unloaded so we could take a class picture.  I think I would have preferred a class pic back over by the lobsters, but the kids seemed impressed enough to be in a truck but wondered why they weren't moving. 

       The big finale was letting the kids walk through the inside of a refrigerator to see stacks of milk, cream and butter.  For my child who can't stand any kind of severe weather, be it hot or cold, she threw her hands in her shirt and promptly wanted to leave.  We walked around to the patron side where milk is sold, and the connection was made that they had been on the Other Side. Very cool.  (Literally).

 When it was all over, Sherry was nice enough to send home an HEB coloring book, a pencil, stickers, HEB bucks, a crown, and an apple.  Wasn't that so thoughtful? I wanted to hug Miss Sherry right then and there for making the trip so fun for the kids. 

I still don't know why the grocery store field trip was part of the curriculum, but it was a nice change of pace.  I didn't end up with a lot of samples like I wanted, instead all the food smells made my churning stomach, churn more.  But I did sneak 3 shot-glasses full of the best squeezed orange juice ever.   Thumbs up to HEB. 

Butterflies and Bubbles  (Ella has the bubble part, I think Lanie's popped)

"To love another person is to see the face of God."

      If you can guess the source of the quote above - then you are my audience today.  If not, then, eh, maybe I can bend your arm a bit.  
      I know not every person is down with actors who burst into song, but I am a total sucker for it, and especially when it comes to my all-time favorite musical and novel, Les Miserables or what my students liked to tell me (after a history teacher let them know what it meant), The Damned.  After teaching this novel for many years, and MAKING my students do a reader's theatre of "One Day More" with all the parts, watch the Live musical performance, and watch the 1998 (non-singing) version with Liam Neeson, you'd think I'd be so over it.  And I will admit that the novel, even the abridged version, is a bit long.  But throw me some French history, a revolution, national pride, dirty rotten scoundrels, a beautiful child, a poor mother, a man on a mission, and a forgiven galley slave who "becomes an honest man" and I can't help but get a little goose-bumby when I watch this YouTube video.
     Even if you aren't an over-enthusiastic Victor Hugo fan, you can at least appreciate these great actors.  Les Miserables is coming to Houston on Broadway in November and I'll be sitting in my nose-bleed seats, and when Les Mis comes to the Cinemark this December, I'll be the one waiting in line on opening night.  I'm a sucker, every time.
    If you want to join my fan club, let me know and we'll cry over our popcorn together while Fantine "dreams a dream of time gone by."   
    

A Surprise in the Sky

I just finished swimming and was in the locker room cleaning up when I overheard on FoxNews about the shuttle Endeavor coming through Houston for a short stop before sadly leaving and heading to LA.  I didn't think twice about it until I was in Pasadena a little later and everyone in the shopping area was looking up.  We waited, and waited and waited some more but ended up with a fantastic shot of the enormous plane carrying the shuttle to NASA.  So unplanned.  And we have great weather.  Love this day.

(To get an idea as to how big it is, compare it to the little jet on top.)

Health Shmealth

     For the past (almost) 39 years, I've eaten whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.  Today, that wonderful freedom is a joy, but also a curse.  A joy because I've never worried about the best diet out there, whether Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutri-System, Grapefruit, or the Subway diet is the best choice.  A curse because now with (what seems like the whole world or my circle of influence) trending on super-duper healthy eating, I've fallen behind.  Gone are the days of the old food pyramid, the "get a balanced diet" mantra.  Something new has taken its place.
       The first person I know who became gluten-free always had headaches, so take away gluten, and the headaches were gone.  I thought it was pretty clever that he recognized the cause.  The next person had Crohn's disease, so she couldn't have dairy, so that seemed like a good thing to get rid of.  The next one couldn't eat corn so gone were tortilla chips.  Another quit eating processed foods, but instead used ingredients from home and now she looks fantastic. Now, there's a boom of Paleo and Primal eating that encourges eating only high-quality meats and organic vegetables and shuns all dairy, soy, gluten, corn, sugars, and so much more.  But every person I know who has made these elimination changes will never look back.  They swear by the changes in their life, their energy levels, their pain-free living, and their overall health. It sounds wonderful.  And I would love to have their constitution. 
       So why is this stressing me out so much?  Because I have pain and I want to get rid of it, inflammatory-drug free.  My first attempts at healthy eating have been good.  I've not had my usual nightly sherbet or Fruity Pebbles for weeks.  I haven't had oatmeal, milk, bread or peanut butter or much cheese (hear my tears).  And truly, I feel like I deserve an award, a great shiny medal because of that.  But if I want to follow the path of those who "feel great" I have to do more, much more.  I just don't know if I can, or if I want to. 
     The complication is in the research.  I will search a medical website for a list of super-foods for inflammation and then research another website for best vitamins for energy, and then another for foods to eliminate and I can never find total agreement. And the researcher-librarian in me finds that a bit fishy.  (Helpful tip: all medical professionals agree that fishy food is great for your diet.  So if you like kale and seaweed and salmon, you're good to go.)  Along with looking at specific foods that help and hurt the body, I've also looked at more direct therapy routes and I'm blasted with so many different types.  I've seen a physical therapist, several in fact, a few chiropractors, and had many deep tissue massages.  I have a friend who is a therapist who focuses on decompression and stabilization and she has helped me with those exercises and I've been looking at Active Release Therapy, a newer way to work the tissues.  And (sorry that this keeps going) this past week I tried Acupuncture for the first time.  There I learned that my chi energy comes from my kidneys.  And about 3 herbs I should be taking.
    My mind is spinning.  Isn't yours?  And I get angry.  So very angry that there's not an easy answer.
    What's a self-absorbed, dis-contented girl in neck-to-knee pain to do?

    Well, here's what I did yesterday after listening to Pastor Jon in Sunday School and an hour of a Beth Moore study later that day.  Strangely, with two completely different topics, they discussed the same scripture.  I prayed John 10:10 where Jesus says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that you may have life, and have it to the FULL!"
    Lovely, isn't it?  Life to the FULL.  My pain is certainly not the end of the world.  It is merely a bump in the road and something will fall into place, be it through natural food choices, vitamins & herbs, or therapy. Or maybe it won't.  Does it matter when Christ came to save me from the thief who will steal and kill and instead give me life eternally?  That's an overflowing cup.  I'd prefer a pain-free life, but I have to keep reminding myself I'm living an abundant life now, good health or not. 

   
   

Theatre Buff

    

      I'm a theatre person.  Not that I've been on stage myself, with the exception of The Statue of Liberty in the 3rd grade and Elf #6 in my elementary school Christmas play.  I think my fear of speaking too fast in public kept me from being in the limelight, but not from the behind the scenes.  In fact, for a college drama class I had to direct a One-Act play.  I remember it was called, "The Loveliest Afternoon" and I had two of the best actors who needed little directing from me.
      That little experience and my love of Rodgers and Hammerstein is probably was sent me to Discoveryland! one summer to be the stage manager for a large, nightly, outdoor production of OKLAHOMA! I was in charge of the preparing the set, props, loading rifles, riding the horses, and giving the actors and dancers their 15-10-5 min. countdown till showtime.  It was a totally new experience hanging out with drama people.
     These days, I am purely a spectator who enjoys it all - from kid productions, small community productions to Broadway musicals.  And I'm lucky enough to have a husband who indulges this and is willing to sit through an odd Billy Joel ballet, an R-rated puppet production, a scary version of Chitty, Chitty, Bang Bang and many, many, many musicals.   And since Kenny is along for the ride, you can guess that the kids are too.  If a play is cheap or better yet, free, I'll find a way to take them. 
     Lanie and I took advantage of a free performance today of Cinderella.  It was at the Miller Outdoor Theatre, one of my favorite Houston places to go.  In the area you'll find museums, a great park, train rides, the zoo, ducks at the lake, paddle boats and a great big hill to roll down.  Even better, the play was performed by the A.D. Players which is a touring company near and dear to my heart.  They certainly don't have the largest group, using the same 5-10 actors in almost every production, at least that I've seen.  And they aren't the showiest company, using as few props as possible. And they aren't the edgiest of companies, sticking to family-friendly, comedic, or inspirational productions. But, they have lots of heart.
     A Christian woman named Jeannette Clift George, who I've heard is an outstanding Bible Study teacher, started the volunteer acting troupe in 1967 and its grown to what it is today offering both adult and children's productions along with drama classes for kids.  I'm totally plugging them so go to their website and check out the plays this season.
    Cinderella was a fun production - a little silly, with men dressed up as the ugly step-sisters, and lots of bigger-than-life antics, but Lanie took it all in.  She told me later she really liked when Cinderella changed into her white ball gown.  This coming from the girl who wanted so desperately to wear her princess dress to the park.  I was able to talk her down to a frilly skirt. 
     When the play was over, she and her friend Ella wanted a picture with Cinderella.  They certainly didn't care that the set changed only once or that the same 6 actors played the duration of the play, they just wanted to see Cinderella at the ball.  Totally pleased.
     And I was pleased just to be in the theatre again.

Hint of Change

     

      Yes, it's old news that school has begun, along with long drives to and from, and cranky, hungry kids after school, and homework and dance and gymnastics and soccer and chess club (more on that later) and birthday party invites to kid parties at Chuck E. Cheese and Jump and Jungle.  And yes, college football has begun and Husker red is worn every Saturday.  And NFL kicked off this weekend making a very happy Elijah who is addicted to the Red Zone, something I loathe.  And Fall TV season has begun which makes Kenny downright giddy. 
    But, what I'm really talking about has nothing and everything to do with school, sports and "Parks and Recreation" and that's the Fall"ish" weather that landed on Houston this weekend.  Yes, we still hit near 90 degrees in the middle of the day, but the past two mornings have been downright glorious which has truly added a little lift to my walk and put an "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" tune to my lips on the way to school unlike some less than beautiful mornings we've had.
    I love Fall, even though our leaves rarely change colors.  But I also love our short winter chill, and I can't forget about the Texas spring season or the long summer.  Really, I just love change.  Which may explain my need to change our house around so frequently.  But change is good.  And while this small glimpse of Autumn will probably not become our new normal in Houston quite yet, I'll take it.  And the kids will take it.  In fact earlier tonight Elijah went outside to throw the football around and came running back in and said, "Mommy, you have to come out here. It feels sooo good."  So for the first time in a while, we went out and enjoyed this early breath of fresh air. 
       Just the change we needed. 

Friday!

May your weekend be full of flip and flop.
                 And apply that however you see fit.

Stop and Smell the Salty-Air

Before we left Galveston Monday morning, I woke up with an urge to go to the beach just one more time.  I woke up the kids and asked each one who wanted to go.  I had one taker - Lanie.  So we threw on our suits, drove our 1 minute to the beach, and we watched the glorious sun rise.

I walked and Lanie ran through the sand and we searched for "little baby shells" and bird feathers.  We ran into one woman, who seemed a regular beach-goer who told us the area we were in was one of the few in Galveston to find sand dollars that had washed ashore.   
 

Once we found that out, and this kind beach walker brought us a couple, we were on the look-out for our own.  We slowed our pace, we took our time, and finally began to spot a piece here, a piece there.  Camouflaged in the sand with little shine, they were easy to miss.  The moment provided a great lecture, more to me than to Lanie, about stopping to smell the roses, or in this case, to smell the salty-air and search for treasures.  

This Labor Day morning of interrupted time was rare and wonderful.  I don't know why Lanie was the only one who opted to head out to the beach.  Was it because she loves spontaneous adventure?  Was the beach calling her too?  Maybe because she was doing something without her brother and sister?  Or was it because she just loves her mom and wanted to spend time with her?  I don't know the reason - but I thank God she said, "I'll go with you, mommy."  While I would have enjoyed a half-hour wading in the water and praying out loud to the wind and the waves, I was just as happy to hang out with my girl.


And because our trip was so successful, and because Lanie totally bragged about how much fun we had, everyone else wanted to join in the sand dollar search.  So we put off packing for 1 more hour, why not? and the whole family headed back to the salt-water for one last fling.

"Think I'll Go Down To the Ocean"

If you read the last post from last week, then you know that we are still in the throes of "changing" some things around the house.  It's a very slow process.  Our little spontaneous trip to Galveston this Labor Day weekend probably didn't help the moving get completed any quicker, but the respite was totally needed for us. 

One of my favorite songs is "I Think I"ll Go Down to the Ocean" by Dakota Blond.  It's one of those sweet, folk/blue-grass, acoustic songs that made the list during the mixed-tape era of the early Kenny and Jen years, so of course I had to sing it all weekend.  If you get a chance, listen to it (down below), you'll be heading to the beach as well to as they say: "sit alone and watch the waves break; don't think I'm ever going to leave."  And if it weren't for the house "project" and the whole being responsible thing, we would have stayed. 

Above is a favorite picture I took of all the people I love, connected.  It was early Saturday morning after a heavy rain and the beach was mostly secluded, almost as if it was planned just for us.  It took me just two seconds to put the camera down, and join them. 

Family complete.