change of plans

today and for the next few days, we had a TON of things that were on the calendar.

out-of-town guests, out-of-town visits to do, supper guests, meetings, games,

church activities, playdates...

one phone call came this morning and changed about half of our to-do's.

so, instead of all things we were going to do, we've done all kinds of other things.

was sad some things didn't happen, but was glad to have the liberty to add a few other things.

tonight, we're doing a change of plans too.  a book series that carter has enjoyed for about a year or so came out on the big screen.  think we'll surprise the boys and go see a movie tonight.

change of plans can be good :)

reflecting a Good Thing

just got home from visiting a dear friend. i am humbled by her wisdom and in awe of her joy. it's contagious. she has been fighting through acute bronchitis and you can see the exhaustion that has taken a toll on her body, but she opened her apartment door and radiated joy.

after our visit and her sharing pieces of candy for my boys, i walked out of the building thinking a couple things: she radiates joy because she's loved and trusted Jesus her whole life--decades of love for Him can be seen in her face and demeanor. i pray that fifty to sixty years from now, those who visit me will see the love of Jesus in my words and behavior and demeanor. what a heritage that would be.

as we talked, i saw the happy wrinkles permenantly creased by her eyes and around her mouth. that's my other wish--that there has been so much joy in the years of my life that it is permenantly etched on my face. people do all kinds of things to get rid of wrinkles--creams and surgeries and injections. wrinkles are little trophies of the life we have had the privilege to live out. i think it would be wonderful to have happy ones because they are a reflection of the good things we've experienced and enjoyed in this life.

our visit was brief and the goal was to bring a smile to her face.
i walked out with my heart smiling, thankful of the days ahead.

victory and cassanova

carter (my nine year old) had a good day yesterday!  their basketball team had a victory (our first this season!) that was simply because they figured out how to play as a team.  it was encouraging on so many levels.  all the kids played well, but they played well together.  carter had several great assists, some rebounds, a steal or two, several shot attempts and (drumroll please) made two-points! (i think his dad and i were almost as proud that he played aggressive enough to get a foul...we've been wanting him to really get in there and he did this game!!!)  it was encouraging to see some boundaries stretched, some confidence gained, a new-found reliance on each other instead of just on their one stellar player, and to see a bunch of sweaty boys giving high-fives to each other with smiles spread from ear to ear.  we are looking forward to this next week!

colin (my three year old) is a charmer.  he loves to hug and to give kisses and can say just the right thing.  (we're keeping a close eye on him with the ladies...)  this morning, he said to me 'can you hug with me?' and i replied 'yes, i'd love to give you a hug.' and he corrected me 'no...you need to hug with me so we both get to hug.'  too sweet.  of course shortly after that, he let out a nice burp and then asked if i could do that with him too.

man enough to wear pink

in the school lineup this morning and saw something that made my heart smile.

a dad was walking his daughter to school.

she was maybe first grade or so at the oldest.

he works construction or something along those lines.

they walked hand in hand, talking about something together.

as they walked past my car in the lineup,

i noticed something that not every dad or man would do--

he was carrying her pink fairies backpack on his shoulder.

sweet picture.

what did we do before?

what did the world do before facebook?  as i've been connecting with friends from afar lately, i've had to ponder over what we did before?

i have to admit, i think i'm a better friend with facebook than without.  before facebook (bf), i would have called every so often, but it probably would have been later than sooner.  i would have written, but not as often or written as many trivial details.  (like what office or grey's anatomy character i would be)  i would have sent a birthday card, but it may have gotten there a day or two late.

after facebook (af), i can send cupcakes and wishes and personality quizzes with one little click.

on the flipside, i know that some of it can be annoying--there are requests to do comparisons and share details and things i probably would never do in person.  i have to admit, i think i superpoke way too much.  (part of that is because my son loves to help me choose superpokes to send to his aunt and others...but i digress.)

the biggest perk is the daily reminder to keep in touch with folks you know and love.  it's important and now convenient to send an encouragement, to keep in touch, to make someone laugh, to let someone know that you care.  i like life af.

new addition to the family

our latest thing to ponder--what does one do with an oversized stuffed iguana?

carter won one in a raffle at school today. i think we're happy about this. at least he is.

it's seriously five feet long and in colors that you can't miss.

he already has a name and the cat is laying on him.

guess he's a part of the family now.

stomped

i felt so bad... carter's basketball game yesterday was a rough one. got beat by thirty points--these kids were seriously at least a head taller than our tallest kid--all of them. we were struggling with the idea of team--same two kids kept running the same play over and over--the other team picked up on that about the second time (in the first quarter). then, for icing on the cake, carter got nailed in the shoulder and a ball planted smack on his eye. rough game. :(
luckily, he doesn't want to quit--he said it's a new game next week.
i'm hoping they are shorter.