Commander and I enjoy Homeschooling boys (Herogian, Hawk and Gluten), raising chickens, ducks, and dogs ( Penny and Casey), eating gluten free, surviving breast cancer, coach track and field, and loving God for every minute that He gives us to cherish our family.

Friday, September 30, 2011

Archery League, underwear, and when I'm old and can't remember anything

I love this sport. Archery. It can make me feel so good. Then with the very next shot it can humble me down to my knees.
450 league started tonight. Herogian and I were competing against each other for a candy bar. My two practice rounds were promising, my sights were lined up, I was ready to take him on. 

First round, I shot three arrows at three targets on the page. I didn't want to look at the results until I had put the bow away. Herogian was standing there with his binoculars.
 "How did I do?"
"Well, the first and the third shots are tens, but where is your second shot?"
"What?"
"Oh, there it is? Nice one, Mom. You shot Dennis's target and hit a ten. But, you know, that's a zero for the score card."
Then we heard Dennis exclaim about his target. "Why are there two arrows on my number 2 target?"
This was going to be an exciting evening.
Herogian 375, Mom 386.  Dennis 403, and Dave 424. That was our score card.

T12-Northly Davis is pestering me while I blog. He wants me to smell his underwear that he found left in a string backpack in the back of his friend's dad's truck. That is such a boy thing! Really, he wants me to smell his underwear because "he says it smells like a "Minty Hotel Room". YUK!
He has been shoving it in my nose, not realizing I'm so plugged up there is no way I 'll ever smell it. I'll die first or snaught on his underwear.

"Okay Mom, I'll do it if you do it."
""NO. The last time I ever did anything when someone said,"I'll do it after you." I ended up going off a retaining wall on a bike with no brakes, hippy bar on back and wide handle bars that spun around and knocked my jaw out of line after the hippybar hit me in the back of the head. The neighborhood kids had to pull me out of the chainlink fence and rosebushes. The teenager who loaned me the bike, popped my jaw from the other side to get it back in place. The gang all ran off laughing at me, while the teenager told me not to cry or my mom would ban them from jumping their bikes off  the retaining wall in our backyard. SO.... NO I won't do it before you!"
THat is such a boy thing. Groce.
"Okay Mom, we are not in Back to the Future! We are not in your childhood. You don't have a bike! The retaining wall is gone, conquer your fears," he whispers in my ear while trying to shove the AWSOME UNDERWEAR (his doing) in my face. Guess I'll just blow my nose on it and send him to bed with it. WHat a hoot that child is. Favorit underwear. Never heard of that catagorie for boys.

Coming home from Archery, Herogian was talking about his future as a vet, then when he retires he wants to live in a small community close to Cabela's so he can work there. I told him that when he retired from being a vet - especially if he is one for the Armed Services, that he won't want to go from a high end paying job to a minimal paying job.
"Yes, I will when I'm so old that I can't remember what I'm doing.

I started laughing, "The store won't want you when you can't remember what you are doing."
"Oh I could work in the fly fishing department and make flies."
"Yeah, I could see you checking someone out. "How much change do I need to give you? One hundred. Didn't you pay with a credit card." Hand to ear. "What's that you say? Two hundred. Okay."
Good thing it is the weekend. I don't think I could do a day of schooling with these two boys this wound up with the giggles.

Herogian had a chance at a deer the other night and might get another chance next Tuesday. Pray for the hunter's safety,please.

Have a great one.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Happenings

Time out for a cold this week for everyone in the family. Ugh. I'm saying it all came from the Commander getting the flu shot and then getting sick. I'm not sold on getting flu shots.

I did get the coaching job and start Monday if the school has all the paperwork in order for me to sign. They did up the pay a bit, thanks to the assistant cross-country coach and coach convincing the administration to do so. Those guys are already spoiling me. We will start with around six kids to coach this fall, and grow to around 20 for outdoor season after football and basketball are finished.

Commander started a Taekwondo class. It is a slightly different style then what he did in the past (3rd degree black belt) that he has to be a white belt again in with the younger kids. He was stiff this afternoon when we went to T12's soccer game. We are still trying to walk together, but the foot is still giving me fits.

Archery starts this coming Friday for Herogian and I. We shot a few rounds in the back yard. I hit a 29 out of 30. Herogian wants to team up with me this year. Do you remember last year when he didn't want to team up with me? Tri-County's Rod and Gun Club Archery page on Facebook has Herogian and his shooting buddies as its image. Cool.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Cute an onery

What a look of devotion.
 What a look of oneriness. Attacking at the top of the stairs again.

Coach D.

I've been told I have the assistant coaching job for our local college. It is crazy how excited I get over coaching track and field. I thought I could walk away from it. I've tried not to get excited about the possibility of coaching again. I even told myself that the administration would hire one of their teachers just to give them the stipent and keep it 'inhouse'.  I guess the desire is still buried deep within my heart. I wanted to dance a jig last night when the assistant cross-country coach walked over to let me know.
 I'll find out more by the end of the week. I'm praying about the finances. They could up the stipent a little which would be a big help.

Thanks for stopping by this week. Hope you have a great one.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Done with the jungle - garden

A year ago we decided to put in a garden. Commander bought a rototiller. A big thing that could run away with him hanging on behind and eat fence at the same time. We put in about 100 feet of fencing to keep the chickens and dogs out of the selected area. The back corner was alloted for drying branches that would eventually end up as firewood, the extra dirt was piled back there and a composter was added to the area.
After two years, the only things left in the garden area are two blueberry bushes, two rows of asparagus on their second year, and every kind of  weed known to the Kansas plains.

Today, it just hit me that enough was enough. I'm getting rid of the weeds, the fence, and taking over the land again as easy-to-cut-not-fenced-in- backyard. I worked with the hoe, I worked with the riding lawn mower, I pulled with my hands. When T12 came outside, I asked if he would want to use the machette.
His eyes bugged out, he jumped up and down, then ran to the house to get the blade. ( disclaimer here) He has been taught by the Commander on proper use of a machette.

I pointed him to the back corner and asked him to cut down a buttercup -something -or -other kind of weed.
"Mom, look!"  He was standing on the willow stump. He withdrew the blade and thrust it skyward. "All for the Willow!"
What a character.

I bent over to pull crabgrass and heard him chopping. The only problem was that it sounded too close. I turned around and hollered. "T12 - that's the sunflower!"
He looked up over his head at all the yellow flowers, back at me, shrugged. "Oops! Can I cut it down anyway?"
After about 5 minutes he was done with the sunflower and the back corner. He wanted more. I pointed to the same kind of weed growing on the other side of the aspargus rows. I went back to work and he did a number on the weeds AND the asparagus.
"T12, that ASPARAGUS!"
"Oops! Will Dad get mad?"
"Just let me tell him."

Herogian had joined us by this time and wanted to use the machette. T12 asked to practice driving the mower, without blades. I showed him the mower, told him to drive a path around a large tree and I went to open the gate.
He didn't follow the path I gave him, he cut it short and ran right over a small sapling of an oak tree. Thank goodness the blades weren't engaged. The little tree at least sprang back and wobbled like a drunkerd.

It was time to call it quits when I grabbed something that slit the finger. OW! But the garden is almost yard again.
THis weekend should do the trick. Three of the four gone for boy scouts, Hawk and I should be able to get a lot of yard work done. Anyone else praying for rain over the weekend?

Sunday, September 11, 2011

9/11 memory from a soccer dad

I sat next to a father this morning at a soccer game. It was 7:50 in the morning when he mentioned that there was six minutes left while looking at his watch. He said he would have been in the Pentagon sitting in an office with a friend at the time the building was struck if he hadn't had to change his schedule and gone to another building first. He and his friend, at the pentagon, would have been sitting in the office catching up on old times when the plane would have struck his office wall.
Since he wasn't there sitting with his old friend catching up on old times, his friend wasn't in the office either. His friend was down around a corner or two of the building getting breakfast. Their lives were spared. The father  was taking pictures of his young twelve year old son playing soccer on a wet field as the sun rose in the east over the trees to illuminate the players. It was a blessed morning.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

How about another job?

It doesn't pay worth a hoot ( I will get a polo shirt and a t-shirt to wear). I'd probably spend more on gas traveling back and forth . The boys will have to be more diligent about getting their work done earlier in the afternoon. I can't quit the cashier job at Price Chopper - I need to make some money. But to coach - to coach track and field - to coach track and field at a small university - too cool. The job hasn't been posted yet, so there's no holding the breath. I met with and liked the head coach and assistant cross-country coach, and they seemed to like my back ground.
 Prayers that this works out for the good of the family and school and doesn't become a thorn in our side.
 I LIKE TO COACH.
You can also pray that the school gets equipment and a track someday. For now we will be using local high school tracks and the one on post. 

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Prayer Warrior for our boys - What are we aiming for?

If you are joining me for praying for your boys, this is from the Warrior Prayers ebook.
This one hit home. As I was reading this page, one of the boys walked in holding his shoulder where a brother had just whacked him. The brother was shouting that it was an accident, he didn't mean to hit him hard. Yet, he must have meant to hit him, because he made contact 'hard' with his brother's shoulder.
The third child at this time was doing an adverb page in English for the third time. UGHH! BOYS!
We definitely have to keep praying for them. I highlighted a few points for myself.


What Are We Aiming For?


___________________________________________________________________________________________

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove


the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my


Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”


~Ezekiel 36:26-27

I swear--young boys are a whole different breed of human. Mothers of girls often glare at me as if to say,

“Do they act that way all the time?” I often want to glare right back and say, “Yes! They do!”

Parenting my sons is my greatest joy and my greatest challenge. I love them to the ends of the earth and

back, but honestly, sometimes they suck the life out of me. I get so discouraged when it seems that even


my best efforts to reach their hearts miss the mark. I have all the right books (and I’ve actually read

them--some several times!). Each day I target the hearts of my boys, aiming high and taking my best

shot. But so many days I fall short, or my aim is off, or I’m just too weary to pull the bow back far

enough for the arrow to have the strength to pierce the heart. I go to bed those nights exhausted physically


and emotionally. But in my weakness, He is strong.

Perhaps the best place for a weary mom to be is physically and emotionally exhausted and on her knees.


With each day that passes, I’m more convinced that I have absolutely no power to change the hearts of

my boys. Oh, I can change their behavior if I try hard enough. Anyone can do that. But I know that

what’s in the heart eventually comes out. I know that if their knees are ever to bend to Jesus as Savior,

their hearts must bend first. And that’s God’s business.

I’m praying that you’ll grasp this concept so clearly that it will bring you strength and peace in the midst

of your wildest storms. You cannot change the hearts of your boys. You can’t. Period. It’s not your job.

It’s so important that you get this, friends, because you’re going to want to be able to change their hearts

more than anything in the world. Days, months, maybe even years of endless toil and labor for the sake

of your sons will go by with no apparent fruit. Night after night you will cry out to the Lord for change.

Day after day you will parent intentionally seeking the heart of your son. But until the King of kings and


Lord of lords turns his heart of stone to a heart of flesh, your son’s actions will be motivated by what is


pleasing to himself rather than by what is pleasing to the Lord.

As we journey into this process of praying for our sons, let’s remember this foundational concept: the first

and most important thing we must do is pray that God will change their hearts of stone to hearts of flesh.

These verses from Ezekiel thirty-six have become the theme of my parenting. I pray them for my sons

most every day. Because I know that until their hearts are softened by the Lord, to the Lord, nothing else


matters all that much.


www. warriorprayers.com

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Casey, arrow, sprinkles, table



Happy Labor Day weekend. Sprinkles can smile too! (Sorry it is so blurry). I was adjusting the lens then 'Hawk' decided to move his hand.


This is what happens to you when you are short, hairy, four legged and come into the house dirty.
Can you see the arrow pointing down toward the left corner? 'Hawk' did this with a PVC pipe and darts from about 10 feet out.

This is the table I built last year using the legs from a previous school room table. The only problem was that the legs were about a foot in from the corners. the two chairs couldn't slide under. I sit back left and had to straddle the table leg. Bought the wood this morning, screwed it together painted it, and then switched the table top to the new legs. I always have fun doing wood projects.

Thanks for stopping by.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Big foot

No we didn't have a sighting in the area. Commander took me to Cabela's to try on hiking boots. You should have seen the look on the clerks face in the men's department when I asked for a size 10. He glanced at the Commander, started to point to the women's department....
Commander spoke up and told him, "Yeah, she has a big foot and needs a man's boot."
"I just wanted to make sure." He sheepishly sunk away to get the shoes.

I got a nice pair of Merrell Mid-high Kangaroo/Boa hikers. Just like a kid, I've been wearing them around the house.


After our walk today, I used an old recovery technique from the training days.   ICE BATH.   I pulled the metal tank, that we had used as a brooder for the chicks, out of the garage, cleaned it out, filled it half with water and emptied the ice container into it. It wasn't as cold as they use to keep them in the training rooms, but it sure felt good. Dipped in all the way to the chest so I could get the arm and shoulder into it.  I actually had goosebumps by the time I crawled back out. 
When I was training, the ice would be floating on the water. We would switch after five minutes from a cold whirlpool to a hot whirlpool and then back again for a twenty minute cycle. Can you tell I'm enjoying the training again?

Now, if I could just find a way to write on my stories while I'm walking. I'm open for your ideas.

3 hours of walking

Commander and I complete 10.5 miles this afternoon through the streets of Leavenworth. Only had to make short stops for the feet, and water refill at a park. I'm pooped.

Ready to look for hiking boots for the walk, though. That's how good the walk was today. Will be glad when I can get my rings off my fingers, forgot to wear my lymphadema sleeve. Won't do that again.

Happy Labor Day Weekend.

walking and boys

Tonight was my first night back at the track with Commander. We did 24 laps in just over 2 hours. I walked with ten extra pounds strapped around my waist and then the camelbac on top. Only a few twinges in the right foot, but adjusting some cushioning in the shoe seemed to help. If I can make a LSD trip (yeah, man) tomorrow (LONG SLOW DISTANCE is all it means) then I'll start shopping for a pair of desert hiking boots. I'm excited.  The distance came out to 6 1/2 miles because we were in the 6th lane of the track.

Boys arent' very good about keeping time when they are suppose to be in bed.  T12, though, is great at knowing what day it is, especially, the first day of the month, which he claims is  for buying sprinkles for his ice cream and one bag of chips each. The only problem T12 has with the first of the month is that the sprinkles don't last more than the first week with the three of them decorating their ice cream. He cringes on the night they sprinkle the last few drops - "it's so terrible for the rest of the month. Woe is me!"         Can't you just hear him. Another item they only get at the first of the month is a fridge pack of soda. Twelve soda's between three boys one allowed every other day, doesn't last long. Wait until next month boys.

THree weeks of schooling done, and I have to make an adjustment to my schedule, not the boys. I need more individual time with each of the boys, so we will try to do it by blocking hours. That really means I have to roll out of bed earlier, since Hawk starts when Dad leaves for work. And here I am at midnight blogging.

Have started another writing project to go along with everything else. I'm not sure what to title it, so I'll just say it is about enjoying the fruit around the pit - with the pit being cancer. I'm writing it like a Dairy and focusing on the funny stuff in life that got us through along with the Biblical passages that spoke to my heart and soul.

I feel like my brain needs to be defragged while trying to remember things in order. Commander says as long as I don't have a blue screen of brain death, I'm okay. Thanks Commander. I love you too.