The one with Tears and Giggles

September 15 - 18, 2017
Here's to another Friday-Saturday-Sunday in the books.  Each weekend the same, yet oh so different! This was a "Betsey" weekend - as in, my weekend to have Emma and Lara here at my house in Stillwater.  Nothing much was planned, and we only had a few places to be on a schedule, so it was looking to be a relaxing weekend.  In most regards, it really was.  Nice weather, some down time, and time with the family.  Just what we all needed.

Friday Night Lights was the first big event on the agenda.  Our awesome student trainers even got a shout out on the Facebook page as they were advertising the upcoming game!

Emma came to Stillwater earlier in the evening, and the whole family made it to the stadium about 6:15 pm. It was a BEAUTIFUL night, and we were looking forward to the little girls from the pom and cheer clinic performing at the pre-game, some awesome Pioneer (undefeated) football, and a great "God Save the Queen" halftime show from our amazing marching band - all while celebrating "Pink Out Week" and raising awareness and money for Breast Cancer Research!  Lara on the field, Emma with her friends, Jake with his, and Finn sitting with mom and dad.  It was a great night.  Pioneers beat Mustang and moved to 3-0 on the season.

Lara is so lucky to have a sister.  A TWIN sister.  A built in best friend, confidant, and someone to see you through to the other side.  They may not live together, and they may not have the same interests and talents, but they will always be sisters.  And Friday night, after the game, after the lights went off, emotions of the win died down, and the stress of LIFE as a teenage girl came crashing down, Lara needed her sister.  There were tears, sobs, and cries for comfort. She needed me, too.  I did my thing - I was her soft place to land.  A shoulder to cry on, ears to listen, the gentle reminder of Whose she is and that He is always on control, some motherly advice and counsel, and she felt better. Maybe just a little.  But then the lights go out and the door closes.  And the soft words of sisters deep in conversation float out and can still be heard.  Not what they're saying, but the tone and timbre of the words being spoken.  Thankful for that bond.  And that God knew.  He knows we all need grace, and we all need a sister - by blood or by love - whichever he has blessed you with.  Thank you, Lord, for the sisters I get to raise and nurture, and thank you for the "sisters" you have put in my life to help me, too.

Saturday morning, everyone was up earlier than they probably wanted to be (except Jake; I think he had his uniform on by 7:00 am).  We left relatively early for a quick jaunt to Edmond for Jake's first game with his new team.  It was a fun and exciting game, ended with a big win, and then we had to find some lunch to eat for the hungry crowd.  We tried a new place we'd never tried called PDQ.  We were excited to eat there as we had tried a couple of times in the past but since it was new it was always too busy.  Luckily, the new has worn off a bit and we got right in!  Great food, fun family time, and a promise to go back soon! Thank you Lord, for a family that loves to do life together.

The rest of Saturday was spent relaxing and recuperating.  No one had any pressing plans, so there was lots of YouTube, Netflix, DVR, and a few books were opened.  Finn keeps both girls pretty busy as he loves them SO MUCH and just wants them to play with him!  I love watching the girls (and the boys) when they have "down time."  Unscheduled, uninterrupted, free time.  You see what they treasure, can get them to chat about what they love, and thoughts come out that during the usual hustle and bustle might be missed.  The last hour before I left for a commitment that night, we all 3 just hung out in the girls' room and talked and laughed.  There was a discussion about future baby names (Emma's not having kids!) and an assessment of the joke that ends in the punch line "Because Seven Eight (ate) Nine" that left us all in a mess of giggles!  So fun! Thank you Lord, for relaxing weekend days.

Sunday was a bit cloudy, and some refreshing rain came down, but again, a wonderful and relaxing day.  Mid-morning Emma was a bit bored, and she knew Nana and Grandpa were moving some boxes to their new house today, so she went over to help them for the rest of the day.  The rest of us went out for an "out of the hat" lunch where everyone puts a suggestion on a slip of paper and the one drawn out wins.  We even got our weekly family meeting out of the way at lunch (there is NOTHING on the calendar for Thursday - HOW???), which is a weekend must!  A fun way to spend the early afternoon.  It was back to family board games for the afternoon.  Another fit of giggles came from our 2nd round of Apple to Apples when Lara couldn't say "Swedish Massage" with out a strange accent and/or misplaced S sounds.  We all got a good chuckle out of that!  I have to say, I love the giggles a lot more than the tears... After Nana and Grandpa finished wearing Emma out, they took her home to Orlando.  We are so grateful for her servant's heart and her willingness to help her grandparents out.  The rest of us went to Life Church for Sunday night to hear more about "My Big Fat Mouth" and being critical.  We got home in time for showers, homework and bedtime.  Thank you Lord, for your Word to guide our feet and a pastor who tells it like it is.

We all really seem to finally be in the routine of this school year.  Grades are being recorded, clubs are meeting, teams are practicing.  The girls are here one weekend and in Orlando the next.  This past weekend was a reminder that life ebbs and flows.  There are highs and lows, but He supplies us the tools we need to learn and grow.  We are reminded that GRACE wins, every time.  And being a teenage girl is fun, challenging, educational in so many ways, and on some days - just plain hard.  Here's to a better week and weekend coming up.  Thank you Lord, for the time to recharge our batteries on the weekends.

The One Where Lara Got Tackled

September 8 - 11,  2017
This weekend was the girls’ weekend to spend at their Dad’s house.  Somehow, I think I saw more of both of them this weekend than I do weekends when they are at my house!  Dichotomy of parenting teenagers, I guess.

This weekend started with our first home football game for the Pioneers.  Our first Friday Night Lights.  Lara’s first time on the sidelines for a Varsity game in front of the hometown crowd.  Emma and her dad decided to come too, since they were taking Lara home with them after the game. The trainers had all decided to dress up for the school day, so that moment had to be captured in a picture. 

 

Then it was time for business.  Back to the blue polo shirts and khaki shorts. 

Kick off happened under clear, sunny skies and the sun was setting on a beautiful (although a little windy) day.  As the game progressed, everything was going very well.  Pioneers were having a great game offensively, defense was holding their own and had kept Moore scoreless, we were winning, and there were about 7 minutes left in the half.  That’s when the Moore Quarterback was being pursued by a couple of Pioneer Defenders, and he decided to run the ball out of bounds.  Straight into Lara!  In her defense, she was totally paying attention and knew what was about to happen.  She took a couple of steps back, but that just had her running in to her Pioneers.  She was trucked, as the boys would say!  From my vantage point in the stands, she looked like she flew backwards a few feet, landed HARD on her bottom, then her head fell back on the track!  Watching that red hail flail about from the stands shook this momma to the core!  I took off towards the track (that surrounds the field), but I quickly saw the football boys pick her up, head ATC Aaron Harmon looked her over and sat her down for a breather.  All the players asked if she was OK, the Orthopedic surgeon came and checked on her and patted her on the shoulder, then the  cheer coach sat with her for a minute, and a fellow mom that was taking cheer and pom picks went over and hugged her for me, too.  I didn’t get to talk to her until halftime.  We were both pretty shaken up.

Damage report was minimal.  She was shaken up a bit, and MORTIFIED which caused more tears than the accident.  She did have some cuts and scrapes and a pretty bruise on her left hand.  Not sure if that was from being stepped on by the player or from the water bottle caddy landing on her hand when she fell.  She was sore afterwards, and she said she now had “mad respect” for her football brothers who do that day in and day out for fun. Her little brother Jake remarked how she handled it well, because she didn’t “have on pads or ANYTHING!”  He played football a couple seasons ago, and he said he knew that had to hurt.  Pioneers came out with the win, so despite the craziness, it was a good night.

Saturday was a calm day – the girls were out in Logan County doing their thing, so I am not sure what either of them accomplished that day.  Sunday, we had all agreed to go to the same church service at Life Church, and then Lara planned on coming home so she could finish homework and do laundry.  Our Sunday ended up being a little busier than that.  One of the girls’ really good friends had been sick most of the week and kept getting sicker, so on Saturday night she had been admitted to the hospital at OU Children’s for some intestinal issues.  So, after church on Sunday the three of us took an impromptu road trip.  We got some flowers and a balloon for our patient, and some things Mom needed, and headed out.  We spent about an hour visiting with her, then headed back to take Emma home and get back to Stillwater for the evening.  Even though it wasn’t the most positive of circumstances, it sure was nice to have a little girl time!  They both did homework in the car on the way down to the city, but they chatted and played music and kept me awake for the drive home.  Much needed trip, just the 3 of us!

Here's to another week! Lara has JV football in Moore tonight, and then we have Friday Night Lights here at home this week, too.  The weather was cooler this weekend, but we’re getting back up into the 90’s by the end of the week.  Not a bad start to the “Fall.”