handsful

Other than the fact the photo is blurry and full of red-eye.  (the person who took the picture shall remain anonymous) 

Here you see 3 young men, smiles on their faces, ready for a quick dip in the lake. 

The lake we’re referring to is currently 45.5 degrees.  Air temp?  33 degrees.  Makes you wonder why they’re smiling, eh? 

The boys had a friend over today who thought it would be cool (ahem) to jump into the lake…just for the fun of it.  The boys lost all their mental faculties and said yes.  No shot of the actual jump…they jumped quickly so no one would chicken out. 

Here they are, running as fast as their little frozen legs will carry them up to the shower in the basement.  Three guys in swim trunks, standing together in the shower, trying to convince their hearts to start beating again. 

We took video of the whole thing, and if I knew how to post it, I’d share.  Maybe Randy can show me how?  Anyway, the guys were extremely proud of their little adventure today…maybe they’ll do it again on Monday, when we’re expected to get snow?  Or, maybe snow angels in their swim trunks?  We’ll see.

Like the title? I spent seconds coming up with it.

So, our kids are really enjoying our new church. The mid-week youth program is called NextGen – next generation. It involves a time of awesome praise music with a jr/sr high band – then some group time with one of the pastors – and, then they usually split up into same gender/grade groups for some group time with a leader.

Another facet of the youth program is called Go M.A.D. Stands for Go Make A Difference, and it consists of ministry teams like photography, worship, art, etc. These teams work together to serve the church and/or the community, using their God-given talents and gifts.

Payton is on the art ministry team. Their leader gives them a theme each week, and they draw something to fit that theme…the pictures are displayed during NextGen on Wednesday nights.

Abbey took this picture of him presenting his drawing to the team (she’s on the photography team, and part of her responsbility is to document the other team’s activities with pictures).

Ethan is on the worship team, and will be paired with a more seasoned guitar player until the time comes when he can join in. He can’t wait.

The theme this week was “everlasting worship” – meaning we can worship God in everything we do. Payton came up with this…

He’s the player helping his opponent up…having a good attitude in sports is a hard thing to do, but when you do, God wins. I loved it, and was very proud of his creation.

One activity that Ethan and Marley have really gotten into since we moved onto the lake is fishing – they love it. Marley was very happy that she caught this big catfish this week! The catfish was less than thrilled…but, he got to re-join his catfish friends soon after this shot was taken.

Now, the cookies…Payton promised Lainey that they could make something the other day and thankfully I had an easy cookie mix in the pantry. With only a little help from me in the stirring department, they did it all themselves.

Lainey, learning the ever-crucial part of making peanut butter cookies. The criss-cross. Check out that technique!

The first bite – success! And, since Marley won’t go near a peanut butter cookie (can you imagine NOT liking peanut butter?!?), we had lots to go around. In fact, I think there are still a few in the kitchen.

Time to wrap this post up, mama needs a cookie.

Saturdays are FULL these days! Payton is playing basketball in an 11/12 year old league…he’s played b-ball since he was 6, and still loves it. This is the first time he’s had someone OTHER than his dad coach him…he’s handling it well. Randy, on the other hand, absolutely hates NOT coaching his son. I’m sure he’ll be offering his coaching services next year.

Interestingly, the kid in the green shorts is the son of the owners of the house we’re renting. Follow that?

Payton being Payton…they won, by the way :)

On the way home…

Abbey took this close up shot of Lainey…nice!

Then, I took this nice shot of Abbey. What a smile she’s got.

In the past, Abbey has done horseriding, gymnastics, basketball, and softball. Although she’s enjoyed them all, she hasn’t found anything she truly loves. That might have changed last week, when she played in her first ever volleyball game. She had had 1 formal practice. One. And, we were astounded at how well she played. Like she’s played for years. It was really cool to watch.

That’s Abbey, hitting it over…she can serve well, and has already figured out how to direct her hits to where she wants them to go.

The team. See the guy with the brown shirt? Yes, that’s Randy. Coaching Abbey’s team. Has he ever coached volleyball? Nah. But, they needed coaches and Randy is most definitely a coach. Thankfully, the other guy standing there KNOWS volleyball inside and out, but doesn’t know how to coach a team. They’re the perfect couple. I mean, coaching team.

This past weekend, Payton’s game was at 9am, and then Abbey had games at 2 and 3:30. A total of 4 hours spent in a gym. But, we’re loving it. I might need to invest in a bleacher cushion, though.

Taken by Justin

Don’t let anyone tell you differently.  Moving is HARD.  Moving out of state is that much harder.  Of course, you miss your friends and all things familiar to you.  But, the daunting task of finding replacements for all of the activities, doctors, homeschool connections, etc. is…well, hard.  We’ve prayed specifically that God would provide for us in these areas.  And, even though finding a good guitar teacher might not seem like something God would care much about…boy, does He.  

Driving around in downtown Mooresville, I spotted a small guitar store and I figured that would be a good place to start finding out about area guitar teachers.  The guy who answered the phone said he normally taught, but his summer work schedule was too heavy for it…but, he had a friend who was home from college who was looking for students.  He gave me his number.  Having no info on this guy (he could be an ax murderer posing as a guitar teacher!!), I called him. 

To say he was polite is a grave understatement.  Then, he told us he was a christian, majoring in worship music at a very respected christian college (our nephew heads there this coming Fall).  He came to the house, and did a few lessons here.  We’ve ended up moving lessons to his houe because he also teaches drums…something Payton has always wanted to take.  Jackpot! 

So, I take the 3 kids to his house once a week…and, even though he heads back to college soon, he plans on getting together with them during his weekends home and he has a friend that he highly recommends when he’s not home. 

There are many more examples of how God is providing for our needs here in our new home.  Justin, the totally cool, totally sold-out for God, guitar/drum teacher is just one of them.  It amazes me how much God loves us.

Marley, Payton, and Ethan…my preemie triplets who each weighed in around 3 1/2lbs…are now 12 years old.  Officially pre-teens – 1 year till teenagers – 4 years from driving.  (yikes)

Their birthday was actually fairly laid back…as pretty much all of our summer days have been.  They slept in, and then requested cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  Well, I had none in the fridge and didn’t have all the ingredients for homemade.  I did have a roll of biscuit dough, so after some imagination on my part, I presented them with cinnamon rolls.  They were good, if I do say so.

That night, they opened Abbey’s presents to them.

purple and pink camo sleeping bag

always suspicious of his sister, he’s listening for ticking.  Or, breathing.  Turns out it was an Xbox game.

Earlier in the week, Marley found just the comforter she’d been looking for, so that became her birthday present from us.  The boys were wishy-washy about what they wanted until it was too late.  We think we’ve hit on a couple of things, so we’ll do some internet surfing.

Then, we headed out to dinner…

Yummy dinner, followed by the usual birthday ice cream.  This time, there were no birthday singers – we were fine with that!

Now that they are 12, I decided to do a “who they are now” kind of post.  Listing things that really define them.  Afterall, I’m seeing glimpses of them as young adults these days (gulp), and I want to remember this season in their lives.

Marley –

Loves all things horses – dreams of owning her own horse farm with lots of other animals scattered about.

Hates all things related to thunder storms.  And splinters.  And peanut butter.

Loves to read – chapter books about animals are favorites.  Currently reading The Percy Jackson series.

Prefers to wear double-layered tank tops and jeans.  Isn’t fond of anything remotely “cute”.

She’s creative – loves to draw, color, cook, and write stories.

Loves to make other people happy, but can still flash a mean temper.

Payton –

Loves his brother intensely…can be just as intensely mad at him, too.

Hates injustice, soda, and wearing anything other than his favorite black shorts.

Orders lemonade at every restaurant.  Everytime.

Has a gift in drawing, especially cartooning.  Which fits his personality perfectly.

Little kids are drawn to him, and he loves that.

Prefers friends to call him “Tater”, and has a knack of making us laugh.

Ethan –

Hates reading, talking on the phone, and hearing his baby sister cry.

Loves soda, sugary cereal, and junk food.  Too much.

Has decided that baseball is not his thing.

Has decided that guitar is his thing, and he does it very well.   That and video games.

Always has arms full of silly bands and a rope anklet on his ankle.

Is a bit of a daredevil and loves a thrill.  Skateboarding, wakeboarding, skiing, roller-coasters…you name it.

I couldn’t be prouder of my triplets…who they are now, and who they are becoming.  Happy 12th M, P, and E!

What do you get when you combine 5 preteen boys, a dad who is only chronologically in his 40’s, air soft guns, ammo, pizza, midnight movie, sticky explosions, a potato launcher, 2 sleepovers in a row, junk food, Guitar hero, and bible study? 

You get Randy’s Real Life Group’s PROGRESSIVE SLEEPOVER!  Weeks ago, the guys were all talking about doing something special as a group.  Those discussions turned into a full-out, all-things-boy weekend.  The itinerary was:

Arrive here at 6pm Friday night

Play, hang out, make explosions, and shoot potatoes into the pond behind our house

Riddle/illusions/word search competition

Guitar Hero (boys sing LOUDLY)

Bible study

Leave for the midnight showing of Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Get home around 2:30, go to bed

Wake up at 7:30 for a work-day at church

Air soft gun fight in the field behind church

Go to the next house for more bible study and another sleepover – more playing, junk food, etc. no doubt

Get up for church

I’m fully expecting my boys to come home after church on Sunday and collapse into heaps on the couch.  But, the fun they’ve had will be remembered. 

More pics of their time here on Friday…

Love this shot.  All 5 boys working on illusions and riddles surrounded by soda, pizza, and an array of artillery and ammunition. 

Here is the “other” boy, pumping up the potato launcher.  Fuzziness credited to Ethan, the photographer. 

Potatoes must go THAT way.  Grunt. 

What’er you lookin’ at?  Haven’t you ever seen potato shootin’ before?

Next…

Set up soda.  Decide the lucky kid to drop in the Men*tos candy. 

How about Ethan?  He’ll do anything. 

jumping back and…

Cool. 

I think that’ll be enough to describe the whole weekend.  After they wake up from their naps tomorrow.

Sister…brother.  But, last night?  They were fierce opponents.  Facing each other in the…

Boys vs. Girls game!  Not an official thing for Upward.  Randy coaches both Abbey’s and Payton’s 6th-8th grade teams.  Practices are usually back to back, 7-8 and 8-9pm.  This was the last practice of the season, so Randy arranged a double practice so they could take on each other.  They’ve both been talking smack about if for weeks. 

He started it off with a relay lay-up race.  The boys won.  By a lot. 

Then, it was time for the game. When the game began, the boys and girls were both a little timid.  Especially the boys…how do you guard a GIRL?  They lost that really quick, and the game got very aggressive. 

Abbey’s backing him up…

break for devotion time. 

Not sure why I didn’t get a good shot of Payton with the ball, but I remember I shared one of him a while back. 

At the end of it all, the boys won.  They were quite a bit ahead, and then the girls came back to tie it.  So, the boys only BARELY won.  Can you tell who I was pulling for?  Well, honestly, I was pulling for both.  Mostly.  It was a lot of fun, watching the kids play against each other, and laughing at Randy as he tried to coach and referee at the same time. 

Last official Upward games are this weekend, with the end-of-year celebration on Thursday.  It’s been a fun season.