Football and Tamales

We have officially shunned traditional Thanksgiving food for food we are truly thankful for.  Our feast consists of tamales fresh from San Antonio, thanks to Scot's brother, red and green chile, black beans, tortillas, and a salad thrown in for good measure.  Let me tell you, there were 10 VERY grateful people at our table last night........it was good eating!

I made the green chile, Scot made the red.  It wasn't a contest, I promise.  I absolutely put behind my competitive tendencies and never, ever measured the pots to see which one was more popular.  I also didn't even think about telling Scot that he couldn't make his chile for our Thanksgiving meal in an effort to dominate the chile portion of the meal.......I would never do that and then have to make up for my moment of craziness with a secret kiss in the pantry....never.  Just for the record, they were both pretty amazing, but more of my chile was eaten and that's just a fact, people.

Piled up in the TV room for the A&M vs UT game.  All of our Aggies and Longhorns behaved themselves..........even though the game was very much dominated by UT.  

I did take some time out yesterday to spend by myself.  I had gone running with my sister and her roommate, who are triatheletes, so my recovery took some time!  It was nice to hear the conversation and laughter in a house full of family and friends.  It was good to remember the things I am truly thankful for.  

• A God that loves me unconditionally and serves up more grace and mercy than I ever deserve.
• A husband that loves and respects me and makes me laugh on a regular basis.
• Kids that keep me young and remind me daily to expect the unexpected.
• Family that stands by you when everyone else fades away.
• Friends that love me.

A broken heart

My heart is breaking for my little boy.  We have watched him struggle in 4th grade all year long, but have just finally gotten him to admit that he's being bullied at school.  

I want to wrap him up in my arms and hide in a corner to keep him from being hurt.  I want him to stop trying so very hard to regain favor with the boys that have chosen to tease and make fun of him.   I want to magically restore his confidence so he will believe in himself again.   I want to go to the school and wring some 9 year old necks.  

We are trying to figure out where the line is between teaching your child how to face and overcome adversity and flat out removing your child from a difficult situation.  

Please pray for us as we try to work through this.  

T-I-T-A-N-S

We had a HUGE game today.  We played the Keith Bears, an undefeated team with big, big egos.  One of their coaches is a PE coach at our school and one of the players is the son of our Assistant Principal at school.  The boys were ready for them and we ended up with a tied game of 12 all.  I paced the sideline the whole time because I just get too nervous to watch.  I do jump up and down like a mad woman when we get a touchdown which only serves to remind me of my need for a bladder lift.

The purpose of this post: I talked to my wonderful friend, Lisa, who lives in Florida.  I told her we had a big game today and that there would be hundreds of fans there.  She could NOT believe that was possible for a game between 9 and 10 year olds.  This is Texas people.  We take our football very seriously!

The post-game talk.  Helmet stickers are given to those who performed well in the game.  Needless to say, the entire offensive line and many defensive players got stickers today.

Oh, yes.....there was face painting.  If it hadn't been so chilly, I guarantee there would have been some shirtless dads with TITANS spelled out on their bellies.

As far as you can see down the field were the fans for our boys.  Not pictured:  the other fans.

Our cheerleaders that took 1st in Cheer and 2nd in Dance at the cheerleading competition last night.  Not pictured:  the other cheerleaders.

For the most part, all fans behaved.  Our Assistant Principal's husband could use some serious detention and maybe a suspension, but other than that, everyone kept it real.  Well, as real as you can when it's football in Texas.

Quote of the Day

Courtesy of my 8 year old.....

"You know what mom?  If it wasn't for Adam and Eve, Abraham Lincoln would still be alive."

Mystery in the Candy Bowl

Has anyone ever actually eaten one of these??  What are they?  The fact that it says "Vanilla" on the bottom leads me to believe that there are actually other flavors.  

The leftover candy has been combined into one bucket and will sit there for another week or so before it is thrown away.  It will be WELL picked over before leftovers are tossed because one of my biggest weaknesses in life is candy.  I love it......all kinds.  Chocolate, gummies, sweet tarts, lollipops, carmels, mints - there is no limit to my love.  Except the mystery candy I've never heard of before.

He's 96 Months Old

I have a wonderful friend who blogs about her daughter every month on her birth day.  She always starts by telling her daughter how many months old she is........she's in 2nd grade, so it's a lot of months.  Remember those days when our child's age was defined solely by how many months they were?  That's kosher until about 2......then the division gets too difficult for most and it switches to years.  

On Saturday, my baby turned 96 months old......or 8 years for those who don't have a calculator handy.  If you noticed the post November 4,  you'll realize that 8 years ago we celebrated our 5th anniversary with a light meal and an early night since I was NOT feeling the whole romance thing.  Four days later, on November 8,  I dropped my 23 month old son off with a friend, drove to the hospital to be induced, and 4 hours later at 11:07 a.m. I was falling deeply and madly in love once again.  

I haven't stopped falling since that day.  I often wonder why I was chosen to raise this incredible little boy.   I still get feelings of absolute giddiness about the privilege I have to Do Life with both my boys.  They are VERY different and both have incredible strengths and a myriad of weaknesses, but I love the whole of them.

N, I love you with my whole entire heart.  You love life and hold nothing back.

I love that you are already planning your campaign to be student body president even though you have to wait another 2 years.  

I love that you are a thinker and were so open about how torn you were between Obama and McCain and why.  

I love that you are so kind to everyone you come into contact with.  

I love that you get emotional when I talk about my feelings for you.  

I love how social you are and that you are always the life of the party.  

I love how you pray.  

I love knowing that when you give your money to a cause, it's because you believe in it......you have a very hard time parting with your money.  

I love that you want to charge me interest every time I have to borrow some cash.  

I love how intently you look into my eyes when telling me something important.  

I love every single freckle that dots your nose and that you don't try to stop me when I tell you that I want to kiss every single one of them.

I love your pokiness....even though it can drive me crazy!!  It is evidence of you walking to the beat of your own drum.

I love that you are a rule follower.......it shows integrity.

I love that you will get down and boogy for talent day at school.

I love that I get to be a part of your every day.

I love you NJ!!  You will always have my heart!

13 years ago today, I could have cared less about who was President or what was going on in out nation's capitol.  I was solely focused on marrying the man I loved.

Today, on a very big day in our nation, I got to spend the evening with the man I would vote for again in a heartbeat.  It has not always been easy, but we have stuck together and are stronger for that.  

Both of our boys wished us a Happy Anniversary today and I told them that a happy marriage is the best gift we could give them.  I have learned a lot about myself and Scot in these last 13 years and I look forward to all the years we have ahead of us.  

Scot, I think you are the most intelligent and witty person I know.  You treat me with respect and love even when I am just itching for a good fight.  You are a good provider.  Thank you for loving our boys so thoroughly and giving them so much of your time.  You challenge me to think outside the proverbial box and encourage me daily to spread my wings.  I love that you approach your relationship with God in a straightforward way.....not driven by emotion, but driven by knowledge and experience.  We are blessed.  I am blessed for having you in my life.  I love you!

Deep Thoughts

I usually have several inspirational books going at the same time.  I am working through Beth Moore's "New Every Morning" devotional during my quiet time right now (I highly recommend it, it's excerpts from several of her Bible studies in easy, daily reads), but I've also been reading "Hearing God's Voice" by Henry and Richard Blackaby.  

A statement in their book completely struck me the other day.  It so imbedded itself into my mind and spirit I thought about it all weekend.  

The more we focus on the suffering, the more indignant

we can become at God.  When we do this we are allowing

our circumstances to inform us about God.  That is backwards.

We ought always to allow God to inform us about our circumstances.

Wow!!  How many times have you heard, "If God truly loved me, He would never let me go through this"?  Or, "If God is love, why does so much evil exist?".   We too often allow circumstances define for us who we think God is.  Most of us would be irate if people judged us solely on our circumstances.  

They are wealthy, they should be giving more to the church.

They have 10 kids, they must be Catholic.

Their teenager got a DUI, they must not be praying for him.

That married couple fights a lot, I wonder if they're going to get divorced.

I am so guilty of this.  I realized that it is unfair to others to judge on circumstances, how much more unfair when I judge my God's character based on life's circumstances.

God's Word talks about how sovereign our God is.  He will lead us through the valley and never leave us.  We can lean on Him in times of trouble.  We do not need to fear, He is always with us.  What is meant for evil, He can turn into good.

It gives me peace to know that no matter what my circumstances, I serve a consistent God.  That when times are tough, He still loves me, but can use those times to mold me and refine me.  He can show Himself to me through good times and bad, as long as I'm looking for Him.

A Blast to the Past

Last night I got to take G and N on a trip back in time.  We went to the drive-in movies.  The kids I had in my car had absolutely no concept of the drive in theater and the questions I was fielding on the way were priceless.  

"Miss Keri, do people work there?" 

"Mom, is it like that light show we drive through at Christmas only you see a movie as you drive?"

"Where are we going to sit and do they have food there?" 

The last time I was at the drive-in, it was to see the Apple Dumpling Gang with all my siblings in the back of our wood paneled station wagon.  I remember the popcorn and that my mom watched Private Benjamin on the other screen the whole time.  Give her a break, she had 5 kids and I'm sure she saw more than her share of the Apple Dumpling Gang in those days.  

All I can say,  it was SO MUCH FUN!!!  There were about 12 cars in our group, never mind the 2 families we ran into once we were there.  LOTS of people were out with their lawn chairs, blankets, and kids.  It was a double feature of High School Musical 3 and Beverly Hills Chihuaha.  There are no more car mounted speakers, you tune into a radio station for the sound, which is the only time my car stereo has really shown off to its full potential.  Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgins at full blast.....nothing like it!  

G and I getting the back of our car movie worthy.  I had two 4th graders and one 5th grader hanging at our mobile movie hut. 

This would be what it looked like at the other cars.  I would say I sooooo got the easy end of the deal.  You can see N front and center in the middle of all the girls, just where he likes to be!

A quick view of the screen before it started getting dark.  

I threw in a picture from halloween night for good measure.  I have one every year in front of our front door.  G is on the far left dressed as a gladiator and N is incognito in the middle right dressed as Secret Service complete with ear piece and sunglasses.