Happenings....

 January is half over. We are already super busy.  Everyone around here is still eating healthy and trying hard to stay on task with assignments. The sun is shining more each day and even though we did not get any snow...we are happy about an extra long holiday weekend.

Emily is fully into the club volleyball season. She is on the top 18's team in the club. That should be fabulous for her, right? The trouble is that all of the girls on her team are older than her and her friends that she has played with since she was 14 are on the 17's team.  She realizes that her coach is amazing. She has played for him before and he is the one who is able to get the most out of her. She also realizes that the competition this year will be tough. The best girls in the country compete at this level. Five of the girls on her team are already committed to play in college. She is a little unsure of herself.  She told her coach that this is the year that she will decide whether or not to pursue playing volleyball in college. Depending on what she decides...this may be her last club season.  We have loved watching her play. She really is amazing. We want her to succeed and to play with the best...but more than that we want her to be so happy! At the beginning of the season, there were a couple of nights that she would come home and cry into her pillow. She felt alone and isolated. She is so outgoing and I knew that it was not like her to feel that way. I prayed for a miracle...that God would show her why she was put on that team....away from all of her friends.  The first tournament was a success. She felt better after playing with the girls and got several compliments from players and parents that boosted her confidence. Next weekend we have another tournament. Again, I am praying that God will give her confidence and that she will have the opportunity to hang out with her teammates and get to know them off the court.

Other than volleyball...she is busy with school. Her hardest semester starts on Wednesday. She is also busy with work at Chick-fil-a and hopes to begin training to become a team leader in the Spring... and she has been asked to help lead worship at Young Life on Monday nights. And if that's not enough...she has given up sweets, bread, pasta and potatoes....and that is enough to stress any teenage girl out. Bless her!

Jonathan is enjoying the extra curricular activities in Middle School. His grades are steady, A's and B's, and his social life is off the charts. He has tons of friends and he even has a little girlfriend. I say "little" because it makes it sound more cute and less scary to me.  Over Christmas break, they went ice skating. She lives in our neighborhood and one day he went over to her house to exchange presents. I am trying not to make a big deal of it...but oh my goodness...she is so cute and he is my oldest son.
He has been spending more time in his room since he got a TV with his Christmas money. He is the one of our 3 children that is good about saving money. He realizes that saving for something better later is better than spending what you have now.  We always said our kids would never have a TV in their rooms. Well....it is only used for the PS3 game system and has no cable hook-up so we agreed we would give it a try. So far it has been fine....but he knows that the first time he needs to be punished for something....Mom and Dad are going to have a nice new TV in their bedroom for a week or so.

Zac is into lots of things. He loves his game systems and his couch potato time after school. He also loves to wrestle and play Nerf Wars with his best friend, Max. He got a Mandolin at Christmas from my Uncle Dan. He learned three chords in the first evening, played it a few more times...and actually sounds really good.
We have also noticed that Zac is becoming more independent. He does most things for himself...too much at times. Just yesterday I threatened (seriously) to keep the pantry door locked. I tried it for a short time. The major problem is that my trash can is in the pantry. It is amazing how many times, during dinner prep, that I need to toss something in the trash can. Ugggh. This weekend he is ice skating and spending the night with a friend. He asked if we would come by to check on him before bedtime. I love that! Of course, I will think of a good excuse like him forgetting his tooth brush or pillow, although I really don't think he would even think to be embarrassed...yet.

David and I are finding ourselves to be very busy too. I have added an extra day to my work schedule to pay off some bills to get in position to add a college tuition payment to our budget in just over a year.  I love my job and the people I work with and feel blessed to be in the medical field where the pay is good and the hours are flexible. Being away from home an extra night...means sleeping another day. I am looking for some good crock pot recipes and freezer casserole ideas to make dinners easier for all and the kids are pitching in more to help with easy household chores. So far when people ask me how it's going, my response is...steady...we are holding steady! It is actually good...with the promise to get even better.

These are just a few of our latest happenings!
Happy Weekend!