Winter sports!

It was one of the coldest days of the year. Emily's friends were visiting and 2 of them had never seen snow! We headed to Blowing Rock, NC for a night of adventure.

 

 

 

By the time we were finished, all of Emily's friends had given up...so it was just us. Sweet family time on the slopes!

Earlier that week, we had been ice skating! We got on cushiony clothes and really warm socks. We wore scarves and gloves....and we looked like we knew exactly what we were doing. Haha!

  

 

 

We make the most of winter by enjoying winter sports.We really wish it would snow, just enough to go sledding. We are still hopeful!

If you have snow, send some our way!

Lessons learned in losing!

Last night, Florida State beat Auburn in the national championship game. It was a bit devastating for our family. One member in particular took it much harder than the rest of us.

Before the half, Auburn was ahead by 2 touchdowns. It looked like it would be a great night. Of course, in football, it's never over until it's over. Auburn had already seen 2 last minute miracles in earlier games. A crazy catch to beat Georgia...and a 1 second on the clock punt return for a touchdown against Alabama.

But...last night, Auburn lost as Florida State scored a touchdown and left just 30 some seconds on the clock..and in this game, the third miracle would be left unseen. We held on until the end and at the end...we really felt it. 

Jonathan threw himself into the couch and snuggled deep into the pillows. He was crying with such huge disappointment. His team had done so good and come so far, but they were outplayed in the last quarter. His team had let him down. He was grieving the loss of a football game. He was realizing that with the loss, he would be the one without bragging rights the next day, the one to say, "It was a great game....exactly like a championship game should be, but I wish it could have gone our way!"  

He admitted that it was silly to get so worked up, to place such great value on such a fleeting thing. He knew his life would go on as usual and he would still have food and shelter and a family that loves him.  We all talked about the issue of pride and how hard it is to be made humble. We talked about how miserable it feels to hear the others cheering with their continuous war chants and hand motions....And it made us think about how prideful we act when we are the winners and how good sportsmanship matters in winning and losing. We also talked about how some people can't manage their anger and disappointment and then terrible things happen....and about how some things...that are really just games or teams...become more than they should, and about how careful we must be to keep it all in perspective.

Anything can become an idol if we let it, so we must guard against it.

The Auburn Tigers had a great season. We truly loved cheering for them. Jonathan wore his Auburn sweatshirt to school today and declared his loyalty to anyone who hollered for the ACC. One day later, I can tell he still wishes things had been different, but he's fine and he's upstairs playing Madden 25 and life goes on! 

Sometimes you learn more when you lose, but I agree...it would have been nice to see them win!
War Eagle!

A little of this and that...Christmas Edition!

Presents with simple wrapping!

 Picking out the perfect Christmas tree! 

Not this one!

 Enjoying the glow of the tree!

Outdoor Decorations!

Miracles!

Young Life Fall Weekend!

 

 Visitors come to town! 

Brothers cooking in the kitchen!

 Serving the kiddos!

Silly games and crazy guesses!

Fire Pit fun!

 

 Learning how to ride a long board!

 Worship and togetherness!

 Dollar Tree secret shopping!

 Dressing up for another Nerf war!

 A school field trip to Charleston!

Opening presents form Nana! Score!

Chick Fil A Christmas Party!

The Panthers secure a place in the playoffs!

A new, really fun and hilarious game! 

Ice Skating Fun!

 Gingerbread Lane at The Ballantyne Resort!

 It's Christmas Eve... Word!

"Frozen" and fabulous!

 Cousins on Christmas!

And today...these beauties come to visit!
A summer camp reunion!
And our Christmas Break continues....

A FREE day!

Today, Jonathan stayed home from school. 
He wasn't sick. He didn't have an appointment. He just needed a day off for no reason.

I had an early morning meeting. He slept in.  He invited me to take him out to lunch.  I said, "Sure!"  We had the lunch special at the Chinese restaurant that we love.  We ate way too much.  Then we did a little shoe shopping and got home in time for him to meet his brother at the bus stop.  Tonight he is watching Monday Night Football and dancing around in the living room.

I was hopeful that his free day was all he had dreamed it would be. I asked him to be sure. Turns out it wasn't something that he dreamed about at all. He was just hoping for a day to chill and not have to go to school. Mission accomplished. Now it's back to school and no more free days. At least it will be a short week.

Sometimes, I just feel like saying "Yes!"  And then, I'm glad I did!
I hope you don't think I'm easy....or a push over.

Grown-up Scardey Cat!

One of the best things about living in the Carolinas is the fact that in a few hours time we can be sitting on the sand with our toes in the Atlantic or hanging over the side of a mountain enjoying the spectacular view.

 

On this particular day, we were hiking and hanging over and enjoying the view from the top of Crowders Mountain. The trail begins in Kings Mountain, NC about 45 minutes outside of Charlotte. The trail takes about a half an hour to hike and the last 378 steps are up a man made staircase.  There are also a few places along the way that registered climbers can climb up the side of a cliff or repel down from the top. The uphill trek and never ending staircase was enough for me.

 

That day, I realized that even though I love this type of adventure, I am much more comfortable when my children are very close by or preferably not there at all. Seeing them run up ahead and look over the edge and climb up a little higher turns me into a nervous Nellie. I am not a scardey cat. I am protective and seeing my dearest loved ones no more than 6 inches from falling hundreds of feet to the ground below...it can surely turn my tummy inside out. My children see my nerves and assume I am scared of heights or wimpy or non-adventurous.

 

 

At one point, we followed a climber and his dog. I kept thinking about the poor dog falling and how devastating that would be. The man assured me that the dog was much safer and more aware of the surroundings than any of the rest of us. I'm sure he was right. Even still, my day hike would have been much more relaxing without the kids and that dog to worry about.

 

The hike down involved a lot of trotting and running. The older folks, like me, were complaining about our knees. At one point we trotted back and forth across the mountain, like snow skiers do when they want to slow down. The kids beat us down the mountain just as they had beaten us on the way up. We found them at the bath house, playing with a pay phone. I'm not sure that they had ever seen a real, working pay phone.

 

A few minutes later, while we were enjoying some cantaloupe and cheese crackers, a police officer arrived and walked over to our picnic table. Someone had dialed 911 from that interesting pay phone and hung up when the operator answered. No one confessed, but all of the children got a lesson in 911 emergencies and the importance of only calling when there is a real emergency. The officer had been stationed in the park all day and did not call the ladder trucks and medics, thankfully. When the operator had called back, someone else answered and told them that there were some children playing with the pay phone. I'm certain that Zac thought someone was going to jail. If it was him, he will not ever do it again.

A mountain adventure with a reminder for me. While youngsters have little fear, growing older makes me weak in the knees and it turns my tummy inside out. 

It is just me?

Linking up here with Ms Jenny for another edition of alphabe-Thursday! G is for Grown-up scardey cat..and gulp..and geeez...and get-back from the edge of that cliff pleeease!