My Basketball Playing Girl

Hannah is playing junior high basketball this year and it is such a blast to watch her play! She has looked forward to this day since her big sister started playing basektball. She wears her new jersey proudly.

Her first game was complete with a fan club of 11 family members and wow the team did not disappoint. They won big time and Hannah scored 13 points. We were so excited!

Monday night they played again...and they won...and she scored 10 points. She is loving every minute of it. She is fiercely competitive....I wonder where she gets that. Ha! Bless her heart, she has competitive genes from both sides of the family.

I worried that this might be a little hard on Rachel since she is not able to play basketball this year. It has been hard to watch her fellow high school friends playing basketball without her but in all of her courage and grace she has managed to attend a few games to watch her friends play and cheer them on.

Rachel is just as excited about Hannah's game as Hannah is. Before Hannah's first game, I made a photo button of Hannah for me to wear to school and Rachel quickly asked me to make one for her too. She has worn Hannah's button to the high school before every game. I love the sweet sisterhood God has blessed my girls with.

{I have tears streaming down my cheeks because this is the relationship I prayed that they would have and it is even sweeter than I imagined.}

On another note, thank you for your continued prayers for Rachel. This has been a tough week for her physically. She always has a headache but this week's headaches seem to be enormous and she is struggling with muscle twitching, numbness in her extremities, and muscle weakness. In spite of all of this, she has been able to go to school and we are so thankful for that.

My Big 4-0 Blessing!

"He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy." Job 8:21

Yesterday was my BIG birthday....the big 40...I can't believe it. My family and my colleagues surprised me big time!! The day was filled with absolute joy and laughter....which was just what I needed considering what would be taking place in exactly one week. God's timing is always amazing to me. He has it all absolutely timed perfectly.

Would you like to see what my parents and my co-workers did? Mom and Dad decorated both of my classroom doors:

Rachel helped my mom Photoshop some bows to add to my pictures. I have always loved bows. I played basketball and volleyball at Martin High School and I always had a bow. I was a Baylor bow-head too:

Here are more glimpses from my fabulously decorated classroom:

My sports car from high school~it was a Pontiac Fiero and I thought I was the bomb in that car. It was the coolest car...thanks Mom and Dad!

I laughed a little when one of my students asked me about the car. I think she quipped that she had never seen one of those and do they still make them-oiy!

My principal picked out this beautiful cake complete with Baylor green frosting:

This is what I saw on the front doors of the high school when I came to school yesterday morning:

Oh my goodness!

My pictures were everywhere...on bathroom doors, the refrigerator, every hall way. I didn't realize how many hairstyles and colors I have had until I saw them all on the walls. One of my students asked me what my real hair color was and I just had to laugh.

My basketball picture was plastered on the gym window....complete with my short-shorts that we had to wear (way back in the 80's). One of the teachers put a post-it-note on the picture saying that my shorts were a dress code violation. Ha!

And my birthday tiara, I felt so special:

It was a fun, joy-filled day to remember! I believe that I am blessed with the most wonderful family and co-workers ever. Thank you for making my 40th birthday so special....it was just what my heart needed one week before Rachel's surgery.

Sleeping Beneath the Cross

Good Morning Sweet Friends,

I don't know where to begin. It has been nearly two weeks since my last post-sigh. So much has happened in two weeks. I have been quite busy. This Momma's heart of mine has been in full nesting mode. I have had a to-do list a mile long. I have taken down every bit of greenery in my house and cleaned it all....nearly every nook and cranny (who made those words up?) is clean and organized (I am afraid to look in Hannah's closet!). I want to make sure that our home is extra clean and neat for when Rachel gets home from the hospital.

Mr. Incredible couldn't believe all that I was doing and he encouraged me that our home is always clean and neat but I just felt the need to get it all ready for when we come home. I want to be able to just take care of our daughter without having to worry about getting our home ready for Christmas. Yes, my decorations are up which is a little earlier than normal. I always look forward to decorating our home for Christmas and I try to always do the decorating on my birthday (which is tomorrow....the big 40, I can't believe it!) I just have the main Christmas tree to decorate (with my family, of course-one of my favorite Christmas traditions) and the outside lights to finish...and I am thankful. Christmas is my favorite time of year and having the house decorated and ready feels good and fills my heart with joy. I relished in having my quiet time with the Lord near our beautiful Christmas decorations early this morning.

I had to share the stained glass picture with you. Right before my last post, I had the blessing of leading music at our Ladies Retreat. Mom had asked me months ago to lead the music for the weekend and I was excited....nervous....but excited. We did the Beth Moore, Retreat in a Box, and the theme was "Loving Well." The day of the retreat is when the neurosurgeon's nurse called to tell me that after hearing about Rachel's increased symptoms, the doctor wanted to move the surgery to his earliest opening, November 24th...and I cried.

Thoughts and emotions flooded my mind. I wasn't ready for the December 15th surgery date...how could I be ready earlier? Instantly, my mind began to form my massive to-do list of all that I wanted to accomplish before the date and so many other thoughts. How could I possibly lead the worship time for retreat? I was a mess!

I felt the Lord gently encouraging that in our weakness He is strong and that I had made a commitment and that together we could do it and after all He would receive far greater glory if I kept my commitment to Him even after hearing the news of the new surgery date. I knew that He had planned it all perfectly...the timing of it all....and I trusted Him.

The retreat was so special Friday night, and the ladies worshipped in spite of me. I try to be the one who is put together but that night I fumbled through a song and while I feel quite confident that my eye started twitching out of sheer stress I knew that God was somehow being glorified in my obedience to Him. If ever there was a time that I needed to praise Him....it was that night. I needed to let the day roll off and get my praising on! And the ladies were so precious.

Since it was a ladies retreat, most of us stayed at the church that night. A few brought air mattresses but most of us did not. Mom had the brilliant idea of all of us sleeping in the pews in the sanctuary. I had no idea the blessing that would be until we turned off the lights....and saw the lighted cross (my picture above).

I crawled into my blanket and felt a glow of light across my face. I opened my eyes to see the beautiful stained glass window in full glow. I can't tell you the comfort that it brought to me that night. I told the Lord that I was ready to fall apart from all of the news but instead I was surrounded by perfect peace~His peace and the reflective light of the cross.

Oh, His timing is perfect and His love is fierce and mighty! I'll never forget that night...a night planned just for me. If you talk to the other ladies they feel the same way....it was a night planned just for them. I am so thankful that I had my phone so that I could snap a photo. It is a memory I will hold on to for the rest of my life. There is so much symbolism....so much peace....so much comfort. Our lives are in His hands and He leads us every step of the way. While I cannot possibly believe that one week from today we will be in post-op...I stand firm in His faithfulness. The retreat weekend was planned perfectly by Him....and Rachel's surgery has been too.

New Surgery Date

Dear Blogging Buddies and Fierce Prayer Warriors,

Due to increased symptoms, the neurosurgeon recommended that we move Rachel's surgery date from December 15th to his earliest opening which is Tuesday, November 24th, at 7:30 a.m.. To say that my mind is reeling would be an understatement, but even in this there is great peace.

Rachel and I were talking about how strange it is to not be scared to death right now. We both agreed that the peace we feel is because God is in control and His peace truly does surpass all understanding, we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witness, there are countless prayer warriors meeting with us at the feet of the Great Physician, and that this date was his plan from the beginning.

I have a massive to-do list before the 24th, but that is okay too. Please, join with us in prayer on her new surgery date: November 24th.

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin' on a River....doot doo doot!

So enough of the drama around here...I'm sooooooo ready for some fun!

This week is Red Ribbon Week at school; we celebrate being drug free and each day has a theme. Today's theme is "Rock Star Day." Woo hoo! My inner Rock Star was ready. After a lightning fast trip to Ruidoso with my husband this weekend, it was more business than fun but we did manage to have some fun in the 24 hours that I was there, I stopped at a Halloween shop and picked out 2 wigs~one for me and one for Rachel. Hannah's junior high class celebrated with Tacky Day so she didn't need a wig.

It was a fun day! Here are 2 Rocker Babes:

Rachel really enjoyed the pink streaks in the wig.

I pulled the silver cross off of my dining room table, added a ribbon and voila she had a necklace.


I embraced my inner Tina Turner...you know without the tan:

This wig was sooooo much fun. This is my kind of Texas hair.

I had some students ask if I had colored my hair! Hmmmm.....I don't think so!

Wouldn't you know it, I was the ONLY teacher to dress as a Rock Star...but I didn't mind 'cause it was fun!

Here is my gorgeous girl dressed in her Tacky finest. She is a master at putting together these outfits. I may let her dress me for nerd day on Tuesday.

PS Hannah won the Tackiest award...was there any doubt?

And Now Our Car Insurance Deductible too~oiy~

Do you ever have one of those days....a day where you just want to crawl under the covers and just stay there? I think I'm having one of those years. It has definitely been a year like no other.

Today my daughter was in a car accident...I know....all of this is almost unbelievable, isn't it? Thankfully, I was in the car with her. The girls and I were on our way to work the JV football game concession stand when an elderly man decided to make a right turn into our local Sonic from the inside line. I guess using the outside lane to make a right turn would have been too easy.

Guess who was in the right, outside lane? Yes, that would be us. No one was injured and that is a blessing but the guy was a bit crotchety...he even argued with the policeman. I hated the whole thing for several reason but mostly for Rachel's sake. She really is a good driver. She slammed on her breaks and tried to avoid the other driver as if she had been driving for several years...and now she is a bit afraid to drive again.

I keep thanking the Lord for His protection over us, but especially His protection over Rachel. With her Chiari malformation, we have often agonized over the "what if" she had a car accident. Our "what ifs" were met by the Great I Am tonight who once again proved Himself faithful.

I just tucked my girls into bed a few minutes ago. Rachel said, "I don't know what we are suppose to be learning this year, but I hope we go ahead and learn it quickly!" She has heard me say that before but I think I am finding my answer: He is enough and He is faithful. I've known that my entire life, but I have never known it as in depth as I seem to be knowing it this year.

But, some days I just want to crawl under the covers and stay there for a while...and hear Him sing over me, "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning, new every morning,
Great is Thy faithfulness, O Lord. Great is Thy faithfulness." (words by Edith McNeil). New mercies every morning....praise You, Father!

Insurance Deductible Met... Check!

What a whirlwind the last 2 weeks have been. Two weeks ago today Mr. Incredible called me, while I was eating lunch in between my classes, to let me know that I needed to meet him at the hospital for emergency surgery. What? You can imagine our surprise when the surgeon was waiting for him in his hospital room. I was on my phone begging for 10 more minutes until I could get there. I think I threw my turkey sandwich out the window on the way, hopefully it is not somewhere still in my car. Ha!

Thankfully, his appendix did not rupture, I made it to the hospital on time, and the surgery went well. It has been a crazy 2 weeks filled with 2 overnight stays in the hospital and then trying to take care of my husband in between juggling teaching school and being a mom. Good news...we have met our insurance deductible this year. Shouldn't they send us a thank you gift basket or something. Ha!

I've said it before, I'll say it again, I am so glad that God is in charge and over it all because I can't even imagine this life without Him. I have been doing Beth Moore's Esther study for the last 3 weeks. I have to chuckle every time that I see her words, "It's tough being a woman." It is tough some days isn't it?

This has certainly been quite a year. The surprise emergency surgery only convinced this heart of mine that I am not ready for Rachel's December 15th surgery. But, then the Lord reminds me over and over again that He is my Strong Tower, My Refuge, My Strength, and none of this has slipped from His sight.

I am still pleading with Him to heal Rachel so that surgery will not have to take place....and then her symptoms worsen....and He speaks to my heart that He is sufficient.

It is almost time for my next class to begin, but I just wanted to drop in and say hello and that I am missing the blessing of this blog world. I'll try to write more later. In the middle of all of the chaos, there has been a lot of humor too and I can't wait to share some of it with you.

Thank you for your continued prayers for Rachel.

And thank you to my special "Someone" who sends us anonymous cards each week. Each week seems to bring cards hand picked by the Father just for us. I hope that someday you will reveal yourself to me because I can't wait to tell you of the countless times that you have blessed us. May the Lord bless you abundantly! Thank you for your kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity, and prayer support. You are a blessing!