Lately Cheney and I have been having a rough road of it. Nothing terrible, just the normal tugging between a mom and her son who is 17. He is wanting to be a man and be independent and I am a bit concerned with some things in his life. I remember being nervous when Ashleigh only had a year left before college and wanting to instill as many things in her as I could. I am feeling that same way quite a bit lately.
HOWEVER, for the last three days I have had such a wonderful time with my son. We have seen each other alot in these last three days and we have talked alot, too. I am greatly encouraged by what I see in his life. I told Alan last night that it has been a while since I have had such a sweet time with Cheney boy, and it sure is nice. You know the drill. Some days are just tough as a parent. Some days are discouraging and you wonder if they will ever be all they can be. But, some days are great! Some days you see so much of their potential shining through and it does a mom's heart good. I'm really thankful for those rough days so that the good ones shine so brightly.
I have only one year left with Cheney before college. This is such an exciting time. Today we are talking about which colleges he is going to apply to. He has a list of about 6. I am hoping he will start working on the applications soon. He has begun lots of things for school although school has not started yet. I am going to enjoy this year with him.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Watch the new Charlotte's Web?? Absolutely not!!
As many of you know, I am an Awana girl. I love Awana. I think it's a fabulous program. I love serving the Lord through this venue. I generally teach in Sparkies which is K - 2nd graders. Love it, love it. So, the new Awana year is almost here and I was looking through my catalog to get my order ready. I knew they had changed some things and I would need to order some new materials. Did I mention I really like the way Awana has done things??? Okay, anyway, I was looking and looking and found everything I needed, but could not find the teaching materials. Every year I would teach The Green Meadowland Series and they went with the books the kids were working on. They had adorable characters and told a story about the fictional Sparky kids and then a Bible lesson. It had lots of visual flannel graph kind of things and again, I loved it. I could not find anything like that, so I called my friendly Awana operator. I asked if they had anything new for me to teach to go with the new book they came out with. She told me where it was and I looked. It is a little book and there are NO (sigh) visuals and no stories about Grumpella or Stephen. The woman on the phone told me that it is only Bible stories, but also has ideas for me. I explained to her that it is very hard to change. I did keep myself from screaming out that I didn't want them to change it and what in the world happened to Grumpella!!
After I got off the phone, I did the next logical thing. I called my sister and explained this terrible tragedy in my life (I am really exaggerating, but you get the point). She knows how I am about changing things and told me that this would be a perfect time for me to sit down and watch the new Charlotte's Web! I told her that I would never do that because the old one is so good and there was no reason for a new one. I am the same way with Willy Wonka. I do not want to watch the new one. Are you crazy? I asked my sister why people would need to change things when they are really perfectly fine and even excellent the way they are. My sister is not afraid of change and just explained to me that sometimes you need a change:) Oh, Jen!!
So, I have two choices. I can teach the old lessons or move on with the new lessons. Probably because I could vent to my sister, I will be able to move on and teach the new stuff and probably because Awana's materials are so excellent, it will probably be really good. For now, though, I am missing Grumpella.
After I got off the phone, I did the next logical thing. I called my sister and explained this terrible tragedy in my life (I am really exaggerating, but you get the point). She knows how I am about changing things and told me that this would be a perfect time for me to sit down and watch the new Charlotte's Web! I told her that I would never do that because the old one is so good and there was no reason for a new one. I am the same way with Willy Wonka. I do not want to watch the new one. Are you crazy? I asked my sister why people would need to change things when they are really perfectly fine and even excellent the way they are. My sister is not afraid of change and just explained to me that sometimes you need a change:) Oh, Jen!!
So, I have two choices. I can teach the old lessons or move on with the new lessons. Probably because I could vent to my sister, I will be able to move on and teach the new stuff and probably because Awana's materials are so excellent, it will probably be really good. For now, though, I am missing Grumpella.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Oh The Things Neurologists Say...
"He has cerebral palsy...any questions???"
That was my first experience with a pediatric neurologist. When Davin was one day shy of 7 months old, he saw his first neurologist and after checking Davin out and saying, "good, good, good" over and over again, he blurted out the comment above. You can imagine how I left that appointment. Not one of my better days. I was terrified to ever go back to a neurologist. I never made another appointment until my pediatrician or someone insisted that I needed to. For one appointment, I could not even make myself go. I had to make Alan go for me. It was just too hard. The neurologist crushed my world and I just couldn't stand going there and giving him the ability to crush my world again. It took me years to get over this.
Yesterday Davin had a neurologist appointment. I slept well the night before. I wasn't sick to my stomach. I hardly thought about it at all, except to figure out how I would be getting Cheney where he needed to be and how and when Davin could get to therapy. That's pretty cool. God has brought me a LONG way. To think back to the anxiety I had in those first years and then to walk in with no nervousness is a blessing. And to top everything off, the neurologist had some nice words for me. We had been there a while and she was checking Davin out and looked at his belly and saw that he does not have a g-tube. She said, "You really have done a good job with him. You really have."
I have to tell you that hearing those words was much nicer than that first appointment in June of 1993.
That was my first experience with a pediatric neurologist. When Davin was one day shy of 7 months old, he saw his first neurologist and after checking Davin out and saying, "good, good, good" over and over again, he blurted out the comment above. You can imagine how I left that appointment. Not one of my better days. I was terrified to ever go back to a neurologist. I never made another appointment until my pediatrician or someone insisted that I needed to. For one appointment, I could not even make myself go. I had to make Alan go for me. It was just too hard. The neurologist crushed my world and I just couldn't stand going there and giving him the ability to crush my world again. It took me years to get over this.
Yesterday Davin had a neurologist appointment. I slept well the night before. I wasn't sick to my stomach. I hardly thought about it at all, except to figure out how I would be getting Cheney where he needed to be and how and when Davin could get to therapy. That's pretty cool. God has brought me a LONG way. To think back to the anxiety I had in those first years and then to walk in with no nervousness is a blessing. And to top everything off, the neurologist had some nice words for me. We had been there a while and she was checking Davin out and looked at his belly and saw that he does not have a g-tube. She said, "You really have done a good job with him. You really have."
I have to tell you that hearing those words was much nicer than that first appointment in June of 1993.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
In Training
I have been so totally challenged lately concerning my walk with Christ. I feel Him pulling me closer and deeper in my relationship with Him and expecting more of me. (He may have been doing this all along, but I am just now listening.) God began tugging on my heart a while ago and everywhere I go, it seems that I am reminded of my walk and what I can do to be a more devoted follower of my Lord and Savior.
I have been watching Michael Phelps and his swimming. He has spent so much time training. He has been so dedicated and driven to accomplish his goal. As he has gotten farther and farther, his goals became bigger and bigger. What if I do this? What if I go into serious training as a disciple? What if I spend hours and hours every day reading God's word, spending time talking to Him, and listening to what He has for me? What would my walk look like then? I am running a race, so why am I not training harder?
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 says:
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. they do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
I have been watching Michael Phelps and his swimming. He has spent so much time training. He has been so dedicated and driven to accomplish his goal. As he has gotten farther and farther, his goals became bigger and bigger. What if I do this? What if I go into serious training as a disciple? What if I spend hours and hours every day reading God's word, spending time talking to Him, and listening to what He has for me? What would my walk look like then? I am running a race, so why am I not training harder?
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 says:
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. they do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
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