Games, Games, Games

A friend gave me the idea of having a Book of Champions.  I am recording every game we play in the book - not only games at my house but wherever we play games.  So far- 3 days- 10.5 games.  I love games. Can you tell?

I love playing games with adults and teens where you can truly compete and play no holds barred.  I love playing games with older kids at a gentler place seeing them learning strategy.  I love playing with little kids who tell you their every thought and they don't care.   I love the interactions and time spent together.

I spent more time Thanksgiving break playing games than reading which is pretty impressive.  But the bonds strengthened and the memories created are worth the time not reading.

My Favoritest Sister Ever

I am fortunate that I have a lot of close friends.  I am extremely fortunate that one of my closest friends is my sister.  I have friends who aren't as fortunate, and I recognize that this is a gift.

Dinner circa 2011

My sister is one of my favoritest people ever.  Maybe it would be different if we didn't live 2 minutes from each other or hadn't lived together for so many years or..... I don't know but I am just glad she is my sister.   Because of our work schedules, there may be weeks before I see her and then I see her all the time.  It doesn't matter- she is still a constant.

Bowling circa 2012

She brings me random meals.  She knows me better than anyone.  She loves me unconditionally (I hope...).  She lets me hang out with her and her husband at any time- it doesn't matter.   We think a lot of like about most things. Her dogs are the only dogs I like.  She is the fun aunt in our family - always going a 100% with our brother's kids.  She has me trying new things such as essential oils.  We can quote the same movies we watched as kids such as While You Were Sleeping.  I love my bible study with her and my friends. I can say whatever I think and feel to her.  She gives of her time as a Casa advocate.  I could go on but I will just stop here.  Basically, she is basically just the most awesome thing out there.  

At Thanksgiving dinner, we always say what we are thankful for.  This year, I said I was thankful for real and fake family and mentioned my sister.  My sister who last Thursday walked into my house at 10:00 with leftover food she knew I would like.   My sister, who when I said I wanted to buy new pajamas, had already bought me some.

Maine circa 2013

Happy Birthday to my favoritest sister ever!

Gratitude for a Father, My Father

Today is my father (and Peter's) birthday.   I am so grateful for my dad. Let me take a minute and tell you why.

(Sidebar: when asked how old he thought my 65 year old dad was, Peter said "79!" 😂)

There is the trivial stuff.  He loves his grandkids and they love him.  He loves puzzles and plays games with me even when he doesn't love them.  He listens to me prattle on while he is doing repairs on my house (see below) and I am watching him work.

He willingly helps with my house repairs.  I like to think of this as a win-win.  He helps me; I give him something to do in his retirement..... But I know that really just a win for me. This year alone, he has helped me with my kitchen floors fixing rot and laying new floors, replacing 2 doors, and fixing my dishwasher.  He also will meet with repair people since I work in another town.

He is always willing to listen to my issues and concerns and will give advice. His advice is good, trustworthy, and always worth listening to.   There is little in my life that I don't consult him about from major purchases to theological questions to life issues.

He is a godly man who sought to raise his children in the way of the Lord.  If you know my dad, you know he loves Jesus and wants to live a life pleasing Him.   I love that we, his children, have seen his role model and follow in his footsteps.

So as I reflect on Thanksgiving and what we are thankful for, I am thankful for my father.

Two Precious Boys

This is birthday week - my dad, my sister, and my friends' two sons.  One is born on my Dad's birthday and the other day before so I will never forget their birthdays.

I love them so much.   The older is so sweet and loving.  Shy and quiet by nature, once he warms up, he talks up a storm.   One day, the younger will be my best friend- just not yet. He only is willing to be my friend when I give him my phone......

For years, I would only see these kids a few times a year as they lived far away.  It makes my heart happy to be able to see them much more frequently now.  Ironically, I still wish it was more often.

Happy (early) birthday to my favorite 2 and 6 year old boys!

Turkey or Reindeer?

I love kids; I love crafts; I love when crafts meet kids.

Every so often, I embrace my craft desires and have a craft night with my nieces and friends' kids/teens. Last year, we made our own pillows.  This fall, we were going to make gumdrop turkeys. They were supposed to look like this:

However the protype ended up looking like this:

Fail anyone?  My friend said it looked like a reindeer being attacked by pygmies.

So after a little brainstorming, we ended up with decorate your own turkey cupcakes which everyone loved.   The teens made beautiful turkey cupcakes that looked like turkeys. Some of the younger ones made fairly respectable turkeys.  And some of them just embraced the "put as much candy on it as you can" philosophy.

Afterwords, we watched a movie and drank Jerry's Hot Chocolate with leftover marshmallows. And after the little ones left, we played Settlers.  The theme of the game may have been "I don't care if I win as long as my brother doesn't win." (Sibling love at its best.)

These are the best fall nights- time with friends and family just enjoying being with each other.

Being Real

9 and half years ago, I was flirting with this cute girl who was all smile over her mom's shoulder. Little did I know that 9 and a half years later, I would be good friends with this girl's mom.  I am so grateful for this woman and her family.

Why am I grateful?

Because she is one of the few people that I don't have to filter for and can say exactly what I think. And since filtering is hard for me on a given day, this is so refreshing.  She doesn't judge or condemn me, but lets me say my piece.  I can talk about something and say things she may not agree with, but it's ok. I can say them anyways and get the thoughts out.

Because she doesn't filter (there may be a trend,)  I know she will say what she thinks and mean what she says.  There is something so refreshing about that.  She is real.  And it shows.

Summer fun with the kids

Because she has a heart for missions and helping those in need especially medical work in Zambia. She is passionate about helping and serving those in need, and it is evident.  Her heart is big, but she is practical which is a beautiful combination that brings about real change.

Because she is funny and sarcastic. And after this fall, she is also the best prankster I know.

Christmas with the girls

Because she saw that I had a need to be a part of her kids' lives and have been accepted with arms wide open. I have been at her house every Christmas morning for the past 4 years.  Words can't express how much this means to me.   They just can't.

Happy Birthday to the most "real" woman I know.

Dreary Days - God's Glory

There seems to be a subdued note to today.  A contentious election, a divisive nation, a worry of tomorrow . Today's weather seems to be a reflection of that dreary mood.

But God is on His throne.  Jesus is King forever and ever, Amen.

And it that, there is unspeakable goodness.

Psalm 45:6  Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

Everyone Should Have a Scott

Everyone should have a Scott in their life.  Born 18 months after me, I don't remember life without him.  If you asked me as a teenager if I thought we would be close as an adults, I would probably have doubted that. But as an adult, my life is very much full of him.   We have many of the same good friends; we live close to each other; his children are my only nieces and nephew.

So why should everyone have a Scott in their life?

He helps me with all sorts of things.  In the past month, my dad and he have put in my kitchen floors. He came to my friend's house and fixed my car so I could take it to my dad's for my dad to work on it. He is always willing to help me even though I know I can be a burden.

He lets me be part of his family's life.  On any given weekend, I am probably hanging out with his kids at least once if not two or three times.  I eat dinner with them, watch movies, play games, read, so on and so forth.....

He is smart and analytical.  If he has a question or issue to work through, he thinks and thinks about it before coming to a conclusion and seeks counsel if he needs to.  He also is able to see the gray and recognize that others may come to a different conclusion and accepts that.

But the biggest reason I am glad to have a Scott in my life?
His wife is one of my favoritest women and his children are my some of my favoritest children.

Happy Birthday!

Never a Failure, Always a Lesson

The other night, I was teaching a lesson on family and completely missed the mark on my plan.  I am new to teaching, so this was bound to happen. But failure is never fun; really, it just sucks.

But failure is good to as it teaches me what to do better next time and reminds me of my dependence on God.  I planned a lesson that was too hard and didn't have a good way to teach the concept of family members.   But through the lesson, I learned that having good co-teachers and helpers is key as they can give ideas to help get back on track and step in when you are floundering.  I learned to keep my lessons as basic and simple as possible.  I learned flexibility is key (I knew this but relearned this.)  I learned to have lots of backup activities even if they aren't related to the lesson.   Through this lesson failure, I feel more equipped to deal with a lesson that isn't working and have knowledge of how to prevent it from happening again.

Also I was reminded of my dependence on Christ.  Even with the best ESL teaching skills (which I admittedly lack), I need God.  Specifically, I think of teaching the Gospel.  How do you communicate the Gospel in simple English to someone who knows no English?  I am still working on that one.  But God is good and can divinely inspire me or divinely enable the listener to understand.  I am glad He is greater than me.

So maybe the other night was a failure in teaching on my part.  But the lessons learned were invaluable.  So I will go forth and continue to teach and learn from my failure.

The Sentimentality of Tea

I love coffee (great way to start off a blog about tea). But as much as I love coffee, I love tea.

I have drunk tea ever since I can remember.  Over the years, my love of tea has remained strong and even grown.  I love all sorts of teas- black, herbal, white, green.  I love it loose leaf; I love it in a bag; I love it without any additives, I love it with a little milk; I love it with honey.

The hot drink corner is one of my favorite spots in my house. It gives me warm and fuzzy feelings.

As a child, my grandma would bring us tea cups from her travels.  I never appreciated them as a child, and I believe either they were given away or my mom appropriated them.  As an adult, my mother and grandma have given me some of their tea cups which was very exciting.  30 years makes a big difference in taste and also sentimentality.

In addition to the tea cups, my grandma gave me a hand painted creamer and sugar bowl a friend of their family painted when Grandma was a child. Looking at them makes me very happy.  

So come. Visit and we can drink some tea as we chat.