Back in the saddle...

or, more accurately:

Back on the field!

After missing nearly 3 weeks, including the first two games of the season, Rock was ready to go. We agreed to let him try Friday night practice and depending on how he felt and if there was any swelling would determine whether Saturday's game would be an option for him.


He was sore afterwards, but the "regular" pain he always deals with and not related to the injury. Pain or not, I'd say he looks pretty happy.



The game on Saturday was tough and in the end it was a 12-7 loss, but that's okay.
Rocklin was just happy to get in for a few plays. (If you click on the images you can see them bigger. His orange and turquoise knee sleeves are sticking out from the bottom of his pants, makes it easier to identify him. He's playing Defensive Tackle)

Shared passions

Family unity and togetherness are hugely important to us. We work hard to be sure our kids all know they are loved individually, but that they are also part of a family. We want them to understand that we won't sacrifice family on the alter of one particular persons dreams, goals or interests. We do many things together and limit how much we are splitting up and running off in a gazillion different directions.

At the same time we encourage them to develop their own interests and passions, build their own friendships, and find their own trail to blaze so to speak. We want them to find positive ways to express their individuality, but within the scope of our family culture.

It's sometimes a hard balance. Having to evaluate things like sports and other events and weigh out the cost to the family versus the benefit to the individual.

I love seeing them grow and become more and more their own person.

I love seeing them develop interests and find their path in life.

I love how very different each one of them is and I love the variety that it adds to our family.

This morning, though, I'm reminded of one of the things I love the most about seeing my children find their niche in life and discover what things really captivate them:

Shared passions

I just absolutely love when one child's interest ignites something for another member of the family.

We have several examples of this, Jerald's love for birds getting the whole family interested in birding for one.

This morning's example brought me back to memories of sweet days when my bigger boys were the little guys.

As a toddler, Jerald loved, I mean LOVED acorns. Something about them just fascinated him.

He would collect them until his pockets were overflowing.

He would spend significant amounts of time turning them in his hands,
trying to spin them like a top,
dropping them into a little metal bucket to hear the tink-clink-tink sound as they dropped one by one.

Over the years his love for them dwindled as he expanded his horizons and found delight in birds and other pursuits. He still loves acorns and you can bet the average walk through the park will find him bringing home a few. However, it's been years since they were a consuming interest for him.

Fast forward to last week. Jay and Mag are taking tennis lessons and while they play, the little two boys roam around a small area just outside the tennis courts (Rock is off to football at the same time). It just so happens there are many acorns all around.

Parker has decided that he loves acorns. No, really he LOVES acorns. Something about them just fascinates him.

This small boy that keeps me constantly on the move will stop and play with a pile of acorns for seemingly forever.

He fills his pockets until they are overflowing,
then empties them one acorn at a time.

He turns them over in his hands.

He tries to spin them like a top.

He loves the tink-clink-tink sound as he drops them one by one on the bleachers.

I keep finding acorns in the laundry, just as I did when Jerald was a tiny tot.

I keep finding myself saying things like "please put the acorns away until after dinner" and "please put the acorns under your pillow and go to sleep".

This morning I walked over to the sink to see this:




Pretty sure I knew which child to ask, I called Jerald to the kitchen.

Grinning ear to ear he said...

"It's an acorn. Parker and I decided to plant one. We'll have our own oak tree. Having our own oak tree, means we'll have lots and lots of acorns to share."

and so it is...

a passion shared.

a connection made.

two brothers so very very different,

finding a common interest,

building a bond that I only hope will continue to grow strong like the mighty oak of whence their tiny acorn came.

Saturday morning superheroes

You won't find the likes of Batman, Spiderman or Captain America here in rebel-land.

We are however, not devoid of superheroes, especially on a Saturday morning.


It's a well known fact that the one and only real Superman lives here.

I realize we wives all tend to think of our husband as Superman, (or at least we should) but really mine is the real deal.

He's even got the pants to prove it.

See?




Some of you might remember from near the bottom of this post in 2009, that we also have an adorable little superhero known as "dirty, dirty Superhero".




So Super is he, that he doesn't look dirty at all, but completely adorable.

What's his superpower you wonder?

bedtime stall tactics.

He can easily take your average bedtime routine and turn into an hours long spectacular event of stalling, bargaining, cuddling, laughing and eventually falling asleep anywhere but in his own bed.


Today, on this bright and wonderful Saturday morning we welcome a new superhero into town!

He's speedy, so speedy in fact that he is able to tickle mom and be on the other side of the house before she even has a chance to scold him for running through the kitchen.

He's crafty, so crafty in fact that he doesn't need an expensive superhero costume. No, this hero needs only a pair of scissors, a scrap of fabric, a piece of yarn and a very loved favorite blanket to transform himself from six year old boy to superhero status.

He's into bugs, so into bugs these days that his mama keeps finding empty cicada shells all over the place. Observing the ants in big brothers ant farm is one of the few activities that will slow him down.

meet the Superbest Superhero around today...the self-named, self-proclaimed

Speedy-Bug the Superboy!

Sand...a short picture essay

From the sidelines

It's not easy as a parent to stand back and see our kids go through hard stuff.

It's not easy to see them stumble and fall, to be disappointed, to learn that things don't always go as planned.

It's not easy to help them process their feelings as we try to process our own.

It's not easy to give them wings.

We want to protect them, pick them up, keep them from falling in the first place.

Yet, that isn't our job.

We are to guide them through the hard stuff, not protect them from ever encountering it.

We are to love them and support them as they fumble and find their path in life, not push them through the path we set for them.

We are to teach them along the way, and help them learn to think for themselves not coddle them into being adults that follow like sheep to the slaughter.

It's beautiful to watch them stretch and grow.

It's painful to see them fall and struggle.

It's humbling to see them learn to think outside the box and to accept that it's okay that they think differently than their parents.

It's encouraging to see them make progress.

It's heartbreaking to see them sometimes disappointed and crushed.

It's amazing to see them learn and push through some tough things to become better people and to find victory in big and small things.

This past week was one of those hard times for us. Rocklin took a fall last Sunday and injured his knee. In an instant his hopes of playing in the season opener for football were dashed. It was very hard to watch from the sidelines yesterday.

Realizing after a full week things don't seem to be any better at all is hard as well. It means missing the second game of the season is much more likely than he wants to admit.

Yet, it's also had some beautiful moments.

Being a boy of few words, this opened up the opportunity for an amazing conversation about disappointment, trust and making lemonade out of lemons.

He has endured a bit of teasing, last year and the beginning of this year. Nothing major, but pushing the bounds of good naturedness. His dedication to and support of his team despite his injury earned him some respect. The teasing became much more goodnatured, the "boys will be boys" type. With that change has come change for him too. Little bit, by ever so tiny little bit he's coming out of his shell. A smile and chuckle where there once was a blank stare. A nod of the head where there once was a quick look at the ground. A quiet, short answer where there once was silence.

He's learning that while we cannot control everything that happens to us, we can control how we respond to it.

He's learning to be thankful in all things. To change his perspective. He realizes there are many reasons football could be a dream not realized and that his dream is temporarily deferred, not permanently impossible.

He's grasping that while we can't always understand our circumstances, we can always trust our loving God in the midst of them.

I'm learning something too here.

I'm learning that while in the moment I want to keep him from falling,struggling, being disappointed that's not really what I want in the end at all.

In the end, I want him to see failure as opportunity to learn. To see struggles as a refining fire to strengthen him. To find joy, true joy, not just happiness and to realize that true joy will carry him through disappointment. I want him to trust and know that God cares not just about the big things, but the small things too.

I think this week has shown me that he's further on that path than I thought and that I am too.