Eagle!

This morning, in a ceremony in our church, my second son received his Boy Scout Eagle Award.

Surrounded by his church family, his parents and members of his troop, he was challenged to

remember to uphold the honor and responsibility of the principles and values of Scouting.

He was reminded that he is to be an example for others and that he should always undertake his citizenship

to America with seriousness and dedication. He was reminded to be a leader and lift up every task that he does to God and to the service of his fellow human beings.  He was challenged to always be among those who dedicate their hearts and hands to the common good.

He was reminded that to Eagle is a beginning, not the end.

He was thus challenged by some very significant men in his life, who have taken the time to teach him and most importantly give him stellar examples of what an exceptional man is.

Part of the challenge was read by his brother, an Eagle before him, a loving sibling and an excellent example.

The other challenges were read by men who have dedicated time and talent , some of them, long after their own sons have completed Scouting's path, men of true honor and unselfish devotion who have spent time with my boy and shared themselves and who deeply care about him. For these who have held him to high standards, shown him the tasks  and helped him find his way there, I am truly, deeply grateful.

To his father, who during his time as Scoutmaster, packed along a little boy and who has steadfastly encouraged the skills and values that make an Eagle Scout, who taught  him how to fix anything with ingenuity and duct tape...

...who stood on the bridge that leads to manhood and extended his hand to his son... Job well done!

Band Season

Way back in 1995, I was dragged, kicking and screaming to band...

My daughter tried out on an instrument without so much as discussing this with her parents.
(She always was strong willed and pretty certain of what she wanted!)
And for two years, we continued to do both pre-pro level ballet AND band, including a year of marching band. When you add two little boys who were playing soccer and were on swim team, it was a 'live in the car' kind of schedule.

Anyway, sometime in there, I, personally 'joined' the amazing team called band parents.
And for a LOT of years now, from July to November, marching band takes over our schedule, if not our lives. (I'm smiling here... it's not a bad thing!)

We have had some adventures. We've worked hard and laughed and cried, gotten up early and stayed up... well till it was early again. My children have had the privilege of some amazing band teachers and directors, a diversity of close friends and constructive activities. Their knowledge and skills have dumbstruck me at times. They've learned self discipline and leadership skills. The music has softened the edges for my hard hitting academic kids in the nicest of ways.
They've learned life lessons far beyond the scope that I would have ever imagined.

And for all of this, I've been on the sidelines.
Yes, I've worked...
But I've gained more than I have given.
I've watched ... my children, their friends, their instructors...
From flutes and piccolos, trumpets and now percussion,
the seasons have had a rhythm and a melody that have so enriched our lives.

And so we find ourselves a week out of our first competition.
The old familiar rhythm is there... practice (which never ends with a drummer), rehearsals, football game Friday's, competition Saturdays...
For me, fitting uniforms, scheduling chaperones, applying band-aids...
Late Friday nights at Waffle House...

To our old familiar rhythm comes a new director... young and full of energy and enthusiasm.
I wish him well and promise to stand alongside for support.
I wish him a long and rewarding career and will hope and pray that we're enough of a challenge for him without doing him in...

Another band season...

I know how short this time shall last.

I have watched two other children, along side hundreds of their friends, pass through this...
I know that one day, noone will drum on every level surface in my house...

I know how quiet it will be.

So, I will watch and take it in and save up these moments ...

Nothing else that I can do right now is more important than that.

Ahem...

Daisy, darling... where did my beautiful basil go?

"well, if you must know, mom, it was awful hot this afternoon, and the planter, deep down had nice cool dirt that just called my name... You know, this planter is such a nice fit for a chubby little beagle and no other place on a hundred acres fits my needs so nicely today. I've had the sweetest basil infused dreams this afternoon. I love you so much. I will wiggle and wag my tail in return for the small amount of aggravation that I cause."

Carry on Daisy... carry on...

" Miss Pearl's cake"

Oh, my goodness... Miss Pearl sent a cake...



My children have been known to drive home from points south and north of here when they knew the cake was in the house. My brother in law just magically knows that it's time to visit.
And all kinds of people make their way out of bed, from all ends of the house, in the middle of the night to make certain that they're getting their fair share of the goodness.

Folks, I bake... and am not a slouch in that department, but my friend, Miss Pearl, takes the prize with this cake. Many, many tiny layers, each baked individually, layered with homemade fudgey, wonderfully chocolatey... well... fudge... is too amazing.

She makes it a traveling 'tent' with toothpicks and marshmallows and plastic wrap, so that none of the beautifully swirled chocolate gets stuck to anything.


To properly appreciate this cake, you need to have a couple of gallons of ice cold milk in the fridge, at the ready. And it really, really will call your name from the cake stand on the table.
And the true prize is the 'edge' piece with all the fudgey frosting.

It is highly unfortunate (or very fortunate, depending on the point of view) that I am home ALONE right now with this cake.

tehehehe.... goodbye...

Appreciation

r

" A garden of friends is always in bloom."


For the last few months, we've had little time to stop and smell the roses...

And while I try hard to always say the things that are in my heart, there comes a time when there is an outpouring of love and thoughtfulness that just takes your breath away.

For everyone who said a prayer, sent a card, brought food, sent flowers or simply came and sat a while, a heartfelt thank you. For every call to check on us, for every offer of help we are truly, deeply grateful. For considerations of work missed and absence from school and church engagements, for folks who picked up our portion of the task and took care of it, we are thankful. For our church family and faithful friends, who encircled us with loving prayers and who offered us your shoulders when our own were not strong enough, we feel truly, truly blessed.

My thoughts on the matter...

On Monday evening, last week, my father in law passed from this world, flanked by his two sons and surrounded by the loving concern of his family, church family and friends. He fought a courageous battle with multiple myeloma.

During the battle, we saw the strength of character of an amazing man.

We saw strength of character in ourselves.

We saw strength in the nurses and doctors who cared for him,
and in his minister,who was his friend.

We shall miss him, more than words could ever say.
I am proud to have known him and been his daughter in law for these many years.
I see him in my husband and his brother
and in my three precious children.

The love that was the man lives on.

Into life Eternal...

Jerry Thomas Weaver
1939-2009

Deuteronomy 28:6 "Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

Happy birthday, darling girl!

Once upon a time, there was a woman and a man...
... they were happy together, working and playing and spending their days together...
... but something was missing...
... they needed a little person to join them... to make them more of a family.
They thought they'd have a baby...
and so they did...

A couple of weeks late, on July 27... after picking the greenbeans in the garden, the woman
went into labor, in the middle of the morning. They went to the hospital, checked into the birthing center, and had a perfectly textbook labor.
In the early evening hours, a fierce storm rolled in... lightening and thunder and a drought bursting rain... and while the radio played 'brown eyed girl'... a little girl joined our family.



With nary a cry, she was born with wide opened eyes. The expression between her father and the tiny little girl was exactly this "I've come to change your life!" Eight pounds even, exactly 20 inches long, exquisitely perfect in every way.

Life turned in that moment that we became parents for the first time.
To imagine a world where she was not ours was not then, and is not now, possible.

Now lest you think I'm about to tell you that life was easy, let me hasten to say...

We didn't much sleep at all... ever again. Not the normal thing... where after a few months a child sleeps through the night... noooooo.... our child learned to sit between us in bed and pry our eyes open and say "you've sleeped enuff"... and she didn't cry nor was she angry or ill... she was just simply a '20 hour a day' child... Indeed, on the rare occasions when we did not pass out when she slept, we would 'capture the moment'...



She was a kid...
With an attitude...

and a style all her own...

She did things her way...

She was a country girl...

and a beach baby...

And she grew up with her own unique perspective...



Then, she began to grow up...
and travel... with her friends....

and have parties,,,

complete with dental hygiene...
She was a water baby from the start...


but it sort of took on a life of it's own...



and so, sometimes, we held our breathe... and let her go..



and it always turns out ok...


Also, from the start... she had in mind what she wanted to do with her life....



and worked hard to make it happen... with good friends along to make the hard road bearable..

Hard work and determination pay off... closing in on a dream makes even the very tired smile brightly...
This week, I realized, full well, that 24 years have passed... a grown woman is now my child...
a grown woman that I admire and respect. She still hugs like my little girl, and seeing her sometimes still takes my breath away. Her father and I are proud of where she's gone... and who she is.

We welcome to our family a man that she met 'on the water'...
who has stolen her heart and placed a ring on her hand...
who makes her smile...





a beautiful extension of our family and our love. We were 24 when she was born... 24 years ago... and we wish her, in her life, the joyful fullness that she has brought to us and for all of her dreams to come true.