Easter in Lizella

Well, it was quite a busy time in Lizella last weekend.  It started @ precisely 3:15 last Friday.  The school day was over and every child in Bibb county had a new lease on life.  There was a thick yellow film on everything that hasn't moved in at least 15 seconds.  I have never known the pollen to be so thick in any place, but I am not kidding, you can be driving down the road and you can literally see the pollen blow off the trees.  Regardless of the pollen, the Easter Bunny was coming to town.  He would just not be as brilliant white as normal.  He had a suttle yellow tint to him, after all, yellow is the new white, or it sounds good anyway.

As I said, there were Eggs to be hunted.  On Sat. morning our church hosted an Egg hunt.  I was overwhelmed at the response.  There were probably close to 100 little angels there ready to stake their claim on a small plastic egg that cleverly hid the ultimate prize... candy.   Although this is normally a happy time, I couldn't help but be somewhat sad.  O.K. I did break down, but only one time and I was very inconspicuous about it.  Why, you ask?  What could possibly cause me to have the mully grubs on such a fun day?  Well, at the risk of revisiting the emotional place from which I finally dug myself out of Sat. evening sometime, I'll just state the fact.  Maci and Bayley neither one was in the least bit interested in going the Egg Hunt.  At first it didn't really bother me until I got there and saw all the children and the anticipation that they exhibited on their little faces.   I thought, as I watched them charge the field to find their treasure, that I had a handle on myself.  But, when the mother of a 5 month old little boy asked me if I wanted to take her son and help him find eggs, I realized that I had failed miserably.  By the way, he was more interested in the necklace I was wearing then the eggs I was trying to gather for him.  But, this was all a distant memory as I went shopping trying to finish up my Easter shopping.

Saturday evening, our choir preformed the Easter Cantata "Known by the Scars".  This cantata is a wonderful depiction of the love of God in how He sent His son to die for us and save us from our sins and become our hope in this dark world.  We did this cantata a couple of years ago, but we added a couple of things and instead of using the narration in the book, Paul wrote the narration.  He did an excellent job.  We also had a guest come to visit us Saturday.  Rebecca and Corbin came down to visit and spend Easter with us.  Rebecca's husband Rodney, was in our youth group when Maci was born.  Now, he is married and has a child of his own.  That doesn't make me feel old at all.  

Sunday morning came around and it was truly a beautiful day.  It was as if all of creation was celebrating the true meaning of Easter.  The choir was ready to repeat the cantata from the night before, the lights were down and we entered the sanctuary.  From the first note to the last note.  God revealed himself to me through the message in the program.   His Spirit was truly in that place.  I am constantly amazed at the fact that the God of the universe longs to have a relationship with me.  That He longs to spend time with me.  

After church, we went to a friends house and had lunch and hid a few more eggs.  After all the eggs were found and all the bellies were full, we all piled in our respective cars and took off to the ball field.  The day would not have been complete without someone getting hurt.  Mr. Ed was the lucky recipient of a torn calf muscle and a torn ligament.  I don't think we have ever gathered and played any kind of sport that someone didn't get hurt.  We ended the night playing the Wii with a couple of friends.  

Maci is having to go to school this week because her spring break isn't until next week.  Bayley and I came to Mom's for a couple of days to keep Granda from calling the powers that be.  Lucky for me, oh who am I kidding. Lucky for Paul, Bayley remembered she had a Reach project due the week of April 7th.  She has to build a house with 10 different architectural structures.  Needless to say, we got GDaddy right on that.  Stay tuned for updates on this late breaking event.

It's been a long time

Due to much harassment from people who shall remain nameless, I am going to update everyone on what has been happening in Lizella. It has been anything but normal. I don't think there is an adjective to describe the happenings of the past few months. But here goes....

I am going to begin with Valentines day. Again normal is not even an option here. Maci has a "boyfriend" and we had to, no excuse me, had the pleasure of searching for the "perfect" gift for him. I learned that to be able to shop for a boy, you must actually have a son. I was at a complete loss. In the past I have gotten him shirts or shorts or some article of clothing. I'm afraid I may have offended them so I tried something different this time. On the eve of valentines day, Maci, Bayley and I were sitting around trying to figure it out. I had already bought him a little something but Maci wanted "the perfect gift". All the while Bayley is basking in her sisters delima. Well it came down to it and we decided to get him a picture frame and put a picture of Maci in it. She was very pleased with the choice and all was right in the world.

Well the day arrived. This was not only difficult for me. Connie, Brandon's mother, had a difficult time as well. Brandon was extremely picky about what he wanted her to get Maci, but wasn't a lot of help in the process. After several dry runs to the store, Connie decided on a beautiful sterling silver bracelet and a webkinz. Which by the way, was her first recommendation to Brandon and he acted like she was insane. A true testament that mothers do know best. Brandon has a brother that is absolutely precious and he and Bayley always exchange gifts as well. The girls were ecstatic about their bracelets and webkinz and chocolate (We can't forget about the chocolate).

Now the part that blew us all away and rendered Bayley speechless, which by the way is very hard to do. Bayley has liked a boy named "Pedro" for a long time. He lives across from our friends Sandy and Tony. He started coming to church with Tony and was saved shortly after. He and Bayley became good friends and have been for a couple of years now. Well, it turns out that he likes Bayley a little more than the limits of friendship would allow. Sandy brought him over to the house Valentines night (unannounced to Bayley of course). I think she had a small heart attack. She was all hyper, due to chocolate I'm sure, and when she saw him getting out of the car she froze in her tracks. It was quite enjoyable to watch but quite nerve wracking all at the same time. Anyway to make a long story short, he asked her to be his girlfriend and gave her a chocolate rose and a silver necklace. We had to scrape her off the ceiling that night when it was time to go to bed.

I also forgot to mention that when she got in the car that afternoon, a boy in her class had given her a stuffed animal, a pair of earrings and a box of chocolate. Oh well, I said nothing around her is normal.

Fast forwarding a couple of weeks, Paul was out of town last week preaching a revival in Calhoun. When he is gone something always happens. This time was no different. I am taking a class at Central Ga. Tech. College for work every Monday night. I had a project due that night. I went to the Doctor that day afraid I had strep and She told me it was an ulcer on the back of my throat. Again, no normalcy here. The next day on my way to pick Maci and Brandon up from school, the transmission goes out in my van leaving me at a four way stop thinking now what?. A girl from church was passing me and I flagged her down and she pulled over. Because of God's mercy, I was right beside a convenient store and there was no one behind me. I put the car in neutral and let it roll back as far as it would. My friend and a man that resembled one of the Oakridge Boys came and pushed my van out of the road. I promptly called Paul and told him of my late breaking situation. Remember now, he is in Calhoun. I look back now and realize that was probably torture for him. I asked another friend to pick up Maci and Brandon. Paul called back and told me Benjamen (our Youth Pastor) was on his way to come help. By this time I am crying. Paul didn't know what to do. He called at least two or three more times just to be sure I was o.k. Benjamen got there and brought me home. My children got home and both of them came up to me and immediately asked me if I was o.k. I don't think they were worried about my physical state as much as they were my mental state.

I called my Mother to bend her ear and cry on her shoulder and you want to know what words of encouragement and wisdom she spewed forth. Are you ready for this? She said, "You have got to put this in your blog." I wasn't kidding when I told you I have been harassed about this blogging thing. I'm kidding, she was very helpful in helping me laugh in the midst of my unfortunate situation. I mean after all, if you can't laugh about it, what else is there but to cry. Thank you Mom for teaching me to find joy in any situation. God knows, you are a shining example of that.

Well we made it through last week, Paul came home and the girls made him sign an agreement that he would never leave them alone with me for more than 24 hours at a time. This week, I have found out that I am suffering from a mild case of Alzheimer. I only wish I could remember some of the details of the week to share with you.

Tonight, the girls went to Maci's best friends 13th birthday party. It was a "Hollywood Premier" party. Her parents rented a limo and all the kids dressed up like they were going to a Hollywood premier. They had a wonderful time. Maci and Bayley were so excited. Jenny fixed their hair and they got all dressed up to help Caroline celebrate her big day. They were, needless to say, absolutely gorgeous. I am going to try and download some pictures so you can see them. Believe it or not, Bayley and Pedro didn't plan their outfits.

80's Flashback

Last week was one more of a week. It started with an extra day off work and school, and ended up with me flat on my back with strep. I have never, to my recollection, ever had strep. I am now a card carrying member of the unspeakable pain that it causes. I knew it always knocked my kids for a loop when they got it, but holy cow, that stuff is not for the faint hearted. I am glad that that little experience is behind my.

As if that weren't enough, I got better just in time to have to take Manasseh to the Vet because he was doing something weird with his mouth. I figured I would take him and they would tell me that I had infected him with my Hunky Funk and it was turning into lock jaw which would in turn cause him to have to have surgery. Thank goodness it was only one of his baby teeth that had broken and needed to be pulled. You will be happy to know that he is also on antibiotics and is recovering nicely.

Now for the reason for this blog. Saturday the girls where invited to a birthday party at a skating rink here in Macon. I didn't even know these places still existed. I mean I haven't been to one in over 20 years. The girls, however had gone to another birthday party about this time last year and they were very excited. With a little trepidation, I went. Once we finally made it to our destination, the girls piled out of the van and took off toward the door. My trepidation being mostly on the part that this place had been here since the beginning of time and I am more than certain that it has not been sanitized near as much as it should be. (Oh my goodness I can't believe I let my children go in there much less were skates that someone else wore.)

Well, we went up and exchanged their shoes for skates with someone that couldn't be bothered with getting off her cell phone long enough to ask us what size shoe they wore. (I guess the cell phone is what brings this place into the 21st century). The lights were dim (I'm sure to hide all the germs and bacteria on every surface) and the music started playing.

Instantly, I was back in the early 80's when my youth group would take a field trip to the skating rink. I watched my girls skating to "Lean on Me" and countless other songs that took me back to the days of big hair and "Gag me with a spoon" t-shirts. If I had had pair of socks with me, I might have even risked an unknown foot fungus to be a part of the scene.

I am happy to say that when they turned on the disco ball and off the lights and declared this time couples skating. Both my girls decided to take a break and sit with their Mother. I don't think their decision was based on the threat of "restriction" if they didn't.

Well, you'll be glad to know that I am no longer stuck in the 80's. I have come to my senses and declare that before we go back, the girls will have a round of antibiotics to wort off any unseen bacteria, and we will all be sporting our own personal pair of skates.

I had pictures, but they didn't turn out well. You'll just have to rely on your imagination.
See you on the skating rink.

Shelley

Hooray for Maci!!

As stated in the previous post, Bayley received her report card the first week they went back to school. Maci received hers by mail this last Friday. She did well. She made all A's and B's except for one C. She is not accustomed to making C's so it was quite emotional around here.

I found it somewhat ironic that it was in Bible that she made the "C". That was quite a blow to her parents self esteem. Not that she has to measure up to our standards, but that maybe we aren't the living example she needs. I mean really, we should recite the catacisms around this house more often. What were we thinking. Maybe we haven't done too much damage.

I always feel like these report cards are more our grades instead of hers. The first report card she got we all celebrated. She made all A's and B's and we were really excited because she made an A in Latin. She (we) worked so hard for that A and it was well deserved. This second time around, Maci has become more independent in her studies and doesn't need our help as much. She is forming her own study habits and is doing quite well if I do say so myself.

I can't help but know that there is a lesson for her in this grade. Although the obvious lesson is that she needs to apply herself more. The more important lesson is that she may not always measure up to the standards that man places on her, but God doesn't expect her to "measure up". Jesus took care of that for her a long time ago.

So, I accept this grade and will be encouraged to dig deeper in my walk with Him and rest in the fact that I will never be good enough, but He will always be more that enough.

Way to Go Bayley!!!

We are now into the 2nd week of school since Christmas break. If you remember correctly, I mentioned that I was kind of looking forward to school starting back because that meant maybe things would get back to normal. I don't know if that was a little delusion left over from a bad dose of Mom's Wookie or if it had been too long since I had fed 700 children within a two hour time frame.
Anyway, as I'm listening to my children argue about which book of the Bible they are going to read their devotion from, (I suggested they read from the first book of get along with your sister). I thought I would insert yet another chaotic chapter in our chronicles.
Bayley received her report card last Wednesday (1/9). As always, she made all A's and an O which stands for outstanding in citizenship (behavior). Which I think is ironic. If they new she was arguing with her sister about where they should receive an encouraging word from the Lord, they wouldn't think she was being a good citizen. Today was their "Recognition Ceremony". She received a ribbon for "Honor Roll" and one for "Outstanding Citizenship" and the highest recognition, "Skyhawk Superior".
We are very proud of her. She is like her Daddy in the fact that a lot of school work comes naturally. She is not like him however in the whole behavior thing. I guess that is the one thing she got from me. If she gets in trouble for not yielding to the Holy Spirit, or keeping a messy desk, we'll all know who to blame.

Maci's school started about a week later. She hasn't received her report card yet but we are very optimistic that she will do well also. She is getting ready for Spirit Week next week and is very excited. They will be dressing up Tues, Wed, and Thurs and will have a big pep rally at some point during the week. She is very excited about the cheer and stunt that they are going to preform. We will post later how she did on her report card.

BAYLEY TURNS 9!!

I can't believe it has been 9 years since we brought this tiny (to us anyway) baby girl home from the hospital. Where has the time gone.

Bayley turned 9 on Jan. 6th. Since her birthday is so close to Christmas, we tried to prolong it by waiting and having her "party" the next weekend to give people time to recoup from the holidays. Not wanting her happy day to go by not celebrated, Maci and I snuck out (not easy since Bayley is affectionately known as Nosella from Lizella) and bought some balloons and banners. When she fell asleep on the eve of her birthday, we snuck in her room and hung them in completely undetected by her or her fearless watch dog, Manasseh. The mission was a success.

As you can tell, Maci was very pleased with her part in the whole thing. She even gave up going to friends house that evening so she could be a part of making this a special day for her sister. (she had a little help in making that decision but she made it all the same.)


She woke up one time in the middle of the night and didn't even notice the new decorations in her room. But she woke up later and came and asked us how it got in her room. We woke her up the next morning singing "Happy Birthday" to her. We made a breakfast casserole and put a candle in it. She thought it a little strange but has come to expect that from her family.

Finally, the day had come for her party. She decided she wanted to have a movie party. Back in August, we had a big High School Musical 2 party and Paul set up the projector and put a big sheet outside and all their friends came and we all watched it together. She wanted to do the same thing for her party. She LOVES polka dots, so we got a pink and green polka dot cake and Paul set up a mini drive in theatre under our carport. It was a little cold, but everyone brought their blankets and we enjoyed watching "Evan Almighty. Fun was had by all.

From utter chaos to controlled chaos! (I think)

As stated previously, we are a very busy family. When most people enjoy the time off from work or out of school, we are running around like wild people trying to complete everything on our list. (Get up Shana! It wasn't an actual, physical list. that is unless it was one you made for me.:) From Christmas Cantatas, hosting a church wide gathering at our house, cooking thousands of cookies with the cookie club, to many trips to the mall, we have had our fair share of Christmas festivities. Although, quiet chaotic, it is my favorite time of year. I don't think that the story of God's love for us will ever get old. I am constantly overwhelmed at His ability to see past my mistakes and failures, to what I have the potential to become.

We had a wonderful Christmas with our family this year. I am convinced their is nothing better than family. My sister and I have forced a new tradition on our Parents (we're still working on Scott.) We dusted off the old Tabu and pictionary games and played a few rounds of each. We have learned one thing. Daddy and I are too much alike to be on the same team and Shana and Mom are our obnoxious rivals. We stepped it up a notch and bought a new game at Christmas. We are now unashamedly Mad Gabbers. You have not played Mad Gab until you have played it with Mom and Dad. It was soooo much fun.

After Christmas, Maci went on her first official "Youth Trip". They left for TN. Sat 12/29 and returned Tues. 1/1. I only paniced a few times while she was gone. I will however not be held responsible for her apearance in my absence. Bayley stayed with her Aunt Shana, Granda and G-Daddy. She ate up all the attention. She finally came home on Sun 12/30. Shana will however, be held responsible for her appearance.

We ended the time off by re-decorating their rooms. Santa brought Bayley a new bed and bedding. Most of New Years Eve was spent going through and making room for her new things. Maci got a keyboard for Christmas and we had to do some creative re-decorating to fit everything in her room. I guess it was fitting that we do this on New Years Eve and New Years Day. After all it was "out with the old and in with the new." (Pun intended)




So, the title to this blog makes complete sense to you now I am sure. The whole "controlled chaos" thing in all honesty, is hopeful thinking. I'll let you know soon. Oh, Mom and Shana pleast take note. I didn't say "From utter chaos to organized chaos". You can only hope.