Hello all :)

Wow - it has been awhile...

Life has definitely changed since the last time I have blogged so I guess I need to play a little catch up.

Currently, Caleb is being initiated into the Phi Delt fraternity at OU this week and has had a pretty good time being a Ruf-Nek since school started :)  I am sure it would have been a bit better if our football season had gone as expected...but you know...such is the way life goes.

That was a hot day for sure :)  It has been an adjustment not having him around all the time but it made Christmas time seem even more special as we were all together again.  I really will just have to stop myself from getting into the whole kids-going-to-college woes.  You are most welcome.

Ashtyn unfortunately has been down with mono but seems to be getting back to her normal funny self.  I will post a bit more on that later.  Dave is loving his job which is great!  Overall 2011 was a pretty good year but more than anything, I am longing to be back in Colorado which will also be posts to come as I have been meaning to journal our trip since we took it...why does there never seem to be any time in life??  So I will leave you with this as it is what I am thinking about a lot lately! 

You May Think it's Happenstance…But I BELIEVE!

Do you ever think to yourself…I know this is gonna work out! I believe it!! Or like me…do you usually expect the very worst in order to prepare yourself for the disappointment? Well…last night I was torn between both of those feelings in a major way.

Last night, we kinda decided on the spur of the moment to go to the OU/Texas basketball game. It was free and we were hoping we wouldn’t get killed too bad…so off we went. Dave, Caleb, Lindsey, Ashtyn, Mike and I all loaded up and headed to Norman. It really was a fun game…with Durant strolling in…Ashtyn becoming buddies with Ryan Broyles and of course Sam visiting during half time, it almost made the loss bearable. After the game, we visited with a few friends and found ourselves making our way toward the cold exits…which was really a treat because it was an absolute sauna in the arena last night. I remember thinking…I am sick of being so hot!! Little did I know…I would soon be coveting that warmth in a big way!

Trudging out against the artic blast that met us at the doors…it was a relief to feel some coolness…but I was long over that feeling by the time I arrived at the vehicle…hopping up and down…waiting ever so patiently for Dave to unlock the doors. Of course everyone is jumping into their respective spots, anxiously awaiting the heater vents to kick in…when we all hear the words…”I don’t have the key!” Huh? What do you mean you don’t have the key?? I mean the key is not on the key ring… little side note - some keys have an inherent flaw in them that allows the top section of the key to split…it will still stay on the ring for all intents and purposes but there is still the chance that it can be pulled apart…and possibly come off the ring. You see, I know this because that is what happened to our “spare” key…and no…this was not mistyped…and no we had not replaced the spare key, even with me knowing this split was also evident in my “only” other key as well. You know that thing they call “hindsight”…well yeah…it yet again made a mockery of me last night!! …the road of good intentions…yadda yadda yadda…

“that is our only key!” complete silence

We told the girls to wait on us inside the vehicle and set out to go back into the arena. Of course the security guard called lost & found and no key had been turned in. “will you just let us look quickly?” It has to be quick because we have to clear the building. Thank you…and as I looked out at that arena…I said out loud to Mike…it truly is like trying to find a needle in a haystack! You see, we had been all over that arena and it just seemed like the most overwhelming feeling to think…there is no way we are going to find this key! I remember distinctively hearing Mike say I BELIEVE. Bless you Mike Keahbone, for you words will forever be remembered in my heart!

We looked in all the places we thought we’d been but with no luck…”call lost & found tomorrow, something might turn up” the security guard said as we headed back out into the parking lot.

We then began what would equal around an hour plus of searching the Lloyd Noble parking lot. Now for the good part…do you know all the warnings about how you should have warm clothing in your vehicle…well you guessed it…the majority of our group was no where near dressed appropriately as we just thought we would be running into and out of the building…you can handle the cold just to run in… People listen to me!!! Put these items into your vehicles right now…blankets, gloves, scarves, hats – whatever…just do it!!! What’s so stupid is that my kids always make fun of me because I am always making them bring extra stuff they don’t want but for whatever reason…my mind just wasn’t wrapped around the weather and the possibilities of what the night could hold.

With most of the group in sweatshirts and jeans…let me tell you, being outside that long in those temperatures is just not a good thing!! But we canvassed…all of our heads glued to the ground looking for a black/silver key in a parking lot full of small patches of black ice and grey asphalt.

I remember thinking the words of the song “I will praise you in this storm” over and over in my head…wanting so much for God to reveal to us His power because I had no doubt He was more than capable but at the same time trying to prepare myself for the fact that it was an impossible task to find this proverbial needle in that massive haystack! But maybe we all heard the whisper…BELIEVE…because we kept looking anyway. Toward the end of our journey…a Norman police officer pulled up in his big SUV and after explaining our dilemma, cleared his back seats off so we could at least warm up while he attempted to see if a lock smith could do anything for us and knowing Lindsey’s parents were heading out to rescue us. Worrying so much about the kids, it was such a relief to get them out of the cold and into his warm vehicle… Of course there was no getting Dave or Mike to stop and only by the “I am your mother and you will get into the vehicle” was I able to get Caleb with his now deep red/purple fingers to get inside to get warm. And as I climbed into that truck trying to figure out how I was going to get my husband to give up the search…I turn around and looked at those three precious teenagers…and seeing Caleb’s free white-out shirt tied around his head…I started to laugh because no matter what, God is always good to us and takes care of us…even when we are too stupid to be smart parents and replace keys and pack extra stuff for warmth in case something just might happen.

At about that same time, the words rang out…”did he find it?”…Followed by Caleb saying while looking past me in astonishment…“N.O. - W.A.Y.” Well friends as I turned my head around and looked out the front window to see my husband holding his hand straight up in the air with what appeared to be the key at the end of his fingertips…my laughter quickly turned into tears as I praised the God that would lead us to something as insubstantial as a key if for no other reason than to remind us that He is still there and still hears our cries! Some may say…you’re making too much out of it…you just got lucky. It is sorta funny that every one of the six of us had looked over the area time and time again, as it was probably 10 yards right in front of our vehicle. Lindsey even skated back and forth on the white line it was laying next to while talking to her parents on the phone and while looking down through the whole conversation but never seeing it because it blended so easily with the ground. I however choose to think God still moves among His people and also wants us to feel the comfort of knowing He is right beside us. When I hear those who say that God no longer performs the miracles so many wrote about in the Bible, I know differently! Because it might not seem a miracle to most…but to the six of us who went through the experience, it is forever imprinted on our spirit that there is incredible power when you BELIEVE!

Stillwater Jamboree

Yes...I did enter the city limits of Stillwater...and yes it was difficult for me to say the least. I just have to remember it's for Ashtyn and know that she will one day remember the great pains she inflicted on her family & friends for the sake of cheering her on and be grateful. And if she doesn't remember, I will be sure to remind her :o)

This is, outside of their state championship meet, the largest meet they run during cross country season. There a schools from states all over that come to run in it. And I am telling you...there are people everywhere. They actually have the college meet earlier in the morning so it was fun for them to get to watch the college age compete. So I just have to take some time to

brag...Ashtyn is on a mission. The girl has PR'd at her last two races and has jumped from battling for the 7th and last varsity position to being 4th last week and now after the OSU meet finishing 2nd on varsity. She finished 27th overall, but when all the TX and other out of state runners were removed, she was 13th in the state. I am so proud at the level she is competing as a Freshman. Her coach is now wanting her to really focus on becoming All State this year! That is one of the top ten runners in the state. It makes me want to puke...but I will cheer her on even while I dry heave on the side of the course.

The girls did finish 3rd overall but of course the teams that beat them were from Texas...and so we will just say we are getting super excited about the State meet which is Oct 30th this year and barring any injuries or illness (just knocked on wood)...we are going in favored to win at this point! Our biggest competition was Jenks and Edmond North...which both tied with one another at the OSU meet...we beat them both by 50 points!!! I am just so proud and happy for this group of girls and just so glad for their coach that is such a tremendous example to them in everything she does!

Here are some more pics!

Hiatus

So I sorta took a little hiatus from blogging as the summer is just cuh-razy!! For the last month and a half...I've been hit and miss when it comes to even reading the blogs I follow. And ya wanna know what? I miss my blog people :o) Sometimes life can just become overwhelming and often times we do it to ourselves, don't we? Need one more event scheduled this week?...why not, throw it in...we can manage. But pretty soon we meet ourselves coming and going and we look back and think...wow-that was a blur!

Blurs become months and months become years and pretty soon you have a son who is a senior and your baby girl's in high school as well and the far off worry of "what in the world is going to fill up my time when they're gone" really isn't so far off anymore!

Don't miss it...I know its like a mantra of mine and believe me...I am chanting it to myself more than to anyone who happens by :o)

Refocus!

So its been a pretty eventful week for me. About 4 months ago, I found myself facing some medical issues that I had been ignoring for the better part of a year. It had come to the point that I was being told by my doctor that I would be admitted and given blood transfusions whether I liked it or not...It was just too risky to become anymore anemic since I was well below the limit they let most patients go. My response to this was to just double and triple my iron intake...treating the symptoms but not dealing with the underlying problem. You see, I am not one that really goes to the doctor unless I am just forced to. And when I had to call my husband from work one day because the pain had become so unbearable that it nauseated me to point of vomiting. I knew I couldn't wait anymore.

Of course that began a journey down a pretty scary path. Without getting too graphic there were some female problems that were causing the anemia which in and of itself probably wasn't causing all of the other symptoms I had been dealing with. My doctor was pretty frank with me and said that in these type situations, she always ran preliminary lab testing for cancer since ovarian cancer is known as the silent killer and it was very difficult to determine without doing surgery. So we went ahead and did the CA125 cancer antigen test which came back positive for cancer antigens. I am so thankful for my doctor and her reassuring spirit...while telling me that it was something to be concerned about and not something to ignore...there could be other things causing this to read high. For those females out there like myself...please don't wait when you know you are experiencing problems...but that is another post for another time. So for myself, we tried some hormone therapy in order to see if we could shrink or control some of the problem sites over the next month. Unfortunately, instead of shrinking, it grew, and this to my doctor was problematic as most generally, the hormone therapy always at least stops the growth. At this point, the only way to know for sure was to go in, take care of it and biopsy.

Of course...with my upcoming reunion...I only had one request...can I wait until after?? :o) So it was scheduled for Monday after :o) I've got my priorities in order huh?

My only prayer throughout this time has been that I could live with whatever the outcome. That God would receive glory through whatever the outcome was to be. But I have to tell you friends...everything becomes more poignant when you are faced with your immortality. I have known many who have lost ones they cherished to cancer and no ones wants their loved ones to have to endure that or have to watch it happen. And as I sit here and type this, knowing everything is fine and all pathology was benign...I can't help in my relief to remember those that did not receive good news. I can only imagine their breath catching as mine did when I said "hello" into the receiver...waiting to hear the words that would either release the weight or bring a whole new perspective to life as I have known it.

I am so grateful that God is always there...and thankful that the news was good! At the same time, I want to give God all the glory and not just forget the blessing but remember it daily in order to learn to see the blessings in my life so much clearer. This is a short life...am I living for just this short time I am here on earth or for the eternity that will never end in Christ Jesus! I am so privileged to be Saved by Grace! I know dramatic experiences naturally make us refocus...my prayer is that this experience does nothing less than provide me with a renewed perspective when it comes to this short time I have been given in order to love my Savior, husband, children, family and friends to the fullest!!

Still here...

Needing to post some kind of an update because life certainly passes by quickly doesn’t it? What has been going on with us? Well…..

Caleb cut his cast of like 2 minutes after he got it (more like 3 weeks but still)…xrays this week showed that it is healing good but still is about 3 or 4 weeks out from being totally healed. So of course Caleb’s list of activities since then has been softball…capture the flag…etc. “Mom…what are the chances that I would reinjure that one spot on my body causing it to rebreak?” blink…blink again… “Fine Caleb…do whatever you think is best…” “Okay then…capture the flag it is!” said with a little too much enthusiasm I might add. (Little does he know that if he does rebreak it…he may just have a thumb that points the wrong direction for life! I sound real mean huh?)

Caleb did however have a great time in Seattle where he went on a mission trip with the youth group. They were working with younger kiddos and two different churches there in the area. They put on a sports camp the week they were there which was right up Caleb’s alley since he loves sports and is so gifted with kids. He has now decided that we are all moving to Seattle…the end.

Ashtyn as you can imagine is as silly as ever and has just about played more basketball in the last two months than her whole life - combined…and as an old person…can I just tell you that bleachers are not easy on a person’s backside? She has also started cross-country practice, which consists of her running anywhere from 3 to 5 miles M-T at 7 am and lifting weights etc. She experienced her first ice bath this week and said she almost cried b-cuz it hurt so badly. While submerged…one of the football coaches asked her if she had watched Titanic…and said well now you know how Jack felt. She said it was awful but was sad they didn’t have it out the next day to do it again :o) I think the difference she felt in her muscles made a believer out of her and has in the end outweighed the pain in her mind.

Dave is loving his job right now and I am so glad for him! He continues to play racquetball almost every morning and now after playing for several hours, has started running at the indoor track. This is the man who has over the years adamantly refused to run with me…ever…for any reason! He now decides that for his birthday, he wanted Nike + shoes and since getting them has now started to log his running efforts. How awesome!

As for me, can I just confess that my garden is just a big ole mess!!! I have failed miserably and feel so so sad about it! Part of me wonders if I should just wait until my kids are out of school - when summer sports do not take up so much time…because I hate this feeling of failure! And I have to say…there are just not enough hours in the day…and if there were more hours they would be smack dab in the middle of the hottest most miserable times anyways…I’m a little sick of the hot weather…can you tell?

So long and short…life is good and we are, as always, so blessed! God is made evident in His daily blessings if we just make sure we are paying attention…I just pray I don’t miss the majority of what is going on before me and give Him the glory he so deserves! What a mighty God we serve! Sometimes I am just overwhelmed by the abundance that He provides while also wanting to understand and recognize this in all seasons of my life and not just when things are calm. For it is in the storms where His greatest work is done in my heart! Thank you for the storms Lord for you are always faithful!!!

Summer

So I printed next year’s school calendar today and while noting the day they start… when breaks were going to occur…their last day, etc…I skimmed over the graduation dates for all three Moore schools because that is what I have always done when I print this calendar every year…and then it hit me! This date is MY baby’s graduation date from high school! It is not a date for the parents of the Seniors to note, as it has been in the past…this year…it’s mine to put in the calendar and it just about breaks my heart!! However premature it may seem…it is killing me!!

On a little less depressing note…I haven’t had time to post in a while, even though I have several things to share…so I will start with my not so little baby boy. This summer started out like always…baseball and basketball every day. And what was really awesome is that even though Caleb had a few rough games the beginning of the season…he started just lighting it up! And for us moms who stress and get sick every time our son’s up to bat because we don’t want them to feel disappointment in themselves if they are not perfect in everything they do…or maybe that is just moms with perfectionist children and with a little bit of those tendencies themselves…okay – another needed post…anyways…life on the bleachers is so much better when they are just rocking the ball!!



I have more baseball pics to post...at a later date...when I have lots of time on my hands...what-ev!


And of course you know when things are rocking along and going well that something is gonna have to happen...sounds kinda pessimistic huh? (...sooo, that must be where Caleb gets it :o) Andddd...during the first game of a double header last week, Caleb was stuffed on an inside pitch and instead of just turning into it and wearing it...he had visions of driving it down the third base line...only that wasn't to be...and the pitch caught him straight on the thumb...broke the bone completely in two...and because he played the rest of that game (batting two more times) and 4 of the 5 innings they played in the next game...the bone was displaced and we were sweating it because we thought they were going to have to do surgery...but there was a good news when the ortho doc said he thought it would go ahead and heal without having to do the surgery...and were we ever so glad! Caleb is now sporting a black cast for the rest of summer...which now has silver flowers and pretties all over it thanks to his good friend Rachel!

I still think he is trying to figure out how to make wakeboarding happen even with the cast...Lord...I am needing an extra supply of patience! Thank you and Amen!