Is a Mama Allowed to Brag?

No, you say? No braggin allowed? It's not God's way? Ok, well, then I won't tell you that in Kami's 3rd XC meet, (DON'T READ THIS>) she finished 5th of 162 girls!!! Nope, I'm keeping that one all to myself. I warned you!I also won't tell you Kami is fitting right in her new school, new surroundings, like a runner's foot in a cross country shoe. Naaaaa, you don't need to know that.And most certainly, I cannot say that Kami's XC Middle School Girls' Team WON THEIR ENTIRE DIVISION! (Watch out Trojan fans, may not want to read any further>) Beating Jenks, Union and Broken Arrow! Way to go Patriots! Should I say that I am becoming more and more at peace with how God has led Kami to her new school, her new friends, her new teammates? Should I say that this is definitely the right decision for her? Maybe I'm not quite ready for that but growing closer by the day. And finally, should i give God the glory for each and every one of my little braggin' moments, (every good and perfect gift is from above) worship Him for my moments of peace and thankfulness and just fall on my knees in dependence on Him for each and every moment? Yep, I think I'll do that.
To God be the glory great things He has done. Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord! Let the earth hear his voice, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice!

Brace Face!

Perfect Pairings - Romans 12:2

As Kami was inducted into NJHS, I was certainly proud of her. But my real desire and hope for her is below....

Romans 12:2 (The Message)

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Did We Look Like This in 7th grade???

Kami just finished up a 5 week etiquette and dance class, with a finale being a formal dinner and dance at Southern Hills Country Club. Here are the 30 girls gorgeous young women and boys who participated.

Here is a little zoom in on Kami and three of her friends. I know I am biased towards these girls, but is their beauty not, well, um, outstanding if not a little disturbing? What happened to the "ugly duckling stage" that girls go through? Or was that a little story that my mom told me to make me feel better about my middle school years? (Similar to the story that cotton candy tasted like peanut butter?!! I believed that one for years!! I hated peanut butter so I never ate cotton candy)

See for yourself below the ugly duckling in 7th grade. I actually had to drag out this picture so I could verify my thoughts on how I looked in 7th grade. I wanted so badly to have Farrah Fawcettish hair, but it did not work out for me. Granted I was not dressed up in this pic, but I have some of those pictures too from 8th grade graduation, and believe me, it was not one of my proudest moments. The saving grace of this picture is that I had just started wearing contacts! You should see my 6th grade school picture with my big brownish plastic spectacles. I really loved those glasses. I'll spare you that picture for now. Back to Kami's event...

Here is Kami and her cousin James. My dad's brother's daughter's son, also a 7th grader and part of the cotillion.

I got to go take pictures of the kids as they arrived at the dinner and dance. This horrified Kami. And she was thrilled to see me walking my hiney out the door for the rest of the evening.

Kami and everyone we talked to had a wonderful time at the dinner and dance. They had to use all their table manners and other etiquette lessons throughout the evening. They danced using different dance steps and with different partners.

I don't know exactly what to think. Maybe every generation thinks the next one is "growing up way too fast." It just hard yet a blessing to see our 12 1/2 year old making such strides towards being a young woman. My prayer is that her inner beauty is what will shine... her love for God and others. And to answer the question posed in my post title, HECK NO!!!!

The Day

There is no day nearly so wonderful,

no day quite so bright

as the day my child trusted in the Savior

and put her faith in His light

The day of her birth is so clearly etched

in colorful detail in my mind

but the day she trusted Jesus

is the glorious day I prayed she'd find

Each day she lives on this earth

is a day He guides and leads

She need only look to Him

for all her daily needs

Days of sadness and much confusion

Days of loss and despair

are now days she will be strengthened

by the One who is always there

I find awesome joy in the day of her baptism

it is this day I recognize

that strips away the old

and gives her New Life in Jesus Christ!!!

The $2.50 Birthday Party

Kami doesn't turn 12 until July, but we threw her an early birthday party with Lizzie... they celebrated their birthdays together just like another time. And OK, it didn't exactly cost $2.50.


Hang with me though; there is a $2.50 twist that went over very well.The birthday girls invited about 30 of their friends to a skating rink that we rented out for a couple of hours. They all had a blast! They aren't little girls anymore, but growing up and amazingly so. Kami and her old buddy Nicole....Kami and her new buddy Katie...all the girls singing Happy Birthday to Kami and Lizzie... and now for the $2.50 cent part. Since we had invited 30 girls and it was a double birthday party, we wanted to handle the giving of presents in a creative way. We thought about saying "no presents" or "bring a donation to Special Olympics in lieu of a gift."

However, after thinking and thinking, we decided to add this note to the invitation: "Gifts: If you'd like to bring a gift, spend no more than $2.50 per present. That's right, no more than $2.50 per gift. Be creative and see what you can come up with!!!"

We loved the results. Instead of having loads of decadent presents, most of which the girls didn't really need or want, they got a load of fun and special items, many of them handmade.

I wish I would have gotten pictures of all their fun gifts, but here are some I remember....
*fingernail polish
*fun, colorful socks
*handmade jewelry
*handmade headband
*handmade bows
*zany bands
*candy
*big bouncy ball (you wouldn't believe how much they've played with this... an item I always had around when they were little)
*headphones
*notepad
*pen with duck tape rose
*handmade fleece pillow
*collage of words from magazines
*friendship bracelets

I would really like to try this idea for other birthday parties; it was really cool how well everyone responded and how much money was saved and how much waste was avoided and how much the girls loved their $2.50 presents!

Report Cards are Out

Remember those bumper stickers that say something like "My child is an Honor Student at .... whatever... school" and "My honor student is smarter than your honor student"? Did I dream that? Do people really put things like that on their cars? A google search led me to some other funny bumper stickers and a few really funny ones I wouldn't post on my family blog (my kids are all over it.)

Anyway, I am hoping this post won't be that obnoxious, but it was so cute that I couldn't pass it up.

Yesterday, report cards came home and I asked Kami how she did. She brought it over to me and showed me the results. I was very, very proud of her, but could tell that something was bothering her. "What's wrong?" I asked. She looked down and said quietly, "well, something happened. I didn't get on the Principal's Honor Roll this year. I am on the Janitor's Honor Roll." I didn't understand, so she showed me her certificate. In big black letters, it read "Superintendent's Honor Roll." I think she had heard of a "building superintendent" and got confused with THE "Superintendent of Schools." I assured her that she was on a GREAT honor roll.

So it got me to thinking about a new bumper sticker, "My child is on the Janitor's Honor Roll!"

Perfect Pairings

Here are Kami and her friends at "Gross Night" at Fellowship Bible. One activity included Mountain Dew, Baby Ruth Candy Bars, and an actual toilet. I will leave it at that. The final activity was the shaving cream war, below.



~Ezekiel 36:25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.

A Penny Saved Makes Momma Happy

Kamryn Rae requested that she be allowed to open her own savings account... so on her 11th birthday, that's what we did!

That birthday money isn't gonna burn a hole in her pocket!

I Never Went On A Field Trip Like This....

I think Biz Town is pretty much a kid's dream....
It is an all-day get away hosted by Junior Achievement.

Kids get to run BizTown the town for the day.

When I say BizTown, that includes business establishments such as....

WalmartCoxCancer Treatment Center of AmericaTulsa Tech....
plus Arby's, Reasors, the Schusterman Center,
Bank of Oklahoma, the Tulsa World and several others.

Before the field trip, the kids interview for jobs and prepare for them too.

Additionally, they get checkbooks and learn how to use them.
They find out how much their salary is, depending on the job they landed.

They even elect a mayor...
who happened to be Kami!!!!!
(proud mom alert - pics coming)Here she is giving her town square speech
(in front of over 100 kids! she did GREAT!!!)Here she at her desk signing checks and making powerful decisions.Here is the mayor's mom. Isn't she glowing????There were mail carriers, Construction workers (from Flintco)

City workersand a dee jay! (Kami's friend Jenna)

The kids actually got paid (in Biz Town money)
and had to learn how to make desposits and withdraw BizTown cash.
Each business had a CEO and CFO who had to manage bills and payroll and employees.
Then on their lunch break, they got to spend that money on different BizTown products. Here are Kami and Lizzie on their lunchbreak.

No, I didn't ever go on a field trip like this one,
but I'm sure glad my kids get to!!!

Solid as a Rock

As I sit here and watch the clock tick painfully by, waiting for airline updates (Kami's flight from Raleigh just boarded - see previous post for Kami's flight problems!)......

I'm thinking about telling on myself, a bad mom story, involving Kami. Rena did it last night, as did Roxanne a few days ago... so here goes...

When Tom is out of town, my strings get pulled a little tighter. I talk faster, I think harder and I don't laugh quite as much.

This was a day that he had been out of town for several days, so I was probably pulled as tight as Grandma's clothesline.

Kami had quite a busy schedule that day:
12:00 - bball game in Jenks
1:00 piano recital @ Barnes and Noble,
2:00 bball game @ Central H.S.

We obviously had to be well-prepared, and I drilled Kami on her bag... making sure she had everything she needed in it. Long story short, the first bball game was running late and Kami was crushed... PLEASE Mom, can I play longer than we planned? A quick call to the piano teacher got Kami last on the recital list and all was well.

UNTIL... we were about 3 miles from the bookstore and Kami realized THAT SHE HAD FORGOTTEN HER SHOES!!!!! All she had to wear for her recital were her Nike high tops OR bare feet.

To a piano recital @ Barnes and Noble? Oooh Hoooo. I don't think so. (Pride speaking)

At this point, I was pulled so tight, I was about to break and I started yelling (yelling!) WHY DID YOU FORGET YOUR SHOES? We are NOT GOING TO MAKE IT!

Unfortunately, as I raced the streets back to our house to pick up her silvery little flats, I continued to harrass her. I now cringe. But I truly thought it was over. I thought there was NO WAY we could make it back to the bookstore on time. (especially given 71st and Memorial traffic!)

And only by the grace of God did we. I drove up to the bookstore, tires smoking, only then realizing that my poor child who I had been so angry with for the last 10-12 minutes, was supposed to play 5 piano pieces in PUBLIC! Something she had never done before. How could she pull off such a feat?

With a minute to go and memories of mom's words certainly ringing through her ears, the sweet baby walked up to the piano and pounded out 5 pieces, some by memory.

Not a mistake made she. Solid as a rock. A testament to HER strength of character, not mine. Excuse me, I need to go eat some humble pie now. In front of the fire. As I wait for that sweet baby to come home.

I am Not Getting Emotional

I am Not Getting Emotional.

I am Not Getting Emotional.

Kami was not allowed on her flight tonight.

I won't bore you with the fine print, but....

well, maybe I WILL bore you because I'm not a happy momma.

fine print:
Unaccompanied minors cannot fly on the last flight of the night.
Ok, got it.
So, I booked her on a flight. (didn't look like it was the last one of the night... how am I to KNOW?)
Called the airlines (as instructed) and gave them her information.
They logged her info, looked at her flights and said to check her in at the desk on the morning of her departure.
(thought for sure they would tell me if it were the last flight of the night!!!)
No one caught she was booked on the last flight of the night.
I should have. They should have.
No one did.
Now they are charging us to rebook her on to another flight that is not the last flight of the night!!!

Sooooooooooooooo, my baby is still in North Carolina
(safe in the hands of Tom's wonderful cousin) , which was still ok by me...

until I heard the sleet spiraling down on our roof this evening.
I have never gotten so upset about sleet. Until tonight.

Then, I started getting emotional. (freaking out?!?)

Visions of Kami being stuck in the airport for days on end, airports gridlocked by a winter monster storm, all alone with nothing to eat. Scared, and sleeping on the hard tile floor. Strangers breathing down upon her. Mom and dad being hundreds of miles away.

Big breath. Eyes on Tom. He smiles.... everything is going to be fine. OK.

I am not getting emotional.

She is flying out of Raleigh at 8AM Eastern time tomorrow morning.
Then, she has a THREE HOUR layover in Cincinnati,
and should arrive here at 2PM tomorrow.

Pray together now with me, will you?

It's How She's Wired

I've been thinking a lot about Kami while she's been away in North Carolina. Here she about 9 years ago. Wow.

Out of my 3 kids, you hear a lot about the (mis) adventures of Luke and the wild ways of Elle Belle, but Kami may be a bit neglected on this blog.....

As Luke and Ellie live their lives out loud....

so Kami goes along in her quiet way, making little waves....

but what she is making is.....
purposeful decisions
goals with determination
wise choice of friends
good grades
as little drama as possible
competitive moves
a choice to be the best she can be

It's amazing at 10 to have this outlook.... (I still strain to be these things myself!)

But I do believe it comes naturally to her... a gift to her from God!

I remind her a lot though her abilities seem "natural," she should not forget that without Him, she could not accomplish anything... and never to take for granted what she has... but to thank God for each and every positive event that happens..,

-all good and perfect things are from above....

I clicked on Kami's blog label: Queen Kamryn the First, and it was fun to see what I saw. I had to pull some of the pictures from the last couple of years... because they are so typically... Kami.