Those Big Guys

Last night, we had our final ORU Golden Eagles call in show of the season. It was held at the Mabee Center and all the players were there.I felt a little sense of relief that the season is coming to an end, but great sadness that this was the end of our time with two very special people: Ken Tutt and Caleb Green. People always ask me if we know the players, talk to them etc. And yes, we do have the opportunity at get togethers like these to hang out with them. I'll tell you one thing about them: they are tall!!!! When you are watching them out on the floor, they look like big, strong men, but it isn't until you stand next to them and realize that you are looking directly into their belly buttons that you comprehend the size of our players. If they look that big to me, then I imagine that that to little Luke, they are the giants. I guess that's why he calls them "those big guys." Actually, to my family and Kim's family, they are warriors. They go to battle every night for their team, for ORU and for us. They have big hearts and persevere against adversity to work their buns off every day either in a practice or a game. We think our husbands picked some pretty awesome people to represent ORU. We love our players, we appreciate them, and we pray for them. They mean a lot to us.

But They Don't Look Like Manicas...

I told the kids on the way to school this morning that the Mabee Maniacs were coming over after school to do some work in our garage. You would have thought I'd said The President was coming or in Luke's case, Lightning McQueen. They were pumped. Like waiting for Santa, they counted down the minutes until they finally arrived at 4:30. But.... these people weren't dressed wild and didn't wear any makeup!!! They weren't screaming crazy ORU chants and actually looked like normal people. Joy and Stewart were super nice (and aren't they cute too?) but they unfortunately didn't quite meet the expectations of the kids. Next time, I'll have to ask them to come over in full costume! These college kids, though, did meet my expectations, fully cleaning out the garage (which contains about 12 different sizes of bikes, 4 scooters, a large red wagon, 36 balls of different sorts, golf clubs, a lemonade stand, a big container of random shoes, another large container of soccer shoes, a beat up filing cabinent, gift wrapping paraphanalia, the top bunk bed that we have removed from Luke's room - can you imagine THAT? - all kinds of art supplies, a huge roll of bubble wrap, 2 tangled kites, 3 bike helmets, 1 humongous rake, assorted shovels, dogfood and about 1,021 dead leaves. ) They swept it out and then helped me reorganize it, all in one hour flat. That project takes Tom and I one whole Sunday afternoon, so I appreciated the help of the Maniacs!!! I am thrilled that they are traveling to Oakland, Michigan to support our ORU Golden Eagles as we play our final conference game of the season on Saturday. Go Golden Eagles. May God bless you and Keep you and Make His Face Shine Upon You!

Thanks for the Last 4 Years

Fun with Pans and Cups

Luke, you always like a challenge. You constantly want to add an extra element of difficulty to whatever you are doing. Jumping over a pan - fun. Jumping over a pan with a cup on top - more fun. Jumping over a pan with a stack of cups on top -AWESOME fun. The problem is that you wanted to keep adding cups until it was impossible to jump over them anymore. Then, you just enjoyed the thrill of crashing into the cups with great gusto, rolling on the ground with the cups falling like a rainstorm around you.

In the Spirit of St. Valentine

Valentine's Day is always the perfect time to think about those we love.... or at least have crushes on. Today, Luke's friend Bonnie was over before school, sitting with him at the bar while he ate breakfast. They talked and laughed like miniature grown-ups for a few minutes, and then Luke looked at me with true sincerity and said, "I think I'm going to kiss Bonnie." Bonnie grinned a great big banana grin. Luke never went for the kiss, but it was about the cutest moment I think I'll ever see in my entire life.

Don't Miss This

Here is a link to some pictures that were taken of my niece, Maggie, by a friend of mine named Kelly. Her photography is beautiful and inspires me to be a better photographer. Kim, these pics are amazing!!!!!

It's a Small World After All

Ellie: Mom, it's a small world, isn't it?

Me: Yes, it is. Why do you say that?

Ellie: Well, I take gymastics at Tulsa World on Tuesdays at 5:00, and Brooke (her good friend) takes gymastics on Monday at 5:00. Isn't it a small world?

Me: You are right Ellie; it is a very small world.

Survey Says

When asked, here is what the kids named as their three favorite things:

Kami: Family, Life and Sports

Ellie: Dogs, TV and People

Luke: Hot wheels, Rocket ships and Speed

(I didn't have to prompt Luke and Ellie, but I guess the older you get, the harder these things get to answer. Kami struggled with the question a bit. She started with Jesus and Trees, and I said, "Kami, we know you love Jesus, and WHY did you pick trees?" She answered, "Well, those things are important. Trees help us breathe." "But what," I asked are your FAVORITE THINGS? It took a while to come up with this.)

What are your favorite things? !

Namesake

Of course, Luke James Hankins, you know that you are named after your papa. We talk about that all the time. We marvel at the uncanny similarities between you and your papa, and it's funny how several people who don't even know you two that well have commented to me, "Luke reminds me of your Dad." Yes, he does. But I'm also hoping you inherit some traits of your lesser-known namesake, Luke Spencer-Gardner. Luke Spencer-Gardner came to ORU from his native Australia. He played for us for four years and was a junior the year you were born. Uncle Scott often referred to him as the "heart and soul" of our team. And that he was. It was his leadership, his teamwork, and his work ethic that made him shine on the court. It was his speech on senior night that gave me a real window into the kind of person he is: intelligent, genuine, and God-fearing. I hope you get a few of those qualities, and I won't mind if you inherit his knack for shooting the THREE either. (Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuke Spencer-Gardner for 1-2-THREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!) Luke gets back to some ORU games once in a while. He is quite busy being married and living in Kansas, doing GREAT in his first year of medical school. LSG's mom took this picture of you two before the Montana game, and sent it to us from Australia. That's a little about your namesake.

My Little Rock

As you can see I've been hitting my digital scrapbooking "hobby." And I absolutely love it. I have a trial version of Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0, and this is a rocking program! It's so fun to use, and making scrapbook pages is much less time consuming (and CHEAPER and NEATER and less SPACE WASTING) than the traditional scrapbooking. Don't get me wrong, traditional scrapbooking is great, but going digital really fits my busybuzzingbasketball lifestyle. With this latest page, I was able to put together some thoughts about Kami in just a few minutes. I snapped the picture, and I loved the serious look on her face, because it shows a side of her some people may not really know about. Most people think of Kami as kind, and she is. She is also a very centered little girl. It takes a lot to ruffle her feathers. Like Tom, she approaches the world on an even keel. I was blessed enough to get a husband AND a daughter who balance out MY emotional side. (Me, emotional? Can you believe it?) They have both been good examples to me, for what I see in their eyes is the faith that says, "Calm down! Everything is going to be A - O-K!" And it is.

Big Cedar Pics

It is A Moment Like This....

.....that gives me energy to face each day raising Luke James. Millions of people have done it, raise sons that is. I know I'm not the only one on God's green earth to face the challenges and difficulties that are inevitable when raising a testosterone-filled BOY! He is impulsive and erratic. He hits, kicks and bites. (How I hate to admit it!) He hurts people's feelings, and doesn't seem to care. He lives out the old saying "My way or the highway." (Isn't that supposed to be MY motto as a parent?) Luke lives in Luke World. He usually isn't very sweet. He sometimes stinks. He thinks it's funny to make inappropriate sounds. He throws toys; he breaks the girls' special things (on purpose). He thinks its cool to be tough and rough and rowdy. And, he spits. All this regardless of the prayer, time, thought, and work Tom and I put into disciplining him. But this picture, this sliver of a second, that I captured of my son.... it shaves away the frustration and worry, the work and the scurry, and reminds me that he is, after all, a beautiful boy. A boy who God made full of energy, enthusiasm and assertiveness. A boy who God made to do great things. Who am I to try to drain him of his strength of mind. A few months ago, a lady I don't know very well (a mom of 3 boys) stopped me in the hallway and spoke directly to my heart... she said, "This boy is exactly how God made him. Remember, he could someday be behind the controls in a fighter jet. He could be orchestrating an attack in enemy territory. God has given him these personality traits for a reason. Don't quell them. Mold them. Don't smash his personality. Teach him right from wrong, but let him be a boy." I left that conversation in tears, for it was a message that I knew would stick with me for many years. Thank you God for our boy, and give us the wisdom we need to raise him to be the man You want him to be.

An Accidental Thing of Beauty

Early on in this winter blast, Ellie carelessly threw her hat on a deck chair as she came into the house. That hat gathered the sleet and snow that fell and as the sun melted it the last couple of days, it created a hundred long icicles, growing by the drop to the ground. With my two negative posts about the ice storm, I wanted to focus on the beauty of the ice, which reminds me of the mystery and magnificence of God.

"A Really Bad Scratch"

That's how Ellie classified her shiner that she got from slipping and falling on the ice on Monday. On Tuesday, her eye, of course, looked worse. However, she stayed positive and commented, "it only hurts when I blink." What a tough girl!

Our Crisis Management Team

When I saw a strange mark on our carpet today, I looked up to see a four inch line on my ceiling that was drip dropping cold water!!! When I ran up to the floor above to figure out where this water was coming from, I found nothing suspicious. But the line kept growing longer, until it reached about 4 feet! Then new lines began appearing! I could just imagine the whole ceiling coming down on top of us. This is where our very own crisis managment team came to our rescue. Tracy, Chad and Susan along with Tom (who had just come in from a 5 day road trip) all banded together to save our ceiling! We finally pinpointed the source of the problem... not broken pipes, but ice melting and seeping under our shingles and running in on a beam. Then, the water followed the sheetrock seams and created an H20 checkerboard for us to shake our heads at. We had to chip away at the frozen over guttering, which eventually made our ceiling stop leaking. Thank God for friends (and insurance)!

Creative Answer

As I was tucking Luke in bed tonight, I couldn't help but notice how messy his room was, especially considering that we had cleaned it up earlier in the day. So I asked him, "Luke, what happened to your room?" Not really expecting an answer, I was surprised when he replied, "I was getting ready to organize it." Maybe he figured that was the answer that would get him in the least trouble. Good night for now!

The Excitement of Icicles

The magnificent ice storm had barely brushed Tulsa when I found Ellie outside hunting for icicles. With giddy amazement, she located a few tiny ones growing out back on the fort. Her mittened hands delicately broke them away and tucked them into a baggie, which has now found a home on a shelf in my freezer. If what the weather forecasters say is true, Ellie will be able to find some much larger icicles in the days to come.

Strike!

We had a blast on New Year's Eve bowling with the kids. It was Luke's first time to bowl and he embraced it with his usual gusto. Ms. Competitive (Kami) kept track of the score, and Ellie and Hallie giggled their way through the 10 frames. It was so good to spend family time together, but unfortunately we were so worn out that we were all asleep by 10:30! (click on the picture for a close up view)

More Kids' Quips...

• Luke: When you put your finger up to say I'm number one, I understand what that means now. You're putting your finger up to God and pointing at Him and saying it's because of Him.


• Ellie: Do you think the tooth fairy would consider an itunes gift card intead of cash?


• Ellie: We have been studying Albert Einstein at school, and I have to tell you something. He's been quite a disappointment.


• Ellie: I do NOT do spicy toothpaste.


• Luke: If I were a dog, I would fight for freedom to eat anything I wanted.


• I was trying to explain to the kids that I really try to be a good mom... it's important to me. So Luke reassured me... "MOM, you are the perfect mom! You may not be the BEST mom in the world, but you are the perfect mom for us!"


• Ellie: I do not understand WHY they call it a "blanket" of snow? It's not warm AT ALL!


• Ellie: When is our next dentist appointment? (continuing without hesitation) cause I am noooot going!


• Ellie: (as we were walking out of Target with a full basket): I wish that Target didn't have sooo much cute stuff!


• Ellie: (as she was playing a game of Solitaire) "I can feel the cranks in my brain cranking."


• Anonymous: I just pooped, and my turd was shaped like Africa!


• Luke: Why don't they just play "Rock, Paper, Scissors" instead of having these long drawn out election campaigns?


• Ellie: I will never climb Mt. Everest and here's why... if I got scared, I would start crying and then the tears would freeze my eyes shut and I would lose my way. That would not be a good situation.


• Luke: Is there such a thing as a twelve dollar bill?


• Ellie: Mom, why do you drink soooo much green tea? Me: (thinking I REALLY do love green tea; I probably drink 10 glasses of it a day): Ummmmm...... Luke: Because she is addicted! Her green tea is like cigarettes! She just can't stop!

• Luke (to a friend): Do you know what puppies do? Three things. Eat, sleep and poop.


• Me: (to Luke while making a huge effort to get his room organized): I see a light at the end of the tunnel! Luke: What? I don't see a tunnel. We are in my room!


• Kami: (talking about a Vera Bradley pattern that has been retired): I loved that pattern and am so sad that they fired it.

• Luke: I just figured out something... that pants and a belt work together. A belt works to hold the pants up and the pants hold the belt on!


• Ellie: (as we are getting ready to go out on the lake on a pontoon boat): I have a sinking feeling....


• Kami: (walking in my bathroom as I was getting ready) Mmmm.... it smells good in here.... like FRESH MOMMA!

• Luke: Mom, when you got in the car, I saw your side of it go waaaay down!


• Ellie: I wish I could switch my tongue out with a dog's tongue!


• Luke: Mom, yesterday I read the "B Book" to Daniel at school. And all those B words in that book, they gave me some MAJOR GAS!


• Ellie: The pot is a good thinking spot.


• Luke: The kids at school think I am a superhero. They keep coming to me with their problems. I tell them to take them to the teacher, but they don't! They keep coming to me about it!


• Ellie: I feel sorry for Houdini. Some one punched him in the independence and he died.


• Ellie: (singing mournfully at the top of her lungs): Why does Love Always Feel Like a Battlefield? Battlefield... Battlefiiiiiiieeeeeld!


• Luke: Knock Knock. Me: Who's There? Luke: U. Me: U WHO? Luke: I love you more than anyone in the "U"niverse.


• Luke: Mom, why is that store called Perfect TOUCH if I can't TOUCH anything?


• Ellie: I wish it would sleet more so I could make a sleetman.


• Ellie: I'm as tired as a wombat.


• Luke: Can I please, please, please, pretty please, you are soooo pretty, you are so pretty please play the computer?


• Ellie: (as we drive up to Barnes and Noble and in a very loving tone): Ahhh, this place could be my HOME!


• Luke: If there is something in the world that no one knows, then how does the first person figure it out?


• Luke: Hey mom, I can play a song on my bottom. Wanna hear?


• Ellie: (after listening to me vent on the phone to a friend about my current disappointment): Mom, you just like to let your feelings FLOW. I mean, you just let them out. (thinking a minute more). Your feelings are kind of like GAS. When they get all backed up, you just have to let them out. Me: (wistful) You nailed me, Ellie. You got me.


• Ellie: If my room were made of cream cheese, I would have munched down every bite of it. And then I would have started on Kami's.


• Ellie (stepping on leaves): I just looooooove the sound of leaves crunching under my feet!!!


• Ellie: Mom, for my birthday, I'd like a paper shredder. Me: Why? Ellie: So when I get older and break up with my boyfriends, I can shred their pictures.


• Ellie: (discussing fruit) There is one reason I really like the peach. That is because when you get down to the pit of the peach, you take it out and clean it up and, that peach pit, it looks exactly like a Rose Rock.


• Ellie is staring at me intently as I am getting dressed in the morning, so I ask, "Ellie, what are you looking at?" She responds, "just checking to see if you have any chest hair."


• Luke: Hey, mom... back when they had horses that pulled cars... was there a speed limit?


• Luke: Mom, can people talk with their mouths about one thing and think with their brains about something else, all at the same time? Me: (trying it) I don't think so. That's really hard to do. Luke: Well, I can do it. I just said something and thunk something else.


• Luke: Mom, people must lose things in Las Vegas. Me: (surprised) Yes, they do! How did you know? Luke: Cuz it's called LOSS Vegas!


• Ellie: (while watching a National Geographic special on how the ancients ground large rocks down to make perfectly sized bricks): I bet that took some elbow grease!


• Me: (while at Academy picking out athetic shorts) - Hey Ellie, do you like these RED shorts? Ellie: No way!!!! .... they're too..... OUish.


• Luke: I have a girlfriend at church and her name is Jayden. Her hair smells like bubbles. I love bubbles. (has a dreamy look on his face).


• Ellie: (while watching the fireworks on the 4th of July): Do you know why there are no lightning bugs lighting up right now? They are jealous of the beautiful fireworks!


• Ellie: I think a hippopotamus should be called a hippoBOTTOMus. Their bottoms are just SO big!!!


• Luke: (after dripping ice cream on his shoe): Can I lick my shoe?
  
  
• Ellie: (gagging after eating a bite of turkey bacon) ICK!!! I think I got the turkey's eyeball!!!!


• Ellie: Mom, I'm Glad you don't work at Walmart. Me: Why? Ellie: You'd be gone ALL the time. That place is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! I'd rather live in a car or on the streets than have you gone all the time.


• Luke: Dad, I can't sleep. I keep thinking of new inventions.


• Luke: I think when you watch a bad show, it makes you gooder. Like Emma... she's really a good girl... and guess what? She watches Sponge Bob. So it must be making her even gooder. Can I try that mom?


• Ellie: It doesn't matter if your husband has warts all over his face, as long as you're happy. Right mom?


• Ellie: Green is an attractive color. I know that because I wore green today and everyone was looking at me.


• Ellie: (Struggling to get on her soccer cleats) Mom, do you think that Mia Hamm had this much trouble getting on her cleats?


• Luke: Do Smarties make you smart?


• Ellie: I'm not trying to rat Kami out or anything .... but......


• Luke: What is Jesus' middle name? And what is his last name?


• Ellie: Mom and Dad are the biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig kahuna!!!


• Ellie: Mom, has anyone ever come into your life who is just like you. To the point where that person overtakes you and becomes you? There is a boy in my class who has become ME!


• Ellie: I don't like living in a dead end. Me: WHY? Ellie: Because, it just sounds so sad! Dead. End. The sound of it is just awful.


• Ellie: I just get so sad when the snow melts away. I hate saying goodbye to it... because it will be so long until I see it again. A year... or more!


• Ellie: I think about animals that most people don't think about. I think about the platypus and the scissortail flycatcher. I think about the groundhog and the lemur. Most people think about zebras and lions. Not me. I think about the less thought about animals.


• Kami: (proudly) I will be in the Freshman Academy the next time we get a new president. Me: gulp.


• Ellie: Do you think Luke will go bald when he gets older?


• Ellie: You know those chicken underwear I bought for dad for Christmas? (disgustedly) Those were a ripoff.


• Ellie: If I ever get put in prision, I will definitely not try to escape. If you get caught, they put you back in prison for a longer time.


• Ellie: Before God makes you, does he make a little model of you in heaven?


• Luke: (waiting in the car line at Taco Bueno) This is NOT fast food. This is UN-fast food.


• Elllie: A Beauty is quite Beautiful but a Booty is not a beauty.


• Luke: I know how to spell pee! P-E-E! And I know how to spell pee pee. P-E-E P-E-E!!!


• Ellie: I'm afraid to take a bath because I'm scared that a shark will come through the faucet and bite my head off. Or that a jellyfish may come through the pipes and get me with his technicals.


• Luke: Secret Agents don't sleep with silkies.


• Luke: Sometimes I pee on the wall.

Memorize This!

Jan 18th - 25th
Colossians 1:17
Christ is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Jan 3rd - 17th
Psalm 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.