City Mug Saturdays

Most Saturday mornings are sacred in our house. No alarms are set. And we eventaully start our day with a big family breakfast and a big cup of coffee. Or two.

Several years ago we started collecting Starbucks’ City Mugs. Any city that we visit that has a Starbucks, we make it a point to look for a city mug to add to our collection.

Since most mornings our coffee is downed on the go, Saturdays are the day we pull out our city mugs and savor the coffee. So if there is an event or upcoming trip that involves one of our cities, we pull out that particular mug or mugs. For example, on D-day we may pull out our D.C. and London mugs to signify our nation's joint efforts with the UK on that day. Or when some of our family is visiting a city, say for a college visit, we may pull out that city mug in their absence. Various sports seasons are another reason we may pull out particular mugs.

Can you guess why we chose these mugs for today?

That’s right – the Rangers vs. Yankees series is on our mind.

So who am I cheering for? Well, the Rangers, of course. And it’s not because I am a die-hard Rangers fan. Despite being a native Texan, and lifetime Cowboys fan, and having lived in Dallas for 10 years, I am not a Rangers fan.

The NY Mets are more my style. I attended boarding school on Long Island, and worked at a summer camp in the same place during my college summers, and I attended my share of Mets and Yankees games. And the Mets are just alright by me.

So in light of that – GO RANGERS!!!!

And just as an FYI, I am the one who drank out of the Dallas mug. Because Dave has been known to cheers for the Yankees on occasion. What can say - he used to be a Buffalo Bills fan, too....

the economy of silly bands

Dave and I have been in Haiti for the last few days. We’re spending time with the Mangine family. They rescue and bring into their family Haitian kids, who would otherwise be sold into slavery or left on the street to fend for themselves. And they do more in their community than just parent lots of kids. You can follow their adventure here.

Our trip was sort of last minute, so when I was trying to think of a treat to bring the 10 kids, the first small, inexpensive, very American thing that came to mind was silly bands.

So yesterday Dave and I gave each kid 6 silly bands. I figured they would do as American kids do, trade them back and forth, negotiating for the more popular shapes. Instead, within an hour, a micro-economy had emerged in the Mangine home, and suddenly there were a couple of kids with arms full of silly bands, and the majority wearing one or none. I figured it was a short-lived treat.

But amazingly, the economy was still alive this morning. Commodities were still changing hands, much like a stock market. It was a game. They would toss one silly band onto the ground, and then take turns tossing their bands, trying to get closest to the first silly band thrown.

And much like the stock market , I would think I understood the game and who was on top.

And then the players would change

 and someone else was on top.

I wonder who will be on top tomorrow...

As promised... part II

Before I reveal our new room for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders, I thought I'd share a couple of before shots. I realized I don't have much in my personal photos of our actual room - I may have to do some more scrounging. But these two photos may give a peek at our very simple stage prior to today(behind two of my silly volunteers).

As you can see, the stage was kind of in a corner.

With the the buzz of all the changes this week, kids were anxious to get into class today... They loved the new stage and room decor. (Complete with real graffiti done by real teenagers...)

But some things never change. Like Mr. Dave being silly....

The girls always at the art table...

And the boys around the air hockey and foosball tables.

Today was a great kickoff to our school year of learning to grow in wisdom, faith a friendship.

extreme makeover part I

I work at a church. In children’s ministry.

I don’t blab that to a lot to people because I think, for the most part, it conjures up a general image in people’s minds. It’s like there’s a stereotype of “children’s ministry” people. Some would see that as a good thing. Others, not so much.

I don’t like a job or a label to define me. And I prefer to perceive myself as anything but “like all the other ________ .” You know – like all the other moms…. like all the other bloggers… like all the other women drivers…. Like all the other children’s ministry people…. Like all the other “Christians.” But that’s a whole different blog post.

Back to my job. At a church.

It’s a big week, specifically in our children’s ministry. We are doing an extreme makeover in our large group environments. All in one week. There have been several construction teams working day and night to get this all done in a week.

I’ve been amazed at their talents, their creativity and their get-it-done attitudes.

This Sunday when the kids come into their area, they are going to notice BIG changes. And I think they’re going to like them. We have some great surprises in store for them.

I promise to post pictures of the big reveal!

You gotta see this

So we let go. almost two weeks ago.

There have been many texts, a couple of phone calls, and couple of very brief visits to deliver needed items. And one drop-in from her to just say hi.

We are all adjusting. At home the boys are finally remembering to set the table for just four, and not ask, "will Chelsea be home for dinner." And Jack has claimed what was her seat next to me at the dinner table. :-) I'm not sure what will happen when she comes home for a visit.

Dave and I are adjusting, too. He doesn't have to rearrange the "upside down forks" in the dishwasher. We're not playing car shuffle in the driveway on a daily basis. I'm stuck with guy flicks on Fridays for family movie night - and there's no more waiting up for curfew, we just go to bed when we're tired!

And, alas, she's adjusting, too. A little too well. :-)

Take a look... http://www.wolfpackerchelsealauren17.blogspot.com/

Letting Go

I’ve thought a lot about letting go recently. That’s because our first-born heads to college this week.


I keep reminding myself that the move to college is just one more step in letting go. After all, as parents we have been letting go bit by bit as our kids grow and develop.

- That first time you leave her in the care of a sitter


- Her first day ever of preschool – and then kindergarten, then middle school, then high school


- Her first sleepover


- Her first “sleep-away” camp or conference


- That first time she drives away in a car without you

- That first time she travels to a different country without you


- Her first date

So moving to college is just another step, right?

That’s what I keep telling myself. Our job as parents is to equip them to venture out on their own. To teach, guide, correct and encourage so they are ready to embrace these moments.

So here we go… letting go.

Stories

A couple of weeks ago, our family took a journey to a small town in Oklahoma. We met my sister and her family there to place a grave marker with the McNutt family plots in memory of my Dad, who passed away back in February.


We came with our families in search of something we could pass to our children to help them know and remember their Grandpa McNutt and his heritage beyond their own perosnal memories of him.

One evening we met with Mike. He grew up across the street from my Dad.

They were best buds from about age 8 through high school. He shared story after story. From their childhood days of admiring Roy Rogers, to hanging out at the soda fountain in the drugstore my grandparents owned, to their high school days of pulling pranks on classmates and teachers. He brought a school yearbook to show a picture of my Dad as senior class president – cool as a cucumber in his rolled up jeans and perfect flat-top hair drinking a Dr. Pepper while hanging out with the rest of the class council (my mom was class secretary!)

We also went to visit my Dad’s Uncle Clay. He’s 97 and I certainly did not expect the stories we got.

For almost 2 hours, Uncle Clay shared stories. They were in no particular order and all came up randomly. Uncle Clay moved to Oklahoma in 1917 in a covered wagon. He was able to sing the World War I fight song by heart. He served in World War II helping lay a pipeline between India and China. (Yup, right over the Himalayas.) He was a school teacher before and after the war. He was city manager of Muskogee for many years. And after retiring took it upon himself to start a foundation to re-beautify Muskogee after a blight wiped out all of their elm trees. He’s now known as the man who made Muskogee a beautiful place to live. And to think… while growing up I just knew him as Uncle Clay.

We couldn’t be in Oklahoma without taking the kids through our parents’ “hometown”. My Mom grew up with her parents owning the town café and my Dad’s parents owned the drugstore. But it doesn’t look quite like we remember it as kids. Back in 1984, about a week after my Grandma McNutt died, a huge tornado came through Morris and wiped out the one-block town. So much history gone.

This strip of buildings have been built to replace what was there. One of the places that was there was the drugstore that my grandparents owned. The old-fashioned kind - with a soda-fountain, booths, and the pharmacy in the back, where my Grandpa mixed drugs. They sold it and retired when I was about 10 or 11. I was so sad when they did. I loved learning to make cherry or vanilla cokes (and drinking them); working behind the counter and even helping clean up and lock up in the evenings.

We left Oklahoma with these stories and more in our hearts. And that's exactly what we were looking for.