Duct Tape, Please!

Okay, I can count on one hand how many things I can get Anna E. to eat without a fight.  Waffles and “butter noodles” are probably the only two things that ALWAYS receive a hearty “yummy.”  The other night as she tried ONE green bean and three tiny kernels of corn, she entered into a  constant state of gagging and eventually had to run to the trash can to empty her stomach of the said contents.  Needless to say, anything involving food and my daughter gives me a headache.  I am constantly trying to sneak anything healthy and nutritious into her diet.  I quickly learned that given the option between trying a new food and/or taking a few bites of something she really didn’t care for, or being sent to bed without dinner…Anna E. would gladly take the latter.  Her picky habits were evident from a very young age…I should have known when I couldn’t find any baby food she liked that I was in for an uphill battle.    

That being said, I will now get to the point of this post and the explanation of the title.  A few days ago, Anna E. was sitting at the table eating a bowl of buttered noodles (I buy the ones with extra fiber, protein, and Omega – 3’s to ease my guilt for feeding her this an obscene number of times in one week).  Wayland is sitting next to her, and in his “off the cuff” and completely random fashion, he tells her that noodles are made from mouse legs.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Immediately, she pushed the bowl away and said she wasn’t hungry anymore.  He explained he was only kidding, but she would hear none of it.  Today, as our dreaded lunchtime rolled around, I went down the very short list of things Anna might enjoy.  After several no’s, we settled on buttered noodles.  As we sat down to eat, Anna’s face began to turn pale.  She took a couple of bites and then with tears in her eyes, she pushed the bowl away.  “I just keep thinking about what daddy said about the mouse legs.  I can’t eat this anymore.”  We are now down to about three things that Anna will eat happily.   I am seriously considering taping my husband’s mouth closed when he is in the company of young, impressionable, picky eaters.  Any thoughts?

What’s That You Say?

Just thought I’d share a few of the funny (and scary) things my precious daughter has voiced lately.   Anna E.’s heart is bigger and more tender than you can imagine, but she has that uncanny gift of being completely transparent with her feelings.  Needless to say, it makes for an interesting combination. 

Anna E. talking to Philip at the dinner table…”Philip, do you think ________ (insert Philip’s friend here) will ask me out on a date when I’m older?”   (Philip’s response…”I hope not!”)

When the same friend came over the other night, she reached over to give him a hug before quickly pulling back.   “Were you thinking of giving ______ a hug, Anna?”  I asked.  “Well really I was thinking I wish I could just marry him.”  I told her she didn’t need to think about who she was going to marry.  God already had someone in mind for her and we would just pray about and not worry over it yet.  Her response?  “Oh please, God…let it be ______.”  Looks like Wayland and I are in for some serious discussions (with her and with God).  

The other night as I was lying with her in bed, she kept saying super sweet things like…”Momma, you’re sweeter than ice cream.”  “I love you more than unicorns and horses.”  “You’re the prettiest mom ever…even if you’re teeth are kinda yellow.”  You know, all those things that get you misty eyed and elevate your insecurities at the same time.  I said,  ”Anna, you’re the sweetest girl ever.  You say the nicest things to momma and they make my heart so full of joy.”     “Ah, sucks.” she said.    ”What did you say, Anna?”      ”You know…ah, sucks.”     “Do you mean, well shucks?”    “Yep, that’s what I mean.” 

This one is my favorite.  On the way home from Philip’s football game Saturday, Anna started getting emotional.  Her lips started to quiver, her voice started to shake and she said “I just feel like my heart is so full of love for God.”  I was taken aback.  What a spiritual child!  “Anna, that is so sweet.  God’s heart is full of love for you, too.”    “Well, that’s not really how I feel….but I wish it was!”  That girl never ceases to surprise me!

What Was I Thinking?

After several weeks of fighting a scary asthma attack with Philip, battling with the car dealership and our extended warranty to get some things fixed on our Suburban, and undergoing my first root canal (oh joy)…we were hoping this weekend would be a much needed time of fun and relaxation.  We started out with Philip’s football game on Saturday morning (they won and are now 5-0).  After it was over, Nathanael, Luke and I rushed home to throw lunch together and get Nate ready for his game in Richmond, IN.  I had indulged in a Venti Latte (thanks Tina for the Stbx card) right before Philip’s game, but refused to visit the port-a-potty to relieve myself.  Needless to say, by the time we got home, my eyeballs were floating.  I honestly didn’t think I could wait for the garage door to completely open to pull the car in, so I put it in park and rushed inside…Luke had fallen asleep, so I told Nate to wait and I would be right back to pull the car in.  When I came back outside a few seconds later, my very responsible and mature 6th grade son was seated firmly in the driver’s seat.  “Let me do it, mom.  I can do it, I know I can.”  After the briefest moment of hesitation, I said okay.  He put his foot on the brake, put it in drive, and slowly began to descend the driveway.  I am walking beside him (by the driver’s side window) and I can see that he is not making a sharp enough turn.  “Okay, Nathanael – you’ve got to turn it.  Turn it, baby.  Turn it…More…Slow down.  Slow down Nathanael!!! Stop. STOP. STOP!!!”  At some point in this monologue, my poor son got very confused.  Instead of hitting the brake, he gassed it.  What happened next makes my eyes burn with tears even as I type.  Our Suburban crashed into the right side of the garage where the opening meets the brick wall.  (I hope that makes sense – I’m having a hard time trying to describe it.)  Nathanael immediately bolted from the car, hands covering his head screaming hysterically.  I did not panic at this point.  I hopped in the driver’s seat and backed the car up so I could take in all the damage.  (Nathanael asked me the next day if the car bounced back that far after he hit…he couldn’t remember jumping out and me taking over.)  Thankfully, the air bag did not deploy (which has shocked everyone who has seen the damage in person) and Nathanael was not physically injured.  Luke was awakened from his nap, but other than that, he didn’t seem the least bit traumatized.  I was shaking like a leaf, and trying my best to calm Nathanael down.  I assured him it was going to be okay (it’s amazing how strong mothers can be, even when they don’t always believe it) and told him that what had happened was entirely my fault.  When Nathanael had asked to pull the car in, I did not doubt he could do it in the least.  Looking back now, all I can say is “what was I thinking?!?”  Those of you who know Nathanael (and me for that matter), know that we are pretty strict rule followers, and overall people pleasers.  Nathanael kept wringing his hands asking me if he was going to have to talk to anyone about what had happened.  I finally figured out, he was worried that the police were going to come and interview him.  He asked if he would be sent to juvenile detention or court.  Poor baby.  I absolutely hate that he was worrying about that.  I, on the other hand, was worrying about calling Wayland (who was still at the football field with Philip and Anna E.)  and telling him what had happened.  Without going into too much detail, Wayland was (understandably) quite upset when I explained what had happened and how it occurred.  I knew he was really mad at me…and I knew I deserved it.  After his initial “blow-up,” however, he was (and has continued to be) very gracious and kind to me about the whole thing.  He told me that he knew I felt sick enough about it, and that he didn’t need to say anything else to make me feel worse.  (Isn’t that sweet?)  (By the way, I think that was the best anniversary gift he could have given me…it was our 12th on Sunday.)  

Okay, this is way too long…let me try to wrap it up.  We had substantial damage to the wall of the garage.  Boards broken, dry wall busted, bricks caved in and cracked (all the way around to the back of the house).  The Suburban took a pretty good hit – damage to the hood, grill, and front bumper – but was still driveable (at least to the body shop).  Initially, we were concerned about insurance – considering we were dealing with an eleven year old driver, but thankfully (thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus) they are covering it all.  New framing, new brick, new garage door, new front end on the Suburban. 

I have apologized profusely to my children and husband for my temporary lapse in judgement and just pray that this very humbling and scary situation will bring out something good in me.  I know it has already brought out some precious things in the big boys.  After I got Nathanael calmed down, I began to unravel a tad bit.  Nathanael grabbed both my hands and said “let’s pray.”  I made a sarcastic remark about it being a little late for that and he said “Mom, I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me you trust God.”  Wow!  Talk about a reality check.  Philip let me cry in his arms Saturday night, as I (once again) told everyone how sorry I was and then he snuck downstairs and made me a card reminding me that God would take care of all our needs.  Nathanael added an array of scriptures on trusting God.  Absolutely priceless – I’ll be keeping that one forever. 

So…Wayland took some pics to memorialize the occasion.  They don’t really give you a great sense of the true extent of the damage (we had to put a board up for extra support of the ceiling/roof in the garage and it is blocking the crumbling bricks and splintered wood – so just imagine it)  You can see how the bricks are caving in if you look close enough.  And just so you know…as I am typing this, the wall has already been fixed (we have friends in the business…and they work fast!)  We should be getting the new garage door in the next day or two, and the Suburban is in the shop.  I am driving a rental mini-van and Philip and Anna E. think it’s the best car ever.  Nathanael is somewhat embarrassed by it, though.   We drove up to football practice and he asked if I was embarrassed to be driving the mini-van.  I said, “no, not at all….but I would be if I were having to drive that beat up Suburban.”  We both laughed at that one.  Good times! 

 

** FOOTBALL Update **

We had another great weekend of football.  Our 4th grade team was off this weekend, but Nate had a game.  Friday night, it was arranged for the Pups team to take a tour of the locker room at the high school game.  What was unique about this experience was that they also were able to sit through Coach Moe’s pregame talk – pretty cool.  The Pups parents were responsible for concessions that night and I had the pleasure of working “The PIT” area with some good friends.  The “PIT” is the grassy knoll area at one end of the stadium where the junior high kids congregate.  Needless to say, it was a very interesting night.  I am very thankful that it is Pups policy that all the football players must sit as a group in the stands and actually watch the game.  I found it pretty funny that several of the players were looking over the side wall of the stadium with longing eyes at all the “girl chasing” going on (Nate was not one of them – girls are not even on his radar yet).   

Nate’s team is the travel football team – so we play other communities in the area.  Saturday, we played our neighbors to the west – Zionsville.  The game in general was not the most exciting – we won 32-12.  The boys dominated in a big way – and got back on track after a tough loss to one of main rivals (Hamilton Southeastern) last week 22-8.  This was Nate’s debut at middle linebacker.  For those of you who know Nate well, you know that it has been a dream of his for a long time to play MLB.  I have to admit that it was a bit overwhelming for dad to see Nate’s dream come true.  To understand this, you have to understand that Nate is neither the fastest – or the most athletic player on the team.  He is too small to play on the defensive line at this level – and probably a little too slow to play linebacker.  But what he does well is hit hard, leave everything on the field, and lead others.  Nate has a great football IQ and makes up for a lack of speed with a great understanding of the game.  Now I have no idea if Nate will continue to play MLB because the coaches are still trying to fit everyone in and are trying new things.  But I do know that the 5-3 defense we are running is well suited for Nate – let him patrol the middle of the field and plug those gaps.  If he is hitting, he is happy.  In case you are wondering about Center, Nate had to give that up to be able to start on the defense.  The coaches are trying to have the players start only one way to keep them more fresh deeper into games – a luxury we have due to our depth of talent.  I am so proud of Nate – mainly because of who he is in Christ.  He is a great leader, he is a great teammate, and he is a great sportsman.  All of these things are more important than how many tackles he has at the end of the game.

I have attached 4 links to individual plays from Saturday’s game (sorry – I have not figured out how to splice the videos together).  They are each just a few seconds long.  Nate is #55 – you will usually find him in the middle of the second row of white jerseys.  I wish I had more to show you, but watching a game through a camcorder lasted all of about 6 plays before I decided to give up on it.  I decided to leave out the missed tackle that Nate had that led to a long run – I am sure he will appreciate that.  Some of the videos are a little grainy – I am trying to figure out how to fix that. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyp62BGmEys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiFsV5nVaGg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe_SYL6rDio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S3ehsXNTHs