Sunday

What an amazing day!!!!  Best Sunday ever...in like 5 years!  Totally!  Our weekend ended up a bit topsy turvy with several changes of plan...but worked out so nicely in the end.  On Friday afternoon....literally MOMENTS before I jumped into the car to run up to the Rainbow dealer and purchase a $2000 plus swingset for Clara, I happened to have a conversation with one of our neighbors and found out that her husband's coworker had a really nice Rainbow playset for sale.  I got the information about it but did not get overly excited as Chris and I had already called about a couple of them and they were sold before we ever could even get there to look at them.  But this one was still for sale when I called, so Clara and I dashed over there to take a look and it was AWESOME!  AND it was only $1000 as opposed to the double that that I was about to spend.  And so....Saturday morning became a day of disassembling the play structure in their yard and carting it over to ours.  It went remarkably fast and we had it all home by shortly after lunch time.  We were SUPPOSED to have our family pictures made in the stunningly gorgeous Ft. Worth Botanical Gardens Saturday afternoon....but we got rained out.  The sky started looking darker and darker and darker.  So I called our photographer friend and asked how the weather was looking in her area and she said it was dark and had just started to rain.  So we ended up rescheduling on account of the rains!  So Chris and I headed home and proceeded to assemble the hardest part of the playset IN THE POURING RAIN!  It would rain quite hard, then drizzle, then stop for about  minutes....then rain hard again and so on and so forth.  Despite the rain and being soaked completely to the bone, we did manage to get the major huge platform assembled.  Then we had to quit because it was just too cold and wet to do any more.  We came in, took hot showers and then Chris headed out to pick up some hot take out food for us.  Soon after that, as I sat in my PJ' s with wet hair and no makeup, my photographer friend sent me a message on Facebook suggesting I meet her at the movies in like...oh....20 minutes for a movie.  So after about a minute of deliberation, I jumped up, dried my hair, threw on some jeans and was out the door!  We saw "The Perfect Proposal" I THINK it was called with Sandra Bullock.  SO cute and funny!  LOVED it!  It was a nice and fun sporadic night out that I enjoyed IMMENSELY!  Then I slipped into bed and slept like a dream.  This morning we got dressed and headed out to church....back to First Euless for the third week.  And what a morning it was!  WHAT a message God had for me this morning.  Instead of Sunday School there was a big group meeting in the chapel and a presentation called Parenting with Purpose.  WOW!  Such insights and wisdom there.  It was as if God had designed it just for me to hear today.  I walked out of there seeing things differently as far as my children are concerned and seeing MYSELF differently as far as how I interact with them.  It was a GREAT time and I was SO blessed to be a part of it.   Then, just when I did not think I could possibly BE any more blessed, I went to worship.  The same couple who spoke to us about parenting with purpose were speaking in the worship service.  They talked about how we can leave either Blessings for our children or baggage.  We can create a heritage of blessing or a lifetime of baggage.  It was SO neat and so dead on and SO appropriate for where we are in our life right now with our kids.  I walked out of that service a new person with a new perspective and new insights and a new love of Jesus and a deep appreciation and fondness for this new church we have been so blessed to be a part of.  It's like this deep, deep hole is being filled right now...I feel so a part of God's family again and feel like there really is a church family there for us.  Best of all, the pastor does not cry.  The people are so nice.  There are classes and activities for all of our kids while WE are in OUR classes.  And I get to see my kids excited about hiding God's words in their hearts again.  We have had three AMAZING and blessed Sundays there so far.  

What else?  Well....I can hardly believe the weekend is over already.  It seems like just yesterday I was telling the kids....tomorrow is Friday...only one more day until we get a WHOLE WEEKEND off!!!  It seemed like SUCH a long break when we were coming up on it.  But in real life time...it was merely a blink and it's over.  We have plenty to show for the weekend.  The swingset got completed this afternoon after church.  Chris and I worked another couple of hours and then it was good to go.  It was such fun to watch Clara move from station to station and swing to swing...playing with it all.  I loved seeing the smile on her face when she got a big push on her swing and how proud and excited she was when was able to pull herself up and over the trapeze bar while hanging upside down.  She is SO happy to have her swing...finally.  The boys even jumped in on the play action and had a ball just spinning on the tire swing and swinging and climbing all over.  It's been so much fun to watch our kids just be kids and just PLAY outside in the grass.  I love to just sit and watch them run and skip and chase the dog and roll around and act like kids should act.  I love this state of Texas.  Totally.

The week ahead will be another busy one.  I am hoping to get back into the gym tomorrow morning.  This bursitis in the hip is making me nuts....along with a nasty rib flareup this week.  I have been more than a little bit out of commission!  I hope to be back at it this week.  Like first thing tomorrow morning!  I have to go back to the chiropractor on Wednesday....but hope to get a release back to "as needed" status after this one!  Here's hoping?!  I think Chris has to put in an appearance in Arizona and I'm sure the kids will be off and running homework and project wise as tomorrow is the first day of the new six weeks.  I have come to the conclusion that I will only Max the same amount of reminders and assistance that I give the other two kids.  It's more than enough really.  And if he fails....then he fails.  If I continue to hand hold him and bail him out, he will never learn to stand on his own two feet and take responsibility for his grades.  And this cycle will just go on and on and on and I have NO desire to spend the next 4 years of high school after this year babying and hand holding and begging and pleading to get Max through school.  I feel like maybe Max just isn't doing his part.  He refused to make his grades a priority.  And so, therefore, I cannot make them a priority either.  He HAS to do this on his own.  He HAS to learn to get organized and how to take control and charge of his responsibilities.  He has just refused to do it thus far.  I can't MAKE him do it.  He has to see it, and understand it and design and follow his OWN plan for making himself a success.  It may well mean that he does not go back to the beach with us this summer, because he has to stay and do summer school.  It may mean that when all of his friends move on to the high school next year...he doesn't.  I have no idea really what it all will mean.  It's a scary road for sure....but one we absolutely MUST take.  Max is the captain of this ship.  It may sink.  Or it may sail.  Only time will tell for sure!  Wish us luck and be praying for us as we navigate these stormy waters.  It so hard to know that you are stepping back and that your child probably WILL fall and fail when you do so.  But as hard as it is...I realize that it is completely necessary if we are to move on into life and if he is ever to be successful under his own guidance and desire.  Tough times ahead no doubt!  All aboard!

And THAT wraps up our weekend.  Next weekend....we're relaxing....for sure!