Fun Party

Well, the ladies of our church survived our women's retreat.  We had a great time.  Our attendance was awesome.  We had only 16 signed up but we had up to 24 women there at one time.  It was so neat to be "away" but not one hundred miles away, you know.  I was only about eight miles from home, but my cell phone reception was terrible and so contact with my family was very limited.  I will say that by Sunday morning, I was definitely ready to see my clan.

The food was excellent if I do say so myself.  We had tacos on Friday night, a continental type breakfast on Saturday morning, soup and sandwiches for lunch and pork loin, green beans, hashbrown casserole and salad for supper.  Sunday morning we ate a brunch-type breakfast around 10 consisting of biscuits and gravy, sausage/egg casserole, blueberry and banana baked oatmeal and frozen fruit.  Do I even need to mention all the snack food we had?  Or that we had ice scream sundaes for dessert Saturday night while watching a hilarious Anita Renfroe DVD?  No, I probably shouldn't. 

I am quite certain I gained at least five pounds this weekend...so certain that I did not even step onto the scale before my shower this morning, which is my normal routine.  I don't need to see the numbers to know the obvious...my slacks are a little snug this morning.  It is probably a good thing that there is a volleyball game tonight and I'll miss weigh-in!

But I suppose God will forgive my weight gain...hopefully, Gina (my Weight Watcher's leader) will too  because, after all, I was spending the weekend with my church ladies, delving deep into God's word...as I was also delving deep into that ice cream sundae with hot fudge. We didn't study self-control and discipline this weekend, maybe that would be a good topic for next time...ha!

As usual, the afternoon Scavenger Hunt on Saturday brought out the competitiveness in some of us.  We can get a little vicious when it comes to games.  And since I was the creator of the hunt, I got to have fun with them when deciding what worked...I think my team won :)

Our sleeping arrangement was awesome, there were 14 of us lined up in beds in the loft of the barn; others were scattered about downstairs.  I slept so sound the first night, sharing an air mattress with my friend "Beth," that I didn't notice her frequent trips to the john.  (She drinks way too much water after 4:00 p.m. hint-hint)  The second night I didn't sleep quite as sound and made an important discovery...The grandmother to one of our youth girls talks in her sleep...which explains where the granddaughter gets it.  It was just a couple words as opposed to the granddaughter's complete conversation (which is hilarious).  The grandmother was alarmed when I said, "I now know where your granddaughter gets the talking in the sleep."  Grandmother was quick to say, "Oh, I know it's her mother."  Ha, "Oh, no, it was all you.  Mother was downstairs sleeping last night when I heard it come from YOUR bed!"  She was shocked and looked as though she thought I was making it up.  Nope, Scout's honor.

Our talent show was short and sweet...and funny...and amazing to hear the beauty of a voice...I say amazing because why can't mine do that?  I wish it did...unfortunately, it takes more than a simple wish to create that kind of sound.  Maybe next time others will work on their hidden talents and share them with us.  And hopefully next time a few women who were unable to come for whatever reason will be able to join us.

I'm guessing there will be another women's retreat...and I hope it is just as rewarding as this one.  It was a fun party!

Plum funny

Do not judge me...but I am a huge Janet Evanovich fan.  She has written several books, I haven't read them all, but my favorite series is about a bounty hunter named Stephanie Plum.  Stephanie Plum is not your typical bounty hunter.  She has no skills, no experience, she's a scaredy cat, she's always broke, her car is always getting blown to smithereens, etc.  But the books are absolutely hilarious and are laugh outloud funny.  Jay doesn't get that...he'll hear me laughing and he cannot understand how a book can be that funny.  I promise you, THEY ARE THAT FUNNY.

The way the characters are described, you can just picture them in your mind and hear them as they are talking.  Her family is a hoot...and I never, ever get tired of reading her books (she's up to 18 now).  Between the supporting characters and Stephanie Plum's own quirkiness, there is never a dull moment.  You will love Lulu, her sidekick, a retired lady of the night, (to put it nicely) and Grandma Mazur!  I kinda like Morelli myself, but don't tell Jay!

Now, I must admit her books don't exactly promote a Christian lifestyle.  She is divorced and caught between two men (in every sense of the word), there's swearing and not-so-nice talk.  But did I mention how hysterical they are?  If you really want to lighten your mood and think about nothing important, these are the books for you.  She just released Explosive Eighteen.  And the real exciting news is that One for the Money is now a major motion picture!  (I say major.)  It was released on the 27th of January and I cannot wait to see it.  I just finished reading Smokin' Seventeen and Explosive Eighteen to get me in the Stephanie Plum frame of mind and they did not disappoint.

Janet Evanovich has some other series as well, and she has even written a couple novellas that came out in between her main novels in the Plum sequence.  I would call the Stephanie Plum series a romantic comedy -slash- thriller with suspense.  Of course, it's thriller and suspense tangled up with lots and lots of humor. I'm telling you if you're looking for something to read that will make you laugh, here you go.  You will crack up, cry from laughing and even snort a time or two.  Yes, Jay, they are THAT funny.  

Let's Get This Party Started

This weekend, we are having our first-ever women's retreat at a secret location near Moonshine, Illinois.  The women of our church have been invited to attend this weekend get-away to be refreshed and revived in their Christian service.  It is an all-inclusive affair; food, fellowship, service projects, study, music, prayer, communion, games and fun.   The action begins on Friday night around 6:30 and will wrap up Sunday morning.

The retreat committee has been working very hard planning this weekend and praying for months for God to lead in the preparations.  We are having four bible study/devotions on Stress, Prayer, Worship and Service.  These studies are based on our CPWM's theme for the year of Show Me Your Ways.  Four different women will be leading our bible studies and we look forward to what each one of them will share.

Other things planned for the weekend include Communion, quiet time/prayer time, craft time/service project, music, a scavenger hunt, break-out sessions on Service, talent show and game time.  We have a great menu lined up for the weekend and a full schedule...but not so full that we'll be stressed!!  No way.

The men and children in some of our lives are going to have to fend for themselves.  Church on Sunday will go on without us and our obvious absence may make an impression on some of the men (hopefully).  If they tell us they didn't notice, we will know that they are lying be sad.

I just found out that a volleyball tournament cancelled last Saturday has been rescheduled for this Saturday...oh, man, I will have to miss it.  Madolyn told me she understood and Jay will be there...but it will be so hard not to be there.  (And won't dad have fun sitting in that gym all day with a bunch of screaming girls?!)

We are thankful to our friend, we'll call Norma, for providing us with this exclusive, beautiful resort barn near Moonshine for our retreat.  It's not every day you get to spend a weekend in a barn and love it, right?!  Please say a prayer that this retreat will be a fun-filled weekend with our sisters in Christ and that God will lead us through all of our discussions and activities.  Maybe this weekend will be exactly what at least one special lady in the group needs right now.  I'm so ready to get this party started.

Of course they're poisonous...duh

We have had several dogs, as you well know...and we have loved every one of them (well, almost) and each of them have had a few unique characteristics.  We have recently discovered one of Hank the Tank II's unique traits... He has a passion for fruit.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a boatload of groceries from Sam's in the back of my car and I was in a hurry (shocker).  I pulled into the garage and quickly got out to unload the groceries because we had to immediately leave again.  I opened the liftgate of my car and the grapes fell out.  A few scattered around on the ground and I didn't think anything of it.  I did not have time to gather all the loose grapes...so the Precious took care of it.  He ate every one of them.  I was a little surprised.

Last week Jay was sitting in the recliner eating grapes.  Hank II was at the foot of the chair begging.  Jay offered him a grape and he ate it.  So Jay gave him another one and another one and another one.  Hank loved them.  I told Jay about watching him eat the grapes off the garage floor.  We laughed, haha, our dog is so precious, and he loves fruit.

Last night, Jay was again sitting in the recliner eating fresh pineapple and the beggar came to his feet.  Jay offered him some pineapple and he accepted.  He loved it.  He ate a bunch of pineapple.  So I posted on my Facebook that our dog loves fruit and how I thought it was weird.  (Of ALL of the dogs we've had...none have been fruit eaters.)

Ha, the joke is on me, of course.  As a couple of my Facebook friends posted, grapes are poisonous to dogs.  Yes, of course they're poisonous...geesh!  Tonight at supper, I was telling my parents about Hank and eating fruit and the Quackdaddy says, "Oh, grapes are one of the six things you should never feed to a dog."  L-o-v-e-l-y.  Nobody told me.

So tonight I'm sitting in Jay's recliner (haha Jay) and Hank is in position on the couch...I'm watching him wondering when he's just going to keel over dead from those stupid, poisonous grapes.  Maybe grape producers should start posting warnings on their packaging so dog owners like me don't poison their dogs with something that is supposed to be healthy...ha, yes, that's the answer.  Or maybe someone out there should write a "How to Keep a Dog Alive at the Wilhoit Ranch" manual.  Come on, anybody?

Sad

Last night our Mighty Bluestreaks were playing in their conference tournament and we went to the game.  It was an hour-and-a-half away, unfortunately, but we are all fired up about our team this year and want to support the team and coaches.  We lost and it was a bummer, but that is not the reason that I was so sad.

I was sad because of our crowd support.  Not because we weren't packing the stands with screaming fans covered in royal blue, I was sad because we weren't packing the stands with PARENTS of our players and cheerleaders.  I suppose I was spoiled a little growing up (or a lot), but someone representing my family was at every single event I was involved in...same with my brother...same with my cousins.  If either of my parents couldn't be there, which I can't really recall happening much, if at all, I knew that my grandparents would be there.  There was never a doubt.  I never had to worry about it, I am guessing I never even gave it a moment's thought because there was just always someone at my games.


And I was JUST a cheerleader.  I realize that for some dads out there (and maybe moms too) cheerleading isn't the most exciting thing to watch.  And I've often joked with Jay that if Madolyn is a cheerleader, at least you can pretend to watch her cheer and really be there for the game, you know.  And I know that, of course, Jay watches Madolyn cheer, he's just not super stoked about whether her arms are straight or if she hit the motions right.  I get that.  But one of us is there.  And usually one of our parents is there too.

I'm sure that when you have multiple children this gets tricky because you can't be four places at once.  And I suppose if you don't live near other family members, it could be impossible to spread out relatives at each game...okay, I'm not trying to beat you up and make you feel lousy.  But when I go to game after game after game and never, ever see a parent or family member of a specific player or players there, it makes me sad...and mad.

If your own child doesn't think you care about them and their interests, why should they care about anything either?  I mean, if you don't think enough of your children to go support them in the things they are involved in, what are you teaching them?  I realize that sometimes work makes it difficult, sometimes money is an issue.  With these long drives, I understand it can push your evening, but I'm not talking about missing just away games or a game here or there, I am talking about never, ever coming to anything.

As I surveyed our small crowd last night, there were three boys there with both parents and two boys there with one parent.  That is it.  Our bus driver, scorekeeper and two cheerleading sponsors were there as well.  Then there was our bunch consisting of three families (with children still in grade school) and a youth minister from one of our local churches.  There are at least a dozen boys on the basketball team and there were five cheerleaders present last night.  Of those 17 possible players or cheerleaders, there were five kids who had a parent in attendance.  Five.  That breaks my heart.

There are a couple kids on the team who thrive off of encouragement and support, you can tell it.  You see it when they look up into the crowd at the fans who are yelling words of encouragement and cheering them on.  You see it when they do something good and they are praised for it...not by the parent or grandparent, aunt or uncle, but by total strangers (practically) sitting in the stands every game, or almost every game.

If we want our kids to succeed in life, our actions need to speak louder than our words.  Our sacrifices should speak louder than our words.  If we want our kids to grow up and be responsible, productive citizens who care about their community, their own families and their futures, don't we, as parents, need to reflect that?  If we expect our children to fulfill their commitments, show responsibility and have the desire to better themselves, don't we need to model those things as well?

Even Jesus follows the whole monkey-see-monkey-do theory in John 5:19 when he says, "Whatever the Father does, the Son also does."  He says he does only what he sees the Father doing.  (Yes, even Jesus says that!!)  We know that children mirror what they see in their parents, the good and the bad.  Children pick up on our mannerisms, our attitudes, our words, our silence and even our absence.

It breaks my heart that there are kids right under my nose who don't have that support at home.  I am thankful for those who take time out of their own busy lives to show these kids that there are people out there that do care about them.  I am thankful for teachers and community members who love on these kids. 

If you're involved in a youth group, go out of your way to attend a sporting event or other extracurricular activity that one of your youth may be attending.  Show them that people care about what they're doing, what they're good at, what they are proud of and that their accomplishments matter.  Just support them.  Make a deal with a kid, tell them you'll come to their games if they'll come to youth.  Don't make your support contingent on their attendance at youth, but maybe if they see that they matter to you, they just might follow through on their end of the bargain!

I Get It!

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.  Matthew 6:33-34 (NLT)

Do you ever have a moment where, all of a sudden, something clicks and you think, wow, I get it!  I had one of those moments last week on my way home from work.  I was listening to WBGL, our local Christian radio station, and the DJ was talking about Singer/Songwriter Aaron Shust and his wife who had recently given birth to their third baby boy and he had been diagnosed with Downs Syndrome just moments after his birth, which completely took them by surprise.  I can only imagine.

So I started thinking back to all the times I have pondered the What If's in life, such as:  What if my child had been born with some sort of disease or illness that would have made them dependent on me for life?  What if our child could never live out on their own?  (Major concern for Jay and I:) What if something happens to Jay or myself and we don't get to have that happily ever after retirement together, traveling and doing fun stuff, watching our grandchildren grow up?  What if something happens to my parents or my in-laws and they aren't around anymore for support and to watch our children grow?  What if suddenly I had some sort of disease or injury that made it impossible for me to work a job I love?

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen someone else in one of these situations and thought, oh, my goodness, I don't know what I would do or how I would handle it. How will they ever be able to do this or that or have any freedom?  (All extremely selfish thoughts when I think about them.)  I've also had lots of pity for those in these situations because their lives were not going to turn out right, according to their plan, and they would have to change their course completely.  Yuck.

I am a planner.  Some would say that is an oxymoron...Sarah a planner...because I'm also a very disorganized person, always running late, always procrastinating, always a step behind, but in my own little world (love that song by Matthew West, by the way), I like to plan things.  I love to make lists and put things on a calendar...all things that I can easily control and accomplish without a huge decision-making process.  I think I am a very disorganized/organized person.  Ha.

I have a life plan.  So far so good basically.  The little bumps in my road have been minor, very minor.  I have had a few curves thrown in there every now and then, and at a couple T-roads, that I wasn't seeing on my radar, I have had to make decisions on which route to take.  But all in all, I have had it very, very good and so far my life hasn't been disrupted so much to throw me/us off course.

So what was my epiphany?  Here I was thinking about how awful it would be if something were to happen to mess up my life because I have it all planned out and I'm listening to this story about how this couple has had this child with Downs and how that is going to screw up their life...and it totally hits me (almost like a bucket falling from the attic) it doesn't matter what my plan is, does it?  I wish now that I had pulled over and recorded all of my thoughts because it was just like a sudden realization that I had never even considered and it was almost as if I took a very deep breath...like, it's okay, Sarah, no matter what happens on this earth, the only future you need to focus on is in Heaven and Jesus has your back...nothing that comes along on this earth (as painful as it might be) can steer you off course if you follow Him...because at this point, the only course you should be following is the one that leads to Heaven.

I smiled.  I was so relieved.  I have no idea why this had never occurred to me before.  You know, just like the birds of the sky who do not plant, harvest and store up their food in barns for tomorrow because God provides for them, and surely we are more valuable to God than a bird, that passage is found in Matthew 6:19-34.  Read that over if you want to be reassured that we are not to worry.  It is a fabulous reminder of our importance to God and the trust we need to have Him.  He already has my life plan mapped out, all He asks of me is that I seek His kingdom.  I don't see anywhere in that passage about Sarah's retirement trips and their importance or at what age my children will be living out on their own.  (Shocking, I know)

Suddenly a weight has been lifted.  I must not live life according to what my plans are, but I need to trust in what God's plan is for me.  (See Jeremiah 29:11)   I think it is perfectly okay to daydream about an awesome vacation or about seeing something amazing (like the Grand Canyon).  I still hope to travel some day to places I have never been.  It is scary, for me, to think that I do not know what my future holds, but I need to remember who holds my future and I must trust Him.  Whether or not, I get to see the islands of Hawaii or make my dream trip to the orphanage in India makes no difference to God, nor will it compare to the glories of Heaven.  I won't even give it a second thought once I reach those pearly gates and walk the streets of gold...

Patience with the Patient(s)

Twenty-two days ago, Jay had his reconstructive ankle surgery.  It has went so much better than I imagined and for that I am grateful.  I have had a few moments where I felt like I could possibly take that crutch and smack him up side the head with it, but I have refrained.  The last thing we need is for me to be in jail, right?

At his last checkup, the doctor said he could start weaning himself from his crutches, which he equated to not needing them at all.  Tried that for two days and learned his lesson.   He is back on the crutches and I'm fine with that because he needs to let it heal properly.  He goes again this Thursday so we'll see what he says/misinterprets this week :)

I know he is so tired of being stuck in this house, and my laptop is causing major interference with his Rosetta Stone Program on How to Speak Spanish (he hopes to get that worked out tomorrow).  The one thing I had not considered was how tired I am of driving everywhere.  Ugh...and you know, women, how it is to drive with men...who are perfect drivers.  I would be tickled pink to be riding along in the passenger seat with my nose in my Nookbook reading...or to not let him out at the entrance to go park far, far away.  But these are VERY minor inconveniences so I'll just let it go :)

Madolyn's nose is healing quite well.  Her eyes never did blacken, thankfully.  And now that the swelling is gone and the yellow has faded, she's back to looking as beautiful as ever (to me, of course).  She goes in the morning to see our family doctor as a follow-up.  Funny thing, we were so concerned about her not being able to blow her nose and the fact that she is so snotty...she says she breathes better than ever so we're wondering if this was a Godsend!  Madolyn didn't miss a beat...she played volleyball the very next day following her little accident and acted like nothing was wrong.  Silly girl.

Hank the Tank II, our precious, is doing FINE.  I mean, FINE as in you couldn't even tell after about 24 hours that I had ran over him with my big car.  Jay took him to the vet and they said he was just sore and needed rest, and he has had plenty.  He has been chasing and playing with the kids as if he is in tip-top shape.  I'm thinking his large middle (he's over 80 lbs now) helped protect all his important  parts from my tires...Hallelujah.

We had a little ice hit our area on Friday night.  It started melting this morning, but our church, along with others, was called off because of the roads, parking lots and sidewalks.  I had to stop by the church this afternoon to grab something and I pulled my car up in the circle drive and hopped out, ran around the back and felt flat on my behind...caught myself with my left hand and my left forefinger.  I was fine...besides the fact that I was soaking wet from falling on the ground, but my finger was a tad sore.  Well, really sore.  And now it is bruising on the inside joint/knuckle. 

Fortunately, it doesn't hurt to type as long as I don't bend the finger much.  Jay caught himself when he started to say "at least it's just a finger" because as a court reporter, your fingers are your livelihood, and we don't have substitutes on hand.  I will have to do the best I can tomorrow and hope people don't use many words starting with the letters R, L, H, M, N, Y, the number 4, the words "will," "where," "had" or the asterick on the left.    Do you think I should advise everyone of this...haha, wouldn't that be a hoot?  "Excuse me, Your Honor, if you could just avoid saying any words beginning with R, L, H, M, N or Y, that would be great."  It is just a finger, and it is only jammed but ouch, it still hurts!!   

Today is a new day beginning a new week...we've only had a few minor mishaps lately, but we're done with them for awhile hopefully.  I don't need any more patients who need my patience.