Viruses

Being sick is a miserable thing because you can only stay in bed for so long. And, if you are a mom you can't stay in bed at all! There are little people depending on you for everything, so you can't baby your own sickness.

Well, besides my daughter and I struggling with allergy symptoms, my computer is infected with a virus. (Now you now I don't have a mac!! :) ) So, until I can get it to a doctor (Geek Squad) and get a vaccination or antibiotics (norton anti-virus) I won't be able to blog.

I will be back, because I love to write. Until then, I will miss you!

Is it really "Just a Game?"

Some might say that I am a competitive person. Okay, everyone would say that I am a competitive person. I love sports and teamwork and I absolutely love winning!! I grew up in a Dallas Cowboys house. My dad subscribed to the "Dallas Cowboys Weekly" and I would spend Sunday afternoons every fall curled up with him on the couch watching TV. It wasn't until I married Kelly that I learned the joys of college basketball! And not just any college basketball, but the birthplace of basketball where the inventor of the game himself, James Naismith, coached - University of Kansas! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! KU!

I have been a fan - avid fan - for 17 years. I learn the players names and their stories. I watch them in the pros and I've even seen Greg Ostertag in a movie! I remember the season when the Jayhawks were number one all season long and were on their way to the championship and then we played and lost to the Arizona Wildcats. (who, by the way, went on to win the championship. So at least they beat everyone else too!) It crushed me to the core. I cried and hurt and hated what Jacque Vaughan and Jerod Haase were experiencing. Later I bought Jerod's book "Floor Burns" which was written throughout this amazing season and I cried all over again as I lived it through his words.

I remember the feeling of betrayal and loss when Coach Williams walked away to coach North Carolina. It is personal! I take it personally. And yet, I find myself now telling my young, sensitive son that it is "just a game."

I used these words last night as we watched Memphis lead our Jayhawks by nine with about two minutes left in the national championship game. As I was preparing my son for the loss I told him that the sun will come up tomorrow, we will go to school, play with our friends and still be die hard Jayhawk fans. Nothing in our lives will change. I was trying to separate the feeling of being a member of the team to being a spectator, albeit a loud cheering one!

Even as I said the words, the score began to change. I put my son off my lap and started cheering! "What was I thinking?" I know how much time two minutes is! "Steal and Score!" (my mantra!!) And then the miracle occurred as Mario nailed a three to bring overtime and a national championship to the Kansas Jayhawks! We are the National Champs!

This morning, we celebrated with a stop at the donut shop for breakfast, wearing Jayhawk attire to school and work, adding National Champ photos to our computer desktop, ordering Jayhawk tshirts commemorating the victory, sending an email to the Kansas assistant coach who shared his address with my son and enjoying the accolades from friends. Friends who actually "congratulated" me on the win! Me! I was congratulated! See, I really am a Kansas Jayhawk and it is not "just a game!"

I did it! (part 2)

After posting last night I got to thinking about my heavenly Father and how He teaches me. My favorite verse is Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you; be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid for the Lord your God is with you wherever you may go."

Did you catch the "commanded" word? Joshua had been encouraged to be strong. He had been told how, even shown how by Moses. Joshua even enjoyed a strong, solid platform to base his courage on. And yet, the Bible records four (perhaps more could be found by a more in-depth study) times where Joshua is encouraged to be strong and courageous and then this last time in Joshua 1:9 he is COMMANDED!

Exasperation must have set in as Joshua heard the instructions over and over and felt like he was simply "blowing the gum out of his mouth" and not actually blowing a bubble.

Eventually, he must have mastered the concept because in chapter 10 verse 25, Joshua passes on his knowledge to others as he instructs, "Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage..."

He did it!! And we can too, because the Lord our God is with us wherever we go!!

I did it!

I've spent the last few months trying to teach my son how to blow a bubble with bubble gum. This is not an easy skill to teach, and yet once you learn it is the easiest thing to do. Most times when you are teaching someone how to do something, you use words and actions at the same time to demonstrate the "how to." Well, if you can do this with blowing bubbles, you should upload that to Youtube! It just cannot be done.

I would talk Cameron through the process and then show him by blowing a bubble. When he would try, he would simply blow the gum right out of his mouth. He would get another piece and I would try a new technique. Perhaps one little step at a time would work. You get the gum to the front of your mouth by your teeth...oh, you know how. Anyway.....

The tough part is describing how to push your tongue through the gum out of your mouth and then pull your tongue back in leaving a hole where you can blow the air. I didn't do very well here did I? Well, obviously through all my gobbledygook, Cameron got it and can now blow a mean bubble!

Without three pieces of gum at one time!!!