Football Camp

Yesterday, my son, Jeno started Football Camp. He is 10.5 yrs and very competitive. My husband, of course was thrilled that he made a team with all his old high school buddies coaching and yes, they roped him in to asst. coaching. AGGGGHHHH! Well, I guess he will be there everyday anyway!

Well, Angelo had to come along to root Jeno. So off they all went. 2hrs later I heard Angelo yelling from the porch! He was so excited, they let him join football camp with the other guys. They put him in the flag division area to learn the ropes. My husband was so surprised because he kept up with them all. Angelo had to show me all of his football stances. Then we had to call almost every relative so he could tell them he played football. Too cute! Oh, course Jeno was rolling his eyes the whole time. To blow Jeno's horn....they said he was a maniac! I guess that's good???? He was almost knocking the big high school kids over. Art said that the coaches were drooling. Jeno is now only 10.5 yrs old, wears almost a size 8 shoe and weighs 146 pounds. Man, it looks like another son that I will be talking to his arm pit. I'm 5'4" and I come to my oldest son's armpit. Thank goodness he wears deodorant!

Can't wait to see what tonight brings for Angelo at Football Camp.

Nature deficit disorder

I found this today and thought it was neat after my fire fly experience


Get out into his nature
If the heaven's declare... let's get out there!
Take a hand and go for a walk.
Slow down. Marvel.
Worship the Creator of all things.

Ideas to combat nature deficit disorder:
~ make Worship Walk dates with other families. After a good hike on a nature trail, gather together to sing hymns of praise around a campfire, or in a clearing...~ see nature walks as an antidote against stress and depression...
~ collect little stones on your walks and display them in a old mason jar set on a windowsill
~ play a game of "Find Ten Glimpses of Glory"... and walk through the woods looking for ten interesting leaves, or ten evidences of animals, or ten unusual plants, or ten flashes of color...~ lay out in the backyard and look up. Watch clouds float by. What shapes are His hand forming? Do you know the different kind of clouds? Print out this page to take out cloudspotting with you. Or watch this fascinating Cloud Tutorial
"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made..." ~Romans

Fire Flies

I know that all you Easterner's are probably used to them but Me and the boys are totally amazed by those little lighting bugs. The closest I ever came to ever see them before was on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Disney.

Angelo got himself a new bug net and every night he is out there at dusk, swooping, running and jumping after those little glimpses of light. As I sat on the deck tonight watching him, I wondered if he will always find such amazement in the little things in life. I hope so.........I would hate for him to lose that magic of God's wonders that we all seem to lose as we get older. I am so blessed that I have him to remind me to sit back and catch a few fire flies. I realize that God gave this wonderful little person to me to forget sometimes about the routine things and just go with the love of living today at this moment.

God Bless you all and your own little " lighting bugs"

Does this sound familiar?

Tell me if this is common in you home........

Angelo: Mom, where are you? (standing outside the door)

Me: In the bathroom...

Angelo: What are you doing?

Me: Needing a little privacy.

Angelo: Are you going potty?

Me: Yes, Angelo. Can you please go talk to your Dad or brothers?

Angelo: Mom, (pause) Can I come in?

Me: No, Angelo mommy is going potty. I would like some privacy.

Angelo: Mom, I just have a question........

Me: Yes, Angelo

Angelo: Hey, Mom what are you doing in there, anyway?

and it goes on........................everyday.......whether I am going potty or in the tub. So, funny.

And then if it isn't Angelo, I have a dog's paw under the door. You know they are thinking...I wonder what's she doing?

Well, I guess I will never, ever be lonely! I thank God for that!

The List Serve

Again, is it just me or are people getting out of control? I have pointed this out on this blog before about the anger in people lately. I have been subscribed to the list serve for 9.5 years. Never have I seen the chaos and upset that individuals are doing in the last few months. It is all very sad since we are in reality, in the same boat. Our WS kids sail a different course and we as the captains have to find the right path for them.
I have gotten to the point that I am afraid to add a comment. I am afraid I will be criticized or talked down to for any comment or suggestion.
All too sad............................................... Why?????

OUR Cosmo

Finally, I took a photo of our little addition to our home. He is 8 weeks old and full of spit and vinegar.

I have never seen a puppy that has totally taken over our lives. He even has the older doxies doing what he wants!

Wait

I love this. Had to write it down to share.........................................

Wait

Wait Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied. I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate, And the Master so gently said,"Child, you must wait"."Wait? You say, wait!" my indignant reply."Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!

Is Your hand shortened? Or have you not heard? By Faith, I have asked, and am claiming your Word. My future and all to which I can relate Hangs in the balance, and YOU tell me to WAIT? I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign, Or even a 'no' to which I can resign. And Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry: I'm weary of asking! I need a reply!
"Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate As my Master replied once again,"You must wait."So, I slumped in my chair, Defeated and taut and grumbled to God,"So, I'm waiting...for what?" He seemed, then, to kneel, And His eyes wept with mine, And He tenderly said,"I could give you a sign. I could shake the heavens, And darken the sun. I could raise the dead, and Cause mountains to run. All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be.You would have what you want --But you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each Saint; You'd not know the power that I give to the Faint; You'd not learn to see through the clouds of Despair; You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm There; You'd not know the joy of resting in Me When darkness and silence were all you could See. You'd never experience that fullness of Love As the peace of My Spirit descends like a Dove; You'd know that I give and I save...for a StartBut you'd not know the depth of the beat of My Heart. The glow of My comfort late into the Night, The faith the I give when you walk without Sight, The depth that's beyond getting just what you Asked Of an infinite God, who makes what you have LAST.
You'd never know, should your pain quickly Flee, What it means that "My grace is sufficient for Thee."Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come True, But, Oh, the loss! If I lost what I'm doing in You!
So, be silent, My Child, and in time you will See That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me. And though oft' may My answers seem terribly Late, My most precious answer of all is still, "Wait.'"
Author Unknown

Do we ever have enough time?

It seems like I cannot keep up with my canning. I have so much to do and soooo little time it seems. I am sure that everyone has felt that way. My home always feels like it is some sort of chaos. What happened to those days that I could start a project and actually finish it? Oh, yeah, I remember.................It was Feb. 15, 1999. The day before Angelo was born! LOL!!!!!! Feb. 16, 1999 was the beginning of my never ending journey to try to keep organized.

Who are these women that have everything in order? When do they find the time to have their cupboards straight and the wash ironed. My kids are lucky that it comes out of the dryer un-wrinkled. My husband always opens a cabinet and something always falls out on him! Hee Hee. I guess I have learned to dunk! I have a half painted wall that I started in January. Today I might get to it. Now, read the word might.

I still have 6 quarts of sour cherries to pit today and figure out what I am going to do with them. I got the cherry pie filling done yesterday. It takes 3 times as long to pit because Angelo just loves to use the pitter. He doesn't push hard enough so, I seem to be picking the seeds out by hand. Oh, well.....Years from now, I will think of this as cherished memory. AGHHHHH!

We went and picked our little puppy, Cosmo up on Saturday. It took us 3 hours to get him. It was such a pleasant trip. Jeno decided to stay with his Mam & Pap. Uncle Joe lives next door with a huge train set-up. He had fun and we had a non-sibling car ride. No fighting and no "Tell him to stop looking at me" time. Angelo was quiet all the way there. He kept asking where NY was. I know he thought we were taking him to a doc. appt. The look of joy on his face when we crossed the NY border. Sooooo funny! He looked at me and said, "I guess we are not going to Philadelphia today"! Oh, my........Now we have the countdown to the Aug. Appts.

Thursday

Well, I haven't signed on a lot lately. It seems with the summer going on, I never have any time. We have been canning up a storm and working on the garden a lot. I have zucchinis and yellow squash growing out of my ears! Angelo has a pumpkin plant that has taken over the yard. I swear it is something out of a sci-fi movie. This little plant started with one seed in a children's peat pot for a science project for him. This little plant must be 25 feet long ( I am not kidding). We have it going down the side of the hill and now it is traveling down my backyard. Last count, he had 20 small pumpkins. He is so excited. I do not think the neighbors are though. I had to sneak next door and chop down the vines from this monster before they saw. Thank goodness they were gone (Senior couple that has a picture perfect yard). Oh, and Angelo learned a new joke. Here it goes because he wanted it posted

How do you mend a broken Jack-o-lantern? With a pumpkin patch!

Angelo has been up and down the past couple of weeks. One min. he is happy the next he is crying. I guess it is waaaaaay better than when he was in this hitting and swearing stage. Boy, does he not like to sit in time out! It is like pulling his little teeth! I also put a drop of vinegar on his tongue when he said a bad word. I told him sour words deserve a sour mouth. It didn't seem to phase him too much. I then remembered that he loves salt & vinegar chips. LOL!!! Oh, well! It was worth a try. He also went through a "I will not wash my hair phase" He would cry and scream when I would wash his hair. Thank goodness he runs through the sprinkler and get his hair wet because I was only getting to wash it 2 times a week there for a month. Now, would you believe, he wants his hair washed everyday! Sometimes twice a day! UGH! I turn around and he is stripped in the bathroom with shampoo in his hand. Last week, I had to drag him in there. Now, I am telling him he is wasting too much water...................................What's a girl to do? I would rather have a clean son than a stinky one!

I hope everyone has gotten their Knobels flyer. I know that it is 2 months away, but I cannot wait! I love seeing all those happy faces!

Is it Just Me?

I have kinda been on shut down mode lately. The enviorment around me has been seriously bothering me. I keep wondering if it is because I was in a very small town before we moved to Pa and I just have been out of the loop so to say. Little back ground...............I grew up in the bay area in California. By no means was I sheltered and not exposed to anything. I am 45 years old now. I still remember walking through San Francisco as a kid seeing all kinds of things. LOL! You know peace, love and all that. But what I am seeing now from people is down right anger in them. People are angry. Just yesterday I saw a young adult man jump on top of a mini van that his girlfriend was in. Jumping and swearing! All in front of the Weis grocery store. Angelo got a good ear full. Oh, did I have explaining to do in this one. Why was that mean man hitting that car? Why was he yelling? Why does that woman use bad words? Why? Why? Why? AGHHHHHH!
Now this is not out of the ordinary. Things around me have been going on for the past couple of weeks like this. A heard a woman yelling last week our back alley....I guess at her boyfriend. This was around 2 in the morn. That one was an eye opener!
Hey, I live in a nice neighborhood with nice quiet neighbors. So, I thought. Maybe it is just me but I am seeing a huge change in people. Thanks for hearing me vent!