where i've been

*peeks around corner

Hello! So nice to see you again!!

Yes, I've been away, for a very long time. The good news is that I am not deceased. The bad news is that ... well, there is no bad news! I've been away from home for the last (almost) three weeks, taking care of my mom-in-law while my dad-in-law was out of town on business. And while it's been a little bit crazy, I am home safe and sound, and catching up on rest, laundry, cleaning, and getting to know Jessie again. :-) We plan to reacquaint ourselves this evening, while we watch American Idol and just ... veg.

My refrigerator is chalk full of science projects, but I'm not dealing with that until tomorrow. And yes, I said that yesterday.

Other than that, there isn't a whole lot going on, other than normal everyday life. Baseball season has started for both the Rockies and Andrew. I'm soooo excited!! I can't wait until it gets warm enough to go to a game and get toasty fried in the warm sun! And yes, I know all about skin cancer. I just happen to not care. I'd rather remedy my low vitamin D than worry about something that may never happen. But I am kidding about getting toasty fried. I know that's not a good thing.

I'm also in the midst of starting a blog for the ladies at our church. Unfortunately, it won't be something that non-members will have access to, so I won't be able to point you to it. But I at least had to share, because I'm so excited!!! It's an opportunity to write more, encourage more, and get to know others at my church more. Nothing better than that! I can't wait to see what kind of input and feedback the ladies will give.

Bedee, bedee, that's about it, folks! Oh! Forgot to tell you that Andrew broke him wrist while we were gone. He went on a three day youth retreat, and got into a tubing pile up. Ha! He said all of them were going down the hill, and all of a sudden, the tube flipped and all three of his buddies had landed on his arm while it was twisted behind his back. He said he went face first, with his cheek bouncing up and down on the ground all the way down. And then he said, "And Mom! Michael landed right ON my face. I mean, like, ON IT." Michael weighs about 220, so ... ahem ... I can't imagine that was too pleasant, and it made me wonder how his nose didn't end up getting broken also. ;-)

So, he's in a cast for four weeks, and a splint for two. Baseball practice started the night he got the cast on, of course. Thankfully, it's just the start of the practice season, and he should be good to go as soon as the games start up. And thankfully, it wasn't his pitching arm. Thank you, Lord!

Thanks for stopping in again, assuming I'm not talking to thin air. I'm sure I've lost most of my readers by now. If you did stop in, leave me a little comment and let me know if you have any guesses as to what I said when I signed Andrew's cast (I'll reveal the answer in the next post).

Any guesses?

Anyone?





Anyone???

A is for Attitude!

As I'm sure you know, Super Bowl Sunday is this coming Sunday. So wives, don't forget to put popcorn, brownies, cookies, buffalo wings, etc. on your grocery lists this week. And have your phone handy to call 911 for when your husband's acid reflux is mistakenly thought of as cardiac arrest.

Ah hem ...

I love football and baseball both. Especially if my son is playing them. But, I enjoy professional also. However, in the last few years, my love for pro football has dwindeled down to just about ... nothing.

Why?

Perhaps because my team (Denver Broncos) are, to put it mildly, having issues. I don't mean lack of physcial ability (although maybe there is some of that). I don't mean lack of funds. I mean attitudes that lack sportsmanship, unselfish behavior, and a team togetherness.

Sticktuitiveness.

I am a firm believer in rooting for and sticking with my team, no matter what the score board says. If my team depicts an attitude of selflessness, team spirit, leadership, and spunk - I'm all there. But when the team is divided, so is my loyalty.

Mike Shanahan did an excellent job the first few years he was head coach. And then ...

He started firing everyone, attempting to "start over", year after year. If he was looking for  John Elway leadership, and Terrell Davis sportsmanship, integrity, and humbleness, he never found it. Granted, there have been some quality recruits. But as a whole, the team's struggles are due to high levels of discord in the locker room, lack of integrity, and the need for attitude adjustments. Have we had the best athetic ability there ever was? Probably not. But more than that, our attitude has been in the sewer for quite some time, and its fumes are seemingly emitting through my tv screen.

This is what handy dandy off buttons are for.

So what am I going to do about Super Bowl Sunday?

Well fortunately, for me ... Peyton Manning is playing! :)

Now that boy has integrity. Spirit. Sportsmanship. Leadership.

And in turn, his fellow team members follow, adore, and respect him.

Do they have talent galore? You bet!! But without quality leadership with attitude (the right kind of attitude!), and teammates willing to follow, support, and be a team, winning the game becomes as elusive as a mirage in a 120 degree desert.

It's akin to having a table full of gourmet food, sloppily thrown together to make one casserole. Alone, the food may taste delectable. But put all those delectable dishes together, and it makes for a very unpalatable dish.  

If you take a sour grape like Brandon Marshall, and add it to a quiche like Champ Bailey, the grape will sour the quiche, and become the overwhelming focus, distraction, and disgust. Because just as grapes sour the quiche, poor attitudes spoil the talent of a team.

For Sunday's menu, I think Peyton and the Colts are planning on cooking up one of the most delectable, palatable, mouth watering games that a hungry-for-football-little-houswife-on-the-prairie could possibly hope for!

Go Colts!!

~Brenda

Andrew's Gift

I have prayed many times for good gifts from the Lord. That they would be given to my children. And by good gifts, I don't mean fancy jobs, cars, or any other material possession. I mean talents. Fruit of the Spirit. The things that matter in life, and that can be used for His glory.

Ashlee has the gift of caring for others.

Jessie has the gift of music. Both singing and playing the piano.

And Andrew has the gift of pitching. Not with his voice, like his sister. But with his arm.

His babeball tournament was this weekend. We were excited just to be able to go to tournament, since we are now in an age group that requires you to earn that right. The top eight teams get to go, whereas when they're younger, each team went regardless of standings. I believe we came in fifth overall to win our tourney spot.

We didn't end up winning clear through to the final game. But we did win the first one.

I'm not going to lie. I wanted needed our team to win that first tourney game.

Desperately.

Why?

Because I am way too competitive, especially when we face a jerk we were going up against a team with a coach that, in my opinion, shouldn't be allowed to coach.

He's rude. He's mean to the kids. He causes a fuss with the umpires nearly every game, and sometimes even manages to get himself kicked out of the game.

And each time we play his team, we lose!

Not because they have so much more talent, but because his little mind games tend to do quite a job on the players. Both his and ours.

So I, in all my fleshly desires, wanted this win more than anything.

I prayed for it. I repented of my fleshly desires. Then I prayed for it some more. I was quite the train wreck. My heart beat wildly (not good at this point!). My hands broke out in a rash. Then I prayed for the win some more, and told the Lord I would give Him the glory.

Then I repented of trying to bribe the Lord.

See what I mean by train wreck?

Andrew pitched the first four innings. His buddy, Dalton, pitched the last three. To make a long story short, both of our pitchers did exceptionally well, and we ended up winning 4-3. It wasn't a slaughter. It wasn't easy. But we they got the job done.



But you know what?

Although I wanted this win more than anything, I made up my mind that if they lost, it would still be ok.

Why?

Because Andrew did his best. The whole team did their best. They fought hard. They persevered. They didn't let that coach's attitude get to them. They stuck together until the end.

Watching Andrew pitch is one of my very most favorite things to do. He does have a gift that has been given to him by God. And I'm so thankful that he uses it. He doesn't hoard it (although he's been tempted at times). He shares it. He gives back a portion of what he's been given.

It's good and right for him to do that. God gives us good gifts so that we may humbly share them with others.

I see the appreciation in the eyes of his teammates. I see his coach's admiration. But what I appreciate most about Andrew and his gift is that he's humble about his ability.

Could it be that he isn't really aware of the depth of his talent?

I believe that's part of it.

But if he were desperate to be the top guy, the one who was admired, the one everyone looked to for leadership ... I believe he would see his talent more clearly. In other words, he's not looking to be puffed up and made great. He just goes out there and does what the team needs him to do.

And they love him for it.

And so do I.

So I publicly thank the Lord for giving Andrew a good gift. For enabling him to be a humble leader that is not selfish with the talent God has given.

And for a wickedly fast pitch that causes his mama's heart to flutter each time she hears the smack in the glove, followed by a ...

SSSSSTTEEEEEEEEERRRRIIIIKE!!!!




Good job, Titans!!! Can't wait until next year.

~Brenda, the baseball lovin' prairie mama

I Saw A Sign

Not a sign from Heaven or anything, although that would be nice!!

Andrew had an out of town baseball game last week, wwwwwaaaaaaaayyyy out on the prairie. We had to drive for quite a while, so I was major bummed when we got rained out.

However, seeing this sign nearly made the trip worth it. I'm actually collecting signs that I see that I think are interesting, funny, ridiculous, gross ... anything out of the norm. Different.

Hence the reason I took this picture:





Ha!

At least they're honest, right?

~Brenda

What a Weekend!

My nephew's baseball games on Saturday, church on Sunday, and a day with the family yesterday that consisted of pizza, basketball games, and movie going made for a memorable Memorial Day weekend for us.

What's that? You want proof?

You got it!

This is Shaun's sister, and her little one. Me and that gorgeous baby share a birthday. A rapidly approaching birthday. He'll be one, and I'll be .... well, I'll be much older than one.

You didn't think I'd reallly tell you my age, did you?

Anyway, gorgeous baby (and Mama):











Funny how they have the same look on their faces each time I snapped a shot, huh?

And this is that baby's big brother, the baseball player, chowin' down after a long day of playin' hard.








Or hardly playin'. I'm not sure which. Ha! Just kidding. I just happen to have a nack for snapping photos at just the wrong time.

I guess I should keep my day job.

So what did my Lovely Lurkers do this weekend?

~Brenda, the nephew lovin' auntie on the Prairie