moppy_05's Xanga

SMILE AND WAVE, BOYS!

Mon, 18 May 2009 23:30:47 GMT

Sammy is walking around the kitchen and family room - around and around in a circle - with no apparent purpose. Moppy: "Sammy, what are you doing?" Sammy: "Taking my head for a walk!" His mom told him not to ever go for a walk without it and he said "OK!"

Lizzie is finishing her dinner and says, "Masha is scared. Masha is a little bit scared." Why? "I don't know. Masha is a little bit scared." No idea where that came from. Malikas, why are you scared?

Sammy comes in with 2 little penguins. He walks over to me and shows the penguins to me... and then says "Just smile and wave, boys. Just smile and wave." Yep, we watched Madagascar last week.

A Lizzie story from a few weeks ago. Jenny tells her she can go shopping after dinner. As soon as the food is ready she climbs onto her chair and and eats very fast. Jenny says, "Lizzie, you must be so hungry. Do you want some more to eat?" Lizzie: "No, Mommy, I want to go shopping!" Watch out, Jason!!

On the phone with Masha, it's about 11:30 p.m. her time. The sun is still shining here and we haven't even had dinner yet. Sammy and I are on the phone with her. She tells us she's going to bed. Sammy wants to know why she's always going to bed... then calls her a "kaban!" He doesn't quite understand the time difference so it makes no sense to him that she goes to bed while the sun is shining.

Sammy asks Poppy if he likes being at the airport. Poppy says he will be very happy to go there in a couple of weeks because Sara is coming home. WOO-HOO!!!

Four days since my surgery. "Just getting old" kind of surgery... but doing OK. Plenty of pain but gotta love those painkillers... takes away pain and puts me to sleep... good combo!

My lovely daughter-in-law brought us a delicious dinner tonight - chicken pot pie, Ceasar salad, homemade chocolate chip cookies. She is such a good cook. Jenny's birthday is tomorrow so Poppy bought her a cake and put candles on it. Good thing he was top of things.

Grandkids are so much fun!!

HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 01:59:04 GMT

What a glorious day! When I woke up this morning, the words that I used for the title were on my mind. We had a truly wonderful morning at KidZone Worship. "Mary" came in to see the kids. She was so excited because the tomb was empty! After she left we began the morning by singing "God's not dead! No! He is alive!" Like I said... what a glorious day!

We had a fun evening at Jason’s. We walked in with 2 gift bags and Sammy says “Are those presents for the kids?” Sammy and I put together his new puzzle while Charlie and Jason watched the end of the Masters Golf Tournament. Jenny went to get the pizza; Lizzie was playing with her coloring pages and pen that we brought her. We had a “picnic” in the living room and watched Veggie Tales’ “The Easter Carol”. Afterwards we had strawberry shortcake.

Jenny was telling us that one day last week she told Sammy to put his jammies on his dresser so he could wear them again that night. He forgot and put them down the laundry chute. As they went down he yells “Oh, no! The laundry chute ate my jammies!” Jason asked him why he put them down there and he said, “I guess the laundry chute was hungry!”

Sammy asked Poppy how much money he had. Charlie said “none”. Sammy says, “is that what you say when you don’t know?” So Charlie pulls his change out of his pocket and gives it to Sammy and tells him to count it. Sammy says “wait, I’ll be right back; I’m going to get my shoe.” So he comes back with a shoe that is a bank and he begins to count the money – as he puts it in the bank. Then he gives it to his mom and says “is it full yet?” She tells him no, that he has a long way to go. Sammy says “OK, and takes his shoe to his room.” Oh, but not before he asks me for money. I told him mine was in the car and he said OK. I’m surprised he didn’t ask me to go get it.

Lizzie's plate was in the floor – remember it was a “picnic” and she stepped on the side of it. Her food went flying. She could not have done it better if she had tried. She stops… looks at it and says “Oh, man!” It was so funny!

DON'T EVER GIVE UP...

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 20:09:55 GMT

Nothing profound about the title. It's really for those few who read this and had given up that I would ever write another blog. There's no way I'm going to go backwards. I'll start with today - our annual Easter Treasure Hunt... an absolutely beee-yew-tee-ful day!!! I ordered this weather especially for the egg hunt. I hope those of you in attendance appreciated it. The Lord certainly blessed us with a great day when you consider all the rain we've had recently.

OK... maybe a little bit backwards... Chris turned 23 on Wednesday. Am I the only one who can not believe that he is 23? But he is still my baby boy!! He and Charlie are at Bennett Springs fishing. What a great day for that, too!! Talked to Sara on Friday. Pray for her. She hasn't felt so well this week. Of course, my thoughts turn to malaria. Please pray that's not what it is. Masha is in Belarus visting friends until next Sunday. It's surprising what a difference 2 more hours in time difference can make. We're looking forward to Easter Sunday and spending some time with Jason and family. It is ALWAYS fun to have a chance to play with the grandkids.

UPWARD ON THE BRAIN

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:10:57 GMT

Yep - that time of year again - constantly thinking about Upward. Trying to get the teams as even as possible. Trying to make sure coaches practice on the night that works for them. Trying to make parents happy - the hardest job of all. Setting up practice nights. Ordering uniforms. And the list goes on and on from now until March 1. This morning I saw this video and decided I want this little girl on my team. She's 5 years old!!

JOSEPH, PLAICE, TREACLE, ETC.

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 19:03:49 GMT

Wednesday was a bright, sunny day - certainly not your typical British day. We left for London on the train, headed for the Adelphi Theater to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat! After a lunch of paninis at Cafe Nero, we went there for the matinee at 3 pm. And it truly was amazing. The young man who played Joseph, Lee Mead, certainly has one of the most beautiful smiles I've ever seen... an incredible voice, too. I really, really like the young lady who was the narrator. Wow! When she opened her mouth the sound that came out was indescribable. We arrived home that evening after dinner at Friday's in Leicester Square, tired but very content with our wonderful day.

Masha had a mock exam on Thursday so it was off to her school, The College of Law. They have a very nice reception area so I waited patiently and began reading "Safely Home". By the time she finished it was raining so with hoods up we went around the corner to have sushi for lunch.

Friday was another mock exam day for Masha. This time in Business Law. Once again I read my book - if you've never read "Safely Home", you should - and waited patiently. After she finished we took the underground to London Bridge to find a traditional pub with fish and chips. We ate at the Old Thameside Inn. Masha had scampi. In America, one would think that she was eating shrimp sauteed in garlic and butter. However, in the UK, it's fried shrimp. I had a fish that I had never heard of - plaice - and it was quite nice. Next to our table was a small board with a dessert menu. I asked what a treacle tart was and after the explanation that it was burnt sugar, I thought we should give it a taste. Yummy!! It was served with vanilla ice cream and it was sooooo good. If you ever come to London, you really should try it. The train ride home - about 40 minutes - was good - mainly because we were ahead of rush hour. However, even with that... this is what Masha looks like at the end of a day.

Saturday was a wonderful day of doing nothing - just relaxing - watching movies - laughing - eating pizza (yes, with corn) and other very "healthy" foods.

HORSES & MINTS

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:25:51 GMT

Did you know that horses like mints? You know... like lifesavers but the minty ones? Well, I didn't so when Masha suggested we take a walk and feed some mints to horses I thought she had lost it. But not wanting to deter her, I agreed to come along. And guess what? They do... or at least the ones we visited did.

So yes, I arrived in London safe and sound late Monday night. Since it was late afternoon my time, I was awake and ready for something decent to eat so we ordered pizza at 11:45. Hey, it was dinner time to me and I like the pizza option there - ham, corn and mushrooms. Really, it's good! Trust me!!

Tomorrow we're headed into London (Egham is like a suburb, which is where Masha lives) to see "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat".

Time for a Break

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:51:16 GMT

I'm leaving for the airport in less than 4 hours. It's 12:30 in the morning; I should be asleep but I can't. Instead I have about a million thoughts running through my mind. "Did I get everything done?" "Do I have everything covered?" "Did I pack everything?" "Am I going to be able to sleep on the plane?" - those are just a few. I love going to London - always a relaxing time with Malikas. Maybe I'll even keep up with my Xanga blog while I'm there. I've not done very well with it lately.

We had a guest speaker today. Our Pastor and 2 others from PBC are in Ghana on a vision trip. His name was Duke Duvall. He did an excellent job. I liked his first story... Little boy: Mommy, does every fairy tale start with "Once upon a time..."? Mom: No, son, some start with "If elected, I promise to...". His sermon was entitled AMERICA: Bless God! More often it's said "God Bless America" but will He if we keep breaking His laws. I don't think so.

Lizzie turned 2 on October 4. Hard to believe... Sammy was a big help in blowing out the candles.

Here are a couple of pictures of our dinosaur/dragon and lion...

We spent a late afternoon at the pumpkin patch:

FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE BALLPARK

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 14:14:55 GMT

The last weekend of Cardinal baseball 2008... We had great seats - a very nice suite that Young has for the some of the games... free food... TV... a/c (not that we needed it last night)... room to move... straight up from 3rd base... very, very nice. Unfortunately, Charlie was sick and couldn't join us so Jason came with me and livened up the place with Sammy and Lizzie. We had a choice of hot dogs, bratwurst, short ribs, nachos with all the fixin's, popcorn, peanuts, drinks, and a dessert cart which came by mid-way through the game!! Wow!! It was also Red Schoendist Bobble-Head Night so we got a nice souvenir of one of the best Cardinals ever.

UH-OH!

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:43:41 GMT

Well, I see it's been 2 months since my last entry. I have been reminded by my sister but I seem to spend more time on Facebook then I do on Xanga. It's a lot more fun. And it's a great way to keep up with my kids - the reason I started all this - to share pictures with Sara... who has an incredibly slow internet connection. But hey, she's in the middle of Nigeria - what do you expect? And half the time has no power whatsoever.

The summer went by so quickly... VBS... Cardinal games... family fun... Sports Crusaders... friends... Upward conference... meetings... Muny... missions... teaching seminars... and it was busy. I'm just gonna include a few pictures of the summer rather than writing about all the different things.

I'd love to tell you things were always great this past couple of months but they weren't. There were some heart-wrenching days... some sad days... but with God's grace I've come through it all... having learned more of what being a leader of others and a follower of Christ is about. There was a few days when I felt I had been thrown to the ground and then beat on... spat upon... and kicked. But then God pulled me up and reminded me that I was still His... still doing His work... and His calling on my life had not changed. It was rough but I survived thanks to those who lifted me up in their prayers. I am ever grateful to you.

On a much lighter note - we had our first sleepover with Sammy and Lizzie and was it ever fun! They were great - perfect if I might say so myself. They ate their dinner and we played and watched "The Bee Movie". Then when it was time for bed they willingly put their jammies on and only heard a few giggles after putting them down. And when Jason came to pick them up the next morning, it was kind of like... "Oh, hi dad."

I would say I'll try to do better at this blogging thing but there are no guarantees so don't hold me to it. But I'd appreciate your prayers about a few things though... Chris needs a job in Springfield... Masha is living alone in London now and going to school for the next 9 or 10 months... my dad is still having black-outs for a reason that is yet to be determined and having tests done this week at Vanderbilt. Thanks for lifting them up.

Busy... Busy... Busy

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 21:49:21 GMT

It's been a busy 3 weeks since I last updated my site. Thus the reason for there being nothing new. I'm not a great writer so I have to sit and think and try to compose what I want to say and that takes a lot of time for me... and time is something I haven't had much of lately.

Charlie's sisters were in town for their annual sibling reunion the weekend of June 13. It's always wild and crazy when everyone converges on Shirley's home - siblings, kids, kids of kids, cousins, etc. On Saturday, Mary (yes, I know she's Mary Ellen but she's still just Mary to me) treated her siblings to the Cardinal game. There were a couple of extra tickets so Jason and I joined them. Sammy came, too, for his very first Cardinal game.

Kayla came on Saturday to go to the Cardinal game with Chris. On the way home from the game Chris mentioned that Kayla NEEDED Ted Drewes. Since she had never had the experience and since it's Charlie's favorite, we headed down Hampton for some of the best frozen custard in the world. She left Saturday evening so she could be at her house for Father's Day. Chris stayed around for the same reason and treated us to a nice lunch on Sunday that he grilled.

The week of June 16 was spent making final preparations for our week of VBS. Do we have enough curriculum? Do all the teachers have what they need? Do we have floaters for absent volunteers? Have all the youth been assigned a spot? Are the teacher "treats" ready? Is their a WET in place? Do the music folks know all the motions to the songs? Are the music camp kids really going to be able to learn all the songs and motions in 4 days so they can present it on the 5th day? What have we forgotten? The week was spent considering all of these questions and more.

On Saturday, we had Sammy and Lizzie for the day! Wow! Now I know why most folks have their kids at a much younger age. Those two can run you ragged... but it was so much fun... and a new appreciation for Jenny's daily routine. You can see in the picture what a good babysitter Poppy is. The highlight of the day was taking the kids to play miniature golf. You can check out a video of that on Facebook.

Outrigger Island was our theme for VBS 2008... and it was fantastic! The volunteers were awesome! The students were so helpful this year! We had our highest number since I've had this job... and we had 13 decisions for Christ. The music camp kids did a great job of presenting the musical. It was a memorable week in so many aspects. There are lots of pictures on Facebook so check it out there. Now we'll spend some time evaluating our week and doing some follow-up... wiki, wiki!!