What Would Jesus Do?

I needed to pull into a full service gas station very near to our house for some gas the other day. After I announced what I needed to the man, Lindsey kindly reminded me to watch to make sure that they do not give me too much this time. A few weeks ago, I only had 20.00 with me and somehow the gas machine was broken and didn’t stop. I didn’t notice. (I must have been chatting.) The gas guy frantically stopped the meter at 24.00. He genuinely looked very upset, as if he was going to get into trouble. He explained that the machine was broken; however, I only had 20.00! I told him I would come back and give him the four dollars. And I did.

After telling the story, Ryan quickly responds, “Why would you do that? He made a mistake, not you mum.” I replied, “I just did what I thought Jesus would do.”

Lindsey quickly pipes up from the back seat, “They didn’t have cars back then Mum!”

Really?

This is a first...

"YUCK!" Lindsey exclaims from the bathroom.

Fearing something awful, I hesitate to respond, "Everything okay?" I wince, not really wanting to know.

"Someone put soap on my toothbrush!" I immediately glare over at Zach who lowers his head.

"Zaaach?" I ask.

He pauses then slowly looks up at me. "I did it, I am sorry. She did it to me last night so I did it back."


Please tell me this will pass!

Season Finale

I wrote this post way back in the middle of June...Due to an update on our computer I was unable to post blogs. Better late than never right?


Not unlike most families, this time of year tends to become incredibly chaotic. For the past three weeks we've been playing baseball, lacrosse, finishing up dance, studying for finals, wrapping up with school events, all while enjoying the outdoors and family functions. Happily, we are winding down.

Ryan finished up with school a few weeks ago. He studied his brain to shreds before and during finals week. As parents Neil and I gave him the tools, time and support, but other than that, he was on his own. And in Ryan fashion, he quietly finished the year on top and we couldn't be prouder.

In our family's fashion, Em’s middle school graduation and the three girls dance recital fell on the same day, as well as a baseball playoff game for Zach. That day was a whirlwind of a day!

At the beginning of middle school Emily was a sweet little girl tediously trying her very best to figure out what was what. She ended her middle school career with the same sweetness but with the confidence and strength that we always knew she had, she just needed to find it. Em was honored with the Head Master Award. Her name is on a plaque outside the Head of School's office. After the ceremony, he told Emily that everyone of these students went on to do great things and that he knew that was her path as well. Em has a new sparkle in her eye--the sparkle is knowing that she is who she is and just because she has dyslexia doesn’t mean she can’t do great things! She has and will do great things.

Ryan and Em received awards from both of their schools for exceptional performance. Ryan was honored with an award in outstanding achievement in biology.

As for our little slugger Zach...he was chosen for his baseball league's all star team and named MVP of the game! Yay!

The recital was amazing! (Even though we had to change from graduation wear to recital wear in a D'Angelos Sandwiches bathroom! HA!) Emily, Lindsey, and Allyson were magnificent dancers.


It's been a whirlwind of a week! I think it's safe to say that we are looking forward to the lazy days of summer!

(As I re read this I realized it sounds like a complete bragfest...I decided to post it anyway.)

You are not going to believe this...

Holy smokes! I have a cell phone! Is it cell or cel?

I was most likely the only person on the planet over the age of 13 that did not have one. In fact, (some of you may have heard this story) last year Allyson and I were in the grocery store parking lot one morning when an elderly (I would say she was at least 80) women pulled her car in next to ours. I immediately noticed that she had a flat tire, and it didn’t look as if she had any idea. I figured I should let her know and see if I could help. As she unhurriedly opened her car door, I walked over to her and let her know, then I asked her she had Triple A. She did! I then said, “I don’t have a cell phone, but if we go to the service desk inside, I am sure they will allow you to use the store’s phone.” She then took out her cell phone and said she could call. So now I am in the cell phone club with Mildred the old lady with the flat tire as well as the rest of the population. Yay me.

Feel free to email me with your number...I have texting too. Wow, I wonder if Mildred can teach me how to do that?

Happy Birthday Allyson!

Where did those four years go? You are the exclamation point to our family! I love you so much sweet girl! I hope you enjoyed your cake for breakfast and the gifts that your brothers and sisters gave you! I know you liked your pack of gum! Yay you are four now and you can chew gum like a big kid!

Happy Happy Birthday!

Eeewww!!!

Neil was tenderly tucking Allyson into bed last night when he noticed her pillow pet was wet.

“Ally? Why is your unicorn wet, honey?” He asked.

“I was giving her a bath just now before you came up daddy,” she matter of factly revealed.

“How were you giving her a bath in your bed?” Neil wondered.

“I spit on her and rub it in so she is clean,” Allyson replied.


Gosh I love that girl, but eeewww!

Confessions of a Mom of a Teenager

My stomach is in knots as I write this.

I sent Ryan (9th grader) to school today knowing that he probably could have used a day off. He was a little under the weather yesterday, and even worse this morning. I sent him any way.

Ryan is a bright kid, always has been. And until this year, he was rarely challenged in school. It boggled my mind that he could earn all A’s with very little effort. It actually frustrated me. He is now attending his dream school and Neil and I couldn’t be happier with the culture there. It’s actually cool to be smart! As this year has progressed, the workload has become enormous, and the pressure to do well is insane. I am not helping.

For the first time in his academic career, Ryan failed a quiz. He said that most of the kids in the class had flunked and that the quiz was “ridiculous.” (The “other kids” phrase has never worked in our family and Ry knows that.) Neil and I kept our cool, but mentioned that it seemed as if he wasn’t devoting as much time to school work lately. This upset him, but I think he knew in his heart that we were right. He even did some extra credit in that class in an attempt to bring his grade up.

Fast forward to yesterday. He wasn’t feeling well and proclaimed jokingly, “I think I am going to take tomorrow off.” I replied that if he had a fever, he could. (He had an entire week off last week, including Monday for heavens sake!)

It turns out that he has another quiz today in the same class and on top of feeling yucky, he is clearly nervous. I decided to stay strong. He needs to push himself. He needs to learn what it is to really study and buckle down. This is what life is about…right? Right?

It’s hard to be strong. Did I mention that he was up until 1:00am studying? It’s hard to be strong.