Ninja Soccer

This afternoon Keagan's soccer team had its first indoor game. They are playing in a league with older and much bigger kids in order to level out the playing field. Assuming that we would still be the much stronger team, Coach Bob kept the best players in the back field. 

We lost 5 - 3.

But who's keeping score? Keagan had a great time and told us that he might have lost but he definitely kicked some bootie.

My Little Evangelist

My friend Bridget calls Evan "the little evangelist" because last year Evan was always bringing invitations to school inviting her son Caleb to church. If it wasn't the outdoor movie series, then it was the Christmas bonfire.

This year Evan has had several encounters with kids at school regarding his belief in God. And while I have a very difficult time believing that my quite, introverted son would be outspoken about anything when he still refuses to speak to our friends at church that we have known since our arrival in Virginia five years ago, his teacher assures me that he is Mr Popularity and the center of attention at school. His "lively and outgoing personality" makes him one of the most well-liked kids in the class. If you are reading this wondering if perhaps my Evan has been confused with another child, then you are thinking much like I did when I received this news several months ago. However, after hearing all of that, it makes the following all a bit more plausible.

At Ramadan, Evan told a small group that Mohammad could not be God because he was a man, a man that couldn't be powerful because he wasn't the Son of God like Jesus. At Christmas time, he approached his Jewish classmate about her belief in the coming Messiah and boldly claimed she had it wrong because Jesus is the Messiah and he has made his arrival on Earth. His teacher threatened to move him to "yellow."  Last week, he asked another friend if she believed in God. When she said that she didn't, Evan asked why. She told Evan she wanted to believe in God but because her parents didn't, she couldn't. Evan told the little girl that you can believe in God even if your parents don't. And then he told her to ask Jesus to live in her heart.

In the past year, he has grappled with some very difficult theological questions. And because he is only seven year old, his level of understanding often surprises me.

This morning at church we had our sermon and I leaned in to ask Evan if he understood the lesson. He made a comment that seemed to me like he was really processing some big issues, he was looking intently at the pastor, and then he whispered, "Mom?"

That's when I knew it was all coming together for him. I was on pins and needles ready to hear the new observation he had made while processing this new information. I leaned in closer ready to hear the big revelation he had in store for me.

And he asked, "Mom, when do the NFL games come back on tv?"

So clearly we aren't there yet, but I can't wait to hear the story he tells this week at school about the Book of Life and this week's sermon.

Breaking the Law

Evan had no take home folder in his backpack today. That meant no behavior report, no homework, no test results, no new word list. Nothing.

There was just one way to fix this problem. I decided that we would drive to the school and find the take home folder.

Evan did not like this solution. He did not like it at all.

He began to cry. Huge tears rolled down his face. He began to scream until his face turned bright red. He begged me to stay away from the school.

With all of this commotion, I felt he must be hiding something from me. What could he have done to cause all of this angst?

When we got to the parking lot, the truth came out. And, no, he didn't break another spoon.

He was certain that our entrance through the front doors minus an escort from a faculty member would cause a lock down, the police would arrive, and we would be arrested.

We went inside anyway, we found the folder sitting on top of his desk, and we returned to the car without incident. We were not arrested.

While driving back home, Evan said, "I can't believe we just broke the law."

I replied, "Well, if you leave that folder at school again, we will have to come back after hours, and we might just get caught by the police."

I don't think he will lose the folder again.

Welcome to the Jungle

Keagan and Wes at Dad's Night at Little Hands Kindergarten Program

We are continually impressed with Little Hands and all that it offers Keagan and the rest of the family. Tonight's event had the guys searching for five lost animals on an animal safari. 

Half Birthday

Who actually celebrates a half birthday?
- A little boy that wants "Happy Birthday" to be sung to him by his classmates during circle time
- A little boy that wants the joy of wearing a birthday crown during the school day
- A little boy who wants to bring a special snack to share with his friends
- A little boy who wants to see his name written on the birthday cake sticker on the classroom calendar

And because of Keagan's August birthday, he has never been in school to do any of these...until today. Many thanks to Mrs. Stovall for suggesting we celebrate his half birthday today! Keagan truly believed he was king for the day!

Years of Friends

Phone calls, emails, texts (one very special text!!!), and facebook messages were all sent my way today to wish me a happy birthday. When my good friend at work asked my age today, I had to do the math.
Again. Really.
Why can't I remember my age? My seven year old can recite all of the family members' ages, but I have to go through the steps of calculating my age like I am reading an elementary school word problem.

My thinking goes something like this: "Now what year is it? 2009? No, no. 2010. Let's see...I was born in what year? Subtract the two and you get...?"

And every year I conclude that I must be wrong because I can't possibly be that old.

Today I was struck with the variety of people who sent me well wishes. The friends I met in Germany, my college roommate, my cousins who I haven't seen in years, previous students now living it up in college, our tagesmutter from Germany, sorority sisters from college, the friends I have met while here in Virginia, co-workers from Ansbach and Beville, my best friends that I have known since pre-school...

I am amazed at where life has taken me and all of the wonderful people I have had the pleasure of knowing. Thanks for the well wishes!

Now I am off to check my math because I am certain that I can't be that close to 40 already!

And the picture doesn't match the blog post. I know this. But with Evan smiling and Keagan looking at the camera, this was a birthday gift in and of itself.

Savannah

Our afternoon in Savannah today was perfect. We wanted to find for ourselves what everyone else says is so beautiful. 

Live oak trees hundreds of years old and the moss hanging from the branches.

Shaded city blocks that will have rose bushes and azaleas in full bloom in just a few weeks.

Beautiful architecture where every building has a story. 

Perfect back drop for an afternoon with the family until...

Some punk three year old walked up to Keagan at an intersection, called him a jerk for seemingly no reason, and then spit on him! Keagan calmly looked at him and quietly walked away. I was so proud of him because anyone who knows Keagan knows that his temper would not normally allow such a reaction. From that moment until the distraction of a meal, Keagan talked of nothing but what he should have done instead of walking away.

We explored numerous reactions including name calling, a boxing dual, and a knuckle sandwich. All harmless threats, but the charm of Savannah will be slightly tainted for all of us.

Mrs. Wilkes

I possibly ate the best meal of my life today. All of the Savannah guide books (and I've a collection of them now) starred Mrs. Wilkes Restaurant as a must-eat restaurant. It is safe to assume this was on my list of weekend priorities, right under "find a new house." I thought today was the perfect day to make the trip into downtown Savannah because it was raining and cold. I felt certain we would be the only ones waiting for a seat.

But that was not the case. We waited for almost an hour, and half of that was outside in the rain. But then we sat down at the table with two other families and in front of so much food that I almost felt guilty.

Until my first bite. Cheese grits. I was in heaven. Second bite. Mashed potatoes with fresh cream. I could hear the angels in heaven sing. Third bite. Fried chicken. I think the skies parted with hallelujahs. It was that good.

I must say that the lack of a near-by Target is totally forgotten with the comfort of Mrs. Wilkes Restaurant within a half hour's drive. We will be back again. Until then I will need to run a marathon to burn off today's calories.

Snow Cream

We are so ready for our new life in the deep South and particularly Savannah that we have adopted the locals' recipes. This is Paula's  recipe for snow cream.

8 cups of snow - (we somehow managed to find this)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla

Evan and Campbell both claimed it was a bit too sweet, but I found nothing wrong with it. Now for Paula's fried chicken and cheddar biscuits. My mouth is watering already.

By the way, Evan always complains that he never gets a play date. Keagan is always headed to Mason's and no one ever invites Evan. When I invited Campbell, I thought he might balk at the idea of playing with a girl, but Campbell can hold her own. Within minutes they were playing a combination of Ben10 and Transformers. When she later suggested something with a fairy princess, Evan quickly told her he doesn't play that. She obliged and the fight among aliens continued.

Evan Swims to Level Six!

We went back and forth about whether or not we would go to swim today. We left the house with clear skies and clean roads, but we knew the snow was imminent. We made it without incident and then slipped and slid our way home. It is a good thing we went today, though, because Evan graduated to the next level in Swim Kids. Be careful! The next level teaches diving. Evan is now beside himself with anticipation.

Snow Pics

For our Texas friends who have had as much difficulty as I did last week imagining two feet of snow. Here is a picture of Waterway. Notice the height of the snow compared to the street sign.

And our deck this morning.

I think we can safely refer to this storm as a blizzard.

King of the Hill

We have now completed three full days of complete isolation from the outside world. With twenty-two inches of snow on the ground, I have been blessed with wardrobes that include ever so comfy gym clothes, extra time to experiment with new recipes (the cheeseburger soup with pureed vegetables was oh-so good), multiple naps, and the shenanigans of two little boys. Here's my favorite.

With mountains of snow, the boys decided to build caves in the snow. That sounded like a great idea to me until they decided one boy would be the bear living in the cave, and the other boy would be the man hunting the bear with a gun. See? I told you the entire prey vs predator thing had intensified in our house.

In the end, Keagan announced he was "King of the Snow Hill." Thankfully the big bear hunt evolved into an episode of "Survivor Man" and the only hunting that transpired was for imaginary fish that lived in imaginary lakes.

Blizzard Part 2

Who would have thought that we would be getting this much snow in Virginia, but here we are hunkering down for blizzard number two of the winter. With another twenty inches on its way, I feel compelled to prepare in some way. So this is what I did.

1. I vacuumed. If I am going to be stuck at home for three days, then I must have carpet with ever so slight vacuum tracks so that I feel like I did something productive while I spend countless hours on-line searching real estate websites and making my wish list at Anthropologie.com. And I am addicted to my Dyson. I never knew that my house was so dirty! I mean, in the past week I have vacuumed the house four times, and today I emptied the bagless canister with clumps of stuff thick enough to stuff pillows. I am so captivated by the suction on this thing that I have the desire to vacuum almost daily just so I can prove how valuable a purchase I made.

2. I rented movies. And because it has easily been two years since I stepped into a Blockbuster, I almost forgot how to rent a movie. In fact, I checked out with the empty display cases, and Almadad, the cashier, had to kindly explain the process for finding the cases that actually hold the movies. We came home fully expecting a snow day tomorrow, and in order to keep the peace, I put Up! in the disk player and pushed play. I was instantly hooked. What a great movie! So it hasn't even dropped a flake yet, and we have seen the movie of choice.

3. I bought books. It is 8:30 and I just opened a Dr. Pepper fully expecting the caffeine to pulse through my veins so that I can stay awake past 9:00 to read Nefertiti, the story of an Egyptian Queen. I think it is working.

4. I bought powdered sugar and crisco. If there is a downside to all of this snow, then it is all the time I have had to bake. In the past month, we have had fudge, cookies, and brownies galore, but that won't stop me from making a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting tomorrow. It will be wonderful until I feel that roll of fat on my belly growing larger!

So here's to another storm!

Ninja Soccer

Sunday began winter indoor soccer for team Ninjas. Keagan's new PWSI team invited him to join them for indoor league, and we couldn't say no. After all, with two full months of sports-free weekends, we were all having withdrawals. 

We feel like it will be the perfect arrangement because this is what we noticed after our first practice.
1. Coach Bob is not wearing any man make-up. Wes is the most relieved with this detail.
2. Coach Bob arrived to the first practice with a schedule, a whistle, and even soccer balls. You probably already know this impressed me the most.
3. Coach Bob taught Keagan a new skill and persuaded Keagan to refrain from slide tackles. Keagan could have cared less about the skill part; he was most impressed with actually playing with his friend Mason.

One more practice and then let the games begin!

Snow Day!

Six more inches of snow last night, and it is one of the most beautiful snows I have ever seen. I can almost identify with cultures that have multiple words for snow because last night's snow is not like one I have seen before. Evan rolled out of bed, looked out the window, and exclaimed to Wes, "It looks just like Narnia!" I agree that it looks too perfect to be real.

After the snow last weekend Evan told me he thought this was the best winter ever, but he added, "I don't want to stick around to see if next winter is better!" He says he is tired of it, but if we get the 30 inches on Saturday (and that has been circulated on various websites the past couple of days), he better learn to like it.