On Ninjas and Pokemon Trainers

I never know what the boys are going to decide to be for Halloween.  It usually changes a few times over the course of the fall, so I don't even ask until about two weeks out. Big J knew exactly what he wanted to be (a Ninja) and did most of the costume himself.  I spray painted an old pair of shoes black and bought a new set of ninja swords for him.  Easy enough.  

Inevitably, though, M-man usually decides to be something for which no official "costume" exists.  This is fun for me, but also a bit stressful, as I'm generally under a time crunch.  He wanted to be Pokemon Trainer Lance.  So, we found a picture online and worked from there.  It involved hunting for just the right pair of sweat pants, a shirt to match (which he happened to already have), some orange Washi tape (super cool stuff!!), a cape (already had from a previous Darth Vader costume), metal buttons, old boots, and spray paint!  Oh, and lots of hair gel!  I thought his costume turned out well.  He approved. It was a job well done, and right on time, as I was doing the finishing touches on Friday afternoon. :)

Better Right On Time Than Never

Whew.  This has been a crazy month.  We just barely squeezed in carving pumpkins.  In fact, it was Friday afternoon on the 31st when we finally got around to it. Ha.  Thankfully, the boys are older now, and were able to do almost all of it themselves.  Both boys designed their own pumpkins, and Big J did all of the carving on his pumpkin by himself!

Here is M-Man's pumpkin!

Big J, with both pumpkins!

Choose One

As a family, we have been slow to enter the world of sports and extra curricular activities.  We value family time, meals and activities together.  It is essential for us to have time to rest, relax, play and be creative.  Oftentimes, being involved in extra curricular activities does not support a life with downtime and time together as a family. We also value new experiences, though, which bring challenge and growth on multiple levels.

 That said, last year was the first time we took on more than an Upward sport or a week long camp.  The boys spent just over a year in mixed martial arts and really benefited from their time there. Not to mention, they enjoyed it, were challenged to try new things, and made new friends. But the time came when they wanted to try their hand at new things.  Since we value and support their desires to have new experiences, we agreed wholeheartedly.  They finished their commitments with martial arts and have now moved on to new activities.  (On a side note, we had 3 or 4 weeks of overlap between their time starting new activities and finishing their commitments to martial arts.  Wow.  That was a long few weeks.  It really drove home the value we have of choosing one activity to do and do well!)

I have been amazed at the progress both boys have made in their new chosen activities. They have grown by leaps and bounds in the skills needed to do what they need to do! But they have also grown personally and their work ethic has been strengthened.    For that, I am proud of them!  

Exploring!

I love to explore new places, to take in the beauty of God's creation, to be out in nature.  This past weekend my boys had a couple of days off of school.  The break was much needed!  We spent time fishing, playing outside, reading books, hanging out with family, etc.  And we explored Robbers Cave State Park, a state park that we had never been to before! It's not too far from where we live right now, and it is a beautiful park.  We all had a blast climbing the rocks and exploring the caves!

Sanctuary

We all need a place to go to get away.  Whether it's close by or not, it's just good to get away sometimes.  My sanctuary is a little lake about 30 minutes from our house.  When I'm there, I feel like I'm a million miles away from where I actually am.  And even though I usually have boys in tow, it's still relaxing to me, and I come home rejuvenated and ready for the coming day!

I love it here!

Fishing off the pier!

Digging in the sand!

Room to Rest

I started a part time job this past summer.  Now, that may not sound like a big deal to you, but it was to me.  It is the first job outside of the home and volunteer work that I've had in over nine years. That's a big deal.  I enjoy my job and I'm grateful to have the flexibility to work and also be there for my family.  (More about that in another post).

All that said, I have struggled to find the seemingly elusive work-life balance, specifically when it comes to rest.  After several weeks of school starting and the transition that has come with that, working more on the weekend than I would prefer, and time commitments piling up on one another, I was burned out.  This past weekend was the first weekend in a long time that I didn't work much and didn't have previous commitments.  Actually, that's not true.  I had been asked to either be at or help with a couple of activities that I really wanted to do.  But I felt like I was supposed to say no to those things and just be home and rest.

It was so hard to say no.  And I didn't want to say no.  But I'm so glad I did.  At some point on Saturday I was restless.  I had work to do around the house that I didn't want to do and honestly felt like I shouldn't do at the moment.  I wanted to go somewhere or do something...anything to not have to figure out how to rest.  Instead, I picked up a book I was wanting to finish, went outside and sat in the sun with my feet up.  It was nice.  And much needed. Though it took me nearly half the weekend to get to that point, I was finally able to relax and rest. And it reminded me that with as much going on in all of our lives, we have to give ourselves room to rest!

Fishing With My Guys

Fishing is not something I did much when I was a kid.  And as an adult, I had only fished a handful of times before this year.  One of those times was when my then boyfriend, now husband, took me trout fishing on the Little Red River in Arkansas.  I did manage to catch a trout.  Woohoo!  I enjoyed it, but probably more because of who I was with. :)

Fast forward to this year.  My boys have caught the fishing bug and love to fish.  We've made many trips to the pond in our neighborhood to fish.  We've explored other stocked ponds and small lakes close to where we live.  So, it wasn't a surprise when my youngest son asked if we could go fishing for his birthday.

We decided to take a guided fishing trip at Lake Texoma!  I had a blast hanging out with all of my guys, including my dad.  And I had a great time fishing!  There is definitely something addictive about catching a fish.  All you want to do is try to catch another one. It's not something I would have ever thought I would really enjoy.  But I suppose that's why it's good to try new things!  So fun!!!