Century Training revisited

Bronchitus UGH! I am a big chicken to ride my bike alone. Mostly I think it is because to me riding is a social affair. Dave got bronchitus a couple of weeks ago which means I was stuck either riding my bike alone or riding the stationary bike. I have liked riding outside so I was bummed. And so being the "athlete" I am I just hoped every day that he would feel well enough (aka able to breath) to go outside...and every day ...no way jose.

So here I am revamping my century training. I am going to start up again on Week 5 and I am going to ride inside....even though the weather is still good outside...well I might end up changing my mind at the end of the week. I am going to Cascade for a couple of days and so I might (if I get gutsy enough) take my bike with me to ride a little up there. Maybe I'll blog about it. :)

We'll see.

Mis Hijos and Rumicube

They learned how to play Rumicube at my grandparents house when my granddad was still alive. They were little then. It was a great game for my grandma, Grandma Great, to teach them and play with them. Grandma Great said it was a great game for them to learn numbers and patterns and how to get along with others.

We'd clear the table and get out the tiles. Of course Grandma Great knew all the rules so no fooling her and if you couldn't rearrange them correctly you'd have to put it all back and draw a few as a penalty.

We've played a lot of rummicub games since then. Whenever we go to Grandma Great's house we almost always end up with time for at least one game. Just last summer Grandma Great came out for Bethany's graduation and we played then too.

I love listening to my kids laugh. When we play games we are very competitive! It usually doesn't start that way. We start by just playing a game that one of us wants to play. There is usually one person who doesn't want to play but can be talked into it. Then there is at least one who doesn't care either way. And the one who just wants to all be together so a game is a good idea. Then there is one who is getting the food for the game...which we all end up agreeing should be consumed BEFORE the real competition begins.

Once the game gets going the competitive nature comes out...then someone will goof up big time (usually me or Dave) which sends the kids all laughing. One new favorite game is pictophone. David brought it back with him from school. We were all laughing at the end of it that I almost started crying. It was hilarious and this one, no matter how hard we try, is not competitive.

Back to rummicube....We played it again, this time with just the three of us. It was a lot of fun. I missed Grandma Great. I missed David and Bethany. It was still fun. The game reminds me of the good times that we've had and the good times that we are having.

I'll be glad when Christmas break gets here so we can be together again for a little while. BUT I am thankful that we still play games as our family dynamic changes.

Parenting and Volleyball

Saturday we spent the day, all day, in Payette, Idaho at a Volleyball tournament. It was a great day! It was a long day! In the end I had a huge headache. I'm not really sure from what. Yesterday was literally a day of rest for me. Today is a new day and I feel energized again! :)

Kirsten is our youngest. The other two are in college in Michigan right now. They are planning and preparing for their futures. As we journey that part with them we are here for them to be a sounding board, to financially support them as they pursue their education and to remind them to love God, love others and be kind to one another.

Kirsten, though is still at home. Dave and I wanted our parenting to be consistent. Sometimes that is easy...like when they were all in elementary school. But as soon as Jr. High hit for David it was hard to be consistent. But we kept at it. It was really difficult when we first moved to Idaho and Kirsten was in 6th, Bethany in 8th and David in 9th. Talk about differences of ages, maturity, etc. But God is good and He answered our prayer to help us consistently love them and train them towards maturity (which sometimes took the form of discipline).

Back to Volleyball. It seems that the older she gets the more we get to let go and let her stand on her own. At the Volleyball tournament we got to drive her and her team (well, Dave drove the bus!), I got to do the Libero tracking, and Dave got to line judge. Most of all we got to cheer! She was fantastic to watch. She has some power behind her hits!

What I liked most of all was watching how encouraging she was to her teammates. That character will last a lifetime. Volleyball may pass away, but encouragement lasts for a long time!

Pretty soon she will get her license and she won't need us to drive her to practices. But I know that even with the independence she still needs some fans, and I know that we will measure up in that department.

But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.

2 Thessalonians 3:13 (New King James Version)