Back to College Time!

After a little more than three months of having our two college kids home, our son had to go back yesterday.  I got to help him move in, which made the whole process a lot more bearable for me.  This closet area is really nice! He's an R.A. (Resident Assistant) this year, so his room is FREE, bigger, and has a bathroom he shares, but is in between his room and the other, so he doesn't have to go to the general dorm floor bathroom.

We quickly filled up that nice closet, making it for clothes and a mini kitchen.  His bbq grill lives in his trunk, along with all of his grill utensils, so that frees up a lot of space!

The room is basically like last year's dorm room. In fact, pretty sure that he set it up almost the exact same!

Making up his bed made me feel like I was getting to do something big! I doubt it stays looking like this, though :).

His desk area was expanded a bit with some shelving.

It's not all put together yet, but will be soon. He took his really nice desk chair, so at least he'll be comfy when he sits there.  He doesn't like the window open.  I sure would!  Maybe he will sometimes, though.

He got the TV all hooked up, even though he's really disappointed that he won't be able to watch the Olympics at college. The college cut cable.  Guess the tens of thousands of dollars tuition couldn't cover that! Ha ha! (Thankfully we're not having to pay all of those tens of thousands due to scholarships and awards, but still.....cutting sports channels is crazy! Gonna be lots of unhappy college kids!

The bathroom is so big!  It must be handicap assessable, which is very good to do in all private bathrooms, of course.  It will be so nice to not have to go down the hall if he has to get up during the night.  I wouldn't have liked that, either!

And now something interesting: Zachary had a ziplock bag full of sunglasses.  I displayed them for him, commenting on how many he had.  He said, "Oh yeah, if you didn't know, I collect sunglasses!  I pick them up whenever I can!"  Ha ha! A lot of these were free!  Some I know he'll never wear (thankfully!) :)  

As I hugged Z bye last night, I cried. I cried leaving, but not for long.  This morning I get a little sad when I look in his room. It's straighter than it's been in many months, not just because of his stuff, but with our kitchen remodel, a lot of things were stored in his room.  His bed is straight. His high school graduation t-shirt quilt is laying out on top, showing me years and years of memories.  It's bittersweet.  I'm proud of him and excited for him.  I want him to be where he is and to be doing what he's doing.  But I'm selfish, too.  I miss him.   It takes me a few weeks to adjust to the "new" and since the two oldest are leaving at different times, it gives special time with me and our daughter to do some things before she leaves.  

God has ways of preparing us for all of these transition times.  It also brings us closer to Him.  This morning I'll start writing out my ladies' Bible class lesson for our new year which begins Wednesday night.  I've had a long summer break from that, so it's time to dig deeper in God's Word in a different way that I did this summer.  That's a good thing.

Please pray for all of the college kids as they begin this new semester.  They are at such an exciting time of life, but, sadly, for so many, it's an unsure time of life. They need our prayers.  They need  to know people care about them. 

Another One Leaves the Nest....

When our oldest three were young, we would go to Walmart a lot, it seemed (now I avoid it and drive extra miles and spend a little more, just to go to Target or Sams instead!).  I usually had two shopping carts for groceries and the three kids until they were older or I didn't need as much, then I would let them walk in front of or behind me.  I would tell them they were like little ducks in a row and I was the momma duck, keeping them in line.  Oh, those were the days! I miss those days.  We call them "B.T." because it was before the youngest, Tyler, was born.  I would love to go back to those days, but have Tyler little then, too!  I absolutely loved those days!

Now we have great days, too, but they are different. This summer was a different summer because our daughter was gone the majority of it, but it was nice because our oldest son wasn't gone much at all and neither were the younger two.  Since the oldest was gone a lot, though, we really didn't have a lot of "whole family" times. When we did have it, we made the most of it.  This past weekend we requested no cell phones, no computers, no plans - just family time.  We cooked, ate good meals together, played games, watched a few movies....just spent time together before the oldest two packed up and moved to college.

Tears came during the lead up to the morning they left.  Thankfully our whole family was able to go, unexpectedly.  The middle son ended up needing an appointment in Oklahoma City and the only day open was moving day, unless we wanted to wait until the end of September.  Since five of us were going, the youngest thought he needed to go, too.  Some people would think it was bad to get him out of school for that.  We don't.  Family time is special to us, even more important than other important things, at times.  We wouldn't make a habit of it, but for that day, it was worth it.

My husband wrote about our oldest boy leaving for college (posted below).  For two years it's been just the three boys here together with us.  It's hard with him gone.  The youngest one misses him terribly.  I've been okay, surprisingly.  I think it's because I know that it's best for Zachary. He's 19. He's been "grown up" for several years.  When he writes that he's going with friends up there already, I am thankful.  He met some of them on his trip to Vienna and it was time for him to be away from home.  In school, he had lots of friends, but he spent his time, for the most part, with his brothers and all of us. He will enjoy making life-long friends at college.  I'm excited for him, even though seeing his empty room across from ours is tough.

Zachary,
We love you very, very much. We are proud of who you are, what you stand for, who you live for, and most of all, for allowing God to direct your path as you follow the example of Jesus.  We look forward to seeing what He has in store for your life!
Mom and Dad

***

Written by Joe...
Two years ago I wrote of our daughter, Lauren, going off to college and how we would miss her and that we would be praying for her. Now she is a junior, and I still miss her. I still pray for her daily and often throughout the day. But now there is a new twist to life, my oldest son, Zachary, left home yesterday for college.

Dads think differently of their boys than they do their girls. They always have and always will. Our daughters are the ones we want to protect and we want to be their heroes. I believe we try to make our sons an extension of us. We don't want them to do the same as we did, but we want them to do better. We want them to treat people better than we did. We want them to succeed in areas we didn't. So many of us get caught up in trying to live our lives through them, that it sometimes it causes a strain in our relationships.

I can honestly say that God blessed me with three very special sons, and I will miss all of them when they leave, I do hope it will get easier to let them go, but I don't think it will.

As far as Zachary is concerned, he passed me years ago in the character department. He's so mature. We have felt like we were raising an adult for the past several years. He has been a Christian example to me for the past few years. Watching him grow as a Christian and not give in to peer pressure has not only been an example to others, but also an encouragement to me. I know he will do well, and I know God has great plans for him. Men have a hard time talking to each other about how we really feel. And it's hard for me to express the love and pride I have for Zachary.

When I come home from work or from speaking about the Tipton Children's Home somewhere, or preaching, the first thing I notice is the cars in the driveway. (From Lori: It looks like a used car lot. A very USED car lot!) Coming home at noon today and not seeing Zachary or Lauren's car in the driveway reminded me that life is short and our the time with our kids is even shorter.

Let me encourage all of you who are reading this to spend time with your children, talk to them, love them.

I will pray for each of my kids every day, but I will say a special prayer for Lauren and Zachary. It's so much easier when they're at home. I do hope it gets easier....I miss them....

College Life - Sophomore Year

Last Sunday afternoon we moved our daughter, Lauren, into the dorm for her Sophomore year of college.

Thankfully we had lots of good help!  The boys worked hard! 

After working on their dorm room all last week, they are pretty much done!  They used coral and turquoise, along with white and black as an accent. We're trying to get Kennedy to ditch the Jonas Brothers poster! (ha ha!)  Our oldest son turned it backwards on move-in day, but she noticed it away and turned it around!  

The good thing about this year is that L & K will be in this dorm room the whole year. There won't be any moving out between semesters.  That's a LOT of stuff to have to move every few months!  And now, at Christmas, we won't have a lot of extra "stuff" around our house!

L & K came up with a great layout for the room that gave them a "kitchen" area.  

The girls showing off their room....

....and being goofy and fun!

Something tells me that this work space won't always look this neat and organized :).

Before leaving for college, Lauren made a picture collage on this "L" of she and Kennedy throughout the years.  It turned out great!

You know....leaving Lauren last Sunday evening wasn't nearly as bad as leaving her last year.  A year has changed everything!  It seemed normal for her to be leaving this year.  And she was ready and excited.  I still shed a few tears when I went into her room at home (which she left completely straight and clean!) and thought about how long it would be until she was here for an extended time, but the tears didn't last too long.  I'm glad she's where she is. And I'm glad she and her best friend are there together.

Today is the first day of classes.  Today begins a semester full of challenges and opportunities.  Our prayer is that L & K have a wonderful year, and that they both continue to grow closer to God and stronger in their faith.  We look forward to seeing how He works in their lives this year!

Weekend Adventures

This past Saturday, my husband ran his 6th Pike's Peak Ascent in Manitou Springs, Colorado.  It's a 13.1 mile run (which is partly a walk) up the 14,114 foot mountain to the Summit.  He has run the marathon (up and down 26.2 miles) twice, and wished he had signed up for it this year, too!

This year he invited our daughter to go with him.  Actually, he told her she was going! Ha ha!  But, she was excited, even though she wasn't expecting a trip to Colorado just a few days before she left for college.  It gave them some special time together before she left, plus probably made the last few days of summer break go by faster.

The day before the run, they drove up Pike's Peak. Since she was going to have to drive up the next day, this drive up was her practice go at it!

Oh, and she figured out that she didn't have her driver's license with her on their way to Colorado, so..... 

....I had to airmail it to her, but thankfully, it was there the next morning at not too big of a price....probably because it was such a little thing to be sending (size wise, anyway).

On the way to Colorado, they stopped at the volcano at Capulin, N.M., took lots of beautiful pictures.  On Friday, they ate Italian food (carbs for the run) and ran through one of the "Garden of the Gods" trails, drove around the Olympic Training Center, and drove by the Broadmoor Hotel.

 Here's Joe just before the start of the race.  There were runners from all over the world!

 And he's off!

He made good time and thankfully Lauren got to the top in time to see him cross the finish line! There was a huge line of cars waiting to go up the mountain, so she wasn't sure she could get there in time.  It was pretty neat to have a photographer there for his event!

And here's the proof that he finished!  Now all of our children want to go on this special trip with him when they graduate. It will become a new tradition, I'm sure.  A few of them even want to run it!

The boys and I went on our own adventure over the weekend, but in another direction.

We went to our first and only Rangers' baseball game of this season Saturday night.  The Rangers played the Angels.

The Rangers didn't win, and this season sure isn't as exciting as it's been the past several years, but the temperature was cooler than was expected and the atmosphere at the Ballpark is always a lot of fun.

Plus, I had a special time with my boys!

I also had a wonderful chauffeur, who was also pretty much his own GPS. It's amazing how our 18 year old knows how to get around in the Dallas area!  I would fall asleep, wake up, and we would be wherever we were supposed to be - all without maps and the GPS!  We don't know where he got that gene! Ha ha!

After worship on Sunday, the boys and I headed towards Oklahoma. Joe and Lauren loaded up the rest of her college stuff, and we all met on campus and moved her in to her new "home". After worship, we ate at Lauren's favorite Italian place, along with her aunt and uncle, then told her goodbye and we left for home.

It was a crazy and tiring weekend, but lots of fun.  

Leaving our daughter for the beginning of her second year of college was much, much easier than leaving her the first year.  That first year away makes a difference.  Of course she's an hour or more closer now, and we know we will see her more often, so that helps, but also it's just different now.  She was here for three and a half months for summer break, so she was ready to go back.  She's excited about new adventures and new possibilities, and we're looking forward to seeing what God has planned for her this year!

Family Weekend Fun

My parents are getting ready to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.  This weekend we happened to be going to see our daughter perform in a musical at college, so my sister and I also planned a meal and little surprise for them.

I didn't get a picture of them together that day, and by the time I thought about it the next day, dad had already changed from his church clothes to his overalls!  Oh, well....maybe my sister can get one of them on the 19th....their anniversary date!

 The surprise was that one of my mom's brothers and his wife came to the celebration!  It was fun surprising them!

 He's always funny, so got them this really cute card!

Later that evening, we saw Lauren perform in Will Rogers' Follies.  It was fun seeing her perform, since we don't have things like this in our small town! She enjoyed it, but was thankful to have an end to the late-night practices and having every evening tied up with something.

 I kept telling her to "break a leg", but she didn't like that much since many of the routines and dances were on really tall and steep steps!  Even her brothers enjoyed the show!

 Here she is with two of her cousins.  

We brought her flowers to help celebrate the performance.  So much fun!  

And, she's coming home for Fall Break today!  Yippee!  

Off to College!

Well, last night was one of the hardest nights we've ever had as parents....leaving our oldest, and only daughter, at college several hours away. But, was a great thing it was to have several prayers offered by faculty members for the new Freshman and their parents at this Christian university. 

One of the professors had a special blessing for the Freshmen class: Numbers 6:24-26: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his face to you and grant you peace....

Please pray for all of the college kids over the world. It's a new and exciting times....a little scary for some....and us parents have to let go and trust God in ways we haven't had to before. But, it's what we've raised them for. It's what's supposed to happen.

That's It?

Written by my husband about our oldest going to college tomorrow.....

A father came into my office and was telling me about how he had just dropped his first child off at college.  He made the statement that you just drop them off and "that's it".  He mentioned how it was an odd feeling.

That statement really haunted me for the next few days. "That's it??"

With our first child leaving in the next few days, it got me to thinking, "Surely that's not it. Surely there's more. After all, this is the child that would take naps on my shoulder, waiting for her mother to get home from her part-time job. This is the child that I taught to drive. And most importantly, this is the daughter I baptized.  And then to say, 'That's it,' ?"

So it got me to thinking... "What can I do?" I am certainly not in favor of being a parent that is always hovering over my child/children.  Children need to make their own decisions and learn to be on their own.  But there is one thing that I can do, and I will do. PRAY!

Our daughter was raised where we prayed together as a family before meals at bedtime and before we start a trip.  Now that she is gone, she can know for sure that in every one of those prayers we will be praying for her by name. Each family member will be praying for her in their own personal prayers, as well.

We will pray for her spiritual welfare. We will pray for her safety. We will pray that Christ will be seen in her. We will pray that she finds a godly husband. We will pray that her classes are going well.  We will pray for her health.  We will pray for her professors, that they might be a good influence on her. We will pray for her roommate.

To all parents I pray this day will come for you.  However, know this it's not easy, and I don't think it should be.  But the pain can be eased when you have instilled in your child Godly values and a strong foundation of faith.

On a personal note, I just want to say,  "Lauren, I love you and am so proud of the woman you have become. And, by the way, I wish I could do it all again."