Last week we spent a much needed vacation in Myrtle Beach. It works out well for those of us in Cherokee County that have kids out of school in September. The rates at the beach drop dramatically after August 31st and there is hardly anyone there. We find a condo that will comfortably fit all of us, split the price and then we're ready to go! This is the second year that we've all gone together and we always have a great time. The kids had a blast, as did the adults, and Gavin is still talking about the 'musement park. We did have a little hiccup with the room - apparently I didn't realize that the additional $120 linen service meant that we wouldn't have any sheets or towels unless we paid it. Silly me thought that linen service meant that someone would come in to change our sheets every day - which we didn't need! (We rented the condo from private owners and not through the hotel itself... big mistake.) The hotel said that they couldn't help us so we took matters into our own hands. We went to the housekeeping room and got them ourselves... well, the housekeepers actually gave them to us... we didn't EXACTLY steal them. And, we took them back before we checked out. Anyway, we had a fun time with friends and are glad that we had the opportunity to go.

Last night as we were sitting around the table having breakfast for dinner (Ivey's choice, but, honestly, one of my favorites too!) Chris decided that we should go around the table and tell one thing that we like about Ivey in honor of her birthday. Chris, Gavin and I all said one thing that we liked about Ivey.

Chris: I like that Ivey loves to meet people.
Gavin: I like that Ivey plays with me and helps take care of me.
Me: I like that when I ask Ivey to do something she does it right away.

It was obvious that Morgan was putting it off. Why is it so hard for him to give his sister a complement? Soon enough it came around to him. He pretended to be thinking, acted silly and then said...

Morgan: I have two things. One is that I like that Ivey always likes everyone she meets...
[Me thinking: Okay, that's exactly what Chris said, but whatever]
[pause]
[Ivey patiently waiting to hear the second thing her big brother likes about her]
Morgan: I forgot the second one.
Ivey: Well, you should have said that one first.

That's my girl.

We've had a really fun birthday weekend with Ivey. She turns 5 today! Friday, I took her and three friends to a "princess" party. Mom went with me to help with crowd control and as we were driving away I said, "I just reminded myself why I've never done this before." Friend parties are not my thing! But, the girls had a great time and that's what counts. On Saturday, we had our family over to celebrate. Yummy food, lots of people and lots of kids! She had a fantastic time being the center of attention - what little girl doesn't?

It was a good picture and I needed something "happy" to put on my blog. Although I kinda look like I have a huge nose... do I, really?? Anywho, can't wait for vacation next week.... aaaahhhh, yes! A week with no homework. Hip-Hip-Hooray!

Update on Morgan: Keep praying. We're still working on helping him to get and stay organized, stay on top of assignments as well as making up others that he didn't turn in. Next week is Fall Break, we're headed to the beach and BOY do we need a vacation!! Chris and I have a parent-teacher conference with all of his teachers this Thursday morning. Pray that it will go well and that we will all agree on some ways to help Morgan. I am planning on talking with Morgan about why it's important to try his best. Not because we care about him getting all A's but because the bible says to do all things as unto the Lord. So, for him and his stage of life, he needs to do the best he can in school. A good education will help him succeed in life and will, hopefully, make his life a little more comfortable which is important. But, we can't forget the big picture and that we should always be more concerned about his heart and his spiritual growth as much as or more than what grades he is getting.

Well, yesterday didn't turn out so badly after all. After I dropped off the little kids at preschool in the morning, I was headed to the gym to run a few miles. On the way there I just felt an overwhelming urge to pray. It was one of those times where I felt like I needed to pray out loud and that part of the reason God wanted me to do that was so that I could hear myself relinquishing control to Him. I struggled with it for a minute and then I just gave in. There's really no since in arguing with God is there? I prayed about Morgan, for wisdom, help, good counsel as well as a couple of other things that Chris and I have been talking about. So, the day went on....

As I was looking at Morgan's grades and assignments just before it was time for him to come home (yes, I can do that on the computer now and I sure am glad that they didn't have that when I was in school! :-)) I saw that, again, he hadn't turned in an assignment. So, at the end of my rope and looking for a fresh perspective and new ideas... who else do I call other than MOM?! My mom is such a blessing to me. She has over 30 years experience in education and was even a middle-school principal for several years. At the very least, I knew that she could tell me that Morgan is normal. I explained the situation to her and, of course, she delivered. We talked through it and she gave me some great ideas. Ideas that would help me to not be so stressed-out and on-edge, but also some ideas to hopefully steer Morgan in the right direction and help him to turn this corner that he keeps running into.

After that, Morgan and I talked. I explained the new "rule" and he was in compliance. He finished his homework in a timely manner and with a happy heart and then we headed off to church. Wow - homework hell averted! As we were driving home last night, I realized what had happened. God had answered my prayer. That prayer that I didn't want to pray that morning and that situation that I was trying my hardest to fix on my own. I obviously didn't realize it at the moment that God was answering my prayer through my mom. I talk to her almost every day. I even see her a couple of times a week. I realized that sometimes I miss God's answers to my questions because I'm looking for some grand, momentous writing on the wall. Something that I can say, "HEY! THAT'S GOD ANSWERING MY PRAYER!" Nope. It was just through something very simple. Something that I didn't even recognize. I thought about how I must miss so much of what he's telling me simply because I'm not paying attention.

Morgan's 7th grade academic year hasn't really started off all that well. The last few weeks of my life have been a bit stressful with trying to make sure he's doing and completing all of his assignments as well as keeping up with projects and tests. He brought home his 4 1/1 week progress reports this past Friday... let's just say I wasn't a happy camper. I already knew what his grades were because I check them online almost every day. His grades are WAY less than acceptable and something's gotta give or I'm gonna blow a gaskit. Among being on restriction from various privileges, Morgan will also be attending a parent-teacher conference with me. But, among all of this, I struggle with knowing how hard to press and when to let up. At what point do I stop micromanaging his assignments and allow him to fail? With age comes responsibility, but he IS only in seventh grade not in tenth grade. How much responsiblity can he handle? Should I offer rewards, threaten punishments or both? It is different for every child. I am looking forward to meeting with his teachers this week and expressing my concerns along with hopefully finding out other ways to support him.

Now pair all of that with hormones (his and mine!) and we have a problem. He turns 13 in one month and we all know what that means... raging hormones. We were having another talk about middle school romance the other day. There's some girl that his "friends" want him to "go out" with and I said, "Well, do you want to go out with her?" He replied, "Well... she's pretty and she's smart... so yeah!" I said, "Is she a Christian?" He replied, "I don't know."

Man... this raising a teenager thing is gonna be a toughie.