On Books and Rice

While this is the kind of reading Mike really loves to do: he does a lot of the more academic reading these days as he is finishing his Ph.D. Our family loves books.  We love to read at the dinner table and, of course, before bedtime.   And we have a LOT of books. And Mike reads a LOT of books in all his studies.  So it is no surprise that our dining room table looks like this right now: It doesn't always look quite so heavy-laden.   But the books do go back and forth between home and office depending on where he is studying.  And these books came home so he could prepare for a trip to Princeton to work on his dissertation there.   He was going in order to use the seminary library, to check out some books that he will need, do some research, you know, the kinds of things you do when you are trying to finish a dissertation.   Here is the point of this story...just before he left on this trip he found out that every five years or so the library shuts down its entire computer system in order to upgrade it.  The upgrade was scheduled for two days after he arrived in Princeton, of course.   This left him with one day to do all he needed to do using the library's system.   He handled the news much better than I would have if it had been happening to me.  This is one of the major differences between the two of us.  I get all in a huff about circumstances that I can't control while at the same time I do not do things that are within my control to improve my circumstances.  He does not let circumstances dictate his attitude and tries to do things in a way that will make the best of his time and circumstance.  I could learn some things from him, you know. Fortunately, everything worked out fine and he was able to get done the things he needed to get done there. Nothing like a little pressure to motivate you!  It's like a rice cooker.   Um, does that even make sense?

You'll Get a Kick Out of This

The kids started their soccer season this week.  We have been anticipating soccer for a while and are excited to be back on the field.  Michaela and Christian made some great friends last year playing and usually when the kids make friends we grown-ups do too.  Reconnecting with many of the families after the summer has been wonderful, and watching the sweet happiness that Michaela and Christian feel when they are with friends brings me so much joy. Michaela's first game was today, and it was HOT, HOT, HOT!  The girls played very hard and did well, especially considering they had not had a chance to practice and were also playing with new teammates this year.  Two teams combined to make a new team, so they will have the opportunity to get to know some new girls this fall.  Our first game and practice were canceled last weekend because of the threat of Hurricane Ike.  So, they had to jump into today's game with the skills they remembered from last year and all the energy they could muster.

Christian had fun with his friend and some linking/building toy that their family had brought to the game. They had their own scenario going on, and from what I could gather it was complex and involved bad guys. We are looking forward to a great season. Look for Christian's soccer photos next week!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame...

The big kids and Mike have been going to see the Texas Rangers play this summer, and had a blast.  They loved watching the game, learning the rules and strategies, and becoming familiar with the players names, and Mike loved spending that special time sharing something with them that he had loved as a kid.  Dad always got them special treats, like ice cream and Sprite (!), and Christian usually came home with chocolate all around his mouth.   Here are some pictures from a couple of the games.