Another Car in my Driveway

My daughter Ellyn got a car.

I am enjoying having another driver to help get kids to their events, but...I am also concerned to have another teenage driver to worry about--like when they drive late at night, or in bad weather, or with other kids in the car,...  Oh my, I'd better spend some more time in prayer for them!

Don't worry, be happy! Right?

Sports Rules for Parents

In light of the fact that all the spring sports have started, I thought I would print this excerpt from "The Sport Parent's Manual" by Tom Doyle.

Things parents do that their kids really appreciate:

• Taking time out of your busy schedules to come to games and support what we do.
• Bringing snacks after a game.
• Supporting the whole team, not just me.
• Cheering the team even when losing badly.
• Telling us we did a good job.
• Being proud of us even when we didn't win.
• Being quiet unless cheering with everyone else.
• Never yelling at a coach or ref.
• Making friends with the other parents.
• Telling a "negative" parent to be quiet.

Things parents do that embarrass their kids:

• Trying to teach me how to do something "correctly" after a game.
• Coaching during games even though you aren't the coach.
• Telling me what I was doing wrong after every game.
• Being asked to leave a field by an official.
• Going crazy at the refs--because it's not your job. It is the coach's job to question bad calls.
• Taunting other players, opponents, refs.
• Yelling things at coaches and getting involved with something that was between coach and me. It was none of your business.
• Coming to a game drunk or after drinking.
• Acting disappointed with what I am doing instead of reassuring me I will do better next time.
• Getting a technical foul against our team.
• Don't tell me I'm really cute in my uniform.

one of my favorites--Meggan's first year of t-ball
May 2006

Happy Birthday to my Dad

My dad is celebrating a birthday! He is 66 years old today.
I am putting his age in print, because for a little while today, my parents thought he was 67.
Keeping track of your age seems to get harder every year!

Hope you have a great day, Dad! Wish we were there to sing "Happy Birthday" and share some cake and ice cream.

Nov. 2010

our dog and our van

We sold our van a couple of weeks ago. We sold it to friends of ours, which we were glad about, since we were sort of sad to see it go. We might walk down the street and visit sometime. Mindy said we could.

We made a lot of memories and traveled a lot of miles in our van.

Our dog really loved our van too. She got to go almost everywhere in the van with me. And liked to sniff the fresh air out the window.

The night we cleaned and vacuumed the van, Mandie had to sit in her seat while we cleaned. I could hardly bear to tell her that it would be her last time to sit there.

(Sorry for the blurry picture. It was dark and in the garage. Meggan was vacuuming under the seats. And no, she didn't get glasses--they are fake.)

So if you think you see us in our van, go ahead and wave. 

Mindy and her family are friendly and will wave back. 

But you won't see a cute dog hanging out the window.

Eagle Watching

UPDATE:
The first eaglet could hatch today!
Many are watching--notice the number of viewers.
Click the link at the bottom of this post.

Below is a link to a live webcam of an eagle's nest in Decorah, Iowa. I think it is amazing that we see eagles on a regular basis in Iowa now. My kids tire of hearing me talk about it--about how I never expected to see an eagle as a kid. About how I didn't see an eagle until I was an adult. About how amazing it is to see an eagle. About how awesome eagles are. The kids like eagles, but they think I'm little obsessed.

They told me it was a lie when I claimed to have a pet eagle. But there is a large eagle who hangs out about 3 miles from our house on a road I drive multiple times a day. I call him Baldy or Pate (short for Patriot). I feel a special attachment to him. He flew really low over the windshield of my car one day, when I scared him up off his road-kill deer. Sorry if that was offensive. I took his picture one day, but only with my phone so it's not that great.

Anyway, take a look at this awesome-ness.
  I wonder if she ever has a strange feeling of being watched...

Click on the link below:
Decorah, Iowa eagle nest-- live stream