Having a Ball

Christian's soccer team played their first game of the season this afternoon.  He has been looking forward to this day for weeks, excited to get back on the field with his friends, and try to score a goal!  They played a great game, even though the other team won the game.  They did a better job of spreading out this time around, and hopefully as they play a couple of more games they will get better at keeping the ball and taking it down the field to score.  Don't hear me wrong-I don't think it's all about scoring.  But they looked pretty bummed that they were not able to get a goal this game.  I think they have it in them, though. 

Here is a slideshow of the pictures from the game; Christian did a great job and got in some really impressive kicks.  It's hard to get a photo of that, really (at least for me at this point as far as my photography skills go...I was holding Eliana, too, and unfortunately when Mike came and she wanted to go to him, my battery died!), but I tried to get him in action.  Several times, from the other team's end of the field, he kicked the ball hard, with the inside of his foot, and it went flying back down the field (the right direction!) in a pretty straight line.  It was fun to see him doing so well, and enjoying himself too. 

After the game, we were headed to the car when Mike reminded me that the soccer balls were still on the field somewhere (each of them brought a ball to the game).  So we turned around and headed back to find them.  They were missing!  We circled the two playing fields, looked around the playground, checked around the entire park, but discovered no balls.  As we were about to get back in the car, Mike noticed one ball sitting by a goal, so Michaela ran over to see if it was ours; it was.  It was the one she brought.  So, Christian's ball was still missing; he was upset by this, and didn't want to leave without his ball.  We finally convinced him to get in the car, with the hope that someone from the team picked it up, thinking we were gone, and would bring it to practice.

Mike stayed an extra few minutes and gave one last perusal. 

I got the kids home and in the bath and was about to start dinner when I heard the doorbell.  I was puzzled; I went to the door (no one comes to visit us, so this was pretty unusual, especially at dinnertime) wondering who in the world it could be.  One of Christian's teammates was at the door with his mom.  She said,"(Teammate-I'm refraining from naming because of privacy) has something for Christian."  I smiled and said,"Did you find his ball?"  Teammate stepped forward with a soccer ball, but not Christian's soccer ball.  He said he heard that Christian had lost his ball, and was sad about that, and so Teammate wanted to give Christian his own ball. 

It was all I could do not to cry.  This is a six-year-old boy, sacrificing something that you know is special, for a friend. 

He really wanted to come in and give the ball to Christian; unfortunately my son was on the potty waiting for his turn to get in the tub (sans clothes-not so dignified for receiving guests bearing gifts).  I wish that he could have come out to get the ball from Teammate himself, but it didn't work out that way.  I thanked them again, and said how special it was.  Mike walked up to the front door just as they were walking down the front steps, and said,"What's going on?"  So, Teammate's mom told the story, and Mike of course said how great that was, and gave him a "five".  They said good night, and Mike came in.

He went to talk to Christian.  His hands were behind his back.  He told Christian that Teammate had just come by, and Christian immediately said,"Did he bring my ball?!"  Mike tilted his head to the side and explained that he had run into the mom at the park, looking for the ball, and told her the story.  She must have relayed it to her son, who then decided that he wanted Christian to have his ball.  So, Mike pulled Teammate's ball around from behind his back, and told Christian that Teammate had brought him this ball to have.  I wish I had had a camera for the expression on Christian's face...at first he was like,"No....," as though there had been a mistake.  Then he smiled so big, and we all said again how very kind and thoughtful that was for him to give up his ball.

This is the kind of thing that lays a foundation for a life of service and sacrifice.  Little man saw a friend who lost something, and he wanted to help out his bud.  This is a profound thing for a six-year-old to do.  It points to a greater sacrifice, one that involved an innocent man who saw that there was a world full of people who were lost, and knew the only thing that could help them and rescue them was to sacrifice his life.  His life for their life. 

I pray that Christian will remember this act of kindness forever.  I hope that he will recognize the significance of a seemingly small act, and that it will move him to act likewise in the future.  I long for him to know the One whose ultimate sacrifice was even greater, whose love is great, and whose strength is great.

I would love to see the boys score goals this season, but the goal I will pray for is that they would know their Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Phillipians 3:7-14

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.

What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ— the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.  I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.

Fun and Games

Eliana recently started taking long afternoon naps.  It has been wonderful, for her to get some good rest and for the rest of us to be able to hang out together-particularly Christian and myself. 

I am able to get her to sleep before he is home from school.  Once he's here, he often has a snack and then we play games.  Since I packed all of the board games that we have (because we are moving one day), we are a little limited...but we have card games a-plenty.  We've played a lot of cards; we've played Go Fish, Crazy 8's, War, Crazy Aces, Old Maid, Crazy Jacks (you get the picture...).  He's creative in every aspect of his life and this area is no different.

Another game we've played involves several decks (sets?) of flash cards we have.  They have a word on one side and then on the other side the word again with a picture.  Very basic flash cards.  What he likes to do is hide the cards from me, give me a clue about the one on top, and then let me guess the word.  It is quite fun, and he comes up with really clever hints.  For example, yesterday we were on the couch (and ironically Eliana had taken a 45 minute nap and was already awake, but still sleepy enough just to sit on my lap so that we could still play this game for a bit) and he gave me the clue:  "Eliana is holding one."  Can you guess what it was?  Probably not.  But I looked at Eliana and started giggling, and I said,"A hammer?"   For some reason, she was holding the plastic hammer out of Christian's play tool box.  He started laughing and said,"Yeah!"  It was one of those you-had-to-be-there moments, but seriously, it was funny.  We laughed pretty hard about that. 

Let's see if I can remember some of his other hints...The rain falls on it (umbrella); it's at the beach, in the sand, and in the ocean (shell); it's in the bathroom and the kitchen (sink).  Oh, I wish I could remember a couple of the very funny ones, but my memory...

We did have another good laugh because of these cards.  He discovered that two of the sets (different brands) had identical pictures for their words (for example, the lamps on the "lamp" card were exactly the same; there were several others he found that were this way).   We had never noticed this before, and I said (oh, this is really telling one on me...),"Hey, we could play a matching game with these cards."  My thought was that we could turn the cards over and then flip them, "Memory" style, and match the pairs.  Um, then I burst out laughing because I realized that, well, it would be the easiest game of "Memory" ever.  The printed word without the picture is on the flip side of each card.  They both thought it was very funny that I had such a crazy idea.  Eliana laughed just for the heck of it.

Back to the guessing game...I love this activity.  It is good for his reading (he doesn't always look at the picture side), and he has to come up with a way to talk about the object without naming the object.  He's quick, too.  He likes being "in charge", the one giving the clues, the one who knows the answer (wait, isn't he always the one who knows the answer...?).   I occasionally throw in the wrong object, like when he said,"You clean the floor with it," and I said,"A toothbrush!"  It makes him laugh (and Michaela, too, who was listening in while reading).  Next I said,"A broom."  He shook his head.  "A mop."  That was the right one.

I like to spend this time with him each day; I can see in a vivid way that he still wants to be with me and do fun things together, sit in my lap, be close.  There are moments most days when things are a little harder, and the times when we can laugh and snuggle help to remind me that what he needs most is love.  That may sound funny, that I would need that reminder.  I guess what I mean is that when he's pushing buttons, or pitching a good one about not getting his way, I can think of the goodness of that together time, how obvious it is that he is cherishing those moments, take a deep breath, and try to help him through the rough spot.  And really, at the end of the day, when he still wants me to lie down with him for a while, the snuggle moments rocket into first place, and boot those stinker-y moments out the door. 

And just for fun, here's a word he coined tonight.  I think it's brilliant-camoflaser (a laser that blends in to its surroundings?).  He is a funny boy.

Fixing Dinner

I don't really like to experiment with food.  I'm not the kind of cook who can look at what I have on hand and whip something up and it's fantasticalicious (<--- she however is amazing).  It's usually bleh with a little bit of mlech on the side.  Add some salt, or ketchup and we're okay. 

Tonight I went to make pizza (some folks brought pizza up at Michaela's soccer practice and Eliana started her chant-I thought I would be frugal and make it instead of order it); in true Christina fashion I whipped up the dough (I have a super-easy recipe from online) and then realized I had no mozzarella cheese.  Hmmm. 

I went back and forth, what would I do, save the dough for another day, make a mexican-style pizza, save the dough for another day, what would I do.  I am probably one of the most indecisive people on the planet (I'm not sure about that, but I might be.  On the other hand, there are probably people who have a worse time making a decision than me.  But I really have a hard time, so I might be at the top.  But I don't know...).

I finally decided to make the mexican pizza.  I pushed the dough out into a circle (and Eliana said,"Peas-uh!  Peas-uh!") and then slapped some refried beans on it and spread them around.  I put some ground turkey seasoned with taco seasoning on top of that (yes, browned), and then some black beans and defrosted frozen corn.  I dribbled a little salsa on top of all that, but just a little of the saucy part, we don't like a whole lot of chunks here.  I topped it with Colby Jack, because that is the only kind of cheese I have (and when I say that is the only kind of cheese I have, I  mean it.  I have it shredded.  I have it in single serving rectangles.  I have it in slices.  Why do I have so much Colby Jack and no mozzarella?  Why?). 

It didn't seem like it would be too bad.  Theoretically, I thought, this could work.

Well, it was okay.  This is the finished version (my daylight was gone, sorry about the bad photo...)

It was missing something.  Or maybe there was too much of something.  Dough?  Refried beans?  I'm not sure.  What might help?  Nothing?  Very bad idea?  I just wondered if anyone had an opinion on how to fix this...

Christian and Michaela ate it.  In the end, Eliana decided that it was not pizza, and therefore would have nothing to do with it. 

So, here's to experiments and fresh ideas.  I think I'll stick to my recipes.

March 1, 2009

(Christian, after looking at his dinner plate)

"What is this?"

Me-"It's mexican pizza kind of thing."

Christian-"How did you make it?"

Me-"I don't know...I just made it."

Christian-"You didn't use any ingredients?" (I figured out he meant a recipe when he made a motion with his hands and he said something I can't quite remember.)

Me-"Right, I just made it up."

Christian-"You made it up in your mind?!  And it turned into this?!"

He then told me it was the best thing he had ever eaten and I had to make it every night. 

But he didn't want seconds.

It's What?

It's March 1st, that's what.

What?

I know!  How did that happen?  Was I on another planet?  (Probably.) 

I have been thinking the last few days, about several things.  One of those things is how much time I am able to waste, especially at night after the kids go to bed.  It is a talent that I have honed to perfection, and for which I could possibly win an award were such an award to exist.  Fortunately, there is no reward for such tomfoolery, in fact there is a great penalty.  There is a weight that is tied around one's waist, as it were, a giant although imaginary ball-and-chain.  A nagging voice that chants,"You could be doing something much more productive..."  A sense of self-knowledge that does not lead to self-respect.

I say these things because I realize that there is happiness, or really joy, in order and stability.  And these things have never come easy for me, at least as far as I can remember.  I think I have always been able to fool others, and even myself, but the reality of my everyday-all-around-me-disaster cannot be ignored, nor can it be hidden.  And what you cannot hide but feel that you want to hide must be dealt with before it becomes a two-headed monster that belches fire and threatens to destroy you.  That would be really unmanageable (I have no sword skills or magical powers to defeat that kind of scary beast).

I usually don't set goals for myself, because inevitably I don't achieve them.  This leads to sadness and feelings of failure and blah, blah, blah.  But, back to the thing I have been thinking about...I was thinking that I might begin by reading some Scripture each day, and learning something from it.  Reading something and reflecting, even just a little at first, on what lesson the Word of God is teaching, what good I could take from it, what one thing I could share with someone else in my life in some way during a day or week. 

You might be thinking,"Um, that sounds a lot like a goal, Christina."  Well, it isn't!  It's hope-and that's different.  In and from God, expecting, awaiting, eager. 

Romans 8:18-27

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. 

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

Hebrews 10:19-25

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

 Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chilliest land
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

I could end this post there, but I wanted to say that I am feeling hopeful tonight, which is a good thing.  Won't you join me?