Never Cease Praying

I have been trying to have a pity party for a few reasons.

In less than a year, my mom passed away suddenly, my dad had back surgery that led to a 911 call and a couple of weeks in the hospital/rehab and now Daniel has a hernia and will have surgery. I still do not have a teaching job and I am trying to survive the two online classes to reinstate my teaching certificate while trying to soak up every moment of the short summer with Daniel and my precious growing boys. My house is one big dust ball, weeds are taking over my flowerbeds and my garage is full of garage sale stuff that we don't have time to organize and sell. Andrew's car broke down late one evening last month while Daniel was on a mission trip. Thankfully Andrew was able to get it in the CVS parking lot close to our house before it died. I met the tow truck in the CVS parking lot the next day and we waited for Daniel to get back in town to get it fixed. Now Daniel's truck can't be driven because it is leaking fluids and he can't get under the truck to work on it because of his hernia. And our upstairs air conditioner is broke and it needs a new outside unit. I am overwhelmed! But. . . 

When I go to have a self pity party and let God have it for allowing these storms, I am reminded of his mercy and grace and how much worse it could be. Just over a year ago (exactly 6 months before my mom passed away from a massive heart attack and 6 months after Daniel's dad passed away in his sleep) Andrew was in a major car accident that he walked away from. There were friends that happen to be at the accident that provided Andrew with instant comfort while waiting on us to get there. How can I have a pity party when God wrapped his love, grace and mercy around my son. I will continue to pray and hold on to God's Word because it could always be worse. These pictures remind me that even though we are going through a rough storm, God is going through it with us. I don't know why God has allowed these particular storms in our life and so close together, but I will continue to pray and ask God to protect us and guide us. For He knows the plans. . . Jeremiah 29:11-14  

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18…16Rejoice always; 17pray without ceasing;18in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.…

Here are my reminders to get over the pity party and just keep praying and give thanks

Do Something

I have not written on this blog in years. I write in a journal or Facebook a lot because writing is an outlet for my thoughts. I over analyze life and feel life way too much. In fact, there are times that I can not shut my brain off from happenings around me. Praying and giving it to God gives me peace and answers lots of my questions. But the only way I can move on is to write it down. It is like I release it from being shut up in my brain.

So tonight I can not stop thinking about my mom. As Mother's Day approaches, I am feeling sad that she is not here. On May 7th, it will be 6 months since my mom was unexpectedly and very suddenly taken to heaven with no time to say good-bye. When this school year started, I never imagined my mom would not be here to see it come to a close.

My mom adored my boys and loved celebrating their milestones. Andrew just turned 17 and Christopher 14. Andrew just went to his first prom and Christopher just took his first date to a formal dance. Kevin just played in his first player pitch baseball game. And now Christopher is about to finish middle school and prepare for high school. And Andrew is about to become a senior and begin applying for college. I am wishing my mom was here to share in all these milestones.

I know my mom is in heaven smiling at my boys' lives right now. My mom wanted school to be easy and fun for my boys. Most importantly she wanted them to be loved on at school. I know she is smiling down at all the opportunities they have been given with their wonderful teachers and schools.

My mom taught for 33 years and many of those years were in tough situations. Tonight we went by the cemetery to switch out flowers from Easter to Mother's Day flowers. As we left the cemetery, there were a group of kids walking down the street that were in rag type clothes and not your typical kids my boys are use to being in school with. I explained to my boys that my mom taught children much like those that were walking tonight. My mom would take my brothers and my hand-me-downs to her students. She would also buy them soap, shampoo, tooth paste and tooth brushes. Teaching for my mom was more than just teaching students to read and write and do arithmetic. It was providing love and extra attention to those in need. My mom would tell me stories about her students that fell asleep in class and she would leave them asleep. She told me that this might be the only time they could get some sleep because many did not have a home life that provided for a good night sleep.

When I got older and understood the tough situation my mom was teaching in, I would tell her to go to a "better" school or get out of the classroom in a different position. She would let me know that she was where she needed to be to help these students. My mom was never into her looks or into her status in society. She just wanted to spend time with her family and do for her family. Once I became a mom I realized what she had sacrificed to do for her family.

After my mom passed away, I heard many stories from people about my mom. I heard stories of how she helped other teachers, what kind of teacher she was, how she spoke about her family and special memories they had with my mom. Losing my mom made me evaluate what my life would leave behind for people to talk about. Was I making a difference in other people's lives? For a while I have been feeling God pulling me back to teaching. I have been fighting the call. But recently I heard the call to "do something". I want to get back in the classroom and help students and to be there to make a difference. I see teaching as a mission field and a place to be God's hand and feet. Teachers don't have to pray and teach about Jesus for it to be a mission field. They just have to smile and encourage a child just as Jesus would. I want to "do something." I have heard from many teachers that this is not the time to get back into teaching. But I have to follow where God is sending me. And I am not sure what school He wants me at, but I will follow the call and see where He places me. I will have faith that He has the perfect teaching position to fulfill His call for my life.

A friend pointed out this song to me a few weeks ago. I had heard this song on the radio many times but I had not really "heard" the song until they sent it to me. This song inspires me and reminds me of my mom. My mom was the hands and feet of Christ while she was on earth. I never realized this when she was alive, but now that she is gone I see she "did something".

Start to Spring Break

Spring Break is off to an exhausting but fun start! Christopher began our Spring Break off on Friday evening with a baseball tournament that lasted until Sunday. There were 20 teams from Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi playing in the tournament. We came out in 3rd place with two Texas teams battling it out for first. The team that eliminated us from the tournament won the championship. They were a team out of Houston and they were really good! After the tournament Christopher's team moved up to 1st in the state of Louisiana and 25th in the country.

On Saturday morning, Christopher pitched a shut out with only 60 pitches and gave up only 2 hits. I was exhausted after that game watching him pitch. Then Andrew pitched on Monday. I again felt the nerves while he pitched too! I am really struggling with the nerves when my boys pitch. I have not been very good at just giving it to God. At this age you never know how they are going to be when they walk out on the mound. Are they going to be on or off that day??? And Andrew's baseball has become so serious. He was in front of a home crowd with a varsity coach there watching. Andrew did a great job! And God and I were definitely talking during every pitch. I filled my head with the verse Philippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." I have to fill my head with a verse instead of worry! Andrew pitched great and they won 5-1!

Here are my boys this weekend making me nervous!

Kevin had a basketball game in the middle of the baseball weekend. I rushed him to his game between games on Saturday. They did not win their game but they sure looked cute :)

On Friday after Christopher's baseball game, we all got in bed and ready for a good night sleep before Christopher's 8am Saturday game. However, Daniel goes to put the dogs up and finds water all over our kitchen floor. Our refrigerator/freezer had gone out. We quickly moved everything to our old refrigerator/freezer and saved a few items. Daniel didn't have time to look at it over the weekend between baseball and work. So on Monday before Andrew's game and his day off, Daniel did a lot of research and figured out what was wrong with our refrigerator. He went and bought a new mother board for it and changed it out! Such a handy guy!!! I have to put a side note in here that he had just repaired our dryer a few weeks before. He took the dryer apart and found a broken piece and replaced it. He saved us tons of money by repairing the two appliances himself. Here are a couple of pictures of him repairing the refrigerator/freezer.

The refrigerator/freezer works like new now and is very clean!

Today has been a little bit more slow pace. The boys have been outside playing with neighbors and Andrew has been helping my parents catch up on their yard and some projects. He has been so busy with baseball that we haven't seen much of Andrew these days. He actually has a break from baseball today. He will then have practice on Wednesday and Thursday. Daniel is at work and I am catching up on housework. All in all it has been a good start to our Spring Break just a little exhausting.

Power of Music

Life can sometimes seem unfair and really hard. Trying to raise three boys to live a life to glorify God can be hard in this ungodly world. Just as Daniel and I try to tell the boys one of God's truths, life hits them. We have been disappointed by some actions and words from their friends but also some adults in their lives. We are just surprised by some things people do. But we have witnessed our boys taking the high road and living for God and not the acceptance of others. I am so proud of them! I was not always that kind of teenager. I loved God and tried to do right but some of the things my boys are doing humble me as a parent. They truly are letting God live in them.

 I witnessed Andrew being an encourager to a friend the other day. It was a friend that had not been so nice lately. Then the next day Andrew's friend, "Billy", had some events happen that brought "Billy's" spirit down. Andrew being the forgiver he is put his hurt feelings aside and told "Billy" to hold his head high and move on. He told him there was nothing he could do about it and he could learn from it. Hello!!! This is a 15 year old (almost 15) telling a friend (that he was currently mad at just the day before for hurting his feelings) to hold his head high when something had brought him down. Why is that so hard for us as adults to do? Why do we hold grudges and not willing to forgive and just love because that is what is right? Have you encouraged someone today that you are mad at or has not fit into your mold of being righteous. Leave the judging up to God and just simply love everyone for who they are. Stop judging!!!! OK that went a little off course but felt good to say :)

(I hope I made since about Andrew without giving names or situations away. I have to watch what I blog about Andrew because he is really becoming his own man and privacy is an issue. My other two have recently given me their opinions on my posting of pictures and comments about them. Even my 6 year old will get mad if he sees a picture that I didn't show him first. He will get pretty angry with me for posting a picture without his permission. But Andrew really has his limits for me on Facebook and blogging. I wouldn't want my children posting every detail of my life or every picture without my permission. It is a little personal when you think about it. So pictures and details of their lives come with their permission. But it does make it difficult to share some really awesome things going on in their lives. But I completely understand!)

I have watched my boys overcome some injustice done to them from people without a moral compass. It is just disappointing. But it has given Daniel and I opportunities to speak of God's promises for our life. Daniel and I have worked hard on stepping back and letting God work in their lives. We pray for God to show us where and when to step in. God knows best for our boys and He knows what their future holds. I have no clue what their future holds and what God wants them to do. But I am willing to help them become stronger and maturer along the journey. God has given us some great opportunities this year. Don't ever doubt that your children are watching how you handle diversity too. I am just so proud of the maturity my boys have shown lately. I am not bragging on my parenting at all!!!! It is all God given. The boys love God and have allowed him to lead them. Daniel and I are merely traffic controllers helping them along their journey.

 Tonight after a great family dinner, we heard a song on KLOVE for the first time. It spoke to all of us! Andrew quickly started looking on his phone for the name of the song and the artist. We now have the whole album on itunes and have been jamming tonight. What is so cool about this group's songs is that Andrew has been looking for some songs to listen to before his baseball games. He is a high school pitcher and has to get himself in game mode after school for a game. Baseball has been pretty stressful this year because it is the year they evaluate you to decide if you get to come back the next year. 28 freshman and not very many spots. You can't afford to make a mistake. Andrew is working hard! I am a nervous wreck when he plays ball. I know how much he wants it so I want it for him. He doesn't want this to be the end of baseball for him (which it doesn't appear to be the end at all!). I had to dig deep and remind myself that God is in control and whatever happens is for his own good. God has a plan Jeremiah 29:11. Andrew has been digging deep too. He fell in love with this song. We immediately put it on his iphone to have for his pregame music.

I love this group, Group 1 Crew, because their music speaks God's truth and has a beat that teenagers like. My heart smiles tonight as my boys have connected to some new worship music. I hope you connect with it too. This is the song "He Said" from Group 1 Crew's album Outta Space Love.  Pause the blog music so you can enjoy some Group 1 Crew.         

This is another song with a great message. And my boys LOVE Toby Mac that sings in this song with Group 1 Crew.

And since I am sharing some of my boys' favorite songs, here is another favorite that we jam to. Newsboys - God's Not Dead. The Robinson boys can get this song going!!! If you are ever beside us at a red light, you probably think we have lost our mind. But there is some worship going on up in my expedition :)
 

So glad to have this "teenage worship music" because they need something that they can connect with. And the music teenagers are expected to connect with these days are definitely sending out the wrong message. Thank you God for giving these musicians talent and thank you to the musicians for glorifying God and touching my boys' lives!

Glimpses Of Spring

The weather has been beautiful here this week! The sunshine is making me ready for spring. My maple tree is blooming and all my flowers are blooming. I love this time of year with all the new life. My house plants have even perked up with the sunshine coming through the windows. Spring also brings baseball! 


Andrew has a game Monday and a tournament on Thursday. He actually has off from baseball today but will practice Saturday and Sunday. Christopher has been practicing with his travel baseball team. He has a tournament in Texas in two weeks. This is the time of year basketball and baseball overlap so it is a little crazy with sports. Christopher has a basketball tournament tomorrow and maybe next week if they win tomorrow. Then it's just baseball and golf for Christopher. Kevin does have a few more weeks of basketball but he hasn't started baseball yet so it's not too bad for him to still be playing.

It was 87 degrees and very sunny here yesterday. 

Today was a little bit cooler but still sunny. 

Here are some Glimpses of Spring pictures of my yard!




My maple tree is blooming!

We are about to head out to the high school to see a drama production. Daniel is working so I am taking the boys. Hopefully Andrew won't fall asleep. Last night for practice the team had to run and do conditioning the whole practice. Apparently there have been players getting in trouble at school and the whole team was being punished. Andrew was glad to be a cross country runner last night. They had to first run around the LSUS campus and then conditioning and then all kinds of running drills on the field. As Daniel told Andrew "Welcome to high school sports." Andrew did ok but there were many throwing up and some hurting. Hopefully lesson learned! Behave at school if you don't want your team to have to run! I took Christopher and Kevin to watch. It was an eye opener for Christopher. It's not just about your ability, it's about your character too! It is also about your grades. Here is a link to an article about Andrew's baseball team and how the coach looks at their grades every Monday.  Byrd Baseball Places 37 Student-Athletes on Honor Roll  I am so thankful for the encouragement and discipline the coach gives for the player to be all they can be in ALL areas of their life. We have been preaching this to the boys for years so it is nice to have backup!!!

Tomorrow night, I will be taking the boys to watch Daniel referee (head referee "white hat") a Semi-Pro football game. Praying that an adult football player doesn't run over him. :) Seriously, Daniel has had a cold and not feeling real perky but is looking forward to refereeing on Saturday. He loves it!!!! I will try to get some pictures to post. 

Happy Friday! We are off to watch the production of And Then There Were None. 

Wednesday Happenings

This morning was a busy morning! I took the kids to school and then came home to get dressed for work. Daniel headed out to get the brakes fixed on his truck. The front and back had to be changed. They were in bad shape! Then at work we had a packed house. We have a private school here on Winter Break so a lot of the children came to play today and a preschool playgroup came today. Wednesday is also beginning of getting ready for the weekend. I cleaned the party rooms and stocked them with paper goods. I cleaned the bathrooms and straightened up the kitchen. Doesn't it sound like I am at my house??? Tomorrow, I will clean all the inflatables. Daniel will run a few errands tomorrow to get some other supplies. Our teenagers will call the parties for the weekend on Thurs and Friday evenings during Open Play to confirm a head count and their pizza order. We feel so blessed that God has led us through opening our own business. It has definitely been a process and continues to be as each new season rolls around. Prayer, prayer, prayer!!!!!

Now I am at home washing clothes and getting the house ready for the boys to come home and get on their homework before church. Daniel is still rocking along with his position at the church. We are seeming to have a routine down now. Andrew is enjoying Daniel picking him up from school and getting some quiet study time in at the church before baseball practice. He also enjoys getting to spend some time with his dad with none of us around :) 

Christopher brought home his school newspaper yesterday and it had a picture of him in it. There are 12 students going to the Regional Science Fair next week. He will get out of school next Friday for the Science Fair. He is the only 6th grader going to regional so he looks so young compared the other students around him who are in 7th and 8th grade. These are the years that the growth spurts really begin happening. And Christopher hasn't hit that growth spurt yet. In fact, he looks short on his basketball team but come to find out some of his teammates are about to be 13 where he is only going to be 12 in May. I am not rushing the growing up because I know with Andrew once the growing begins it doesn't seem to stop for awhile. In fact, Andrew has gone through blue jeans so fast this year I have a supply of all kinds of sizes in great shape for Christopher :) I am treasuring every kiss and hug from Kevin right now. This morning I was loving on Kevin and I told him he was going to have to give me enough hugs for his brothers too. Andrew overheard me and said no kisses but I'll hug you :) I am about to head out and pick up Christopher and Kevin from school to get some hugs and kisses - at least from Kevin! 

Here is the picture of  Christopher in his school newspaper. 

Andrew Pitching Videos

Last night, Andrew's high school freshman baseball team scrimmaged the JV baseball team. Andrew got to pitch! There are 28 freshman players so when you touch the field, it is a big deal :) Daniel was with Christopher at golf practice so I filmed Andrew pitching for Daniel to see. Andrew has a different delivery than the other pitchers on his team. He throws with a side arm motion. This motion puts a different spin on the ball and makes it move. Andrew has always thrown (just throwing not neccesarily pitching) side arm and Daniel never changed him. It is now paying off. No one scored on Andrew!   But we have also learned that a pitcher is only as good as the defense behind him. Our defense did a great job. 


The last batter you see Andrew pitching to is a junior and a great hitter. Andrew looks a little wild pitching to him but that was on purpose. Andrew didn't want to put it down the middle for him to hit. I questioned his pitching with this batter and asked why he was a little off with him. He replied, "You don't want to put it down the middle for him to slam." Daniel wasn't a pitcher and I am learning the ins and outs of pitching :) I obviously need a few more lessons on this concept. Hope you enjoy the videos.