Victory!!

This weekend was good for Katie and me in our sports endeavors. I had a T2 match on Friday night and we won in 3 sets. Today I had my last mixed doubles match and won again in 3 sets. That seems to be the norm for me lately - to play 3 sets. Forever it seemed like I could never win a match, but thankfully I am back on the winning track. Hopefully it will carry over to our spring ALTA team!

Katie had her all-star basketball game Sat. morning. The team they were playing against had players from the top 2 teams in the league, so I wasn't expecting a very close game. It ends up that they were tied and ended up winning by 2 points in overtime!! It was such an exciting game. Katie had 2 free throws and made both of them which kept the game tied. After the game she didn't seem to think that was so important. I told her this was the kind of game where every point counted!! Sorry for the poor picture quality. Maybe I need a new camera:)

We went out as a family to celebrate Valentine's Day. We went to our favorite Japanese steak house - Tokyo. We went about 5:30 which turned out to be a good thing. There was a long wait when we left.

Chris' head still looks pretty bad, but he will be returning to school on Tuesday, most likely wearing a headband to cover up the terrible looking stuff on his head. Lucky Katie gets the whole week out of school!! I am going to take the day off on Wed. so we can do something together.

Here are some pictures from Chris' last wrestling weekend. Couldn't find them when I did that post.

What a Week!!

This has been quite a week here in the Morrison household. It started out Monday when we took Chris to the doctor because of his eye and a breakout on his forehead. Turns out it was pink eye (which I had diagnosed myself) and staph infection. He had made it all the way through wrestling season and had just finished his last week of practice and then he gets staph. It is an awful case. His forhead looks really bad. I will spare you all by NOT including pictures!! He has been out of school all week. Hopefully he won't have too much to make up next week when he goes back. Then on Wed. night when he was coming back from a friends house, who lives in our neighborhood, he was run off the road by another car and did some major damage to the frame or axel or something. You can't tell by just looking that anything is wrong with the car, but it is there. The good thing is that he wasn't hurt and it wasn't his fault.

As if dealing with all that all week hasn't been enough, I found out today that because I am part-time I am way low man on the totem pole when it comes to a job next year. Cobb is making lots of cuts and part-time jobs might be one of them. My principal talked to all of us who are part-time today to make us aware of what is going on. We don't know anything for sure, but supposedly everything has to be decided on by mid-April. Please pray that all this will work out as God has planned. I've always wanted some time off from teaching, but I didn't really want to be forced into it!!

Hopefully after all this, things will begin to look up around here. I have 2 or maybe 3 tennis matches over the weekend, Katie is playing in her all-star basketball game tomorrow morning and Chris and Mike are going to see Notre Dame and Loyola (sp.?) play lacrosse tomorrow at McEachern High School.

Hope you all have a Happy Valentine's Day!!

I've Been Tagged

I'm playing the blog tag game. Here is the picture that I
ended up with. This is actually from Christmas 2006. Mike
is looking at one of his gifts and that is my Mom and Dad also
in the picture.









My friend tagged me...and I thought this would be fun.
So, here's what you do:
1. Go to your 4th folder where you store your photos.
2. Select the 4th photo (no exceptions).
3. Post the picture with an explanation.
4. Tag 4 people to do the same.

Wrestling Wrap-up

Well, this weekend ended Chris' 2nd wrestling season. I must say I am glad it is over for another year. I enjoy it to a certain extent, but boy is it time-consuming. Chris has had a really good season this year. He was very disappointed at first when he found out he couldn't wrestle varsity, but I think it turned out to be a good thing for him. I think he placed in every tournament he wrestled this year. He had many wins - many by a pin. He lost very few matches and was only pinned once. He finally finished first last week at North Cobb, and finished 2nd this weekend at the Cobb County Tournament. I took some pictures Sat. to post, but something happened to them. I do have a couple from earlier in the season. You just gotta love what they wear!! Katie's friends always get a kick out of that when they come with her to a match:) Now he is chomping at the bits to get on the lacrosse field!!

When we got home from wrestling on Sat. we discovered our heat was out on the main level of the house. We are building fires and using space heaters until the repair man comes on Wed. At least we are gone most of the day. We had our small group over last night for the Super Bowl. I love the time we get to spend together. We always have a great time of fun, food and fellowship.

I'm sitting here watching the men's final of the Australian Open. I know who wins, but I still want to watch the actual playing of these 2 great tennis players. One day I'm going to be as good as they are!! Ha!! Ha!! If I could only be 100th as good as them I might actually win a match occasionally. Last spring my ladies team made it to City Finals, which was very exciting for us all. But since that time, because we have had to move up a level, I feel like I have hardly won a match in ALTA, T2 or now in singles. I always play a close game, many times 3 sets and tie-breaks included, but just can't seem to put it away. I still love to play though and think it is great exercise. I can't wait to get back out with my ladies' team this spring. We have a great team that plays really well together and I must say you don't find that everywhere. Here are a couple of pictures from spring tennis at the City Finals.

Words Count

We have been studying about gossip and watching what you say in our middle school girls' Sunday school class. We talk about how what we say is like a sword and can hurt the person we are talking about. We also talk about how much better it is to say things that edify and encourage others. It is amazing how much power words can have. As parents, teachers, coaches, etc. we can either help those we come in contact with or harm them. We have the opportunity to encourage those we work with and say words that will build them up. Or, we can say things that will be harmful and maybe even leave scars. I found that it is much better to say words of encouragement. A coach will usually get better results from his/her team if they encourage their players instead of being negative with them. Just this weekend, the opposing coach at Katie's basketball game got a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct because of the things he was yelling at his team. It was terrible. I hope that as a wife, mom, daughter, friend, and teacher I can put into practice using words of encouragement instead of words that harm. Let's all remember that our words count - for either good or bad.

Letting Go

Well it was very different having a 16 year old driver during Christmas Break this year. Chris was gone from home much more than he was home during the break. The new found freedom of being able to drive was very real for Chris. It was also very eye-opening for me. Another phase of life has come. Even though he has to tell us where he is going and check in with us often while he is gone, it is still not possible to know where he is every minute that he is gone. It made me realize that I have lost some of the parental control I have had for the past 16 years. It used to be he would only be where I took him. Now he has the freedom to take himself places. Though that is in some ways very freeing for me, it is also scary. But, I must say that I am very thankful that he is a good kid and that for the most part he has a good head on his shoulders. It is hard to let go, but is a little easier when you can feel confident that you have instilled good values and morals into your child and they are seeming to follow in the path you have set for them. I know I have to put him in the Lord's hands and pray for protection every time he leaves the house. It is amazing the peace I have in the midst of this change. God is good and gets us ready for the next thing we have to face.

Another Year

Well, 2008 is officially over now. As I look back on this year and am thankful for how God continues to bless me. Even though this has been a crazy year for our country, God has been faithful to me and my family. As I think back over the year, these are a few highlights.

1. My youngest started middle school ( and some other things too:) )

2. My oldest turned 16 and is driving - Yikes!!

3. I've been blessed to work part-time again, and God saved my job at Ford!

4. God started a new work in my life after going to Deeper Still.

5. I've turned into a tennis fanatic - just can't play enough.

6. I was able to visit with many old friends at GSU Homecoming.

7. God continues to bring people in my life who are now dear friends.

8. God is preparing me for the change in my Mom - she's not the same as and it has been hard.

As I think back over the year I can also think of some difficult, painful times as well. But, it is awesome how God helps us put those things away and mostly remember the good times throughout the year. "His mercies are new every morning - Great is Thy faithfulness." No matter what we may experience and no matter what this new year may hold, the one thing I know is that God is faithful and has promised to never leave us or forsake us.

May God bless you and your family in this new year.