It Feels Like Progress

A sign went up today on the new church lot. . .I don't know why it excited me so much, but it did. It feels like maybe we are moving forward. Dirt work should begin next week, that will definitely feel like progress. But for now, a sign that shows people where we will be building is encouraging. I have tried to describe the location on many occasions. Now it won't be necessary. Thanks, anonymous donor, for thinking of a sign. It tells the community, we are making plans. We will return. The people of West Hickman Baptist Church in Hickman, Kentucky will have a church building of their own again one of these days, the Lord willing. But for now, we are content to keep doing ministry from wherever God allows.

Friday Night Lights in Hickman

Last night was Taylor's first official football game on the high school level. I think he is a little intimidated at the thought and size of high school opponents, but he is playing, none-the-less. He got put in for two plays last night and did well. He is #82 and sure does look handsome in his uniform! He is pushing 6 feet tall now but hopes to put on some weight and muscle in the next few years to be able to "push his weight around" on the field.

Love this guy!

When I say "Fulton," you say, "County!"

Last night was Marlena's first game to cheer for! The Fulton County Middle School football team played at Murray Middle School. The cheer squad did so well! It brought back memories for dad and I as we watched so many new little 6th graders starting to cheer for the first time. Just two years ago, that was Lindy, and now. . . she is the expert! Lindy is definitely a great cheerleader with crisp, clean moves--nothing "loosey, goosey" about her.

Excited about this year's cheer squad!

Survival Skills 101

Our first class at Reelfoot Outdoor Classroom was on basic survival skills: building a fire, building a shelter, and first aid. It was very interesting and educational, not to mention a nice break from the daily grind of workbooks and reading. Schaeffer is posing beside the rugged shelter that was made from sticks and branches.

Jay listened intently to all that was taught, so I feel sure he picked up a few interesting and helpful facts. But I am sure his favorite part was after the class when we went down the road to a park and had a picnic lunch with some of the kids and their moms. What a beautiful place Reelfoot Lake is!

Schaeffer found a little toad that became his buddy for the day! Mean old mom made him leave it there when we left. Looking forward to going back next Friday for more Outdoor Classroom.

Soccer Season is here!

Today was such a beautiful day that the boys and I decided to have a picnic lunch at the park. Jay brought a soccer play to practice with since tonight is his first soccer practice of the season. This will be his 2nd year playing and Marlena's 3rd year. Schaeffer decided he wanted to try it, and the next thing I knew, big brother Jay had turned into a regular soccer coach!

"You can't use your hands, Schaeffer!" Well, why not put him in the goal then? By the end Jay decided that Schaeffer would actually make quite a good goalie. . .if ever given the chance to play. It will not be his year this year, but maybe next year! When you're #5, sometimes you have to wait a little while for your chance at "stardom!"

Over the Hill?

Look at my cute little "dates" for lunch at the lake today! The Hilltoppers meet once a month, which is a small group of people from all around our association who are "over the hill," so to speak. :) The kids and I used to join them fairly regularly soon after we moved here and honestly, I had forgotten just how much they enjoy seeing young 'uns. These three kids brought a lot of smiles to those sweet, wrinkled faces today and I am so glad we went! Of course, eating lunch at Boyette's on Reelfoot Lake AND having it paid for by dear Mr. Charles was an added bonus. See this nice, brand new van? Someone donated TWO of them to our church about a week ago so we got to break one in right today. A fun fieldtrip!

Meatball Madness

Day 2 of Jay helping in the kitchen started off like this! He was interested in getting his hands messy (don't all boys like that?) until he saw exactly what it was he was going to have to stick his hands into.

"Go deeper! Get those hands messy! You can do it," I cheered from a distance. The deal was that if he would mix it all up and start rolling out meatballs, I would finish reading to him and we could get two things done at one time (remember from yesterday--this is my world of multi-tasking!). Jay makes ordinary kitchen work so much more fun. He threatened a meatball fight, but one look from mom changed his mind. Let me tell you, those meatballs were the best mixed and squished meatballs we have ever had! He decided it was a little like playdough and some like slime, either way, pretty cool feeling.

All in all, we now have a pot of sauce and meatballs simmering on the stove with two packages of meatballs headed to the freezer for another meal! Great help on those 5+ dozen, Jaybo!

Welcome to MY World!

"Do you wanna help me make bread today?"
"MEEEEE??"
"Yep, it's your turn now."
"Sure, I guess so."
That was how the conversation started this morning between me and my 9-year-old son. He's the oldest one left at home, now that the other 3 are in school. Apparently, he wasn't thrilled about the thought of making bread with mom, that is. . . until I introduced him to THE MIXER!! I do have a huge, commercial-sized mixer sitting in my kitchen floor that his sister loved to mix bread dough in all by herself. Well, today was Jay's day.
The plans quickly changed to mixing up a double batch of homemade pizza dough to be enjoyed for supper, so I began the instructions. By the time it came to adding flour, 1 cup at a time, Jay had everything quite under control, as you can see from the looks of his shirt. He might have even been playing in the flour? It's hard to say. :) So I worked on laundry, cleaned up lunch, put cookies in the oven that Jay had already laid out on a pan for me, and continued watching the progress of our dough.

As the dough neared completion, I take over and begin giving instructions on taking the cookies off the hot pan and laying them out on wax paper.
"The cookies are already done?"
"Yes. Be careful taking them off the sheet so that you don't burn yourself. Oh, and if you drop one on the floor--it's mine!"
"What?!"
"Just a motivator for you NOT to drop one." ha! ha!
"Mom, how are we doing two different things at one time?!? Pizza dough AND cookies!"
WELCOME TO MY WORLD, SON!
And now, for the best part about helping mom in the kitchen, taste testing!

Sipes/Pena Reunion--August 10, 2013

There is nothing more dear than a friend who will always be your friend, no matter what. You know, the friend who knows how you think and feel and "gets you," sometimes better than you understand yourself? And the clencher is. . .she still likes you after all that? Those kind of friends don't come along every year, so when you realize you have one or two, hang on to them! God gave me this kind of rare friendship in Cara Pena and although we don't see each other or even stay in touch nearly as well as we'd like, the friendship is there. It is safe. It is fun. It is deep. It is a blessing to me. And because I hope that some of our children may also have that same kind of lifelong friendship, I "saved" this past weekend to make a quick trip to Southaven. Several times during the previous week, I found myself almost apologizing for trying to go to Southaven because we were going to miss. . .such and such. But I wasn't disappointed.

Somehow, as soon as we get down there, it is just like no time has past and everyone is visiting, laughing, talking, and no one wants it to end. I am so glad Jason went along this trip because it was good for he and Tim to catch up, but Tim isn't doing very well. He has been battling Lyme Disease for 10 years now! It is debilitating and has done a number on Tim's physical body, but his spirit and faith are so strong! Cara is amazing--what a self-sacrificing woman she is to serve her husband and nine children, day and night.

Their whole family blessed me this weekend, watching them serve each other, play so well together, and especially take care of their dad. I think this illness they have grown up around has built within them a strength of character not often found in children and teenagers their ages. I love this family!

Baseball Man!

Today is the day--the Hickman Hornets will be holding try outs for 3 open spots on their traveling team (12 and under). Jay got to play this past spring/summer, even though he was young, because his dad was the coach! Always a plus! :) He loved it and is so excited about next season! He has to participate in the open try outs, the whole team does, although he is guaranteed a spot on the team as a returning player. They had a great season, especially considering it was everyone's first time at this level--player pitch. Cameron McNeill and Damyen Goodrich were great pitchers! It was a blast to see them work hard as a team, encourage each other, and win some games. Today's try outs get us excited about next spring! Can't wait to see who gets added to the Hickman Hornets today!

The First Day of School!

About a week ago, I was driving around town, thinking happy thoughts about my wonderful family of seven, when the words "the sipes seven" came to mind. "Hummm," that sounds vaguely familiar, I thought. A few more seconds of pondering and then it hit me--I HAVE A BLOG! Wow, I seriously had forgotten that I even used to write on a blog at some point during our crazy, busy lives! So it comes as no surprise that a school year ended, a whole summer has passed, and now a new school year has begun and I didn't blog about any of it. Maybe I will try to catch up gradually as I get going but for now, let me re-introduce the Sipes children and show how they have grown!

Taylor started high school yesterday at Fulton County High and is playing football for his third season in a row since starting school at FC. He is taking Biology, Geometry, English/Reading, World History, Spanish I (online), Intro to Computer Applications, and possibly something else that I am forgetting. The English teacher, Mrs. Beadles, started them off with a lot of homework on the first day--he wasn't impressed (but his dad was!). I am praying he figures out how to be successful in each one of his classes. I think he can handle it!

Lindy has started her last year of middle school--an 8th grader! She is definitely a leader in her class and has made her parents very proud of her high academic standards. She took home awards in every one of her subjects at the end of last school year for "highest average," but some of those she tied with her BFF Daisy. :) She even got the elementary/middle school library named after her at the awards ceremony for reading more books (and earning more AR points) than anyone else in the whole school!! She was very embarrassed, but her mama was sure proud! She says she isn't getting it again this year because it was too embarrassing. She loves to read, though, so I am not sure anyone will be able to compete with her. Her vice-principal just told me at the start of this school year that Lindy is one of the smartest students he has ever dealt with, and he said he's had some good ones. She is gifted!

Marlena started "real" school yesterday at Fulton County Middle School in the 6th grade. She has been looking forward to this ever since she tried out and made the cheer squad back in the spring. She was a little nervous but did great! This will be the only year that she and Lindy spend in middle school together, so I was eager for her to start now. She is ready for teachers other than mom who will challenge her to give her best. She tested very well on her reading entrance test so was placed in the accelerated reading class with a few other 6th graders, but mostly 7th and 8th graders. Mrs. McWhirt is teaching it so I know she will be challenged. She took the math entrance test twice and was able to test into the advanced math class. I believe she is up to the challenges of this year, as long as her mom helps her stay focused and on track. Lindy will probably help with this, too. ha! ha! She looked so grown up yesterday, leaving for school. I miss her at home already! I enjoyed our last two years together. She became my right hand, for sure.

Jay is still being homeschooled and is starting the 4th grade. He has begun asking when he will go to public school with his friends, but I am not in a hurry to rush things. I am looking forward to quality time with him this year (and probably the next) with the oldest 3 in school all day. Jay is a wonderful student who learns quickly and easily. He is very self-motivated, so my job this year will be to keep him challenged. Jay is excited about playing soccer again this fall in Union City with his buddy Chade! And he is already practicing for his traveling baseball team that he enjoyed participating on this past spring. He is eager to improve his skills, which means lots of practice time with dad. (Since dad is the coach, this is definitely a good thing!)

Schaeffer is 4 years old and is very eager to learn. He begged to "do school" for most of last year so I had planned to get a real preschool curriculum for him this year. So far, it hasn't happened but I have lots of ideas for "doing school" with him this school year. He has surprised me with his intelligence so I am excited about watching him learn. He is learning to spell his very difficult name, which I never guessed would happen at 4 years old. :) He brings a lot of spark and energy to our home and warms his mommy's heart every time he impulsively gives a hug or a kiss.

Very, very thankful to God for these five healthy and beautiful children!