Jesus Jubalee

On October 31, the day most people celebrate Halloween, we have our Jesus Jubilee at church. It is a time for the kids to dress up , play games, get candy and go on a hay ride! This year Lindsey was a mime, however, she had a hard time committing to the "not talking thing". Charlie was "too cool for school" in his greaser costume and Levi didn't win any awards with his too small, high water, second-hand, thrift store turtle costume! LOL Mommy wasn't as motivated to make his costume this year.

I used to struggle with the whole idea of Halloween and whether or not it should be celebrated, but I have come to the knowledge that it is still the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it......and go get some free candy with the kids! ;)

Here are the kids while we were at the Wilson Mall


Here is Lindsey and Anna G. during the costume judging at church, and Charlie struting his stuff.


and here is Levi playing one of the games, and here is Laura manning the "fishing hole" game

Thought's on Election

I wanted to share what has been on my heart today about the upcoming election. I will be so bold as to say which party I am for. I am conservative;republican if you will. I believe that the life of a baby starts at conception, so therefore I am pro life. I am not big on "big government". I am thankful for the freedoms that we have in this country and I would prefer to make my own choices on things such as health care and what to do with my money. I do believe that a marriage is a sacred union between a man and a women. Also, being the homeschool mother that I am, I believe that we should be able to chose what form of education our children have public or otherwise. There are more issues but it seems like those are the "biggy's" that people usually bring up in conversation.

Even though I believe so strongly in my opinions about what is right, something even bigger is at stake here. Say McCain and Palin win; that would be my preference or even if Obama and Biden wins there is really only so much that they can do in each of these issues. Yes, most definitely they can have laws passed to make a big difference in my lifestyle positive or negative but they will never legislate my heart or my morality. I guess the point I am trying to make is that it is not solely some politicians reponsibility to mandate morality through legislation. It is the responsibility of the church to set an example to the world and to love the world unconditionally, and let Christ bring about the change.

By the church I mean the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, not some physical building that we go to on Sunday and Wedneasday, but the Body of Christ also known as the Church. It is not a political figures' responsibility to console a young, hurting girl that just got pregnant and doesn't know what to do. That is what I am called to do. I must be the one to speak life into her. I must give her words and prayers of hope that she will be ok. It is my responsibility to allow Christ to speak through me and reach out and love through me to a hurting world. I don't want to go into every other politcal issue because that would just take too long and the answer would be the same for every one. The answer is this: If the Body of Christ is
demonstrating Jesus to the world then all of this political nonsense will align itself under His authority and His will.

Regardless of the outcome of this election my prayer will continue to be that GOD'S WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN!

Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.

Laura's High School Alma Mater Loses in Grand Fashion!

Today I was quite surprised to hear about my high school making national news. It's pretty bad, however, when the news is that your high school football team has lost
91 to 0. What's up with that?! Here is an editted version of the story that was on Yahoos home page this morning.
GO WILDCATS!!! Win or lose, I still love ya!

ESTERO — The Estero High football staff gathered in head coach Rich Dombroski's office late Friday, almost in stunned silence.
Earlier that night, Estero lost to Naples High by 13.

Not by 13 points. By 13 touchdowns. That's right: Naples 91, Estero 0.

The rout fallout has been growing since the game ended.
"Hey," offered Estero defensive line coach Pat Hayes after the one-sided affair, "I didn't even know 91 was a multiple of seven."
With that, the coaches all got a much-needed laugh.

A half-hour away in Naples, Eagles coach Bill Kramer — the man on the winning end — could use one of those.
He looked at the scoreboard late in the game, saw 91-0, and said he felt sick to his stomach. Kramer's team ran only 31 plays and he kept most of his best players on the sideline — for the entire game in some cases. But still Kramer knew what was coming.

Soon after the game ended, his inbox began filling with angry e-mails, some from Estero parents wondering why so many points were necessary, some from Naples parents wondering why their kids didn't play more in an effort to pad their stats.
"There's only one way to describe it," Kramer said. "Just bizarre."

Dombroski isn't blaming Naples.
"Naples did absolutely nothing wrong," Dombroski said. "We just didn't do anything right." Kramer has been in this spot before.

"The real irony is we've got some of our parents upset that their kids didn't play or didn't play enough. And you just say, 'Wow.'"

"Our team might not be winning or might not be on top right now," said right guard Mike Perez. "But we all have to do the best we can do. We can't forget that."

Lindsey gets a hermit crab

Since her trip to the beach Lindsey has been talking about getting a hermit crab, she has looked at prices online and at the local pet store. Well today was the day that all the baby sitting paid off, this little guy or girl (I can’t begin to imagine how you could tell) is the newest member of the family. Lindsey calls it Hermoculese (her-mock-u-lee-s) or Hermy for short.

Perogies

As I was perusing other blogger sites, I came across a fellow Halupki lover. I am Polish and my gramma would always make halupki and perogies. I miss her :(

I had commented that I was inspired to cook a Polish meal for my husband. Well, Cameron is not a big fan of Halupki but he does enjoy Perogies. So here they are:

Just roll out your dough and fill with mashed potatos then fry 'em in butter!

Brad my Bro

This past weekend was filled with great surprises. As we were in Chapel Hill visiting my friend Lisa and going to the UNC game, my brother Brad called me on my cell. He said that him and Crystal were in Raleigh. Raleigh! That's like right down the road from where we were! They had plans to meet up with Crystal's family that night but said they would come out to Wilson the next day. I was so excited! Here is all of us on our front porch:


Jasmine and Lindsey throwing the football



Brad and Me
"Bones" and "Santa" (our childhood nicknames: he was skinny and I was well...Santa!) lol


Oh yeah, the Redskins won that day so Uncle Brad was in an extra good mood. The kids got a taste of just how LOUD the Wilson family can be when a Skins game is on!

Lisa Freeman!

Thirty-two years have gone by since that scary, first day of kindergarten class. Yes, Lisa Freeman and I have known eachother that long. Cannon Road Elementary in Silver Spring Maryland....ahhhh, the memories.
It has only been about 15 years since we last met up though.

A few months back another friend of mine found Lisa on Facebook and discovered that she lives in Chapel Hill, NC. I had to see her and catch up! Cameron and I were going to the UNC game and decided to meet up with her and visit before the game. What a reunion that was!
Lisa has such a big heart for college students. She is persuing a PhD in education to become a dean of students. She is living on campus at UNC and oversees 8,500 students. I am so impressed! I believe these students realize what a blessing she is because they don't hesitate to knock on her door at all hours! Just in talking with her, it is so obvious that God has placed so many giftings within her. She is indeed speaking life and truth into the lives of this next generation. I thank God for you Lisa, my old friend! (young friend) lol

Charlie starts flag football

Last week Charlie started flag football with the Wilson Rec Center. He is on the Panther team. They had a scrimmage on Monday and played their first game on Thursday. The score was 12 to 6, unfortunately not in the Panthers favor. Charlie is having a ball though! He is eager for tackle football which he can do next year.

Charlie doing the Hulk Flex

Run guys ruuuun!

Bugfest!

Last Saturday, while Cameron was off flirting with beautiful, ESPN, sideline reporters, the boys and I went to the BUGFEST! Unbeknownst to me, this free event happens every year in downtown Raleigh. Who knew?
We got there just in time for Charlie and Levi to enter 3 “Olympic” events: "The Ant Race", "The Boulder Roll" and "The Pollen Catcher". They both took gold medals!





After the races, we moseyed on over to catch a glimpse of the "Flea Circus". Levi didn't have much patience for that, so we proceeded to the caterpillar bouncy thingy. It was kind of funny how they entered through the mouth and came out of it’s butt! Here is Levi pulling Charlie out. LOL



We all shared a slushy and then went to make a bet on which cockroach would win the "Roachingham 500". I guessed the Purple would win; Charlie yellow and Levi blue. Charlie's cockroach won by a mile (well, actually about a yard). Levi's only got about half way down the stretch, and my cockroach didn't even make it out of the starting gate! Levi and I got a spider ring as our consolation prizes. Charlie got a bug that grows when you stick it in water. Isn't that wonderful.



For the rest of the time we walked around and did other fun stuff; chalk writing, sand sculpting, following "stilt man" and jamming out to some band that was destroying some good oldies music and telling bad bug jokes. It was a great day with my boys!

Camerons 15 seconds of fame

On Saturday Cameron took Lindsey to the Virginia Tech vs UNC game in Chapel Hill, before the game he walked by some one he thought he recognized, and after a brief discussion with some other people familiar with ESPN, he determined he was correct in thinking he had just passed by Erin Andrews, ESPN sideline reporter for college football and basketball. So he grabbed his camera and took Lindsey to get his picture taken. Below is the photo that I am sure will be shown off at his office and to all his sports buddies.

Katie Cheering

Our niece Katie is a high school cheerleader in Maryland. Not only does she cheer for her high school, but she also is a member of a competition cheerleading squad. Here are a few recent pics that we wanted to show off!!!! Spirit Fingers!!!!

Oh what a night!

On Friday we went to Raleigh to see the "Third Day" concert. There were several different bands, but it seemed like most people were there to see Switchfoot and Third Day. The Pavillion didn't get filled up until about 9 when they were supposed to perform.
The thing that I really loved was the worship. Yes, when you go to a concert there is the element of entertainment, which is a given. However, when you have a band that can do both praise and entertain it is quite unique. Swithfoot is pretty deep. The lead singer would say some profound thing and then break up the seriousness with a statement like "alright let's play" and then commence to lots of guitar screaming and drum beating. Third Day would sing a song like "Thief" or "Cry Out to Jesus", get everyone crying and then sensing a need for release, jamming out afterwards! It was a great balance! I can honestly say, "I laughed... I cryed.... I jammed out.....!".

Here's the video of Third Day







Cam -N- Laura smoochin'. It was a date night afterall ;)

Getting psyched for the concert!

As you can see by the music selection, we are getting excited for the "Third Day"/ "Switchfoot" concert on Friday. I am not really familiar with Switchfoot but as I have been listening to their songs I've been blessed. I really like the song "24".

Date Night at the Derby!!!

I love Rock-N-Roller Derby!!! This song by Joan Jett came right to my mind when I tried to come up with a theme song for this event. All I can say is WOW, these chicks are tough! As you know, Cam got us tickets for the "Carolina Roller Girls" tonight and we had such a great time. If you have never experienced this type of event it really is a must on your things to do in life at least once. I mean, the action is packed, the girls are "colorful" and the fans are even more colorful. I loved it. We sat on the floor right next to the rink. We could've opted for the stadium seating but we were kind of hoping that one of the players might trip and fall next to us. Wouldn't that make for a great photo! It never happened but I did get this great pic taken with one of the "blockers".

Here is the Slide show

Thanks, Love and Levi's Gift!

Yes, today was a good day. I am 37. I feel pretty much the same, just a little saggier around the edges; nothing a little less chocolate and a little more tread mill won't cure. I'm working on that..... but not today. My diet buddy, Amanda, made me a whole pan of cupcakes. Have I told you all that I love that girl! They were so good. I have eaten 4 of them and made Cameron and the kids polish off the rest before I take 'em out!

Cameron beat me to the blog tonight but I just wanted to say that I am really looking forward to going to see the "Roller Derby". I know, it sounds kind of funny doesn't it? A couple of years ago we went to the state fair and the girls from Carolina were skating around this track in these crazy looking outfits and I thought it was just so bizarre. Ever since then I have teased with Cameron saying that I would really like to do that! HA!LOL Hence, the roller Derby tickets for my B-day. I will be sure to get lots of "colorful" pictures. Also, Cameron knows how much I enjoy "Third Day's" music. I CAN'T WAIT TO GO TO THAT CONCERT NEXT WEEKEND!!!
Have I told you all what an awesome hubby I have? Yep, I got a good one. Possibly the best. Thanks for being so thoughtful. I love you Shakey.

I also want to share this precious thing that happened today. As you all may know, I homeschool the kids. Well, today we had school as usual and all day long Levi would come in the school room and hand me a present and say "Momma, this is for you". He would rap these presents in newspaper or an empty cardboard box. I would open the present each time and it would be some random item he picked up from around the house. It was so cute. Every time I acted as if it were a diamond ring that I was opening. His little face lit up every time I opened the gift (lego blocks, toothbrush, toy car, puzzle piece) But as he continued to do this, it spoke to me deep, because he was so longing to give. He loved it every time as I opened each gift. He wanted to give more and more and isn't that how it is? When we truely give with such a pure heart, not just physical gifts, but ourselves, we want to give more and more. It never gets old. God tells us that it is better to give than receive, and I believe it. Thank you my sweet Levi for my gift of YOU.

Happy Birthday Laura

Today, Sept 11, is Laura's birthday, she said she turns 25 today (again). The two most notable gifts are tickets to the Carolina Roller Girls, roller derby (Laura has wanted to see this for some time now) and the other gift of note is tickets to see Third Day and Switchfoot in concert. Both of these events are sure to be a seperate blog entry.

Hurricane Hannah

Well when we went to bed last night we expected to be awakened during the night or morning by the wind, rain, and destructive might of Hurricane Hannah (it was only a category 1 when we checked last night). So this morning when we woke up (about 8:30) we checked to see when we should be able to do our traditional hurricane report, this is where we go outside and video tape ourselves in the wind and give a weather report like the ones you see on TV for every hurricane, where the reporter is telling you how strong the wind is blowing and how its raining sideways. When we checked the weather we were surprised and a little disappointed to find Hannah had passed us by, if you look at the radar it shows Hannah as of 8:30 am, we live just east of Raleigh in the last little green band of rain. Now don’t get me wrong, I am glad this storm was not a big deal for our area and I pray that it was the same non-big deal for everyone else but at the same time it sure is exciting to have the wind and rain, and to watch the tops of tall pine trees in our yard swing from side to side (to the point that you wonder how long they can do that before they snap). We may still go out and report, but it seems a little silly now (as if it didn't already). To all our friends and family we are safe, the only clean up is all the pine straw that we now have all over our yard.

Are you ready for some football

For a couple of years now Cameron has had season tickets to University of North Carolina football. Now its not that he has turned his back on his beloved Miami Hurricanes, but he has friends that are UNC fans and they decided to get season tickets together. Its kind of like a guys day out, except its 6 or 7 times from August to November, the best part is that every other year Miami comes to town and he gets to put on the orange and green (and go trade seats with someone in the visitors section). Well this past Saturday was the first game of the 2008 season in Chapel Hill and we (Cameron and Laura) went to the game with Scott, Karen, Heather, Ron, Ray, and Gary. The day was about as humid as it could possibly be (90 deg f with a heat index of 110) and the weather forecast called for thunderstorms, and for once the weatherman got it right. According to Accuweather.com it was going to be cloudy at 5 pm, 6 pm, then thunderstorms at 7 pm, then clearing at 8 pm through the rest of the night. Just before 7 pm the game was suspended due to lightning in the area and we stood under a shelter while it rained and the lightning flashed over head until about 8:30 (hey that’s 30 min late) and then we went back into the rain soaked stadium to finish the game. UNC hosted McNeese State and the game was close until the very end when Carolina pulled away to a 35 – 27 victory.




This was a touchdown


Here is an over view of our game day

Fun in the Son

Last Sunday at church we had what we call “Fun in the Son” day, it a day that all the kids bring there water guns, and wear their swimsuits to church. We have water slides, pools and lots of water, this is the last big fun activity before the end of summer and its back to school.

Laura gets ready to go down the slide


Cameron and Charlie dripping wet


Cameron and Laura racing on the downhill slide


Levi gets wet


Lindsey in the water balloon race