Miss LCMS

 Thursday night, Katie Britt was a contestant in the Lincoln County Middle School Pageant.  She woke up Wednesday with her eye swollen shut and we called her "puff eye".... but it was fine... that is who she is... such a good attitude at home!  Doing her make-up work, wearing a mask, and enduring lots of hairspray and face paint... she survived! 

 I have taught her young that she must take care of her skin!!! 

 Caroline did an excellent job of curling her locks.... and putting on her mascara! 

 Old Mother Hubbard was bare... so we had to have a piece of bread for a snack....

 When the night was over, my precious angel brought home two trophies. 

 I love this picture... nothing like a daddy and his daughter! 

 And this sweet girl, Miss Ali Aycock, was crowned Miss LCMS.... she was absolutely beautiful... I have passed my trait of knowing who will win on to KB.... She called this one Tuesday afternoon after practice...She told me that Ali was going to win! 

 A little family love here! 

 So sweet of KB's friends to congratulate her. 

 This sweet boy brought her flowers! 

And this makes me laugh because KB used to be their height! 

Katie Britt was second runner-up, but I'm most proud of her being named Miss Congeniality.  I would have never received that in high school... I'm not proud of it, but it is the truth.  As her mama, it makes my heart smile that others think she is nice and kind.  I'm sure it isn't 100 percent of people, but I am glad those other 18 girls thought it.  I am blessed to have her as my child and I am proud that she represented her eighth grade class with a big heart. 

Congratulations, Sis... remember that outside beauty fades quickly.... but inside beauty is there and is more important than anything else in this world! 

Thursday 13

My self-diagnosed ADHD has kicked in and I can't decide what I want to write about today....

1.  I'm off work today and my house needs fluffing, but due to the recent cold spell.... I have ferns and potted plants filling my dining room floor... When it finally gets warm again and I move them outside... I will fluff again.  I thought working part time I would have a clean house with lines on the carpet everyday.... HA.... I just say to myself that I will do that tomorrow.... Scarlett has really come to live in this house! 

2.  I am in my last class for my Educational Specialist degree... I have to drive there three more times... I have a huge paper due Monday night... I really should be doing the research on it instead of writing this... but researching case laws and their impact on education isn't nearly as fun... or maybe it is... people sue for stupid reasons.... and win.... I'm learning daily to be careful... lots of crazy people out there who are sue happy!  Back to Scarlett....I'm going to worry about that paper this afternoon... not tomorrow.

3.  Yesterday morning KB woke up with her eye swollen shut... Not sure what happened, but we think it was her acne medicine that broke her out.... anyway.... she should look beautiful tonight in the Miss LCMS pageant with a puffy, red eye.... I loved pageants in high school and college....now... I think they are stressful... I worry what impact they make on girls... do they make the ones who don't win feel ugly... the ones who get runner-up feel like leftovers.... the ones who win feel pretty on the inside too?  It's the south though... pageants are a part of life!  Anyway... after dealing with the eye mishap.... yesterday afternoon Ben comes in crying and I thought he had killed the dogs....

4.  He was grabbing his head and crying to a point I couldn't understand him...My motherly instinct could tell he wasn't hurt...but that he had hurt something.... one of his favorite things to do is to hook up the trailer to his four wheeler and drive it around the yard to pick up sticks and pine cones.  He had been working for over an hour when this happened and I couldn't imagine anything but the dogs.... when he finally got it out.... I was relieved.... he had tried to back the trailer back into place and had swiped the pole on the shed and cracked the light of the trailer.... he said a hundred times "Daddy is going to kill me"..... I told him he wasn't and we would get it fixed.... Of course, I called Mayo and he came to our rescue.... Ben is going to do some extra work to pay for the light.... He was late to practice last night and told Mama he had a horrible practice because he was so sad.... I'm sorry that his heart is hurt, but I'm glad to know he is afraid of us... I never knew it before! 

5.  We have six more school days until Spring Break.... that means the Masters and the Heritage are right around the corner.... my favorite two weeks of the year!  I love visiting both!  I love hearing the Masters music.... seeing the commercials.... freshening up the house.... and visiting with family and friends... planning trips, things to do, and getting ready for summer make me have an extra burst of energy! 

6.  Wouldn't it be nice if people who had big mouths and negative attitudes knew the rules and regulations of how all things work?  In the last few months, I have had many encounters with situations that I have bitten my tongue and sat back in awe....while wanting to scream "Look at the big picture folks... not a little piece of the puzzle...."  When I taught middle school there was drama every day.... when I would meet with my team of teachers we would categorize the situations and decide what to handle.... as usual.... the same names would come up just about everyday.... my friend and I would call them "sterling silver spoons"... they loved some drama... and they stirred it up everyday.... Who knew adults could be like that too?  My advice is to polish your spoon before trying to polish my family's.... We have a little protection over us.... and you can try to tarnish us.... but we don't get involved in the drama..... adults disappoint me sometimes.... I'm thankful my children recognize the difference in drama and true things to worry about.

7.  When I get rich.... I'm going to have someone come in and change my sheets EVERY day.... and do my hair and makeup.... and cook me gourmet dinners.... I honestly think I was supposed to be a princess and somewhere along the way my stars didn't aligh up and I became who I am....

8.  My spring cleaning "to do" list is so long that it will be next winter before everything gets done.... I often wonder what I did to fill my time before google search, social media, and access to work from home... While I am not supposed to be working today.... I manage to answer emails, drink coffee, type a blog, add to my things to do list, and sit in my pajamas.... maybe if the power would cut off I could get to that list! 

9.  I think the coach from the baseball game the other night should have been ejected.... he loves to run his mouth, make gestures at our team, and even acted like he was going to go after one of our boys when we played them there.... REALLY?  You are an adult and you are not setting an example for your players... these are children... yes, they are taller than me, but their little hearts are not ready for all that foolishness.... someone should really pop you in your mouth... but then that would hurt that person's character... honestly, I think that it is sad schools allow coaches to represent them with those actions.... maybe it is the adminstration's fault.... you see it... you don't do anything about it... yeah, you probably are to blame. 

10.  I asked for a pressure washer for Christmas... I didn't get one.... if I had one today I could do so much... maybe I should just google that and spend several hours researching and wishing I could find one that was affordable... and maybe even like that little vacuum for the pool....just throw it in and it does the work for you....

11.  Candy crush.... I was an addict... now I have been stuck on the same world for almost six weeks... I'm tired of it.... I wish they would make Mario for an Iphone... and they might... I'll have to google that too... I spent hours and hours doing that growing up.... and then I moved to Sonic in college.... hours wasted that I could have been doing something else.... but... I love that it keeps Daddy entertained.... when we walk in the door at his house... he passes his phone off to us to get him through the next world....

12.  Church- I look forward to going to church... I used to go for me... to see what I could get out of it... I went to check it off my list... I went because I thought it was the right thing to do.... I went to hear a man stand behind the pulpit and talk to me.... Now... I'm not really doing any of that... I look at the scripture for the message... I read it with my own understanding and some from what the pastor says... and I reflect on how this applies to me.... It's amazing how much self-reflection and growth someone can make if they just sit and listen... no one thinks exactly like me... I don't agree with everything that happens and is said... but I do know that love is supposed to be our ultimate goal.... having hatred and despising people isn't a part of who God wants us to be... being in church helps me reflect on that.... I used to think of a million excuses to miss church at least once a month... but now... it is my priority... to be there.... It amazes me the knowledge my children get from it too.... loving my children and giving them a foundation of the importance of faith is my duty as a parent.... I'm probably at a one on a scale of 1 to 10,  but I try.  I can't remember who pointed this out to me, but there are 168 hours in a week.... If someone goes to church on Sunday ( a maximum of three hours).... there are still 165 hours to do whatever you want... that is a lot of time.... I am not good at inviting people to church ( I fear rejection), I am not good about asking people why they stopped coming to church ( I don't have answers to their issues), I am not good about saying "Your life would be so much better if you devoted just a short time to God each week" (that rejection again).... But... church is important.... that desire in my heart to be with other believers is there and I feel like I have let God down if I don't go... In my heart, I'm working on inviting people who have stopped coming to church to come back.... and to invite those who don't go at all to come.... my heart hasn't hit my mouth yet because of fear....

13.  The last one.... Dear Winter... I'm really ready for Spring... I would like to be able to wear a cute outfit to the Masters... spend some time tanning at the Heritage.... and also get all these flowers out of my dining room... you have been here long enough... you have done your damage.... you have shed those old leaves.... knocked down old limbs....and caused cracks/ pot holes in the roads... one my friends "Spring" is bursting out buds and getting ready to come visit.... I need to see her.... She gives me energy... she gives me hope... she starts things anew.... So... go away Winter... tired of ya! 

~Homesick~

     By the time I was in the 2nd grade, I had attended five different schools.  With two brothers who constantly picked on me I thought that they were telling the truth when they said that Mama and Daddy were going to leave me the "next" time we moved.  Yes, I slept with Mama and Daddy until I was in the fifth grade... I would have stayed longer, but for some reason I decided to go across the hall and sleep in my bed. Mark and I were destined for each other because Betty Carol says he slept with them too!  
     The summer of my sixth grade year I signed up to go to majorette camp at UGA.  The day times were wonderful... the night times were awful.  I wanted to be home... I cried hard into my pillow at night... embarrassed that I couldn't have fun like the other girls...
     Boo-ma came by our house every afternoon... she blew the horn three or four times.... we got the mail... she asked us how the day was... and she asked if we knew anything.... Mama would come home and cook a meat and three... we would watch tv... ride around town... Marion and Velda would come over... we would go to Ina's and visit.... we stayed with family and at the time... I never knew the impact it would make on me...
      I went to cheer camp four years in high school and I didn't cry, but I didn't like it... I loved being home... under Mama and Daddy's roof....
      Yes, when I went to Georgia Southern... the same thing... I would cry on Sundays all day.... cry the entire way back.... and cry myself to sleep.... I slept good on Monday nights from crying so much... and I couldn't wait until Thursday nights... I could go out... stay out "just about all night"... and get up to head home... I smiled the entire way and never even thought about going to sleep because I was ecstatic I was on the way home.... Mark and I dated just about my entire college life... and nothing was better than going out to eat and coming back to watch tv with Daddy... many nights we brought friends with us... at all hours of the night.... and Mama and Daddy would get up out of the bed to listen to us... cook for us... or find out who was making all the noise.  I loved being at my house....
     It never got better... I hated Sundays because I knew I had to go back to school... sometimes it would be so bad that I would wait and go back on Monday mornings... who cared that I had to get up at 4:30 to get there in time.... not me... I got to sleep in my bed at home! 
     Some of the best years of my life were when I was just beginning to teach, lived at home with Mama and Daddy while Guille and Jim were already out of the house, and I had breakfast in bed, lunch packed, clothes ironed, and gas in my car!  It was great!  And then.... I got engaged... my dreams of living in Lincolnton were shattered that day in March that Mark told me we would be leaving Georgia and headed to Carolina...
     July of 1996, I married and moved to Greenville.  And .... yes, I cried... and cried... and cried... Mark left on Sundays (and I would have that same pit in my stomach feeling) and he didn't come back until Fridays.  I worked on my Masters four nights a week at that point, but I would still cry because I was by myself and I wanted to be home....
     I didn't have the best pregnancy with either of my children, but KB's was especially hard.... I woke up one morning not long after I found out I was pregnant and I knew something wasn't right... I cried that day too... I wanted to be home with Mama and Daddy to take care of me... I decided to drive to work and I immediately burst into tears with my principal and she took such good care of me... and of course our school secretary.... Neena called my mama and told her I was having a baby and I was having trouble....That homesickness on top of being pregnant was terrible....
      It happened again Christmas Eve of that year... I came home from the hospital with a brand new baby and as happy as I was... I was also sad because I wasn't home with the family... I was missing Christmas in Lincolnton....
     With Ben... I didn't cry when he was born until Mama left after staying with me a week.  Those times of homesickness were sickening to me.... Of course... we would come home many weekends... and I dreaded Sundays even more... It was a long standing joke with us that we would start leaving at 1:00 on Sundays and end up still being here for supper.  Guille and Jim would pick on us about who was going to drive while the other slept... I hated Sundays for that reason! 
     Seven years ago this month, we found a house in Lincolnton.... it took many years for that pit in my stomach on Sunday afternoons to go away on Sunday afternoons... It still comes back sometimes... just randomly... but it is still there...
     This past Sunday, it was raining and dreary... and I had to head out to Athens for the  majority of the week...this time was no different.  I was leaving my family... my babies... and I was  miserable.  As I drove to Athens, I thought about how many tears I have shed due to being homesick.  How many times had I wished to be sitting in Lincolnton with my family? 
     I write all this to say.... I experienced homesickness this week.... I have decided it is a disease... I think I have passed it on to my children.  For once...I'm glad they have this gene.... they like to be with their mama and daddy too... they don't like spending the night away from home.... they like to be here when the sun goes down... and I couldn't be happier.  Tonight, as we say our prayers and do our devotions... I'm thankful for this little family of mine that has this disease too.  I'm thankful for the love I felt and for having a desire to be home.... I'm thankful that when people hurt me... or treat me unfairly... or make me mad and sad.... I can always go back home and feel supported. So being homesick isn't all bad... it is there because I find comfort in that place! 
      One day... I hope my children will sleep upstairs in their own beds... and one day I hope they will leave our nest and go to college... and one day I hope they start little families of their own.... I also hope they always remember that no matter where they roam.... this will always be their home.... and if they feel like shedding a tear or two as they drive out of our driveway on the way to camp, or to go to college, or to get married, or to their own homes.... I hope they know that I'll be standing on the front porch shedding a few tears too! 
    

You would be proud.... at 70!

     You would be 70 today... I know the first thing you would say is that isn't old...or either there is no way that I'm 70, but in order for us to grow ... we have to age... and today... you would be proud.

     I always said Ben was special to you... he was the only grandson... his first words were "PaPa" and "gofcot".... and you would ride, and ride, and ride him... until the ice cream truck came... and then you would get two "hunkies" and share them with him.... He still loves to ride, and  ride, and ride..... and his favorite dessert is ice cream.  This past year has been great for him... that spunky personality and devilish attitude have made him stand tall in his not so big body at ten years old.  He played football, is playing basketball, and is signing up for baseball.... I can't help but think that you are there with us during those games... just last night I watched as Daddy and JMac sat on the bench taking up for him at the basketball game... and I know that you were sitting right there with them... we giggle, we laugh, and I know you are there... He is truly a McKinney... Mark reminded me of that this week... when I was discussing his ability to play basketball and enjoy it, I talked about how he was a Mattison... Mark quickly pointed out that you, Betty Carol, and he all played... and Daddy was the only one who played on our side.  I can only imagine that you would smile and be so proud of his athletic abilities. 
     I also know that he gets a lot of his "smarts" from you... Daddy told me you were the smartest man he knew... Ben looks at something and "gets it"... whether it be how to crank a weedeater... the four wheeler... or where to stand when shooting the basketball... he got his common sense from you.  Thank you for that!  Common sense is hard to come by!  I am proud of the young man he is becoming... and I know you had a hand in how he is being raised... and it continues to this day because of Mark.
 
     Katie Britt was special to you too... We still discuss how you gave up two full days to take her to school her first two days.... Without a doubt... she gets her smarts from your side of the family too... maybe BC a little bit, but I think the math has to come from you and Mark!  She has surpassed my abilities at this point... and I just hope that you guide her hands some days when she is writing out those long equations. 
     She is loving sports and able to handle the stress of homework, middle school peer pressure, and athletics... you had an easy-going attitude... I think she has that too.
     Many times this year, I have thought about the fact that you and Don would probably be watching your two grandchildren... best friends... and "boyfriend and girlfriend" turn into young adults... I'm sure no one would ever be good enough for KB for you, but I have to believe that you would smile in the fact that she chose someone with a good family... You may want to help Mark out in all this as his little girl is growing up and he isn't so sure about all the paths ahead of her. 

And Mark... wow... you would smile and be even prouder of the man he has become.... he puts on such a good face... I watch him bite his tongue often... and while he has that little spunky attitude like Betty Carol, he has enough of you in him that he sits back and watches how things play out before spouting off at the mouth.  He is a great daddy, a great husband, and a great role model to our children.... he wants to be perfect and truly strives each day to focus on them and be the best he can for them.... He got that from you... he watched you work endless hours, he watched you give the best education opportunity for him... and he watched you love your children more than life itself. 

Today... you would be 70... you would be proud... and you would smile at these babies.... 

I miss your laugh... I miss fighting with you over the crossword puzzle... I miss cooking for you... I miss watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy with you... I miss my lampshade being crooked... I miss the door being left wide open (nevermind... Ben does that in your place)... I miss you... I know life for us all has to end one day... so for today's birthday... I share happy tears... as I know you would be one proud daddy and granddaddy..... You did a great job with that son of yours... and you would be proud of the man he has become!