A Super Sad Day

I hate days like this. I know they are part of God's plan, but I hate them nevertheless. We got word today that my cousin (I have 2 uncles (brothers) that married sisters and this is the daughter of the sisters' brother - confusing, but we all grew up together, and her grandpa was like my grandpa, so we are just cousins), Kari, died in a boating accident late last night/early this morning. I was just thinking about how blessed I was last night, and then this.....it's bad enough that she died. It's bad enough that her parents and sisters are feeling the excruciating pain of loss. But then the devil uses this as a weapon to rip open my own suppressed wound of losing my brother. Obviously death is a part of life, but when people die young, it just sucks. It is somehow easier to swallow when you think that the person has lived a long, full life. But when they are young it is like swallowing a razor-coated monster truck. I'm telling you this though, without the hope we have in Jesus Christ, it would be completely intolerable. Where do you go and what do you do without hope? It's an empty, never-ending tunnel of despair. You can't climb out of it. There is no light shining in. Hope in Jesus Christ gives us a promise. And God's promises never fail. The hope of one day being in God's Presence and seeing our loved ones, knowing our loved ones have chosen Jesus and will also be in His Presence, that is a true gift. Why not accept this gift? If you haven't, do it NOW. Do it today. Jesus loves you and He is waiting for you to cry out to Him. He can and WILL forgive all your sins. Give them to Him.

                                  Rest in Jesus, Kari Way - Rest in Jesus.

Quiet Observations

I'm sitting here with a heating pad, watching and listening to my family. My girls were just doing gymnastics with each other, playing together beautifully. Grace was being such a loving older sister, while Jadyn was being the goofy twerp little sister. Grace was spotting Jadyn and instead of doing a back walkover, Jadyn would jump into Grace's arms.  Now, Grace is playing me in trivia crack and Jadyn is being tortured by Greg, as he blows on her stomach. Jacob is sitting at the desk learning something about madden mobile but every once in a while he is looks over at me, and smiles and waves. Grant is upstairs in the bathtub, splashing and singing away. I have an awesome family! I love them so much. Sometimes they drive me nutso, but it's in these quiet moments that I realize how very blessed I am. All the time they are treasures beyond words.  God has definitely blessed me!

Grant's First Official Basketball Game

Grant had his first official basketball game tonight. It was full of adventure. My uncle Dan is one of the coaches. He is a Boss. Enough said. It was fun to watch him interact with these squirrely 1st and 2nd graders. Of course, in this league they do not keep score, but that did not stop Jacob from keeping Grant's stats. Grant's team won 20-14. Grant had 10 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists. Thank you, statistician Jacob.

Jadyn as Mean Mrs. Connor

Jadyn is in a play for Martin Luther King day. She is the white lady, mean Mrs Connor. I keep telling her as she practices, that she cannot smile when she is being mean. It doesn't fit the character. She is working hard at it and I can't wait to see her acting debut. Be looking for pictures to come soon.

An Email From Grace's Teacher

I received this email from Grace's teacher the other day:

 Hi Mr. and and Mrs. Pawlak,

I am writing to let you know what a great job Grace is doing in Science class.  She is very responsible, participates in class, and is helpful to everyone.  I am glad that she is a part of our team!!!

Thank you for your support at home,

Elizabeth Bontekoe

Again, a very blessed, and proud mom!!!

Grant's First Grade Education

I so love my kids' teachers. Pretty much, always have. Grant's first grade teacher is Jadyn's second grade teachers. Love that! So Grant's teacher sends me a text the other day, and this is what it said:

Haha..funny story...so I was trying on some clothes today in my classroom during library when Grant came back to get his library book. I had on a tank top and of course my pants but Grant was a bit taken back to see me in just a tank top..he went back to the library and said "I saw mrs. Carpenter naked!" Oh gosh, I've traumatized him.....

I love that she would tell me that. I love that this is exactly what Grant would do. I love that I have such a great relationship with my kids' teachers that this is not looked at by me as inappropriate. I love my school!

Jacob's Basketball Lesson

Jacob played on the 7th grade basketball team this year. Most of the time it was pretty good. But the end of the season was challenging - to say the least. The third game from the end, Jacob did not play in the 2nd half. Granted, he did not have a good first half, so it was kind of expected. The second to last game, Jacob did not play at all in the second half again, although this time he was the ONLY one on the team that did not. Now, I know I am the mother, so I always think my kid id the best. Always will too. But he is definitely in the top 8. No doubt. So when he did not play AT ALL, and the guys who are way worse than him played, I was mad! Grandpa yelled, then I yelled at Grandpa. I texted the guy taking stats to see if he knew WHY? He had no idea and was totally perplexed. Parents in the stands were asking me why. It was all I could do not to break down right there. How dare this guy do this to my kid? Nevermind my own personal pride. Sitting in the stands were his old travel coaches, who were probably gloating that "they knew he wasn't good enough". As we left the gym and my kid was almost in tears, I could not hold it back any longer. We talked the whole ride home. We decided that he would go and talk to the coach the next morning - first thing. As I lumbered through the next day, in constant prayer for Jacob, not knowing when he was talking to the coach, I was super surprised to receive an email from the coach. Apprarently Jacob had talked to him and, supposedly, he simply forgot. Here is his email:

Hi!  I  need to apologize for not playing  Jacob in the 2nd half last night.  It is a total error on my part.  I feel horrible.  I just talked with him and I told him he can play the entire 4th or  5th quarter tomorrow.  I'll let him pick the quarter at halftime.  Again, I'm so sorry! 

Then, following this, and before the team pizza party, the coach apparently apologized to Jacob in front of the team. Fast forward a day to the final game of the season.  The coach kept his word. Jacob played his mandatory 1 quarter in the first half (each boy has to play one full quarter in the first half, then their play in the second half is determined by their play in the first half). Then in the second half, Jacob played the entire rest of the game. He scored 16pts (4 3-pointers, and 2 2-pointers), had 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 block. It was an awesome game! And an awesome way to end the season. And, I have to admit, I was kind of tickled that those same coaches that sat in the stands the game before smug as ever, were sitting there with their jaws on the floor. Yeah, it made this momma proud. But....what made me the most proud was that Jacob (finally) stood up for himself and went to bat for himself. That makes him a real winner in my book.

Snowmobiling and Tubing

Brett, Evelyn and Brooklyn came over to Grandma and Grandpa's house and went snowmobiling and tubing with us. We all had a blast and no one got hurt!!! YAY!

Grace BEFORE Braces

New Year's Eve 2015