Hope has a Boyfriend

On the way to the car from soccer practice, Hope grabbed my hand and said she had something to tell me. She got a shy grin on her face and proceeded to inform me that a boy had asked her if he could be her boyfriend. WHAT???? She's 8!

So I did what any good mother would and asked his name and then started telling her that her daddy was going to have to have a conversation with him, as well as her soccer coach (who has grilled players' boyfriends in the past). Needless to say, she wasn't very happy with me.

Then I started asking her what she and her boyfriend were going to do and she asked me what her dad and I did before we were married. How should I have answered that? I threw her off by asking another question, "Are you going to kiss him?" To which she replied, "NO WAY!!! I'm NEVER going to kiss a boy--EVER! Except for Daddy.

Ahhh...the world is right again.

Title I

We live in a blue collar neighborhood and my girls attend the public school down the street from our house. I knew that the income level of our families at Camey was low, but I still was taken aback when I learned that we were a Title I school.

The first time I heard the term "Title I" was at church. Bent Tree had recently adopted an elementary school and when they explained what Title I meant, my heart went out to those kiddos. It meant that over half of them live at or below the poverty level and there is a high transient rate.

It's really easy for me to see the need far away (I've blogged about my heart for Rwanda and Haiti), but I like to forget that there is a huge need right down the street from my house. I know poverty in America is very different from poverty in Africa, but it doesn't make it any easier on those here in The Colony.

This year, I'm really asking God what He has for me at Camey. I don't feel like it is to join the PTA and I already make copies for the teachers on Fridays, so the obvious things are already being done. What I do know is He is calling me to do something at my school for those in need.

I have waited 3 1/2 years for someone to organize something I can join in on, but so far, I'm hearing crickets chirp. I'm not really a great person to get something off the ground, but I'm a good support player and can carry a vision that I believe in. In the past few weeks, I've had a few doors opened to me, that have led me to believe that God wants me to be surrendered to Him at Camey--no matter what that means--including starting a progam.

Sooo, I'm praying and looking and tomorrow, I'm making a phone call. I'm a bit nervous in giving up any more of my time, but I'm also excited. Who better to love these kids than someone who lives in the same neighborhood? It's really about the total surrender for me.

Vacation

In this day, when most families take 1-2 trips a year, we are the minority. Honestly, I get so stressed at the amount of money it takes to do anything, that I chicken out and don't do anything. I almost hyper-ventilated when I was booking the hotel and the buying the SDC tickets online. I am so glad we bit the bullet and did it--we had a great time.

Here are some of my memories from the trip:

Driving late at night after the FADC performance
Belgium waffles with my sis and nephew early in the morning
Telling my dad we were 2 hours away when we were only 20 minutes from the reunion
Grandma's surprise party at the reunion
Hope and Caroline fitting right in with relatives they had never met
Fighting over who would sleep on the waterbeds at Uncle Allen and Aunt Vicky's
Seeing cousins I haven't seen in over 10 years
Getting to visit Bob and Marilyn's elk farm
Watching the girls with elk surrounding them while Bob fed Dorothy and the other elk
Rocks loaded in the back of our car from sweet Marilyn
Fish fry at Allen's
East Sedalia Bapt Church with Caroline crinkling paper during the sermon
Going to Ryan's Steakhouse in Sedalia--as always
Lots of cake
Josh's lost wallet
Lamberts!!!!
The Hotel Grand Victorian with the huge teddy bears and staff in period clothing
Silver Dollar City at night
The red-headed boy who kept squirting us on the RiverBlast
Fire in the Hole with Caroline's light-up shoes
Hope riding Thunderation for the first time
Entertainers at breakfast
Marvel Cave
Fresh squeezed lemonade
105 degrees!
Water sprinklers everywhere
Sandwiches in the car (THANK YOU CINDY!!!!)
The dog show
All the incredibly nice people at SDC
Water-proof bags
Watching the glass-blowers
The train robbery
Walking sideways in Grandfather's Mansion
Shooting things in the Flooded Mine
The sweet man at the balloon dart booth
Searching forever for souvenirs and the girls finally choosing ROCKS
Denny's for dinner
Twins born the day after we left
6 more hours in the car
Seeing family at the farm and realizing we missed Diane and the girls at SDC
Grocery shopping at The Country Boy
Coming home and picking up our spolied dogs who stayed with a friend while we were gone (thanks Denise!)

Great family memories. Initially, I wanted to go to Silver Dollar City with just my 3 peeps, but am so glad that my sis, nephew and cousins came with us. I'm looking forward to the next trip

Hiatus

I have taken a brief hiatus from the blog. Honestly, I've been re-evaluating my purpose in starting this. Originally, it was to leave stories--both serious and funny--for my kids to have when they get older. Then it turned into a place where I felt like I needed something great and inspirational to say. Then I started to feel a pressure to find blog posts from everything I did and once I feel obligated...that's it--I'm done.

Life in the Royal house is good--not easy, but still good. We have our ups and downs--many of which are private and I don't want to share with the world. The blog in itself, was a big step for me--and I'm not saying I'm done, but I am being cautious with what I share. I tend to have loose lips and while my intention is usually not to spread gossip, I really want to have others know that anything shared with me is safe. I have been working hard to be trustworthy over the past few month--not that I ever shared things people told me not to, but I just talk to much.

So, in the same vein, I want to make sure that what I say on here honors my family and does not embarrass or tear down. So, if you follow this blog, bear wth me as I try to get my bearings again and figure out how this plays out for me.