Field Trip

A link from our power company with Nicholas's class during a field trip a couple weeks ago.

http://youtu.be/saytBEqqXnc

Review Time

A little behind on the blog posts...wow.

- Emma continues to do very well with her shoulder; she goes for her next checkup next week
- We were blessed to have Doug come stay with us the 1st week after Emma's surgery...he was a great help in getting kids to/from school and allowing Angie & I to get our work hours in.  It was good to have him for a visit and we are thankful he made the trip out to see us!
- The kids are out of school until after Thanksgiving...I'm jealous!
- Emma missed her school volleyball tournament because of the surgery.  They had the end of season awards ceremony a couple weeks ago and she received the SCA Award.  This awards depicts the total person concept...athlete, teammate, leader, etc.
- Emma had her 1st debate tournament last weekend.  Her and her teammate did really well and Emma's thinking about entering into another debate soon
- Katelyn had a gymnastics meet last Sat, she did ok but hopes to improve as the season continues
- Katelyn was in a parade today, they had to be there bright and early in the cold!
- Emma, Nicholas & I went to a place called the Break Through Center this morning to distribute bags of food and turkeys/hams for Thanksgiving to those in some need.  It was a good experience for Nicholas as his comment was "I didn't know so many were in need"
- Nicholas's football team made the playoffs (1st time in several years), but they lost. The kids were happy to be there and took it in stride.  His end of football season banquet is tomorrow
- Emma's going to CNU to watch the volleyball championship game with some of her volleyball club teammates tomorrow
- Angie was stung by a honey bee several weekends ago at one of Nick's football games.  It got a big red circle, was itchy and bothered her for a few days until she was itching one morning and felt like she scratched out a stinger. It got better and almost went completely away over another week.  Then one day she broke out in hives at the same spot and she said it itched like crazy on the inside!  It was so bad she actually went to Urgent Care! If you know her, that's a big deal! She got some steroids and medicine and is back to normal now
- Nick was sick 2 Mondays ago, and Katelyn was sick this past Monday.  Nick recovered fast, but KT is still waiting for voice to come back to normal
- My work has been crazy busy lately...lots of overtime put in...but I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel!
- We've been watching lots of Hallmark Christmas movies.  Nicholas says they all contain lots of kissing and/or death!

Surgery & Recovery

Emma had her surgery yesterday and it went great! She went in to surgery around 7 a.m. and was out by 8:30 a.m.  She was home by 11 a.m. and spent the rest of the day awake, on her phone/IPod, and watching a little TV.  Her school volleyball coach and daughter (who Emma plays volleyball with) stopped by in the evening to see how she was doing.

As bedtime approached the nerve block wore off, and the first pain set in.  She was uncomfortable getting to sleep, but luckily the pain meds kicked in and she was able to sleep,  She actually slept some this morning and says the pain isn't bad at all.  She'll have her 1st home exercises today (small circle rotations and pendulum swings), so we'll see how she feels after those.

She's ready to go back to school already too!  Maybe tomorrow...but don't want her to rush it.

inside the shoulder putting anchor in; home recovering, the socks and stockings she had to wear, and the Dr's signature before surgery

Mind Dump

So much going on, so little time!

- Nicholas had his EKG a couple weeks ago based on the Dr. hearing a heart murmur during his annual checkup.  The specialist confirmed the murmur (actually 2 different types), but nothing to be concerned about.  The Dr. said the heart is perfectly ok and there are no restrictions of any kind.
- Emma's surgery is Monday.  It has come fast!  She had blood drawn yesterday - the 1st scary step for her since it involved needles! She hates them and gets very nervous/worked up over them.  She made it thru though
- Emma played in her last volleyball game for awhile last night at school.  She had a great all around game!  Some good hits, good serves, and lots of great hustle getting to some balls. The team will miss her as they finish out the last 2 games in the regular season and move forward in the tournament.
- This is a bye week for Nick's football.  It was so nice this morning not having to get up and go some where!  Only a couple more weeks of football season.
- Katelyn continues on in gymnastics.  Had a rough practice this Thursday...actually all 3 girls (KT and 2 of her friends we do carpool with) were complaining on the ride home Thursday.  Last night was much better and she was in a much better mood!
- The 1st quarter of school is almost over...
- Nick did a school project on Henry Ford and did so well with the project (a scrap book type deal), plus extra credit by dressing up he received over 100%!
- The company Angie works for opened up a new office space last week.  Angie has a nice office space to enjoy now.  I was sick this past week but I did manage to bring lunch to her new office and have lunch with her one day.

School Pictures

A preview....

National Anthem

Emma singing.  Can't really see her, she's on the stage.  Listen to the applause at the end!  :)

Activity

So much going on with the KenneyKrewe!

- the girls went to school retreat this week, they spent 3 days away and each had a good time. Emma said some parts were better, some worse than last year.  Katelyn was a little let down based on all the hype she heard, but she still had a good time.  They had a couple days of rain so that made outside activities a little tough.  Emma fell doing the low ropes and banged her head!  Got a pretty good bump but otherwise ok.  She also played a duet during the talent show with one her friends...it was a song Emma wrote and played on the guitar.  Katelyn was a called a "monkey" by some of her friends based on how easy she went back and forth on some ropes during a team challenge! Guess that gymnastics pays off.  :)

- Nick's team is 3-2-1 and now.  Two wins in a row at home.  We had to wait to play at the home field this year due to some construction on the school.  Construction zones are still there, but far enough long that we can use the field now.

- We all enjoyed church this morning, volunteered after, and then Emma went to lunch with her "mentor" from church.  It's part of the youth program our church has. The rest of us were going to go to lunch, but the 1st place was closed on Sundays and the 2nd was packed with no seating! So we went to the grocery store and got some fried chicken and pizza!

- The fruit flies/gnats have been terrible this year! We've never had them in the house, but the past couple weeks have been bad.  We've heard numerous people say the same thing so at least we know it's not just our house!

- Emma's shoulder appointment is tomorrow so hopefully we'll get a good idea of what's next

- A closing thought for today - Belief = Faith + Action

Growing Kids

They just keep getting older on me...

Remember...

1st day of work in D.C....

Monday Morning Review

The week and the weekend went by too quick.  Highlights of the week

- Nick's football team lost on Saturday, they are now 1-1-1.  They had limited practices this week because of extreme heat (1 day over 100 so they just walked thru), and then some rain/lightning on others
- Katelyn has the 1st cold of the school year; not too bad, just mainly congestion/nose
- Emma's team won their volleyball game, now 3-0
- We all (except Nick who isn't old enough yet) volunteered at church (NLC) yesterday. The girls are all in kids/tots rooms, and I'm in the parking lot. After church we went to lunch at a Mexican buffet...it was yummy
- I start an early morning Men's group today. Several of us meeting at a local Hardee's for breakfast and fellowship
- 1st weekend of college and NFL football...it was glorious! Both the Hawkeyes and Bills squeaking a win out

Labor Day

Can you believe it's September already?!  The kids have had a couple weeks of school already (although public schools start tomorrow) and sports activities keep chugging along.  I've took a couple weeks off from the blog again...my mind is willing but by body just won't follow through!

Some items from the past couple weeks:

- Nicholas is enjoying football a lot, even through some of the hard practices of hard hits
- Katelyn's gymnastics team is starting to work on parade routines as parade season is upon on us; not our most favorite part of the gymnastics season, but something we get through
- Emma's school volleyball team is 2-0 so far, with their first away game tomorrow night
- The girls each a had a friend over for a sleepover last night...the friends were sisters too!
- Nick's playing left TE and OLB on the 2nd string teams; as a 1st year player he's doing really well and has received some good words from the coaches for his effort.  He received the Dog of the Week bone last week for his efforts!

- Emma's MRI results came in, not the news we wanted to hear (torn Labrum); we now wait to see the Orthopedic specialist to see what the next step may be. We told her Fri and she handled really well, just wants to do whatever it takes to get it better
- Katelyn had a small migraine the other night, her 1st one in a long time.  We think the stress of the new school/class format (compared to the lower [grade] school) and gymnastics led to it.  She had some soda (caffeine), went to bed and luckily woke up fine

No sports activities today!  Very few days when that happens, so we'll enjoy dinner all together tonight at a reasonable time!

Monday, Monday

Monday morning...good thing there's coffee!

Some things from last week:
- Emma got a MRI on her shoulder; waiting for results
- Katelyn sprained her ankle...not at gymnastics but at Busch Gardens! Silly girl.  She had to take it easy for a couple days but is good to go now
- Nicholas had his 1st football injury.  He jammed his pinkie finger (pretty good too) last week.  He came off the field with the jammed finger and blood dripping down his leg!  He also played TE on Friday and got some pretty good atta boys from the coach; Nick was pretty happy about it.
- The kids all went to Busch Gardens for an afternoon last week
- One more week till school starts...summer is almost over

Silver!

What a lucky man I am! I get to celebrate my 25 year wedding anniversary today!

25 years has given me so many memories that I can't help but smile this morning. Love you lots honey!

August

Summer keeps chugging along, bringing the start of the school year closer and closer for the kids.  It's been a busy couple weeks with their activities.  Nick's football practice started Monday, and he's had practice every night this week for 2 hours.  He had weigh in this morning, and has 2 hours of practice in full pads plus full contact this morning.  They changed the rules this year I guess and limit contact to 90 minutes a week.  He only had moment where practice (during up & downs I think) really got to him...brought him to tears and the words "let's go home" escaped!  Angie told him he could finish, so he went back out and all was good!

Emma's school JV volleyball practices have started. She has that 4 days a week. Their 1st game is currently scheduled for the 1st day of school. Her summer AVA volleyball league ended on Wednesday night, so that's one less thing on the schedule!

Katelyn has gymnastics practice 5 days a week, gets Tuesday and Sunday off.  She has a birthday party to go to today, so she'll miss practice.

Our (Ang & I) last community group night with the group we've been with for almost 18 months was this past Tuesday.  Sad to leave it, as our group really bonded together, had fun together, and grew together. My men's group also ended last week.  It was a shorter specific topic series that I'll miss as well.

Angie & the kids have been getting school supplies bought over the past couple weeks.  Backpacks came in yesterday, so everyone is pretty happy for those.  It's tax-free weekend here, so we'll probably be avoiding any school shopping today...it will be a mad house!

"Flip The Script"

Test time...are you ready?  Ok, what & when was the last positive thought you had about someone else that you expressed out loud? It seems that sometimes it's much easier for us to go negative on people in our words, our actions and our thoughts than it is to express the positive thoughts we have.  Sometimes we are even the hardest on those closest to us.

I recently read a book and in it was a suggestion to "Keep track of your negative". Much like people may keep track of calories, miles run, miles driven, etc,; keep track of your negative thoughts or words each day. At the end of the day take a look at the list.  I bet my list will longer than I want it to be.

You should check out this book...it's a quick read, but it's realistic and challenging.
Even If You Were Perfect by Rob Shepherd

Norfolk Tides

I spent the week in San Antonio on business this past week.  I got home Friday late afternoon in time for the KenneyKrewe to pack up and go to a Tides game with some friends. The weather was perfect and the game was close the entire way with the Tides winning in the bottom of the 9th!

(The stands looks empty in the most of the pictures because I took the kids pictures after the game was over.)

Florida Vacation

We had a great time in Florida!  The weather was great (no tropical storm effects), we enjoyed some pool time, boat rides, fireworks from the water, relaxation, and fun.  Thanks to Karen & Archie for allowing Emma to bring her friend Peyton too!  Plus they kept Nicholas for an extra week to enjoy some grandparents time by himself.

Hallelujah

Makes me a proud parent!

Emma's Song

Clarity & Courage

Do you pray? If so, do you believe prayer works? I think for those of us that do pray, we all probably feel awkward at times.  What do I say, what do I ask, what don't I ask, does it really matter, how many times do I pray, do I pray standing up-sitting down-kneeling-eyes closed-eyes open, do I pray in the morning or night?  Whew! I'm not going to get in all of those, but how about specific prayer requests?

We probably all have our own take on what's important and what's not in our prayer life.  If it's important we probably pray for it, at least sometimes.  One specific thing I ask for is clarity and courage.  The clarity that I may come up with the right words to say and the courage to say those right words at the right time.

and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel (Eph 6:19)

Friday!

Yippee, it's the weekend! Another summer vacation week has passed by for the kids.  They enjoyed the week with:
- Open gym volleyball at school for Emma
- A sleepover at a friends house for Katelyn
- Beach volleyball practice for Emma
- Playing outside and on the neighbors trampoline for Nicholas
- 4 nights of gymnastics for Katelyn
- Some backyard badminton for Angie, Katelyn & Nicholas
- and some nothingness around the house

I miss summer vacation!  What's your favorite summer vacation memory?

English...who, whom, whose, what?

How many of these trip you up?

English Issues

June

Can't believe it's June 1st already!  Wow.  The kids have been out of school 1 week already.  I was able to take a couple days off to spend working on Nick's room.  He's never had it completely redone, so we figured it was about time.

Emma wasn't using her student desk, so we repainted it and moved it into Nick's room.  We put up some shelves, new blinds, and got rid of lots of toys he no longer plays with. He seems pretty happy with it!





Emma went to Busch Gardens with a friend earlier in the week, and then the kids & I went on Friday.  She rode all the roller coasters with her friends the 1st day, and rode one by herself on Friday!  I can't believe this is the girl that's afraid of heights!

Emma also had a end of volleyball season sleepover at one of her friends house last night.  Sounds like they had a great time, and were up to 2AM.

Angie & Katelyn are off getting their toes done today.  We'll see what design they come home this time!

We had the 1st ice cream man visit of the summer today.  Gotta love summer traditions.








Katelyn's been working on some new floor tumbles...watch this!

Week in Review

Last week went by fast, and the weekend too!

- Katelyn had a field trip to KittyHawk, NC area.  Her class left school a little after 7 in the morning, and got back around 8:30 that night.  Sounds like she had a great time, and brought a bag of wet clothes from the beach to prove it!
- Emma had a Roman Banquet at school; they all wore costumes to match the period.  She said she tied for best costume!
- Nicholas had a history day at school, and wore an Egyptian costume.  Plus Angie made some "Egyptian bread" to take in that day.
- Angie's part of the school's Parent Teacher Fellowship, and was busy making teacher/faculty gifts all last week.  Friday morning I took in lots of stuff to set out for all the faculty at both the upper and lower schools.
- One more week of school....finals are this week
- Katelyn's gold fish died...the other 3 fish in her tank are good though
- Nicholas & I refilled a propane tank at the RV store this weekend, so while we were there we obviously had to check out some campers!

Stuff

We enjoyed a visit with Karen & Archie this past weekend for Mother's Day.  The weather was nice and we were able to enjoy some time outside.  Karen was able to get Nicholas & Katelyn to work cleaning the back deck!

Volleyball Win

The girls had a great 2-day tournament (1st weekend in May) and came home with some hardware!

Emma's volleyball season is done for the year...until summer stuff starts.

Tic Tock

Time slips by so fast! My blog post time seems to keep being pushed to the side.

The kids are in standardized testing this week.  They have that in the morning and then regular classes in the afternoon.  I believe Friday is an early release day for them.  Emma had a volleyball tournament last weekend here in Hampton.  The girls have played better, but they were missing a few players, didn't play with a libero, and Emma was fighting a cold. All in all it was an okay showing...could have been better but could have been worse!  Katelyn has got her back hand spring on the beam!  Yep, you read that right...back hand spring on the beam!  All I can say is wow.

Emma's last regular season volleyball practice is tomorrow, and they finish the season with a 2-day tournament in Williamsburg this weekend.  Katelyn has a gymnastics showing this weekend too.

PJs

Emma & Nicholas volleyball club picture

Do You Attend Church?

Do you attend church?  Now before you answer, let me explain.

I've been thinking about this alot this week, this Holy Week of Easter.  Each day of this past week, starting with Palm Sunday, had some unique meaning for those with a Christian faith.  However, I worry this is lost on many people.  Even some of us who attend church I think may be missing something.

Here's a definition of attendance: the action or state of going regularly to or being present at a place or event. "my attendance at church was very irregular" 

Hmm..."being present".  Is that what we're doing when we go to church?  I've found myself being in attendance or being present at times over the past couple years in church and it scares me.  I don't want to be in attendance.  Church shouldn't be something I "attend"; church should be what I am.  The quarterback of a football team doesn't "attend" the game, he's an integral part of the team! So why should I just "attend" church?   A church is supposed to be a body, a group of people, who meet together regularly because they are disciples of Christ.

Now don't get me wrong, church "attendance" is a start. People will find out more by attending occasionally vs. never.  Easter services will have a large % of people who only come a couple times a year.  This is ok, maybe something will stir inside them to bring them again.  

My worry about using the language of "attendance" is that it misrepresents what church is.  Also, "attendance" numbers are a far from accurate indicator of spiritual health:  John 6 tells us Jesus was followed by "a large crowd", but most were tagging along for all sorts of reasons. When Jesus explains his identity in a little more depth, we are told that many "turned back and no longer walked with him," (v66).

So, large attendance #s are one thing.  It's at least a starting point to reach from.  For me, I want to do more than be in attendance. I strive for all-around whole-life discipleship.

I hope you go to an Easter service tomorrow.  I hope a church can count you in their attendance numbers.  I pray that thru your attendance, something inside you will stir, something you can't explain, something you can't push down will lead you to attend again.  I pray thru this attendance you will become more than a #, but a disciple.

Catch Up

Yet again I'm behind on the blog.  Oh well, nobody is screaming for updates.

- The kids enjoyed their spring break from school. Emma had her best friend, Peyton, come down from DC for a sleepover.  They were very happy to catch up!  Angie took Emma, Peyton and Katie to a pottery place and to get their toes done.  Katie had a couple sleepovers at friends house's, and Nicholas even got to go on his very 1st sleepover.
- The attack of the spring pollen is here.  The yellow dust is on everything and Katie & Nicholas are miserable at times with the allergies.
- Emma had band practice last week...1st one in awhile.  One of the kids Dad's stayed and sang with them.  They sounded pretty good for as little practice they've had together.
- Emma & Ang are in Richmond today for a volleyball tournament.  Emma, and the rest of her teammates, are sad as their coach announced at Thursday's practice that he has to step down from coaching.  He accepted a new job in San Diego and has to be there in a few weeks.  So to get his family and things ready, he can't commit to coaching any longer.  There were lots of tears from the girls that night. The club AD and the assistant coach will be coaching today.

- Nicholas & I got his very 1st model rocket yesterday.  Hopefully we'll get it put together today and maybe have a launch!  It's raining right now, so we may be weathered out...
- The end of school is just around the corner...crazy how fast this year has gone

The Dr says...

Emma had her Dr appointment today for her knee and shoulder. Drum roll please....

Patellar Tendonitis and an "overuse" pain of the shoulder.  She'll have X-rays of both later this week to verify nothing else.  She has some Naproxen for her knee along with directions to stretch, ice, and a referral for physical therapy.

Oh, and volleyball practice tomorrow night!

Throwback Tuesday

6 years ago...

April Beginnings

Another lapse in blog updates...oops.  The last couple weeks of March and the beginning of April have been event filled, as always.  Katelyn had her State gymnastics competition, all 3 have had some school activities/programs, we've had some snow and some 80 degree weather, Nicholas's volleyball "season" ended last weekend, Emma jammed/sprained her thumb pretty good at volleyball practice a week ago, some volunteer work at the state park with our church, and all 3 kids are happy for this week because it's Spring Break!

Catch Up

The weekend got away from me; here's last week's review:

- Emma had "Battle Cry Week" at school.  This is basically a "homecoming week".  She had a crazy hair/hat day, a dress as your favorite fictional character day (she went as Dr. Who), sports jersey day, and a class color day.  On Friday they had a buffet style lunch with each class having a table of food items.  Angie made stacks of Reuben sandwiches for her.
- Nicholas had in-class spelling bee and won 1st place!
- Nicholas got to dress up as a Super Grammar Hero on Friday.  He went as The Interjection!
- Katelyn had a meet yesterday here in Hampton.  She did pretty well and placed on 3 out of 5 overall categories.  This Friday is State competition.
- Nicholas had his 1st volleyball tournament yesterday.  It was a "friendship" tournament with 3 grassroots teams from our club, 2 teams from Williamsburg, and 1 team from VA Beach.  His team was the youngest of the group so they got beat. However they gave it a good run and lost close ones at 20-25 on a couple games. Lots of nerves and lots of uncertainty on their part...but the experience was great for them.

Thursday Thoughts

Character - What is it?  If you have it will be tested-again and again-as you exercise the power of your choices: To do the right thing and to make it prevail at whatever cost; to always speak the complete truth; to assume responsibility; to be accountable for your mistakes as well as rewarded for accomplishments; and, to make these choices without calculation of risk or reward.

Number 1. Your most meaningful memories will be the times when your character, integrity, endurance, stamina or fortitude were most challenged and you had the courage to do the right thing. 

Number 2. The things that make you feel best about yourself will not be things you do for yourself, but the good things you do for others. 

Number 3. How to get ahead-the unfailing key to success = Always do the best at the job you have right now-the rest will take care of itself. How remarkable it is that prosperity, good luck and fortune come to those who work hard. 

Number 4. The experiences in your life that truly elevate the human spirit will not come from material rewards, but from moral and spiritual rewards that attend virtues of sacrifice, duty, honor and courage.

These are Jumper’s Rules of Life by General John P. Jumper taken from a SNCO Academy speech on 

27 June 2001 

Science Fair

Katelyn and Nicholas had their science fair on Friday.  Nicholas's project was a class effort, and they did a mummified chicken! Katelyn did her project on "Testing Height Differences".  She used one of her gymnast friends and tested jump heights without ankle weights, with weights, and again without weights.  Her project earned a blue ribbon (highest level).

Emma went to her school on Friday night for a movie night and pizza. Saturday she had another volleyball tournament; this time in Williamsburg. The team played pretty well and made the semi-finals again.  Unfortunately they couldn't get past the team in that round.  Katelyn had 2 hours of gymnastics privates on Sat morning and Nicholas had volleyball practice on Sun afternoon.  Katelyn has gymnastics practice/meet everyday for the next weeks leading up to her State competition!

Mid-Week

Wednesday = 1st day of school for the week!  Yep, the kids have had snow days on both Monday and Tuesday.  Crazy since on Sunday it was in the 70's.  We had a little freezing drizzle last night that has closed the James River bridge this morning too. Winter won't give up its grip.

Our community group went out to dinner and then to the movies to see Son of God last night.  Dinner was good (but service extremely slow), and the movie was an awesome reminder of the sacrifice He made for us.

Happy Birthday Angie!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife!  I love you honey!  Enjoy your day

Week in Review

Lots of action this week:

    - I went to Dad's on Tues/Wed to be with him & Mary when he had his Cardiac Ablation procedure.  It went well and it looks like his heart isn't going into SVT episodes anymore and his heart rate is back to normal! Plus he was able to come home from the hospital on Wed afternoon after a week +.  A good day for him!
    - Emma's drama class put on their Death by Dessert play again; this time for the school.  Katelyn's 6th grade class got to come up to the upper school and watch too.
    - After regular volleyball practice on Thursday night, Emma had a setting clinic to go to.  So we left one gym and immediately went to another.  When we got there Emma only had one volleyball shoe in her bag! Somehow she left it at the prior gym.  Luckily I was able to text the coach of the team that was practicing (came in after our team) and she found it and Angie was able to pick it up on Friday.
    - Nicholas came down with a low grade fever and not feeling well on Thursday night and he ended up staying home from school on Friday.  By Fri night he was back to almost normal.
    - Katelyn had a gymnastics meet yesterday and scored her personal best all around score!  Plus she was able to do a trick from the vault (half-on/half-off I think it's called) that she has been practicing.  A good day for her which is good as we're only a couple weeks away from State competition.
    - Emma had a volleyball tournament in Richmond yesterday.  She had a good day for the most part, and had one of her better serving days too. The team made it to the semi-finals but lost 1-2 in the best of a 3 game series. During the game her team had to work (ref), she was the up-ref...a big deal for her since last year when she tried the height got to her! No problems this time.  After the tourney we (her, Nich, me) went to Steak & Shake for dinner.

Weekend Whirl

Another week of work, school, volleyball and gymnastics down. Sports practices, spelling bee practice (KT), science fair prep (KT), robotics (Emma), super grammar hero prep (Nich), colds for all thru the week, Friday home for me from cold, weekend practices, a Kenney family movie day after practices on Saturday for the whole day (we needed some time to do nothing together), ending with a volleyball tourney today where Emma's team finished a strong 2nd. Whew!

Okay, time to start again tomorrow!

Men & Words...War & Peace

Words, amazing things aren't they?  We use many each and everyday.  We talk to ourselves, talk to family, talk to friends, talk to coworkers and talk to strangers.  What do we say?  Do you remember what you said yesterday to everyone, everywhere?  Were they all good words?

Forgive the generalization here, but I think men in general have a harder time with their tongue and the cuss words that come from it then women do.  Maybe it's my bias perception of being a man, but I've just noticed more men spewing cuss words from their mouth then women. Now on the other hand (here I go with more generalization), I think I've noticed more women spewing negative, tear them down kind of words from their mouth than men.

The bible has several references to the power of the tongue and the words we use towards others. A couple:
   - A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger (Proverbs 15:1)
   - but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. (James 3: 8-9)

The ability to watch our words demonstrates a level of spiritual and emotional maturity. However, an inability to control our speech shows immaturity, and it can inflict great harm on our relationships. Think about it, hearing a kind word from someone you love builds you up, makes you feel special, and can carry you thru the day.  A negative, harsh word from the same person can destroy your day and can actually replay in your mind for days, weeks and even years to follow. In less intimate relationships such as work, we are thankful in the moment for a kind word from the boss, but if we get a negative word we hold on to it for days.  So, when we fail to control our tongue, we don’t just fail to give, or be, a blessing. We also cause a wound that can destroy our relationships.

I recently read an article on Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, author of Words That Hurt, Words That Heal. In this book, he states that he asks audiences whether they can go 24 hours without saying any unkind words about or to anyone. Invariably, a few people answer “yes,” but most call out “no!” He responds, “Those who can’t answer ‘yes’ have a serious problem. If you can’t go 24 hours without drinking liquor, you’re addicted to alcohol. If you can’t last 24 hours without smoking, you’re addicted to nicotine. And if you can’t make it 24 hours without saying unkind words about others, you've lost control of your tongue.”

I read a Men's Devotional recently that had this question:
    How can you tell whether your tongue is under control? You won’t say anything about an individual that you can’t say directly to that person. You resist the urge to exaggerate. You consciously examine your thoughts and remove gossip and rumors from your conversations. You keep in confidence a personal matter that someone else shares with you. Further, you learn to speak positive words. Appropriate words communicate affirmation, comfort and healing.

This is where it got personal with me.  Recently I've focused on the cuss word aspect of the tongue.  I'm lucky and don't struggle with this habit in my life.  Cussing isn't a big part of my daily vocabulary.  So because I don't struggle with cussing I had been glossing right over the bottom line.  It's not just about cussing, it's about unkind, harsh, negative, untrue words.  Ouch.  I'm pretty sure my daily word list includes some of these.

Think about it; when was the last time you said something that you instantly regretted? Maybe it was intended as a joke that was instead taken as an offense, or maybe it was a word spoken in anger that you wish you could have taken back.

Maybe we need to think of a specific situation where our tongue was flapping unruly and we hurt somebody. While we may not be able to take back the words themselves, we can humbly submit ourselves to that person and begin to rebuild the relationship.

Baby Teeth

Emma had to have two baby teeth (one each side of mouth) pulled today.  They weren't coming out on their own and were getting in the way of the permanent teeth.  Emma doesn't like the Dr. or the Dentist, so in setting the appointment up, Ang was smart and ordered gas to help her relax.  The dentist wasn't expecting much of a problem and told Ang he was pretty sure he could just "scare one out".  Well, not so much.  They did not want to come out and what was supposed to be a quick pull turned into a much longer surgical procedure to get them out.  Emma did great and is recovering well at home tonight.  She did skip volleyball practice as her mouth was hurting quite a bit earlier, plus I think her lip was still numb some.

Picture Time

Katelyn's gymnastics meet from last weekend in VA Beach.

Volleyball tournament (Queen City Classic) in Charlotte, NC

And from Winter Jam in Norfolk last night!

The show was great!  Saw 10 bands including Newsboys, Tenth Avenue North (the leader singer is on the railing in the picture), Thousand Foot Krutch, Lecrae, NewSong, Plumb and Colton Dixon (Emma's favorite)

More Snow

We got 6-7 inches of snow on Tuesday night.  So of course the kids didn't have school yesterday and neither Angie or I had to go in to work (she worked alot from home though).  Angie made "snow cream" for the kids breakfast!  It was pretty good, tasted just like home made vanilla ice cream.  She added a little food coloring as you can see...


Yesterday was also a pet replenishing day.  Nicholas got some new fish for his fish tank, Katelyn got a few fish for her tank (she got a small desk type tank for her birthday) and Emma got a new hamster. The kids are off again today, but Angie & I have to go in to work. KTs gymnastics practices were cancelled Tuesday night and tonight.  Emma is supposed to have volleyball practice tonight, but I'm betting that's cancelled too.

Last weekend Katelyn had a gymnastics meet up near DC and got 1st place on floor and 4th all-around.  She was pretty happy about that!

Birthdays & Snowdays

Katelyn had her 12th birthday on the 21st. Twelve years old!  Amazing we now have a 14 yr old, a 12 yr old, and an 8 yr old in the house.  We celebrated with Katelyn by going out to dinner (since her gymnastics practice was cancelled due to the bad weather coming in).  We went to Longhorn Steakhouse (she loves the bread there) and it was us and one other table!  A little snow keeping everybody away.

The "winter storm" warning cancelled schools for the next day, so she got to enjoy that too.  She was nice to all and made chocolate chip waffles for breakfast!  I went in to work on a 2 hr delay...but then it took me an hour to get in the gate because traffic was so bad with everyone coming in at the same time.

Gymnastics practice was cancelled again last night, and school was cancelled again today!  I'm also on another 2 hr delay to work.  Midwest people would shake their heads in shame! :)  Amazing what a little snow and cold does around here.

National Guard Time?

Uh oh, sound the alarm!  The weathermen are on full alert...Hampton Roads is supposed to experience...

Yep, we're supposed to get snow.  Anywhere from 1-2, 2-4, or 3-5 inches depending on who you listen to. We were let out of work 2 hrs early today and already have late reporting tomorrow. School is still on as of this moment.  The city/county/state has pre-treated roads and grocery stores are packed...because obviously everybody needs a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread to eat tomorrow! :)

I hope it ends up being the extreme forecast and we get dumped on!

So Much Activity

The fun never stops with the KenneyKrewe. This is the peak season of the kids activities, so between school, practices, gymnastics meets, and volleyball tournaments there is alot of activity going on.

The week before last Emma got to play in snow.  Now, for those of you in the Midwest with snow on the ground...this doesn't sound like a big deal.  However, we've not any snow accumulation this year.  One of her friends Dad has some snow making machines that he used to make a huge pile of snow in their backyard. It was pretty cool and Emma and bunch of other girls seemed to have a good time.

Nicholas got his new bike this weekend. He was pretty excited and has rode it quite a bit this weekend. He's also found one of my old Wii football games (Madden) that has engrossed him.  He's started watching football on TV with me too.

Emma & Ang have been Richmond all weekend for a 3-day volleyball tourney.  Emma's team had a pretty good 1st day, kind of struggled yesterday, and hopefully will have a good finish today!  She's been having some pain in her left shoulder so Angie packed it in ice the past two nights.  Sports!

I think Katelyn, Nicholas, and I are going to IHOP for breakfast today.  Somewhat of a tradition for Katelyn's early birthday celebration...Angie & Emma were gone to the same tournament last year too.

The kids all pulled straight A's again on their report cards.  Proud parents!

5ft

She's so excited! Finally hit 5 ft.

New Year

The 1st post of 2014.  A busy beginning to the year already!  We brought the New Year in without a whole lot of fanfare.  We stayed home with the kids, played boggle, watched the New Year's Eve shows, watched the ball drop, and then went to bed!  On New Year's Day we went to a friends house to watch the Iowa-LSU football game.  My friend is an LSU fan...he got the better end of the deal!  Boo.

Katelyn's gymnastics started back up on the 2nd after a week off.  Emma had volleyball practice too.  She had a practice yesterday morning, but after 3 days of fighting red eyes and congestion we kept her out and I took her to the Dr.  The diagnosis = pink eye!  She got some eye drops and should be good shortly.  The Dr. said she'd be good to be around people today too.  So, both her and Katelyn are having friends over tonight (no school for them tomorrow...last day of Christmas break).

Nicholas is now 8!  He picked Chili's for his going out meal.  Plus Katie had made him a pan of brownies for his "cake".  He's going to get a new bike from us...so we printed out a picture of one and wrapped it up as his present!  Told him we would go and look at them so he could pick out exactly the one he wants.  He's pretty excited.

Finally got some Christmas stuff put away yesterday. Most of the shelf type decorations and the outside lights are put away.  Today will be the trees.

Any resolutions for the new year?  Nothing too crazy for me.  I think I'll focus on:

Instead, renew the thinking in your mind by the Spirit and clothe yourself with the new person created according to God’s image in justice and true holiness. (Eph 4:23-24)