Friday Night Live...

One of the reasons why I love living in a military town! Not many high school football teams can say they got a flyover as part of their pre-game....

Another Man in the House...

Now that I have your attention, I can tell you no, we have not added any more members to our family, not even a puppy. However, Josh turned 18 yesterday, so technically we now have another man in the house, but he will always be my baby boy!

Josh wanted the day to be low key, so nothing fancy. His girlfriend Rebecca and Kellen came over for an early bbq dinner, and he opened some gifts.  A few friends came over for cake and movies later that evening.  Not much else to say except that I am really proud of the fine young man that Joshua is, and I am looking forward to seeing the path he allows the Lord to take him down.

The girls gave Josh a glow-in-the-dark shirt from our local drive-in

There were so many candles on Josh's cake that it was like an extra flash for the camera!

I share my young man with someone else:)

 And for those of you (unnamed) who have anxiously been awaiting the first day of school shot, here it is from Thursday. I have been a bit busy this last week with my own start of school, and an out of town volleyball trip on their first day of school. Friday night we attended Josh's first away game, Kaia had her first tumbling practice at an off-island gym, and Jaelyn's first U-10 soccer game (much bigger field) was Saturday morning. No wonder I'm so tired...

Poor Baby...

Today we had Cocoa spayed, and now looking at the poor girl, I can't help but feel guilty. Of course, it was the right decision, because we hardly have time for puppies, nor do I want a pack of wild dogs howling at my fence, trying to get to my sweet Cocoa. However, as I see her sprawled out on the floor, shaved belly and foot (where her IV was), I can't help but feel bad for not being able to explain it all to her. To make it worse, the poor baby has to go around looking like this...

Who knew they had such a fancy name for the collar though. It's called an elizabethan collar. I do think it is pretty funny that someone at the vet's office personalized it for her though. That way if it ever gets lost, the neighbors know who it belongs to!

And just in case going under the knife wasn't enough to make me feel bad, guess what they found in her system when she threw up from the anesthesia? 

That's right, she had swallowed one of the girls footies. I think it was originally like the pink one in the photo above! I guess she was hungry since she couldn't eat breakfast before the surgery! Hopefully the girls learn a lesson about leaving their belongings lying around.

Despite all this, she still looks adorable as ever, and she even shows her sweet personality every once in awhile, that is, when she's awake. After my first day back with students though, I think I'm feeling as exhausted as she is.

Two Week Recap...

Yes, volleyball and teacher prepping have taken over my life, thus the need to recap the past two weeks. A lot has happened, but I will try to keep it brief so that I don't bore you with the details.

While Josh and I were back to football and volleyball, Mike and the girls were enjoying family and the beautiful weather in Sun River. Along with seeing their grandma, cousins, and an uncle, the new water park was the highlight! When I spoke with the girls on the phone, I was thoroughly confused by the "shark" that they kept referencing in the conversation. Turns out they were meaning "SHARC," Sun River Homeowners Aquatic & Recreation Center" (I like the sound of shark better). Mike and the girls would ride their bikes there a couple times each day, and brought Uncle Pat along one day too.

Two peas in a pod that really seem to become more alike as they grow older.

Fun times with Mame!

I had my annual volleyball party for this year's varsity squad. We continued the tradition of personalizing and decorating our volleyballs, and got a lot of laughs in playing Apples to Apples.

It's hard to believe, but our first born turned twenty-one this week! The family took Kellen and his girlfriend out to Rockfish Grill to celebrate.

You know your child's getting old when they ask for a set of dining table chairs for their birthday, but that's what he did, and that's what he got! He also wanted a Sunday paper delivered, so that's what his siblings got him. So funny. His girlfriend got him a much more fun gift, a pair of converse shoes with one of his favorite comics hand drawn on the toes.

Lastly, our new puppy Cocoa is growing by leaps and bounds. She and Romeo are getting along much better these days. Every time I try to get a picture of them snuggling together they get up and move, so when I can hone my sneakiness skills I can capture the moment. For now though, I am sharing one that Jaelyn snapped of Cocoa snuggling with a toy. And boy, can she snore! We considered not having her spayed and breeding her someday, but we don't think we will have the time or energy, so the poor girl is having surgery on Tuesday.

School begins Tuesday for me, and Thursday for everyone else, so you may not hear from me for awhile:) Don't worry though, I'll come up for air when I need it!

Love Bucket...

So when our oldest (who turns 21 tomorrow) was a toddler, his strong point was definitely not communication (who am I kidding, it's still not)!  We contributed many a tantrum to him not being able to express himself. One Sunday our pastor used the term "filling my love bucket" when referring to needing attention. That resonated with us, so we began asking Kellen if he needed his "love bucket filled" when he was very upset but could not tell us why, to which we would give him a big hug if he replied "yes."

Flash forward 10+ years, and we find ourselves using that term frequently with Kaia. Sometimes she will get on a naughty roll and be very emotional. When I finally realize what is happening, I remember to ask her if she needs her "love bucket filled," and she usually replies "yes." I'm telling you, the power of a hug when we most need it is amazing! It can turn her mood around like nothing else. Usually I could kick myself for not resorting to it sooner before I got all frustrated.

Last night Kaia was moping around the house after she accidentally made the puppy yelp when playing with her. She got mad at Cocoa, blaming her for the incident. I reminded Kaia of a similar situation earlier in the day, when I caused her to cry when I bumped her with the seat in the car. Even though it was an accident, I asked for forgiveness and showed compassion for her, something she was not willing to do for the puppy. Instead, her tears were because she was embarrassed and she showed no empathy towards Cocoa.  About 1/2 an hour later, she handed me an envelope with this letter inside....

I loved that she wanted to communicate her needs! In words and pictures it reads, "I want someone to fill my love bucket. I want to be this (smiley face) not this (frowny face). Please!"  Isn't that just the sweetest thing ever? Of course, Mike and I filled her love bucket until it was overflowing, and her mood completely turned around.  It made us feel so good that she recognized the situation and could problem solve for herself. We then went on and helped her remedy the situation with the puppy.

Now I'm thinking we could teach this term to heads of state around the world, and we would have world peace! Just imagine the head of Iraq telling the President of the United States that he needed his love bucket filled. I have warm fuzzies now just picturing their embrace!

What the World Needs Now...

Those of you under 40 have no idea what I'm referencing, but the rest of you are singing along with me right now...."is love, sweet love..."

Was happy to see this article today, especially since learning this morning of a former student's suicide earlier this week. He was not even in high school yet.  Breaks. my. heart. Reading the article certainly helped return the smile back to my face, as I feel that the journalist captured our hearts, and got most everything correct:)  Hoping that it brings more attention to the needs of orphans around the world, but this week's events reminded me of the many needs with kids here too.  As I am gearing up for this school year, I remember moments of overwhelming helplessness last year. God give me strength to love on each child who crosses my path. Going to need an extra dose of strength, but it is worth it. Remember to go out of your way and love on some kids this week.  Make it your prayer and I guarantee you will have opportunities come your way!

Josh n' Mom Summer...

The summer seemed to begin and end with Josh and me activities.  From my perspective that has been a good thing but you might have to ask him his opinion, especially since he is going into his senior year, so this may be one of the last summers he's around.

No, it wasn't anything big like China this time, but today Josh and I spent the day experiencing an Intro Rock Climbing Class together. I originally bought the class back in March through Groupon, for Mike, Josh and I, but it was cancelled last week, which in the big picture was good, so that I had another week to rest my ankle. However, since Mike and the girls are in Oregon, Josh and I were on our own (Mike will take the class next week when he gets back, but Josh couldn't do it then).

I thoroughly enjoyed our bonding time, although I have found my boy is a man of few words these days. Less talk, more getting down to business. Wonder where he gets that from??? After a super hot week around here, it was nice to have cooler temps to climb in. I would say it was perfect climbing weather. We hiked up until we reached Sunset Rock on Mt. Erie, which is where we spent our afternoon.

Look how fresh we look on the way up:)

 The first thing we learned and practiced was how to repel.  Some in the group were afraid of heights, but both Josh and I took to this part quickly. Our second practice we did side by side and someone snapped our photo from below (sorry some of the photos are dark, but my cell phone has no zoom or flash). If you know the Crebbin family you know we can make a competition out of anything. And just so you know, I beat Josh to the bottom, but he says he had further to go to the ground. Excuses!

After everyone made a couple trips down, we put on the climbing shoes and went at it. In the beginning there were ropes in three spots to climb, each with a slightly different degree of difficulty. I did the first two without much problem, but wasn't so sure as I watched some people struggle through the third. However, not being one to back down from a challenge, I went for it and had success.

Josh made it look easy, but trust me, it wasn't.

Normally I don't post so many butt shots, but I had no other way to prove I did it.

After everyone got more practice in, two more ropes and climbs were added, with yet higher degree of difficulty. Again, I wasn't sure I could make this one, but once again I surprised myself. I didn't climb quite as quickly as Spidey Josh, but I did it nonetheless.  After four climbs I was pooped, and hearing my muscles talk me out of another trip up,  I forewent the last one and instead, left it for the teens and twenty-somethings in our class.

On his way up.

Getting ready to repel down.

Tomorrow is my first day back to volleyball, and I'm afraid I am going to have some sore legs and arms.  Maybe I will have more pity on the volleyball players this week, as they are always complaining about being sore the first few days. But then again, maybe I won't! Mike and the girls come home Tuesday, and then he takes the class next Saturday, and then we are all planning to take the Level II course in September, if we can find a time when we can do it all together.  I'm hoping he has some good photos on the camera so that I can post about their trip to Sun River.

Thanks for a memorable summer Josh. I love you!