Did I Just Become a Basket Wife Yesterday?
By · CommentsI was starting to feel like I was getting some things under control when yesterday it dawned on me: I never got a passport for Isaiah! In fact, I didn’t even have his birth certificate. After a few moments of panic (and some prayer from my loving husband), I started to put some pieces together. First of all, I did not realize in New Jersey you don’t get a complimentary birth certificate. You must actually go to the town hall where your child was born and pay for one! Not knowing this, I had just assumed one would be sent to me and never thought about it not arriving.
Then I started to think more about the passport and figured I probably totally forgot about it because for the last two children I have needed it to get home, so it has been HIGH up on the priority list. This time, it never even crossed my mind. I know you can get emergency passports in other countries, so I figured that was the case here as well. It turns out, if I have my flight booked and am traveling in 14 days, I can obtain one.
So I have added two more things onto my ever growing next action list, but I am so grateful God brought this to mind now and not when I was standing at the airport check-in counter. That would have been disastrous! I am also grateful that God helped me to laugh at myself over this one. I guess I have had a lot else on my mind. Or maybe I have just been too busy trying to enjoy this little face before he grows up too quickly:
That Time of Year
By · CommentsUsually the middle of August is a busy time in the life of a basketball family. That is typically when Joe needs to go overseas to begin training camp for the next season. But this year there have been some different spins on this time of year:
1. Joe signed late this year. Usually Joe is signed by the end of July, but Joe just signed a contract yesterday to return to Lega Due with Barcellona Basket. I think we were both starting to think that we may be waiting until the December/January signings this season, so we were not really in “leave mode”. Plus they want him to leave on Tuesday!
2. Our NJ basement has to be completely gutted. We came home from our week at the shore to find our NJ home with water from a rotted pipe. After further inspection. It looks like our basement is infested with black mold and we all had to move out on Sunday night. We have been at Joe’s parents house for the last few days as we clean everything out of the basement and either throw it away or disinfect it and store it upstairs.
3. We made a last minute decision to rent our NJ home. It has been wearing us thin to have two homes. We thought we would have an easier time this year because we would be in PA the majority of the time, but we still have to look after our NJ home and deal with things like rotted pipes. So we decided we are moving out of our NJ home and turning it into a rental property. The packing for this has also been done in the last 4 days! Plus we have been dealing with the emotional toll this is taking on our kids (and Joe) who are attached to the home. Doing this without AC (have to turn it off when you have mold) and in between Isaiah’s feedings has been a bit draining for me.
4. I have been dealing with some issues with Abby’s school. Last year we used a charter online public school for Abby’s schooling, but at the end of July we got a call saying that we could no longer be a part of it. Thankfully after some calls to our local school district and being in contact with the charter school, we got things figured out. So I should be getting the supplies today!
So there are my excuses for my lack of blogging and general contact with people. I am going to be staying behind a few weeks once again so I can get packed up, settle all of our stuff in State College and hopefully wrap up some more things in NJ. I have been fighting to believe the promises that God has nothing but good for me in this time. Just another reminder that God wants to do a good work in me and that refinement of character does not come when everything is smooth and easy!
The Challenge of Photographing a Family of Six
By · CommentsWe go away on vacation and aim to get a good family photo or two. This year showed us how hard that can be with 6 of us to try to coordinate. Here were our best attempts:
Attempt #1:
This was on the third day of vacation so everyone was looking rather happy and refreshed. Unfortunately Abby’s hair is quite a disgrace and your eye is automatically drawn to Elijah’s swimsuit (each of the kids was given a European style swimsuit when Joe left Brindisi and Elijah just loves his. Either he didn’t notice that he was the only one sporting this style of swimsuit on the beach or he just didn’t care!) The background in this picture isn’t the greatest and the color leaves a lot to be desired.
Attempt #2:
Here we are on day six of vacation and as you can see, Naomi has had it with picture taking. Isaiah looks a bit “blobbish” too, but everyone else is doing alright. The background and lighting are decent here.
Attempt #3:
And finally later that day we tried to get another beach picture. The lighting and background are gorgeous, but no one looks like they want to be in this picture!
Are good family pictures hard for you to get? Any tips or tricks you use?
