Lyle's Car

Being the wonderful parents that we are, we bought Lyle a much-wanted Jeep for his 16th birthday. I'm sure he will enjoy many happy times driving it around!! :0)

Double The Fun!

Since one of Lyle's BFF, Hannah, has a birthday on April 16th and his is April 18th, we Moms decided to "team up" and give them a double birthday party on April 17th.

We invited the whole sophomore class and had a great turn out. Here's the group picture (minus Jeff):

Hannah's family just moved to a new house on five acres, so we had it there. The party was from 4:00 to 10:00 p.m., and Hannah and Lyle were worried the kids would be bored. NOT!!!! They talked, ate snacks, played badmition, talked, ate snacks, played basketball, talked, ate snacks, went on a hike, talked, ate snacks, played catch phrase, talked, ate, had a silly string fight (BIG HIT!!), talked, ate pizza, played with bubbles, talked, had cake and ice cream, and opened presents.

Here's some pictures:

Hannah -- "Sweet" Sixteen

Lyle -- "Suave" Sixteen

Having fun with bubbles

A major silly string fight

Loneliness

How is it possible to sit in a room with 200 people and feel such overwhelming loneliness? It is possible; I experienced it this past weekend. Loneliness is not just about a person being alone. This world is a crowd. We all live in a crowd -- family, friends, parents at your child’s school, co-workers, fellow Christians, and our community. We are always getting connected with someone somewhere. But, the mere presence of other people is not sufficient enough sometimes for us to overcome loneliness.

This past weekend, I found myself in a room full of people I didn’t know. Other people seemed to know each other. Everyone was visiting and laughing, yet I felt so detached from it all. Somehow I just couldn’t relate to the crowd. I was on the fringe of things and didn’t quite fit in. This feeling may have been real or it may have been imagined, but it hurt nevertheless.

If we are honest with ourselves, I think we all have a longing to belong to the crowd: we want to be liked, to be significant, to be popular. When we speak, we want people to listen. We long to be in the “middle” where everyone is relating to everyone else. We want to “belong”, not because we are strong and self-confident, but because we are weak and don’t want to stand out.

I think a crowd of people can trigger an episode of loneliness because it magnifies the reality of a loss. (Example: A widow or widower feels the loss of their spouse more when they are in a group of married couples.) I honestly believe this is what happened to me. Don’t take this wrong because I LOVE my new church. I love the music, I love the genuine worship, and I absolutely love the “meaty” messages we hear each week. I would not want to be anywhere else! But, sometimes I miss my old church – the way it used to be. I miss knowing 90% of the congregation by name. I miss my church family. I miss my Sunday School class. I miss warm greetings and visiting after the service in the foyer. I miss people “loving on me”. And, because I’m human and struggle with pride sometimes, I’ll admit that I miss being part of the staff, being part of the “in crowd” that knows what is going on and feeling important (embarrassed, disappointed in myself, but just being totally honest!).

When I got home and my family was off to the movies, I had a meltdown. I just sat in the chair and cried. I’m sure a small part of it was the culmination of days of activity and too little sleep, but those feelings of loneliness and “not belonging” were soooo real. Then it was time to dry my eyes, thank the Lord for His goodness to me, remember all the things I have to be grateful for, and get on with my life!

National Honor Society

Last Friday evening, we attended the Redding Christian High School National Honor Society Spring Induction Ceremony. To be invited to apply for the National Honor Society, a student must have and maintain at least a 3.5 grade point average in high school, have a certain number of community service hours, have no disciplinary record, and pass an interview process.

We are so proud of Lyle and the hard work and discipline he puts into his school work and serving his community. Here's some pictures:

The four Sophomores that were inducted into the NHS
Trygg, Hannah, Lyle, and Garrett

Where Did That Little Baby Go?

Where did this little baby born on April 18th go?

Oh, he turned into this darling little three year old cowboy...

Who turned into this cute little 2nd grader...

Who then turned into this fun 5th grader...

Who turned into this handsome 8th grader...

Then the years continued to just fly by!! And...that little baby turned into a 16 year old...

WOW!!!! They say "Time flys when you are having fun." Time has flown, and I've had soooo much fun having a great son like you, Lyle!!! Happy 16th Birthday (one day late).

All That Jazz!

Tonight Hilary and I went to the Shasta College Community Jazz Big Band Concert. WOW!!!! It was AWESOME!!!! They will be having another concert on Wednesday, May 5th, at 7:30 p.m. I would encourage you to come if you like jazz/big band music. And, you won't believe this, the tickets are only $3. It was a packed house, so you have to get there early.

Hilary was standing in line to buy our tickets, when the man in front of her asked how many tickets she was buying. When she told him, "2 tickets", he gave her two. So, we got in for FREE!!

Besides having great music concerts, Shasta College also has a VERY CUTE usher who works on the right-hand side of the Auditorium:

I Miss Kim!!!!!

Blog Post Titles:

Mexico Missions Trip -- 0 comments

Easter 2010 -- 0 comments

The "Dam" Tour and A Bucket List -- 1 comment (Thanks, Faith!)

I miss Kim!!!!! I miss her comments!!!!!

HURRY HOME AND COMMENT!!!!!

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