Sweet Memories Sunday

This picture is from December 2008.  Evan was four. I love that little sweatsuit he is wearing.  He was outside helping Eric with the outdoor Christmas decorations that day when he saw horses walking along the canal bank.  He ran across the street to climb the fence and get a better view of the horses. 

He was so little and cute.  That field is about to be a housing development.  It's going to be really weird to be outside and not be able to see endless views to the main road. I'll be looking at the back of a bunch of houses.  Time and progress march on I suppose. 

Daily 4C Feb. 13-19

Feb. 13 - Second game of the four game/two day tournament.  Evan (#15) is heading for water at half time.  We won the game!

Feb. 14 - Happy Valentine's Day!  My twins dressed like twins!

Bonus picture for Feb. 14 - The varsity boys basketball team won 4th place in the tournament.  Evan played great games!

Feb. 15 - Lunch date with my husband.  I love these new super fast pizza places that make personal sized pizzas in a flash.  I can get the toppings I want.

Feb. 16 - I have no clue why I took this really terrible photo, but it was the only photo taken on Feb. 16!  This was super early in the morning after the gym while I was enjoying my "me" time reading, doing my Bible study, eating my protein bar and drinking my coffee.  I do remember feeling very content that morning!

Feb. 17 - The stacks on my desk are endless.  I'm reading Hatchet because Evan is.  Let me explain...Evan does not like reading, but he needs to read. He saw Hatchet at Costco and asked me to buy it.  I did.  He likes it.  I'm reading a copy I found at school so that I can converse with him about the book.  Anything to keep this kid reading.  As you can see, there are a few more books in the pile for me!

Feb. 18 - I am in the middle of quadratic equation graphing hell.  It is really difficult to teach this type of algebra because there are so many dang steps!  I tried to break it down into 14 "easy" steps.  To keep our sense of humor about the task, I added "cry" as the last step in these problems!

Feb. 19 - Another day with no photo.  I need to take more photos even when I don't think the day is worth photographing. We went to school, came home, and did the start to the weekend routine of lounging on the couch!

Another short week ahead before heading on a trip.  Yay!

Friday Favorites

It's time for Friday Favorites with Andrea, Narci, and Erika.

My birthday was last Thursday, and I got many sweet and thoughtful presents.  I got them on my birthday as well as on Friday.  I love it when the celebration just keeps on going.

Here are some of my favorite presents and moments from turning 41.

One of my students made homemade cookies to share with the class!

My partner teacher not only decorated my classroom, but she brought mini cupcakes to share and bought me Diet Pepsi, an adult coloring book, and pomegranate seeds!  Love those seeds!

I wasn't planning to go out to eat on my actual birthday because the boys had soccer practice.  However, it was a slightly rough day for kid #1, so we made the decision to skip practice and head to my favorite restaurant Japanese Kitchen.  We usually only go there for lunch, so it was fun to be there for dinner and watch the show as the chef makes my favorite food.

Eric ordered my birthday presents from Amazon, and they arrived on Friday.  Yay for extended birthdays!

I got two books: One Question by Ken Coleman and Boys Should Be Boys by Dr. Meg Meeker.  We will be seeing both of these authors at the Dave Ramsey Smart Conference we will be attending in May.  I cannot wait!  I've read several books by some of the speakers we'll be seeing that day, but I wanted to read more!  Hopefully, I can pick up a few more before the trip.

I also got a beautiful eye shadow palette of soft spring colors.

The last thing I asked for was this contour kit by IT Cosmetics.  I'm a little nervous to use it, but I'm going to give it a go because I love the way contouring looks in YouTube videos that I watch.

Neither the eye shadow or the contour kit came with brushes, so Eric and I went out on our day off on Monday and I picked up a couple more IT makeup brushes at Ulta. These are the softest makeup brushes I have ever seen.  Heh...as if I have ever really used brushes before!  Anyhow, they feel like a soft kitten paw applying my makeup.  Love them.  I have a foundation brush, a powder brush, a concealer brush, an eye shadow brush, and a contour brush.  I think my collection is complete.

Here's to a great Friday and a relatively slow-paced weekend!

Life Lately

I read a saying recently that said, "The days go by slowly, but the years go by in a blink."  I can't agree with that more!  The day to day grind tends to wear me down until I can't find my way out of each day.  But then I look at pictures such as the sport photos below, and I can hardly believe that we have an 11-year-old and he is able to play varsity sports at school!  I can remember when he was toddling around my school as a two-year-old at Open House barely able to throw a ball, but trying mightily to do so.

The days pass by so slowly, but those years sure do fly by in a flash!

The end of the year varsity basketball tournament was the fourth time that Evan was able to play with the varsity team.  He played three tournaments and one regular game.  It was a rush as a mom to watch him compete and be effective against kids that are two years older than him.  All the boys have grown so much in their game this year.  So proud of all these kiddos.

It's definitely a unique year because the big boys are my students, and then I have extra pride in the team because Evan is playing with them!

Number 15 making his mark.

The basketball tournament consumed our weekend, but in a good way.  I say this a lot...watching my kids play sports is a true pleasure that I enjoy.  I don't always enjoy practice and travel and hot sun tournaments, but when it comes down to it, I LOVE watching my boys play in their games.

The kids don't like to hang out with us anymore, so Eric and I went out to lunch and "puttered" around at different stores on our Monday off of work.  He bought some new shirts and shorts, and I got some new makeup brushes to go along with the new makeup he bought me for my birthday.

Evan cleaned out Edward's cage, so he came to hang out with us for a bit in the retreat room.  I didn't really want a hamster, but Edward really is a cute little guy.

Really, the rest of our week is just the regular stuff: soccer, homework, grocery shopping (maybe), and falling asleep at 8:30 whenever possible!

A Favorite Scripture Verse

Today I am linking up with Suzanne for a talk about our favorite Bible verses.

This is one of those tricky ones for me.  Let me explain.

I was raised Lutheran and attended church and Sunday School all my life. I vaguely remember memorizing a few Bible verses when I was small, but that is about it.  We did not take our Bibles to church.  The pastor never asked us to turn to a certain book of the Bible.

Don't misunderstand...the Lutheran service is filled with the Bible.  Each Sunday there was a 1st Reading from the Old Testament, singing of Psalms, and a 2nd Reading from the New Testament.  Finally, we stood to hear the Gospel reading.  However, it was all read to us as opposed to following along in a Bible.

I know I must have studied the Bible when I went through my Lutheran confirmation, but I was in 8th grade, and really do not remember much from that time!

Another to thing to understand is that I owned a Bible, but it was not high on the list of reading material.  I can't explain why, but we just didn't read directly from the Bible.  I was very familiar with many, many, many stories, but not from reading myself.

Fast forward to when I was 25 and decided to convert to Catholicism.  That is a story for another day.  In order to convert, I had to go through the RCIA program or The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.  My Lutheran baptism was recognized by the Catholic Church because it was administered with water in the name of the Holy Trinity.  I attended a year of classes and was confirmed in the Catholic faith at Easter Mass in 2000.

Again, going through a second confirmation, we studied the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  It was important to understand the Church's teachings.

I was never asked to memorize Bible verses or really dig in and study any particular parts of the Bible.

Just as in the Lutheran Church services, a Catholic Mass consists of a 1st and 2nd Reading, Psalms, and the Gospel Reading. We do not take our Bibles to church (most don't), and the priest does not ask us to reference the Bible.  We do have the Missal that is a book where we can follow along with the readings.  I like to follow along!

I am a Catholic School teacher who teaches religion everyday, but I generally follow the religion text book as opposed to opening the Bible.  The readings I need are in the text, but I want to be a better teacher using the actual book!

Are you sensing a theme?  I know many parts of the Bible, but have not spent much time in a Bible study.  I know it sounds ironic that I feel like a very religious person but could not tell you where many of the Bible stories I know and love come from.  Another interesting fact is that if you attend Mass every Sunday for three years straight, you will have heard the entire Bible, and if you attend daily Mass each day for one year, you will hear the entire Bible.

My acquaintance with the Bible is frequent.  My knowledge of the Bible needs much work.

I feel as though events in life are not an accident.  Over the last few months, I have seen blog posts referring to great Bible studies.  I was interested, but did not pursue it.  Also, I have always wanted to read the entire Bible, but again did not pursue it.

For some reason which I cannot explain, I felt compelled to begin reading the Bible from start to finish this year.  I found an online site that I use to read assigned sections of the Bible each day.  As of this writing, I have finished Day 46 and am reading in Exodus (God just gave Moses the Ten Commandments), Psalms (they are rather confusing to me), and the Gospel of Matthew (many parables).  Some days I have my 8th grade students read the sections with me.  I really enjoy doing that.

One thing I realized and have even brought up with my students and with my priest is the distinguishing fact that I am simply reading the Bible, but I have so much to learn about understanding the Bible.  I believe there is great merit in reading the Bible all the way through (I can tell you more than just what happened in Genesis!), but I lack so much knowledge.

This led me to pursue a second desire: to gain more understanding of the Bible.  I have read many good things about Beth Moore studies.  I found her site online and then had the great task of choosing which study purchase and learn.  I chose Daniel.  I don't know why other than it looked interesting, applicable, and God directed me to start there. (I truly believe that last statement that God directed my start in Daniel.  I'll explain why later.)

I downloaded the 12 audio files for the study of Daniel and listened to the first one twice while anxiously awaiting my study guide book.  It finally arrived last week, and I quickly jumped into the lessons.  And oh how I love it!  I feel like a sponge trying to read and understand the meaning behind the glorious text!  I am having to restrain myself from rushing through too many lessons at once.  I don't want to lose momentum because I tried to do too much.  It is an 11 week program.  I don't need to squeeze it into three weeks!  This weekend I listened to Session 2 and have completed two days of the homework.  I might do one more before the craziness of the week hits.  We'll see.  In any case, I am LOVING studying God's word.  I can't quite explain how it has hit me like a ton of bricks that this is EXACTLY what I need to be doing.

Beth Moore wrote in the homework lesson I completed this morning, "We are desperate for time away with God to heal from the harshness of this world and to gain the courage to soften up again."  I just might memorize that statement and use it as a motto for life! "These frequent times with God become a healing agent against the world's harsh winds and a healthy defense to still allow you to feel."  Amen.

(Heh, I think Beth's Texas drawl is getting to me!  I am sounding not like the California born and bred girl that I am!)

I wrote that I feel that my choice of studying the book of Daniel was divinely inspired.  It really was.  I had considered several other options: Esther, Thessalonians, and more.  But I chose Daniel. The little caption under the book said, "Learn how to live with integrity in today's society."  I knew I needed a bit of that, but other books sounded so appealing and "girl like."  However, I bought Daniel.

I am only two chapters in, and I cannot tell you how many times over the past week I have heard reference to the book of Daniel from completely unrelated places, one being a Catholic devotion I am also studying!  So weird!  And wonderful!  I have this new frame of reference to understand the world.  That is why I know I was driven to study this book.

So that was a very lengthy explanation as to where I am in my Bible life.  That being said, I do have some favorite Bible stories and references that have stuck with me all my life.

I've always loved the story of Zacchaeus.  Probably because I love the song about him that I learned in Sunday School.  Zacchaeus is short, I'm short.  Jesus went to his house even though he was a sinner.  I love that!

I also love Matthew 16:18-19.
18 And I tell you, you are Peter,[d] and on this rock[e] I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

I use this Bible reference often in teaching my 8th graders about our faith.  We know that Peter was the first Pope, and there has been an unbroken line of succession since the time of Peter.  I love to use this chapter and verse because it explains so well how we know that we are to continue our mission here on earth until the time that Jesus comes back for us.

Then there is the Bible verse that I chose to have inscribed on my running ID bracelet: 1 Corinthians 9:24.  Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.
I chose this verse years ago as inspiration to run for the right reasons...to obtain the prize of Jesus Christ.

Finally, my husband and I chose John 2:1-12 as the Gospel reading for our wedding.  I always liked the story of the wedding feast at Cana because it was Jesus's first miracle.  

I hope that through my study of the Bible, I will find many more meaningful verses and passages that speak to me in just the right time of life.  

Show and Tell Tuesday: Favorite Pinterest Pins

Good morning!  I'm linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals to talk about my favorite Pinterest Pins.

I'll start with a few of my favorite boards on Pinterest.  Not too long ago, I "decluttered" my Pinterest site and deleted several boards that I never use or even look at anymore.  What's left are my favorite pins and boards. I'm on Pinterest as Heather Forcey.

I started my Dress Professional board last year when I decided that my wardrobe needed a major overhaul.  I don't necessarily copy outfits precisely, but starting this board was a great way for me to narrow down my personal style and to help me envision how I wanted to look each day for work.

This look is probably closest to my personal work style.  Dress slacks, heels, striped shirt, sweater and jewelry.

I know you can't see all of me in this photo, but I was wearing grey heels, light grey slacks, grey and white striped shirt, white sweater, and silver jewelry.  I'm not sure I would have been able to put this outfit together a year ago.

My Recipes board is where I save all the recipes I want to try.  I should create a separate board of recipes I've tried and liked versus the ones I just want to try!  Later in my post I'll show you some of my favorite recipes.

My Christmas board is where I pin all the ideas I want to use in holiday decorating.  I should just title this my "In My Dreams Christmas" board because I don't actually put much of the ideas into practice.  However, I still love looking at the pretty pictures and thinking I might decorate like this in the future!

Wait!  I found one pinned idea that I actually used in my house!  I've always put a bunch of ornaments into a large vase, but this year I put a strand of lights into the vase as well!  Success!

Someday I want to have a large deco mesh garland hanging somewhere in my house.  Gorgeous!

My Fall Pinterest Board is one of the first boards I started.  It was when I finally understood the concept that is Pinterest.  I was a little slow on the uptake!  I love my Fall Board.  Here are a couple of decorating ideas I have used in the Fall based off ideas from Pinterest.

Scattered leaves and foliage.  One trick I got from Pinterest but is not shown here is using unpopped popcorn in all of my vases.  It looks so pretty!

Candy is also a great filler.  Funny enough, no one in my family touches the candy from this pumpkin.

Most of my fall decor was purchased at Dollar Tree.  I really don't need to spend a lot to make the house feel festive.  The upside down wine glasses were a Christmas Pinterest idea.  Again, not shown here, but I grabbed skinny branches from outside and put them in the big vase on the mantle with small plastic pumpkins scattered throughout.

I don't have a fall table runner, so I used a fall flag for the dining room table centerpiece.

I love my Fourth of July board.  I pretty much only decorate for three holidays: Fourth of July, Fall, and Christmas.  I put (or intend to put) my Fourth of July stuff out on Memorial Day and leave it out all summer until Labor Day.  Then I immediately pull my fall decorations out!  I love all the ideas on the Fourth of July board, but here is one that was pretty to look at, but had nasty consequences!

This project was easy to do and a lot of fun. I squeezed food coloring into a bag, mixed it with the rice, and layered the rice into a vase, stuck a pinwheel in and called myself the next Martha Stewart.  Little did I dream that once I put the decoration onto the mantle, that a steady stream of ants would find it!  I was stunned.  Some little scout must have really done his job to find a vase full of rice five feet up in the air.  I really liked the decoration, but I'm not sure I'll do it again due to the ants.  I don't know if it was a fluke thing or if I'd have problems each year.  Plus, there is a new housing development going in RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET from us.  I'm just waiting for all the little critters to invade my house now that their habitat has been bulldozed.  I don't need to entice them into my home.

Lastly, I'll share some of my favorite pins in general, which means food.

Here are some great food pins we have loved.

One of my favorite roast recipes of all time!  It's called Mississippi Roast and I love everything about it: simple, rich, delicious, and crock pot.

Another favorite is this creamy mustard sauce.  We use it over pork chops, but I'm sure it would be tasty over any meat. 

One of my favorites that I discovered (or had the courage to make) last year!  Mango salsa.  Yum!  No one else in the house eats it except for me.  To which I say, "Good!  More for me!"  I even made it simpler by buying the pre-cut mangoes in the refrigerated section at my Neighborhood Wal Mart.  So easy.  I eat it with chips, crackers, steak, chicken, pork chops.  It's just the perfect topping for so many foods.

My last favorite pin is for this monkey bread. I used to make this long (8 hour) and fairly complicated bread for holidays, but I hate the process and dreaded doing it each and every year.  I found this monkey bread on Pinterest and have loved how easy and tasty it is.  Piece of cake!  It's our new holiday breakfast favorite.

It's been fun looking at pins on my boards.  It makes me want to start a whole new series of boards!

Weekend Wrap Up

I am so happy for this three day weekend, especially since two of the three days were taken up with the season end basketball tournament.  A day off today is greatly appreciated.

On Saturday morning, Eric headed out to watch Evan play with the varsity team for their first game while I went to the First Reconciliation prayer service for our second graders at school.  Such a sweet prayer service and so special to watch the little ones receive the sacrament of reconciliation for the first time.

We had time in between basketball games to come home and relax for a while.  The dogs are generally not allowed in the retreat (hence the fence), but Harry can't stand it when he can't see us.  There are two dog beds: one by Eric's side of the bed and one underneath the mirror by the bathroom.  Harry takes great care to drag either of the beds across the floor so he can see us sitting on our couch!  Strange dog.

He is such a neurotic little dog.

Apparently, the bed is still not in the "right" spot.

This is when he noticed me watching him and stopped dragging the bed.  Too funny.

We headed back to the gym to watch the second game in the tournament.  (The boys trounced the team in the morning 38-6 or something like that.  Evan had 8 points.)  He's number 15 heading for some water at half time.

This was a really tough game against St. Anthony's School.  It was a nail biter until the very end...and we won!!  It was really exciting, and the win guaranteed us at least a 4th place or higher finish in the tournament.

Our usual poses while watching basketball.

Saturday night was an easy pasta meal made in the pressure cooker, and a decently early bed time.  We got to lounge on Sunday morning because the semi final game was not until 12:20.

Back at the gym.  Same place, different day!

Same people!

We ended up losing to Our Lady of Fatima from Los Banos.  That was a bummer, but the kids played a great game.  We went out to lunch and headed home for an hour or so to rest.  Then it was back to they gym for the final game, playing for 3rd/4th place.

I realized as we were walking to the gym that the twins dressed alike for Valentine's Day!  I'm sure they didn't do it for the holiday, but I thought it was funny that they dressed exactly the same.

Turns out I accidentally dressed the same as well in black plants, a red and white striped tank top, and a red sweater!  I dressed for the holiday.

My handsome men.

The boys both got haircuts on Friday afternoon.  Evan really is caring about how he looks lately.  It's cute.

Even though Evan is easily a foot shorter than my 8th grade boys, he holds his own on the court and always contributes to the outcome of the game.

Evan is also starting to notice and not like the fact that he is short.  I'm guessing it bothers him at this moment because he is competing with much larger 7th and 8th graders.  We keep telling him that he will grow.  He is also at the young end of his grade.  He only turned 11 in September, and his best friend is turning 12 today.  That makes a big difference!  We keep encouraging him to use his skills and the height will come later. It's just been an interesting concern to watch Evan express, and a new one for us to try to help him maneuver. 

The boys played against St. Helen's and lost.  Again, it was a bummer, but they have grown so much as a team this year.  Coming in fourth in the final tournament was a great accomplishment!

Evan is in the second row next to the coach in the light grey shirt.

I'm very proud of Evan and all the boys.

It's going to be fun watching him lead his varsity team for the next two years.

Coach Nick Washington is the guy with his arm around Evan.  I tell ya, in the area of sports, besides Eric, Nick probably is one of the best influences on Evan.  Nick is a good friend and he and I share an office.  He's seen and dealt with all of Evan's ups and downs at school and has known Evan since he was 3-years-old.  We are so blessed to have great people at school who are helping to teach our kids our values and expectations. (Nick is also Evan's pre-algebra teacher and is a great motivator for him in math.)

My kiddo is not a baby anymore...at all.  Sniff.

I'm going to miss this group of 8th grade boys next year.  It has been a unique experience teaching these kids and also seeing them from a mom perspective as I watch them interact with my child.  They are encouraging, accepting, and so all around good with Evan.  My heart swells each time I see one of them high five Evan, wrap his neck in their arm, or treat him like a true team mate. I am so grateful for this school.  

After the game, we went home, finished laundry, ate dinner, did dishes, and went to sleep.  I love a three day weekend.  It makes Sunday nights so pleasant!  Normally, Sunday evenings around 5 p.m. are my LEAST favorite time of the entire week.  That's when it settles in my brain all of the stuff I didn't do or need to do.  Monday mornings are fine, but Sunday nights are just blah.  But not last night!

I'm feeling really accomplished as I have made progress in my Bible study on the book of Daniel, continuing to read my Bible passages for each day, kept up with my Lenten readings/videos, and finished another book for the month of February reading.  It's funny how tv becomes so much less important as I want to read all the books!