the end of the story and more

Well, the state tournament adventure is over and it didn't really end how we wanted it to. Christopher lost his second match (barely) so he didn't place. Neither did his other two teammates. I know Chris was very disappointed because he doesn't feel like he did very well, but I am very proud of him. I think it is an amazing accomplishment to make it to the state tournament...and now we can look forward to next year!

We drove back yesterday, my family to their home and me to mine. I had met dad on the way to the tournament since he was in Oklahoma for a funeral. We left my car on base over the weekend; I love being on base! It always feels like home; wish I could live there...

Anyway, it felt sooo good to be back in my car. I'm not sure if I can really explain why I love my car so much, but it is like my sanctuary. I am always alone in there so it can be a quiet time alone with God (and it can also be a time to crank the radio and sing at the top of my lungs).

When I am in my car I am away from circumstances at my job, problems at my house, and people who drive me crazy.

When I am in my car I don't have to deal with a million different things or try to do everything at once. Sure, some other drivers on the road can be a pain, but for the most part, all I have to do is just drive. Maybe that's why I sometimes want to jump in my car and drive anywhere when things get especially overwhelming.

When I am in my car I am not a failure, I am not under pressure, I am not over worked, I am not being made fun of, I am not in trouble.

When I am in my car I don't have to be somebody else. I am me.

Maybe that place looks a little different for you. Maybe it's a closet. Open field. Church. Coffee shop. City park. I think most people have a place like that.

Even while putting these words on a page I have realized that how I am in my car (or "sanctuary") is how God sees me.

He sees me apart from everything else that is going on in my life.

Did you get that? I just can't stop reading it. In God's eyes, I am totally separate from my life circumstances and situation.

When I see me, I see the messes, the brokenness, the frustrations, the confusion. I see everything that is happening in my life. The good, the bad, the ugly. But that does not define who I am; that is not me. I am more than that. Praise God.

Maybe I should spend more time in my "car." :)

....

I love, love the lyrics to this song:

Beautiful by MercyMe

Days will come when you don't have the strength
When all you hear is you're not worth anything
Wondering if you ever could be loved
And if they truly saw your heart they'd see too much

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are made for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His
You're beautiful

And praying that you have the heart to find
Cause you are more than what is hurting you tonight
For all the lies you've held inside so long
And they are nothing in the shadow of the cross

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are made for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His
You're beautiful

Before you ever took a breath
Long before the world began
Of all the wonders He possessed
There was one more precious
Of all the earth and skies above
You're the one He madly loves enough to die

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
In His eyes

You're beautiful
You are made for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are made for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His

State Update

My brother had his first state tournament match this morning. He was up against a kid that is ranked #3 IN THE NATION!! What a way to start out...he lost 4-17.

BUT, he fought hard and wrestled tough. Chris went all three rounds with this punk and didn't get pinned. Chris never gave up on the match and didn't give away any back points. I am so proud of him! He doesn't feel like he did well, but we all know he did. His next match is after 4:00.

Way to fight, Chris!! Keep going strong!

P.S. When Dad told the Chief that Chris was going to state, the Chief said "I guess having all those sisters paid off!" lol yeah, I think we taught him well! ;)

State Qualifier!!!

MY BROTHER IS GOING TO STATE!!!

He got 4th place at Regionals, so he achieved his goal of qualifying for state. We are so excited. This is the first year for the wrestling program, and they had two other boys qualify for state also. My brother has wrestled three years and the two other boys are wrestling for their first year. One of them got 1st at Regionals and the other one got 4th. It's like a story you would see in a movie.

It was such an intense, emotional weekend...for me anyway! I was worn out, and I didn't even have to wrestle! It's hard on the spectators. :)

My brother had a bye the first round, so his first match was in the second round against the #2 seed. Chris did really well! He held his own, and it was obvious they were evenly matched. When it came down to the last 20 seconds of the 3rd round of the match, the other kid was ahead 3-2. I remember thinking "Chris, you cannot lose by one point to the second seed!" and praying like crazy. Suddenly with 17 seconds left on the clock, my brother took the kid down and got back points to win the match 6-3. What a thrill!! He told mom that he was praying; I think all of us were. I was filming and I was so nervous that my hands were shaking while I was trying to hold the camera still.

He got pinned in his second match, but still had one more chance to qualify for state. That match was the next day, so all night I kept waking up and praying that he would win. I suddenly realized that I really wanted my brother to go to state. I had not really thought it was a possibility before now, but he beat the #2 seed at Regionals, so he suddenly has a chance.

I was so nervous as I sat down by the mat to film the match...so much at stake and I was praying hard. He fought hard and smart and as the last seconds ticked away, I looked up at the scoreboard and realized that my brother was winning. That last second seemed like an eternity as we waited for the ref to blow the whistle. My brother won 11-3. We erupted into screams. And I cried.

My brother is going to state.

He lost his final match, but the tension was off because he still got 4th place and the top four finalist advance. Now we are just going to have fun and see what happens.

Way to go, Bro! I'm so proud of you!!

Monster Jam

Warning: this is a long post! If you are not a monster truck fanatic, or a lover of photography, you might not find this post interesting. BUT, if you are intrigued, read on!

I had never been to a monster truck show before, so I had no idea what to expect. I thought I would want to take pictures so I took my camera. I thought it would be loud so I took earplugs. Both of those assumptions were correct. And, it was a lot of fun!

The reason for going was to watch my cousin who drives one of the trucks. He has done it for a few years and I have never had the chance to go to one of his shows. This one was only a couple hours away, so we took a short road trip to see him drive. The world of monster trucks is a big deal. This was a smaller venue, but I was still amazed by all the fans. It was kinda weird seeing people wearing my cousin's truck on their shirt or their head. After the show he had to go sign autographs and pose for pictures. I had never seen him in that element lol! He pretty much stole the show and the crowds loved him.

I went in January and am just now getting around to posting these pictures. So without further ado, I bring you Monster Jam.

The first element of competition was the vertical jump. The trucks were judged on their vertical angle as the jumped the cars. I was totally blown away. This Dog (Monster Mutt) was unbelievable. He took first. My cousin (El Toro Loco) came in right behind him.

Wasn't quite set up for the altitude on that one!

And now, here he is!!

Not bad, huh?

The next competition was speed jumping. The had to jump across the line of cars before their opponents. My cousin beat out the Mutt to win this one.

The arena was really nice. I think it was only a couple years old.

After the drivers won, they would climb out of their trucks and walk out in the center of the arena to talk with the announcer. Then they got to throw merchandise (shirt, monster truck hat, toy monster truck, etc.) up into the stands. Marc has really good "stage presence" and is good with his fans. He would actually climb up in the stands to personally deliver the merch to one of his screaming fans. :)

Here are a couple of his kiddos. They are super cute!

Next up: Donuts!! Not sure how they judged this, but I think they were looking for good execution of tight, continuous donuts. Marc won this one too; at one point he was on two wheels and I have no idea how he managed to get it back on the ground without rolling. Maybe he got good points for that. Here are some of the other competitors:

You can actually see his back tires smoking in this one!!

I didn't get a good picture because the photographer behind this lens is a cousin first and foremost, so I think I gasped and jumped while I was still holding down the shutter button. Maybe you still get the idea. He said he actually did roll his truck the weekend before, so he has a pretty amazing pit crew because they got him up and running again for this show.

Before the last competition, they brought out these bikes. Crazy. But I did have fun with my camera!

Back to our regularly scheduled programming. Last performance: Freestyle! 60 seconds on the clock to do whatever you want to amaze your fans (really, I think they were judged partly by the crowds reactions). Marc won this one too.

Who let the dogs out???

Check out the air!

I very much enjoyed the show (maybe I'm just weird like the rest of these people). I would definitely go again if I have the chance.

P.S. Marc's "real" life is as a cowboy-rancher. It was fun and interesting to see this other side of him come out!

I did it

Announcement: I made it through the whole work day...all 8 hours!! Barely. It's been two weeks since I've done that. Five weeks since I've put in a 40 hour week. And now I'm too tired to celebrate this small milestone...wanted to just go to bed early, but that didn't work out. I am so swamped right now. And so very tired...Goodnight!

P and DP

Tonight is a popcorn-and-dr.pepper-night. Why? Because I’m celebrating.

Celebrating recovery. Celebrating going to church for the first time in 4 weeks. Celebrating the weather.

So I popped popcorn on the stove…the old-fashioned way. ;) I put a good two tablespoons of butter on it and plenty of salt (I know, a heart attack waiting to happen, right??) and grabbed the 2-liters of Dr. Pepper that I’ve been saving for a special occasion. And no, I didn’t eat all of the popcorn or drink all of the DP…not even close…sooo, there’s more for tomorrow night lol.

Sometimes you just gotta find something to celebrate (even if it’s small) and let the fun begin! This was one of those times.

(I won’t even mention that I also had a jam session with some of my fav songs…)

Celebrate something, my friends.