For the word of the Eternal is perfect and true; His actions are always faithful and right. Psalm 33:4
Welcome to Friday!
Welcome to Friday! May the God of all Creation, the One who is willing and able to bless you abundantly, give you the light, love, grace, and full mercy of His presence in love. How are you doing? I hope that you are doing remarkable well and that you have had a simply amazing week. Hopefully you experienced a break through, and explosion of favor and good fortune. I hope that you also experienced the unmatched joy that comes from knowing and believing that you are truly loved and a beloved child of God. Today, is a great day and I am so excited that Friday is here. Are you excited for Friday and the weekend?
This has been a really good week. I have fully recovered from the agony of watching the Seahawks snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I also recovered from being up well past my bedtime as I tried to get my frustration, and blood pressure back under control after cheering so hard for the comeback that fell short. Cassarra, Gabbi and Trish laughed at how I reacted to the end result. I didn't laugh on Sunday, but by Monday morning I was at least able to admit that it was just a game. And while I didn't enjoy seeing the Seahawks loose, on the bright side, I probably had the best workout I've done all year while trying to calm down and blow off steam lifting weights in the garage. Plus, since we had our own mini-party complete with some outrageously good Philly cheese steaks, chips, dip, and wings it was all good.
The girls focused mostly on commercials and the chips and dip. Only Sydney shared my deep disappointment with the final outcome. On the way to school on Monday she prayed, "Lord, help us to accept when things don't go our way!" What a big prayer! I learn a lot from my own children.
From Sunday night things just kept moving up and up. My brother and his wife brought a beautiful new baby boy into the world. I am so excited for them and the joy that they will experience. All of the older girls are excited about the news and we all can't wait until we can get up and see the new addition to the family.
Monday also featured Emma's knew phrase, "I fine!" Anytime you asked her if she needed to go to the bathroom she'd say "I fine!" It wasn't until late Wednesday night and Thursday night that I discovered that "I fine" wasn't always true. I got a good laugh on Monday with the four younger girls playing hide and seek in the house. They played with Ava counting. She would count from 1 to 10, skip to 15 and yell out ready or not. When she wasn't "It," she would follow who ever else was hiding and give them away with her little laugh. It was funny watching them hide in plain sight, try to keep Ava from giving them away. It was also funny when the kids hid in the pantry and Paige walked by the partially open door twice without finding them. It wasn't until Ava laughed on the third pass that Paige found them. Emma would just run, laugh, and giggle, but she never hid anywhere.
Tuesday was a joy at work, as we had a long meeting to discuss some new changes. The meeting went on and on and just when we thought we had a final decision it all started over again. At one point I realized that I just needed to breathe, and as soon as I let go of the tension, things began to work out. My co-worker solved a huge roadblock, convinced the other manager to agree to the compromise and brought the derailed meeting back under control, and to an end within 30 minutes.
At home I fixed a quick dinner. The girls weren't too thrilled with my choice of side, rice, but it was all I could think of. Ava and Emma didn't complain. But then again, they didn't eat the rice either. They both opted for some more recipe experiments via pancakes. Somehow, I think cinnamon is the perfect cover up for sneaking in veggies. At bedtime Emma had such a fit over being left in the bedroom by herself that I had to try half a dozen or so tricks to get her to calm down. We read, laughed, played, etc and nothing worked. I held he r and tried to rock her to sleep, but no luck. Finally, I took of my skull cap and gave it to her (it was all I could think of at the time), and that calmed her down. Within a few moments she settled down, and when I came back in to check on her, she was sound asleep and Ava was now holding on to the hat. Another blessing was Cassarra being inducted into the Junior Civitans society. They had a ceremony at school and she was able to take part in the induction ceremony. She didn't make a big deal out of it, but I am very proud of her.
Wednesday was a good day. I count it as a really blessed day. Paige and I finished off last of the delicious Philly subs. Trish, who hadn't been feeling the best, started to feel a bit better. The little ones continued to entertain with another game of hide and seek. By dinner my teeth were all settled back in place. On the one day that I forget to wear my mouthpiece during basketball I managed to take not one, not two, but three errant elbows to the face. The worse was getting hit twice on the same play by one of the biggest guys. It happened so fast. I walked over to the sideline of the court and spit out a few small pieces of my teeth, lamented the fact that the dentist is going to have to file these same teeth down again. And then I put my mouthpiece in for the rest of the game. By Thursday morning the last few chips broke off. I am hoping the dentist will be able to fix them without much work. It could have been worse. A few months ago one guy lost his front teeth on a weird collision. This one was strange, as no one really claimed to have hit me, but anyway. Thank God my teeth are still in.
Thursday was a good day. We had a going away lunch for my former boss. After 18 years of working together he has moved on to start his own business. It was a really good lunch and a nice change of pace for a day that featured meetings from 9:30 - 12:00 and from 2:00 - 4:30. After work we all had dinner. It was my night to fix dinner and we did Parmesan encrusted Tilapia, rice, and crab salad. Actually, the only thing I really fixed was the fish and some zucchini. The rice was a chicken bog made by my friend around the corner who was trying out his father's recipe. The crab salad came from Publix. I guess I was really just the organizer of dinner tonight. The girls seemed to enjoy the food and especially the conversation. I love dinner time where we can all talk about the week, laugh at jokes and discuss what is going on.
This morning the girls and I got up early and had our first Friday breakfast together. This month was Chick-fil-A. Surprisingly, Ava and Emma ate their food this time and didn't have a fit about anything. They both had yogurt and hash rounds. We also managed to get in and out on time and to school and work early. This was a good thing, because my niece Alyse is shadowing me today. So far she has been to two meetings and she isn't all to excited about the possibility of the remaining two.
All in all it has been a good week. We are all doing pretty good and had a good week. Trish is doing much better today, as she wasn't feeling the best earlier in the week. Gabbi did an amazing job on her tests and quizzes this week. Paige and Sydney continue to do well, and Cassarra applied to an MIT summer program this week. I hope she gets selected. Her teacher invited her to apply based on her math and science grades and test scores.
I am thankful:
- 2nd chances
- Good friends who call to wish you love
- Seeing Matthew do well in two games
- Not losing my teeth in basketball
- Winning one game on Wednesday during lunch
- Being able to fill in for Alyse on the job shadow
- My wife feeling better
- Getting to spend time with the girls at breakfast
- Good food at the Super Bowl party
- Bible Study with my co-worker
- Making it through a busy week
- Our church ministry receiving an award recognition
- The birth of my nephew and him being healthy
Well, I hope you are ready for a weekend filled with good things. What are you plans? I hope that you are able to make the most of the weekend and have all the best. Paige and Sydney will be my date for the Daddy/Daughter Princess ball tonight. This is our fifth or sixth year going. Their script is usually something like, "ditch dad for most of the night, return in time for one dance, then go home." It was funny hearing the girls tell their mom that they ditch me so I can have time to talk to my other dad buddies. So thoughtful of them :) Have a great day and...
Welcome to Friday
God of irresistible, irrefutable, and
undeniable love rise up and bless us
in the midst of our journey towards you.
May our hearts and minds be inclined
to enjoy your will, enjoy your love,
and succeed in the things that really matter.
God of love, kindness, grace, mercy, and light
give us the fullness of your presence and give us life.
Cassius
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