RANT TIME!

I've been on this kick all week, so I thought I'd rant a little bit.
So, is it just me or did Satan invent youth sports? It looks to me like he did, because here where I live youth sports are the single biggest enemy to family unity. If you don't have your kid on every team possible, well what kind of parent are you. If you aren't sacrificing evey free minute you have by sitting at a ballfield, while your spouse sits at another ballfield with another child; you are scarring your kids. The rule at our house:Choose 2. Each of our kids gets 2 activities a year. By activities I mean clubs, teams, however you want to phrase it. My son Chance this year has chosen basketball and a Tuesday night bible study group. Just with those two things, he is commited 4 days a week (practices and games). That leaves us 3 days where nothing is going on right? WRONG! Because Reagan has also chosen basketball, which is less of a commitment because of her age, but still a commitment none-the-less. So, she has 1 practice and 1 game a week. 2 more days gone. We now have 1 day a week where we are not commited to something outside of our family. But wait, that one day is Sunday. So, church;and all the activities that go with it, get our Sundays quite often. So that leaves us with a grand total of ZERO days that we are not commited to some activity outside of our family. And we say NO to alot of things. I have friends, and even siblings, that do alot more than we do. They have 3 and 4 commitments EVERY DAY! IT IS CRAZY! All this is not counting our jobs and our school work.
Growing up I was the youngest of four boys, and we played everything. football season rolled into basketball that trolled into baseball that rolled into summer trips and camps, and then it started all over again in the fall w/ football (and yes for a brief period soccer). You know what......I have very no recollection of any of those practices, I have very few memories of little league games, and just a hanful of memories from my high school athletics. But, you know what I do remember? Playing basketball in the driveway w/ my dad and brothers. We all invented a backyard baseball game that we played with those little novelty bats you get at the ballpark. We would empty out the living room and play football on our knees. FAMILY TIME! Those are the times that I still ahve vivid memories of.
So, youth sports are from the devil....so are dance lessons, music lessons, pampered chef parties, creative memories parties, neighborhood association meetings, and yes.....dare I say it....church ,at times, is a huge enemy of the family. Youth accountability, children's choir, women's bible study, men's prayer group, praise band practice. WHERE DOES IT STOP? JUST SAY NO!
What are you going to do about it? We have made a commitment - Friday is ours - anything that we are invited to on a Friday, we say NO. It is just us, and that's it. Sunday from 2 pm on, is ours. Just us. We try to keep Wed open as well, but we aren't as firm on it - most of the time we have that time together, but occasionally we give in. So, I challenge you......find that time, put it on the calendar, and tell everyone else NO. You might have to miss a game, or a recital. Be strong, this is important!

Hello again

It has been forever since we posted. We had a great Thansgiving here in Okla. Beth's brother and his family came over from Memphis - and spent Thanksgiving with us. It was a nice visit.
For Christmas, we stayed home - and it was wonderful. We had a very laid back holiday. Beth's parents came over (they only live a few miles away) on Christmas day, but other than that, we had no visitors. For New Years, we also stayed home. I had to work at the sleep lab on the 30th, so I was pretty wiped out on the 31st. I was able to stay up long enough to watch the east coast ring in the New Year, and then I crashed.
Since new years, we have been having a pretty warm winter. We have only had 1 or 2 days where it has gotten below freezing. The kids basketball season is in full swing, and both of them seem to be having a good time.They win some and they lose some, but they have fun - so thats all we care about. They are both doing very well in school, and reading all the time.
So, that about wraps it up. I'll try to stay more current in the posting dept.