Quest for the perfect Fall picture

Fall is absolutely hands-down my favorite season. I love the crisp cool air, the beautiful array of leaf colors, and all the activities we associate with it. From football games to Halloween costumes the season is packed with photo opportunitites. And I've had my share. But the perfect fall pic has been elusive. Either the sun's too bright, the shadows too dramatic, Caroline doesn't want to cooperate, or I don't have my camera with me, whatever the case I haven't captured what I had hoped to be a season full of great pictures. I'd love for my pictures to reflect my love of the season. But alas, my quest for an awesome Fall pic continues and my poor family will have to endure until I've gotten it! On a side note, I did catch this 'in the moment' picture yesterday when I was trying to get a "good" one of the girls with our pumpkin.

Pictures from Oxford

Here are some pictures from our trip to Oxford, MS. It's so beautiful there, I just can't explain it. A few of the pictures are from the Square--the courthouse, which sits majestically in the center of town and Square Books with its balcony, which sits on the corner--one of my favorite places to study when I was a student.

We actually took the double decker bus (like the ones in London) from the Square to the Grove, and it was neat to see Oxford and the campus from a bird-eye view. We drove up Sorority Row, and were dropped off at the Grove--a great way to avoid walking forever, and not paying for parking. (It's free on the Square.)Here are a few I took from the bus. On game day the Grove becomes a small city of tents canopied by the massive oak trees that the Grove is known for. And my trip wouldn't have been complete without seeing/hearing the band too. We caught it just as it was marching down Univ. Ave. on its way to the stadium. Even though we lost the ballgame, it's always a treat to be able to go to Oxford. So many memories, so little time.

A small victory can go a long way!

Friday, as I surfed one of the scrapbooking message boards where I'm a member, I got a little jolt of excitement. There on one of the threads was my name as the title! It read, "Congrats DMisner LOTM!" Well, I'm still kind of new to this whole forum thing, and the lingo as well, and I didn't really know what it meant. When I opened the thread, I realized that I'd won something, but I still wasn't exactly sure what. An email from the site coordinator explained (after I'd written an embarrassing email to ask what I'd won)that each month the site's design team votes on their favorite layout and that this month they'd picked mine!!!! :) :) :) I was elated to say the least! It's my first little victory in the area of scrapbooking--a little validation I guess. For so long I've debated whether or not I'm good enough to post to these sites or if I just need to do this for my family (even though they get a bit tired of me shoving scrapbook layouts in their face). Not helping matters any, I recently I had a very negative teaching experience with a local scrapbook store. It's safe to say that my scrapping self-esteem was a bit low. This little acknowledgement has given me the confidence to keep on going. It's just a tiny, almost insignificant, achievement in the grand scheme of life, but it came at just the right time for me--the boost of confidence that I so badly needed. Somebody (from the industry) likes what I do! It's made a world of difference for me!

crayons, scissors, and glue

= no fun for 3 yr. olds or their teacher! Whew! I just had my first experience in helping the 3 yr. old class at church with their evening craft project. Let's just say that we got it done! The directions were to color, cut out, then glue the symbols to the matching seasons on the corresponding page. Well, the coloring went fine. All 3s know how to color. But cutting--uh uh, no go. Then the gluing, even a worse idea, not to mention that the 3 yr. olds can't read. So, I have to assist each one of the 15 kiddos with the gluing and reading. (There may have only been more like eleven of them, but it seemed like much, much more.) Anyway, I'm supposed to take over the craft curriculum soon---note to self: No cutting, or gluing for the younger ones!

Let the countdown begin!

(to the tune of "The Wizard of Oz")

"We're off to see the Rebels!

The wonderful, wonderful Rebs!

and there too we'll see lots and lots of

all our wonderful friends!

We're off to see the Rebels!

The wonderful, wonderful Rebs!"

Can you tell I'm excited? We're leaving soon, and I've got my sights set on Oxford! Dinner on the Square (some shrimp and grits maybe), then a little music afterwards. In the morning its the stirring sounds "Forward Rebels" and "To Dixie with Pride" on the steps of the Union as the Rebels wind their way through the Grove, marching toward victory. hmmmm........I can't wait! Lots of red and blue, pop tents with candelabras hanging just above the floral centerpieces, old friends bearing hugs and clasping hands in rigorous handshakes, a cloudless crisp Fall day with a slight breeze blowing through the stadium. Oh yeah, it's time!

Annual Pilgrimmage to Oxford, MS

I can't tell you enough how excited I am that we're going to Oxford this weekend! It's the most anticipated Fall weekend for me. I can already hear the Pride of the South bellowing through the Grove, feel the breeze and the warm sunshine on my face, I can smell all the delicious yummies sitting out on their elaborate spreads, and yes, I even smell the bourbon and coke. I can't wait! And I hope to do it all! Hopefully, depending on what time we can get away, we'll have supper on the Square Friday night, wake up early to wish the Rebels good luck as they parade through the Walk of Champions, yell my sweet little heart out at a fiercely fought ballgame that is triumphant of course, and then spend time roaming the Grove, catching up with old friends, and reminiscing about old times. Yes, I can't wait to be in Oxford on Saturday!

Back-to-back Champions!

Yep, you read that right. My little ole middle school volleyball team is the first ever back-to-back championships in school history! I'm so proud--tickled pink to be exact! They did so awesome! I just have to share details.

Our first match was against St. Jude, who was the regular season champs, and they were our only loss of the season. So, here we are playing them a second time and we got creamed the first game. The second game was better, but we still lost. That sent us to the Loser's bracket where we faced Lookout Valley. We beat them easily, and faced the daunting task of beating the unbeaten St. Jude team not once but twice!! (It's a double elimination tourn.)
The first match my girls were doubting, but we kept the score close. Towards the end of the match, we got on a roll--several served aces and huge hits for kills--and ended up winning the game. We apparently took the wind out of St. Jude's sails, because we rolled over them in the second game. However, we weren't finished. We'd beaten them in one match, tarnished their undefeated season, BUT we had to do it again.

The third match against St. Jude was my girls' fourth match to play in a row. They were exhausted to say the least, but they had heart!!! It wasn't easy, but we won game one, then I could just "feel it" in game two. My girls did too. They played with such passion, such emotion, I could tell they wanted it badly. It was as if St. Jude folded, because they had a lot of unforced errors. We ended with a 7th grader (one of the youngest on the team) serving for game/match/championship point. It was an ace, and we all stormed the court! Who knew middle school sports could be so fun!!!!

Of course we took pictures, and handed out All-Tournament honors. (I can't post the pics, until I have permission from all the girls' parents.) My only regret is that I couldn't give ALL my girls All-Tournament honors. I had starters that worked their tail off and busted it all over the court. I had big girls (middle hitters) block, hit, and tip over and over and over again. I know they were exhausted! I also had great backrow players who had some amazing digs, and sprawled all over the court make some crazy saves (one in particular was a pass that a girl made sitting on her butt, her back to the net, and it still made it over the net! They weren't going to go down easily, I tell you!). My subs were huge too. Not only were they an encouragement to the others on the court, but when someone needed a rest they jumped right in there and did their job just as I asked them too. We even had one sub have such a HUGE block that it almost went out-of-bounds on the opposite side!! They all deserved awards for their accomplishments!

Anyway, we had a blast last night, and not just because we won. At one point I looked down my bench (we were all tied then) and I said aloud, "Man, this is fun! I don't even care if we lose. You guys are playing your heart out! This is SO fun!" They all agreed.

I think that that's why I'm so passionate about volleyball. It's not my first love as far as sports go, but it's so emotional. Things can happen in the blink of an eye. Momentum can shift so quickly. I had one parent comment that last year's middle school tourn. and win was the best and most exciting sports competition he'd watched all year! (And his girls are involved with just about every sport.) With middle schoolers, it's usually some of their first experiences on a "real" team not a rec league. They end up learning about first string, second string, etc. but they also learn to "gel" as a team. Honestly, I don't think my team "gelled" until last night. Good timing, huh?

I'm so proud! Words can give justice to how much I love these girls, loved coaching them, and will miss them next year.

My first post!

One of the biggest lessons and attitudes I'm trying to learn/maintain is to enjoy the season--my season in life. (Hence the name of the blog.) It would be really easy for me to complain about how hard it is to be a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) or how that difficulty is multiplied by the fact that my girls are so close in age. But I believe that this is the season in which God has placed me. I also believe that this is where He wants me to be. So I must honor Him in everything I do, and enjoy the season. My girls will only be babies once. And it's hard not to miss the fact that they grow SO quickly. I want to enjoy this season of their lives too. I choose not to dwell on the hardships, but focus on the fun, the memorable, and even the little things that may irritate me at the time (like coloring on the wall) but that are reallly a rite of passage--something all kids do as they're growing up. So, here I am. I want to enjoy the season! I hope you will too!