BBC Me

My children make fun of me because I watch BBC programs. True Story. But they're so good! How can I not? And, if they are truthful, they enjoy them too...now not all are BBC some come from ITV and PBS and BBC America (does that count?) What can I say? I like good writing...I like not being able to guess the end from the very beginning. I like bad guys becoming good guys and good guys who aren't quite so good...I will say this is one of the reasons that Downton Abbey has fallen from the pedestal I had it on...I would have loved the writers to make Thomas good and become Bates' protector...I feel like the writers became a little lazy or Julian Fellowes became too consumed with his NBC project and let DA slide...Oh well, now...my newest love is Richard Armitage, goodbye, Mr. Firth. I finally streamed North and South on Netflix and was floored by Richard Armitage's acting. He says more with eyes than most convey in an entire hour so...I'm 8 years late to appreciate the actor but I am working on it. I pulled up all I could on Netflix starting with Robin Hood. Matthew loves it, Hannah complains if I watch without her so win/win. I have to get the MI-5 discs to appreciate Seasons 7-9...I had stopped watching after Matthew MacFadden walked into the sea, WHY didn't I stick with it??? I could have discovered Richard Armitage 6 years ago! Oye. Sadly, his appearance in Strike Back is not available in the States...I will have to find some way to watch it online. The Strike Back episodes available here on Amazon begin with his character's death. Sob.

A few more shows I will recommend to you from our British cousins are Inspector Morse (and of course, Inspector Lewis), Lark Rise to Candleford, Inspector Gently, Doc Martin, Rosemary and Thyme, all available on Netflix streaming so when the doldrums of Winter set in...you can thank me. You're welcome.

On the Home Front

Not much new here, kids are busy with school...I have been sick the past few weeks and have shared with the kids...H stayed home on Thursday, M needed picking up on Friday. I went to the doctor today, picked up some antibiotics after receiving a steroid shot on my back side. I am eagerly waiting the steroids' effect so I can clean the floors and do some laundry...H has had oral and orthodontic consults...seems she is cursed with my small overcrowded mouth, sideways incisor, and an extra tooth...so we are busy trying to get some oral surgery scheduled and begin the long road to straightening...she has such a sweet smile, I know this will all be worth it.

I just printed Matthew's hockey schedule which includes a trip to St Louis in January and Chicago in February, doesn't that sound like fun? Brrrrr.

I will catch up later, enjoy your day.

Competition

Miss Hannah competed this past weekend. She placed 2nd in Freeskate and 4th in Compulsory. Her hair and makeup artist, Roo, made sure she rocked the ice. Here are a few pictures I stole off Instagram. I'm not in top form on taking pictures these days...either I forget or the kids won't pose...so I am resorted to stealing off Social Media.

Popcorn and BB Guns

It's that time again...Boy Scout Popcorn Fundraising. M has already decided he is going to sell $4000 to earn a $200 Gift Card and here is his research for the reward..."

"You'll Shoot your eye out, Kid!"

It's that time Again...

My phone is out of storage...I think I need to get a new phone with a humongous amount of storage next time..but until then, I need to clear out the videos (especially since H is competing this weekend). I have no idea if I have posted these or not...if I have, please forgive my redundancy.

A few videos from this past Summer, Hockey lesson, Nashville Predators' Hockey School, and Smith Lake at the Durants with the hockey boys...or as I like to think of them "The Boys of Summer."

IMG 2526[2] from Susan Bice on Vimeo.

Church

My church experience has run the gamut of craziness. When I was young, I went to a Pentecostal Church with a friend, there was shouting of tongues in the midst of  messages, being slain in the power, etc. scary stuff for an un-churched child afraid to say no to a friend...I once was assaulted by an Asian lady at Taco Bell. She insisted I say the Sinner's Prayer, her long curling fingernails wagged in my face before I could go in and get my standard taco and burrito...it was a walk up not a drive thru, no escape, I couldn't lock my doors or roll up my window so there I was saying the Sinner's Prayer because I was hungry...not so much for God's word but for my belly to be filled with a cheap taco and burrito for less than a dollar. The Military provided some good Chapel experiences, some not so good experiences...a few controlling pastors made my life miserable because I had misplaced trust...in them as God's representatives, forgetting that some people are just using God to further their own purposes...my trust needed to be in God, not man living a charade as a man of God.  But God pursues us, relentlessly. I am so thankful for that, he brings me a peace that nothing else can...not even the wonderful peace a cuppa tea with a good Jane Austen or Elizabeth Gaskell novel can bring me, it surpasses all that earth can provide.

I have finally found a Church I love, it focuses on our relationship with God....the pureness and beauty of a relationship with God. It's an organized church, it pays cash for any new building or project. There is no debt. When it is time to build a new building, they write a check...upfront. There are no fund raisers, commitments, etc. There is no manipulating. They serve 12 Correctional Facilities, not forgetting the prisoners as Paul commanded the believers of the early Church.  And laughter...lots of laughter. I learn best when I laugh. I finally feel like I can breathe.

Humility is one of the areas God has to constantly work on in me...I felt superior singing my 300 year old hymns in pretty chapels...now I go someplace with worship music, lights, and dry ice, 12 campuses (my campus meets in a school )  we get a video feed from the Grant's Mill campus where the Pastor is actually speaking. The style of worship is to reach the young who have turned from God...and it works, we have the best young people at Church serving and smiling...it is...amazing.

My dream in life is simple. I want my family to be with me in Heaven, I don't want to miss a soul. I know Heaven is filled with laughter, beauty, peace...my dream here on earth is for my row in church to be filled with my family. I would say a "pew filled with family" but since our church meets in a school auditorium for the time being, so I will be satisfied with a few rows of family worshiping together...I am getting part of this dream now, there are 5 of us in one row...my heart is full. I thought if you would like to join me, you could check out our church via the link...and if you like it, you can worship with me through the wonderful technology of the internet. 9:30 CST on Sunday morning...come fill my pew and my dream of all my family looking to Heaven together until our time on earth is done.

https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/spirit-detox

Today

I just finished my online Defensive Driving Course for the state of Tennessee. It was a good time to get it done, the kids started school yesterday, the rain is pouring, and I am in my jammies. I got it done and no longer have it hanging over my head. I will say it is much easier to do now than when I was a teenager and got a speeding ticket. The course back in the Stone Age took all day and had me hanging out with people I would normally not socialize with, this took me an hour and only the cat to peep over my shoulder to see my answers. Now I can get all my other stuff done...like filling out the two stacks of forms that the kids brought home from school...I can't figure out the purposes of some of these forms, they are quite redundant but I will be a good soldier and fill them out with my teeth clenched. (Do they really need my Driver's License Number? Aren't their Blue Cards sufficient for their health update? etc etc) I will make myself a cup of tea to provide some serenity to this task since I can drink tea through clenched teeth.

Tomorrow, I will snap a picture of the kids to document their entrance to 6th and 8th Grade. Getting them out the door has been a little crazy with the new routine and appointments I needed to scurry off to...I made the appointments thinking it would be easier to do while they were in school, however, I made them too early in the day and didn't allow myself sufficient to time to powder and coif. Here is hoping for a more tranquil school morning and a few pictures for my declining memory.

Have a great day and let's pray I fill these forms out correctly so they won't find their way back in my house for a "fixin'."

Oh wait! I do two have 2 pictures from the first day of school. Hannah took one of Matthew for me and I found one on Instagram of her!

One of Hannah's Favorites

Oceans is one of my Hannah's favorite songs. She was extremely delighted to find I have this as her ringtone...her is the thing. I didn't make it her ringtone. I thought she made it her ringtone...I've decided God did it for us since there is no logical explanation...

I need to intentionally make Broken Vessel for Miss Roo's ringtone. And when the day comes that Mr. M has a ringtone...it will be one of the Blackhawks annoying hockey tones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDAt7ZWeamA

Motion15

Jumping Screaming Bouncing....10,000 teenagers...that's a lot of Motion. It's back to school time and that is when our Church puts everything in Motion...getting the teens to deal with insecurities, bullying, being their best, their brightest, reminding their friends impact the person they are and will become...

The messages were amazing (I got to see just a bit and so thankful I did). My favorite, Christine Caine, was one of the speakers. Christine started the A21 foundation to rescue, rehabilitate those victimized by human trafficking.   The foundation also raises awareness of human trafficking. I am glad they do, I had no idea the Atlanta Airport is a hub of human trafficking. It's so close to home. Roo, Matthew, and I did the 5K Walk for A21 last Fall and I have the best memories from this time with my kids. (I'm even more fond of Christine after she did a Periscope of Jane Austen's house...now if I never make it back to England, I can say I have been through Jane Austen's house and it is exactly as I pictured it...even the sounds of footsteps on the hard wood floors...and the garden...oops, I digress...again) http://www.a21.org/index.php

There was lots of music at Motion. The kids loved it (see clips below). I had better video but when I got th message my memory was full, I deleted so I could record one which showed the youth going crazy! However, I learned, the space doesn't clear up from deleting until you backup on WiFi. Hence, the clips aren't as amazing as I would like but they give a general idea. I knew when I served I wouldn't see or hear the Conference, I was okay with missing LeCrae. I really wanted to hear and see Hillsong United...and since things were slow at my place of serving, I was very blessed to see Hillsong United perform. Their newest release Empires is amazing. The songs reach down to the depths of my soul and raise the Spirit within me.

I met some really interesting people who were also serving. It was an unexpected perk of serving. Another unexpected perk was trying a Steel City Pop. One of those interesting people told me I had to try a buttermilk popsicle. Who in their right mind would order a buttermilk popsicle? I did...once she told me it tasted like cheesecake, I ventured out of my little box. Boy, that buttermilk Steel City Pop was phenomenal. My new friends all discussed their favorite pops from Steel City, avocado, pineapple with jalapeno, blueberry basil, these are all flavors I would never try on my own. I would stick with the strawberry lemonade...but I think I may have to work my way down the menu now. AND the good news is a Steel City Pops just opened here...and thankfully, it is not close enough to visit every day...Once or twice every six months or so since I am not a mall type person.

This was Hannah's second Motion, my first to serve, and Roo has attended one and served one now.

I will admit, Roo served more than I did. My team had shifts, hers did not. She served each day from start to finish. She was quite the trooper even though I could see she was about to drop. It was fortunate that she did serve longer than me. I finished at 2:30 on Saturday so I waited at the hotel for her to finish. I had my book a place to sit and settled in for the last bus to pull away when she would be done. A young girl with lots of allergies had a reaction to someone's heavy perfume and was in a panic. Her friends went to the Gift Shop only to discover Benadryl was $16. Me, being me, had my Mary Poppins purse complete with Benadryl. I know God had me there reading and waiting on Roo just for this young lady.

Roo and I went down on Wednesday since we started training at 8 am. Being Bice women, we had to go eat Mexican...wait...being a Bice has nothing to do with it...Bices aren't big Mexican food lovers...let me start over...Roo, being my daughter, loves Mexican as much as I do...and Birmingham has a Mexican food restaurant at The Summit with a spectacular view of Birmingham. We finished serving on Saturday and again...famished...hit another Mexican Restaurant at Five Points. No view, better food, but not quite a safe area so we hightailed it out of there before the sun dropped from the sky. 

Here are two short clips of what 10,000 teens can do without drugs or alcohol. Kind of amazing. 

A few pictures

My favorite song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkR1Xk7EiGo

Hannah brought her friend, Amy, from Aviation Challenge, they were the coolest kids there in my opinion. Of course, I might be a bit biased.

Anyway, Motion15 is in the books and it is time to go back to school for the kids. Pumped and ready to be a friend and know what is really important in life and it isn't being the most popular kid in school. I'm working on all the Bices being at Motion 16. M will be starting Middle School and Greg will be formidable working the Perimeter of the Convention Center keeping the kids safe, don'tcha think?