Resolution Conflict

My weakest personality trait is conflict resolution. I really stink at it. This past year, God has been giving me multiple opportunities to excel in this area. Basically, I just want to hide under a rock until it all goes away. I am getting better. Last week I sucked up all my courage to tell a boy with great potential to become a date rapist to never bother my daughter again in any way, shape, or form. (My hands shook after I did it...I have so much work to do in this area) Afterwards, he began plotting filing a complaint against me with the hockey office...fortunately, one of the hockey players displayed more allegiance to Hannah than him and sent her the screenshot of this conniving young boy's plan. Have I mentioned how many opportunities God is giving me to improve my conflict resolution skills?

However, my daughters are much better at facing their problems head on. I am in awe of their ability to deal with the sticky situations in life. H had a better way in dealing with the boy's unwanted attention for the past year. His behavior actually had Greg and me discussing a restraining order...for a 14 year old (a very large sized 14 year old) who wouldn't take no for an answer. Last week, Hannah sat down and emailed his parents in a very articulate manner and included screenshots to prove her allegations were true. All I can say is "Well done, Hannah. Well done."

I am taking life tips from my daughters on conflict resolution. I have so much to learn.

Happy New Year

Baby, it's cold outside. I actually hate that song but it aptly describes the weather right now!  The hi today was 25 degrees and the "feels like" temperature is 9 degrees and dropping to -2 by 4 a.m. Winter.

Well, shoot, my blog time is cut short by Hungry Man wanting dinner...catch you all later!

December

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas....the weather is finally "winter-y" and the stores are packed. However, if I hear "I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" one more time, I am going to become an angry elf.

The kids began their holiday with their annual movie trip to see Star Wars. This has become their Christmas Tradition and there are plans to keep the tradition going even after their married. It was suggested no spouses would be allowed...I suggested that rule be dropped because spouses are family, no excluding. There are certain advantages to having a lot of birthdays and wisdom is one of them. I could see the writing on the wall for hurt feelings so let's just avoid that situation.

Here is some documentation of the Christmas Kickoff Movie Event.

Elf has yet to be fired up but I'm sure that is just around the corner.

Star Wars Tradition. Take 3? Or is it 4? I can't keep up with sequels and prequels

Lauren, Hannah and Greg served at our Church's Giving Hope. M and I were supposed to be in Pittsburgh so we didn't sign up. Just as well since there wasn't much Matthew could do with his clavicle out of commission. I caught up on things which had fallen behind with the holidays.

Life

How Matthew is spending his time healing....lots of PS4 online with his friends

Hockey Update

Hannah added House League and is playing Center (a new position for her). And here she is:

For Matthew's Travel, I added Livestream and this is how I watched when he got hurt on Friday.

Yes, I was watching the game on the computer at this link:

https://livestream.com/accounts/21755584/events/7958819/videos/166687103

November

November is my favorite month, Thanksgiving my favorite holiday, hockey my favorite sport (since my kids play it) and so this was a really fun month.

Lauren made most of the Thanksgiving meal and we were able to decorate the house for Christmas...at the time, we thought this would be the only weekend to get it done. Of course, this changed with all the free time we were given with Matthew's injury (See post below). Not only are our weekends free but so are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. No more drives to Nashville for practice. I am not quite sure how we will handle having everyone at the dinner table together. 

It's Broken

December is here, the holidays are approaching, hockey was gearing up for a busy winter and then boom...my season is all cleared up with free time.

This weekend was the much anticipated NHL West Youth Cup in Anaheim, CA. We were all excited to go and take a swing by Disneyland where I first met Mickey. Then...a small hiccup. Hannah couldn't go because of school so I stayed home since it didn't seem right to leave her. Suddenly, Anaheim was a Boys' Weekend and we had a quiet weekend at home for the Girls.

And then...the weekend took another hiccup when a huge Phoenix Coyote checked Matthew...I was so proud of my boy, he got up from the check and then...he went back down. His clavicle was broken and his weekend was over. My trooper was tough and went to the other games the boys played in and cheered them on. The ER doc thinks 4-6 weeks but we will take him to the Ortohopedic as soon as I can get him in for a better prognosis. He's tough and I think our biggest challenge will be keeping him in the amazing physical condition he is in while he heals. I am so thankful it wasn't a concussion and it's his right shoulder. Matthew usually plays left defense and is always looking for a way to get out of his handwriting and since he writes right, shoots left, if he is going to get hurt, I'll take it. (He was playing right defense and it's not his usual position so there shouldn't be too many hits to his right shoulder when he returns to playing.)

On the bright side of this derailed weekend, Hannah went ice skating with her beau at the outdoor rink so I got a picture of her by the tree before she left. The Girls spent some time at Church preparing for the upcoming Giving Hope event.

Life is funny, you make plans but they can change in a second...so we will be canceling the Mother/Son trip to Pittsburgh in two weeks and pop some corn and watch some Netflix...maybe take a walk...

Chicago Weekend

Chicago was a rough weekend. First, I've got to say I hate flying. I used to love it. It was an event. People got dressed up, people met you at the gate at the airport, there was food served, not great food but it broke up the monotony of the flight...and I am pretty sure there was more room in the seats..Now you're squished together, stressed from the duress of getting through the security check...packing is a nightmare, trying to make sure your liquids and toothpaste meet TSA requirements...flights are canceled and the now packed to bulging flights have no empty seat when your flight is canceled...vouchers are being announced because they overbooked the flight and you pray you're not the person asked to not fly because no one wants the voucher, they just want to get home. When your flight is canceled, you better hope you have money to pay for a room because if it is weather related you have two choices...pay for a room or sleep in the terminal. Oh, and when your flight is canceled and you have a checked baggage, like say a hockey bag, you hope and pray you end up in the same place...oh, and checking bags used to be free...now it costs an arm and a leg, especially if your bag weighs more than the limit...This used to be included in flying...it was assumed that a person flying required more than can fit in a 22 inch carry on bag. Now, if one was flying to a tropical island a 22 inch carry on would be no problem but in most societies one needs more than a thong or bikini...especially if the temperature is below 80 degrees or you are going to spend a significant amount of time in an ice rink...for the entire weekend. Sweaters, sweatshirts, and pants take up a bit of room.

Second, who knew I would be considered a dinosaur just for remembering that flying used to actually be a pleasurable experience.

Can you tell my flight to Chicago did not go down in my diary as a an event to remember? I should have known when TSA found the pocket knife that I had searched for more times than I can remember it was going to be all down hill from there. Oh, and the small water bottle from a hockey practice last week was still in my backpack....yeah, it just went downhill from there.

On the bright side, I am blessed with a wonderful friend who drove up to Nashville to retrieve my family when we couldn't get a flight to Hunstville for days and didn't flinch when American called to say they didn't send our bags to Huntsville like they originally told us but Nashville...after we had already left the Airport. I should probably do something nice for her...like give her my kidney if she ever needs it...

Ready for Takeoff

Checking out a payphone in a cell phone world