Jacob Archives - The Pennington Point

A Fantastic T-Mobile Giveaway!

by Lisa on August 16, 2012

Everyone’s talking about school starting and all of the excitement surrounding that. But dude. It’s still steaming hot here in our part of the world. Summer is on my mind. This was us just last night:

So when the nice folks at T-Mobile asked me to say a few words about summer safety I thought it was an excellent idea. The summer leads to a lot of safety concerns for me….water safety, heat management, sun, travel, it’s all difficult to keep up with. Of course, mobile devices can’t keep you from getting a sunburn, but knowing they can help keep the kids safe in other ways does bring me peace of mind.

There are so many new ways to use a mobile device to keep your family safe during the summer. It’s amazing to this old lady who grew up with phones that had cords and busy signals were expected (kids, a busy signal is what used to happen if you called someone and they were already on the phone talking to someone else).

Now they can locate your children. I used this feature last month when Jacob went on a big boy bus to spend a week with his little law school friends. I could actually follow his journey all the way there and back. It made this Mommy’s concerned heart feel better.

There are apps that you can use to notify you when your children arrive at their destination. Or you can link all of your mobile calendars together so you know where everyone is supposed to be at any time. I need this one. When we all sit down to go over our schedules for the week it would be wonderful to be able to have them all linked together so we can keep up with where everyone is supposed to be.

And now here’s something awesome….T-Mobile is letting me giveaway to one of you a new T-Mobile Springboard!

No, I’m not kidding. It’s a tablet (worth $429!) and it’s really cool. I’ve been reading about this device and I am so, so excited to be able to give one away! It has a camera, 16 GB of internal memory, Google and Netflix built in, an eReader, a family organizer, wow….the list goes on and on. It’s a nice size too. It would be easy to carry around.

Here’s how you can enter this amazing giveaway. You must follow T-Mobile on Twitter, Like T-Mobile on Facebook and leave a comment answering how you use a wireless device to keep your kids safe during the summer. You can also Tweet about the giveaway and you get a separate entry for each one!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck and stay safe!

This is a sponsored post but all opinions and crazy ideas are completely mine.

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I’m Not as Calm as I Look

by Lisa on July 11, 2012

I am usually calm and collected….OK not really. I do usually appear calm on the outside, but my mind is almost always racing with thoughts that I have to push down so I don’t come across like a psycho on steroids.

If you were around me with my kids you’d think I was a calm person. I tend to be quiet and I enjoy just listening to the kids talk and share and be silly. I’m fairly mellow about the kids and I don’t worry much. I trust the Lord with our lives and I do believe he is in complete control.

BUT

Last night when Jacob rode a bus for 4 hours to a huge, downtown city stopping at midnight…in the dark…with a suitcase in one hand and the cell phone that I added GPS tracking to in the other….

I turned into an old Jewish grandmother.

I was worried and nervous and pestering him with an unusual amount of texts and phone calls. I say unusual because in ordinary circumstances I rarely communicate with him. He and I, secure in our love for one another, do not communicate via cell phone/texts. Actually, Jacob doesn’t really have much to say to anyone. He’s a quiet one, that guy.

The night before, when James and I were going over with Jacob the plans for the trip, bus etiquette, how to behave in someone else’s home, etc. I started crying. James and Jacob froze with that uncomfortableness that men have when a woman cries. “Is she sad? Is she hormonal? Is she just wishing there was more chocolate in the house? I don’t understand women and I don’t know how to fix it!”

I pulled myself together and assured them I was fine. “It’s just Mommy tears,” I said.

Now that Jacob is safely tucked away in the home of his friend I can relax a little more. But still the Mommy tears are right at the surface. I know he’s a big boy and he will be fine. I know that in most of my brain. But that little teeny section of my mind right at the very front wants to drive 6 hours to check on him, then turn around and drive home again.

Deep breath Lisa. Get a hold of yourself. I need a good slap.

I’m counting on you all to stop me from texting Jacob every half an hour for the next week. Or looking at baby pictures of him.

Alright this is silly. I’m calming down now. Or at least I look like it on the outside.

My New Clock or How I Get My Children to Do Things for Me

by Lisa on March 25, 2012

After I showed my clock over at Shaunna’s, I have to show it to you all. I love, love, love it! I have moved it all over the place and it’s one of those things that looks good everywhere. Don’t you love those things? If I am fixing up a spot anywhere in the house I can just say, “That clock will look perfect here.”

I got the frame thingy at the flea market last month. I had so many ideas for ways to use it, but when this clock idea hit on the way home….I knew it was exactly what I would do. Don’t you love when an idea just fills every gap and space in your mind and you know it’s right?

In front of my workshop getting ready to start…

supplies gathered….

After I painted the whole thing white I cut out numbers/words with my true love, my Cricut and stuck them on.

I also put little dots for where the real numbers should be, in case anyone actually wants to know what time it is.

Then I painted over the whole thing in black and peeled off the vinyl letters. I love this technique. Sometimes you don’t want stuck on letters and this makes them look like you painted them on! But I am entirely too lazy to do that.

And here’s where the problems started. I drilled the hole in the center for the clock shaft. BUT I didn’t really measure carefully (or at all) and the wood was way too thick. So the shaft would stick out the front. Oh no!

So I called Jacob out of his cave and asked him if he could pull out his old woodworking tools and gauge out a place for the clock. He very sweetly did it for me.

He even smiled once. I am not sure if he meant to, but we caught it on camera.

I’m going to print the smiling picture. Then when I need him to do something else for me I can pull it out and flash it in front of him and say, “Look how happy you were when you helped me with the clock!”

Finally we were back in business.

I flipped the clock over and waxed the front with a dark wax. I have been waxing furniture since long before the chalk paint people came on the scene. I love the age that it adds.

Oh, and do you see the big strip around the hole that looks like it got messed up? Well that’s where Jacob hammered right through the front of the clock. I had to glue it back in place and set a big rock on it for an hour. Then I sanded and sanded until it was smooth enough to repaint. Yep, nothing ever goes as planned around here.

Then I just stapled twine to the back and it was finished….I need to make a few more because there are about 8 different places that I want to put it. Not to mention I have kind of a freak-ish thing about needing to know what time it is constantly.

It was fun to make. I only complain about the problems because if my family knew I was having fun they would have called me in to make dinner. But if they think I’m slaving away miserably they will make dinner for me.

And that’s it folks. It was a really easy project.

How Can He Be Twenty?

by Lisa on December 20, 2011

It can’t be. Today my oldest son is 20. TWENTY.

There must be a mistake. I only have to close my eyes and I can see him lying next to me in my bed. So tiny, so new.

When I open my eyes again he is standing there 6’1″ tall….he looks like a man. But it is too soon.

It was only yesterday that he was dragging Woody (with “Jacob” written on the bottom of one boot) everywhere with him. I’d find Jacob asleep where he played…such a tired little boy. He was always his own person. He never felt the pull of peer pressure.

He was just a happy, simple kid. He loved Legos, drawing and figuring things out. He was always compliant and glad to do whatever I asked.

He would forget to take out the trash every.single.day.

This is how his brothers and sisters see him now….

Twenty.

It can’t be.

Losing My Voice and Other Old Lady Maladies

by Lisa on August 23, 2011

Why is there always something wrong with me? If it’s not my knee it’s my shoulder. If it’s not my hip it’s my neck. I can see that I won’t be aging well.

Today I have almost no voice. I am still hoarse from singing all day on Sunday. Between Jacob and I rehearsing for hours then the extreme high notes in a few of the songs, this old voice box has called it quits. I probably should have been exercising my voice and doing lots of professional warm-ups with hot water and honey. But instead I drank a Diet Dr Pepper and didn’t eat dinner. I never claimed to be the sharpest knife in the drawer.

My beautiful friend Heather sent me a video of Jacob and I singing. If you’re in a hurry I won’t blame you if you skip the video and just scan down to the end of the post.

My three conclusions:

1) I have decided that from now on I will only wear black and require everyone around me to wear black at all times. I look so much skinnier that way.

2) I hold my head weird when I sing. I may also do it when I’m talking, but I wont be videoing myself to find out. It’s one of those things that I’d just rather not know.

3) My daughter Faith is cute when she sings (thankfully she didn’t inherit my weird head thing). I never get to see her because she sits on the other side of the choir from me. That’s her just behind Jacob’s head to the left.

4) That’s my friend Sara behind me to the right She and I will be making a pact to wear black from now on. I’ll stand behind her when she wants to look skinny and she’ll do the same for me. She’s that kind of friend.

Hopefully I will have my voice back soon and life will be normal. Except now my left elbow hurts.

Seriously, what is happening?! If you are older than me please don’t tell me that it just gets worse. I don’t want to know about my weird head thing and I don’t want to know that this is how I will feel for the rest of my life. This is one of those times when it is OK to lie, like when I ask James if I look fat or if you forget someone’s name.

Mothers and Sons

by Lisa on August 9, 2011

Last night Jacob called me to tell me about his first day of classes. It took me by surprise. He’s not a talker.

He’s such a great kid and has barely given us a lick of trouble, but he is very, very quiet. Always has been. Even as a little boy he would just sit there, everyone around him chattering on and he’d say nothing. I could tell he wasn’t holding back or feeling like he couldn’t interject. He simply did not have anything to say.

Once he got to be older I tried to get him to talk more. I’d prompt him and sometimes give him three or four possible responses to choose from.

Me: Jacob, how was you day?

Jacob: Fine.

Me: Try saying more.

Jacob: (thinking for a long time) I don’t have anything else to say.

Me: Try something like, “I enjoyed lunch,” or “I had to do chores I didn’t like,” or, “I’m hoping to watch a show later.”

No reply.

It was rough. I finally decided that I was doing more harm than good. I was putting pressure on him and getting nowhere.

During this time I heard Norm Wakefield speak. He shared his thoughts on mothers and sons and it opened my eyes to my role as a mother of this young man. My job was not to correct him, but to show him what it is like to be respected, to teach him to protect and be honored in a godly way

James and I talked about it and agreed that it should be James’ role to teach Jacob. Each morning I would tell James what I needed Jacob (who was around age 12 at the time) to do around the house or in school and James would give Jacob instructions. My role was to reinforce what James had said. I began to work hard at giving Jacob room to make manly decisions. He and I do a lot of projects together. I started asking him his opinions on how we should build things. I would say, “I’m not sure which boards to use for support here. Jacob, what do you think?” Often his ideas were foolish and immature, of course. But if there would be no harm in it, I would always try his ideas. Then we could talk about what didn’t work and why.

Slowly (VERY slowly) Jacob started to develop skills and confidence. I taught the girls that their role in their brothers’ lives is to be admiring and respectful. They began to ask even the little boys to help with things that required muscles and man power. Then they would say things like, “Thank you so much. It is wonderful to have such a strong brother.”

Our goal isn’t to puff up the boys, but to encourage them to be men.

As for my quiet Jacob, I began to see a tiny spark. For a guy that didn’t say much in a one-on-one setting, he was oddly comfortable speaking to a group. He would pray aloud in large groups and share his thoughts in church. Then one day he expressed an interest in doing a solo for the community choir that we participate in each year. I was shocked. Singing in front of others is scary, but he said he didn’t feel nervous at all. He auditioned and immediately got the solo. The night of the performance he and I were alone for a few minutes. We were both doing solos and I was nervous. I turned to him and asked if he was nervous too. “No ma’am,” he replied, “I feel great about it.”

It was more confirmation to me that this boy had a gift. Anyone that wasn’t nervous about singing for the first time in front of a huge crowd has some kind of gift that I will never understand. Even though I have done a lot of solos, I get really nervous every time. Jacob was calm as a cucumber.

Since then he has done more singing, more speaking, more reaching out to new people. I watched him last week as he sat in the back of the choir with 5 older men around him and they were all talking like they were in an exclusive club. It was obvious from a distance that the other men welcomed Jacob in and enjoyed his company. I could only stare, wondering in amazement at how my little quiet boy had become a gifted young man.

He has a lot to learn still. But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and there are bright things ahead.

I encourage you, if you are raising sons, to step back and be quiet. Ask the Lord to show you his gifts and gently nurture them. It’s a fine line you walk as the mom…..you are still his authority and have many things to teach your son. But his future includes being a husband and father and he knows that you don’t have the tools to teach him that. You do, however, have the tools to teach him how a godly husband and father should be treated.

My other four sons will have different gifts. I continually ask the Lord to show them to me so that I can nurture those gifts. I watch for little signs that they crave being the protector and provider and I give them opportunities to do that. I still discipline them and teach them, but I am careful to show them respect. I don’t give them false praise, but real admiration for their efforts.

As a mother, these are a few of the things I can have my sons do to help them understand manhood: carry the groceries, mowing the yard, pulling weeds, killing bugs, small appliance repair, taking out the trash, hosing down the house, painting, feeding animals, carrying heavy items, moving furniture, taking books off the shelf for you to dust, teaching little brother, figuring out a problem, shaking out rugs, burying things, unlocking doors, holding the door open, letting ladies go first, digging, washing the car, leading the prayer at mealtime.

Moms—treat your sons in such a way that when they are grown they will recognize honor and know how to lead.

“You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God”. ~ 1Peter 3:4

“The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him.” ~ Proverbs 23:24

Linking to Encouraging Words Wednesday

Is It Friday?

by Lisa on June 24, 2011

Is it Friday already? The summer is speeding by. Maybe that’s why it is so hot….the world is moving too fast.

Another question: If I am so busy, why does it seem like I am not getting much done?

I am blaming James’ law school. His finals this week have me taking care of everything in the house by myself. It’s been worse than tax season. No husband. No one to ramble on to about nothing and get all of my daily words out with. I mean really, shouldn’t that be his first priority? Listening to me talk about nothing for long periods of time?

Usually James and I have a date on Friday night. He informed me yesterday that his brain would be fried tonight and he would prefer I have a nice dinner for him at home. We could watch a movie and just eat in our recliners. How lovely. He also allowed me to drive to Sonic yesterday for him since he was studying and apparently couldn’t continue without a cherry slush. And while I hate to make it look like my life is dangerously close to perfection, I got myself some crushed ice while I was there.

Yesterday I rode in the car with Jacob for about an hour. I thought about using some of my words on him, but that would be lost on Jacob. At one point he told me that he was learning a new computer language….he already knows 2. I listened for a while, then suggested he might make a little time in his schedule to learn human languages. Like maybe he could learn what it is like to have emotions so that when he gets a wife he will have a clue what is happening when she starts crying over nothing. He informed me that he has emotions, they are just under control, like Spock (raising one eyebrow as he spoke). I just grinned that mother-grin that says it all, “You know nothing my child.”

I think we will just chill out on Saturday. Lemonade, air-conditioning, swimming pools, movie stars….

What do you have planned for the weekend?

9 Things I Love to Talk About

by Lisa on June 1, 2011

It’s been quiet around here, not much going on in the summer. If it wasn’t so hot it would be my favorite time of year. But I’m not a hot weather kind of girl. I don’t like to sweat.

I thought, since we are pretty boring these days, I’d give you an update on the kids. We’ll go from youngest to oldest:

Levi (3) has some new interests…..colors, spelling and body parts. It makes for some interesting conversations:

He’ll point somewhere on my body and ask, “What is that?”

“That’s my elbow,” I reply (this is exciting stuff, right?).

“How do you spell it?”

“E-L-B-O-W”

“What color is it?”

What color is my elbow? Good grief! Why do I have to answer such difficult questions?

The three boys, Noah (12), Adam (10) and Elijah (8) are pretty much into anything involving swimming. They are in the pool all day every day. Sometimes I go out there to float around and spend time with them. I get on my water lounger and hang out while they play. That is until they start playing their new favorite game, “Shoving Mommy’s float into their brother and trying to annihilate each other.” Mommy doesn’t like that game, it gives her a tummy ache.

The next three girls, Hope (17), Faith (15) and Patience (14) are working on setting up their own etsy shop. They are enjoying creating products that highlight their individual talents. It’s cute…..and exhausting. “Mom, can you stop and pick up more beads for me?” “Mom, I need some envelopes.” “Mom, are you awake?”

Jacob (19) is finishing up his application for law school. If all goes according to plan he will start in August. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. My baby boy that used to pretend he couldn’t hear me when his eyes were closed is going to start his own life…..waaahhhh!!! Now I want to get back in the pool and let the little boys nauseate me some more.

Grace (21) is still working for James and doing her own video projects. She’s gotten really into The Great Courses. They are college level courses designed for lifelong learning. That’s the amazing thing about homeschooling, instead of school being about grades and tests, it’s about learning. Our kids want to keep learning after school is over. Her favorites are physiology and history. She’s much cooler than I was at 21 when my main interests were shopping and “All My Children.”

That’s the whole summer for us. If any of you know what color my elbow is I’d appreciate you letting me know.

Taxes, Gas and Other Nonsense

by Lisa on April 18, 2011

This is a big day for us. Tax season is officially over at 6:00 this afternoon. In just a few hours I will have my husband back. Of course, he’ll be a zombie for a week or so, but at least I will be able to speak to him in short sentences. Over the weekend I had the nerve to ask him what he wanted for his birthday (which is very soon) and he gave me the evil eye. So sorry Hon….I should have known better.

Our family sets aside this week to be together. We will share meals and play Wii sports and watch movies and talk. We will be totally available to the man who has missed everything in our lives for the past couple of months.

In years past we’d go for a drive and laugh and talk. But we won’t be doing that this year:

I put this picture on Facebook and several people let me know that our prices are about a dollar LESS than what they are paying. Wowsa! There goes our summer vacation. We won’t even be able to afford to get to the gas station.

Today, however, I will be using some of that golden gas to head to the big city. Jacob is taking his fourth CLEP test. It’s been nice driving together and having that hour in the car. He’s not a big talker, so I embrace just staring out the car window at the same scenery. Good times.

I am taking Noah along. He and I will kill the two hours during Jacob’s test going to Target and Old Navy trying to find him some summer clothes. He’ll love that. Boys are such fun to shop with. The good news is that Noah IS a big talker…..BIG. He’ll talk my ear off about everything from Narnia movies to his favorite stick.

We’ll also be blindly shopping for James’ birthday. Since his brain is mush, he doesn’t need anything and he doesn’t have any hobbies it will be a challenge. Maybe I’ll get him a gas card. Or maybe I will give him the gift of not texting him a picture of the pump every time I fill up. I’m such a caring and thoughtful wife.

Have a great week!

Forever 21? I Don’t Think So.

by Lisa on March 29, 2011

For five weeks in a row I have to drive Jacob, number one son, to the big city to take his CLEP tests. It goes like this: drive for an hour, kill three hours, drive another hour home. Fun.

I’ve been taking a different daughter with me to enjoy one on one time with each of them. Yesterday I took Faith, my mini-me. She’s quirky, quiet and interesting. Her pace is slow and she loves to look at clothes. She and I are two peas in a pod.

We really didn’t have much to do while we waited for Jacob, so we decided to wander around the mall and drool over Anthropologie and Pottery Barn. But we never made it to either of those places. We found something amazing…..Forever 21 has a bunch of reasonably priced vintage style clothing that is modest and adorable. No, I’m not kidding.

When I saw the store I remembered that I heard they sell stylin’ sunglasses for $5. I need some new sunglasses, so we decided to pop in. I had never been into Forever 21 because, well, do I need to explain? Do the words old, fat, poor and good-taste give you a clue? (speaking of forever 21, today my Gracie is 21….can’t believe it!)

We weren’t 2 steps in the door when we spotted a long dress that was really cute and cost only $13. We looked at each other in shock and excitement. We started browsing around and despite the jarring, irritating music, we were having a pretty good time. We took armloads of things into the dressing room for Faith to try on. But the dumb store only lets you take 6 things at a time. This policy makes me crazy.

Note to clothing retailers: If you let me take more things in the dressing room…..I will BUY MORE!

OK, now I feel better. What was I saying? Oh yeah, cute clothes.

We got her a long, 70′s style maxi skirt that reminds me of the skirts I wore when I was young. Groovy man. Peace out.

After an hour in the young, trendy store we left to pick up Jacob (He passed his test…yahoo! Homeschooling ROCKS) and drove back home. We would have liked to do a little more shopping, but Jacob, despite my efforts to train him, despises shopping and the very idea of going into Forever 21 would have blown his testosterone filled mind.

Tomorrow I am heading with some friends to Round Top to hit the best flea market in Texas. I can’t tell you how much I love this place. I’m looking for some things to re-purpose and sell in Shop 24. If you’re going to be there, message me on Twitter and we’ll meet up for some tornado taters, my favorite.

I’ve loaded the mini van with my Canton cart, my closed toed shoes, some water bottles, hand sanitizer and some fruit. That’s enough to get me through a day at the flea market. Oh! And my Fossil purse that I can wear across my chest. The one that makes me look like a dork. So if you are looking for me, I’ll be easy to spot. I’ll be the heavy woman in a skirt with tennis shoes and a purse across her belly. And don’t forget the shopping cart. Yep. Look for the homeless person.

Early to bed. Early to Round Top.

Se y’all when I get back!

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