extraordinary in the ordinary

yesterday was one of those days.

i knew going into it that it would be fulllllllllll,

but then on saturday night we got 

some additional 'non-calendar' surprises

(like an early morning rescheduled photo shoot, 

and a sunday night football outing to gillette for wes).

so at the crack of dawn,

(after a very late night back in my
home town the night before)

i suited up, oiled up, caffeinated up and prayed up...

ready to take on the day.

the typical tight timing, lots of driving, 

over-commiting and happy hustling

is what i expected...

but it was the in between, lowercase letter, 

unexpected moments that made it extraordinary.

here's a peek....

early morning,

rescheduled photo shoot

with an adorable two year old 

who looooooved twinkled lights.

a tired morning catch-up 

while wiping of ella's mascara sleepy eyes,

 and hearing about all the fun she had at her 

friend's bat mitzvah.

jane's cheer coach

offered to drive her to competition,

but we forgot to pack some critical pieces.

i popped these in our mail box

to pick-up on the way...

while thinking...

wait...

my 5 year old is off to a cheer competition...

how can that be?

it sure made for a happy mailbox though!

picked my boy up from a sleepover, but arrived a little late for church.

seats were at a premium, so he and and i had a special 1:1 time 

of listening to the sermon from the lobby. 

a sermon series kick-off

on "the gospel in street clothes"

on a day when outfit and uniform changes were the theme,

for everyone but me in my mama bear street clothes.

stopped by the dahlia farm

for their big pre-frost sale.

my tires got stuck in the muddy field,

and after a solid push the farmer loaded 

me up with a few extra bunches. 

dreamy...

while walking up to campus for the cheer competition,

i caught a whiff of something burning.

it was enough to make me turn around and investigate,

and yup, smoke and fire coming from one of the houses.

i dialed 911 and continued on to the cheer competition 

feeling like a fireman superhero.

realization that i was not a fireman superhero,

but a mom of a 5 year old cheerleader set in pretty quick,

when i got to campus and was surrounded by a sea of big sparkly bows.

meanwhile back in medway,

my #87 colt was getting ready 

to take the field against norton.

i happened to be sitting in the packed stands 

next to a cheer dad from norton,

who was also there for his 5 year old cheerleader 

and feeling like he was in some kind of 

cheer competition twilight zone.

well...guess what?

this cheer dad's son was playing against my boy back in medway!

(i didn't take the cheer dad's picture...though i kinda wish i had....awkward?!)

jane's team placed 3rd,

with big congratulations going to all the 

medway cheer teams who took 

home trophies in every age bracket.

big win

for our medway colts

football team too!

a quick parking lot 

uniform change for jane...

followed by a desperate search for a bathroom,

that resulted in pulling over to pop a squat behind a tree. 

she then joined her blue sapphire team

for game #2 of medway's annual 

pumpkin fair soccer jamboree.

remember ella?

yes, yes,

here she is,

with her adoptive family. 

she volunteered at the pumpkin fare

and palled around with her friends for the day.

i captured this glimpse from the sidelines of jane's game, 

 gave her a hug, money and an "i love you"

before she headed out again. 

my sweaty, filthy, hungry 

& smiley boy

ready for some food & fun at the pumpkin fair.

kicked off the cleats for some 

bouncy house,

face painting,

sand art

& 

good ol' pumpkin fair fun

with our amazing community.

then it was time for community, fellowship & serving

at kic with our amazing church family.

the cowboy fan landed a last minute 

invite to the patriots game,

where he took in the game from one of the suites

and enjoyed good food, drink,

friends and a high scoring game!

all while the real patriots fan in the family

was home practicing fractions and having breakfast for dinner.

sunday night flash card making & studying

for her sleepy hollow quiz.  

and a little family read aloud

sleepy hollow too!

asleep before page 5...

tuckered out angel baby,

who was beyond amazing throughout the day.

(p.s. pray for her parents & teachers this week...

i fear it getting mad ugly as the week goes on).

our barking (BARKING) defoyd backyard farm watch dog,

protects us from all kinds of wild life...

coyotes, deer, fox...and these two nuts!

their kinda creepy "hi bennett"

from the dark street resulted in the very best late night, 

flashlight, fluorescent wearing visit.

and that was a wrap!

it was a day that overflowed with 

so much that was 

extraordinary in the midst of ordinary.

and while i can't say today looked the same...

no smoking houses and 911 calls,

no teams to cheer on or bouncy houses to stand in line for...

and the grocery store was definitely not as fun 

as the dahlia farm, pumpkin fair or cheer competition...

still i am grateful...

that these are my days,

that this is my season,

and

that these are my people.