A hair cut.....My husband told me he is going to get a hair cut today......a hair cut that is, unless I wanted to do it myself. I said "No, honey have fun at the Barber shop." You see, this is the first year in our 20 years of marriage where we can comfortably afford a luxury like having my husband go to the Barber-shop whenever he needs to. A little thing, I know, but I thank God that He has always provided a roof over our head, food on our table and now, He has provided a little extra! Some history.... This is what happened one day in 2007 when I told my son we cannot afford to send you to the barber shop every week to keep your hair looking good, I'm happy to cut it for you, but otherwise you will have to pay for it yourself." Well, my high school son didn't really want his mom to cut his hair anymore and he didn't want to spend money, so he went on a boycott....this was the result...and that lasted until 2012 If people wonder why my son grew his hair out, it was because we didn't have money to cut it and Mom, the Barber, didn't carry the skills to do a sweet fade. I am thankful for my husband who works diligently and tirelessly to provide for our family. I am thankful to God for providing work for him to do and the blessings and provisions that comes out of it. We may not have much, but we have way more than we will ever need. A haircut may not seem like a big thing, but really..it is! Time to leave it to the professionals, by the grace and through the blessings of God.
PS....you don't even want to know the last time I was at a hair Solon...10 years, maybe, and I think it was because I got a gift certificate LOL... relaxer in a box and a pair of scissors, maybe an occasional trip to Fantastic Sams....You can take the girl out of the cheap, but you can't take the cheap out of the girl!
0 Comments
Today, my husband and I were able to witness our firstborn walk the stage and receive His diploma. From the heart of this college drop-out, I stand in admiration of my son, Chris, for this accomplishment and all the hard work he did to make it to this day. As parents who have not adopted the practice of paying for our children's college (mostly because we simply can't) seeing how he worked diligently to save his money, put himself through two years of Community college debt free and go on to the University for another three years, work hard to earn as many scholarships as possible and not have to take out massive loans is pretty impressive to this Mom & Dad. So I stand in admiration not only for the excellence he showed in his studies, but everything it took for him to be able to thrive, succeed and finish his education as a Magna Cum Laude honored graduate. Just so proud of my baby boy! And I am very thankful for a place like Grand Canyon University that not only educated and trained him to be a leader in secondary education, but nurtured him in his faith and walk with Christ. Seeing his relationship with the Lord bloom over these past few years has by far been the most rewarding treasure in my heart. Today was a good day, and seeing him walk the stage blessed my heart.
As a side note, he wasn't planning to walk, but when he was online trying to pay graduation fees, he couldn't navigate off the page to pay for fees without purchasing a cap and gown. Since he didn't have time to figure it out, he just decided to buy the cap and gown and walk. So for that internet navigation error, I am thankful! Thanks internet glitch, you made my day! I was debating about writing this today. I have had a horrible migraine all day, the nausea from it has not subsided, the pain is horrible even as I write and my vision is so-so. I am battling a bit of depression and I am easily moved to outbursts of tears for no reason. At the moment, I don't feel much emotion about anything. I just want to crawl up in bed and do nothing. So, why on earth would I choose to write now about the man I love the most and an event that meant the world to me? I choose to write it now for all those very reasons. It’s easy to write when I am up, have butterflies in my stomach and I am on cloud nine, but today I writing the things I know to be true regardless of emotions. First of all: Thank you Kelly, Kate, Cindy, Pastor Jeff & Joyce, Jimmy, Jim, Drew, Tom, Glen & Deb, Bob & Linda, Josh & Alison, Matt, Paulie, our children Chris, Aaron & Miriam for seeing in Bob the light of Christ and surrounding our family on a night that, to us and hopefully for you, was a big deal in the Koehne household. Last night, my family and several people that are dear to my husband and I were treated by The Phoenix Suns to come to the last home basketball game to witness my husband, Bob, receive the Spirit of Cotton award. It’s a big deal. Why? Because there are a lot of awards a coach can receive that reflect on their stats, wins and documented success. This award, however, acknowledges something beyond wins (this was his 2nd losing season in 20 years. go figure!) “The Spirit of Cotton Award, named in memory of former Suns’ head coach, Cotton Fitzsimmons, who passed away in July 2004, honors a high school coach in Arizona who consistently demonstrates the best qualities of a coach, educator, mentor and community leader.” This award came because his players and students believed him to be a man that carried those exceptional qualities and shared that with the Suns Charities organization. As the women that has been married to Bob Koehne for over 20 years, I know firsthand how deserving he is of this award. As a wife it is encouraging when others see what you already know to be true. From the heart of his son "My dad has been an absolutely amazing coach, mentor, educator, and example to me all my life and I'm so glad he is receiving this award. I can't think of a more deserving man."-Aaron Koehne With that said. The greatest thing about this award is the way in which my husband received it … “It is a privilege to be able to coach young men each year and teach not only the game of basketball, but more importantly, life lessons. Oftentimes, success in sports is measured in wins and losses, but the longer I coach the more I recognize true success in high school athletics is measured in the development and maturity of the young men I have the opportunity to coach and mentor.”-Bob Koehne For Bob, this award was not given to him, but to the team and to the school as a testimony to the opportunity and platform that the Lord has given him and so many others to witness and train up the next generation. Bob is an honorable man, full of integrity, forgiven and forgiving. He has dedicated his life to serve the Lord, to me his wife, to our children, to Christian education and coaching basketball (as evidenced on the night of our middle child’s birth, which I will now publicly admit, that I sent him off to coach the game with my blessing.) If I seem to be bragging a bit about my husband, it is true. And even if I wanted to, I don’t even have the energy today to exaggerate, simply stating the facts. Even though awards, trophies and accolades will fade the heart of what is true will remain forever. Bob is a forgiven man who loves the Lord and serves those God puts in front of him. He takes his forgiveness and forgives others. He pours into the lives of so many so that they can pour into the lives of others. He is a wonderful man. That is true no matter if I am up or down, on the high side of being bi-polar or the low side. Facts are facts. And for this wife, remembering that in my ups and downs is crucial. Our reality is that we have nothing to boast in except Jesus Christ and it is because of Him that I boast in what God has done through this man, my husband, your colleague, your coach, your child's coach, your friend, your brother in Christ... Bob Koehne. Enjoy some more photos from the night. Well done Bob Koehne! Well done Valley Lutheran High School. Soli Deo Gloria Phoenix Suns Charities Link Feeling kinda down tonight. Part of it is that I am literally very tired. Part of it is my natural body rhythm after I have been on the road and I begin to decompress. Most of it, however, is the new reality that I am walking into.....#PreEmptyNestSyndrome Spent the evening sending my daughter, my last of three, my baby-girl off to her senior prom. I am not a highly emotional person when it comes to milestones, but this one got me. Prom seems to be one of the first of the many last events as the school year comes to a close. I know that time goes fast, but I'm just not ready for it to go this fast. I look at my friends who are the same age or older than me chasing after toddlers longing to get past the diaper stage. My words of "Cherish every moment, they will be gone in the blink of an eye" seem pointless and un-reassuring. Yet, here I stand, just barely in my 40's with a son graduating college next week, a daughter about to enter college and a middle son in the midst of it. How did this happen? Even more amazing of "How did this happen?".... Is how did these kids happen to turn out so amazing? When people ask me about my kids, I tend to say "They are NOTHING like me when I was their age!" That is a huge compliment. My children love the Lord, love each other (more now than when they were younger) and respect their parents. They are active in school activities, Bible study, serving others in need....They don't drink, they don't smoke and they don't do drugs. See they are nothing like me when I was their age. And honestly I don't know how that happened....not sure how I didn't completely screw them up. Kudos to their Dad and his constant presence in their lives. The other thing I know is that for reasons beyond what I can imagine, the Lord had and continues to have His hand of protection on them. There really is no other explanation. Basically, He protected them from me when I couldn't. Back to the point....I'm down, I'm a bit depressed, but still I rejoice at the gifts my babies are and always will be as they grow, walk out their calling in life and begin to impact the next generation. I have to constantly trust that God loves them more than I do, so His hands are truly the safest place for them to be. But it's still hard to see my baby girl grow up. Most days, I just want them to curl back up and crawl up on my lap and cuddle with their Mama. But instead I get to send baby-girl off to prom (glad that she went with friends and no date...totally not ready for that!) To my Miriam Evangel: I love you and I am so proud off you. Walking you off to your last Prom was pure joy and such an honor. My heart is full and in awe of the young women that you are and the women that you will become in Christ! Trusting God for the future.
The past..treasured in my heart forever. I have said many times "This was the best Christmas ever", but this year, I really mean it. This was the best Christmas ever!! My husband and I are not big on shopping or getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of the Holiday season. We try to take it slow, lay back and try to keep things in perspective. This year turned out much differently than other years in that no one made it to a store to do ANY shopping and the amazing part of it was that none of us felt any pressure to either. So where does this leave us? Let's see, Christmas Eve we attended church, came home and had a wonderful family dinner and then gathered around the tree where there were a few cards from some extended family members. Now feeling a bit of the pressure, unbeknownst to the others, everyone quietly proceeded to go wrap their "gifts." Well, it turned out that we all had the same idea...lets sneak into peoples room, find things that belong to them and wrap them up! And that's just what happened. As the kids began to open there frantically wrapped presents we all quickly realized that each gift was a joke waiting to happen. My daughter laughed as she opened a box with one of her slippers in it, a half eaten candy bar, an empty CD case and some clothes pins. As the gift giving event went on, each present opening was tuned into an opportunity to laugh, each laugh bigger than the one before.
Being a competitive family, it became a sort of competition to see who gave the best "Worst" gift. Even the gifts that we gave our kids (which was a envelope with some cash) had a used item from their own room and was met with tons of laughter. I guess what made that Christmas Eve so special, obviously, was not the gifts, but truly the time together laughing and loving each other. While we didn't plan to do a gift-less Christmas, I tell you, it couldn't have gotten much better. So we already have plans for next year.....The gift giving competition. Find the best worst gift from Goodwill and carry the title for a year of "The Best Worst Giver". Granted, this may not work in most families, but for us, Koehne's, it works just fine!! |
The BlogA collection of writings from a life based on the truth that about midnight anything can happen. AuthorAs an imperfect servant of the Lord, I often feel I am fumbling my way through life, looking upward for guidance and outward to love. So, I write about it, to break up the noise in my head. Categories
All
Archives
June 2023
|