These are the newest arrivals here at the Luray Gardens...

Facing our giants

We all have to face giants in our life. This boy (center, in the the blue...Josh is to the left in white) is Cameron. He's Josh's giant. Cameron has played soccer against Josh now for the third season in a row. Although he is the same age as Josh, Cameron is at least a head, and in some cases a head and a half taller than every player on Joshua's soccer team. They are all afraid of him. He's huge, kicks really hard, and plays nasty at times. Today, at Josh's first game of the spring season, Cameron kicked the snot out of the ball, directly into the face of one of his own teammates. I have to admit, I was relieved it was not one of ours, but I felt bad for the other boy...poor thing. When Cameron takes possession of the ball, our team parts like the red sea, to make way for him to dribble the ball down field and score. When Josh plays against Cameron, he runs slower, and is not aggressive like he usually is when he plays. It's amazing what fear can do to someone. Josh's team lost their game today, 7-5. Josh still scored 3 goals, and played pretty well, all things considered. I was talking to josh about Cameron today, and I told him that he needs to remember the story of David and Goliath...that even though David was young and much smaller in comparison to Goliath, he had God on his side because his heart was right, and he defeated the giant, much to everyone's surprise. Josh listened, and asked if he could bring a rock to the next game (jokingly, of course, but with a hint of reality). He's glad that he won't face Cameron's team again for another 4 weeks!

The Name Game

Coming up with a name for our children has always been a daunting task because there are so many factors to take into consideration. First of all, being the second youngest out of eight children, all the "good" names have already been taken by my older siblings when they brought their bundles of joy into the world, so I am left with names like Wilma or Clifford. Another problem of sorts is that while we might really adore a name in English, being a multicultural family, we always need to test out the name in Spanish, just to see if it's acceptable. You might say, well, just teach people the English way to say it. Trust me, there's always someone out there who is going to want to know what the Spanish translation is for Ruphardt, and they are going to want to use it. We really liked Isaac, both Luis and I (which was a miracle in and of itself)...but in Spanish it sounds like EE-sock....no thanks. Another thing we have to consider is Luis's accent. It's still pretty thick for being in this country since 1985, so we have to be careful. I don't want the poor kid to have his or her name mispronounced by his or her own Dad! My poor niece was called Weeny by most Spanish speakers (instead of Whitney) for years, much to her chagrin. One of my all time favorite names is Sarah, after one of the little (not so little anymore) girls that I cared for at the daycare in high school. Being Luis's grandmother was also named Sara, I thought, fate had officially knocked on our door! Unfortunately, most English speakers pronounce our last name wrong, and say Pear-a. Consequently, Sara Pear-a, would cause our child to be the brunt of much taunting, no doubt...and no matter how much you like a name, you just can't do that to a kid! Every once in a while, Luis and I will be sitting on the couch and I'll throw out a name...usually only to have it rejected. Then he'll counter with another name, (usually one of his old girlfriends from grade school) and I'll just roll my eyes. So, the search continues. My friends Phillip and Sarah used to live in Austin, and it got me thinking...hey Austin! Then I said "Austin Parra"out loud...too close to Austin Powers...as funny as Mike Myers is, I don't think so. We could always go redneck with Billy Joe, Anna Sue, or Jim Bob...but we would never be able to travel outside of Hampton County. I really like the name Ashley, but it will forever remind me of our neighbor's child in Arizona who whined at an unusually high pitch and volume. Other names like Kelly, and even Leslie, for that matter which are typically girls names up north, suddenly become boys names down here. I wonder if other families have as hard of a time picking out a name for their children as we do. Maybe we are just making it too hard, and should just pick a name out of a hat or something...

Jonathan has a new found passion...talking on the telephone. I guess it's not new found...it probably started back in Arizona when he placed his first call all by himself...to 911!! You can imagine my surprise when the police showed up at the door, and wanted to search the house, to make sure everything was OK. Anyway, he loves to talk on the phone. He'll talk to whoever calls...Nani and Papa are his regulars. Uncle David brought home a box of toys that his boss's wife gave him that her children had outgrown. Many of the toys were for girls, but Jonathan selected a pink and blue Cinderella cell phone, and uses it daily. The other day, while I was reading at the kitchen table, he took my hairbrush, hopped onto a chair next to me, and proceeded to brush my hair, while holding a very interesting conversation with someone on his Cindy cell phone...he went on for a few minutes, and was completely serious as he was talking. I had all I could do to hold back the laughter! He really has a good imagination. Today, I asked him why he wasn't talking on his phone. He informed me that it hadn't rang yet. Silly me...

Yesterday was Josh's first soccer practice of the season. Jonathan BEGGED me to go...not because he loves to watch his brother practice, or can't bear the thought of an hour without Mama...no, it's because the school where Josh practices has a cool playground!