Indoor

Mia's first game of indoor soccer was awesome!  She rocked the place!  Scored a goal and blocked 2 goals at her very first attempt being goalie!  Pictures don't turn out well because they are taken through the Plexiglas wall, but you get the jist.

Imagine....

Women of Faith was a couple of weekends ago.  A girlfriend from OR came down on the train, my sister in law from Humboldt came down and 4 of us local girls all met for a weekend of Girls Only!  It was fantastic.  I have very sarcastic humor and I'm so thankful that the women I surround myself with do too!  We laughed, we cried, we learned even more about one another, we laughed more, we cried more, and we lifted one another up before our Lord with fervent prayer.  What more can one ask for in a girls weekend?  Not much!

The main theme that we all grasped from the conference was trust.  Trust can be hard especially when we believe in an ever present God whom we can not see.  Trusting that He will take care of us as he says he will.  Trusting that He has a plan and a purpose for each of our lives.  Trusting even though some of us see our everything crumbling before our eyes.  God is bringing me (and most of my girlfriends) to a point in our lives where we have to either trust or know that we are losing it all.  Spiritually.  Emotionally.  Financially.  It's a daily mantra of "trust in the Lord with all our heart, all your soul, and all of your mind" as a reminder that all will be ok.  God IS in control because we have given him that permission. Our trust will not be worthless.  Our trust will be rewarded with a gentle "I told you so" by our God.  I love that kind of "told ya so".  That's when we see blessings. I mean physical blessings. 

I am so incredibly blessed to be surrounded by some of the world's best women.  God has put so many great people in my life.  You have kept me sane, kept me laughing, kept me feeling loved, kept me going at times and I know you are always praying for me.  What more could one woman ask for?  You mean more than the world to me.  I can't wait till our next Girl's Weekend. 

My Little Helpers

Since my back is really hurting, I need lots of help around here....

News for kids?

I have always thought that the news is not for kids.  I still think this, but I'm second guessing that ALL tv news is not for them.  At least at the ages they are at now.  Our local news was doing a story on K2 incense and I realized, I do want the girls to see this.  I told them if you ever see or hear of this, stay far away!  It was then that I realized, yes, they do need to be aware of certain things in the news so they can better prepare themselves for the event when they are faced with similar situations.  I don't want them to be curious as to what something like this is...I want them to think, "I've heard of this on the news and saw what terrible things it did to people" or something similar. 

Another way of preparing them for a world that is not all wonderful as we like them to believe.

Forced to rest

You know when your body is exhausted and it tells you in strange ways that you need to lay low for a bit.  Migraines, tiredness, lack of motivation, and the "to do" list that constantly grows.  But where is the time for us to rest?  How many people can schedule in that time that our bodies tell us we need?  As a mom, there is no such time.  As a working mom, even more people are counting on you daily.  But then God says, "No, you will rest"

That directive from God came in the form of a car accident on my way home from work last week.  I was driving home, tired, and almost home when a truck came out of a parking lot on my right and didn't see me.  He practically T-boned me.  My first response, "SERIOUSLY?"  I couldn't believe it.  We pulled over, I got all his info and he left.  I sat there on the phone with Mike in shock.  Drove home and folded myself in to the couch.  My back and neck had already started hurting.  Thankfully Mike was already off work that night and he took care of all the insurance stuff as well as the kids and I.

I went to the doctor the next day and he said not to work for the next two days.  Many of you have heard me talk about my class this year.  Transitions and change are not accepted well with my students.  So as much as I know my body needs to rest, not being at school is going to make it even more tough when I get back to school.  This is a hard lesson for me to accept.

But, I am home and resting.  I haven't had nearly the headaches (that are usually daily) in the last few days, I've had more conversations with my husband than the last time I can remember, and I'm listening to my God in my quiet time.  My back is constantly hurting and my neck hurts on and off, but I know that I was involved in this accident in order to slow me down. 

The Grass is Always Greener

Makes you think a little....

It was spring, but it was summer I wanted,
The warm days, and the great outdoors.

It was summer, but it was fall I wanted,
The colorful leaves, and the cool, dry air.

It was fall, but it was winter I wanted,
The beautiful snow, and the joy of the holiday season.

It was winter, but it was spring I wanted,
The warmth and the blossoming of nature.

I was a child, but it was adulthood I wanted,
The freedom and respect.

I was 20, but it was 30 I wanted,
To be mature, and sophisticated.

I was middle-aged, but it was 20 I wanted,
The youth and the free spirit.

I was retired, but it was middle age I wanted,
The presence of mind without limitations.

My life was over, and I never got what I wanted.

-Jason Lehman (age 15)

Knock Knock...

My kids loved this one...

Knock Knock

Who's there?

A pile up.

A pile up who?

LOL...You said poo! ;)

Golden Goals

Soccer season has come to a close.  The season ending tournament for the U10 kids was played this weekend.  Juliet played 3 games on Saturday in beautiful weather.  We had nearly a 2 hour break in between two of the games and instead of going home, we just stayed at the field, picnicked and enjoyed the weather.  It was a great day!

The girls tied two games and won the last one.  It was intense on the sidelines and I loved every minute of the day!

Sunday was a different story.  Soccer in the RAIN.  Not just a little rain, but POURING rain with a cold wind!  We invested in an Easy Up just in time too! We were able to stay dry as spectators, but Jules....not so much!

She played like an animal non the less!

 One on five!

But they held the other team (which was undefeated throughout the season) to only a 2-1 win.  This game was supposed to be a full length game since it was the semi-finals, but the refs messed up and only had them play a 30 minute game.  I think we would have taken them down had it been a full length game! 

But Juliet was playing against her good friend, Emily and it was hard for Jules to compete against her without smiling!  

They lost that game, and we came back for the second game of the day.  The final game for 3rd place ended in a tie.  5 minutes of overtime only lead to nearly 4 missed goal attempts by Jules' team.  5 more minutes of overtime did not change the score.  So they went to Golden Goals (aka Sudden Death) This is when each team takes 5 goal shots alternating back and forth.  The team with the most goals wins.  The coach chose Juliet as their best goalie and stuck her with the pressure of trying to block all 5 goals.  Talk about a near nervous breakdown.....for ME not her!  

She was poised and ready to take on the other team with no hesitation.  

First kick - Goal.

Second kick - off the pole for a Goal.

  Third kick - BLOCKED!!!  

 Fourth kick - BLOCKED!!!

  Fifth kick - missed.  

Man, the pressure was intense!  The came away from a season of more losses than wins and ended up taking 4th place in the tourney.  4th out of 10 teams is still pretty darn good.  

Another successful year of soccer!  Wonder what U12 will be like?!

Trick or Treat!

We got together with our friends to carve pumpkins and have some fun times prepping for Fall.  This is the first year I can really remember that we've carved pumpkins with the kids.  While Jules and Cal didn't like touching the slimy insides, Mia didn't mind.  We had a great time creating memories and funny looking Jack O'Lanterns!

I'd say this was definitely the first of more of these kind of activities!

Report Cards

The girls brought theirs home on Friday and again, I'm beaming with pride!  They are doing so well in school, it just blows me away.  They love school and I'm so happy they do.  When we moved to this house 6 years ago, we did not look much into the neighborhood school.  I didn't think too much about it honestly.  I know now days people chose where they want to live based on the accountability report of their neighborhood school.  We didn't, but God blessed us anyway! 
We have had great teachers all the way through and the things the girls learn every day is awesome!  They have both received numerous "Otter Awards" for respect and responsibility, for caring and kindness and so on.  These things just show how much the school values good conduct.  We have been on the campus numerous times and been on countless field trips with the girls and never once have Mike nor I witnessed poor behavior from a student.  The administration and staff have set up a campus that displays respect everywhere and I'm so thankful!
I am just thankful the girls like school and are as successful as they are! 

Recruiting?

Yes, recruiting a 7 year old!  Can you believe that?!  After Mia's game last Saturday, the other team's coach came up to me and asked if she was my daughter!  He asked if she's played indoor and asked her to join his team!  I was shocked, and proud all at the same time.  So we will be experiencing our first indoor soccer season here soon.  She had her first practice tonight and did great!  The coach seems really good and I think she's going to love it!  Pics to come soon....